Doyle Young and Gerald Pieters have just written a book about change in the organization in plain English. Reading another book from cover to cover about change can become an exercise in boredom but the authors keep the subject matter focused with clear and concise language. The topic applies not only to change in the organization but to the individual as well. The Ever Changing Organization (ECO) model utilizes a system with an external environment being supported by a stabilizing base. Other components include continuous improvement, the organization's managing for change and the continuous learning process. There is so much happening in the business world today with the advent of the internet that an executive needs all the tools available to cope with this constantly changing environment. This book delivers the methods of keeping abreast with comments from CEO's on their ECO and how these leaders deal with the changes in their organizations. The chapters flow from discussing the environment, managing for change, continuous learning and concluding with implementation. That last chapter contains the most relevant, practical information to consider in becoming an ECO. Details on implementation are set forth in a step-by-step approach from the commitment of the leader to the creation of a team to carry out the strategy. Change will develop not only for the organization but to the individual as well.

In the competitive environment of keeping current with the latest solutions for the ever changing problems faced in today's organizations, Young and Pieters have hit a "home run" with their book, "The Ever-Changing Organization: Creating Capacity for Continuous Change, Learning and Improvement". It is highly recommended reading in dealing with changes happening in both our professional and personal lives.

The Ferry Woman, is an account of the aftermath of the Mountain Meadows massacre, an important incident in the history of American westward expansion. The events described in this book encompasses the eras of Manifest Destiny, the misportrayal of Native Americans to the American public, the building of Western "empires", and 19th century religious cultism, as seen through the eyes of the fictional, Emeline Buxton Lee. Through Emeline, the author explores the personal tragedies that accompanied the mass-murder of 127 California-bound emigrants by Mormon pioneer settlers of "Deseret" in 1857. Key among Emelines' personal tragedies are the trials and eventual execution of the her husband, John Lee, adopted son of Brigham Young, who was, in his own words, "...used by the Mormon Church as a scape-goat to carry the sins of that people." (J. Lee 1877). The author brings to life the experiences of a pioneer woman who is swept up in events far beyond her control. Through the authors portrayal of her, we experience the joys and hardships of pioneer life during the mid-19th. century. Grimmett's intelligent and sensitive treatment of the subject matter, most particularly the challenges of love and integrity involved in sharing a husband who possesses multiple wives, provides a thoughtful and satisfying literary experience. Well done!

The Mountain Meadows massacre is a stain on the history of the West, Utah, and the Mormon church. It has never been satisfactorily dealt with from a historical standpoint, and it is unlikely, given the lack of verifiable information and a continuing reluctance on the part of authorities to pick at the scab, that it ever can or will be. So it becomes the duty of novelists to compel us to examine the killings, the cause, and the aftermath. Even if we cannot understand those troublesome times, through a well-told tale we can at least consider--rather than ignore--them.

THE FERRY WOMAN is such a tale; so far as I know, the only one. By seeing the incidents and events of those dark days through the eyes of a fictional storyteller, the conflicts and struggles and relationships become personal and emotional, hence more affective than a cold recounting of history. Throughout the book, Emeline (the ferry woman) wrestles with faith, loyalty, authority, loneliness, love, and hate in very human and understandable ways.

The story's end is, maybe, a mite tidy. And some Mormons will be offended by Grimmett's portrayal of Brigham Young, legendary builder of the West. It is well to remember, though, that in THE FERRY WOMAN we see this complex man solely through one set of eyes--Emeline's--and as her view is distorted by her experiences, it is both authentic and acceptable.

Gerald Grimmett's new novel, "The Ferry Woman", is based on the historical event in the history of the West and of the Mormon Church, known as the Mountain Meadow Massacre. Events described in the story are told from the perspective of one of the wives of the only man executed by the legal system for his role in an atrocity that was almost certainly ordered by then church leader and founder of Salt Lake City and the Mormon establishment in the arid western interior of the United States.
A primary feature of early Mormon social relations was the aggressive practice of polygamy, which was only abandoned officially by the church as part of a strategy to prevent a military confrontation between Utah, whose leaders were also those of the church, and the US Army contingent then on its way to enforce Mormon compliance with federal laws against plural marriage. The Ferry Woman was one of the wives of John D. Lee, one of those leaders whose directed mission within the church was to settle and develop the Harmony area between Cedar City and St. George Utah. Grimmett is at his best describing the interactions between his characters and their environment.
This reader confesses to some uneasiness in the early pages, at the prospect of accepting a woman's perspective from the narrative pen of a male writer. That is dispelled by the surprising sensitivity and care apparent in the effort. One observes that if this is not true to the way of thinking and self-expression of a young orphaned immigrant serial wife of a much older man, and a formidable, hard-working community leader, devoted husband and father, well it should be. Reading, one is overtaken by a growing sense of the book as literature, especially remembering that the Ferry Woman, although realistically and plausibly detailed in the narrative, is still a fictional construct.
Knowing its subject already, I went into this book skeptical of its potential for a full and courageous exploration of the dark scenario at its heart. After the first 100 pages, I couldn't stop reading it. I closed the book at last with the feeling that the author had succeeded in something extraordinarily important here. Grimmett has skillfully illustrated how even a humanity motivated, in extremis, by patently flaky beliefs about the nature of existence, can thrive. This is a book with legs, and the time was well spent reading it.

A reader with roots in that area of the US that is today within the sphere of influence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS), with its epicenter in Salt Lake, is likely to agree with the statement of the Poet Laureate of the State of Utah, as quoted on the jacket, that the reaction to the book by modern descendants of the times and personalities described in it, is awaited with eager anticipation. The story is told with a surprisingly precise sense of the supernatural aura that surrounds Mormon history itself, especially as it manifests itself in the 'testimony' borne by modern believers. To a gentile growing up surrounded by it, an ardent love of the church and its teachings is one of the most salient characteristics of expressions made about it by its followers. A less blatant expression, but no less potent one, is a fear of the church and its retribution for non-conformity or apostasy. At the time of events narrated in the novel, when the young church collectively labored not just for legitimacy but for survival, that fear may have been the predominant organizing principle, especially where the rights of women were involved.