This book is one of, if not the, best guides to developing, implementing and managing a mature production support organization.

The value of this book is that it takes a business-centric approach to service delivery, and augments material on service level management (such as Foundations of Service Level Management - another excellent book).

Specifically, this book contains sorely needed body of knowledge in a profession that has lost its way. What I mean by this bold statement is the production support function in many IS/IT departments has devolved from service delivery to infrastructure management. IT Services brings the focus back to where it belongs: supporting the business.

What I like most about this book is it not only shows what is wrong with most production support organizations, but it provides a clear roadmap to how to restructure production support from an infrastructure management focus to a service delivery paradigm.

I highly recommend this book to anyone in production support, consultants and IT/IS executive management. It would also be useful to ISPs and ASPs because most of the material can be applied to internal or external customers.

Finally a simple step by step guide on how to successfully implement a Customer focused operation center. This book is a straightforward "Non-Techie" path to achieving a results oriented service delivery team. It is a must read for anyone serious about containing cost at the same time satisfying their customer!

The size of our IT organization has exploded over the past five years as we've deployed new systems and products. The focus was always on delivering projects on time.

Well, we've grown up and now have to support those products. Oh, what to do: we've been technology driven, not service driven.

Along comes "IT Services" to provide a blueprint of how to go about implementing a services organization. There's practical advice on determining what "customers" want, what IT can offer, and what to do about the gap. It gives good examples of how to determine service costs. The sample "Service Level Agreement" in Appendix B and discussions of SLAs in the text is probably worth the price of the book alone.

Minor nitpicks - Sometimes the authors could spend a little more time explaining figures and tables: I'm still trying to figure out what authors are trying to convey in the first two rows of Table 5-4 (p. 51).

Overall, I had a hard time putting down the book. The more I read, the more ideas I had. I won't loan out this book for a while - I want to keep it close at hand. My staff will have to get their own copies...

The authors do a fine job expanding on the ideas of others. Savvy executives have known about this for years. I recall an article in USA Today back in 1996 or 1997 about some consultants who were peddling the same idea as corporate judo or ju jitsu. So while the idea is not new, they've done a good job developing an approach to capitalize on the chaos following mergers.

Messrs Grubb & Lamb have given a refreshing angle on a subject that has received way too much of the same angle and no fresh perspectives. This very straightforward and well researched work is void of buzzwords and "7-step" processes so common in sponsored, self-promoting tomes. Although the book has its "six ways to profit" from m&a, it's thorough, well composed and unlike other m&a texts, gives those of us not going through a merger something to think about when our competitors are experiencing "merger chaos". This is a book I've gone back to several times and referenced its rich ideas as well as lengthy appendices of data. Highly recommend.

I read everything I can get my hands on because I coach executives through mergers for a living. I would put this one on the "must read" list for anyone thinking about or going through a merger!

At first glance "chaos" in the title may be a little misleading. But, the advice that Grubb and Lamb dispense is not. The "Traditional Wisdom Traps" in Appendix G alone is worth the price of the book!

I received this book as a gift, and I just can't bring myself to read to my baby from a book with such sickening, cloying illustrations. Looking at Thomas Kincaid's work makes my skin crawl. Ewwww! I cannot understand how Thomas Kincaid makes a living. Is America's taste in art really that bad??

I am looking for an edition of *A Child's Garden of Verses* that does not feature the "artwork" of Thomas Kincaid.

I had this book (without the illustrations) as a child, and loved it.

I have given this book to five different mothers at baby showers and they all adore it. I get invited to lots of baby showers and I have decided to always purchase books in the hopes that parents will read to their children. This book has been a favorite hit with everyone. Not everyone likes Thomas Kincade, however, I find his books peaceful in conjunction with these children's verses.

I love reading the verses to my grandchildren (ages 3-7). They listen attentively, enchanted by every selection. They have quickly learned to recognize most of the authors. My grandchildren in kingergarten and first grade are able to read many of the verses themselves, although they still like Grandma to read to them. Hearing the various rhythms of poetry has been a motivation and inspiration for them to emulate in their oral reading.

It is a fantastic gift for any age child. Great for older children to read to their younger siblings. The vast majority of the book is of interest and most enjoyable for all ages, from the very young to the very old (but young at heart). My children have asked for copies to be given to their children's other grandparents......fantastic book for grandparents to read to their grandchildren.

We have all enjoyed the artwork along with the verses. The assortment of poems, prayers and scripture is excellent. A refreshing, inspiring, memorable, and enjoyable book. It is a true "family" book for reading enjoyment as well as a "coffee table" book!

The book is well-coordinated and provides excellent footnotes which further amplify and clarify the Scripture in its historical/theological context. This edition, in the New American Standard Version, is easy to read, although I personally prefer the elegance of the King James Version (albeit that version does contain some obsolete and obscure words). It is wonderful to be able to compare the accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John side-by-side! I had a similar scholarly volume during my college days but somehow it and I parted company over the years (My old edition had a _sewn_ binding. Unfortunately, this edition has glued-in pages -- but the book should endure fairly well with reasonable care).

You won't go wrong with this fine reference. It is certainly helpful to anyone who desires a fuller understanding and appreciation of the New Testament, especially regarding the life and sayings of Jesus.

A wonderful and essential reference tool for studying the Bible! I recommend this book for both serious scholars of the (New Testament) Bible and for any person who is already a Christian, _and_ for any other of those who wish to learn and explore the teachings of Jesus.

This harmony of the gospels was recommended to me by a retired professor from Taylor University. I found the arrangement of material very defensible and very well organized. The essays at the end of the book give a good introduction for the uninitiated in fundamental problems in modern "criticism". Useful information on dating of events in the gospel narratives are also provided. I take exception to the critic who claimed that "The actual date of Christ's birth and death is written in stone and correlated by the Jubilee records." This view is held by a tiny minority, some of whom, to be charitable, have dubious academic credentials. On the other hand, both Thomas and Gundry, have published a number useful pieces of scholarship many of which can be purchased through Amazon.
I found the most obvious thing to jump out at me was the development of the controversies between Jesus and the Jewish leaders, and between Jesus and the village of Capernaum. Without some form of chronological guide it can be difficult to see the connections between events during Jesus' life. I found this to be the most helpful aspect of reading Thomas and Gundry's Harmony.

As a parent, this is certainly not a book that I want to read to my kids or one that I want them to read. In the book, Thomas is disrespectful to his mother, teacher and principal. Each adult fights with Thomas trying to get his snowsuit on and loses. In an attempt at being funny, Munsch undermines values that I want to build in my kids. I don't want the time that I spend reading to my kids and the time my kids spend reading will be spent teaching them to be disrespectful and disobedient. Nor do I want them thinking that this is or should be amusing to them. If you still want to read a copy of this book, I know where you can get a copy very cheap, my garbage can!

I like "Thomas' Snowsuit" by Robert Munsch Because ot is a good book, but it is a children book, so it's not for adults. It is still a good book. I think Robert Munsch did a good job on makink it. It is pretty funny, also.I also think it is a great book for people who just learned to read.It is really easy to read for me.Other books i like by Robert Munsch are I Have To Go, 50 Below Zero, and Stephany's Pony Tail.

Young readers and preschoolers love irony as much as adults - that's what the best humor is based upon. Munsch and Martchenko excel in bringing that irony to the printed page in this book. Exageration is at its best as Thomas asserts his independence, and the rhythm of language pairs beautifully with the witty illustrations to keep kids and adults laughing throughout. My kids have treasured this book since it first landed at our house several years ago. As a child psychiatrist, I find it to be a great ice breaker when working with my young patients. It's a great book for breaking out the grins!

This biography makes too much of the "enemies" that Cochrane made in his career, and how they brought him down. But frankly, I was left thinking that like many heroes throughout the ages, he too had feet of clay - fabulous at sea, and an idiot on land, (and undoubtably a crook too).

As the title of the book is the "life and exploits of a fighting captain" I would have appreciated more of the exploits (and flavour) of his expeditions than were laid out.

However, it did introduce me to someone besides Nelson (and his Captains etc) who was lionized (then forgotten at home) and who may be more famous today in Chile and Brazil than England.

Worth the read, but don't expect too much depth.

Thomas Cochrane must be a fasinating person, but you will not discover it from this book. It is deadly dry--just like a thesis. The man does not live and leap from these pages. The author gives us a recitation of his accomplishments but not any detail behind the man. He does not come across as a living, human. I have a feeling that the author did not do a very good job researching this man--surely there are diaries from his wife Kitty or Cochrane, himself, that can give us insight into how he thought. I am still looking for a good biography on this complex man.

What an excellent book, both the content and the delivery! This reads more like a novel than a biography, understandably, as it is the basis for almost all of the Aubrey/Maturin series.
The descriptions of the naval exploits almost defy belief, if they weren't so patently true - and the land-based politicking, double-dealing and chicanery are incredible, only to be corrected half a century later in the Great Reform Act.
The intuitive brilliance of Cochrane as a sea-commander is totally at odds with the gullible naivety of his political career; his devout moral ethics made it very difficult for him to ignore wrongs or slights against himself or any defenseless group (specifically Jack Tar), and he carried his attempts to redress the balance to extremes, putting himself in very real danger, both physically and financially.
His moral stance was such that he was abstemious, never had a man flogged, never lied, never used his position to personal advantage and never philandered (although counter claims have been made in that direction, but it is hard to believe that a man made of such high moral fibre would cuckold another man or his own wife).
This brilliance also extended to inventions, all (I believe) of which he failed to patent, leaving the kudos to others; the Admiralty failed him in ignoring his suggestions and it was only off his own bat that the advantages were seen (explosive ships, steam vessels etc).

Mr.Harvey covers all this in a very readable style, elaborating in detail on some of the more important episodes in Cochrane's life, but never boring us. He includes snippets from Cochrane's autobiography, where we see his droll, laconic prose used to great effect (particularly in antagonising the Admiralty against him).
In contrast to Nelson, whose claim to fame was by some very suspect naval maneuvres with huge losses of life and parading himself round Britain & Europe, Cochrane stands out head and shoulders higher, in terms of naval brilliance, invention, support for the underdog, attacking jobbery, and humility.
He deserves to be re-instated as the finest sailor EVER. *****

I have just finished watching Bennis talk about his book on C-Span's book reviews and have just read the individual book reviews here--and I don't get it. Isn't this stuff just common sense? Leaders have to be resilient? Leaders have to have charisma? Leaders have to be deep and have a vision that comes from introspection? Leaders have to have a moral compass? And the one I truly don't get is why the hoopla over the "crucible". My goodness, who has gone through life without a "crucible" experience? We are all men of clay--put into the kiln of life to see what comes out--if anything is patently obvious you would think that would be. What comes out of the other end of the crucible for Bennis is the myopic focus on "leaders". So what I get out of this is that Warren Bennis is a genius in finding the center of the watermellon--an easy life in southern California writing about stuff that is just plain obvious--and getting paid wildly for it. Bennis came out of the crucible not as a leader, but as crafty. How about you?

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What I find most thought provoking is the authors' notion of the crucible (difficult event/test such as failure, imprisonment, or any personal defining moment) as an important input towards shaping the competencies of the leader as he/she extracts wisdom after having endured it.

The bulk of this book explicates the Leadership Development Model and how it applies to leaders of all ages, both geeks and geezers. In this Model, individual factors (e.g. gender, IQ, race) and the era (with a given shared history/culture/arena) determine how the leader would interpret the crucible, which in turn impacts the development of four leadership competencies:
1. adaptive capacity - hardiness & learning how to learn is key
2. engaging others by creating shared meaning
3. voice (purpose indentified after periods of self-introspection; EQ)
4. strong moral compass or integrity.

I applaud the authors for the elegance of the Model, and its usefulness in serving as a framework for self-introspection - so crucial in the development of timeless leadership.

This latest addition to the leadership category finally offers a useful, applicable model to those interested in developing their own leadership skills as well as those around them. I found the concept of "adaptive capacity" to be particularly helpful. In these times of economic uncertainty, change, and management failures, I now have a better sense of the leaders to seek out: those resilient individuals who adapt, thrive, and lead because of their ability to "confront unfamiliar situations with confidence and optimism".

I am a former National Park Service volunteer, U.S. Penitentiary Alcatraz Island. I had access to many original records regarding the prison and its inhabitants as well as former guards and inmates. This book is an (almost) complete work of fiction. Robert Stroud did not keep birds at Alcatraz, he kept them at the U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas but Gaddis knew it would sound better to call him the "Birdman of Alcatraz" than the "Birdman of Leavenworth." He was not mistreated by the guards at Alcatraz and he was not the touchy-feely guy portrayed in the book and movie. Because of this book, many people believed he was a great and sympathic man who should have been released from prison. Many wrote letters on his behalf and supported his release. But the real Stroud was a brutal murderer, a psychopath who married a woman (despite being gay) to use her to assist him in getting his books published. By the way, much of his book was plagiarized and much of it was simply incorrect. This book does a disservice to history and readers should not waste their time on it. If you want the true story of Stroud visit Alcatraz or contact one of the National Park Service Rangers for truthful information.

Can a man who committed 2 murders be rehabilitated in prison? Robert Stroud, aka "The Birdman of Alcatraz" could. He transformed himself into a leader in the field of ornithology, a scientist and an expert on prison reform. Through his work with birds he taught himself not only to cure their diseases, but to heal himself. This man became a productive member of society under the most stringent, unfair conditions, and I believe should have been paroled long before his death 54 years after he first set foot in prison. A very moving book.

Depicted in this book, not as the bizarre "Birdman" of legend, but as a real man with great courage, fortitude, and intelligence, Robert Stroud is seen as a man who, despite his 54 years of incarceration (43 of which were in isolation of one form or another) maintained a dignity rarely equaled. Even with the enormous obstacles in his way, Gaddisis was able to unveil many of the injustices shown to Stroud throughout his life in prison, the ways he struggled to keep his sanity, to go from a third-grade dropout to a world-renowned expert in the health and care of canaries to an old man who was not even allowed many of the sparse comforts afforded fellow inmates. Gaddis does not try to hide the violence in Stroud's past, yet he also makes it possible to view glimpses of the man that Stroud could have been. With the last words written only one year before Stroud's death, this book was able to lay open for public view not only one man's life but also many of the injustices and atrocities with which the history of the American prison system is riddled. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Ever wonder while wandering the aisles at your local supermarket, how in the world all those products make it to the shelf? There is no doubt about it, from your favorite kind of cereal to your regular brand of toothpaste; the packaged goods we choose to buy are the end result of a long, arduous and costly process. These products have been researched, re-formulated, re-designed, tested, re-tested, perhaps altered innumerable times before given the final approval to appear at your local shopping center. Not to mention the millions of dollars committed to ensure that we know about them through television, newspapers, magazines and other forms of media. It is a process that can take years, often beginning as an idea in someone¹s head, and ending with a tangible, three-dimensional package or container that ultimately holds the item we have chosen to give our allegiance, our loyalty. We form relationships with these products. We go far and wide, and to great lengths to find them, and are unhappy if we can't get them.

Marketers everywhere are missing dinner with their kids, pulling all-nighters, steeped in market research and ad agency pitches, just so we could enjoy the most tasty cereal or the most whitening brand of toothpaste with baking soda. And these are only the products we know about; the ones that actually make it out the door! Ever wonder about the ones that never make it, or the ones that you saw today but are gone tomorrow, never to be seen again? Just ask Mr. Whipple. He's seen them come and seen them go. Charmin may still be "squeezably soft", but where is the Crystal Pepsi? Seemed like a good idea at the time. How about "smokeless" tobacco? Rabbit Jerky, anyone? Executives had countless meetings over these products, committed large amounts of resources to them, and spent millions of dollars to perfect and bring them to market. Unfortunately, most of them failed in the marketplace.

How each of these came to market, as the brainchild of one or more marketers at nearly every consumer products manufacturer in the country, is quite a story. Steve Backer, the advertising executive best known for the "I'd Like to Teach the World To Sing" Coca-Cola jingle puts it in familial terms. Executives "parent" these ideas, like they would children, and they grow and are nurtured by "uncles" and "cousins" and even "grandfathers" and "godfathers". They develop benefactors, and are protected and defended. Sometimes defended too well. It is the process of how an idea ultimately becomes a reality, and the generic term we apply to this process is marketing.

This is a subject of great interest to Robert McMath, a Marketing guru, i.e. consultant, who spent many years with the Colgate-Palmolive company, and Thom Forbes, an advertising journalist who, among other things, spent time as the editor of Adweek. In fact, they wrote a book about it, and the book is appropriately titled "What Were They Thinking? Marketing Lessons I¹ve Learned from over 80,000 New-Product Innovations and Idiocies".

This is a great book. And very valuable if you are a marketer. It could very well steer your career in the right direction. Written with wit and insight, McMath and Forbes take us through the last several decades of new-product launches, and are quick to point out that most of them have been duds. In fact, statistically, the chance of any new product really succeeding with a bang is plainly slim. If you don¹t believe me, go and visit the New Products Showcase and Learning Center in Ithaca, New York that McMath runs. It is the repository of more than 80,000 of these household consumable items that he speaks about in the title that at one time or another were considered "new and innovative" or "new and improved". And although the emphasis of this book is clearly what went wrong, rather than what went right, the facts bear out the conclusion. But don't get McMath and Forbes wrong. They both have a keen understanding of the dynamics of consumer products marketing, and are writing from a position of admiration and love of the business. This is not a treatise on the death of marketing, but rather a somewhat wistful and sweeping assessment of the results of some of the most ambitious and colossal undertakings by consumer products companies over the years. Certainly, the successes are included here, and are given their just kudos. What is striking, however, is the lesson in marketing we take away in hindsight from examining why these products and launches never caught on, and why some of them should never have been allowed make it to market.

McMath and Forbes cleverly assesses the highlights, er, lowlights, of some disastrous and costly marketing, along with some spectacular and flawless successes, and the approach is to take an altruism or marketing aphorism, and demonstrate the appropriate success or catastrophe. "Fooling With Your Cash Cow" was meant for Crystal Pepsi. They admonish PepsiCo for wantonly fooling with its flagship brand. There are also chapters on "Me-Too Madness" and "Thou Shalt Not Deceive", which extol the pitfalls of joining the bandwagon way too late, and not being totally above board on your advertising. My personal favorite is "Buy-This-If-You-Are-A-Loser" School of Marketing. The lesson here was Gillette¹s FOR OILY HAIR ONLY shampoo. What seems very much a matter of common sense now did not seem so back then. Of course, some of us have oily hair, but who wants to announce it in their shopping cart?

Throughout all the poignant examples, however, is a real desire to analyze de-facto, what contributed to these failures, and how they might be avoided in the future. Every lesson is sincere, and makes an attempt to intelligently and honestly assess the results in useful terms. Albeit entertaining, a deeper understanding of the vagaries and whimsy of consumers and marketing make for a great read and some very funny scenarios. From killer clerks to obstinate CEO¹s, not all the blame lies with the marketers. Some products are just destined to bomb due to an overwhelming negative force quite beyond the control any one individual, except perhaps the one having the power to say Yes or No. McMath, having been an "eager beaver young marketer who is going places" himself, tells the story of his first product

assignment with Colgate-Palmolive. He was to redesign and re-launch Palmolive Aftershave Lotion. Back then, it was in a molded plastic bottle and was a rich dark green in color. It sold for a buck, and had enjoyed some popularity in the late forties and early 50¹s, and by the time McMath got a hold of it, was lagging in sales of under $1M. That was an unacceptable figure for Colgate, and management wanted it fixed. Truth be told, on the shelf, the rich dark green liquid looked more like dirty water compared to the brilliant blues and sapphires of some of the competition. After a new bright blue formulation and some updated packaging, the prototype made it all the way up to the top, a VP of the Division, who promptly canned it because he hated the color blue. Marketing Lesson 101.

Throughout the book, McMath and Forbes keep the criticism fairly topical, yet accurate. As accurate as one can be in retrospect. The scenario¹s are plenty, and cover everything from Futurist marketers pronouncing products for the millennial zeitgeist, to simple dumber than dumb mistakes that should have never made it past pencil and paper. The tone is always even, but hardly dispassionate. And the issues are certainly relevant to today's marketplace, including some philosophical commentary on brand extensions, category development, new products and advertising.

All in all, the book leaves you with a distinct flavor; one part caution, one part common sense, mixed with the knowledge that ultimately, no matter how much planning, preparation, foresight and wisdom, no one can predict with certainty the success with which any new product will be met. McMath and Forbes give us just enough to think about the next time we go shopping.

This book could be used by an English teacher as a model of good writing; it is clear, direct and easy to read. McMath's experience scripting concise and informative advertisements and labels shows. The emphasis on food products dominates, which limits the scope of this book somewhat. Nevertheless, the principles which are illustrated by these examples are sufficiently general to be of interest to most readers working in other areas. The book not only deals with failed products, but also presents examples of the right way to do things. It is nicely balanced and informative.

This is an excellent book that tells all about the vagaries of new product development in the fast-moving consumer goods area. It is written with wit and humor, making it an easy read. It names names and is overflowing with case histories. If you're an entrepreneur, marketing person, PR/ad-agency creative or suit, you must read this book. It will save you time, money and embarrassment. It is absolutely true.

This book should probably only get one star but I gave it two because it does give the reader a good look at Lee the man instead of the saint. The problem is that it goes too far. It is hard but possible to make a much loved figure human without going to the extreme Connelly goes to. A happy medium would have been much more likely to bring us the real Lee. Sadly instead of going after the real General Lee Connelly goes on the attack and gives us a picture of a sad person who does not reflect the real man. Was Robert E. Lee the pure figure he is often pictured as? Not likely. On the other hand he also was not the pathetic figure given us by Connelly. In an attempt to destroy the myths of the past Connelly creates a set of his own half truths and myths. Shame on him!

This book might be approached as an examination of how a well-known personality is transformed for a human being into a cultural icon. Sequentially and chronologically Connelly takes his readers through that process using Robert E. Lee as the item of investigation. Along the way, Connelly makes commentary on the differences between the cultures of the north and south and how Lee's legion spread because of those cultural differences. That context has been well-established by numerous writers. Connelly simply uses it for a closer examination of Lee. For example, on page 102 he quotes another historian, Bradley T. Johnson in writing "Environmental factors had forced North and South to develop contrasting socieites. The North, 'invigorated' by constant struggle with nature, became materialistic, grasping for wealth and power. The South's 'more generous climate' had wrought a life-style based upon non-materialism and adherence to a finer code of 'veracity and honor in man, chastity and fidelity in women'"
This book helps a person to understand how history evolves in the process of retelling over a period of several generations.

This book is not just a revisionist look at Robet E. Lee but also an objective evaluation of the Southern Lost Cause Syndrome that utilzed Lee as their flagship for a just cause. Thomas Connelly is a great writer of the western theater notably the history of the Army of the Tennessee and of the western Confederate cabal that had conflicts with Jefferson Davis. Connelly offers what southerners and partiucularly Virginians may find as a harsh evaluation of Lee during the war. This book also includes some psycho-analysis that offers some reasoning for Lee's very formal demeanor which is in far contrast's to Joe Johnston whose troops would pat him on the head on occasion but not dare approach Lee in such an informal manner. In my opinion the book demonstrates that Lee was simply not infallible like amy man who has overall responsibility, he must accept some of the blame for failure. There is also the question of whether Lee was too aggressive with limited manpower (Gary Gallagher has referred to this as crucial, that the Confederacy was in serious need of military victories for morale). The Lost Cause contingent made up of Jubal Early and company always gave Lee total credit for victory but not in defeat, Early & company always made someone other than Lee a scapegoat in their version of history. Gettysburg serves as the grand indictment of this philosophy where Longstreet becomes the total goat at Gettysburg in the 1870's while one of his accusers, Early, covers his own lackluster performance by publicly hanging Longstreet. Early raps himself with the cloak of Robert E. Lee to deflect criticism of his own actions and post war exile. To my mind, Connaly expolores better than anyone else the self serving relationship of Jubal Early to the Lost Cause syndrome in Early's attempt to rewite history. Connelly brings out that Jackson was the south's great hero until Lee's death and the emergence of Lee's rise among southern writers. He also argues that Lee lacked a national picture of how to best serve the Confederacy by his opposing transferring troops west to bolster those failing armies with limited resources. He argues that Virginia was Lee's first and main focus. Highly reccommend this book, whether you agree or not, Connelly makes you look at the facts presented and while not meaning to destroy Lee's image of a competent and charismatic general, it tends to show him as human and mortal who like everyone made some mistakes. We all have to look at historians presentations carefully, even Douglas Freeman in Lee's Lieutanents slightly diminishes Jackson's role and he makes Longstreet shorter, fatter and a plotter of self grandization. This is an intellectually challenging book best appreciated by those that have an open mind. This book most likely helped foster Alan Nolan's "Lee Considered."