Katz and Darbishire have concocted a classic piece in the ever growing volume of literature on industrial relations. The depth of their research is unprecedented and their sharply analysed conclusions are interesting in the least. Moreover, the book is well written and the line of argumentation is nicely combined with a variety of practical examples, which makes the text compulsively readable overall. Human resource manager, but also general management, from across industries can draw from the various employment patterns and learn tremendously as to how to provide a motivating work environment, a challenge ever more prevalent in these days of hypercompetition for talented people. The book will also give a valuable read to policymakers as well as the interested follower of globalisation's impact on the workplace. After all, the drivers of convergence mainly stem from the growing blur of global fontiers and the desperate struggle of European and Asian countries to keep up with the American economy. This is why trade unionism in Europe, most notably Germany and France, are under an increasing pressure to submerge. It will be interesting to follow how globalisation will be able to flex its muscles and shape national systems in the future. It will also be interesting to see how Japanese-style ideals and team-based strategies will be able to sustain in the face of reappearance of Schumpeterian theories of economic values of entrepreneurship, which largely blossoms in individualist, against-the-rules working principles and creative destruction of poorly performing companies. I hope there will be another book of equivalent depth in a number of years to pick up these impacting developments.

I have read three previous books by Howard Owen and loved them. This book, however, jumps back and forth from present to past so often that I can't tell what the characters' status is and what events have taken place already. The story is interesting but he could have written it with more continuity.

Once I settled into the "rhythm" of this book, I found it very readable. Due to the juxtaposition of past and present, I initially had a difficult time sustaining an impression of anyone except Harry and Ruth. Their continuation in each other's lives for more than 50 years was believable and touching, and I found the ending to be poignant and in keeping with the tenor of their story. The characters are well defined and believable, and there are some unexpected plot surprises. This book is a testament to the impact of the written word, as witnessed by the long-enduring "pen-pal" status of the two characters.