Wardlaw has the great ability to bring intensity to his characters, their situation, allowing us access to their hopes and dreams. I have enjoyed reading other stories by this author. He is very able to handle anything from flash fiction, to short stories, (The Snowstorm, Neon Moon, Eating Joe, The Phone, and Don't Go Near Neally Swamp are my personal favorites), to Dracul. I am looking forward to reading his next creative endeavor.

In the nicest possible sense, this book isn't exactly what the title claims. All to often discussions of change management tend to concentrate on the people side of things and ignore the less glamerous topics such as re-tooling, revised administrative and reporting procedures and so on.
So, just to keep the record straight, this book is primarily concerned with the personnel aspects of change, with all other aspects of the overall process taking a very secondary part in the proceedings.

And now, on with the review:

One of the ways I judge a book like this is by the number of highlights I've made (makes it so much easier to refer back to the key points).
Sometimes I'll go through an entire book and be lucky to have half a dozen highlighted passage.

NOT here, though.

Without a hint of exaggeration I found numerous points worth highlighting in every one of the eight reprinted articles.

Of course this is not entirely surprising given the list of contributors, which includes such "leaders of the pack" as John Cotter ("Leading Change"), Richard Pascale and Anthony Athos ("The Reinvention Roller Coaster"), and Jerry Porras (Building Your Company's Vision").

I'd also like to commend the article "Managing Change : The Art of Balancing", by Jeanie Daniel Duck, (which ended up with highlighting on nearly every page!).

So, whilst the material is not exactly new (the various items appeared in the Harvard Business Review between 1992 and 1998), I'd suggest this well-chosen set of articles is as important now as when the articles were first published.

There are articles from such leading authorities on change management as John Kotter (Leading Change), Paul Strebel, and more. Each article opens with an executive summary, helping you decide if you want to tackle that article then and there, or move on to another that fits your interests of the moment.

Sooner or later, change is about people altering the status quo, and those in charge often turn a blind eye to the fact that leadership is singularly the most important issue when an organization has to implement major changes. This is followed closely by teamwork, of which there won't be any without leadership.

Inside the covers you'll find the collected knowledge, opinions and counsel of those executives and consultants who have dealt with change at all levels. If your schedule doesn't permit you to leisurely meander through hundreds of pages to find a few workable ideas upon which to build some change solutions, then this collection should be highly recommended for you.

By using tough leadership examples like Lee Kuan Yew who led Singapore from a Third World country to the First World and Jack Welch who probably has the best performance record of any modern CEO, he makes his task of showing the superiority of values-based leadership all the more difficult. In addition to the Rushmoreans - Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and T. Roosevelt - he uses contemporary examples like Nelson Mandela and Max De Pree to illustrate the lasting impact of values-based leaders.

He makes us question whether the short-term gains of tough leadership are worth the long-term consequences, even for Singapore and General Electric. His message is all the more relevant now that we have seen the damage caused by the Enrons of this world. His is a critical message and, if heeded, could make this a better world.

It is difficult for me to describe the book without giving away too much of the plot, but I would like to stress that the combination love story and exciting adventure can only be described as a 'must read page-turner.' Mr Lane's most original similes are right up there with Stephen Kings's.

Thanks, James. I look forward to what God will lead you to share with us next.

There's no religious spirit here. As a matter of fact Mr. Langteaux's refreshing honesty and humor might just wrankle some who have become pious desert dwellers. Hats off to Multnomah for publishing a voice that speaks for a generation that can smell hipocracy a mile away and won't stand for anything less than the genuine.

Let the reader beware, there is truth and life in this book.