This is a very well written mystery with lots of twists. The story involves small town characters with big city backgrounds. The life history of some of the characters is essential to the plot and adds considerable texture and interest. The progtagonists are very human and very vulnerable. There are several humorous moments which really add to the human scale of the story. It is a fun and suspenseful read. A very good work from a new author.

The title of this review is borrowed from Derek Bok who, when president of Harvard, responded to parents who crticized a recent tuition increase. Now the review.

This is one in a series of several dozen volumes which comprise the "Harvard Business Review Paperback Series." Each offers direct, convenient, and inexpensive access to the best thinking on the given subject in articles originally published by the Harvard Business School Review. I strongly recommend all of the volumes in the series. The individual titles are listed at this Web site: www.hbsp.harvard.edu. The authors of various articles are among the world's most highly regarding experts on the given subject. Each volume has been carefully edited. Supplementary commentaries are also provided in most of the volumes, as is an "About the Contributors" section which usually includes suggestions of other sources which some readers may wish to explore.

In this volume, we are provided with eight separate but related articles in which their authors examine these subjects: "The Organizational Frontier" (Wenger and Snyder), "The Smart-Talk Trap" (Pfeffer and Sutton), "Balancing Act: How to Capture Information Without Killing It" (Brown and Duguid), "What Your Strategy for Managing Knowledge?" (Hansen, Nohria, and Tierney), "Good Communicating That Blocks Learning" (Argyris), "Coevolving: At Last a Way to Make Synergies Work" (Eisenhardt and Galunic). "Organigraphs: Drawing How Companies Really Work" (Mintzberg and Van der Heyden), and "Stop Fighting Fires" (Bohn). Here are a few brief excerpts:

"As communities of practice generate knowledge, they renew themselves. They give both the golden eggs and the goose that lays them." (Wenger and Snyder)

"People will try to sound smart not only by being critical but also by using trendy, pretentious language." (Pfeffer and Sutton)

"[Organizational defensive routines] consist of all the policies, practices, and actions that prevent human beings from having to experience embarrassment or threat and, at the same time, prevent them from examining the nature and causes of that embarrassment or threat." (Argyris)

"The most effective decision makers are those at the business-unit level, where strategic perspective meets operating savvy." (Eisenhardt and Galunic)

No brief commentary such as this can do full justice to the rigor and substance of the articles provided. It remains for each reader to examine the list to identify those subjects which are of greatest interest to her or him. My own opinion is that all of the articles are first-rate. For me, one of this volume's greatest benefits is derived from various charts and diagrams included such as "How Consulting Firms Manage Their Knowledge" (on page 68). Here Hansen, Nohria, and Tierney juxtapose Codification with Personalization in areas such as competitive strategy, economic model, knowledge management strategy, information technology, and human resources. Another valuable chart is found on page 168. Bohn lists a series of "Rules of Thumb" (rational rules which create irrational results) and suggests why each such "Rule" should be carefully re-considered. Great stuff.

Even those who already subscribe to the Harvard Business Review will greatly appreciate this series because each volume gathers together separate but related articles (previously published in the HBR) on the same general subject. The cost of each volume in the series is relatively modest; the value provided is substantial. Those who share my high regard for this one are urged to read various books written by Peter Senge as well as Working Knowledge (Thomas H. Davenport and Laurence Prusak), Dialogue and the Art of Thinking Together: A Pioneering Approach to Communicating in Business and in Life (William Isaacs), If Only We Knew What We Know: The Transfer of Internal Knowledge and Best Practice (Carla S. O'Dell et al), and finally, The Magic of Dialogue: Transforming Conflict into Cooperation (Daniel Yankelovich).

The life of John Wesley is nothing short of amazing. He carried the message of Christ far and wide during his lifetime and preached to thousands. I have read this and his Forty-Four Sermons, published in 1977 by Methodist Publishing House. Currently out of print. At a time in the modern church where obedience to the Gospel of Christ is optional and Grace cheap, study the works of Wesley and see what happens when a man is 'really' converted to the truth. Examine the evidence of a heart ignited by the Fire of the Holy Spirit and a lifetime of discipleship to the cross. If your own heart is not moved by his great man of God, then perhaps you need to be reminded that true Faith produces obedience and life of service to Christ. Wesley called the churches to repentance and proved to them that Grace was NOT license, but the Power to transform. True followers of Christ walk in the Newness of Life, overcoming the world by Faith, and daily presenting themselves a 'living' sacrifice to God, holy and acceptable, which is their reasonable service. Wesley, like many preachers of his time, taught that to Make a 'continual' practice out of sin after coming to a knowledge of the truth, was a mockery of God and an Insult to the Spirit of Grace. "He that doeth righteousness is righteous." Was one of his most beloved passages. Which he used to prove his point time and again as he traveled the countryside proclaiming the Gospel. He shatters the modern doctrine of, 'Jesus obeyed for me' or better stated that somehow 'imputed righteousness', means the believer is excused from obedience. Like all true men of God, Wesley took the scriptures at face value and 'did not' try to read in an excuse for sin. The New Birth hit him like a lightening blot from above and he took that message to the world. The RESULTS speak for themselves. Read about his life and be inspired to obey the Lord.

The 22nd Massachusetts Infantry was raised through the efforts of Republican senator Henry Wilson. It met its first trial by fire at Yorktown. Later, the regiment suffered tremendous casualties at Gaines' Mill. The regiment, part of the Fifth Corps, was engaged at Malvern Hill, Shepherdstown, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. At Gettysburg, the 22nd Massachusetts and the 2nd Company Massachusetts Sharpshooters, which was attached to the regiment, were engaged in the wheatfield, near the Rose woods. In 1864, the regiment served in the Wilderness and Spotsylvania battles, losing a large portion of its rank and file. Due to its heavy losses throughout the war, the 22nd Massachusetts Infantry earned the distinction of being one of Fox's "Fighting 300" Union regiments. Included is information about the 2nd Company of Massachusetts Sharpshooters and the 3rd Light Battery, both of which were attached to the 22nd Massachusetts.

This is a very cool book- not just beacuse it is about cars, but because it is about the fastest, most expensive cars there are(that are powered by an internal combustion engine). Post(the author) gives valuable insight on racing, since he has been involved in it, but also mentions even the smallest details about drag racing- the kinds of things that you say," Hey, did you know that nitromethane can give a car that normally has 200 hp 300hp?" With these details, and all of the great pictures showing the danger and excitement of drag racing. In Short- THIS IS THE BEST RACING BOOK YOU CAN BUY!

Written with great style and humour this is one of the most intelligent books on running a small business and the art of customer service. A must read for anyone in the service industry.

The Human Web is an excellent summary of human history. It is indeed a bird's eye view in that it looks at the broad overall sweep of human affairs and doesn't bog down in unnecessary detail. The major theme is the construction and expansion of human webs, or interconnections that tie cultures and civilizations together ever more tightly. If space voyagers ever arrived on Earth (and could read a human language) this book would be one of the first things I hope we hand them to help them understand us.

Author Bob Fried is an expert, par extraordinaire on respiratory psychophysiology and self regulation. He presents a model here which characterizes a common problem afflicting many people who go undiagnosed. The book clearly discusses the etiology, physiology and approaches to addressing hyperventilation syndrome.

If you are a biofeedback practitioner, this is a valuable book for your library. If you are a neurofeedback practitioner, it's worth taking a look at this. Breath affects brain.

Fried has presented at the Futurehealth Winter Brain meeting I organize, clearly showing how much of brainwave slowing is directly due to decreased cerebral blood oxygenation. That's breath affected EEG.

Collaboratively created by poet Roger Cooper and photographer John Erickson, Impressions is a unique melding of full-color photography and poetry. Images of nature combine with spiritual free-verse lyrics, each preserved without deliberate knowledge of or reference to one another, and presented side by side, offering the reader a memorable series of visual, literary, and emotional experiences far greater than the sum of its parts. Impressions is enthusiastically recommended as a relaxing and emotionally contemplative work that is thoroughly enjoyable to page through at leisure.

Such bleak times in our history. It brings it to life yet pulls you in and makes you feel like you are actually there.