The story, Four on the Shore, is about three kids, who are trying to do their homework but Sam's little brother will not leave them alone. So they decide to go by the lake to try to get away, but Sam's little brother follows him. He promised to be good but all he did was complain. So they started to tell scary stories thinking it would scare him away. But instead of that, he scared them with his story.
I like this book because it had a surprising ending and it is most likely to happen in real life. A lot of kids have little brothers or sisters that will not leave them alone. And I think this book will help them deal with it. This also was a good book because it has to do with things that go on single everyday. I know lots of people who have to deal with a little brother or sister and it isn't fun, but in this book it shows them that sometimes it is actually fun to have a little brother or sister. I am the youngest so I don't know what it feels like to be bugged by younger siblings. But I do know its not all fun to have older ones too. It also was very easy to read. I think a lot of little kids would enjoy reading this story, especially if they have younger siblings.

We need more books like "Four on the Shore". The characterization, plot and humor are all extremely well done while the vocabulary is very readable. I have found this book to "capture" many reluctant readers. Please keep it in print!

I read this book to my seven-year-old brother, and I think I enjoyed it more than he did. The story was charming, and the illustrations made me laugh out loud. I would definitely recommend this book.

Reading this book reminded me of attending a good conference where lots of company executives provide detailed examples of the issues they faced, and how they went about dealing with those issues. Since such conferences usually cost several hundred dollars, this book is a real bargain -- and you don't have to get on an airplane and fly someplace!

One of the strengths of the book is that you receive several perspectives on the context for each case history. The editors describe what each case means, and the conclusions section summarizes general patterns. Also, each case is presented in the same format which makes it easier to understand what is being shared. I was particularly grateful for the exhibits (which exist in electronic form in the CD enclosed in the book). I also appreciated that the cases were primarily written by Human Resources professionals inside the companies, rather than being a consultant's take on what happened.

Having said all those positive things, let me share some concerns. First, I looked in vain for my favorite examples of outstanding work in recruiting, retention, knowledge encouragement, and executive development. If this book is about "best practices" where were GE, Disney, Motorola, Ritz Carlton, and SAS Institute? Second, many of the cases involved companies that are better known for their poor performance than for excellence. If they are developing their people so well, what happened? Third, a lot of these cases involve new initiatives where the long-term consequences are hard to see. Fourth, the profit impact on the organizations was not well documented. That makes it hard to use these cases as examples to encourage your own company to follow suit. Fifth, as change management processes, most of these cases are far behind the curve of what is described in Peter Senge's various books of case histories such as The Dance of Change. Part of the reason seems to be that a number of these cases aren't very new.

Of the cases in the book, I recommend the ServiceMASTER, Westinghouse, Johnson & Johnson, Allstate, and Case Corporation examples as the most helpful to me. I mention that because there's a lot of material in this book. I read a lot and rapidly, and I found this book hard to tackle. By being more selective in what you go after, you can help avoid some of that problem. Naturally, if your own issues are only in a few areas, just look at those cases.

Develop the full potential of everyone, beginning with yourself!

"The principal goal of this book is to provide you with the key ingredients taken from best-companies to help you create and enhance your organization and human resource development (OD/HRD) initiative. Through a case study approach, this book provides practical, easy-to-apply tools, instruments, training, concepts, and competency models that can be used as benchmarks for the successful implementation of your specific OD/HRD initiative (from the Introduction)."

In this context, Louis Carter, David Giber, and Marshall Goldsmith (editors) divide core part of this book -Organization and Human Resources Development Case Studies- into following five OD/HRD topic areas:

I. Organization Development and Change: In this section, W. Warner Burke says, "Seven rich cases (Kraft Foods, Nortel, ServiceMASTER, SmithKline Beecham, Westinghouse, CK Witko, and Xerox) of organization development and change are discussed...The cases cover a wide range of change from how OD occurs every day to deep change in an organization's culture...Without doubt we can learn from these cases. And learn we must. Changing organization is too intricate to be left to novices. We have indeed learned and noted at the outset, but we still have much to learn. As one who has been involved for more than 35 years, helping organizations change is both thrilling and very satisfying. Learning, however, is the most exciting part (pp.6-8)."

II. Leadership Development: In this section, Jay A. Congerwrites that "In the cases that follow, we look at three companies (Boeing, Johnson & Johnson, and Sun Microsystems,Inc.) that have dedicated serious time and resources to leadership development...In addition, all three of the company cases make extended use of competency models, 360-degree feedback, and action learning (p.186)."

III. Recruitment and Retention: In this section of the book, John Sullivan writes, "you'll learn how three diverse companies tackled their retention and recruiting problems. Two of the firms are high tech (AMD and Cellular One), while another (Allstate) is in a more traditional industry. Both AMD and Cellular One focus on solving the hot issue of retention while Allstate takes a new look at the recruiting and selection processes. All three of the case studies use a scientific approach to identify which solutions have the most impact...All three of these case studies are worth examining because of their scientific methodology as well as their results. All are full of powerfull 'lessons learned' for those who are soon to begin a major recruitment or retention effort (pp.303-304)."

IV. Performance Management: This section examines performance management systems of Case Corporation and Sonoco. Edward E. Lawler III says that "the performance management systems in most organizations are contoversial, ineffective, and constantly under construction. They are so problematic that critics argue many organizations would be better off if they simply didn't have a performance management system, particularly one in which performance appraisals are tied to pay actions. But-and it is an important but- if individuals are not appraised, counseled, coached, and rewarded for performance, how can an organization pruduce the organized, coordinated, and motivated behavior that it takes to perform well? The answer most likely is that it can't (p.393)."

V. Coaching and Mentoring: Introduction of this section, Beverly Kaye writes, "the last 5 years have seen a groundswell in both arenas. And it's not just been more of the same; organizations have begun to use mentoring and coaching more purposefully. HR and OD practitioners have worked to utilize both interventions to meet pressing business problems having to do with the development and retention of talent, as well as the growth of future leaders. These interventions have been more systemic, more thoughtful, and more innovative than ever before. The case studies (Dow Corning, and MediaOne Group-AT&T) illustrate this trend. Both were motivated by specific business drivers, both were preceded by intensive research, both were implemented over time, and both were evaluated seriously. Readers will find them instructive, detailed, and engaging (p.438)."

Finally, Louis Carter (editor) says that "contributors were asked to indicate where they envision their organization is heading with its initiative within the next 5 to 10 years. Responses indicate that the contributors want to keep the organization on a track to continuously learn and develop its capabilities. Comments from some contributors indicate that they want to leverage lessons learned from this experience. Some contributors commented that they want to firmly ingrain the initiative into the organization to the point that it is almost invisible to the user, making it an accepted part of life at the company. Other contributors will continue to refine the present initiative in place, while others will expand their efforts into other business lines. Survey results clearly indicate that the present state of the initiatives represented in this book represent snapshots of moving targets. Further growth and innovation is inevitable for these best practice organizations, as they work to stay ahead of their competitors by embracing change and continuously learning and improving (pp.531-532)."

Strongly recommended.

Here in a single volume is about all that is needed to design, implement, and then monitor a program through which to achieve organizational transformation. Moreover, the editors have selected both information and wisdom which can help to ensure that such a program is comprehensive, cohesive, and cost-effective. The phrase "best practices" is apt but should not be misconstrued to mean that strategies and tactics which have been highly successful in some organizations are necessary going to be successful in all others. Moreover, I urge the reader to keep in mind that, although the organizations featured (e.g. Boeing, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft Foods, Nortel Networks, ServiceMASTER, SmithKline Beecham, and Sun Microsystems) are among the largest in their respective industries, much of the material in this book is also relevant to small-to-midsize organizations. My own rather extensive past experience with all manner of organizations (including non-profits) has convinced me that most people do not fear change; rather, they fear the unfamiliar. Hence the importance of three on-going initiatives: communicate, communicate, and communicate.

Part One consists of Acknowledgments, About This Book, How to Use This Book, and an excellent Foreword by Richard Beckhard. Carter, Giber, and Goldsmith then shift their attention in Part Two of "Organization & Human Resources Development Case Studies." The individual case studies are distributed within this thematic structure:

Organizational Development & Change

Leadership Development

Recruitment & Retention

Performance Management

Coaching & Mentoring

Part Three: Conclusion consists of Research (OD/HRD Trends and Findings), Endnotes, About Linkage, Inc., About the Editors, Index, and How to Use the CD-ROM, terrific value-added benefit.

Back to Beckhard's Foreword for a moment. In it, he identifies six (6) "elements" which are basic to each case study; all are central to and sequential within the change process associated with organizational development/human resource development (OD/HRD). They are: Business Diagnosis, Assessment, Program Design, Implementation, On-the-Job Support, and Evaluation. It is helpful to keep these six "elements" clearly in mind while working your way through the abundance of information which the editors provide. Fortunately, they have organized the (sometimes daunting) material with meticulous care and write exceptionally well. I also urge you to use the same six "elements" as guidelines when determining what the design of your own program for organizational change should be, and, when selecting those strategies and tactics discussed in the book which are most appropriate to the implementation and evaluation of that program. This is especially true of decision-makers in small-to-midsize organizations.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out O'Toole's Leading Change, Katzenbach's Real Change Leaders as well as his Peak Performance , Kaplan and Norton's The Balanced Scorecard and The Strategy-Focused Organization, Quinn's Deep Change, O'Dell and Grayson's If Only We Knew What We Know, Isaacs' Dialogue and the Art of Thinking Together, and Senge's The Dance of Change. Those especially interested in Six Sigma are encouraged to check out (and read in this order) Pande's The Six Sigma Way, Breyfogle's Implementing Six Sigma, and Eckes's Making Six Sigma Last.

This 48-page book is divided into three episodes dealing with our hero, "Fox." In the first story Fox reluctantly accompanies his sister to the park, when he encounters the pretty white fox "Raisin." The next day, he practically bribes his sister to go with him so that he might meet Raisin again. In "Fox and the Girls," Fox goes to a fair with Rose, then Lola ("On Wednesday Fox and Lola went to the fair."), and finally Raisin, who discovers Fox's previous "dates" ("And on Saturday, Fox went to the fair...all alone."). In the final story, Fox and his sister win second prize in a dance contest ("They did the boogie. They did the stomp."), after Raisin turns him down--perhaps still upset about Fox's fair dates described in the previous story. While the first two stories have some clever humor, the final one is a bit flat. The pictures, while simple and cute (somewhat similar to Sandra Boynton's style), are chiefly limited to green and orange colors. A good book for Fox fans, but I can't imagine most children getting too excited over the stories. However, children may enjoy a "chapter book" geared for the early reader (perhaps grades 1-2). The publisher (Dial) lists the reading level as 1.8; the book is one of several in its the "Easy-to-Read" collection.

My son loves to read all of the Fox-series of books. He is in kindergarten and just past the first level of readers. This is just the right level for him, and he loves to hear about fox's latest goof up. I enjoy them too for their droll wit. For some reason (a combination of being the right level and their funnyness...we can't wait to hear what happens next), he reads these books extremely smoothly.

This is a thrilling account of one British officer's determination to survive and, even more, do everything possible to help win the war. The things this man experienced are almost incomprehensible, yet he endured it all with spirit and never let his fellow men down. It's one of the better-written post-war memoirs I've read, and one of the most enthralling.

When World War II began, Frederick Yeo-Thomas was running the Paris fashion house of Molyneux. At his age, he could have easily sat out the war, parachuting into occupied France as an agent of Britain's Special Operations Executive. He was one of Britain's most heroic secret agents, and played a major role in the growth of the French Resistance. He survived the war, but just barely.

Readers of Leo Marks' "Between Silk and Cyanide" will recognize Yeo-Thomas...he was a man for whom Marks had intense admiration.

The writing style of "White Rabbit" is craftsmanlike but not exceptional.

This book reads stranger than any fiction I can recall. The events that take place for this covert operator in WWII france will make a man doubt his own ability to confront adversity of a similar kind and to indure torture and a certain expectation of a gruesome death. An Iron will, indomitable spirit and some good fortune add up to the survival of a man who was a member of the greatest covert organization to ever exist in the free world. I personally know the son of one of the characters in the book and after talking to him about his fathers comments on The White Rabbit I can reassure you that as amazing as this story is, it is true.

This is an odd story about a girl who is fascinated by trolls. She finds that her mother has had an experience with outsmarting a troll, and eventually the girl must also outsmart a troll she encounters while walking through the dark woods. James Marshall, the illustrator, is the author & illustrator of the beloved "George and Martha" books - I suppose the author of this book, Edward Marshall, is his brother(?). This book is easy for children to read on their own.

I believe that Edward Marshall was a pen name that James Marshall used for many of his early books. I don't know why, or why he dropped it later on.

This funny story should definitely be returned to print. It's a bit wordier than some of Marshall's later books, and it doesn't have any sequels, but it is charming, amusing, and memorable. It's also a good early-reader that features a quick-thinking little-girl heroine. A great book for all kids, and especially for girls.

This book is a wonderful children's book that should be part of everyone's collection. The protagonist- Elsie Fay Johnson, outwits a rather lumbering and not too intelligent troll.

A warts and all appraisal of political events in Australia that set the scene for one of the most dramatic moments in the country's history -- the 1975 dismissal of a lawfully elected Labor government by the Queen's representative the Governor-General. The authors explore the reasons behind US and British security concerns over Australian foreign policy under the Whitlam government and the curious circumstances behind a foreign loan involving the state bank of the Soviet Union. The recovery of Swiss bank documents suggests the hint of corruption in high places as well as the more sinister possibility of a traitor in government ranks.

I was looking for a book on how to create trust. The title of the book, and the idea that fundamental change only happens in a culture of trust, seemed to be exactly, what I was looking for. The book contains chapter after chapter just a description of a dream world. The plenty of examples are simply narrative stories that are full of fairy tale. The examples to show, what doesn't work are simply fiction by the author. Anybody can make any point and invent a story to proove that point.

I couldn't read the book entirely. Reading a few chapters and picking interesting spots didn't show a single concrete step on creating trust, or concept on how trust is created.

Read the title, that's about the only valuable part of the book and save the money.

If you are looking for a "how" book, look elsewhere. However, if you are looking for a "why" book this is the one. Why is trust important? Why are relationships essential? Why follow the relationship-based approach? The answers lie here. It is a well documented and, I believe, important book to read.

We enjoyed our first Fox book, Fox on the Job, but Fox All Week is notably less enjoyable for two reasons: 1) it is much less funny and 2) one of the stories shows Fox and his friends smoking cigars. Marshall tries to treat the subject with intended humor, but it is lost on children ages 4-8. This age group is not able to understand such tongue-in-cheek humor until older and the result of the cigar smoking story is confusion about whether smoking is OK for kids.

I never saw my 6 year old nephew laugh so hard. He has several Fox books and has read them all over and over again. We both liked this one because Fox is so funny while he gets himself into some kind of trouble every day of the week! A word of caution: I only gave this book 4 stars because Fox and his friends smoke a cigar in this book. I didn't think the lesson they learned from it was strong enough.

That is an understatement, This book is the worst excuse for book I have ever seen. This book isent even worthy for kindling. "Ed Marshel" Must know knothing about Management let alone 1st Grade grammer. My younger brother has written more decisive pices on doodle-paper

In today's business environment, with outstanding information systems, and unlimited information available in which to make decisions-two things are critical-predicting the future and how to affect continuous change, through people, simultaneously. As Peter Drucker put it "The best way to predict the future is to create it." This book Marshall is an outstanding read. As identified in this book-70% of all our problems in business are people-related or culturally based-in my opinion-I don't believe you can separate the two. However, Marshall tells us our job is to engage that culture (people) so that its best values emerge and flourish. In order to accomplish these tasks "the collaborative environment must be established". Two of my favorite business leaders are Jack Welch and Sam Walton. They predicted their future by creating it-the company culture-feedback-focus on the vision-and betting their organizations future and success on allowing their employees to participate and take ownership of their key processes. A great read!

The reviewer that wrote: "This book isent even worthy for kindling. "Ed Marshel" Must know knothing about Management let alone 1st Grade grammer." should check his own grammer, not to mention spelling!

We DID implement Edward Marshall's principles and saw a dramatic improvement. Our productivity rose significantly and the employees were significantly happier. It CAN and DOES work. We've been practicing his approach for nearly 5 years and would never return to the old obsolete practices of yesterday. It is obvious that some can only criticize but are clueless as to the implementation of proven ideas! Read it! Practice it! Benefit from it!