Pay particular attention to "Releve", the story contributed by Patricia Wallace and her daughter. This story introduces us to Sydney Bryant, the private eye that Pat Wallace has featured in a terrific series for adults. The titles in the series include "Deadly Devotion" and "Blood Lies".

Other outstanding stories include those by Wendy Hornsby, Scott Turow, Stuart Kaminsky, and Sharyn McCrumb (and their collaborators). This is a book that parents can read and enjoy with their children. It might inspire them to collaborate on some mystery stories of their own!

I look forward to reading the companion volume, "Great Writers and Kids Write Spooky Stories". I

"When you think of a mystery, what comes to mind? A dark secret? An unsolved crime? A curious detective hunting for clues?"

The only mystery, the only secret, the only crime is how this anthology could be so easily overlooked. "Great Writers and Kids Write Mystery Stories" (1996) is a collection of stories written by some of today's greatest mystery authors in collaboration with their children and grandchildren. Jonathan Kellerman, Sharyn McCrumb, and Scott Turow are three of the thirteen award-winning writers that create wonderous whodunits with their offspring, ages 6 to adult.

While written at about the junior high/ middle school level, this complilation is enjoyable to all. The stories are five to several pages. Some are written with the child as the amateur detective, some are written as a type of psychological thriller.

The introduction serves as a "mini-lesson" on mystery writing. And, each story features a short personal introduction by the adult and child writing team on what it was like to collaborate on their included story. Other contributors include Barbara D'Amato, Ed Gorman, Stuart Kaminsky, Elizabeth Engstrom, and many others.

This book has the unique ability to be educational as well as entertaining. Those that enjoy this book may also enjoy the first volume as well: "Great Writers and Kids Write Spooky Stories" (1995).

When it comes to books like this it's often hard to know what you're really getting. I mean, has the author really 'walked the walk'? or is s/he just spinning a good tale?
In the case of Martin Roberts I can, with confidence, assure you that you're getting the gen-u-wine article. And I know that because one of my own business colleagues - whose opinions I value and trust - worked with Martin for a number of years, and assures me that he really has done what he claims to have done in terms of introducing NLP techniques into high-powered, high profile change programmes.

Having said that, I must admit that I found the book top be something of a 'curate's egg'.

With NLP being something like 25 years old, it's getting increasingly difficult for authors to find just the right balance when writing about NLP. Especially when they're writing about NLP and some other major topic.
Do you try and give 'equal time' to both subjects? Do you assume that your readers will already have a basic grounding in NLP so that you don't need to go over the basics yet again? Or do you assume nothing and try to work in a succinct overview of NLP for the benefit of those readers who are coming to it for the first time?

I'm not going to say that Martin has cracked the problem in this book. But I've seen a LOT worse.

So, what we get is essentially a book in three parts.
Part 1 - the first five chapters - is both an introction to change management *and* a fairly basic overview of some relevant NLP techniques.
Part 2 - chapters 6 - 8 inclusive signals a distinct change of gear as the author launches into an excellently written description of the change management process which clearly demonstrates the author's enthusiasm for the subject, even though he has now moved on to be a very successful publisher.
In Part 3 - the rest of the book - Martin undertakes the tricky job of weaving these two strands together. And with considerable success, I'd say.

So, whilst I'm happy to recommend the book with some enthusiasm, I think it has to be with the qualification that readers will probably get the greatest benefit from the book if they already know the basics of NLP. On this score I'd recommend "Develop Your NLP Skills" (see... for a short and comprehensive overview, or "Managing with the Power of NLP" for a rather longer introduction.

With that prior knowledge already on hand, you may find that you can pretty much skim the first five chapters.
So have you wasted your money? No way! The material in the rest of the book is still more than worth the cover price [even without a discount 8¬) ]

• Begin by congratulating themselves for their company's success?

• Quote favorable reviews on the first page, particularly from executives whose success stories are cited in the text?

• Claim to synthesize "the leading management approaches and business strategies," and then provide virtually no footnotes (15 notes for a 222-page volume)?

Robert Blonchek and Martin O'Neill are consultants. Like many consultants not overburdened by humility, they are proud to preach their doctrine and win new converts to their views - and their services. And as experienced public speakers, Blonchek and O'Neill have accustomed themselves to condensing their notions into a few words in large type. When your creed boils down to "run your business like my business", you want to keep your language as simple and transparent as possible.

Unfortunately, in the case of Act Like an Owner, simple language has produced simple thinking. The book supports all the right things - empowerment, entrepreneurial spirit, open information, Mom and apple pie - but they don't offer any striking insights or tools to get you there. Their central (tautological) concept, that "the ownership culture is the franchise agreement" within the organization, is like a tenor singing bass: less deep than it sounds. And the book's air of breathless naivete is both endearing and baffling; readers are given standard questions to identify customer needs, for example, and then advised to match the needs to their products' benefits. Elementary, my dear Watson.

"Elementary" is in fact the key to this book. Despite its claims to be applicable to large organizations, Act Like an Owner reads like Entrepreneurship 101. It's designed to answer such questions as:

• What is an operating model?

• Why is empowerment important?

• What is a corporate culture?

• Why is communication valuable?

If you find such questions startling and galvanizing, snap up your copy now. If you answered such questions long ago, or if you find them distractingly rudimentary, move on, perhaps to a book that recognizes the value of the compound-complex sentence. There's nothing new under the sun in Act Like an Owner; whether you enjoy the book will depend on how long you've spent in the shade.

In this context, Robert Blonchek and Martin O'Neill divide their book into three parts:

I. In this part, they present the internal franchise as a framework for putting ownership culture to work as a competitive weapon. According to them an internal franchise consists of three components: an operating model, entrepreneurial employees, and an ownership culture. They argue that "An internal franchise is similar to a traditional franchise operation. In an internal franchise the company makes its operating model explicit and then 'franchises' the operating model to its employees. The employees are then coached, mentored, and trained to operate the business at the highest level of proficiency. In an internal franchise, the franchise agreement is not a legal binding contract, it is the company's culture-an ownership culture."

II. In this part, they present a formula for creating an ownership culture. They argue that an ownership culture is a corporate culture based on TRUST:

* Teach your employees your operating model.

* Reward them based on the performance of the business and their contribution to that performance.

* Unconditionally support their actions in order to develop a truly empowering environment.

* Share information so that everyone can make effective business decisions.

* Be Trustworthy by making and keeping commitments.

III. In this part, they apply an ownership culture to one of the most pressing problems facing business today: attracting and retaining skilled workers. They argue that "Without a doubt, attracting to talent is a key business challenge for most organizations. But that's only half the problem-changing employee attitudes and expectations make it difficult to hold on to talented workers as well. In fact, the loss of talented workers forces many companies to reduce their growth projections and negatively affects their ability to compete."

Finally, they write, "It's time for the grand finale in the drama of twentieth-century business. It's financial capital versus human capital, and we'll soon know who wins. But all indications are that the winning businesses in the next century will be those that understand how to mobilize human intellect and ingenuity for competitive advantage. Adopting the principle presented in Act Like an Owner is the best way to ensure that you end up on the side of the winners."

Highly recommended.

That being said, it was also a disappointingly written book in a number of respects. By focusing so much on Jackson's role in foreign policy and defense matters, Kaufman overshadows what the senator did in domestic policy. Moreover, after an initial examination, Kaufman virtually ignores Washington state politics, which leaves me wondering if the author might not have supplied a complete explanation as to how Jackson was so dominant in his reelection campaigns. Finally, Kaufman's habit of continually refering to political figures by their full titles was a little annoying, while the editing of the book was a little sloppy (every time I saw "Republic senator" on the page I wanted to grab a pen and add in the missing letters). In the end, it was an informative book, but not definitive.

Senator Jackson represented a distinctive, honourable and above all prescient tradition in American politics: that of the liberal hawk. He was unfortunate, in respect of his presidential ambitions, to hold consistently to his pro-western principles at a time when the Democratic Party was abandoning (or at least, compromising) the staunchly anti-Communist tradition of Truman, Kennedy, Johnson and Humphrey. Rent asunder by the experience of Vietnam and the rise of the New Left, the Democrats polarised around Jackson, on the one hand, and the party's disastrous 1972 presidential nominee, George McGovern, on the other. Only because of Watergate - and even then, only by a whisker - did a Democrat win the White House in 1976, and his presidency proved to be the most ineffectual in living memory.

Kaufmann describes this political background with a sure touch. He is unflinchingly honest in his depiction of Jackson's personal flaws, such as periodic irascibility with aides, but the essential Jackson - a man of deep humanitarian impulses, evident in such causes as his campaign for persecuted Soviet Jewry, and searing moral insight into the nature of Communist totalitarianism - shines through. The book is a fine political biography, but also a most touching personal portrait. It depicts admirably and with fine insight the circle around Jackson, some of whom later held office in the Reagan administration. I was unaware, for example, that the common view that Jackson's adviser, Richard Perle, was responsible for Jackson's unwavering support for Israel has it exactly the wrong way round. In fact, Perle, a secular Jew, came to see the urgency of supporting Israel because of the influence of Jackson - a Niebuhrian Protestant who understood better than any post-war American politician the moral import of a liberal democracy's struggle for survival while assailed by totalitarian states and terrorist organisations.

Jackson has the biography he deserves; I hope it is widely read and studied.

The author's main focus in this work is the profound and unquestioned effect Sen. Jackson had on U.S. foreign policy. The book brilliantly delves into Jackson's evolution from simple legislator to foreign policy guru. Much attention is made to Jackson's stances on a variety of foriegn policy issues, including his infamous battles with Henry Kissinger over the issues of detente, Soviet dissidents, and pro-Israel issues. Jackson proved a great foil for - and perhaps huge thorn in the side of - Dr. Kissinger, but with time and further examination, their debates likely benefitted U.S. foreign policy in the long run.

Make no mistake: while there is much on Jackson's foreign policy expertise, this is a solid biography of the man in total. We get a good look at his upbringing in and around Everett, his entry into politics, his failed presidential bids, and - eventually - his sudden and surprising death in the early '80's. Also included are the events at the infamous 1960 Democratic convention, where Jackson was very nearly chosen as JFK's running mate.

All in all, this is a very fair and solid biography, presenting an excellent look at the life of Sen. Jackson. This should be a must-read for political-junkies. Those of a conservative/Republican ideology should also make it a must-read, because it is made very evident how much of the current Republican stances on foreign policy were founded by Henry Jackson.

It has been said of "Scoop" Jackson that he was "the last good Democrat". For the citizens of Washington state, that is unquestioned and still lamented to this day. For the nation, the realization of this statement is slow to develop, but hopefully with this book, "Scoop"'s legacy will be recognized with the respect and stature that it truly is.

Although I read the whole thing cover to cover, I think one of the best features of this book is that you can pick it up and turn to any page whenever you need to do some thinking.

In my experience, this is the best introduction of philosophical thinking that I have read. I also agree with another reviewer who says this should be required reading for teenagers. The problems and paradoxes presented in this book definately inspire one to think "freely", outside the bounds of your usual patterns.

Also, it's a lot of fun.