Piloting the Panama Canal, Experiences of a Panama Canal Pilot, is a remarkable true tale of adventure you won't forget. You will meet Noriega, and other characters you already know from newspapers. You will know the life of 'Zonians' - the Americans stationed in Panama who are leaving now that Panama gets its canal, for good or not-good. You will travel the canal with Russian captains and with East Indians. You'll be there and you will come back from your book-travel knowing more than you did before.

Piloting the Panama Canal, Experiences of a Panama Canal Pilot, is a remarkable true tale of adventure you won't forget. You will meet Noriega, and other characters you already know from newspapers. You will know the life of 'Zonians' - the Americans stationed in Panama who are leaving now that Panama gets its canal, for good or not-good. You will travel the canal with Russian captains and with East Indians. You'll be there and you will come back from your book-travel knowing more than you did before.

"This book has centered on the concept and process of discovering and maintaining fit-strategic fit between the organization and its environment and internal fit among strategy, structure, and management processes. Fit, we have argued, is not merely important; it is crucial. With fit comes fame, with misfit comes failure...We have shown that fit is a simple concept but not a simple process. To achieve strategic fit, organizations must create, understand, develop, and sustain a distinctive competence that adds high value to goods or services the market desires...The obvious lesson here is the same one we have been emphasizing throughout this book. In the competitive world of today and tomorrow, competencies must be investment-based. They must rest on the sustained investment of money and time, which build ever-increasing skills and know-how as well as the capability to use them to their fullest (pp. 186-199)."

In this context R. Miles and C. Snow :

* discuss concept of fit.

* describe the external fit between the firm and its environment, and the internal fit of organization structure, management systems, and managerial ideology to a chosen strategy.

* discuss the companies (such as Carnegie Steel, GM, Sears, Roebuck, HP, and TRW) that pioneered the major organizational forms that have appeared over the past hundred years or so.

* discuss today's successful companies (such as GE, Wal-Mart, and Rubbermaid).

* discuss organizational failure and its major causes, identifying two generic types of failure.

* introduce and explore in detail the network organization and its three main variations : the stable, dynamic, and internal network as the 21st century's organization model.

* discuss mechanisms by which required fit is achieved at all three levels of the network form : across the entire network organization, among network firms in activated organizations, and within each of the specific network firms (such as Nike, Dell, Novell, and ABB).

* identify the forces pushing managers toward a new philosophy of management (human investment model).

* discuss companies that are struggling to redesign themselves-cutting costs, downsizing, bringing in new management teams, and so on.

* describe how total redesign may grow more costly in today's fast-paced world.

* illustrate that fit is no longer an idealistic "ought" but an economic "must"-not only within the firm but throughout the network form and the total global economy.

Detailed discussion of the concepts like technological change, cellular units, networks, network of alliances, interorganizational teamwork, spherical organization, shared knowledge see also William Halal's "The Infinite Resource (1998)", and "The New Management (1998)".

I highly recommend this "must" reading study.

This book can't miss,--*not with a title like that!* And it *is* a hit!-- Perhaps few math books are hits in the corner-book store, or at amazon. In this case, my undergrad students, and the grad students too!,-- reacted very positively. And they aren't easy to please! This lovely little book also worked great when I tried it in an individual undergrad research project. --What does the old positional number system (the one we all learned in school)-- have to do with dynamics,-- or with various "mystery-tiles", pinwheel tilings...? Look!! It is in the book! (Hint: They all come about by clever manipulation of the letters in a finite alphabet, or the chosen 'digits' in our familiar number system.) These manipulations follow rules, and they come from specifying a matrix. Then the more abstract tools from mathematical analysis, and ergodic theory, enter when second generation dynamical systems, (abstractions if you will!)-- are built on "spaces" of all tilings in a given class,-- or on a specified varity of outcomes in symbolic dynamics. We then arrive at iterated matrix operations, and limits: We must solve associated eigenvalue problems. Take limits, and if you are careful, you find equilibrium states which represent solutions to otherwise intractable puzzles,-- from math (for example, familiar, or unfamiliar, completions of number systems),-- and from applications to real life problems, familiar,-- or perhaps unexpected, tilings. Useful ones!

This is an amazing account of courage and commitment to a long term goal. What I find remarkable about Starkell's style of writing is that he is very forthright about stating any errors of judgement he made during this expedition (as he also was in 'Paddle to the Arctic'). The man is obviously able to laugh at himself. Another interesting aspect of this book is how the father and son relationship is affected during the journey. My only complaints are related to the graphics, the text itself warrants 5 stars. These concerns are; a) there should be more photographs, b) there should be only 1 photograph to a page (especially with a paperback), c) the maps should be much more detailed. Any books by Starkell have alot of practical value to people who do backcountry travel.

This book is not about a nice long relaxing canoe trip on serene waters. Although Starkell and his boys DO have some quiet carefree times...the majority of this trip includes an astounding amount of obstacles that very very people would chose to endure. Numerous problems arise from the natural world...but the most frightening adventures are the frustrations and threats that the Starkells recieve from their fellow man.

This is an amazing book and a must read for any canoe tripper. Also, anyone interested in true life adventure stories will surely not be disappointed. It's a gripping tale from start to finish. It's also a feat that will probably never be attempted again.

The only big question I have after reading this book is..Why hasn't someone made this gem into a movie? With all the twist and turns you'd think it would be a great candidate for the big screen.

... if you like adventure you MUST get this! Even if you don't like adventures this book might just get you liking them. Dana and Don aren't afraid of anything. Just this summer they started on a trip from Iowa to Florida and arrived back at the end of summer. I know Dana and met Don once at a party and they love to tell the story and anyone who likes adventures will love to read it.

This book is unlike most first-person accounts of sea duty during WWII. It includes aspects of seamanship and detail that don't ordinarily make it to the page. It expresses the exuberance and wonder of a young naval officer, despite having been written from the vantage of maturity. Perhaps this is because it was written from the author's contemporaneous ships' logs, but may be intended to relate experiences together with original feelings and attitudes. This has charm. It's self-effacing rather than self-important. One listens more closely, as to a youngster. The book deals with the Allied occupation of Japan; this is unusual, too. Also, the author's preference for Spruance over Halsey, shared by many, but expressed by few. The author served on one ship throughout the war. His theme comes through clearly: Many more served than saw action. The greater threat was boredom, not terror. Well written, though its language is a bit stiff; interesting; useful for young officers, as a guide to getting along. Demonstrates "can do" attitude of those who served on destroyers, including reservists.

C. Snelling Robinson, 200,000 Miles Aboard the USS Cotten (Kent State University Press, 2000) The Cotten was a Fletcher-class destroyer, built in 1943 for the express purpose of protecting America1s new fleet carriers from Japanese aircraft, submarines, and surface vessels during the final years of the greatest naval war in history. Indeed, it would be this hard-hitting combination of ships -- the fast carrier task forces commanded alternately by Admirals Marc Mitscher and "Slew" McCain with their supporting cast of battleships, cruisers and destroyers -- that would prove decisive in the Pacific War. The carriers captured the glory, but their success was greatly facilitated by the largely unsung "small boys," the hard-working, hard-riding destroyers. Snell Robinson1s superb account of his three years aboard one of the most ubiquitous of these destroyers is therefore a welcome new arrival among the body of literature of the savage fighting in the Central Pacific. Robinson came of age as a junior officer among the 300-member crew of USS Cotten (DD 669). He served principally as the ship's navigator, qualified as officer-of-the-deck underway, and stood his General Quarters post in "Sky One," the exposed gun director at the highest point in the ship. By fate, Robinson and his ship survived some of the greatest and bloodiest naval battles in history -- the forcible amphibious assault landings at Tarawa, Saipan, and Iwo Jima, and the enormous fleet engagements in the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf. The vast scale of this sea war is reflected in the record of this one small destroyer, needle-thin with its maximum beam of 39 feet, steaming the equivalent of eight circumnavigations of the earth in its endless screening missions to protect the precious carriers. Robinson describes life aboard Cotten in its alternating monotony and terrifying action with a navigator1s attention to time and space and an honest appreciation of the strengths and weaknesses of himself and his shipmates. Few authentic veterans have ever done a better job portraying life at sea on a small man-of-war. His narrative is crisp, informative, authoritative. Robinson describes the difficulty of his gunners trying to shoot down a night-raiding Japanese bomber by aiming at the exhaust flair -- "like shooting at the white tail of a running deer." He admits his awe at observing Task Force 58, now some 95 ships strong, sortie from Majuro Atoll in the Marshalls, heading west towards Saipan. He admits his fear -- everyone's fear -- at the report that the Japanese Mobile Fleet, including the two largest battleships in the world, had erupted into the Philippine Sea in search of Mitscher1s carriers. He describes how a destroyer at flank speed tends to squat by the stern; a sailor standing on the fantail would actually have to look up to see the surface of the ocean. And he informs us that the greater danger in the suicidal Japanese kamikaze attacks actually came from "friendly fire" as the entire fleet blazed away at the low-flying intruders. Nicely illustrated with maps by cartographer Mary C. Hoffman, this book is a hand-crafted jewel. I heartily recommend it to anyone interested in an unblinking account of the great sea war of the 1940s.

Well written and with occasional engaging flashes of humor, Five Miles High gives a well-drawn picture of the large Himalayan expeditions of the past. At the same time as expedition members are having their food cooked for them and having their gear carried by numerous "coolies", they are walking a much greater distance, and in some ways subsisting in harsher conditions, than climbers do today. The contrasts with the present day are perhaps the most interesting thing about this book. "Boy's First Adventure Book"-ish illustrations at the chapter headings add a charming retro touch.

Five Miles high is an extremely interesting and very readable firsthand account of the 1938 American Expedition to climb K2, the second highest peak in the world. The book is a reissue of the original book describing the expedition and is authored by two team leaders with additional contributions by the other four team members. Of particular interest is their description of their trek through the Karakoram just to reach the mountain in the days when the primary hauling of supplies was done by ponies and porters. The contrast between the preparations and efforts involved in this expediton and the efforts described in all of the current Mt. Everest books is amazing. All in all, you'll find this a very enjoyable book to read. The same authors also wrote a second book describing their 1953 expedition - K2, The Savage Mountain. This one also has been recently reissued.

I just finished a stunning novel by Charles Sheehan-Miles entitled Prayer at Rumayla. The main character is a tank loader in the Gulf War. The action takes place after the war is over, but there are remembrances of the war throughout the book. Military recruits can read a bit about the horrors of war and how unprepared they will be for the carnage. You get a glimpse into the soul of a damaged warrior. Sheehan-Miles takes you right into the mind of the main character: the good, bad, and the ugly of it.

Those who have not served in combat will hopefully be able to use this book to better appreciate those who had to live through war. We learn that the CNN footage and glowing reports were not the reality of the Gulf War. It is a good clue to how our media sanitizes what we see and hear.

Get the book. Read the book. Learn the truth.

War is sometimes necessary. But it is never as glorious as we are often led to believe by our political leadership and by a press which oftentimes tends to be one-sided. Particularly a war as swift and "clean" as the Gulf War was lends itself to quick sterotyping. But the men and women who actually fight those wars know the real deal.

And so here it is for the rest of us. Prayer at Rumayla is a novel that tells it like it was, from an author who was there. Charles Sheehan-Miles was a member of a tank crew which took part in that famous "left hook" through the Iraqi desert. Written from a soldier's view, it tells some of the stuff that the news reports never did. And it does it within the universal theme of war's tragic consequences.

I would have preferred that the book be longer, with deeper characterization. But this is a good effort. Recommended...

Charles Sheehan-Miles, a Gulf War combat veteran decorated for valor, scores a direct hit with his first novel, "Prayer at Rumayla."

His accurate, authentic, and unvarnished view of the shrieks, groans, horrors, and hell of combat between the U.S. and Iraq in 1991 provides a rare and illuminating glimpse into the heart of an M1A1 Abrams tank crewman.

With his laser-guided view from behind a 120mm cannon and .50 machine gun, Charles keeps faith with Gulf War combat veterans by telling it like it was, not only as a master storyteller, but with a gut-level emotional portrayal worthy of comparison with Leon Uris' "Battle Cry."

"Prayer at Rumayla" provides large caliber ammunition to the rarely heard voices of front-line Gulf War combat veterans searching for understanding in a clueless and insulated world, and the novel may provide an opportunity for some veterans to come to terms with living life after dispensing death.

As Charles' friend for more than 9 years, I know that "Prayer at Rumayla" gives readers the first-hand details left out of other books about the Gulf War -- the book is a "one of a kind."

As the U.S. prepares to send hundreds of thousands more young men and women into another war in Southwest Asia, his book is a must-read for potential recruits and government policymakers who never set foot on a modern day battlefield.

- Paul Sullivan
Cavalry Scout, 1st Armored Division
Gulf War Veteran

While this book has many great pictures from the decade and examples of artwork inspired by psychedelic rock, it is a very lightweight effort. Perhaps it was meant to be that way. Concentrating almost solely on London and the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, the book consists mainly of reminiscences of aging hippies, most of whom were involved in the music and/or art scene of that era, either in San Francisco or London. Pretty much all of these consist of uncritical reminiscences about the hippie movement, whose downfall, if we are to believe these people, apparently came only from its eventual invasion by those looking to get rich off the movement (i.e., the establishment), totally disregarding the fact that those hucksters and exploiters were there from the beginning within the movement. One thing that also bothered me is that the rampant drug use of the period was presented almost completely as a positive thing. Indeed, it was glorified. With the exception of mentioning that Syd Barrett apparently became emotionally unhinged at least in part due to his use of LSD, there is almost no mention of the lives destroyed by the hedonism and drug use of the period, including such famous rock pioneers as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison, to name the most prominent. While it was interesting and entertaining to read many of these reminiscences, I wanted to know more. I wanted the authors and editors to dig a bit deeper than the superficial outline of that period's history that we've heard about before. One good effort in that direction was the timeline that was at the bottom of every page, spanning the years from 1965-1969 throughout the course of the book. Basically, I recommend this book, but mainly for the great photo spreads and not as much for the commentaries and reminiscences.

i found that this was a wonderful book. i was not around during the sixties, but i have been in love with them for a while. this book is a great trip back to the sixties for those of us who weren't fortunate enough to be there, and i'm sure it is great memories for those who were. i would reccomend this book to anyone in search of information about the sixties/hippies. it is definately a must read!

This book is an excellent portrayal of life in the 60's. It is great nostalgia for those who were there, and a great taster for those who wish they were.

As a lawyer working in the area of employment discrimination, Ihave often been frustrated in knowing that my client was subjected toadverse treatment because of his or her race, age or gender, but have been unable to put a scientific label on my arguments. This book is a gateway to the literature which explains just how people are categorized and marginalized in the workplace. The bibliography is excellent, giving access to other sources that expand the concepts.

The sun dropped into the alders, a chill fell into the air, and the trout rose to the surface of the dappled oxbow like matrons leering through a picture window at a shirtless workman. "Hark, if we don't get a move on, we'll have to paddle the damned canoe in the dark"!" These words hung in the humid air, and the lost campers knew the Grizzly would be on them, inescapable, like fog overcoming a beach. Even the trout knew, sadly, that these god-forsaken souls would be dead by morning. They mouthed mute prayers beneath the surface, beseeching god in heaven to protect the souls doomed to perish in the most unspeakable of deaths.

available on this subject, unlike the many get-rich-quick books that clog up searches on the subject. this book is for students who are planning a carreer in commercial real estate investment or finance. this book is not for people who have money to invest and are looking for hands-on techniques to make money.