The seminal text on product development by two of the top consultants in the field. A must read ror anyone involved in the product development proces

The Scopes Trial: A Brief History with Documents is a wonderful introduction to the Scopes "monkey" trial and its significance in history. I found the narrative history to be a quick but compelling and informative read, and was especially interested in the way in which the author shows how events during the time period following the First World War influenced the parties and helped to explain their motivations. I also found the documents, including excerpts from the trial transcript and newspaper articles of the time to be very helpful in understanding the manner in which the trial developed and the manner in which it was perceived nationally. Anyone looking for a readable yet informative work on the Scopes trial would be well advised to look into this book.

John C. Moran is a major critic of period writings that deserve to be better known. Like all his other publications, SEEKING REFUGE is masterful and unique.

This book serves as a good starting point for QFD topics. For instance, the topics relating to software QFD, management support of QFD and TRIZ are not found in something like Cohen's "Quality Function Deployment: How to Make QFD Work for You" (Cohen's book is a reasonably good tutorial). But Revelle's book serves as a resource for some initial ideas on how to apply QFD to strategic and daily tasks. As with all QFD books that I have seen, there are almost no real-life examples. In this book, you will find one semi-real example that the author applied to his service-related business (Japanese translating).

The chapters on management support of QFD are good, but not as helpful to someone trying to bootstrap QFD techniques into a organization. I don't believe that one must have much top management support in a larger organization in order to introduce QFD - a more realistic approach would be to use QFD on a succession of more tractable, smaller problems below senior management levels, then gain support from on high. I suspect that there may be some "axe grinding" in the book as the author apparently makes a living out of QFD consulting.

What would be really useful would be a resource on actual QFD case studies, even if the authors scrambled the importance weightings in order to protect any organizational secrets. In particular, I would like to see case studies as applied to more common services such as public education (imagine the utility of coming to agreement on that subject!) or company-level and department-level charters related to items such as Deming's 14 points, TRIZ, Taguchi robust design or DFSS. These subjects are fodder for true "design reuse". I would also like more discussion on cultural issues and QFD ... I find that these are issues for the determined and focused QFD student.

The QFD Handbook is a great surprise. A surprise for what it actually delivers compared to similar books. This book is not another mechanics "how to" book. Rather, it is an applications "how to" book. It does not tell you how to form and quantify QFD matrices. It tells you how and where to apply QFD and how to integrate it with other valuable tools of advanced quality. That approach creates enormous added value.

The QFD Handbook is also a surprise because its contributors are among some of the most respected practitioners in the world. These experts provide insight into the integration of many Quality Improvement tools into QFD. The result is an approach that provides guidance to the concurrent use of these tools which, when used in the proper context, produce an output far greater than QFD alone.

In addition to the text, facilitating software is included. QFD/Pathway provides exactly what it says, a pathway through the planning and performance of the QFD process. If one considers the knowledge base provided by the book's contributors alone, it is an excellent buy. When one adds in the software, it is invaluable.

This book is not for the faint of heart. But if you really want to understand the concept and benefits of Quality Function Deployment and learn how to effectively implement it in your business, this book will cover everything you will need to know. Your time and money investment will be returned to you tenfold when you discover what your customers are truly looking for from your company after following the guidelines outlined in this book.

Michael Moran writes an interesting book about his two years in the Peace Corps in Morocco. Although this book doesn't actually tell you much about the Peace Corps itself (something that Moran actually doesn't seem too interested in, despite his two year commitment to the program), it does show you one way a Peace Corps experience can go -- which is to say, he pretty much turned the two years of "service" into an opportunity for him to travel and have some experiences worth turning into a book later on. What makes this book worth reading is that Moran writes well and does not try to spare himself. He presents himself as a real person who is, at alternating times, naive, determined, pretentious, sympathetic, arrogant, or young. But throughout it all, he is intelligent and honest as he portrays his struggles with Moroccan culture and with his own life, a self-consciousness ultimately represented through his relationship with a Scottish woman, Janet Graves.

A note: Don't bother to read the synopsis on the back of this book -- it isn't an accurate portrayal of the main themes or struggles of the book.

I do believe that other Peace Corps writers (such as Thomsen in "Living Poor") allow their experiences to change and influence them. As Moran says in his introduction (excerpted above in the Editorial Reviews), he doesn't think that the PC really changes people, but rather dramatizes their flaws. I believe this viewpoint of his is a result of the mentality he had going into the experience-- he seemed to have been dissatisfied and somewhat lonely in his American life, and was seeking an escape in a somewhat strict and self-righteous way that didn't allow for him to be changed by the culture around him. Ultimately, I'm sure he did change, as we are all changed by our experiences, but don't expect this book to be a telling of how those changes occur. It's simply an interesting read about two years in an expatriate's life, but its honesty and the adventures contained within it will be captivating nonetheless.

I happened to come across this book in Austin, TX. The cover art was interesting and well done, very colorful, and it caught my eye. This guy has quite a tale about being in the Peace Corps in Morocco, among other things. There is a fascinating account of a meeting Mr. Moran had with Paul Bowles. He writes of personal experiences that were sincerely entertaining, and the man knows how to write. There is a sense of surrealism of this period of time, from 1981-1984 or so, that mirrors a similar mood of the early Reagan years. For a testament of the changing world around that time period, "Younger Than That Now" captures it as well as can be done. This book deserves to be read. It's just a great, all-around piece of writing.

"Pure kif,"the legendary expatriate musician and writer Paul Bowles told me,"is the best thing in the world for a troubled mind." Younger Than That Now chronicles Michael Moran's hallucinatory trip through the labyrinths of Boujad,Morocco,where the Peace Corps volunteer lived and taught from 1981 to 1983. Part lyric,part fact,this book lays bare the inside workings of the Peace Corps and shows how each volunteer,no matter how estranged,struggles to make a difference.Through all the talk, repentance,and endless travel,one thing remains constant:Moran's experience is never PC.

I had to read this for a class and found it easy to read, but really out of date. Although revised in December of 2001, there is so much it left out in terms of changes in technology and 911 (and yes, these things do apply to Economics!) that I wonder how thoroughly it was updated.

If you're buying it, most probably you have to. Ask your professor to find a more current edition, but one that's as interesting and easy a read as this one, and you'll do fine in your Eco class!

This book makes a dry subject interesting and understandable. It is packed full of useful information.

This book provides you with a comprehensive framework based on the TQM approach and breakthrough thinking for continously focusing and re-focusing your organization for success in the future.The approach is essentially process-oriented and is based on Dr. Deming's 14 obligations on management.The book is essentially a fine integration of concepts, frameworks and tools for achieving breakthrough results.It also borrows from Dr. Deming;s philosophy and makes a strong case for creating a system in which employees align their behavours without fear for achieving breakthrough results.Each employee becomes a small value producing center with no limits on what can be accomplished.

This comprehensive manual provides all the detail any clinician would need to focus on geriatric rehabilitation. There are 7 units, dealing with general physiological health, psychological health and a new paradigm that focuses on concepts of wholeness and uniqueness vs. the traditional medical model. Pathokinesiology is addressed along with therapeutic interventions. Sensory losses are addressed also, a great book for the novice gerontologist or one with experience to have information at one's fingertips.