Until now, it seems that most every book written on the topic of developing something new at a company has replaced the word "Product" with the word "Service" and carried on as if nothing changed.

Well, it has.

Products and services are two different business animals, and these authors FINALLY call a spade a spade and then deal with the consequences. While many of the approaches between new product development and new service development are deceptively similar, the authors point to some key differences that substantially affect results.

They answer questions like: When do you solicit customer input? How can reengineering save money but kill a service your company offers? Why are company new service brainstorming sessions ineffective? The answers seem intuitive - but only after you've read it.

It also gives you some talking points about why "Being better" can trap your company as an also-ran. I winced during and after taking their survey.

The part of reading this book that wasn't fun was realizing the work I needed to do in my company. The fun part was knowing I now have a map to get there. I found the book readable and useful, and I've already made changes based on its recommendations.

As the Managing Partner for a major consulting firm and having spent 13 years in the services sector, I can honestly say I have read hundreds of business books. This is by far one of the best I have ever read.

Terrill and Middlebrooks provide scores of frameworks and client examples that provide a literal How-To roadmap for anyone serious about growing their company -- in an extremely profitable way.

I found especially insightful the authors perspectives on how to fill the financial growth gap that most companies find to be the most challenging part of their longer term strategy. From new product development to segmentation to positioning and branding to communications, Terrill and Middlebrooks basically give you an MBA in a book.

I have to admit I have borrowed their concepts fairly liberally since I read this book as it serves only to provide my clients (as well as my company) with the best possible solutions to their growth challenges.

Thanks guys for taking the seminal thinking that already exists in the services sector several steps further.

Bravo!

I am the Managing Partner for a company that serves scores of clients every year, all seeking to improve their businesses.

Having spent the last 13 years in the services sector and constantly searching for new ways to serve my clients better, I finally found the book that teaches you how to "be the best that you can be."

Middlebrooks and Terrill provide scores of frameworks and examples from their vast experiences to lead the reader from point a to point b. Borrowing lessons learned from Fortune 10 companies to $20 million business to business specialty companies, I truly felt like I received a second MBA--for a lot less money.

The best insights I received from their book was tied to how to help my clients fill that strategic anomaly called the revenue and profit growth gap. This book helped me better understand not only how to help my clients (as well as my company)fill this gap but also the variety of approaches I have at my disposal to help them achieve their longer term plans.

From new product development to segmentation to branding and positioning to communications, this book is definitely an invaluable resource and a definitive how-to guidebook.

I am a better business leader and my clients will be better served as a result of reading this landmark book.

Thanks guys for providing me with an incredible roadmap for future success.

KAY ARTHUR IS A GREAT AUTHOR ANYWAY. THIS BOOK IS NOT ONLY GREAT FOR MARRIED COUPLES IT IS ALSO GREAT FOR PEOPLE WHO GOD WILL HAVE GET MARRIED. THE BOOKS DISCUSSES EVERY ASPECT OF MARRIAGE INCLUDING THE CHILDREN THAT MAY COME. THIS BOOK IS ALSO A GREAT TEACHING VEHICLE FOR PRE-MARITAL COUNSELING. THANK GOD FOR THE ANOINTING GOD HAS GIVEN TO KAY ARTHUR.

This book is absolutely wonderful! Honest, very direct guidance to restoring/reviving your marriage under God's word. Kay's unique way of intertwining personal stories and biblical references make for very interesting and educational reading. I have to share this book with all of the couples I know just entering the commitment of marriage! I especially liked the section on family and the raising of children. Having recently left my career to stay at home with my children, her biblical references confirmed the reasons I did so and brought me an even greater peace about my decision. Get ready to hear the truth about what GOD says about marriage, family, and commitment!

Using the precepts of God's Word, this book will give you the tools to have the loving and fulfilling marriage that God designed. This book acts as a guide to show you what God has to say about marriage, and what a truly beautiful covenant God meant it to be. As a newlywed I am so thankful for this book and have seen God use it to change the hearts of some "oldlyweds" and restore marriages. I highly recommend the study guide. This is a great present for engaged couples. In fact I've already bought two for engaged friends!

It's true, my six-year-old loves this book. The truly great thing about it, though, is that it is thoroughly entertaining for the adults reading along with her. Everyone who has ever loved a cat, regardless of their age, should read this book. It's priceless.

My daughter is a beginning reader and loves all of the Mr. Putter and Tabby books, but this one is--by far--her favorite. It is endearing, tender, and funny, too. She reads it over and over, often laughing so hard at the events and characters' expressions, that she can't even read for a moment or two. All of these Rylant series books--and this one in particular--have really been a boost to her enjoyment of reading. I'm sure they would be for any 6-8 year old.

This is the best one yet! The story is so funny and original and the illustrations are fantastic. Simply adorable! The love Mr. Putter has for his cat was evident in the tender way he reacted to and coped with her "problem."

This is the second book in Patricia Kennealy-Morrison's Celtic science fiction. The series started with "The Grey Hawk's Feather" which introduces you to all the famous characters, Merlyn, Arthur, Ygrawn, Uther, Gweniver, and the somewhat passed over, in other tales, Taliesin. In this particular telling Taliesin, the greatest bard ever known to Keltia, narrates in bardic style the story of his friend and fostern Arthur. Morrison does away with the more annoying parts of Arthurian legend, Lancelot for one, and concentrates on a very different telling of the tale in space upon a planet far away. The second book encompasses the arrival of Arthur and his army on Tarra, the home of Ederyn the then traitorous "King" of Kelts, through Arthur's eventual victory over Ederyn, (I don't think I'm giving too much of the story away), and his leaving of Keltia to visit far off worlds as well as his eventual return. The truth of Talyn's mother is finally revealed, with shocking implications.

Now, just let me say, I LOVE THIS SERIES! I especially love the character of Taliesin. He is my favorite from all of Morrison's books and possibly from any others I have ever read. His voice is exceptionally distinctive in the telling and very consistent. He is a very unassuming character, terrified out of his wits most of the time and sure that everyone knows it, yet is completely honest about this fact. I love the style of these books too. The prose is perhaps a bit cumbersome when you first begin reading but it is defiantly an epic tale, every event fraught with dan from now 'till nevermass, and all the characters with the seeds of greatness in them, Arthur most of all. I love this particular universe because it is so imaginative, Celtic legend mixed with sciencficiton in a successful blending.

Now, the Kirkus reviewer has a point when he says that Patricia Kennealy-Morrison has a "general air of self-importance". He hits the nail right on the head. She is continually prating on the virtues of the Kelts. How they are so much more evolved than "other societies I could name" in that they have magical arts, no rape, varying marriage laws, and women are considered equals. It is an attitude hard to avoid throughout her books, but this is the only detraction I will make and, you will admit, not a very serious one.

Patricia continues the great storytelling of the previous books of the Keltiad in this novel. We are transported first person to the land of arthur (for a twist this land is outer space) and told Arthur's life story through the eyes of his bard and close friend Taliesan. This book moved me to tears at some points. The love and friendship bonds that the book builds are remarkable! I couldn't put it down.

If you have read the Copper Crown and its counterparts you will be intrigued when you discover that the writing style is completely different from the first triology. This is writen in first rather than third person. It is rare that an author has such talent as to switch styles. The style change means that you will never tire of the Keltiad. Instead of boresdom you will find love for the lore as past history links all the books together.

I have highly enjoyed all of the books in this series, and I also agree with the above reviewer that there are some inaccuracies in the Kirkus review that lead one to believe that the reviewer did not give it his or her full attention. In all, if you love fantasy, Celtic myth or Arthurian legend these books are well worth a read.

Clearly THE book for the beginner and intermediate collector. It gives an excellent overview of each type of note (Nationals, Silver Certs, etc.) as well brief descriptions of each note within each type. A great way to learn the history associated with the engravings on U.S. paper currency from the Civil War (1861) to the present.

And, of course, the Friedberg numbering scheme is the standard method of referencing notes among collectors and dealers alike.

It should be noted however, that the values given for the notes are very rough approximations (very conservative). This is especially true for the UNC grade(MS60-64). There are no values for GEM notes (MS65+).

If you're looking for a comprehensive note reference with ball park values, this book is for you.

This is the standard reference work on United States Currency for the collector. While the prices given are pretty much obsolete in the volatile currency market, the Friedberg Numbering system is universally used by dealers and collectors alike. If you are considering participation in floor or online auctions, you cannot tell what you are bidding on without this book, as all notes will be listed by FR#. Well worth the investment!

This book is a must-have for the serious US currency collector, along with the Standard Catalog, 17th edition. Together they provide a great catalog and price guide for US Treasury issues. There are good sections on fractionals and Confederate currency, and decent treatment of colonials. No obsoletes or military payment certificates. The black and white photos are quite a bit larger than those in the Standard Catalog. The color pictures in the back are a nice touch, but the printing is not the world's greatest -- many of the reds come out as pinks, the greens look almost fluorescent, etc.

There aren't many anecdotes or interesting bits of trivia, but as a guide and catalog it is top notch.

Actually, Parerga was not the book which S. considered to be his masterpiece; The World as Will and Representation was. But it made him famous, especially in England. It's striking too how weak human nature is, even in the case of a man considered to be both a genius and wise. Already rich by inheritance, both supremely intelligent and extremely clever, highly educated, and ultra-cynical about people, the temperamental philosopher craved FAME all his life. (He got it, just before he died.)

Not everything S. writes about in this book (or for that matter any of his other books) is relevant or interesting or correct - you may want to skip his physical theory of colors, for example. But the reader does get a sense of the range and brilliance of his multilingual mind. Many of his thoughts are timeless and true everywhere in the world.

S. caught my attention not because I'm interested in philosophy generally - I most certainly am not - but rather because he was one of Einstein's heroes, and Einstein is one of mine. Einstein loved to quote him, and apparently had his picture hanging in his office.

Interestingly, Hitler also counted S. as his hero. The only book he took to the front as a soldier in the First World War was Schopenhauer's masterpiece, and later as Fuehrer he quoted S. in long, rambling paragraphs in his own table talk. One wouldn't normally expect much in common between the greatest mind who ever lived and this anti-intellectual warmonger. Hitler was an antisemite, so perhaps that's one reason why he was attracted to S. But S. was most liberal and generous in his misanthropic hatreds - one doesn't find him discriminate for or against any particular group. Perhaps Hitler didn't know about the far more damning things S. had to say about Germans?

S. influenced many philosophers, such as Nietzsche and Wittgenstein, but I'm not familiar enough with philosophy to elaborate on this point. He also inspired many other creative minds who were not actually philosophers: Richard Wagner (a fanatical devotee to S. and to whom Hitler was also a fanatical devotee), Leo Tolstoy, Thomas Mann, Sir Winston Churchill (mentioned S. in his autobiography My Early Life), and the quantum physicist Erwin Schroedinger, among numerous others. (Notice that the last three were Nobel prizewinners?) Even the sharp-tongued and critical Wolfgang Pauli (another Nobel physicist) took him seriously. If you want to know why S. was so influential, then this is a good place to start. Parerga is easier to read than his other books, with the exception of his two essays on morality. Try to get Vol. I as well, but if you must choose, get Vol. II - it's longer and has a good index, and a good index is always useful in any book.

Start with Parerga; then after you're familiar with his philosophy, move on to his main work. But don't forget his Essay on the Freedom on the Will - which stands alone as a real masterpiece in all philosophy, even more outstanding than his other works.

Anyone who is interested in philosophy either as a way of life, a hobby, or for its historical development cannot pass up these two volumes of essays on diverse topics written by the great German philosopher, mostly in the period 1835-1859.

Originally published in 1851, these essays created an explosion of interest in Schopenhauer when they were reviewed in England the following year, so Schopenhauer, who died at the age of 72 in 1860 enjoyed the pleasure of recognition in his old age.

Aside from his historical importance (which takes many, many forms) Schopenhauer in these essays is indispensable for anyone who wants to understand philosophy because:

He provides brief and generally accepted analyses of western philosophy from Plato to his own time,

He integrates Eastern philosophy into his own system, and into his analysis (the first major philosopher to do so),

He cross references all of his ideas to a vast corpus of literature (which in this version are all cross referenced and translated),

He is, practically alone among the great philosophers, a GREAT WRITER, by which I mean that he is simple, direct, and writes with sometimes great poetic imagery and also savage irony and wit (Hegel and his followers, people who abuse animals, feminists, or those who abuse the Judaeo-Christian tradition for hypocritical purposes get very rough treatment from Schopenhauer.)

He offers -- in his essays on writing and style -- a veritable manual of how to write well which frankly anyone who writes should consult. He also punctures with brutal humor the journalists and philosophers who destroyed the German language
for pecuniary purposes: all these comments can be carried over whole to the PC and "post-modernist" wars of our own time.

He is practically encyclopedic: virtually every intellectual current of the first half of the 19th Century is discussed in detail, from spiritualism to slavery (Schopenhauer wasn't sure of the first, but was strongly opposed to the second.)

He offers an actual study on how to live a better life, in the "Wisdom of Life" (Aphorismen zum Lebensweisheit), which is a better guide to living well than any other such guide that have been churned out regularly for the past several decades.

Criticism: Yes, Schopenhauer also puts down women, also occasionally non-whites and Jews. Then again, he is most savage with Anglican parsons and people in general, so accusations of racism, etc. simply don't add up to much. He was a misanthrope: no doubt. And he had a terrifically amusing way of expressing it.

A further plus: These Eric Payne translations were originally published in 1974 by Oxford in hardback, with some remainders given a boring cyan colored soft cover in the late '70's. The paper used then was very heavy, and stiffened and browned in a big hurry. This has been reprinted on lighter paper, acid free, and is a much more pleasing set. Volume 2 is the only one available right now, Volume 1 should be out by Christmas: get them while you can!

Schopenhauer is still worth the read, maybe even more today in the persistence of the me generation and the collapse of any serious interest in metaphysical speculation. In turn crafty, sentimental, realistic, and realistically bitter, he never fails to stimulate. Even a case for his subtextual optimism might be interesting.

I am a mid-career professional, returning to the virtual classroom after 20 years of absence. With a study in management and leadership, this book was highly recommended and I must say, it did not disappoint!.

Of the books in my book cases, this is one I will turn to again and again for insight and wisdom, guidance and increased understanding. Well written, well read and well worth the investment!

This is a useful textbook. It is easy to read, informative, and well organized.

Highly recommed this book. It's a good reference and very detail-oriented!!

Charming and innovative are probably the best words to describe Chick Austin, the subject of this biography. It is rare that a mere museum director is the subject of a biography, particularly one as entertaining as this one, but Chick Austin was not the average museum director.

He was schooled early on in European culture by his geneologically ambitious mother, who seemed to spend a great deal of her later years seeking family links, often specious, to European Royalty. He also developed an interest in magic which stayed with him for the majority of his life.

Chick Austin went from indifferent Harvard Student to the director of the Wadsworth Athenium in Hartford in something like 5 years. He brought a great deal of vigor to this, staging the first Baroque (when this art period was unpopular), Picasso, and Dali shows. He also staged Gertrude Stein's opera, Four Saints in Three Acts." All of this was a bit too much for dear old Hartford, who were alternately charmed and shocked by their young art director. Previously the museum had been noted for its collection of colonial furniture, after such an abrupt change it is not too difficult to imagine why. In the process, Austin managed to acquire a large number of Old Masters and Modern works. One of the five Caravaggios in the United States was bought for the museum by Austin toward the end of his tenure.

Austin's other great achievement was the Ringling Museum in Florida. The former Circus tycoon had amassed a large collection of Baroque Art in Florida. Austin not only managed to save many of the paintings from exposure to the elements, but add significantly to the hopdings of the museum by acquiring an 18th century Italian theatre.

Predictably, Austin's efforts brought him into conflict with a variety of old fuddie duddies, from trustees, state legislatures and hack journalists. The unique artistic vision of these cretins is unlikely to be celebrated anytime soon.

While Hartford and the steate of Florida haved physical evidence of Austin's efforts, the entire museum going public has cause to likewise be grateful. With Chick Austin's museums became far less stuffy places,at least in the right hands.

This book is written by the director of the Austin House in Hartford and as such it is likely to the be the most authoritative for years to come.

Chick Austin is a national treasure and what he did for the art scene is truly remarkable. I enjoyed the entire book and reading about how he developed his collection. I am not much of an art history buff and picked this book up during the holidays while visiting my family...I was hooked from the beginning. I am glad I read this.

The author weaves a very interesting and well-organized tale about a fascinating person and an exciting time to be involved in the art world in the United States. Although the substantial footnote section validates the author's detailed and thorough research, I never felt as if the text itself were bogged down with unnecessary or uninteresting detail. I suspect that some readers will note similarities between many of the struggles that Chick Austin faced and similar situations in the contemporary art scene today. This is an excellent book with a great story - I highly recommend it.

...This is a great adventure story, but definitely has racist elements. However, like the racism in the Little House books towards the native American Indians, it may well be a result of ignorance rather than malice.

Once again Arthur Ransome comes up with a grand adventure for the children he introduced in his earlier books. This time they are sailing a small schooner through little-charted waters in the China Sea. After a disastrous fire on board, they are washed ashore, along with Captain Flint (Nancy and Peggy's Uncle Jim if you are not familiar with these books) on a small chain of islands and captured by Chinese pirates. Those over-sensitive souls among us may find the depiction of Chinese natives, and the rendition of their accents, less than PC, but I read this book for the first time at the impressionable age of nine and I don't think it coloured my attitude to Chinese people in any negative way. What this books does, as superbly as all Mr Ransome's others, is convey the excitement that children feel if they are allowed a little freedom. Our poor children today, molly-coddled and over-protected by our anxious selves can only dream of adventures such as these. Luckily, they have books like this to transport them to such faraway places where we, as parents, cannot interfere.

I read this book as a child and they helped me to get interested in reading. I then went on to read every book in the series. About four years ago, I attend an international school's meeting in the Hague Holland and was sitting with 4 other teachers supervising students in a hotel at night and we got to talking about our favorite children's book. I named this book and two others agreed. I think that it was this book that fired me up to want to have adventure and is responsible for me becoming an international educator. I have spent most of my life searching for that thrill of adventure that I first experienced in these books. I recommend this series to you.

Sara Hoskinson Frommer has taken all the best elements of a murder mystery. She gets you caring about the characters and wanting to find the killer, and when you find out whodunit, you say to yourself, "Of course, I should have seen that." I loved the Gilbert & Sullivan references at the beginning of each chapter, and what an ingenious, Gilbertian plot twist to murder a "ghost." The only problem is that I am a Gilbert & Sullivan performer, and I'm going to be afraid if I ever get cast in the role of Sir Roderic Murgatroyd.

Perhaps the best of the Joan Spenser mysteries, Murder and Sullivan is soooo much fun! The main character is this ordinary music-loving lady, Joan, and she's always up to her neck in danger! I love all of Sara Hoskinson Frommer's books. They're fabulous reads if you like mysteries. A writer friend of mine says she thinks Frommer is the best mystery writer out there today..and she might be right, too.

Murder & Sullivan is another gem from Sara H. Frommer, a writer who understands music and real people. I'm not a professional book reviewer by any means, but I know what's good when I read it. I've read other books by this author and all of them are I think, wonderful.