I'm an economist, and have read dozens of books on health care. This is the best book on how to improve our health care system ever written for the lay public.

I'm Donald Freeman, former General Manager of Operations for Sprint in Phoenix(read about Don in Fish Tales from Charthouse). I have had the responsibility of opening and managing large customer service call centers. I have read the Phoenix Agenda at least twice now and I expect I will read it again in the future for inspiration. I have purchased copies for all supervisors and managers in 2 different divisions (75 books) over the past 5 years. I also recommend this book in my call center consulting business. The book is a must for anyone managing large teams of 500 plus employees. The book reads much like a text book so don't expect a long story book. This book builds the foundation understanding for managers to INVENT THE FUTURE and manage CULTURE CHANGE in the work place. It gives you the understanding rather than just giving examples. We learned the fundamental ideas on how to have continual action plans, articulate strategies, exploit moments of truth, create wisdom, and complete the past. This book has helped us to create higher levels of performance in large teams. If you are wanting to transform your work place start with this book. It is not a management "fad" but it is the basics of making change that never ends in our world today. The valued insight builds on any situation the workplace is currently in.

I am neither an employee of Ventana Publication, nor am I paid to write good words about this book. I have always been a fan of John Sexton's work. Who else alive can match his fantastic printmaking skills. I will say it with confident; none. John Sexton is the only person I know who comes close to the printmaking standards of Ansel Adams. "Places of Power" is all about beautiful prints. I am not a technology "freak," so I am in no postion to comment in this area. But if you love black-and-white images, photography, the zone system or large format images, this IS the book for you. Personally, I think $60.00 is a small price to pay to be able to appreciate John Sexton's work.

Foster points out that the rate of formation of specialized districts has been rising rapidly. She provides a system for classifying them and notes all of the historic stimuli for their development. She then focuses on the two main reasons for their development: the influence of developers and increasing fiscal pressures on state and local governments.

The strength of the book is in its empirical analytics. One of my favorite parts is where she enumerates specialized districts by geographic scope and property taxing power. Over half of all district have this ability. It is these that may pose potential future problems to the residents and businesses they tax since the districts are not run by elected officials. Hence officials will be able to raise (and lower) taxes and yet are free from significant repraisal.

Although thorough, Foster finds her data often limit the scope of her analysis. But she makes the most of what she has. She finds, for example, that special districts tend to spend more per capita on a specified public service than do general-purpose governments (states, counties, townships, cities, boroughs). She points out that they may provide a different type of service, however, which may justify the extra expense (she points out that they are also more capital-intensive). Because of this upward spending bias, metro areas that rely on them also have a greater share of their public spending concentrated in the typical functions of the districts.

In summary, The Political Economy of Special-Purpose Goverments is a very important book for the field of public economics. It is not the book for the layman, however, since it relies on the application of statistical techniques to the Census of Goverments data.

The Political Theory of Jon Taylor of Caroline is book which should be on the shelf of any Jeffersonian.Professor Hill provides in detail the complete political theory of John Taylor
and his defense of agarianism.The author provides information on
Taylor's relationship with other Jeffersonians and how they
fought to implement limited government. My only disagreement
is that too much emphasis is put on minor differences with
Taylor's friend and collaborator, Thomas Jefferson.Although it

is true Taylor and Jefferson disagreed on minor points of
banking, he and Jefferson were friends and kindred spirits.

Jefferson and Taylor agreed on the fundementals of republican
government: agrarian democracy, the sovereignty of the people
limited federal government, reform of the federal judiciary,
and individual liberty. They did very much disagree on the
issue of slavery. Taylor reamined loyal to Jefferson
throughout his political life, twice being an elector
for him, and introducing the Virginia Resolutions in the
Virginia Legislature in 1799. Professor Hill does show
Taylor's greatness as an American philosopher.
Overall an excellent read.

Leadership in today's corporate environment is by and large not the command and control style of yesterday's corporate monoliths. Today's enlighted managers and employees have to understand that leadership means guiding and influencing without being able to direct and order. Readers who do not understand the difference will want to read this book. Readers who want to understand how to be better influencers and guiders will want to read this book.

The information provided in this latest edition of the "Power Factor Specialization" series is first-rate. All scientific, all proven and geared to make every workout efficient, this book is the ultimate ab (and leg) training book I've ever read. If you want a chisled midsection and muscular, powerful legs, then you will definitely benefit from the information in this book. All of the ab and leg exercises are rated, so that you will never again waste time on an unproductive exercise. The Power Factor Specialization series is the best "training" series of books I've ever read. They should be compulsory for all personal trainers who take their business seriously.

This book is a compilation of stories, essays, and different men's thoughts on the lifestyle of male Christians. I enjoyed reading this book. I found it a useful tool in helping me focus my thoughts and a nice way to brighten my day.

I happen to live in the town and house where John Secor made his fame and fortune. This story is of special interest to me for this reason.

The book is rather dry in the beginning, because I am not involved in his geneaology, however it is meticulous in tracing his roots.

Secor followed his father's footsteps as an engineer, educated in the New York Public School System no less.

He goes on to invent many items which were prede-cessors to rocket propulsion.

The Power of Leadership is one of my favorite quick reads (short book) with very useful quotes and stories from some of the world's greatest businessmen and politicians. The book has a quote and then a brief evaluation of what the quote is trying to convey to the reader. I believe Maxwell's interpretations are right on the money and a very refreshing way of looking at some of the best leadership quotes out there.
I should note that Maxwell quotes himself quite a few times (arrogance ? - you decide) but I would say this book is one of my favorites. If you are looking for a full-blown book try his book, 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader or 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. The Power of Attitude is another good short-book by Maxwell.
They key to getting any long-term value out of Maxwell's books is to highlight the quotes you love and integrate them into your daily life. Practice what you read essentially. Hope this helps everyone