Are you retiring and want to start life over as a musician, a mystery writer, a candlemaker? Lisa Angowski Rogak, with David H. Bangs, Jr., has interviewed these and more to find out the pros and cons of being a clown, potter, herbalist, boatbuilder and ninety other some-odd retirement occupations, in 100 Best Retirement Businesses (Upstart, $15.95). All these people had a previous life, so they also have the perspective to see how difficult taking on a new, self-employed challenge might be.

Whether you retire early or late, voluntarily or not, consider a business of your own. But what? To really get your creative juices flowing, read this book which discussed start-up costs, success potential, whether it can be run from home, how to market your wares or services, and where to get more information. For each possibility, there's a real life story about someone doing it.

As one of the FBI trained profilers who worked on this case and a student of human behaviour for over 35 years I found this book a great read. Psychopaths are known to manipulate those around them and those with violent sexual fantasies do so with a sexual objective in mind. Did David Snow have fantasies about the author and her child - yes I think so. Did he act out on them - furtunately for the author & her family - no. What we see in this book is the behaviour of David Snow that serves both his psychopathic ends and fantasies. This is not a clinical study or a professional analysis and therein lays its value. Profilers try to describe the unknown offender as his friends and aquaintences would view him - and here we have an aquaintence of a serial killer telling the story of her relationship with Snow, however disfunctional it may have been. What an opportunity for any profiler or "wish I was - profiler". It is not a classroom, it is not scientific,but it is educational if you pay attention and have some grounding in the topic. It is one person's story of her experience dealing with the personality of a fantasy motivated serial offender and it can be educational - if you read it like a text book.

As Alison is my sister, I suppose I'm being biased by giving this book a rave review. However, being an avid reader I was impressed with how she handles the subject matter, giving the reader an insight into not only the character, but her own suspicions about a man who played a prominent role in her life for several years. The book gives us a good sense of time, starting in the present and going backwards to all the events which eventually led to David Snow's arrest. I read the book in one sitting. This is a good sign of a well written book that keeps the reader glued. The descriptions and historical events also keep the reader in, despite it's local setting (Ontario/B.C.Canada). For readers interested in crime genre and serial killer psychology this book is a great read on both counts. It also delves into the psychology of why and how we let people into our lives. Although a personal journey of the authour it is a universal platform.

Bernard Shaw is a great playwright. In this particular play he exposes the shortcomings of English upper classes. They only think of mariage, business, politics, but England is in fact a drunken skipper, a skipper on which every sailor and even the captain are drunk with rum and unable to see the danger coming up and to deal with it. So the skipper is condemned to break on the rocks. England in the same way is condemned to break on the rocks because no one, in the upper classes, thinks beyond their interest. This catastrophe coming up is shown by some kind of supernatural explosion at the end of the play and the members of these upper classes admire the event as being beautiful and they are totally unable to cope. The picture given by Shaw of England is particularly pessimistic. Their is no future and no hope for that country. Along the way he discusses important issues such as the liberation of women within their enslavement and their power is nothing but hypnotism or drowning men in a sea of words and charm. The only sane man in the play is the captain, with an allusion to Whitman, « Captain my captain », who sees the catastrophes coming and is unable to convince his own daughters or their husbands and friends that they have to control the boat if they don't want it to capsize. But does he really want to convince them ?

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

I recently saw the production of this play in Atlanta and I was blown away. This is a fascinating, fast-paced comedy with dark undertones about a bankrupt society. It is set in the late nineteenth/early twentieth c., but the issues turn out to be very contemporary: the question of capitalism, security vs. adventure, gender roles... I recommend it!

"The Pleasure Police" is, well, a pleasurable read. It brings out a lot of good points about how we are becoming increasingly overcautious and having less and less fun. Like investigative reporter John Stossel of ABC, David Shaw takes a peek at the people who profit from America's anxiety. But like Stossel and most political pundits (Shaw sounds a lot like Michael Moore at times), Shaw occasionally fails to give the whole story. I personally liked the many personal examples the author gives, but some may not. All in all, a very entertaining and thought-provoking read.

This is a nice bit of naughtiness in an otherwise oh so politically correct world. Shaw shows us that most of what we are taught to be afraid of, in most cases won't hurt us at all. There is a good bit of science to the book, but what carries you along is the daring attitude that life is to be enjoyed, not just prolonged. It's time somebody said all this, and David Shaw says it all clearly, succinctly, and with no small amount of common sense. Go ahead, live a little, read The Pleasure Police, and then don't ever worry about them again.

I feel that this book truly portrays the life of an African-American superstar in the 60's and 70's. He is a bit egotistical at times, but is always truthful (except for the part about all the women). All through his career, he is called a loser because of what his team is accomplishing and not him. In his first several years, his teams consistently played the Celtics in the playoffs, and instead of the Warriors vs. the Celtics, it became Bill Russel vs. Wilt Chamberlain. Wilt would consistently beat out Russel in every category, yet his team would still lose. When this happened, Wilt was called the loser. He was told that Russel schooled him time and time again, when really, it was the other way around.
This book accurately portrays what it would be like to face the "Loser" label your whole life. It wasn't fair at all, but Wilt successfully had a good season after another. I definately reccomend this book to anyone who likes success stories or if you like sports biographies. In fact, I recommend it to anybody

Over twenty-five years ago, Wilt Chamberlain took the belief that professional athletes are dumb and flushed it like a loose stool. In this book, he shares truths about his groundbreaking NBA salaries, his views on dating, and other famous basketball personalities. His sense of humor entertains his readers, while his intelligence, clearly evidenced by his vocabulary, constantly enlightens. For everyone old enough to vote, this book will be a wonderful experience.

Introduction In the book Discontinuous Change the authors use anecdotes of prestigious organizations to enhance the understanding of the theoretical and practical ideology concerning organizational change. The authors begin the text by identifying the precursors of organizational change. The precursors are shifts in industry structure, technological innovation, macroeconomic trends and crises, regulatory or legal changes, market and competitive forces and growth. The authors introduce the concept of sustained success as arrogant, insular, and complacent. By remaining in the sustained success idealism, the authors state that the organization will fall into the trap of success which tends to lead to an internal focus; the perception that knowledge, insight, and ideas are found inside the organization rather than outside. Throughout the text, the authors create a clear distinction between incremental and discontinuous change. The authors define incremental change as a continuous pattern of large and small changes that may impact the functioning enterprise in small or large increments. In contrast, discontinuous change is defined as a shocking impact that creates radical departure from the past. Using a variety of models, the authors give the reader a visual picture of the types of change that could occur in an organization. Portrayed in one of the models, the reader will identify the leadership as the "champions and gatekeepers" of the change. By setting the pace, the leaders identify the new corporate identity, the degree to which change needs to happen, the design and organization of the change plan and the interventions needed to keep the plan on course. The authors conclude with discussions concerning the different types of leaders that have been involved with organizational change throughout the years. The authors identified three types of leaders, heroic, instrumental and institutionalized. The authors concluded that the institutionalized leader would be more effective in directing the discontinuous change. Gut Reactions The authors believe that the organizational change should begin with the senior management, by analyzing their "point of view" relative to organizational strategy and policy level. In addition, they also focus on the behavioral dynamics of the organization, believing that the organization is a complex yet active system of human behavior. As practitioners, the authors give valuable insight for contemporary use in organizational change. Citing large organizations, such as, AT&T, Chrysler, and GE as examples, the authors state that the need for change in these organizations came from life-threatening business issues not just questions of organizational work life or corporate climate. In addition, the authors state that the issues that arose in the organizations were generated from external sources, such as, competition, new technology, deregulation, maturation of product sets, changes in ownership, shifts in fundamental market structure, or rapid growth opportunities. Further, the authors state that these changes altered the core of what the organizations represents to its customers and members, not just individual parts or subsystems. Based on the authors insights it has become clear that the days of effortless dominance of large organizations are history. Every organization needs to continue to develop and focus if they are to survive. The authors make it clear that change is inevitable, however, how that change is managed is the key to success. As individuals are resistant to change, so are organizations, however, the risk of an organization resisting change is much greater. The new environments demand that organizations develop speed, innovation, and flexibility, the very opposite of stability. Discontinuous change is a defined analysis of Schein's frame-breaking change in that it is more traumatic, painful and demanding on the organization than incremental change. Big Ideas The changed techniques used in the past are no longer sufficient to manage the complex transitions that are taking place in organizations today. Hence, the authors have determined that there is a need for further development of the old techniques, in order to manage the new types of transitions. Change has out grown the perception of being the exception it has now become the rule. With this perspective in mind, the authors' goal is to transform those things that are practice into theory. The authors are focused on proactive strategic responses to change, rather than, reactive. They offer propositions based on trial-and-error approaches. These propositions create the foundation for diagnoses of the readers current situation. With the understanding that not all leaders are capable of changing, the authors provide a framework to assist in assessing the ability of the current leadership. There are times when it becomes necessary for an organization to invoke change in an effort to avoid complacency. Implications In this era of intense organizational transitions, there is a need for every individual in the organization to adapt to change, beginning with the executives and management. This text speaks of long-term change that will continuously impact an organization over the period of its existence. The types of change needed in organizations are progressing towards frame-breaking, as opposed to historical cosmetic restructuring. Past techniques do not create the immediate turnaround needed to effect change. Therefore, just-in-time interventions are needed to create new behaviors immediately. However, the authors have conceded that often times tried-and-true techniques from decades ago are the most effective, but are often denounced because of the time sensitivity. The authors suggest that there are only two types of change, incremental and discontinuous. Those organizations that will be successful must create core capabilities that are not easily replicated by others. In order for discontinuous change to be effective, organizations must unlearn their old habits, orientations, assumptions, and routines.

Introduction In the book Discontinuous Change the authors use anecdotes of prestigious organizations to enhance the understanding of the theoretical and practical ideology concerning organizational change. The authors begin the text by identifying the precursors of organizational change. The precursors are shifts in industry structure, technological innovation, macroeconomic trends and crises, regulatory or legal changes, market and competitive forces and growth. The authors introduce the concept of sustained success as arrogant, insular, and complacent. By remaining in the sustained success idealism, the authors state that the organization will fall into the trap of success which tends to lead to an internal focus; the perception that knowledge, insight, and ideas are found inside the organization rather than outside. Throughout the text, the authors create a clear distinction between incremental and discontinuous change. The authors define incremental change as a continuous pattern of large and small changes that may impact the functioning enterprise in small or large increments. In contrast, discontinuous change is defined as a shocking impact that creates radical departure from the past. Using a variety of models, the authors give the reader a visual picture of the types of change that could occur in an organization. Portrayed in one of the models, the reader will identify the leadership as the "champions and gatekeepers" of the change. By setting the pace, the leaders identify the new corporate identity, the degree to which change needs to happen, the design and organization of the change plan and the interventions needed to keep the plan on course. The authors conclude with discussions concerning the different types of leaders that have been involved with organizational change throughout the years. The authors identified three types of leaders, heroic, instrumental and institutionalized. The authors concluded that the institutionalized leader would be more effective in directing the discontinuous change. Gut Reactions The authors believe that the organizational change should begin with the senior management, by analyzing their "point of view" relative to organizational strategy and policy level. In addition, they also focus on the behavioral dynamics of the organization, believing that the organization is a complex yet active system of human behavior. As practitioners, the authors give valuable insight for contemporary use in organizational change. Citing large organizations, such as, AT&T, Chrysler, and GE as examples, the authors state that the need for change in these organizations came from life-threatening business issues not just questions of organizational work life or corporate climate. In addition, the authors state that the issues that arose in the organizations were generated from external sources, such as, competition, new technology, deregulation, maturation of product sets, changes in ownership, shifts in fundamental market structure, or rapid growth opportunities. Further, the authors state that these changes altered the core of what the organizations represents to its customers and members, not just individual parts or subsystems. Based on the authors insights it has become clear that the days of effortless dominance of large organizations are history. Every organization needs to continue to develop and focus if they are to survive. The authors make it clear that change is inevitable, however, how that change is managed is the key to success. As individuals are resistant to change, so are organizations, however, the risk of an organization resisting change is much greater. The new environments demand that organizations develop speed, innovation, and flexibility, the very opposite of stability. Discontinuous change is a defined analysis of Schein's frame-breaking change in that it is more traumatic, painful and demanding on the organization than incremental change. Big Ideas The changed techniques used in the past are no longer sufficient to manage the complex transitions that are taking place in organizations today. Hence, the authors have determined that there is a need for further development of the old techniques, in order to manage the new types of transitions. Change has out grown the perception of being the exception it has now become the rule. With this perspective in mind, the authors' goal is to transform those things that are practice into theory. The authors are focused on proactive strategic responses to change, rather than, reactive. They offer propositions based on trial-and-error approaches. These propositions create the foundation for diagnoses of the readers current situation. With the understanding that not all leaders are capable of changing, the authors provide a framework to assist in assessing the ability of the current leadership. There are times when it becomes necessary for an organization to invoke change in an effort to avoid complacency. Implications In this era of intense organizational transitions, there is a need for every individual in the organization to adapt to change, beginning with the executives and management. This text speaks of long-term change that will continuously impact an organization over the period of its existence. The types of change needed in organizations are progressing towards frame-breaking, as opposed to historical cosmetic restructuring. Past techniques do not create the immediate turnaround needed to effect change. Therefore, just-in-time interventions are needed to create new behaviors immediately. However, the authors have conceded that often times tried-and-true techniques from decades ago are the most effective, but are often denounced because of the time sensitivity. The authors suggest that there are only two types of change, incremental and discontinuous. Those organizations that will be successful must create core capabilities that are not easily replicated by others. In order for discontinuous change to be effective, organizations must unlearn their old habits, orientations, assumptions, and routines.

One of the very best books read for my graduate degree. Nadler and Shaw point out that only those companies able to respond quickly and effectively to changing environmental conditions will survive in the coming decades. Successful firms must learn and act at a faster rate than their competition. Many leaders can affect some change in an organization-but it is normally short lived. But, to make change more long term and make that change take place at a faster rate-you must create destabilizing events in significant scope to get attention-and keep it! There are many take-aways in this book. If you want an outstanding "Leadership 101" book in 276 short pages-this is the one you want.

A very informative and gripping story about sailing clipper ships "around the horn" in the 1850's. Ellen Creesy was truly a woman ahead of her time who, as navigator of the Flying Cloud, stood along side her husband, Perkins, in setting a world record of 89 days for passage from New York to San Francisco. This book gives a good idea about what life was like aboard ship, not just for the officers and crew, but also for the passengers. It took an intrepid person to embark on such a journey, willing to face unknown dangers and take enormous risk. David Shaw has done an excellent job in a compelling and well-written account of one such voyage.

If we are to avoid repeating the mistakes of history, we need to continue our attempts at understanding how people lived; How did they feel about their surroundings? What kinds of personal conflicts or demons did they face?

In this excellent chronicle of the maiden voyage of Flying Cloud, Shaw takes plenty of liberty in trying to piece together the feelings, fears and motivations of the Captain, his navigator/spouse and other characters.

While many would argue that historical accuracy is sacrificed to make the story interesting or that Shaw's lengthy dialogues from the character's thoughts and perceptions are totally contrived, I would stress that these insights may allow many who do not have prior historical background to appreciate the economic impact of the clipper ship on the rapid expansion of the American economic engine of the 19th century.

While this does certainly limit the credibility of this book for pure historical research, Shaw's writing style serves to bring the excitement and risk of the voyage into a more reasonable and understandable perspective than most "pure" historical accounts ever could.

If the reader seeks a broader understanding of the impact of the era of the Clippers and their ultimate demise to the domination of the steamship, then this book is a welcome supplement to the bibliography.

This book is a must read that will appeal to a wide range of readers. Any one who has a love of sailing will be immediately swept away by this tale of the great clipper ship Flying Cloud and her maiden voyage from NYC to San Francisco. At the time of her first voyage, the Panama Canal had not been built yet and ships had to sail all the way around South America and the feared Cape Horn. Flying Cloud set a new-world record of just under 90 days on her first trip. She would later better her own record. The author does a wonderful job of describing the conditions of sail and the perils and problems faced by the captain, and the crew.

The armchair sailor, without much experience but a desire to dream of distant places will also enjoy this book as it takes you on a remarkable trip on the high seas. The writing is clear and descriptive and makes it easy to close your eyes and imagine yourself standing on the pitching deck or climbing the slippery ratlines to reef the sails. The author has included descriptions within the narrative (and a glossary) that make it easy for a landlubber to understand the nautical references describing the actions taking place. In fact, I learned that "dead reckoning" is actually short for "deduced reckoning" - see the book to learn more!

For the history buff, this book is a wonderful depiction of the clipper ships that played such a big part in Americas past. Not only that, but the Cloud's navigator was the captain's wife - which was truly remarkable considering that the Victorian era was a man's world that allowed women very few freedoms or liberties.

This book is a work of history that actually reads like a best-selling work of fiction. The author has captured the danger, excitement and adventure in compelling detail. Once begun it was impossible to put down. I recommend it highly.

The distant howl of the wolf seems at home alongside campfires under a brilliant moon. The echoes of those cries ring with loneliness and pain. They are forever linked with the wildest of the wild, nature untouched and pure. The Southwestern U.S. to Mexico is a wild and natural area, but far from untouched and pristine wilderness areas. Moon-filled nights are no longer punctuated by the wolf's plaintive calls due to a century of persecution that eliminated all species of wolf from the South West. With the attempts to reintroduce wild packs and the subsequent controversy regarding this issue a new edition of the David E. Brown's brilliant 'The Wolf in the Southwest - The Making of an Endangered Species' has been released by High Lonesome Books. Originally published in 1983, 'The Wolf in the Southwest' documents the fervor to rid the wolf from the wilds of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas from the late 19th century until the late 1970's. David E. Brown has painstakingly researched his book from decades of archival records documenting the plight of the southwest cattlemen. These ranchers whose heavy losses to cattle depredation lead to a government sanctioned declaration of war on all predators. It is a grimly fascinating tale of the sad history of the wolf in the southwest. David E. Brown's 'The Wolf in the Southwest' is the definitive resource on the various species of southwestern wolf, covering their biology, territory and first hand descriptive accounts of their place within their historical environment. These coincide with various trapper reports, techniques and encounters. Thorough and complete with many historical photos and documents, David E. Brown brings this shortsighted era to life. 'The Wolf in the Southwest - The Making of an Endangered Species' is a bitter read for it eulogizes, not celebrates the wolf. A dramatic reminder of how destructive the world was and still is and how once we set foot in pristine natural areas we slowly begin to lose them.

As always, David Brown's revised edition of The Wolf In The Southwest, meets the highest standards in wildlife writing! This updated version is the 'cornerstone' of information on the history of the Mexican Gray Wolf in the southwest, and has practical insight included for the wolf's current status in Arizona and New Mexico. It is an unbiased, factual representation of historic gray wolf management and biology, and a valuable resource on this large carnivore, which once again roams the manificently rugged Arizona-New Mexico border country.

Middleton, Shaw, Fortney and Lynch. If you haven't had the opportunity to attend a workshop that they are giving that should be a priority. If you can't fit it into your schedule or budget this book is the next best thing to working side by side with them. If you have had the opportunity, then American Vision will serve as an economical reinforcement of the lessons that they present in their workshops. The book is easy to read, and the photos...well they serve as a constant reminder that "anyone" can take good nature photographs.

This book contains a fact-based account of a tragic accident in the Grand Banks in 1854. The US steamship Arctic, charging through the fog at top speed (as was customary in the days when transatlantic speed records were a matter of national pride), collided with a smaller but hardier ship that ripped a fatal wound in Arctic's hull. Captain Luce made a mad dash for land, but there wasn't enough time to save his ship, and Arctic was seriously lacking in lifeboats. This desperate situation brought out the worst in some of the crew, whose cowardly actions helped cause the death of every woman and child on the ship (so much for the idea of noble seafarers). The crew wasn't the only problem; try to imagine the dread that passengers felt as they blew up inflatable life jackets only to see the defective items deflate seconds later. The ensuing chaos in which over 300 people died is described by the author in gruesome detail.

So why give this book only two measly stars? I should say that the author obviously has a vast knowledge of and love for the sea. But his writing style is ponderous and overblown, especially in the first half of the book when nothing much is happening. It is as if Mr. Shaw is afraid we will lose interest, so he empties his thesaurus in our general direction. The book is stuffed to the gills with pointless adjectives, blatant foreshadowing, and mind-melting statements such as "At sea, the ceaseless motion, the salt in the air, and the relentless ocean swells transport one's sense of identity, some say to the sublime." Huh?

Adding to my discomfort is the fact that although this book is advertised as a historical account, much of the filler material leading up to the collision is fabricated. Captain Luce isn't around anymore to tell us whether he "walked to the rail and gazed off into the gloom, shivering slightly from the dampness." We can imagine that Luce might have done that, but by blurring this and other hypothetical statements with the facts, Shaw has transformed the real-life captain into a boring fictional character. I didn't care about Luce as much as some of the other more minor but more real people in the book because I figured he would be back for the sequel.

I continued reading past about page 40 only because I wanted to see how bad the book could get. Fortunately, I was rewarded for my "patience" with a compelling description of Arctic's last hours. The horror of the events finally catches up to the horror of Shaw's writing around page 95. If you're going to buy the book, start reading at that point and spare yourself the harrowing experience I had.

I found this book to be a well written account of a tragic maritime accident. Captain Luce, the captain of the SS Arctic, comes alive on the pages. His love for his disabled son comes across strongly and makes Luce human across the distance of 150 years. The book introduces us to a time when the American shipping industry (taking advantage of the British being occupied with the Crimean War) led the world in transatlantic shipping. The author shows us how the competitive nature of the time to always be the fastest led to the disaster. When the tragedy strikes and the ship is damaged, the author brings the disaster to life as we see the crew abandoning women and children (not a single woman or child survived the sinking) as they steal the few lifeboats the ship carried. It is in discussing the events after the sinking where the book fails in my opinion. Nothing was done to punish the crew and the author doesn't really explain why the maritime courts never sought out the crew for punishment. Overall, however, the book is well written and informative.

It's always refreshing to find a book that tells me about a little known incident in American history. This book, concerning the 1854 sinking of the steamship Arctic, is one of those books. As an added bonus, it's extremely well-written, reading almost as if it were a novel. There are a lot of nautical terms thrown about, but there is a glossary to help those, like myself, who are unfamiliar with them. We get a capsule history of the Great Race across the Atlantic between competing British and American companies, and a bit about ship design 150 years ago, when most were wooden, with side paddle wheels. The story about the collision of the Arctic with another ship, and the subsequent tragedy that happened because many crew members ignored the adage "women and children first" is heartbreaking. The astonishing survival of some of the folks from the ship, including the captain, is quite riveting, in large part because of the excellent writing involved. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and highly recommend it to others.