Tir a' Mhurain: The Outer Hebrides Of Scotland is a new and impressive edition showcasing the 105 duotone, breathtaking, sequenced photographs by Paul Strand (1890-1976) drawn from his 1954 sojourn to the untamed island of South Uist, located near the west coast of Scotland. Glorious images of landscapes and sea, personal portraits of fishermen, and wondrous natural splendor mark this volume which is a joy to leaf through as it presents captured images and memories of a truly timeless beauty. With an informative text by Basil Davidson and featuring an excellent introduction by Catherine Duncan, Tir a' Mhurain is a much appreciated contribution to the art of photography and a highly recommended acquisition for personal, professional, and academic "History of Photography" reference collections.

Paul Strand, one of the great photographers of the world, spent three months in 1954 on the Island of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Long a fan of Scottish photographers and Scotland (he had devoted the first gallery in his 1937 "Centenary of Photography" exhibition at the New York Museum of Modern Art to the work of the Scottish pioneers Hill and Adamson) he excelled himself with Tir a'Mhurain (the title is Gaelic for "Land of the bent grass" one of the Gaelic names for Uist).

It is sumptuous, penetrating and great art. The book is long out of print and this re-print (not quite perfect as some of the pictures appear a little soft) is a rare opportunity to own it without forking out hundreds of pounds for an original (not that they come on the market).

If you are interested in photography, the Western Isles, Scotland or even just life and people, buy it!

Photographer Paul Strand (1890-1976) created an impressive, ground breaking visual portrait of rural life in post-war France in La France De Profil. Enhanced with an informative commentary by French author, essayist and poet Claude Roy (1915-1997), this truly classic (and even legendary) work has been brought back into print after an absence of almost fifty years and will admirably serve to introduce a whole new generation of photographers and students of the history of photography to a memorable and enduring tribute to combined use of photographic images and writing to explore and showcase a "yesteryear" time, place and people.

Paul Strand unquestionably had a great career in photography and is one of the all time masters. But this book of his early work shows the depth of his artistic vision. Unconstrained by commercial pressures and reputation, much of Strand's early work shown in this book is graphically stronger, more "edgy", and more compelling than his later work, as acclaimed as it is.

If you love Strand's later work, this book, at the very least, will be meaningful to you by showing you a glimpse of the development of this great photographer. Beyond that, you may love his early work and find it compelling and inspirational, as I do.

Never have I experienced before the feeling of looking into Italy's eyes so deeply. The photos of Paul Strand along with the notes of Cesare Zavattini are a masterpiece.

But most important : you may fall in love with the little girl on page 72. As for me, I will never forget that look.

This book presents a small collection of Mr. Strand's images, all titled and dated, and offers a glimpse of the entire span of his career. We are given a sense of his work through four of the major times and places during his life: his photographic apprenticeship in New York during the late 1910's, a sampling of his work done under commission in Mexico, his well known work in New England, and finally, images taken after his emigration to France, in 1950. A brief biography precedes the photographs that follow, and we are left to consider the images free from further didactic comment.

At first sight, one senses immediately the charm this man might have possessed in his relationships with both himself and those people and things surrounding his life. This sense is borne out in the wry humor of "Town Hall", with its off kilter framing, which we instantly recognize as Paul Strand. Ironically, a closer study of his personal life indicates Mr. Strand could be a difficult man. The well-known "Wall Street", an earlier piece of darkly shadowed monstrous windows overpowering passers by, is as close to the foggy pictorialist sense Strand will get, and the rest of the images show him breaking away from that style, and moving head first into the previsualized and almost straight photographic style that he was to help break ground for.

In this collection, several of the photographs stand out; but many seem rather innocuous, specifically the portraits of those he knew personally, and those he didn't - none seem to capture the viewers imagination like those of Mr. Strands' contemporaries might, Edward Weston for one. Instead, they seem unimaginative and emotionless. Furthermore, it doesn't help that, lacking that content, it may be that his reputation as an innovative technician in the darkroom goes unnoticed here, seeing these images only on the page (in small 7 inch by 6 inch reprint).

On the other hand, we are shown some photographs which show how powerful a view of quiet solitude can be. Of particular note,"Tir a'Mhurain" stands alone. A wide view of the silence surrounding three horses watering in the bay, and in the very left foreground, they are being watched from far above by a lone white horse. The leading of the three animals has turned its mane toward, and is eyeing the lone horse. The silvery water of the bay reflects the stand of horses, and more strongly, that of an immense and clouded sky, suggesting a powerful solemnity. Faintly, in mid-ground, wood buildings of a fishing village are left powerless in front of only a small mountain range. Taken in 1954, an American living in France (but not able to speak the language), Mr. Strand might have felt himself the lone horse. The obtrusive sky begging for silence. The artist contemplating his subject from afar.

"Driveway" was taken late in his life (in fact, three years prior to his death) where he lived in France. This poetic view leads us through an overgrowth, tunnel-like, of bare tree limbs and branches. Beneath this dark surrounding of hibernating growth, two parallel white cobblestone paths. Our eyes search the dark, shadowed background to where we are being lead; almost imperceptible, at the end of the driveway, we make out a decrepit structure: a country cottage, seemingly empty and abandoned. One cannot help but feel the author's probable recognition of the path of his own life, and the awful truth of life: of autumn, the oncoming winter, the drawing to a close, and of coming home to a place unknown.

In this collection, these are his strongest images, these landscapes. - whether "Fox River", from his acclaimed book "Time in New England", or the handful of New York cityscapes, or the country landscapes and village life scenes, such as "Marketplace", taken in Italy. Robert Adams has suggested that Mr. Strands work went into decline following his emigration to France in 1950 (1). In actuality, it is these images we wish for more of. Mr. Strand's capacity was not limited by time and place, but by subject and content. Seeing the images borne from his emigrated life, one is left wanting less of his still life's and portraits, and more of what showed a more genuine side of Mr. Strand through symbolic form. Not the modernist machine pictures like "Oil Refinery", or "Akeley Motion Picture Camera", but more of "Landscape, Sicily, Italy", with its bare, white birch trees having cloistered the villager's in their quiet homes.

However, in this book, as a simple compendium of Mr. Strand's oeuvre, the viewer is at least left with a closer understanding of a part of what this celebrated photographer was seeing throughout the varied stages and places, both known and foreign, of his life.

1. Adams, Robert Why People Photograph, Aperture Press, 1994. pg. 85

as a person who has been close with the Strand family for a long time, i have to say that out of personal relations and out of knowing the full potential for paul and his family, this book is amazing. you have to remember that there is a face and a mind behind this camera, and the amazing talent that people must have in the first place to even be able to spot beauty in the everyday things. if you can take the time to look at the power of these photographs as a human being with a powerfully capable mind and not as a critic, prone to hang on every little detail instead of fully trying to enjoy the pieces in question, i can garauntee that you will be completely satisfied with this collection. in my mind it will always be stunning.

Things are going swimmingly in Fish! land. In the latest volume, Fish! Tales, authors Stephen C. Lundin, John Christensen, Harry Paul and Philip Strand build on the successful training program that evolved from their first Fish book. Tales shows how four companies - a long-distance call center; a hospital neural-renal unit, a car dealership and a roofing company - have applied Fish! theories effectively. They also provide short examples from other companies to show how well the Fish! function. The four main principles are familiar by now - keep the work fun, seek to serve others, stay focused on your customers and have an enthusiastic attitude - but the examples in the book bring them alive. Along the way, the authors heavily sell their Fish! courses and merchandise - that's just good salesmanship - but the real catch of the day is the final how-to section, showing ways to apply these principles in any organization. The lively writing style helps keep you hooked. We from getAbstract suggest that if you haven't yet caught any Fish!, start with this one. Its cheery, accessible methods should lure you in, hook, line and sinker.

FISH! TALES is a follow up book to the bestseller FISH! For many who read the first book, you will find the fundamental philosophy repeated again but it is needed because the authors have designed this book to stand alone on its own merits. If you haven't read the original you can read this book and understand the principles.

I personally think that reading the original book first is best. Just my opinion.

If you choose to read the original book (only 130 pages or so) you understand the basic principles of the FISH! Philosophy and what the goals are. The goals of this book are the same as the first........As the authors put it in the first book "Enclosed are the keys to creating an innovative and accountable work environment where a playful, attentive, and engaging attitude leads to more energy, enthusiasm, productivity, and creativity."

Doesn't that line above ring of salesmanship? The authors are selling to senior managers the supposed benefits of their book...just something to think about...

While FISH! was written in a parable (short story using fictional characters) format FISH TALES is not. This book is much different than the first and I personally enjoyed this book much more than FISH!

In this book the four points to the philosophy are repeated.

The four key points of the philosophy are:

•Play - have fun and create energy at home or at the office.
•Make their day - how can you engage fellow employees, customers and make each other's day?
•Be Present - How can you make sure you are fully available and aware during conversations with people? It is about create a greater sense of intimacy between individuals.
•Choose Your Attitude - Each day you choose how you are going to act or which "side of the bed" you wake up on. The choice is yours and, the way you act, affects others.

Where this book differs is the following:
•They provide REAL WORLD examples of how companies have implemented the FISH! Philosophy. I personally felt as though the first book was HIGHLY deficient in that sector.
•They interview senior managers who convey that they must "practice what they preach" and be committed to the program.
•They show real world examples of how employees began trusting managers and how critical it is in the whole process.
•They give you a 12-week roadmap to success. I believe this is critical to the success of implementing such a philosophy

This book, like its predecessor, is a great read for the following reasons.
•It is a quick read. I read it in about 2 - 3 hours and I am a fairly slow reader.
•The book is able to illustrate one point extremely effectively. For example, in this book they show how workers attitudes can impact a setting and how many of us don't understand how our attitude impacts our work setting and quality of life.
•These are the kinds of books that employees will read (great for training programs) as they are 100-200 pages in length and easy to read so a massive investment of time and energy isn't required by employees.

My concluding thoughts: I think this book does a better job than its predecessor in conveying key elements but it still never spells out the reason why most management programs fail. I really enjoyed reading the book. I think the book made some inroads from its predecessor through more illustrations and another 40 pages of writing. I still think they just need to convey a basic point to readers. That point is "If top managers don't cooperate or "practice what they preach" or understand why and how this philosophy works it goes nowhere, just like most management programs designed to attain all of the above mentioned goals of productivity, energy, etc.

If you want a great book on business principles I highly encourage everyone to read "The Essential Drucker" by Peter Drucker. Jack Welch is a big Drucker fan and this book is a compilation of his best work of over 60 years and 30 books on management principles.

I'm the General Manager Don Freeman that this book "Fish Tales" refers to in a full chapter who worked for Sprint. The great thing about this book Fish is that it outlines in detail what we were already trying to do before learning about FISH years earlier. It defined it in a way that assisted us in bringing a greater level of understanding and participation for all our employees. "Fish Tales" now brings it to a level showing it works and can be adapted in many different work groups. I implemented it in our call center but I was dressing as Elvis long before reading FISH. This book helped me legitimize my creative fun leadership style with my peers and show that work is fun. The great thing about this book is that you can see in Fish Tales that you have to find your own employee culture and way of making the FISH PHILOSOPHY work in your own Company or Department. It will depend on the type of work being done, product and location in the country. This book gives many ideas on possibilities and helps to open the creative juices!! You don't have to be Elvis! I found the creative "Board of Director meetings" (mentioned in the book) and acting those activities out a fun way to get participation and great fun for all employees too. Go Fish!!
While having fun, it is important to keep the vision and purpose of your business as part of the philosophy. Fish Tales is a great book with wonderful examples you can use. It works well with other work culture initiatives too.