At Work With Thomas Edison is a great book. I had always pictured Edison as the lone inventor. Nothing could be further from the truth. This book proved many of my ideas about Edison were simply myths. On the other had this book also expanded my view about the truly amazing accomplishments of Thomas Edison (he started over 100 companies include GE and had over 1,000 patents).

As the book quickly points out Edison was one of the first practitioners in the war for talent. Edison's lab was the first innovation factory and in many ways a precursor to Silicon Valley. The lab had no rules (pet bear, pipe organ, and pranks) and was a true meritocracy. Edison's lab had a basic apprenticeship program and Edition worked with many, many people on the innovation teams that worked on projects. The electric light bulb team was over 75 people.

The book also cast a complementary light on Edison as a businessman. The innovations of the labs lead to the founding of over 100 companies. The labs innovations lead to a virtuous cycle of products, systems, and industries. This led to more innovation and more businesses. Edison was not Rockefeller nor did he want to be he wanted his business to continue to provide funding for invention. Edison was adept at capturing and using venture capital.

Edison was also quite adept at marketing. At a time before self-promotion was recognized or well understood Edison was adept at it. Edison's ability to market himself and his ideas lead to better funding, recognition, and a reputation, which allowed him to invent even more.

This is a great book. Edison was one of the greatest Americans to have ever lived.

At Work With Thomas Edison: 10 Business Lessons From Ame4rica's Greatest Innovator by Blaine McCormick (management professor at the Hankamer School of Business, Baylor University) is a savvy presentation of ten crucial business lessons from America's greatest inventor. A an astute businessman as well as a famed inventor and creator of the world's first research and development (R&D) operation, Thomas Edison's management techniques helped him incorporate over 100 businesses and contain much wisdom to remember in today's modern world. Innovative, inspirational, and motivational reading.

Here is another terrific book from Blaine McCormick who, as he did so skillfully in Ben Franklin's 12 Rules of Management, focuses on an historic figure from whose life and work certain important "lessons" can be learned. Yes, they include lessons relevant to business but so many other kinds of lessons which anyone needs inorder to think more clearly and more creatively, to nourish and enrich one's personal life, and of equal (if not greater) importance, to persevere in the face of great adversity. Most people would agree that Edison was the greatest inventor who ever lived. Most people may not know that he was also a very shrewd businessman with a deep understanding of key issues such as allocation of resources (e.g. time management), setting proper priorities, delegating work to those better qualified to complete it, and creating and then sustain competitive advantage.

McCormick identifies and then examines ten different "Lessons" which, collectively, delineate Edison's business model:

1. Limit your way to greater creativity.

2. Talent comes and talent goes but mediocrity accumulates.

3. Creativity is all about making connections.

4. If you want to invent, build yourself an invention factory.

5. The greatest innovators have made a lot of F's.

An interesting point because most people fear failure. Edison passionately believed that the more failed experiments (whatever the situation) he completed, the more likely eventual success would be. Only through rigorous and extensive experimentation is it possible to determine what we don't know, and, what doesn't work. Moreover, what is true today and what works today may be inadequate or even wrong tomorrow. For Edison, failure (not success) was the best teacher. He was an avid student whose appetite for learning was insatiable.

6. In a capitalist society, whoever attracts the most capital wins.

7. The best-promoted technology will often beat the best technology.

8. The price of freedom is a premium most customers are willing to pay.

Another interesting point. An abundance of research data on "customer satisfaction" indicate that "convenience" (or "ease of doing business") is almost always ranked #1 or #2 among attributes. FYI, "Price" is ranked anywhere from #9 to #14.

9. Play is to innovation what rules are to bureaucracy.

10. Glow, but don't consume yourself.

McCormick organizes his material within ten chapters, including with several an "Interview with an Innovator" section which poses questions or explores issues such as "Why Do So Many Men Never Amount to Anything?" and "How to Succeed as an Innovator." Throughout the crisp narrative, the reader is provided with dozens of brief quotations from Edison's writings which correlated with relevant "Lessons" and anchored in specific situations throughout his life. All of us are by now weary of (indeed hostile to) books which provide flimsy lessons from questionable sources, such as "People Skills Lessons from the World's Greatest Hermits." Both in his book on Franklin and in this book on Edison, McCormick focuses on "Lessons" (albeit familiar) which are wholly authentic within the context he creates for them. Wisely, McCormick allows Edison the last word: "My philosophy of life is work -- bringing out the secrets of nature and applying them for the happiness of man. I know of no better service to render during the short time we are in this world." There is no way I (or anyone else) can improve on that so I shall not try. Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Edison in the Boardroom, co-authored by Julie L. Davis and Suzanne S. Harrison.

As the authors quite rightly put, this was the prelude to Pearl Harbor. The Italian Navy was stationed at this harbor and posed a threat to British sea routes to Egypt, India, Singapore, and Australia. A daring attack by 21 aircraft from a British aircraft carrier damaged three Italian battleships and put them out of action for six to nine months. Since they were in a heavily protected shallow harbor, it was indeed a daring attack, which the Japanese copied to place the American Pacific fleet out of action. The Japanese attack was on a much larger scale.
One of the authors was a member of the attack group, and he gives his own account in the battle.
This is a nice little read. The book is short and has plenty of photos. A determined reader could finish this book in two to three hours. Taranto was indeed the prelude the Pearl Harbor, but now few people realize this. With Lowry's perspective, this is good book about the Second World War.

This is the story of how a small force of obsolete British Swordfish torpedo planes flew into Taranto harbor, surprised the Italian fleet, and sank three battleships. The attack force consisted of about twenty torpedo bombers which flew from a single British carrier in the Mediterranian sea. Although this book is short, the author does a good job of explaining the events leading up to the attack, and how this small force managed to take the Italians complelely by surprise. Furthermore, the Japanese used this attack as a model for their Pearl Harbor operation. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Pearl Harbor. The similarities between the two attacks are uncanny.

On November 11, 1940, a British aircraft carrier launched its torpedo bombers on a sneak attack on the Italian fleet anchored in the heavily defended port of Taranto. The Italian fleet was heavily damaged, and its morale was shaken. Among those examining the attack was Japanese admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, who had similar plans of his own...

This short book examines the attack on Taranto, all the while showing how that attack influenced the later attack on Pearl Harbor. Along the way, the author treats the reader to a history of aircraft carriers, torpedoes, the Italian and Japanese navies, and just about everything pertinent to a full understanding of the two attacks. After the Taranto chapters, there is another examining the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway. The eight(!) appendices cover such topics as British naval aviation, the raid on Bomba, Libya, the names of the British flight crews at Taranto, and much more.

This book is very well done indeed! The author takes a World War 2 episode that is largely overlooked in many history books, examines it in depth, and makes the whole thing fascinating to read. My one complaint against the book is that it contains only one map, a map of the port of Taranto. However, the book does include a number of great black-and-white pictures that really add to the text. Overall, I would call this a great book, one worth your time to read!

I am a student at Florida State University, My major is Management Information Systems. This book covers many approaches to solving business problems. This book is easy to read and understand. It gives many real world examples and solutions using MS Excel.

He usado el libro en cursos de maestria en administracion. Mis estudiantes lo recomiendan por ser muy didactico, sin sacrificar profundidad en la presentacion de los temas.

This goes great with the hardcover textbook. It is full of problems and solutions to practice with.

Mary Beth Pringle does an good job at capturing the style and format behind John Grisham's fiction. However, her feminist training and backgroud tend to impact her objectivity. Although she attempts to give an "alternative critical perspective" on each of his novels, she seems to give her analysis, from a feminist perspective, throughout the book. Her feminist views take away from the overall quality of her work. Otherwise, it is a fair analysis of Grisham.

Dr. Pringle is an interesting and informative author. Whenever I read Grisham, I have a copy of her book right next to me. If you like Grisham, Pringle's view on his books is second to none. Get this book!

Now I know why literary criticism is important. Pringle's book taught me lots about Grisham's works and the legal thriller genre.

As historian Robert Dallek explains in his forward, this is Thomas Whalen's debut and this work reflects that fact. The writing is sometimes wooden and some quotes are added more to impress the reader, or other historians, that Mr. Whalen went to the effort to interview some of the remaining survivors from that election half a century ago. However, Mr. Whalen's analysis is thoughtful. JFK's 51.5 %-48.5 % victory over Henry Cabot Lodge was historic in many ways. If he had lost, Jack Kennedy's presidential ambitions would most likely been crushed and he may have decided on another line of work. A Lodge victory may well have propelled him to a showdown with Richard Nixon for the 1960 Republican presidential nomination (and this would be dependent on Lodge being re-elected for Senate in 1958, one of the greatest Democratic years in election history). A Lodge Republican presidential nomination in 1960 would certainly have delayed the GOP's rightward turn that was to follow and may have altered the GOP for a generation or more. Ironically, by losing to Kennedy, Lodge would become Vice-President Nixon's running mate in 1960. The author is pretty clear about the reasons for JFK's narrow victory. Joseph Kennedy's money was of great use in this era of comparatively cheaply run elections. The Kennedy campaign charmed women voters with tea parties held by the Kennedy women and door-to-door campaigning. Eunice and Ethel were especially energetic. Lodge did not begin his own campaign until September, spending most of the summer working for the nomination of Dwight Eisenhower as the Republican presidential standard-bearer. Interestingly, Lodge's efforts for Ike angered the conservative Republican Massachusetts newspaperman Basil Brewer, who supported Robert Taft for the GOP presidential nomination. Brewer owned the New Bedford Evening Standard and the Cape Cod Standard Times and he threw his support to JFK rather than Lodge in an act of political revenge. Kennedy mauled Lodge in Irish-Catholic areas where Lodge had performed well in the past. Lodge had won 40 % + in most Irish wards in his election victory in 1946 over David Walsh. JFK reduced Lodge's totals to around 20 % in those same Irish-American neighborhoods. Kennedy cut into Lodge's advantages in traditionally Yankee/Brahmin neighborhoods like Beacon Hill, Back Bay and Cape Cod due to his non-ethnic outlook. As JFK advisor and future Democratic National Committee chairman Lawrence O'Brien explained, "Kennedy represented a new generation, a new kind of Irish politician, one who was rich and respectable and could do battle with the Lodges and other Yankee politicians on their own terms." Kennedy also improved upon the Democratic vote amongst other ethnic groups and in economically stressed manufacturing towns like Lynn. Interestingly, neither JFK nor Ted Kennedy was able to save Massachusetts manufacturing from decline in the years to come. One weak point of the book is a lack of understanding of Massachusetts's changing demographics in the 20th Century. By the time of JFK's victory over Lodge, the Massachusetts Irish were growing in numbers and power and were confident that the future was theirs politically. On the other hand, with much smaller families than the Irish, the Yankees could see the handwriting on the wall by 1952 that they were doomed to lose their control over a land they had dominated since 1620. Emphasizing this point was the landslide defeat of George Cabot Lodge, Henry's son, to the lightly regarded (at least then) Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy in the 1962 Senate race. After the defeat of the last political Lodge in 1962, Yankees largely surrendered the political arena to the Irish and other Massachusetts ethnic groups. Many, and probably most, Yankees would change their political allegience to Democratic within a generation or two as the modern day Republican party moved to the right. Fifty years after the Kennedy-Lodge Senate race, the Massachusetts Yankees are a small bulwark in the Democratic predominance of the essentially one-party state of Massachusetts.

While there have been many books written about presidential campaigns, relatively few books have been written about important congressional campaigns. Thomas Whalen's "Kennedy versus Lodge" attempts to correct this bias by offering the reader a well-written, well-researched account of a truly historic US Senate race in Massachusetts between two of the most important political families in American history. Until 1952 the dominant political family in Massachusetts and New England was the Republican Lodge family, and they were far better-known and more distinguished than the Kennedys. The Lodges were descended from the original English, Puritan colonists who had settled Massachusetts in the 1600's, and they had made their millions in the nineteenth century while the Kennedys and other Irish Catholic immigrants to Boston were fighting just to survive. From the 1880's to the 1920's the family's most famous figure was Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Sr. A close friend of Theodore Roosevelt and one of the most powerful men in Congress, Lodge led the fight to keep the USA out of the League of Nations and became President Woodrow Wilson's most hated enemy. Lodge also looked down his nose at the "grubby" Irish Catholic immigrants who were beginning to outnumber the older Protestant English families (called "Yankees" or "Brahmins") who had dominated Massachusetts politics since the United States became an independent nation. In 1916 Lodge faced a stiff challenge for his Senate seat by John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, the popular Irish Catholic Mayor of Boston, and who was John F. Kennedy's grandfather. Lodge narrowly defeated Fitzgerald, thus beginning a great rivalry between the two families. Fitzgerald's daughter, Rose, desperately wanted to avenge her father's defeat by the Lodges, and in 1952 she got her chance when her handsome and charming son, Congressman John F. Kennedy, ran against Lodge's grandson and namesake, Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., for a Senate seat. Lodge was the dominant politician in New England and a national leader of Liberal Republicans (and there used to be lots of Liberal Republicans). Kennedy was originally seen as the underdog in the race, and Lodge had beaten some tough Irish Catholic politicians before. Lodge even advised JFK's tough father, Joe, to "save his money" and avoid the race. Of course, that only made the Kennedys even more determined to "get even" and defeat the Lodges once and for all. They poured a huge amount of money into the race, ran a slick advertising campaign, and John F. Kennedy himself repeatedly visited every town and village in Massachusetts. Lodge, however, was so confident of victory that he ignored his own race and spent most of 1952 helping to lead the fight to get the Republican presidential nomination for Dwight Eisenhower and defeat the conservative Republican candidate, Senator Robert Taft of Ohio. Eisenhower won the nomination, but Taft's angry supporters in Massachusetts vowed revenge against Lodge and defected to Kennedy's campaign. Lodge didn't get his own Senate campaign started until August 1952, and by then the Kennedy's campaign "machine" was running at full steam. In the end John F. Kennedy narrowly defeated Lodge and "evened the score" for the Kennedys. As Whalen points out, this Senate campaign truly made history. If Kennedy hadn't beaten Lodge, he almost certainly would never have become President. And if Lodge had won, then he would have become one of the most powerful Republicans in America, and could have been the Republican presidential nominee in 1960 instead of Richard Nixon. And, of course, Kennedy's victory allowed his family to replace the Lodges as New England's most powerful and famous political dynasty. After their 1952 defeat, the Lodges never again elected a member of their family to political office, and today the family has "retired" from political life. Overall, this is a fine book about an important Senate race between two wealthy and prominent politicians whose careers would change American history, for better and for worse.

Here is an engaging account of a seminal election campaign, the results of which would reverberate through Massachusetts and national politics for decades to come.

Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. was the grandson of an early 20th Century political titan and Teddy Roosevelt confidant, and in 1952, an accomplished, three-term Senate incumbent in his own right. John F. Kennedy was the upstart Congressman with star power: the charismatic war hero with a natural electoral base in the Bay State's sizable Irish Catholic community and plenty of Daddy's money to bolster his campaign.

Thomas Whalen tells the story of the election that would catapult Kennedy into national prominence and put him on the road to the White House eight short years later. Whalen explores many reasons for Kennedy's victory, including his assiduous courting of the women's vote, adroit use of the new television medium, and the electorate's strong affinity for an "Irish Brahmin."

Another major factor, according to Whalen, was Lodge's role in helping to engineer the Republican nomination for Dwight Eisenhower at the Republican convention. Lodge, who served as Ike's campaign chairman, earned the eternal enmity of the Taft loyalists, who meted out their retribution by openly siding with his Democratic opponent in the 1952 Senate campaign. Kennedy's position as an avowed Cold Warrior helped to facilitate the flight of Republican conservatives such as the influential newspaper publisher Basil Brewster into the Kennedy camp. Even Ike's superb showing at the top of the ticket -- he won Massachusetts handily -- could not carry the day for Lodge, who would never again hold elective office.

Lodge's defeat would signal the beginning of the end of Yankee Republican primacy, and cement Democratic hegemony in the Bay State. After Ike, no Republican Presidential candidate would carry the state again until Reagan in 1984.

For the Kennedy clan, the victory was sweet revenge. JFK's maternal grandfather, the irrepressible "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, had failed in a bid for the elder Lodge's Senate seat in 1916.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in U.S. politics.

While initially excited by this book, within a few chapters I found it disappointing. First, while the books a whole is organized in a logical way, each chapter is a desultory journey over mounds of unrelated information--some that can be supported by scholarship and some that amounts to no more than folk tales. Second, this books suffers from the same problem a lot of books translated or written around the same time fall prey to: ecumenism. The introduction by Merton is a tip-off that more of the same is to come. Personally, I don't like translations or books on Zen that "Westernize" Chinese philosophy, and I think that Wu does this far too much. Thankfully, this trend seems to have reversed itself (see, e.g., Burton Watson's translations of the writings of Lin Chi)

This book deals with the heyday of Zen Buddhism, Tang dynasty. The purpose of this book is introducing the Westerners to the Zen Buddhism. In other word, this is a Zen primer. Zen master Suzuki¡¯s ¡®An Introduction to Zen Buddhism¡¯ is widely read for this purpose. But this book is somewhat different from Suzuki¡¯s. Just like Suzuki¡¯s book, this book follow the standard format of Zen primer. Listing koans (about the koan, see my review on Suzuki¡¯s book) chronically with the related anecdotes. But unlike Suzuki¡¯s, Wu takes the stance of interpreter not of storyteller. Storytelling is the classic way to introducing Zen Buddhism (for the reason, see my review on Suzuki¡¯s). But in that way, beginners can¡¯t grasp even the basic of Zen Buddhism. So Wu approaches somewhat differently. He begins with why Zen should take place in China, not in India. He points out the influence of Taoism. Taoism has, in fact, affinity to Buddhism and it¡¯s the mindset the Chinese understood foreign thought, Buddhism. So Wu argue that we can¡¯t figure out Zen without understanding basic principles of Taoism. Suzuki¡¯s book, for example, represents and explains the principles of Zen from the tradition of Buddhism. But unfortunately it seems not that good way to figure out Zen. Like other thoughts, Zen could be best understood against the historical backdrop. And it¡¯s the way this book employs and the beauty of this book: each principle of Zen is explained against Taoism and historical backdrop. Thought could be fully understood when the behind motives are grasped, I think. Yep, such works are not hard to see in Buddhology. But this book is written in the plain English to be steadfast to the intention of Zen primer.

Wu provides a perspective of Zen which is as illuminating as Suzuki's. The additional commentary by Merton is also helpful as both he and Wu are Christians. Their Christian background provides a common jump-off point for many of us of Christian beginnings into the non-dogmatic world of Zen. At the same time our Christianity is deepened with the unmeasurable Buddha mind.

Wu additionally provides a meaningful translation of the Tao te Ching.

a fine newish book from germany.... brussig has a similar bite to philip roth... facing real issues especially the german fear of being german....

I laughed from page 2 to the last. Brussig is an imaginative and talented writer that truly knows the meaning of satire. If you like dark humor and cynicism, then this book is for you.

Be aware that if you can't handle "penis talk" then you definitely should not read this. The German version is equally as good, and likewise the translation is quite accurate.

Originally I gave "Heroes like us" to my stepfather, because I thought it was about the term of history he has lived in, and so he would be interested in a witty story about East Germany. But when he read he was so enthusiastic about it that he could not give it away. I immediately took the book and did not wonder any more about his reaction. The slightly ironic style of Thomas Brussig took possession of me. The action mainly takes place in the area where I was born and so I could comprehend how "hero" Klaus experiences his surroundings. But I think for any other reader this book will also bring perfect entertainment and better understanding of "life in the DDR".

The content is okay, but the sloppiness of the writing and all the typos are annoying and distracting. The author should fire the editor, except she was his wife, and she is also the very favorable reviewer below named Dr. Pearl Hibbard. I wonder how she reviewed the book when it appears that, as editor, she didn't even read it.

Reading Thomas Merton: A Guide To His Life And Work by John Laughlin (International Thomas Merton Society and Cistercian Lay Contemplatives) is a scholarly, meticulous, involved, and informative examination and survey of Thomas Merton and his literary work. Part I focuses on Merton's life in detail, and Part II is a complete, annotated bibliography of nearly all of his writings. From listings of Merton-related web sites to the best places to find Merton's books to key quotes from Merton's works, Reading Thomas Merton is an invaluable and essential reference for students of Merton's thought and writings.

Having been a devoted reader of Thomas Merton for many years, it is welcoming at last to see a book that not only says who Thomas Merton is but has an annotated bibliography of his works and works about him. This book is a one-stop "Merton-ville Express" that will lead to a land of exciting spiritual challenge. Floundering around in your spiritual journey? So did Merton! Join him through his books on his spiritual journey. You cannot be disappointed. John Laughlin has captured it exquisitely!
Pearl Hibbard, Ph.D. Psychotherapist and Spiritual Director

"The most famous and the most influential of all modern natural right teachers was John Locke." - Leo Strauss
"John Locke has been called America's philosopher, our king in the only way a philosopher has ever been king of a great nation." - Robert A Goldwin

The intent of this review is not to familiarize you with the political philosophy of John Locke, for such a task would require far more than 1,000 words and has already been done elsewhere by others far more qualified than I. This review is for those who have already decided to purchase the Second Treatise but are unaware of the difference between the Peardon (Library of Liberal Arts), Cox (Crofts Classics), and MacPherson (Hackett) editions of the text.

The Cox and MacPherson editions are strikingly similar; however, Cox has taken the liberty of modernizing the text and in the process seems to have misplaced a few words. Peardon, on the other hand, seems to have modernized so much as to have completely lost most of Locke's italicization. So, it is my recommendation to purchase the MacPherson edition. That, or go read the hand-corrected copy of the third printing which is kept in the library of Christ's College, Cambridge University. Unfortunately, the pages in the MacPherson edition are a tad thin, and highlighters seem to leak through the pages. So, if you tend to make good use of highlighers, then you should probably purchase the Cox edition because the library at Christ's College definitely will not allow you to write on their copy.

"The most famous and the most influential of all modern natural right teachers was John Locke." - Leo Strauss
"John Locke has been called America's philosopher, our king in the only way a philosopher has ever been king of a great nation." - Robert A Goldwin

The intent of this review is not to familiarize you with the political philosophy of John Locke, for such a task would require far more than 1,000 words and has already been done elsewhere by others far more qualified than I. This review is for those who have already decided to purchase the Second Treatise but are unaware of the difference between the Peardon (Library of Liberal Arts), Cox (Crofts Classics), and MacPherson (Hackett) editions of the text.

The Cox and MacPherson editions are strikingly similar; however, Cox has taken the liberty of modernizing the text and in the process seems to have misplaced a few words. Peardon, on the other hand, seems to have modernized so much as to have completely lost most of Locke's italicization. So, it is my recommendation to purchase the MacPherson edition. That, or go read the hand-corrected copy of the third printing which is kept in the library of Christ's College, Cambridge University. Unfortunately, the pages in the MacPherson edition are a tad thin, and highlighters seem to leak through the pages. So, if you tend to make good use of highlighers, then you should probably purchase the Cox edition because the library at Christ's College definitely will not allow you to write on their copy.

It is difficult to write a review of the Second Treatise of Government in that it is a book whose central ideas so permeate both British and American thought that no review can do it justice.

Any student of American history, particularly of the revolution and the formation of the Constitution, out of necessity should read this book. It is a book that the revolutionaries themselves were well acquainted with, and formed the rational basis for justifying both the Revolution and the establishment of the Constitution.

Locke is, also, suprisingly easy to read, even today. Cogent, well-formed arguments inform every page of this masterwork. This is a fascinating book that shaped history itself.

I was hoping for some really different ideas. Some were but others were common knowledge ideas. All in all, I don't really regret the purchase.

Kid Concoctions is our children's favorite book series. The second book is even fresher and more original than the first. We hope Book #3 isn't too far ahead in the future. Keep those concoctions coming!

Its very rare to find a book series where the second in the series is better than the first. But thats not the case with the new Kid Concoctions book. "The Ultimate Book of Kid Concoctions #2" was a hit the first time my children and I opened the book. Almost all of the projects are made from 3-4 common household ingredients. The projects seem to be even more original and innovative than the projects in the first book! Hats off to the authors for making a book that lives up to its name and out shines the original. A must have book for any parent or grandparent.