This book is interesting to read! It contains many insightful tips that can be useful not only to other managers. I would say that most of the contributing managers are well worth reading, but in a collection like this one some are of course better than others. All the business leaders have been choosen in a careful evaluation-process to find the best of the best. This process is also described in the book. After the recent developments in the US Economy, it can also be interesting to get the book from the bookshelf, like I did, and read what managers like Ken Lay (Enron), Bernie Ebbers (Worldcom) and Dennis Kozlowski (Tyco) have got to say.

Each chapter, somewhere between 10 and 20 pages, includes the managers career in short along with the key facts about the company they lead. I found it interesting to read about people who have made to the top, and these kind of publications normally includes information you won't find elsewhere. This book is no exception. It is also a book that you can read when you have a few minutes over since the chapters are so short, it is also easy to pick out the managers that find most interesting an concentrate on them.

I have seen an early edition of "Lessons From the Top". Remarkably, "Lessons From the Top" brings America's Corporate Board Room to the rest of America. As a former Assistant Corporate Secretary for what was at the time, America's largest outside Board of Directors, I had the unique opportunity to participate in strategy sessions and become acquanted with captains of US business.

Now, I am happy to say, the rest of America is provided this special opportunity with a glimpse into some of the country's finest corporate leaders. "Lessons from the Top" takes a look at what makes these 50 industry leaders tick and how their actions and skills have contributed to their leadership success.

The access afforded these authors is impressive, as is the statistical selection process utilized to select the participants.

The book is clearly organized and valuable lessons may be learned as we take this book with us on our business travels.

I recommend it for everyone who is interested further insights into leadership skills for work and extra-curricular activities.

Simply put, you hear it straight from the leaders mouth. Neff and Citrin went right to the source and came away with invaluable information for anyone looking to build their own leadership and visionary skills

The format of the book allows for easy reading and lets you choose who to read about whenever you want. The author's were able to draw candid answers from the subjects, making them seem human and not just the mogul behind the desk. There's no doubt that anyone in business, not just CEO's can take plenty from Lessons from the Top.

Thumbs up to Neff and Citrin!

This is one of the best books ever written. It was an upliftment & encouragement. David Parkin is a good example (of a husband, father, man, friend, employer, & person) that more people need to follow. We could use more people like him. I hope heaven is filled with people like him, rather than churchy, selfish, judgmental people. Don't get me wrong - church is good & essential. But I'd rather have people like him in heaven with me. I love David Parkin. The only thing that saddens me is that he is only fictional. But perhaps Richard Paul Evans is the same type of man that David Parkin is - and Richard's real! This is truly one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. I have read all three books in the series in the correct order, and this final book is the best. I just cannot say how beautiful & lovely it is. God must have been holding Richard's hand as he wrote it.

Bravo!! "The Letter" concludes the love story of David and Maryanne Parkin. You must read "The Christmas Box" and "Timepiece", to capture the entire story. Set in the 1930's, Evans did a wonderful job portraying this era. The events, the characters, the places, all well written. This series is one of the best I have ever read. David Parkin is a incredible man. Maryanne is a wonderful, understanding, loving person. Together through their loss of their daughter, Andrea, their lives go in different directions. David sets off on a journey to find answers. As he was abandoned by his mother at six years old, his feelings always haunted him. When Andrea dies, he virtually relives the same feelings, even worse, only this time shutting out Maryanne from his heart. Maryanne makes a major decision that will break your heart. Their love for each is so strong and real, you can feel it just by reading this love story. I can't leave out the characters of Catherine and Lawrence as well. Their part through-out the series is very touching and two very dedicated friends to the Parkins. The ending was incredible. I won't say how it ends but only that I wasn't expecting it and I had to have a box of tissues. As Evans bids farewell to the lives of David and Maryanne, so do I. It was an incredible love story. Don't pass this series up.

The Letter is a great conclusion to a wonderful series of books. If you read "Timepiece" and "The Christmas Box", you must read "The Letter". This book was a little slow in the middle, but keep with it. However, the ending packed a powerful punch. Again, I cried. I fell in love with David and Mary Ann Parkin all over again.

Richard Paul Evans is a gifted writer. I hope he writes more books like this one.

Richard Paul Evans is a gifted and talented author of inspirational and insightful tales. This book fulfills those goals. This is a story of two people in need of trust, faith, hope and love. A man who has lost so much in his life discovers a young woman who never had much to loose. Hunter is a preacher turned gambler. He has turned his back on God due to the death of his wife and child. Hunter is accused of a murder that he didn't commit. Quaye is a young girl from a starving Irish family, whose father "sold" her to a man, Jack, on his way to America. The husband turns out to be an extremely abusive man interested only in gold and money. Quaye accepts her life as the only possibility, no matter how horrible. hunter and Quaye are thrown together in a blizzard. They learn and discover things about themselves when viewed through the others eyes. The story was well written. The details of place and time were wonderful. The only disappointment was... this was the first novel of Richard Paul Evans that did not move me tears with it's lessons on life.

I have read every one of Mr. Evans' books, and find that he only gets better! The Looking Glass, as well as The Locket and the Christmas Box trilogy have helped me to heal differences between myself and my children and mother. I know that each book will require at least 3 hankies or 1 box of tissues, but that is okay, because tears heal. I believe that part of the message he is trying to send is that "it is okay to cry", and cry I do, when I read his books.

This is the first book I have read by Richard Paul Evans and can not wait to get my hands on his other books. You can feel deep down in your heart the agony and then love between Quaye and Hunter as described by R.P.Evans. I would love to see this come out as a movie and plan on buying the audio version of this book!

One of my friends recommended that I read Thomas Hardy, but she cautioned me: "Thomas Hardy isn't for everyone." I discovered while reading "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" that what she may have meant is that Thomas Hardy didn't write light works to be read and then forgotten about. Through this book, Hardy addresses issues that society in his day didn't want to face: the fate of the farm worker in the increasingly industrialized society, predjudices held against minority groups, and the inequality of women. All of this is not to say that this is a dry or boring work -- "Tess" is gripping, riveting, and almost overpowering in its emotional appeal. One cannot read this book without becoming involved in Tess's situation. I have never been so angry with a character in a book as I was with Angel Clare at a certain point in the novel. So, in conclusion, "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" isn't for everyone. . . but it should be for every thinking person, everyone who isn't afraid to face issues, think deeply about them, and apply them to life.

This book is tragic and wonderfully written. Hardy uses words to create a scene for you that creates the visual for you completely. I think that the sadest thing for me was to realize people did live like this, life really was that hard. As a 21st century woman I was outraged at the way that Tess was treated by men and by society. Who is the true bad guy, Alec or Angel? When we read it with our societies mores we perceive it one way, but if we were ken to the morals of that society how would we see it? Are they really dastards, or are they all just victims. I am not a scholar, I liked the story for being a good story.

After reading the book I rented the A&E movie. As I watched it, I realized how well the book translated into video, because I had already seen the exact same scenery in my mind. The only thing that surprised me was the bleakness of the trunip farm and Tesses horrible conditions. I couldn't imagine anything that awful.

There are a lot of words, similar to DH Lawrence, but I wouldn't get rid of a one of them. If you come to this book as a great story and not as a classic novel, you will hold Tess to your heart and never forget her tragedies.

Please ignore the immature high-school student reviews and understand that this book is a masterpiece. Hardy analyzes the relationship between human desire and society's mores to an unprecendented degree. The characters are multi-faceted and very life-like. Hardly aptly avoids the mistake of creating mere carciatures of the pure woman, idealistic intellectual, and spoiled playboy. Moreover, his use of religious allusion is excellent although this may alienate the modern, secular reader. And perhaps this is the problem with some readers. Finally, Tess is an admirable and strong woman who had difficult circumstances. How many people would act as admirably in her circumstance? Not many! The reviewers that criticize her actions should realize this and that they ignore one of Hardy's key points: Don't be so judgemental! This is one of the best books I have read and believe me, I have read a lot of the "good" books.

Utopia is a classic masterpiece that conveys More's vivid imagination of the Island of Utopia. Although most of the characters are fictional, it is intriguing to learn about the true values of European societies during the 16th century, when More actually wrote the book (although many scholars believe that the exact year was 1515). Truthfully, the book is quite easy to understand. All More tries to do is convey his own views of how society should be through Raphael. Moreover, the use of imagery in Book I is quite fascinating, including the constant references to Roman and Greek myths and beliefs. It is also quite remarkable to see that the story begins to be more and more interesting after More and Giles come back from dinner. To make a long story short, I think it is a great book because of the actual time it was written in since most pieces of literature written at that time were either lost or destroyed.

As a social critique of Enlgish and European society, this book is very effective. It is also beautifully written. But it should not be read as the depiction of what society should be like. Thomas More, a wise and brave man executed by orders of Henry VIII, knew that Utopia shouldn't be taken very seriously, and that is exactly why he used the word Utopia to name his famous island. Utopia, in latin, means "in no place", that what can not exist. The problem is that this simple fact was not understood by many. And so, "utopianism" was born. The preposterous belief that there is a universal and definitive form of organization for human societies led to disasters like Nazism and Communism. By organizing everything perfectly (according to who?), these systems become the negation of the very essence of the human being: its innate imperfection and its need to be constantly changing, always on the move. It is simply impossible that some political, economic and social system resolves once and for all the troubles of humanity. Problems are exactly what make humans progress and reform constantly. Besides, the State has proven indispensable for survival, but also limited in what it can accomplish (in Utopia, the State provides everything for everybody). Stagnant societies degenerate and disappear, or remain to live from the charity of dynamic societies. Closed, perennial social systems, simply don't work: there is abundant proof in history, ancient or recent. "Utopia" is an excellent account of human shortcomings and a good tale, but it is not, nor was intended to be, a recipe with solutions for the world. Aldous Huxley and George Orwell have shown us what might happen in a supposed Utopia. The Communist world was worse. And Anthony Burgess clearly shows us in "A Clockwork Orange", that in "perfect" societies, the only way to practice freedom is violence. Let's not be perfect.

It's unfortunate that it seems as if most of these reviews were written by people whose only knowledge of More has come from the (mostly incorrect) opinions they have formed after reading this book. I don't think one can truly understand its import until he or she understands where Moore is at this point in his life and what he previously wrote ("Life of Pico", for example) and what he wrote later (while in prison, perhaps). No, he wasn't expressing his views through Raphael. In fact, it's clear that Raphael is an opinionated fibber (i.e., he discovered Utopia after Vespucci's fourth voyage? There were only three and Morus knows it...) and his account is purposefully filled with contradictions. There's more to it! More is raising issues, trying to make the careful reader think (and shame on some of the other reviewers for not being careful readers). And once you've read this book, read enough More (ha!) to understand what was going on in the bigger scheme of things, such as More's relationship with the other Renaissance humanists of his time and Henry VIII.

For Evan Thomas to remind readers that John Paul Jones was his own worst enemy, that his vanity, ego and ambition rivaled those of the preening Alexander Hamilton is unnecessary and an understatement. John Paul Jones was, as much as the knowledge pained him, a glory hound. He was also one of the bravest, most skilled and dashing officers in the services of the United States during the Revolutionary War, and Thomas brings the cantankerous, manic-depressive little bulldog to vivid life for today's historians, history buffs and armchair adventurers. The highest highs and lowest lows of Jones's life toss, exalt, thrill, and lurch the reader like an unpredictable sea, and what a wonderful voyage it is!

John Paul Jones is the latest "self-made man" to appear in a biography, following on the heels of Willard Sterne Randall's cumbersome yet well-rendered "Alexander Hamilton: A Life." From humble roots, the son of a Scottish gardener, Jones was determined to rise from under the oppression of the European class system. He gazed out across the magnificent gardens created by his father and saw the ocean, with its seemingly endless horizon -and that is how Jones decided to live the rest of his life: He would expand, grow himself and mold his image anew, as wide as the sea, as broad as the sky.

As much taken with sail and sea as they took him, John Paul Jones was a natural, a gifted sailor who always tried to improve himself, whether his nautical skills, or by reading books to absorb philosophy and seeking the company of men from whom he knew he could learn. Unfortunately, Jones was never able to subdue his passions sufficiently, not sufficiently enough for any self-reflection to temper his sensitivities and thin skin, nor for him to ever cultivate the necessary strengths to achieve his highest ambition: Appointment to the rank of Admiral in the United States Navy. He would have to travel to Russia near the end of his life and enter the service of Catherine the Great to achieve that rank, but as fundamentally flawed and blameful as Jones was, he was not a rank human being. He was steadfast, loyal to his adopted country, America, and never gave in to the easy profit of privateering or ever turned his back on the Stars and Stripes.

He was as big-hearted and melodramatic as he was tragic and romantic, a sometimes womanizer who barely had a head for wine and never drank hard liquor. Like Thomas Jefferson, Jones was a paragon of paradox and yet always was, in the best sense, an American patriot.

It's painful to look on, page after page, reading about Jones's exploits and ideas, tactics and tales, only to see him constantly self-destruct, eventually alienating every single person around him. Nonetheless, Jones knew how to fight in an age where most men achieved rank through connections and lineage, and even though he didn't always win, he won enough: Jones was a tonic for fledgling America, and any other person or power savvy enough to employ his courage.

Sadly, Jones was far from the best judge of character, and often found himself in an impossibly frustrating, nightmarish circumstance because of his own inability to discern veneer from character, though Jones seems to have had plenty of character, and yet constantly coveted superficial laurels of those less worthy. But no matter how badly he may have comported himself, and in spite of how myopic most of his handlers were, blinded to Jones's full potential, "Little Jones" was indeed a mouse that roared.

Whether Jones ever knew it during his life, he certainly reflected the rigid principles of honor to which he held himself and others, and Evan Thomas has written a flowing, absorbing book about John Paul Jones, a man who cherished freedom above all else, and helped bring it to so many others.

This is a good year for navalists and those who study war, combat and leadership.
We have this book which can only be described as a masterpiece worthy of a Pulitzer, and we have Joel Hayward's new highly original book (FOR GOD AND GLORY) on Admiral Nelson, the British naval hero, which is worthy of whatever prizes Britain offers.
Both books present very real, highly eccentric and slightly - dare I say it - weird fighting sailors. But both books, although different in approach to their subjects, make the same point: that Horatio Nelson and John Paul Jones were able to rise above the constraints of their eras and distinguish themselves as true heroes precisely because they were so psychologically unusual.
Evan Thomas's book on John Paul Jones is so sumptuous that your mouth will water as you read the first pages. You'll be hungry - ravenous - to bite into the meat of the book. And you won't be disappointed when you do. This book is so good you'll lie awake thinking about the events of two centuries ago.
I have no reason to say this because I am not an American (and no reason to laud the celebrated new Nelson book by Hayward; I am not a Brit). I am Russian. But I know good research and brilliant writing when I see it. And here I certainly do.
This is a magnificent effort.

This is a good year for navalists and those who study war, combat and leadership.

We have this book which can only be described as a masterpiece worthy of a Pulitzer, and we have Joel Hayward's new highly original book (FOR GOD AND GLORY) on Admiral Nelson, the British naval hero, which is worthy of whatever prizes Britain offers.

Both books present very real, highly eccentric and slightly - dare I say it - weird fighting sailors. But both books, although different in approach to their subjects, make the same point: that Horatio Nelson and John Paul Jones were able to rise above the constraints of their eras and distinguish themselves as true heroes precisely because they were so psychologically unusual.

Evan Thomas's book on John Paul Jones is so sumptuous that your mouth will water as you read the first pages. You'll be hungry - ravenous - to bite into the meat of the book. And you won't be disappointed when you do. This book is so good you'll lie awake thinking about the events of two centuries ago.

I have no reason to say this because I am not an American (and no reason to laud the celebrated new Nelson book by Hayward; I am not a Brit). I am Russian. But I know good research and brilliant writing when I see it. And here I certainly do.

This is a magnificent effort.

For anyone truly interested in exploring alternative methods of prevention and healing this book is a must. Not only does it give a concise and clear explanation of the main thesis -- that of the efficacy of botanical inhibition of the COX-2 enzyme -- but it gives an easily understandable explanation of the qualities and uses of several common and extremely useful herbs. The book is written in such a way that the information can be understood by those of us not necessarily schooled in alternative methods of healing, and it is convincing enough in its arguments to cause even the most sceptical to consider the awesomeness of the possibilities proposed. All of us know someone whose life has been effected by arthritis, cancer, or Alzheimer's disease. Thomas M. Newmark and Paul Schulick have done a great service in explaining the workings of the COX-2 enzyme as it relates to those diseases. Anyone who wants to be informed in approaching their own or a loved one's health should read this book.

Beyond Aspirin is a wonderful story of how our bodies are influenced by specific herbs. We can work to better our health by using herbs to treat arthritis, cancer, and alzheimers disease (maybe more! ). It is written by master herbalist Paul Schulick and the educator Tomas Newmark. I have found that for my own purposes, I get amazing relief form constant back pain, and insomnia using their recommendations. I have found products at health food stores that have many of the herbs in the book all in one product! Buy it, It can change your life!

Newmark and Schulick don't patronize their readers, don't make glib cure-all claims for the herbal COX-2 inhibitors, don't disparage normal medical practice, and do make good sense that anyone suffering from osteo arthritis (as I do) should pay close attention to.

Inflammation is, as the authors make clear, a critical component in many other disease processes, a fact prominent in recent medical news. The core of their book, though, is the well-argued claim that the remarkable improvement over the likes of aspirin, ibuprofen and other NSAID's achieved in the last year or two by new COX-2 inhibiting drugs (such as Celebrex and Vioxx) is also attainable via a number of herbs that have been used for centuries and whose "biochemistry ... is infinitely more complex, balanced, effective and safe than the silver bullet approach of using one synthetic molecule."

I found their general explanation of the paradoxically helpful/harmful nature of the body's natural inflammatory response to injury very clear and most interesting for understanding my own particular case. I also enjoyed the rather bold analogies frequently employed in their explanations as well as the literary quotes and herbal drawings. In general, this is a book that anticipates and pleases a skeptical reader.

For the record, I took their advice and found a highly concentrated source of several of the herbs they mention. The very substantial and rapid reduction in swelling and pain in my ankle impressed and delighted me. The product I used (Zyflamend) is actually produced by Newmark and Schulick, but is not even mentioned in their book!

I recently purchased this book after having attended a seminar by one of the book's co-authors, Master Richard M. Mooney (Pages 36, 113-116). The Power in Powerful Empty Force is quite real and valid. I was a skeptic until I almost threw up when projected onto by this Empty Force Master. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn the basics of this fascinating martial arts method. Some other have complained that this book contains no info on limbering up and meridians and such. Well, there are many other books that do, and I am glad this manual did not have a bunch of peripheral information NOT related to the subject at hand.

Another writer said the method is useless on about 60% of attackers; to that I ask what method is 100% effective all the time? None Are! So, if you are interested in just sitting on your duff and not doing the exercises, but are instead waiting for some peer reviewed material, too bad.

If you are a true visionary and have an open and exploring mind, and want to see and do for yourself, then this is the book for you.

Best Wishes;

N. Duarte

I have been training under Master Paul Dong since 1993. In the seven years I have been training in Lin Kong Jing, I have have accomplished much. The book that I helped Master Dong to write is a one of a kind masterpiece. The information contained in it was never available to just anyone, but Master Dong decided it was time to reveal it.

There are many skeptics, keyboard commandos, and arm chair martial arts wizards, their opinions ring as hollow as their "skill". Reading about Powerful Empty Force will not develop the ability. It can only be attained through countless hours of hard work, effort and sweat. I have presented demonstrations of the skill in many places, and have always replicated the results gained from hard practice.

To those of you with an adventurers heart and soul, I thank you! To those who make claims without having practiced, I am sad for you, for you will never know the strength that comes from great training, such as I have had.

Many people seem to have the wrong idea that the method is being presented as a be-all-end-all kind of technique. There are many things that are possible, and all things have limitations, Lin Kong Jing is just one example of possibility and limitation. Just as in real life, with physcal limitations, there are also energetic limitations. Many will be affected by the Lin Kong Jing, some less so, and others not at all. It does not mean the skill is useless, it just means that there are limits. It is a great adjunctive training method for any martial artist, and if it did not work, I would not train in it, teach it, or promote the method.

I believe this is an excellent book on the subject of Empty Force. I don't really believe that I would advise a beginner of the internal arts to try and learn from this book. I would advise them to try a more simple book on chi kung or tai chi just to get started. I wanted a more advanced book and with (Empty Force : The Ultimate Martial Art: The Power of Chi for Self-Defense and Energy Healing) that's exactly what I got.

This book is a pretty decent critique of the New Perspective view on Paul. It is also a good expousal of the traditional Protestant view of the Law/Gospel paradigm (Schreiner takes a NCT/Lutheran approach to the Law). However, when one starts to read the final two chapters one will detect that there are alarming conclusions regarding justification, works, and judgment. In chapter 7, Schreiner argues that Paul taught that good works are necessary FOR salvation (not as a necessary RESULT of salvation). He argues this based on certain passages in the Pauline epistles (e.g., Romans 2:13). He also argues that the rest of the New Testament writers also argued for works as necessary for final salvation (Chapter 8) based on certain New Testament passages (e.g., James 2:14-26). This is the same author who once believed that righteousness was "transformative" rather than "forensic". In fact, this book was published when the author held to the "transformative" view. Many readers should be wary of this and warned of the many disasters of those who claim to be traditional Protestants yet expouse a system that is anti-Protestant. Theological inconsistency is a serious matter. The last two chapters gives this book one star.

The previous reviewers are quite accurate in their apparaisal of Schreiner's critique of the so-called "New Perspective" on Paul. He shows how it is lacking time and again in the terms Paul sets out for the Law.

However, although he is correct in his defense against the New perspective, I am unconvinced that he adequately lays out a correct understanding of "nomos" from the Greek NT. Quite simply, he does not deal with the totality of Paul's statements on the Law, and thus is forced to charicature Paul's position just as surely as the New Perspective does. If the New Perspective desires to say Paul was not critiquing "authentic" jewish religion and re-defines him in that light, Schreiner for his part reads Paul in light of Calvinist formulation. THis is more accurate, but not the same as exegeting a true "Biblical Theology" of Paul's use of the Law as he claims to aim.

I would suggest that anyone interested in a thorough formulation of this look to Frank Thielmann's outstanding "Paul and the Law, A Contextual Approach." Thielmann examines the WHOLE of the Pauline corpus in his work. And his conclusions as a result are, in my mind, far more convincing.

Schreiner's work provides a good response to the New Perspective on Paul and the Law which has swept NT studies over the past fifteen or so years. He approaches the problem from a modified Lutheran standpoint.

Schreiner begins with an overview of the state of NT scholarship on Paul and the Law. He focuses on the impact of Sanders and Dunn, but also takes into account the earlier views of Schweizer and Davies and the more recent contributions of Laato, Westerholm, and Thielman, as well as the Reconstructionists.

He then explores the issues of: the meaning of 'nomos' in Paul; why the works of the Law can't save; the purpose of the law; the temporary nature of the Mosaic covenant; the fulfillment of the law by Christians; and Paul and justification by works. He concludes with a brief sketch of other NT writers on the Law.

Schreiner ably defends the position that Paul was (at least in part) addressing Jewish legalism, that he almost always refers to the Mosaic law by 'nomos', that Christians fulfill the Law by the power of the Spirit, and that works are necessary for final salvation. Works of the Law cannot save because no one keeps the Law perfectly, he contends.

Highly recommended.