Like a ship's captain, a CEO is only as good as the latest weather report. If a chief executive unknowingly steers his or her ship into the path of a hurricane, that ship's in trouble, no matter how skillful a seaman that captain may be. And unfortunately for CEOs, hurricanes - in the form of disruptive changes that remake markets overnight - have become almost an everyday danger. Authors W. Warner Burke, William Trahant and Richard Koonce argue that the most critical function of a corporate leader today is to monitor and respond to these rapid shifts in the external marketplace, or business climate. To illustrate this point, they offer insightful profiles of leaders who successfully guided their companies through the storms of organizational change initiatives. These profiles are especially effective in giving the reader both a sense of the personalities of these dynamic executives and a practical breakdown of the methodologies and strategies that they employed. We [...] strongly recommend this book to senior executives, would-be change agents and anyone curious about how to navigate the turbulent environment of 21st-century business.

After reading BUSINESS CLIMATE SHIFTS it was clear to me that this book was as much about leadership as about change. As a thirty year middle manager who has participated in both the planning and implementation of change, I was extremely pleased to read throughout the book that, although the companies were focusing on the customer, they all recognized the importance of the employees. The one common denominator throughout the book was that how management treats the employees is how the employees treat the customers. Although Colin Marshall at British Airways and Roger O. Goldman of National Westminster Bancorp. have distinctively different styles, they both recognized the importance of employees in the change process and demonstrated that leadership is key to effective and efficient change.

Starting my career in government late in life, I have noticed a reluctancy of federal executives to get the rank and file involved in major change initiatives. I suggest that any government manager or executive contemplating change read BUSINESS CLIMATE SHIFTS. The lessons learned from those who have been there, both government and industry, are invaluable and provide a framework for developing issues and questions that need to be addressed before any major shifts or changes in organizational culture.

This book is a must-read for anyone involved with organizational change -- whether you are managing the change or experiencing it from the "front lines." These fascinating Q & A's gave me real insight into the process. I recommend Business Climate Shifts to any forward-thinking person in the corporate world today.

Sylvia Townsend Warner counted herself very lucky to have William Maxwell as her New Yorker editor and readers of this volume of their correspondence would agree Warner wrote 153 stories between 1936 and 1977 and found a devoted and discering fan in Maxwell. Many of the letters deal with both Warner's and Maxwell's writing. On occasion Maxwell has to gracefully reject one of Warner's stories (usually with the reassurance that the story is wonderful "but not for The New Yorker"). But what the reader comes to appreciate are the writers' accounts of momentous occasions and everyday life. Maxwell gives us wonderful accounts of an Adlai Stevenson rally and the Vietnam Moratorium. His account of the NYC blackout (in a letter dated November 17, 1965)is one of the best things I've ever read and worth the price of the book. It's such a seamless piece of writing, with each detail depending on what came before, that to quote bits of it would be to trivialize it.
Maxwell, who lived with his wife and two daughters in NYC, is also good with domestic detail and affecting and funny observations. He relates a conversation in which his small daughter laments that he is bald."'Would you trade me in for a daddy with more hair?'" 'Yes," she says, teaching me a lesson."
And on his resuming piano lessons in middle age: ". . .And Mozart is sustaining though I cannot do it. I would rather not be able to do Mozart than any composer I can think of."
Townsend who lived in England with her companion, Valentine Ackland offers a number of home remedies for illness, my favorite being champagne for any ailment above the waist, brandy for anything below. And she writes with droll humor of her life in an English village: "Poor Niou (a Siamese cat) has just had her first affair of the heart, and of course it was a tragedy. As a rule he flies from strange men, cursing under his breath, and keeping very low to the ground. Yesterday an electrician came; a grave mackintoshed man, but to Niou all that was romantic and lovely. He gazed at him, he rubbed against him, he lay in an ecstasy on the tool-bag. The electrician felt much the same, and gave him little washers to play with. He said he would come again today to to finish off properly. Niou understands everything awaited him in dreamy transports and practising his best and most amorous squint. The electrician came, Niou was waiting him on the windowsill. A paroxysm of stage-fright came over him, and he rushed into the garden and disappeared.
He'll get over it in time; but just now he's terribly downcast."
The volume is filled with fine writing and the reader wants very much to know these two people personally.

Mr. Williams has once again composed a rousing score entirely appropriate for the newest Star Wars film. As a pianist and an avid John Williams fan, I looked forward to this book of piano solos with great interest. The score itself has less discernable and memorable themes than in the original trilogy, but it is a masterpiece nonetheless. Anakin's Theme is beautiful, and igeniously utilizes the same chord structure and other elements of Darth Vader's Theme (the Imperial March) in a bit of musical foreshadowing. It makes for a beautiful piano solo as well. Duel of the Fates, while a great piece in its own right, doesn't translate as well (in my opinion) to the piano. With the absence of the driving choir and pounding brass, the theme loses some of its effectiveness. My main gripe is the absence of the Droid Invasion theme, which was one of my favorites on the soundtrack, and which I would have loved to be able to play on the piano (I'm not good enough to learn it by ear). Instead, the publisher includes the goofy and juvenile Augie's Great Municipal Band. I didn't care for the carnival-style celebratory march on the CD, and it sounds even worse on the piano. Also, the Main Title theme omits the first few bars of music heard on the soundtrack. But these gripes aside, this is all-in-all a satisfying compilation. Second or third-year piano students should be able to play most of the pieces.

Those who live on the beach are subject to some of the more momentous forces of nature.... storms and hurricanes. In few other places has this been the case more than along the Virginia coast....and this work explores all those who lived in this treacherous margin between the mainland and the ocean. The book covers the continuing shifting of the islands through time, as well as their attempts of being habitable. The most celebrated ponies on the seaboard get their due...as well as some famous people who owned land or visited the area. It also serves as a valuable lesson to those who may wish to live in the apparent peace and solitude of the shore....for it can change at a moment's notice. It is one of the most balanced local histories I've ever read...and is told from the perspective of those on the islands, a very nice touch. Those interested in the Mid-Atlantic should run and buy this book while it's still in print.

This book is so easy to read and so full of information that I have an absolute craving to revisit it every year or so. I have never read a book so often (and I read and reread constantly). Having spent my summers on Maryland's Eastern Shore and having visited Smith Island, this book absolutely takes me home to a wonderfully simple and fascinating way of life. Who would have ever thought that the common blue crab was so eloquent a creature...I'm sold!

I discovered this book on my brothers bookshelf while visiting the Eastern shore, and read it in two sittings. An absolutely fascinating book on the Bay, the Eastern shore, the blue crab and more. William W. Warner's gifted prose depicts the watermen and their life in a way that is both honest,sympathetic and informative. As a non-native Washingtonian, this book finally explains so many of the mysteries of the bay -- from soft shell crab and how/why they get that way --to Tangier Island and how/why it became so popular. It is the kind of book you immediately want to share with your friends... your family... your lunch bunch... the guy sitting next to you on the subway..

As a recovering 20th-century American lit major, regrettably my reading list (beyond Melville's classic and a certain Hemingway novella) lacked a certain maritime flavor in deference to social issues, the human experience, and anything that could somehow be interpreted as sublime or lead to a seriously insightful opium habit. Having said this, I encourage everyone to read William W. Warner's 'Beautiful Swimmers: Waterman, Crabs and the Chesapeake Bay'. In terms of exploring the relationship between humanity and the sea, I have never read anything more eloquent. Its prose is refreshingly simple, but very engaging, with detailed sketches to enhance the authenticity. I've read several books twice, a handful three times. As of last night, 'Beautiful Swimmers' is the only one I've read for a fourth time. Many books (Moby Dick for example) merit more than a single reading mostly because they are too dense to "get" on a first run. It is the rare book that begs for multiple sittings simply because it's a joy to go back to the same words again and again. I'm a voracious reader, read my first novel (Jack London's 'Call of the Wild') when I was seven and have been buried in some book ever since; in my experience, 'Beautiful Swimmers' is one of about six or seven books that fit this "joy to read" category.

I thoroughly enjoyed the account of Warner's adventures. His humorous stories, often poking fun at himself, pull the reader in. I found myself wishing I was exploring with him and his companions from the hot, dry desert to the Pacific islands. Warner ends each chapter with educational information that is often too long or overdone. I confess that I skipped over some of that in the second half of the book. I was disappointed at the end when Warner explained some of the adventures were not altogether accurate (eg. a fellow student is a "composite" ) and he relied on the memories of others in some cases where he couldn't remember. I guess that's just what old age does to all of us. Nevertheless, I HIGHLY recommend the book.

William Warner made his mark with "Beautiful Swimmers," a classic about the unlikely subject of crabs in the Chesapeake Bay. Now in this collection of essays, he looks back on a life of adventures and encounters with nature. He tells of boyhood meetings with porcupine, eye contact with a killer whale, jungle episodes with howler monkeys, treks in artic deserts... There's keen observation, digestible science,and plenty of humor in these short essays. A perfect book to take with you on a summer vacation, or give to all your friends at Christmas.

Warner has written a charming book based on some remarkable experiences he has had over his long life. His prose is crisp and straightforward and shows his clear grasp of the language. Each essay holds the reader's attention firmly, and there is always a deeper meaning. While it is a very thoughtful book, it is not without touches of dry but sparkling humor. A perfect gift for anyone who loves the natural world.

This is an excellent tool to teach a young child one of the most popular children's Christian songs. It is beautifully illustrated, has a sound chip with the song and includes hand motions. Children and parents will enjoy the pictures and the music.

My 18 month old son loves this. He gets excited by the bears and loves pushing the button to activate the song. Beautiful pictures of bears.

This has been by son's favorite book for months. He is now 7 months old and will look through our books for this one. We recently took a long airplane trip and this was one of the items we brought along--it worked beautifully.

The variety of readers makes Yeats poetry come to life. If you like to chill in the car, this one is for you.

It is impossible to say who of the tremendous artists on this recording does the greatest honor to Yeats' words and intentions. Let us merely say it is the sort of contest which only the listener wins, especially if he or she has even one Emerald Isle gene in his or her make-up.

This is a wonderful collection of poetry. The readers contribute so much emotion to their reading. The listener can hear the music of Ireland in each voice. Every time I listen to this, I hear something new. Some of the poems included are: Stolen Child; The Indian to his Love; The Cloak, the Boat and the Shoes and The Sad Shepherd. This has brought many hours of relaxation and beauty to my evenings. I highly recommend this tape.

As a descendant of one of the heroes of 65th Infantry, I was intrigued on how one of their former Commanding Officers would portray them. General Harris (then Colonel) did not wish to command this outfit and he resented his appointment, then unfairly known as a laid back, disorganized, backwater posting. He tells us how these men changed his outlook from day one of assuming command. These brave men, although barely two platoons strong when he assumed command, held off the best Division that the U.S. Army had to offer on training maneuvers, and the best the North Koreans and the Chinese had during the Korean War. When asked point blank if the puertorricans would fight when the time came, Colonel Harris' answer was just as direct: "My puertorricans will fight anyone, anywhere." They did not dissapoint their CO, becoming the most decorated Batallion of the Korean War. One can only wonder why this Batallion was rarely ever used during World War II.

The book has a few historical errors, all of them regarding Puerto Rico and its culture, and the narrative is sometimes repetitive. That is why I did not rate it as a 5 star book. But overall, it is an excellent military history narrative on one of the most decorated fighting units in the U.S. Army and the only Batallion to be transferred from the U.S. Army onto a National Guard when the time came to deactivate it. These men, along with every other war time hero, deserve our eternal thanks and our admiration for sacrificing their youth in order to preserve Freedom and Democracy.

This is a great book about an outstanding unit. As a "Boricua" i am proud of the deeds of the 65th, they demonstrated what they were made off and never let us down.
On another note the 65th was not a battalion but a Regiment composed of serveral battalions(just a correction to a previous review).

This book exemplifies the spirit of the Puerto Rican soldier. Always willing to give their biggest effort in order to get the job done. It showed the valor and courage of this men. Is a book that every Puerto Rican serving in the Armed Forces should read and feel proud of the men before them.

Distant Water, by the author of Beautiful Swimmers, is, IMHO a better written and more complete picture of the lives and hazards faced by deep water fisherman. While The Perfect Storm was exhilerating, it concentrated on one event.

Distant Water is a fuller, more well-rounded picture of the everyday hazards faced by the people who feed us, doing one of the most dangerous jobs available in America.