Though the title implies implementation, I see this more as an educational resource used to train both shop floor workers and management alike. Under this context, this book is outstanding.
Excellent diagrams, charts, and photos make understanding 5S, manufacturing cells, kanbans, and techniques for setup reduction easy.
In fact, the basic concepts behind lean manufacturing are simple. The problem with most lean manufacturing books is that the authors often complicate the subject to make themselves seem as though they are smarter and have something unique to add (when they really don't). This book keeps lean simple.
Great book.

We are going through a major re-organization from push system manufacturing to pull manufacturing in our facility and throughout the company. This book fits in quite nicely with this endeavor. The book does a nice job of explaining concepts and implementation of the principles. It is easy to read. Additionally, it has forms for suggested use in organizing information, AND it explains the forms and how to use them. I am purchasing multiple copies for distribution to all of my Manufacturing Engineers. Too I am recommeding it for use throughout the company.

This is a book that small and medium-sized manufacturers can use to develop in-house training materials for educating their workforce on the how-to's of WCM. The explanations are succint with simple and well-written examples, backed by the rich experience of the authors. Supplementary materials available from the authors would allow any Plant Manager to develop customized training materials specific to his/her shopfloor. A particular merit of this book is the that it recommends the sequence in which the various elements of a WCM manufacturing program ought to be taught/implemented for best results. I plan to recommend this book as a reference to undergraduates who co-op or intern at companies as part of their educational experience.

Jean proposes reconstruction for nursing in the 21st century by recalling our Nightingale roots. She eloquently and courageously calls nursing to reclaim its caring-healing identity in the post-modern/transpersonal world. The book is a provacative yet authentic discourse that leaves one wondering: "How will nursing respond?"

Winning by Listening Around is a great book for individuals or companies who desire to improve their listening skills. This relies on the maxim that it takes 21 days to make a habit. . . and it offers 21 keys to better listening. A quick and easy read.

This book, overall, is an easy to read guide on listening. Its primary focus seems to be on convincing the reader why they need to listen better (and they succeed). However, when it comes to strategies on how to improve listening skills, they do not always come through. There are definitely useful nuggets of wisdom in this book, but not as many as would seem appropriate. A good complementary book is "Listening, the forgotten skill" by Burley-Allen.

Listen Up does a wonderful job in helping us to determine what our own listener preferences -- people, action, content or time -- are. . . and more importantly, it helps us to determine the preferences of others. If I can speak to you in the way in which you want to listen, it's much more likely that our communication will be mutually satisfying. I've improved one business relationship 100% by realizing that my colleague is time-oriented (and I used to speak with her in a very people-oriented way . . . this was completely ineffective and made both of us frustrated beyond belief). Effective listening can change your life.

I enjoyed reading this novel because it was very interesting. Reading this book was a positive experience for me because if it wasn't for my teacher I would have never read this book and I would have missed out on a very good book.
The author was able to hold my interest throughout the whole book. He did this by always adding some scenes to the book making you want to know what was going to happen next. Especially the scene in the beginning when the mom figures out what Uncle Frank is doing to Marie.
To me the characters were interesting and believable because the way their attitudes are in the book are the same as those as a real person and that makes the book interesting and believe. My favorite character was David Hayden. He was my favorite character because he was the main character and also because of the ways he described things in this book. I think the author did a good job at creating all the characters in the book.
I learned that it's good to do the right thing no matter who it involves, that what I learned from this book. I gain more knowledge by reading this book because it shows you that in this world anything can happen. I would recommend this book to my friends because it is interesting and is a positive experience.

I enjoyed reading Montana 1948 for many reasons. It was a positive experience for me because the name didn't catch my attention so if it weren't for my class, I never would have picked up this book to read it and I really enjoyed it.
One of the best parts in the book was the development of all the characters. They were all described really well in detail and I was able to picture them all in my head. For example David describes Marie when she is sick, he says, "Her cheeks now glowed so brightly they looked painful, as if they had been rubbed raw, her eyes seemed darker than ever, all pupil, black water that swallowed light and gave nothing back."
I would not make any changes in this book because it was great. I liked the story it told as well as all the characters. The author kept me interested through out the whole book. One great part was when Marie got sick then she got better then all of a sudden she died. I liked that part, not because she died but because it was un expected.
In conclusion, I enjoyed this book enough to recommend it to my friends because it fun when you understand it and get into it enough.

The novel Montana 1948 was very interesting and was a positive experience for me. The book is fiction and was written by Larry Watson. This book was action packed and didn't lose my interest at any part of the book. This book has inspired me to read more books. The style of the book was unique and interesting the way the author wrote the book was very captivating I couldn't stop reading the book I even think I might read it again.
The characters in the book were interesting. The main character David is a curios little boy and is twelve years old in the story but he is the one telling the story when he was 50 something years old. In the book he tells about major events that happened in his life. All of the events took place in Montana in 1948 and involved his family members and his friends. The important characters were Wes and Gale (David's dad and mom), Uncle Frank, Julian, Gloria, Marie little solider, and Len. My favorite part of the book was when the grandfathers workers were circling around the house and the mom fired at them. It was favorite part because I liked the suspense of the situation. I would not make any changes to the novel because I wouldn't know how to write it any better.
In reading this novel I learned that all families have their secrets and that I like action in books. I enjoyed reading this book and it was a wonderful experience for me. I would recommend this book to anyone because it was one of the best novels that I have read. The book has every thing action drama and comedy it was so good I plan to read it again.

In the summer of 1955 in Vermont, eleven-year old Paul Finley meets Laura Coe Petit for the first time when she escapes for a breather and a smoke from the party hosted by his parents. Laura, a twenty-two year old rising poet, was smoking a cigarette outside Paul's bedroom window when she inadvertently woke him up. They briefly talk and for the rest of his life, Paul knows that Laura is the mark that he compares other people, especially women, and his own sense of essence to.

Over the next thirty plus years, Paul and Laura have occasional brief encounters that further destroy any possible relationships the younger man may foster. Instead Paul remains obsessed with the woman he always knew he could never have. From the first time they met when he was a child she planned to seduce his father at that New England party.

LAURA is a an entertaining cogitation on how far obsession can twist a person. The insightful story line is well written (as expected from Larry Watson), especially the background historical events that serve as a bigger stage for the meetings between Paul and Laura. The secondary cast provides reflection, impetus, and depth although Mr. Watson never showcases them as he concentrates on Paul's psyche. The lead protagonist's obsession turns him into something that seems more like a stalker and quixotically, a more humane individual. Mr. Watson shows why he is an award-winning author with this compassionate character study.

Harriet Klausner

A story about a young boy's lifelong obsession with an older woman is hardly new but there's something in Watson's book that makes it seem like it is. From the first page your drawn into Paul's world. His voice is crisp and clear, melancholy without being maudlin. It doesn't matter that the object of his desire, Laura, is not a very nice person. A lot of people spend their lives in love with not-so-nice people. It's the person whom, for better or worse, Paul builds his life around - even though he seems to have understood from the beginning that this isn't the best thing for him. Watson builds peaks and valleys with each meeting between the two that keep the reader eager to see what will happen the next time. As Paul moves through the 50s, 60's and 70s he finds the Stones lyrics are still true: "You can't always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need."

I am bit biased toward Larry Watson and his work, too. This novel is a real change from his Montana based stories, and I was skeptical at first. I wondered how he could place himself within an eleven year old boy who comes from Boston.... but I need not have worried for long. As usual, this is a beautifully written, lyrical piece that is almost poetic in its beauty. The trouble I had with it, though, is that neither Paul nor Laura was a very sympathetic character. By the end of the book I had the feeling that I had been cheated in a way, for I felt that there had to have been something to redeem Paul and his horrendous obsession with Laura.... Laura having Alzheimers is just, I think. Serves her right, is what I really think. I do not remember a character so thoroughly unlikeable in recent fiction as Laura Coe Pettit.

Maybe I just too strongly relate to the characters of Martha and Catherine. In any rate, this is a beautifully written story and I am recommending it to anyone who loves finely wrought tale.

It is probably a tribute to Montana, 1948 that this prequel is entirely unnecessary, but Justice still seems to add little to the story. I think Montana, 1948 is superb, but could have done without this prequel. Still, if read on the heels of reading its sequel, this little addition does not disappoint.

All of the characters have a defined personality. You know where they came from, what they feel and can get a sense of why they act the way they do. I think it's a wonderful idea to write a preface just to describe the characters. Now in the book he can get right to the point of the story.

One of the best regional books I have read. Watson is an extremely skilled author with the ability to vividly evoke a time or place, seemingly effortlessly. 'Outside the Jurisdiction' is probably the best story in the book. Watson depicts the harsh and brutal life many westerners lived in the early part of the twentieth century. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

You can't go wrong with any of his books. Pick up as many as you can. I've given a dozen copies of Montana 1948, White Crosses, Justice, A Dark Time, and Laura to friends. Great gifts for anyone who appreciates superior writing.

Watson's books in general are small town suspense. This book differs only in that the narrator is a teacher rather than a sheriff. Watson's strength is the complexity and authenticity of his characters - less true in this novel than Montana 1948 or White Crosses. The plot is well constructed - a serial killer in a high school. However, Watson does not write a traditional mystery - he is concerned with whodunit but more interested in exploring the effect of serial killings on the community - making and breaking relationships, suspicions of any "other", fear of the next death.

Well written and entertaining - curl up and read for fun.

Larry Millett's "The Red Demon" was a decent attempt at a Holmes pastiche. However, there were many flaws that, unfortunately, detracted greatly from my enjoyment of the book. Having myself read the entire canon and multiple pastiches, I found that Millett seemed extrodinarily intent on proving to the reader that he had done his research. Throughout the book, Millett's Watson refers CONSTANTLY to previous Holmes' cases, many of which Doyle never ever wrote! (These were explained as one of the many "unwritten Watson accounts" in the footnotes.)

And speaking of footnotes, they over-ran the entire novel. They ranged from clarifying innumerable details about the Minnesota railway, to basic facts any Holmesian would know. I found both Watson's uncharacteristic voice and the many times needless footnotes distracting.

Millet's Watson proves slower than usual. And as for Holmes, while the entire mystery was interesting, I believe Doyle's Holmes would have discovered the "missing motive" long before the final 30 pages of the novel. It made for a great climax to the novel -- but I felt as though I had to read 250 pages of un-Holmes' like investigation before the traditional Holmes' narrative finally shone through.

The novel overall was entertaining, and the Millett paints a beautiful picture of Minnesota at the turn of the century. However, as I enjoy Holmes more than I do Minnesota history, I won't be reading any of his subsequent novels.

The first of Millett's Sherlock Holmes in Minnesota series, I read this after "Ice Palace Murders," but the order of reading isn't crucial. If you like one, you'll like the other. This one has more adventure and is probably a little truer to the Doyle stories, though I must admit I was constantly picturing Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as I was reading the book, and, since I love those movies, that is meant to be a compliment. As with the Ice Palace book, I found the footnotes to be bothersome, and again, the villian's identity is kept from us long after even Watson knows. The villian himself is a fairly minor character, so the ultimate unmasking, especially since it comes after a thrilling battle on a burning bridge, is anti-climactic. Still, quite enjoyable. I'll be looking forward to the next one in paperback.

This is a must read for fans of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Holmes solves a satisfying mystery in the northwoods of Minnesota in one of the best Sherlock Holmes stories that I have ever read including the originals. The background setting is accurately painted by the first-time novelist, and the book is very well written. All of the elements that make Doyle's characters so popular can be found in the novel as well. There are a cast of interesting characters that can puzzle a reader as to who the red demon is. I guessed who the villian was......

Larry Millett combines his knowledge of the history of the Twin Cities with a mystery involving Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. So how does it come off? This is one of the better Sherlock Holmes pastiche I have read, and believe me, I've read a LOT of them.

The history lessons I received from reading the book are a definite treat since I visit the Twin Cities several times a year and know the areas talked about. But even if you are not familiar with the Minnesota cities, a map and Millett's detailed descriptions help the reader visualize the cities at the turn of the century.

The Sherlock Holmes/Dr. Watson characterizations are very good; there are not too many instances where the reader would say "Oh, come on. Holmes would never do that." That is how I judge pastiches.

I thought this story the best of the first three Larry Millett/Sherlock Holmes endeavors.

If you are a fan of the British detective you will want to read this, and the previous Sherlock Holmes and the Red Demon, as they have the American twist to a great mystery involving Holmes and Watson. If you are from Minnesota and know St. Paul this is the ultimate story involving that city. It is not a story to second guess and the best you can do is when a city location is given is to say "I know where that is !" and you'll forever drive around St. Paul with Watson's eyes. Millett should be proud that he is as accomplished as Arthur Conan Doyle in being able to propagate the Holmes and Watson mystique. This is simply a great book.

This book is the follow up to Millett's first Holmes book, Sherlock Holmes and the Red Demon. I liked that book, but I like this one even better. There are more characters, including Shadwell Rafferty, who is such an interesting character that a spin off series involving just him would be great. There are two crimes committed in this book, and like I said before, with all of the very interesting characters, this book is quite the page turner. Holmes and Rafferty solve the case in expert fashion, although it a tough one. You'll probably give yourself a head-ache trying to figure it out yourself! It's just over 400 pages, so it's longer than the Red Demon, but just like the Red Demon, Millett writes intelligently and is easy to read. I'm looking forward to reading the Rune Stone book, the third Holmes book by Millett.