This is an extremely lively and readable account of changes in the U.S. apparel industry. It challenges the prevailing assumption that the industry is doomed to move offshore in its entirety. The authors argue persuasively that there will be a continuing need for apparel production in the U.S. by firms that cooperate more closely with retailers, and meet the demand for timely production. In addition, the authors present a fascinating history of the industry and a wonderfully detailed discussion of its changing technology. This book is useful to those interested specifically in the apparel industry, but also as a case study of how new information technologies are reshaping U.S. industries more generally.

A Stitch In Time is a very good read.

While some academics tend to write books that are beyond the comprehension of mere mortals, this book is very readable, even to a layman like me who has no previous experience in the fashion/apparel/textiles business. The authors have explained techniques in manufacturing and theoretical concepts very clearly. Although it is obvious that much research has been done, the authors did not bore the reader with useless facts and figures just to prove the amount of research that has been done. Rather, significant findings were highlighted whenever appropriate, which made the book more interesting and comprehensible.

The authors believe that a new form of retailing, defined as lean retailing by the authors, will soon make its impact in the retail industry. Major retailers, like Wal-Mart, already practise this form of retailing. The theory of lean retailing propose that as there is an increase in product proliferation, and as customers demand quicker response times, retailers will "force" suppliers to replenish supplies at shorter intervals with smaller quantities. This will reduce inventory, cost and risk. While suppliers may choose to hold more inventories to satisfy lean retailers like Wal-Mart, it is a short-term solution. It is merely pushing the ineffectiveness of the system from retailers to apparel manufacturers. A better way is to re-look the industry from a channel angle, i.e. the whole chain of retailer-supplier-textile manufacturer. How can the channel be more effective as a whole? The authors believe information integration and co-operation is the key.

While the focus of the book has been on the fashion/apparel/textiles industry, I believe the concepts can also be applied to other industries. In fact, I believe the concepts were "borrowed" from more advanced industries like automobile manufacturing. Some of the concepts are similar to concepts in operations management like JIT, sales forecasting, etc.

I recommend this book to anyone in the retail business. This book will change your mindset of traditional retailing, whether you are in the fashion retail or not. I also recommend this book to people who are interested in exploiting IT for the exchanging of information between suppliers and retailers. I have learnt a lot from the book and I am sure many readers will agree with me.

The book goes beyond the hyped-up jargon of e-commerce and information technology and instead provides a nuts and bolts understanding of the actual impact of these trends on businesses, workers and the American economy. While it focuses on just one industry (one with which we can all identify, as consumers of clothing and customers of the Walmarts, J. Crews and Dillard's of the world), it gives a much broader understanding of the trends and forces that will eventually shape most industres, and affect who wins and loses in this emerging "IT" economy.

The book is eminently readable, packed with real world examples and crisp analysis of trends that we hear about frequently in the popular press, but rarely see investigated in any real detail.

As a printmaker I find this book quite satisfying. I decided to get this book primarily because I needed some new ideas and wanted to see whether I knew everything already or there still was something to learn. Well, I certainly found this book really helpful not only for its accurate and in depth descriptions but also for the examples that give you an immediate feel of what the process is. Still, I must say that reading a book is not as informative as taking a complete class or attending a workshop. For those who are new to printmaking or those who are already into it like me, I would suggest getting this book not only for its ideas but also to keep as a reference - There is an informative section on papers - something all printmakers should know - as well as accurate information on best materials for support that match colors that can be used on, ranging from oil-based to water based. - close to excellent

I advise artists regarding their careers and I have long urged many of them to consult this well researched book as the most useful way to master a variety of maethods for making monotypes. I number of artists I know have found the methods Fredericks describes to be practical and stimulating. Artists have been making monotypes for hundreds of years but there is little material aside from this book that offers so many options.

The book should read to "Letters by Theo. Goldin" to and from various different people, E.A. Brinistool, Albert Johnson, Phillip Cole, Fred Dustin and eventually Capt Frederick Benteen. Most of the letters were written when Goldin was very old and blind. Interesting insight into Benteen and a scathing by Benteen of Custer and his preported "conduct". Worth the reading if you truely "understand" what happened on June 25th 1876. Not for the first time reader... you'll be lost within a matter of pages unless you understand the "who, what and where" of different people.

This book is the printing with minimal commentary of letters between Goldin and Benteen. Frederick Benteen was an officer and Goldin an enlisted man in the Seventh Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Correspondence between officer and enlisted man is unique in itself. In the case of first hand participants their direct insights into events is always fascinating. This book does not answer any outstanding questions but it does add insights especially relative to Benteen. Anyone interested in the history of the Seventh Cavalry and the personality of Frederick Benteen, a major participant in the Little Big Horn scenario will be interested in this book.

Despite the title, this isn't so very far along in the series and in fact features the introduction of the very politically correct "Ms. Liz Probert." The cases are the usual set, and Rumpole faces his usual trials and tribulations, most notably from a new member of chambers who wants to make everything much more efficient. The eponymous tale is one we've seen dramatized, where Rumpole has great success betting on a "four-horse accumulator," tells a judge exactly what he thinks of him, and is (of course) frustrated when his go-between leaves the country with his winnings.

Entertaining, as always.

Rumpole has an assortment of foes in this collection of 7 stories: Judge Bullingham, his Head of Chambers Sam Ballard, dishonest prosecution witnesses, police officers, prosecuting barristers, and even the barrister defending his client's co-defendant in a case of armed robbery where a bank guard was wounded. No wonder he thinks of winning a fortune betting on horse races and moving to Spain in the last story, "Rumpole's Last Case". You should enjoy reading this book to find out how many cases Rumpole wins and if he really retires.

Reading the introduction, one is promised that the McKinsey team has hit upon a totally different type of leader: a real change leader (RCL). In reality, this book does not break any new ground. To be frank, much of the book concerns the difference between regular middle managers and RCLs. This can easily be rephrased as the difference between leaders and managers, a territory pioneered and well worn by Warren Bennis. Katzenbach does not add much to Bennis's past work. I agree that courage, clarity of vision, and risking failure are the heart of good leadership, but it is also nothing new. What is good about this book is two things: 1) It concerns middle managers and it is nice to read about people other than top managemers 2) The examples are good and should be helpful to any mid-level change leader. Otherwise, this one is skippable.

There are several reasons why I think this is one of the most important business books I have read in recent years. Here are three. First, it is the best single-source I have as yet encountered which prescribes and explains a cohesive program by which create growth and high performance in an organization. Also, this program allows for all manner of adjustments and modifications to accommodate the specific, sometimes unique needs and interests of any organization. Finally, it is extraordinarily well-written. In fact, this edition combines two books in one volume because the original version has since been expanded to include "The RCL's Handbook for Action."

To gather the information they needed, Katzenbach and his associates at McKinsey & Company (the "RCL Team") examined more than 30 different change situations and interviewed more than 150 change leaders. In the Introduction, they discuss seven common characteristics among the RCLs and then cite three shared beliefs:

1. "Tough standards of performance, but not just financial performance; customer value and workforce rewards are important as well.

2. "A set of democratic principles that tap the creative power inherent in every person; but they also enforce consequence management, believing they can truly empower people only by requiring results in return.

3. "The essence of self-governance is joint accountability (among leaders and constituents alike) for creating new opportunity; the basic approach is open dialogue and interaction to resolve conflicts by working to obtain the best contributions from multiple points of view."

The material is organized within three Parts: People-Intensive Change, Engaging the Organization, and Leadership Capacity and Growth. Throughout the book, the reader is provided with immensely informative as well as convenient charts (eg "Differences Between 'Good Managers' and RCLs) which feature key points. I have already noted "The Real Change Leader's Handbook for Action" (pages 341-391 in the softbound edition) which, in effect, gives each reader a template as well as a frame-of-reference to implement whichever combination of concepts, strategics, and tactics is most appropriate. The "Handbook" offers comments, suggestions, checklists and frameworks "for getting started in areas where change leadership help is needed."

For me, one of the book's greatest values is derived from its response to the question, "What distinguishes a real change leader from traditional managers?" The answer may in some ways surprise you, as it did me. For example, "Real change leaders do not care if the change effort is fast or slow, empowered or controlled, one-time or recurring, cultural or engineered -- or all of the above. They only care that it is people-intensive, and performance oriented....Simply put, real change leaders learn how to survive and win in the delta state, while traditional managers can only survive in the current state or the future state." The real change leader is committed to delivering results beyond the bottom line and instilling a working vision in the hearts and minds of associates while doing whatever is the right thing to do. They help others to perform above expectations (especially their own), constantly nourishing relations with customers while developing and applying the skills needed to remain flexible. Over time, they achieve results with a no-excuses mindset.

If you share my high regard for this book, I urge you to check out O'Toole's Leading Change and Hamel's Leading the Revolution as well as Buckingham and Coffman's First, Break All the Rules.

This is a very good book about the practical issues of Change Management. You should read it together with Smith's "Taking Charge of Change". These two books will give you advise about the "how to" side of Change Management. Highly recommended.

This is a well-organized, clear, short reference work. Well done

Here is the little red bok.
If the big one is too expensive for you, you can always buy this. You'll find inside all the important protocols and data for molecular biology.It's up to date, and clearly presented.
Try it, and then buy the big one!

This book is an essential tool for people in the scientific field such as Molecular Biology (obviously), Biochemistry, and Neuroscience. It is comprehensive and up-to-date as far as the techniques are concerned. It is good value in a sense that you don't have to buy the whole "Current Protocols Series" which costs an arm and a leg if you do. Although nowadays, a lot of "kits" are commercially available, the techniques found in this book explain principles and provide different alternatives suited for your needs. Molecular Cloning by Maniatis et al., although needs updating, is still a helpful reference in my opinion and it complements this book.

I'm not sure how to feel about this book. While reading it, I really could not become absorbed by Conrad's dense prose, though, while occasionaly eloquent, is very thick, and, well, British. But now that I am finished with it, I can not get the images the novella invokes out of my head. The conquest of Africa by the Imperialist on the surface, and the corruption of man's very morality underneath. The story is deceptively simple, merely a man working for an Ivory trading company, ominously called "The Company", going up the Congo river to meet up with Kurtz, the archetype of Western Imperialism. During this trip, we are shown the inner workings of man and his heart of darkness. The novella is not perfect though. Conrad's condemnation of Imperialism is uneven. Yes, the only discernable cause of Kurtz's descent into evil and madness is the imperialist ethic of master-slave, and it is fairly clear that Marlowe (conrad) is condemning that ethic, but at the same time, he doesn't work very hard to elevate the view of the African natives any higher in the esteem of his western readers. Anyway, as the novella is only about 100 pages, it is something that can be read in a day. Invest an afternoon in it, and decide for yourself.

Heart of Darkness is a novella that really needs to be read more than just once to fully appreciate Conrad's style of writing. The story is an account of one man's simultaneous journey into the darkness of a river as well as into the shadows of a madman's mind. There is a very brilliant flow of foreshadowing that Conrad brings to his writing that provides the reader with accounts of the time period and the horrible events to come. Through Conrad's illuminating writing style we slowly see how the narrator begins to understand the madness or darkness that surrounds him.

I recommend this particular version of the novella because it contains a variety of essays, which discusses some of the main issues in the reading and historical information. Issues like racism and colonialism are discussed throughout many essays. It also contains essays on the movie inspired by the book Apocalypse Now, which is set against the background of the Vietnam War. I recommend reading Heart of Darkness and then viewing Apocalypse Now, especially in DVD format which contains an interesting directors commentary.

English majors are justly fond of Conrad, who packs his stories with subtlety, symbolism, parallels, and rich imagery. "Heart of Darkness" is a brief and strangely absorbing read. Its plot is simple enough on the surface, about a sailor who guides a steamer up the Congo in search of a vaunted ivory trader. But beneath the surface, in a palpable atmosphere of unease, lie the book's complicated themes. This isn't just a condemnation of European activity in Africa, but a glimpse at the evil within every man. In some ways this book is a precursor to "Lord of the Flies" and other twentieth century books of despair, and yet Conrad does not leave the reader without hope. In skilful, mystical passages about light and dark, black and white, tall and short, jungle and sepulchre, Conrad gives us much food for thought about the nature of humankind and the possibilities for both good and evil. I see this book more as a warning than a simple cry of despair - though it pays ample attention to "the horror" of it all.

I am a budding audiologist, and I can tell you that using this book was a nightmare. It is not designed for the future clinician, and even though my entire class and I tried again and again to pick out the information we needed (that was relevant to what we were learning), we were still confused. This book is better suited for a person going into research...a lot of that information is unnecessary for someone working in a clinic. It is also poorly organized and overpriced.

I have a BS in Audiology and am going back for my Au.D -- and this book is excellent in bringing me back up to speed on the materials I haven't touched in nearly 10 years. It is concise (definitely not wordy) and hits all the basics, starting from the history of hearing checks to today's detailed technological miracles of testing. Could have a bit more of the anatomy, but other than that, it really is a great start for those wanting to enter the field of Audiology.

As an intro book, I found it extremely useful and packed with necessary information. Whoever said there was too much information to be found in this book is completely off the mark, although, this book is probably best suited to those who are pursuing a career in this field. The CD-ROM could have been more fully developed...

Lacking a chapter on where to stay, but naming a good local lawyer, this is more of a reference for residents, than it is a guide for tourists.

This was very helpful to us in our recent trip to Kansai/Kyoto/Osaka. No good for Nara, but plenty of other helpful things.

Pithy, funnily written, refreshing change from staid travel books. No good for Nara, but great for Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe. I lived in the area for eight years and still I didn't know most of the places mentioned.

How can us mere mortals quibble with the creature of nature that was Michelangelo?!? I simply want to alert poetry fans to a book that I very highly esteem, and that I think edges the Nims' version out as a translation: check out Sidney Alexander's edition of the "Complete Poems," which won an award for best translation of the year! Nims is good, but Alexander is simply better!

I must confess that I am not a mushy person, I hate lovey dovey music. But the first time I ever read Michelangelo's poems directed towards Vittoria Colonna I knew that I was in love. The intensity and the beauty of it is so touching especially considering he was an old man when they were penned. Make it much more real, like a man who is truly pouring out his heart as opposed to someone who is just spouting words to gain the "favors" of a lady. Michelanglo is one of the few artists who have ever lived who have shown the true meaning of beauty. "My lady, these eyes see vividly-far, near-/your radiant face, wherever it is here,there."-absolutely.