The 1960's were a time of utopian hopes, celebrating peace, free love and the brotherhood of all; but also of a deep unease, even a nihilistic fear in the Western World. Surely the Vietnam War, the amoral Nixon Administration and the constant threat of nuclear annihilation fed those fears; conservatives feared the destruction of values and society they had worked hard to attain while their opposite numbers feared their continuation. The developed world's squandering of resources began to be understood by all; no longer did a belching smokestack indicate progress as much as environmental disaster.

At this time, science fiction gave us some of the grimmest writing yet. John Brunner's Stand on Zanzibar, Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five, and Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange are all outstanding examples of the fear and hopelessness authors of the time understood coursed close under the skin of the optimistic face of society. Brian Aldiss's Earthworks is equally representative of this tone. Although nowhere nearly as well known as my other examples, Aldiss's vision may actually be bleaker. It is set in a future which follows all too recognizably from our own--pollution has taken its toll and disease and hunger are so rampant that they have become the identifying characteristic of the time. Although Earthworks is quite short, at only 126 pages, it is a richly detailed and fully convincing portrait; disease and illness make the storytelling hallucinatory at times, leaving the narrator and reader questioning the very nature of reality. Fans of Philip K. Dick will be enthralled by this quality. Aldiss is a superb writer at his very best here. It is a real pity that Earthworks is out of print, but I would definitely recommend it for any science fiction fan search out a used copy.

Thank god - not another Accountancy textbook that just looks pretty sitting on my shelf ! UK GAAP covers all the areas you need on a day to day basis as a student right through to director level. Approaches all the topics from different angles ; eg the rules, how they apply, the variations, and most importantly specific examples of their use in UK companies - and all in clear English. Regular updates from the publishers are sent on the latest accountancy issues and changes once you register - saves time in the library. Also recommended is the CD-Rom version for quick and easy look-ups , especially when on the move.

This is a collection of three plays written by students at the Institute of American Indian Arts. How the Gods Kill by Jason Begay (Dine)looks at conflict between traditional ways and Christianity. Inidan Game Show by Wende Williams (Navajo)uses a TV game show format to satirize stereotypes. Reunion by Terry Gomez (Commanche) dramatizes a family struggling to define and maintain their cultural heritage. Each play addresses contemporary and historical problems without providing any easy answers.

Continuing his very successful (critcally at least I have no idea how well it sold, though the book trumpets that it's an "international best seller") Helliconia series about a planet with a two thousand year long revolution and two hundred year seasons (give or take), he expands and clarifies all the stuff that happened in the first book, which you don't even need to read to understand. So much time has passed since the first book that everything that happened is mostly the stuff of distorted legend if they even remember it at all. This time around he chooses to focus on one group of people over a period of maybe ten years or so instead of the massive scope of the first book and he proves he can pull off both with ease. Court intrigue, suspense, the slow heating of the planet amidst the politics of the planet, it's all there. And just so you remember that Aldiss is a science-fiction writer, he expands on the notion of Earth watching the planet and shows that they'll have more of a role in the series than you would expect. All in all, incredibly detailed planetbuilding by someone not normally known for that sort of stuff, this is the type of book that people label a "classic" and for good reason. Everything works, even the plot technique of showing us the aftermath of something and then bouncing back in the narrative to show us what happened before (and they passing it at some point, it can get confusing if you're not paying attention) works. Even with the heat and whatnot, Helliconia becomes a place you want to live. I know I do. Criminally this book is out of print, something that should be recitified by someone (listening publishers, this series should not only be available in Britian!) but if you ever find it used, snap it up, it might be hard to find but definitely worth the time spent searching for it.

Being a real lover of Brian's SF, I was a bit dubious about readint this, the plot really didn't sound like my kinda thing. The book follows the 'journey' of Perian, a free spirit and his life in the trouble city of Malacia. Magic, war, lust, destiny and life has created this cracker of a novel! It's definately worth a look!

With stories like "Ferryman" (Eric Brown), "The White Stuff" (Peter F. Hamilton & Graham Joyce), and "A Night on Bare Mountain" (Graham Charnock), anthologies don't get any better than this. My only quibble is with the experimental narrative "Thirteen Views of a Cardboard City"(William Gibson) which rounds out the volume with a whimper, not a bang. Otherwise, this is Hugo & Nebula territory.

Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) is an offshoot of systems thinking and has its roots in Peter Checkland's seminal 1981 book, "Systems Thinking, Systems Practice" (now out of print). This book shows how to apply SSM to the problem sets for which it was designed: the unpredictable behavior of human actions, which are often counter to the logic we apply to "hard" problems such as computer systems behavior and other systems that follow predictable laws of physics.

As a consultant who aligns information systems to business processes this book provided me with a streamlined approach to dealing with the human factor, especially organizational politics and resistance to change - both of which I routinely deal with. The approach is reasonably straightforward, and involves the following steps:

- Frame the problem and surrounding situation
- Use 'rich pictures' portray the situation. A 'rich picture' is an informal rendering, and should capture issues and thinking, systems and interactions.
- Develop a root definitions and perspectives from which to view the situation (Clients, Actors, Transformations, World-view and Environment). A 'root definition' is a process that transforms an input into an output - a typical process flow.
- Build a conceptual model of what the system to remedy the problem or situation needs to accomplish. The basis of the conceptual model is human activity.
- Compare the model to the ideal, examine alternatives and select the best option.
- Design and implement the system or solution.

The approach taken by the author is to provide the knowledge needed to employ SSM in a sequence of chapters that lead you through models and methodology, the principles of human activity modeling, system selection, business process reengineering issues, the consensus primary task model, the relationships to training and HR, and generic model building.

Consensus primary task model (CPTM) is a key element of the approach in this book and is crucial to successfully employing SSM, which, after all, is designed to deal with the ambiguities of people. The CPTM is an aggregation of the conceptual models, which results in a 'strawman' model that is used to build consensus. From this evolves into the agreed upon model and approach.

The key differences between the usual 'committee' approach and SSM are the structure and framework, ensuring that viewpoints are systematically examined, and the emphasis on consensus instead of compromise. While the book makes SSM appear to be easy, which is a function of the author's clear writing, employing it in the real world requires training and discipline. It's especially well suited to organizational change management projects as well as strategic planning.

SPADA is a journal that contains some of most current ideas on historical swordsmanship by a number of the field's leading researchers. As a student of historical swordsmanship myself, I think it is an excellent step in the right direction for the progression of this school of study.

As far as the contents of the book are concerned, my hat goes off to the editor, Stephen Hand, for distilling such a diverse, and yet interesting range of papers from the vast array of excellent treatises available.

The book also features some interesting reports on some of the most recent activities undertaken in the WMA community. This provides the reader with a very good 'big picture' perspective into what advances are being made in what fields, and an appreciation for the vast range of people who are now interested in historical swordsmanship.

With regards to it's practicality, the book caters for many different tastes - whether you are interested in the finesse of renaissance fencing, or simply a medieval re-enactor using the trusty 'sword and shield' method. SPADA provides useful insights and a greater understanding of historical methods of fighting.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in gaining a greater appreciation of historical swordsmanship, and anyone who is curious to know what the swordmanship community out there is doing. I rate it as a 'must have' item, and I look forward to more SPADA releases in the future.

cheers

Matt Partridge
Secretary
Order of the White Stag

To me, it looks as if Wilson turned to be a great scientist against all odds. He did not come from the academic royalty, but from a broken family in Alabama. With strong intuition, lot of hard work and endless enthusiasm, he became one of the great scientists of the 20th century. A well written book, that would probably change the course of my life have I read it at the right age...

This book gives one a real sense of what the natural world is like through the eyes of a very influential naturalist. This book follows the life of E.O. Wilson from childhood to show how the outside world impacted his life. A great read!!

How far have city-bred enterprises removed us from our natural heritage? E.O. Wilson, author of so many wonderful ideas and books, has here revealed himself as a human being of immense strength and courtly self-awareness. Sharing with us so many aspects of his personal life and scientific endeavors, Wilson shows how a bit of dedication can overcome obstacles most of us find daunting. Raised in the rural South, losing the sight of one eye, his struggles to gain a place as a scientist are inspiring. More importantly, he makes clear how much remains to be done by the upcoming generations in determining our true place in the natural order. This work is a clarion call for aspiring young scientists to enter research, following paths similar to his own.

The editorial reviews here focus overmuch on the sociobiology 'controversy'. Sociobiology is a major thesis in examining humanity's place in nature. Rejecting this idea out of hand continues to impair understanding of how important an idea sociobiology is, although he spends little time on it in this book. Much of his work has focussed on animal behaviour from ants through mammals. People remain resistant to the idea that we are somehow associated with 'the beasts', but Wilson demonstrates the continuity of behaviour patterns throughout the animal kingdom. Until we address that issue honestly, which is a major aspect of Wilson's work, we will never understand who we truly are. His studies stress that until we achieve that understanding, we will continue to unwittingly intrude on our own environment. The loss of species threatens our own existence.

The major advantage of this book is its honesty. Wilson pulls few punches and reviews his own prejudices and how he overcame them. He demonstrates how important this self assessment is to scientists and the public alike. The growth of understanding of genetics has impacted all biology. Wilson relates candidly his own grudging acceptance of the new ideas genetic research have given us. He's to be commended for both his candor and flexibility.

We have owned several dogs in the past and when our last one passed away we decided to do some research this time. We bought 5 books on dogs looking for advice on choosing a dog. This book was far and away the most entertaining to read and in some ways the most useful. The last chapter entitled "Not for Everyone" is hilarious. The book isn't comprehensive nor does it take everyone's opinions into account. Rather it unabashadly gives the opinions of experienced dog trainers who aren't afraid to speak their minds about various breeds of dogs. It has the feel of a friendly chat. I recommend this book highly although you might want to purchase other books to supplement it.

This book is very easy to use, attractive, and accessible. The authors do a nice job of summing up each breed's positive and negative traits, and are frank about warning off folks who would be a bad match. I was delighted by the categories they assigned breeds to, such as "9-5 dogs", and "High-input, High Output" dogs.

That said, I prefer Daniel Tortora's "The Right Dog for You" for people with a bit more dog experience and patience. It contains detailed information about breed temperment, broken down into 16 traits. For people who really want to do their research and find just the right breed, on other resource can compare.

This collaborative effort by Kilcommons and Wilson is a must-have for any would-be dog owner just starting to look. They give the "straight poop" on breeds of dogdom without sugar coating anything, adding anecdotal stories to boot! Sure, those who know a little more about dogs can get more breed specific books, but novices NEED to know that Border Collies are NOT dogs to be left alone for 10 hours per day (though not many dogs should be!), and that a 100 pound Great Dane may be easier to keep than a 15 pound Jack Russell Terrier in an apartment!!

Their experience, wit, and great insight into different dog breed's personalities make this an incredibly enjoyable read!!