This is one of those books that should have become required reading, but possibly because it is too thought provoking, never became prominent. A great pity. It is as entertaining as Parkinson's works on his famous laws, and to me personally it has proven a good deal more valuable in practice. (Parkinson himself reviewed it and liked it!) It is a pity it is out of print. I hope that its follow-up (which I have not yet read) is as good.

Though jocularly written, this is really valuable, stimulating material. Its aphorisms may read like jokes, but they are all the more valuable for being quotable and easy to remember in context. Thinking back on all the godawful systems that I have seen, political, management, engineering and computer, there is not one that could not have been mitigated by intelligent anticipatory digestion of this book.

Unfortunately mentalities prominent among power-seekers, control freaks and grandiose designers, not to mention outright dishonesty among managers with conflicts of interest, cause considerable resistance to the ideas and attitudes that Gall promotes. If you are one such, I have nothing to say to you. If on the other hand you enjoy a bit of thoughtful and edifying entertainment, do your best to read this book.

There is no better book, with more startlingly accurate insights into one's current predicament.

It has the slight failing that it can't quite decide if it ought to be another _Stress Analysis of a Strapless Evening Gown_ or not, so there's a few paragraphs to skip here and there.

The rest is great.

I can quote from memory my favorite system axioms:

``Systems grow, and as they grow they encroach.''

``Systems attract systems-people.''

``Intra-system goals come first.''

``Reality is whatever is reported to the system.''

``Fail-safe systems fail by failing to fail safe.''

My favorite chapter is ``Administrative Encirclement,'' where each researcher is asked to write out his objectives.

The deepest insight, very subtle indeed, is Orwell's Inversion: the confusion of input and output:

``Example: A giant program is to Conquer Cancer is begun. At the end of five years, cancer has not been conquered, but one thousand research papers have been published. In addition, one million copies of a pamphlet entitled ``You and the War Against Cancer'' have been distributed. Those publications will absolutely be regarded as Output rather than Input.''

Nobody who knows the book will be surprised that the biggest killers of dogs today are humane societies.

People who follow the book will understand why the small early version _General Systemantics_ (1975), privately published, is an absolute gem; this version is pretty good, almost the same; and today's version (_...the underground text..._) is expanded beyond belief. The author has made it a system.

John has given us a biblical and practical textbook on spiritual warfare. Every church as well as every neighborhood prayer group would benefit from this.

While curiosity about the occult and the supernatural pervades our society, the devil's best defense has been the successful delusion of mankind into thinking that the kingdom of darkness does not really exist. Consequently, there is a widespread ignorance about the evil power, even among Christians. Many churches that preach the existence of Satan and demons do not acknowledge that people need help and deliverance. John Dawson's experience and the word of God lead to another conclusion. John Dawson presents a spiritual and systematic way of understanding and dealing with the kingdom of darkness that tend to block the progress of the Kingdom of God in an urban area. He states these problems and offers a strategy for faith and intercessory prayer. In the fourth section, Mr. Dawson deals with the subject of crossing the Jordan to take the land. Christians were born to fight the spiritual warfare. Mr. Dawson challenges us to catch the demonic arsonist and bind the demon with God's power. He provides us with a theology of the unseen realm such as the Angels, the evil spirits and the territorial control. With Scripture and fascinating personal testimonies, he shows us the reality of territorial control and spiritual strongholds. Mr. Dawson gives us a five-step strategy for faith and intercessory prayer. This includes worship, waiting upon the Lord, confession, overcoming evil with good and travailing in prayer. This topic challenges our so-called "enlightened" western minds. It is not a scientific book but it is a biblically based theological reflection on the question of spiritual territorial control. Demonic influences affect many in varying degrees and the cities need the Gospel of Christ. John Dawson explains that Christians can take authority over the demonic realm and bring freedom to those that need it so desperately. Mr. Dawson speaks very effectively to a much-neglected aspect of the Gospel in the church today.

... because I keep taking it out to look at again. The photographs are stunning. And Graves's prose is just lovely, as it always is. The reason the essays are all too brief (as the previous reviewer noted) is that they originally appeared in "Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine," which set strict limits on length. I read each piece in the series as it came out, but it's lovely to see them all in one place, with more - and very well printed - illustrations.

Meinzer's photography was great but John Graves seemed at a loss for words, i.e. his essays were far too short. Graves takes time to get into his subject ("Goodbye to a River" and "Hardscrabble"). Even though I wanted more, what he wrote is first rate. He understands the magic and individuality of each river, even my Llano.

This is one of two books written by Margolies which I have just re-read. Emily Gwathmey co-authored this one. (The other is Pump and Circumstance.) Regrettably, copies of both are now difficult to obtain but well-worth the effort. Each focuses on what may seem to be a highly specialized subject. In fact, both offer a wealth of information and commentary concerning a basic component within the development of U.S. culture during the 20th century. This volume focuses on the "American movie theaters and how we had fun." Obviously, I have no idea how many readers of this review settled into a seat in one or more of the theaters which are featured in this volume. Many of them are no longer exist or have been converted to serve other purposes.

The excellent material is carefully organized within an especially appropriate format: a Prologue (written by Harold Ramis), followed by "Now Playing" (a brief history of film theaters) and then eight "Scenes" which focus on specific developments such as Saturday matinees and drive-ins. The illustrations (especially archival photographs, most in full-color) are superb. I was surprised to learn that several of the most ornate theaters were located in small towns throughout the United States. Margolies and Gwathmey provide a wealth of historical information about the theaters themselves, of course, but also about the entertainment entrepreneurs (many of whom combined films with arcades and even vaudeville programs), and the architects they retained to design theaters for them. In most small towns, the film theater was the major (if not only) cultural center. More often than not, an usher in uniform (perhaps wearing white gloves) guided people to their seats. Once the film began, the same usher used a flashlight to assist late-arrivals.

In the final chapter (Scene Eight: Elegy), observe: "the beautiful and ornate movie theaters we went to when we were growing up live on in our minds. Many of them survive as treasured landmarks, painstakingly restored to their former opulent splendor. Nearly all have suffered sadder fates. An unfortunate few cling to life as porno houses. Others live hermit-crab existences as nightclubs, churches, and bowling alleys. The saddest of all stand as dying dreams, withering away on the Main Streets of America. The vast majority, however, were violently and irrevocably demolished, replaced by faceless cinder-block cinemas I, II, III, and IV on the edge of town. Drive-in theaters have had an even harder time. Decaying slabs and overgrown parking lots litter the borders of civilization. Others have disappeared completely, leaving no traces at all."

Now that I am in my anecdotage, I frequently reminisce about my childhood in Chicago, recalling so fondly what "going to the movies" was like at the Avalon, Chicago, Granada, Oriental, and Paradise theaters. Until recently, my three sons and daughter, and especially my older grandchildren, simply could not identify with the experiences I described. Thanks to Margolies and Gwathmey's book, now they can.

I highly recommend it to those who share my interest in icons such as the movie theater. Its evolution has been inextricably involved in the cultural history of the United States. It has certainly been of unique and enduring importance to me.

My first job was at a multi-screen movie theater in a mall only 13 years ago, and that theater is gone too. "Ticket to Paradise" by John Margolies is a wonderful, captivating look at the bygone era of grand movie theaters. Full of intriguing photos, most in color, this book leads you by the hand through the days when going to the movies was fun. I was astonished at how extravagant even the small town theaters were, and the thought and ingenuity that was put into the design of the signs and marquees.

It's heartbreaking to me that most of these georgeous old theaters were shut down, to be replaces by sanatized 20 screen theaters that had nothing memorable about them, most even built without marquees, these days. This book will take you back before the term "multi-screen" was ever used, when they're were ushers to guide you down the dark aisles when you came in late, and those wonderfule snack bar trailers... "Let's go out to the lobby..." etc...

If you have a passion for movies, and the bygone age of Hollywood, you will love this book.

Doug's TIME SMART is an excellent book for today. It is filled with many excellent ideas for saving and better using your time. The writing style is fun to read, very easily understood and remembered.

Doug Smart's book follows a logical progression from identifying the vision and goals that truly motivate you to realizing their successful accomplishment. Along the way he presents excellent systems for organizing paper and projects, saying good-bye to procrastination, intercepting interruptions, and keeping your focus in focus.

This book also contains some unexpected gems including tips on how to get people to agree with you more often, how to use the telephone more successfully, and how to help your computer help you.

TimeSmart is tight, concise, easy to read, and inspiring. It really will help you get more done in less time. Highly recommended!

This book makes you think on what makes you different, focusing on your one and only main Driving Force out of nine options. Long term strategy is not the same as long term planning, the first is what you want to be in the future, the second is how to get there. Being aware of your Strategy and Driving Force, allows you to focus on achiving success.

The authors bring into focus the definition of a business' "driving forces", whether "products offered", "market saturation", "technology" or others. I regret giving my copy of this book away 15 years ago - I could still refer to it today.

"Toxics A to Z" gives a complete, and thoroughly readable introduction to all of the various potential environmental hazards we face today. Although scientifically based, it gives a very good layman's explanation of the kinds of hazards to watch out for, and what we can do to avoid or reduce our exposure. Without being alarmist, it points out not just what we should be worried about, but the actions we can take to aviod these hazards and to help eliminate them from our environment. The book also gives a literally "A to Z" coverage of many of the everyday toxics we might be exposed to, either at home or at the workplace, without ever realizing it. An extremely informative and empowering book!

If you are concerned about the fumes you breathe at the gas pump, the No Pest Strip at home, or the pesticides on your fruit, then this is the book for you. Thousand of chemicals are listed and the level of toxicity is given. These are chemicals you encounter everyday.

Trinitarian theology is a difficult subject. Scriptural references are few and their meaning is not obvious - indeed, they can easily be read as contradictory. In fact, there is no explicit description of the Trinity in the scriptures at all - the orthodox view of the Trinity (three persons in one God) is an inferential conclusion from scripture that took generations to piece together. Having arrived at that conclusion, the next problem was to understand exactly what it meant - a problem difficult enough that many argued that it was simply a mystery the answer to which we might know in the next life but not this.

This famously difficult problem is the subject of Augustine's "The Trinity". In addressing it, he has two motives. His first motive is to combat non-Trinitarian heresy by showing the scriptural support for the concept and by showing that it is not inherently contradictory. His second motive is to attempt to understand the Trinity more deeply, to satisfy the scriptural directive to "seek His face evermore".

"The Trinity" is a long book, the second longest work in the Augustinian corpus, and one that he worked on, intermittently, for sixteen years. He might not have finished it had not the unauthorized publication of the first twelve "books", led him to write the final three in order to avoid having the work available only in an incomplete form.

"The Trinity" begins with a consideration of the Scriptural references to the Trinity, with the aim of reconciling them and explaining them through the supposition of three equal persons in one God. Augustine is at particular pains to maintain the equality of the persons: that the Son is equal to the Father, and the Holy Spirit equal to both. Of particular concern to Augustine are the references to the Son and Holy Spirit being sent, with the implication that the Father who sends must be superior to them. This presentation takes up the first eight books.

From there Augustine aims to develop some deeper understanding of the nature of the Trinity. His approach is to use the fact that the Man was created in the image of God. Given this, Augustine reasons, there should be some image of the Trinity in man. This leads to the consideration of a succession of trinities - the lover, beloved, and love; memory, understanding, and will; the objects of sense, the will to attend to them, and the sense impressions of them; etc. This presentation, which take up the next four books, is interesting, but often perplexing. It is easy for the reader to see that the trinities he names are not analogues of the divine Trinity, and it can be perplexing to attempt to understand how Augustine intends to bring this discussion of the trinities in man together.

It is in the last few books, written after the premature publication of the earlier books, that Augustine works to reverse the centrifugal tendencies of his discussion of the trinities in man and unify them into a whole. The trinities in man are held up not as exact analogues to that in God, but as a ladder, starting with the most carnal and rising towards the most spiritual; we do not find a single Trinity like that of God within ourselves, but we do find a series of them that we can ascend, and in ascending it we approach the divine Trinity and a deeper understanding of God.

There is much discussion in contemporary theology about the Trinity (e.g. Moltmann, LaCugna, Gunton, Pannenberg, Rahner, Barth). In order to appreciate the discussion intelligently, you ought to go back to the source of the Western model of the Trinity. One of Augustine's analogies for the Trinity is the Father the Lover, the Son the Beloved, and the Spirit as the Love. Quite a few theologians are critical of Augustine's emphasis on the unity of the Triune God (e.g. Moltmann, Pannenberg, LaCugna). It is worth reading this work just to put their work in perspective.

This work is more than just an exposition of theology. Augustine has a long discussion of perception (memory, understanding and will), because he needs to give an account for how human seeing can fulfill its supernatural vocation to see God. Some of his discussion anticipates some of the concerns of the Enlightenment. E.g. if the representation I recall in my mind is from my memory, but is also shaped by my will, how do I know I have an accurate representation of reality?

Another reason to get this work is that any attempt to tackle the Trinity ends up by a mini-systematics. In a fairly short space, a close read of the work will pay a mountain of dividends.

In particular, Edmund Hill did an invaluable job editing and translating the work. The introductory notes, the endnotes, and the essays scattered throughout the work are worth the price of the book itself. I have gotten a lot more out of the work because of Hill's commentary (and they are not overly intrusive). Some of Hill's translations are a little bit too colloquial for my taste, but he wanted to write a dynamic translation. If you want a literal translation of this work, you can like in other places.

All in all, this is one of the all-time classics in Christian theology.

Walter Hilton's massive undertaking (the first thorough treatment of ascetic theology in the English language) is as rewarding for those today as in his own era - and a careful reading makes one realise that he was treating many of the same difficulties we would find in our own time. This is by no means light reading, but the lawyer's mind, theologian's precision, and pastoral father's homely charm are a winning combination. (How can anyone resist one who, after giving an explanation of sin so with the lawyer's accuracy that one nearly searches for the section on plea bargaining, then tenderly reassures his reader that God is most generous with forgiveness or "heaven would be much too empty?)I would recommend it (if not require it) of anyone with an interest either in ascetic theology or fourteenth century England.

Author Peter Ackroyd (The Life of Thomas More) says that Hitlton's "Scale of Perfection" and Kempas'"Imitation of Christ" are part of the broad tradition of late medieval Christian piety. Both books played a central part of Thomas More's life. Scale of Perfection is concerend with the active Chrictian life in the world. Hilton also wrote a volume entitled "The Mixed Life."

This is a great book for those of us interested more in the weather and less in stuffy meteorology. I now have an understanding of "relative humidity" and why a "dry heat" is more comfortable than humid heat. I now know where some weather proverbs come from, such as "Red sky at night, sailor's delight." (There's actually factual basis for this proverb.)

This book makes a nice coffee table book, and it lends itself to casual reading. But if you're serious about the weather, you can get a lot from this book as well. There's a chapter on setting up your own weather instruments at home and keeping a weather diary. And the appendix lists a number of websites where you can learn even more about the weather. No more glib answers from me when someone says, "How about this weather?"

Very good book on the topic. It gives a great description and count on how weather forms for example hurricanes like el nino. I am glad that dummies finally put out a book on weather. Nice job John D. Cox. It's good to see a new writer in this field!!