ERA Reviews

Leary wants to be remembered as a brilliant psychologist, philosopher, and agent of social change, not just as the "High Priest of LSD" who urged everyone to "Turn On, Tune In, and Drop Out". He wants to be remembered for his contributions to and theories of human evolution, altered states of consciousness, and what he calls "re-imprinting" (which *might* be interpreted as a less-harsh way of saying 'positive psychedelic brainwashing'). In any case, Leary gives convincing justification for why he should be remembered as more than just a pop culture icon (and, he's not dead yet! ) But, I found it interesting to read "Acid Dreams" by Lee & Shlain because it provided another side of the Leary story. For example, Acid Dreams paints a very different picture of the encounter between Leary and the Black Panthers in Algiers than Leary's book does (Leary's side of the story is that his escape from the Panthers "demonstrated how to escape slavery in less than 300 years", which I thought was a gross comparison). In addition, Leary's book tends to omitt details like how Richard Alpert jumped out of the second story window of the Millbrook Estate because he was convinced he could fly while stoned on acid. But even so Leary's book is fascinating and revealing and I would certainly recommend it.

This book is great fun so i gave it five stars,however, it seems to take liberties with the truth somewhat.he attempts to paint himself as a mad, self-less saint out to save mankind single handedly but occasionaly the true, self serving clours of Leary shine through faintly and it seems to me the C.I.A had more than a little to do with his 'success'. When alls said and done (we all have an opinion on Leary +or-) this was an amazing man with a basically positive,healthy philosophy and the world is a more colourful,exciting place because of him. An exciting read whatever the truth!!! In this case the motto becomes Question Leary and Think For Yourself!!!

A really good book, lot's of funny stories about Leary and Liddy squaring off, a very intelligent man, comparable to John C. Lilly's Center of the Cyclone. Many Beatles references and 60's chantra's-Turn on tune in, drop out! The one where he escapes from CMC is funny, what an acrobat. The book is better than the audio cassettes. Book has his baby-boomer/whiz kids chart. Supposedly, any kid born after 1965, is a computer nut in the future, could be, but more like internet kids. Tells about his experiences at Harvard, and how stuffy they were in the early 60's. Tells about his [drug] experience with Marilyn Monroe, and he says"If I knew how sick she was then, my God I would of never given her the [stuff]." She in turn gave him some Randy/Mandy's, some Barb that gives feeling of Euphoria when mixed with booze. She was more wacked out than him. He talks about how happy he is, and how happy the world was in the 60's. Good book and I'm going to read it again, when I can afford it!-A good buy, for a book!-Love Marilyn(Garry)

Heard the taped version of WHAT I SAW AT THE REVOLUTION,
written and read by Peggy Noonan . . . she was a special assistant to the president during the height of the Reagan era.

Noonan worked with him, and then vice-president Bush, on
some of their most famous and memorable speeches . . . she
eventually became a speechwriter for George Bush during his
first presidential campaign, helping to dispel his "wimpy" image
by coining such eloquent phrases as "a thousand points
of light" and "a kinder, gentler nation."

I got a real feel for the trials and tribulations of what it is
like working in the White House and would strongly recommend
this book to anybody wanting to learn more what such a
life entails.

Also, I think I'll always remember how Reagan wanted
his speeches to come across . . . he wanted them
to ALWAYS emphasize positive words, so rather
than say, "I'll never forget," he used, "I'll always
remember" . . . it might sound like a small thing;
however, the result was often quite the opposite.

I loved this book. Peggy Noonan is a writer of exceptional style and grace. Her White House years reminded me very much of Alice in Wonderland. Here you have a nice, normal girl in the middle of an almost operatic mess. The Reagan White House was full of incredibly characters and I think Peggy does the best job of describing them out of all the Reagan books I've read.

I lived through the bulk of the Reagan revolution, having been born in 1982. Obviously, though, I hardly remember it. Bush is the first president I can begin to remember, and only during Clinton's second term did I fully open my eyes to the political world. What Peggy Noonan offers here is a look into the past that even few then-spectators would recognize. The inner-working of the Reagan administration are here partially revealed, and what is revealed is highly interesting. Furthermore, Ms. Noonan has shed light on some of the ways *every* White House *must* work. And yet Ms. Noonan doesn't stop with a mere description: she provides an eye-opening and well-written description of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue during the 80's. This book also opens the shades on the beginnings of the now-burgeoning neo/social conservative movement in the United States.

Rarely can you find so much in so few pages. I highly recommend this book.

The Pensees place Pascal among the great spiritual geniuses of Christianity. His depth and clarity of thought are remarkable; his devotion unwavering. Pascal's knowledge of the Bible and the church fathers enrich and inform his writing. His skill as a writer is precise (showing his scientific training). This book makes one think.

This book proved to be an excellent one to read right after Galileo's Daughter -- after reading of G's struggle to stay within the bounds of the church (he had no problem with a struggle for faith -- he knew he was right about the sun being at the center), it's refreshing to read of a near contemporary who was much more conflicted. Pascal was one of the great geniuses of all time -- if you study math at all, you'll realize the extend of his scope and reach. His talents crossed into other fields as well. Unfortunately, like Galileo (although I think worse), he was very sickly for much of his life. Sometimes, he could barely get down a "pensee" because it hurt so much to write. No surprise then that many are short jottings or musings on many aspects of Christian faith. One doesn't have to be a Christian to understand one man's struggles to reconcile what he saw in the world around him to his scientific and mathematical discoveries. There are infinite nuggets of wisdom in these pages. Sure, he misinterprets the bible a lot, but he was blazing a trail in criticism of translation that he didn't have primary sources for.

Like a Bartlett's book of quotations, this book is best read in small doses or it becomes too much. The book takes the form of many small comments and analysis, a notebook written in shorthand if you will. This translation allows us a look inside one of the greatest thinkers of all time.

This book, representing Pascal's 'pensees', or thoughts, contains many provocative views that have managed to arouse critics from many different perspectives. And while there are several strains of Pascal's thought that I considerably dissent from, it can hardly be denied that in many ways, Pascal's insights into human character as it relates to the divine are not easily dismissed, at least intellectually.

Because this work is a collection of thoughts rather than a systematic presentation, which is what Pascal ultimately had in mind but his illness and subsequent death prevented, the reader will likely find Pascal to be quite quotable. There are quite a few 'one liners' in here that are profound to the point of being humorous when one thinks about how insightful his thoughts are. And Pascal, in arguing in favor of the truth of Christianity, makes a very big investment in fulfilled prophecy and the history of the Jews that readers should find interesting. His 8 page discourse on indifference at the beginning of the second section is among the best 8 pages I've ever read and have succeeded in providing a noticeable amount of discomfort for atheists for three centuries now.

The portion of Pensees that is the most well known is Pascal's wager argument early in the second section. Personally, this argument, while interesting, is not the most compelling argument he makes and I consider it a shame that the wager argument has really overshadowed what I believe to be Pascal's most provocative argument in favor of the Christian religion - his anthropological argument. While not stated in this manner, section 1 of Pensees spends considerable time developing the notion that the extreme paradox of humanity (as Pascal sees it) of both immense greatness and horrible evil demand an explanation. How can man be both, and what worldview best explains this clear reality? These are the questions that Pascal presents, and he argues that only the Biblical narrative of man from creation forward provides an intelligent framework upon which to explain the human condition adequately. It is a very provocative argument that a number of thoughtful theologians from Groothuis to McKenzie have opined upon quite recently, and it is an argument that deserves extensive thought not just about the Christian religion, but about the very nature of man and whether Pascal's grasp of it is correct or not. I have found that one can take the sketches of the argument put forward by Pascal here and get into some very deep anthropological water that is healthy, even if one ultimately takes issue with Pascal's paradox.

Being a Jansenist, Pascal was not as willing as mainstream Roman Catholicism to rely on human reason, believing that man's 'wretchedness' calls such reason into question. As such, the reader will notice that Pascal tends to employ a general polemic against reason, even though he clearly refutes the complete abandonment of reason. But as part of this general polemic, he clearly distrusts natural theology as well as the rationalizations of the philosophers (which is kind of ironic), believing that philosophical rationalizing is ultimately an impediment to faith. It is in these basic areas (and a few others) which I respectfully dissent from Pascal in varying degrees. Pascal intends here to walk a fine line between what he believed to be the logical absurdity of faith in complete contradiction to reason, but also of the bankruptcy as he saw it of reason alone becoming the basis for our faith. In my own reading of the book, my view is that Pascal devoted more energy to dealing with the latter concern than the former.

A highly provocative book that has, and will continue to arouse thought and contemplation at the deepest levels.

A must read for every seeker of truth. This powerful and thought provoking book offers remarkable insights into spirituality in the context of modern times. Not only are the problems of the world outlined but also solutions to the problems based on an understanding of the subtle system and awareness.

I have been practising the Sahaja Yoga method described in the book for several years with innumerable positive effects in my life.

Reading this book was an eye-opener - I can definitely say it's one of the most remarkable books I've ever read. I had browsed a lot through philosophy, meditation, acupuncture, alternative this, alternative that, but they somehow always seemed to look only at a fraction of human life. Modern trends keep changing and are never conclusive. It was really refreshing to find Meta Modern Era, a profound look at our roots beyond this capricious modernism. Shri Mataji has a stunning ability to go to the core of every issue and reveal natural but powerful solutions which belong to the domain of eternal wisdom, unaffected by fads and fashions.

I have been practicing the method described in the book - self realization through Sahaja Yoga meditation - for quite a while now and I can see definite positive changes in my personality, health and balance. My overall understanding and perspective on life have become subtler.

This is a must-read book for all those who believe in the ideal of making the world a beautiful and harmonious place to live in. I think that if more people would experience what self realization is, Sahaja Yoga can prove to be a powerful vehicle towards attaining this lofty goal. Also, a lot of details on Sahaja Yoga can be found at sahajayoga.org.

The Meta Modern era is a wonderful book, written in a simple language that allows the average person to understand and feel the knowledge of the Divine. This knowledge is transmitted by the highest spiritual source: Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi. In a world of false gurus where the "knowledge is sold" to those who can "buy it", the words of Shri Mataji are a balsam of wonderful vibrations that take you away from the wordly problems created by the mind, the conditionings and the ego.

The book explains many situations and misunderstandings that have led the ego and the mind of human beings to control our actions and thoughts in order to put the world upside down as it is now. It also shows us the way to put everything back in order in our lives and around it through this pure Divine knowledge.

This book is written to be understood by the spirit in us, not the mind (for many it is a difficult task but one must know it is not impossible). This book helps us evolve and grow spiritually and provide us with the proper light to enlighten our lives and the ones of those around us in order to become one with God.

Thank you Shri Mataji, for being so kind to share this amazing Divine knowledge with us, and for trying so hard to help us evolve and achieve a better place in the kingdom of God. May your message be fully understood by us, and may we be able to do justice to your efforts of trying to let us access the Divine Knowledge to improve the conditions of our lives and make us realized beings.
My true desire is that you, the reader, understand the message written by Shri Mataji in this book and receive it in your spirit to help you improve the conditions of your life and your being in every aspect. This book can actually help you think with your heart and feel with your brain. Enjoy it!

este libro esta escrito en una sinplesa que cualquiera lo puede leer lo que esta muy bien, me gusto mucho este libro lo compre en espanol y lo lei en una semana, me parecio un libro muy entretenido y lo recomiendo

EL LIBRO ES EXCELENTE, LAS DESCRIPCIONES Y EL ESTILO DE NARRACION UTILIZADO ES MAGNIFICO, LLEVA AL LECTOR A NO DETENER LA LECTURA Y LO OBLIGA A TERMINAR DE LEER EL LIBRO PARA CONOCER EN QUE CULMINO SU CARRERA.

LO UNICO QUE ENCONTRE Y QUE HUBIESE CAMBIADO ES EL FINAL, ME GUSTARIA HABER TENIDO MAS INFORMACION DE LA FAMILIA DE ESMERALDA.

SI ES POSIBLE CONTACTARME CON ELLA AGRADECERE ASI ME LO DEJEN SABER A MI DIRECCION ELECTRONICA. LA RAZON PARA ELLO ES QUE LEYENDO EL LIBRO ENCONTRAMOS INFORMACION QUE RELACIONA DIRECTAMENTE A MI ESPOSA CON ESMERALDA, SEGUN LOS DATOS LA MAMA DE ESMERALDA, MONIN, ERA SOBRINA DE LA ABUELA DE MI ESPOSA.

I read this book three years ago and was very impressed with the way the themes were developed by Esmeralda Santiago. The book is a reflection of the Puerto Rican society in the time when Esmeralda Santiago was a young girl. Therefore, it is true reflection of how many Puerto Ricans lived and struggled to ascertain life's most basic needs. I like the fact that Esmeralda did not leave a pillow unturned while describing family situations, how the father left the family to survive with very little income and lastly their move to NYC in search of better opportunities.

The reader can identify with Puerto Rican culture and what it means to be Puerto Rican because of the way Esmeralda describes her life in a language that's very adecuate, full of descriptions and expressions of her deepest sentiments. The beauty and simplicity of her vocabulary facilitates one's understanding of the book, the themes and situations presented. Overall, it is an exemplary memoir that paints a very real description of the ups and downs of the Puerto Rican society in the fifties. I recommend this book to all those who are fond of literature of any kind.
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Leí este libro hace tres años y quedé muy impresionada con el tema que ha sido muy bien desarrollado por Esmeraldo Santiago. El libro realmente es un reflejo de la sociedad puertorriqueña en aquella época cuando Esmeralda Santigao era niña. Por lo tanto, es un retrato real de como muchos puertorriqueños vivían y luchaban para tener las cosas más básicas de la vida. Me gustó mucho el hecho de que Esmeralda no escatimó en los detalles al describir los episodios de su familia, de como su papá dejó a la familia para sobrevivir con pocos recursos y finalmente de la mudanza a Nueva York en busca de nuevas oportunidades.

La manera en que Esmeralda describe su vida en un lenguaje adecuado, lleno de descripciones y de expresión de sus más profundos sentimientos hace que el lector se identifique con "la cultura puertorriqueña" y lo que significa ser parte de esa cultura siendo puertorriqueño/a o no. La belleza y sencillez de su léxico facilita la comprensión del libro y el entendimiento de los varios temas y asuntos que se presentan. Por lo general, es un libro ejemplar que pinta una descripción muy verdadera de los avatares de la sociedad puertorriqueña en los años cincuenta. Recomiendo este libro a los amantes de la buena lectura.

In plain English, this book defines eProcess and how a company can use it to it's advantage. This book is littered with real-world examples and is absent of technology-babble. Furthermore, the examples also show how the absence -- or lack of -- eProcess negativley impacts a businesses performance.

I have a great understanding of the overall theory of eProcess and why a company MUST have one to survive in the eCommerce world in which we live.

eCommerce has both blinded and charmed many business people into focusing on the wrong issues and actions for their companies, customers, and investors. Fewer than 20 eBusinesses have achieved consistent eCommerce profitability, and created real customer value.

There are very few worthy how-to books about eCommerce. Customers.com is one such book. However, many other books adopt a "white ivory tower" mentality that fails to explain the nuts and bolts of the eCommerce explosion, and fewer even give clear guidelines on becoming successful in eCommerce

What book should you read to understand the what's and how's of eCommerce?

The eProcess Edge is a must-read for managers (technical and non-technical), C-level officers, consultants, academics, and industry analysts. It is useful to both professionals, and anyone who wants to be a well-informed online customer and potential investor of eBusinesses.

The eProcess framework offers logical and compelling analyses of eCommerce success and failures for the past 5 years, and is based on the lessons learned from a large sample size (80+) of companies across different industries to support its reasonings.

Keen and McDonald provide strong inferential arguments for the importance in eCommerce of: - commerce fundamentals - relationships building - business process excellence - collaborative value networks - electronic interfaces - capabilities sourcing - customer experience.

Technology does not provide all the answers. The integration of people, process and technology is necessary to achieve the eProcess edge for high customer value, and high company profitability.

This is a very practical book. It offfers many lessons-learned, and recommends specific actions. It addresses the challenges and issues for both pure-online only, and traditional "bricks and mortar" companies. It leverages the expertise and insights of two veteran eCommerce experts - backed by the research, analyses, real-world experiences, and talents of their respective companies (Keen Innovations, Andersen Consulting).

Execution matters! The eProcess Edge enables businesses - both start ups and established companies - to move from Internet innovation to eProcess execution.

It is designed to help professionals prioritize, coordinate, and implement electronic commerce processes. Targeting key relationships is addressed and building a value network as a basis for organizing and competing is covered in detail. If you aim to manage an eCommerce business successfully, the tools provided in this book will be helpful. For example, Keen and McDonald offer an 'eProcess capability matrix' that guides appropriate operational sourcing of capabilities.

Managers, technology decision-makers, and academics that want to understand exactly how processes and capabilities may be improved to gain competitive advantage must read this book.

This book is clearly overrated -- very simplistic and nothing more than a marketing tool for would-be customers. The book's fatal flaw is probably its praise of Enron and its ability to grow from its "core"

Maybe not revolutionary, but definitely making a very clear point that is all too often forgotten by even the biggest companies.
Very useful for those making business plans or those reviewing business strategy. It can definitely help determine how to go build a business and what to focus on to make a business successful.

I found this book truly worth its 5 star rating.

In a time of mega mergers and consolidation this book has an intriguing perspective. The authors (Bain consultants) argue that embracing non core businesses is probably trouble. Drawing on a huge multi-year study and Bain database the authors show that growing companies with unfocused acquisitions in non core businesses are typically under performers. The book shows several examples of how Bain purchased under performing companies (divisions) from conglomerates and by investing and focusing on their core business ignited explosive growth.

You might be asking how then does a business grow. The authors would say first by defining the core business. What business are we really in and good at. Once the core business has been defined and focused on growth opportunities come from opportunities adjacent to the core business. A few example adjacencies could be new customer segments, new channels, new geographies, new value chain steps (forward, backward...), new business, and new products.

If you are trying to define a sustainable growth strategy then this book is worth the read. If you have many non core business that are under performing then this book is worth the read. If you have a successful business and are looking for the next growth vehicle you will want to read this book.

Although there are better biographies on the life of Theodore Roosevelt, this book is very readable and flows well. It is an achievement which equals the life of a man who was GREAT. The accuracy of the book is right on and the author gets where he is going quickly, and with as little unnecessary detail as possible. This book is a great one to read for a look at the life of one of our most outstanding presidents.

Author Nathan Miller faces some stiff competition with his Theodore Roosevelt biography. Edmund Morris won the Pulitzer prize with "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" and one of mega popular historian David McCullough's best loved books is "Mornings on Horseback." Additionally, Miller faces the fundamental problem that TR was really too complex a figure to be given his just due in a single volume. The man himself was larger than life, and his biographies ought to be as well.

Nevertheless, Miller gives it his best shot. His prose is very readable and he briskly covers each event in Roosevelt's busy life with aminimum of opinionating. Those looking for a thorough examination of TR's presidency will be better off with Morris's recent "Theodore Rex," as the two terms combined account for only about 140 of the 560 pages of narrative. Roosevelt's post-presidential years get even less coverage, a mere 70 pages, despite the fact that he continued to be a major player on the American political scene for another decade. These factors illustrate just how difficult was Miller's one volume task.

Overall, "Theodore Roosevelt: A Life" is a good bare bones introduction to one of America's most fascinating historical figures.

"Theodore Roosevelt:A Life" by Nathan Miller is an excellent survey of one of the greatest of American lives. From birth to death, Miller takes us along the path blazed by this Rough Rider. I say that it is excellent because it presents this extraordinary life in fine writing style. I call it a survey because it seems to run through 60 action packed years at the rapid pace necessary for a one volume biography.

The outline of TR's life is here: The sickly boy who "builds his body", the snobbish Harvard man, the New York Assemblyman and the young romantic. Shattered by a lost love, TR enters the cattle business in the Dakotas. His Dakota Sabbatical completed, he is ready for the return to New York, public life and his childhood sweetheart, Edith Carrow. Rising through appointive position in the U. S. Civil Service Commission, the New York Police Board and the Navy Department, TR gradually deepened his experience and broadened his network.

During his early life, TR was molded by personal tragedy. The sudden death of his father when TR was 19 forced him into a more responsible maturity. The death of this wife and mother in the same house of unrelated conditions on February 14, 1884 plunged him into mourning from which he found relief only in flight. Leaving his newborn daughter with his sister, he went West to enter the cattle business which, incidentally, was a reasonable business decision at the time.

By this time some of the major themes and ironies of his life had been established. As a member of the New York Assembly, TR had established himself as a crusader for political reform and corporate regulation. Although a political maverick, his leadership qualities made his political advance inexorable. As New York Police Commissioner, TR created a sensation by enforcing the Sunday liquor laws and disciplining officers who were corrupt or who shirked their duties. His late night prowls for sleeping officers became part of his legend. He advanced the cause of Civil Service reform during his term on the Civil Service Commission.

TR's service as Assistant Secretary of the Navy marked his first major impact on national public policy. A strenuous advocate for a strong Navy, TR's actions helped prepare the Navy its role it in the Spanish American War. The instructions which he sent, on the Secretary's day off, to Adm. Dewey set the stage for America's overseas empire.

The Spanish American War which brought TR to national prominence. Seeking an Army Commission in order to fulfill a perceived obligation and to slake his thirst for adventure, TR also sought to redeem his father's decision to pay a substitute during the Civil War.

Serving under Col. Leonard Wood, TR developed the First U. S. Volunteer Cavalry, The Rough Riders, a colorful band of cowboys and Indians, westerners and Ivy League athletes. Here TR developed and exhibited both courage and his leadership qualities. In the process of becoming a national hero, TR earned the respect of his brother officers. His charge up San Juan Hill on July 1, 1898 became an American Legend. The Rough Riders were photographed on the top of the hill because "We shall always live in its shadow."

Roosevelt the reformer remained inside Roosevelt the warrior. Saving the career of professional officers, TR testified before Congress about the poor quality of rations, an action which may have deferred his Medal of Honor for a century.

Riding his wave of popularity into New York's governor's mansion, TR continued his reforming ways, pushing a bill which taxed public service corporations . Ever the practical politician, TR sought the cooperation of Boss Platt by consulting him on state appointments.

Following a typically boring vice-presidency, TR entered the bully pulpit, the great adventure which was the Presidency. His style was unique. The first President to use the press as a tool, TR connected with the public as no president had done before and few have done since. His young family and wild daughter, Alice, complemented his role on the national stage. The main accomplishments of TR's presidency were the advancement of conservation, the extension of government control of corporations and the advancement of American influence in world affairs. His brokerage of the Peace Treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War earned him the Nobel Prize for Peace, the first Nobel Prize won by an American.

Retiring from the White House at age 50, TR lived out another adventure during his African safari. This and his subsequent tour of Europe, reminiscent of the reception received by Gen. Grant, gave President Taft a political honeymoon. Returning to the U.S. in 1910, TR launched into an increasingly radical attack on Taft which lead to his Bull Moose run for the Presidency in 1912. This started a sad final phase of TR's career in which he became estranged from former friends and supporters while making new enemies, prominently including Woodrow Wilson. A final exploration in South America nearly killed him and almost certainly shortened his life.

For TR, life was a series of unforeseen consequences. Abandoning his friend from childhood, Edith Carrow, TR fell head over heals for beautiful Alice Lee. Alice is seen as a beautiful, but intellectually shallow companion. It has often been said that, had Alice lived, Theodore would never have been President. Her death drove him the cattle business in the Dakota Territory, an experience crucial to his rise to the Presidency. Having become a thorn in the side of the Republican organization in New York, they maneuvered him on the road to political oblivion in the Vice-Presidency, only to have President McKinley assassinated about six months into the term.

"Theodore Roosevelt: A Life" does justice to the magnificent life. It meets two tests of a great book. It leaves you satisfied, yet hungry to read more.

Eisenhower's intriguing military history opens with a hard-hitting quote from a late nineteenth century Mexican president: "Poor Mexico! So far from God, yet so close to the United States!" The subsequent pages of Eisenhower's account develop the caustic truth of this statement in vivid detail. Eisenhower depicts the military expeditions and dominance of the US forces with great skill. Relying on both American and Mexican sources, including many first-hand accounts, Eisenhower brings the reader from Texas to northern Mexico, from New Mexico to California, and finally from Veracruz to Mexico City itself. The journey is a worthwhile one. Helpful maps and illustrations support Eisenhower's description of each battle. The military historian will be rewarded from reading this account. The military novice will as well.

To his credit, Eisenhower refrains from joining the acrimonious debate over whether the USA took untoward advantage of Mexico by provoking war. Nevertheless, the pertinent events and subsequent interpretations of those events are detailed for the reader to make up his/her own mind.

The US government hypes up a war with a smaller, ill-governed country, for questionable purposes. The US wins, but it doesn't solve any of the ostensible problems that were cited as reasons for the war, and we get saddled with trying to administer a large, unruly, impoverished territory: in this case, Texas. Reading this book will make you want to go to war with Mexico again, just to make them take Texas back. Seriously, read this for a look at the events that formed many subsequent Civil War generals.

This well-written account of the Mexican-American conflict is a fascinating story of the war with Mexico. It covers the political as well as military aspects from the Mexican advance into Texas to the eventual purchase of California and New Mexico.

This book did much to dispel the myths and impressions I remember from grade school history. Texans and Californians will find this work extremely interesting.

For inspiration and understanding the concept and power of storytelling, Dennings book is excellent. As a guide on using storytelling in your daily work - it is somewhat less so.

Still, the book has a very valid point. Storytelling really works. If you do not know the concept - get this book! Along the way Denning has several interesting points on why storytelling works. He also offers some advice on how you can build your own stories.

Amazingly, his first story reflects excatly my own first try at using storytelling to bring about major change in the face of stiff opposition. In short top-mangement asked me to prepare and present Plan A within a week. Looking into it I quickly became convinced that Plan Z was the only way to go. Having read about the power of storytelling I placed my bets. At the next meeting I simply told my story of Plan Z - and it was accepted on the spot. No-one even mentioned or asked about what happend to Plan A! It was a defining moment in my career. Today I teach storytelling both within my own (large international organisation) and to professionals from several other organisations.

Because Denning clearly is a "self-made-man" within storytelling he misses some important points. He is not the only one - and far from the first - to use storytelling as a strategic tool.

Denning and I had our first professionel succeses with storytelling at about the same time. However, back then I already had a clear vision of storytelling as a powerful tool - ready to test the rough waters of reality. IMD in Switzerland was teaching storytelling, and I had looked into storyboarding for presentations. I had read studies on which environments and situations that are esspecially favorable to storytelling. and heard about why visualisation sometimes is essential to the story. As well as studying how storytelling - once mastered - can be used to ensure short, crisp and winning business writing. Denning does not cover these aspects.

Stephen Denning has an important story to tell, but it should have been kept much more to the point. He seems so much in love with his own succes at storytelling, that he "must" give us the full unabridged version of his own story - and frankly very few professionals have time for that.

To sum up, the basic story and main point is good, the writing is bad and the end result ugly - because it could have been so much better than it turned out to be.

The reason that The Springboard is such an important book is that the story it tells of business transformation at the World Bank deals with the missing link in the knowledge communication chain between knowledge transmitters (teachers) and knowledge receivers (learners). The link has been missing since computers made hyper-access to information possible without making it hyper-easy to assimilate. (Many would say that computer accessed information is actually more difficult to assimilate, than traditional books and journals.)

One of the many virtues of The Springboard is that it practices what it preaches. Nearly everything is communicated as a story. It is the story of Stephen Denning's personal odyssey as he recounts in slightly bemused wonderment how his discovery of storytelling forged a vital link in the knowledge communication chain at the World Bank, fostering many new enduring, cross-functional communities of practice. It is written, as all stories should be, in a way that makes the reader want to know what happened next.

Stories permit listeners to suspend belief - enter the realm of the make believe - for a period of time, enabling them to assimilate and resonate with new stories, instead of having first to judge the truth of what they are being told, according to personal principles and beliefs about what is true or false, or right or wrong.

The power of storytelling begins with the invitation to imagine. This invitation is so much more alluring than the prospect of being told what to believe. A well-told story is never an effort to understand. Rather, it is a pleasure to follow and to discover its meaning.

In Stephen Denning's words, "When a springboard story does its job, the listeners' minds race ahead, to imagine the further implications of elaborating the same idea in different contexts, more intimately known to the listeners. In this way, through extrapolation from the narrative, the re-creation of the change idea can be successfully brought to birth, with the concept of it planted in listeners' minds, not as a vague, abstract inert thing, but an idea that is pulsing, kicking, breathing, exciting - and alive".

Stephen Denning is to be roundly applauded for re-opening the book on storytelling as being at the rightful centre of human communication, knowledge transfer and consequent decision making. His Springboard story is a very specific story-form, honed to be effective in the context of 21st century organisational change.

The Springboard belongs on any short list for best business book of its year. It is an essential addition to the bookshelf of anyone, executive or consultant, who is concerned with the management of change.This is a book that I will keep with the half dozen or so to which I constantly refer.

The context of the book is the introduction of knowledge management into a very large organization - The World Bank - but its relevance extends to any and every aspect of the change process.

The form of the book is an extended story about storytelling and the impact of a particular type of story in engaging the attention and commitment of people to necessary change. It is written directly, simply and with a poet's precision of language, which makes it immensely readable. Many of the books that I review, I skim for points of value. This one I read from cover to cover, and enjoyed doing so.

The thesis is a simple one and the extended framing story about the development of knowledge management within The World Bank, which makes up the book, proves the thesis. Change is driven both by the logic of the relationship of the organization to its environment and by the interaction of human hopes, fears and preferred perspectives (mental models) with the 'objective' situation. When new departures are needed, an appropriate story can engage the imagination and creative powers of the audience, where analysis and logical argument may only engage the critical faculty. A story can provide the means of circumventing an unacknowledged fear of change and built-in defences by enticing the audience to participate in the creation of a world that overcomes problems which affect all of them. Denning's thesis is not that a story is all that is needed; it is that the initiating power of stories has been neglected in our culturally preferred analytical approach to problem definition and problem solving.

I happen to have been working with an organization that seeks to do on a smaller scale some of the things that The World Bank does on a very large scale, and is currently experiencing many of the issues that Denning describes in The Springboard. Both his diagnosis and his prescription ring absolutely true. In every chapter I found explanations, ideas and suggestions that are immediately useful and helpful, not only to that situation, but to any change management situation.

There are five invaluable appendices summarizing aspects of the development, presentation and performance of springboard stories, structures for building up a springboard story and examples of stories with explanatory marginal notes on the role of each part of the story. These provide an extremely useful ready reference for the practitioner.