Organizations Books

In the last few years I have been searching books offering a general overview of the past, and I have realized that many books entitled "History of ...whatever" only provide information about the West, the rest of the world being almost ignored.

Maddison's on world economy is different, it is truly global. It offers historical statistics of the last two thousand years and is to be read together with "The world economy: Historical Statistics " (a combined edition of both volumes is to be published on December 2007). In my opinion this is masterful work that can be savored by the professional historian and educated layperson alike, so my rate is between 5 (content) and 4 (pleasure, sometimes falling to 3, sometimes raising to 5). I highly recommend the two volumes.

Other works whose scope is as amazingly global as Maddison's and which I would suggest reading (hoping that will be of use for those looking for a broad framework to understand ourselves) are the following: 1. Agrarian cultures: "Pre-industrial societies" by Patricia Crone; 2. Government: "The History of Government" by S.E. Finer; 3. Ideas: "Ideas, a History from Fire to Freud", by Peter Watson; 4. Religion: "The Phenomenon of Religion: A Thematic Approach" by Moojan Momen; and 5. War: "War in Human Civilization" by Azar Gat.

Angus Maddison's The World Economy: A Millennial Perspective is highly unique because of the long historical perspective it brings to the understanding of global economic development and fluctuations. Maddison provides data on population growth, per-capita income, and gross domestic product on regional, national, and global levels for the last 1000 years. The last two centuries receive special attention. For more books on economic development go to my profile and see my Amazon Listmania "Future Studies Reading List."

Attempting to put numbers on past economic activity is a deeply fraught exercise, as the author freely admits.

That being said, this is a book full of useful information and striking estimates. I know of no better place to get a genuine feel for the economic history of the last millennia, but particularly the last two centuries. There is something to startle or surprise anyone within these pages. A necessary edition to the library of anyone seriously interested in history.

This book is seemingly a culmination of the painstaking works taken by Angus Maddison for decades. As I liked his previous works such as the Phases of Capitalist Development, so I like this book very much. Of course, the book contains many 'guesstimations' that are unacceptable to today's economists' rigor. This is more so when the author ventures into almost two millenia before 1820, for which he did relatively little work previously. But even here the book apparently provides reasonable figures synthesizing existing evidences with a lucid interpretation, providing illuminating starting points for future studies.

Seriously, Robert Webber (RIP) writes with great insight and knowledge. He shares with you the history of worship from the Old Testament until our present day.

If you want a book that will teach you and inspire you to learn more about what worship is and how it was practiced, read this please!

The book linked old to new in an easy-read formal reading. Very informative and brought light from the past to why we do what we do today in worship. AND.. worship is a participant activity, not meant to be a spectator...

I recently watched as a church board wrestled with aspects of worship practice. They were decideing how often to offer communion. They decided to poll their congregation. They were interested in what sort of music to offer. They decided to poll their congregation. They had questions concerning cantatas, special concerts, liturgical dancing, and drama. Each time, they decided to find out what their congregation wanted.

Such a church may become very popular, but it has not discovered what worship is nor why it should be done. Webber's book doesn't ignore historcial or contemporary forms of whorship, but it does try to lay a solid foundation that there is theology in worship.

This book is not the last word on the subject, but it offers a good introduction to worship theology.

Several years ago I asked a youth minister to define worship. The "worship movement" was taking off, and I was a little bit uneasy about the emphasis of emotion over depth in the songs I was hearing. He didn't give me an answer and seemed a bit offended at the question. Oddly, I had no clear definition of worship myself, other than the stock phrases "to bow down" or "to exalt".

Most evangelicals believe in worship. They understand the vague concept that worship means to put God first. But that is about it. And the pattern of worship in many evangelical churches has shifted with the times. What was once and order of service that emphasized three songs and a sermon is often a pattern today of a half hour of contemporary music and a motivational speech. Reverence and awe in worship have, as a result, been lost. Many evangelicals sense something is missing, but can't put their finger on what it is.

Robert Webber has spent many years researching worship with a very calm, balanced and, yes, evangelical spirit. Though he was once a Bob Jones University student and is now within the Episcopal tradition, this volume can be embraced by Christians of virtually any denominational background.

Webber gives us Biblical basis not only for worship attitudes but worship practices and bolsters that Biblical foundation with historical background. He explains where certain practices came from, how those practices were understood by the early church and how understanding of worship has changed across history. What this allows us to see is that Worship has not been entirely static, yet there has been a consistent pattern, one that should be reclaimed even within Free Church evangelicalism.

And there is a gentle patient spirit to the tone. He critiques some recent trends without demeaning those who have embraced them. And he suggests ways Free Church evangelicals and others can adopt a historical pattern of worship without necessarily abandoning cultural relevance or their denominational roots.

The two keys I found most helpful are his suggestion that historic Christian worship has a simple structure where the people of God gather, participate in the ministry of the Word, celebrate salvation in the ministry of the Lord's table, and then are dismissed to live the gospel. This is a recognizable pattern of worship practiced for 2000 years, but is not a straightjacket that prevents creative ways of keeping the pattern fresh.

Webber also has a brief recounting of the history of the word "sacrament", the sealing of an oath or covenant, and how it gradually changed to sacramentalism in the course of the history of the Roman chruch, a shift which caused Evangelicals to react and reject the word sacrament altogether. His simple description and recounting of the history can help restore a sense of reverence to worship as Evangelicals reconsider God's role in the Lord's table and Baptism. Is there anything objectionable in Evangelical thinking to see the Lord's Supper or baptism in the context of the renewing an oath or covenant between God and man? I certainly hope not. And while it may not solve old conflicts between Protestants and Catholics, it can lead to fruitful discussion of differences.

By taking a look at history and biblical roots of worship, I think Webber has done a great service in gently suggesting there is common ground between denominations based in common practices of the whole church across history, if we take the time to see it. It is a gentle stroke on behalf of deeper faith and greater unity and should be welcomed.

I bought this book because I needed it for my education administration class. I thought it would be another boring book that I would read because I had to. I was pleasantly surprised as I started reading it. The book takes you through a story of a principal and all of the incidents he had to go through. I read the entire book in three days. The story captured my interest. I was reading it for pleasure, not because I had to. I looked forward to reading it every one of those three days. I enjoyed it very much!!!!

This story of Grant Sterling, a fictitious (?) public school principal, reads like a novel as it tells the so-strange-they-must-be-true anecdotes of Sterling's work life. By developing this funny, caring, and slightly imperfect character to follow through his career as principal in several different schools, the author creates an engaging case study of leadership in action. Readers may not agree with what Sterling does--but he will make them think, react, and probably both laugh and cry! Prospective school leaders will get a glimpse at the challenges they will face, parents will gain insight into why principals do what they do, and others interested in education and leadership will be entertained-- as well as stimulated to think. And ALL readers will wish, with some wistful nostalgia, that THEY would have been lucky enough to have had a principal like Grant Sterling!

Not being a teacher or principal, I didn't expect to particularly enjoy this book, but I was delighted to find it funny, touching, and just plain enjoyable! Sterling is a wise and yet humanly flawed main character, who shows us what a challenge it is to meet the day to day rigors of a job most of us take for granted.

I never knew the job of pricipal included so many "hats". Sterling's adventures can both teach and entertain any reader....even those who just want to read this book for fun, and not just as a textbook ( lucky students ). This book should be sold in popular bookstores, not just at the University !!! Super book.

Written by a man with a well-known healing ministry in Sydney, Australia, this book offers a clear prescription for a successful healing. Glennon states that it is necessary to learn the broad promises of God as revealed in the Bible. It is also important to forgive others unconditionally. Above all, it is essential to have faith. By faith Glennon means a belief that God's promises are received with a resulting healing and that no lingering doubt about it is retained.
Glennon's style is not flashy and the tone of his book will be welcomed by those who are repelled by the overly dramatic antics of some Christian healers seen on television.

I was recommended to this wonderful book written by Canon Glennon and was delighted and edified by it. I have found deep wisdom, an easy to read style and excellent scriptural references. I would highly recommend this volume to anyone involved in healing ministry or seeking information on your path following Jesus Christ. One word of caution, the paperback current edition is not of high quality, I found that rereading and highlighting led to breaking of the binding.

Jim Glennon, in this pathbreaking book, enlightens us about one of the most important truths than any of us could ever learn, and this is present reality of the Kingdom of God. More than that, he gives us the practical tools that enable us to make this a transformative force of our lives. Faith is a decision and we can make the power of faith ours by accepting the promises of God by a decision and by affirming that decision as often as needed so that the promises we have by faith we will begin to have in our actual experience. Problems are permitted into our lives by God to make us more dependent upon Him and as we live out that powerful fact, we find that our experience of God is deeper, that we know more of the "joy and peace of believing" and that God's grace causes the problems to melt away. The atoning death of Christ has made all this possible and it is up to us to quietly adopt this vision and experience, over time, the tremendous blessings that come as a consequence. Read this book more than once and apply its message to your life in a persevering way and you will not possibly be disappointed.

Jim Glennon writes about a God-centered approach to healing which can happen either instantaneously or gradually and be applied to both physical and emotional disorders. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in this subject.

Initially, I was excited about the material that I requested next day delivery! This material is certainly a great start or beginning for anyone new to MLM or wants to build a serious organization of like minded individuals.

MLM or Network Marketing will one day earn the respect that it deserves as more professional networkers multiply within the industry. Independence within the industry brings many without integrity giving the industry a bad name.

Folks, it is imperative to personalize your MLM business. Meaning do not rely solely upon the corporate replicated websites and other related materials to do the job for you. You must truly take an sincere interest in both the customers and your recruits. What will you personally do for them?

What kind of support will you personally provide for your recruits or prospects? Internet technology is great, but the personal relationships will always be what truly networking is all about. If the Internet technology was the only solution then the mlm companies would do all of the marketing themselves without the thousands of network marketers or distubors or independent reps, right?

Phil offers a great start for those interested in entering an exciting profession, thats right, "Profession" It will becomes the best profession one day as more professionals enter. I am just getting started and will become one of the greatest network marketers of all time because of my sincere desire to help others succeed and willingness to work hard! Work is not a dirty word especially when work is fun! (smile)

I have paid hundreds of dollars to attend trainings and courses that were not nearly as good as this tape set. It comes with a great workbook to track your progress and develop the principles needed for success in MLM. I also love Dr. Rubino's book,"Secrets of Building a Million Dollar NWM Organization From a Guy Who's Been There Done That and Shows You How to Do It Too." Very thorough and enlightening.

10 Weeks to Network Marketing Success: The Secrets to Launching Your Very Own Million-Dollar Organization In a 10-Week Business-Building and Personal-Development Self-Study Course is a life-cahnging personal development course that will put any serious distributor on the path to success in network marketing. The set consists of 6 audio tapes with 10 insightful weekly topics to guide the user to implement those actions that will most dramatically support great, rapid success. The 37 page workbook allows for one to record answers to the transformational weekly exercises that the author (whose other books- The Power to Succeed: 30 Principles for Maximizing Your Personal Effectiveness, Book I,The Power to Succeed: More Principles for Powerful Living, Book II, Secrets of Building a Million Dollar Network Marketing Organization From A Guy Who's Been There Done That And Shows You How To Do It Too and The Magic Lantern: A Fable About Leadership, Personal Excellence and Empowerment are all excellent as well) provides to move your business forward. The best part of this series is that the participant will grow personally by the end of the 10 weeks just by implementing the exercises given. This course is well worth the investment. In fact, I believe it's easily worth 10 times the cost as it will launch anyone who follows the exercises into massive action and success.

With software and engineering management, problem *formulation* is often harder than problem *resolution*. In my experience, the problem isn't answering the questions, it's knowing what questions to ask.

The genius of this book is that it offers a bunch of really good questions to help you frame the problems, large and small, in your own organization. Himelstein also offers solid advice to help you find answers that work in your particular environment. It's a real distillation of thoughtful experience, presented in a very accessible way.

I became an instant fan of this book. I recommend it to any software manager trying to improve their organization, whether tuning up a good operation, or fixing a badly broken one.

The book provides a well ordered how-to-do list for senior software executives. From managing technology, to managing personnel, 100 questions has the answers.

When Mark asked me to read his manuscript, I had no
idea that I would end up credited as its editor. In
the interests of full disclosure, I shall tell you
that Mark is an old friend of mine, and it was for
that reason that I agreed to help him. But as I
read through that very first draft of _100 Questions to
Ask Your Software Organization_, I realized that this was
about more than just helping out an old friend.

Having spent more than 25 years working in Silicon
Valley, I've seen whole companies hobbled by
the inadvertent bad management of people, processes,
and products. This deficiency costs everyone, from a
company's investors to its customers. It is
particularly hard on its employees, who are any
company's principal asset. Worse, the problems that
plague development organizations are never binary.
Managing even a small group of smart people is
inherently complex and challenging. There's a lot
to know, and a lot to do. And that's part of what
makes this book important.

So what's it about? First and foremost, it is
exactly what it says it is: 100 questions which, while you're
figuring out how to fix or improve a software
engineering organization, you can ask of that
organization to help ascertain the shape it's in.
These are the questions you ask to gather the data
needed to form a plan, and they are organized in a
systematic and methodical way. Grouped by topic
into chapters, examples of some of the chapter headers
include: Communications, Roles and Responsibilities,
Strategy, Resources, Schedule, and Execution.
Grounded in his many years of successfully managing
engineering groups at major companies like Apple
and Sun Microsystems, Mark discusses some of the
answers you might get, how to interpret them, and
what, if anything, to do about them.

But this book is far from the run-of-the-mill, overly
analytical management tract. My two favorite chapters
are those he entitles Humanity and Final Words. Here,
the level of discourse rises, from sharing lessons
learned in hard experience to reflections on that
experience that smack of true wisdom. It's easy to
repeat the bromide that all business relationships
are human relationships, but Mark is able to articulate
the implications of this truth in a way that is
tangible and actionable. Do as he suggests, and all
in your environment will benefit.

Almost as important as the questions and the
discussion that accompanies them is the material Mark
includes in the appendices. In this concluding
section, he breaks down a hypothetical, large
engineering project into its components, and
provides examples of presentation templates and others tools
that will help the reader to manage a similar project.

I endorse this book without reservation. I know
personally that Mark's methods work, and that his
thinking has helped me run my own organization.

I personally use this book as a reference guide many times in my day-to-day business and I find the examples particularly helpful Hermann Jakob, Launch Planning & Training Manager, Ford Europ

For years, all the books available on organization design were written at too high a level of abstraction for practicing managers or were so enmeshed in detail that they simultaneously confused and bored the reader. At last, with The 20% Solution, John Cotter has provided a readable and practical guide to designing organizations for todayÍs business environments. This book is a real treasure chest of ideas. A must read! - Leonard A. Schlesinger, George F. Baker Jr., Professor of Business Administration, Ha

Very well written with suberb examples. A good plain-language introduction to sociotechnical systems design - Harvey Kolodny, Professor, Faculty of Management, University of Toront

This book should be read by everyone from young adults to senior executives. As a lay person, not only did I understand how to be successful in the business world, but how to improve my own life. The pages provided me with a fresh insight into leadership; one is not born as a leader, rather one must use leadership skills. Although this book provides examples with well known figures, it also points towards lesser known, but amply talented, leaders. However, albeit how successful some of these people are, some stories serve to remind us that even leaders cannot escape their own humanity. I loudly applaud Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner for giving me the tools to make my way through the 21st century!

My introduction to formalized leadership came during the Korean War, as I served as an instructor in the U.S. Army Infantry Leadership Course at Ft. Dix, NJ. There it was a pretty cut and dried formula with no opportunity for innovation. In the ensuing years leadership innovations have leaped into the spotlight with ever increasing frequency. Hardly a year goes by without some professor or management guru promulgating the latest leadership theory and its applications.

In my reading of this literature, I find that many, if not most, of them offer little of substance and seem to focus on providing panaceas that seldom seem to be applicable to my or my clients' situations. They enjoy waves of popularity and then like the old soldier just fade away to be replaced by the next new popular leadership theory.

Well, Tom Peters et al can step aside. The dynamic duo of Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner clearly demonstrate what effective managers need to learn to lead their organizations into the digital age. Rather than offering universal applications, these authors examine the nature of effective leadership in some depth. In specific situations they review the dilemmas of management and provide hardcore examples of how to reconcile fundamental issues of leadership.

Utilizing their base data from thousands of surveys of leaders and followers around the world and with their seven dimensions of cultural competence they have interviewed global leaders as they cope with the dilemmas of leadership. Rather than presenting seven or more essential habits, they focus on how these leaders reconcile differences to attain more effective management.

The authors suggest that business cultures are different, and that because business is run differently around the globe, we need different managerial and leadership competencies. What they call transcultural competence is their way of bridging those differences. It is a logic that tends to unify differences and that delineates the manager from the leader and the successful leader from the unsuccessful one. They call for a new way of thinking. Through-Through thinking is beyond either-or and even and- and thinking in that it synthesizes seemingly opposed values into coherence. Thus the main theme throughout this book is that effective leaders reconcile value dilemmas better than those who don't.

In in-depth interviews with 21 business leaders that run the range from Richard Branson of Virgin through the former Russian Prime Minister Sergei Kiriyenko, to corporate leaders throughout the West, we see the applications of transcultural competence through the use of the authors' seven dimensions: rule-making vs exception finding, that is universalism vs particularism; self-interest and personal fulfillment vs group interest and social concern, that is individualism vs communitarianism; preference for precise, singular, "hard" standards vs preference for pervasive, patterned. "soft: processes, that is specificity vs diffusion; emotions inhibited vs emotions expressed, that is neutral vs affective; status achieved through success and track record vs status ascribed to person's potential such as age, family, education, that is achievement vs ascription; control and effective direction comes from within vs control and effective direction comes from inside, that is inner-directed vs outer-directed; and time is conceived of as a "race" with passing increments vs time is conceived of as a "dance" with circular iterations, that is sequential vs synchronic. While not all of the 21 leaders address all of the above factors in their corporations, we do see that a number of these dimensions occur in varying issues of each organization. They include Kiriyenko working to reconcile dilemmas at the Nizhmy Novorod Oil Company (NORSI) such as that of inner direction (young Russians) vs outer directed (older Russians) or that of cronyism vs new rules or universalism vs particularism. Philippe Bourguignon of Club Med working to reconcile the dilemma of the unique, seamless, personalized vacation vs the reliable, affordable, segmented, standardized holiday with the specific ingredients going into the making of diffuse experiences.

Other examples of the reconciliation of dilemmas appear in such case studies as: creating a hyperculture with Martin Gillo of Advanced Micro Devices; recapturing the true mission with Christian Majgaard of Lego; the balance between market and product with Anders Knutsen of Bang and Olufsen; keeping closer to the customer with David Komansky of Merrill Lynch; and much more. Each of the case studies in the book offers rare insights into how the dilemmas of leadership can be met and how transcultural competence can be applied to leadership in the digital age. To quote the book itself: "The central premise that evolved is that the propensity to reconcile seemingly different contradictory values is the key competence behavior required for a leader to be effective in today's digital world." This is a fascinating spellbinding text blending the intercultural dilemmas of management with the reconciling forces of leadership to create innovative leaders. The examples from 21 business leaders prove again and again that Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner have hit enough nails on the head to build a solid model for the future.

David C. Wigglesworth an interculturalist is a management and organization development consultant and is president of D.C.W. Research Associates International in Kingwood, Texas. He can be reached at 281-359-4234 and dcwigg@earthlink.net
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Charles Hampden-Turner and Fons Trompenaars have been collaborating for many years to develop an understanding of how different cultures approach and resolve problems and the cross-cultural issues that arise from it. In the course of this collaboration they have developed a formidable database of responses from managers around the world, and a 'dilemma methodology' which they use to demonstrate how superior results flow from the way in which dilemmas are managed and resolved.

This book is a direct successor to a series of books by one or both authors, which develop the methodology and its application. This one applies it to the question of effective leadership, and makes a valuable contribution to a generally overcrowded field. In particular, it adds to understanding of the particular skill of an effective leader and also helps to build an operational understanding of what is meant by 'managing a culture'. The book can be read and used without reference to the earlier works, but Building Cross-Cultural Competence is particularly useful in providing an extended statement of the principles and dimensions summarized in the first 2 chapters of 21 Leaders.

The nine opening pages of the Introduction provide a succinct overview of the main thesis, described as a 'metatheory of leadership'. They argue that leaders 'manage culture' by fine-tuning and reconciling dilemmas and that that culture then runs the organization. Outstanding leaders are particularly adept at reconciling dilemmas - they make the necessary distinctions yet integrate them into a viable whole. The authors conceptualise apparently opposed values (eg individualism versus communitarianism) as being the opposite ends of a continuum and the test of successful reconciliation being that both values should emerge stronger from the interaction.

The book and most of the examples are based on issues of cross-cultural in the sense of cross-national values, but the principles apply equally wherever there is a potential clash of values - for example in a merger or a major program of change.

Through expanding their methodology and showing how it applies in a wide range of complex situations the authors seek to help leaders :

"Elicit and become aware of major business dilemmas in cross-cultural environments
See dilemma resolution as a crucial ingredient of strategy
Utilize dilemmas as strategic contexts for action
Learn the art of achieving one value through another in a virtuous circle (a process known as through-through thinking)
Learn how transnational entrepreneurs take their stands (preneur) between (entre) contrasting values."

Much of the book is devoted to case studies of the 21 selected leaders. These are not all the 'usual suspects' of the management literature, but include a former Russian Prime Minister and the heads of companies in a variety of industries and from a range of nations. Each is well-written and argues its particular points in a way that gives depth to the main thesis of the book.

Though I didn't read the whole thing, this is a good book. It doesn't merely complain about the problems that we women (sadly) still face. It actually provides us with solutions on how to remedy problems ranging from threats to reproductive freedom to pay inequities to racism against women of color, among other things. The book also provides a list of websites, books, and organizations that readers can contact for additional help. At a time when we as women are still facing injustices because of our sex, this book gives us what we need to fight the good fight and achieve justice, dignity, respect, and freedom for us and our sisters.

50 Ways To Improve Women's Lives: The Essential Women's Guide To Achieving Equality, Health, And Success by the National Council of Women's Organizations (a nonpartisan coalition of 200 women's groups representing more than 10 million woman across the United States) addresses a diversity of subjects of particular interest to women including pay equity, reproductive health, child care, racism, education, social responsibilities, political leadership, and more. Very highly recommended and accessible reading, 50 Ways To Improve Women's Lives provides practical advice that will enable the reader to become actively involved in advancing the quality and independence of her life, and to more effectively pursue her personal and professional agendas.

This book gives a great overview of issues that most effect women by sharing stories and facts to illustrate important areas where change needs to occur, from childcare and family issues to equal pay, and women in sports and science.

I found it quick and easy to read--and I have very little time as a working mom!--with practical and doable actions if I so chose. For example, I was appalled to hear about the state of (very little or misleading!) sex education for high school students. Since I have kids about to enter their teens, this issue spoke to me. And it gave several ways for me to get active: by not supporting funding for harmful abstinence programs; asking my elected officials to fund honest and comprehensive sex ed; and then how to make sure my kids develop their own decision-making and critical thinking skills related to sex (and how to talk to them about it!) And this is just one of the 50 Ways... in the book.

I highly recommend this for people who want to get involved but are not sure how--and who don't have time to read huge volumes of books on politics and public policy.

This text was a relatively quick read and it confirmed what I had learned in my teacher prepatory classes; however, it is the kind of belief system that some districts have steered away from in attempts to be more in touch with the emotional needs of students (this is not to say that meeting the emotional needs of the students isn't important, however, effort *can* equal achievement! It was in excellent condition; as well.

As other reviewers have noted, Jeanne Chall was passionately opinionated but also extremely well informed from her own decades of experience and research of educational methods. The evidence she presents in this book is wide-ranging, both historically and in subject matter. And her arguments as always are both rock-solid factual and heart-tuggingly persuasive. This is an excellent book that I would encourage as an appropriate and thoughtful gift for any educator.

Parents who are concerned with getting the best education for their children should also read this book. Chall's language is less esoteric here than in her scholarly articles (although this is a scholarly book and her conclusions are consistent with those papers). She demonstrates here that educational methods and research are not too obscure for the general reader.

In fact, her review of 100 years of research and experimentation shows that the common-sense notions held by the layman are correct -- that real teaching (instruction, direction, leadership, not just "guidance") works best to educate children. Chall explains why this is so, and shows the dire consequences of ignoring the facts.

This is an important book because Chall endeavors to provide a historical and social context for understanding the debates about how best to teach the majority of children in schools. Chall invites educators, publishers, parents, and policy makers to look beyond the politics and trends in education, and to focus on the research evidence on what methods get results. She also calls for teacher training programs to empower teachers with the knowledge to examine and question the research they base their practice on. She advocates for using the past constructively to inform choices made in the future. She often said that doctors would never dream of prescribing a brand new treatment without researching past cures and treatments... and yet educators, she said, seemed to reinvent the same ideas over and over without considerating research evidence already gathered. It made her hopping mad.

What is interesting to about this book is the story of it's evolution. Originally Chall drafted a very candid and straight forward manuscript based on the questions and opinions she had developed over 50 years as an educator. The book was going to be quite different from her well known scholarly publications. But then she kept rediscovering bits of newspaper and scraps from nagazines which she had piled away in vast personal collection of snippets -- all of which confirmed her thinking on what was going on in education. She became so excited about each interesting piece of evidence that including them became irresistable for her. But with each new snippet she then felt a need to address alternative viewpoints in order to try and offer a well rounded approach. Having been attacked in the past for her poignant views, I think she found it difficult (or maybe just stupid) to set herself for obvious criticisms. So what would originally have been a very personal argument based on her depth of experience in the field eventually evolved into a scholarly review of the historical evidence. This book -- completed during the last month's of her impressive life -- may not be her best work. But it is certainly her most personal. You just have to read between the lines.