Resources Books

I am an Executive Recruiter and am always reading books about both sides of the desk in the hiring process. I eagerly awaited the receipt of this book and the wonderful new information I would receive. My first dissapointment was the very small size of the book. There is a lot of white space and then the book's size is beefed up by the addition of Appendices that rehash the small amount of content.
When I saw the size, I thought, well, this is just a very succint description of this new process. Not. For one thing, the process is not realistic. I doubt that few if any hiring managers have the time to follow the outlined process, including hiring of outside consultants. And even if this is done, there is no guarantee this process is going STOP Hiring Failures. We need new ideas, not rehash of old, tired processes.

This book is extremely effective in explaining the hiring process and providing straightforward, practical tips. I would recommend this book just for the sample questions in the appendix. They're that good.

As suggested by another comment, I contacted the author through his myspace page to discuss my hiring needs. His suggestions and insights were invaluable. This personal advice was definitely well beyond my expectations when buying this outstanding book on employee hiring.

This book is excellent. It explained the entire hiring process and helped me understand past errors. But much better- I found the author's MySpace page (google- steve springer hiring) and asked him questions about my specific hiring needs. He graciously answered them all and put me on the path to superior hiring decisions. That's the most profitable $13 I've ever spent!

Springer has outlined a six step process that is a no nonsense approach to hiring the right people. The book is a must read. We are ordering copies for all our managers. Thanks Steve! Sully

Wow! What an outstanding book! As the best selling author of numerous books and a nationally known consultant paid to hire top performers, I'm amazed at the incredible value packed into this short book. Springer wastes no time in providing a clear, concise explanation of a simple but effective selection process.
He hammers you on the need to analyze your culture and values when hiring at all levels, a vital factor my experience indicates most companies repeatedly fail to consider. He shares questions guaranteed to generate the honest answers required to separate top talent for mediocre performers, questions that will blow you away in their effectiveness.
I constantly seek out books that explain exactly how to increase business success. I'm searching for those gems of wisdom that help separate good companies from the truly great. I've read many hundreds of these books but never uncovered such valuable insights in such a small package. I personally plan to buy and distribute this book to all of my current and potential clients. In addition, I plan to recommend this book to every participant in every one of my national training seminars. It's that good!
Myers Barnes

This is the first of Martha Brooks books that I read and it is still one of my favorite books. Her characters are real and the way this book explores what happens to a family in the midst of grief while still trying to go on with their lives, will appeal to teens as well as adults.
If you like books by Sarah Dessen, you will love this book.

I loved the book. It was really something I could relate to. I could put myself in Sidonie's place and feels what she felt. Her stress, emotions and problems were really common in the teenage years, so i knew how she felt. She was dealing with her mother's death and there was alot of details that made it interesting. It was written in a way that I could understand, it wasn't too complicated. And it was also written in a way that I could feel like I was there. It doesn't have a boring place in the book and there's always a cliff-hanger everywhere. I think it was a wonderful book!!!

This book rocks! I've read this books a million times and it's still as good as the first time i've read it. This book is about family relationships, and love. It's a really good book for mature 12 year olds and up. It's a story about a girl who becomes interested in the boy across the street. Read it and find out what happens.

i am a big reading fan, and this is one of the best reads ever. i love this book so much. you laugh, you cry, and it has a totally awesome story. too bad its not a series

I think this book was really good and really easy to relate to. Sidonie was a really brave and independent teenage. The stress and problems she dealt with is really common in teen years. It was a happy yet sad story at the same time. It really shows that when you're feeling bad, family is always something you could count on. It was a wonderfully moving story, it showed that you shouldn't blame yourself for someone's actions. I liked the way it described everything in a way that I could understand it but without TOO much details. I think it was a great book and I could probably relate to it later on in life.

When I first picked up this book I was pretty overwhelmed with all the changes the authors recommend -- some of them are fairly significant alterations to my everyday life. But all in all, I think even starting with just a few of them and working your way up can be a great way to help the Earth, which is something we all want for our kids and grandkids. I'd definitely recommend buying this book.

This is an update to a book issued in 2003. It has 51 chapters, one for each tip, plus summaries at the end of the tips, the science, and the politics.

Each chapter is clearly written, organized with an Overview, What You Should Know, Easy Ways You Can Help, a summary box, and Search for More Info. The summary box tells you clearly what your personal savings are likely to be if you implement these, the annual amount of CO2 that will not be put into the atmosphere, and sometimes the dollar savings over the life of the product.

Each of the bulleted paragraphs in the What You Should Know and the Easy Ways You Can Help lead with a bold-faced short sentence encapsulating the enformation. The rest of the paragraph expands on it.

The whole is presented clearly, enthusiastically but not intimidatingly, and with sound advice that saves you money, and the environment from more harm.

This book provides you, the reader, with the tools to look deeper into each topic, but it doesn't guilt you into it. It tells you exactly how thrifty you are being, and how much difference one person or household can make.

Recommended.

Rather than trying to explain all the science behind global warming or politics behind the Kyoto Protocol, the authors present simple, clear, and easy-to-implement suggestions on how the average consumer can make significant reductions in his impact on the environment. Even for those who think global warming is "junk science," this book provides tips on how to lower gas and electric bills-and how can that be a bad thing?

You can Prevent Global Warming provides 51 tips for lowering carbon emissions and conserving energy. Almost every tip presented is completely free and every tip saves money. Many of the suggestions are not new-putting a milk jug full of water into the toilet tank to reduce the flow of water, lowering the thermostat just a bit-however, the authors also include exactly how much money and energy it saves by doing something simple. They also provide tips for people with varying levels of commitment. Already doing the toilet tank thing? They give you links to reviews of low-flow toilets. Is that still not enough for you? They explain composting toilets!

There were a few features I particularly enjoyed and appreciated with this book. First, I liked the list at the end of the book that placed each suggestion in an easy-to-follow format of which tips to do first and how often. I also really liked the useful links included. Rather than actually getting bogged down in science and mechanics, they provide web links to [...] and other useful sites. A major barrier in me doing some of the suggestions before (like vacuuming heater and fridge coils) is that I had no idea how to do these things and was (frankly) too lazy to look it up. The authors provide a link with pictures on how to do these things. Some of the links also take you to sites on how to contact Congress if an issue is important to you if the way you want to lower man's impact on nature is to become politically involved.

I was walking around my house implementing many of these suggestions as I was reading because of how simple they are. The authors never take a strong-armed tone, never guilt you into trying something they suggest. Every suggestion felt like they were saying "Good for you for doing so much! Want to try more? Keep reading!"

I strongly recommend this book to any home-owner (though it also has awesome suggestions for renters!). I have a number of family members who are always trying to be as green as possible without seriously changing their lifestyles, a few who cringe (or cuss) at the very mention of Al Gore but who are still committed to the Biblical mandate to be stewards of the Earth, and a few who are trying to do more and more-and they are all on the receiving list for this book.

A pretty comprehensive book of tips to help prevent global warming. There are also definitions of terms one hears in the news and in other venues about global warming. Many of the tips were ones I had already heard about or were steps I had already taken so there was not a lot of new information for me. But, it is very nicely organized and easy to read. This is an update from the 2003 version, however, there were a couple of tips that were not updated such as the section on reusing old floppy disks. You most definitely can reuse floppy disks, but I don't know anyone who uses those anymore. Overall, a pretty good read for the person in the beginning stages of fighting global warming.

This was my first book on global warming. I learned alot about how I could help. I is simple to read and understand.

this book should be a companion reader to the "OZ principal" in order to "see it" you need to know what your looking for. this book gives good insight to what your workers are thinking and feeling.

Over 50,000 employees tell why company morale and productivity are low and loyalty nonexistent in 30 Reasons Employees Hate Their Managers: What Your People May Be Thinking and What You Can Do About It. In synthesizing the surveys of over 50,000, this book helps pinpoint common problem areas, solutions which apply to the real world and work, and insights on the psychology of these solutions. A focus on each issue and how to resolve it lends practical analysis to the matter, making this a top pick recommended for both managers and business libraries seeking to quickly identify problems and enact changes based not upon time-consuming trial-and-error, but tested real-world experience.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This book is simple, practical and easy to read. Citing data from Discovery Solutions wide normative database created from years of employee surveys, "30 Reasons Employees Hate Their Managers" highlights many of the more prevelant problems facing management today and offers clear tips and solutions to help make things better.

This book belongs on your bookshelf.

This book will be helpful to any manager. Bruce Katcher identifies organizational vulnerabilities that are often unknown to managers and executives. Each of the 30 chapters offers psychological insights and practical solutions to management problems from an outstanding organizational psychologist. I believe that Bruce Katcher's book can be a spring-board for the careers of readers. It presents valuable lessons that could take a life time to learn.

Mark Campbell, Author, "Five Gifts of Insightful Leaders"
www.mjcampbellassoc.com

The fact is that most employees don't really hate their managers. But lots of them are frustrated. In this glass-half-empty book, veteran organizational psychologist Bruce L. Katcher plumbs the survey research he has gathered over almost two decades to distill the 30 biggest frustrations of working men and women, including managers. More importantly, for each frustration he cites, Katcher offers up solutions that are as easy to implement as they are sensible. The wonder is that solutions like these are not more widely practiced. With books like this pointing the way, maybe one day they will be.

Always good to be open to all choices.
Very detailed and helpful.

provides insightful thoughts and alternative viewpoints to attacking route causes and focus to vexing problems -- not just alcohol

Kuddos to Ms Solomon for helping break us out of this religious tyranny. A much needed resource guide
to other approaches to alcoholism and addiction. My impression is that AA is just about the best recovery
program the 12th century has to offer. It is time to get into reality based programs with some scientific
basis as opposed to this faith based psycho-christian nonsense.

Reviewed by Louise Landeta for Reader Views (2/07)

The author's main point is that there are many other programs and approaches to dealing with addictive behaviors besides Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and its twelve steps; yet the alternatives, while perhaps known within the recovery community, are not widely made known or available. She contends that AA is not as effective as most people think--her statistics are quite dismal, and some of the other programs have much more success. Mainly, Ms. Solomon wants to drive home the fact that while AA might be good for some people, and she has nothing against it, there are numerous other approaches that are effective as well. People are diverse and need diverse approaches to fit their individual needs.

Ms. Solomon shares the pitfalls of her own journey with addictive substances and her attempts to find help and support through AA to no avail, even though her own father was quite successful with the program. Her inability to recover through AA was a source of great sadness for her until she came to realize that lots of other people fail to recover through it as well. It was only through her own unrelenting search for alternatives that she found other programs and eventually something that worked for her.

The author is a good writer--her verbiage and syntax are on par, she provides data to back up her contentions, the content is well-organized and she cites her sources.

The basic theme in her thesis is that not everyone accepts the concept of a higher power and the basic assumption that they are helpless in the face of addiction. I believe this is a valid point. My only suggestion is that she seems to soft pedal this. I would be more comfortable if she would come right out with it--don't skirt around it. Be right up front with it.

I was interested in reviewing "AA Not the Only Way" because my work as a chaplain brings me into contact with various types of addicts. It will remain in my library as a useful future resource. I give it an A for all of the reasons cited above.

AA Not the Only Way is a resource for those seeking addiction counselling. Everyone has heard of AA but this type of program quite simply does not work for everyone. The author has personal experience in this situation. She tried AA and like many people when she kept relapsing she blamed herself for somehow failing the program. This pattern changed when the author found a program that suited her needs and specific issues.

Since AA does not suit everyone's needs and because most people don't realize that they have other options, the author has compiled information on alternate programs. Some programs require total abstinence and others look to teach moderation. There are also programs specifically tailored for women or specifically for men. The overlying philosophy, background, and contact information is included for each of these programs. Lists of licensed professionals, treatment centers, and other useful resources are also included.

I searched for an alternative to your typical soporific journal of effective leadership/management "nuggets", and I found this book instead. Outstanding book with great lessons. This book stayed glued to my hands for the 3 days it took me to digest it in its entirety. Regardless of your management experience, many lessons are to be learned from this easy read.

I have been a supervisor for over 15 years and could totaly relate to what Justin (the main character) experienced. This book is well written and the short chapters make it very easy to follow. I also laughed, cried and experinced numerous emotions while reading this book as mentioned in another review. This is the first book a have read in a few years and I finished it in 4 days as I could not put it down. I would strongly suggest that all supervisors new and experienced read this book.

Practical business skills woven into a heart filled story that benefits all relationships.

Learning happens best when it's something we can relate to. In Ask Dr. Mac, author Greg Giesen weaves a story that almost every person in management and human resources can relate to well. Relating is easy for many because the story is all too familiar...the employee who is thrust into management without adequate preparation, thrown into the deep end of the pool with no swimming lessons. Instead of floundering and improvising for every decision, Giesen shows us how "authentic leadership" can be developed by sharing the sound principles of effective human relationships and management. Based in part on a real life mentor, who, like the author, I was privilaged to have known, Ask Dr. Mac provides a guided path through the trackless and sometimes confusing wold of the new manager. Greg Giesen adds to this wisdom the welath of knowledge that has come from his own long and highly effective career as a business consultant. Read it, and put it to use!

I laughed, I cried, I learned!
The characters and storyline are well developed making this an interesting read, not dry like so many management books. The leadership and relationship skills can, and should, be utilized by everyone - not just new managers.

Dan Poynter's book is a virtual gold mine for authors and publishers. He shares his years of experience in the publishing business with a dictionary of every aspect of publishing, promoting and sales of books. Dan shares the secrets of e-books, audio-books and where to go to get the author's books changed to digital copies for mass marketing on the internet. This is his best book yet.

Poynter's Encyclopedia and Shepards' Aiming at Amazon are both perfect manuals for anybody interested in self-publishing. Brief, informative, and easy to use - what else is needed? Highly recommended.

Yuval Lirov, Practicing Profitability - Billing Network Effect for Revenue Cycle Control in Healthcare Clinics and Chiropractic Offices: Collections, Audit Risk, SOAP Notes, Scheduling, Care Plans, and Coding

Poynter, as always, knows his subject: Self-publishing. This book hits all the high points in an easy-to-access format.

Loads of useful information for the self-publisher/author. I would have
preferred to have it in chapter form. That would have made it more readable.

If you have questions about the publishing industry, you will be hard-pressed to find a better resource than Dan Poynter's book, The Book Publishing Encyclopedia. This alphabetical resource guide is filled with facts, figures, tips, and tactics.

Any resource guide filled with so much information is bound to motivate a writer to continue striving for the exciting status of publication. It becomes a matter of absorbing enough information and doing enough research about all the available publishing options to make the right decision. Not all authors are destined for Random House, but that doesn't mean they have to remain unpublished. There are alternatives! Whether you are seeking an independent press, a mainstream publisher, or the convenience of a turn-key publisher, this book defines the terms you should know. - Brent Sampson, author of Self-Publishing Simplified

I think this book is great. It has a TON of ideas for learning centers and it keeps preschool simple as it should be. I love it.

I absolutely LOVE this book!! It is the best preschool curriculum book that I have gotten in recent history... I refer to it so often that almost each page has a post-it with notes attached!

The book is great because it offers something unique: It is organized by Learning Style/ Multiple Intelligences which highlights how young children learn and adopt skills for everyday!

The Complete Daily curriculum offers ideas for many different themes in enough detail that you can easily see how children will learn from it and what skills it will promote- the majority of the activities are also inexpensive and simple in procedure and materials to fit small budgets as well. The Appendices are also thorough with stories, songs, templates for games, learning centers, patterns and recipes and even a section explaining Multiple Intelligences and a sample letter to provide for parents!

This book is definitely a must have for preschool classrooms!!

This resource help me alot with my preschool lesson plans. I can fine any activity for the theme of the week.

I have taught five and six year olds for years. This year I'll be working with four year olds. I bought about a dozen books to help with my programming but this really is the only book I needed to buy. It's FANTASTIC! It tells you what to do for morning circle, story ideas, music and movement ideas, a range of learning centres that cater for the preferred learning styles of the children and then ideas for reflection in the closing circle. It does all this on hundreds of themes and then gives assessment ideas too. I LOVE THIS BOOK.

I have a 7 year old that I homeschool and was looking for something for my 3 year old. I have been so pleased with this purchase. Both my 7 and 3 year old have so much fun doing the activities that I ordered a copy for a friend. Her and her family are also having a blast with the book. Every one with small children should have a copy of this book on hand. I wish I'd had it years ago!

This was my first L. L'Amour book and I loved it. It was relatively easy reading but very enjoyable. Mr. L'Amour is excellent at developing the characters and weaving them into the story. I had a hard time putting this book down at night before going to bed..
I have already purchased several more of his books and am planning on collecting the entire set.
You will definitely enjoy this book and this writer.

Comstock Lode is classic Louis L'amour. This book is extremely enjoyable and fast-paced. If you are just starting out on Louis, this book will not steer you wrong, it is a perfect example of his genius.

I just finished reading Comstock last week, when I happened to be up in the California gold country myself. I'm a garden writer, author of 5 published books, and I was in Placer County, speaking to the Auburn Garden Club. The town of Auburn, which sits in the middle of the gold rush's richest territory, is a neat place, one to visit if you get the chance. I noticed too that there is still a very busy mining supply store right on one of Auburn's main streets. There's still gold and silver being found up there!
But I digress: All of us who read Louis L'Amour's Westerns have probably noticed that while all of them are fun to read, some are certainly better than others. I thought that Comstock was darn good, and certainly one of the best of his books set in California. If you enjoy a fast-paced, action packed Western, I expect you'll like Comstock. I recommend it!

"Comstock Lode" is just fantastic! This book was written by the famous Western writer, Louis L'Amour. Louis L'Amour has written over a hundred books, including the famous Sackett novels. The setting of this story is in the mid-1800's, during the gold rush in America. The story is told in Virginia City, Nevada.

The main character is Val Trevallion, a young man of twenty-four with a harsh past. Both of his parents were killed when he was young and he has taken it upon himself to have revenge on the killers. He is a quiet man but very strong because of his work in mines. Though he has not had the best education, he is very smart. Grita Redaway is Val's friend from his past. Her parents were also killed by the same people who killed Val's parents. She is a very beautiful and an intelligent actress. She is independent though with a streak of stubbornness in her. Al Hesketh is the villain of the story. He is a cruel and wicked man, only thinking of himself and how he can become rich.

The story begins in Cornwall, England in the year 1859. Val is fourteen-years-old when his father and mother decide to move to America. His father wants to work his own mine in California. He saves enough money so they go to America by boat. When they reached Gunwalloe, the Trevallions decide to travel to California with another family, the Redaways. The Redaways have only one daughter, Grita, who is eight-years-old. A few days before they leave, Val's father goes to buy supplies a few miles away. Suddenly, drunken rustlers attack the wagons in which Val and Grita's mothers are in. The drifters kill the mothers then beat up Mr. Redaway. During the whole time, Val and Grita are hidden nearby; Val protecting Grita and shielding her from the sight. After they leave, killing Mr. Redaway, Val and Grita go find Mr. Trevallion. After the dead are buried, Mr. Trevallion, though heartbroken, decides to carry on to California with Val while Grita goes to live with her aunt. But on the way to California, Val's father is killed by the same men who had killed his mother. Val swears to have revenge on the murderers. Ten years go by, during which Val shoots two of the people who were involved in the murders. Val then realizes that he has wasted his life and decides to settle down and have his own mine in Virginia City, Nevada, where the Comstock Lode is. He gets good land and finds some silver in his mines. But trouble seems to follow him everywhere. He finds out that Grita is in big trouble, in which the remaining men who murdered his parents are involved.

Love this book, and is one of my favorite L'Amour books. Louis L'Amour is the type of writer that, whatever he writes, you'll know before-hand that you'll love them. "Comstock Lode" is no exception. Some other of my favorite L'Amour books are:

*North to the Rails*
*Sackett Series*
*Matagorda*
*Crossfire Trail*

...and this list can go on and on and on!

Louis L'Amour's Comstock Lode is a brilliant, fictional novel based on real events that will suck you in as soon as you start reading. I'm not one for westerns at ALL, but I was recommended this book and told myself, Why not? It sounds alright, nothing really better to read as of right now. I'll admit, the first few chapters started off a little dull, but then, you get deeper and deeper into the story and you can't put the book down. I recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure novels or Louis L'Amour in general.
Val Trevallion was a son of Tom Trevallion and his wife Mary, who lived in England until finding a large amount of gold and, moves to the States. While in Louisiana, Val's mother and the mother of another girl named Grita Redaway are brutally murdered by a group of shadowy characters, one of which Val will never forget the eyes of. Val and his father set out for the Wild West, but on the way there, his father gets murdered as well. A name on a gun gives Val a clue as to the identity of one man from the group of men that murdered his father and possibly his mother. Val goes to the Comstock where he is known as the toughest, most feared man around. While there, he will remeet Grita, a beautiful, budding actress and the memories come rushing back. His main mission: to kill those who killed his parents. But not everyone seems to be who they are, and Val has to come face-to-face with the man whose eyes haunted him years earlier in this edge-of-your-seat thriller.

One of the best books on taking an outside look into how we do business, live and experience the world as people, not just consumers.Get Back in the Box: Innovation from the Inside Out

I have read tons of books on business practice and ethos. Rushkoff brought a great mix of theory and practical examples that are working in the real world of business. This book is the business version of "positive psychology", which advises that we develop our strengths and most problems will self correct. In this case it is, pursue your deepest values and you won't have to spend all your resources on marketing. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is involved in an organization at any level. I am a pastor of a church and it has provided many thought provoking concepts to explore in our context.

I'll admit, it took me awhile to really get into this book. Once I got through the first couple of chapters of "Get Back in the Box" though, I couldn't wait to read more of it.

The author, Douglas Rushkoff, feels that we're in the midst of a renaissance in creativity and collaboration. As he puts it, "genuine creativity is a result not of out-of-the-box thinking, but of true expertise." Here's a great example he used partway through the book: The person that decided (years ago) to put a VCR and TV into one device wasn't really innovating. The person who came up with TiVo, on the other hand, was a genius and someone who truly had a handle on people's viewing habits.

He's got an entire chapter on what he refers to as "social currency." The retailers featured as noteworthy examples in this chapter include B&N ("the store is a social hub"), Guitar Center ("it's a place to try out pretty much any piece of musical instrument there is--and to play on it for hours") and the Apple Store (described as "a little cathedral"). I tend to think Starbucks fits the mold as well. In fact, this chapter got me wondering about what would happen if Starbucks and Apple ever decided to create some co-branded shops...

Here are a few of the other interesting tidbits I highlighted throughout this book:

** ...customers don't want to communicate with brands anymore...they want to communicate through them...

** Although we claim we want more leisure time, we are much more likely to find an opportunity for genuinely fulfilling engagement and learning at work.

** It's about learning to tinker, to tweak, and to test the most basic, underlying assumptions of one's core business or technology.

** (Regarding focus groups...) In the vast majority of the dozens of groups I've observed or led, the purpose was less to glean new insights than to confirm the insights already held.

This turned out to be a very enjoyable book with all sorts of great observations.

A great book. Reading this was like a breath of fresh air and really changed my thinking about technology, innovation, design and the hope for creating a livable world.

Where to start...

I rated this 4 stars; 5 stars for being thought provoking and reinforcing my notions of what businesses should be concerned with, and 3 stars for the authors glaring examples of old-renaissance ideas/execution that didn't/don't work, yet providing nothing more than hindsight.

I agree with the previous post that the first half of the book was better than the second half. There are so many examples that are counter to the authors examples, but I'll give a few here.

First, in the absense of fullfilment opportunity exists. While Wal-Mart may be an evil company for some of its practices it also provides people in developing countries with a job, where none may have existed before. If you have no food and someone gives you a scrap then you at least survive to move onto a larger portion. If those who are employed at Wal-Mart cannot find another job that pays more than minimum wage then I would suggest going to a library and start learning...it has free internet access...

Second, many of the arguments made throughout the book are based on a circular reference that is incapable of breaking down, when in fact it would break down. If a=b=c=d...y=z and z=a then for values of a-z that fluctuate so does the continuum. Every example given in the book relating to whatever currency units are give follows the same principle: that at some point, hidden beneath the guise of logic and play, energy will need to be expended that is not optimally or even close to optimally what any person would normally do in search of or in realizing the new renaissance. This breaks the whole model and I suppose it also degrades innovation at the same time.

Third, open-source software, though trendy, has limitations. Imagine a world where function a is performed via single open-source project composing of a single developer, then fast-foward t years where function a is now performed by 1000 different projects each with 1000 developers (who share the same egos), in the meantime you have some number of function a demand satisfied by 1000 projects so a/1000. All of the sudden you have function b that people just though of at t+1 days, but only a small portion like 1% of function a projects are compatible...but the developers of function a projects not wanting their egos to be crushed realize this and perhaps migrate over to the small % of function a projects that are compatible...leaving the other 99% of function a projects to be picked up by some developer(s), whos egos aren't as big, to try and work something out with function b compatibility. Now you have function a compatible projects with a huge number of developers wanting to make their mark with function b, but the 99% of the people who utilize function a and now function b must switch to projects that are fully compatible and relearn, etc. The point is that people want recognition, however good or bad that may be, but it's the truth...even authors put their name, photo, etc.

Fourth, I agree that understanding your "core competencies" are very important and understanding the "source code" and "patterns" is nice, but what really got me was how high people must be in order to realize that this is the path to eternal bliss or "play." I mean who in their right mind would choose to clean out a septic tank as a way of "playing" or even perform surgery on someone's brain...just for fun, when you know that someone's life depended on whether you were qualified or not. If you aren't qualified then doesn't that introduce a classe system of sorts? Who would regulate this...would this person think that telling someone they are incompetent was "playing?" It's clear that any system which qualifies someone as being able to perform a specific action, no matter how much fun they might have, is clearly old renaissance and the illusion of new renaissance is just that (not in entirety, but practicality).

Fifth, while some people prefer to solve challenging problems, others would rather just sit around surfing, etc. What do we do with those people? Where would they get their surfboards, wax, wetsuits, food? I'll tell you who...the people that have enough resources at their disposal to just sit back and ponder how the old renaissance is coming to an end in favor of the new renaissance.

Sixth, peoples faith often becomes a paramount influence in the actions they undertake. Some are at extreme ends and radicalize what is otherwise a very moral and just view of how things should be. These radicals often carry out actions against others because their convictions are so strong and so outside of the middle that even if the middle moves it will not be enough so enough will be "encouraged." This artificial skewing leads to others ultimately forgoing "play" in order to build a counter-trend necessary to prevent skewing that is non-organic. In the end you have a reduction in pure innovation (good) and an increase in pure existence. I'm guessing that the author was too busy contemplating whether or not we could he didn't think whether or not we should...

Seven, the book discusses how currency became the demise of society as it pertains to interest, greed, etc. However, in the Paypal example he exalts that business for being upstanding and trying this new thing, but it ultimately fails because of the banks...yada, yada, yada. Anyways, Paypal was earning interest on the float vs. charging money for its service. How is that new renaissance? If we take the banks out of the equation so that interest is no longer accrued then who pays for the hosting, data, maybe it's those people who like to play in data centers. But then, who builds the steel racks, elevated floors, servers, ethernet cables, routers, switches, supplies power, constructs the building, stays up all night trying to figure out why no interest is being accrued :)

Well, that was more of a rant than anything else. I'm glad this book cemented my ideas about open-source software and about how so many company executives are in such disrepair. Innovation...hmmm...whenever I have a bug in software I usually just open a debugging program that I purchased and print-out the portion of code via a printer, utilizing a driver, written by some person of gets off on that sorta thing...but would they do it for free if there other needs weren't being met...I don't think so.

There's a reason why doctors get paid so much money, there's are reason why people do jobs they wouldn't otherwise do, there's a reason why the new renaissance only exists in the imagination of Gene Roddenberry. The have's and the have not's exist today, and perhaps in the 21st century we can combat much of this gap; however, until everyone is content with their existence and opportunity for existence then we will not reach the new renaissance. Indeed, it will only exist where truly innovative ideas take place...our isolated dreams...