Resources Books

Morgan and Me had a great impact on me as a child. I would suggest that anyone pass this book along to their child. It was responsible for igniting my love for horses and consequently for the name of my youngest child! :) Enjoy!

I loved this book as a child for the story as well as the beautiful illustrations. I treated the book well and some years later now share it with my daughter who loves it as much as I did.

30 years ago my mom read this book to me. Recently my 4 year old's procrastination reminded me of the princess in this book who always says "just a little later." I was thrilled that the book was still available and even more pleased that it is every bit as good as I remembered. My daughter enjoys it as much as I did when I was her age.

i LOVE morgan and me. as a 16 year old, i can still recallevery detail of this wonderful book about a princess and"her" morgan. sadly enough, through handing it down to a younger sister and moving out of our house, the book has disappeared. however, i have every intention of asking for the book for my 17th birthday.

"Morgan and Me" is the story of a young princess who lives in the Land of Later. She's a dreamer, but mostly she's a procrastinator, always putting off her duties until later.

One day she gets lost in the woods and finds a unicorn with his horn stuck in a tree branch. Morgan, the unicorn, asks if she'll help him break free. The princess, however, would rather go play than help Morgan this minute. But she promises to return later.

Once she grows bored of playing, the princess returns and cuts the branch away for Morgan. Together they roam the meadow, Morgan having since forgiven the princess for her belated rescue. However, the princess doesn't watch her step while they are playing and falls into a pond. From the safety of a lily pad, she calls for Morgan to help her. Morgan replies he will--eventually.

The princess realizes her mistake earlier and heartfully apologizes to Morgan. Convinced, Morgan rescues the princess from the pond. And ever since, they've been best friends.

I would recommend this book to young children, but I'm sure most adults will enjoy it just as much. Robin James is the talented illustrator of "Morgan and Me" and many other Stephen Cosgrove books. I highly recommend you read all of Cosgrove's books if you liked this one.

I was raised on the Serendipity Books, and this was always my favorite. Not only is this book still touching and beautiful, it holds a special place in my heart, being the first book I learned to read. To this day, even as an adult, it is a comfort to go back and revisit this old favorite after a hard day.

I highly recommend this book for any parent or teacher.

This was the Serendipity book I saved for special, cathartic occasions in my childhood when I had to have a good tearing-up. Possibly the most excellent and moving of the series, with the same beautiful illustrations.

This was the Serendipity book I saved for special, cathartic occasions in my childhood when I had to have a good tearing-up. Possibly the most excellent and moving of the series, with the same beautiful illustrations.

I bought this book when I was in 3rd grade, it made me cry then and it makes me cry now! This book is great for kids as well as grown ups. The lesson in this book teaches about having material things at the expense of those we love. Good thing Yew learns the lesson and is able to fix it! In this day in age I am glad they are bringinning these books back. Not only will your child be reading, but learning a very important lesson. Not many books today do that! If you decide to purchase this book you won't regret it and there is a whole series of them, but this one is my favorite!

A dumpy little sheep named Yew wishes he could have a unicorn's horn like his best friend Morgan so that he can feel special instead of ordinary. When the Morning Star grants Yew's wish, he wears the horn for one day, but at the cost of his friend Morgan: the unicorn is gone! After crying of guilt and loneliness all night long, Yew pleads with the Morning Star to restore things to normal. After Morgan comes back to him and the horn is returned to the unicorn, the two friends play together forever and Yew never again envies his best friend.

Even very young children "get" the message in this book. It's been around for years--I even used it while doing my student-teaching more than 15 years ago. With bright, colorful illustrations and sweet characters, this book is a perennial favorite for primary school students.

If I could only put one multimedia learning book on my bookshelf, this would be it. The "General Principles" section provides one of the best overviews I've read of Behavioral, Cognitive, and Constructivist approaches to learning (although I do think they misrepresent the Instructional Systems Design process and treat it as a purely Behavioralist approach). This section also presents an excellent overview of the learning process. The book moves on to discuss methodologies and learning sequences at an unparalleled level, including a brilliant discussion of simulations and educational games. The book closes with an overview of an approach to Design and Development that's worth reading, but far less valuable than the previous sections. Of all my design books, this one has the most dog-eared pages and underlined text; the chapter-level bibliographies alone are worth the book's price! Anyone looking to delve deep into multimedia design for learning should have this book on his or her shelf.

This is an excellent text in terms of coverage and pacing. If you are interested in human-computer interaction, this is a 'must have' text. What astonished me about this book is that it covered more issues in HCI than many dedicated user interface design books. The text admirably blends practical considerations with theoretical concerns and trends. It strongly focuses on motivational issues surrounding users of learning packages(an area largely ignored in the bulk of standard HCI texts). Don't pass over this book.

I just find it very well put together.. It takes you through the various facets of designing a course/presentation that will actually be used and useful.

Had to buy it for a class; execellent resource for it's target audience. Make sure you're a memeber of that target audience (instructional technologists) before you buy :)

The first clue as to the value of a book is the number of editions. Generally, the true standards in a field will continue to live and be revised. This book is the standard for multimedia design and production. The foundations and theory that are explored in the beginning are as valuable as the detail in the production process that is explained. The most significant aspect of this book has to be the detail concerning methods, especially instructional simulations. Simply a must have for anyone in the field of multimedia who is looking to develop products that go beyond the traditional page turner.

If you work in a larger company, waste no time in getting a copy of this book! I put this work right up there with the output from Robert J. Ringer.

If you are reading this review because you found work from me (Tcat Houser or Gudrun Funk), yes I am suggesting you get this work as a companion read to our books.

This great read has in depth examples of what is important to the different personality styles. Wonderful how-to suggestions for making it in a larger company.

For those who think this work has little value because it is almost 20 years old... well, people are not silicon computers.. They don't change as quickly in behavior as our digital tools do.

Well, so everyone thinks. I unearthed this book from my shelves - a rare one I'd had for years but not read -- one Saturday when looking for an excuse to sit in a hammock for a few hours. "Neanderthals at Work" - written in 1992. It turns out it has some great insights for anyone living the corporate grind. The basic premise is that there are three types of people in an office environment and the sooner you both figure this out and adjust your behavior to better get ahead, the better off you will be. Written by Albert Bernstein and Sydney Craft Rozen, Steven Covey gives it a two thumbs up. Every office has a mix of three types of people. Only one of them is really positioned to move up in the world but all of them are equally important to the ongoing health of an organization. Written for those who may be feeling frustrated by the "system" it allows you to self-diagnose your style and then gives some sound advise on how to adjust your behavior to better get what you want. The three types of people and their antics are as follows:

Competitors - the warriors of the office, to them business is a game. They battle to get noticed, accumulate power and move up the food chain. They excel at politics and are typically the ones running the show or poised to do so. They understand the rules of the game and know how to take advantage of office politics to get what they want. If you aren't a competitor, you may be completely blind to the fact that this sort of environment exists until now.

Believers - yes I'm sorry to say these hard-working saps never get ahead but work hard because they believe in the cause and think naively that their efforts will magically lead to their inevitable promotion. Sorry believers! The competitors need you to stay just where you are so they can continue to get the lion's share of the glory and keep you burning the midnight oil. If you suffer from burnout and can't figure out why you never get any respect... watch out, you could just be a believer!

Rebels - these mavericks hate "the system" and consider themselves above politicing and people problems. They hide their insecurities with bravado and disdain but what is it really buying them? Sure they are often the most creative of the bunch and when they have passion behind their purpose they will excel beyond belief.

A quick read, you'll come away with a greater understanding of the office politics, yourself and those around you. Beyond that, you'll gain some key clues on how to make the most of your strengths and how to better compete in any environment. Understanding the Competitors' "Ten Commandments Plus One" will allow you to let go of the need for praise from supervisors, learn to live by your own decisions and how to read the writing "not on the wall."

I'm a Believer (with a good helping of Rebel). This book is amazing and enlightening. I've recommended it to several people already (even though I just finished reading it today). I'm about to buy several copies and give them to others I know who could benefit from this knowledge. Absolutely recommended for anyone who can't figure out why the other people in their office "just don't get it."

I work with neanderthals and find this book so enlightening that I share with the neanderthals I work with! Now, I know what behavior to expect from my colleagues and stay 2 steps ahead and "think out of the box" when dealing with certain situations. In fact, it helped me manage tension and my own stress so that I can leave work with work and enjoy my down time more. Quci reading, easy to follow. The summaries are the best part and you don't need to read the whole book to get the whole story.

I read this book a few years ago, and I guess I owe the author a positive review, because it opened my eyes to the source of my own frustrations at work. Like many pop management/psychology books, NaW divides people into three categories: Believers, Rebels, and Competitors. Each has different attitudes toward The Rules, both Written and Unwritten. The first two groups have approaches that are...maladaptive, and I was rather shocked to recognize myself as being squarely in one of them. If the model fits your situation, you will find the book extremely useful. If it does not, you may at least find it interesting.

Ani Hurwitz, NYC PR pro and another grammar brat, recommended this book with glee in her voice. Professional writers enjoy having a few of these things around, for instant rulings on commonly encountered knots such as "which vs. that." Bryan Garner's American usage rule book is an uncommon delight. It does its basic job with panache, but there's so much added linguistic pleasure between these covers. When you find yourself (as I did) reading random entries for their wit, precision, and style, you have a winner. A distinguished, modern addition to your "how should I properly put this?" reference shelf. Excellent casual reading material for the guest bathroom, too.

If you're ever afraid that you've mistaken "it's" and "its," or if the sight of everyone reading "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" makes you terrified to write a note, you'll want a copy of this book on your desk. Although a good usage manual depends on the reader having some sense of style (enough to look up uncertain techniques or phrases), too many treat you either like a child or an English teacher, scolding you or explaining their advice in impenetrable jargon. (Many such books don't seem to have taken their own advice about simplicity and clarity.) "The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage" is the exception, a book about language that's well-written and inviting, one that doesn't make you feel like you're back in your grandmother's parlor having every sentence corrected. As one of the other reviewers notes, the range of sources and examples is phenomenal--one way you can double-check your phrasing is to see if you'd want to sound like the writers in Garner's citations. But I'm even more impressed with the simple organization and headings. I sometimes have trouble finding advice in a writer's reference because I can't recall the technical term for what I'm trying to do, but entries in Garner's book are easy to find and richly cross-referenced. Most important, Garner's ear for English is impeccable, and you'll want it listening (as it were) over your shoulder. He acknowledges long-held rules but--where applicable--demonstrates their obsolescence; he also recognizes new usages and gives fair warning of the connotations you risk if you use them before they've become standard.

Concise, clear, well-developed, and engrossing entries show Bryan A. Garner employs the annotations he presents in The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style. Not only is this abridged version of Garner's Modern American Usage fun and interesting to read (and shorter than the original, obviously), it covers the fundamental (all 360 pages worth) details of American English that anyone truly serious about the language should pay attention to.

Garner writes in the preface, "Although there are good, clarifying forces at work on the language, there are also bad, obscuring forces. And these bad forces tend to work most perniciously on people who are heedless of their language. It's hard to know such a thing, but this segment of society may well be on the rise.
"This book could never reach those people."

This dictionary makes one aware of those bad, obscuring forces and their effects. But it also effectively explains those misconceptions, misused forms, mispronunciations, needless variants, useless words, and, in many cases, how the "mistakes" evolved. Garner also gives longer essay entries confronting usage and style questions based on topic rather than word.

The over 2,000 quotations from publications (usually newspapers and books), serving as both good and bad examples, paint the objects of Garner's entries into a vibrant mural embodying effective American English. This visualization, combined with Garner's strewn-about humor, takes dry topics and makes them flow more easily for the average reader.

I find myself constantly going back and looking up things in this dictionary, because while few are going to remember everything in it, there's at least the chance of remembering there is a question on the word or subject. If you want answers, keeping The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style handy will likely help you find what you're looking for. (And yes, "Perfectly natural-sounding sentences end with prepositions, particularly when a verb with a preposition-particle appears at the end.")

I have found this not only to be very useful, but also it is ver readable. This book consists of enteries of common style, grammar, and word choice mistakes. It's ver easy to find what you are looking for because the enteries are in alphabetical order.

The enteries are quite fascinating to read. For example, is "data" plural or singular? What's the difference between "flaunt" and "flout"? Can you end a sentence with a preposition? Is the plural for octopus "octopi" or "octopuses?" The list goes on and on. This book is not dry at all. If you have any interest in language and writing, this is a necessity to have.

Fowler's guide is too British. Merriam-Webster's guide is much too descriptive and seeks the low ground too often. Garner strikes just the right balance between descriptive (what most people actually say in common practice) and prescriptive (what good usage should be). The result is that his guidance is high toned without being stuffy. He also gives excellent counsel on proper pronunciation of words that confuse many. This is also fun to read!

Having a close family member recently diagnosed with Panic Anxiety Disorder, I found the book extremely useful in both understanding the illness and knowing how to support this person. The author provides easy-to-understand details about the illness and solid ways of supporting loved-ones. Now, I feel like I can talk to my family member and no longer have to side-step the discussion. A must-read for anyone who has loved ones with this condition.

Having personal experience with an anxiety disorder, I found Linda's book to have practical, reassuring information that I have been searching for for a long time. No one can really understand an anxiety disorder unless they have first-hand knowledge of it. The author speaks from her heart. Many of the mental-health professionals I have spoken to do not have this level of insight.

I'd heard about Linda's upcoming tips book on Panic and Anxiety Disorder, but wasn't really interested in reading it, mainly because it was a "tips" book; I've seen those booklets in the check-out line, and always considered them vague and rather gimmicky. So, when I first picked up "Panic and Anxiety Disorder, 121 Tips, Real-life Advice, Resources & More", not only was I surprised by its book-like appearance, I was also drawn to its calm, down-to-earth approach to self-help. Yes, there are numbered tips, but as I read, I realized this wasn't implicitly for someone coping with anxiety disorders; Linda has written to everybody. Her tips, while pinpointing individual aspects of anxiety, actually address the very simple, basic, moment-by-moment steps to follow in order to successfully survive just about any stressful inner conflict. From digging in the earth to truly relearning the art of breathing, Linda's guidance is straightforward and simultaneously profound. Not leaving any stone unturned, Linda has dedicated an entire chapter to folks who've found themselves in the challenging role of support, and included numerous sources of additional literature and information.

Linda Manassee Buell has written this book with the compassion and personal landscape of someone who's lived in the cave of fear, and who's triumphantly emerged into the sunshine.

'This is a little book.......filled with
amazing tips....in order to overcome anxiety
and panic attacks....I am majoring in Clinical
Psychology at the University.....and I am too
suffered from panic attacks since 17 years old..
so the advices she give us in her book....are so
simple and practical..coming from a wonderful
woman who also knows how to experiment a full
panic attack...I recommend this book to all
people who is feeling alone.......who feels that
nobody understands.......you will connect with
the compassive Linda...who shares with us....all
the tips available to handle this uneasy condition...
Buy this book....you will not regret.......the message
there is.....THAT YOU CAN LIVE A FULL LIFE EVEN
WITH THIS CONDITION...like everyone else!!!

This book is a valuable addition to the others on the subject. Written in a direct and compassionate voice, it provides great insight and assistance to anyone connected to this disorder. I myself do not suffer from it; however, I'm close to a number of people who do. This book is a tremendous help to those of us who must learn to cope with a loved one who has a panic/anxiety disorder. And it provides an excellent tool to begin safely discussing the topic with that loved one. Lastly, I've had the privilege to meet the author on a couple occasions and talk about the issue -- she is truly knowledgeable, sensitive, and passionate about it.

Finally! A simple, informative perspective on the complex office dynamics that so many of us face. The scenarios are well laid out and the examples easy to relate to. While other discussions of office dynamics tend to over-analyze situations, this book provided me with a straightforward roadmap to recognize and deal with daily personnel issues.

In an easy-reading format the authors have pointed out many office situations that relate to family situations. They give practical and useful suggestions for handling these problems. Worthwhile reading for anyone who works in an office setting.

This book is a must for anyone who has to manage people in an office, organization, and even on a committee. It is easy and interesting reading and a MUST to understand why the people you manage behave as they do.

Many of the issues raised in the workplace are also common to family life, from the desire of the youngest to rival the oldest child to bullying and rivalry. Parenting The Office equates these lessons learned from children to business and family life alike, using case histories to discuss applications and clarify problems.

I thought the book was a very fun and informative read!! I thought the best thing about the book was that it gave a model to understand and apply real-life management techniques in my office. The book caused me to think about the myriad of situations that happen in my office and how I can handle them better. My wife read the book as well. She was fond of it as well.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who deals with people in a business situation!!

My wife needed this book for an Astronomy class. She wanted a book with a two cds and not all marked up. I got it for a good price and it looks like a new book with no extra marks. I am very impressed with the quick delivery time, the ease of ordering and the condition of the book. I was also kept posted on the sent date and anticipated delivery date and it was accurate. This was very much appreciated, especially during the holiday season. Good Job!

I received this book through Amazon way before my class started. I saved quite a few bucks and it came in mint condition.

This book is very thorough and not too grotesquely boring. Accounting textbooks can seem to drag on and on but the information in this book seems to all be relevant and pertinent. There are plenty of review questions and problems at the end of each chapter and the chapters do build on each other well, so the further into the book, the more questions from previous chapters. Some other nice things about this book are the continuation problems that utilize the posting of payroll accounts and ledger pages to further help the student grasp the content.
The CDs included are wonderfully useful, too. There doesn't seem to be a relevance issue with this text as I have experienced with textbooks in the past.

Good book, but the problems in the chapter reviews could be more discriptive as to what answer the want.

I have found this book to be very helpful in gaining a practical understanding in the workings of a Payroll function. This book has helped the entire department which has recently started performing the US payrolls for our organisation. I hope that a listing of courses that currently use this book as a recomemded text is included in its next edition.

Wally Bock's Performance Talk is a must-have for managers of all levels, in all industries. I currently am in management at one of the largest financial institutions in the world, and have truly valued Bock's down-to-earth, story telling approach to management. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about, as well as striving to improve, his/her own management style.

10 May 2006:

Performance Talk is, in my view, a minor masterpiece, maybe even
a future classic.

For years I trained supervisors and first line managers all over the USA. So, I know whereof I speak.

Wally Bock capture, engage, and reveal every possible point of friction a new manager faces.

He clarify the challenges all new managers endure.

He delineates principles, postures, and practices that yield more effective performance. Performance by the manager and performance
by subordinates.

Burt Dubin, president,
Personal Achievement Institute

____________________________________________________

Managing people is difficult. Through story dialogue Bock's book introduces the reader to topics which strengthen management skills. Key points are absorbed without having to take notes or study the material. Reminders and resources highlight concepts and are located throughout this concise book. For in depth study, workbooks and learning aids are conveniently available on the web site. Performance Talk supplements other courses on management and self-development with a painless and easy to read format.

I normally stay away from (a) books on leadership and (b) business books written in story form. But Wally is one of the smartest guys I know, and this little book is surprisingly entertaining and useful. Unlike other books on leadership which are ponderous and dull, this book is fun and motivating.

If you are in the business of managing people then this book is a must read. "Performance Talk" is easy reading, a little over a 100 pages, and a book you will not want to put down. This book needs to be in every Manager's tool box and should be required reading for ALL Supervisors regardless of the industry or profession they work in. "This stuff really works!"

A thoughtful, accessible plunge into the subject of human nature and our impact on biodiversity.

Russ Finley, evoking the wit of Studs Terkel, the scientific eye of Jacques Cousteau and the wisdom of Dr. John Gray, takes the reader on a free ranging tour through the historical and current debates on population, biodiversity and the male-female dynamic. Entertaining, educational and always insightful, this well referenced work will have you chuckling as you reassess commonly held beliefs on the environment, politics and the choices we all make in life.

"Poison Darts" is really two stories in one. Volume I, a quick read, is an entertaining fictional story. It illustrates a world where a clever think tank of specialists, each devoted to protecting the environment in their own special way, basically save the world from certain environmental catastrophe. It all revolves around the "TIFIC" or the "Take It and Forget It Contrapceptive" as it is named in the book, and the effects our ever growing population has on the environment. The story lays out in detail Finley's theory on why our environment is being destroyed and his solutions to many of the most challenging problems our world has ever seen.

Finley, is more realistic than many environmentalists I have ever read the work of. Working on the proven but unaccepted idea that the "noble savage" is a myth, Finley bluntly tells the story of future environmental degredation at human hands. His solutions to the difficulty encountered in preserving the environment are quite different. Instead of the all too familiar approach of just roping off the wilderness, and making laws against environmental damage, Finley proposes that the reason for the destruction of our eco-system is mostly because of the amazing growth in world population over the last 100 years. His pushing for the development of the "TIFIC" is a main theme in this book and he continually discusses the connection between a rapidly growing world population and environmental destruction. His theory of reducing the world population by all but eliminating unwanted pregnancies (using the TIFIC) is the key to saving the environment from human destruction. If there are less people, they will not use as much of the Earth's resources, and thus there will be far less environmental damage. Volume I is a witty, interesting story that gives the reader hope that a solution to the problems that come with preserving biodiversity are possible to impliment.

Volume II is downright scary. Instead of taking place in a fictional world, Finley is dead honest in describing what is happening in our world and why we must act quickly to save the Earth. Finley doesn't tree hug, or say we shouldn't destroy eco-systems because they are beautiful. He explains point blank why the destruction of the eco-system will really hurt human kind and the environment alike, and will most likely lead to irreversible destruction. Finley, and engineer, takes a more analytical look at the problems we face as a planet, and the difficulty caused by not making any attempt to solve such problems.

This book (Volumes I&II) is essential reading for those who care about preserving the planet's biodiversity, and are interested in solving the problems caused by its destruction. This book does not do much finger pointing, just analyzes the main causes of environmental destruction, and presents solutions to such problems.

Finley's analysis of our world and human kind's effect on the environment is well written, descriptive, and realistic in its attempt to solve the problems we will face in the future. This is a great book, I recommend buying this book, and circulating it among your neighbors and friends after you finish reading it.

Enjoy!

This is a two-volume book about a hypothetical contraceptive, the "Take It and Forget It Contraceptive" (TIFIC) which Russ Finley believes is just what the world needs in order to stem its population and prevent the loss of biodiversity.

Here's how a hypothetical TIFIC might work: a vaccine is made that "creates antibodies that deactivate sperm cells by interfering" with "the operation of their little tails." (Vol. I, p. 20) This works for both men and women. Fertility would be restored by having both prospective parents take a daily antidote pill until conception is achieved. Finley's idea is that nearly everybody would want to have the vaccination so that they wouldn't have to worry about unwanted pregnancies--the "take it and forget it" aspect.

In Volume I Finley writes a novel in which a rain forest frog and its tadpole supply the contraceptive and its antidote. The problem with the novel is that it lacks tension and is rather flat emotionally. The characters and the story are primarily vehicles for the dissemination of Finley's ideas. However, Volume Two, which is a collection of Finley's writings on overpopulation and allied concerns, contains some of the best writing on this subject that I have ever read.

Finley's main point, and one that few in the environmental debate seem to get, is that we are NOT going to save the biodiversity of the planet by good intentions or any combination thereof, simply because human nature is such that we will always look out for our own welfare first while the welfare of other beings, especially if they are distant, will be of secondary importance. I once asked a student of mine who wanted to have half a dozen children, if she would be willing to forgo having one of them to save the tigers. She said no.

At least she was honest. Most people would not even give up the convenience of their SUV for the tigers (if such a thing were possible). Indeed, another one of Finley's points is that "There is no mechanism to shift resources" from those who have them in the US to those in, say, Africa, who do not. He believes that the profit motive and status-seeking behaviors of humans override "most ideologies that do not have those drives as part of them." (Vol II, p. 16)

Note well that Finley wants our population to stop growing immediately because the more people there are, the more they will expand and bring about the extinction of other forms of life. Indeed, Finley believes we already have too many people on this planet. I agree with him and his assertion that both Malthus and Paul Ehrlich will ultimately be proven right, and that sophists like the late Julian Simon will be proven wrong.

Here are some examples of Finley's insight and his considerable expertise (page numbers are from Volume II):

"...[O]verpopulation has always been a local problem...When the people of Easter Island were starving to death, the planet was far from overpopulated. The archaeological record is rife with example of populations that have crashed because of overpopulation..." (p. 24)

"I prefer a definition that says you have overpopulation whenever you have people living at the subsistence level. If you assume that people who live on less than $2 a day are at the subsistence level, then roughly half of the people in the world are living in overpopulated boundaries." (p. 53)

"Once a Chinese peasant can afford a scooter, he will obtain one, and when he can afford an SUV, he will obtain one of those too. The instinctive urge to continuously seek higher status does not satiate itself." (p. 56)

"The economic systems available to us fall into a spectrum. At one end, you will find unbridled capitalism and the use of slaves...As you move toward the middle, you will find regulated free markets. This is capitalism with rules in place to limit how badly people with power can abuse those who are making them rich." (p. 76)

"Attempts to reduce CO2 levels are treating the symptoms of what ails our planet, not the cause. The cause is overpopulation--the needs, and the desires of billions of people...Giving aspirin to reduce the discomfort of a fever--global warming--is not as effective as prescribing an antibiotic--the TIFIC--that would reduce the number of agents that caused the fever--us." (p. 92)

"...[T]he people in China and India have an average ecological footprint that is many times lower than yours or mine...[Yet] China's and India's destroyed ecosystems are the perfect experiments showing that lowering one's ecological footprint all the way down to that of a rice eating peasant will not save the planet." (pp. 113-114)

Finally, let me quote from the Prologue to Volume I: "...[How] do you allow people to satiate their status-seeking urges (which are closely related to sexual urges) without allowing them to advertise their prowess with trophies--books, published papers, houses, remodels, or cars? The answer is revealing--you can't. Tell people that they must stop having sex and seeking status is no different than telling them that they must stop walking upright. You couldn't call yourself a normal healthy human if you stopped doing all of those things. You cannot change human nature." (p. iv)

This work would be more effective if Finley would publish the second volume (with the prologue to Volume I) separately. It would also help if he would hire a professional editor. His writing is incisive and persuasive, and what he says needs to be heard. His refutation of Julian Simon was especially instructive. His metaphor that frogs are the canaries in the coal mine that is our planet (and that frogs can save us) is well taken and alarming. Ask yourself, when was the last time you saw a frog?

If professional editing is indeed what this book needs to ensure that its message is heard, as some of the reveiwers seem to think, then let us hope a professional editor who cares contacts Russell soon.

As a relatively undemanding reader with a quest to know more, I simply found it easy to read, funny and refreshingly down to earth, realistic and human. I was looking for solutions rather than problems, and solutions that recognised that what drives most adult humans, for better and worse, is greed.

I am someone who has happened rather belatedly upon a concern for the environment, and the critical importance of maintaining bio-diversity, due to finding out about Peak Oil. Having grasped the implications of resource depletion, I immediately fell into a doomsday depression, coupled with a burning desire to impress upon everyone the urgent need to restrain their consumption and live a simple life. Not long after that, I realised the futility of "rioting for austerity". I therefore decided to be optimistic, and place my faith in human ingenuity, like my father's hero Paul Simon, despite mounting evidence that the Ehrlichs were right in all but timing.

One of the many encouraging points that Russell makes in this book is that both Simon and the Ehrlichs were right, and what is more, Simon's point about the potential of human ingenuity to overcome problems means that one plank of Russell's solution - creating well protected reserves of bio-diversity - simply gives humans the opportunity to demonstrate that ingenuity sooner rather than later. (Unfortunately, just to prove how urgent the message is, since publishing the book, the agreement to develop ANWAR has gone ahead - enough oil to last the US 200 days in exchange for an arctic wilderness of inestimable value to future generations. Go figure).

As a former marketing professional, I can quite see how the other plank of his solution - the Take It and Forget It contraceptive (with antidote), for men or women, is a winner - and worthy of investment in research.

When I understood that the likely investment to bring this contraceptive to reality (it is already a partial reality for animals), coupled with the costs of preserving 70% of the world's current biodiversity, is less than the cost of a few days war in IRAQ, I wished I was Bill Gates.

Humans are a very successful species. They are so successful that they have circumvented evolution and ecology to a point where significant selection pressures applied to the human population have been nearly severed. With the simple act of passing along DNA, the human population has exploded to an unprecedented level. Over the past several thousands years of human existence on the planet earth, several major technological events occurred that have bumped up the carrying capacity of the population.

For thousands of years, humans were supposedly hunters and gatherers - but, if the truth were known, they were probably more like gatherers and scavengers, since some recent evidence has debunked the image of the "mighty human hunter." At any rate, this lifestyle can only provide support for a limited number of people - and as a result, the human population remained low for thousands of years.

Agriculture was invented around 8 to 9 thousand years ago, no fewer than 10 times by various cultures. Along with this paradigm shift in food management, came stabilized living areas (as opposed to a nomadic existence) and the domestication of animals. The invention of agriculture bumped the carrying capacity significantly - a population increase began.

With the stabilization of humans came cities, industrialization, and manufacturing of goods - first with simple metals, initiating historical periods, like the Bronze and Iron Ages, to the Industrial Revolution, that allowed the population to grow even more.

The Industrial Revolution gave way to the Age of Medicine, and the Space and Computer Ages. These later periods led to the greatest human population explosion ever witnessed. These historical events were the necessary paradigm shifts that allowed the short-changing and short-circuiting of evolution and natural selection.

As a result of this snow-ball effect of passing DNA along from generation to generation, and the lack of a natural "check" on the population that can significantly keep the population to naturally manageable numbers, the environment on earth has experienced a catastrophic and detrimental decrease in biodiversity.

In order to support such a massive and "out of control" human population, natural resources need to be harvested, mined, gathered, and processed at a phenomenal rate. Most of these materials are not renewable, and those that are, cannot be renewed at the rate the human population is growing. With the gathering of natural resources by an irresponsible species, with a lack of understanding of basic biological principles, ecological doom is soon to occur. The earth can handle only so much manipulation. The organic and inorganic cycles of the planet can only function to a certain limit - the biogeochemical cycles have their thresholds - and humans are pushing these cycles to their limits.

Not only is the harvesting of resources detrimental to the planet - but so is the destruction of natural ecosystems to make room for more humans - urban sprawl, city growth, and the development and construction of canals, dams, highways, and related infrastructure are only a few examples of how the environment is being manipulated and fragmented for the benefit of humans.

The past few years have witnessed the explosion of the "Information Age" - the invention of the Internet and the ready exchange of ideas via electronic means. People have the ability to access tons of information that they otherwise would not have access to. Using this to their advantage, environmental groups are reaching out to an otherwise ignorant population, and educating them on the perils of human meddling in the natural systems of the planet. A faint cry can be heard - a cry of concern, shame, and worry. The environment is falling apart, and a crippled scramble is manifesting an attempt to address the environmental damage created by humans. But is it enough? Will humans maintain the status quo of being a creature that doesn't react to a crisis until the 11th hour?

Enter Russ Finley. No doubt he has fretted with these questions throughout his life. What is the solution to this looming "end of the world as we know it?" He is rich with ideas, and he successfully created a means to communication his ideas for the greater good - he wrote a book entitled "Poison Darts."

In this brilliantly written book, divided into two sections, Russ Finley addresses the looming doom head-on. Although part I of the book is science fiction in nature, it presents plausible and reasonable solutions to the human over-population problem. Once the speeding human population freight train is under control, the rape of the earth can stop - and the healing can begin. Part II contains a series of essays of an intellectual character that concentrates on many of the issues discussed and explored in part I.

The first section is about a non-profit group that engineers a pill to neutralize sperm cells and switch the cells over to a non-viable form. This allows the prevention of un-planned pregnancies. It's a clever strategy and if distributed properly, can be very effective in inserting a "check" back into the human population. In addition, the group also starts to set aside and preserve the last undeveloped tracts of land throughout the world. Of course, the group also ensures the properties are protected from poachers, loggers, etc. with an elite team of soldiers, trained to keep the peace and the land safe from unscrupulous people.

As a result of placing a control on the human population, many of the environmental problems and issues have a chance of being reversed. But, it will take a tremendous effort to maintain this new "way of doing things." Russ Finley has thought of nearly everything when writing this fictional account. The story provides plenty of "food for thought" and allows the reader to ponder the fate of the human species, and the planet earth.

The book is sprinkled with scientific facts, which makes it interesting reading. Also, the book is supported by a web page. Uniform resource locators (URLs) are cited throughout the text, and the reader can refer to these URLs for updated links and information. This allows for the text to never be out of date.

The essays in Part II continue the discussion with focused queries into the many environmental issues facing the planet today. The essays can be read independently from Part I and can be read in any order. If you are avid student of the world with an environmental twist, this book is a must-read.