Industrial Books

I had three main reasons for buying this book:
1. To bridge the gap between the control theory from school and the systems that I now design and build
2. To gain insight on how to improve the performance and reliability of real motion systems
3. To find ways to apply advanced techniques to help meet challenging performance requirements

I got all of this and more from this book. The topics covered clearly and concisely in this book span three courses I took at Cal Poly SLO: basic controls, digital controls, and modern/advanced control theory. Mr. Ellis does a great job of quickly introducing these topics and getting straight to the practical implications.

The free software and examples work well to illustrate his points quickly and easily while helping to commit the insights to memory. I also hope to use it as a training tool for our techs.

I highly recommend this book to anyone working with control systems, especially grad students and people getting started in the field. I look forward to reading his book on observers.

The author attempts to bridge the gap between theory and practice, and does a good job at it. Familiarity with control concepts will help one to get more out of the book, because the book focuses more on the practical aspects. The explanations in some of the sections can definitely be more complete, and thus I have to give it only a 4 star rating. Overall it is a good book.

This is a really good book that simplified control system for the real world. Most text spend too much time on theory and analysis and end the discussion with a bunch of equations and graphs without explaining how to implement the design. This book covers both analog and digital control, and lets you download a software from the author's web site. This software, ModelQ, lets you play with various parameters so you can see how the system behaves when it is not optimized.

One drawback with the book is it only covers PID control and its variants, but doesn't cover state-space control. While state-space control may be considered "overkill" by many control engineers, state-space is used in industry. The decision to use state-space is often not in the hands of individual engineers, so it may not be an option to ignore state-space. It would be nice if Mr. Ellis could cover state-space in his next edition of the book.

Ellis has made a fantastic book on PID and similar control loops. He takes a very different tact than most controls books -- he writes with a voice similar to a handbook, but delivers enough content to compete with more traditional textbook-style controls books. It is light on the math in comparison, but I don't find myself wanting for more math.

I do a lot of controls design, consulting, and teaching. I recommend this book often and find that people that buy it uniformly track me down and thank me for the recommendation. I can't think of much higher praise for this book.

This book is a great guide to problems and solutions for modern control systems. Many text will have page after page of formulas with little link to the real world of control system design. Mr. Ellis provides answers to the problems faced by todays engineers.

I picked up this book after reading the book "Fiasco", a book critical of the U.S. actions in Iraq, after the author noted that officers in the U.S. Military are currently using this book as a learning tool text book. Gaulle was a French veteran of WWII, Indonesia and served as a UN observer in Greece during an insurgent attempt to remove the government. He makes it very clear that the counterinsurgent (the government) in charge must win the battle for the population and that the soldier has a much more complex multi-dimensional role in creating trust within the population, creating security while not being too autocratic. He also states that successful adaptive leaders should be granted more local control on the ground allowing greater interaction. The author uses examples of insurgents from Algeria, Greece, and China along with an emerging U.S. Vietnam war that is evolving by the time the book was completed in late 1863. Gaulle notes that geography is a great aid to insurgents along with sympathetic borders. He also notes the classic insurgent method of intimidation; kill local politicians and police to make a greater impact on the masses, something well reflected in Iraq. On the other hand, he demonstrates how the Chinese Nationals treated their prisoners well, obtaining potential recruits, and how the nationals, upon gaining a territory would have a support administration prepared to go right in and set up. The Chinese nationals' organization abilities virtually provide a blue print for the counterinsurgents to follow. Although the text is 40 years old, written during the ruptures of colonial control of third world countries, it still is applicable today in the Middle East and elsewhere as a similar if not more sophisticated warfare is fought by insurgents, particularly those well supported, hence the major problem. The book is written in brief text book style and is a read most appreciated by those with a military background. Those without military experience or a technical appreciation may find it a not very colorful read. The book is very direct in its brevity with just 99 pages but a very insightful book in that short space. I purchased the paperback new for $28.

A good basseline, insight into the subject of Counter Insurgency.
Counter Insurgency, and other related Counter Insuregency Books, journals, white papers, should be mandatory reading for: civilian, military, strategic planners, intelligence officers, Congress, think tanks executive managers and planners before they decide to "..cross The Rubicon..." "...or the Tiber Rivers..."

Book breaks down how to quelch a counterinsurgency. More people in the Pentagon and Washington need to read it.

David Galula's Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory & Practice is a classic. It is a classic in the sense that it is ... a work of enduring excellence ...an authoritative source [Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary]. I recommend this volume because it makes better sense of other books on intelligence and special operations, by serving as a metric for both policy and operational analysis.

Written almost as a `good news/bad news' aphorism, Galula concedes ..."Very little is offered beyond formulas - which are sound as far as they go - such as, `Intelligence is the key to the problem,' or `The support of the population must be won." P xii.

The essence of the text is clearly stated ..."to define the laws of counterrevolutionary warfare, to deduce from them its principles, and to outline the corresponding strategy and tactics." P xiii.

Galula begins by defining insurgency as ..."a protracted struggle conducted methodically, step by step, in order to attain specific intermediate objectives leading finally to the overthrow of the existing order ...it can no more be predicted than a revolution; its beginnings are so vague that to determine exactly when an insurgency starts is a difficult legal, political, and historical problem." P 5.

Vital decisions depend on the quality of the intelligence available to policy makers. Additionally, and possibly more importantly, intelligence must be evaluated and presented in terms of a practical application. Galula delivers on his promise, as Counterinsurgency Warfare systematically examines the theoretical i.e., strategic aspect of intelligence in terms of practical/tactical i.e., operational applications.

Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice is perhaps the best textbook on how to fight a guerilla war (to read about how to conduct a guerilla war read Mao Zedong's On Guerilla War or Alberto Bayo's 150 Questions for a Guerilla). David Galua wrote this book. He was a French military officer whose experience in Algeria (during its war of independence from 1954 to 1962) has shaped his views on how to fight an insurgency. As a result, he has written a book that is credible, effective, and given today's current events, very relevant.
This book serves as an effective teaching tool for anyone interested in understanding how guerilla war (including terrorism) can be subdued. It short, well written, and presented in a format that is easy for anyone to understand. This contrasts greatly with current military literature of today (including the upcoming US Army's FM 3-24, Counterinsurgency Operations which is, in my view, too big for a busy officer to read in a single day).
This book, along with Roger Trinquier's, Modern Warfare, should be included as part of every military officer's recommended reading list. Not only is this book thought provoking (i.e. in providing strategies in fighting insurgents), it is also relevant to our current struggle against international terrorism. This book should be treated as an important weapon in any warrior's arsenal.

My professor used the 5th edition in the Digital Elec class many years ago. I write software but have been trying to make the transition to logic design ... picked up the latest edition for refresher

Great book

You can gain the basic digital logic design knowledge using this book in no time! that is not always sufficient for people who wants to get A grade rather you can just make it your introduction and so soon move to part two (that is up to your current course).
My advice is : get this book unless you have passed this level!

This is the best book to understand Digital Electronics with clear and simple explanations. The salient feature of this book is that it has lot of applications sprayed throughout which keeps the reader attentive and interested. A "Must Read" for graduate/undergraduate students in any university in the world.

I used this book for a course on Digital Electronics. Its great. The book has a great typeset, clear and crisp fonts that go easy on the eyes, well structured (such that you read what you need in order to understand the next chapter). The book is illustrated with apt diagrams. I would consider this book to be beginner-intermediate. This book is a good starting point for learn digital stuff, and a good reference after you learn digital stuff. Its hard to find a book as good as this one.

This is the best book to understand Digital Electronics with clear and simple explanations. The salient feature of this book is that it has lot of applications sprayed throughout which keeps the reader attentive and interested. A "Must Read" for graduate/undergraduate students in any university in the world.

Philip Kiameh has provided us with another practical book that focuses on Power Generation equipments. This book begins with an introduction to Electrical Engineering concepts and then continues with electric machinery, motors, transformers and generators. This book is very well written with excellent examples and figures. The book is also intended for those who are not electrical engineers and provides a comprehensive picture of electrical equipments in industrial applicatons. It is a must for anyone working in an industrial environment.

The author puts his decades of design and maintenance experience into this book. You will find the latest information on all common electrical equipment utilized in a power generation or other type of processing plants.

This book covers: basic concepts and equations, technology used, application, testing, as well as maintenance. The approach is very hands-on and it will enhence your knowledge as the electrical expert.

However, this book is written in very simple labnguage. It will also benefit students or non-electrical technical staff trying to gain a quick overall picture.

This is one of your best reference handbook.

Very comprehensive. A very valuable desk reference, highly recommended.

Philip Kiameh has done a remarkable job of providing in depth description of electrical equipment in pleasantly readable format. Professionals of electrical and non-electrical backgrounds will find this reference invaluable. This book is very well illustrated and descriptive with particular focus on maintenance. This is a truly valuable reference to the industrial professional with major electrical equipment to maintain and operate.

Mr Kiameh has done it again. He has captured his vast practical knowledge into this simple yet comprehensive handbook. The difference between this book and a typical text used in the academic world is that one can find solutions and descriptions to their plant problems; the academic texts are heavily biased to the theorectical while Mr. Kiameh's approach hinges strongly in the industrial aspects.

I have the previous edition of "the pink book", and knowledge has advanced in these species such that I desperately needed the new edition. An excellent text that is a must have if you see small mammal patients.

As a ferret owner, you have the responsibility to know what diseases or cancers your ferret could get, and for making sure they get the proper treatment as soon as possible. Early diagnosis is the key. This is one of the best books you will find and it's more than worth the money invested. Every ferret owner should have a personal copy. Check with your vet to see if they have a copy as well, this is an awesome Christmas present. Read! Highlight! Consult! Together, you can extend the life of your ferret.

This is that kind of book , that helps you to increase your knowledgement.
For every veterinary and student who work with Ferrets, Rabbits, or Rodents.

This book is the absolute best resource on the medicine of these species. The book is easy to follow and find specific information as necessary. Most illustrations are quite useful, although in black and white. The book is organized mostly by taxonomic groups. However, the book seems to repeat itself in some chapters as well as in different chapters, and sometimes, finding information may be indexed in more than one place only to find that they are all quite similar pieces of information. I HIGHLY reccomend this book, and its is the best amount of informtion at a very affordable price.

I got this book so I can better understand what the heck the vet was telling me about two of my ferrets. It is a reall good resouce for pet owners to learn more about the different medical conditions that will come up with owning a ferret. However, be warned!.... This book explains thing in terminology that a vet or a vet tech will understand. It is not a book for the average person per se, but it did help me ask the right questions and to be better informed. One vet I talked to uses this book as a reference quite often. I enjoyed going through this book and it was very educational.

Good coverage of a broad range of topics. Very easy to understand and perfectly illustrated. Many handy tips that an experienced machinist would already know, but are invaluable for a newbie. Terms not introduced in the text are covered in an extensive glossary. Lathe cutting is more thoroughly covered than milling, but the two are complimentary. I have only two complaints. There is no discussion of gear cutting. Although this might be considered an advanced topic, I think it should have been discussed at least generally. My other issue is with the index, which I found confusing. For example, if you want to know about threading, you need to look under "threading" and also under "lathe, threading". All in all, I found it well worth the price.

After reading some of the other reviews, I was really excited about receiving this book. In short order, I was wondering what all the hoopla was about. I guess "essentials" includes telling you about pliers, and screwdrivers, but to me, that is "Machining for Dummies".

I know about pliers, I know about fasteners. I know that a Bridgeport milling machine costs $8000 dollars. I would like to know what milling machine is recommended for around a grand. Any married guy knows that if he spends $8000 dollars for a milling machine, he better have $8000 to spend on a diamond too!!!

My Lathe is a 9 inch South Bend workshop model A converted from a C model, with a 2.25 HP DC motor and a KBMM controller that I built myself. Lathe cost $185. Tooling cost a hell of a lot more. How many of you out there have a $5000 Clausing?

Heres part of whats missing:

What lathe tooling is recommended. I dont mean what pliers! Channel locks came out 500 years ago!!!

What Drill press is recommended? Absolute necessity, and a hell of a lot cheaper than a bridgeport.

How do you convert a tool running an AC motor to a variable speed DC motor? (Once you have variable speed DC, you will never go back to AC)

4 hack saw blades epoxied together and a slit dowel make a pretty decent 1/8 inch keyway broach.

speedbore paddle bits make pretty cool centering devices.

The best way to part is: Tool upside down, Run Lathe backwards. Sounds Just like frying bacon.

On the plus side, the hardening and annealing section is OK but not worth $44 dollars.

Anybody want to trade this tome for a machinerys handbook, since that is what he keeps referring to? Most of what is in here I read in South Bends antique book "How to run a lathe" Cost: $4.00

Mostly dissapointed.

This book is well written, beautifully illustrated and extremely helpful. Although not my profession, some machine shop work has been a serious hobby for me and I found Machine Shop Essentials to help fill in gaps in my knowledge resulting from a lack of formal training. This book should appeal to enthusiasts and beginning professionals alike. It was a breath of fresh air after having looked at either dated references with photographs of industrial machines or at home shop manuals with very limited information. Having done mostly lathework, I was most interested in learning more about milling and the book "asked" questions that I had in mind and "answered" them, including specific issues regarding the availability and proper use of various cutting bits. The coverage of both lathe and milling basics is far superior to that in three other manuals I purchased (unfortunately) before this one. The diagrams provide a lot of exquisite detail and really compliment the text.

This is an excellent book for beginner to intermediate machinists. The question and answer format and the index allow you to find specific topics of interest very quickly. The amount of detail is just right-not too little and not too much. Covers most of the topics a beginner or intermediate machinist will need. I strongly recommend this book.

The author's stated purpose in writing this book was to provide a back to basics introduction to machining using small manual machines in a one-of-kind parts and prototyping environment. The author succeeds admirably in meeting his stated purpose. It should be noted that this is a practical treatment giving specific step-by-step procedures needed to create a particular feature using a particular machine tool. Furthermore, it must be kept in mind that what is cost-effective in an industrial setting when production runs are in the thousands or tens of thousands may not be so in a prototyping environment. Mr. Marlow does a great job of concentrating on procedures that can be cost-effective in a one-off environment.

Two notable features of the book in general merit special comment. First, the book is presented in a question and answer format. While this may seem unusual at first, it actually serves the very useful purpose of easily enabling the reader to locate and find information pertinent to a specific machining question. Second, the book uses plentiful line drawings that are absolutely superb. In comparison to the usual photographs, the line drawings used here have one gigantic advantage. Namely, photographs inevitably wind up blurring and obscuring details, some of which may be highly significant. In contrast, the line drawings in this book are models of clarity, usefully illustrating all relevant details. I frankly consider the line drawings in this book to be the best I have ever seen, and they are a major reason for the usefulness of the book.

The first four chapters of the book contain basic introductory material on measurement tools, basic hand tools, filing, sawing, grinding reaming, broaching, and lapping. This is all good, solid, useful stuff. The discussion on broaching, for example, is the best introductory treatment of this I have ever seen. Next, there is a chapter on drilling operations followed by a chapter on threads and threading using taps and dies. Although not encyclopedic in its coverage of various thread standards, the basics are covered thoroughly and again, it must be mentioned that the author uses superb line drawings to convey meaning.

Following the discussion of threading, there are chapters on turning and milling operations in which the author discusses a range of machines representative of those that might be found in a home workshop or a small prototyping operation. In the milling section, for example, Mr. Marlow discusses both the Sherline tabletop mini mill and the Bridgeport. A feature of interest is that the author does not discuss the ubiquitous (and to some, infamous!) mill/drill. I was particularly impressed with the thoroughness of his instructions for operating the Bridgeport mill, and I couldn't help but think that this chapter of the book would be invaluable to a home shop machinist purchasing a used Bridgeport. More than just an instruction manual for the Bridgeport, the book also provides general procedures for producing specific features that translate to any machine of a similar type. Mr. Marlow's discussion of how to mill dovetail slides, for example, is a model of thoroughness and clarity. Although Mr. Marlow does provide some introductory material, he wisely refers the reader to "Machinery's Handbook" and its voluminous tables for many specifics on "feeds and speeds".

The later chapters of the book cover such topics as fastening methods, basic metallurgy, and safety/shop practices. The section on metallurgy, while quite basic, I found particularly useful in helping me remember some of my college courses from long ago. Again, this is all good, solid, useful stuff, and presented at a level (neither too elementary nor too theoretical) that makes it extremely useful at the home machine shop level. I found the final chapter of the book in which Mr. Marlow presents a wide variety of "tricks of the trade" extremely interesting. It contains the sort of practical how-to information that almost never seems to be covered in print.

Finally, there are two appendices, one on sharpening lathe tools and the other providing a list of sources for tools, materials, and supplies. Although I do have two minor misgivings about the lathe tool sharpening appendix discussed in the paragraph immediately below this one, I must admit that Mr. Marlow's two page description of sharpening steel lathe tool bits is by far and away (again, because of the superb line drawings) the most easily understood of any I have ever encountered.

I do find a few minor flaws with the text. Table 8.5 on page 353, for example, has gotten the last two column-headings inverted. That is, the RPM figures listed under 5/8-inch cutters should actually be those listed under 3/8-inch cutters and vice versa. Mr. Marlow achieved near-perfection in his appendix on sharpening steel lathe tool bits, but there are two minor flaws.

The first flaw is as follows: In the line drawings at the top of page 483, he shows "side clearance angle" and "end clearance angle". In the subsequent table of sharpening angles, however, we find neither "side clearance" nor "end clearance". Instead, we find "side relief" and "front relief". Now it is true that the sentence immediately preceding the table: "What are typical rake and clearance (relief) angles for HSS tool bits?" does imply that clearance and relief are synonyms. But, aside from being (perhaps?) hard to catch, that still does not answer the problem. For if we understand that in referring from the table back to the preceding illustrations we are to substitute "clearance" wherever we see "relief" in the table, then we would wind up searching in vain through the illustrations for a depiction of what is meant by the "front clearance". Whilst the meaning may be clear to the experienced or well-read amongst us, this discrepancy is irritating and could be quite confusing to the novice.

The second flaw, and here I realize I am opening up a can of worms, is Mr. Marlow's advice to "dip the tool in coolant frequently to keep it from overheating and annealing".
Now I freely admit that I am not a metallurgical scientist, but I have had opportunity to talk to a number of folks who are. And here is what I have been told. Dipping the tool in coolant is a holdover from the days of sharpening carbon steel tools which do have an annealing temperature low enough to be easily reached in tool grinding. And of course, once the tool is annealed, its hardness is gone, and it is useless for cutting. I am told, however, that the annealing temperature of virtually all HSS alloys is sufficiently high that it will not be approached during a tool grinding operation. So annealing of HSS is not the problem. Apparently what IS the problem is that the HSS tool may develop a series of micro-fractures or cracks when shocked by the sudden dip in coolant from a heated state. Now I have also been told that HSS may develop the micro-fractures from overly aggressive grinding as well, but that this is less likely to occur. So if what I have been told by some folks I know to be quite reputable metallurgical scientists is true, it seems to me that it would make sense to grind less aggressively (this is not an industrial production job, after all) to help avoid unnecessary heat build up and to eschew the use of a coolant dip. Note that if facilities are available to have constant coolant flow over the tip of the tool, the sudden shocking issue would not arise---but such facilities are probably not available to the average reader of this book.

I wish Mr. Marlow had covered two additional topics. First, drilling flat-bottomed holes is a subject that continues to vex. Some sage advice here would have been much appreciated. Second, a chapter on shapers, analogous to that on milling machines, would have been of interest to me. Admittedly, I have not seen a shaper in industrial use for years, but there are many of them still in use in home machining operations, and for those folks who have them, a good modern text would be useful.

I cannot help but comment on the one reviewer who was disappointed that Mr. Marlow did not recommend specific machines. First, I suppose Mr. Marlow's inclusion of Clausing drill presses and lathes as well as Bridgeport milling machines may constitute a recommendation of sorts. Secondly, given the wide variety of new (not to say used!) machine tools available, I don't see how it would be feasible for anyone to review them all and make specific recommendations. Finally, which machine tool is best depends upon a number of factors: budget, space available, intended use, etc. So Mr. Marlow was, in my opinion, wise to adopt the approach he did.

While this book would probably not be of much use to an experienced machinist, it certainly is the best single introduction to manual machine operations for the home shop machinist I have ever seen. It would be nice to see Mr. Marlow turn his attention to two additional topics: motors/variable frequency drives and CNC machining. With regards to the former, I understand that one can do wonders nowadays with VFD's and that the price has come down to make them truly affordable. Yet specific information useable by the non-specialist is hard to come by. Second CNC systems and conversion kits seem to be coming down in price and bringing CNC machining into reach of the small prototype shop/home workshop. If Mr. Marlow could address these two topics with the same precision and clarity he did for manual machine tools with this volume, he would provide a valuable service.

This book successfully captures the unique nature of the man, Tony Mazzocchi, a tireless crusader, organizer with a mission. Leopold should be applauded for writing in such an engaging manner, and for successfully portraying a man with such vision that some have likened him to Thomas Jefferson in regards to his impact on the shape of the country today. His short-sighted contemporaries in labor should take note.

The Man Who Hated Work and Loved Labor, The Life and Times of Tony Mazzocchi manages to combine, in extremely readable text and organization, a history of the labor movement -- and related social and political conditions -- for much of the 20th century and into the 21st. With a sense of humor, Leopold conveys Mazzocchi's own charisma and inspiration.

A lively and engaging portrait of a labor organizer and activist, "The Man Who Hated Work and Loved Labor" is an inspirational story and object lesson of how much effect one committed person can have in bringing together coalitions for progressive change. From his fight to regulate health and safety issues to linking labor to environmental concerns and civil rights, Tony Mazzocchi was a tireless crusader for those struggling against corporate greed and corruption. This is a truly fascinating historical account of one of labor's foremost champions.

Well written and inspirational. Tony Mazzocchi recognized the natural alliance between the labor and environmental movements, and that the labor movement will only be successful when it takes an expansive role in society. He rejected the short-sighted and narrow views of many of his contemporaries.

Andrew Lewinter
Labor Lawyer, Eugene, Oregon

Blend insights into a CIA-connected labor union, an assassination attempt, and espionage and you have the story of one Tony Mazzocchi, a labor leader whose struggles to reveal toxic exposure of thousands of workers led to a fight that resulted in passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Any college-level holding strong in labor relations history or health issues in the workplace needs this survey of an early safety advocate.

Weick and Sutcliffe provide exceptional insights into high reliability organizations (HROs) and how lessons learned from HROs can be applied to other organizations that are not satisfied with just being good. The authors address the five hallmarks of mindfulness that distinguish HROs from all other organization types. The authors provide detailed checklists through which company leaders can audit and assess organizational readiness for dealing with unexpected events. The authors address the critical value of organizational culture in dealing with unexpected events and how organizational leaders can build the capacity to "manage mindfully". The text is well-documented and well-indexed. Each of the six chapters is summarized for rapid review; however, with ony 173 pages of substantive text, this "must read" can be completed in only a few hours. Knowledgeable leaders who are interested in creating resilient organizations should also read Ian Mitroff's "Crisis Leadership" (John Wiley & Sons) as an accompanying text.

This book is to be read by anyone really interested about how organizations work.

The main point could be explained in a single sentence: We can get valuable lessons if we pay attention to organizations who work in high risk and unpredictable environments.

This is my own view and, actually, I tried to show this using aviation as a kind of learning field. That is why I hope the authors will be lucky. My own experience was unsuccessful and that itself shows that the authors are right.

When I started to get conclusions from aviation to business management, I found that the more interested people came precisely from aviation. I'm afraid the authors could suffer the same experience and people interested in their concepts could come from air carriers, nuclear-powered plants and some other examples they use.

The authors could be three or four steps in advance of the present situation in business management. They try to extract the right lessons from other fields. However, they would not be surprised if their intent "bounces back" and it is picked-up precisely from the fields that they try to show as examples, not from business management.

In this well written, easy to read, analysis of organizations in highly complex and dangerous settings that persistently have less than their fair share of accidents - High Reliability Organizations - Professors Weick and Sutcliffe provide the recipe for a `learning organization'. Noting that HRO's share the hallmark of "mindfulness", the authors' define this characteristic as consisting of five key elements that every organization can use for dealing with the unexpected. The authors' call these five elements:
1. Preoccupation with failure - treating any failure (often small ones) as a symptom that something is wrong with the system, they are continually updating their understanding.
2. Reluctance to simplify interpretations - ensuring a more complete and nuanced picture, simplifying less and seeing more.
3. Sensitivity to operations - paying attention to relationships at the front line, where the work gets done.
4. Commitment to resilience - maintaining a deep knowledge of the technology, the system, one's coworkers, and one's self as avenues for improvising and keeping the system functioning.
5. Deference to expertise - cultivating diversity to do more with complexities, they push decisions down to the people with the most expertise, not the most rank. They also move issues around/across the system, migrating problems to someone with the knowledge and capabilities to address them.

Together, these elements give the organization `mindfulness', and this organizational mindset allows it to handle the unexpected with more responsibility and thus a higher probability of success in the face of change. Although the HRO's analyzed (aircraft carriers, nuclear power plants, and others) operate in more dangerous environments than the average business, today's rapidity of change causes the unexpected to happen to every organization and it would seem that the five elements of mindfulness could benefit nearly every organization today.
Dennis DeWilde, author of "The Performance Connection"

I was please with the writing of this book. Not only is it a good easy read, but Weick presents the material in an intersting fashion. SO far, it has been most helpful in understanding the components of managing a situation that is completely unexpected.

Like lots of business books, this one is a bit repetitive -- it feels a little bit like an HBR article expanded into a book. That said, it's discussion of high reliability organizations is invaluable -- not from an academic or theoretical perspective, but for its practical utility.

There are elements of high-reliability organizations, like sensitivity to operations and reliance on expertise that would help any organization -- i.e., you don't have to be on an aircraft carrier or in an emergency room to take lessons from this book and apply them to your organization to increase performance.

Plus it provides an end to a continuum that starts with organizations with purely repetitive operations and continues to high reliability organizations -- allowing you to evaluate where your organization fits on this new continuum, and therefore what level of applicability these practices have to you.

This book is so crammed with info and knowledge coupled with insight into practices of the industry and courts its like attending a credited law school.With basic torts and concideration of all parts and many elemental workings of the industry.It is a must have.

This is comprehensive & each chapter was written by another expert, so you're bound to like something!

This can be a substitute to the book: "Everything You Need To Know About The Music Business" (Donald Passman)

This book was a required text in my Legal Problems of the Recording Industry class. I'm passionate about the music industry and can give a good debate, but am far from being a "legal mind." This text is great for those, like me, are not the best students in legal courses. This text breaks down real contracts/ agreements into easy to understand formats, section by section. If it wasn't for this text I wouldn't have made an A in the course. This book should be required reading for those in the music business as well as the musicians who will be facing these agreements. Plus, it's like my professor said 'remember, everything is negotiable - don't get screwed in your contract!'

People think music business is all about creation and keeping the fans happy. Well it mostly is but a young artist can become stuck in all that legal stuff. For somebody who is new that can be very difficult and people could take advantage of this and try to cheat you so this book is about all the legal involved aspects of the music business. This book will offer you a detailed explanation of everything that concerns the people in the music business. After you read it you will know what to avoid and understand the issues as they are explained in an easy and franc manner.

I bought this book to fill out my music law library. Among the many books I have read are Passman's book "Everything You Need to Know About the Music Industry", "This Business of Music", and even Moses Avalon's more gritty book "Confessions of a Record Producer." While all of these books provide a great deal helpful information to understanding the music business, they are not really books that contain samples of what the actual contracts look like.

I bought The Musician's Business and Legal Guide a while back just because of the sample contracts. After sorting through the plentiful boilerplate contracts, I found that the information prefacing the agreements, i.e. that actual chapter contents, were even more invaluable than the contracts, which in themselves are pretty thorough. While I use my own hybrid, individualized contracts for the entertainment clients I represent through my law practice, I find myself constantly flipping back to this book as a reference since it covers such a wide range of information. In addition, the annotations in the sample contracts helps to illustrate the degrees of flexibility usually available to those contracts and what the terms actually mean.

This book is definitely not, as another reviewer stated, a book that you set out to read from cover to cover like Passman's book, but it works tremendously well as a reference to go to from time to time. My copy is highlighted and marked all up (and I'm one who normally writes in books).

The value of this book seriously exceeds its cost, and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to see how the concepts discussed in other music business books play out legally.

Don't fall victim of your own success. This book reveals the paradox of success, and how to avoid downfall.

This is a very good, perhaps great [?], book masquerading as a "how to succeed in business" tome. It is in reality a powerful handbook for those of us in the 4th period of life to try to make some sense of all we have done, all we have left undone, & what is the purpose of it all. I'm 65; I found this a clever combination of Jung, Jung's theory of the 'shadow', & strong suggestions for living with inner tranquility & financial success; O'Neil is a gifted & insightful writer; I doubt that many under the age of 50 would find this book worthwhile - my opinion. A minor criticism: O'Neil cites 6 - 8 - 10 authorities in this field who have written books; he provides an index; but no bibliography? Why? A very minor criticism. Extremely well done. Easy to read.

It is an amazing journey through our deepest fears and questions about life whether personal or professional. The first part goes through those questions all of us have or have had combined with real life examples and a second part where the author shares his insight as to what to do with all those questions and answers we start to get by reading the book.

I have read this book once before back in 1995. Since then I have learned a lot about shadows. I am aware of my shadows and this book is helping me to be a better person.
I have a friend who is intellegent and smart. However, after reading this book second time I am beginning to know his hubris and. I do not know how to relate with this person.
Knowing my own shadows I am now less critical of others. We all have multi-selves.
The book should be read by any adult who wants to have a balanced perspectives of life and deal with others appropriately.

I first read this book when it came out, at the time the O. J. Simpson story was just breaking. It was PERFECT timing - offering insights into how otherwise highly-successful people can have darker sides show up in their lives unless they periodically renew themselves and take stock - what might be called taking an "internal audit" of oneself. I've often thought the title for this book could have been "The Shadow Side of Success."

I highly recommend this book for anyone who's in a position of influence, power and responsibility (or who WANTS to be). The author has included a rich assortment of ways one can avoid the egoic pitfalls of success and fame - a real MASTERPIECE!

John Renesch, author, Getting to the Better Future