Industrial Books

This book gives a sheep breeder all the info they need to medically treat their sheep. Information normally you would have to have a vet out to diagnose and treat. Its a life and money saver!

I bought this book for my daughter and husband who are raising sheep. Hubby was attached to a different book and kind of scoffed at this new one, even though I suggested it was more in-depth. Not a week later, he has this one by his side and I haven't seen the other.

Have found this to be a most helpful means of identifying and treating several problems I encountered this year with newborns. So nice to have a ready access, which immediately pointed me to a possible solution or solutions to try when I was at a loss. I highly recommend this book!

This book was a lamb and ewe saver. My very first lambing season I had the lambing chapter practically memorized before hand. And my first ewe had problems. But by reading the hints, encouragement from my husband and gritting my teeth - I got the lamb pulled out. Saved both the lamb and ewe - second lamb born with no problems. Lambs are now six weeks old and growing like weeds.

This book is my bible for raising my sheep. It covers every problem I have so far encountered and has saved many a ewe and lambs over the years. Even my vet has read through it when he has had a question, I think that says alot right there! It is easy to read and understand, and the charts in the back help alot to find the problems. I definantly recomend this book, over all others I have found.

I couldn't put the book down! What an amazing story about how someone got trapped at the dark side and couldn't get out, even when he wanted to. His description about life in jail made me feel like I was trapped in there right next to him. If you know people who are at the edge of being thrown in jail, give this book to them, and Don's story may scare them into turning their lives around.

I had the privilege to meet the author in person. He is the most humble, laid-back, and friendly person I've ever met. If you enjoy this book, please come back and write a nice review here.

This is a story about a man who after reaching bottom decides to dig out. But not alone, not just himself. He decides to dig out as many others he can.

Written in a fast paced, Robert Loodlum-speed drama, this book takes the reader through the life of Don Kirchner, from one struggle to the next, reaching the very bottom, but with an ultimate triumph at the end. A true story, and as another reviewer pointed out, an instant classic.

I met Don Kirchner almost 5 years ago when he handed me his most current draft of the book. I couldn't put it down. I was thrilled with the drama and action of his true story. Being a pilot myself I was intrigued with the danger and suspense involved in the flying aspect of the tale. The further I read, the more I was remined of how delicate and tenious our lives really are. Don's ability to deal with and overcome these challanging situations is what impresses me most about "A Matter of Time". This book is a great read and I highly recommend it.

"A Matter of Time" is the true story of the author's involvement in drug smuggling, his arrest and incarceration in the Federal prison system. More important, it is his struggle to become the person he is today; a person who devoted his time in prison to helping other prisoners return to an honorable life through education. He has continued this activity today through the establishment of a Return to Honor program to help those still within the system. Perhaps nothing attests to the author's worthwhile activities more than the fact that the very prosecutor who put him behind bars was the person granting him early release. Don't miss this harrowing, but successful, struggle--a fascinating story!

What a trip! No one could imagine what prison is like without reading this...and how the author grew and evolved during this experience is nothing short of inspiring. This book is written in such a compelling manner that I felt like I was living it myself. In addition to the joy, love, fear and the gamut of emotions experienced, I came away with a lesson about how we create the manner in which we experience our lives in a way that I could easily adapt to my own life. Of course, it kept me up several nights since I read it word for word so that I could hear and feel what I was reading. I feel that this book will become a classic.

This book is a good one on metallurgy. It's loaded as it taps into several references. It's discourse is simple to the beginner and a good summary to the pro. I see it on the shelves of some academics I visit.

If you are a Mechanical, Materials, or Industrial Engineer, you will need this book somewhere down the road. I am currently in graduate studies, and virtually every professor in those three faculties has a well used copy. It is well written and very complete. I shopped around looking for a used copy, but most of them are used so often they're almost worn out.

Good Undergraduate metallurgy books are hard to find, this one's an essential for any forging class and any metallurgist's bookshelf.

Este es un excelente libro que incluye la teoria basica de mecanica asi como un resumen de la teoria de dislocaciones esto como una introduccion a los procesos de deformacion. Excelente libro....

Metallurgy is one of the oldest established branches of materials science, and science in general. Yet many of the underlying principles, such as dislocation theory and plasticity, have only been explored within the last 100 years or so. As such, there is a wealth of information in metallurgy that one could learn. This book by G. Dieter is one of the better books to use to learn about metallurgy. Coming in at 800 pages even, this book is a thorough study of the principles behind mechanical metallurgy and is appropriate for both students in the field and practicing engineers. The book provides complete mathematical treatments of numerous subjects within mechanical metallurgy, including crystallography of defects, thermodynamics of plastic flow, kinetics, etc... The book is somewhat old-fashioned in that it leaves out more modern topics such as the use of computer simulations in metallurgy. Because of this, the book does not deserve 5 stars. But due to its breadth and coverage of other topics, it deserves 4 out of 5 stars.

This book was my introduction to anarchist principles and economics. I found it to be enlightening and inspiring. The Spanish were able to create an amazing society in Barcelona and many other villages and rural areas in the country. They created a federation of collectives which emphasized personal dignity and freedom and celebrated the community and solidarity. These values are in sharp contrast to the ones of our own rapacious state capatalism, which celebrates greed, selfishness, and the destruction of communal values. If you are looking for a better, brighter way to live that actually worked until it was destroyed by brute force, this is a book you should read.

Rocker's work is the finest marriage of classic political liberalism and economic equality. Rocker grounds the spirit and ideas of anarchism proposed by Bakunin in a concise social/political agenda. A far more lucid vision of a social order which is both economically socialist (or communist) and politically open, than any other theorist before or since.

Some may find it a bit dated. The sorts of labor organizations he refers to bear little resemblence to those found in contemporary societies. That is, not syndicalistic.

Still, I believe he is one of the most overlooked influences upon contemporary, Western, left-wing thought.

I also believe that the books first section 'Anarchism: Its Aims and Purposes' should be read by more social activists. It would help focus the often disparate voices of opposition, giving them a clearer vision of the road ahead and what needs to be done to travel upon it.

"Anarcho-Syndicalism" provides readers with an engagiong account of an egalitarian political philosophy that has its roots in Enlightenment thought. Author Rudolph Rocker presents a systematic conception of the development of anarchist thought towards anarcho-syndicalism, writing that "anarchism is not a fixed, self-enclosed social system but rather a definite trend in the historic development of mankind, which, in contrast with the intellectual guardianship of all clerical and governmental institutions, strives for the free unhindered unfolding of all the individual and social forces in life. Even freedom is only a relative, not an absolute concept, since it tends constantly to become broader and to affect wider circles in more manifold ways. For the anarchist, freedom is not an abstract philosophical concept, but the vital concrete possibility for every human being to bring to full development all the powers, capacities, and talents with which nature has endowed him, and turn them to social account. The less this natural development of man is influenced by ecclesiastical or political guardianship, the more efficient and harmonious will human personality become, the more will it become the measure of the intellectual culture of the society in which it has grown." Rocker shows that there is value in studying "trend(s) in the historic development of mankind" that do not articulate a specific and detailed social theory. Although intellectuals and social commentators alike dismiss anarchism as utopian, formless, primitive, or otherwise incompatible with the realities of a complex society, Rocker states that at every stage of history our concern must be to dismantle those forms of authority and oppression that survive from an era when they might have been justified in terms of the need for security or survival or economic development, but that now contribute to -- rather than alleviate - material and cultural deficit. "Anarcho-Syndicalism" remains an amazing intellectual and politcal statement containing a message of egalitarian hope.

Rocker writes lucidly and forcefully. He presents a clear alternative to political socialism, including Marxism. Anarcho-syndicalism seems well-grounded ethically and as if it would avoid the problems of concentrating power inherent in both capitalism and socialism.

But can it work? The biggest argument that it can seems to be CNT in Spain in the 1930's. As Rocker described it, they were highly effective and fully anarcho-syndicalist. They were defeated largely due to the involvement of powerful foreign powers. In the U.S. before World War I, the IWW (similar to the anarcho-syndicalists in Europe) grew in influence but were suppressed by the government.

Today in the U.S. the only sizable organized anarcho-syndicalist activity appears to a mucher smaller IWW. They continue to support unionization efforts and refrain from political activity.

If people can organize around trade unions, as Rocker describes and as the IWW does on a small scale, with sufficient involvement as to be able to run industries themselves, then anarcho-syndicalism as Rocker describes it seems wonderful. There would, however, many practical issues to work out. Rocker says that the CNT in Spain did that. However, if people prefer to be led, then anarcho-syndicalism won't work, as someone will undoubtedly step in to lead and, in doing so, enforce preferences for themselves.

For over 70 years, anarcho-syndicalism seems not to have been won over many people. Will conditions change so that people embrace it? Would educational efforts help revive it? Or has capitalism adapted and won? Is self-government just too much effort for most people? This work by Rocker seems about the best place to start in exploring such questions.

This book is a classic. Rocker provides a concise but thorough history of the labor movement and how it has evolved into modern anarcho-sydicalism. He also delves into methods that may be used to implement an anarcho-syndicalist society in the modern world. It was written 60 years ago, but most of the content is still relevant today. If you're interested in the labor movement, socialism, anarchism, or any related topics, you won't regret picking up this book.

Cmdr Ty Martin gives an interesting viewpoint on the history of USS Constitution. Giving brief histories and opinions of the ship's more famous captains and insight to what it was like to be a crew member.
He also goes into construction and repairs through the years as well as details of her major/ most famous battles.
It's a good book for the naval history buff but of little use for the modeler. I bought it as reference for a model and was disappointed in that regard but enjoyed the history lesson immensely.

Last summer I went to Boston to visit the historical sites and the Constitution (ship not paper). Visiting the Constitution piked my interest in that fine ship, so I ended up picking up this book. The author took alot of time doing research on the ship through the ages and I'm glad he did because now we have this little gem. This book gives a little insight to the tenuous hold the United States had at the beginning and it also gives some insight into why the United States needs a military. It also shows the value of portraying historic treasures (like the Constitution) because they help people remember their past and thus get a better direction on their future.

The U.S.S. Constitution is the oldest ship still in service in the U.S. Navy. This book is a well-written with excerpts of the ship's logs and excellent illustrations. I am amazed at how much history of the United States I did not learn in high school! If you enjoyed watching Horatio Hornblower on A&E, you'll enjoy this book for sure.

Captain Martin has left no stone unturned in his research and he has presented the story of the history of the U.S.S. Constitution, the oldest continuously commissioned ship in the U.S. Navy or any other, in a manner that is riveting, informative and captivating. This is not a dry historical moniton narrative.

Anyone interested in naval history should read this book, particularly those who would like to learn of how the United States navy got its start and how the Constitution figured into it.

Tyrone Martin writes an excellent account of arguably America's most revered warship, USS Constitution. A former commander of "Old Ironsides" (still a commissioned vessel in the U.S. Navy), Martin is personally well versed in the ship's history, writing a very readable, well documented history. Not only does the narrative cover the ship itself -- from design, construction and launching in the mid-1790s to its most recent preservation in the 1990s -- but the people, both officers and enlisted who served her. The personality and idiosyncracies of such officers as Talbot, Hull, Bainbridge, Elliot is especially insightful. Martin also does an excellent job of suggesting both the fragile nature yet durability of large sailing vessels. Constitution weathered numerous stroms, groundings and even a hurricane, not to mention enemy fire. But thanks to a skillful, resourceful crew, and good fortune, was able to jury-rig, repair, and replace key components at sea thereby continuing military and diplomatic service well into the late 19th Century.

Only three concerns prevent me from rendering this book Five Stars. First, early in the book Martin let's the ship's log dominate his prose, resulting in a Point A - to Point B - to Point C monotony. The author shakes this pattern later in the book, letting his own personal style and experience lend a smoother flow and insight to his writing. This is especially apparent in the final few chapters discussing the "battle" to preserve "the big frigate" for posterity. Second, Martin is intimately familiar with nautical terminology, using the nomenclature throughout the book. Fortunately, the book includes a glossary of terms BUT fails, in many instances, to define what Martin fails to adequately describe in the text. This leaves the less nautically informed to wonder, "Where exactly on the ship is that?" Similarly, Martin would have done well to provide a diagram of the frigate labling key equipment, rigging, jibs, yards, etc. for quick reference and orientation (esp. for we flatlanders). Finally, there is the matter of the maps. Diagrams of the Constitution's major engagements (e.g., Guerriere, Java, Cyane, Levant), when combined with the text, are very instructive in visualizing the action. However, the author would have done well to plot Constitution's voyages in more detail as an aid to the less geographically literate. He does, however, an excellent job in the text of providing present-day place names to 19th Century references. Still, keeping track of the ship's progress is somewhat tedius.

In all, I recommend "A Most Fortunate Ship" to those interested in 19th Century sailing ships and the USS Constitution in particular -- its history and preservation. Martin's narrative makes clear why "Old Ironsides" is a national treasure.

An excellent high quality work at a very reasonable price.
Well written interesting text, superb high quality photographs and professional architectural drawings. A great buy for anyone interested in the subject.
Amazon's rapid response to my order was also impressive. This is the first time I've ordered from Amazon. The book was shipped from stock and arrived just a few days after I placed my order. Excellent service.

I'm not an architecture student, or an art fan. I just happen to have an obsession with infrastructure. This book was completely satisfying. It's filled with gorgeous pictures of off-limits places. That alone would have been just a tease, but the author's extensive research pays off for the reader. He fills the book with history and technical details. Worth every penny and then some.

Who would have thought that a collection of buildings containing basically the same thing would have produced such a fascinating book and who but Princeton would take a chance and publish it. It seems to fit right into their quirky line of Americana, which includes, for instance, a history of paint-by-numbers (ISBN 1568982828) a photo tour of the brothels of Nevada (ISBN 1568984189) or a collection of amateur QSL cards (156898281X).

Christopher Payne has done his best to record the contents of these buildings before they are gone forever. His efforts are perfect examples of what industrial archaeology photography should look like, well lit, straightforward and content rich images with fortunately no angled shots, no out-of-focus areas merging into darkness or meaningless close-ups. These photos really tell a story and being well printed (200dpi) on quality paper helps, too.

As well as the fifty-four main photos there are others taken by him and several historical ones in the essay describing the workings of the subway electrical supply (some of the technical drawings included in the essay could have been larger though) and like his photos Payne makes the world of rotary converters, transformers, bus boards and potheads come alive.

All in all a super little book and a good example of how a tiny part of industrial America can become fascinating with well-written words and elegant photography.

Many photo history books suffer from an imbalance between the strength of the prose and the strength of the photographs. Christopher Payne's New York's Forgotten Substations does not. The writing is crisp, bringing you into the subject matter and explaining the basics of subway power and the history of these substations. The photos capture the magnificence of the substations in they heyday, and the seeming pathos of their abandonment. This is black and white photography at its best. Forgotten Substations is a feast for subway buffs, engineering geeks, and appreciators of industrial aesthetic alike.

New York's Forgotten Substations: The Power Behind The Subway is hard to easily categorize this title, but any with an interest in New York history and culture will find this a fascinating topic - and worthy of a visit. The author was introduced to the substations by an official of the NYC Transit Author's Power Department; he photographed and wrote the history of these buildings, and his photos and drawings embellish a little-known side of New York history. A large audience will find a fascinating account here.

The Newark Teacher Strike was an exhilarating book and it actually made me feel the
emotions that the teachers were going through. It astonished me to see that over 200
people were imprisoned due to this strike; although after reading further other actions
were more astounding. This book should be read by every teacher and soon-to-be
teacher to truly understand the command these teachers took upon themselves.
This book portrays the struggles of the teachers not only against the Board of
Education, but also against one another. There are powerful excerpts pertaining to
equality and differences. There is a lot to learn from this book, and some parts I found
so interesting that I actually read them again to make sure I was taking everything in.
This book transcends the ultimate message that no matter how difficult something may
be you should stand up for what you believe in.

Steve Golin takes great care as a historian to report the perspectives of the teachers who went on strike in 1970 and 1971 in his narrative "The Newark Teacher Strikes: Hopes on the Line." Emergent is the fact that what started the strikes is not what ended them and what teachers had begun fighting together for ended in their battling against each other because of their differences.

The first strike was almost inspiring. Teachers of different backgrounds banded together under the brotherhood of the union and fought for its say in decision making for schools. In his reporting, Golin uncovers the underpinnings of the teacher's tensions by the time of the second strike, which ended in nearly two hundred people arrested or placed in jail. Black, Jewish and Italian teachers were all seeking betterment for themselves and/or the quality of education, however, they grew to feel differently about the union. The ubiquitous issues of race, gender and class snuck up on the strikers. The equality of men and women as professionals in the workplace became a contributing factor to the increased tensions between teachers. Adding insult to injury were the pay differences between elementary and secondary teachers. Race, however, was one of the most powerful and destructive factors affecting the second strike. Golin also retells accounts of those sentenced to jail after the second strike and how their experience has changed their lives.
For the novice urban school teacher this book is an invaluable reality check revealing the extent to which our predecessors were willing to go to fighting for what they believe in. It made me question to what extent I would fight for what I believe in, should I be called upon to do so.

Steve Golin's The Newark Teacher Strikes is a thought provoking book which allows people from all walks of American life to get into the minds of the men and women who shaped the evolution of Newark Teacher's Union through the strikes that occurred. This book was not only about the efforts of Newark teachers trying to improve the educational system, but about teachers, men and women, "Blacks," Jews, and Italians alike, developing their own self identity and self importance in their career as educators in the public school system. Teachers tried to identify themselves as professionals yet were asked to join a Union which was typically organizations for non-professional.

The book also focuses on teachers in Newark in the midst of civil rights movements while trying to better the educational system for America's youth. In some cases, the changes the NTU desired were tied to the civil rights movement. Newark was a great example of how teacher unions developed during these times. The "Black" population grew from 11 percent in 1940 to 54 percent in 1970. Minority teachers were fighting for a place in society and for power and representation in governing, while at the same time working to improve education.

The concept of isolation is also addressed in this book: "Probably the worst thing in any strike is for the strikers to feel isolated." One of the biggest benefits of being part of a Union is the easing of the mind that a person is not alone in their feelings and thoughts. People can feed off each other's energy. People can listen to each other's stories and realize that they are not so different. Unions also validate the feelings and concerns in the minds of people.

Golin's approach to understanding the psychological aspect of people involved in the Union development in Newark was successful. Throughout the reading I found myself pondering the thoughts of the individuals who were brave enough in uncertain times to stand up for the principles of their convictions. Their thoughts and perspectives enlightened me. It made me prouder to be in education and realize that our work as educators is not yet done. Furthermore, I have concluded that our work does not have to take place just in our classrooms, but efforts outside the classroom in non-curricula arenas.

Brian R. Currie

Steve Gotlin's book, "The Newark Teacher Strikes, Hopes on the Line" explores the avenues and dilemmas placed on teachers within an urban school system. Fifty enticing and emotionally twisting teacher interviews touch all aspects of society. These enlightening dialogues pave the way for insights into the inner emotions and characteristics that create and symbolize a "teacher". The author delves into the many conflicts that arise between teachers and administration compounded by race, gender, class differences and other human characteristics that are prevalent within the once school district. Gotlin explores the feelings that churn up among educators during strikes and actions not only about higher wages or improved education for the students but also an instructors' concern for a say in the decision-making process. In the midst of two weeks of strikes, during 1970 and 1971, the Newark school system completely shut down and the consequences that filtered down to the children. Explore how all these quandaries were overcome within this astonishing book. With encapsulating scenarios and emotions running wild, I highly recommend this wonderful book to any person, teacher or non-teacher, to understand what teachers strive to accomplish everyday in school.

Steve Golin's "The Newark Teacher Strikes: Hopes on the Line" is an enthralling account of a paralyzing situation that landed close to two hundred teachers in jail. This book reveals the great effort of a Union trying to better the educational system in Newark, New Jersey in the early seventies. The author touches on issues that go deeper than politics, and teachers against administrators. He illuminates the great characteristics that the members of the Newark Teachers Union possessed. Golin uses interviews from over fifty teachers to capture the true reasoning behind the strikes - fighting for the rights of both teachers and students. The book reveals the humanity of the teachers in Newark. Struggling with an unfair monetary advantage for the teachers at the secondary level, those teachers fight to relinquish raises in order to equalize the pay scale for teachers at all levels. The ties that bind are delivered in an incredible account of an unwillingness to concede. I recommend this book to all who are in or interested in the education field as well as anyone who wants to learn about real life struggles and the uphill battles that the teachers in Newark would not give in to.

I enjoy the modeling techniques presented in the book which I did not encounter in my Solidworks training; it is always a good practice to learn for any software from different prospective. So this book does not only prepare you to the exam it also teaches you the most effective and smartest modeling techniques.

I pass the exam with 80% mark, but be careful guys, the parts in the exam was NOT easy.

I've been using Engineering Design with SolidWorks by Planchard and Planchard in my classroom for the past few years. In my opinion, this is one of the finest SolidWorks books on the market today. As an instructor, I can appreciate when an author/s writes a brilliant user friendly book with clear step by step procedures and illustrations to educate the student. This makes my life in the classroom a lot easier....

This fall, my students requested to take the CSWA Certification exam. I had my students purchase this book which we used for the exam preparation. The students enjoyed the book immensely. The book is focused on the exam, by key categories with many examples and exercises. I would not recommend this book for anyone who does not have at least six to eight months of SolidWorks knowledge. The CSWA exam is not an easy exam, but like any industry certification, it provides a tangible measurement to the skill sets of the student in 3D CAD. Well done.

This is a great book for SolidWorks users. I learned many new techniques going though the exersizes. In spite of four years of industrial exprience using SolidWorks, I would have failed the CSWA exam without this book, becasue many of the modleing methods on the test are not used in my industry.

As all colleges do, we offer adult evening classes on programs which our advisory board recommends. This semester, we offered our first evening SolidWorks CSWA Certification program. To my surprise, the class was filled in four days with 20 students, some from industry, and some from our engineering program.

I use the SolidWorks CSWA Certification Guide in class. The book is a comprehensive review and practice package for the certification. Every chapter focuses your study and tests your knowledge of the subject through specially designed assessment exercises. What is especially great about this book is that it includes self study sections with the initial and final models.

For anybody starting to prepare for the CSWA exam, this is the book you should be looking at.

Very imformative I learnt something the first time I opened the book, recommend to all.

I bought this book since 1st edition more than 10 years ago for collection.
But for the 2nd edition I bought 7 years ago, I use it as a reference for basic understanding. This is a very detailed textbook about MOSFET. But I still don't know how much different between small-signal model and large-signal model as a lumped circuit elements. Please gives an example of measurement value for recent development of small and large signal model lumped element of MOSFET so that I can design something realistic without HSPICE or SmartSPICE.Some reviewer from NEWCAS-TAISA2008 told me that basic noise model is useless. Does anyone beleive it true or false? So, I will wait for the 3rd edition of this book.

Just reading the Preface to this book, I fell in love with the author. I completely agree that sometimes the most rigorous and careful treatment of a subject actually makes it possible to study the material faster!! What always frustrated me and slowed me down in reading other books was the sloppiness and hand waving. It's amazing that many Ph.Ds and even authors of famous books like Uyemura's "Fundamentals of MOS ICs" don't understand the simple body effect, and talk about complete nonsense showing a 2 terminal capacitor with Vb applied to the bulk, and saying that the Vt will now change by the sqrt(Vb) body effect. They don't understand that the body effect is a 3 terminal effect and in 2 terminals if you apply Vb to bulk then your Vt will have to increase by Vb--NOT sqrt(Vb)!!! This book is a delight. Just the material on contact potentials was worth the money.

This is a repeat of a review I did previously.

Very good book, very neat and clean description, easy to understand, very informative and technical yet easy to understand.

I am a graduate student with main area of interest in Mixed mode design,testing and device modelling.This book was suggested to me by my proffessor.It is the book for MOSFET.I have read many books on this topic like Tyagi,Foty,massobrio etc but this books stands apart.It is a very well written book.Its progress is very logical going from two terminal device to four terminal device with very good explanation of the physics.More importantly the emphasis on the approximations made makes things clearer.....

For a person working with Mosfets it is a must......

I don't usually write reviews unless the book is either very poor or very good. This is one of the best books on my shelf. If you want to know the MOS transistor this is the book. Well researched, excellent explanations, excellent appendices. Other authors of technical books should use this as an example of how to write a good technical book.

There aren't a lot of really good books about performance management, and performance measurement specifically, available yet. Too many of them are overly prescriptive in what to measure and very light on the details of how to measure (properly).

Because I specialise in performance measurement (and have done for over 14 years now), I've read quite a bit in this field and expected that Gary's book was going to be another one I'd refuse to recommend to my clients and subscribers.

But that's not what happened. I actually really enjoyed Gary's book, and support a lot of his philosophy about performance management. It's got to have strong alignment to strategy, it's got to be well thought through, it's not really about scorecards and technology, it's about making it easier to execute strategy, and it's about reliable and objective data.

It's a great book to give people that really need to take performance management more seriously, particularly senior managers and executives. It's not a book for the operational manager that is new to performance measurement (in this case try "Performance Scorecards" by Chang and Morgan).

From TQM to Balanced Score Cards - this is the book that provides a practical synthesis. Focus on cause and effect relationships and away from abstractions. Must have book.

If execution is the goal these days, then this book brings an interesting perspective -- it's both big picture AND 'how to do it' at the same time. Cokins does a great job of putting the execution imperative into the larger context of "why." A good read for a reminder of basic performance management tools and for exploring how they work best in the context of today's tough business environment.

I met Gary at a SAS conference the other day and we had a discussion on various issues. One of them being the query of why so many strategies to improve performance fail. Is it in the design or the execution of strategy? Gary popped the commonly accepted view that it is failure to execute otherwise sound strategies. And I replied, being a Strategy Consultant for over 16 years, that I haven't seen a sound strategy yet. After some debat we agreed that design and execution are equaly important.

This book is about execution of sound strategies using a series of quantifiable performance management methods. These are most popular in the Anglo-Saxon (US/UK) world and have been exported to the European mainland as well where they compete with qualifiable performance management systems. What is the difference? Quantifiable PMS' are based on measurement and consequences as strategy and tactics are imposed top-down. Qualifiable PMS' however are based upon a 'meeting-in-between' strategy process where productivity is boosted by inspiration, motivation and creativity. Employee involvement is the key. Instead of using fixed targets and bandwiths, one would use waypoints and scenario's, leaving the control of execution to operational teamleaders. (In W.W.II the Germans were 1.7 times more effective than the Allied forces using qualifiable techniques, even though they were outnumbered 3 to 1 by allied forces using quantifiable techniques). Qualifiable techniques are based on the assumption that operational conditions and short term objectives change all too rapidly for a rigid approach of planning & control. But if operational teamleaders understand the strategic and tactical objectives they can easily adapt to new conditions.

However Gary's latest book is the best book on quantifiable PMS' since Maximum Performance Management by Boyett & Conn (that actually tries to combine qualifiable and quantifiable techniques).

Don't just buy it, read it!

Gary's book, on Performance Management published by Wiley, does an excellent job of pointing out there are no "Silver Bullets" or management tools that solve all problems. Combinations of the right techniques is an art. Bold graphics and flow charts in the book do much to stimulate the thought process. Business failure is often a result of inadequate performance management systems. Survival in today's global economy requires many of the better performance management techniques described in Gary's new book. A great addition to any business library. Bill Hass, Certified Turnaround Professional, wjhass@aol.com