Resources Books

This is a great book. It talks about how to really manage people. The authors seem to know what they are talking about; they talk about their backgrounds and experiences with managing difficult people. Some of these experiences weren't so good, so you can tell they speak from experience.

This is great advice for any manager, how to keep people in line, but still let them be creative and do their thing.

This book gives a basic outline of what a person needs to do in order to run a knowledge organization. This outline is called the "Accountability Management System", and it describes a set of seven principles that allow managers to gain visibility into their organization. These principles start off fairly broad and philosophical, the first one is: "Your job exists to make this company a success". These first three principles are quickly detailed, they describe the type of culture that is necessary upon which can be built a successful knowledge organization. The remaining four principles are more tactical, and therein lies the real meat and real value of the book. These last four principles include commonly used management tools, but the authors go into a great amount of detail discussing why and how
they should be applied to the knowledge organization. These four principles are portfolio management, program management, time tracking and knowledge management. Many, many books have been written on each one of these topics, but Just Add Management focuses on how to use these tools in a knowledge organization. They are all described with many examples and succinct descriptions on how to implement these concepts. Using these principles, the book ties them all together, and shows how all of these tools, working together, can bring visibility to management. They reinforce each other, and ensure that the organization is using the knowledge of all of its people.

The authors discuss their ideas about knowledge management. It is a field that I have been interested in for over 10 years. How can you encode and re-use knowledge in an organization? Can you package knowledge? Can you catalog it? Or does the act of writing down knowledge succeed only in capturing a shadow of its true worth? The authors describe the type of organization that is most likely to be able to foster the creation and re-use of knowledge. They argue that knowledge can be stored for re-use, but this is only possible if there is a predefined context for that knowledge. Like a Library?s Dewey Decimal system, the authors describe a system that gives everyone in an organization the context for storing and re-using knowledge. This system, which they coin the Accountability Management System, can give everyone a common reference for knowledge work. They include portfolio management to provide everyone with a prioritized framework for important activities, process management to provide everyone with a set of suggested guidelines for common activities and how to report progress, time tracking (which the authors call progress tracking) to measure progress, and finally, knowledge management to determine how to treat the bits of knowledge that are encountered. Here the authors go into a bit a detail, since this is the centerpiece of the book. They note the two types of knowledge, tacit and explicit, and they emphasize that they must be handled differently. Explicit knowledge can be stored, and so you should do so in process descriptions or guidelines or work templates. Tacit knowledge is much more valuable but it cannot be stored, and so you must work to spark its creation. This, the authors say, you can only do through getting people together to share and collaborate.
They give many examples and case studies to show how to do this. This book clearly shows how to use an organization?s most precious asset: its knowledge. It describes what knowledge is, how to use it and how to create more of it.

I have been managed by many people, some good, some not so good. The best managers were the ones who knew when to guide me and when to shut up and leave me alone. The worst managers were the ones who regulated my day down to the tiniest little detail. Almost as bad were the ones who gave me so much freedom that I had no idea what they wanted.

Now that I am a manager, I am trying to understand what is too much freedom and what is too much control. Countless management books exist on this subject - some simple, some complex. Many management consultants talk a lot about this. But this little book seems to explain this important concept to the average person with more humor and grace then I have seen before.

This book takes pride of place on my bookshelf.

I am a children's book author AND a regular volunteer at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. I am also the editor of this book. To be frank with you, the book needed little editing! Nola's writing is fresh, funny, and full of heart. I knew her when she was a dog caregiver at Best Friends, and I was deeply moved by her love for animals. This love shines on every page of Nola's book. It is indeed a book for people of all ages. Highly recommended!

This work hits on a subject that is near and dear to my heart. Animals have played a very important part of my life for over sixty years now and they are just as important to me now as when I received my first puppy when I was about three years old. My wife and I have been very involved with our local humane society for many years now. That being said....

This work takes the reader for an inside look at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary located Southern Utah. Thousands of animals have been helped through this organization and Ms. Kelsey has given us a child's eye view of its workings, mission, needs, and indeed, delights. The book is designed to be read to children, and more specifically, is ideal for groups of children, although it is an absolute delight for the adult reader also. The photographs are quite professionally done and are works of art themselves. The author's easy style, humor and obvious enthusiasm for her subject shine through on ever page. She takes us on a verbal tour, supplemented by wonderful photographs, through this great organization. The author takes great pains in explaining the socialization process of these animals, stressing not only their physical needs, but emotional as well. This is a bit different than some of the works in this genre. We are given a peek at the different areas of this sanctuary, the bird house, horse area, pigs, dogs, cats, et al. Some individual stories of these critters are told as well as the source for many of the animals helped here.

This book is certainly designed for the class room. Its easy reading style and humor will be appreciated by the children. Each page is full of useful information and the photographs are well coordinated. Many questions are asked which are ideal for taking the children into a discussion. The author has also provided pages full of ideas for class projects, given some great web sites for further research, and above all, has infused an enthusiasm into her work which is rather contagious. Volunteerism is stressed here and the point is well made that everyone can do their little share to change what has become almost a national tragedy. Now don't misunderstand that statement. This is not a "sad puppy book," something that I find difficult to read to younger children. Everything here is upbeat and positive while still being quite truthful about the plight of these unwanted animals.

A WORD OF CAUTION: I am retired now and spend most of my days acting as a substitute teacher in local schools. We live in an area, Southern Missouri, which is more or less the puppy mill capital of the known universe. This is something my wife and I have fought for years and years. The author is quite harsh, and well she should be, when addressing this subject. The problem comes, in my case, where I will have a room full of about 25 students, and out of that 25, at least six or seven will have parents or grandparents who make their living as puppy mill owners. I plan to use this work at those schools, but I also plan to do a bit of verbal editing when this portion of the book is read to the students. While they need to know about such things, I am not about to be critical of their parents in front of their fellow students. Goodness knows I have had many heated conversations with the parents of these kids on this subject, indeed having been instrumental in shutting a few down, but don't feel the children should be subjected to the same line as I would give their mom and dad.

That being said, I cannot recommend this work highly enough. It is an absolute wealth of information and a delight to the ear and eye. The author has done a wonderful job here. I do wish there were more organizations out there like Best Friends...we certainly need them.

This colorful, friendly book is designed as a tool to help children, ages about five to eight (my guess), to learn about animal sanctuaries, animal shelters, and, in a subtle, gentle way, about the ugliness of animal abuse. I can easily imagine this book being used in a classroom of first-graders or second-graders.

The Best Friends Animal Sanctuary is an enormous refuge, for abused animals of all species, located in Utah. This book basically explains the nature and purpose of that sanctuary and, by extension, the nature and purpose of animal shelters and sanctuaries everywhere. The book, which is fifty-two pages long, accomplishes this by providing a verbal and photographic tour of the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, describing the animals there, giving you the stories of how they ended up there, and how the animals are cared for, while they live there. I appreciated how the photographs and the text definitely emphasized the animals. The book did not end up being a piece of promotional literature, that glorified the one facility, as if they were the only facility engaging in the support and caring of animals that have been abused or neglected.

Most of the book, if you calculated the area covered by writing versus photographs, is dedicated to beautiful photographs, with the written explanations and captions being smaller. However, the writing is clear, concise, and worded in ways where children are going to understand the ideas, without feeling that they are being talked down to. The writing also does a nice job of giving children enough information about how animals are sometimes mistreated or neglected, without getting so graphic that the children might be traumatized. The tone of the writing is that it assumes that children will usually care about, and sympathize with, animals, and I see that as accurate.

The photography is also fairly balanced, in that it does not portray the animals at the sanctuary as a collection of perfect specimens of petdom. It shows, and talks about, some of the difficulties that a potential adoptive family might face if the animals were brought into that family. I will that the photography is done in such a way that many children will likely, after seeing this book, want to bring a pet into their home. There appears to be a large number of highly photogenic animals at the sanctuary, or else the photographer did an excellent job of being patient and catching the animals at their best.

As I stated above, this book is meant to introduce us to the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, as well as to a series of books, with the same photographer, writers, and source material, but aimed at different topics.

There is a section, near the end of the book, that describes different kind of projects, for children and school classrooms to do, to help local animal shelters and sanctuaries. I really like that this section was included, as I can see children understanding and appreciating the book a lot, and immediately wanting to know what they can do to help. The section was done well, as all of the ideas mentioned are very feasible projects for a classroom or a school to do.

I am hoping, and suggesting any who might read this, who is connected to this series, that future topic for books include:

A description of good animal care, especially from a child's point of view.

A discussion of what children can do, if they believe that animals are being abused or neglected.

If I had a list a flaw, there is one small omission. When the book describes how people come to own dogs, it describes pet stores and "puppy mills" (not favorably) and animal shelters (favorably), but makes no mention of puppies obtained from responsible, caring breeders. I can imagine a child, whose family owns a dog obtained from a good breeder, wondering if his or her family obtained their pet in a good way or a bad way. That is a small point, that a teacher or parent could easily explain, but the book could have easily mentioned it.

I really like this book. It is a wonderful way to educate kids (and adults will enjoy it as well) about love, compassion, and respect for animals.

We need to teach our kids while they are young, to treat animals the way that they themselves would want to be treated.

What we sow in our children today, animals will reap tomorrow.

So if we want to end animal abuse, animal cruelty, animal murder (euthanizing healthy animals) etc, in the future, it will ONLY happen, if we teach our kids TODAY, that animals are living, breathing, feeling, loving, soul-filled children of God, just like we human animals are.

Trust me when I say that getting this gift for your child (or a fellow adult) will be a gift that keeps on giving and giving......because this book is about love, compassion and living in peace with, and taking care of, our animal friends.

[...]

Animals are a huge part of our society; but, far too often, they are mistreated and cast aside. Luckily, there are sanctuaries across the nation who provide these particular animals with lifelong homes where they can live in peace and harmony with loving caregivers, and fellow animals. Nora Lee Kelsey takes us behind-the-scenes of one of these particular sanctuaries - Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.

Over the years, southern Utah's Best Friends Animal Sanctuary has become one of the biggest animal sanctuaries in the nation. Home to dogs and cats, along with the less typical rabbits, horses, ducks, pigs, sheep, and many more, Best Friends makes a difference in the lives of animals on a daily basis. While many visit the location each year, others don't always have the means or time to make the trip. With Kelsey's LET'S GO VISIT BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SANCTUARY, readers have the opportunity to do just that - from their very own homes!

Laden with gorgeous color photos, LET'S GO VISIT BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SANCTUARY takes readers on a trip to Horse Haven, the Bunny House, Feathered Friends, Cat World, and Dogtown. At each stop, you have the opportunity to meet and greet with some of the residents of each area, learning their likes and dislikes, and glimpsing bits and pieces of what they do on a daily basis. After the trip is said and done, some of the Best Friends residents provide readers with tips on what they can do to help animals - even going so far as including websites you can visit.

I have loved Best Friends Animal Sanctuary ever since I learned about it more than ten years ago, so I was thrilled when I learned that Nora Lee Kelsey had taken the time to pen a gorgeous book about the location. The many pictures bring the animals to life; while the information packed onto each and every page provides the reader with enough facts to become a Best Friends Animal Sanctuary wiz! Perfect for animal lovers to read at home with their families, or as an instructional tool in the classroom, LET'S GO VISIT BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SANCTUARY is a necessity for all. I could not have imagined a more perfect book. Two paws up!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

This book will make you think

An excellent resource for reflection on the meaning of life as we confront it in the decisions of everyday life. A resource for preachers and for the "person in the pew," especially good for hospital and health care situations. Warning: it may bring tears to the eyes, both for humor, and for touching the heartstrings in the difficult moments of life. --Rev. Allen Bryan, Hospice Chaplain

A little spark can light a mighty flame. There is not a sermon here of Father Zajac's that does not abound in sparks that will turn his readers to caring afresh for our muddled, hope-filled family, and connecting Scripture to our human experience. Rev. Ross Mackenzie, Director of Department of Religion, Chautauqua Institution

George Burns once said "a sermon should have a good beginning , a good ending - and hopefully they are close together." We can be grateful Fr. Zajac does not subscribe to this philosophy! Not only do his beginnings and endings claim our attention - so, too, is most of what is in between truly food for the journey. The sermons he has shared with us reveal the soul of a man who is not only well read but also well lived in the joys, sorrows and foibles of the human predicament. There is not a sermon in this collection where he does not tie his thoughts together with actual experience. To use one of his own illustrations: Fr. Zajac has closed the gap between his head and his heart and given us a group of sermons that ring true. In reading many of them I felt he was holding a mirror up to my face; I strongly suspect this is one of the greatest gifts he has to share. The Rev. Cynthia Brownson Sweigert, Rector, The Church of the Redeemer, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Reading "Life Injections" is like reading a book of short stories each with its small cast of characters facing life's dilemmas which somehow don't seem as complicated under the glow of Fr. Zajac's insight. "Life Injections" is a collage of fables a modern Aesop might write revealing that though life is indeed difficult, it is not necessarily complicated. If Paul were writing his epistles in 1996 instead of 0056 he would be hard pressed to convey more insight than flows from Fr Zajac's entrancing "stories" of gentle truths that bring simple answers to our human condition. -- Thomas T. Frantz, Chair, Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology, SUNY at Buffalo

It is not often that you read a human factors book from cover to cover but Gunnar's book allows you to do so. It is an enjoyable read as he uses many examples and personal experiences to describe the key CRM subjects. He is also happy to express his own opinion and feelings rather than quoting some other theorist. I found his chapter on sleep particularly useful and his life formula A+B=C very true.

Worth adding to your Human Factors library.

Carey Edwards

Best book I have red about CRM. Really explains it well without going too much into theoretical part of it, it is very easy to relate to real life and therefore easier to understand for a ordinary Pilot or a Cabin crew member. Mr. Fahlgren has a way to describe CRM in a interresting and a funny way and gives very good examples from his own experience as a Captain through years in military and Commercial operation.
Thank you Gunnar Fahlgren

Capt. Fahlgren is well known in aviation, the new book is written to fascinate the reader. Good to be used in pilots and cabin crew training as well.

I have long experience in analysis of industrial systems using computer modeling and simulation techniques. This even includes the social and psychological aspects of work-place environments. It was surprising and refreshing to read this book and to find these concepts being applied in the area of commercial air travel. Being a layman in the field of flight technology I also found, for example, the well presented technical aspects of takeoff and landing to be very interesting indeed.

"I found this book really interesting especially because it is not intended as a scientifically perfect publication. I find it's the right way to make flight crews understand what is the real meaning of Human Factors and the importance of continuous training in CRM."

Fiorella Quai

Ikeda's biography of Shakyamuni Buddha made him very real. The reader is taken into the life and times of Shakyamuni, providing a rich history that kept me turning the pages for more. I have read this book twice and each time I enjoy it more than the last. Most important, Ikeda uses language and concepts that Buddhists and non Buddhists alike can readily understand.

This book, "The Living Buddha, An Interpretive Biography" give the reader an glimpse into the life and times of the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni. (Also known as Siddhartha Gautama). Unlike many other books of its kind, "The Living Buddha" touches mostly on the personality of the Buddha himself, to help us understand his personal motivations and experiences.

Shakyamuni, the "Enlightened One," was a common mortal who achieved enlightenment as to the fundamental nature of life and the universe itself.

"The Living Buddha" is a lucidly written biography by Daisaku Ikeda, president of Soka Gakkai International, the world's largest Buddhist organization and a United Nations NGO.

Through his book, we see that the world and society Shakyamuni lived in is not so different than ours now - that he was faced with the same type of problems we all face. The account of how he conquered these problems is what makes for an inspiring narrative.

Reading this book evokes the spirit of Shakyamuni as an enlightened person living in a troubled society who offers wisdom to humanity on how to overcome life's sufferings. The stories of his relationships with his followers and the guidance he imparts to inspire them to live noble lives transcends any specific time or age. A wonderful book to pick up whenever you want to feel close to the Buddha within you.

This book is excellent ! The first in a series of three on the origin and history of Buddhism, it offers valuable insights from a unique perspective on the first man to reveal the Dharma and turn the Wheel of the Excellent Law. Dr. Ikedas' 'interpretive biography', approach is interesting and honest in it's effort to aknowledge the difficulties of putting such a work together at such a great chronological remove, and I feel he has dealt with these difficulties in a very useful way. I would reccomend this book to anyone seeking to acquire a knowledge of general Buddhist history, and even more so to those seeking to use this knowledge as the Buddha himself intended; to improve their lives, and the world itself.

As a practitioner of Nichiren Buddhism, and member of SGI-USA, I have found this book to be utterly enlightening, absolutely comprehensible, and totally fulfilling in way that makes Daisaku Ikeda's writings all the more valuable to me. His interpretation of the life of the original Buddha, Shakyamuni, has answered many lingering questions I've had on the fundamentals of Buddhist philosophy and I encourage anyone with an interest in Buddhism to read this book!!!

Making I/T Work outlines an effective methodology for planning and executing technology initiatives. One of the nice things about the book is how it alternates between narrative and lesson, one reinforcing the other. And this is done in a style that is knowledgeable and confident without being preachy or pedantic.

However, Severance and Passino have written a book that goes beyond IT implementation in its message to executives. Based on solid research and practical experience, Severance and Passino have provided a framework for bringing an organization together focusing on a common goal and executing according to a plan. Some would label this 'change management'. I would call it a platform for competitive advantage on a sustained basis. As the authors point out, knowing what to do really isn't all that difficult. Where the majority of companies have trouble is in execution. Great book!

Gene Tanski
CEO - Foresight Technologies

As one of the early North American pioneers of the SAP technology in late 80's, I have assisted numerous clients in implementing complex projects in an effort to drive significant business value and the realization of business strategy. Making I/T Work does an excellent job of capturing the lessons learned over the past decade and shares a practical framework for how to get it done right. The book combines the value of change management, alignment, and dynamic planning in an easy-to-read story. It is a must read for any executive embarking on a similar journey.

Having spent 32 years in Information Technology, I find this book right on the mark. It is a must read for ALL CEOs and their I/T executive that may be contemplating a major change in their orgainzation or heading into to a project of any type or size. The authors use more than a half century of experience to describe how any major project, with or without an I/T component, will fail if proper management techniques and practices are not understood and followed. You may even think this book is about you and if you don't read it carefully and heed the advise, it may well be in the future!

Having worked with Passino since the early days of systems integration and the creation of the chief information officer role, I'm impressed to see this book. Most people think you unleash the power of technology through some grand combination of new hardware and a complex technology architecture.

Truth is, it's about people. How you work with them. How they work with the system. How you treat them.

Passino is a strategist who would agree with Michael Porter that information can help give you strategic advantage, but advantage only comes through people.

This book is a must read for any serious student or executive who has a lasting belief that technology can benefit enterprises of all kinds. It's a mandatory read for anyone responsible for a multimillion dollar systems investment.

Dennis and Jacque have distilled years of experience into a couple of very simple, but very useful frameworks that give every executive the context for making I/T more effective. In addition, they effectively share their experience and the results of their interviews to identify the usual problems and then how to deal with them. A simple, quick read that is extremely useful.

Plenty of employment-related discrimination issues are before the federal courts yearly - a dilemma which all too easily could have been avoided, in most cases. Learn how to avoid the possibility in your own management position with Jathan Janove, Esq's MANAGING TO STAY OUT OF COURT: HOW TO AVOID THE 8 DEADLY SINS OF MISMANAGEMENT. Chapters based on employment law and legal findings present eight common management principles and a set of workplace problems associated with them which often lead to court, pairing these principles with real-life examples and exercises to help readers identify pitfalls in their own operations. Quite simply: any who would avoid legal problems in business management must read this book.

The relationship between employee and employer has never been smooth. Even back in Dickens "A Christman Carol" the relationship was strained. Then around the turn of the last century we had all the efforts with the unions being developed. Now unions are declining and the lawyers have taken over.

I've had my share of working for bad managers. In fact there've only been a couple that I would have rated as good. Those managers followed the rules that Mr. Janove has written down. This is good legal advice, but it is just plain good management advice as well. This is the way you would want to be treated by a manager, and it is clearly the way you should treat your employees.

The eight deadly sins he defines are not coached in legal terms, they are just good common sense that we should all follow.

This is an essential desk-top resource for managers at all levels. The "what should I do or say now" approach makes it easy to follow and, more importantly, implement a multitude of practical suggestions. Excellent!

I read this book, not because I was concerned about being sued, but because I was looking for pointers to become a better manager, and it worked well on both counts. I liked this book much more than those written by executives describing their personal successes, because this book proposed a variety of scenarios from many angles. I could relate to many of the "deadly sins", was anxious to read the author's proposed solutions and wasn't disappointed with what I read. The book is very readable, very practical in its advice and isn't long-winded. The layout of each chapter is optimal as a "self-help" type of book to encourage follow through. I've already benefited from implementing a number of the author's ideas, and am anxious to re-read it for more. This one won't gather dust!

This book is well written and organized.The author's practicle experience is presented so that it is most useful to managers.Legalese is avoided in favor of clear communication.In today's litigious environment this book is invaluable.I believe that businesses that do not make use of this wonderful tool are likely to regret it.

MacArthur's plan for the "church" is extremely sound. His preceptions are based on origional language of the Bible and will work for anyone committed to establishing a God honoring body of believers.

John MacArthur has done an excellent job explaining from the Scriptures the plan that God has ordained for the local church. He teaches what the Bible says about elders, deacons, women's roles, church discipline, preaching, etc. Very scholarly without being dry. Excellent exegesis.

Although the "Master's Plan for the Church" (MPftC) came out before "Ashamed of the Gospel" (AotG), I recommend reading AotG before MPftC. AotG presents a broader base for what problems exist (e.g., watering down the gospel) and why they exist. MPftC is more of a practical application -- now that AotG has shown what to avoid, MPftC shows a better way to implement things in your church. Our denomination (CRC - Christian Reformed Church) has most of those things in place and does a pretty good job of staying true to how a church should be run. MPftC helps keep our minds in line with doing the right things and not just things because "we've always done it that way". Most of the chapters and appendixes are taken from sermons at the author's church. The format is easy to read and well organized. The appendixes fill the final one-third of the book and are required reading. I recommend getting both books for your church library (we have AotG and probably will get MPftC soon).

Very thorough and to the point in so many aspects of the church. From backing up why a plurality of elders to church discipline. A very good read that will point the reader of what God truly wants from His church based on the biblical model set forth in the New Testament. I extremely liked the area describing the elder; his qualifications and disqualifications based on what the Greek text provides.

In the back of the book in the appendixes he then tackles questions regarding different aspects of the church, such as major questions regarding elders and deacons. He defends many topics including having one of the elders being the lead (teaching pastor) to why the elders can, but not as a rule, be paid.

I would recommend this to anyone wanting to reconfirm what the Bible teaches on the church and not our traditions passed on generation upon generation. Very big help!

To many churches focus on entertainment and people pleaser messages as their means of increasing their numbers. Churches forget that it is not our job to grow the church, that is Jesus' job. This book does not waste time going into concepts and strategies that will increase the size of the church. But instead focuses on what the Biblical structure is for the body of Christ. John MacArthur does not focus on how to increase the width of the church, but the depth. There is not a single church in the Bible ever commended for it's size. Excellent Book !

This book is a resource that all high school teachers should have. It begins with a relatively short (about 60 pages) history of mathematics and then diverges into a series of indepth explorations of particular mathematical topics.
The history section at the beginning has many small tidbits which will enhance the learning experience. The indepth explorations, which range from Pythagorus to geometry, will nicely enhance your lesson plans. Most of them can serve as the theme that particular lessons can be built around. I am currently working on my practicum at a local highschool and I am using the book regularly.

Most of the texts available for history of mathematics courses are aimed at upper-level undergraduate students and try to be encyclopedic. This book fills a needed hole in the offerings through its accessibility to freshmen, and its explicit aim not to cover everything. It contains a 56-page snapshot overview followed by 25 articles on particular topics, ideal jumping-off points for student presentations and/or research projects. The articles are clearly written, not intimidating yet accurate and sensitive to the current state of the art in the field. The references to further reading are useful and reliable sources.

After 13 years of frustration, I may finally have found a book that works with my course. Highly recommended!

As students struggle through their mathematics lessons, it is sometimes helpful for them to understand that the creators of their torment often struggled as well. Furthermore, when we present the polished mathematics of calculus, linear algebra and so forth, educators often forget the long historical road that led to the material that we handle so well. In this excellent book covering the history of mathematics, the authors demonstrate a competency of exposition and a focus on the key points that students and teachers can both appreciate.
It begins with a short and rapid recapitulation of mathematics from the first primitive scratches in the dust to the role of computers in solving problems. After this whirlwind beginning, you are subjected to twenty-five short essays, each about a specific point in mathematical history. By point, I don't mean in time, rather a point as in a position in a discussion. These essays are very well written and each would be excellent fodder for a one-hour class lecture or presentation. Questions for discussion and material for projects are included with each of the short essays. Topics covered in the essays include: the development of the zero, the story of pi, writing fractions, negative numbers, the development of coordinate geometry, complex numbers, Non-Euclidean geometry, probability theory and Boolean algebra.
This is by far the best book I have seen for courses in the history of mathematics. With the essays, problems and ideas for projects, all an instructor needs to do is read, discuss and enjoy. If your interest is in learning a bit more about the history of mathematics, it will also serve you well in that capacity.

Published in the recreational mathematics e-mail newsletter, reprinted with permission.

For math teachers at the high school or college level, or anyone else interested in math, this is an ideal introduction to the history of math. Start with the 55-page overview. Then read any or all of the articles that follow, on a variety of topics such as negative numbers, pi, quadratic equations, the Pythagorean theorem, the history of probability theory, and infinity, all around five pages each. Once you're finished with that, there's an extensive bibliography with plenty of suggestions for further reading on the topics that have piqued your interest.

Throughout, the authors have striven for (and succeeded at attaining) readability, accessibility, and historical accuracy. The result is a book that scores high marks for being both interesting and informative.

I came across this book because a friend of mine uses it in a college class for math ed. It's really well written and makes the material accessible for people whose math background isn't necessarily very strong. I bet it could even be used for high school students. The exercises and projects are really good, too.

Excellent Book in Power Electronics and Motor Drives, May 4, 2002
Reviewer: Prof. Cong Wang from China Univ. of Mining and Tech., Beijing, China
Prof. Bose, author of the book, is well-known in the world in the field of power electronics, and it is an honor to review his book. The book is a masterpiece contribution in power electronics and drives area. I was teaching his previous book "Power Electronics and AC Drives" (1986) for more than 10 years in my undergraduate and graduate classes. In 1999 our University published the Chinese Version of his another book "Power Electronics and Variable frequency Drives"(1996), I was one of the translators. I was delighted to see this updated, expanded and technologically enhanced book. It will now easily replace his previous book. It is difficult to imagine that anybody else other than Prof. Bose can write such an authoritative book. The writing style is superb, and difficult things have been expressed in clear language.

The book covers almost everything in power electronics and motor drives. It starts with power semiconductor devices, and then covers different classes of converters. The induction and synchronous motor drives (with control and estimation) have been discussed in detail. Finally, the special feature of the book is coverage on artificial intelligence applications in power electronics which have not been treated in any other book on power electronics. There is a separate Problems Manual of the book. I should recommend the book in undergraduate (Senior) and graduate courses in all universities.

The book provides detailed information about modern power electronics and drives. It covers latest power circuit topologies and control techniques. The book is well illustrated with easy to read schematics, waveforms, and comparison tables.

The book attracted my interest for its unique assortment of contents in power electronics, and modern concepts of motor start and speed controls. It covers various principles and applications of AC-DC-AC conversion and AC-AC conversion possible to use for the motor controls with adequate mathematical, graphical and text contents, e.g. rarely seen families of curves/characteristics pertaining to motors. The AC-AC conversion is evolving and has a good chance for the wider application in the future since its hardware is lighter with potentially fewer overall switching devices; therefore, it is attractive to ship, aircraft, etc. applications. This Author's vision certainly deserves the highest rating for his creation.
The areas that might have been included are, for example: Harmonic filters and their principles and applications in the energy conversion. For example, the hybrid filters, and various topologies of passive, active and hybrid filters as applied to energy converters or motor drives. These are presently heavily focused on by the Power Quality specialists."

Power electronics evolved, taking root and growing into a blossomed tree, inch by inch, from thyristors to transistors to DC drives to microprocessors to advanced converters to AC drives to sensorless control and estimation to AI (artificial intelligence) based control with much more to still come.
Power electronics and variable frequency drives are multidisciplinary fields in electrical engineering. Therefore, a book that encompasses such comprehensive knowledge has to be written by an author who has a visionary engineering knowledge. Prof. Bose is a celebrity, he has been investigating and contributing for this field for more than 40 years and have been contributing widely with more than 150 papers, 21 U.S. patents, 6 books, tutorials and keynote addresses throughout the world. His comprehensive understanding of such field is unique; this book is really recommended if you want to learn what is modern power electronics and ac drives!

The reader need only be well grounded in the theory and practice of DC-DC converter design. If so, this grand survey course opens the way to the much larger world of AC power conversion. The impressive breadth of scope is attained within a reasonably modest length (<700 pages) due to the use of telling figures and diagrams, and the author's gift for getting right to the point: what does it do; how does it do it; and what are the advantages/disadvantages versus competing topologies. The presentation seems to include just sufficient detail to enable rapid evaluation of each approach for a given purpose, but never so much detail as to bog down the pace.

Unlike many academics, the author appreciates both elegance of approach and practicality of implementation given available technology and devices. Thus, some topologies are included "for completeness", some are described as "widely used" in large-power industrial applications, and yet another might be described as having "an extensive literature" but few or no commercial products, etc. This will be a valuable up-to-the-minute reference for working power electronic engineers as well as students.