G Books

This is a fascinating book, and this from a reader more into fiction than historical biography - but the best fiction writer would be hard pressed to come up with a character like Ernie Pyle.

A page turning look into World War II from someone who could have been your neighbor but was far more than what you would have expected.

I have no idea why a modern rendition of this story has not hit the big screen - it seems a natural, captivating story that would educate as well as entertain.

this must be THE book to read on war - what it's really like in all of its aspects - his description of the beach, after D-Day was gripping and haunting and it has stayed with me many years later -

and how he relates the everyday and ordinary in war -

and how, in any group or organization, it's often a small percentage of the people who are carrying the load - that's just one example of the many insights and truths in this book that relate to all of life, not just life in a war zone -

and it is a great book for anyone to read - a stunning life achievement for ernie pyle -

James Toban has written a stunning book in "Ernie Pyle's War: America's Eyewitness to World War II". Toban has succeeded in giving readers the rare opportunity to see the human frailties concealed within one of America's greatest and most valuable World War II correspondents.

James Toban present a picture of the complex Ernie Pyle; a man that entered the World War II carrying only a broken Remington typewriter and a deep desire to describe the life and hardships of the horrific world of the infantrymen to the American public. The reader will learn of the contradictory Ernie Pyle. The Ernie Pyle who despised war, but who could not stay away from the physical and emotional anguish of battle. The Ernie Pyle who loved his wife, but who continually left her behind to travel to the front lines. Ernie Pyle, the seemingly frail and terrified journalist who demonstrated his bravery by traveling to the front lines to be with and write about "his boys". Ernie Pyle, a genius for writing about the common soldier, but who needed constant reminding that he was the best at what he did. His articles became legendary and the hope and news link for Americans with loved ones in the front lines.

James Toban's "Ernie Pyle's War: America's Eyewitness to World War II " is a must read for World War II readers and all readers who wish to know about the human spirit and about a plain old fashion brave American.

About the only complaint I can offer about this outstanding biography is that the title is slightly misleading. Ernie Pyle's years as a war correspondent are the subject of about three-quarters of the narrative, which is appropriate. It was the period in which he did his greatest work and achieved international fame. But this is more than just the story of those pivotal years; the first 25 percent of the text is an excellent overview of Pyle's childhood on an Indiana farm and his pre-war adventures in journalism, including a six-year stint in the thirties and forties as a kind of Charles Kuralt in print. Pyle and his wife roamed across the nation in their car, and he wrote about the people he encountered along the way--ordinary people, the sort who don't usually find themselves the subject of newspaper articles.

When the war came, Pyle knew he had to answer the call to go overseas. But thankfully, he realized that he didn't need to provide the same sort of coverage every other journalist was doing. He would let them handle the stories of the grand strategy, interviewing the generals and prime ministers. He would tell the story of his average Joe, now transformed into G.I. Joe.

James Tobin has a wonderful gift for storytelling and description. He introduces us to Pyle and the key players in his life so vividly we feel that we know them as flesh-and-blood individuals. He quotes from Pyle's works liberally enough that we get a true sense of the man's unique gifts, but not so much that the flow of the story bogs down.

This is an almost perfect biography of one of the true greats of 20th century journalism.--William C. Hall

"Ernie Pyle's War" by James Tobin was a thorough read. Tobin described Pyle down to the very last detail, uncovering almost every aspect of his life. After reading this book, the reader had a clear view into Pyle's mind and was able to recognize the feelings he possessed about his professional and private life. The way Tobin intertwined Pyle's messages home with biographical details along with interviews of acquaintances, made this story an easy read. "Ernie Pyle's War" earned five "stars."
Tobin's style of writing was one reason this book was so effective. He used partial quotes from Pyle to title his chapters, which brought an immediate sense of intimacy to the story. Tobin began the book with a chronological introduction to Pyle. This style of writing, although typical for biographies, was well suited for this story and not at all cliché. Readers were able to become acquainted with Pyle as a young man and then mature along with him as he grew into an established adult. By describing Pyle as a young man, readers were able to understand more clearly why he was the way he was as an adult.
Tobin used vivid descriptions to paint a picture of Pyle in the minds of the readers. This was an important aspect because Pyle's physical demeanor was one of the main problems and/or benefits in his life. As a child and young adult, his size hindered his relationships. But, as a war correspondent, the people saw Pyle as more of a hometown boy rather than a studious journalist. This added to his success as a war correspondent.
After transitioning into Pyle's career as a war correspondent, the story line became more tedious. Pyle was in and out of combat and the surface facts of his life were boring. Tobin, understanding the paleness of biographical data, used Pyle's messages home to spice up the story. Like most people, Pyle's life was not what it seemed to be. Besides leading a "glorified" life as a war correspondent, he had major problems at home. Tobin showed the audience this by weaving together Pyle's biographical information with the messages he sent home. This gave the reader a sense of what Pyle was actually feeling. Using these messages instead of his columns allowed reader's to see the "real" Pyle.
Tobin uncovered personal feelings about his professional and personal life, which gave the reader a feeling of empathy toward Pyle. Showing that he did not feel like an outstanding reporter, let readers see Pyle was human. Tobin successfully showed the man behind the pen by opening up Pyle's mind to the audience. He did this by using Pyle's own letters and messages home that contained intimate details of his life. Without the added touch of Pyle's actual writing, the story would have failed to be as successful.

In this book a young man is hired by an English lord to spy on the Separatists living in Holland, particularly to discover the whereabouts of William Brewster, one of the leaders of the religious dissenters. Gilbert Winslow's task will lead him to travel on the Mayflower, and have to determine where his loyalties truly are. This is book 1 in the incredibly prolific House of Winslow series

This book is . . . nice. Not especially challenging, thought provoking, or whatnot, but nice. I like history, don't mind the religious undertone, good times had by all. Morris is a Christian author, but I've found that his stuff is generally not the `religion shoved down your throat repeatedly" variety, and since I'm a sucker for the nice romantic stories it's a win-win situation. So I would recommend it with reservations

This book kicks off one awesome series. Gilbert Morris may be a bit long winded at times, but his characters are interesting, the history's cool, and the plot twists sneak up on you.

Gilbert Winslow sets out to spy on the Puritans, loses his heart and more to a Puritan and becomes a better man for it.

Edward Winslow was the first Winslow to come over on the Mayflower.The Winslows had many children, but looking at our family Bible and records...no Gilbert. Also, the Winslows in our family line (directly from Edward)became Quakers and settled in the South (NC). However, the book sounds interesting, but the names could be more accurate.

This is a remarkable story. It is full of history and I learned a lot about the ways of life of the puritans from reading it. You will meet the characters you find in your history books in a way you never knew them before! I read it very quickly because the characters were so well developed and the plot exciting. The romance was wonderful, but this isn't a romance novel so it wasn't overdone. This is the first book in the House of Winslow series and it tells the story of young gilbert winslow who takes on a job as a spy to turn in one of the leading puritan pastors. It follows his journey on the Mayflower and the lives of the settlers. This story is captivating, simply put. Will Gilbert be able to turn in the innocent man even after he has come to love the Puritans? Will he go back and Marry Cecily and forget all about dear Humility? Everyone should read this book.

This has to be one of my favorite books. The content of the book, historicaly, is amazing. Gilbert Morris must have gone to a lot of trouble to research his book so thoroughly. The trials that Gilbert Winslow experiences are facinating to any reader. The story line of Gilbert and Humility is truly romantic and gives you hope that true love does exist. Gilbert Winslow was a real man that traveled on the Mayflower as well as Humility Cooper and several other characters. However, I do believe that Gilbert went back to England after coming to the New World as well as Humility Cooper. I do not know if the story line between them is a true one, but I don't want to know; I fell in love with them and that is the way I'd like to keep it!

I found The Inner Glow to be an affirmation of things from my own childhood I had let slide in my busy adult world, things I should have remembered would get me through all the good and bad times. It inspired me to look closer at what I am doing or saying and the effect I am having on others. It is a book of hope and promise of things we may not understand and that there is a spiritual path that each of us were born to follow. I hope to find more works by this author in the future.

A delightful story that is well-written and easy to read. It is a spiritually moving story that is touching and uplifting, despite the life issues addressed story. It was a quick reading story that leaves the reader with heart-felt messages and things to ponder about their own lives. Highly recommended for all readers, young and old.

The Inner Glow was easy to read and made me feel alot of different emotions. Very good book and it made me cry which is also a good sign it's a good book.

The Inner Glow reminds us about the nature of true miracles: they are powerful, but personal experiences that come to us as "still, small voices" that speak peace to our hearts and bring about lasting change.

Ehly's somber and realistic story about how a man deals with his son's terminal illness not only shows us how adversity is necessary for growth, but how it can renew our faith in God and help us to find truth and beauty amid the most tragic of circumstances.

The Inner Glow is well-crafted, with a beautiful retelling of the biblical battle between David and Goliath and a tear-wrenching conclusion that will send you running for a box of tissues! It is the essence of the old verse that "a child shall lead them." I recommend this book to anyone who has experienced loss and everyone who has not... yet.

The author wrote a very heart warming moving story. I would truly recommend this book to anybody who has experienced a loss in their lives. A great spiritual journy!!

This book has been my savior I reccommend it to anyone even remotely interested in a PHd or a PsyD in clinical psychology you wont be dissapointed

I carefully followed this book's recommendations throughout the entire application process. I applied to eleven APA accredited doctoral programs in clinical psychology and was accepted at EIGHT of them! The book's detailed suggestions were tremendously helpful and probably contributed to this remarkable outcome. However, I found it important to use other sources of information as well, since some data in the book is inaccurate. Inadequate information on how to select the "best-fit" school from among multiple offers was the book's greatest shortcoming. P.S. Don't worry about typing the application forms - just use very neat printing or handwriting. Type everything else, however.

Everything you'd want to know about grad school is all in this one source. This book includes everthing you'd want to know about applying to graduate schools (overall acceptance rates, whether an advanced degree helps, what graduate schools consider to be important). However, rather than presenting the author's advice and opinions, the information is compiled from empirical research studies which adds much credibility to the information provided. Very helpful, is also the comprehensive guide of all APA approved combined, clinical and counselling psych programs. Provided are such things as scales indicating how clinically or research oriented a program is, the theoretical orientations of the faculty, what percentage of students are accepted into APA internships, the GPA and GRE cutoffs, number of applications received and number admitted, percentage of students receiving financial aid, percentage who hold advanced degrees, percentage of women and minorities, average years to completion of the program as well as research and clinical oppurtunities available. This book is very helpful in providing you with a general idea of what programs you may want to look into further, however the information doesn't always seem to be 100% accurate, therefore you may want to investigate further rather than accept all the information as factual.

This book gave me a realistic look at what it takes to get into a Ph.D. Program in psychology and how to go about getting what I needed. I have recommended this book to many others because most books on this subject only give you statistics of different schools- how many students they accept, what the average GPA is of someone who is accepted. THis book is much more practical and step by step.

For anyone interested in clincal or counseling graduate study, this book is essential. These areas are extremely competitive and one cannot go into the process "blind." The general APA guide can be useful, but it covers many areas and mainly gives the basic facts on all programs. On the other hand, this book is very specialized. It gives information on the programs, but also includes invaluable information relevant to clinical and counseling psychology training. It has information on the programs, but also tells you how to prepare yourself, so you get in to those programs.

I am interested in clinical health psychology and this book was a great help. It has a useful index of programs by subject area. It also has a self-rating from programs about how strongly they emphasize research or clinical practice. It is essential to find schools that will provide you with the experiences you are looking for.

Overall, this book will help you find programs that suit your needs and maximize your potential for getting accepted to them!

After reading several excellent reviews of this book, I purchased it for
my nepbew's birthday. I have not read the book myself since I lived through that period.

It was a year of Fire and also the year of Grace for Jackie Robinson!! It is an amazing book to read about a great person who changed history and loves baseball!! It is more than just baseball and it has so many things to show that shaped Jackie's life so much. It is also spiritual and emotional book that leaves you to become a stronger person to make a great difference in the world.

I really liked this book and normally I dont like reading. Ijust wanted to keep reading to see what was going to happen next. I think Jackie Robinson is a vary good romodel because no matter what, you should never give up. Because Jackie never gave up he ended up being one of the best baseball players to ever play the game. But most of all he broke the color code for all professional sports.

This biography does an outstanding job of giving an overview of Robinson's life and times, from his early, awnry but talented years in Pasadena, through UCLA, then the military, and then the Brooklyn Dodgers and beyond. It paints a picture of a strong willed gentleman with enormous pride, dedicated to his family, and dedicated to the idea of racial integration and equality. The influences of his mother on his early, somewhat (understandably) confrontational character, that allowed him to ultimately be the individual who paired with Branch Rickey to integrate "America's Pastime" are clearly laid out.

Some reviewers have faulted the author for not being more interpretive of Robinson's politics - specifically, that he was a Nixon supporter in 1960 and a Rockefeller supporter in 1968 (while also being a strong supporter of Civil Rights, active in almost every civil rights organization) and Humphrey supporter as well. I think the book lays out all the facts for the reader to see for themselves. Robinson's coming of age - in an era when a Dixiecrat from a Jim Crow state (LBJ) led the passage of the Civil Rights Act - was a time of a shifting political landscape that didn't settle out until near his death (he also broke badly with Nixon later in Nixon's career). The Republican party's mantra of self-reliance, and Robinson's determination to succeed in business in the same way he did in sports, made his attraction to the party not a big leap; the alienation of this country's African American establishment from big business was not a pre-ordained fact in the time Robinson lived.

Finally, Robinson's own family struggles were also a reflection of the confusing and troubling times in which he lived.

Robinson died too young for us all. This is a great book and I would highly recommend it..

i'm not particularly interested in baseball, but i am particularly interested in American history from the human perspective. i could have read a much more dry account of the turmoils that dominated American race relations throughout the middle of the 20th century, but instead i've read this fascinating account of those terrible, backward days from the perspective of a true pioneer, Mr. Jackie Robinson.

of course he is looked back on now as a symbol, a mythological figure. i always knew peripherally of Jackie as the same thing most people do: the first black man to play major league baseball, a step forward & up in the painful struggle of the times. but this book presents him as a human being, a fallible man who lived most of his life not on the baseball field, but in a relentless pursuit of his ideals and desire for a better life for himself and everyone around him.

the reviewer before me questions the biographer's lack of judgement of Robinson. i am curious as to why he feels Rampersad should insert his own analysis; the biography presents analyses of Robinson by many of Robinson's contemporaries, and then presents the recorded facts available to clarify incidents & statements. yes, this is an intensely personal biography, perhaps too personal in places. it is very much centered on Jackie's private correspondences. it is absolutely told from Robinson's persepctive, as best can be reconstructed from his widow Rachel & the papers he left behind, but it feels very honest, not at all like an airbrushed bit of hero-polishing. it is in places very blunt about Jackie's shortcomings as observed by his peers & contemporaries.

before i stretch this out any longer, i'll just say that this is the most engrossing biography i can ever recall having read. it's an account of a fascinating life in an amazingly recent time, in an America that seems so long ago but is still discouragingly recent. readers will learn not just about Jackie Robinson, but about two American eras as well.

"With good judgment, little else matters. Without it, nothing else matters."

That's one reason why Noel Tichy and Warren Bennis wrote Judgment: How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls. The other belief is that the study and literature of judgment don't offer much helpful guidance for business leaders.

In thirteen chapters, the authors set out to remedy the lack. They come to the task with two important qualifications. Both are students of the subject and they offer us a blend of research from a variety of disciplines. Both have spent a lot of time "hanging out" with leaders and they bring us the stories of what they've seen.

The first chapter, Judgment and Leadership drives their stakes firmly into the ground. They tell us that making judgment calls is the essential job of a leader.

They also set long term success as the sole measure of good judgment. This is a bit of a problem because several of their examples have only recently gone through their decision process. Jeff Immelt's judgments may be great, for example, but it's too soon to tell if they meet the test of long term success.

This is also the chapter where the authors identify execution as part of the decision process. Most other writers on business decision making take us only up to the point of decision and leave execution as if were foreordained by a good decision.

Other writers see decision making as the work of the leader and execution as the work of his or her subordinates. Making follow-up and follow-through a part of the judgment process makes this book truly valuable.

Because they see the process as including execution and adaptation they avoid the overly rational, straight-line models of other writers. This gives us an understanding of judgment more likely to work in the real world.

The second chapter, Framework for Leadership Judgment, defines judgment as a process, not an event. The process involves recognizing the need for a decision, "naming and framing" the call, and execution and adjustment.

The authors also define the three critical domains where a leader will make decisions. They are people, strategy, and crisis. Effective judgments in people often prevent poor strategy judgments and the need for crisis judgments.

Having a Storyline is a chapter about what the authors call "Teachable Points of View," inevitably shortened to TPOV. We're told to imagine the better future and develop compelling and practical storylines to help others understand the issues and decision.

Chapter 4 is about how a leader must have Character and Courage. That means having clear standards and the strength to maintain those standards in the face of pressure and the challenge of obstacles. They tell us that "Character without courage is meaningless. Courage without good character is dangerous."

With a clear idea of the process and the importance of storylines and character, the authors are ready to start devoting chapters to judgment calls in the three domains. They start with People Judgment Calls because they see them as the platform for good strategic and crisis judgments.

Selecting a CEO is the most important judgment call and we're told that hiring from outside signals a failed process. There are plenty of good and bad examples of CEO Succession processes.

A lot of time is spent on the GE succession processes for both Jack Welch and Jeff Immelt. The authors point out that at GE there are lots of people doing lots of assessments which helps make succession effective throughout the organization. They also note that the board is only involved in the succession process for CEO, adding another level of assessment that includes outsiders.

Chapter 7 is devoted to Strategy Judgments. Strategy judgments constantly evolve and should be made by the CEO, not some corporate planning staff. The authors make a key point that's often overlooked, that the best strategic judgments are a mix of logic and feel, of left brain and right brain.

If you ever wondered where Noel Tichy has spent most of his time, all the references to GE in this book will give you the answer. Chapter 8 is entirely devoted to Jeff Immelt's Strategy Judgments at GE.

There are three key insights in Chapter 9, Crisis Judgments. Bad judgments in people or strategy are a common cause of crises. Leaders need to take personal responsibility for handling crises. And, a common mistake is to lose sight of your overall mission. Once a crisis happens, teamwork and focus make the difference.

Bennis and Tichy suggest that we see Crisis as a Leadership Development Opportunity in chapter 10. The basic points they make in this chapter are good ones. You should prepare in advance for crises because when they happen it's too late for thoughtful decision-making. And the crisis can provide you with a wonderful opportunity to use meeting the challenge as a form of leadership development.

This chapter also illustrates a weakness in the book. The authors were involved in many of the processes they describe. That's good. It gives them first hand experience.

The problem is that it leads them to write about situations that simply haven't played out enough to meet their test for long term success. Jeff Immelt's strategic judgments are one example. Another is Circuit City which gets lots of ink in this chapter.

Circuit City also illustrates the willingness of the authors to take what client top management tells them at face value. How else to describe the way they deal with Circuit City's layoffs of their top sales staff in the stores to replace them with less expensive (and less knowledgeable) people.

The authors tell us "The judgment to make cuts was good. The PR was not so good." In reality more than the PR was not so good.

The layoffs were ham-handed at best. They removed knowledgeable sales staff from the stores, resulting in far lower add-on business.

The way things were handled was also completely at odds with the CEO's TPOV that "what is good for associates is also what helps customers." In fact, Circuit City fired the very associates who could help customers the most and replaced them with low-wage "tag readers."

Chapter 11 builds on the Knowledge Creation theme. There are three key points. Leaders should critique their own performance. Knowledge creation for all levels should be an explicit goal. And frontline employees are the new knowledge workers. The authors identify four kinds of knowledge that leaders need to make effective judgments: self-knowledge, social network knowledge, organizational knowledge, and contextual knowledge.

Then we come to chapter 12 which is the story of the New York City Leadership Academy. On the one hand, this is a good, comprehensive case that is well rendered. But it's also a very different leadership situation for everything else in the book. A comprehensive business case would have been better. So would eliminating this chapter entirely.

After a short (2 page) Conclusion, the book is filled out with a Handbook for Leadership Judgment. It covers the same ground as the main book, but with lots of questions and charts. It's a good addition because it gives you a way to consolidate personal lessons.

This is a superbly-written business book by two experts in the field who share both research and excellent teaching stories. Their core insight (that execution is part of judgment) is powerful and different from other business authors. Their simple process will be usable by all business leaders.

If you are in business and make decisions, you should read this book.

Here's a quick summary of my thoughts.

How this book is different:

The authors write about a process of judgment that includes preparation (including naming and framing the issue), the decision, and execution and adaptation. This is virtually unique among writers on business judgment, most of whom treat decision as something the leader does and execution as something followers do.

This process is much more real world than I've seen elsewhere. Unlike overly rational models, it stresses the need for both logic and "feel." Unlike straight-line, one-time-through models it includes adaptation and re-do loops.

This is a comprehensive approach. The authors see the process in time as one dimension of judgment. Others are domains (people, strategy, and crisis), and constituencies. They also say that a leader needs four kinds of knowledge to be effective: self-knowledge, social network knowledge, organizational knowledge, and contextual knowledge.

Strengths:

A simple, yet sophisticated and easy to understand and implement process for making judgment calls. It identifies long term success as the sole measure of good judgment. You can use this process in any kind of organization.

Excellent writing that combines research from a number of fields with good storytelling. The stories are long enough to make several points. They include stories where things didn't work right the first time.

A "Handbook for Leadership Judgment" that follows the main book and gives you a way to apply the insights in your own situation.

There are excellent descriptions of workshop and learning processes that you can take and modify to suit.

Warnings:

The authors write mostly about organizations that they've been involved with and that leads to two problems. They include judgments that haven't met their own test of long term success. And, they've often drunk their own Kool-Aid and present things as seen from the executive suite and not from either the front line or the outside.

There's a lot of GE here because Tichy's been involved with GE since the 60s. Sometimes that means he settles for an easy to find GE example instead of digging out a better example from elsewhere.

There's no discussion of how a CEO gets information or sorts wheat from chaff. Those are important parts of decision making.

This book, like too many others, is written as if the reader is a big company CEO. While the points are all good, the perspective means you will have to do some adapting.

Bottom Line:

This is a must-read for business leaders.

Here's an important book on judgment and decision-making--and how leaders focus on the consequential. The authors write, "Jack Welch used to say at GE that if he wasn't careful with his time, he could spend days at the company's headquarters knee deep in bureaucratic crap and add no value to the company."

Another customer reviewer here nailed the importance of this book. He called it a "gem among a sea of brain-dead business books." I agree on both counts. When Warren Bennis speaks, people listen. Normally, hot books create their own buzz, but my circles are not talking about this one yet. It's a weighty topic (392 pages) and a slim-jim novelette wouldn't do it justice.

Judgment, preach the authors, is "the essence of effective leadership." It involves three domains: people, strategy and crisis. Interestingly, those are three of my 20 management buckets: the People Bucket, the Strategy Bucket and the Crisis Bucket in my book, Mastering The Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business or Non-profit. They call judgment the proverbial elephant on the table--because it's rarely addressed. "Without a deeper and more compelling understanding of how leaders exercise judgment, the study of leadership can never be complete," they write.

"Take any leader, a U.S. president, a Fortune 500 CEO, a big league coach, wartime general, you name it. Chances are you remember them for their best or worst judgment call." Examples: Harry Truman (atom bomb), Nixon (Watergate), Bill Clinton (Monica), Coca-Cola's Robert Goizueta (New Coke), and Carly Fiorina ("for destroying HP's redoubtable culture").

The stories and anecdotes are rich, sometimes page-turning (wow--they do not like Fiorina). The 100-page "Handbook for Leadership Judgment" is a model for what's missing from other brain-dead business books. Buy it. Read it. Study it. You'll enhance your judgment and decision-making. Guaranteed.

let's face it, the vast majority of business books are like most self-help books -- vaccuous, platitudinous intellectual potato chips with no substance. there are a handful of authors who consistently write business books that are worth reading -- hamel, drucker, katzenbaum, welch, charan, peters, collins and bennis/tichy.

tichy had the good fortune of working alongside arguably the greatest ceo of the last 50 years -- jack welch. if all he did in his books was to relay anecdote & insights about working with welch, they would be worth it. but in fact he goes beyond that.

in this book, he and bennis take a basic topic -- judgment -- and draw on lessons learned from GE and other successful companies. it is just plain old good common sense and hard earned wisdom. i will admit that i sometimes tire of tichy flogging the "teachable point of view" espoused in his other books. but even so, this is a great book about leadership, courage, character and making the tough calls.

Over my professional career, the characteristic that I have admired most in those that I worked with was what I formerly would call their decision-making ability. It was not so much the ability of those individuals to make the right decision a great frequency of the time but more of their willingness to make clear-cut decisions.

To most, reading a book on the theory of decision-making sounds as exciting as watching paint dry. This book, Judgment, authored by Noel Tichy and Warren Bennis, is simply masterful in its ability to deconstruct the anatomy of judgment. The author's model is easy-to-understand and unlike many of the current business theories, is readily applicable to organizations of all sizes.

This book deserves a very wide audience ranging from recently minted MBAs to those at the highest level of their organizations. "Judgment", as it turns out, includes the actual decision-making component as one of three critical factors in the process. Preceding the actual "decision" is the concept of the "framing and naming". Many including myself can relate to expending time and resources towards deriving a good answer to effectively what was a bad question. The final component of "judgment" is the implementation. A good decision to a properly framed situation that is not a properly implemented is, at the end of the day, of no value.

The authors also define the three most significant judgments that an organization faces: people, strategy and crisis. In each instance, the authors provide relevant examples of organizations that most will be familiar with, the challenges that they faced and how the organization dealt with those issues in the context of the "judgment" mechanism. I appreciated the author's honesty in describing these mini business cases in a manner that most would not read in either the business newspapers or magazines.

I have read most of the business bestsellers over the past decade. This book by far is the best written and the book that I will highly recommend to my friends and associates. Finally, this is the book that is most likely to have the largest impact on much of my management (and for that matter personal) thinking in the future.

The audio book CD version of "Judgment" is excellent. Tichey & Bennis offer a thorough and practical framework- framing & naming the issue, making the call, and execution- for considering and making business judgments. Tichey is highly regarded in the field and provided many useful examples from his tenure running GE's famed Crotonville Leadership Center. Unlike some other business books, Tichey & Bennis were not afraid to say when bad judgments and mistakes were made, such as HP's Board's hiring Carly Fiorina along with numerous bad judgments made during Fiorina's tenure as CEO. It's an excellent guide to the judgment process.

Low End is a very enjoyable read. It holds you captive until the end.

Harry Pellegrin has written a wonderfully entertaining first novel. Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. "Low End" has enough twists and turns to keep you captivated right till the end. Not only does this book have government conspiracies, rock 'n' roll, fast cars and beautiful women but also a very likeable amateur detective named Gary Morrissey. I hope there are many more Gary Morrissey novels yet to come.

Here's an interesting little artifact of the 1980's. Low End at first seems to be just another preposterous government conspiracy theory. Given a chance, Pellegrin stretches his legs and the reader's imagination. You see, his conspiracy theory is really a glimpse into the paranoid dillusions of a bunch of low-life musicians whose brains have been scrambled by substance abuse. Once the reader gets this revelation, the story is plausible, believable, and damn real! The setting is Yonkers, New York, a down-on-its-luck has-been of a City just north of the Bronx border. It was once grand, but is now the realm of immigrants, artists, minorities and bikers. Crooked cops fill out the census. Gary Morrissey, the lead character and protaganist, is a guitar player who had once held onto the dreams of a career in classical music and a decent marriage, but has not seen either fulfilled. He is hurt, bleeding, and locked into his meager existence. He meets a nice girl, but not until a fellow musician is murdered, plunging Morrissey into a world of dope dealers, government agents, outlaw bikers, and onto the radar of the police. I won't give it away, but no one seems to be what they seem to be! This is a clever little tale of warped minds and tawdry lives told as only an insider could tell it. Good job, Mr. Pellegrin. How about a sequel?

I love NYC. Here is a great look behind the scenes. This book give you a look at everything: Music, love, guns, drugs, cops,and good guys, all without four letter words. I don't know how Harry did it, but I didn't even miss them. Is there any more on the way? I hope so. Great read! I even shared this book with my teenager (she also like it)

Harry G. Pellegrin is a Bronx native. Being a child of the Sixties, Harry naturally majored in music, to obtain what he wryly refers to as a degree in "museum music." Music began for him at age five, and literature was not far behind. His third passion is motorcycles, and he has written pieces for music and chopper magazines. He presently lives in upstate New York.

Gary Morrissey is a studio/performing musician who is recovering from a bad marriage to an unsympathetic wife. When his best friend Marty asks him to do a little nosing around after a fellow musician is apparently shot point-blank by a couple of cops, Gary incorporates sleuthing into his music and beer schedule. He uncovers a nefarious plot that begins with a crazy cop named O'Brien, involves Mr. Unimportant, who happens to live on a high-priced yacht, and comes back to roost with Gary himself:

"I leaned against the doorframe and put on my best condescending face. 'I read the newspapers, too, you know. The way things have been going for my circle of acquaintances, I deduced that it must be her. It's reported that she's missing. Then the New Rochelle PD finds some bones. You couldn't have figured this out by your powers of deduction, so I assume your supervisors read the papers too.'

I thought I'd pushed him too hard that time. He turned red and stood on the welcome mat clenching his fists.

'You are going to go too far one day, and so help me, when that happens, I am going to take you down hard.'"

Low End is an original, as Harry Pellegrin combines elements of his own life to fabricate a darn good mystery. The plot is a sinuous, slithering thing that takes the reader into the bowels of NYC for a thrill ride involving cops, musicians, bikers, mysterious women, and the feds. Being a baby boomer, Pellegrin subscribes to the feds against the boomers theory, and his logic is unassailable. His characters are either sweet and honest, or bad to the bone. The action is nonstop, and in the end, the end justifies the means in a huge way. Low End is a witty contribution to the musician murder mystery. Well done!

Shelley Glodowski
Reviewer

This book is fabulous! I could almost read the entire book all the way through. The writing flows so well and the writer keeps you so intrigued with what will happen next that you cannot put the book down.

Excellent adventure with an English girl trapped in China. Loveable and brave heroine who makes it back to her strange homeland of England. This book is full of adventure and great writing and characters. You reorient your point of view to that of the heroine's, feeling like an ugly foreigner in China. Then confused by sudden culture shock in England and by being surrounded by lots of interesting characters with complex histories and agendas. Who is her friend and who is her enemy? This was the first Brent book I read and I LOVED it. Can't recommend it highly enough.

This has been one of my favorite books since I first read the condensed version in a magazine. It's one of those delightful easy-to-read books that you like to visit ever few years...like an old friend. I've read it many times and would recommend it.

... with mystery and intrigue, an absorbing plot, intelligent description, fascinating setting and history, richly written characters, and, above all, a humble, kind-hearted and utterly charming heroine to root for, then read this book. Did I oversell it? I hope not. I read this everytime I need an escape. Goes down as easy as the creamiest ice cream, and just as satisfying.

Madeleine Brent (Peter O'Donnell of Modesty Blaise fame) wrote some really good historical adventure stories pitched toward women. Why does he succeed in making his books interesting even on repeated reading, where a lot of other authors in the same genre fail? He has great respect for the intelligence and good sense of his heroines.

Plucky and intelligent, Lucy struggles against great odds to support and protect her benefactor and the orphans they had taken in and cared for in a hostile turn of the century China. Meanwhile, events are conspiring to send her on an adventure to take her half way around the world.

This book is a delightful read.

I have been a closet Pat McManus fan since the 80's. His short stories always make me laugh out loud, no matter what mood that I am in before I start reading them. These stories are for everyone. You don't even have to fish or hunt and you'll still get it. Anyone who has ever spent any time outdoors will be able to relate to his adventures.

The names of the stories in this book are:
Sequences
The Dumbest Antelope
Out of Sync
Kid Brothers and Their Practical Application
The Fried Flies, Please, and Easy on the Garlic
At Loose Ends
Getting It in the Ear
Garage-Sale Hype
How to get Started in Bass Fishing
As the Worm Squirms
Scoring
A Road Less Traveled By
Gunkholing
Blips
The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw
Water Spirits
Letter to the Boss
Scritch's Creek
The Tin Horn
Cupidity, Draw Thy Bow
Whitewater Fever
Never Cry "Arp!"
Visions of Fish and Game
A Brief History of Boats and Marriage
Boating Disorders
Try Not to Annoy Me

First let me say I found the Patrick McManus stories funny each month as I got that magazine. Maybe it was Outdoor Life,,,,,
Then I read there that I could get books full of his stories.
WOW, I bought all of them.
I must say though that I like this one best.

BTW, If you ever read a story by Pat about being lost in the woods by all means believe him. I am way up here in NW lower Michigan.
A man I know who is a regular fisherman was fishing a local river. He was away from any road when he happened to find a man that had been fishing, but was asking how to get out of there back to a road. After he had told the guy to just follow the river that way for about two more miles the guy introduced himself,,, Guess who? Patrick McManus of course. 8>))

Now, I'm actually from Idaho where this book is actually based off of. Despite all of the Sarcasm, you got Idaho. HAHA LOL. I know this is bad but I hate to read. I had to read this book for an english assignment. But I really like this book. It is non-stop laughter. I think I am going to read all of his books now. I hope that is enough for you to be convinced that this book really is good and should be read by anyone who loves humorous books. HAPPY READING! :)

This book is hilarious. We like to read it to the middle and high school kids. You can hear them laughing about the fur coat, etc. outside the building. It has sparked many a boy into getting Partick's other books and reading for themselves. As a library director I know how hard it is to get middle and high school kids to read for pleasure. Patrick McManus is sure a pleasure. When I read the Goombaw story, and I have numerous times I still can not get through it without tears running down my face.

I have always thought that Patrick McManus is the funniest writer on the planet. I read his stories when I need to laugh or relax. Sometimes I irritate my wife by reading it in bed. I try not to laugh out loud, but I only succeed in sounding like I am trying to muffle continuous sneezes.

However, not everyone gets it. I have been shocked by watching people read McManus without so much as a smile (though most start snorting like wild pigs on acid) . My only guess is that getting McManus requires a couple things. First, it requires some understanding of his experiences. He absolutely nails all of the stupid things 'outdoors men (outdoors people)' do and think, but don't want anybody to know about. Second, you have to see the self-deprecating aspect of his humor. Third, you can't look for great literature in integrated books. Patrick McManus is an excellent writer, if you see these as independent stories simply collected in a volume. They are meant for adults who want to laugh at themselves. So, If you are willing to or already meet the above three criteria, you will love this book.

By the way, I am a professor of clinical psychology and (other than worrying a little about McManus) I sometimes recommend this and other McManus books. I do this with people who have racing thoughts and anxiety at bedtime, and when I believe they have the necessary experiences to find it funny. It often works quite well. I think of his stories as little pieces of happiness. (Oh, that even makes me sick to hear. Sorry)

This book is written by 4 amateur cooks - 4 seemingly nice ladies that are doing this in their spare time. While the recipes are interesting, most seem to not achieve the harmonious "melding" of flavors that demonstrates a sure sign of a well tested recipe designed by a seasoned chef. A fair number are pretty bland. This is not a bad book to page through and perhaps get some ideas of your own but be prepared to test and modify most recipes before trying them out on others.

One other thing: there is another sure sign that this book was written by a group of 30-something women. Most recipes really emphasize the use of "healthy" ingredients. This is good for the overly health conscious people out there, but I never think preoccupation with one's health should be at the expense of flavor and enjoyment of the meal. Eat less if you have to, but don't skimp on the flavor. And frankly, sometimes one just wants a decadent, well seasoned, perfectly grilled rib-eye with a pat of burgundy butter...or the plank equivalent.

I have a couple of Plank Grilling cookbooks - but his one is the BEST!
It's got all of the do's, don't's and watch-out-for's you'd ever need to know about Plank Grilling! It also has some funny stories of 'what not to do' in it.
The recipes are great - I've modified some of them for my own tastes - which can be done easily.
This is a GREAT beginner book for first time Plank Grillers and a GREAT addition to your collection if you've been Plank Grilling for awhile.
I would highly recommend this product. Enjoy!!

Perhaps like a lot of people I thought plank grilling was not difficult and there was not much to know. Buy a piece of wood, soak it in water, and then fire up the grill. Right? Well not exactly. Take a hard look at this book written by a group of people who really worked the project, challenged each other, and crafted a new art. You will not believe the food this book can help you to create. Awesome does not begin to describe it. It covers the gamut from techniques to recipes in a thorough and concisely clear manner. In spite of that there is one piece of advice that is missing. When you are going to plank grill, soak twice as many boards as you think you will need. That way if you screw up (like I do) and burn the first plank up, a spare is ready to hand and the cooking can commence. The authors caution that it takes experience to learn how to plank grill well. There is a candor to this book that is refreshing with a lot of side bars about things not going according to plan each and every time. This book is as much about the adventure of plank grilling as it is about the recipes.

The authors caution that plank grilling works best with a gas grill. Having both a gas and a charcoal grill, I, like all children, had to find out for myself. The authors are right of course. If the charcoal fire is not quite low, the plank will burn right up. If the charcoal fire is low, it takes forever for dinner to be ready. There is not one false step in this book as far as I can tell. It is up to you dear reader to follow the instructions. Men (or at least this man) seem to struggle with this concept. The book is good, real good.

Well thought and completely illustrative on how to achieve the best of flavor in your food creations. This book is truly a masterful work with a proven collection of recipes.

The "Plank Grilling Cookbook" not only provides excellent instructions for plank grilling but also provides a number of tasty recipes. With cedar, alder wood, etc.. planks, grilling has never been easier and the results better.