Works Books

I'm writing this review mainly because I couldn't find any other place where I could put my comments about the excellent service they offer at Amazon.
The Cambridge Encyclopedia is a magnificent work, and I'm very glad to finally have it; but it wouldn't have been so good if it hadn't been for the fast, neat, and professional service given at Amazon.
I live in Chile, South America, and my delivery date was due to August 20th. Despite the distance, my book arrived last Saturday, August 9th, in perfect condition, in a safe box with no flaws.
Thank you Amazon for providing the best service ever in international delivery. I completely trust them, and I certainly recommend it for anyone who'd like to purchase items internationally.
Keep on the excellent work! Thank you very much!!

Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language by David Crystal

Very British, packed full of facts, but eminently readable. Many illustrations and little sidebars keep it from being too dry. It's appropriate for the layman, but is still quite sophisticated. I recommend this book.

This book is somewhere between a reference and an entertainment. It has a large amount of material, some useful as well as other that is merely curious. It is beautifully printed, but the large format might be difficult to handle. Open it anywhere and you are sure to find something you did not know.

First thing I need to say is that this book is an overview of English Language and designed for average intelligent adults, not for serious academic settings. You'll notice plenty of photographs, charts, and such. It's quite fun to flip to any page and just start reading. It included a lot of contemporary figures, like pop singers, current politicians, and authors. It tried to make readers understand the older form of English culture by linking the current one to it. I must say this approach worked only so far as to get your feet wet. Again, it's an introductory sort of book, but still has many things we modern citizens don't know about English.

Buy the 1st Edition and save yourself thirty bucks.

It's got the same cover (but a different color), the same number of pages (506 pages) and is as far as I can tell, the exact same book. I'm tired of "edition inflation." Buy the first edition and save yourself a lot of money.

I love the story of Amy's life, especially as presented by Elisabeth Elliot. The biography is true to Amy, even admitting her faults (though few!) and is a lovely book for any young woman. Challenging without being forceful. A biography at it's finest!

This is the first book I read about Amy Carmichael's life. It is very interesting and since reading this, I have purchased many many books that Amy wrote herself. My top 3 recommendations are IF, Kohila, and Lotus Buds. However, any of her books are wonderful.

This book by Elizabeth Elliott gives an overview of Amy's life and pictures. If you want to know about her, this is the book to read.

I have read this book twice over the last decade and each time it has given me life principles applicable to the time of life in which I read it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who needs an example to live by. I couldn't help but think that if God could do such things in Amy Carmichael, He could certainly do the same in me. What a challenge!

Amy Carmichael has been a great model to follow. Her love for the Lord spilled out to those whom she saw as His children worth saving ... even though they were considered worthless in their culture. God uses Amy's ferver to encourage me to continue on in difficult places. Thank you Elisabeth Elliot for using your God-given writing talent to so articulate the life of this precious woman of God. Your labors go hand in hand with Amy's in bringing in more souls for the Kingdom of God. To God be all the glory!

Amy Carmichael is a hero of mine. I first read this book many, many years ago after God broke my heart for the nations. I admire this single woman's faith and "heart like flint" as she left family, comfort and friends to serve the Lord in India. She went out not knowing exactly where she was going (like Abraham) yet trusted in her Father to guide and direct her. Indeed, she lived out Isaiah 54 as she became a spiritual mother to many poor children who were sadly abandoned and/or neglected in India.

With a simple, resolute and steadfast faith, Amy built orphanages to defend the orphan and preach the good news to the poor. Her life was soul satisfying, multiplied and poured out as a sacrifice that others could live and find Christ. Beautiful.

Amy's like will inspire and encourage you to PURSUE the call on your heart and to trust in the Lord for provision, security and guidance.

Regarding Elisabeth Elliot, the author, I had the gracious opportunity to meet her in person.. and she is a sweet aroma of Christ as well. She trusted and followed in her Savior, despite the pain of losing her first love, Jim Elliot, as a martyr in the jungle of Ecuador. Through the death of her husband and four other Christian missionaries, many, many were saved - and many Christians called to the mission field. You can read more about their journey by reading:

Shadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testament of Jim Elliot

This is very touching story of the (mainly) men who conducted the recovery operations at Ground Zero. The telling is true to the tremendous respect shown to those who perished (nothing titillating) and is inspiring in its humanity and faith. Anyone who has ever worked anywhere will appreciate the turf skirmishes that were waged.

The writing, however, is a bit simple.

Excellent read. Heartbreaking at times, but well written of the trials and
tribulations of the Ground Zero Recovery mission
This book honors the months day after day the recovery workers devoted to trying to find bodies. Some of the rescue workers suffered emotionally and physically, yet others kept going to the end.
I recommend highly

I have not even finished reading this book yet, but I am blown away by the extraordinary story this man has to tell, and told with such heart. This is a major contribution to the history of 9/11.

This is the story that needed to be told of the many courageous, heroic men and women involved in this search and recovery effort. It is also the story of the courageous, heroic families who lived through this effort with their loved ones. It is a must read.

So often we wonder what happens after all of the media coverage ends and life goes on for everyone else - this book opened by eyes to all that went on "after". It really is a tribute to all those that worked on the clean up of the World Trade towers. It was more than just a job - it was an opportunity to bring home more of those lost on that terrible day.

a most wonderful and pleasant reading throughout...i borrowed the book from the library first and while reading it decided that i have to have a copy near me so that i can pick it up any time i want. the only slight is that the dust jecket has a different photo of the author, the one on the older edition is much better. a great book.

This book has it all. If you are an Oscar fan, than it is a must for your collection.

I'm very pleased with the book. All of Wilde's wit is right there at my fingertips. It's a handsome book, too. Thank you.

This particular compilation is not only complete, but is a well printed, well packaged addition to the books you would want in your top 10!

Though the print is small for those of us over 40, it's worth it - if not, it would weigh about 10 pounds! As it is, it's a tome, but worth reading, and re-reading time and again. It has everything - everything! - that you'll ever hear mentioned - his stories, his novels, his essay's.
It would make a great gift for a young writer, as well.

I wish I would have bought this book earlier in my medical school career. Not only would it have helped for all the physiology sequences (cardiac, renal, etc) but it would have been helpful for histology, neuro,and endocrinology. The pictures are great and the explanations are uncomplicated. If you are a visual learner then I highly recommend this book. I am an endocrinology TA and have found it as a wonderful resource. I have the color atlas of immunology and have ordered the pathophysiology and pharmacolgy books by thieme as well.

The same as I mentioned about the Color Atlas of Pharmacology, it's the best way to review Physiological functions in just one scheme for each topic. Totally recommended.

A very complete guide to physiology which can be used by researchers, graduate students and MD students alike with incredible detail included that may be beyond what is needed even. That makes it a great reference.

Its unbelievable that its in pocket handbook format.

My top rated physiology books would be:

Color atlas (this guide)
Applied Surgical Physiology Vivas (+ Critical Care Edition) (Kanani)
Berne and Levy

In that order exactly.

Back to the book:

Invaluable and truly an amazing, complete and extremely detailed carry-around reference.

What makes this book a state-of-the-art is not its content, but the manner in which it's presented. Each subject only occupies one page of text, & opposite is a page for illustrations. But it's not the illustrations that explains the text, but rather the text that explains the illustrations (a method created by Leonardo da Vinci). This not only helps in recalling of the subject, but also helps in sustaining an interest in it. An ingenious beautiful book.

This and it's companion book on Pathophysiology are the best investments I have made since entering medical school. The illustrations are great (and the diagrams set a standard that neither Guyton or Boron and Boulep can match) , but it's Silbernagl's presentation that makes them so amazing. I'm constantly finding new layers of information that I missed even after 4 or 5 passes. Buy Boron for this year's theories and break throughs, but this is the book you will be returning to.

This well-written book introduces some of the most elementary concepts in math in a very simple language. The text is quite engaging and interesting, so even the more knowledgeable people will enjoy reading the book.

Very well written, and reads almost like a good novel. Quite an achievement for a maths book!

This book is by far the best book on mathematics I have ever read. It teaches the concepts in an intuitive, exciting way, and yet it is able to remain fun and engaging throughout. Technical material is tackled, in depth, without there seeming to be any work done. There are no exercises to be done, you simply follow Stewart along for a tour through modern mathematics. Ian Stewart's writing is flawless and almost turns this book into a thriller. I read this book in one night- I could not put it down! I stayed up until 4 in the morning reading and rereading passages; it is truly a masterpiece. The chapters are as follows:

Chapter 1- Mathematics in General: Here Stewart describes certain aspects of mathematics, and discusses their purpose and implications. He talks about abstractness and generality, intuition vs. formalism, and pure vs. applied mathematics. He tells the reader the importance of understanding WHY a theorem is true, not simply that it is. He ends with a collection of anecdotes.

Chapter 2- Motion without Motion: This is an example of thinking a bit outside the box. The chapter is devoted to overturning Euclid's proof that the base angles are congruent, and making a new one based on rigid motions. It doesn't sound too engaging, but, somehow, Stewart manages to make it quite exciting!

Chapter 3- Short Cuts in the Higher Arithmetic: A basic introduction to number theory- prime numbers, moduli, congruences, etc. The informal tone makes this the easiest and most understandable read on number theory I've yet encountered.

Chapter 4- The Language of Sets: Throughout the rest of the book, Stewart uses the language of set theory, so he introduces that here in an easy to understand way (using some imagery like bags of items, etc).

Chapter 5- What is a function?: Here Stewart addresses some of the historical problems of defining a function, and then uses the set theory from the previous chapter to define a general function, and the different types of functions.

Chapter 6- The Beginnings of Abstract Algebra: An introduction to groups, fields, rings, etc. Stewart uses the rigid motions from Ch. 2 as an example of the group concept, and then goes on to make a proof about the game solitaire (the British version) using groups. Also an explanation of the proofs about constructibility (trisecting an angle, etc) are given here.

Chapter 7- Symmetry: The Group Concept: This is where we begin to see that Ian Stewart may have a bit of a bias towards abstract algebra and group theory, as that is his specialty. That is perfectly fine, but definitely something to be aware of. The chapter on Real Analysis is certainly less in-depth than this one, but there are many hundreds of books on that you can use to fill the gaps. (Also, Real Analysis is difficult to make accessible to those without a background in calculus, whereas algebrais concepts are fairly natural). In this chapter Stewart discusses groups, subgroups, and isomorphisms with great passion.

Chapter 8- Axiomatics: This is one of my favorite chapters, and it centers on Euclidean geometry and the importance of axiomatics. It discusses models, the parallel postulate, alternate geometries, consistency, and completeness.

Chapter 9- Counting: Finite and Infinite: This is the standard treatment of Cantor and his amazing discovery. I mostly skimmed this chapter, because I had just completed a book specializing in the subject.

Chapter 10- Topology: From Mobius strips, to Klein Bottles, to orientability, to the Hairy Ball Theorem. This chapter keeps to its title. I especially love the last line about the Hairy Ball Theorem (which is a theorem that seems entirely useless at face value). "It has one application in algebra: it can be used to prove that every polynomial equation has solutions in complex numbers (the so-called 'fundamental theorem of algebra')."

Chapter 11- The Power of Indirect Thinking: This is a foray into graph theory and Euler's Formula. A lovely discussion at the end about coloring, as well.

Chapter 12- Topological Invariants: Continues the discussion of topology and proves Euler's generalized formula. Also classifies surfaces, and proves some more coloring theorems.

Chapter 13- Algebraic Topology: You can see that topology is an incredibly important tool in modern mathematics. Here he discusses Holes, Paths, and Loops.

Chapter 14- Into Hyperspace: A short treatment of polytopes and higher dimensions.

Chapter 15- Linear Algebra: A bit on the geometrical, set-theoretic, and matrix views of solving simultaneous linear equations.

Chapter 16- Real Analysis: A light treatment of infinite series, limits, completeness, continuity, and proving analytical theorems.

Chapter 17- The Theory of Probability: Random walks, binomial distibution, etc. Treated informally.

Chapter 18- Computers and Their Uses: Programming and how it works on a mathematical level.

Chapter 19- Applications of Modern Mathematics: A very interesting read about optimization and catastrophe theory.

Chapter 20- Foundations: The best treatment of Godel's proof I have yet to see. It is surprisingly rigorous, but easy to follow.

Appendix- And still it moves...: This was added 5 years after the book was written, and is an absolute gem! Stewart addresses the proof of the four-color theorem, he talks about polynomials and primes, he talks about chaos and attractors, and he ends with a reflection on real mathematics. A great end to a masterpiece.

This book is for everyone and anyone- a modest background in high school algebra and an appreciation for mathematics is all you need. Buy this book! Give it to your friends!

I picked up this book partially from the reviews and partially from "Justin Bond"'s listmania who wisely advised to read it slow but don't get bogged down.

I have been stuck in this very uncomfortable stage between lower division and upper division math. I knew that I want to take more math but I had no idea what I wanted and where it led. Who's going to sit you down and explain in practical terms what 'topology' is so you know what it's about and whether or not it will do you any good? The syllabus won't tell you. Wikipedia won't tell you.

In this context, this book was very useful to me. It provides a very casual and friendly overview of upper-division math. It gives you a taste and a place to start from, some inkling of the topic, its relevance, and connections to other fields of math.

Between the fact that I'm not a native math speaker and that the material had to be simplified, there were definitely a few times where I was a bit lost, but I, and you, should not read it to learn specific concepts, so it did not phase me at all. Yet on the other hand, he provides some insights that I had gone for many years without realizing. Even if a particular part may not be interesting, the overall presentation has a lot to offer.

If you are interested in learning some advanced mathematical concepts, this is a great book. Even if you are not interested in mathematics, this book has additional rewards beyond the mathematical concepts: it will provide you with insight into approaching non-mathematical problems -you will be able to use most of the mathematical concepts contained in it, for unrelated but analogous problems. I especially enjoyed the simple explanation of modularity. You don't have to be mathematically inclined to enjoy and gain from the reading of this book. It is excellent. It should be in the collection of any person who is interested in learning how to think better and more rigorously.

This book is original and thought provoking especially coming from a women with a conservative and traditional Christian past. If more of us Christians could love as Christ loves without judgement or preachiness, it would revolutionize our Church and our ministries. It could, as Kay dreams of, Change The World.

I was skeptical about this book at first. I thought it would be more fluff than substance, but I was thankfully wrong all the way around. This book was both easy and very hard to read. Kay did a great job writing in style that is easily understood, however the words are hard to read in the way they convict you in so many ways.

If your walk with the Lord has grown stagnant or you don't see have passion or drive in your life I strongly recommend you read this book. I think this book is needed for all Americans, as we live out our comfortable safe lives relative to most everybody else in the world.

I promise if you give this book a chance you will not be disappointed and will certainly walk away with more than a few topics to think about.

This is a wonderful book yet also disturbing in a way. It had a big impact on me and challenged me to live with focus on helping those in need. If you have a home, food in the fridge, clothes in a closet like me then you have more than most people. I have to stop whining about my meager problems and consider how can I use what I have to help others. Kay is real about her flaws and struggles. She gives light to the problems of poverty, disease, bad leadership, spiritual emptiness and illiteracy that she personally witnessed around the world. She shares her desire to do good and the struggle it actually takes to leave an area of familiarity and safety to fight the wrongs and injustice so many experience around the world.

Although Kay Warren is an Evangelical Christian and I am a Conservative Rabbi, I found her honest, personal portrait inspiring. Her tale reveals that by listening for and responding to the Divine call to meet the needs of the most vulnerable, she expanded her horizons, deepened as a person, and strengthened her relationship with God.

Kay Warren is an extraordinary woman and should be praised for writing this shocking and enlightening book. She reveals how she became "seriously disturbed" after reading a magazine article in 2002 focusing on the AIDS pandemic. She was stunned and distressed that the article stated there were 12 million AIDS orphans in Africa. The statistics were staggering and horrific! She couldn't understand how this could be happening without her knowledge. She wondered why people weren't doing more to stop this pandemic. After much research on HIV/AIDS, she realized she couldn't sit back and ignore these people.

It took courage and self-sacrifice for this pastor's wife to leave her warm, comfortable California home to journey into the midst of the AIDS pandemic in Africa in 2003, and later to other parts of the world plagued with the AIDS pandemic. Her journey took her to areas where young children and adults were dying each day from this insidious disease. In some way, she felt she had to do something to alleviate their suffering by sharing her love with them. She witnessed the social stigma, rejection, persecution, and shame these people faced daily. It would have been easy to simply forget that this tragedy was a reality. Yet, this special woman realized that she couldn't ignore the call from God to "act up" and reach out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS.

While away from home, she discovered that she had breast cancer. Shortly after this battle, she was diagnosed with another form of cancer. This wasn't enough to stop a woman on a mission. She knew her mission in life and had said, "Yes" to God.

This is a brutally honest account of her journey into HIV/AIDS activism. As an AIDS activist myself, I felt so much admiration for Kay Warren. Her activism struck a chord within me. I know how my elderly mother felt when she was battling HIV/AIDS due to a tainted blood transfusion while undergoing heart bypass surgery in 1983. She was one of the first victims of HIV. She kept her illness a secret because she feared rejection. Many of the people Ms. Warren met felt dirty and ashamed of their illness. I know my own mother did even though she was infected through a blood transfusion. It's difficult to imagine that the stigma still exists after 25 years of the AIDS pandemic. Kay Warren teaches us we should not sit idly by while these people suffer in silence. I totally agree with her. Hopefully, others will hear her message and join the fight.

Being the wife of Pastor Rick Warren, of the Saddleback Church in California, she believes that all churches must take an active role in educating people about HIV/AIDS. What a difference this would make.

In "Dangerous Surrender," Ms. Warren teaches us lessons about love, acceptance, courage, compassion and faith. It wasn't always an easy or pleasant experience, but the desire to do the will of God surpassed any hesitancy she might have experienced. I applaud Kay Warren for her generous gift of love and acceptance to those in need of compassion and understanding. This book taught me to say "Yes" to God and not question His ways.

"Dangerous Surrender" was one of the most inspiring books I have ever read. If more people were like Kay Warren this world would be a better place. We all have a choice in life. We can sit and simply watch the pain and evil in the world or we can make a decision to ease the suffering of those in need by surrendering to God's will as Kay Warren did. I highly recommend this outstanding book.

A Burden of Silence: My Mother's Battle with AIDS

This is an excellent study guide to help the reader understand symbols and imagery in the Bible.

This is a very good reference book. I have a couple of seminary graduates that recommended it to me.

a tremendous work of explaining the imagery found in the bible. The range of subjects are vast in scope. A must have reference resource for serious bible study. Goes a long way towards helping one to understand the various levels and ways that symbolic and picturesque meaning is used and construed in the bible. Deals with individual concepts, broad ranging themes, people, places, books of the bible, events and more. Top notch resource!!!

The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery is an excellent reference for obtaining expanded meanings of the different words and images of the Bible. And even if it's a "dictionary", it is an enjoyable read straight through or even just when you want to hop from one entry to another. And for the price, it's a steal.

Highly recommended!

This book was one of the most unusual presents I have ever received. It was given to me by an individual who had enjoyed my teaching and thought I would find it helpful. It has proven to be an indispensible aid to Bible study and the understanding of deeper underlying themes of the symbolism which are so prevalent in the scriptures if you have the eyes to see them. The reader/researcher will find the material easy to use and well refrenced with historical and theological explanations. Although the Dictionary is written from a Protestant viewpoint, seekers of wisdom from a variety of different experiences will benefit from the insights and cultural revelations which can aid in unfolding deeper meaning through the symbolism, stories and pictures of the Bible.

the ultimate guide, including all cetacean species known to mna, even the elusive beaked whales. Even inlcudes a species or two that had only been discovered by skulls. The illustrations for those species are the artist's impressions. The artist is the amazing marc carwardine. Excellent guide for cetacean lovers

Once again, reading the list of photo-credits at the back of this book is like reading the index in a "Who's Who in the world of Underwater Photography." This is an exciting book with colour photographs (though occasionally a map or diagram) on every single page and the standard of reproduction is as good as it gets.

As with "Sharks & Rays" (a book in the same series), the content is also as good as it gets and, if you only had room to pack a single book on the subject before setting out to discover some of these excellent creatures, then this book will satisfy all your requirements.

Commencing with their customary "Understanding" Whales Dolphins and Porpoises, the reader is then taken on a journey which provides a complete and wide understanding of these incredible creatures - many species of which remain on the brink of extinction. With sections on hunting, captivity, migration and much more plus a page dedicated to each specific species, this book is as complete as it should be and fully lives up to the promise in the title of being an "Ultimate" guide.

Altogether and excellent book and an essential addition to any scuba diver's library.

NM

Once again, reading the list of photo-credits at the back of this book is like reading the index in a "Who's Who in the world of Underwater Photography." This is an exciting book with colour photographs (though occasionally a map or diagram) on every single page and the standard of reproduction is as good as it gets.

As with "Sharks & Rays" (a book in the same series), the content is also as good as it gets and, if you only had room to pack a single book on the subject before setting out to discover some of these excellent creatures, then this book will satisfy all your requirements.

Commencing with their customary "Understanding" Whales Dolphins and Porpoises, the reader is then taken on a journey which provides a complete and wide understanding of these incredible creatures - many species of which remain on the brink of extinction. With sections on hunting, captivity, migration and much more plus a page dedicated to each specific species, this book is as complete as it should be and fully lives up to the promise in the title of being an "Ultimate" guide.

Altogether and excellent book and an essential addition to any scuba diver's library.

NM

This book is extremely useful to both the general reader and to those with a serious interest in cetaceans. The book is well organized for quick reference and beautifully illustrated to aid in species identification in the field. Cetaceans are grouped by family and unique characteristics are clearly defined and illustrated. In addition the book is lightweight and easily carried on a boat trip. Highly recommended.

My main objections to this field guide were the illustrations. Artistic renderings are often beautiful, but fail to portray the animal in question with accuracy. Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius)is a case in point. Although I have not observed this animal at sea myself, I spoke with a number of fellow fishery biologists who have spent time at sea as marine mammal observers and no one has ever observed a bright yellow Ziphius in the field. All observed a base color of grey with this genus, at least in the northeastern Pacific. The Tasmacetus rendering is most likely based on the J. Mammalogy (1976) paper by Watkins wherein an unidentified ziphiid whale (probable Tasmacetus) was observed from a bluff overlooking the sea in New Zealand. Useful plates were those showing all similar cetaceans together; eg. all oceanic dolphins without prominent beaks, all oceanic dolphins WITH prominent beaks etc. The ziphidae plates show male Mesoplodon characteristics, but that is to be expected since solitary female ziphiid whales, especially Mesoplodon sp., could be virtually impossible to identify. My own field guide preferences use photographs rather than artistic renderings. Other problems: The distribution maps to not reflect the full distribution (extralimital observations/strandings) of many species. An example: Psuedorca is shown as a species with a distribution much further south than observations/stranding records indicate. The text does suggest that 'numerous records' exist outside of the more tropical distribution shown in the map. Note also that many of the dolphin renderings are positioned so that the dorsal fin is right where the pages meet. We did get a chuckle over the photograph showing what you should wear when watching whales, but that can be explained by our 'silly scientist' bias. One note for potential whale-watchers: do not allow your binocular strap to lie right on the skin of your neck while at sea as you can wear painful wounds into your neck through a day of whale-watching. Make sure your shirt collar or other clothing lies under that silly strap! Voice of experience!

As an already-successful author (Rewired, Rehired, or Retired? Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer 2002) and sought-after international speaker, Bob Critchley is eminently qualified to speak with authority on the labour market of the future.

Whilst not alone in ringing the warning bells, Critchley has much more to offer than an alarmist message ... and he couldn't make it easier for us. He goes beyond illuminating the impending labour crisis, he has the strategies and solutions too.

Company Directors, CEO's, Management and especially HR advisers need to have this book on the top of their "must read" list!

So how does an organization maintain and maximise a multi-generational workforce, remain flexible yet successful and also be seen as an employer of choice? Critchley's answer is clear ... "Doing nothing is Not an option!".

Exactly what to do is made abundantly clear in this eminently sensible and readable book from someone who has impeccable credentials and vast experience. Carolyne Burns, MD, Influence InterPersonal Profiling, Sydney Australia

We all know the importance of trusted and experienced people in successful businesses......why then are they often overlooked in favour of the "new model" or the "grass is greener" scenario? Critchley really brings home the message that these people are key and will be absolutely key for organisations to main tain their position and advantage.The book is a must not only for HR professionals but also for all managers and company directors....from an author with extensive practiocal knowledge and successful experience of practising what he preaches.

Bob Critchley has produced an outstanding people management guide. The author's deep practical experience is evident as he shares his insights into effective management of people in all age groups. At a time when there is a growing shortage of talent in most developed economies, knowledge from this book can help put results on the bottom line in most business organisations. This book is easy to read and hard to put down! Colin Durand, The Insight Executive Search Group, Sydney Australia.

Bob Critchley's book provides a powerful and compelling argument for "thinking outside the box".

The population demographics are inevitable and organisations ignore them at their own peril.

Unless organisations adopt flexible ways of engaging employees and think laterally about how to maximise the contribution of every single employee, they are doomed to become victims of the demographic reality.

Critchley's book not only provides the evidence and demonstrates the inevitibility - but he also provides a compendium of ideas about how to respond.

An invaluable guide to any forward thinking HR professional.

Time marches slowly on and we all tend get caught up in our day to day and short term activities. Just like when global warming incidents started to occur. In isolation they meant little and then a pattern and explanation emerged. Critchley pulls together the signs in our demographic and employment changes. Dramatic shortages in skilled labour arise; a lack of investment in infrastructure becomes apparent; retirement and aged care issues start to be reported in the media; the funding of retirees becomes a federal budget issue; government start to create incentives to get people back to work. For those who run businesses other symptoms become apparent. So often the employer has to convince the prospective employee why to join them; the employer becomes aware of impending skill losses as older employees approach retirement age; people talk about not wanting to fully retire and having flexible arrangements; the employer can't find the right people.
Critchley's book suddenly pulls all these incidents and changes in attitude together into one easy flowing cohesive read. He paints a picture of why things are happening and what is likely to continue to happen. More importantly he canvasses what needs to be done for organisations to be successful in this environment. Many organisations pay lip service to people being their most important asset and often they have a short term focus. Critchley really sets down some ideas and a framework that organisations, who really do value people, will need to adopt to be successful in the long term. A must read.