Payback Books

Even though this book is out of print, I can't resist giving a five star review to the talented Carolyn McSparren. This book somehow got buried in my massive TBR (To be read) pile, and so I just now got around to it. I was very impressed with Ms. McSparren's writing talent and voice, not to mention the orginality of the way she handled the story of a man accused of a crime he did not do. I could relate to the hero's (Steve's) need for revenge and his frustration at being framed. Who wouldn't be bitter in his shoes? Eleanor, the heroine, is a strong character who falls in love in a believeable manner with a man she knows she shouldn't love, but she loves him anyway. Her heart is drawn to this man she knows is her soulmate, and whom she senses is a good person. The prison setting was unique and therefore refreshing. I loved that Eleanor and Steve truly had to fight their way out of a seemingly hopeless situation to finally be together and prove Steven's innocence. And Bigalow Little was a wonderful secondary character!!! An animal lover after my own heart. I hope we see Big again before this series is done. As a fellow writer, my hat is off to you, Ms. McSparren!

I bought "The Payback Man" only for the fact that it was the second book in the creature comfort series, while I enjoyed the book, it didn't was not as good as "The Money Man." The main reason that I didn't like the book was the whole Prison setting of the book. It was a decent read, but if it was not part of a series I would more than likely have skipped this book.

Carolyn McSpareen's Creature Comfort miniseries began in July with THE MONEY MAN and continues this month with THE PAYBACK MAN. Both books center around the Creature Comfort Veterinarian Clinic, which treats large and small animals including exotic pets. McSpareen's remarkable insight in human and animal hearts makes THE PAYBACK MAN an especially memorable read.

A jury of his peers found Stephen Chadwick of murdering his wife - a murder he did not commit. Gone are his beloved wife, a profitable business, and his beloved sport of polo. He's stayed sane these last three years by planning ways to kill Neil Waters, his brother-in-law, business partner, best friend, and murder of his wife. When he sees unexpectedly sights Eleanor, the connection is visceral - as if they were alone. He knew that if he'd met her at cocktail party or at a polo match, his response would have been the same. She not only stirs his blood, but she stirs the imagination. She touches the humane parts of him he thought long buried and forgotten.

Dr. Eleanor Grayson's first glimpse of Steve as he disembarked from a prison bus was unwanted moment of recognition. Two years have passed since the death of her much loved husband and the resulting financial devastation. Hard work makes it possible to cope with loss, and Eleanor works very hard. She works not only for Creature Comforts, but she also has accepted a position at the prison helping them to build a prize heard of Beefmaster cattle. Her position brings her into close contact with the prisoners assigned to her. Soon Eleanor finds her compassionate nature reaching out in unexpected ways. She also feels a powerful pull toward Stephen, who is absolutely forbidden. Ironically, she also feels more comfortable with some of the prisoners than she does with the guard assigned to her.

As the daughter of a police officer, I found myself constantly challenging the storyline simply because prisoners are not good heros. Despite my prejudice, I found myself drawn into this powerfully told tale that gently broke down my reservations. Author Carolyn McSparren skillfully weaves a convincing tale of love with believable characters and wonderful secondary characters. Bigalow Little, for example, the gentle giant who lacks great intelligence yet processes the skills of a horse whisperer with all animals, isn't a character I'll ever forget and I hope pops up in another novel. In addition, the update on favorite characters from the previous work doesn't detract from the storyline, yet lends continuance. A beautifully rendered tale, THE PAYBACK MAN comes very highly recommended. I do hope this author continues this wonder series!

This was a truly great book. A way to put it is that all these books are pieces of one big puzzle, and several pieces of that puzzle were put together in this book. There are turning points in some books that completely switch the series around.....like Killer, where Ella dies, and Betrayed, when Loki goes comatose. This book is definitely a turning point. It's going to be interesting seeing where the series goes after this book, and that's one thing to anticipate. There are awkward situations in the book and situations that keep you turning the page, holding your breath wondering what will happen next. Enjoy the book!

Freak reminded me so much of the earlier books. Gaia's relationship with Jake finally begins to take some actual hold, and i can honestly say i had butterflies in my stomach in some of the situations Gaia was put in (Sam + Ed + Jake + Gaia in the same room can only = awkwardness.)
This book truly goes to show that no one is who they seem as new characters are revealed and old characters make a return appearance. I'm so glad to finally see Pascal focusing on the relationships in the series... It had me on the edge of my seat (and by seat, i mean bed,) and i'm counting down the seconds until the next one.

An excellent series of stories. Himes writes about a subculture of crime and other pathologies without trying to score political points one way or the other. He's just telling a rousing tale. I'm eager to read more by him.

This is a typically entertaining entry in Himes' Coffin Ed Johnson/Grave Digger Jones series. The two Harlem police detectives investigate a stabbing at a wake and the usual cast of colorful characters--gamblers, pool sharks, holy-roller preachers, etc.--are on hand.

Himes may well be the best black American author of all time. It seems he was sold short by serious critics because of his status as a "crime writer" & perhaps by mystery fans because of his race, but it appears a major reappraisal of his work is underway and he is finally getting his due.

GRADE: B

If you have read any books by Donald Goines or Iceberg Slim, you will love these books!!! They take you on a mental ride, if you have never lived in the ghetto you may not understand, but if you have it will take you on a high speed ride.....

I felt like I was there living the experience...MackDaddy at His Best!

The Jones Men was a Chapter One BookClub Selection. As such, it's not a book that I would have selected on my own. However,The Jones Men is a short, quick, easy to read story and also a well-written novel which chronicles the lives and times of drug dealers in a major city during the `70s. The story's primary protagonist/antagonist...depending on which side of the law you're on...Lennie Jack, is a young, up&coming heroin dealer who's primary goal at the moment is to knock off the number-one drug kingpin-Willis McDaniel. Mr. Smith takes us on a roller-coaster ride through the dens of addicts, dealers and corrupt cops as Lennie Jack and Willis McDaniel come face to face.

The Jones Men was written in the '70s so it seems a little outdated, however, that aside,the novel is exciting, filled with drama, action, mystery and suspense and will keep you quite entertained until the last page.

From the very beginning of Middle Passage, Charles Johnson has already launched his readers into active engagement with his protagonist and narrator, Rutherford Calhoun. The story is broken into eight diary entries, and throughout Calhoun's first entry, he gives justifications of why he has sought to escape to sea. In building precedence upon his incessant hunger for adventure, it permeated throughout like an undertow for his first entry. Sure, it might've been a "set-up" that took him aboard the ship, but readers already knew as Calhoun had revealed earlier of being envious of the sailors. Perhaps he too wanted to "escape the vanities cityfolk called self-interest, the mediocrity the called achievement, the blatant selfishness they called individual freedom" (Middle Passage 4). This unrelenting desire was irreconcilable until he finally reached his designation, aboard ship call the Republic. Yes it is escape Calhoun speaks of, yet Middle Passage really is the antithesis for escape, rather, it confronts the layers beneath the surface of one's true identity. His subconscious--as how the ocean represents--drove him to "get out," be lost in that state of unknown, so he might engage his true identity apart from the futile everyday masks he wanted no part in.

Since Johnson had set up Calhoun as one who is somewhat masochistic and self-conflicted, naturally, it seemed instability; threats of outbreak and chaos are always around the corner. From the very beginning, I found myself dreading for what's to come, for it felt like I was walking into Calhoun's dark tunnel, I expected no light to come until the last entry, and it didn't. In spite of having been raised privileged--as to the slaves at that time--in his upbringing, he was classic prodigal, who might have equated living responsibly as ill-desired. There was something Calhoun wanted to prove to his former slave master, a reverend, and also his well-to-do brother. Untamed and defiant to the norms of societal expectations, he seemed quite conscious of inner rebellion to his childhood past. Truth is, what he ultimately desire is wholeness; a unity with the inferiority experiences as the abandoned son by his father. The layers upon layers were calling for him to excavate, could only be achieved being "lost" at sea. And as Calhoun returned ashore, he was rewarded with what he had wanted all along, to finally feel as though he's home. He now possesses character and selflessness, and he is at rest with the woman he first escaped from, Isadora. This goal was realized as he returned to his starting point, the story has traveled full circle, and thus, Calhoun have indeed accomplished the very thing he wanted, to be.

This book really has alot of the elements of a good book. Though it has alot od crude humor, there is something in there that even the most up tight people will have to laugh at. It puts humor with adventure and really works out well. Though it had a few rough spots, it really turned out good through it all. Very good book and deserves the award.

Johnson's The Middle Passage is outwardly about the slave trade. Readers who approach this book with that expectation will be somewhat disappointed. Although the horrors of slavery are detailed, overall the book is not about the past but about the present. Johnson has created a free for all post-modern pile. The characters discuss religion, the connection of the mind and the body, the nature of reality (ontology), among a host of other topics. Then Johnson drops little hints that this novel is really about current reality: on page 31, the captain explains to Calhoun that he knows "headmasters give literate Negroes degrees because they feel too guilty to fail them, then employers give that same boy a place in the firm since he's got the degree in hand and saying no will bring a gang of Abolitionists down on their necks." Affirmative action discussed, here on an early 19th century slave ship. Johnson's book should be approached as a clever critique of 21st century America, more than a strict sea narrative. Only then does its flights of fancy make much sense.

"Middle Passage" makes for very interesting, moving, and rivetting reading. Part fiction, part novel, part history, part slave narrative, part Moby Dick, Johnson's work draws out the feel of the deck, the smell of the ocean, the pain of the whip, and the agony of the soul.

For those wanting an even more real-to-life understanding of Middle Passage, read the first-hand accounts of Falconbridge (English ship surgeon), Cugoano, and Equiano (the latter two free Africans forced to endure Middle Passage).

Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction , Soul Physicians, and Spiritual Friends.

I find that as I get older I become less and less inclined to suffer fools, or idiots, or hate mongers quietly. Or any combination of the above. Particularly those who toss out words such as anachronism, that they can type but can not quite understand. The concept of being out of order, (typically chronologically), or a throwback to an earlier time.

That criticism laid against this novel makes no sense. In one sense the whole foundation of Charles Johnson's brilliant Middle Passage is about, the fluidity of time, and timelessness. And again these... people, these detractors of the novel, bellow because Charles Johnson's protagonist is literate. A former enslaved person literate??? Sacrilege. Obviously these intellects (busy with their Amos and Andy reruns) never heard of Frederick Douglass one of the greatest orators this nation has ever produced.

They fail to realize the people their history would call slaves were men and women and children who came from a very broad and stunning caste system. Poets, philosophers, farmers, foot soldiers, artisans, carpenters. They fail to realize these people, these people, that an unjust history still refers to as slaves, were actually enslaved [a distinction of some import], were for all intents and purposes prisoners of a war of commerce.

And that these people, these prisoners of war, ... were better than those who enslaved them, better than most of us today. Not in terms of brutality, or evil, or lechery or deviousness, they were better in terms of humanity, in terms of beauty, in terms of poetry, in terms of spirituality, in terms of empathy. They were better men and women, and they were brought among beasts. And this oft neglected facet of the middle passage, this truth, is wonderfully examined in the fiction of Charles Johnson's Middle Passage.

The slave trade started small. You have to understand that. Not as a slave trade at all, it started out when the Dutch and Portuguese realized they could not walk through Africa. They tried the direct approach, and it didn't work, they found resistance... bloody resistance. So a couple bloody noses later, they came up with a new strategy, make friends with the kings. They did, they placated, they played friends, they were given scouts and guides, a gift from the dark man to guide the pale man, across the seas into those places where there be dragons. It began as African Kings, humoring the pale man that had learned his lesson.

But the pale smiling man of 500 years ago, Loki, the pale fool, began to pit Kingdom against Kingdom, greedy foolish King, against greedy Foolish King, and civilwars began to flourish, and empires older than the flow of european blood in european veins, began to fall.

And as they fell, the pale man offered advice here and support there, in exchange for more gifts of labor. And soon as the empires grew weaker, and the pale mans foothold on the continent grew stronger, the request for more labor, more sons and daughters of Africa, became demands. Not for scouts, not for warriors, not for explorers, not even for indentured servants, but for slaves, for fuel for a new furnace.... called America.

So yes Africans were sold by their own. But by then the toothless Kings were in no position to stop the tide, by then it was all they could do to keep themselves out of chains. And little could they imagine the use the Pale Man would gradually put their sons and daughters to.

Slavery was an understood method in the continent, since before the days of Khufu. The spoils of war. The difference was, you were still human. Your humanity was never in doubt, your freedom could be worked off.

The Christian pale man, always one to make even things of virtue into vice, took the evil of Slavery and compounded it to unimagined levels of depravity. Under the new definition, slowly, slowly, the people of color went from being scouts and guides to the new world, to indentured servants, to slaves, and from slaves to chattel.


Middle Passage touches on these contradictions, the absurdities and horror, the humor and the hope, in the bloody latter days of the slave trade, from the viewpoint of a brilliantly realized protagonist.

It's a fiction that touches in scant pages, eloquently, on truths that teachers and textbooks relentlessly avoid.

And that Charles Johnson's novel is capable of such insight, while remaining a rousing, fun, page-turning seafaring yarn about the age of discovery, spirituality, and young men who go down to the sea in ships, is a testament to the brilliance of this book, and its author. Often compared to Moby Dick, that comparison does this book a disservice, because while influences of Melville are there, MIDDLE PASSAGE is far more and far better than Melville's MD. I have read much and often, from the classics to the contemporary, and this is the book I would save when all other books are burning. It's that good.

So ignore the ranting of those for whom the mistakes of the past... are not yet learned or acknowledged (easy to tell those jokers, they have agendas, typically 1 or 2 reviews, always negative. Been my experience a man who wastes time telling you what he hates, has nothing in his life that he loves, or that loves him); and instead embrace a work that should be required reading for all, but particularly for children of a darker shade.

Highly recommended!

You can get a better deal on this book at Buy.com. Boycott Amazon.

Once again, Wahida does the damn thang by quickly bringing us a fast paced, mind racing, hot, thuggish ruggish, nail biting, page turner. After all the craziness in "Pay Back Is a Mutha", you'd think Shan would've learned a thing or two about keeping her legs closed. Naw......Turns out she remains open like a 24 hour convenience store and dumb as a door knob!!!! The only draw back is, there are a tad more characters than necessary. With said, it's still a very necessary read if you're a Wahida fan. Welcome home, Ms. Lady and keep wooing us with the thug madness. Can't wait to see what drama "Thug Lovin" brings about!!!!

The story opens with Shana discovering the suicide of her best friend, Briana. She's also dealing with an unwanted pregnancy, by Forever, who also happens to be married. En route to Cali, she runs into Briggen who convinces her to remain in Memphis until he can come up with a more logical plan. Old feelings resurface, but are Shana and Briggen truly destined to be together. Shana's brother Peanut is released and vows to seek revenge on eveyone who crossed him and his sister. A distraught Janay is torn over whether she should remain committed to her man, Shadee, after catching him in the act with his best friend Doc. Wahida is back with another banger. Payback has it all: sex, murder and mayhem. I really like how all of the characters lives eventually come full circle. At the end there's a teaser to her next novel Thug Lovin which I am very excited about.

4.5

It was a good read. I could have done without the homo-thug part. I really did not see it as a big part of this book and could have been left out. I did however enjoy the rest of the book. I look forward to Wahida's next book.

I loved the 1st book and the sequeal was cool too...however it left me with a lot of unanswered questions. People who read the book will know what i mean...other than that it was a good read action packed and pull of PAYBACK!!!

excellent book, I always love all of Wahilda Clark's books she is the best.
I can't wait for the next one!!!!

Mmmm....a little bit graphic, *but* I like it. Easily read. I intend to read the entire Sisterhood series now.

This was an incredibly entertaining book. Is it realistic? Could it actually happen in real life? Absolutely NOT!! It's FICTION. The last time I looked up the definition of fiction - it meant false. Not - 'has to be capable of occuring in real life.'
Having said that, Fern Michaels creates a fun fantasy world which is enjoyable to escape into. I am an avid reader who will pick up just about any book and read just for the sake of reading. This was a book that once I picked up I simply couldn't put down. It took me about 3 hours to read cover to cover - and I wanted more. I can't wait to get into the other books in the series. This was the first of the series that I read - missing the books that came before it and I had little trouble understanding who was who and how they were related to each other.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in falling into a fantasy world for a while. Who doesn't want to get revenge on someone at some point in their lives? This is a great way to feel that sweet taste of revenge without having to get your own hands dirty. I plan on getting the others in the series and losing myself for a couple of hours in a world that allows women to unite and seek revenge on men who cheat, pass on deadly diseases, and who only seem to be in this world to take money from others.

I loved this book, I want to sign up for the sisterhood. The entire series
is absolutely the best. Fern Michaels sets the scene and tone of the story
and you feel transported into it. You can feel the emotions of the characters as they struggle with the right and wrong of what they do.
But at the end you are cheering them on as if you were on the mission
with them. I highly recommend this series, you will not be disappointed.

I find I am excited to began reading Fern Michael's sisterhood books. I can not wait to see what and how they pull off their missons. I get mad at some of the twist and turns, but this just shows you how involved you get in the story. At the end of it all I am happy with the out come and the success of the missions and the closeness of the sisterhood. Thank you Fern Michael for your sisterhood books.

Having read the first book in the series, I knew before I started this sequel that the work would be poorly researched and completely implausible. Yet, I find myself drawn to this series again and again just to see how far Ms. Michaels is willing to stretch the boundaries of common sense. In that aspect, Payback does not disappoint. Again the ladies come together to avenge one of the Sisterhood who has been wronged by the Justice System. But in a stroke of impeccable timing, the chosen lady decides she's not ready to seek vengeance and wonder of wonders! Julia's name is drawn out of the box just days before her philandering, AIDS infected Senator husband will be named as a potential Vice Presidential candidate. Some of my favorite moments of idiocy: a former MI-6 agent who's been in hiding in America since his cover was blown years ago has his photo posted on his employer's website; a doctor with AIDS who hasn't bothered until now to inform her husband of his condition, thereby infecting God-knows-how-many other unsuspecting women; the Senator's unexplained and totally forgotten disappearance on the tail end of his VP announcement; the "savvy" FBI agent who, when provided with a phone number by a stranger, dials, hears a receptionist answer with "Oval Office," and quickly hangs up--convinced the phone number is legit; and of course, the HMO family's hypnosis that has them permanently believing they're happy slaves in Africa.
If you're able to totally suspend logic while reading, you might find the story entertaining. Otherwise, you'll probably want to pass.

Great insightful book, must read for anyone who says they are Hip Hop.

Chuck D keeps it real about life. People always think hip hop is associated with crime. Hip hop is a way of life. It's our culture! Get that straight. The part about staying out the army was the realest sh*& Chuck D ever wrote! Props to my nig!

I'm a huge PE fan from back in 1987 when I got "Yo! Bum Rush The Show!" and of course Takes A Nation is the best rap album of all time, bar none. But man does Chuck D come across like an idiot here. Let me give you the chapter breakdown: 1: It's the white man's fault. 2. Damn crackers own the music business. 3 White man rules the world. 4. Santa Claus is a big fat Caucasian. 5. The Western world has hyped the AIDS numbers in Africa for "their own devious purposes." 6. It's the white man's fault. That AIDS quote is real, by the way. It's full of this kind of talk, and that's fine. He's entitled to his opinion, and white people have indeed done some pretty awful things to minorites over the centuries. But how about a few solutions, rather than his "I have put together a proposal for the US government about slavery, a payment of four trillion, two hundred billion dollars." We get your point, Chuck, but let's be realistic and offer some real world solutions. White guys may be the majority of sports agents, Hollywood execs, and corporate CEOs, yes. Do they screw over their artists? Sure--but they screw over both black and white artists in royalties and residuals--just ask that guy who played Batman on TV in the 60's/70's. In fairness, there are some cool bits about Africa, gangs, and other rappers. The best part is his stories about touring with U2. But I was hoping Chuck D would give us some solutions, rather than just a big vent/therapy session. White people rule the US? Maybe. Deal with it, and bring yourself up to their level. Peace--and go get a late pass!

This book is absolutly the truth and a very important book. I just finished it after starting it only a week or so ago (it usually takes me a good month or two to finish a book, even one of this length). Chuck gives a great combination of PE history, politics, and world issues into on solid text. If you love Public Enemy's music and want more in depth discussion and disection of their lyrics and what Chuck stands for read this book. It will leave you inspired, angery, and ready to fight the power!

I had a 3 day detention to serve, 90 min's after each school day, so I went to the library originally looking for a book on engenering.
I saw this instead, and decided to rent it out.
When I got in the car, I noticed the table of content's had several racial comment's in the front, but I ignored it. After reading a few CH. I couldnt beleive this book, but I kept reading it, cause it was entertaining how much of an idiot Chuck D is. He is the reason some white people have negative veiw's of black people. Because he play's the role of a loser who blaims everything on the same people that put him where he is now. Why not just bite the hand that feed's you? If you are in the black Panther's, are obsessed with Chuck D, or just straight up hate white people I would suggest this book. The real reason I hate this book is I despise anyone who makes racist comment's against anyone at any time, and against any race. I myself am white, and there was 3 race riot's where I grew up, I got stabbed in 5th grade by a black kid my age, and my father was murdered before I was born by a black man... So why don't I just write a book against " My oppressor's ". This book show's that Chuck D is truely not a smart man, just a racist fool, who is no more smart then Flavor Flav. He need's to go back to first grade, and watch more barney, so he can learn to love everyone. But I guess he is just going to get his, ironically like his song " Your gonna get your's ".
I can not express in word's how much I hate this book, and I feel ashamed for every buying It takes a nation...

This man has the uncanny ability to translate the unspeakable grit, grime and passion of New York City into the printable word...then pound you over the heart with it.

STATE OF GRACE feel to an Irish mob type of thing on the west side of ny. ends kind of too cliche-ish. good writer though. hopefully the next one will be a little more original

Payback by Thomas Kelly In the 1980s, New York City is benefitting from a construction explosion. However, not everyone is enjoying the fruits of all the new buildings being built on Manhattan. The Irish mob has for years controlled the construction industry, especially in Hell's Kitchen on the West Side of town. However, now two new intruders are intruding on this historical turf. The Mafia seeks a piece of the action and the Feds want to shut down the action.

Paddy and Bill Adare are brothers working in the construction business. Paddy is a mob enforcer, while Billy digs tunnels in order to earn money to go to law school. The loyalty towards each other as members of the same Irish family is being viciously tested by various potent external forces who avariciously want to control the Manhattan construction industry, worth billions to the winner. From the Irish mob to the Mafia to the FBI to the neighborhood streets, the two siblings struggle to find a house for themselves in a growing wave of violence that targets anyone in its path.

The real estate in New York City makes for a backdrop to an exciting, extremely realistic novel of greed leading to unchecked violence. The story line is great and th Adare brothers interesting. I would recommend it for adults because the language is amazing.

Payback by Thomas Kelly In the 1980s, New York City is benefitting from a construction explosion. However, not everyone is enjoying the fruits of all the new buildings being built on Manhattan. The Irish mob has for years controlled the construction industry, especially in Hell's Kitchen on the West Side of town. However, now two new intruders are intruding on this historical turf. The Mafia seeks a piece of the action and the Feds want to shut down the action.

Paddy and Bill Adare are brothers working in the construction business. Paddy is a mob enforcer, while Billy digs tunnels in order to earn money to go to law school. The loyalty towards each other as members of the same Irish family is being viciously tested by various potent external forces who avariciously want to control the Manhattan construction industry, worth billions to the winner. From the Irish mob to the Mafia to the FBI to the neighborhood streets, the two siblings struggle to find a house for themselves in a growing wave of violence that targets anyone in its path.

The real estate in New York City makes for a backdrop to an exciting, extremely realistic novel of greed leading to unchecked violence. The story line is great and th Adare brothers interesting. I would recommend it for adults because the language is amazing.

Not enough can be said about the true backbone of the city. The construction crews that pulled together and built the greatest city in the world. Tom Kelly stepped up and did it with his novel PAYBACK. Who really knew the thankless job of the sandhogs? How many think of them when drive through the tunnels or turn on our faucets?

The story circles around an Irish/American family in Hell's Kitchen, torn between greedy "bosses" crooked politicians and yearning to fit in somewhere. There is a lot going on here in Payback, but Tom pulls it all together with grit, spit and good old "Irish humor". Well done!

Overall, I was not extremely impressed with this book. The cash curve is a good idea, especially if you can accurate analyze the costs. The four S-factors are a fine way to break the problem down into smaller components. Every methodology seeks to provide a common vocabulary and this one wasn't that compelling. The real sin is that it appears a good article was turned into a book. There simply isn't enough material. Parts Two and Three (7 of the 9 chapters) consisted of short corporate anecdotes, followed by a list of items, followed by 1-3 paragraphs describing the fairly obvious items on the list. Finally, as the jacket cover says - "You won't find pat answers in Payback". That is quite accurate - no pat answers and not very much in the way of useful analytic frameworks, beyond the cash curve itself.

Recommended: Chapters 1-2 are applicable to all, Chapters 3-9 only to CEOs looking to implement innovation. Instead I would recommend
"Developing Products in Half the Time: New Rules, New Tools", 2nd Edition by Preston G. Smith and Donald G. Reinertsen. This focuses on reducing the risk in the cost curve (although they don't call it that) by getting products to market faster.

More detailed review at: [...]

A lot of books on innovation make it sound like an end in itself, as if innovation carries the answer to every business problem. James P. Andrew and Harold L. Sirkin sound a refreshing note or, rather, several of them. They argue that companies must evaluate business innovation according to the direct or indirect financial returns it produces, its "payback" - and that most products fail to earn back their investment. They then discuss the issues you need to consider if you are investing in innovation: the models, factors, processes and more. While some of their discussions are a bit too sweeping or general, the authors' specific stories of innovation attempts that failed or succeeded illustrate how systematic evaluation could have helped companies estimate a product's chances of success. As a result, this book is a realistic antidote to innovation intoxication. We recommend it to anyone who is trying to plan seriously and realistically for innovation in a business context.

Did not receive the books yet after about two months from order.
This is not a good service!
What about the status of delivery?
Massimo Galluzzi

For a while now I've followed the writings of Jim Andrew from the Boston Consulting Group. His annual survey about innovation in corporate America provides an interesting window into what's on the minds of corporate leaders about innovation. Jim and a fellow BCGer, Harold Sirkin, have just released a book about innovation called Payback, Reaping the rewards of innovation.

As you might guess from the title, Payback is about closely and carefully identifying the measurable, tangible benefits of innovation. Too often, innovation appears as a "good thing" but we don't measure the results very carefully. In these cases it can be hard, if not impossible, to indicate the direct benefits and payback of innovation. Andrew and Sirkin want to change our thinking about innovation, and make us much more hard headed about the reasons for innovation and the expectation of return.

The book is divided into three sections. The first section looks at payback from innovation and its importance. The second section is about choosing the "right" strategic model and the third section is about alignment for innovation.

In the first section, the book looks at what should be obvious but often isn't - the investment in a new idea and the "cash curve" an idea represents. That is, almost all new product or service ideas require an up-front investment before there's a return, which drives the cash curve negative. Eventually, sales begin and revenue turns the curve upward and a new product or service crosses the breakeven threshold and starts to earn money. The problem many innovations face is that we are too optimistic about the "ramp up" and investment and discount the costs of investment. The authors break these costs into four phases - Startup costs, Speed or time to market costs, Scale or time to volume costs and support costs after the product is launched. Generally speaking, we underestimate the startup costs, and larger firms fail to take into consideration the bureaucracy and barriers to new product development, so speed to market is a challenge. We overestimate the "hockey stick" or ramp up, so the cash curve for many innovations never reaches the break even threshold.

Again, we know a lot of this stuff - but where innovation is concerned, too often we fall in love with our ideas and don't take a hard headed look at the payback of the ideas.

In the second section, the authors look at three innovation models, which are really strategic decisions about how your firm should innovate. These models are: integrator, orchestrator and licensor. Of course one firm may follow several or all of these models in its various business units.

An integrator controls all aspects of the innovation - from ideation through product launch. The authors note that the integration strategy is important when:

* control is necessary
* the company has world-class capabilities
* risks are manageable
* knowledge assets have to be protected
* or simply, there's no better choice.

Orchestrators combine their own talents with the skills and talents of others to bring innovations to market. Orchestration is a good option when:

* A key capability is missing
* You are entering an unfamiliar market
* You don't want to invest in building a capability
* You have trusted partners
* You want to share the risk of development

The final model is licensing. The authors note that licensing makes sense when:

* the company does not have the resources to commercialize an idea and can't acquire the resources
* there's an opportunity to create critical mass through adopting a standard
* the competition can be transformed into a royalty source

The last section of the book is about aligning the organization to support and nurture innovation initiatives. The authors point out several significant challenges to innovation that are structural or cultural:

* Innovation strategy is at odds with business strategy
* Innovation is all talk and no support
* Innovation is an island
* The innovation process is fragmented
* "Dynasties" monopolize innovation resources
* Metrics (and compensation) confound the goals of innovation.

Frankly, this was my favorite section of the book. We've found that in most of the firms we've worked with, the management teams have innovation religion, but aren't sure how to change the culture and get people on board, much less how to make innovation sustainable. The list of challenges I've just provided will occur in just about any firm where the culture and the strategic intent for innovation are not firmly in place. A lot of these challenges can be chalked up to what the authors called "alignment". Strategic alignment, team alignment, compensation alignment, role alignment - all of these things and more must be aligned for innovation to succeed, since, as the authors point out "..the effect of any organization on innovation is often a negative one. This is because organizations, no matter how nontraditional they may be, are primarily designed for control, standardization and reduction of risk - and these characteristics can be the enemies of innovation."

Payback is a good book, but I would have ordered it differently. I strongly favor the last section, since it is alignment and cultural change that make sustained innovation possible. Only when you have sustainable innovation should you worry about payback on innovation. Clearly, the investment in innovation is important, and none of us will invest in concepts with very uncertain outcomes. However, getting the process and cultural attitudes are more important initially than payback. I'd then focus on the returns of innovation and how to maximize those returns. The middle section points out some of the models that are possible to pursue as an innovator - many firms will have all three of these models operating simultaneously - creating and launching ideas themselves, partnering with others to bring new ideas to market and licensing great concepts to others. Choosing a strategy for innovation is important, but I think getting the process up and running initially and tying it to strategic intent is the most important concept - what the authors call "alignment".

I found the book to be a real mixed bag - full of good advice but the sections seem to target different audiences and out of the order I'd prefer to see them. Naturally, as someone who is interested in the cultural and process aspects of innovation, I found the third section the most compelling, and the concepts and advice in that section are worth the reading by themselves. These ideas are more operational and topical, while the second section is really written to a very senior management audience who can choose the appropriate innovation models. The second section is really about the innovation strategy you'll choose. Finally, the first section seems "obvious" to anyone who has launched a new product or service, examining the costs and benefits of a new product or service and the cash curve. What the first section reminds us is that we too often fall in love with our ideas and neglect the hard evaluation of each phase of a new product or service development, underestimating costs and overestimating adoption, leading to many ideas that fail to achieve break even.

This is a tough book to evaluate, since it is chock full of great ideas and models to use to evaluate your business and implement change, yet to me it feels a little unfocused in its target and the consistency of its message. James Andrew is a noted leading thinker in the innovation space, and for that reason alone the book is worth a long look. The ideas around alignment and leadership are especially important and worth reading.

This book bears all the weaknesses one expects from management consultants. It has a solid core concept, the cash curve, and a very simple graph to go with it. Virtually everything worth knowing gets said in the first 50 pages of the book.

What follows is a logical, step by step exposition of each point in more detail using selected examples from the authors' consulting experience. Sadly, no single customer example is longer than four pages, and details are sparsely strewn. It is especially noteworthy that they graphic of the key concept, the cash curve, is wholly absent from the second (much longer) half of the book.

One also gets the feeling that if the authors had had different customer engagements, they would have come to different conclusions. For instance, they discuss how Intel practices the integration business model in their chip business. However, virtually every other semiconductor company of any note on the planet is using outside factories (fabs in semiconductor parlance). Many, such as Qualcomm and Broadcom just to pick two examples have built market capitalizations in the tens of billions of dollars practicing the orchestration business model. It would have been very instructive to compare and contrast how two different models in essentially the same business can both lead to outstanding results for investors. Sadly, that discussion is wholly absent.

In summary, the core principal of the book is a very important one. I cannot think of a single business that could become a big success not understanding it. However, the lack of details in the customer examples keeps this book from realizing anywhere close to its real potential.