Continuity Books

I bought this book to help with my transition to a director's position at a nonprofit organization. It contains very useful and concrete ideas, in addition to case studies from different organizational types (i.e., an example of succession in public agency, a non-profit organization, etc.). I would definitely suggest this book for anyone thinking of systematizing succession.

Rothwell's book is one of the more comprehensive and well researched books covering this growing topic. It includes a wealth of information following all of the major steps of the Succession Planning process. The book contains useful worksheets and task process flows that allow a reader to rapidly introduce the core concepts into their organisation. A great resource.

easy to understand and absorb great intro reference

The need for succession planning is reaching crisis proportions, yet few organizations are willing to face the crisis and do something about it.

There's nothing magic here---just a realistic, comprehensvie, flexible approach to get the job done. The strenghts in this book:
- Finding the right devleopmental activity for the right level of management
- Design, gain support, and implement, and maintain your succession process.
- Lots of extras, including assessments and a plan to devleop a mentoring program.

A great value.

Rothwell provides not only an excellent review of the current literature but countless worksheets for practice. If you are interested in succession planning issues this book is a must. I would also recommend "The Leadership Pipeline" by Charan, Drotter, & Noel. And buy a copy of "Strategic Organizational Learning" by Beitler. Beitler has several free articles on his website "[...]" that are also helpful.

Laura Taylor
Baltimore, MD

This book is one of the most historically enlightening books I have ever read that covers 4,500 years of thinking in all circles of life, theological, artistic, and scientific. If I ever read something that originated over two hundred years ago it will be read with a different perspective.
I always wondered about one of Marshall McLuhan's aphorisms: "The missing linking created far more interest than all the chains and explanations of being". This book answered this notion in spades.
If you think the missing link originates in Darwinism, you are in for a surprise.
It's not an easy read, but worth it to the end.

With this book Lovejoy invented the area of study called ' The History of Ideas'. His tracing of a single idea through all its historical transformations gave a new interpretation to the concept of ' idea itself'. Ideas were not 'eternal unchanging concepts' but were evolving forms who took on new meanings in new situations.

I'm not going to review this work as much as recommend it. They simply don't make scholars like Lovejoy anymore. I remember reading this as an undergrad in the 80s (bought to supplement my summer reading) and found it a most refreshing read compared to most of the trendy post-modernist "see-how-clever-I-am" works a la DeMan, Foucault, Derrida and their epigones that were de rigeur at the time. Read this to see how one can be a great thinker and write lucidly all at the same time. Amazing!

_The Great Chain of Being: A Study of the History of an Idea_ is a publication of the William James Lectures delivered at Harvard in 1933 by philosopher and historian of ideas Arthur O. Lovejoy, by Harvard University Press. Arthur O. Lovejoy (1873-1962) was a professor of philosophy at Johns Hopkins University who had studied under William James and Josiah Royce. He developed the study of the history of ideas, which study he outlines and explains in the first lecture presented in this volume. The lectures presented here develop the history of an idea ("the great chain of being") which played a central role in the development of Occidental philosophy. Lovejoy explains in his preface to these lectures that the use of the phrase "the great chain of being" to describe the universe was used to refer to three characteristics of the constitution of the world: that these characteristics implied a certain conception of the nature of God, that this conception was conjoined with another to which it was in latent opposition to itself, and that most of the religious thought of the West has thus been at variance with itself. Lovejoy further maintains that the "great chain of being" was used to supply the basis for resolving the problem of evil and showing that the scheme of things was both intelligent and rational. Two further principles play a central role in Lovejoy's explication of the "great chain of being": "the principle of plenitude" and "the principle of continuity". The principle of plenitude may be traced back to Aristotle and simply states that all things that are possible will be, and it lies behind the ontological proof for the existence of God of Saint Anselm. The principle of continuity maintains that the qualitative differences of things must constitute a linear or continuous series. In providing a history of this central concept, Lovejoy traces the development of Western philosophy from the ancient Greeks (Plato and Aristotle), through the medieval period, to the rationalists (Leibniz and Spinoza), through some Eighteenth Century attempts to understand the universe, to the Romantic period (the German romantics and the metaphysical poets), to the modern day (in which the "great chain of being" was overturned and temporality came to play a unique role in the philosophies of individuals such as Bergson, Whitehead, and James). Lovejoy's lectures are very learned and show an incredible depth of philosophical understanding, as he traces the history of this idea. At the end, Lovejoy is to maintain that the idea eventually was overcome because it involved a static picture of the universe, and new philosophical systems (mentioning those of Schelling and Whitehead for example) came to allow for a temporal understanding of the universe and a God that evolves with it. (While his rejection of the notion of the "great chain of being" is perhaps over-hasty, particularly in light of what we now know about the "Big Bang" and the creation of the universe, these lectures nevertheless provide an enlightening tour through the history of ideas.)

Lovejoy begins his lectures by defining what he means by the "history of ideas" (the framework which he will use in his presentation of this particular concept). Lovejoy maintains that the "history of ideas" is both more specific and less restricted than the history of philosophy. Lovejoy suggests that the "history of ideas" is much like analytical chemistry and that "Though it deals in great part with the same material as the other branches of the history of thought and depends greatly upon their prior labors, it divides that material in a special way, brings the parts of it into new groupings and relations, views it from the standpoint of a distinctive purpose." Lovejoy then proceeds to further explicate what he means by the "history of ideas" and the role that the concept of the "great chain of being" plays in that history. In his next lecture, Lovejoy focuses on the genesis of the idea in ancient Greek philosophy. Lovejoy begins by noting that Whitehead regarded Western philosophy as "consist[ing] of a series of footnotes to Plato", and thus he begins by explaining the role of "otherworldiness" in Western philosophy and the philosophy of Plato and the Platonists. Lovejoy mentions Plato's _Dialogues_, Plato's notion of "the Good" and "Absolute Being" (comparing this to the Vedanta), and the NeoPlatonists such as Plotinus. Lovejoy also examines the thought of Aristotle and explains the development of the principles of plenitude and continuity from his philosophy in the _Metaphysics_. Lovejoy also explains the role of "the One" in Plotinus, and then turns his attention to the medieval thought in the subsequent lecture. Here, Lovejoy mentions the writings of the Pseudo-Dionysius, Augustine, and Thomas Aquinas. Lovejoy explains the role of the principle of plenitude in the thought of Saint Thomas (noting the tendency of Thomism towards "illusionism" or otherworldliness, similar to the Vedanta) and the other Schoolmen. Lovejoy also mentions Jewish sources, the philosophy of Robert Fludd, and the role of Christian heresies (Gnosticism and Manicheanism). Lovejoy's next lecture deals with plenitude and the new cosmography. Here, Lovejoy explains the Copernican hypothesis (and how it would lead to subsequent attempts to rectify the notion of the "great chain of being"), the beginnings of modern science in Roger Bacon, and mentions Bruno and Galileo. Lovejoy also mentions the philosophies of Descartes and Pascal and the beginning of the modern era. Lovejoy next turns his attention to the principle of plenitude and the "principle of sufficient reason". The principle of sufficient reason (which was to play a role in both the philosophies of Spinoza and Leibniz) states that everything that happens does so for a definite reason. Lovejoy expounds upon the philosophies of Spinoza (mentioning his pantheism) and Leibniz (mentioning his _Theodicy_ and attempt to solve the problem of evil). The next lecture consists of Lovejoy's reflections on the "great chain of being" in Eighteenth Century thought. Lovejoy explains the subsequent attempts to maintain the concept of the "great chain of being" among the philosophers of the Eighteenth Century, noting attempts to rectify religion with science, the philosophy of optimism (that this is the best of all possible worlds), and the role of Eighteenth Century biology (mentioning the concept of design as seen in the writings of Paley for example and contrasting this to Darwinism). Lovejoy next turns his attention to temporalizing the chain of being. Here, Lovejoy mentions the thinking of Kant, Bergson, and others and their attempts to provide a temporal understanding for this concept. Lovejoy next turns his attention to Romanticism and the priniciple of plenitude. Lovejoy notes the role of this concept in the Romantic poets as well as in the philosophy of German idealism. Finally Lovejoy ends by noting the culmination of this concept and its eventual overcoming by modern philosophers. Lovejoy mentions for example the concept of God (as evolving) as seen by thinkers such as Schelling and Whitehead.

This book provides an excellent introduction to an important concept in the history of ideas in Western thought. Lovejoy was to found this study and his thinking is both profound and unique. Lovejoy's learning is very impressive and his references are sure to provide much source material for further reading in philosophy.

No one should read this book (or, for that matter, Tillyard's "The Elizabethan World Picture") without supplementing it with some of the later counterarguments to the "chain of being," or so-called "natural order"--e.g. Persig's dismantling of Platonic dialectic in "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and Derrida's deconstructing of Plato's logocentric cosmology in numerous essays. Above all, when reading Chaucer, Spenser, Milton, Dante and, especially, Shakespeare, the reader must resist the temptation to interpret the text through the template. At best, it's no more than an organizing tool or convenient metaphor for the poet, an alloy that can be disposed of once the text is in place, inviting the reader's participation in the life of the language.

It took me 30 years to realize the limitations of Lovejoy's scheme, which can be as deadly to the life of the text as the litmus tests conducted by feminists, Marxists, new historians, and those who "use" literature to practice group identity politics. The dismissal of the character of Falstaff is just one example of what happens when readers bring to literature an agenda other than experiencing the life and play of the language, the sheer pleasure of the text. As for an artist like Shakespeare, to the extent that the scheme outlined by Lovejoy is abstracted from human experience and limited to a "pre-modernist" mentality, it would best be taken with a grain of salt. The Bard's instincts about life, language, and consciousness insure that he can no more be held hostage to a dated, heirarchical scheme than to the flawed character whose articulation he entrusts it to (Ulysses in "Troilus and Cressida").

Its a great book, very usefull. The product arrived in time and in proper conditions.

Everything we use everyday comes from somewhere. Getting that product from point A to point B in a timely, cost-effective way is important to everyone in the transportation industry. But the attacks against America both domestically and abroad have shown that we are as vulnerable as ever, and one way to secure our business interests is to secure our transportation networks.
That is the subject of this excellent book, written by three veterans of the industry and featuring a foreward by Tom Ridge, the first Secretary of Homeland Security. Using their years of experience, the authors develop in the book the concept of Total Security Management, and use compelling case studies to illustrate their point that a secure business is a successful business. The book breaks down the global transportation process, shows where value is added along the way, and how to maximize that value while minimizing risk, not only from terrorism but from other less malicious but equally damaging impacts. The book further demonstrates the financial benefits of investing in security, and also how to protect physical corporate assets, whether they be fixed or goods in transit. A "Book of the Month" of the American Society for Industrial Security in December 2006, this book is a must for anyone working in or around global transportation industries.

America's transportation networks are vulnerable. The nation's "wake up," on September 11th is now amplified by government and media clarion calls to protect our ports. Securing Global Transportation Networks answers with an ingenious foundation using Demming's Total Quality Management as its blueprint. Anyone in the public, private, or academic sectors who is serious about transportation will mark themselves ahead of the curve with a first edition of SGTN on their bookshelf.

The authors make a very compelling case that organizations should adopt security as a core business concern.

The book empowers its readers by showing how organizations can avoid disruptive events through planning to protect people, facilities, supply chains, and business reputation. It also outlines how to plan for recovery from those inevitable catastrophes. The book includes many real world examples.

Another benefit of the book is that those in the technology sector can gain insights into how to be part of the security solution.

This book is both well written and comprehensive. The authors have described the multiple facets so clearly that you do not need an MBA to read it.

Total Security Management is a wake up call for global executives. Today's companies are no longer in control of their own fate unless they become proactive. Securing Global Transportation Networks provides an innovative approach to supply chain security and the relationship to value creation. I strongly recommend this book to anyone with responsibility for protecting any part of the supply chain or operating in the business of trade.

Okay, I read a LOT of books. After all, I am a publisher - and I am the publisher of Vali Hawkins-Mitchell's book, Emotional Terrors in the Workplace: Protecting Your Business' Bottom Line--Emotional Continuity Management in the Workplace.

As a publisher, I have to maintain a degree of objectivity about the manuscripts and books I read. Fortunately, I found it very hard to remain objective when I first read Vali's manuscript which eventually became this book.

Vali's extensive use of anecdotes, case studies and examples makes this a tough book to put down. It seems like every case study was about someone or something I have run across in the course of my career - I could put a name on just about every one. What I found most fascinating was each time I would read a case study, identify it with a real individual and experience, and then read Vali's guidance - "if only I had thought of that, I would have handled that idiot differently!"

Bottom line - this book was a pleasure to bring to market, and a worthwhile read for anyone who deals with people in the workplace who experience emotions - in other words, just about anybody you work with.

With my many years of providing an international client base consulting in the areas of continuity and crisis management, there is one important piece that many books on this topic seem to eliminate the human emotions during a crisis.

Sure consultants advise setting up effective command centers, communications, etc. but we seem to forget the trauma being experienced by our fellow workers.

This book provided me and my colleagues and insight into managing emotions and being more understanding and empathetic to those affected by a crisis.

I recommend this book to anyone who is involved with crisis management, corporate executives and anyone who wants to gain a better understanding of how emotions play such a big role in corporate life.

"Dr. Hawkins-Mitchell extensive research and own blend of expertise and clear perception of given situations provides management, and individuals, with competent tools to counter balance emotional terrorism." We've all dealt with them but few of us have successfully maneuvered around them, now we can."

Cheryl D. Coppinger
Owner of SHAM, etc
Retired from CH2M HILL

This book will effectively help you manage emotions in the workplace. It will also help you to become more understanding, empathetic, and sensitive to those around you. "Emotional Terrors In The Workplace" will help you get more production from your staff and as a bonus your staff will be happier, and you will have less conflects in the work environment.

Reading Emotional Terrors in the Workplace: Protecting Your Business' Bottom Line--Emotional Continuity Management in the Workplace, I again faced the Basic Question: Do you believe that the strength and health of your organization is based on the ability of your people to be creative and work as team members to achieve the organization goals? If you say yes then this book is a must-read. We humans are emotional beings. Much has been written about positive uses of our emotions, e.g. motivation, inspiration, drive, and the will to succeed. Of course we want to work with emotions in these positive ways. We also need to deal with emotions which have negative impacts; emotions caused by death, natural disasters, emotional terrorism, etc. This book is a long-needed tool which every successful manager and supervisor should read and re-read. This book should be a part of every MBA, Business Management and Education Administration program. Dr. Vali Hawkins-Mitchell has produced a ground-breaking book in an essential area.

B. Edward Bohart, Ed.D.

Of course, this is perhaps the foremost book on political theory of the last fifty years - basically required reading for anyone with claims to being a political philosopher or interpreter. It is an examination of the nature of political thinking and its connectedness and importance with regard to economics, religion, and the broader society from the time of Plato to the Bush II administration.

This expanded version of the book consists of seventeen somewhat independent chapters devoted to leading political thinkers, such as Plato, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Marx, Nietzsche, and to such concepts as liberalism, community, democracy, and totalitarianism. Given the nature of the subjects the reading is slow going, though quite informative. There does seem to be a certain amount of needless repetition, even within chapters, and the overall affect is more one of fragmentation than of a unifying thread. For most, undoubtedly multiple readings would be required for full assimilation.

There will be no attempt here to offer any sort of critique of the substance of the book - a large project to be sure. There is an interesting chapter that dissects the political writings of John Rawls, the leading political theorist of the late twentieth century. The impact of Superpower and corporate dominance on the possibilities for democratic action in the current era is explored. It is clear that the notion of what is political is ever-changing and is not without its complexities.

This eminently readable work can be picked up and put down as time permits--no small virtue in a busy time, and essential for a proper education in political ideas that still very much shape our world. Without making many explicit comparisons or contrasts, Wolin somehow manages to suggest numerous points of intersection between our political dilemmas today and those that beset people thousands of years ago. This is an erudite, witty, accessible book. It should be required reading for all Americans--especially for those of us who like to shoot our mouths off about liberals, conservatives, and other such oddities in the common bestiary. I wouldn't let my copy go for five times what I paid for it.

This book is so rich and it is about so many things that it is difficult to praise in a brief blurb, but suffice it to say that it presents the development of political thinking since Plato to Roman political thought in the age of the Empire to the rise of the Catholic Church to the Reformation, to the reawakening of Classical theory in Machiavelli and onward to the development of modern ideas of the state, of order and security, representation of the polity, democracy, and authoritarianism. Each chapter is written like an individual essay, but with a depth unmatched my most other books on the subject. Perhaps Q. Skinner's development of western political thought is an approximation.

This book is not just a brief summary of the major figures and ideas; it is a discursis of THE tradition, THE language, THE development of theories AND praxis of human beings applying reason to organize themselves into groups for better protection against scarcity and death. Sexy, hmm?!

It would be interesting to read an equivalent book on the Eastern political tradition, as China is not covered here.

But otherwise, I cannot praise this book more highly. It is one to reread every year or so. When you have some free time that is. And after you reread Hamlet. Or maybe you're better off rereading Robinson Crusoe. Same question, different answer, anyhow.

This is an exemplary work that engages the entire history of political thought in the Western tradition. Wolin has added four significant chapters to the original 1960 book and one addresses postmodernism looking at the Nietzschean background to our epoch. For any one doing serious scholarly work in political thoery, philosophy, critical theory, history this book is a necessary possession. For the rest, probably the best general work of Western political thought available.

That there are people waiting to buy our used copies of this book is a testiment in itself: this is simply a classic of political thought, one which has enriched political theorizing and instructed many a pupil in our traditions over the years. However, Wolin is working on a new edition which will (according to him), "repair" an "error" in this text, whatever it is.

We are in the midst of a great crisis in our capital markets. The loss of confidence in our banking system has frozen the credit markets for most people and resulted in multi trillion dollar losses in investment portfolios.

This crisis in confidence requires strong, intelligent leadership to resolve the very complex issues that have put the significant liquidity available around the world on strike!

Larry's new book describes numerous crisis situations that have been resolved over the many years he has been one of the foremost authorities in the nation on Crisis Management. It should be required reading for our nations leaders at this critical time!

Dickson C. Buxton, Chartered Financial Consultant
Senior Managing Director, Private Capital Corporation
10-12-08

If I were to face a profound organizational crisis, Larry Barton is the person I would want by my side. His practical and effective insights into averting crises - and successfully confronting unavoidable crises - could be the difference between organizational survival or demise.

In this newest volume, Larry uses numerous, fascinating case studies based on real companies and real people to form a framework for building crisis management thinking into a strategic role in your organization. His 40-page crisis management plan is a valuable bonus, especially as it demonstrates that putting a crisis management program to work doesn't have to be an overwhelming challenge.

I have only one minor criticism of this book: I found it so fascinating that I found myself reading it cover to cover, late into the night, almost forgetting that I was learning from the Master of Crisis Leadership along the way. I don't care what your organization does, or what role you play in that organization - read this book!

I'd say Barton's book is by far the best one available to managers. He tells it like it is. Tons of cases- I was impressed how he brings it right up to the moment including incidents in the last few months. We'll use his sample Crisis Plan in our plants because we have nothing like that in place right now.

I have worked with Dr. Barton and this is an update on his work with real-wrold situations and clients. Useful information when developing a comprehensive Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery BC/DR program to include HR, Product Management, Executive Leadership, and not just the security and/or technology folks.

Useful stories about real events.

Larry Barton has written an authentic insight into crisis management.

He has that rare gift of offering important information in a way that is easy to assimilate. It takes a truly brilliant individual to offer important information in such a way that the reader will not be bored after a page or two of reading.

I shall look forward to more of his books in the future.

This document, soon to be published as an independent book by Pathfinder, is a summation of the lessons of history of revolution. In its way it is in line with the Communist Manifesto, with the fundamental documents of the Comintern, knitting together the history of world revolution, and of its Marxist vanguard in particular. This is not just about Trotsky and his contributions, but about how the Cuban communists fit into the continuation of Leninism, of what lessons we can learn from the crushed revolutions in Grenada and Nicaragua and by extension Burkina Faso.
There is so much, how Lenin's understanding of the importance of reaching out to farmers is true today, how new currents of workers searching for communist answers will keep emerging as they did in Cuba, how Trotsky learned Leninism, and how Trotskyists have learned like Trotsky did, not to be Trotskyists, but to be communists.
For many, this pamphlet will take them back to the founding documents of the Communists International. For others this will take the to the continuing revolutionary politics of Fidel and the other Cuban communists.
If you are serious about changing the world, you need to read this, study this, and follow the links this important book takes you to revolutionists throughout history and around the world.

In an age when revolutionaries come from different family trees, how do you look at the legendary Leon Trotsky, and his theory of ?permanent revolution,? that colonial countries can move directly from capitalist governments to workers governments? Jack Barnes, Socialist Workers Party national secretary, examines this issue in an article based on a 1982 speech. The volume also contains a piece by Cuban Communist Carlos Rafael Rodriguez on Lenin?s contributions to the strategy of colonial liberation and a pair of articles, by Lenin and Trotsky, on the 1916 Easter rebellion in Ireland.

In an age when revolutionaries come from different family trees, how do you look at the legendary Leon Trotsky, and his theory of ?permanent revolution,? that colonial countries can move directly from capitalist governments to workers governments? Jack Barnes, Socialist Workers Party national secretary, examines this issue in an article based on a 1982 speech. The volume also contains a piece by Cuban Communist Carlos Rafael Rodriguez on Lenin?s contributions to the strategy of colonial liberation and a pair of articles, by Lenin and Trotsky, on the 1916 Easter rebellion in Ireland.

What does it take to make a socialist revolution? What sort of political leadership is needed? What program and strategy? How to you create it in practice?

I found this issue of New International very helpful in discussing and thinking about these questions, both to understand the world today and figure out what to do about it. Jack Barnes bases his analysis on political work done by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels and leaders of the Russian Revolution V.I. Lenin and Leon Trotsky. He discusses lessons socialists in the United States had already drawn, and then takes a fresh look in light of the 1979 worker and peasant revolutions in Nicaragua and Grenada and the debate they sparked on revolutionary strategy.

The discussion takes up issues where there have often been differences among revolutionary organizations, including the character of alliances between workers and peasants or farmers, the role of armed struggle and electoral campaigns, and the type of the government to establish after overthrowing a capitalist regime. Barnes stresses the importance of the Cuban Revolution, both for the example it sets and the conscious efforts of the Cuban leadership to advance revolutionary leadership development around the world.

This is a great great book that covers network security issues and keeping your network safe.

In Planning for Survivable Networks, Hines lays out 21 top vulnerabilities for network disasters. She shows the opportunities for the hackers, the types of disasters--intentional and unintentional--and most importantly, the planning for preventing them. She gives illustration what damages can be done to the property, the business, and the systems. For either physical disaster or a cyber-attack, planning for survival is essential. For this, she provides a great deal of examples and the consideration for network survival planning. Hines also discusses how to perform network recovery and restoration from the attack and what's important to prepare to handle an attack again. In sum, this book contains wealth of information about the likelihood of network breakdown and the planning necessary for disaster handling. It is easy reading for experienced professionals. For beginners, it's also a useful resource about Network Security in addition to the Network textbooks.

Finally, updated info on setting up decent disaster recovery that I can understand. The other books I tried were completely outdated and way too detailed. If you need a plain English explanation of disaster recovery, and who doesn't these days, get this book.

Some books grab you from the first page. While I wouldn't call Annlee "Ishmael", as in Moby Dick, I'm reminded of David Kahn's The Codebreakers, opening the 3000 year history of cryptology with the tension of December 7, 1941.

In this case, it opens with the author being rocked by a terrorist-caused explosion. I was surprised, given the current popularity of books about 9/11, that the event took place 20 years ago. A retired Air Force officer, she has dealt with these threats, all over the world, for many years. Her direct command and control experience teaches that there is only a certain level of protection that mission-critical networked applications can provide, without geographic diversity. Below that level is a constant range of tradeoffs, which she identifies in detail.

There are many books that go into great detail on computer and network security techniques, such as firewalls and encryption. While this book identifies these and puts them in their proper context, the strength of this book is what variously could be called a systems, business or economic justification for survivability, based on a solid technical and economic foundation.

Consider the title carefully -- it's not planning "secure" networks, but planning "survivable" networks. Many networks in the World Trade Center complex were secure, but not survivable for reasons such as having their backups in the other tower. Even in an era where we worry about terrorism, there's far too little attention given to ordinary fire, flood, and other natural disasters. People have told me that the discussion of floor drains to cope with fire sprinklers or firefighting elsewhere in the building is something they never thought about until they read my book, _Building Service Provider Networks_.

I highly recommend this book as a different way of ensuring business and technology continuity, in a world with hacker, terrorist, criminal, and natural threats -- as well as the traditional Murphy's Law inspirations of software and hardware bugs, as well as human error.

I have purchased the book for every new child I know. The pictures have enough detail to involve the young ones and the simple question of the book instigates interaction from the older audience(including myself). I debated giving the books away. Very refreshing compared to most books that have the same stories hashed out over and over again.

Albert is one of those rare books that is both fun and thought-provoking. After I read it to my boys, my younger son wanted to build a cardboard-box rocketship and my older son wanted to talk about our place in the universe. At every level, this is a satisfying book.

I was lucky enough to find this great little book on Amazon. We usually let our kids pick the books they want us to read when they go to sleep, and Albert has been selected quite often in recent weeks. And every time we finish reading Albert - we are bombarded with questions. They are falling asleep a bit later than usual - with a lot of unanswered questions in their heads. I can highly recommend Albert.

Gary Lynch's achievement is to take the management of risk from being a dry governance requirement, many times drafted in isolation, into being an essential component of the corporate decision making process. I recommend At Your Own Risk to all those involved in driving the value chain in their company.

Thomas Shannon
OMG plc

I've been a line positions most of my life and thought about risk in my area, but generally thought it was someone else's problem. Lynch's book smashed through my denial. With an easy to read style with great examples, Lynch demonstrates that "Risk Awareness" needs to be part of a company's culture. I am handing this book out and asking associates to begin asking a lot more "What if..." questions.

Lynch gets it right in this book. He takes a broad set of perspectives, experiences and best practices and pieces them together to create a one-of-a-kind mosaic that finally illuminates the real issues we are facing in the business world. He seems to have done his homework, but this is far from an academic-only exercise...it is reality based, practical and useful. Translates an enormous and challenging issue into digestible and actionable guidance. While no one can completely tackle this issue in 300 pages, this book will certainly help you understand where to start.