Organizations Books

I am an elementary school teacher and the mother of three young children so I have read a lot of books that say they are filled with easy-to-do science experiments but this is by far the best of its kind that I have read. Within the first two hours my kids and I did three of the experiments AND had a great time together AND learned something!

Many science experiment books out there either have bad science in them, poorly designed experiments, or unclear directions (or, unfortunately, all three). This book has great experiments that are easy and fun to do. And, the science behind the experiments is accurate and clearly explained. As a scientist, science teacher, and parent, this book is the first one my list of recommendations!

I ordered several books to prepare for the experiments I wanted to present for the "Bring Your Kids to Work" Day. This was, by far, the most useful and most interesting book I received. You can use the experiments listed in the book, and tailor them for younger or older children very easily. I'm going to order the sequel, "Science Explorer, Out and About," today!

I loved this book. To be able to understand how the physical universe works and how I relate to it, makes me more able. Simple as that. It has made me a much more causitive person, and made my life much easier and happier.

that is one of the best book a man can get . the knowledge in this book can save you from sad and very bad life. here you can find the knoledge you need for a better future for yourself.

What are the qualities and attributes and capabilities of the Human Spirit? What exactly is the Physical Universe? You were immensely powerful once, so what happened? How can you rise to greater heights of awareness and ability and once again become the YOU that you actually are? This book by L. Ron Hubbard embraces the essence of Scientology. You need this information.

Scientology 8-8008 was originally written by Hubbard in London in October 1952 as the textbook for an upcoming series of lectures which he delivered to students in Philadelphia in December of that year.

The title of this book, "Scientology 8-8008" is actually a formulaic/symbolic statement of the Goal of Scientology. Translated it means: "The attainment of Infinity by reducing the apparent infinity of the Physical Universe to "0" and then taking the apparent "0" value of one's own universe and increasing it to Infinity". (An "8" laid on its side is the symbol for infinity).

Scientology 8-8008 is the best book you will ever read on Spirituality and your Native Abilities. It really does contain the Truth that will set you Free.

This excellent book begins with a comprehensive new, needed and fascinatingly pregnant restatement by Michael I. Good of the history of the Seduction Theory, well after the importantly unsettling 1984 contribution by Jeffrey Masson. A many-voiced chorus of distinguished contributors brings forward (among other things) the psychoanalytically fertile distinction between "abuse" (in which the victim may be utterly passive and wholly noncontributory, from the perspective of the Law), and the "seduction" which has the specific deferred effect peculiar to psychoanalytic inquiry. This distinction (among other elements of the book) leads to an illumination of "the Freudian thing" (in the words of Lacan) with its innovative departure from the "whodunnit" type of explanation the police seek, and also from a physician's investigation into "what brought it on" and -- most importantly -- from the "interrogation" of Nature which began with Francis Bacon's 17th "Novum Organum." That notion of Science is exemplified by Freud's early Seduction Theory itself. In abandoning the Seduction Theory which psychoanalytic evidence cannot verify (according to contributor Robert Michels), the reader may conclude that Freud adopted a psychoanalytic "Novum Organum," a new kind of inquiry into the phenomena, neither Science nor Law nor a police investigation into abuse or trauma (bringing to mind the image of Sherlock Holmes with his big magnifying glass), but what Theodor Reik called "Listening with the Third Ear," (bringing to mind an intent listener with a large ear horn), initiated by a seductive invitation by the analyst to "say what comes to mind," a seduction which itself sets up one of the subjects of the psychoanalytic working-through. Louis H. Hamel, Jr., Esq.

THE SEDUCTION THEORY IN ITS SECOND CENTURY:
TRAUMA, FANTASY, AND REALITY TODAY

Edited with an Introduction and Postscript by Michael I. Good, M.D.

Committee of Pychoanalytic Psychotherapeutic Publications and Organizations,
Monograph I

Arnold D. Richards, M.D.
Book Series Editor

CONTENTS:

Series Editor's Foreword
Arnold D. Richards, M.D.

Preface and Acknowledgments

Contributors

Editor's Introduction:
The Roots of the Seduction Theory: A Perspective from Genesis to Scientia Sexualis
Michael I. Good, M.D.

Part I: WHAT IS THE SEDUCTION HYPOTHESIS? WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT IT TODAY?

Introduction
Chair: Owen Renik, M.D.

1. The Seductions of History: Sexual Trauma in Freud's Theory and
Historiography
George J. Makari, M.D.
2. The Ambiguity of Seduction in the Development of Freud's Thinking
Jay Greenberg, Ph.D.

Discussion of "What is the Seduction Hypothesis? Why Are We Talking about it Today?"
Helen C. Meyers, M.D.
On Literal Misreadings and Reconstructed Truths
Henry F. Smith, M.D.

General Discussion and Audience Questions

Part II: ANALYSTS AT WORK WITH PATIENTS WHOSE LIVES ARE CHARACTERIZED BY THE TRAUMAS OF EVERYDAY LIFE

Introduction
Chair: Arnold M. Cooper, M.D.

3. Trauma and Pathogenesis
Jacob A. Arlow, M.D.
4. Psychological Trauma of Everyday Life
Scott Dowling, M.D.
5. What Happened Matters, and What Really Happened Really Matters
Marylou Lionells, Ph.D.
6. Traumas of Everyday LIfe: A Self Psychological Perspective on the
Neuroses
Anna Ornstein, M.D.

Discussion of Analysts at Work with Patients whose Lives are Characterized by the Traumas of Everyday Life
Robert Michels, M.D.

General Discussion

Part III: ANALYSTS AT WORK WITH SEVERELY TRAUMATIZED PATIENTS

Introduction: The Analytic Aims in the Treatment of Severely Traumatized Patients
Chair: Leon Hoffman

7. Living the Experience of Childhood Seduction: A Brief Account of an Unusual
Psychoanalysis
Peter Fonagy, Ph.D.
8. A View of Severely Traumatized Patients--Soul Murder Victims
Leonard Shengold, M.D.

Discussion of Papers by Fonagy and Shengold
Glen O. Gabbard, M.D.

General Discussion

Part IV: CONCLUDING PAPERS

Introduction
Chair: Arnold Rothstein, M.D.

9. Freud and the Seduction Hypothesis
Steven J. Ellman, Ph.D.
10. The Seduction Hypothesis Axis: What's External, What's Internal, and What's In
Between?
Stephen A. Mitchell, Ph.D.

Postscript
The Seduction Theory: A Leitmotif in the Evolution of Psychoanalytic Theory, But Is It a Testable Hypothesis?
Michael I. Good, M.D.

Name Index
Subject Index

318 pages + xxi

International Universities Press
59 Boston Post Road
Madison, CT 06443
U.S.A.

_____

"Not many books can be stamped 'significant' from their inception, but this one can. It has a measure of historic significance by reason of drawing together contributions from the major psychoanalytic groups operating in the United States. Moreover, it achieves a high level of conceptual and clinical significance in the scope of its subject matter and the competence of the respective contributors. The background of the place of seduction in Freud's thinking and the various perspectives of the ensuing controversies swirling around the seduction hypothesis
and its supposed abandonment are thoroughly explored in considerable depth. The major focus is on the theory and treatment of trauma---explored and discussed from the vantage points of a wide range of theoretical perspectives. The degree of openness and willingness to listen and discuss is laudatory. The contributions cast a wide net, focusing at one level on the traumas of everyday life that arguably form the stuff of the clinical experience of everyday analysis, and at another level on
the more severe traumas in seriously disturbed patients that leave their residues of murderous rage and severe personality impairment. The contributions maintain a high level of discourse and provide a remarkable overview of the history and understanding of seduction-trauma in psychopathology and analytic theory. I have not seen a better synthesis of points of view and issues related to the themes of seduction and trauma than this. Analysts treating patients suffering from the effects of seduction and/or trauma will value these well-integrated contributions, and students of the sexual abuse and traumatization of children will encounter a rich mine of theoretical insights and clinical applications that will fully reward their perusal of these pages. The editor and organizers of this conference are to be congratulated!"

-- W. W. Meissner, S.J., M.D., Training and Supervising Analyst, Psychoanalytic Institute of New England, East; University Professor of Psychoanalysis, Boston College; author of The Therapeutic Alliance and Freud and Psychoanalysis, and other books.

"We soon realized that many companies which adopted such methods were caught in the middle between two competing organizational paradigms: the bureaucratic and democratic. In our analysis, these methods failed to transform the DNA, or fundamental design principle, that informs how organizations are structured and managed...When we understood that these two diamectrically opposed traditions for designing and managing organizations were competng for dominance, it became clear to us why managrs and employees were often being bombarded by mixed messages and a confusing mishmash of structures, management styles, and techniques. The bureaucratic and democratic design principles are based on different logics; each constitutes a distinct class with a specific genetic order...When these logics are mixed together in efforts to shore up the failings of bureaucracy, empowerment and reengineering efforts often fizzle because the basic tenets of a traditional hierarchy have not been uprooted...This book describes the principles and methods for designing the self-managing organization. We show how companies in any industry can change and evolve to become fully self-managing organizations"(from the Preface).

In this context, Ronald E. Purser and Steven Cabana, in Chapter 8, outline fundamental choices of two competing organizational design paradigms as following:

I- Bureaucratic Structure: Coordination and control of work tasks is done by supervisor.

1. Mind Set...*People have specialized skills and are easily replaced. *The work (technical system) is designed first. The people (social system) must adopt and fit in. *Workers are cogs in the machine of the enterprise, a commodity. *Total specialization of everything. *Within a complex organization, simple jobs are created. *Tthe building block of the organization is one person- one task. *Competitive structures, processes and reward systems are the best way to produce high performance.

2. People Act As If...*The environment our enterprise exists in is stable and unchanging. *There is little to learn at work; success comes from reacting resourcefully to problems. *Procedures are sufficient to guide behavior. Change interferes with productivity and can often be postponed. *Responsibility, and blame can be shifted to others; we are separate and therefore I can win at your expense. *We don't need to coordinate work closely with other functions. Their problems are their problems. *Unspoken assumptions need not to be explored. Simple solutions to problems are adequate.

II- Democratic Structure: Coordination and control of work is done by those doing the work.

1. Mind Set...*People possess many skill sets and can do many jobs/functions. *The needs of the work (technical system) are balanced with the needs of the doers of the work (social system). *People are learners. Machines and information systems can extend the skill set of employees to many functions. *As little as possible is specified, leaving the rest to the skill and discreation of the workers. *Complex jobs are created within a simple organizational structure. *The building block of organization is the self-managed work team. *Cooperative structures and reward systems are the best way to produce high performance.

2. People Act As If...*The environment our enterprise exists in is constantly changing. *Skepticism and doubt are valuable and enable continuous learning. *Outcomes are best reached with flexibility built into the approach. *I am fully responsible for any work I agree to perform. *Every task is part of some larger whole. I can't win at your expense. *Everyone's ideas are taken seriously. Cooperation is essential for our mutual survival. *Making our assumptions explicit and exploring them is worth the temporary discomfort.

Hence, in order to transform an entire enterprise to self-management, they discuss these choices within the context of Participative Design method. And they argue that "Dmocratic business organizations won't solve all the world's problems, but they will be places where people can find meaning in their work. Work becomes meaningful when people have attained real membership status, when work is restored to its rightful place, which adds value to both the customer and to the worker, and when people are shapers and creators of the organization's future."

Highly recommended.

This book contains a number practical nuggets for executives and middle managers who are seeking to move from a command and control management style to a style that systematically enlists the participation of employees at every level of the organization. Purser and Cabana provide insightful analyses of how some of the world's most successful organizations have initiated efforts toward higher employee participation that have resulted in superior organizational performance.

This is an easy to read book that blends practical theory with best practices. This book will satisfy the interests of bottom-line focused executives, human resource professionals, and academics who are looking for actual implementations of sound theory about self-managing organizations.

The book introduces a set of organizing principles that are valid across a variety of industries. These principles are introduced in the context of case studies of distinctly different companies such as Motorola, Microsoft, and Charles Schwab. The authors shed light on age-old management dilemmas such as, "How can I give people more autonomy, but still ensure that we have order and productivity in the organization?" and "How can I accelerate people's learning that I know will be critical to our future, but still have them accomplish their business tasks that need to be finished today?" The authors present solid self-management principles that I have seen work in small and large-sized firms, and for industries as diverse as professional services and hi tech manufacturing. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in improving organizational performance by creating opportunities for higher employee participation.

-- Tom Devane (tdevane@iex.net)

If you are struggling with questions related to your business strategy, how work is designed, and the way your organization ought to be managed - READ THIS BOOK. "The Self Managing Organization" (by Ronald E. Purser and Steven Cabana) explains why we have been on a merry-go-round of quick fixes and false promises, and what to do about it. The concepts and real applications in this book move everyone back to ground zero. By the time you finish reading, your thinking will have changed about what it takes to produce effective change, and how self-organization can be facilitated.

It will take a while to read the book. Take the time. The first half analyzes the key management methods of the recent past and dissects what went wrong. You'll understand the principles which facilitate organizational learning, put in place a team-based system of shared responsibility, and re-energize the workforce and management at all levels of the business. You'll also understand why we continue to make costly mistakes when we go about changing organizations and what it takes to be successful right now.

In the second half of the book, Purser and Cabana describe the "how" of moving from today's inadequate practices, to a lean, non-bureaucratic, and powerful future. You'll learn how to develop an urgency for change, get the right people involved, develop common, tangible goals and accelerate their implementation. One benefit of the approaches described is a results-oriented future built from a shared understanding of the business environment. Another is an energized leadership with a shared vision, and a workforce whose local knowledge is translated into effective work designs. Swift deployment throughout the organization occurs.

You might see alignment of the practical concepts in "The Self Managing Organization" with those of John P. Kotter. The alignment is, in fact, perfect with Kotter's Eight-Stage Process of Creating Major Change, as written in his "Leading Change" book. Kotter beautifully frames the steps that EVERY successful organization goes through when making fundamental change. What Purser and Cabana do is describe HOW to rapidly and effectively move your organization through those major changes. There are only two books on my recommended list. "The Self Managing Organization" pushed Kotter's book out of the number one slot. If you need permanent, pervasive change in your business, don't miss it!

Rob McClusky, Baldrige Manager, Picker International, Cleveland, Ohio

I picked up Janice Calnan's book mostly out of curiosity since I have a keen interest in the smooth implementation of new projects and ideas. Shortly thereafter, and with very little warning, organizational convulsions suddently started to happen. My department was changed overnight. Some people were let go, others reassigned, new roles were in store for those that remained. "Change" was now very up close, personal and not a lot of fun. The book helped me focus on the right things in order to get through it all.

The "secrets" are a collection of new and simple ideas that caused a shift in my assumptions and behaviours. Once I began to think about and understand the concepts over a period of time, I found it much easier to manage my emotions and produce results.

Janice Calnan's book SHIFT was brought to me about a month ago while I was conducting workshops at a government accountability conference in Ottawa. In just the five minutes I had to scan the opening "Letter to the Reader" and Introduction, I knew I was onto something special. I have been involved in the work of quality and organizational improvement for about 20 years. I am a certified "business book junkie," consuming dozens of titles a year. Janice Calnan's SHIFT is a remarkable piece of work. Ms. Calnan offers a simple, clear path for people to begin the process of personal change needed to craft more effective and successful organizations. It is obvious that Janice Calnan has spent a great deal of time working with, and learning from people at all levels of organizational structures. She has distilled the complex and seemingly arcane art of organizational improvement into a clear and transformational process. The book's ideas are set out in a simple, straightforward style, that is likely to appeal to even the most entrenched "old thinking" business practitioner. Janice Calnan's book has earned a top spot on my own reference shelf, along such classics as Peter Scholtes' TEAM Handbook, and the works of Deming, Juran, Townsend, Peters, and Wheatley. If you are engaged in the work of organizational change, I would highly recommend this book.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER: Bruce Waltuck is a 25-year veteran of the United States Department of Labor. In 1989 he was asked by Labor Secretary Elizabeth Dole to "rethink the Department's management system." Together with colleague Jim Armshaw, Bruce co-created the DOL's award-winning Employee Involvement and Quality Improvement System. Bruce has lectured and taught throughout the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Singapore. He is widely known for his expertise with labor-management cooperation for quality improvement, strategic planning, data collection and performance measurement, and Baldrige-based assessment. He has authored book chapters, and published numerous articles in academic journals and magazines. He is currently pursuing his interests in the application of complex adaptive systems science to organizational behavior and improvement. He is listed in both U.S. and international editions of Who's Who. He resides in central New Jersey.

The ideas and tools offered up in Janice's book are positioned for business leaders, but are useful for the other half of your waking hours. Janice includes many stories outside the work place that demonstrate how her ideas impact the personal life of her clients and herself. Well read or trained business people will be familiar with a lot of the concepts, what is unique and useful is; the different perspective, the connection of the ideas and the exercises Janice presents to the reader. The understanding of human nature gained as a psychotherapist is clear in each chapter as Janice explains how to change the way people behave in organizations. The ideas and tools are carefully woven into a logical progression throughout the book, however you can get value by starting anywhere or reading a single chapter. At the end of each short chapter you will find some exercises often phrased as questions to the reader. I found the exercises very useful for putting the ideas into action. The saying good things come in small packages applies here, a physically small book with a big impact.

Having reviewed this book before and after it's publication, I can say without a doubt that this is the best book to date on how to implement a effective, systematic reuse program. The book addresses all aspects of Software Reuse, from organizational factors to implementation technologies. All the authors have experience with implementing reuse programs in the real world, and they speak from experience as well as from expertise. If you are at all interested in Software Reuse, or with improving software development productivity, you need this book.

Don't limit yourself to code reusability. This book goes further. Think about reusability from the beginning, put it into your analysis and design models.

The book talks about an _architecture_ and a _process_ to achieve software reusability. I found the book hard to read. Sometimes I felt they did not "hit-the-ground". My problem? I was thinking in code. Don't let that happen to you.

The authors talk about a complete organized process to achieve reusability. The book is a must if you are thinking in reusability.

Read it!

This is an excellent book for developers, architects, project managers, and development managers. It clearly explains how to adjust your development practices to achieve reuse at all levels. I found it particularly helpful in diagnosing common management issues that hinder reuse practices. This book has helped me gather the information needed to effectively establish reusability.

Most of what is found in this book is in False Prophet and Islam in the End Times. But there are still little nuggets here and there that are worth reading. I just skipped over the other stuff I already knew. All in all, I would say this is a book worth having. You can never have enough [spiritual] ammunition.

"He who testivies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming quickly.'" Revelation 22:20

Verses like this in the Bible have plagued me with doubt as long as I can remember. How could the Lord be coming quickly if these words were written 1900 years ago? Throughout the last two millenniums, Christians have always believed the Second Coming was at hand. Doesn't this seem to take away from the validity of the Bible? I struggled with this problem until I read this book.

SOZO by Ellis Skolfield is a must-read to any Bible scholar, skeptic, or student. It is intense reading filled with historical facts backed up by prophetic scripture. From the Islamic mosque, the Dome of the Rock, sitting high on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, to the uncanny victory of Israel in the Six-Day War, this book does what no other book on the market does: its shows us how Bible prophecy is real.

This book challenges your beliefs....makes you get into the WORD and question what and why you have been taught the doctrines of your church..... make your minister and friends read it to begin a worthy discussion

It was as a Passover meal was concluding that Jesus took bread and grape juice from the table and began what has become what some call a religious ceremony. Mike Root points out that each time the meal of remembrance is spoken of in apostolic teaching and practice, it was done as part of a meal. Since every Christian is a priest, the author points out that "the Lord's Supper" needs no priestly intercession in order to be pleasing to the Master. Excellent thinking and writing is "Spilt Grape Juice." Many will be surprised by what is obviously taught in the Bible about our walk with the Lord Jesus. This book "tells it like it is."

While the Bible encourages the saints to follow the traditions handed down to them (II Thess. 2:15) these traditions did not include the ones that we have formulated in our hearts and minds. Anytime you read something that challenges the "pattern" or "tradition" that men have set in place you will be ridiculed and have feelings of guilt, but you will begin to realize how far removed we are from the original New Testament church and their work and worship as it was prescribed by God. This is a must read for any serious student. Sometimes we need a little "Spilt Grape Juice".

Mike's thought-provoking insights are a breath of fresh air to a somewhat stagnated brotherhood.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was packed full of very precise, useful information and the included CD-ROM was a terrific bonus! I especially enjoyed the straight forward approach that the book presents. Sponsorship has evolved and our company's views about sponsorship need to as well. This book provided us with the information and tools that we need to move our corporate sponsorship program into the twenty first century.

This book was indispensable! It helped me understand how wise corporate sponsors determine who gets accepted for a sponsorship! If you are having difficulty obtaining a corporate sponsor, I would highly recommend reading this book. Understanding how businesses make their sponsorship decisions gives you an edge over your competition. I am now better prepared to pitch my presentation and have high hopes of landing a great sponsor! The cards are now stacked in my favor.

This book is outstanding. It has totally revolutionised the way we approach our investment in sponsorship. I had never realised we were so backward until I read this book and it made so much sense. We are now in the process of renegotiating many of our sponsorships to get better results for the brand, not just put our logo in front of people.

The tools and checklists that are included in the book and on the CD-ROM have made changing our approach much easier. They work on all sizes and types of sponsorship. We have even customised some of them for our regional marketing people so that they can do a better job on the smaller sponsorships that they invest in.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in sponsorship.

Very very good condition, no complaints.
Acctually, I tell all my friends what great deals I get from Amozon! I may just be one of your top advocates.

Commenting on the communion of saints in heaven and how their various differences of temperament and intellect must ultimately complement one another in some as yet utterly unimaginable variegated whole, St. Therese of Lisieux once said: "Delightful and surprising will be the friendships found there - I am sure of it ... [A] simple little child may be the intimate friend of a patriarch." Dwight Longenecker in his new book, St. Benedict and St. Therese: The Little Rule and the Little Way, sees in this almost casual remark the kernel of a much larger reflection: how the nineteenth-century French Carmelite saint - not much more than a little child herself at the time of her death - might indeed easily be imagined hand-in-hand with the Father of western monasticism, the sixth-century St. Benedict of Nursia; for, despite the apparent incongruence of this unexpected pairing, their "Way" and "Rule" are in essence one. The "little way" of St. Therese of the Child Jesus is really nothing less than an utterly radical faith and dependence on Jesus Christ. "Sanctity," she says in her final days, "does not consist in performing such and such acts; it means being ready at heart to become small and humble in the arms of God, acknowledging our weakness and trusting in his fatherly goodness to the point of audacity." (p. 215) Such conviction, expressed while nearly at the point of death, finds its spiritual complement in St. Benedict's "little Rule for beginners": "Let us then never withdraw from discipleship to him, but persevering in his teachings in the monastery till death, let us share the suffering of Christ through patience, and so deserve also to share in his kingdom." (p. 38)

Longenecker has provided us with the good fruit of his experiment of exploring and interrelating the timeless wisdom of these two immensely influential saints. A Benedictine Oblate himself, he has already shown himself to be an enlightening guide through Benedict's monastic Rule, as applied to family life, in his Listen My Son: St. Benedict for Fathers. Some of his insights are carried over into this new book, but enriched and expanded as they interact with the Carmelite saint's doctrine. (Here, I note in passing, Longenecker summons to mind others of the school of Benedict who have proven themselves able commentators on the writings of great Carmelites: e.g., one thinks of Blessed Columba Marmion's indebtedness to St. Teresa of Avila, and Dom John Chapman's masterful grasp of the concepts of St. John of the Cross.)

Longenecker movingly tells of his own "encounter" with St. Therese while visiting Lisieux; and how later he found that, beneath the conventionally sugary language of her writings, so typical of her place and time and youth, the deceptively sweet "Little Flower" was in actuality a "steel magnolia". Perhaps most worthy of note, as Longenecker stresses, it is really her ordinariness that provided the rich soil for her remarkable holiness, and thus her holiness can be a model for us all. In this she reminds us of the holiness-in-ordinariness implicit to Benedict's Rule. Longenecker writes: "The Benedictine way is a `little way' because, like Therese of Lisieux's little way, it relies on surrender, not superiority; grace, not greatness." (p. 41) Noting how much of the Rule is given to liturgical, disciplinary, and household concerns, he says:

By focusing on the mundane matters of everyday life Benedict points to a deeper truth: that these
details are the stuff of reality, and that by paying attention to the details of ordinary life we will
find our way to heaven. Someone has said the devil is in the details; Benedict thinks the divine is
in the details. (p. 45)

Likewise, St. Therese insists that it is the day to day details in which real, practical sanctity is cultivated. She recognizes this fact as the hidden basis of even the holiest of all earthly homes: "What does me a lot of good when I think of the Holy Family is to imagine a life that was very ordinary ... their life was the same as ours." (p. 214)

Longenecker has also interwoven into the fabric of his own reflections valuable "Thoughts and Prayers" which launch every chapter, as well as the insights of such writers as Chesterton, Balthasar, C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, and others throughout the text. His own thoughts on humility and spiritual childhood are particularly well worth our prayerful pondering, and, though these might conceivably have been presented by a lesser devotional writer in cloying or sentimental fashion, Longenecker keeps before us the nitty-gritty realities and often painful sacrifices such crucial elements of genuine discipleship demand. We are, throughout this valuable little book, never far from the truth that "the Gospel command to become as little children is a call to return to a state of innocence through the excruciating path of experience." (p. 62)

For those searching for solid Catholic spiritual fare, or for an introduction to either of these saints (or, of course, to both), this book is unreservedly recommended.

St Benedict & St Therese can be read for several reasons and will appeal to a variety of readers. First, it offers an insightful analysis and comparison of the spirituality of Benedict "The Little Rule" and Therese "The Little Way." On another level, it is offers a practical application of their principles for our own spiritual direction. And to add pleasure to delight, it presents both of these in a VERY well-written, sometimes Chestertonian style. Longenecker often surprises you by reaching past the usual spiritual platitudes for the deeper truths. His manner is sometimes humorous, but never trite. His style is often breezy, but never without weight. Here are two examples:

ON MIRACLES: "The main problem for sophisticated people is not that miracles are incredible, but that they are an error in taste. . . . Benedict and Therese call us to follow a little way, and it may be that for humility to begin growing, our grown-up taste must be the first to go. Miracles, relics, sentimentality, pilgrimages, and wonderful answers to prayer lie at the heart of ordinary religion, and since Benedict and Therese are apostles of the ordinary it is fitting that their religion sits happily among the sentimental, the miraculous, and the tasteless." (p.47-48)

ON OBEDIENCE: "Obedience promises freedom, but there is a huge risk because obedience also threatens the most odious form of slavery. Religious people have an unfortunate taste for Pharisaism, and the call to obedience attracts two kinds of Pharisees - those who love to dominate and those who love to be dominated." (p.86)

Anyone who bemoans the meager fare of 90% of what is currently published to inspire and educate the aspiring Christian, should buy this book to ensure that the more worthy 10% will not disappear forever. If you or a friend has a liking for St. Therese or St. Benedict, you don't have to worry that you are buying a repeat of a half dozen other books you've already read. This book contains a fresh and useful approach. I hope to see many titles from this author in the future.