Tools Books

The other day I woke up and felt somewhat sad and depressed. Before I even got out of bed, I reached over to my bookstand and picked up "Channeled Messages from a Paralled Universe" by Connie Russert. As I read the inspiring, comforting, and assuring words and felt the loving presence of Paularyo, I could feel the heavy mood beginning to lift. I got up and went into my medicine wheel to meditate, thinking about the exercise I had just done from the book about connecting with my "Ka". Then I wrote this:

"Dear Beloved Spirit of the Light, Teach me the Way of Love."

The answer I then received was this:

"We are with you, and we know in your heart you yearn for the Truth. Let us show you the Way of Light by merging with your Essence. When you drop into your heart you will always find Peace, the Peace that surpasses understanding. The human mind, or Ego, cannot comprehend the Truth of Love, for the human mind is merely meant to be a servant to the Will of God, which is Love. God's Will is Love for you. Love holds not beliefs or judgements or criticisms. It merely is the Truth of your existence. It merely IS. Love is the only Truth, the one Truth and the only reality. Nothing else is real. Anything other than Love is a fabrication of the Mind/Ego."

This book quickly helped me tap into my own higher wisdom, the place that Paularyo refers to as the "Ka". I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to connect to this place within themselves from which so often we can be distracted as we get caught up in the challenges of our daily lives. This book brings you back to yourself and the place in yourself where peace resides. A must read for every seeker of Truth.

I finished your book in two sittings (and with a 60 hour+ per week job that's no small feat!). AWESOME information.
I did not find answers telling me what to do, but more a gentle guidance toward the direction of finding my own way - in your writings. The book makes you think and examine where you are in your own life and empowers you to move forward on that path. Thank you so much, Connie!

I appreciate how clear this book makes the path to connecting with your soul and to higher realms. It is well organized, thorough ...and the exercises are a pleasure to do, as well as easy to integrate, even when time is limited. It has resources to improve functioning in anyone's life ..in a way that flows easily. And reading the messages from the Master Spirit Guides feels like a breath of fresh air. I am ordering one for each of my kids, to have as a resource for a connected life.

Title: Channelled Messages from a Parallel Universe
Author: Connie Russert M.S.

Publication date: 2004
ISBN: 141200679-1
Pages: 193
Edition: Paperback

Channelled Messages from a Parallel Universe ~ Connie Russert M.S. ~ Trafford Publishing

Just the tool for all your Soul Transformation and channelling needs...and it comes with its own spiritual toolbox!

Connie Russert M.S., founder of Tools for Transformation, begins her book with a short story about how she discovered her talent for channelling. It was a tool which changed her life direction forever more. From that moment on she explored her new metaphysical side with a passion and over time, left not only her `reluctant channel' stage far behind, but also her day job. After making the transition to concentrate on her channelling she found the perfect opportunity to help others lead happy and rewarding lives.

Channelling messages through her seven master guides, collectively known as Paularyo, Connie receives their enlightening messages of wisdom and truth. Now you can learn to contact your own spirit guide too!

The aim of this book is to assist us with enhancing our emotional, mental, spiritual and physical well being. With the acceptance of connecting to our spirit guides in a parallel world, we can tap into our intuition and uncover our true self and our life purpose. We learn how to use memorable analogies such as `The Tools for Soul Transformation' and the `Spiritual Toolbox', to help visualise and unlock our intuition and change our destiny for the best. We also hear how the process of journaling helps take the path `less travelled' and see the world through the eyes of our soul.

"All we need", says Connie, "is imagination, meditation and to allow ourselves to be comforted by light and love. Transforming pain into peace and fear into faith".

This may sound like hard going, but it's not at all. In fact, Connie's explanations are written in an easy to understand language, which doesn't skimp on detail or confuse. She appears to have shared her knowledge effortlessly, bringing clarity into the lesser-known art of channelling, which is rapidly growing in popularity.

Conducting seminars and workshops Connie is an expert in her field, providing channelling and support for individuals, couples and groups worldwide. So it's no wonder this handbook includes short exercises to make full use of her knowledge. For the channelling enthusiast this makes the perfect DIY manual, and it comes with its own spiritual toolbox to ensure you have the right tools for the job!

If you'd like to find out more, you may be interested in obtaining one or both of the accompanying meditative/music CD's. Stay tuned, as I will be reviewing those soon!

Tracy-Jane.

I recieved this book for Christmas and just finished it. It is a great introduction to the use and care of hand tools. It has very informative and interesting side bars and is wonderfully illustrated. It blends the aesthetic with the practical very well. Just one hint: skip over the section on handplanes and just purchase Hack's "Handplane book" which is the definitive book on handplanes.

I highly recommend Classic Hand Tools for many reasons, but in a nutshell it is a book to help me get through the long winter here in Minnesota. I read it randomly and don't mind at all reading parts several times.
Not only is it well written, (I'm a "professional writer" so I'm hard to please) it is beautifully produced with many excellent photos. You get a short course of the history of hand tools... with a special emphasis on planes. Mr Hack also produced a book of this size and quality, specifically about planes. I plan to get that one on also.
The book is not limited to woodworking tools; Hack also touches on black smithing -- the sort that many tradesmen would have had to know in the days before mass-produced tools. Also there is a chapter on how to buy used hand tools.

The breadth of Mr. Hack's knowledge is truly impressive. The book gives enough detail to understand the history, care and use of a tool while not becoming boring. His technical understanding of tools was very good and he did a nice job of conveying it. I'd recommend it.

Garrett Hack feels that his hand tools have become extensions of
himself and are linked with what he makes and how he makes it. He
also believes that learning about hand tools and how to use them
is part of the pleasure to be gotten from working with wood.

His beautiful and informative book, "Classic Hand Tools", will
convince even the most casual "weekend wood-butcher" that he's
right.

Hack's presentation of hand tools is organized according to their
normal purposes: boring, sawing, planing, marking and measuring,
striking and chiseling and he provides historical insights into
the development of the more common hand tools. For example,
"Striking Tools" starts with axes and hatchets and moves through
twybills and throes to mallets and hammers.

Each major section surveys numerous variants of the class of tools
being dealt with, and covers use, maintenance, sharpening and
tuning. As a bonus, most sections contain informative sidebars
providing advice and tips from the master.

Although the author's bias is for Western tools built before World
War II, he includes explanations and discussion of some Eastern
hand tools and explains what's involved in making your own tools,
buying used tools and strategies for restoring old ones. There's
even a section on workshops, benches and clamps.

This handsome work is illustrated by more than 300 photgraphs and
40 drawings and features an introduction, bibliography and index.

John Sheldon's superb photography more than exceeds the exacting
standards of the Taunton Press.

Garrett Hack, a farmer, tool collector and trained architect, has
been making furniture professionally for more than 25 years. He
is a regular contributor to Fine Woodworking magazine.

Philippe Rosinski's book is essential reading not only for global coaches but also for corporate leaders and business professionals who interact with diverse customers, clients and colleagues. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the diversity of cultural orientations, as well as specific tools and recommendations for broadening and leveraging different cultural orientations in the workplace.

The centerpiece of the book is a comprehensive model, The Cultural Orientations Framework, which provides a structured format for identifying, assessing, developing and leveraging cultural differences. This model can readily be implemented in the workplace, serving as an objective tool for raising an executive's awareness regarding his/her cultural orientation blind spots. As an executive coach working primarily with American executives who are focused on increasing the breadth and flexibility of their cultural orientations, I have found this book to be a valuable resource for enhancing the cross-cultural capabilities of global executives.

Let me be clear, I don't finish reading books these days unless they are good and I certainly don't bother writing reviews unless I think the book is top notch. So it is a pretty safe bet that if you like any of the other books that I have reviewed, you will like this one.

Coaching Across Cultures is another one of those - must have books - for any serious coach working with professionals. Even if you are not interested in an international practice, (and who isn't) this book still is required reading. The book is really about understanding and integrating our differences. Rosinski who lives currently in Belgium, is an Engineer and a MCC by training who has worked in Silicon Valley.

The book is a bit of a smorgasbord. However, it is well designed and packaged so that each section can be considered a self contained component on cultural issues. Part One makes the case for a cultural framework when coaching and points out the dangers of our assumptions and belief systems when working with others of any origin or background. Part Two provides a high level overview of the key components of developing a cross cultural mindset. Although generalized in content, it also provides concrete examples and practical applications of how this plays out in our interactions with others. Part Three is a bit more conceptual and is well suited to those who come from an organizational development perspective. Roskinski has created his own Global Scorecard approach that is tied into his Cultural Orientations Framework. For my reading, it seems thorough, usable and comprehensive.

Coaching Across Cultures is well documented with references, a glossary and some interesting appendixes. There is little to find fault. Perhaps that is because, Rosinski himself is careful never to find fault. He is a great diplomat and finds a place for all styles and approaches whether it is the transactional techniques of some North American coaching styles to the transformational style of others.

If there is one area that I find a little weak, it is his discussion of self-assessment as a precursor the organizational assessment through his Global Scorecard. Now I am the first to admit that assessments are not only my area of interest, it is my business - so I have a bias. That said, I found Rosinski focus on the tools he prefers (the MBTI specifically) left me with the impression that this is THE tool. I also believe that this was not Roskinki's intention - as he does mention a few others but not some that I would have expected. Now don't get me wrong, I love the MBTI and the others he includes but I thought that at least a few more should have been mentioned or acknowledged.

This is a solid, well-written and great new contribution to the field of coaching and working within the global setting. Don't just get this book - read it. I can almost guarantee it will have a positive affect on how you will interact in the future with your clients.

This is the first, and currently only, book on coaching cross-culturally. The author brings the multifaceted perspective of culture into the coaching equation. The book starts with an introduction to coaching and culture and then goes in depth in cultural perspectives. The author wraps up the book with a couple chapters integrating all this into coaching practice.

Coaching is defined as "the art of facilitating the unleashing of people's potential to reach meaningful, important objectives" (page 4). Surprisingly there is nothing distinctly cross-cultural in the definition. Such as "the art of facilitating in culturally relevant ways the unleashing of people's potential..." This definition could come from any book on coaching. Culture is defined broadly to include not just nations and peoples, but corporate culture as well.

The real meat of the book is the second section, nearly half the text. The author presents a series of Cultural Orientations each with tools for how to assess them through coaching. Orientations such as a sense of power and responsibility, time, identity and purpose, organization and communication each have a chapter devoted to them. The author begins each chapter with a presentation of the various cultural perspectives on the Orientation, for example, concerning time there are grids of scarce or plentiful; one activity at a time or multiple tasks; and past, present or future orientation. The author presents a tool for the coach to understand the client's orientation, and for the client (and teammates) to understand himself or herself. The final section is a synthesis of the theory into practice. The author illustrates how he uses his detailed Cultural Orientation grid during coaching sessions.

This book is helpful for those interested in the cross-cultural issues. The book gets a bit lost in trying to reach a wide audience by focusing on at least three audience needs: skills for coaching people of other cultures, cross-cultural team awareness, and personal cultural awareness. The niche this book best fits would be a multicultural team trying to understand each other and how a team leader might coach them through that process of understanding.

The book is not solely dedicated to the international arena but for everyone who works with people from different organizations and backgrounds. The author's aim is to raise the level of awareness of cultural orientations and suggests how to use differences constructively. The book breaks out of the usual confines of cultural assumptions to find creative solutions. It introduces coaching and cross-cultural concepts, provides a framework for integrating coaching and cultural perspectives, and examines numerous cultural orientations. Rosinski presents a Culture Orientations Framework to assess and profile culture, and a Global Scorecard to help set targets at all levels. Chapters discuss how to leverage power and responsibility, time management, identity and purpose, organizational arrangements, notions of territory and boundaries, communication patterns, and modes of thinking. This is a very thoughtful treatment of an unusual and highly important subject.

Compiled in part as a rebuttal to those who see the future through a dystopian lens (i.e. Orwell and company), Ogilvy offers this book as a refusal to accept either the notion that we are a doomed people, or that we must settle for "good enough" in contemplating progress and the future. He offers scenario building as the premiere tool for creating multiple, multicultural futures, based upon a "relational worldview". In doing so, Ogilvy tackles positivism and relativism, values and ethics, and the importance of true pluralism to creating better futures.

Ogilvy is well equipped for the task. With a doctorate in philosophy from Yale University, he has taught at that venerable institution, as well as at the University of Texas, and Williams College. He has been interested in the relationships between human values and consumer societies, and headed the "Values and Lifestyles" research project at the think tank, SRI International (formerly known as Stanford Research Institute). He worked in scenario building with Peter Schwartz for Royal Dutch/Shell, and later co-founded Global Business Network (GBN) with Schwartz and others. At GBN, he specializes in corporate scenario planning and research on futures in business environments. He has also authored, Living Without a Goal (1994), China's Futures (with Peter Schwartz - 2000), and Many Dimensional Man (1977), as well as numerous other publications through SRI.

Ogilvy fleshes out his relational worldview in the first part of the book, where he traces the move from mysticism to rationalism, and the evolving recognition of the inter-relatedness of the world today. Emphasizing the growth of elaborate networks of information and obviously competing visions of the future, Ogilvy constructs an extremely useful framework for beginning to consider potential futures in the world at large. He considers changing relations in religion, politics, and economics, in the struggle between individual and collectivist posturing and power, and weaves together multiple, shifting disciplinary views in the human sciences, and interprets these into a new view of the world that avoids the excesses of zealots and nihilists alike.

Ogilvy takes a chapter to discuss the application of particular features of this new world to normative scenario building. Recognizing the philosophical shift from things to symbols, the growing emphasis on relationships, the shift to narration from explanation, and the questionability of "timeless norms", Ogilvy cautions against wholesale subjective relativism, and instead holds out the possibility of what he calls the democratization of meaning, and paths towards ethical pluralism, that strives to unite the normal, or what exists, with the normative, what ought to be. In this model, ambiguity is always present, and the potential for multiple interpretations is rife - and a source of welcome creativity. Likewise, the idea of heterarchy, a sort of hyperlinkish anti-hierarchy, creates opportunities for multiplicity as well. Rather than trying to devise the One True Path based on immutable "laws" of nature, multiple paths are carved out that represent the shared hopes and dreams of community and communities.

By Part Four, entitled New Rules, New Tools, it is quite obvious how scenario building works hand in hand with the relational worldview and ethical pluralism Ogilvy has discussed. The rest of the book is devoted to the use of the scenario building tool, with examples of scenario building in action in first an educational context, and then a healthcare context. He closes by reiterating why even thinking about one best future is no more possible that thinking about one best way of being human, and encourages the visualization of a "rich ecology of species in the gardens of the sublime."

The strengths of this book are many; it is an extremely enjoyable read, with just enough additional sources to round it up to a "scholarly" tome. In the best scenario building tradition, the thesis of the book is cohesive and plausible, and is an especially refreshing departure from much of the scenario building literature, that too frequently focuses on business applications and barely questioned assumptions defined by buzzwords. Ogilvy stresses the need for passion and pluralism to co-exist, reminds us of the true potential of communal/social creativity, and suggests the possibility of exhilaration in imaginations unfettered. Creating Better Futures is aptly named, and offers an "Etch-a-Sketch" blueprint to be used over and over to do just that.

Compiled in part as a rebuttal to those who see the future through a dystopian lens (i.e. Orwell and company), Ogilvy offers this book as a refusal to accept either the notion that we are a doomed people, or that we must settle for "good enough" in contemplating progress and the future. He offers scenario building as the premiere tool for creating multiple, multicultural futures, based upon a "relational worldview". In doing so, Ogilvy tackles positivism and relativism, values and ethics, and the importance of true pluralism to creating better futures.

Ogilvy is well equipped for the task. With a doctorate in philosophy from Yale University, he has taught at that venerable institution, as well as at the University of Texas, and Williams College. He has been interested in the relationships between human values and consumer societies, and headed the "Values and Lifestyles" research project at the think tank, SRI International (formerly known as Stanford Research Institute). He worked in scenario building with Peter Schwartz for Royal Dutch/Shell, and later co-founded Global Business Network (GBN) with Schwartz and others. At GBN, he specializes in corporate scenario planning and research on futures in business environments. He has also authored, Living Without a Goal (1994), China's Futures (with Peter Schwartz - 2000), and Many Dimensional Man (1977), as well as numerous other publications through SRI.

Ogilvy fleshes out his relational worldview in the first part of the book, where he traces the move from mysticism to rationalism, and the evolving recognition of the inter-relatedness of the world today. Emphasizing the growth of elaborate networks of information and obviously competing visions of the future, Ogilvy constructs an extremely useful framework for beginning to consider potential futures in the world at large. He considers changing relations in religion, politics, and economics, in the struggle between individual and collectivist posturing and power, and weaves together multiple, shifting disciplinary views in the human sciences, and interprets these into a new view of the world that avoids the excesses of zealots and nihilists alike.

Ogilvy takes a chapter to discuss the application of particular features of this new world to normative scenario building. Recognizing the philosophical shift from things to symbols, the growing emphasis on relationships, the shift to narration from explanation, and the questionability of "timeless norms", Ogilvy cautions against wholesale subjective relativism, and instead holds out the possibility of what he calls the democratization of meaning, and paths towards ethical pluralism, that strives to unite the normal, or what exists, with the normative, what ought to be. In this model, ambiguity is always present, and the potential for multiple interpretations is rife - and a source of welcome creativity. Likewise, the idea of heterarchy, a sort of hyperlinkish anti-hierarchy, creates opportunities for multiplicity as well. Rather than trying to devise the One True Path based on immutable "laws" of nature, multiple paths are carved out that represent the shared hopes and dreams of community and communities.

By Part Four, entitled New Rules, New Tools, it is quite obvious how scenario building works hand in hand with the relational worldview and ethical pluralism Ogilvy has discussed. The rest of the book is devoted to the use of the scenario building tool, with examples of scenario building in action in first an educational context, and then a healthcare context. He closes by reiterating why even thinking about one best future is no more possible that thinking about one best way of being human, and encourages the visualization of a "rich ecology of species in the gardens of the sublime."

The strengths of this book are many; it is an extremely enjoyable read, with just enough additional sources to round it up to a "scholarly" tome. In the best scenario building tradition, the thesis of the book is cohesive and plausible, and is an especially refreshing departure from much of the scenario building literature, that too frequently focuses on business applications and barely questioned assumptions defined by buzzwords. Ogilvy stresses the need for passion and pluralism to co-exist, reminds us of the true potential of communal/social creativity, and suggests the possibility of exhilaration in imaginations unfettered. Creating Better Futures is aptly named, and offers an "Etch-a-Sketch" blueprint to be used over and over to do just that.

How do we achieve our futures? Is our future predetermined? How much of our future can we extrapolate from our past and our present? These are questions which James Ogilvy addresses in this book.

Ogilvy has an impressive background in both academia and the business world. Before co-founding the Global Business Network, he was a Professor of Philosophy at Yale and Williams, and a social researcher with the Stanford Research Institute (Values and Lifestyles Program). In Creating Better Futures he draws on all his experiences in these fields to outline what he sees as an emerging paradigm of how we view and shape society. This paradigm he calls the 'relational worldview': a view of the world which highlights relationships and interdependencies across and in spite of differences.
Ogilvy devotes a large part of the book to outlining his worldview - he identifies social structures which were dominant in the past & explains why they are no longer sufficient to provide us with the futures we want. Then he relates his argument for a new world view to shifts he sees in other social sciences, namely anthropology and literary criticism: the shift from objectivity to subjectivity, from things to symbols and relationships, from determinism to ambiguity and the existence of many different but equal possibilities which arise from meanings created and shared by and within groups.

Ogilvy points out that we already have at hand the essentials for creating a better tomorrow; the three key elements of players, values and tools we need are easily identified once we look at the world through the new paradigm of the relational worldview. He rejects the Religious Institutions of past eras, and the Governments and Marketplace of the modern era, as major players in future society. Placing individualist and collective societies at two opposite ends of the same spectrum of social organization, he identifies individuals within communities as the new actors in making decisions.

Similarly, the social values of this new paradigm are not found in the absolutism or determinism of religion, or the scientific objectivity of modernism. Nor are they found in the subjective relativism of postmodernism. Rather, values are found in the ethical pluralism of interrelated communities - an ongoing process whereby communities share their hopes and negotiate meanings as they try to get along with each other.

Recognizing that in an increasingly interdependent world there are a multiplicity of religions, races, standards, norms and values, Ogilvy's worldview identifies scenario-building as the tool best suited for creating better futures. Scenario-building is a process which provides a venue for a individuals and groups within a community to assess, articulate and negotiate its hopes and values for a better future. In the final chapters of the book Ogilvy gives a brief outline and some illustrations of the practice of scenario planning.

This is stimulating, though not easy, book to read. Adopting a new perspective is always challenging, and Ogilvy has included a lot of abstract philosophical, sociological and literary theories as he builds his case for a new worldview. However I chose this book because I wanted to read more than another "How to .." book - I wanted a book that would situate the technique of scenario-building in a wider social and global context. Ogilvy's well-considered paradigm provides a very good starting-point for us to contemplate as we try to negotiate our shrinking and increasingly interdependent world.

Jay Ogilvy begins this book by observing that "There is nothing inevitable about better futures. We have to create them." This is a powerful early statement of his approach toward the yet-to-be, which repudiates a singular and predictive mode of knowing. That is, he argues, we co-author the future through our actions, and we must take responsibility for that process. The burden of the book is to explain how and why we can coherently do so.

So although it may seem at first to be a methodological work, this is more of a philosophical meditation on what lies behind the scenario planning methodology; an exposition of the worldview which informs and makes scenaric thinking, especially normative scenarios, viable. For detail on how to actually do scenario planning, we are referred to previous, more manual-like works by such authors as Kees van der Heijden and Peter Schwartz. Ogilvy's focus is different, and he shows how scenarios provide the catalyst for a conversation among communities about what they want to become. Rather than holding the perils of judgment or moral commitment at arm's length, then, as much academic work modeled on supposedly "hard" science wants to do, in this arena he argues for its importance. "World-weary pessimism seems so much more intellectually respectable than even the most educated hope. However, I would argue...that the fashionable face of all-knowing despair is finally immoral. Granted, the bubble-headed optimism of Pangloss and Polyanna are equally immoral. A refusal to look at poverty or oppression can contribute to their perpetuation; but so can a cynical commitment to their inevitability."

Ogilvy takes it upon himself to show how the practice of normative scenario planning anticipates a paradigm shift currently occurring in the "human sciences", by embracing an interpretive, relational, ethically pluralistic - but not shallowly relativistic - worldview. He situates this thinking in the broad currents of contemporary thought by reference to literary criticism, anthropology, psychology, sociology and other disciplines. Rather than claiming entirely original scholarship, then, here he joins "familiar dots in relatively unfamiliar ways". The book ranges across a vast and various intellectual territory in search of a sound basis for normative futures work. In my view he finds it, and presents it, extremely well. For example, he suggests an intriguing parallel between the trajectory of literary criticism and that of studying the future. In interpretation, the tendency has gradually shifted from an original emphasis on the author's intentions, to the text itself, and finally to the role of the reader in constructing her own meaning. Similarly, studying the future was long conceived as an attempt to reveal "God's intentions", after which it became mainly a scientific attempt to trace the story etched in the patterns of history, or reality itself; and finally it has emerged as a matter of creating worlds and meanings for our own purposes. (Rather than being merely "readers" of the world, though, we can now see ourselves of the authors of our own story, thereby closing the interpretive loop.)

This philosophical approach may sound specialized, but in fact it reads as a startlingly clarifying and accessible portrait of the best practice in thinking about possible futures; things that haven't happened yet. Rather than writing an instructional guide to scenario planning he takes the trouble to explain how and why the worldview underpinning this strategy makes sense, and how the whole philosophical current of the West of our age is tending in this direction. It is therefore suitable and relevant to a far broader possible audience. Ogilvy's philosophy experience allows him to understand complex writers and thinkers, but his business background has forced him to avoid the communicative obscurantism that accompanies them. He wants to use the ideas, but extracts these from their ugly and intimidating packaging for use in a purer and more potent form. He navigates us through the dilemma of relativism (anything goes) vs absolutism (My Way, My Tradition...) and comes out with a relational worldview and an endorsement of pluralist ethics.

Ogilvy describes the book as an "odd mix of philosophy and consulting". The book is indeed a rare hybrid, like its author, part-academic and part-consultant. And it may equally puzzle purist philosophers and dedicated profiteers. However, for anyone interested in being able to bridge the thought-worlds of academia and business (or thought and action; principles and profits), this combination is not only refreshing to read, it's a definite strength. Ogilvy has had a chance to "test in the marketplace" the ideas he picked up in philosophy, and the test has made them stronger. So, an odd mix it may be, but it's one pulled off so persuasively and elegantly that the book warrants the close attention of not only those already concerned with futures studies, but more broadly, anyone concerned about how quality thinking about the future ought to look. In this respect I am reminded of The Ecology of Commerce, by Paul Hawken, a former colleague of Ogilvy. (They were two thirds of the team that wrote Seven Tomorrows, an early scenarios book; the third musketeer was fellow GBN Peter Schwartz, who provides a brief but helpful foreword in this volume.)

Overall this is an excellent, erudite and very well written contribution to the thinking behind scenario planning, and is highly recommended to those in search of a comprehensive, theoretically informed account of that methodology, or indeed a broader sense of the importance and value of a normative orientation in discussing possible futures in any community.

This is the fifth in the Understanding Yourself and Others® Series, and the most ambitious project of the set. Here we have a whole creativity workshop in one book. Marci has combined her extensive knowledge and experience in the field of creativity, and her training in temperament and psychological type to produce a great trainers' and participants' manual. While it would greatly benefit a creativity facilitator to experience Marci's course, this book is extensive enough for someone with a background in creativity and personality type to do a very creditable job with a group. The book even includes many trainer tips of what to expect from the workshop participants.

As a temperament and personality type facilitator myself, I was excited by the wealth of material presented and the logical unfolding of the topic. This isn't always true of this kind of book. Sometimes trainers' books have all kinds of materials missing that the author only gives at the training program. Other books are written for the general public and leave out too much background material for any meaningful self-help to occur or for a facilitator to cover the topic in depth in a workshop.

The book begins by an overall outline of creativity. One of the key stereotypes of creativity is that it has to be something unique and "way out there." Marci takes great pains to emphasise that creativity is the ability to initiate change. There are a number of exercises and leaders' tips as to how a group is likely to respond and how to deal with possible problems.

Then the book moves on to temperament in a section called "Discovering Your Creative Voice." Helping people to see that there are many ways to be creative and that their kind of creativity is usually related to their personality, gives them a legitimate voice in a creativity session. So the next step is to help people become aware of their temperament. As an associate of Linda Berens, Marci begins with temperament and then later moves into psychological type, which from their experience gives an overall more accurate best-fit personality type for the individual. Marci uses her own unique method of determining temperament. She has participants answer creativity related questions and then has them compare their answers to four groups of answers which turn out to be typical responses of the four temperaments. Another exercise lists a large number of definitions of creativity by world renowned authorities. Participants are to choose ones they relate to. Then they are to compare their choices to four sets of choices which also turn out to be the four temperaments. With this second confirmation of best-fit, participants move on to reading their temperament descriptions that are taken from Berens's book on temperament (1998).

To demonstrate temperament differences participants are given an exercise where they take some craft materials and are told to be creative. Marci describes how in one of her workshops the four temperament groups reacted in very typical patterns. The description is a hoot, and I can't wait to try it with a group. She then follows up this exercise up with more temperament related creativity exercises.

The author then introduces Jung's theory of psychological type, showing how an understanding of the cognitive processes creates balance in divergent and convergent thinking. Participants find out their psychological type by engaging in creativity-related activities. They learn about the eight voices of creativity, i.e.: the four functions in their introverted and extraverted forms. Since these eight voices are in a hierarchy or a type dynamic, the code for determining the type dynamic of each type is explained. Exercises show how each of the sixteen types has its own unique way of dealing with situations requiring creative solutions. Now that participants know about information-gathering (the perceiving functions) and decision-making (the judging functions), the next step is to show how the creative process begins with divergent thinking, and then it has to use convergent thinking. First we want to generate a mass of ideas and then we need to winnow them down to practical ideas that can be implemented. In the idea-generating setup section, there are exercises that demonstrate both of these processes.

The final section, "Tools for Inspiring the Many Voices of Creativity," gives 23 detailed exercises to use with groups including helpful tips for the facilitator. These are presented as divergent exercises arranged by temperament, and then convergent exercises arranged by the four judging functions.

The book closes with appendices that include "Essential Qualities of Personality Patterns," and "Glossary for the Temperament Targets," both by Linda Berens, and a reference section.

It is fascinating to see how temperament and psychological type can be successfully applied to new areas of expertise. Marci has taken the field of creativity and enhanced it tremendously by using her knowledge and experience of temperament and psychological type. Even if you have no intention of facilitating a creativity workshop, reading about how personality and creativity relate will expand your knowledge of both temperament and psychological type. I can't wait until she gives a course on creativity that I can attend. It looks like a lot of fun!

This book is more about how to be a creative leader, plain and simple. Segal has taken the effort to show how creativity can be supported in individuals and teams and takes great pains to demonstrate throughout how to work with people to help them get new ideas and make new decisions. She adds dimensionality to the topic never been seen before. The workbook style makes it easy to work with and use. Segal has provided a book that serves as coach for growth and learning. Amazing. My copy is highlighted and I use it constantly as a reference for working with my teams.

This book is more about how to be a creative leader, plain and simple. Segal has taken the effort to show how creativity can be supported in individuals and teams and takes great pains to demonstrate throughout how to work with people to help them get new ideas and make new decisions. She adds dimensionality to the topic never been seen before. The workbook style makes it easy to work with and use. Segal has provided a book that serves as coach for growth and learning. Amazing. My copy is highlighted and I use it constantly as a reference for working with my teams.

This book is very helpful to people that want to understand creativity and how diferent people handle it. It is the first book that relates experiences with Creativity, Personality Type and Temperaments. Segal's book has many exercises and ways to show us how to work with creativity and use our behaviors. It is easy to understand our styles using the Jung archetypes, and what kind of techniques is easier to work.

I always enjoy a good mystery, but this book offered more. Debs Kafka is a professor of Criminal Justice, yet yearns to play professional baseball. Triggered by the murder of a priest, this San Francisco plot swept me away in a whirlwind of criminology, romance, University politics, and baseball trivia, all entwined with the threads of scandal facing the Catholic Church today. A good read! I hope to see more of Debs Kafka on the bookshelves soon.

OK, so you were afraid to get out of school and go face the real world. So you stayed in school. Now you're about to get your Ph.D. and all of a sudden you realize that the world of academia sucks (it really does).

At the same time, your girl friend has told you to kiss-off, and with no good-bye kiss. Then your major professor (and priest) gets murdered. (You know what's been happening with priests and little boys.) So you get a chance to start over, you take a chance and get a shot at your childhood dream, professional baseball.

Then you learn that the killer is now threatening to kill the star pitcher. Even worse, this dastardly fellow is planning this evil crime right in the final days of a tight pennant race. Can you imagine such a thing?

Well, it's certainly a good thing that your Ph.D. is (about to be) in criminology. Guess what happens now....

This book is very easily read and completely entertaining. For those familiar with San Francisco, the landmarks and familiar hot spots mentioned are a nice touch!! I'll be looking for the next Debs Kafka mystery...

Having been a fan of Rob Elias's non-fiction works, I was eager to see how he would fare in his initial foray into the world of murder mystery novels. Set in and about the San Francisco Bay area, from the first chapter on it is clear that Professor Elias and his protagonist Debs Kafka have hit a homerun. This whodunit has something for everyone- religion (specifically Catholicism), baseball, and higher education. Could anything be more timely? The result is a wonderfully engrosssing story that keeps the reader guessing throughout and has a climax that will literally blow you away. Let's hope that the bookcover's notation that this is a "Debs Kafka Mystery" means that we can look forward to more from Mssrs. Elias and Kafka in the future.

This is the type of book that makes you feel like you wish you had started the hobby 10 years ago and as such would be churning out the quality and creativity that resides within this book. You read this book and then let you mind be the guide to your creations. You will only get better after you have read this book.

You will find in this edition work from the 1990's and older work by lots of international artists and American artists Alice James, Jim Wallace, Tom Joyce, John Medwedeff, Stephen Bondi, Jeffrey Funk, Albert Paley, Toby Hickman, and many, many others. The author, Dona Meilach, recently passed away. I hope any new edition of this book includes all of the technical chapters,updates in all categories of making, more work by up-and-coming artists, a sturdier binding (a bit fragile for a reference book) and an expanded color section.Ironwork Today: Inside & Out St. Claire's Organic Sweets, Organic Ginger Snaps (1.5 oz)

The first edition of this book was an instant classic. This, the second edition is a long awaited update and still a classic. A "must have" book for artists, sculptors and metalworkers. It is among a very short list of books I recommend to new artist metalworkers.

The word "inspiration" in the sub-title is an understatement. The contents of this lavishly illustrated book include works by the finest metalworkers past and present. Techniques of metalworking rarely seen are discussed and illustrated step by step. The updated version includes over 50 new color photos, updated suppliers list and Internet information sources.

The book starts with basic tools and techniques. Then discusses the basics of metallurgy and moves on to step by step demonstrations by some of the worlds most renowned metalworkers such as Albert Paley, Daryl Meier and Christopher Ray among others. Each section is illustrated with examples produced using the techniques discussed. There is also a "Gallery of Details" taken from the work of the late Samuel Yellin.

A truely great book that should have never gone out of print.

I saw a recommendation for this book [..] and it sounded like just what I was looking for. My background in decorative iron has been limited to a cut-off saw, wire-feed welder, torch and grinder using cast decorations like finials and rosettes. This book was well worth the money and I not only learned a lot about methods that were shrouded in mystery to me, but also I got lots of great ideas about potential products I could make.

This book starts with an introduction to metal working and the retro movement for blacksmithing. It talks about all the common equipment you'd find in a blacksmith shop and what each piece does. Then it goes into different steels and the useful temperature ranges to work metals. It proceeds with how to make common bends and twists, animal heads and all sorts of other techniques. There is even a section on Damascus metal and how to make it.

The pictures in the book are fantastic and really help drive home some of the howt-to's sections as well as illustrate some very ornate artwork. There are many photographs both in color and black & white.

The only complaint I can think of is that even though it's a revision, some parts seem a bit dated. I would have liked to seen a comparison to help me choose between a gas and coal furnace for instance. But I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in decorative iron from the admirer to experienced builder.

Sweetest Job in Washington

The White House has a new executive pastry chef,
William "Bill" Yosses, whose last project was helping
to open lefty Paul Newman's new restaurant in
Westport, Conn. (Dressing Room: A Homegrown
Restaurant) where the emphasis is on locally grown and
organic foods.

As the top pastry chef, Yosses will be responsible for
dessert menus for state dinners and holiday
celebrations among other events. He got a taste of the
work recently when he served as a holiday pastry chef,
and has extensive experience at New York City
restaurants.

"Chef Yosses has impressed us from the start with his
original and delicious creations. He has a light touch
with desserts, and the enthusiasm with which he
approaches his profession makes him a real asset for
all of us in the White House," First Lady Laura said
in announcing the appointment.

Not in the White House press release: Yosses is also
co-author of the cookbook "Desserts for Dummies," an
Amazon.com review of which promised: "Before you know
it, you'll start creating desserts that you've only
dreamed of." -Mary Lu Carnevale

[...]

The book made me feel confident and I took on more and more recipes. They all came out wonderful. My family is trying a lot of new dishes out of Dessert for Dummies, and they love them all.

The recipes are great, beautiful, wonderful, and most importantly-just about fool proof! Try the lemon poppy seed cake with the blueberry topping. It alone I think was worth the price of the book. The only time I messed a recipe up was when I was to impatient to wait for a pan of custard to cool. Stunning recipes for a novice cook.

I went to school(BICC in Baltimore)for baking and pastry and can only wish that I had had these guys as teachers. Very informative with easy to use directions. They explain every thing very thoroughly and I gotta tell you the pie dough recipe is excellent. I am no longer afraid to attempt pie making!!! If you are into desserts and want a good book with some great recipes go for this one to start your collection. You just can't go wrong.

Great book. I don't even like religion, or reading for that matter, but he had me at "when logic fails...". Sometimes you need a more creative path. This book helped me get there.

I believe that Mr. O'Brien has been in the trenches. Those are the folks I like.

I like being able to see beauty in all things, and I don't even meditate!

I like leaving hate behind.

Mr O'Brien's book touches on all of those concepts that have helped me feel more complete today. I don't know how it worked, but it did, and "Divination: Sacred Tools for Reading the Mind of God" was a big part of it.

Paul O'Brien's love for divination and his dedication to literally placing divination tools on the desktops and laptops of millions around the world have driven him to write this revealing, spiritual and informative book.

Follow Paul on his journey through life, and see how it has meandered through his attraction to the spiritual arts and ultimately, blended in with with his passage to success in the world of software and sales. Discover how he combined his passion and his talents to build a company, Tarot.com, that is responsible for bringing people closer to the Spirit that resonates throughout the Universe on a daily basis.

More than just a description of different divination techniques, Paul's book demonstrates the way spirituality works in a person's life. It really is possible to be technically savvy and spiritually connected at the same time. In fact, once you read Paul's story, you may be inspired to follow in his footsteps.

His guide to esoteric arts provides a sound and accessible outline of the many divination practices that are available to the reader. The origins, history and practice of such "occult" arts as Astrology, Numerology, Tarot, I Ching and Runes are provided, along with information that guides the reader to the methods that best suit his or her individual needs.

Paul O'Brien is a masterful writer with a heart as huge as the vision of the cosmos he has been generous enough to share with the rest of us. This book is his gift to anyone who is curious and courageous enough to open up to see the magic that underlies the phenomenon we know as everyday life.

Several types of divination resonate with my soul. I have been accessing guidance from Runes, Tarot, Numerology, and Astrology for many years. Positive personal experience and connection were reason enough for my continued usage until I read "Divination". Paul O'Brien's book enriches and supports anyone's practice of these tools by giving a concise history, sharing pertinent stories, and explaining how to use divination.
First of all Paul O'Brien combines a vast history of divination in a concise easy read. I found this fascinating, as I had no idea most religions reference divination in their holy text. It's very useful to have access to these facts, some positive, some not and to be able to further research areas of interest using the extensive bibliography included.
This book also includes several true stories and incidences of the value gained by the use of divination. As a personal touch, the author weaves his life journey throughout the book. One can see how divination influenced his destiny by going from a mere user to becoming a catalyst to share and expose the world to these tools via the internet, [...], and this book. As a creative touch, famous quotes, symbols and pictures appear on each page that relate to the subject discussed.
Finally, O'Brien explains several helpful techniques on how to approach a reading. His advice would aid a newcomer as well as offer insight to someone who has used divination before. For instance he advises writing down your question before you begin. I have never done this before. I would just ponder the question in my mind. I can see the value in writing the question as it gives more power of intention.
So all you readers who use divination as a source for personal guidance or you curious ones, I recommend this book as an informative read. Spread the word but don't give this jewel away. I suspect you'll reference its knowledge often.

Is divination nothing more than a crass attempt to foretell the future, or does it encompass a much broader range of metaphysical endeavor and archaic thought than most of us are aware? According to Paul O'Brien and his book `Divination: Sacred Tools for Reading the Mind of God' divination entails a myriad of systems, most of which are thousands of years old, designed for stimulating insights and unlocking the doors to synchronicity so we may access the mind of God (however you perceive the Divine) and fully manifest our intended destiny.

The author has a tall order to fill and he does an admirable job at doing so in this informative and nicely illustrated 232 page paperback. O'Brien's book is a beautifully conceived, expertly organized and meticulously detailed presentation of the topic that will continue to serve as a valuable resource long after your initial reading is complete. The book is worth the purchase price for the Appendices alone.

I believe the most important contribution O'Brien makes to the ongoing study of divination is the material dealing with the rapidly evolving technology which is in the process of making these ages old esoteric systems new and relevant to a computer oriented generation.

As the author points out, "The responsibility for your spiritual progress is all yours" so if you really want to manifest your destiny you must be willing to hold nothing back on your journey of self discovery and say along with Paul O'Brien, "Wherever God Drags Me, I Will Follow".

Dreamtech has opened a new world to me. It is great to be able to log my dreams and look back at what is really important in my life. I recommend it to my friends and family.

I have not found anything like it on the market. I would highly recommend it to anyone that wants to understand their dreams. I think you get alot more for your money. A very good value.

Dreamtech has helped me reach a new understanding of my creative self. It has helped to reach my full creative potential. I think everybody can benefit from the power of the subconscience mind that Dreamtech releases.

Easy reading, nothing like it on the market. Author has great expertise of the subject matter. Highly recommended reading. Taps in James Redfield's new book, Celestine Vision, 1997.