Conferences Books

This book follows ACC basketball for a season. Very fun, like potato chips, hard to stop.

'A March to Madness' follows the Atlantic Coast Conference through the 1996-97 season with Feinstein's signature behind the scenes access. For a fascinating contrast, read this book and then read Feinstein's also excellent 'The Last Amateurs' about the Partiot League. The Patriot League has more true student-athletes, healthier competition, and a lot less money.

'A March to Madness' portrays the high stakes, high pressure, big money atmosphere behind big-time college sports. The ACC is great college basketball conference, but this book tears away most of the romantic myths. The reader is, however, treated to behind the scenes looks at coaches like Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, and Gary Williams, as well as big name players like Vince Carter and Tim Duncan. It's especially interesting to read about Williams' agonies of doubt - this book was written 6 years before the Terps won the NCAA title.

Very highly recommended for readers who enjoy college basketball or John Feinstein.

If you love ACC basketball and cannot get enough behind the scenes information about the coaches then you'll love this book.

Feinstein is amazing in that he has the clout to get into the locker rooms of each of the teams in this conference. Further still, the coaches and players never hold back on their thoughts. So you get one fantastic book, made up of hundreds of interesting basketball stories.

John Feinstein is a great writer, and this book is a look at one season in the ACC. He follows the teams around the conference for a season, giving us the background of the players and coaches and showing us the high and low points of the season.

For those of us who didn't go to one of these schools, it's a great way to learn about the basketball traditions of the conference, the history of the rivalries, the conference tournament, the arenas, the fans, etc.

Even if you're not an ACC fan, if you like college basketball you should enjoy this book.

I'm not a college hoops fan, but having come from the University of Connecticut (back when winning the NIT was a big deal for us), I figured I should try to read something about the sport that has come to define my alma mater.

I chose well. No, UConn is not a part of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the subject of this season-long profile by John Feinstein. But Feinstein gives a solid appreciation for what college basketball is all about through the experiences of the coaches, players, refs, execs, and fans active in the ACC, which Feinstein claims is perhaps the most competitive b-ball conference in Division 1, year in and out. "Let down just the slightest bit and you become instant roadkill," he writes.

Feinstein gives you a sense of the different coaching styles at play here, from Dean Smith's traditional approach at North Carolina to Rick Barnes' cut-up quirkiness at Clemson to Dave Odom's huggy-bear avuncularity at Wake Forest. He relates tales about the history and folklore of the conference that make one feel like an instant Dick Vitale just from reading them, even if the terms "traveling" and "charging" make you flash on American Express. Most importantly, he writes a book that really opens up the world of college basketball to the more casual fan, or even curious non-fan.

That's what I liked the book. I read it, relished it, and enjoyed it with practically no knowledge of the sport going in. The way Feinstein writes about how different refs call different fouls, for example, was both illuminating and entertaining reading.

Feinstein also writes candidly about contracts, recruiting, marriages (failed and successful), burnout, death, and all the other factors that affect college coaches. Players are less the focus, and I get the feeling that Feinstein speaks from personal experience late in the book when he speculates about how an inability to relate to his young players may have moved Dean Smith to retire at 66. The absence of a players' perspective is unfortunate, but it kind of follows with the focus of the book being on the nine coaches, seven of whom gave Feinstein total access.

Feinstein obviously worked hard, and at times his narrative seems to be everywhere at once. Really great work on game descriptions, too, the way he uses them judiciously to punch up the storyline without letting them overtake the rest of the book.

Finally, this is a must-read for fans of Duke and their coach, Mike Krzyzewski. Krzyzewski comes off the best in this book, and while some charge Duke grad Feinstein with bias, the truth is Krzyzewski has the most to offer, both as a man and as a coach. The story of his "drawing the line" before a big game with North Carolina is worth the price of the book by itself. Between him and Dean Smith, I'm surprised Feinstein had time at all for poor Pat Kennedy of Florida State, but he works hard at balance.

What most comes across in this book is the amazing drive of the people involved. "If you're good enough to reach a goal, then there's still someplace else to go," says Maryland coach Gary Williams. "You don't just stop. You keep trying to be better."

There are minor holes in "A March To Madness," but what makes it great is the fact its author shares Williams' passion for excellence. There's no let up.

In trying to increase online traffic to my visitorinfo.com website I picked up this book for free clues and tips. Although not probably encouraged by amazon.com, the author on page 89 suggests writing a review for a book that you found useful in your business. That is why you are reading this review now!

But that's not all the author suggests. Marcia walks you through the business of free publicity in an informal and comfortable manner. There are real tips on how to figure out how to get that valuable free press.

Besides getting local newspaper articles published about you or your business, have you ever considered regional or national exposure? The author makes it seem a plausible and straightforward proposition. Even one little success will more than pay for this book.

This 6 steps book will also prevent you from embarrassing yourself with ill conceived and poorly executed attempts at getting that free advertising that you so hope will start to roll in.

The title "6 Steps to Free Publicity" set my expectations that there are 6 steps to follow in order to get free publicity. Instead, I am elated at the volume of tips and pragmatic advice given in this small book. Marcia does not harp on "6 steps" to be followed in a sequential order. I am totally satisfied with the good advice given on topics that include the 4 parts of a free speech for a Rotary club and how to promote and host an event for Boston. All tips are relevant to our current business climate, including the use of electronic media such as personal websites. Chapter 4 "Creating and Distributing a News Release" alone is worth ten times the cost of this book. Marcia lays out the pros and cons of many types of free publicity available today. This is a valuable addition to my bookshelf.

It occurred to me as I read this book that the people we regularly see on television, hear on the radio, or are featured in newspapers and magazines aren't any smarter or more talented than most of us. So why are they getting publicity for their supposed unique talents and we aren't? They understand how to utilize the media properly to gain an advantage. The media doesn't play favorites contrary to popular belief--they greatly desire to provide fresh perspectives and intriguing content to their audience. If we know how to help them, they will gladly help us. This book outlines ways we can rise above the crowd and get discovered with the help of the media.

To put it succinctly: if you want to learn how to utilize the media to your advantage, get this book.

Not long ago, I was hired by a group of small business owners to teach a class on writing press releases. I gathered up all of my resource books along with the notes from each I have compiled. As I began creating the curricula for the course, I quickly noticed that about 95% of the information I was using came from Marcia Yudkin's book, 6 STEPS TO FREE PUBLICITY. In retrospect, I could have easily written the entire the entire program from this book.

If you're looking for an exceptional resource to help your business utilize free publicity, then look no further. This book not only will give you critical insight to establishing a press release program, but also covers other forms of publicity in just as much detail. Letters, tip sheets, articles, Advertorials, it's all here. Yudkin even shows you how to stage and prepare for supporting events from your publicity, such as speaking on radio and TV.

Publicity is a critical element for any successful business and yet it is an element that is consistently under utilized. If you are a business owner, or a writer working with businesses to develop an on-going publicity program, this is the definitive resource for you. The book is easily comprehensible and loaded with cover-to-cover details on making your publicity program a success.

This book was suggested to me by a friend who read it years ago and employs one of the steps in the book. His business is highly successful and he doesn't spend a fortune in marketing. I read this book recently and have started to use the suggestions by author Marcia Yudkin. The book is an easy read and full of examples. The steps are not difficult to perform and, in some cases, don't cost a thing. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to increase visibility of their product, services, or themselves.

I graduated from an SEC school, the University of Arkansas. That is why I read the book. While Travis gave an idea of an in-person game day experience at each SEC school, most of anecdotes about his friends should have been edited from the book because they got in the way of the book's main objective.

Referring to the University of Arkansas, he was on target with most of his statements. When he mentioned that the women there, as a whole, should try to be themselves and quit trying to be like Carrie Bradshaw, he nailed the Greek versus non-Greek social clash at the U of A. I remembered dealing with snobs who had nothing to be snobs about while there. I agreed with the problem of Jefferson Pilot telecasts.

I never heard of LSU fans smelling like corn dogs. It seemed that there were items included in the book to try to get a cheap laugh that distracted a reader of the book. The could have benn more serious because there is enough humor to be found in mentioning Toomer's Corner, calling the hogs or visiting The Grove, along with other SEC traditions.

I'm always searching through Amazon looking for the latest sports book. I bought this one based on some solid reviews I had read for it. I wasn't prepared for how much this book made me laugh. One time, I had to put the book down and walk away from because I couldn't control how hard I was laughing (one of those where you have trouble catching your breath). You can't have thin skin and read this, much like a South Park episode everything is fair game to be goofed on. But this author does everything in a smart and creative way, so I had no problem laughing along even when he made of the Big 10 (I'm a PSU grad).
It's one of the best sports I've ever read, and no book, sports related or otherwise, has ever made me laugh more.

his book is a wonderful adventure through the various stadiums of the SEC Conference. One man, who is a passionate University of Tennessee fan travels across the South to visit every stadium. He takes part in all the festivities like the tailgate party, the after party, and any particular tradition that the home team has. He is a superb writer as the narrative flows with ever easiness and comical breath. This man who is a Vanderbilt law school graduate invites friends, family, and his wife along for the adventure. He logs hundreds of miles throughout the South in his search for college football. If you love college football, and especially the SEC this book is a joy to read. As I love going to Knoxville to watch the Vols, as I survey the field before the stadium fills, and as I hit the hands of the players on the Vol walk, I love as Clay Travis loves, the college football experience.

I loved this book alot. It really made me miss home and my alma mater, the Vols. Hits all the right notes in looking at fandom in the SEC from both the critical light, while still being written by a dyed-in-the-wool fan of the greatest conference in the NCAA.

Loved the tour of the SEC-something I would love to do -think it's funny he dissed the Gators so bad the year they won the National Championship-the guy can't judge talent but he knows how to party! Go GATORS!!!!

As designers, we specialize in visual communication- whether that be print, digital experience or identity, we convey a message. To keep this succinct, here's two ways this book would be beneficial for you to read as a graphic designer, web designer or web programmer:

Interviews & Daily Interactions: Some designers may not feel comfortable in how to present themselves in an interview, a first meeting as a principle freelancer or how to strategically interact with your boss, CEO or executive management. If you're looking for a book that will assist you in how to interact with your already established principles and ethics -see 7 Habits of Highly Effective People for that foundation- this is a great building block to feeling more confident and articulating your thoughts and ideas effectively.

Presentations & Client Meetings: In addition to The Art of Client Service, this book gives you great 'know-how' on how to present. From P.O.W.E.R. to valuable public speaking hints, after you read this book you will feel much more comfortable in front of the biggest pitches to key networking events.

We specialize in visual communication; this will help you to specialize in verbal communication, body language, and even dress attire, as well. If you have that big pitch or special speaking engagement coming up, this is a powerful book that may be easily implemented in a short period of time. Use the technology advantage that you have and adapt the graphics to what you know... you already have an advantage in presentations, this is the additional nudge if you want to be excellent in both forms of communication. I highly recommend it!

This book is about public speaking. It presents a new framework called "POWER Formula" that helps you design and perform the perfect presentation. "POWER" stands for Punch; One theme; Window; Ear; and Retention. This book not only suggests how to speak, but how to prepare visual aids that fit best your audience; how to deal with journalists, how to perform on TV, how to handle debates, and Q&A sessions. It also has a noteworthy chapter "How to read a prepared text like a pro (and not look like you're reading)". I would also recommend the famous classics by Dale Carnegie: like "The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking" and "How to Develop Self-Confidence And Influence People By Public Speaking".

This book is pretty good. It has many relevant and useful concepts that are organized well and easy to remember (through the use of acronyms and "fun" concepts). The book is an easy, which is great for people on the go with very little time to spare for reading. The only reason for four stars is because the author seems to be sexist throughout the book (managers being referred in "he" terms, but women always seem to be at a lower level). This could just be my imagination, but I think it occurs throughout the book unintentionally.

Similar to most of the reviews of the book the strong points include helping a person form effective communication with others. It has a nice foundation for people who are new to public speaking, and a reminder for those who have been doing it for a while.

However, the book is just plain dated. There must be a new book from another author that we could steer people towards. The business and professional world has changed in the 11 years since the book was released. The pace of conversation, the use of technology to communicate, etc.

I must agree with another reviewer who noted that the book did little to address Executive status or sounding like a Leader, as the title infers.

Sorry, I know it takes a lot to create a book for others to read, but this particular one just does not deliver.

For most occasional speakers, help offered by a book used to be very limited. I have read a lot of communication books talking about smoke and spirits but, Granville N. Toogood offer us a comprehensive guide, plenty of examples, techniques and rules to apply. Do you think this book can improve communication in our business? My answer is clearly affirmative after reading the book.

. . . . it is instructive and corrective to have a glimpse of
what was: a lyrical, medeivalist tradition that saw the denial
of the self as a path to union with the infinite.

Just as it's important to be aware of the gently lascivious
Omar Khayyam as an antidote to today's puritanism, it's also
worthwhile to remember Farid ud-Din Attar a cosmopolitan skeptic
whose tolerance of human frailty is in service of lofty
spiritual aims.
The Conference of the Birds is an allegory of the search for
the divine. The hoopoe who was the messenger of King Solomon
serves as the Cicero on the quest. The allegory is told in
short snippets, stories of doubt, fear and faith. One can imagine
each of them forming miniature tales and sermons.

Long, spiritual allegories can make pretty tough reading,
but the episodic nature of Conference makes it a book to
be enjoyed in snippets. Keep it at the bedside or wherever
you enjoy a literary nibble.

It's interesting to note that worldly, human Attar came to a
bad end. He was accused of heresy, his goods were plundered
and he was forced into exile. Can we hope for a better outcome
this time?

--Lynn Hoffman, author of THE NEW SHORT COURSE IN WINE and
the forthcoming novel bang BANG from Kunati Books.ISBN 9781601640005

I can't compare this poem to the original Farsi as I don't read that language, but this translation is amazingly readable. The reader gets enough notes and extra information to understand a bit of the context, but it never interferes with immersing oneself in this allegory of the journey toward union with the divine beloved. The individual birds on this journey come to life for the reader and the 13th century narrative literally takes off!

Dick Davis's translation is more than extraordinary -- it is truly a miracle to see the beauty, eloquence and flow of this masterpiece richly rendered into the English language with rhyme and meter. A must in the collection of any sincere seeker of the Creator.

This book is a masterpiece on spirituality, self-search, self-identity and self-realization. It provides an unparallel and wonderful guide for reaching to oneself and God. The wonderful philosophy of Attar has the potential to change the world from greed, violence and chaos to self-discipline, love and peace. The book has the capacity to transform the mindsets of fidels and infidels alike to become the master of one's own persona. The book is a must read for anyone interested to know oneself and the world.

The writings of the Sufis are, without a doubt, some of the most beautiful and challenging spiritual works in existence. Rumi's works are currently undergoing something of a renaissance in the Western world but the name of Farid Ud-Din Attar is not as well known. This is unfortunate, since The Conference of the Birds provides, in my opinion, a much better insight into Sufi philosophy than the bits and pieces of Rumi floating about the New Age universe.

Attar's beautiful descpriptions, exqisite metaphors and delightful parables describe the stages on the soul's journey to union with God. An extended metaphor for the soul, the birds gather and travel through various valleys to reach the Simorgh - a state of ectstatic oneness with deity. The Hoopoe acts as the guide and provides answers to the bird's questions and doubts about the journey - usually with short illustrative tales. These tales are each tiny drops of gold, the longest being only a few hundred lines. The overarching theme is the denial of the self to gain ultimate bliss. This is no intellectual exercise and much of the advice given is shocking and revolutionary. In the extended tale of Sheik Sam'an, the Sheik leaves his faith and becomes a Christian for the love of a woman who ultimately spurns him. His apostasy and depravity astound his followers who swiftly abandon him. A Sufi teacher chastises them for their lack of faith and eventually they return to his side. Sam'an then reconverts and his love is converted too. The message would seem to be that to find God it may be necessary to abandon conventional notions of behaviour and faith and plunge forward with wild abandon, losing the self. Some of the stories may shock our sensibilities, and no doubt had the same effect on Attar's medieval audiences. A kind of counter-culture attitude is displayed in the book, with tales of romantic love between men and other "un-Islamic" behaviours challenging accepted norms.

As to the book itself, the translation is done in "heroic couplets" which according to the introduction, best suits the style of the arabic original. It at first seems a little stilted but soon lends a beauty of its own to the work. A fairly substantial introduction helps put the book in context and describes what is known of Attar's life and times. A biographical index is included which provides details on the many characters - often historical - who people the pages of the poem. This book is a beautiful little gem, filled with a lot of wisdom. It is definitely worth the read for members of any faith, even those who aren't practicing Sufis.

Judy Allen is one of the best in the business. The Toronto based event professional has written a series of how to books for the event industry with lots of wisdom from her many years of experience. This referene book contains tactics, strategies, templates, advice, and concise case studies for anyone seeking to increase their skills and abilities quickly. While event planning requires a solid foundation of common sense the more technical aspects of it are covered in this book. A great professional manual for anyone who wants to know how one of the best does it.

This product is same as described in purchase. Delivery was very quickly and good conditions. I recommend this product and provider. Sincerely. Jose Pena

Being an avid reader of Event Planning literature, I must say that this book is alright.

It was very useful to me as I used it to brak into the wedding/event business. It presents a very corporate approach, yet it seems to uncover all kinds of secrets of the event world that are hidden to the public eye.

It is hard to tell who this book is geared towards. A novice should not take on any event that is as over their head; as most of the event situations that are listed in the book are. A professional would know from experience the answers to most of the questions or they would have the common sense to take care of any odd situation that arose. The book may be helpful to assistant managers or banquet captains, but most houses have their own way of doing things. Interesting read and a good refresher, buy used.

Lincoln has written a very good book. He has interviewed many coaches, especially coaches at Dartmouth. For the record, John Lyons and Pat O'Leary have both been fired (the latter by the new returning coach Teevens, and later filed an age discrimination suit, which was thrown out). May be if Lyons had landed Slaughter, he may have saved his job, and Slaughter would not have ended his career as a backup secondary and kick returner at UCLA. Lincoln offers a valuable insight into elite schools and recruiting. This book should be read together with John T. Reed's 70+ page essay on his son's experiences with Ivy football recruiting (available on the internet, type in "John T. Reed Dan Reed Columbia" in google). Reed makes specific comments about the level of play in Ivy football (pretty good), and the down side to coaches pressuring players to commit during recruiting visits (Lincoln's book offers coaches' perspective).

Capsule summary:

Strengths: Clean crisp style, easy to read, good use of quotes from coaches, wide research, good forward by Fiedler. Do not be turned off by the name Nomad Press, which I had not heard of before.

Weaknesses: no index, organization could be tightened up here and there (but not too bad). Additional perspective of players would have offered a counterbalance to extensive interviews with coaches.

If you have a high school aged son or daughter who hopes to be an Ivy League athlete, this book is a must read.

My daughter, after reading Chris' book, learned what motivates the coaches and how to approach them in a straight-forward and ethical way. At the same time she was able to take control of the process and ultimately achieve her desired outcome, a scholarship offer from Stanford and a "Likely Letter" from her first choice, Dartmouth. She couldn't have done this without this resource.

I have a high school senior son who is looking to participate in college sports after graduation and I was looking for a book that would help provide some understanding of the whole Ivy recruiting process. This book provided great insight into the Ivy recruiting process from both the college coaches and administrators perspective. It provides the insight though true experiences of athletes, coaches and administrators. It also sheds light on the conflicts within the Ivy League about the process.

An excellent book for high school students and their parents interested in Ivy League and even NESCAC schools and how sports recruiting at those schools works. I learned about "likely letters", "supports" and other details that are otherwise difficult to learn, even from the coaches.

My only reservation is that with Harvard's recent decision to stop early admissions, and I assume others will follow, the book will need updating to reflect the changes in sports recruiting due to this.

A great learning tool for anyone connected with a high school athlete looking to play sports in college. Unfortunately, I read this too late to help. Just witnessed first hand a scenario whereby a "solid commitment" did not materialize at an Ivy - putting a student athlete in a very precarious spot. To the reviewer claiming that Lincoln was "creating a controversy and scandal that does not exist", I can personally tell you that Lincoln is right on the mark. I have already re-read the book and advocate that all who are ever thinking about entering the recruiting process should take detailed notes.

Good book about how God uses praying men who are mighty in prayer.

God does not anoint plans, but praying men. Prayer is our mightiest weapon to use against the enemy.

This simple book (only around 50 pages long or so) is quite inspiring. In it, Mr. Bounds expounds upon not only the many different reasons why we should pray, but also that we are being called to pray. He reminds us of how essential prayer was to the fathers in the Old Testament and how much prayer centered in the lives of Jesus and his disciples. While this book is written for pastors and other preachers of the gospel, it's a good inspiration to anyone wanting to grow closer to God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. While I do not think anyone will literally "study" this book, I believe that reading it once or twice in our lifetimes would benefit us in more ways that we might imagine. Pray, pray, and then pray some more!

This book is not written in contemporary English but is more powerful than most new books that are out there on this subject. Don't read this book if you are not ready to devote much time to prayer. It is convicting. It is a classic. And it is good.

I have never read a book like this book about prayer with such an overwhelming weight, compelling exposition and reasoning in regard to why not only preachers, but christians should pray. What I mean by pray is one that is "...strongly into the heart and life as Christ's "strong crying and tears" did; must draw out the soul into an agony of desire as Paul's did; must be an inwrought fire and force like the "effectual, fervent prayer" of James; must be of that quality which, when put into the golden censer and incensed before God, works mighty spiritual throes and revolutions."(Ch.4)

I can not say I agree with everything Bounds said, but I can not help but be stricken with so many strong statements he made or quoted from the giants of Christianity in the past, among which are as follows (I have to restrain myself from revealing too much of the book):

- Preaching which kills is prayerless preaching. Without prayer the preacher creates death, and not life. The preacher who is feeble in prayer is feeble in life-giving forces. Professional praying there is and will be, but professional praying helps the preaching to its deadly work. Professional praying chills and kills both preaching and praying. Much of the lax devotion and lazy, irreverent attitudes in congregational praying are attributable to professional praying in the pulpit.(Ch.3)

- Prayer--secret fervent believing prayer--lies at the root of all personal godliness. A competent knowledge of the language where a missionary lives, a mild and winning temper, a heart given up to God in closet religion--these, these are the attainments which, more than all knowledge, or all other gifts, will fit us to become the instruments of God in the great work of human redemption. (Ch.4, quoted from Carey's brotherhood)

- Preachers who are great thinkers, great students must be the greatest of prayers, or else they will be the greatest of backsliders, heartless professionals, rationalistic, less than the least of preachers in God's estimate. (Ch.4)

- The character of our praying will determine the character of our preaching. (Ch.4)

- Prayer is humbling work. [1] It abases intellect and pride, [2]crucifies vainglory, and [3]signs our spiritual bankruptcy, and all these are hard for flesh and blood to bear. It is easier not to pray than to bear them. ...perhaps little praying is worse than no praying. Little praying is a kind of make-believe, a salve for the conscience, a farce and a delusion.(Ch.5)

- No ministry can succeed without much praying, and this praying must be fundamental, ever-abiding, ever-increasing. (Ch.6)

- A desire for God which cannot break the chains of sleep is a weak thing and will do but little good for God after it has indulged itself fully. The desire for God that keeps so far behind the devil and the world at the beginning of the day will never catch up. (Ch.9)

- "The leading defect in Christian ministers is want of a devotional habit." Richard Cecil (Ch.10)

- "I urge upon you communion with Christ a growing communion" -- Sam Rutherford (Ch.11)

- "All the minister's efforts will be vanity or worse than vanity if he have not unction." -- Richard Cecil (Ch.16)

- Apostolic praying was as taxing, toilsome, and imperative as apostolic preaching. They prayed mightily day and night to bring their people to the highest regions of faith and holiness. They prayed mightier still to hold them to this high spiritual altitude. The preacher who has never learned in the school of Christ the high and divine art of intercession for his people will never learn the art of preaching (Ch.17)

- "If I should neglect prayer but a single day, I should lose a great deal of the fire of faith." -- Martin Luther (Ch.20)

This is an unquestionably must read for Christians who long for sweet and growing communion with Christ and need some fuel and fire to do so.

E.M. Bounds's brief work, "Power Through Prayer," is well-deserving of its recognition as a classic work on prayer. This ought to be required reading for pastors. My only hesitation, and the reason I rate it with 4 stars, is that it is rather difficult to hand it off to laypeople, so directed as it is to clergy. But if you are a pastor and have not read this work, it must be pushed to the top of your reading list (it can be read in one long evening of study).

There are so many positive things to say about this comprehensive book on Dr. King and the civil rights movement. Garrow's research and story-telling are both outstanding, leading to a book that I couldn't put down and one that provided me with so much information.

One reason I love the book is that I would neither call it an overly sympathetic nor critical portrayal of King. Garrow simply presents the facts in an easily understandable fashion, allowing the reader to make his/her own conclusions. Positive and negative aspects of King's personal life and movement leadership are pointed out; it's up to us to determine his legacy. And in my mind, his legacy is as strong as ever. King sacrificed himself to the cause, and not only in his premature death, but also in living a modest life with virtually no relaxation or leisure. And what he endured at the hands of the FBI just broke my heart.

I was also impressed with the way King and the other movement leaders were humanized. Garrow didn't only list the facts about their achievements and tactical errors, but he also provided great insight into the lives of these men and women.

Here are my two gripes that, in my mind, keep the book just a hair shy of 5 stars. One, I would have liked to have learned more about King the husband and father. I know he wasn't home much, but there was very little information about the type of father he was. And two, the book ends so abruptly. How did Coretta receive and react to the news? How did America react? What was the story behind the assassination? What was his funeral like? How did the movement proceed in the immediate aftermath of his murder? These were things I wanted to learn about.

Despite that, I am so thrilled that I chose to read this book, and I would recommend it to anyone.

Certainly it was the definitive biography; although there was something troubling about his use of illegally gathered materials that the FBI collected to damn Martin, the picture painted is a real picture of a real life. Certainly Martin was always an inspiration to me, and I felt that I knew him better as a man after this biography, more so than after earlier ones.

My one major criticism is that Garrow uses a possibly mythical "night in the kitchen" as the spiritual turning point for Martin--I think it more likely that if any night mattered it was that in a jail, perhaps Selma. (Though I don't accept the idea that he chickened out for the Selma-Montgomery march--he had no reason to expect the brutal response that occurred.) Because a night in jail can really make you think about what your values are, whether it is worth suffering for truth, and whether others really WANT the truth. One of the things I think I learned from Martin is that people may not be ready for the truth now, but it is only a matter of time.

I also learned something that seems obvious, but wasn't to many of us. It is one thing to violate an unjust law publicly--and let other people see you unjustly punished. It is another to violate an unjust law privately, for even if you are in the right, when you are punished, this injustice is unlikely to draw the outrage of the citizenry, and you find yourself alone.

Of course, at the time that Martin and the SCLC were active, the courts were basically on our side--the side of the little guy. Now, as far as I can see, the law really only exists to protect large companies. Why, if Martin were to do this now, he'd be sued out of existence for "defaming" and "slandering" the good name of the great state of Alabama! If he couldn't "prove" that America really had given his people a blank check...why then, HE'D be in the wrong. And if he really let the law proceed in its own way, he'd have spent a lot more than one or two nights in jail, I can tell you that!

And from Garrow's book, I believe he still would have done it. He wasn't the initiator, but when fate knocked on his door, he opened it up and invited fate in. And that should be an inspiration to us all. [9]

BEARING THE CROSS is a very detailed book on the life and times of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., American hero, civil rights activist, preacher and admirer of Ghandi and his nonviolent approach to social change. King came to the forefront of the mid-century civil rights movement when Rosa Parks, a seamstress, refused to move from her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. It wasn't the first time a black woman had been tossed out of her seat in the Black section of the bus when a white customer needed a seat. Along with the removal usually went insults and threats and Ms. Parks just wasn't having it that time. The local activists asked King, a new preacher at Dexter Baptist Church, if he would take on the responsibility. Reluctantly, he agreed to do so and thus began the legend of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Over the years, Dr. King has taken on an almost mythical position in the civil rights movement. Those who were present at the time find themselves wondering if the Dr. King they remember is the same man that is now raised in the American consciousness. He is frequently given a saintly aura that leads children reading about him in history books to believe there was never anyone like him before and that there can never be another like him again. David J. Garrow dispels those myths as he lets us in on the life of the man who led this country to reconsider its segregationist behavior. We see Dr. King when he is depressed and feeling unworthy of his position in the movement, when he is being a chauvinist about his wife, those moments when he smokes and drinks too much and Garrow gives credence to the rampant rumors that he had women in his life other than Coretta.

In addition to the very humanness of King, we also get to witness the foibles of the United States as it dealt with its Black citizens. We get to know the actions of three presidents of the United States, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson, as they vacillated about the civil rights movement. None of them wanted to upset the Southern voting population so they tended to send mixed messages: on one hand they knew that Blacks were being treated unfairly but to offer help through legislation, federal troop protection for besieged nonviolent marchers or verbal support for the movement was beyond where they wanted to go. The levels to which the FBI stooped to discredit King are by themselves, phenomenal. Each of the presidents was definitely aware that King's rights as a citizen of this country were being abused as his home, his phones, his motels, hotels and friends were wiretapped. The agency also used the illegally acquired information to terrorize and blackmail Dr. King. Not one of them objected to this horrendous invasion of privacy.

BEARING THE CROSS is a definite must read for every caring citizen of the United States who has a desire to understand and appreciate the civil rights movement, the life and times of Dr. King and the role that the country has played in keeping some of its citizens in bondage. I would also recommend it as a reference book for the civil rights movement.

Reviewed by alice Holman
of the RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

You must have to really work to turn a life so packed full of meaning and world-changing events into a snoozer of a book. I have no idea how "Bearing the Cross" received a Pulitzer Prize -- certainly not on the basis of its prose. While the author undoubtedly did an enormous amount of research, the book reads like a high school history essay; i.e. a monotonously linear string of events -- "Then King did this; then he did that; then they had an SCLC meeting; blah, blah, blah...". The book virtually no character development; in fact everyone but King are merely names on a page. It took a herculean effort to slog through the 600+ pages, but perhaps the book wasn't meant to be read straight through. Maybe this is one of those research tomes meant for reference by historians -- check out the ample index for the names, places and events you're interested in at the moment and read only snippets at a sitting.

Despite being far too long, the book has a couple major oversights. First, there are no photographs whatsoever -- for someone as widely seen on TV and newspapers as King, couldn't they have sprung for a few pages showing historical events? Second, the book abruptly ends with the assassination -- when King dies so does the book -- nothing on the national reaction to his death, nothing on Ray or the motivation for/theories around the killing.

In sum, great research, poor writing. Perhaps Taylor Branch can edit his multi-volume set into a readable single-volume account. Until then, look elsewhere for a good King biography.

This Pulitzer Prize winning biography proves to be superbly reseached and well written (although bit dry for some) account of the great civil right leader. However, the book seem to be geared around his public life and his involvment with the Civil Rights movement of SCLC. Although this part of his life seem to be well documented and covered, the book don't tell us much about King's private life, his relationship with his family, or his sexual indiscretions and his own relationship on the personal level with so many of his fellowers, friends and rivials.

But its a superb coverage of King's Civil Rights involvement and actually tell a sad story of man who was definitely over reaching the limits of his own personal, mental and physical endurance. A good example would be how MLK's venture in the Vietnam War which definitely overextended his reach when so much still needed to be done on the Civil Rights front. This distraction also cost him friends and allies who could have helped him on that issue which should have been the main focus of MLK. I guess he lost focus in the end. I am bit surprised that the book didn't make any commentary on the legacy of MLK or anything like that. The book stopped with his death which almost sound like a blessing for MLK who seem at the end of his life, an unhappy man, totally stress out and overwhelmed by his burdens.

But as biography goes, I thought this book was honest and interesting picture of a man. And thats good in my opinion, MLK was a man with combination of greatness and flaw that the book clearly points out with a great deal of objectivity. I thought it was kind of an ironic statement when the author stated that the only people who really knew MLK were his closest friends and the FBI who wiretapped him.

I should note that this may not be an ideal chocie for first time reader of MLK since there are overwhelming amount of material in this book which may create an information overload for some people.

My paperback book didn't have any photos which I thought to be bit strange. Book like this need photos. But overall, this is the best biography I have read on MLK regarding his public life. Will there ever be one of his private life??

As Brookings revealed in 2000, most of the world's 10000 biggest organisations don't yet have the measures to govern the vast majority of value now produced in services and knowledge businesses because as our networking age blossoms value dynamics are mainly intangible, deeply woven into the human relationships we self-organise, not for precise planning and overpowering command and control from the top. Value multiplication is a core gravity which should be embedded in everyone's right to work, learn , behave openly.

Whilst some of those of the transparency communities interlinking at http://www.valuetrue.com open source the simplest maths of intangible systems, others have much more fun voting on what are the safest methods to protect your system from doing an Andersen or a NASA self-destruction of its greatest purpose. Open Space is voted as the number 1 method uniting transparency communities, and because of its simplicity I predict it will always be the gateway to anyone who prizes self-organising, a term which actually means making the most of everyone's time, learning and passions to make a diffeernce to our overall purpose. A very valuable book, which in my dreams would start any MBA course or any professional's training.

Open Space is now 21 years young and over 100000 experiences mature and networked by people who are both most open with their knowlhow and conscious that you learn something subly more about human relationship trust from every Open Space you particpate in. It is as near as organisations (seen as human relationship infrastructures) can get to a modern day miracle, and long may Harrison light up the open world. See his latest deep concerns with conflict resolution applications at http://www.practiceofpeace.com

Open Space Technology is nearly identical to the "unconference" approach to workshop and event planning that's currently fashionable (see "Foo Camp" or "Bar Camp" or many other geek-oriented "camps). Basically, abandon a traditional agenda and force the workshop participants to self-organize a schedule, goals, and work. It's profoundly counter-intuitive, everyone assumes that a strict plan is necessary...but it turns out to work. People really enjoy participating in an event where their opinions matter, and where everyone's responsible for raising issues they find important.

This book can come across as annoyingly new agey and dippy at times (I see someone's tagged it "embracing group genius" here on Amazon...your mileage may vary a bit from that). It's probably more helpful in getting you the facilitator into the right mindset, and encouraging you not to fall back on the crutches of detailed schedules or keynote speakers. It's pretty dated when it talks about using computers in your event, but that doesn't really matter.

This is a very good hand-book for open space newcomers.Easy to understand and easy to read.I strongly suggest this book for anybody who want to start learning open space technology

Harrison Owen presents a hands-on, step-by-step manual for putting on an open space technology workshop. In OST workshops, participants basically set and facilitate the agenda with some guidance from a facilitator. Here, the book's examples are particularly handy. Owen suggests conference duration, agenda and techniques including how to set up a meeting, invite participants, prepare the logistics and meeting site, facilitate activities and more. While these workshops generally involve hundreds of people, you can also put on an OST event with as few as five. If you want to read gripping business philosophy, look elsewhere - this is a practical how-to manual, a task it accomplishes quite well. We [...] recommend this informative guided tour of the OST process to those who want to know how, because they already know why

I recommend using open space tehcnology and/or other large scale intervention techniques to mine the collective emotional intelligence of a group of people (this may be your company, or people from an acadamic field you belong to).

This book gives you the details on HOW to organize and facilitate an open space meeting - (what kind of location you need, how to organize the room, how to use break up rooms, how to facilitate, ...). You'll also get imporatnt rules and lessons for making this technology work. In short, it's pretty good at doing this "HOW TO" part.

WARNING: If you want to know WHY it works and if you want some examples, there are 2 other books to take a look at:

- tales from Open space (Harrison Owen, Editor, 1995)

- Expanding our now (Harrison Owen, 1997)

Good luck!

Patrick E.C. Merlevede, MSc -- author of "7 Steps to Emotional Intelligence"