Organizations Books

This is a great feat - to take such a complex situation as a disfunctional church and explain clearly and simply the dynamics that may be at play. A few things I thought were very helpful:
* a discussion of the brain's capacity to function at different levels according to stress and anxiety levels
* the nature of anxiety and its role in a family system/congregational system (particularly when shared around)
* ways to reduce anxiety so that we can function at our problem-solving best
* the role of pain in moving us forward in better directions

So much of what has happened in my past and present congregations was resolved in me by reading this book. It is helping improve my leadership greatly.

I would hightly recommend this book because it gets the the heart of the issue about how conflict develops between church members as a result of our family background. Steinke gives practical insight into our own ways of looking at church situations through the lens of the family systems theory. Even though it is a short book it is packed with good things and definitely a must read, especially for church leaders.

I was the pastor of a troubled church and was relocated after 20 months. This book provided me with much understanding of the dynamics of church life. I wished I had it when dealing with my struggles. Now that I am in a new church, I am writing a thesis based on my former church using this book and others to do a case study.
A great read for clergy and lay alike.

Murray Bowen caused a stir in the fields of psychitry and psychotherapy when he suggested that families were emotional systems, and that only by stdying the system could one begin to understand the behavior of individuals within the system. Now that his ideas have gained wider acceptance, many thinkers in this field, like pastor and psychologist Peter L. Stienke, have begun to explore the application of systems theory in other contexts. This book presents an excellent introduction to systems theory in the context of a church or synagogue congregation, which function as their own emotional systems much like extended families. Steinke does an excellnt job of introducing systems theory for pastors, church leaders, and others who may want to better understand the way that emotional reactivity influences not just individual congregants, but the whole congregation. Those who have little background in this area will find Stienke's book clear and approachable.

Peter Steinke is a Lutheran pastor and director of the Interfaith Pastoral Counseling Center in suburban Chicago. His career has been one of studying and advising the dynamics of disfunctional churches and counseling pastors who have been hurt by said churches. "How Your Church Family Works" is an introduction to systems theory as it relates to interpersonal dynamics within a church and has been very helpful for this reader.

Steinke begins by introducing the concept of systems--that every unit in a system effects and is effected by every other unit in that system. He then covers how systems work--always seeking to remain stable, even if that stability harms most or all the people in that system. He then moves into a discussion of forces that stabilize or change a system (anxiety, closeness, etc.). Finally, after weaving theory and example to the point that the reader has a fuller understanding of systems theory, Steinke shows how individuals within a system can effect change for the better.

The overriding theme in in "How Your Church Family Works" can be "knowledge is power." Steinke accurately describes the "tunnel vision," the pressure to conform to others' idea of what your role in a system should be, and the tendency of people within a system to focus on other people in that system and blame them. However, through understanding systems, the way they work, their flaws, and how to be an angent of change, one can make an ineffecient, stifling system a productive, nurturing system. They key is knowledge and "big picture" thinking, and defining one's self.

In all, this book has been incredibly helpful as I continue to reflect upon my experiences at a church with a dangerously crushing emotional system. Steinke's book empowers one to be agents of positive change in situations that may be difficult to understand, let alone control. Highly recommended.

Once again, Jim hits the bulls-eye with an easy to read, user friendly book about Leadership. My favorite books on this topic are dog-eared and have colored tabs throughout. This is one of those bookes! When combined with the Leader's Digest Practical Application Planner its easy to create a personal development plan theat translates ideas in Action. A great Coaching tool!

This book is a great guide with useful strategies to lead yourself and your team more effectively. The way it's laid out, it's easy to read and has great anecdotes and quotes. It also has real life facts and proven strategies to help take your team or your business to the next level. Very enjoyable!

This was the second book of Jim Clemmer's I have read. Following my usual very bad habit, I circled particularly useful and inspiring passages in pencil and turned the corner of the page down for future reference. I've just finished it and virtually every page has its corner turned down. There's a lot of BS out there written about leadership. Jim's book is as far from that as you can get. It is wise, practical, inspiring, enjoyable, illuminating, and you can dip in and out of it easily as it's written in digestible 'bites'. One of the best books I have ever read on leadership (possibly THE best book - can't think of a better one off the top of my head at the moment) - and I have to read a lot of them. I've co-written one myself, but I'd recommend Jim's over mine - It's much better!

The emotional role of leadership became clearer to me after reading Jim's book. He doesn't glorify the power of the position, but rather that "people respond to this leadership because they can clearly see the principles from which it flows." I learned techniques that help me be a purveyor of hope with my team, even though I don't sit in the chair at the top.

Like the Reader's Digest that my father always had around when I was younger, The Leader's Digest is full of powerful ideas packed in bite-size chunks. Jim's book, however, weaves those bites into a meal. Without going the route of the popular business fable, Jim's style makes for easy reading as he sprinkles appropriate quotes around contemporary research presented in a non-academic fashion. Where else can you read "The Anti-Serenity Prayer" coupled with The Serenity Prayer?

Like his prior book "Growing The Distance", Jim Clemmer's "Leader's Digest" is a sampler of high impact ideas. Each chapter (or article) is attractively packaged as a brief essay within apt anecdotes and quotations.

In marketing there is a saying that you sell the sizzle, not the steak. Jim Clemmer sells the rich, savory steak surrounded by the sizzle.

Some of Clemmer's ideas are classic Business School. Some are recognizable from the pop-psych realm. All are uniquely restated in forms that make them quickly and easily accessible to even the beginning leader. And motivationally rejuvenating to the old pros.

You don't read this author's books: you visit and revisit them like wise old friends.

If you are like me (and you just might be if you are reading reviews about this book) you have a tendency toward clutter, but have never given up the fight. If that sounds like you, I urge you to get this book. Each page has one or two bullet points in large print - advice and tips on how to get organized.

One of the best sections in the book for me was on paper clutter. I seem to drown in papers. Until I read this book, I had struggled for years with how to organize my files. In just a few bullet points of advice, I was able to understand for the first time how to file. I am still in the process of switching over the headings of my files, but what I have done so far makes paperwork a breeze. Taxes this year were a cinch because of how I had my tax paperwork filed.

Based on this book by Donna Smallin, I look forward to reading her other books.

This book has 500 tips for getting your life in order and most of them take a lot longer than one minute. I'll let you do the math on that. But each of the tips is pretty quick to read about, and that's mostly what I do. I keep this book on my bedside table so that when I need something light to wind me down, I can pick it up, read a tip or two, like " . . . create standard packing checklists for volunteer meetings, children's overnights, or family camping trips," and think to myself, who lives this way? If I did all the things this books suggests, my family would have me at the psychiatrist's office getting me diagnosed. So I don't really do any of it. I just find crazy books like this highly entertaining. I think you will, too.
Lucy Adams, author of If Mama Don't Laugh, It Ain't Funny

This is a very useful little book filled with tips on keeping yourself organized. I found many great ideas in the book and it covered just what I was looking for.

The book is organized into two parts:

Getting organized (getting started, clearing clutter, paper stuff, spaces & things)
Staying organized (everyday strategies, clutter control, home management, schedules & to-do's)

I found so many of the tips useful (perhaps more useful tips than other similar books). Putting small items in zippered bags in your purse helps to cut down on clutter and makes finding things much faster. (I did this with my makeup and now finding my lipstick is a snap and I don't have to worry about the lid coming off in my purse!). Stapling product receipts to the manual is also a great idea. The author warns about keeping your will in a safe-deposit box because it will be sealed at your death - an important piece of information!

I also really like the format of this book. You can read it from front to back or just open to any page and start, which makes it easy to read in small bytes before going to bed or for a minute or two while your coffee is brewing in the morning. The typeface on the pages sorts the information visually: lists are easy to read, important words are bolded or printed in a different typeset. This probably sounds unimportant, but it helps you to read the book very fast and get lots of ideas in a short amount of time. The author also includes little sentences to encourage you in your organizing (like: "Remember nothing worth doing is easy").

This book is full of ideas you can really use and is so easy to read. A great reference for anyone and would also make a nice gift!

This is a GREAT book with awesome ideas to make organizing quick and easy. Not only that, the author helps with the next step and gives suggestions on HOW to keep organized. Some of the ideas are fairly common sense but there are also many creative ideas. Many of the suggestions only take a minute to do. This book covers getting organized in so many different areas of life and is very encouraging and motivating.

Barely out of the box, I began reading this book and putting ideas to work...I cleaned out my kitchen junk drawer while reading the first ten pages! I also bought this book for my daughters and they went to work immediately getting their family organized. What a difference these simple, inexpensive ideas have made in all our lives. EVERYONE could use a book like this!

Product Strategy for High technology Companies by Robert Cooper. I purchased the book with the intention of getting my professional certification in product management. The is extremely helpful in the area of product planning and development. It links the technology strategy of a company to its product platform development strategy down to its product line planning strategy. I like the way the book is structured, building up from vision to techniques. His case studies / examples (though not in depth)are very good in illustrating what he was trying to say.

the Core Strategic Vision approach for determining strategy is interesting, and is a good framework to develop a realistic vision.
The boundaries test to determine whether your vision will deliver what you expect (it forces you to expect something!) is something companies can't forget.
And the vision of a set of product's as not only one offering, but as one containing a platform and its pre-planned offerings, with pricing strategy, is essential to get profits for a long time.
It is full with examples, specially from the software arena. Recommended.

This book offers a study of the strategic options for high tech firms. The coverage is wide and detailed. This is a great book.

A big number of business examples, and good explanation of concepts. A deeper vision could be found in another books about this subject, so in my oppinion this book could be a good starting point, not recomended for advanced IT product managers.

I love this book: the concept of a "vector" for product
development is a terrific way to think about competition.
IMHO, this book is a must-read for all product managers,
product marketers and people involved in strategic decisions,
i.e. all senior executives.

That said, speaking as a five-time startup engineer, the advice
and examples in this book seem geared towards the core product
lines in larger companies, where you can credibly talk about
"two years from now" as opposed to wondering if you'll even be
in business, which is also the problem for new product lines at
large companies. The experience for the book comes from the
PRTM consulting firm, which was made famous for their work with
parallel product development at Intel. We hired them in the
early days at Inktomi, and found mixed success with their
process because we were terrified of immediate failure, and
they wanted to talk about version 3. Obviously, there's a
successful middle ground because Inktomi was a huge success in
the short term, but ultimately lost its strategic direction.

This book is EXCELLENT. It is so good in fact that it showed me why a retreat is not for us. Instead, I am using the activities it describes to create a series of training sessions for our senior and middle managers, or what you might call a series of mini-retreats, a couple of hours each once a week over several weeks. The activities contained in this book are intelligent and fun, unlike several others I've read. I highly recommend this book for the activities section alone -- and if you do want to do a full retreat, it will prove even more valuable. Also, the sections on pre-interviewing participants and retreat design components were very helpful, and I am putting them to good use.

I also like "101 Games for Trainers" by Bob Pike, and "Games That Teach Teams" by Steve Sugar. I think these three books together are the best place to start -- there are a lot of other titles out there that are, in a word, garbage, and should be avoided.

This book gives examples of various kinds of retreats and includes sample exercises for each that are simple, creative, and effective with no hint of the flaky factor that makes some retreats go offtrack. In fact, I'd say that the section on "Reasons NOT to hold a retreat" was alone worth the price of this book for its value in clarifying what a retreat can and cannot do.

As a communications trainer with my own non-profit board to deal with, I was most impressed by the fact that the chapter on non-profits identifies as a "most common concern" exactly the thing that causes my board trouble -- complaints of micromanaging on details while sidestepping needs for fundraising. The insight that this is a structural problem rather than a personality issue has been extremely helpful to me -- even without a retreat -- and convinced me these authors must know what they're talking about.

Retreats that Work (Jossey Bass, 2003) is highly readable and valuable resource is a comprehensive guide to retreat planning. Authors Sheila Campbell and Merianne Liteman address medium- to larger-sized organizations in the for-profit, nonprofit and government fields. Campbell and Liteman offer both a "how to" for planning and conducting a retreat and a fine sampling of facilitated group activities for different kinds of retreats.

The overall message is that the top decisionmaker should hold a retreat only for important purposes, he or she must be truly ready to hear divergent views and to be open to real change, including change not anticipated by the decisionmaker. CEOs, boards, division directors and other "head honchos" that are not ready to share control need not apply. For instance, Campbell and Liteman recommend confidential pre-retreat interviews conducted by the facilitator. One of their retreat design principles is that at least some of the participants should contribute to formulating the goals of the retreat. To do so, they believe it is essential for employees to feel safe to share their views in planning the retreat as well as at retreat. Thus, Campbell and Liteman call for anonymity and non-attribution of pre-retreat views and assurance of no negative actions for expressing views candidly during the retreat.

A key strength of the book is the attention to pre-retreat and post-retreat concerns. Pre-retreat matters extend well beyond choosing the meeting facility and menu [although their retreat logistics chapter is first rate] to the more important question: "Why have a retreat?" Campbell and Liteman specify nine reasons to hold a retreat and ten reasons not to hold a retreat. Both lists are enlightening and are foundational to further pre-retreat work.

A retreat is not a conference and not a regular meeting. Campbell and Liteman believe a retreat is best served "off-site," that is, at a location away from the workplace. They do cover the challenges of time and money in choosing an appropriate facility, and the discussion reinforces two more of their principles of retreat planning - designing a retreat to result in action for change and ensuring whatever happens at the retreat relates to the day-to-day work of the organization.

Other pre-retreat elements are: setting the goals, deciding on the format, and inviting people; defining the roles of convener, facilitator, administrator, participants (and non-participants); and a review of fixed-format retreat designs (such as Future Search, Ropes courses, and Appreciative Inquiry). Campbell and Liteman do a fine job discussing the tension between having a small enough group for good interaction and the group being large enough to be inclusive of the key players. In particular, they offer eight common criteria for how to choose participants. I think the criteria are especially helpful as an organization thinks of board-staff concerns, clients or customer involvement in a retreat, and inter-organizational issues.

A logical, but often overlooked, planning proviso is to design the retreat backwards-What is the outcome you seek? Instead of holding a retreat because its done annually, or because someone likes a particular format, or to "boost morale," Campbell and Liteman forcefully highlight the need to have retreats only for special purposes, and to work from the question "How will the day-to-day workplace be different following the retreat?"

The structure of the book opens with coverage of the why, goal-setting, logistics planning and role of leaders at the broadest view of a retreat. From there, most of the guide is devoted to facilitator assistance. Campbell and Liteman cover design issues ranging from pre-retreat work for participants to having "unprogrammed time" as an essential part of a successful retreat. They offer tips on ground rules, giving feedback to the group, and decisionmaking. For in-retreat concerns, general facilitator principles are leavened with brief guidance on how to respond to over a dozen glitches (such as repetitive discussions, disruption by a participant, a participant walking out, or a senior manager violating the ground rules).

A large section of the book identifies activities appropriate for four kinds of retreats: a) strategic planning, b) culture change, c) relationship-building and teamwork, and d) creativity and innovation. Each activity offers a clear description, steps and facilitator notes. Equally valuable are accompanying sidebar notes on the experiential elements, set-up, special supplies and degree of facilitator experience to conduct the activity effectively (easy, moderately easy, or only for experienced/specialized training). While retreat facilitators will probably eat up this part of the book, I hope they don't overlook the earlier "menu-setting" essentials of effective retreats.

Campbell and Liteman know that typically the worst part of a retreat is....after the retreat. Does the great thinking from the retreat get lost in the daily grind or new crises? Do non-participants not support the outcome? While a retreat's impact depends on organizational norms outside of any retreat's reach, Campbell and Liteman nicely select a few post-retreat points. In brief: announce the outcomes to everyone affected, not just the participants; move briskly into the actions steps identified at the retreat; and avoid a letdown by offering a memento, having periodic updates, or celebrating milestones. They highlight "critical leadership actions" for retreat follow-up.

Campbell and Liteman know that retreats have a purpose within the larger context of an organization. They provide a fine guide the knits together the earliest hints of whether to hold a retreat to effective planning to post-retreat steps to offer the best possible assurance that the change initiated by the retreat is converted into a better organization. The book is a must-have for both the senior management and for internal and external facilitators. (...)

This is a terrific handbook for anyone who wants to (or has been assigned to) organize or lead a retreat for their company or non-profit organization. The authors describe the guiding principles for designing a retreat, they outline the logistics in detail, and they provide all kinds of good advice about how planners and facilitators should work together to get the most out of an offsite meeting. The checklists alone are worth the price of the book, and the activities sections are priceless!

"Retreats That Work" could be subtitled "Everything you ever wanted to know about retreats." Just a look at the table of contents told me that there was going to be an answer to any question I might have -- from the basic who, what, when, where and why, to the types of specialized retreats.

I am in a related, but quite different, field. As a qualitative research moderator, I am often asked to facilitate meetings or retreats by clients who are unaware of the differences -- hence, my interest in this book. But, whether you are working for a small or large company and want to hold a retreat, or you are someone needing to actually facilitate such an event, this book is a wealth of information. And for anyone thinking of facilitating a retreat or just understanding what a facilitator must be able to do, they would be advised to read the "definition" or role of the facilitator on page 116!

I found this book very well-written, easy to read and follow. It's filled with lots of practical information and tips, valuable time estimates for the various activities, and additional resources given.

The creative thinking section was particularly interesting to me. As a "left brain" person, I am usually skeptical of these kinds of activities. But the authors' examples and explanations of each exercise gave me a new appreciation for the value of this type of retreat.

I also visited the authors' or book web site, which is a nice accompaniment to the book, including additional resources.

With a generous dose of humor and practical advice, this book outlines how to declutter our homes and why we clutter up in the first place. While other how-to manuals explain technically what to do, this book explains in a very simple, straight-forward manner how to unclutter our homes and how to stay uncluttered. With several stories of her own comical initial efforts to unclutter her home, this author provides inspiration, hope and optimism no matter how little or how much your home is plagued by runaway collections of things. Highly recommended!

Cynthia Friedlob helps us to relate to her cluttered life and her attempts to overcome clutter and become more organized in a delightfully funny way. You will be laughing out loud and thinking, "Oh good, I am not the only one who does that!" Get some great ideas on how to de-clutter and un-stuff your life.

Reviewed by Joanne Benham for Reader Views (7/06)

American people have a great deal of difficulty throwing away useless stuff. If we get too much stuff to keep in our house, we rent a storage unit. And if, heaven forbid, we get even more stuff, well, we can always rent another unit. As silly as this statement sounds, it's the truth. We make all sorts of excuses for keeping stuff; I need to clip out that recipe, it's only a little nick in this cup and I can sand it out, etc, etc.

The truth is, most of us could probably fill a good sized dumpster with stuff we have lying around, unused, in our homes.

Cynthia Friedlob tackles the monumental job of helping us see this stuff as...stuff. Stuff cluttering up our lives, causing anxiety and stress as we sort through all the useless stuff looking for something we need. Why do we have six pairs of pantyhose with runs? Do we really need to fill up the living room with wall-to-wall furniture so that we have somewhere for everyone to sit when the holidays arrive?

Sprinkled through this book are little tidbits: little extra nudges to encourage you to de-stuff your life.

There are also True Confessions: fact-based horror stories. I can guarantee that most people have experienced one of these stories in their lives.

Behind the humor, however, is some sound advice. Without getting preachy, Friedlob shows us how to decide what to keep and what can go, along with several options for disposing of our stuff.

I know that I myself cannot throw away a book unless it's a paperback and even then it has to be damaged. Otherwise, if it won't fit on the bookshelf, it goes into a plastic container that I pile in the basement. After reading this book, I called my sister, who can throw away anything, and we cleared out fourteen 35-gallon plastic containers of books. Most we gave away, some we sold in an on-line auction and some that we couldn't even give away, were pitched. It was one of my proudest moments. Thank you, Cynthia.

Written by self-confessed clutter sufferer Cynthia Friedlob, Sorting It Out: One Disorganized Woman Solves the Problem of Too Much Stuff is part memoir but mostly a self-help guide drawn from personal life experience to expunging excess clutter from one's life. Chapters address how to free oneself from the trap of identifying oneself through one's possessions, how to exercise appropriate restraint when buying new stuff, means of disposing or even profiting from extraneous stuff, humorous anecdotes, and much more. A wonderfully friendly, down-to-earth, and much-needed antidote to the clutter indigestion induced by too much consumption.

"When you clear out your plentiful assortment of excess stuff and things, you not only straighten up your home, you also clear out space in your head." ~ pg. 149

If you feel that excess "stuff" around your house is distracting you from your life goals, many traditions promote organization as a way to also declutter the mind and clean out the cobwebs of your daily existence.

Many people, especially artists, can live in chaos and function on a normal level, but most of us want to be able to find things so we spend less time searching for our keys, looking for the ingredient we just know is in the kitchen someplace and living in fear of looking under the bed. I create very well in chaos, but then I have to take a break and organize myself for the next creative impulse.

Organizing can seem intimidating at first, but with "Sorting It Out" you will let go of old possessions in exchange for new ideas, a less complex lifestyle and a renewed spirit.

`It turns out that the less stuff you carry with you, the less you have to think about." ~ pg. 107

Do you feel overwhelmed by your possessions?

Do you dread coming home from work to find the house is still not how you'd like it to be, so you can relax?

Are you constantly looking for items you know exists but are buried someplace in a pile on the desk?

Do you have time for a garage sale or would it make you feel good to donate your items to a charity?

What do you do about items with sentimental value? Some tricky questions...

Don't give up yet! Help has arrived because Cynthia Friedlob has been there and decided that all that "stuff" was limiting her existence and standing in the way of the life she envisioned. Through her witty advice and humorous tales you can take on household clutter with flair. She also has advice for how to save time by setting up your bank account to automatically pay bills. This has worked very well for me over the past few months. She addresses the issue of "paper" in regards to bills, magazines, catalogues and newspapers.

I now have five big black garbage bags full of stuff to donate to charity and I will say someone is going to find a few good books to read! It really comes down to the decision to buy more bookshelves or help the books I've read find new homes. This year I had spring and autumn organizing and without so much stuff around the house, it is even easier to clean the carpets.

Whether you are taking on one room or one drawer or closet at a time, this book can help you clear out the chaos and find out what is truly valuable.

"Don't get caught up buying storage containers to organize your stuff until you've tossed out everything that you don't need." ~ pg. 38

~The Rebecca Review

This is an excellent read for the lay person trying to either understand what the steps are to plan her disposition wishes or confrm that she has put everything in the proper order. The author writes in clear easy to understand language and neatly summarizes the key points of each chapter at the end of each chapter. Women need to take more care of their financial life and reading this book can be the first step.

As an author and a practicing attorney in the field of estate planning, I am always on the lookout for materials, particularly readable books, that clearly, simply, and accurately explain some of the unfortunately complicated issues that clients must understand in developing and planning their estates. This concern is a bit compounded when one is dealing with women clients, since in many instances their circumstances are often unique. Thus, I was positively thrilled with the publication of Attorney Annino's book, "Women & Money." In a clear and accurate way, Patricia covers virtually every issue that women face in planning their estates. I cannot recommend the book more highly, and in fact I am planning to purchase a supply of copies to give to my own clients.

Alexander A. Bove, Jr.
Boston, Massachusetts

As an attorney practicing in the field of estate planning, I read Patricia Annino's book hoping to find it a good resource for my women clients. Not only will I be reommending Women & Money to my clients, but am giving a copy to my mother for Mother's Day this year! The book presents a lot of complicated estate planning, financial, and tax matters in easy to understand terms with clear and realistic examples that women can easily relate to whether they are single, married, divorced, or widowed. In addition to explaining the legal aspects of planning, Patricia gives great tips, hints, and practical advice throughout the book. I definitely recommend it.

Here, at long last, is a book that provides women a roadmap of the financial world. No matter how hectic your life might be, this book is worth the time to read. Patricia Annino's depth of expertise is demonstrated through storytelling. She makes it easy to face financial questions that are so often emotionally intimidating. Whether you are single, married, divorced or widowed, whether you are living alone or responsible for others, this book is a gem precisely because it raises the right questions and provides a menu of answers. This book stands to become a classic. Mothers will sent copies to their daughters with notes in the margin. Young single women will read the book in their 20's and go back to it again and again as their life unfolds.

Annino's book provides the basic legal knowledge women need to deal with problems such as caring for elderly parents or young children, preparing for death or disability of self or spouse, whether to buy insurance, etc. However, there is no dry legalese: the advice is straightforward and abundantly illustrated with interesting stories from her law practice. In chapters aimed at women in various stages (divorcing, single, married, etc.) Annino seems to be having a personal conversation directly with the reader, offering lots of practical advice. Even has a fashionably pretty cover! Ladies: start your studies with this book.

Part of the beloved Arnie Carver series of novels for young adults, Arnie Carver and the Plague of Demeverde follows the adventures of Arnie Carver, once Thayne Davidson Miller III. The child prodigy of billionaires, he hated how airtight family security protected him at the expense of keeping him away from other children his own age and everything a child might want to do. But on his thirteenth birthday, he became a billionaire orphan when terrorists allegedly killed his parents. No evidence of Thayne's parents' supposed murderers could be found, though - what really happened to them? To solve the mystery, and experience life unsheltered if not entirely unprotected, Thayne replaced himself with a lifelike robot and took on a new alter-ego, attending an international high school named the Global Optimum Development Academy as Arnie Carver. Just as Arnie gets settled in, a deadly disease starts plaguing the island and the school - what could be causing it, and why? A gung-ho adventure featuring a young protagonist who respects schools and books as well as learning through experience, sure to engage young readers to the very last page.

Thayne Davidson Miller, III, is, to his way of thinking, the very self-embodiment of "the poor little rich kid." As the only child of billionaire parents, he has been afforded every advantage in life except one - the ability to actually be a child and do the things other children do every day. His parents take him with them wherever they go, and he has already mastered such subjects as law and medicine by the time he becomes a teenager, but he hates being isolated and allowed to interact with only a few select adults. Life as he has always known it changes irrevocably on the day of his thirteenth birthday, however, when both of his parents are killed by terrorists.

After a year of mourning and isolation alongside his only friends (Jacque, his "gentleman's gentleman," and his dog Chopsie) Thayne is determined to do what any other teenager would be doing - attending school with students his own age. Not just any old school will do, of course; it has to be a school where his advanced intellect is allowed to soar. While he considers the Scorsos International Academy and University, it's really a foregone conclusion that he will choose GODA (Global Optimum Development Academy) on the island of Demeverde, for it and the mysterious man who runs it played an important part in his parents' lives. GODA is much more than a mere school - even calling it an academy of learning is to do it a disservice. Only the best and brightest are accepted there, each with a special talent all his/her own, and learning is an active, all-encompassing endeavor.

With his parents' killers still unidentified, Thayne's personal safety is paramount, so he can't enroll as the famous Thayne Davidson Miller, III - in fact, Thayne really can't leave home at all. Fortunately, one of his family's businesses is able to build a lifelike robot to assume the role of Thayne, while "Arnie Carver" jets off to Demeverde. He quickly makes the first real friends of his life and loves the challenges and opportunities the school provides for him. His new life would be ideal were it not for a rare and terrible sickness that comes to be associated with the island. At first, it's just a child here and there across the globe that becomes sick, each of them having visited Demeverde at some point in the previous couple of years. When the disease strikes one of Arnie's friends, however, the Demeverde connection can no longer be dismissed out of hand. That's when Arnie and his friends set out to discover the source of the plague for themselves.

Undoubtedly, Arnie Carver and the Plague of Demeverde will be compared with the Harry Potter series. After all, you have these extraordinary kids going away to this extraordinary school to learn extraordinary things, they play an invented game called coca that elicits the same sort of excitement as Quidditch, and the main character is a young protagonist with a dark history that robbed him of his parents and perpetually dangles a potentially deadly threat over his own young head. Arnie Carver isn't Harry Potter, though, and this novel forges a story that is really quite its own.

I loved the book. Thayne is a wonderful, sympathetic character, and I warmed up to his new friends and classmates just as quickly as he did. The wonderful technologies employed at GODA are a treat to visualize, and I have to believe older children and young adults will find such extraordinary things as SlipDiscs fascinating. I would even go so far as to call the book inspirational - were I a couple of decades younger, this is just the kind of story that would have gotten my intellectual juices flowing. It never hurts to see true friendship put on display in front of you, either.

On top of everything else, author Kenneth R. Besser lays a solid foundation for future books in the series, leaving us to wonder what the real story behind the unsolved murder of Thayne's parents' might be, question the motives of the man behind Scorsos International Academy and University, and yearn to know more about Unius, the mysterious, seemingly all-knowing, head of GODA. This has all the makings of a great series.

Arnie Carver and the Plague of Demeverde is the well-told tale of a boy named Thayne Davidson Miller III, a genius and the heir to a fortune. He's the richest kid in the world, who has everything in the world, but needs "to learn how to be a part of the world."

After his parents are murdered, early on in the book, young Thayne has his chance. Although grief-stricken by their deaths, he is looking forward to a few changes in his life. For the first time ever he is now allowed to attend classes (under the assumed name Arnie Carver) with other kids - although the school he chooses turns out to be quite different from the schools you and I are familiar with!

Besser writes with the confident ease of a good storyteller. The wit, the humor, the adventures, and the legal hi-jinx will delight precocious young readers and teens. Combining elements of sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, and political thriller, the author at times seems to parody these genres as he relates the adventures of his young hero. And because of that it's a book that adults can enjoy as well.

By the end of this first in a series of books, the bright young protagonist has not only become a part of the world, he has helped to save it. But there is still more for him to do and discover, and I can't wait to find out what will happen next!

Reviewed by Braine Plach (age 10) for Reader Views (1/08)

Have you ever thought it would be terrific if you had all the money that you ever wanted to have? Can you imagine not having to wait until Christmas or your birthday for presents? For some kids, this would be a dream come true. But Thayne Davidson Miller, III, doesn't think it is very much fun. Instead of being a blessing, it is a curse.

Thayne is constantly being surrounded by security guards. Thayne's parents are billionaires, so having a normal lifestyle as a young boy is impossible. He is a normal boy who would enjoy playing soccer or football with other boys, climbing trees or just hanging out with his friends. Instead he has to fly on his parents' jet to all kinds of far-off places. It's not like he gets to see anything when he goes to these other cities. He is constantly being watched.

When Thayne turns thirteen, his life takes a drastic turn. He has now inherited the 50 businesses that his parents owned. He is an orphan! The murders are unsolved, so Thayne takes the matter into his own hands. He attempts to discover what really happened to his parents.

He has a very brilliant mind and uses it to his advantage. He creates a life-like robot and a personality to live out his dreams of being normal. Arnie Carver is born. Will this make Thayne any happier or only add to his misery?

Kenneth R. Besser is a master at storytelling. "Arnie Carver and the Plague of Demeverde" is just one of a series about Arnie Carver. The twists and turns throughout the story will have you sitting on the edge of your seat. Books like this, with its science-fiction twist, will have kids anxiously awaiting their next Arnie Carver book.

Is being wealthy really worth it all or is it a sure fire way to ruin your life?

To those around him in this futurist world of cool gadgets, Thayne Davison Miller III has it all. His parents are the richest people in the world. He travels around the world, and best of all, he is dearly loved. The one thing missing from his life is being around kids his own age. That might sound like a simple thing to ask, but Thayne isn't your average kid. Kidnapping is a real threat and his parents fear for his safety to the extreme degree. So his parents with the help of Jacques Marquis, Thayne's man servant and only friend, decided long ago on home schooling.

On his thirteenth birthday, what was meant to be a delightful surprise turned tragic as Thayne's parents were assassinated on the way to his birthday party. With the exception of his beloved dog and friend, Jacques, he is all alone in the world, but with an added problem. The killer or killers were never caught. He too could be a target.

Thayne devises a plan to set a trap for the people responsible for killing his parents. He sends a life like double called an intellitron as decoy to the local school. In the meantime, the real Thayne attends the Global Optimum Development Academy on the island of Demeverde under the name of Arnie Carver.

Just as Arnie and his friends settle in for the school year, a mysterious and deadly disease plagues the school. At first, no one believes the disease is related to the island until one of Arnie's classmates comes down with it. Now it is up to Arnie and his friends to find out what is causing this disease. And if they do, will it be in time enough to find a cure for Arnie's friend? Kenneth R. Besser kept me guessing until the very end as it should be!

This colorful cast of children with special abilities, keeps the story upbeat and smiling. One of my favorites is Steven "Tinker" Schocken. He has a special knack of fixing things. Then there is Bernadette Rogers who senses what people are feeling. That's not all. With her mind, she can get you to see things her way, unless you know how to mentally block her. (Way cool!) Another unusual person in the book is Choi Guihah, who has an uncanny ability to do things with her muscles, which includes making a soft landing from twenty feet. These are but a few of the characters making this a truly appealing story.

Review by J. Kaye Oldner

The Carbon War is aptly titled - it shows that the rough and tumble politics of global warming is actually a type of war, one fought with political weapons in the finest (or worst) Machiavellian approach using deception, lies, abuse of power, money, and any other means of gaining the desired goal. Although both sides in the debate (big business and governments beholden to big business versus environmental groups) resort to various machinations and deception to promote their agendas, as this book clearly demonstrates from a personal eye-witness (of one who was "in the trenches"), the big business consortium is much more guilty of lies, corruption, and blatant mis-use of power than the environmental side. One reason may simply be that the traditional energy industry (petrochemical and coal) fear they will lose significant amounts of money if they change the way they do business.

This book would be interesting to read in about 100 years. If things do not go well with mitigating climate change, the book could serve as an indictment of the guilty parties. If things do go well, people could say "I'm so glad governments didn't listen to those energy companies".

Easily five stars. Also, unfortunately in some ways, a very eye-opening look at the way international environmental politics is conducted. It probably goes without saying that many large energy companies really do not care about what is right for the average human, they only care about what is right for their shareholders. If you are still undecided on whether or not global warming is real, or is an issue you should be concerned about, and you receive conflicting information, keep in mind as you decide who is most likely to more truthful - the side trying to keep the planet livable, or the side with the most money to lose?

(Second Review one week later, same Reviewer): Title of Second Review: Casualties High in the Carbon War.

Jeremy Leggett has written a fascinating first-person account of an environmental organization representative's front row seat to the battle waged during the development of the Kyoto Protocol. As others have stated, politics is really a type of blood sport, with the winners left standing and everybody else dying or wounded. As Mr. Leggett points out, the real casualties are the truth and the average person. Huge amounts of money are at stake in any plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and most plans will create new winners in the changing market, and also will create new losers. No existing company wants to be one of the losers, and they will do everything in their power to maintain the status quo. If you aren't already suspicious of the petrochemical energy business, you probably will be after reading this book. (Note: Large energy companies do not necessarily have your best interests in mind.)

Jeremy Leggett's "The Carbon War" is the story of how the Kyoto Protocol of 1997 came about, and how companies in the business of thermal fuel (coal, oil, gas) - Leggett calls them the "Carbon Club" - tried to derail the process of setting enforceable goals for lowering greenhouse gas emissions. It is also the story of how self-interest, not surprisingly, overrides the general interest; how the United States, home to some of the largest oil and gas multinationals and the world's premier carbon dioxide emitting nation, sided with the Carbon Club; how Australia, the world's largest coal exporter, joined forces with the United States.

The Kyoto Protocol will come into force on 16 February 2005. It has been ratified by more than 55 of its signatory countries. The United States, led by George W. Bush, however, walked out on the agreement in March 2001.

The fact of global warming is hardly disputable. The five hottest years recorded since 1880 were 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2001, with 1998 having been the hottest. Whether the warming effect is man-made is still subject to discussion. But a full three quarters of scientists working in the field of climate change make the burning of fossil fuels responsible for the recorded increase in temperature.

The emission of carbon dioxide could be easily reduced if power could be economically generated by photovoltaic solar energy (PV). However, Adam Smith's invisible hand won't do the job in this particular case. It is a Catch-22 situation because PV will only be economically viable if the PV cells are mass-produced, but they are not mass-produced because people can't afford today's expensive PV products. This is a situation where government would have a proper role to fulfill - to jump-start a process that would help the common good where the mechanics of the market do not work. But unfortunately most governments do not care to do that.

Already in 1997, Leggett notes, "every country had its companies lost in skepticism about climate change. But in the USA the scale of the collective denial was unique." (264) Eight years later it is not much different. This denial comes at a cost, though. Not only the cost of becoming more and more isolated from global trends and losing the moral authority the USA enjoyed after Roosevelt and Truman established the country as a world power, but also an economic cost. State of the art ecological cars that really sell are not made by GM or Ford these days, but by Japan's Toyota. World-class oil companies with a comprehensive environmental policy are not ExxonMobil and ChevronTexaco of the US, but BP and Shell of Europe.

Jeremy Leggett, by the way, founded his own company to promote and sell PV technology after he realized, with a certain bitterness, that his lobbying efforts to get emission limits agreed were not getting anywhere.

For a geologist Jeremy Leggett is a suprisingly good writer. As described in the previous reviews he details some of the history leading up to the Kyoto accords and provides insight from the participants perception. The meetings, the debates, the radio and TV interviews are all here. You will also read about all the tension and conflict that this global problem with its immense economic immplications brings to a head.

This book is mainly about the politics of the world climate change policies and does not have very much content regarding the science of climate change. I would have liked to see more of the science and perhaps a bit less of the details of meetings after more meetings. If you want to learn more about the science I would recommend Spencer Weart's The Discovery of Global Warming and John Houghton's Global Warming: The Complete Briefing. If you want to read about the war between Exxon,big Coal,corporate media, and environmentalists, scientists, and the countries that are first in line to suffer from the consequences of global warming this is your book.

Many authors, in meticulous science journalism style, write good environmental science and policy books that are worth reading.

Jeremy Leggett's "Carbon War" is an outstanding contribution from the front lines. A journal from a key player in the carbon war, with insights on other key players on all sides.

Leggett puts you at the international summits, to witness the best and worst elements at work. There are many books that will inform you on global climate change issues (and some that will intentionally disinform you). But few, if any, let you peer into the international efforts (and counterefforts) to deal with climate change like the "Carbon War."

The author participated as an NGO spokesperson at many international meetings about CO2's contribution to climate change. His chronological treatment imposes order on the confusing, repeated climate prep meetings and negotiations of the 1990s. It was very helpful to read an unapologetic, informed account of these negotiations, replete with the hope & despair many felt about the participation of U.S. negotiators 1992-2000.

I bought it for my husband for his birthday, then proceeded to read it night after night until it was done. Leggett's first person accounts engaged and entertained me, and I admired his ability to switch between his memories of his own involvement and his descriptions of the state of science and policy at a given time. The sketches of the opposition always were worth reading, and I kept wondering whether he'd ever get really mean.

As a coda to reading the book, one could visit the website of OPEC to read their short policy statement on global climate change; see their FAQs number 20, an interesting read.

Immense credit must be given to Dr. Gaines-Ross who bravely and successfully takes on, notwithstanding the post Enron anti-CEO environment, the hypersensitive issue of CEO reputation. Yes, agrees Gaines-Ross, being a high profile, ego obsessed CEO is asking for trouble and is to be avoided like the plague. She refuses, however, to engage in the now fashionable tendency toward unrestrained CEO bashing, preferring instead a reasoned, astute and carefully researched analysis of the CEO's role.

While adding her voice to those who deride media hyped personalities, what she refers to as big "C" Celebrity CEOs, she cautions that old fashioned leadership is still desirable. When engaged in by talented CEOs, it may, indeed should, lead to the creation of an executive persona. Such a persona need not require media exposure and is entirely compatible with sound corporate practice. Such persona bearing CEOs are small "c" celebrated CEOs, who "by dint of strong leadership, discriminating vision, force of character and other admirable traits become celebrated by their employees, their industry, their peers, and occasionally (though not necessarily) even the media for jobs well done."

Gaines-Ross' book amounts to a much needed, intellectually honest warning not to let the anti-CEO backlash go too far. Refusing to jump blindly onto the anti-CEO bandwagon as have so many business pundits, she stresses that executive leadership is still necessary and if effectively and ethically rendered is something which should not be hidden under the rug but promoted openly. In pursuing the cause of sound, old fashioned corporate leadership, she lays out a roadmap, based on original research, on how CEOs may repair their reputations, stressing among other things the need to communicate internally, build a management team, develop a thematic stamp and a vision.

She deserves immense praise not only for her honest appraisal of the role of CEOs in today's business environment but also for presenting an immensely practical and useful format on how to lead ethically, energetically and effectively.

A major, original addition to the literature on leadership and reputation ... no doubt about it.

Immense credit must be given to Dr. Gaines-Ross who bravely and successfully takes on, notwithstanding the post Enron anti-CEO environment, the hypersensitive issue of CEO reputation. Yes, agrees Gaines-Ross, being a high profile, ego obsessed CEO is asking for trouble and is to be avoided like the plague. She refuses, however, to engage in the now fashionable tendency toward unrestrained CEO bashing, preferring instead a reasoned, astute and carefully researched analysis of the CEO's role.

While adding her voice to those who deride media hyped personalities, what she refers to as big "C" Celebrity CEOs, she cautions that old fashioned leadership is still desirable. When engaged in by talented CEOs, it may, indeed should, lead to the creation of an executive persona. Such a persona need not require media exposure and is entirely compatible with sound corporate practice. Such persona bearing CEOs are small "c" celebrated CEOs, who "by dint of strong leadership, discriminating vision, force of character and other admirable traits become celebrated by their employees, their industry, their peers, and occasionally (though not necessarily) even the media for jobs well done."

Gaines-Ross' book amounts to a much needed, intellectually honest warning not to let the anti-CEO backlash go too far. Refusing to jump blindly onto the anti-CEO bandwagon as have so many business pundits, she stresses that executive leadership is still necessary and if effectively and ethically rendered is something which should not be hidden under the rug but promoted openly. In pursuing the cause of sound, old fashioned corporate leadership, she lays out a roadmap, based on original research, on how CEOs may repair their reputations, stressing among other things the need to communicate internally, build a management team, develop a thematic stamp and a vision.

She deserves immense praise not only for her honest appraisal of the role of CEOs in today's business environment but also for presenting an immensely practical and useful format on how to lead ethically, energetically and effectively.

A major, original addition to the literature on leadership and reputation ... no doubt about it.

We have all been witness to the lionisation, and thereafter, the demonisation of CEOs.

As we watched some of the finest corporate reputations bite the dust, we also became acutely aware that there is no 'secret sauce' to brew a fine reputation. Yet there are some basic principles that apply and that is what this book sheds light on.

CEO Capital is not about impression management or building personality cults. Nor is it a simple 1-2-3 recipe for assembling a chief executive's reputation. It is for serious business professionals who recognise and honour the immensity of the chief executive's job, especially in today's complex business environment.

Over the past few years, Burson-Marsteller has contributed significantly to the body of knowledge through a series of research studies looking at CEO reputation and its contribution to broader corporate reputation. Those studies have found a significant - and growing - correlation between the credibility of the chief executive and reputation of his or her organisation.

The principal architect of that research is Leslie Gaines-Ross, B-M's chief knowledge officer, who joined the firm after serving as director of marketing and communication at Fortune magazine, where she was closely involved in the publication's Most Admired Corporations research.

In the book, Gaines-Ross builds on Burson's research and lays out a roadmap for CEOs who understand the increasing importance of both personal and institutional credibility. CEO reputation, according to this book, is dependent upon three 'C' factors -credibility, code of ethics, and communicating internally - and two 'M' factors - attracting and retaining a quality management team and motivating and inspiring employees.

So important are the CM factors that each one surpassed even wealth creation in importance according to the 2001 Burson-Marsteller study, she writes. Evidently, financial performance is important, but simply not enough.

Gaines-Ross makes a compelling case that building CEO capital is not about ego, but about good, old-fashioned leadership. And she shows that it has payoffs for the organisation. But before embarking on what Gaines-Ross calls "the CEO capital model of building reputation," the CEO must buy into the importance of building his or her personal credibility.

The most practical section of the book, based upon B-M's 'Seasons of a CEO' research, provides a roadmap for a new CEO seeking to build credibility inside and outside the organisation.

That task begins in the countdown period, before he or she takes office. The countdown is a time to cherish -a time when a CEO may quietly plan for the future, contact key shareholders, research the company, and do all those innumerable tasks for which there will be so little time later, says Gaines-Ross.

The first 100 days of a CEO's tenure are critical, and a time when the focus should be inward rather than on external audiences.

The media should be low on the list of priorities for a new CEO during the first 100 days, says Gaines-Ross. Media exposure without full opportunity to gain a thorough understanding of corporate workings is an invitation to disaster.

As the first year progresses, the focus slowly shifts. The CEO must establish a unique corporate persona in which the CEO's every action and deed reflects in some way the corporate values the CEO wishes to advance and the vision the CEO wishes to instil.

The first step is to engage in what Gaines-Ross calls "intense learning," from customers, from analysts, from alumni, from employees. Then, she says, CEOs can cultivate a persona, establishing those values that will drive the company, articulating a code of ethics.

The second year of a CEO's tenure can be even more challenging because this is when the change really gets binding and the stakeholders, including the board of directors, start to expect real, measurable results.

The CEO needs to demonstrate the company's new strategic vision, put stakeholders at ease - show them both financial results and a unified management team - and start to plan for the future.

The CEO also needs to demonstrate what Gaines-Ross calls thought leadership, something that "distinguishes and differentiates a company from its competitors... Thought leadership often breaks with business or industry convention, astonishes if not startles. Thought leadership reflects on the company and builds CEO capital."

Gaines-Ross ends the book with two appeals. The first is for a longer CEO timetable. B-M's research has shown that all stakeholders expect more of CEOs, and faster. But "the trend toward increasingly shorter CEO tenures is undermining business productivity and focus," says Gaines-Ross.

"Fewer CEOs seem to make it past the five-quarter mark and even fewer beyond their three-year anniversary. Such instability irrevocably and adversely affects a company's reputation and destiny. Chief executive departures have substantially adverse consequences, affecting too many employees, customers, partners, and investors." The second appeal is related, a call for a longer-term view.

This is substantial addition to the literature of our profession, a manifesto supported by compelling original research and informed by intelligent, sympathetic analysis. It is also a rare book about public relations that preaches not to the choir but to the choirmasters.

(The reviewer is Principal and Founder, Genesis Public Relations, India)

Until I read this book I did not realize the importance of communicating the 'how','why', 'when' of each executive decision. Given the crisis environment dominating corporate America today, I think CEOs need to add another word to their title and become chief executive and communications officers. Without communicating and finding their voice as leaders, I think CEOs will have a hard time earning public trust. This book provides a great blue print for understanding the commotion we read about in the papers.

In CEO Capital, Leslie Gaines-Ross has written an insightful and enlightening book for those who want to increase the positive visibility and reputation of their CEO. It is a surprise to this reviewer that more books have not been written on the subject of how to master the art of building your reputation when both your own personal future and corporate future may be resting on it.

The celebrity hungry society of today looks to corporate movers and shakers especially the CEO as icons of a particular company. Think about Lee Iacocca, Jack Welch, Richard Branson, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs to mention just a few. How much of your opinion of these companies (and notice I don't even have to mention which companies they run/ran) is based on your perceived image of the CEO? The phrase `you are your company' has never been more true, especially in the post Enron & Arthur Anderson world. How has your opinion of Enron changed now that you know more about Jeff Skilling and Andrew Fastow? Despite any fraud at Enron being committed by the few and not the masses of the organization, our entire perception of Enron has shifted to the iconic few.

Part I of CEO Capital is a contextual look at CEO capital: what it is, where it comes from and how it can be built. Gaines-Ross draws us in by looking at the CEO Effect by citing some examples as far back as 1985 starting with Roberto Goizueta, then CEO of Coca-Cola and the whole `New Coke' revolt, that could have been a fatal disaster for the company. But Goizueta, trading on his CEO capital, not only avoided being removed but was able to bring the company back even stronger.

Part II is most interesting and is centered on the five stages postulated in the CEO capital model which take you by the hand, and step by step go through best practices (ed: hate that term but in this situation it is apt), principles and linkages to factors affecting the building of CEO capital. As the book says, `the reader may be left with the impression that the stages read almost like a manual on how to lead a company. This perception is quite acceptable and entirely reasonable because nothing is more conducive to building CEO capital than building a strong, high-performing company. Any similarity between the two is entirely intentional.' Which is indeed how it reads, but in doing so, broadens the scope of the content to be relevant to a wider audience of business managers and executives who may not be leading Fortune 500 type companies (yet!). In fact, they may be the very leaders who will gain most from this book, since they are not too arrogant to learn and may gain the most from any capital building opportunities presented to them.

Chapters in the book include guidance on the Countdown (the time before the CEO-elect takes office), the First One Hundred days and the First Year, and then of course the second year in office which is always much harder than the first.

Gaines-Ross has written a truly pioneering work - overall an excellent book on a little-written about subject. The book is practically written and you should not let its somewhat `user manual' style detract you from putting its advice into action. Recommended for CEOs and CEOs to-be of all sized companies, as well as other corporate officers and marketing/PR professionals who may guide along the process.