Organizations Books
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HMO'sReview Date: 2000-10-03
A Must Read!Review Date: 2000-03-25
Care Package for PatientsReview Date: 2000-03-26
Help with the HMO mazeReview Date: 2000-03-21
Required reading for people with health insuranceReview Date: 2000-03-26

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Scholarly ReviewReview Date: 2008-08-16
Educational ResearchReview Date: 2008-04-03
Many research books are on the market, this is my favorite and has become my "bible" in designing a research project and writing papers due to the reader easy style Creswell laid the book out and the language he used to write and explain.
Alexandra B. Kealey
Helpful resourceReview Date: 2007-01-09
Comprehensive, Interest-Provoking, UnderstandableReview Date: 2007-01-05
Don Eagan - Graduate StudentReview Date: 2007-01-26

Law BookReview Date: 2008-08-11
Great TX School Law overviewReview Date: 2008-06-03
Necessary for Texas EducatorsReview Date: 2008-05-24
The Educator's Guide to Texas School LawReview Date: 2008-05-04
Helpful HintsReview Date: 2008-04-27

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Feudalism as a social typeReview Date: 2002-07-15
Marxists and others maintained the feudalism originated from the sudden and violent collision between Roman society and German society. It¡¯s the child born from the violent and coercive marriage. But Bloch argues that resulting form of feudalism had its origin not directly in German invasion but in subsequent invasions of the Moslem, the Norman, and the Hungarian. These added up to the uncontrollable chaos all over Western Europe, and ended in the collapse of effective ruling of the state. Feudal system as we know emerged in this stalemate which Frank empire and other states of the time faced. State apparatus could not be maintained for state could not pay bureaucrats salary. Frank empire pioneered the alternative system which was later known as feudalism. What characterizes feudalism is the unique social type based on the principle of subordination and custody. The principle is similar to the patron/client relationship of Roman age. But feudal one is based on the principle of contract which is premised on reciprocity. Put another way, feudalism is the network of reciprocal relationship of rights and responsibility from king to serf. Ruling class could not wield power over serf in unilateral way. In this vein, feudal system is both social (between classes) and political (among ruling class) relationships. Bloch maintained this relationship should be called as feudalism. It¡¯s a social type which is not limited to the economic terrain as Marxists argued.
Ian Myles Slater on: A Modern Classic, Not Yet Out-ModedReview Date: 2005-01-28
One drawback is the author's romantic glorification of the medieval peasant -- Norman Cantor has called attention to this in his "Inventing the Middle Ages," pointing out that Bloch gave it Marxist trappings. I call it romantic because I suspect that Bloch owed at least as much to Jules Michelet's nineteenth-century historiography, initially with a veneer of "science" added. Of course, Bloch actually went out and did fundamental work in the archives, and tried to get a real picture of how, in the long term, life had been lived by ordinary people, instead of relying on Michelet-style suppositions. (Yes, Bloch's "Annales" school is supposed to be the antithesis of the enthusiastic Michelet; but, while Bloch established its methodology in reaction to existing approaches, in Bloch's last book "The Historian's Craft," Michelet is still among "our great forebears.")
The second is the concept of "Feudalism" itself, which these days makes anyone with a serious background in medieval studies very uncomfortable. A very good case can be made that "Feudalism" is largely a set of modern constructs, re-invented several times since the sixteenth century to suit different legal, political, and social purposes, and presented as an "Historic Fact" alongside contemporary and later "discoveries" such as "Anglo-Saxon Liberty," "The Norman Yoke," and "Our Ancestors the Gauls." (A short, pointed, introduction to one aspect of the problem is J.G.A. Pocock's "The Ancient Constitution and the Feudal Law: A Study of English Historical Thought in the Seventeenth Century.")
If it means anything for modern-day historians, the term applies to how control of land, and its revenue, was linked to social status, political authority, judicial functions, and reciprocal military obligations -- a large, messy, topic. So the feeling is growing that the word is best avoided, as carrying too much baggage, and too likely to be invoked as a substitute for thought.
Indeed, as picked up by Karl Marx, Feudalism, equated largely with landlord-tenant agriculture instead of sub-divided political and judicial authority, became a theoretical concept to be applied to a variety of extra-European societies, as a stage in an inevitable social evolution. In this role, it produced, or at least became a part of, bitter, and literally murderous, disputes over the nature of Russian and Chinese society, among others.
Even with all this in mind, and many years after first reading it, I find Bloch's emphasis on the material basis of medieval society refreshing, and think that he carried it out with reasonable consistency. Whatever his agenda, he went looking for real data, and adjusted theory to match it, which is where he parts company with both Michelet and Marx. That later work has revealed a more complex, and in some ways different, picture does not discredit his effort. And having the hardworking peasant as a sort of collective hero helps hold together discussions of things like field rotation, strip cultivation, and plough-teams, which most readers will not find all that gripping on their own.
More important, in some ways, Bloch presented feudal *society* -- not some imaginary entity called "Feudalism" or "The Feudal System" -- as a whole set of ways of ordering people and institutions, and making resources available to various parts of a diversified ruling class. The unsystematic nature of actuality is not denied, but it is classified in terms of common elements.
This getting down to practical realities may not sound so impressive, but a couple of generations of scholars had been smacking each other over the head (in this case, figuratively) in an argument of whether "Feudalism" was *really* Roman or Germanic, with partisan sub-divisions on whether either origin was a Good Thing or a Bad Thing. Somehow, figuring out how it worked had seemed less important than what Mircea Eliade called "The Prestige of Origins" -- a form of mythical thought as much as a topic of historical research.
So instead of a broad theory of a single "origin," we get "The Growth of Ties of Dependence" (volume one of the paperback edition), followed by "Social Classes and Political Organization," showing the extent to which the pattern of rural hierarchies did, or did not, carry over into "higher" or "more advanced" developments.
Although probably much more accurate for France than for other parts of Europe, and for some centuries more than others, the book does manage to present a (by and large) convincing picture of how Europe re-organized itself between the collapse of Rome and the High Middle Ages. A reminder of the people who made it all possible, but were usually left out of the chronicles, and certainly are missing from most of the chansons de geste and romances, is not a bad basis for a book.
Still, largely for reasons of documentation, Bloch is sometimes rather better at explaining how the military aristocracy was supported, than at presenting the daily lives of the people who were doing the work. His analysis of how some knights and officials had "fiefs" which were simply stipends, or even what we might consider cafeteria privileges, is an interesting sidelight to "life on a medieval manor" approaches. It also reveals that methods of supporting the clergy and the nobility were not all that different, which shouldn't be a big surprise, given the limited options available.
So I continue to think of Bloch's "Feudal Society" as a valuable contribution, to be read and pondered, although not taken at face value, by anyone seriously interested in medieval European society, or supposedly comparable systems elsewhere. Since it has also generated a half-century of follow-ups, attacks, and defenses, it is also a good book to have read as part of getting acquainted with a wider literature.
A review by a non-historianReview Date: 2006-12-03
To conclude with, I would say that my historiography teacher told me this is the best work on the middle-ages, so I decided to read it, and it wasn't easy, it took me a while, but it was very rewarding. I don't recommend it for people who don't read a lot, but if you enjoy history and want to know what the feudal society was all about, this is a very rewading book as an introduction to the middle-ages. I strongly recommend it.
On the top ten list for medieval studiesReview Date: 2002-07-13
The Evolution of FeudalismReview Date: 2005-06-01
Volume one of the two volume set looks at the growth of feudalism in western society, and by western I'm talking about Northern France, Western Germany, England and Northern Italy. Bloch's main concern in this volume is setting the conditions which led to the developmen of feudalism from 800 AD to 1000 AD and then describing the various forms that feudalism took.
The book is well translated, and I found it hard to argue with much of the thesis. I too have read Norman Cantor's "the Making of the Middle Ages" where he calls Bloch a Marxist (and maligns the entire Annales school). I've also read more recent productions from the Annales school. I have to say, based on this particular book, I don't really see where Bloch is a)romanticizing the peasant (another Cantor criticism) or b) a marxist.
It seemed to me that Bloch's explanation for the growth of feudalism was, basically, that central government decayed to the point where various muck a mucks needed to find an alternative way to "rally the troops" in the face of frequent small to mid size invasions. Feudalism, with its emphasis on individual obligation and quid pro pro, was an attempt to remedy the lack of communication over long distances and lack of central authority.
The peasants didn't really figure in this book at all, except near the end. Certainly, one wouldn't accuse this book of being filled with marxist/post-modern/decontructionist gobbeldy gook. This is a must read for those interested in the field, especially lay men.

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Masters CourseworkReview Date: 2007-07-11
The Original Book in this FieldReview Date: 2007-04-01
Systems thinking explained, personal mastery revealedReview Date: 2006-10-11
The insights are so deep, the narration so intimate, the examples so clear.. this is one of my favorite for my 10 hour drives.
A MUST READ FOR TODAY'S LEADERReview Date: 2006-02-04
If you want you and your organization to grow together, I recommend this book.
Groundbreaking bookReview Date: 2007-11-01
According to Peter Senge, "real learning gets to the heart of what it means to be human. Through learning we re-create ourselves. Through learning we become able to do something we never were able to do. Through learning we reperceive the world and our relationship to it. Through learning we extend our capacity to create, to be part of the generative process of life. There is within each of us a deep hunger for this type of learning"--powerful advice indeed from a real learning guru.
I recommend this book for individuals interested in understanding the nature of how organizations develop, how behaviours are formed, and how organizations achieve growth and augment their capabilities. You will learn how to improve the way your organization or department functions, how to review and improve systems and how to develop shared visions, create long term goals among other critical insights.
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Get it and read it!Review Date: 2001-02-08
A MUST READReview Date: 1999-12-17
TOOT YOUR HORNReview Date: 1999-12-17
THE MODERN DAY FRIAR TUCKSReview Date: 1999-12-17
BRAVOReview Date: 1999-12-17

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The Walk of Faith of a very Holy ManReview Date: 2006-03-24
I was most moved by the influence of his father that how his deeds, not his words affected him. As a father of two young children myself, this anecdote from the Pope certainly will influence further and provide more incentive to raise my daughters in the faith and that through my actions (prayer and striving to live a holy life), I can make the same impression on my children as John Paul's father had on him.
This also has the history of John Paul's religious education and how the Second World War affected his education and shaped it. The man we knew as Pope John Paul II was certainly shaped by those events. They apparently made him a better man.
Pope John Paul the Second is an inspiration to millions around the world, both to Catholics like myself as well as to non-Catholics. The combination of wisdom, intellect and faith possesed by the late Pope is matched by few in the history of the world. This work shows just a small portion of all three. While it is a pretty easy read, it is most certainly worthwhile. Reading about the great men of the faith is as vital to the ongoing catechizing process that all adult Catholics must constantly engage in to grow in knowledge of the faith.
Should your son be a priest?Review Date: 2001-12-20
A priest's life is challenging. He must be attentive and sympathetic; critical and watchful with regard to historical developments; a giver of Christ; a spiritual father -- especially in the Confessional; holy; constantly training, studying and updating; promoting the family; defending mankind; in dialog with the youth; in dialog with the culture; intellectual and scholarly; and living the Gospel.
But a priest's life is most rewarding. The priest is "a steward of the mysteries of God." An essential part of his mission is fulfilled in the Confessional. The priest is an essential being in the only suitable offering that man can make to God, the offering of God-made-man, an offering made at every Mass. The priest is so united to Christ at Mass that he is "in the person of Christ." What a beautiful reflection on the Mass is offered by the Pope!
The challenge of the priesthood seems overwhelming. It would be without God. It is "a mystery of divine election."
Every parent of a potential priest should read this book.
A wonderful journeyReview Date: 2006-01-15
RobbieRnSFOReview Date: 2005-08-30
A great and humble human beingReview Date: 2005-06-04


Giving Back - in support of community serviceReview Date: 2008-09-13
Thanks to Mr. Economy and Mr. Berkley for offering suggestions for other business leaders to give back to their communities.
Turning Lemons into Lemonade!Review Date: 2008-06-21
Giving Back, pass this message alongReview Date: 2008-06-20
A great read with a great messageReview Date: 2008-06-20
I encourage everyone to read this book!
Inspirational, Insightful and Hands On PracticalReview Date: 2008-04-06

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School BookReview Date: 2008-09-20
Cohen's Experience Makes Field Guide Useful AdditionReview Date: 2007-02-19
Making Change RealReview Date: 2006-02-07
A follow-up to the 1996 John Kotter best-sellers Leading ChangeReview Date: 2006-02-07
Winning Principles to Practical Tools!Review Date: 2006-02-27
As a consultant, I use these principles and tools on a regular basis to help my clients achieve lasting change. The diagnostic tools for each step are a great way to identify barriers and risks so you can bust through those barriers and mitigate risks.
If your organization is undergoing significant change, this is a book that you MUST have not only in your library but on your desk for regular use.

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Excellent resource for anyone going through a change in LifeReview Date: 2004-01-10
REFRESHING !Review Date: 2000-07-17
A Winner!Review Date: 2000-07-10
Facilitating ChangeReview Date: 2000-02-02
A useful guide for everyday livingReview Date: 1999-11-17
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