Organizations Books

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was full of both interesting historical information, and interesting information for helping Protestants connect with our Catholic peers and understand them better. It encourages Christians to take the best of both worlds when growing closer to Christ and modeling your life after him. I would definitely recommend it. If you are a Protestant who appreciates some of the different practices of faith in our Catholic brethren, or you're just curious, this is a quick and easy book to read to learn about some of them them. It also encourages the reader to put into practice certain aspects of the Benedictine Rule, from which everyone can learn.

This is a little book. If you exclude things like the Foreword, the Afterword and Notes, it's only 99 pages. But it packs a spiritual wallop.

Evangelical theologian and educator Dennis Okholm offers this spiritual memoir of his pilgrimage into monastic culture in an era when a chorus of evangelical voices are crying out for changes in their branch of the church. Various evangelical writers are arguing: The movement's become stale. It's been hijacked by political operatives. It's turned Christianity into an easy-bake recipe for prosperity. And, where many of these writers wind up trying to take us is back into centuries-old Christian traditions that once were considered exclusively "Catholic." And, when evangelicals said that word in the past, they often sneered.

Don't mistake Okholm's book for one of those angry evangelical books trying to shake up the movement from its foundations, but not offering much of a pathway through the resulting rubble. No, this is a thoughtful, careful, mature memoir from a man who set out through back roads to visit his first monastery in the spring of 1987. He admits that, at the time, he suspected monastic life was a tired old "relic of the Middle Ages."

Instead, he wound up exploring this world for two decades, finding elements of Christianity that were missing in the version of the faith that had been handed down to him.

Kathleen Norris wrote the Foreword to Okholm's book and Norris fans will understand right away that this is a strong vote of confidence in Okholm's voice. He's coming to this particular conversation, in the form of this book, in the same season that Tony Campolo and Mary Albert Darling - also evangelical scholars - are offering us, "The God of Intimacy and Action: Reconnecting Ancient Spiritual Practices, Evangelism and Justice."

Don't pick up this book thinking you'll grab a few tips for a richer life of prayer. There are deeper implications to this pilgrimage, Okholm argues. At one point, he writes to those of us with roots in the evangelical world, "We have become consumers of religion rather than cultivators of a spiritual life; we have spawned an entire industry of Christian kitsch and bookstores full of spiritual junk food that leaves us sated and flabby. As if we believed the infomercial that promises great abs if we just buy the right piece of equipment for $39.95, we think that the secret to being a spiritually fit Christian can be had by finding some secret technique or buying the most recent hot-selling inspirational devotional."

This is dangerous spiritual territory. This is a truly prophetic voice guiding us inward.

And, if you like where Okholm takes you, then you'll want to read "God of Intimacy and Action." If you like that voice, then you'll want to hear more from Norris and her "Cloister Walk," as well.

This isn't a stray drop of rain. It's a refreshing spiritual shower of compelling insights.

It's rare to find find a book that does so many things so well. It is interesting, personal, and engaging. It is thoughtful and well-written. And it is full to the brim with spiritual insights. Read a bit each day, sip it alongside your morning cup of coffee, savor each insight, and you'll find your life just gets better and better. A delight.

Besides acting as a unique and unparalleled historical document of people and a time gone by--one that has never before been seen--this book is filled with some of the most extraordinary photography I have ever seen. It's quite rare to see such a combination of history and art.

Images of faith and holiness are not hard to come buy, but to find historical collections of them is rather rare. Zimbardo does a masterful job in presenting the subject with as little interruption between the viewer and the subject as possible, capturing the spirit of the monks beautifully. In so doing, he transports us to Mount Athos, the Holy Mountain of Eastern Orthodoxy where there exists a world of faith, sacrifice, and holiness that few of us will ever encounter in a personal way. Well worth viewing!

There is a similar collection of photos of Romanian monks under the title "Eikon" that is in print, but very difficult to find.

The story behind these photos makes them all the more awe-inspiring, but their beauty stands alone. Superb photography and design, unique and amazing subject. If you're looking for something new from a photography book, this is it.

Naked Skydiving, that's the magic words!

Naked Skydiving is a novel that is really eloquently written stand up comedy on the page.

"Naked Skydiving is rich with names and colors."

Many books explain "what" to do when conducting research but David Boje goes one step further and explains also "how". As a PhD student this book has greatly assisted my research efforts. It provides detailed description of how to apply narrative methods and many helpful comments balancing concerns and some of the dangers to overcome when doing this type of work. Very readable and informative.

David Boje outlines an excellent model for research in an organizational studies area that is of increasing interest. His model details how researchers can gain insight into a variety of contexts across a variety of narrative types. Students of organizational studies and experienced researchers alike needing to expand their research horizons would do well to join the conversation that Boje began and continues.

Boje, D. M. (2001). Narrative Methods for Organizational and Communication Research. London: Sage. New Book that contains several analyses on Nike and Athletic Apparel narratives, and the concept of "antenarrative."

Comments by Dr Adrian Carr on a new book by Professor David Boje

David Boje is a pioneering theorist in organization studies and management, being one of those who introduced these fields to postmodernism and story-telling. He is also a Socratic gadfly in these fields, reminding us of precision and clarity in the terms and concepts we employ. "Narrative and Antenarrative MethodsÉ" is yet another example of BojeÕs pioneering spirit and concern for exactitude. We humans are story-telling creatures, of this there is no doubt. BojeÕs scholarly account of narrative and antenarrative methods is both corrective and exploratory of how stories must be understood in terms of their own internal dynamics, and not viewed as static entities. Apart from correcting misconceptions and sloppy scholarship about narrative, Boje outlines eight antenarrative forms of analysis. By "antenarrative" (not antinarrative), Boje has his sights set on the fragmented and polyphonic character of stories. Narrative analysis has repeatedly failed to capture the ÔlivingÕ stories. Indeed, narrative analysis has almost set itself apart from the story itself, as though it were somehow superior to the story it is supposed to reflect and providing a coherence and gloss that is not in character with the story. How does one acknowledge and reflect the fragmented, polyphonic and collectively produced nature of stories? BojeÕs book is a magnificent start to dealing with such crucial questions. A book that breaks new ground in organizational analysis, this is a must-read for researchers and practitioners in the fields of organization and management studies.

Dr Adrian Carr Principal Research Fellow School of Social, Community and Organization Studies University of Western Sydney Australia

I loved this book. I think the author Karl Thelen, showed a lot of points that most people do not think about everyday. Schools have changed, and Karl was not afraid to point out the reasons and faults.

As I was reading, I thought a lot about what I see with my children currently attending school, and the relevation was a scary one. As far as the "teacher types" I was able to identify the types with teachers I have come across. I was in school 15+ years ago, and the way that education has changed is a discrace to the public education system. Karl pointed a lot of the aspects out. And I firmly believe someone needs to take a long hard look at the teachers, administraters, and all other aspects of the public education system, a change needs made.

I bought thios book to read due to problems with my step-daughters education (she has a learning disability due to premature birth) and what could be done. After reading this book I feel very confident that I am armed with the knowledge to better deal with the persons involved to get done what I feel needs to be done.

On a personal note about Karl, who is a teacher himself, he is great. I am attending college classes and Karl is my professor. He is very interactive in class, responding to our questions and offering tips and suggestions to help. Karl is the type of teacher that every styudent needs to succeed in education. Honestly Karl's imput in his class, keeps me positive and pushing on, even through my other class where my teacher is not as present!! Execllent book Karl, I am grateful I had the opportunity to read the book, as well as the chance to learn from you!

I flipped through my teachers book and he brought up a number of concerns in education. I thought it was very interesting to see my favorite teachers input on education today.
I applaud him for this book. And Mr.Thelen you are a great teacher and I hope that soon things will change in our educational system and there will be more Mr.Thelen's out there because I know I want my kids to attend a school with the greatest teachers.

This book, written by an author who has impressive credentials, is a well-written work, exposing many problems in education today. The book, a quick and entertaining read, is thorough to the point of offering viable solutions.

If more parents, educators, administrators, and legislators read this book and took its content to heart, the United States would not be a "Nation of Idiots" creating a "World of Idiots."

I look forward to the next book...

CAM, NOT a resident of a Nation of Idiots

The New Deal explores the breaking of the structural ties that modern employees have with employer. It strives to explain the employee's basis for his association with his managers. A good read..no doubt.

Cappelli's main idea -- that HRM is changing because the external marketplace is being brought into the firm -- really gets to the essence of changes in the employment relationship. Once you've read the first two chapters, you'll never think about HRM the same way again. However, I wish Cappelli had explored the complexity of labor markets and practices more deeply -- we really have a multi-model HRM now, rather than the "new deal" he outlines, and probably always will because of differences in product and labor markets and industries.

Cappelli provides an understanding of the changes in the social and psychological contracts between employees and their employers in todays world. I feel as if blinders have been removed from my eyes and that I now have the tools to understand the changing work environment and labor market of the new economy.

A must read for those in large companies that have existed longer than 40 years (or are over 40 years old themselves).

For for those who believe they have security and entitlement based upon their "knowledge of the company"... Here's a News Flash " Organizational man is dead ..."

Thanks Professor for the heads up !

This book is an excellent account of real life as an assistant principal, mainly on the secondary level. As a HS teacher in an urban school district all of the accounts in this book are, (in my opinion) true and factual experiences. In my few years as a teacher I have witnessed and experienced, many of the everyday challenges these administrators face. The book pulls no punches and gives it to you "raw"! If you wanna know what the job really entails you will pick this up. Excellent read, great resouce.

The book is well organized and well written. It presents real life stories, issues, and feelings of first-year assistant principals. The book presents the stories and quotes within a research context and utilizes triangulation of data sources for a more solid "research" basis. It is an excellent book for a real look inside the administrative offices of assistant principals.

The neat thing about this book is that it has tons of quotes from 1st year assistant principals. It is very easy for school administrators to mock or make fun of authors who have never been where we are; however, this book is nothing like that. The authors give the landscape and REAL AP's fill in the paint. Excellent book.

This is the kind of book that makes you say 'I wish I had read this before....' The book is very practical and very helpful for young pastors and/or pastors-to-be (semianry students). I wish I had read this before I became pastor of my first church. I bought copies to give to young pastors in our area. Small places have great value in the maturing and development of young pastors!

The authors of this book say that while in some ways seminary trained them for pastoring small-town churches, in other ways it did not. Why not? Because their seminaries assumed a suburban model of doing church. Those models, when transplanted to the small-town environment, just don't work.

The authors both gave into the temptation to treat the small-town church as a smaller version of the suburban church before figuring out that the small-town church isn't just a miniature version of the suburban church. It has its own characteristics and will thrive only when it focuses on being itself, on doing what it does best--intimacy and involvement.

I like the way the authors learned to approach pastoring in the small town as cross-cultural ministry, realizing they had to become students of the local culture, just as missionaries to other countries do. An eye-opener for me was the challenge of pastoring in the "rurban" community, a traditional farm community that is now becoming a bedroom community for commuting professionals. How can a church reach out to include these professionals while also remaining relevant to the farm community? It's a challenge, but a doable challenge. This book also has a good chapter on how to lead the decision-making process in the small-town church. (It's a lot different from in the larger church.) There's plenty of practical wisdom in this one to make it worth a read. As a church consultant, whenever I do a consultation with a small-town church, I almost always give the pastor a copy of this one.

If you are a pastor of a big or small church you must read this book. Very sound biblicaly.

This is an excellent edited book on the non-profit sector. It is one of the few sociological treatments on the subject As a sociologist it has the full set of critical perspectives I have been searching for.

This volume is meant primarily to be a textbook for master's or Ph.D. level students. Nonprofit theory and cutting edge research is covered by the known academics in the field. The reference section is superb, leading one to further articles to explore an area in more depth. Yet the practioner will also find this book helpful in many ways, trends in funding and volunteering, up-to-date research brought to the practioner's world, etc. Even if you are not a student, if you work in the nonprofit sector you will find this book to be extraordinarily helpful.

Handbooks tend to be daunting reading. So you can imagine my surprise when, after reading it through the first time, I found myself wanting to read it through again! This is a very rich book that will be useful to a wide range of readers from experts to beginners in nonprofit sector research.



Beginners will benefit from the comprehensive nature of the collection. The broad coverage will serve as a fine map to guide those who are looking for paths to follow into nonprofit sector practice and research. Like an MRI scan, the depth of each chapter will serve as a map of the ever expanding theoretical and practical knowledge base of the contemporary nonprofit sector.



Readers who have some nonprofit sector experience will find themselves turning again and again to the chapters related to their area of research and practice. The experience of re-reading some of the chapters three and four times each allowed me to appreciate the depth of scholarship embedded in the theories and empirical evidence presented on each page. This is the kind of book you'll want to keep nearby, because something of value will be there to meet you at each read.



Experts in the field are going to find a lot here to their liking as well. The scope of the subject matter covers research from so many disciplines that, no matter what your interests are, you'll find something here that relates to your particular field of research. The volume also presents scholars with many well documented glimpses into the state of the art research on the full gamut of nonprofit sector issues.



The creation of a handbook that is broad in scope, deep in research detail, and useful to both beginners and scholars is something to be celebrated by all those involved in the nonprofit sector. Congratulations to those who worked on this project. You have pulled off a most difficult of tasks for the second time.

I have this book displayed on my shelf right next to my Northwestern yearbooks because it is prepared in a simlar format. This book methodically and beautifully details the history of Northwestern University through illustrations, historic photographs, and memorable accounts that will keep you interested from start to finish. I particularly appreciated the aerial maps of the campus that appear at the beginning of each chapter. This shows the layout of the campus for the time period covered by the chapter, and truly shows the progress that has been made over the years.

My only complaint is that there were not more pictures of the building of the landfill section of campus. This, to me, is the most fascinating part of Northwestern's history and is now one of the most beautiful parts of campus. In summary, I would like to have seen a few more 'old vs new' photographs. The way it is, there are just enough to tempt the palette. So, it is only natural that, after reading this book, you will be thirsty for more. I hope a next edition will be written to answer that call.

As it is, this is a well-executed account of a terrific university. Happy birthday NU! And thank you, Mr. Pridmore, for this wonderful gift.

Having lived near Northwestern all my life, I thought I knew the history. However, 'little did I know!' This is an extremely well done book, the pictures are priceless as are the narratives. A must have for history buffs and university supporters.

I have very fond memories of the time I myself spent at NU, and this book never ceases to bring them back to mind! This sesquicentennial tribute does it all -- from detailing the history of the school as well as of longstanding Wildcat traditions (i.e., Waa-Mu, Mee-Ow, painting The Rock) to showcasing some of the Evanston campus' most "photogenic" spots. This is definitely a must-have for any NU-loving alum.