Anthony Books

Rather than writing another "how to get your man" book, author Carmen Anthony put a different twist on that much maligned objec tive by offering some solid advice on the challenges one can fac e4 when marrying later in life.

She starts off with pep talks, telling single women to "get a live and then invite a man into it." And, because it's a vital step in the mating process, there's a chapter on where to find the buys, and quick reviews of the pros and cons of dating services, personals, the bar scene and other st6rategies for meeting men. But she also discusses the importance of being ready to marry, and offers ways to overcome the fears that prevent some women from taking the plunge.

Anthony, who married after the age of 40, doesn t do all the talking. She interv iewed 100 women who ranged in age fro m 40 to 73 when they married. They come from all walks of live and use their own personal stories to aqddress everything from coping with well-intentioned relatives to the b est ways to deal with finances and pre-nuptial agreements and how to successfully fold his and y our children into the picture.

And rather than leaving her readers at the altar, Anthony offers encouragement on the most important aspect of all: the first year of marriage. The women she interviewed struggled with admustment too, and their stories tell those who have been on their own what they can expect when they join their lives with another. Since they've been there, they know that carv ing out personal space, learning to live with, for example, different perceptions of c leanliness, and the age-old problem of communication between the sexes are just some of the road blocks newlyweds of all ages will encopunter.

There are articles from such leading authorities on change management as John Kotter (Leading Change), Paul Strebel, and more. Each article opens with an executive summary, helping you decide if you want to tackle that article then and there, or move on to another that fits your interests of the moment.

Sooner or later, change is about people altering the status quo, and those in charge often turn a blind eye to the fact that leadership is singularly the most important issue when an organization has to implement major changes. This is followed closely by teamwork, of which there won't be any without leadership.

Inside the covers you'll find the collected knowledge, opinions and counsel of those executives and consultants who have dealt with change at all levels. If your schedule doesn't permit you to leisurely meander through hundreds of pages to find a few workable ideas upon which to build some change solutions, then this collection should be highly recommended for you.

In the nicest possible sense, this book isn't exactly what the title claims. All to often discussions of change management tend to concentrate on the people side of things and ignore the less glamerous topics such as re-tooling, revised administrative and reporting procedures and so on.
So, just to keep the record straight, this book is primarily concerned with the personnel aspects of change, with all other aspects of the overall process taking a very secondary part in the proceedings.

And now, on with the review:

One of the ways I judge a book like this is by the number of highlights I've made (makes it so much easier to refer back to the key points).
Sometimes I'll go through an entire book and be lucky to have half a dozen highlighted passage.

NOT here, though.

Without a hint of exaggeration I found numerous points worth highlighting in every one of the eight reprinted articles.

Of course this is not entirely surprising given the list of contributors, which includes such "leaders of the pack" as John Cotter ("Leading Change"), Richard Pascale and Anthony Athos ("The Reinvention Roller Coaster"), and Jerry Porras (Building Your Company's Vision").

I'd also like to commend the article "Managing Change : The Art of Balancing", by Jeanie Daniel Duck, (which ended up with highlighting on nearly every page!).

So, whilst the material is not exactly new (the various items appeared in the Harvard Business Review between 1992 and 1998), I'd suggest this well-chosen set of articles is as important now as when the articles were first published.

Some of the topics include The Church, Jesus, the Nicene Creed, Icons, Sacraments (i.e. mysteries), Prayer, and the Bible. Coniaris' tone is non-polemical, and he does not condemn others as he lauds the Orthodox faith. This is in contrast to Frank Schaeffer's writings, which are also intended for those discovering Orthodoxy. In some ways all 215 pages of this book read like a historical Christian commentary on major themes, because the writings and wisdom of the ancient Church are generously quoted. However, Coniaris does keep the discussion current as well. He uses many jokes and modern illustrations to explain key theological points. For instance, when describing the mystery (and difficulty) of the Trinity he tells of a boy singing in the choir of a Church that uses the Athanasian creed. When the little boy sang the 8th verse, the boy would sing under his breath, "The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, the Holy Spirit incomprehensible, ...the whole thing incomprehensible!"

Overall, this is a fine book for those exploring the Orthodox Church, those in it, and those who just want a taste of ancient Eastern Christian theology. Often in the Western churches the wisdom of Chrysostom, Gregory Palamas, Symeon, and other great theologians are largely ignored. Thus, this book has many purposes, and even if you don't read it all the way through, keep it as a reference book; there is a lot of great theology contained within.

My kid and I love "The Storyteller" series, and this book is a pleasant addition for bedtime reading.