Churchill Books

I enjoyed this book and found it filled with usefull imformation. Opened my eyes to the new world of marketing.

Winton Churchill makes this subject understandable for any type business owner. I have put his strategies to use and I have watched my business grow right in front of my eyes. I do not come from a business background and I had the traditional thinking for marketing which does not work any more. I am looking forward to the next book or maybe the next step is a coaching program.

Great book...really drills in on the complex sale issues...stays away
from jargon...easy to read and understand...a good blueprint (and usable step-by step methodology)for anybody thinking about ethical email lead generation and email marketing.

This is required reading for any B2B business owner that has to build a relationship with their prospects before they buy.

My business (and therefore practically my whole life) depends on email marketing. That's why I thought I could skip the Introduction and first three chapters, since they seemed to be written to do a sell job on how important email marketing is to growing your business.

However, I'm so glad I didn't skip them, because Mr. Churchill taught me what a complex sale is and how I needed to look at my business differently. You see, recently I had begun marketing this new higher-end (i.e. very expensive) book marketing program and I had been getting very frustrated with the results I was getting.

It works brilliantly, so I didn't know why the sales leads weren't converting. I thought perhaps the market was going dry, or my sales staff was losing their edge, or maybe the down economy was forcing people away from promoting their books and I should consider a new business.

I was so good to find out it wasn't the economy, and I don't have to hire new sales people, and there is no need to change businesses. I just needed to treat my email marketing differently.

The rest of the book was extremely valuable in putting together the right plan of action. There was no techno-babble, just straightforward, plain language guidance that I could understand and apply.

If you have a business with a complex sales cycle and it's in the slow lane, or if you want to add a higher end product or service and create success right from the start, then I highly recommend you get this book.

Winton Churchill's system will attract more prospects and kick their buying into high gear, because it teaches them how to make their decisions faster and with greater confidence. And, if you're in a situation like I was, it will reduce the wear and tear on both you and your sales team. It should be required reading for every sales manager.

DrProactive Randy Gilbert, #1 Business Adviser to Authors

I used this book with my middle school social studies classes. It was the state testing week,and I wanted to continue the curriculum but not ruffle any feathers with more concepts. We were in the middle of our World War II unit. I selected some of the projects that we did in small groups, individually or with the whole class as an extension of our regular curriculum. We made silly putty, folded origami cranes, made WWII airplanes, and THE BEST was the individual recreations of the Rosie the Riveter propaganda poster. Each student posed as Rosie,and now I have a great set of things to display for our spring open house. The information in the book is entertaining to read, and the projects are simple, doable, and beneficial. I would highly suggest any social studies teacher of any level (elementary-high school) take a look at this book.

The author has synthesized the history of WWII into an informative and fun easy-to-read activity book. I highly recommend this resource for children and adults.

What a great way to spend an afternoon teaching and learning with your child. We enjoyed the historical lessons and thought provoking perspectives. I would highly recommend it. T. Kearney - parent

Loaded with interesting and fun activities. Perfect for budding historian.

What a great book to teach children about WWII while having fun at the same time! I highly recommend this book to parents (and teachers!)who want to involve their children in entertaining, stimulating activities that engage the mind as well as the hands. Extremely well written, with easy to perform projects. Excellent job!
K.S. Barone, teacher and parent

Winston Churchill wrote this book during the 1930's while in political exile. His masterful handling of Hitler, Roosevelt, and Stalin is presaged as he tells the tale of John Churchill, who overcame party strife in England, baseness and shortsightedness in coalition partners, and (finally) Louis XIV of France. WSC tell the story with his brilliant flair and style, but he also pauses with the reader to reflect on such matters as how to blunt a violent political storm without being yourself destroyed, how best to handle superiors who will hold you responsible for results but will not let you do the job, and how to act honorably when all of your life's work is thrown away by your enemies. These trenchant insights were pertinent in 1700, in the 1930's, and today. You are in for a treat, read this one.

Winston Churchill was a man who rarely met a topic upon which he didn't harbor a strong opinion that he was willing to share. The Duke of Marlborough is no different. Churchill is clearly enamoured with this relative of his and lets it show. That said, Churchill plainly states that there are two camps on Marlborough and tells the world which camp he falls into. By doing so, he opens up the reader to get a feel not just for Marlborough and his times, but also for the debate by historians that rages around a polarizing historic figure like Marlborough. (Sound familiar to anyone else?) The result is a richly layered work.

Winston Churchill viewed history as something that was alive and tangible and his historic writings capture that feeling for readers. Marlborough's battles - both military and political - come to life in the hands of Churchill. We get to see one of the great military minds of the 18th century push military science closer and closer to its modern form. We also see him perform less well on the political front against his foes there.

Through the entire book, we get to listen to Winston Churchill in his element, telling us a story about a topic he feels passionately about. So many of the trials, trevails, and reactions that Churchill ascribes to Marlborough are so obviously parallels to Churchill's life and his reactions that the book has a clear autobiographical tone to it as well.

Highly recommended for history buffs and for people who want to understand Churchill more deeply.

John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, is the uncontested military genius of late Stuart England, the uncrowned political/military heir to William of Orange and the famous ancestor of Winston Churchill. In tandem with Austria's general, Eugen of Savoy, he led the coalition armies in the War of the Spanish Succession, defeating in detail several of Louis XIV's French and Bavarian armies, most famously at Blenheim, but also at Ramilles, Ourdenarde and Malplaquet. Meanwhile, on the domestic front, his wife, the beautiful but intemperate Sarah Jennings, later Duchess of Marlbourough, became a "favorite" of Queen Anne and secured for him (at least for most of the war) the political support that necessary for him to field an army on the Continent for the many years.

As a writer of history, Churchill ranks with Gibbon for his mastery of prose and his ability to use vivid imagery to hold the reader's attention to minute detail. For each year of the Spanish Succession War, Churchill opens with a strategic appreciation of how the Anglo-Austrian forces plotted out each year's campaigns, and goes to great pains to explain the reasons behind Marlborough's various deployments. And he paints on a simply massive canvas: he begins with a detailed account of Charles II's Restoration, of James II's abortive reign (and Marlborough's role in ending it), of William III and Mary II's joint reign (Churchill is NOT a fan of William and Mary) and of the underlying workings of the French monarchy. He is not afraid to address the various failings in Marlborough's character, particularly his secret negotiations with both the enemy and the exiled Stuarts, but does seek to defend Marlborough (and Sarah) from the more libellous charges.

This book was written in the 1930s, politically Churchill's decade of exile (and personally, his worst years of depression). If everyone turned unemployment, financial crisis and depression to such good use, the world would be a far better place.

Winston Churchill, in a relatively well-known bad patch during the 1930s, began to write this history of his famous and much maligned ancestor. The first volume contains the first two books of the original four book set. The life of John Churchill, Duke of Malborough, is both a fascinating look at an historical era as well as a personal portrait of a great military general. Book One consists of a large chunk of history, spanning the downfall of Charles I through Cromwell, to the Restoration of Charles II, through the overthrowing of his brother, the Catholic James II by William of Orange married to James II's daughter, Mary, to the crowning of Queen Anne. The second Book of Volume one concentrates on a mere 3 years of Anne's rule.

I will not reiterate what other reviewers have already said. However, I would add that in the writing of this book, Winston Churchill prepared himself to become even greater than his general ancestor. It can hardly be surprising that as this history was being written, events were conspiring to lead Winston Churchill into the biggest world confrontation ever. After studying the campaigns in Europe of Lord Malborough, it can hardly be surprising that Churchill fully suspected the coming of the war long before his fellow MPs.

This is a scholarly work and shouldn't be undertaken without serious patience. Each of the two volumes are in themselves close to 1,000 pages long. The history is written from the point of view of a defender, though Winston Churchill is careful not to gloss over details that might cast an unfavorable opinion of his ancestor. Well worth the effort.

BOOK TWO -

Since I reviewed Book One, I felt it was important to follow up with a review of Book Two of this work. My initial comment is that sticking with something this huge is a task in itself, but often the reward is hard to describe. For me, I feel each time I finish a huge work like this (or Hegel, or Kant, or ... well, anything "Big") I sense my own mind has been exercised a bit. It's a reward in and of itself.

Firstly, like Book One, this is really Volume Three and Volume Four of the a Four Book series bound together in Two mammoth volumes. Reading these 2000 plus pages is like running a marathon: the beginning is difficult, then you break the pain barrier and coast for quite a long while until the last staggering climb to the finish. In Book Three we continue with the war of Spanish Succession. These 500 pages are essentially concerned with the gigantic battles Marlborough fought. It was a time in which his glory was highly esteemed. As we get into Book Four, much like Book One, the narrative returns to the over all political scene which dominated and brought down the Great Duke. It is also the point where the reader might become overwhelmed again by both the multifaceted political machinations as well as the constantly revolving names (John Churchill becomes the Duke of Marlborough, etc.)

However, for all these difficulties, the overall sense from both volumes is as thorough and detailed and enthralling as history can be written. There can be no doubt that Winston Churchill, as he surveyed the ever-mounting rearmament of the Germanic states and looking over the ancient maps of Europe imagining both the current and past, felt an immense burden of responsibility. By undertaking the task of "reforming" The Duke of Marlborough's image, he delved deep in to the vaults of history and warfare. It was not surprising that at the same moment he should be the first to recognize (at least in Britain) the significance of Hitler's intensions.

One other thing struck me as fascinating about this era. The whole course of European politics, war, peace, and financial stability were tied up in the lives of three bickering women: Sarah (Marlborough's wife), Abigail (cousin to Sarah), and Queen Anne (whom both served and guided with gossip and whisperings.) Out of this small time period bore the seeds of Napoleon, the American discontent with England, and Slavery. Big stuff.

I recommend these Four volumes (two books). The paperbacks are perhaps overstuffed, though. Book One split right down the middle. I was more careful with Book Two, though my hands suffered from it. Perhaps spending the money for the hardback editions in this case is worth it?

Winston Spencer Churchill's biography of his ancestor, John Churchill First Duke of Marlborough, stands out as a restoration of Marlborough's reputation, an account of England under the reigns of Charles II, James II, William III and Queen Anne, and an in-depth military and political history of the War of Spanish Succession.

WSC gives us a picture of the whole man, including his faults. One of WSC's purposes is to rescue Marlborough's reputation from the attacks of generations of historians. The book becomes a brilliant defense and of course it cannot be unbiased. WSC is Marlborough's defense attorney, not his judge.

By the 1920s, Marlborough had been called miserly, greedy, ambitious, duplicitous, disloyal and treacherous. As he recounts Marlborough's life, WSC continually picks up an episode that seemingly illustrates one of these traits, but turns it around.

Where unsympathetic historians saw miserly habits, WSC saw thrift and WSC goes further. Marlborough was miserly when it came to his own needs, such as when he insisted surgeons cut his stocking along the seem so that it could be resown. Yet he paid his army's bills and wages on time; apparently this was unusual in those days. He paid, from his own discretionary funds, which other generals often pocketed as a matter of course, for military intelligence that proved crucial to securing many of his victories.

Where accusers saw ambition needlessly prolonging a difficult war, WSC presents Marlborough has being bound by duty to achieve the best results possible, and to reject a timid peace, which would have left Europe in the hands of a despot.

WSC has a more difficult, but no less successful time defending Marlborough's continued correspondence with St-Germain, the exiled English court of James II and later his son, as recognized by Louis the XIV. The problem here is that today such acts would indeed be treason, but in the seventeenth century they were part of the normal workings of diplomacy, war time or not. After all, if passports and safe conduits were routinely given to enemies to allow them to rest and confer in between campaigns, it could not have been that unusual to keep in touch with people one knew, even if they were officially enemies.

WSC also presents Marlborough's most important relationships: with his wife Sarah Jennings; with his military ally Prince Eugene, with whom he won at Blenheim; with his political colleague Godolphin, who secured funds for his military work; with the kings and queen of England from James II to George I;

But WSC does accuse Marlborough on occasion of having been unwise. He is particularly critical of the Duke's obsession with his palace at Blenheim (where WSC himself was born). Marlborough didnft want an opulent residence, rather he wanted to leave a monument that would survive centuries and remember his name to future generations. WSC writes that as such Blenheim was a failure: it added nothing to the Duke's reputation and the worries it caused may have taken years from his life. Winston Churchill must have felt his biography was a better memorial to his ancestor.

We love this book. I read a review of it in one of my sons turtle magazines and knew I had to get it. Even though the story is about a girl, this is a must for all boys who love gross things. My son took it to show n tell at preschool and it was a huge hit with all the kids and teachers.
We read it over and over and never stop laughing.

My five-year-old LOVES this book. Aside from the laugh-out-loud humor and engaging characters, the illustrations are fabulous. I can't wait to see more from this author/illustrator team!

The story and illustrations of this new and refreshing book make Carmen's Sticky Scab fun and enjoyable. Ginger has done a wonderful job capturing events surrounding a pesky scab...situations that we can all relate to (in one way or another). This book is well written and illustrated. One that can be enjoyed over and over. Carmen's Sticky Scab is MUST for your library! Thumbs up on this great book! Let's hope it's the first of many from this wonderful new author!

This was so cute and funny - any kid would love this story and read it over and over. The kind of ending that will have any kid (or adult) laughing out loud. Anyone with children in the family should pick this book up

Scabs, sharks, bossy grown-ups, and a boy named Andy who apparently doesn't eat enough . . . I would never have expected to love a book about scabs. But the humor won me over. My kids love this book and my 1st-grader wants to read it to me at least once every single day. For every kid who's ever had a scab and the grown-ups who love them--buy this book and prepare to laugh!

This is a much more condensed and useful book than Fellen's. Lots of little CXRs with a good approach to tackling them. Both Fellens and this one are good. Fellen's is more a medical student level book, kinda like Dubin EKGs. While this is more on intern, resident level. But even my medical students enjoy this one.

There is also an abdominal film xray book similar to this one. Also very good. No one ever explains how to look at abdominal films, this does a good job.

Great little reference book. I am a FNP, and this is exactly the lecture I had wished I had on chest x-rays boiled to one simple readable book. Good for anyone just learning about them, and enough info to make you competant. Anything past this, ask a radiologist.

This book teaches the basics such as pneumonia, pneumothorax, and other abnormal thoracic conditions through the use of x-rays. It explains the abnormal findings of each x-ray in a clear and easily understandable manner. Best book I've seen so far on chest x-rays.

This little book starts off by actually teaching you HOW to read a CXR. Not many books do that ... they just assume that you can. Then it goes into the four broad categories of abnormalities: 1) too white, 2) too black, 3) too large and 4) in the wrong place which helps you to categorise abnormalities. Then all the major conditions (e.g. pneumonia, COPD, malignancies etc.) are reviewed under each category. Read this before you start you clinical years and keep it in your coat pocket along with 'The ECG made easy'. Look at heaps of CXRs and ECGs from the beginning of the year along with the help of these books. Practice makes perfect! Good luck! I wish someone had told me these things at the beginning of the year! ;)

This little book starts off by actually teaching you HOW to read a CXR. Not many books do that ... they just assume that you can. Then it goes into the four broad categories of abnormalities: 1) too white, 2) too black, 3) too large and 4) in the wrong place which helps you to categorise abnormalities. Then all the major conditions (e.g. pneumonia, COPD, malignancies etc.) are reviewed under each category. Read this before you start you clinical years and keep it in your coat pocket along with 'The ECG made easy'. Look at heaps of CXRs and ECGs from the beginning of the year along with the help of these books. Practice makes perfect! Good luck! I wish someone had told me these things at the beginning of the year! ;)

Over the years, I have read many books and written reviews of some that attracted my attention for various reasons. Recently, I discovered a book series that uses historical events and key persons to illustrate concepts and initiatives that could apply to business. The series, Lessons from History, is the creation of a consultant, Mark Kozak-Holland, and the intention of the series is to examine complex business problems by applying lessons from history. He uses historical case studies to demonstrate how challenges were overcome, offering a unique view for business and technology management to apply the lessons of history to their situations.

The book, Churchill's Adaptive Enterprise: Lessons for Business Today, brings the reader to the late 1930's and early 1940's with descriptions of the world situation and the state of politics and lack of preparedness for World War II that existed in Great Britain. When Churchill became Prime Minister in May 1940, his country was facing the onslaught of Nazi Germany alone, France and the Low Countries had fallen under Germany's control, and Britain was poised to be Hitler's next victim. As we know, Britain survived, it regained strength and allied itself with the United States and the Soviet Union to defeat Hitler and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. The questions "How did he do that?", "What were the actions and practices that enabled Churchill to emerge as one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century?" are the subject of Kozak-Holland's book.

This book is fascinating reading, despite the fact that the outcome of WWII is known to the reader. Kozak-Holland explores Churchill and his Cabinet and other advisors' actions to show how, under tremendous pressure, the Prime Minister transformed his organization to the modern-day version of an Adaptive Enterprise. An Adaptive Enterprise modifies the way an organization behaves, how it addresses and responds to change, giving it a competitive advantage.

With no room for error, the use of organizational adaptation, business practices and current technology, combined with the inspiration of the leaders, gave Britain and the allies the opportunity to turn the tide of the war to their favor.

In reading about the practices, technologies, and organization that Churchill established, we can see the emergence of governance and decision-making concepts well before they are widely believed to have been invented. Although the teams created centers of excellence for code-breaking, military command and executive oversight (Bletchley Park, Bentley Priory, Storey's Gate, respectively), the overriding need was for data and process governance, so that these centers could operate both separately and coordinated, depending on the need. These centers handled large amounts of disparate data from multiple sources, and the executive committee needed consolidated data in real time to make immensely important decisions. Developing a data governance approach and framework was essential and it had to be implemented in an unbelievably short time, with the future of Great Britain (and the rest of the world) hanging in the balance.

Churchill's need was for competitive intelligence, and the data supporting that effort was required to be as accurate and timely as possible, given the limitations of technology that existed in 1940. Data quality was deemed to be of utmost importance, and many analysts were employed to perform the data validation and meta data management tasks that are part of the modern data steward's activities. Validated raw data was given to leading analysts ("chief data stewards") for some synthesis and applied to answer the executive committee's questions and address challenges that erupted by the minute. At Storey's Gate, a sophisticated control center was created. It tracked real-time events from all theatres of the war, showing data identified as essential indicators for the allies' performance. The WWII version of an executive dashboard, the command center / map room became so important to Churchill that it was recreated for travel (train and airplane). When Franklin Roosevelt saw the traveling version on Churchill's first visit to the US, he had a similar center created. Eventually, the two command centers were aligned and governance was given the highest priority, enabling the fateful collaboration between Britain and her former colony (SHAPE - Supreme Allied Headquarters - Europe).

Can history teach lessons for modern business and technology management? Quoting Kozar-Holland, "Churchill's use of executive dashboards, real-time event models, institutionalized decision-making, and competitive intelligence analysis helped turn the course of history. It was the first time that intelligence (and governance) had been used on such a scale, across an enterprise and in such a strategic capacity." Modern business may not be engaged in the epic struggle that was World War II, but the use of concepts such as governance, and practices from historical events can give some perspective on their application in 21st century organizations.

There must be some kind of way out of here say the joker to the thief.
-- Jimi Hendrix

Today's business gurus evangelize the benefits of story like a TV evangelist on a book tour. Still, there are few authors who use story to teach business strategy. Enter Mark Kozak-Holland who uses the stories of history to teach the lessons of the adaptive enterprise. Long after you've read and forgotten strategy concepts taught in standard text books, you'll find yourself remembering and applying adaptive enterprise concepts through the stories in Churchill's Adaptive Enterprise; stories that breathe life into the sense and respond organization.

In Churchill's Adaptive Enterprise, author Mark Kozak-Holland shows how to create an adaptive enterprise by using lessons from World War II. In spite of Britain's stunning defeat at the Battle of Dunkirk, and her subsequent limited resources to wage war, Churchill was able to stave off German occupation and give America time to join the war, by making an entire country agile.

The author writes of how the German Luftwaffe believed they were on the verge of wiping out Britain's Royal Air force, and yet, Churchill, through a sense-and-respond network was able to make 50 British fighters seem like hundreds, and demoralize the German air command. Indeed, Churchill had his watchtower.

From a story perspective, this book is brilliant. First, the author didn't try to make up his own story, or worse, create a fable to teach the adaptive enterprise. No, that could of been a disaster. Why? Because Churchill's stand against Hitler is an archetype that is almost impossible to improved upon. I mean, even Spielberg, if he wanted to... would find it difficult to produce a better protagonist and antagonist than Churchill and Hitler. And that's why Saving Private Ryan is the story that it is. It's a story within the context of a larger story.

Second, the book provides a business case for agile.

Finally, if you're brilliant, you'll tell the Churchill stories to each other, so you change your corporate culture. And when your customers start to brag about your products and how you run circles around the competition, you will have differentiated your product in a way that others can't match. What's more, you'll now have your own stories to tell each other and new employees, keeping your adaptive organization alive and well.

To be successful in life or war, you need to be flexible... adaptive. Churchill was a socially adept animal -- He knew how to change and evoke change from others. Within Churchill lived a transformation machine. His mad writing skills were not bestowed upon him like the Queen's crown. In grammar school, when the teacher criticized his writing, he studied and practiced grammar patterns for hours. Later in life, when asked about his facile writing skills, he credited the grammar exercises for his renowned ability to turn a phrase.

Yep, Churchill was one hep, adaptive cat. When others were silent, he gave inspiring speeches; when others embraced rigid processes, he created agile frameworks; when others worried about the fate of England and fled to Canada, he calmed the masses; when others sought shelter during the bombings, he ventured boldly into the firestorm.

I truly believe that in order to move forward, we have to look back at our history. I believe the same is true of business. One of the best ways to solve problems and create innovative strategies is to look at those in our past who succeeded in these areas.

Churchill is a model for adaptation and problem solving. His business was Britain which was faced with two overwhelmingly difficult challenges: keep the British economy stable while also keeping the country safe from German invasion. In order to be successful in these endeavours, the leader had to focus his resources wisely to stay one step ahead of the enemy.

Despite it's usefulness as a model for business problem solving, Churchill's Adaptive Enterprise is a somewhat difficult book to read. The text is filled with IT and business terms so the average business person will need to flip to the glossary in the back of the book frequently to fully comprehend each concept. Moreover, many of the historical examples require somewhat in-depth knowledge of Churchill's exploits. I suggest reading the appendix at the back of the book before moving onto the regular text.

Reviewed by William E. Cooper for Reader Views (6/06)

Mark Kozak-Holland has written one of the best and most fascinating management, leadership, and business books I've read. As a retired Chief of Police with two graduate degrees, and one who teaches graduate school courses, as well as being the author of my own book "Leading Beyond Tradition," I found this to be a "can't put it down" book. It is a literal page turner, comparing Winston Churchill's incredibly complex set of problems at the outset of and during World War II with today's management issues, then providing legitimate and very well thought out solutions.

It is about the tremendous change the world and our organizations are facing and the need for being agile and adapting to frequently changing conditions. It is about getting the right people in, the wrong people out, and the right people in the right places. It is about having a vision and a strategy for achieving it; it is about change management. The examples used are incredibly profound and clearly applicable to today's business needs and environment. This book is a must-read and should not only be in every manager's library, but should be a university text book and part of every library. I strongly recommend Mr. Kozak-Holland's book. Well done sir.

In May of 1940, England faced enormous odds. Since the previous September, the German armies had handily conquered Poland, Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium and the combined armies of Britain and France. France had surrendered and although the bulk of the British army was rescued from Dunkirk, nearly all of their military equipment was now in German hands. Furthermore, the Italians had entered the war on the German side and the German alliance with Russia seemed firm, as both sides had so much to gain by maintaining it.
Now essentially devoid of significant allies and low on supplies, the only hope the British had to carry out the fight was to make more efficient use of what they had. Therefore, the British carried out one of the greatest improvements in managerial operations ever achieved. Winston Churchill selected the right people for all positions, relying almost solely on talent rather than political or social position. His only concessions to political necessity were in allowing some leaders of the political opposition to have high government posts. For example, Clement Attlee was appointed Deputy Prime Minister during the war years. The direness of the times allowed Churchill and his appointees' great range in their actions and power. Fortunately for the British side, they were men of sense and effectiveness.
In this book, the actions of Churchill and his wartime staff are used as a set of demonstration cases for how effective adaptation can be in the business world. Despite the serious differences in the circumstances, after all, no business staff is really battling for its very life, the analogies work. Kozak-Holland does an excellent job in toning the circumstances down to a set of fundamental business circumstances. It has often been said that we must learn from history, this is a book where several lessons can be learned from history and in this case not all of the lessons are direct.
As Churchill showed, a strong will is necessary but not sufficient for success. You must be willing to delegate responsibility and be willing to let the people do their job without micromanaging. When the circumstances warrant it, you must be willing to fire people and also to hold the line against firing people even though others believe that they should be removed.
There is a great deal of business management knowledge that can be learned from this book. It has been said many times that the modern global business competition is just the next generation of warfare. While that is certainly debatable, the points of the debate are not about the fact, just about how far the analogy can be extended. As can be seen here, there are many similarities between modern total war between nations and competition between businesses.

I am a nurse on a neurosurgery ward and every now and then I pick up this book to look something up. I am never disappointed. Clear text and informative illustrations give you all the information you need. Not too little and not too much. And in understandable English (I am Dutch). Good value for money.

This is probably THE primer to be used for any serious medical student or junior resident in neurosurgery or neurology. Covers the basics, most commons and has excellent pictures to help cement the concepts in your head. Just buy this book, OK?

this book is suited for all med students, primary care providers, and even for neurology residents. easy to read, great illustrations.

The text is clinically oriented covering the approach to the neurologic patient including gathering pertinent historical details and the importance of proving your hypothesis with the use of the neurologic exam and appropriate investigations.

95% of Neurological diagnosis/differential diagnosis should be reached within 10 minutes of seeing a patient from historical details alone. History is the cornerstone of neurology.

The exam is designed to confirm your diagnosis/differential diagnosis and/or to rule out considerations in localization.

After discussing symptom presentation the text then goes on to discuss COMMON neurologic/neurosurgical disorders detailing patterns of recognition so that medical practioners of all levels and in all fields can recognize these patterns in their patients and thus be able to rougly localize the problem and cite the most common causes.

This review refers to the fourth edition published in 2004

William Holmes: Fourth year medical student: University of Glasgow. Scotland. UK

Neurology is a horrible subject to the medical student. A plethora of nerve pathways and a multitude of pathologies mean that students, when confronted with a neurological patient in the clinical setting, quickly reverse and run back up to the relative safety of cafeteria.

What this books attempts successfully to do, is to remove the teaching barriers of neurology, making neurology not a matter of guess work but reasoning from a solid background of neurological principles. This book achieves this by removing itself from complex diagrams and ancient terms, instead adopting an approach that at first glance seems rather basic. Its layout involves a multitude of illustrations ranging from the simple to the more complex that are not used to complicate, but to provide valuable aids in memorising ultimately making learning the complexities of neurology much easier. The diagrams are all aided by text that is written in note-form, keeping only to the pertinent points and saving the reader valuable time trudging through unnecessary prose.
A prime example of this is seen in the "limb weakness" section. Rather than attempting to narrate what occurs when a lesion is proximal or distal - a fault of mainly neurology books - this book adopts simplified diagrams to convey the points that are relevant and vital. Also, clinical features of a condition are kept to only those that are classical to that pathology and more importantly, they are all explained with relation to the pathology. Together it means the important clinical features are remembered and can be reasoned in-front of a belligerent consultant (much to their annoyance).

This book is so well written and illustrated, that your neurology notes from exam revision will be more or less this book written word for word.

The only minus point is that on first glance this book looks like a basic neurology text that is only suitable for a first year. Upon reading however, this is quickly shown to be false and it actually provides a valuable source for all those involved in medical care, irrespective of qualification.

Its layout is simple, easy to use and allows the book to be used as either a quick reference or as a comphrensive neurology book. Most importantly, the style of the book means that you remember the facts for the bedside, and retain them come exam time. Few medical textbooks can make that claim

This is a fabulous, heartwarming story about a young girl dealing with the break up of her family due to divorce. As a child of divorce, it brought back memories of not only dealing with a changing family dynamic but also of being a young girl and having crushes!! I definitely recommend this book.

The Family Tree by Sandra Lee Churchill

I loved the book and read it all in one sitting. As as mom of 4, I don't have much time for reading but this was a good read & I plan to share it with other parents & my own kids. The characters and their relationships felt very real and provide a lot of insight to what it's like to be 12. While the book deals with some challenging issues like divorce and the ups and downs of teen life in school, it is also heartwarming, funny and uplifting. If you want to remember what its like to be 12 or have a preteen or teen in your life,I think you will enjoy it as much as I did!

The Family Tree is story about a 12-year old girl dealing with a lot of emotions! In this case, her emotions are triggered by her parent's divorce and her mother's announcement that she's engaged to be remarried. Cassy works through many of these conflicting emotions by talking with her parents, confiding in her best friend, focusing on her class project, and keeping an open mind.

Ms. Churchill developed her characters so well that she even brought me WAY back to the challenges of a pre-teen! All teenagers can find comfort in Cassy.

This book is funny, endearing, and wholesome. I highly recommend this book and will encourage my own children to re-read it for years to come.

I thought The Family Tree was a fantastic story for both boys and girls alike. Mrs. Churchill's writing of Cassie's feeling about her parents divorce left me feeling sad, then nervous and finally happy for her. The author did a great job dealing with a diffucult subject with sensitiviy and a little humor along the way! By the time I was done with the first page I knew I wouldn't be able to put the story down!

I bought this book for my 13 year old daughter and as I began to look through it I couldn't help but continue to read. It is such a fun captivating story that deals with so many issues that kids can relate to. I would recommend this book to anyone who has someone approaching, or in their young teen years.

It is a wholesome and fun story that really brings the characters to life!

The Grand Alliance represents Book three in Winston's epic documentary of World War II. It was first published by Cassell & Co. on January 1, 1950.
Winston goes into great detail of Great Britain's struggle with Germany in Northern Africa, the Nordic Countries and in Northern Africa along with the Battle of the Atlantic. He describes Britain and the U.S.A.'s effort to assist a struggling Soviet Government who was trying to repel the forces of a Teutonic invasion.
Mr. Churchill's description of the seeds of the Atlantic Charter aboard H.M.S. Prince of Wales is reason enough to read this book.
Winston describes the mounting strength of Great Britain's war effort in 1941. And along comes Pearl Harbor. This indeed represents the 9/11 of the Mid 20th Century to the U.S.A. I hate to say this but I do think Winston upon hearing this news secretly rejoiced in having a new Ally.
Upon having this news, Mr. Churchill wasted no time and went directly to Washington to convince F.D.R. that Germany and not Japan should be the initial objective for defeat in this World Conflict.
Of course as usual, this book was well researched. It shows Winston in the light of the great World Patrician. It is of course a good read.

This book was an amazing read. I recommend that anyone that likes reading should read it. I'm normally a very slow reader, but this book was so good that it only took me an hour to read.

Churchill's Vol. 3, `The Grand Alliance' covers the time frame from Jan 1941 to Jan 1942 and what a time frame it was. The term `Grand Alliance' comes from Britain, America and Russia joining together to fight the triple-Axis Germany, Italy and Japan. During this time much was transpiring especially in the Mediterranean. Japan was watching and planning. Pearl Harbor fell on America with a vengeance and war had now awaked the sleeping giant. Germany was driving into Russia under operation `Barbarossa' and Rommel's tanks were moving in the North African desert. The Greece and Crete campaigns were breaking full upon Great Britain and the mighty Bismarck, with its' enormous structural strength, was out on the Atlantic. U-Boats were taking their toll on shipping and the oil fields of Iraq and Russia were being threatened.

It is interesting to read Churchill's correspondence now with victory and hindsight. He stood in the enviable position to see and write about the events that took place, and what could have happened if certain plans had or hadn't been implemented. His relationships and history, with Stalin and especially FDR, really make these volumes worth the read. He doesn't hold back the disasters that fell to all three of the Allies. Stalin's blindsided problems in trying to slow down Hitler until Allied supplies could get through. America and British combined Navy losses made for serious problems on the ocean. He writes about the curious events surrounding Rudolf Hess' flight to Scotland and gives his opinions about that incident. The disaster and triumph over the Bismarck certainly solved and created problems for the British Navy. While much relief came, with America's new found wartime role, much anxiety still lay ahead.

As he writes down this history, Churchill doesn't hide his enthusiasm about America now joining in the fight against the evil axis. This was one of the greatest joys of his wartime career. He now felt more than ever that victory `no matter how long' was sure. It is interesting to note how much influence the Atlantic Charter carries over into this day especially in policing the world. Well worth reading and adding to the history shelf.

Covering calendar year 1941, this third volume of Churchill's six volume Worl War Two history begins with Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria falling to Germany, covers the Gernam invasion of the Soviet Union, and ends with the U.S. Mobilizing to join the battle after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

In between, England largely fought what was truly a world war without meaningful allies. England had to protect itself from invasion, as Germany relentlessly strengthened its armamaent of the French coastline; fought an ongoing desert battle in North Africa to hold/protect Egypt; joined in the defense of the Balkans; protected the Middle East's Eastern flank by invading Iraq and holding Iran as a partner; and had to wrry about Japanese attacks on Burma and other far east countries--not the least of which were Australia and New Zealand. At the same time, England was fighting the Battle of the Atlantic--securing its supply line from constant attacks by German submarines.

At the center of this entire conflict was Churchill, who held BOTH the posts of Prime Minister (Britain chief executive) AND Defense Minister (roughly equivalent to the american Secretary of Defense). This required that he make strategic decisions about the allocation of extremely scarce military resources, but at the same time was responsible for reorienting the entire British economy to not only support the war effort, but to ensure basic necessities were available for civilians living in the British Isles--which after all is a very small area, largely dependent on imports for food.

Reading Churchill's account, one can not help comparing the scope of his responsibilities with the current Global War on Terror, and the actions of our current President in pursuing that "war". During his trip accross the Atlantic to meet with Roosevelt immediately after Pearl Harbor, Churchill not only continued to coordinate far flung military and economic decisions, he produced a series of monograms, laying out the allied war strategy--which in fact became the blue print for ultimate victory. Contrast that with Bush's use of the two day retreat, with all Cabinet, to review the basic strategy in Iraq, which turned out to be nothing more than a cover for a photo-op with the new Iraqi President! How would WWII have ended had Bush been the PRime Minister of England in 1940?

Churchill writes spectacularly, yet I had to give this volume only 4 stars. Why? Because (like Vol. II, but unlike Vol. I), Churchill relies far too much on contemporaneous documents. While these are almost all written by him, they do not give his prose a chance to shine like it does in the first volume.

These six volumes should be, in my opinion, MANDATORY reading for anyone interested in (a) WW II (b) HISTORY (c)increasing their knowledge of the English language. Having read the entire set over 50-60 times, I am still fascinated by new material I discover with each re-reading. It comes as no surprise that Sir Winston was awarded the NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE for this masterpiece.

My book club is usually boring and typical, but reading Lazarus Code changed everything. The indepth character development and intruiging plot gave us something to chew on, but not spit out! Forget Dan Brown, I predict all the upcoming name dropping to be about EJ Churchill.

A friend recommended this book to me, and I enjoyed it so much I bought an extra to use as a loaner. E.J. Churchill will soon join the ranks of Greg Iles, Alan Furst and Richard North Patterson as our preeminent writers of thinking-man's thrillers.
If you don't read another book this year, get this book and treat yourself to a grand ride!

What a screenplay this is going to make! Not since the last book I read has a book captivated me so. Readers who wait for this one to hit the theaters will have missed some real cover to cover writing.

What a screenplay this will be too. Not since the last book I read has a book captivated me so. Readers who wait for this one to hit the theaters will have missed some cover to cover writing

I wasn't told about this book in advance which is in and of itself pretty intriguing. But never mind that. This thriller is so captivating that you wouldn't even have to finish it to think so. I was especially fascinated by the cover which is nothing to judge the book by, believe me. ... I actually read it twice which reduced my cost an awful lot. Try it! You won't regret the savings.