Clark Books

I am pursuing a Masters Degree in Catholic Theology, and have read quite a bit of theology from a variety of sources, yet I find myself continuing to return to this book because it truly is a great introduction to fundamental ideas essential to our faith. It is a "first step" in "faith seeking understanding" that I think will leave you wanting to learn more. Even if you don't read any further on these five ideas, it gives you a concise, intelligent introduction to these vital topics and will help you in your journey of faith. I have given several copies away to friends and those interested in "learning more about the Catholic faith." That should tell you something good about this book.

I really enjoyed this book and found it informative and accurate.

These ideas are great not because they are good, but also they serve as general tools for working on other ideas in the Catholic Community. What is the Immaculate Conception? A structural and solid explanation is given here. That which is foundational is also novel. The author offers a "net" that readers can use to gather many Catholic topics together.

Flowers of the Dinh Ba Forest was a great read, I can't wait to see what Clark puts out next! The book isn't about the Vietnam war, but is a story that took place during the war. The characters are fabulous, well developed and realistic. As I said, I couldn't put it down, but didn't want it to end.

This is a fresh novel that keeps getting better as it goes along. The beginning seems a little familiar (I guess I've read too many Vietnam novels) but then you suddenly notice you're hooked. We get to see the war from very personal but complex points of view. There are good and bad and innocent on both sides, and we can figure that out for ourselves as we travel on the strange road to find orchids. A little bit of mania (how can anyone have any outside interests in the middle of battle?) makes the novel move with confidence and friendship.

The people in this novel are convincing and sometimes annoying and it's hard not to worry about them as we see how their fates keep driving forward. There's a real momentum here, based on what we want to see happen to these people--we want the good ones to live; we want the orchid to be found. We want everyone safe and we want the horror to be gone. This book feels real.

Hunting for orchids at the height of the Vietnam war? Crazy? You bet, and Clark pulls it off. This book drew me in from the get-go. Clark's characters are as real as the guy living next door to you. And when they talk, you can't help but listen. Just a good read, and you don't have to be interested in war novels to enjoy this kind of writing. Good stuff. Highly recommended.

This was a great story. Franklin learns how to be a great host in this story. I like the ending where Bear asks, "Next time, can Franklin sleep at my house?" Franklin's parents say yes, and Franklin says, "And don't worry about where I will sleep, because I always have my own cozy bed with me." The joke of this detail is that unlike most instances of having somebody sleep over where the host has to worry about where the guest will sleep(like when Franklin had Bear sleep over), if Franklin is the guest, he's a turtle who, at bedtime, just lays on any floor, crawls into his shell, and goes to bed. In other words, having a turtle(or any other animal that sleeps in its own shell) sleep over might be easier than usual. Great story!

Franklin books are very good to read because they are always teaching you something new. Franklin is absolutely thrilled to have Bear spend a night. It also let the kids know it's ok to be homesick. I especailly liked how Franklin tried to make Bear feel better. In the book Franklin goes back to his room to make Bear feel more comfortable and gives Bunny a hug and says Good night to Bunny. In television episode, Franklin called Bear's parents and let him talked to his parents. Then they playe with the flashlight doing signals to Bears parents. Even though there is a slight difference between the book and the episode, they both had a good time. It teaches how you can make your friends feel less homesick whenthey spend a night with you.

A perfect book for a young child to have before their first sleepover anywhere. It lets the child know it's okay to be homesick and that your friends or relatives are there for you when you're away from home. I know my daughter learns from every Franklin book and this one is no exception.

Franklin and his friends go out to play and Franklin is told not to go into the woods. His friends play hide and seek and he knows the usual places each of his friends hide, but he believes that the fox is going to try to fool him and go into the woods. So, Franklin forgets what he was told about not going into the woods and he thinks fox is going to trick him and hide in the woods. Not thinking the others would go home without him, Franklin goes into the woods and gets lost. At six o'clock they were all to go home, so the others thought Franklin must have started home, because they knew he was not to go into the woods. They all went home as they were told to do and Franklin was left behind, lost in the woods and it started to get dark. Luckily his parents came and figured out what happened after speaking to all of his friends and found a very frightened Franklin, who went home, ate and went to bed, knowing to follow the rules, and his parents were very happy to have found their son safe but very frightened and alone in the woods.Mrs. Symmington

My preschool daughter loves this book on how Franklin inadvertently gets lost while playing hide and seek. All ends well when Franklin is found by his parents. One cautionary note - the TV show version is different than the book. In the TV show Fox is lost along with Franklin. In the book, Franklin gets lost looking for Fox. My daughter noticed this right away. Regardless, its a very rewarding story.

My daughter just happened to receive this book from a friend for her birthday. It has been her favorite book ever since. She has learned how important it is to listen to her parents even when we say something she may not like to hear. We always have her best interest at heart.

This was a very helpful tool to teach my daughter the value of being a team player. It also was helpfull in pointing out that everyone has special skills you just have to look for them. This book also is excelent in pointing out that winning is not what is most important!

This story is about Franklin's love for soccer. He likes everything about soccer, even his team's uniforms. Sometimes he even wore his purple and yellow jersey and matching knee pads when he wasn't playing soccer.
Frankklin practiced in the park before every game, he would kick the ball with the inside of his foot, but the problem was the ball never went where he wanted it to. No matter how many times he kicked it, it always went where he didn't intend it to go.
Goose was just walking into the park and she watched Franklin's ball fly the other way into the bushes. They both told each other that they thought they would never score a goal. Goose had trouble because she always forgot that the rules say that she can't touch the ball unless she is the goalie, but Goose's wings were so big that it was hard to keep from touching the ball.
Beaver walked up and told them that she had trouble becase her tail was so long and heavy that it dragged her down so much that it was hard to run, but the biggest problem they all had was that their team had never won a game. Their coach always told them to go out and have fun before avery game, and they did, but it would be nice to feel what it was like to win.
That day they lost another game. It was an embarassing loss too. Franklin didn't score a goal when he could have and the game ended with all of the team's players ending up in a pile while they were chasing the ball. Coach told them that they had to work as a team and share the ball.
Bear's winning team walked across the field and lined up for handshakes with the other team. As Bear came to Franklin he said, "Nice try Franklin." Franklin went into his shell didn't come out. Bear was bouncing the soccer ball up and down and asked Franklin to come out. Bear bounced the ball down and as it came up Franklin came out of his shell and the ball hit him in the head and went flying straight at Goose. Goose spread her wings and stopped the ball dead in it's tracks.

Franklin knew what his team had to do to start scoring some goals.
His team practiced everyday until the next game and they were really excited to show the other team what they could do now.
It was time for their last game and they were ready to show the other team what they had been working on.
They went out onto the field and were ready to go, but in the first few minutes of the game Bear's team scored a goal. Franklin's coach called a timeout and told them that it was time for their special play. They went back out on the field and put the play into action and they scored, but it wasn't enough Bear's team scored in the final minutes of the game and won two to one.
Franklin's team coach gave ribbons to everyone for their great teamwork and effort and after they all went and got ice cream to celebrate.
This would be a good book to read to children because it explains the importance of teamwork. It also explains to kids that it's not always about winning but having fun. Kids need to know about these things because if they don't they can get to competitive and they could get agressive when they don't get what they want.

This was a very helpful tool to teach my daughter the value of being a team player. It also was helpfull in pointing out that everyone has special skills you just have to look for them. This book also is excelent in pointing out that winning is not what is most important!

Another Great Franklin Book. My 3 year old loves for me to read him these stories.

We really enjoyed this Franklin book. It shows kids that 1)never give up and 2)everybody struggles trying to learn something new. Franklin thinks his friends will make fun of him since he still has his training wheels on his bike. Franklin then remembers that his friends all had trouble learning new things as well. Franklin then devises an interesting way to learn to ride his bike. Its precious.

My 5 year old son got this book for Christmas and we have read it every night since! It depicts the struggle for a young Turtle, Franklin, as he wants to learn to ride a two wheeler like his friends, the peer pressure involved and his overcoming his fears to finally accomplish his goal. Excellent story!

Bear trusts Franklin not to tell about his secret, but Franklin breaks his promise. Bear gets angry and wants nothing to do with Franklin. Finally Bear agrees to listen to Franklin who apologizes. Great book for showing that their is no excuse for not keeping a secret and how important it is to say I'm sorry.

Franklin had a lot of friends. One day he did something wrong to his friend, but he learned to say sorry. This is very important to be a good friend. This book is super! I learned something, and hope you do too.

I like the Franklin books because morally they are good books. I am comfortable with my child reading and looking at them. Reading this book to your child is a good way to teach them to say SORRY!

"Franklin loved Christmas. He could name all of Santa's reindeer. He could tie ribbons into bows and play 'Silent Night' on his recorder. Franklin liked to give presents and to receive them. But this year he couldn't decide what to give to the Christmas toy drive." -- From the book

Every Decemember, Mr. Owl's students donate toys to needy families--toys that could either be brand new or gently used.

This year, Franklin sifts through his toy box to select something for the holiday toy drive. He discovers some forgotten toys, like a shiny red car and a stuffed elephant. Finally, he decides that he wants to keep everything--except for a rusty truck with a missing wheel.

Franklin asks his father to help him fix the truck, but his Dad tells him that it won't look new or even gently used. Franklin replies that "everything else is too special to give away".

Franklin's Dad then talks to him about the importance of generosity.

The next day, Franklin realizes that all his friends are giving away their FAVORITE toys--causing Franklin to re-think his selection for the toy drive. Now, he worries that he won't be able to find a toy that's special *enough*!

Featuring gorgeous, colorful illustrations, Franklin's Christmas Gift is a wonderful holiday tale showing that the best gifts come from a willing heart--and that giving special gifts can generate feelings just as wonderful as those experienced when receiving them.

In "Franklin's Christmas Gift," Mr. Owl tells Franklin and his classmates that they should pick out a toy to donate to the school toy drive. Franklin gets home, but can't seem to find anything he wants to give away except an old, rusty truck. But when he starts to see what everyone else is bringing and learns how important it is, he reconsiders.

Another great "Franklin" story about sharing what you have to make others happy. Featuring the same sort of warm illustrations as other books in this series and a neat character --- Franklin's Great Aunt Harriet.

As a mother of three small children, I love all of the Franklin series books. This book was particularly poignant at this time of year when children get focussed on the recieving part of their holidays. It lead us into a discussion about giving and how that can feel just as wonderful as getting. After that, my children were actually eager to participate in donating toys to our local church.

Professors Bower and Gilbert have done a fine job of crystalizing the stream of work begun by Professor Bower's 1970 Managing the Resource Allocation Process (RAP). The initial RAP work descriptively presented a more practically satisfying view of how firms arrive at major resource decisions than the prevailing (to this day) mathematical optimization models in economic textbooks. What Professor Bower, and those who followed in this line of research described is far closer to the reality experienced by executives.

In the intervening 35 years quite a few of business academe's leading thinkers have used this three-layer framework to describe and understand the inner workings of complex organizations. In the process, while the basic framework has remained solid, many nuances and implications have emerged. Furthermore, the RAP model has moved from more descriptive toward becoming more prescriptive. Thus RAP has become increasingly relevant to business practice.

Much of this work, however, has appeared in piecemeal fashion -- insightful, but somewhat disconnected from the underlying theory. This book brings together the varied threads of work in a nicely structured, focused volume. The reader receives direct exposure to the leading thinkers in this school of work. The book provides a concise reference point highlighted by specific cases to bring out the subtleties of the theory and usefulness of the RAP. And happily, the quality of the writing is extremely high and approachable, even for the non-academic reader.

While the more practical business executive may find some of this a bit too academic, that academic-ness is necessary to frame such a broad theory of business. Those who undertake reading this book will be rewarded with useful insights and a clearer understanding of what really makes large organizations tick.

The chapters of this book cover a wide range of industries, stratgic challenges, and managerial perspectives, and each combines a solid footing in the realities of organizational life with careful and rigorous scholarship. With contributions from such luminaries as Clayton Christensen, and including experts on decision-making, strategy, and industrial economics, this collection of essays shines a light on just about every aspect of strategy-making and implementation.

At the same time, and all the more powerfully, there is a consistent and readily evident thread that runs through it all, a thread made evident in thoughtful summary essays for each section: strategy is what you do, and how you decide what to do is the essence of the strategy process. To guide strategy-making, then, is to shape how decisions are made and direct the allocation of resources -- organizational, financial, and human -- toward specific ends.

Getting stuff done in complex organizations is a messy process, and fraught with difficulty, but the insights available in this book make it clear that if this complexity is to be channelled and controlled, it must be embraced, not ignored. Time spent reading this book and reflecting on the insights its many authors offer will pay large dividends.

Full Disclosure: I contributed a chapter to this publication, and am proud of having my work included in this collection. I offer no opinion on my chapter, and instead comment here only on the other chapters.

My initial reaction to the title was to question which should come first: resource allocation or strategy? Then as I began to read this brilliant book, I understood what Joseph L. Bower and Clark G. Gilbert's objectives were as co-editors and contributors. As they reveal in the book's Preface, "Our intention in writing this book is threefold: First, we hope to communicate the unique character of the resource allocation process and its link to strategy through the development of a formal model. Second, we hope to show how this model has evolved over 30 years of research development. Finally, we hope to better connect the research on resource allocation to the field of strategy as a whole." Bower and Gilbert brilliantly achieve all three objectives.

The material is carefully organized within six Parts:

I Introduction to the Resource Allocation Process

Overview: how to link resource allocation to strategy; how to model the resource allocation process; what the proper role of strategy making is during organization evolution; and "anomaly-seeking research" which examines 30 years of theory development in resource allocation theory

II When the Bottom-up Process Fails

Overview: when and why the bottom-up resource allocation process fails; the causes and effects of customer power, strategic investment, and the failures of leading firms; the failure of bottom-up strategic processes and the role of top-down disinvestment; and comparing established firms and entrepreneurial start-ups in terms of the process of international expansion

III Restoring the Bottom-up Process

Overview: how to restore the bottom-up process of re4source allocation; strategy making as viewed an iterative process of resource allocation; and beyond resource allocation, how definition and impetus interact to shape strategic outcomes

IV The Need for Top-down Intervention

Overview: when and why corporate intervention in resource allocation is necessary; which corporate-level options to consider when responding to uncertainty in the pursuit of strategic integration; and what the core issues to considering adoption of complex structures and entering into "webs of alliances"

V Outside Commentaries on the RAP Perspective

Overview: John Roberts' thoughts about resource allocation, strategy, and organization; Daniel A. Levinthal's comments on the resource allocation process; Margaret A. Peteraf's views on "research complementarities; and Joel A. Podolny's response to "CEO as Change Agent?"

VI Conclusion

Overview: Bower and Gilbert offer a "revised model of the resource allocation process.

Hopefully the brief comments I presume to provide will enable those who read this review to gain a sense of the scope of coverage by co-editors Bower and Gilbert and other contributors. I agree with them that there has been a need for more and better business research that explains the interaction between organizational and economic forces. The results of recent studies offered in this volume make a significant contribution to filling that need. They give us a much clearer "picture" of how large organizations manage their resources.

As Bower and Gilbert note, "Without exception, these activities are distributed more widely across the organization than is usually imagined. More challenging for both descriptive and normative theories of decision making, activities whose consequences are interdependent will typically proceed independently and simultaneously, posing huge problems where coherence is a central requisite for efficiency and effectiveness."

Those who share my high regard for this brilliant book are urged to check out Jeanne Ross's Enterprise Architecture as Strategy, Henry Chesbrough's Open Business Models, Dean Spitzer's Transforming Performance Measurement, and Wayne Eckerson's Performance Dashboards.

The most striking thing about this book is the way the voices are so different from each other, so well chosen to complement each other, yet the quality is consistent. An honest and exciting book.

The best thing about this book is its consistency. So many anthologies--no matter what the subject matter--fall into the same breakdown: one-third brilliant (however one defines it within the context of book's scope and topic: entertaining, enlightening, educational, well-written, etc.); one-third "okay;" and one-third boring drivel (again defined in many ways: droll, mundane, pedantic, boring, etc.). This book makes it's mark nearly all the way through. The diversity of the points of view exposed is enlightening in and of itself. It was just a great read. Also, I guess by definition I'm a Generation Q-er, and it was heartening to find such a pleathora of potential friends and allies out there. I don't buy the whole "family" designation--and at times even "community" seems like a stretch--but this collection of essays made me feel like (here's yet another cliche) "we're everywhere."

With all due respect to our elders and the tremendouschallenges they faced living as gender outlaws on the fringes ofsociety before many of us were even born, the time has come for post-Stonewall queer voices to rise up out of the chorus to sing our own songs loudly, proudly, and sometimes off-key. At various times funny, sexy, heartbreaking, and inspiring, the stories assembled in Generation Q affirm that children of the 70s are forging ahead with our own struggles and victories to further enrich the queer legacy. Coming out, gender and culture issues, feminism, alienation, discrimination, race, sex, HIV status, and S/M controversy are just some of the themes tackled. From Erika Kleinman's courageous stand to come out to her parents, community, and entire high school (the last place on earth one wants to be different), to Michael Thomas Ford's glorious gay-boy ode to pop culture ("The Village People, Tiger Beat, and Me"), this anthology showcases a richly diverse blend of well-written and thought-provoking dialogue that will surely strike a chord with 20- and 30-somethings. Highly recommended.