Howard Books

A friend gave me a copy of Madigan. I must say that had I seen it in the book store I wouldn't have bought it. It is what I'm told they call a Trade Paperback. I like the smaller paperbacks so I can keep them with me to read when I feel like it. But who looks a gift horse in the mouth? It was free. Normally I read a book a little at a time. Maybe taking two weeks to finish it. I read the first page of Madigan and had to read the second and before I knew it the sun came out and I'd read the whole thing through! Talk about a book that should be made in to a movie!!!!!!! This it it!!!!! I still think it would sell better in a smaller version, but what do I know about the book market? What I do know is that I have never picked up a book and read it from cover to cover before. To say I liked the book is an understatement. I loved it. When I looked for more books from R howard Trembly I was disappointed to find none. Is he still writing? I surely hope so.

My husband turned me on to Louis L'Amour books some years ago and I have been an avid reader of westerns for some years now. But unfortunately, many of them have the same worn out theme: stranger rides into town, finds beautiful woman (a widow) about to lose her ranch to some unscrupulous banker, big rancher, or outlaws. The widow is totally at a loss to help herself in any way. Come on! If women were as helpless as most western writers make them out to be, the Indians would have kicked our butts out of the west and kept us out! It wasn't just the men that did all the work! The stranger feels sorry for her and wanting nothing more than to help this helpless widow regain what belongs to her, does so in the next two hundred pages.

Still, I keep reading, hoping to find something new and exciting in a western, but to my dismay very seldom do until I was fortunate enough to see the book, Madigan, by R. Howard Trembly. I was, to say the least, surprised to read a western with a new and fresh plot that held me spellbound while I savored each new twist and turn. I loved it!!! And the women are strong and in control of their lives for the most part. I would also like to say that this is a story that just when you think you know what is about to happen, it doesn't. Mr. Trembly must, if married, drive his poor wife mad trying to figure out what he's thinking at any one time. I even find myslef thinking what would Lewana do in certain situations. I do hope there is going to be a series with Madigan as the central figure. I'll buy them all!

R. Howard Trembly's "Madigan" is one of the Best Books Iv'e read in years! The story is "Riviting" and full of action! the Characters are well thought out, The story line is Historicaly correct, and the suspense is "On the Edge of your seat"! It should be a Movie! I hope we havn't seen the last of Madigan! Yer Pard!...

Madigan is a breath of fresh western air. Not since the late Mr. Lamour have I read such intensity and riveting western novles. The book was hard to put down night after night, I wished it would never end. Even after finishing, I read it again and was still captivated. I hope to see R. Howard Trembly's next work soon, for I am now a huge fan. The characters become so real, you feel as if they have been around in your life since birth. I highly recomend this book to any western story fan.

Who is this guy, where did he come from, this R. Howard Trembly? He writes with a style that makes his characters come alive on each page--a cliff hanger in every chapter--making the reader want to keep reading page after page. Madigan, the hero, is tough, but unlike the heroes in some popular westerns who can scale a sheer cliff after being shot full of holes, Madigan is more human with the strengths and weaknesses all men and women have. The book takes you back to a time when good and evil were still sharply defined. A great read!

This book is not easy to find at any price. The price was great and delivery was prompt. Great service.

Good book with interesting interviews. Interviews are conducted by economists who actually know what they are talking about.

Reading this book will open your mind in understanding what does Economics talk about, especially in macro scope. Once you read the firt few chapters, you will know the main goal of Macroeconomics analyses and their implication our economy issues today by using their theory explanation. This is a great book!

This book is a nice overview of the main macro theories with a non-mathematical slant. But do not take it for a macro "overview for dummies". To fully appreciate the subtle nuances between competing views, one must have a firm grasp of macroeconomics.

Also, the interviews are really enjoyable and enlightening.

As a suggestion for next editions, i would like to read an interview with michael woodford, and a full chapter on the "new neoclassical synthesis".

The book surveys all of the major intellectual trends within macroeconomics since Keynes. The writing is clear, which is atypical for most economics books, and the discussion is rich with lore and plenty of references (the bibliography is over 80 pages!) It really filled many gaps in my understanding of macro. I recommend this book for graduate macro students and advanced undergraduates; others might find it hard to appreciate the models and the ideas if they don't have a good understanding of at least intermediate macro. Last but not least, the interviews are truly inspirational; I found myself hurrying through the chapters to get to the interviews as quickly as possible!

This is one of a series of Mr. Putter books. I am a teacher and my first through third graders love this old man and his cat. I find that Mr. Putter and his neighbor Mrs. Teaberry with her dog, Zeke, help children to appreciate older people and to understand what aging involves.

I loved these books about Mr. Putter and is cat. They were the books i learned to read from. I always asked for the new ones that came out and read them all the time.

Mr. Putter decides he wants to celebrate his birthday in spite of being "too old" to do so. The humor comes to you through the story and the drawings.

Mr. Putter really wants to have a party for his birthday but he thinks that he is too old. He waits and waits for his friend from next door to come over with a surprise! When she arrives he finds that his birthday wish has come true. She brought cake, balloons and a gift! Happy Birthday Mr. Putter!

The cartoon- like illustrations in the book are really funny. Tabby is a cute kitty that always has a cute expression on her face.

This is a great book for early readers. There are pictures on every page and only a few sentences to each page as well.

My son and I loved Mr. Putter & Tabby Make a Wish. Like all of the other Mr. Putter & Tabby stories, the book focuses on the kindness of friendship, and points out that no matter how old a person gets, they still feel like a kid inside.

This book discusses most aspects of network design to an impressive level of detail. No fast answers are given as is appropriate for a design book. The author's approach is such that he immediately commands the readers respect and from what I have seen is only matched by Cormac Long's design book. The only gripe I might have is that I found the style a tad long-winded at times, since I personally prefer books to be as concise as possible.

this book has cleared up a lot of clouds in my mind about Internetworking concept as well as router/switch issues. Thanks, Howard.

I really like this book. Despite a slight tendancy to ramble, Berkowitz style is very enjoyable, humourous at times, and he explains everything in detail. This is a book geared towrds understanding the concepts of routing and switching, rather than analyzing everything from the manufacturers viewpoint. As a result, you get a firm understanding of the fundamentals. Where appropriate, he does discuss manufacturer specific design/philosphy (e.g. cisco, nortel, etc.), but for the most part it's completely independent of that. Hence, this is useful regardless of what gear you're using. This is a must for every network engineer's library.

Delightful might seem like a strange word to describe a technical book, but it's exactly what I mean to say. I find myself being delighted with Howard's unique way of presenting the essence of a network technology. I hear myself say "ah hah, that's what all that incomprehensible text in those other books meant!" Howard uses analogies and real-life examples to ensure that the reader really understands the basics and the details. Great book for learning routing and switching architecture design.

This book is incredible. Howard speaks with a voice of absolute authority. He presents all sides of the issues and leaves the reader to come to his/her own conclusions. He is obviously a master of his craft, and reading this book is sheer pleasure. It would be a fantastic book if it was comprised of dry text and facts, but that's far from the case: this book was written by a man who understands the writer's prerogative to keep his audience awake and entertained. To my knowledge a better book on network design does not exist. Highest recommendation.

If something just seems to be not quite right, you have an unsettled feeling about what God is up to in your life...this is a Must Read. What about that deep down gut pain- that no medicine seems to be able to reach?...read Scotty's story. Truly amazing.

God used Scotty's book to let me see some of my deepest hidden, yet denied pains. I can truly say this was a great instrument in God's continuing Grace to disclose and heal my brokeness. I have given this book to several of my family and friends- and they shared similar experiences with me.

Through the tears- of pain and joy... this is Good News- you will be blessed.

Like Heinz 57 on a delicious steak, this book brings godly seasoning and satisfaction to the soul.

This I'm sure is an eloquent exposition of the (hesed) love of God. It burns bright with hope and fills the heart with astounding encouragement. There's no better subject than the love of God properly propounded and proclaimed.

This is a book I want to read and maybe reread.
Light My Fire with your love, Lord! Light me up!
Scotty is a godly man and pastor on fire with the love of God.
I have a friend who is into "chasing God" but Scotty shows through his preaching and writing that God is the Chaser and we must allow ourselves to be caught by his love seen in the finished work of Christ.

For too many Christians, who take the Bible and their duties seriously, God's love is a concept that is comprehended without being apprehended. Scotty Smith's very personal account of how God moves us to a greater understanding of His great love for us is a wondeful tool for people who only know duty and doctrine in their Christian walks. But, this book is doctrine as well, in the best way! It is doctrine applied, and since all theology is practical, Scotty Smith shows how understanding and receiving God's love changed him.

Here is a sample from the introduction: "In essence, this is the story of God's pursuing and passionate mercy revealed in his Word and through his Son. It is the story of how subjects of futility and foolishness become objects of God's affection. It's about how God makes worshipers out of idolaters, a wife out of a whore." (p. 6).

Each chapter has a prayer at the end to ask God to apply some aspect of what the chapter has covered. There are some thought provoking and heart probing questions in the back of the book for each chapter, to help you apply the book to your life and walk.

Personally, I read this book when I really needed to hear its message (and the message of the Bible that it explains), and it has helped me to "have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge" (Eph. 3:18-19, NIV).

I highly recommend this book, not as some quick fix formula to "jump start" your walk, but as a starting point, on a journey to grow in your understanding of the God who has loved you with an everlasting love! Pick one up today - you won't be disappointed!

It is a well-written (text)book outlining and discussing, in an accessible and at the same time scholarly manner, the organizational patterns uncovered by organizational theorists studying the emergence and co-evolution of organizations and their socio-politico-economic environments.

There are three features of the presentation of material I especially like:
1) The organizational phenomena/patterns discussed are often considered from the different perspectives of different schools of organizational theorists, each emphasizing very different aspects/interpretations of the same organizational phenomena. This ensures an unusually rich, multi-faceted perspective on and thus a clear understanding of the organizational phenomena/patterns under consideration. You may consider/interpret a red rose, for example, as a geometrical object, as a biochemical system, as a botanic variety, as an object of esthetics, as a symbol of love and passion and in many other ways. Neither perspective alone will give you, however, an adequate understanding of what red rose actually is. Only together, when coordinated within an overarching conceptual context/framework of life, they will provide you with an understanding of the red rose phenomenon. In "Organizations Evolving", the overarching conceptual framework coordinating different interpretations of and perspectives on organizations is the evolutionary framework built on the four conceptual patterns common to all living systems - variation, selection, retention/inheritance and struggle. Notwithstanding the limitations of Darwinian framework for adequate description/understanding of living systems, it is currently by far the best one as compared to any of existing alternatives, and its use as an overarching framework of the organizational theory is a brilliant advance.
2) The organizational dynamics is presented as inherently contextual, i.e. defined by the environment and defining the environment at the same time.
3) The organizational patterns/phenomena are considered across several levels of organizational hierarchy, from intra-organizational dynamics through inter-organizational relationships to the dynamics of organizational populations.
All of these features together with a broad coverage of topics in organizational theory and a well-structured, clear and scholarly presentation of material, make this book a must-to-have resource for any intellectual.

Please keep in mind that everything around you and inside you are organizations. Your thoughts (if they are organized, of course), the organization of your psyche, your cells and tissues, your family, your social network, your organization, your country and your planet are all, in their essence, organizational phenomena. Therefore, if you would like to gain a better understanding of any of those phenomena, and of all of them together, buy and study this book. It is one of those rare texts, the value of which is so overwhelming that any critical comments you may have in mind while reading it eventually fade into insignificance.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Alexei, you have captured the spirit in which I wrote the book! Maybe you could log on & amend your review to include this? (I know that it is allowed).

best,
howard

This book is a must read for organizational scholars in any discipline. This book not only summarizes and synthesizes decades of research in organizations but also provides new insights and understandings of the evolving organization and its environment. Selection, Retention, and Variation are key oncepts that make sense for understanding organizations from their creation and disbanding to innovation and stagnation within organizations. The book has created and encourages news ways to think about organizations by combining what was thought of as opposing theories in the past.

It is imperative that students, scholars, and anyone who interacts with organizations (that is all of us!) should read this book.

Indicative of the North Carolina Sociology tradition of serving as an incubator for ecological-sociological perspectives, the book opens by quickly stating its goal to apply ecological principles to the study of formal organizations. Aldrich and Ruef define evolution as occurring via four major principles: variation, selection, retention and struggle for scarce resources. Environments shape and select heterogeneous organizations competing for market share, legitimacy and survival. Since Herbert Spencer and his eventual fall from theoretical prominence in sociology, the imposition of scientific analogies to explain social science phenomena has been controversial. However, the evolutionary metaphors presented are lucid and intuitive, and may be especially compelling to newcomers to the field, who are immediately presented with a clear heuristic to understand markets and organizations.

Aldrich and Ruef adroitly apply the evolutionary perspective to all main organizational theories, including population ecology, institutional theory and resource dependency theory. However, regardless if one accepts or prefers the ecological rubric that is sketched out in the early chapters, I believe the book's prime contribution is serving as a comprehensive and contemporary review of the literature in organizations, markets and networks. The standard chapters on organizational forms, boundaries and populations are included, but the book also stands out for its emphasis on the dynamic and fluid nature of markets, institutions, networks, organizations and other relevant social entities. Numerous chapters focus on the emergence of new organizations and populations, showing how the dynamic and static states of organizations and social phenomena in general are intertwined and how organizations often serve as harbingers of social change and development.

The chapter on entrepreneurship and the emergence of new organizations emphasizes the author's emphasis on the dynamic processes that underlie organizational creation. Entrepreneurship and the decisions entrepreneurs make serve as the precursors for the development of organizations in addition the environments they are situated in. Forming (or at least strategizing) one's organizations and networks is an integral part of commerce and economic behavior, and may be one of many areas where economic sociology and formal organizations overlap. As was the case with the book's 1999 edition, the emphasis on nascent and dynamic organizations and entrepreneurs provides valuable perspectives on the struggles of individuals and organizations for survival and legitimacy, and driving forces of innovation and change within populations and industries.

A question the book left me pondering was to what degree formal organizations can be treated analogously to markets and other institutions. While the broad ecological principles Aldrich and Ruef sketch out may provide such an analogy, neoclassical and evolutionary economists have also used similar analogies to evidence their own theories. When an evolutionary perspective is applied to formal organizations or economic phenomena, how does it differ (and should it differ?), if at all, from the Darwinian/Smithian notion of "the survival of the fittest" often invoked by many economists. Some sociologists argue that contemporary economic life is characterized by much adverse selection, with insufficient or undesirable variation, unfair struggle and the retention of undesirable firms and behaviors, which may or may not be uniquely human/social issues and problems that transcend evolutionary theories and phenomena. At the very least, an evolutionary perspective provides an interesting metaphor to explore these macro-level questions.

In short, the second edition of Organizations Evolving can serve as a textbook for introducing undergraduates to organizational, market and network phenomena, in addition to providing a clear, comprehensive and up-to-date review of a vast array of relevant literature that more experienced scholars will also appreciate.

(A similar version of this review appeared in Accounts, the Economic Sociology Newsletter of the ASA, Summer 2006.)

I bought this book despite having the first edition. It is a welcome addition, and is really well executed. There's a new section on organizational forms that examines organizational cognition, organizational knowledge/culture, and knowledge/cultural diffusion. Addressing culture was a particularly important improvement to a classic work, which now cites more recent literature. For the classroom, it also includes "student friendly" questions at the end of each chapter, although it would be well worth buying regardless.

Focusing primarily on businesses, and using a multidisciplinary approach, the book examines organization from three standpoints: the challenge of studying organization; the genesis of organizations, organizational populations, and communities; and the evolutionary processes through which new organizations, populations and communities emerge.

The book is organized into five sections:
1) introduction to the evolutionary approach;
2) a discussion of the role of individuals and groups in the creation and maintenance of organizations;
3) an examination of organizational transformation by exploring the historical context and social change;
4) the emergence of new and established populations; and
5) an assessment of organization evolution at the community level.

The book offers many insights and an extensive discussion of each topic. Each chapter ends with study questions and exercises. Includes an extensvie list of references. For scholars seeking to understand organizations from an evolutionary standpoint, this book is very highly recommended.

Research, analysis, synthesis. Dr. Howard takes abstract theory and delivers practical actions. This new paradigm seamlessly integrates individual personalities into effective management practices. Hiring, training and optimizing employees (using these principles) should all but eliminate firing. Managers will be able to predict, instead of react. Career paths are planned, not discovered by trial and error. Human Resource management becomes more science than art. Functional deployment of staff is now possible, enabling management to capitalize on each and every employee's natural talents.

I picked up this book after reading "The Owner's manual for Brain" by the same author. This book is short and precise to the point. Every paragraph in the book is written very concisely with specific applicability i real-life. Understanding the principles behind what is mentioned in this book is very helpful in working with people at work and elsewhere. Sure enough, I get less frustrated, but am able to apply the thoughts behind this book and use them in right set, to get the best out of those. A must read for every manager.
I enrolled in CentACS immediately after reading this book!

This is a must have book for any consultant or any individual interested in conducting personality research.

I have been working in the industry for a number of years and I have finally found the one book that seamlessly integrates science and practice. The research is insightful and the recommendations applicable. The Howard's have done a fabulous job of understanding the needs of today's organizational psychologist/management consultants and created the ultimate resource guide and complimentary materials.

Because of this book, I am certain that I am providing my clients with better service, presentation and product! A great read, resource and thought-provoking tool.

As a corporate psychologist, I was pleased to find the serious research underlying this book, although it should be just as appealing to new students and the lay public. It is an excellent combination of literature review and applied science. Particularly valuable are the mappings of Big Five personality factors to various leadership styles (Kotter, Bennis, etc.) and 200 managerial competencies. Additional chapters do the same for approaches to learning, team building, interpersonal relationships, sales skills, and more. This book should soon be required reading within this field.

Being a doctoral student in organizational leadership, I have read most of the books written about personality research, and especially those that focus on leadership behavior. Examining leadership competencies, learning styles, team development, and the application of personality assessment with the book has "simply" further opened my eyes to the importance of improving interpersonal awareness in the organization. The Howard's book is the first that I feel approached the subject from an understandable and practical basis. I use the book daily as I write my dissertation as a reference for practical applications of personality testing with the NEO-PI-R, and how to apply what I have learned from my data in the topic of leadership. It was a pleasure to find a book that allowed me to peruse the table of contents and move right to a section that applied to my current research without having to struggle. A nice thing that the authors have done is to provide a common language that can be used in the workplace with regard to understanding individual differences. This can set the stage for better communication among team members. In addition, I have found that as people understand themsleves better and can speak a similar language it can improve the flow of overall understanding in the organization. The book has opened my eyes to better acknowledge individual differences within teams, and to believe that there is no perfect solution when choosing leaders and team members. The world must incorporate these important individual differences effectively into their organizational structure; so as opposed to sujectively wandering through the personnel challenges of today's workplace, understanding these differences and blending the right mixtures of personality traits can make a difference in determining success. I applaud their efforts, and look for more.

First, in the interest of full disclosure, I must say that I loved Bahr's Civl War triology. Boy, can he write. In this novel about railroading in the 1940's Bahr applies the same wonderful techniques of character development and setting descriptions that he so successfully used in that Civil War trilogy. All of the characters are memorable, and though I wasn't around during the early 40's as a railroad man, his descriptions of that whole scene strike me as eerily right on the money. I enjoyed the novel immensely and reccomend it for anyone but especially for the reader who not only enjoys a rip roaring tale, but one told with unbelievable eloquence. You're gonna love this book.

Howard Bahr is noted for his novels regarding the american Civil War. His novel, The Year of Jubilo was a New York Times notable book of the year. Now, Mr. Bahr turns his attention to the american railroads in the deep south just before the start of World War 2, and once again, he has written a fine book which captures the era in a very intimate way. Mr. Bahr is an ex railroad man himself, and his knowledge of the business and the people who work on it runs true in every page of the book. Mr. Bahr has always written beautifully, and this novel is no exception. He sets moods which will linger with you for quite awhile. He also likes to touch his books with a amall piece of the supernatural in all his works, just a small touch to really set the mood. The story involves two railroads destined to meet on Christmas eve, and the characters whgo you wil become involved with are richly drawn. You will be caught up in the inevitability of the outcome, hoping against hope that something will be allowed to intercede to stop the rush against time and rail space on the railroad.

Those who are familiar with Howard Bahr's work know that he is one of those rare writers that Mark Twain referred to as "word musicians." Just about anyone can tell a story, but it takes a true talent to make music with words. Bahr does it again with Pelican Road, his fourth novel.

The setting is a bit of a departure for those readers who are accustomed to the 19th century historical fiction of Bahr's three previous novels, but no one should be disappointed by that. Christmas Eve 1940 on the railroad comes alive in this book, thanks to Bahr's beautifully vivid descriptions of people and places. The characters become the reader's steadfast friends - we hope the best for them, and weep for their tragedies. And while Pelican Road may be a tragic story, it is not without hope.

Buy this book, early and often. Give a real writer the recognition he deserves.

This is a beautifully written novel about a couple of days in the life of railroad men, written by a former railroad man. You see life through the eyes of the engineers, the firemen, brakemen, railroad detectives, conductors, and yard men. The novel is rich in detail and authenticity. This is not a novel about the lives of passengers, chance meetings in the dining car, that kind of thing. The characters are wonderfully drawn--no one-dimensional or two-dimensional people here. You get a very good feeling for the life of the railroad.

There's A.P. Dunn, the engineer on the southbound freight, a longtime veteran who appears to have problems with Alzheimer's. Rufus Payne is the engineer on the crack express Silver Star, out of New Orleans bound for Atlanta and Washington, running late and stubbornly determined to make up time. Artemus Kane, conductor on the Silver Star, keeps thinking back to his days in France in the Great War. Eddie Cox is Dunn's firemen, and due to retire the following day. Donny Luttrell, disgraced college student from a wealthy family, runs the tiny isolated Talowah depot as a penance--he's the only one there, and manages the switches, yardwork, telegraphy, waybills, etc--in some ways he's one of the most interesting characters in the novel. The lives of these men and others are all intertwined.

The sense of time and place is unforgettable--the grime and soot, living conditions aboard a caboose, the always present threat of death and disfigurement for those who aren't careful enough (one of the characters is missing three fingers). The characters in the novel at one point discuss "boomers"--skilled railroad men with a wanderlust who move from railroad to railroad, often crisscrossing the country. Bahr himself served with 5 railroads. There's an excellent railroad novel titled, appropriately, "The Boomer" by Harry Bedwell. This is an episodic work about Eddie Sand, a skilled telegraph operator--these are always in short supply, and the railroads have too many Talowahs, tiny depots that need telegraphers who can manage the switches and the signals the way Donny Luttrell does. Boomer and Pelican Road are both "railroaders' novels", told from an insider's point of view. Up to now, Boomer perhaps stood on its own as the only good railroad novel--but now we also have Pelican Road. Great reading!

Pelican Road is the fascinating tale of men who worked on the great American railroads. The author himself worked as a brakeman and yard clerk on several railroads in the Midwest and South.

The time is Christmas Eve, 1940. The Germans have rolled into Poland, and the Japanese are swarming over the Pacific Rim. Bahr's story, however, deals with a tragedy closer to home.

The sleek Silver Star, extra-fare, all Pullman, New Orleans to New York City, speeds along the storied Pelican Road. Approaching the Silver Star on the same track is another train, Extra 4512 South.

Pervading the story is an ominous foreboding of impending catastrophe. As the snow falls and a cold wind blows, the lonesome sound of the train whistle at night heralds the approaching disaster.

A haunting, existential novel dealing with "the cruel and fundamental mathematics of time," Pelican Road contains stunningly beautiful poetic prose.

As we approach the end, we mourn the dying of the light, as the characters we have come to know are enveloped in darkness.

An excerpt from the novel: "In the car ahead, the crowded hogs grunted and squealed. . . . Smith wondered how the animals must feel, what they talked about, if they reassured one another. Perhaps the wisest among them knew they were going down to death and so would calm the rest, speaking of unfenced cornfields and troughs of turnips at the journey's end, all the while their hearts breaking with the truth."

About the author: Howard Bahr was born in Meridian, Mississippi. During the Vietnam War, he was a gunner's mate in the U.S. Navy and later worked as a brakeman and yard clerk on five railroads in the South and Midwest. He earned a Master's degree in English from the University of Mississippi. The author of three previous novels--The Black Flower, The Year of Jubilee, and The Judas Field--two of which were named New York Times Notable Books--he currently resides in Jackson, Mississippi, and teaches at Belhaven College.

This book is a wonderful explanation of the workplace that we all work in. It explains the dynamics of the workplace relationships, focusing on the relationship between management and employees. It gives great tips and examples on how and why these relationships work or don't work. It combines Dr.Ray's practical experience working with companies and his academic background in psychology. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone, whether they are in business or any other profession where they have co-workers or a boss. It's a very easy and quick read.

The Performance Culture goes below the surface of our feelings and exposes what we truly believe about ourselves and the way in which we work. It gives root to all the things we learned and intrinsically/instinctively know about what it takes to be the best. It is profound in its simplicity, example after example, step-by-step, to the point that even the most competitive among us can rechannel our natural urgencies.

If you buy only one book this year, make it this one.

Any company, regardless of size, should strive to create a culture that encourages and breeds maximum performance from its employees. Dr. Ray's The Performance Culture will clearly define the end goals necessary to create that culture. This book not only gives top level managers a noteworthy goal to shoot for but it also gives them the roadmap for achieving that goal. Dr. Ray not only does a wonderful job formulating complex theories into writing that anyone can comprehend, but he presents these ideas in ways that are easily translated into action. The theories and practices covered in this writing would be welcome additions to any organization and the presentation style of the material makes the read not only beneficial but enjoyable as well.

This book should be "must reading" for supervisors and middle managers; actually for anyone who's contemplating going to teams. We have found the enemy and it is us! We are all to some extent purveyors of the endemic culture within our organizations that keeps us from dealing positively with change. Most of us fail to recognize our own part in the saga. Even us so called change agents who work to move the organization in a different direction may be sending mixed messages by our own actions. This book gets to the major problem with teaming. Organizations fail to recognize the enormous power the culture will exert to keep the status quo when it feels disenfranchised with change. This book is well written and well thought out. It does an excellent job of pointing out the problems you're likely to encounter with teams but more over, it gives comprehensive instructions on what needs to be done to combat those problems. Most companies don't understand the magnitude of change required at all levels of the organization to support teams. Meny view teams as a slight deviation from the norm when in fact, they're a major up evil. It is the very reason many companies begin teams at the bottom of the organization and wonder why they fail. With no support structure, it's like building a race car without a track to run on, nice to look but not very usuful. The author has a perspective on what it takes to build viable teams that few people ever get to. The ones that do will smoke their competition! There are books that seem to be written just for you. They touch you at a level of your being I like to refer to as the turbulent zone. It's that part of you that wrestles with things you're passionate about. Things that are uncertain. Things that if clarified would full fill your mission in life. For me, this is just such a book!

Dr. Ray has written a (second) wonderful book with lots of common sense tips and techniques on how to create and maintain a true team environment. He clearly points out what a performance culture is and why it is better than spending a lot of resources on something that is a team in name only. This is a great resource for anyone presently in a teaming structure or thinking of going to a team-based culture.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in graduate studies in the social sciences or for those already in academia. Those who share Zinn's political and/or activist leanings have much to gain from this book. Even if one does not agree with Howard Zinn's politics, then one still needs to be immersed in these views to best learn how to refute them.

Howard Zinn is a teacher of social responsibility. This book breaks down American history into simple snapshots. He starts by examining who gains and who doesn't throughout history. The pattern is obvious. The government has had a long indifference to the poor. Zinn is a polished writer and a major force for good.

Howard Zinn tackles the biases of historians in this important book. His thesis, which he explores with case after case, is that historians employ a double-standard with regard to covering history, basically serving a propagandistic role in our society, camouflaging the bad deeds of business and government, even as they claim to be objective and neutral outsiders.

It's a similar argument that's made with the media, and no less important here. He argues persuasively (and thoroughly) for a radical approach to history, changing the role of historian to sideline cheerleader for the status quo to active participant in true social change.

Because this book deals with a lot of history, it may be of limited interest to folks who aren't already into history, hence the four-star rating. But for anybody who does find history interesting, I strongly recommend it.

Howard Zinn has the distinction of being both one of the most distinguished and provocative historians of the United States. His leftist philosophy permeates his writings and never fails to challenge his readers. "The Politics of History" is a superb collection of his earlier writings, originally published in 1970 but still persuasive in the twenty-first century. The twenty essays in the volume range from labor political history to historiography to issues of race/class/nationalism to freedom and responsibility. Throughout Zinn asserts a radical approach to history, one that "participate[s] a bit in the social combat of the time" (p. 3). He believes that the historian should be not just a reporter of the past but an advocate who interprets the past for the benefit of the present. He confessed, "My chief hope is to provoke more historical writing which is consciously activist on behalf of the kind of world which history has not yet disclosed, but perhaps hinted at" (p. 3).

Zinn explicitly pursues historical studies what adhere to the accepted standards of scholarship that also encourages "a higher proportion of socially relevant, value-motivated, action-inducing historical work" (p. 2). He believes it is time that scholars earn their keep in the world, and the best way to do that is to cease to be neutral, instead agitating for change in the world. All of his studies, including those in this collection, do just that by telling the story of the underrepresented, the dispossessed, and the trod upon. His emphasis is on class struggle, bigotry and racial strife, inequality and feelings of superiority, injustice, and nationalistic fervor.

I found especially useful Howard Zinn's statement in his essay in this volume on "LaGuardia and the Jazz Age": "There is an underside to every Age about which history does not often speak, because history is written from records left by the privileged. We learn about politics from the political leaders, about economics from the entrepreneurs, about slavery from the plantation owners, about the thinking of an age from its intellectual elite" (p. 102). His work represents an effort to move history in another direction. As he concluded in the essay, "Philosophers, Historians, and Causation," which also closes this volume: "So here is something for us to do: we can begin the withdrawal of allegiance from the state and its machines of war, from business and its ferocious drive for profit, from all states, all bullying authorities, all dogmas" (p. 368). Only in this way can historians begin to offer a new history of the world, and in the process, he hoped, become a cause of change.

This is a provocative collection, one that should be read by all who want to explore the history of the United States. It is alternative history at its best. It is political commentary that is both powerful and inviting.

Zinn makes perhaps the best points in this book early on, in his first essay "Knowledge as a Form of Power." Here he quite correctly notes that academia in America (and this is equally valid elsewhere in the world) tends to produce mountains of "inconsequential studies" which do little to add to our general knowledge or understanding, much less provide a basis for future action. What makes this statement so damning is that Zinn first wrote it over 30 years ago, and it's still applies today. Most of the essays in this book are dedicated to arguing that history and other social sciences should be more socially active, and that its practitioners should not hide behind objectivity and neutrality but rather "put their knowledge to work." Zinn backs the latter point by noting that even in the `hard' sciences there is subjectivity, which is what formulating theories is all about. Even so, several times he warns against omission or doctoring facts to suit the needs of idealism or ideologically driven agendas - in this context, he wisely includes this truism by Mannheim: "while ideology is the tendency of those in power to falsify, utopianism is the tendency of those out of power to distort." Zinn's views on scholarship and the philosophy of history are illuminating, and his specific essays dealing with the Ludlow Massacre during a miners' strike in Colorado in 1913, Hiroshima or the Allied bombing of the French town coastal town of Royan even after Nazi withdrawal (in which Zinn himself participated as a bombardier in U.S. warplane) provide a great deal of otherwise hard-to-find information and commentary on these events.