Stevens Books

Zoe, the main character lives with her grandma because her mom is an actress in Hollywood,CA. Her grandma gives her a dog and she names it Sneakers. Zoe's grandma runs the Wild at Heart Animal Clinic. One of the clinic's patients is Yum-Yum, a dog that visits children at the hospital who have cancer. The children teach Yum-Yum tricks and everything. Yum-Yum is the highlight of their day. Yum-Yum's ower takes Yum-Yum to Wild at Heart Animal Clinic and they find a tumor. I think this was a very good book. I think it is a good book for people who like animals, especially dogs.

This story takes you with Zoe,a girl who lives with her grandma nad her cousin Maggie.She has a dog named Sneakers who is very not-behaved. She helps work with her grandma as a vert volunteer along 4 other children who all love animals. In this adventure the story meets Zoe's favorite customer ,cute little Shih Tzu Yum-Yum.Yum-Yum is owned by Jane,a hairstyliist and she loves t do Yum-Yum's hair too ! Well Yum-Yum who is very well trained goes to the hospitial and sees kids wit cancer.It helps cheer them up and get happiness. When one little girl mentions that YUM-Yum has stinky breath Jane gets allworried because she does brush his teeth everyday and he has treatments.After they leave the hospitial they go see Zoe's grandma for a checkup on Yum-Yum. The results aren't very well. They found a cancerous tumor ,will they have to say Good Bye ? This is a great book and I really loved it. I am an animal lover so that's one reason I loved this book.It also is realistic,not everything is all happy all the time ,this book was also very sad as you feel like you become Zoe you feel like her ,cry with her, and rejoice with her. I believe any animal lover ought to read this.

This book was about a dog, Yum Yum, who entertained the children at the cancer hospital. I loved Yum Yum and so did the children in the book. Yum Yum stole a place in my heart!!!!!!!!!!! I am going to read all the wild at heart books!

This could've been featured in our collector's section or even our sports section, but is presented here for its powerful artistic survey of Japanese sports through its lovely baseball card art. SAYONARA HOME RUN! THE ART OF THE JAPANESE BASEBALL CARD features player history, card art, and loved and hated baseball teams alike. It will attract any with an interest in world baseball or in collectible ballgame cards - and many a browser with an interest in neither!

Diane C. Donovan, Editor
California Bookwatch

This could've been featured in our collector's section or even our sports section, but is presented here for its powerful artistic survey of Japanese sports through its lovely baseball card art. SAYONARA HOME RUN! THE ART OF THE JAPANESE BASEBALL CARD features player history, card art, and loved and hated baseball teams alike. It will attract any with an interest in world baseball or in collectible ballgame cards - and many a browser with an interest in neither!

Diane C. Donovan, Editor
California Bookwatch

Vinatge Japanese baseball cards are among the most beautiful baseball collectibles in the world. I discovered these treasures over ten years ago during a trip to Japan and became an avid collector. My passion for the cards eventually led to a on-line card business and a career as a baseball writer. John Gall and Gary Engel's new book Sayanara Homerun! depicts hundreds, if not thousands, of theese beautiful cards. The book's presentation is wonderful. Cards are gracefully portrayed as art but the accompanying text will statisfy both baseball card collectors and fans of Japanese baseball.

If you are an American baseball cards collector, come see what you are missing. If you a fan of Japanese baseball, come see great pictures of your favorite stars.

I spend hours paging through this book and expect that you will enjoy it as much as I have.

Just another example as to how good this author is cant wait till he releases more material all of his books i have read are truly spiritual.Good Job Mr.Herberts

What a refreshing experience to enjoy such a realistic account of one's thoughts. The poetic value is not to be overlooked.

In a Search For Inner-Peace, Herberts found some of the answers that I have been looking for- for years! It's an incredible journey in a very beautiful array of words.

"We soon realized that many companies which adopted such methods were caught in the middle between two competing organizational paradigms: the bureaucratic and democratic. In our analysis, these methods failed to transform the DNA, or fundamental design principle, that informs how organizations are structured and managed...When we understood that these two diamectrically opposed traditions for designing and managing organizations were competng for dominance, it became clear to us why managrs and employees were often being bombarded by mixed messages and a confusing mishmash of structures, management styles, and techniques. The bureaucratic and democratic design principles are based on different logics; each constitutes a distinct class with a specific genetic order...When these logics are mixed together in efforts to shore up the failings of bureaucracy, empowerment and reengineering efforts often fizzle because the basic tenets of a traditional hierarchy have not been uprooted...This book describes the principles and methods for designing the self-managing organization. We show how companies in any industry can change and evolve to become fully self-managing organizations"(from the Preface).

In this context, Ronald E. Purser and Steven Cabana, in Chapter 8, outline fundamental choices of two competing organizational design paradigms as following:

I- Bureaucratic Structure: Coordination and control of work tasks is done by supervisor.

1. Mind Set...*People have specialized skills and are easily replaced. *The work (technical system) is designed first. The people (social system) must adopt and fit in. *Workers are cogs in the machine of the enterprise, a commodity. *Total specialization of everything. *Within a complex organization, simple jobs are created. *Tthe building block of the organization is one person- one task. *Competitive structures, processes and reward systems are the best way to produce high performance.

2. People Act As If...*The environment our enterprise exists in is stable and unchanging. *There is little to learn at work; success comes from reacting resourcefully to problems. *Procedures are sufficient to guide behavior. Change interferes with productivity and can often be postponed. *Responsibility, and blame can be shifted to others; we are separate and therefore I can win at your expense. *We don't need to coordinate work closely with other functions. Their problems are their problems. *Unspoken assumptions need not to be explored. Simple solutions to problems are adequate.

II- Democratic Structure: Coordination and control of work is done by those doing the work.

1. Mind Set...*People possess many skill sets and can do many jobs/functions. *The needs of the work (technical system) are balanced with the needs of the doers of the work (social system). *People are learners. Machines and information systems can extend the skill set of employees to many functions. *As little as possible is specified, leaving the rest to the skill and discreation of the workers. *Complex jobs are created within a simple organizational structure. *The building block of organization is the self-managed work team. *Cooperative structures and reward systems are the best way to produce high performance.

2. People Act As If...*The environment our enterprise exists in is constantly changing. *Skepticism and doubt are valuable and enable continuous learning. *Outcomes are best reached with flexibility built into the approach. *I am fully responsible for any work I agree to perform. *Every task is part of some larger whole. I can't win at your expense. *Everyone's ideas are taken seriously. Cooperation is essential for our mutual survival. *Making our assumptions explicit and exploring them is worth the temporary discomfort.

Hence, in order to transform an entire enterprise to self-management, they discuss these choices within the context of Participative Design method. And they argue that "Dmocratic business organizations won't solve all the world's problems, but they will be places where people can find meaning in their work. Work becomes meaningful when people have attained real membership status, when work is restored to its rightful place, which adds value to both the customer and to the worker, and when people are shapers and creators of the organization's future."

Highly recommended.

This book contains a number practical nuggets for executives and middle managers who are seeking to move from a command and control management style to a style that systematically enlists the participation of employees at every level of the organization. Purser and Cabana provide insightful analyses of how some of the world's most successful organizations have initiated efforts toward higher employee participation that have resulted in superior organizational performance.

This is an easy to read book that blends practical theory with best practices. This book will satisfy the interests of bottom-line focused executives, human resource professionals, and academics who are looking for actual implementations of sound theory about self-managing organizations.

The book introduces a set of organizing principles that are valid across a variety of industries. These principles are introduced in the context of case studies of distinctly different companies such as Motorola, Microsoft, and Charles Schwab. The authors shed light on age-old management dilemmas such as, "How can I give people more autonomy, but still ensure that we have order and productivity in the organization?" and "How can I accelerate people's learning that I know will be critical to our future, but still have them accomplish their business tasks that need to be finished today?" The authors present solid self-management principles that I have seen work in small and large-sized firms, and for industries as diverse as professional services and hi tech manufacturing. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in improving organizational performance by creating opportunities for higher employee participation.

-- Tom Devane (tdevane@iex.net)

If you are struggling with questions related to your business strategy, how work is designed, and the way your organization ought to be managed - READ THIS BOOK. "The Self Managing Organization" (by Ronald E. Purser and Steven Cabana) explains why we have been on a merry-go-round of quick fixes and false promises, and what to do about it. The concepts and real applications in this book move everyone back to ground zero. By the time you finish reading, your thinking will have changed about what it takes to produce effective change, and how self-organization can be facilitated.

It will take a while to read the book. Take the time. The first half analyzes the key management methods of the recent past and dissects what went wrong. You'll understand the principles which facilitate organizational learning, put in place a team-based system of shared responsibility, and re-energize the workforce and management at all levels of the business. You'll also understand why we continue to make costly mistakes when we go about changing organizations and what it takes to be successful right now.

In the second half of the book, Purser and Cabana describe the "how" of moving from today's inadequate practices, to a lean, non-bureaucratic, and powerful future. You'll learn how to develop an urgency for change, get the right people involved, develop common, tangible goals and accelerate their implementation. One benefit of the approaches described is a results-oriented future built from a shared understanding of the business environment. Another is an energized leadership with a shared vision, and a workforce whose local knowledge is translated into effective work designs. Swift deployment throughout the organization occurs.

You might see alignment of the practical concepts in "The Self Managing Organization" with those of John P. Kotter. The alignment is, in fact, perfect with Kotter's Eight-Stage Process of Creating Major Change, as written in his "Leading Change" book. Kotter beautifully frames the steps that EVERY successful organization goes through when making fundamental change. What Purser and Cabana do is describe HOW to rapidly and effectively move your organization through those major changes. There are only two books on my recommended list. "The Self Managing Organization" pushed Kotter's book out of the number one slot. If you need permanent, pervasive change in your business, don't miss it!

Rob McClusky, Baldrige Manager, Picker International, Cleveland, Ohio

this is a wonderful collection of photographs that captures the sunrise of many performers' careers and the twilights of others and the full spectrum in between. Along with the compelling candid moments captured on film, the book features
striking, in-concert performances by up-and-coming and established artists
like John Mellencamp (still known as John Cougar at the time), Squeeze, the
Jam, the Pretenders Wreckless Eric; Wendy O. Williams and the Plasmatics,
the B-52's and Roy Buchanon, as well as veteran performers like Johnny
Winter, Edgar Winter, Leon Russell, Papa John Creach, Jerry Garcia, Iggy
Pop, The Kinks, Frank Zappa and the Count Basie Orchestra among others.

This is a visually stunning compilation of photos, that captures notable moments ofRock 'n' Roll history played out against the backdrop of Albany performance spaces.

A collection of stunning black and white stage performance photographs of classic rock and roll legends when their careers were first on the rise in the late 1970's such as John Mellencamp, Leon Russel, Papa John Creach the CountBassie Orchestra and many others.

The visionary ideas put forward by Lempert, Popper and Bankes work not only for business analysis but provide thought -provoking models for many different types of long term planning. Of particular interest to the general reader are the discussion of conditions of deep uncertainty and the necessity of seeking robust strategies.

"Shaping the Next One Hundred Years" by Lempert, Popper and Bankes is as an exciting new book on strategic thinking and is comparable in importance to Michael Porter's "Competitive Strategy ". The book describes a methodology that mirrors how successful business leaders think while using novel software to expand and codify the decision making process. Lempert et al accomplish this by using exploratory modeling to evaluate the myriad possible futures a decision maker faces and then comparing different strategies against the desired metrics. The results are new insights and a strategy that works regardless of unpredictable events the future. The methodology is revolutionary and will become the preeminent way important decisions are made.

The collaboration of Robert J. Lempert, Steven W. Popper and Steven C. Bankes, Shaping The Next One Hundred Years: New Methods For Quantitative, Long-Term Policy Analysis offers complex mathematical analysis techniques for making long-term policy predictions. Sample models, ways to analyze sustainable development, robust and adaptive strategies, and more fill the pages of this technical guide focusing upon quantitative approaches to long-term policy analysis. An excellent guide for forward-thinkers and strategists in business who must take into account such diverse considerations as environmental protection, political terrorism, genetic technologies, international trade developments, and more, Shaping The Next One Hundred Years is very strongly recommended reading.

I really liked this book and the activities inside. I wish I had found it sooner. We did a one year Sunday school curriculum on parables and unfortunately I did not find it until May. There is a ton of fun stuff inside this book. The children really enjoyed the Rockin' to the Sheep Beat and Counting Sheep (a progressive rythmic version of the Sheep and the Goats story) followed by (a fill-in version of) the Counting Sheep story.

I bought this book to use with our Children's Worship program. We have different volunteers teaching every week, some of them with very little teaching experience. So having material that is ready to teach is essential. This book has several creative ways to teach each of the parables. The instructions are detailed enough for those who are looking for a "cook book" to follow.

I was a bit disappointed that the suggestions are divided into ones to use with a younger group and other suggestions to use with an older group - I was looking for material to use with ages 4 through 11. But the lessons geared to the younger group worked well with this broad age range. I think the suggestions for the older group could be used with teenagers, too.

I appreciated the fresh storytelling approaches, and coverage of some of the less popular parables. I was also very happy with the interpretation of Jesus's message in each of the parables and they way the ideas bring out the lessons in addition to making them interesting and enjoyable.

If you're looking for solid, Bible-based, yet FUN Children's messages this is the book. As Pastor of a mutigenerational church I love its adaptability for so many ages, and I hope there's a "Volume II" in the works!

Good information on purchasing, using and caring for a rebreather. I purchased and maintain my rebreather using info from this book. The book covers all types of rebreathers.

If you understand the concept of Nitrox diving, this book will give you a very detailed and helpfull overview about the diffrent rebreather which are on the market. Before I took my rebreather lessons in Switzerland, I had read the entire book and I did not have any problems during the lessons. I can recomened this book for people who are interessted in rebreather diving.

One of the authors writes, "This book is the 'rebreathers for dummies' text". While not a technical text, per se, it is much more than a "dummies" handbook. It is a concise, well-written guide to both the history and current state of rebreather diving systems. It is also well-illustrated, with excellent diagrams and tables. After reading this book the reader will have a good grounding in rebreather technology, and its important safety issues, and be able to not only evaluate the relative advantages and disadvantages of the increasing number of recreational rebreathers being offered for sale, but whether this kind of technical diving is really suited for them. Rebreathers do not suffer fools, and this kind of diving is not a substitute for the relative simplicity of open circuit SCUBA using compressed air. By the way, while not mandatory, it is invaluable if the reader is familiar with the principles of Nitrox diving.

8 Yr old really enjoys this book. He said it helps him to figure out the kind of reptiles that he has seen outside. He even has a salamander he found and it has a lot of info and facts on it.

I used Diane Burns' book as an aid for nature programs while I was working as a naturalist. Each animal is depicted in full color with pertinent details and hazards to watch for. Young kids love the colorful pictures of their favorite "slimy" creatures, while older kids can read the information and learn where and when to find the creatures. I found that Burns' book works better than a more sophisticated source when working with children, as it is written at their level -- but adults can also gain much knowledge from the information. My congratulations to Diane Burns for writing such a wonderful book!

I purchased 5 books of this series for my five year old daughter for Christmas, as she is a nature lover and loves anything to do with science. After reviewing these books before giving them, we decided to use them as part of our science program for our home school. These books have bright and colorful pictures, short accurate explanations of the animal, their habitat, eating habits, and even some of the popular anecdotes that go along with the animal. It has the appropriate warning for studying certain animals. What we enjoy most is many of these animals can be found in our back yard to furthur study. Each book deals with three types of animal, such as snakes, salamanders and lizards. They are separated into sections dealing with each type. At the end of the section is a wonderful hands-on project the child can basically do on their own within the recommended age group (9-12) or with some assistance for a younger age group like my daughter. My 5 year old begs us to read these books to her and loves the projects. I highly recommend this bokk and others in the series for those who want their children to learn about nature and how to respect it. I can't wait to obtain the remaining books of this series.

Steven Zaloga is one of the world's most prolific authors on armored warfare, and this collaboration with Jim Kinnear is a chance for him to revisit the most important Russian tank of World War Two, the T-34. This book benefits from the newly-accessible Russian state records and photo archives and also incorporates much new material from the former Warsaw Pact countries. Structured like most Concord armor books, it opens with a short but detailed history of Russian tank development, followed by hundreds of wartime photos with extensive captions giving (where known), the date, location and units involved. Photo reproduction is excellent, on glossy paper. The book opens with coverage of the T-28, a ridiculous prewar design with three gun turrets, but the bulk of the book is devoted to the T-34-76, the T-34-85, and the self-propelled gun variants on the T-34 chassis. The last section covers the ugly duckling of the family, the T-44, which was a technical disappointment, but served as a testbed for the very successful T-54 and T-55 series of the postwar era. The book also features a color center section with drawings of operational tanks in full markings and camouflage. In combination with Mr. Zaloga's other books from Osprey and Squadron publishing, you will have a very comprehensive depiction of the war's most-numerous tank. Highly recommended.

Steven Zaloga is one of the world's most prolific authors on armored warfare, and this collaboration with Jim Kinnear is a chance for him to revisit the most important Russian tank of World War Two, the T-34. This book benefits from the newly-accessible Russian state records and photo archives and also incorporates much new material from the former Warsaw Pact countries. Structured like most Concord armor books, it opens with a short but detailed history of Russian tank development, followed by hundreds of wartime photos with extensive captions giving (where known), the date, location and units involved. Photo reproduction is excellent, on glossy paper. The book opens with coverage of the T-28, a ridiculous prewar design with three gun turrets, but the bulk of the book is devoted to the T-34-76, the T-34-85, and the self-propelled gun variants on the T-34 chassis. The last section covers the ugly duckling of the family, the T-44, which was a technical disappointment, but served as a testbed for the very successful T-54 and T-55 series of the postwar era. The book also features a color center section with drawings of operational tanks in full markings and camouflage. In combination with Mr. Zaloga's other books from Osprey and Squadron publishing, you will have a very comprehensive depiction of the war's most-numerous tank. Highly recommended.

This book is a photo journal of the Soviet medium Tanks in World War II. Photos of tanks in action and destroyed. The tanks and their developement during the war is very well done. 16 color plates for the modeler. The text and captions are first rate. Mr. Zaloga did a great job once again.