Stuart Books

Every now and then there is a book that a reviewer can wholeheartedly recommend as being both practical and a genuine contribution to the way in which we think and act. This is one of them. It offers an extremely valuable typology with which to think about and develop the leadership role, based firmly on the imperative of a solid basis of core values. An invaluable tool for developing the leadership function in organisations and skills in individuals.

Stuart Wells offers a deceptively simple and very rich framework for thinking about the leadership function and for building personal and organisational leadership capacity, consisting of nine management roles, framed within three foci of managerial effort and three principal leadership processes. The whole of the book is an explanation and elaboration of the model.

Points to notice about the model are:

* first, that the explicit articulation and demonstration of a coherent set of core values lies at the base of the effectiveness of all the roles;

* second, that the author is concerned with roles, all of which contribute in different ways to the success of the organisation, that collectively make a difference to organisational success and that may be exercised cooperatively by different people within a team or group. The model is not about the superhuman abilities of the 'hero' leader;

* third, that each role lies at the intersection between one of three leadership processes and three foci of managing effort - at different times and in different situations different combinations of roles may be critical to moving forward. Each role is itself distinctive and different from the others;

* fourth that the nine roles are learnable, but that in each individual they will be differentially developed and each individual with have natural preferences, strengths and weaknesses.

The model is focused on observable roles and their impact, rather than on: * the inner qualities of a leader (eg Jaworski 'Synchronicity'), * the stance of a leader in relation to the authoritarian/participative continuum (eg Bower 'The Will to Lead'), or * the way in which a network of leadership may be developed within an organisation (e.g. Senge: 'The Dance of Change').

These different perspectives are complementary to each other. Wells' distinctive contribution is to separate the discussion of important and continuing roles from the mythology of the 'hero' leader that is implicit or explicit in so much writing about leadership.

The author's claims for the book are modest. He explicitly recognises that leadership is learned from practice, not from books and he offers the book as a guide to self assessment and a guide to building practice and confidence in each role.

Its really good book, it touches the most important issues about electromagnetic with out getting into much details. The other useful feature of this book is that there are some dedicated chapters about transmission lines, wave guides, antennas and brief microwave engineering. Great book, I havent found any that explains this hard subject in a very down to earth langauge that makes it easy to understand...
This books also, combine between the electromagentics theory and its applications, which u surely wont find in any other books(bonus).
I recommend this book for those who are new to the field or just started taking some microwave engineering courses. This book is an official textbook for "RF lines and antennas" course at my university

Ley lines, feng shui has its chi... but what about underlying relationship of earth to man? This book really is a welcome addition to understanding relationship of life, especially the earth(land- Gaia) with man (his activities and responses). When you thought you knew it all, along comes a work that puts a whole new dimension to life. It's a great book for youth to adults. Not new age(y) -- but does put things into perspective.
A must read, seminal work.
Spiritual yet non denominational, what all religions have as a foundation-- yet not a religious book.
Refreshing and a book to have as your own. Beautifully printed, a quality paper and finishing. Illustrations are (as needed to describe the first ever published material) very detailed. Set up as a workbook with large format and a place to put in your own observations. Well designed visually. Three other authors apply the information and extend it into other rhelms.

an interesting and fast moving book that takes you from the midwest to the high seas. Exciting and a real page turner. Found the plot a fascinating plan.

A late 1980's general summary of the different types of gangs found in the San Diego area. There are 85 pages on street gangs organized by ethnic groups with brief explanations of gang culture. Also included are 15 pages on occult groups, involved with magic, and 35 pages about satanic cults. The last 100 pages are advertisements from local San Diego merchants.

This is a collection of Sherlockian tales in which, to quote David Stuart Davies' Forward, "Ghosts may apply." Each of the tales involves some `supernatural' element, a Djinn, a Vampire, a painting, quite a variety of individuals and items. In fact, Chico Kidd and Rick Kennett's "The Grantchester Grimoire" is only the second pastiche I know of that pairs Holmes and Hodgson's Carnacki the Ghost Finder in a single tale. Further, each tale is written by one who knows Holmes and Watson intimately, which makes them disturbing at the very least.

The stage is set by the opening tale, "The Lost Boy," by Barbara Hambly. When the Darling children disappear, Mr. Darling consults Sherlock Holmes and Mrs. Darling goes to an old friend who, like her, knew Peter Pan from her youth. At the end of this sad and lovely story, one is left wondering who, exactly, was "The Lost Boy" of the title.

Each of the tales has its own context and viewpoint. Nothing carries across from one to the next except the certainty that things will be not quite what they seem. The sheer nastiness of the villain in Christopher Sequeira's "His Last Arrow" is balanced by the delight of an aged Holmes in his (2nd?) meeting with Count Dracula in Bob Madison's "Red Sunset." Martin Powell's "Sherlock Holmes in the Lost World" gives new meaning to `Non-stop Adventure' with a surprise villain thrown in as an extra. Strictly speaking, Chris Roberson's "Merridew of Abominable Memory' has no supernatural element, but it is a true horror story and it fits right in with the rest of the collection.

As is true with most anthologies, some tales appeal to one taste and some to another. This group seems well mixed, with a variety of approaches and themes. I have mostly commented on those stories that appealed to me. There was, however, one perfectly marvelous tale by Kim Newman called "The Red Planet League" that deserves special attention. It is told by "...your humble narrator - Colonel Sebastian `Basher' Moran ..." and it is worth the reading if only for the delicious villainies of `Basher.' Of the eleven tales included, all are worth reading and several will stand up to re-reading. The only bad feature I found was the quality of the binding on my copy, which seems to induce cover curl.

Reviewed by: Philip K. Jones, October, 2008.

The sequel to "Comes The End", William Creed's "The Gathering" is the second volume in a series of Christian adventure novels specially written to inspire and entertain aficionados of tautly written Christian fiction. Devout believers Andy Moore and his companion Stephanie must put their faith to the test, as biblical miracles reappear in the End Times and God's grace and power manifests upon the earth to do battle against Evil. A dramatic and exciting saga.

In this work the author gives detailed evidence for the ascent of Witchcraft set out in his previous volume The History of Witchcraft and Demonology. The epidemic that occurred is treated as it appeared in various countries. Comprehensive chapters deal with Greece, Rome, England, Scotland, New England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. An excellent resource for understanding how witch mania spread through Europe as it did.

I've used Verb Wheels for years. They have lots of information in one place. There is no book to carry around and thumb through, and there are dozens of basic verbs available without turning a page. It's too bad that the Portuguese Verb Wheel is no longer available. Portugue

The book chronicles the morning of a young girl, as seen through the eyes of her dog. The dog counts the minutes it takes this reluctant riser to get ready to go. On each page, there is a number line showing two activities and the number of minutes it takes. At the bottom of each page is a cumulative number line showing how long the girl has taken so far. Kids love counting the marks on the number lines!