Ward Books

I picked this book up because I was getting ready to consult with a family-owned firm about their strategy. My previous strategy consulting work has been with startups, small and medium sized and Fortune 500 firms. I knew that helping senior managers develop their business strategy might be an entirely different matter when the firm was a private, family held enterprise.

This book opened my eyes to the unique challenges of family businesses. It helped me understand the compromises that must be made when looking at the business strategy options for family firms. Most importantly, it helped me understand that the health of the family and the relationships between the generations was more important than pure business strategy thinking. This is exactly the insight that I was looking for. I learned much more than I expected and am deeply appreciative of the authors' exceptional insights and recommendations.

What I did not expect was that this would also be a first rate book for thinking about strategy. If you know nothing about strategic planning, this book is a great primer. If, however, you know a lot about strategic planning, and I started my career with McKinsey & Company in 1981, you will be amazed at how well the authors have summarized and simplified a wide range of very powerful idea.

Their goal was to help family members with different levels of business expertise understand some of the most powerful thinking about strategic planning so they could participate in spirited discussions about the future of their family firm's strategy. This book reminds me of Porter's Competitive Strategy as the authors have made strategic planning accessible to the masses while retaining the power of the analytical tools that are at its heart.

You will find that this book is a treasure trove of powerful insights in a very compact package. Thank you for doing such an outstanding job, John and Randel. I don't know you, but I really appreciate your gift to business owners, family members, business school professors, consultants and students.

Balancing the needs of a business and the family that controls it might seem like an overwhelming task, unless you tackle the challenge with a clear-headed plan. Randel S. Carlock and John L. Ward provide just such an approach by mapping out the strategies and structures needed to make a family business run smoothly. In so doing, they address family conflict, executive succession, ownership schemes and a host of other issues that can make or break a family business. We from getAbstract highly recommend this book too for its practical and applicable methods of striking a balance between the needs of business and the needs of family.

MY RATING SYSTEM:

* - if you have to chose between torture and reading this book, then you might want to consider reading the book - although it depends on just how severe the torture would be.

** - if you've lost your job and have quite a bit of free time on your hands, and don't have anything else better to do, then you might want to consider reading this book; don't expect to learn much or really be entertained. It will however, help you pass the time until your death.

*** - meh...I'm indifferent. Reading this book will not alter your life in any significant way, yet it is not so horrendously dreadful that your taking the time to read it will be a complete waste of time.

**** - Good book to great book zone here. You should probably read this book if you have some spare time. This book could be interesting, entertaining, or informative.

***** - Outstanding book! Make time to read this book - you'll learn or be entertained or intrigued. The book might even be good enough to provide original or helpful insights into the world that we live in.

REVIEW:

I have read extensively about family businesses, including just about everything by Professor Ward, and Strategic Planning for the Family Business is perhaps my favourite guidebook for family businesses.

Rather than being merely a 'story book' about the successes and failings of other family businesses (don't get me wrong, these sorts of books are immensely helpful in assisting families in identifying their own problems and relating to those of families in similar situations), this book provides mountains of practical information that can help families in business plan and prepare for the demands of being involved with a family business.

Unfortunately, most families do not take the time to consider and address even the most simple issues that can destroy their business and their family. This book serves as an excellent reference guide for families that want to be proactive about dealing with the issues that have the potential to cause severe damage. Go through the exercises in the book together - - there is probably no better way to begin ensuring the future success of your family business

A must read for anyone in a family business - it has the potential to stimulate a lot of discussion. Also highly recommended for those working in consulting/professional relationships with family businesses.

This is a great book filled with short stories showing the weakness and strengths of women. These women are not your usual women - some are soldiers, some sorceress and others just plain ole women who are thrown into an extraordinary situation and prevail, or do they? They don't all end with the typical fairy tale ending. This book is the first in a series of 21 books. My favorite story is the Thorn and Frostflower involving travel to other worlds by Phyllis Karr.

Sword and Sorceress is the original. This book has given rise to a series spanning 15 other books, and set the precedent for all future books in the series. All the stories in S&S I are about stong female characters, but the stories are diverse. Some are written by men, some by women. Some have only a female protagonist, others have male and female protagonists working together. The protagonist's talents range from shapeshifting, to magic, to swordsmanship. Or should I say swordswomanship? All in all, Bradley has put together a collection of stories that will entertain every fantasy reader. I was especially pleased to find so much variety and quality in one anthology. I like Bradley's novels, and as an editor she is no less disapointing. I highly reccommend any books in the S&S series!

Women read fantasy too. Beloved author/editor Marion Zimmer Bradley created this anthology in 1984 to address just that issue. At a time when women's fantasy was just beginning to make its mark, MZB created an anthology to define the emerging female protagonist. In her introduction, MZB makes it clear that she wanted to avoid the stereotypical Amazon-type heroine who ultimately gave up her freedom to win love. She didn't simply want recreate the old cliché turned upside down-where the men are subservient to women. She wanted stories that gave women new myths to identify with, powerful stories that could be worth consideration by the men and women who read them. This collection is not your average "feminist literature", these are stories that feature warriors, magic-users, healers and thieves-the women of fantasy, the kind of women to give a new generation of fantasy readers characters to see parts of themselves in, and ultimately make readers think.

MZB must have been onto a good thing. In the nearly twenty years since the first publication, there have been 19 Sword and Sorceress anthologies to date. Having read all of these anthologies, I can honestly say that this remains one of the best. The originality of the stories, the quality, the variety; all of these elements make this particular shine out from the group. Out of the fifteen stories, four are written by men, including well-recognized authors Glen Cook and Charles de Lint. MZB prefaces each story with a short blurb about the author and a few comments of her own. These paragraphs, along with her introduction, enable readers to catch the glimpse of MZB's personality and some insight into why she chose the particular stories she's included in this anthology. It becomes clear that each story was selected with care, polished and set in place to augment this anthology. There are no "filler" stories here.

Readers skimming the contents will quickly recognize quite a few of the author names; Glen Cook, Emma Bull, Charles de Lint, Jennifer Roberson and Diana Paxson to name a few. For Emma Bull and some of the other authors listed, this is their first sale. That is an additional bit of delight in these earliest Sword and Sorceress anthologies. So many writers made their first sale, or were just beginning their careers at the time. As to the stories themselves, they are as varied as the authors. For sword and sorcery duos, "The Garnet and the Glory" by Phyllis Ann Karr and "The Rending Dark" by Emma Bull are good examples. For darker, emotionally charged reads, try "Severed Heads" by Glen Cook, or "Sword of Yraine" by Diana L. Paxson. On the lighter side there is "Taking Heart" by Stephen L. Burns, "Daton and the Dead Things" by Michael Ward, and the finale of the anthology, a short-short story by Dorothy J. Heydt, "Things Come in Threes". My particular favorite story-although I admit it is hard to choose just one, all of them have had a powerful impact-is "With Four Lean Hounds" by Pat Murphy. This is a beautiful, fairy-tale-esque story that is as powerful in its message as in its unfolding adventure.

Any reader who loves good fantasy, particularly short stories will likely enjoy this. Women readers especially-but in no way exclusively will appreciate the chance to read about women as protagonists of the epic fantasy story. When this was first published, there were much fewer female fantasy writers and stories available. This has changed dramatically over the intervening two decades. Despite that, it does not diminish the quality of this first anthology-and the stories remain as strong today as they were when published. On a side note-these are all fantasy reads-MZB as a rule does not include science fiction stories in any of her anthologies, although the right story can make her break the rule just a bit. If you can find this anthology, buy it-read it and treasure it.

Happy Reading!

no really its got great walk throughs for the gold levels but i wouldnt use this guide on the regular levels of TR II.

This book will help you through the rough spots of the game, if you ever get stuck. It is not to be used to finish the game without playing it through at least once. If you did, it would not be any fun.

If you are playing Tomb Raider, you almost *have* to use a guide...this one is very good. It's not perfect--there are a couple of places where the recommended action doesn't work (you just have to experiment). Also there are some pick-ups that they forgot to mention, but those were relatively easy to find. This guide is exactly the same as Tomb Raider II: Prima's Official Stategy Guide, but with the addition of the gold levels (of course). Eventhough each walk-through comment includes a color screen shot, sometimes it's hard to recognize exactly where it is--it may depend on exactly how you're facing. I didn't find that to be a major problem. I liked the extra tips and comments outside of the actual walk-through. There are no comments in the book about the training level (Lara's home). That "level" has a couple of spots that could have used a comment or two. Despite the minor shortcomings, if you have Tomb Raider II Gold, you'd be hard pressed to find a better guide.

This is an excellent book packed with photos and information. I don't know why Amazon has this book listed at a whopping $85. I just met Noel Neill at Wonder-Con in San Francisco where Noel Neill & the author Larry Thomas Ward both signed it and it cost me $30 which is the retail price printed on the back page. 1-800-574-7438 is the number listed on the inside cover for ordering additional copies. I'd try that number before paying $85 through Amazon for it even though it is well worth it at that price too.

'Truth, Justice, & The American Way: The Life And Times Of Noel Neill' by Larry Thomas Ward is an absolute, must have book for afficionados of the classic television series 'The Adventures Of Superman' (1951 - 1957), which starred George Reeves and Noel Neill.

Movie fans will discover that Noel Neill had made over 80 feature films, and starred as Lois Lane in two Columbia studios serials, 'Superman' (1948) and 'Atom Man Vs Superman' (1950), prior to the famed TV show. Ms. Neill joined the watershed series in it's second season and made 78 episodes, a special U.S. Treasury Dept. 'Superman' film selling savings bonds, as well as extensive personal appearances with Reeves and the TV cast!

This book contains hundreds of rare and never before published photographs from Ms. Neill's personal collection. It also has an exhaustive and detailed listing of Noel Neill's film, TV, and stage credits! Mr. Ward's writing skillfully transports the reader back to the golden days of Hollywood, and in the delicate footsteps of Noel Neill!

Noel Neill does not place herself in the controversy surrounding the mysterious death of George Reeves, as to whether it was a homicide or suicide. However, she does describe in detail the final days of Mr. Reeves and the television series, leaving unmistakable clues to the discerning reader to follow. Several books have been written on the bizarre, violent death of George Reeves, but Noel Neill and author Larry Thomas Ward recommend only one for the reader interested in seeking the truth!

"Truth Justice & The American Way' covers the fascinating life of Noel Neill and readers will enjoy this journey.

"Truth, Justice and the American Way" is a must-have book for fans of the original Superman TV series. Written by Larry Thomas Ward in close collaboration with Noel Neill, the book gives an insider's view into the making of one of the most famous TV series of all time - not to mention the two Superman serials that preceded it. The book is a quick, breezy read, and my only complaint is that when I finished it, I wanted more. The portrait of Noel Neill that emerges from this book is of an independent but upbeat and relentlessly cheerful actress. Readers who remember her only as Lois Lane will be suprised to learn of her career as a singer and dancer. If only that cut scene from "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" could be found...

Thomas Molnar's _Utopia: The Perennial Hesesy_ explains the fundamental errors and wickedness of utopian thought. Utopianism applies to the idea that mankind will experience a state of bliss and harmony in this world, in this life, after certain things happen as a result of a determined process of history. Although _The Perennial Heresy_ was published in 1967, it still remains relevant to today, especially because of Molnar's insight as to how improved communications technology (he mentions the first computers in development at that time) would appear to validate utopian prospects of a united, mechanized mass-humanity. Religious utopians, like numerous heretical offshoots in the Middle Ages and Reformation period, believed Christ's return was eminent and would establish a worldly rule of saints before the final judgement. Secular utopians, on the other hand, believe a utopia is the inevitable outcome of material, social, economic, psychological, evolutionary (and as in the case of Nazism, racial) forces working toward a climax of history where all men would live in harmony. The foremost and most influential utopian theorists were of course Rousseau, Marx, Engels, Condorcet, Saint-Simon, the Gnostics, Joachim of Fiore, and in the religio-evolutionary sphere, Telihard de Chardin. Chardin, a Jesuit paleontologist, wrote of the evolution of God, mankind and Christ into a cosmic whole, an "Omega point" where mankind would realize his Godhood. Marx and Engels wrote of the eradication of religion (along with other societal institutions like government and the arts) in society as a precursor and necessity for the coming Communist collective paradise. A utopia, a literal "nowhere," implies an end to progress, and development. Man, a finite, material, temporary being has replaced the transcendent, immortal God as the repository of Divinity. The highest authority in human affairs would be recognized as the State (in power because it supposedly represents Rousseau's "will of the people") to which all must share allegiance. Any who do not comply must be forced out or eliminated. There is no conception of freedom of choice or independent action outside of the boundaries set by the State. The "heresy" of utopian thought is essentially the denial of free will, the replacement of faith (something that is not materially certain, or can be proved so) with a rigid historical, dialectical determinism. Since religion, especially the Christian conception of God, is unacceptable for social progressivism, it must be openly abolished (Revolutionary France, Soviet Union) or subverted to accommodate for the interests of the State (Western democracies). Molnar labels utopianism "evil," and goes to a length to justify that harsh appellation. Utopianism entitles a control upon, if not an outright war against, human nature, which is and remains imperfect in this time, in this life. The entire experience of human existence, embracing family life, reproduction, race, nationality, culture, religion, geography, climate differences, scarcity of resources, division of labor, social deviance, etc., negates against utopian sameness, unity and conformity to a collective mass. Indeed, utopian thought, even in its present American technical cybernetic variety, relies upon ancient Gnostic beliefs (a topic to which Molnar constantly refers) in a universal pantheistic monad-a oneness of God, physical material, humanity and its intellect coalescing at the culmination of time. It is totally opposed to the doctrine of the Trinity, of God's three Persons of one Essence, Father, Son and Holy Sprit, which created the cosmos as it exists and operates. The utopian dream of a perfect society and perfect world is a revolt against _being_, against existence itself.

Utopia, the Perennial Heresy is a very original and thorough criticism of modernity, in particular some of the political movements that can be traced to the enlightenment. The hypothesis of the book is that the overwhelming self-confidence of the utopian visionary and his/her belief in creating a perfect world on earth is by its essence at odds with the Christian understanding of human nature (in particularly the idea of a personal God and that of original sin). Based on this hypothesis TM argues that utopian ideals (Christian and non-Christian alike) inevitably lead to exclusion or isolation of those members of society who dare to question and think independently, the favouring of mediocrity over natural talent, and the disappearance of privacy. On an official level the accompanying result is extensive bureaucracy. The criticism is aimed not only at the most obvious examples (Marxism, Nazism) but also at some of the symptoms exhibited by present-day USA and Western Europe such as political correctness, the dominance of the so-called "left" in the arts, media, and academia.

My only problem with the book was that in the industrialized societies of the early 19th century there was a strong need to address the ills of capitalism. TM's criticisms of Marx (who attempted to address them) seem to be valid, but as far as every day problems of the era (as opposed to philosophical issues) are concerned, I believe the followers of traditional Christian teachings was too self-absorbed, ence of little use to many.

Nevertheless, given the present situation, the book is a real mind-opener, and an appeal to balance and modesty! Even if one is not willing to go along with its hypothesis the careful analyses in the book devoted to each idea presented (and there are many, from modern Christian thinkers to Pantheism and Buddhism) provides a constant intellectual stimulus. TM manages to present what is essential, and at the same time not get lost in the details. The references chosen by TM are also a great basis for further study!

Utopia, the Perennial Heresy is a very original and thorough criticism of a common human tendency: attempting to create a perfect world. The hypothesis of the book is that the overwhelming self-confidence of the utopian visionary and his/her belief in creating a perfect world is by its essence at odds with the Christian (Augustinian) understanding of human nature (in particularly the idea of a personal God and that of original sin). Based on this hypothesis TM argues that societies built upon utopian ideals (Christian and non-Christian alike) inevitably lead to exclusion or isolation of those members of society who dare to question and think independently, the favouring of mediocrity over natural talent, and the disappearance of privacy. On an official level the accompanying result is the growth of bureaucracy. The criticism is aimed not only at the most obvious examples (mainly Marxism) but also at some of the symptoms exhibited by present-day Western societies such as political correctness, the dominance of ideological bias in the arts, media, and academia.

Even if one is not willing to go along with the hypothesis of the work, it has to be acknowledged that TM definitely places what he has to say on solid foundations. Not only is a wealth of ideas and their historical contexts presented in this book (which alone makes it of great educational value) the critical examinations from such an original point of view turn each analysis into real food for thought.

PHP is an easy scripting language for creating web features, but like any software it has its quirks. That's where WICKED COOL PHP: REAL-WORLD SCRIPTS THAT SOLVE DIFFICULT PROBLEMS comes into play. It's for those who have some experience with the scripting program but need more specifics to tweak applications. From scripts to process credit cards, template HTML and serve dynamic images to tracking visitors with cookies and editing images and text, WICKED COOL PHP is packed with tips and comes from two experienced PHP developers: perfect for any computer collection catering to PHP users.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I saw this book on a friends desk and shamelessly took it before he had a chance to read it. I have many php books on my bookshelf, too many. I can now remove quite a few and replace them with this book.

When I first glanced through this book, I was intrigued by the way it was laid out. There are 12 chapters covering many topics that php programmers should know about their language and how browsers interact with a web server using php. Each chapter has many sections that cover a specific topic and most have very useful code examples. The extra feature is a part labeled: "What can go Wrong?". This is a great time saver on how to deal with common issues that might come up when you are working on your php script and implementing the example code. Most of the issues have really good explanations of how and why something could go wrong. What makes this book a real keeper is that they have the "why" explanations. I've always hated it when books tell you to do something a certain way, but never go into any depth on WHY you should do it one way or another. This book has the WHY covered very well for a great number of the examples.

The style of the book makes it easy to read and learn from the examples. In my case, it makes it easy to pickup, read a few pages when I get the chance and then put it down again. I find it easy to pick up right where I left off and keep reading right on to the next example. I like the humor level too. Often authors can get a little too cutesy with their wit and humor. I find that to be a real turn off. William and Brian (The authors) do a great job of keeping the humor light and laughable.

I just made some room on my busy book shelf for this book of 76 time-saving, problem-solving php scripts. I hope my friend doesn't ask for it back...

'Wicked Cool PHP: Real-World Scripts That Solve Difficult Problems' is a fantastic PHP cookbook that is written exactly the way I like books to be written:

- it's fun to read and learn from
- content is broken up logically at the right points
- layout and design is a joy on the eyes and brain
- length is around 200 pages which is within the 2-3 (hundred) range that I like most books to be

Content is broken up over 12 chapters:

01. Basic script stuff
02. Configuring PHP
03. PHP Security
04. Form Fun
05. Text & HTML
06. Dates
07. Files
08. User and Session Tracking
09. Email Excitement
10. Image Tasks
11. Using cURL to talk to web services
12. Other Stuff

The audience for this book hits the rare area of ALL developers from the expert to the newbie to the weekend hacker. There are 76 scripts contained within that nearly anyone could find useful in any project.

I love No Starch books because they don't feel like reference materials, rather they package it in a fun way from the glossy cover to smart design. No Starch gets 'it' when it comes to what geeks want and PHPites you will WANT this book!!

***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

As John Nunn said in his book,understanding chess move by move, those Dragon addicts would never abandon this opening. I just wonder if Chris Ward's claim that Dragon is such a POWERFUL weapon in Sicilian, why supergrandmaster ( those rating above 2650 ) would not use it, and still stick to Najdorf, there must be some reasons on that. Though Kasparov used it as a surprise weapon against Anand in 1995 was successful, but this is just one-off show. Later Kasparov still sticked to Najdorf. So my impression is that Dragon may be good at club level player, for encountering one of those supergrandmaster, I think as Bobby Fischer's comment in " My 60 memorable games", you would be slained!! I always wonder if there is another Bobby Fischer or Fischer re-juvanted in nowaday, all Dragon player would be killed instinctly if they dare to use Dragon defense against him!! Anyway, I still give 5 stars to this book for the clear writing and enthusiasm from Chris Ward.

This book has just the right mix of theory and analysis as well as tactical themes. Unlike some books (such as The Complete Dragon and Ultimate Dragon by Gufeld and Stetsko) this book focuses primarily on white systems against the Dragon and offers one or two systems against each of White's systems. It also covers early deviations once the basic Dragon position has been reached (1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cd4 4. Nd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6). It includes some brilliant wins by Black (which is what the reader should strive to emulate) as well as some examples of Black players underestimating the potential strength of White's kingside attack.

There is even a section on anti-Sicilians which help the reader to find lines in which play is similar to that of the Dragon so that the reader does not have to sift through pages of an opening reference to find an antidote.

All in all, a great buy for players looking to add the Dragon to their repertoire.

Chris Ward is an expert on the Dragon. This is the second edition of the book and he has other publications on the subject, at least one video and a website where paying customers get his latest analysis. Above all he has the incredible ability to present the Dragon in all its beauty. Chris style is original, funny and makes learning the Dragon a pleasure.

This book presents complete sample games on each variation and there is an index at the end with the opening tree. One caveat: the book does not deal with the anti-Sicilians. For that you need to look elsewhere. Chris only presents a few pages on this subject and as soon as the word gets out that you are a strong Dragon player, guess what? Your opponents start playing the closed Sicilian or an anti-Sicilian. I hope on the third edition he takes a deeper look on this issue.

If you only buy one book on the Dragon, get this one.

Titilating stuff from the master of the Conte crayon bound in spectacular fashion inside this huge tome. The book is dazzlingly thorough in its collection of archive material charting the career of Ward with in depth and informative writing.
The artwork is displayed in its most suitable form, I recently bought a pocket sized collection of Ward's work and it is practically useless in comparison to this full size collection. Having the pictures displayed at this large scale allows you to see just how he worked and just how fluid and confident an artist he was.
A must for pin-up fans or alternatively anyone who wants to show off with their taste in giant books.

This is, to borrow from its title, a wonderful book. The huge (13 3/4" x 10 1/2" )tome contains nearly 400 pages, printed on nicely textured photos, crammed with trilingual text and hundreds of illustrations, many of them in full-page size, both in color and black-and-white (actually sepia). As the other reviewer has noted, there isn't any overlap between this book and _The Glamour Girls of Bill Ward_, so you can safely get both of them to have an excellent, wide-ranging collection of Ward's work. As with the other work, the core of this book is the middle section containing nearly 200 drawings from Ward's glory days between 1947 and 1967, featuring the voluptuous, gorgeously dressed glamour girls that he's most famous for. The book contains extensive samples from his early work (featuring his well-known "good girl art" character Torchy) and his later, more explicitly sexual projects, but the reader can easily see that Ward's heart and enthusiasm belonged to his beloved glamour girls; the later nude cartoons are as skillfully executed as his classic cartoons, but in my own opinion, lack much of the spirit that animated his great 1950's and 1960's works (indeed, Ward was known to admit that he did much of the later work strictly for the money, particularly the BDSM drawings which form a big part of his later oeuvre). Again, it was the Ekbergesque glamour girls that he loved drawing best, and the reader gets a thoroughly satisfactory helping of them here. Expensive (though not as much so as the out-of-print hardback edition of _Glamour Girls_), but very much worth the money. Strongly recommended.

It's unfortunate that Bill Ward's most well known pin-up work appeared in down-market, scruffy, digest-sized magazines because it meant that he was not considered with the big names like Varga, Petty or Elvgren and many others who created 'painted ladies'. This huge book (check out the dimensions, above especially the thickness: two inches) will most likely become the standard reference to his work though.

The book divides his career into three sections; the early years show work for various comic book publishers and his Torchy title where you can clearly see the origins of his later glamour style. The second section has 180 of his Conte crayon cartoons for Abe Goodman's various Humorama digest-size titles and this is the art that Ward is famous for.

Between 1947 and 1967 he claims to have drawn more than seven thousand of these sexy females and despite the large number they are each worth serious money to collectors. These drawings are one, two or four to a page and printed in sepia with white highlights. Another book of his work 'The Glamour Girls of Bill Ward' (ISBN 1560975318) has about 116 Conte drawings all one to a page and nicely doesn't seem to have any pictures duplicated with this Kroll book. If you can take your eyes of the dames you'll notice how Ward used embossed wallpaper samples to create curtains, cushions and sometimes filmy negligees by putting the sample under his drawing paper and rubbing the Conte crayon across the relevant area.

The third section of the book covers work after Humorama and here I think his style lacks the creativity of the Conte work. There are plenty of examples of paperback covers, color cartoons, comics, covers to porno magazines and a real surprise, the 1954 Lili St. Cyr lingerie catalog where Ward created precise model drawings with Lili's face on each.

At the front of the book Eric Kroll writes a fascinating fifty-page introduction with many quotes from the artist and illustrated with plenty of artwork and photos, in this beautifully designed and printed book devoted to the glamour work of Bill Ward.

Finally, a thorough treatment of this critical area! Ward does an excellent job of describing what makes product/service development so unique in telecommunications. I also believe the book does a very good job of explaining how to **improve** processes so the organization is optimized for service creation.

If you truly understand (or need to understand) the challenges and sometimes, the pain, in getting telecom services deployed to rate-payers and subscribers, you will appreciate this book. As one who has lived through aspects of this, I enjoyed the reading it. In fact, recommended it to one manager who had his whole team read it!

This book is foundational for anyone who desires to understand the right way to develop product and services in telecom/network centric companies.

There are plenty of books on new product development, but very few on service development. Fewer still -- in fact non-existent until now -- are books on telecommunications service development. This book was written to fill that void and to provide a much needed methodology for those involved in bringing new communication-based services to market.

"World-Class Telecommunications Service Development" begins by examining why traditional product development methodologies -- methodologies which have gained acceptance in the discrete manufacturing world -- don't apply to an industry where the product is not a tangible commodity but rather an 'always-on' service. Here, the product being developed and delivered is primarily a set of business processes. Indeed, this role of 'process' is so central to what's involved in developing products for this industry that it serves as the book's main message and theme ("in telecom, the process is the product").

If we accept the role of processes in the development of new services, then we need to understand what's involved in actually creating these systems-based, inter-departmental delivery processes. Re-working a manufacturing model won't do the job. What's needed are logical product and process models designed specifically for this environment in this time.

In this book, you'll discover some proven (albeit high-level) approaches for logically modeling new services. You'll also learn techniques for managing the complex and highly cross-disciplinary process known as product development across the entire enterprise. Weaving together hands-on, structured models and methods with valuable management techniques and insights, this book offers a blend of information needed for any person -- whether at the executive, engineering, marketing or product management level -- involved in bringing new products to market.

The book is organized into 7 sections:

Part I looks at today's telecommunications services industry and at some of the characteristics that make this industry unique.

Part II offers a product development framework consisting of three separate but related perspectives. The first two of these perspectives involve the product -- the network service and the service delivery process. The third perspective -- the product development process -- is the process by which a company brings these two parts together in the creation of a new product.

Part III looks at how providers decide what products to build. In this section, issues involved in evaluating, defining, structuring and packaging the product are considered.

Part IV examines the processes of service delivery. Here, the individual processes that make up the end-to-end service delivery view are identified and reviewed, with a discussion on what's involved in linking these processes together.

Part V considers what's at stake in developing systems-based business processes. This section explores some of the issues providers face in integrating and automating their service delivery systems and processes.

Part VI examines what is required within the organization to launch and support the product. This section looks at the last three phases of the development cycle: development, implementation and launch. (The three preceding phases, opportunity analysis, feasibility and definition, are covered in earlier sections).

Part VII concludes with a discussion on organizational issues, and on ways organizations can make their development efforts more effective. This section includes chapters on effective team building and rapid development approaches. It ends with some thoughts on what it means to be a world-class service provider.

eward@wardassociates.net

Until now there's been almost nothing on this subject. The author has done an outstanding job of bringing together diverse information and adding her own experiences. She's made a valuable contribution to an area rarely written about - telecommunications service development. Ms. Ward's Framework for Telecommunications Service Development provides an invaluable tool to the way successful organiztions should take an idea and carry it through the entire life cycle.

Zyzzack Breakthrough: The Beginning is the first novel of an epic five-book science fiction saga. A small band of research scientists, led by the youthful Dr. Steven Barrett, are sorely tested in a contest against a superior life form. The odds are stacked against them, and when the alien sentient beings known as the Zyzzack arrive, Earth and humanity itself will be dramatically changed forever. The setting of Zyzzack Breakthrough extends to the horizon of outer space, and both physical and spiritual reality, addressing even the mystery behind the meaning of life itself. Enthralling to the point of mind-bending, Zyzzack Breakthrough is a visionary journey and an enthusiastic kickoff to a grand spacefaring quintet.

I enjoyed the story about Zyzzack. It took me a on a ride and adventure to a distant strange galaxy where humankind and different forms of aliens learn to get along, maybe....

Lots of energy and excitment. Fun book for all science fiction fans.

A good summer read, I enjoyed it very much.

I like the idea of energy issues that entities from other galaxies face (makes you think about our own). Hits close to home. Also, hadn't expected a sci-fi book to engage in moral dilemmas, very thought provoking, can't wait for the next installment to see where this goes.