White Books

As a college professor and long-time test-prep tutor, I've evaluated the gamut of test-prep resources. This is, hands-down, the best math SAT book I've seen: clear, articulate, and accessible without being condescending. I was so impressed that I researched (Googled) the author, and found out that he's won several teaching awards as a high school math and science teacher in New Jersey, which may explain this book's effectiveness: it's written by a teacher who can anticipate student questions and areas of confusion, not a desk jockey. After using it with a few kids, I have decided to make it the required math text for all my student clients. I'm wondering if there'll be one for the verbal section, too..

Keller is a great author whose done his work on trying to find out ways to help students. After reviewing this book, I felt that it helped me greatly, and prepared me well for the math section of the SAT's.

Keller knows what he's talking about. As a former physics student of his I can say with complete sincerity that he's the best teacher of my high school career. He goes above and beyond because he is passionate about what he does. It consequently makes sense that his SAT prep is not only effective but extremely efficient. In the four weeks that I learned his techniques and my proficiency rapidly excelled. It makes sense. Keller takes his time to research and understand the student experience. He's a man that is constantly challenging himself with new material. The learning experience is always fresh in his mind and in this way he is able to take on a dual ability: To effectively render understanding and understand exactly where understanding will be obscured. He knows when to pause for absorption of material and when to explain further. He's gifted at his trade and the academic community is fortunate to have him.

I discovered this little book on Amazon.com and bought it for my daughter who was about to take the SAT again in the hopes of bringing up her math score. I can tell you that it worked for her. She raised her math score by 110 points! The strategies in this book work -- at least they do for the old SAT. I can't vouch for the new SAT that starts this year, but I strongly suspect the ideas will still hold.

Thank you Philip Keller for making a huge difference in my daughter's math score and putting her in the running for admission to the highly competitive colleges to which she has applied.

I just took my SAT's a couple of weeks ago. I read the book and thought it was great. Keller introduces many interesting tactics and strategies for taking the SAT. He tells the reader which questions to answer and which ones to omit if you are low on time. He creates personal plans for students who want to get a specific score. The book also has a little humor in some places. I highly recommend this book!

Ninth Month by Catherine Steinmann is abeautiful gift for an expectant mother. This book celebrates the beauty of the pregnant woman and should be an inspiration to women in this period of their lives. Fathers to be, mothers, grandmothers, other relatives and friends what a perfect gift for this very special time in a womans life. Danny Conant photographer, danny@dannyconant.com

Using the pregnant female body as a study of light and form Catherine Steinmann's artful interpretation of this subject rivals the work of the best classic photographers. The publishers of this book used every available means to present the finest quality book available on the market. This is an amazing production! Printed by one of the foremost Italian printing companies. This book is an example of the finest tritone printing available. If you love collecting high quality artbooks put this on your list.

Each photograph captures the grace and beauty of new life in process. The Ninth Month is a tremendously calming book . With its rich warm tones it is a wonderful experience for the viewer. Perfect gift for a special loved one.

Catherine Steinmann has given us a true gift - the beauty of pregnancy and the final stages of it. This is the book for all of us - mothers, fathers, children and obstetricians who help us into this world. A gift for the people you love. Steinmann is a most wonderful photographer who shoots with her heart and embraces her models with a veil of impeccably good taste. Beautifully presented this is a book to cherish and hold for a lifetime.

The Ninth Month is a beautiful collection of Catherine Steinmann's timeless images of a brief, but memorable, time in the lives of many women. The care given to reproduction of the photographs does justice to her work. A unique and wonderful book.

If you know anything about the Peanuts Gang, you cannot help but lve them. In this collection Schulz, has outdone himself again. Anyone seeking a good laugh or a smile brought to a cloudy day should take a look at this.

Here it is, a book which contains all of the Peanuts cartoons created in the year 1991. Some jokes come out flat, but most get smiles, chuckles, or even out-loud laughter for their creativity, orignality..and a good punchline always helps.

Sure, computer-generated strips are the new thing, but you can't really mess with the strip that changed comics...

I could not put this book down. A whole year of this comic is so funny. i know that i can relate to everyone of the penuts gang.

This is a most charming collection of the antics of the round-headed kid we all love. With comics from a year's worth of newspapers, including the Sundays, you'll have enough to read to keep you entertained, over and over again. Not only are the Peanuts Gang funny, but inspiring, touching, sad, and as the title indicates, sometimes even profound. With Linus' wise advice, Lucy's sassy attitude, and Snoopy's admirable imagination, Charles Shulz' creations give us insight to the most enigmatical yet simplest part of our lives: our childhoods. Read the comics once and laugh, but read them again, look into the words more, and see the other emotions buried underneath. Charles Shulz was truly a genius, and the world will miss him.

I enjoyed this so much that I read it in one sitting. I never realized how much more enyoyable the Peanuts strips would be when you read them one after another, rather than one-a-day!

Bill Mason and son Paul really get down to basics in canoe and paddling technique in this revised soft-cover paddling manual. This book is geared to those who want to learn everything there is about flat-water and white-water travelling. It's the most definitive guidebook on the market.

This is an almost perfect book - Bill Mason's love of the craft shines through homey but well-written prose, while his descriptions of canoe technique and rivercraft are generally clear and easy to follow. He obviously writes from a wealth of experience, which translates into solid advice without becoming needlessly dogmatic. As a technique book, I much prefer this to Jacobson's series of canoe texts (although those are reasonable in their own right); I especially appreciated his series of river scenarios and discussions of how to handle them.

I would really liked to have rated this 5-stars. However, the production could have been much improved. The b/w pictures accompanying the text are often poorly reproduced, with insufficient greyscale to allow them to be clearly interpretted. Additionally, a bit more editting might have spotted some inconsistent terms as well as other undefined terms. But all in all, this is one of my favorite canoe books. It certainly should have a place on the shelf of every serious paddler.

Path of the Paddle provides more than an instructional text, it introduces the reader to the art of canoeing. Mason infuses the practicality of the subject with a respectful dose of philosophic underpinnings that anyone who has ever slid a canoe onto the water's surface and experienced the joyful dance of boat, paddle and water will appreciate. There are many "how to" canoe books, covering the basic stokes and safety concerns, but this book conveys that information in a form that demonstrates the author's love for his craft.
If you want to become a canoeist, not only do I recommend this book, I recommend finding and getting the video of the same title.

Best canoeing book on the market. Not only is it a great how to guide on canoe handling, it is an excellent read for those long winter nights for the canoe enthusiast. The book imparts Bill Mason's love of the canoe. Written by a true legend in canoeing and wilderness film making.

I own both "Path of the Paddle" and "Song of the Paddle". These are the best books I have seen on canoeing, written by one of the best canoeists ever. They cover all facets of the canoe and how to use them properly. The "step-by-step" photos and the diagrams help teach proper techniques and the text is both informative and entertaining without becoming confusing or boring. Bill Mason and his son Paul have done a splendid piece of work and these books are a cherished addition to my personal library.

Of "our world, our wooden world," as O'Brian wrote in the Nutmeg of Consolation. As an O'Brian devotee who is compiling a quotation book for naval officers and mariners (The Literary Mariner; look for it next year), I have found this Muster Book to be more useful, in its own way, than even Dean King's excellent Sea of Words. King's work is mostly a wonderful timesaver--you needn't hunt up terms in other reference books--but Gary Brown's POB Muster Book is unique and indispensable: no where else will you find the attention paid to and the cross-referenced information on the characters, ships, and animals of the entire Aubrey-Maturin series (what one reviewer called the Aubreyiad, a term I like very much).

Once the book was in hand, for example, I was able very quickly to answer three questions that had been bothering me: was Awkward Davis and Awkward Davies the same man (yes); were the Dumanoirs mentioned separate characters (yes); and what were the names of the various cannon in Surprise.

There is a very useful and succinct summary outlining the entire series, and the lengthy essays on each of the major characters also walks through all the books from that character's perspective (warning: if you haven't read the Aubreyiad through, these will be spoilers). Gary Brown also makes good use of helpful references to biographies (Dean King's and Nikolai Tolstoy's--see my Amazon reviews) and to historical works. This is simply a stunning achievement.

As an academic, I was first introduced to O'Brian by a colleague who thought I might find it interesting to compare O'Brian's works to Jane Austen's. As I did so I became convinced that there was more than a chance connection between the authors' works, but with O'Brian's expansive Aubreyiad, trying to corroborate the simplest connection became so time consuming it was discouraging. I happened across the first edition of this book on Amazon, ordered it, and three published academic articles later, it may well be the most indispensable work in my library. So much so, that when a newer edition came out that included the last few novels O'Brian wrote, I had to have it. I haven't been disappointed. Whether you're a "fan" or an academic, Gary Brown's meticulous research is sure to add to your understanding and appreciation of the genius of Patrick O'Brian.

I must say that my recent purchase of "PO's Muster Book" is worth the investment. I wish I had bought it sooner.

I am not quite finished with all 20 and 1/2 volumes of the O'Brian 19th century odyssey, having only finished the first 18, but I became an Aubrey/Maturin junkie after reading the first two novels and watching the movie. Comprehending the wealth of people, places and events, real and imagined, combined with a liberal use of foriegn languages was difficult and intimidating. I was often confused, because I didn't readily remember names and places from one chapter to the next.

Fortunately, before I started no. 5, I discovered, through Amazon, the companion books advertized there. I purchased "Sea Of Words", "Harbors And High Seas" and "Patrick O'Brian's Navy". Problem solved. I constantly cross referenced my new literary tools several times a chapter to interpret the rich mix of story and detail woven together in O'Brian's romantic chronology. The downside is that I needed to carry a tote when I went to read at the coffee shop as well as use an extra chair to hold my not so portable library.

Recently, I have added "The Patrick O'Brian Muster Book" and I immediately liked using it. Actually, it could be a "stand alone" companion book, except that it is absent of maps, diagrams, pictures or a commentary on the life and times. I know that this type information is beyond the scope of "Muster" by nature, so, my other books are still important to me, just not needed by the night stand.

That said, I am pleased with the appearance, organization and thoroughness of "Muster". Formatted like Webster's, it is highly informational and allows quick alphabetical access to the who and the where along with the what and the when not as easily accomplished by the other companion books. I can quickly remind myself of the names and places and not lose track of the story in doing so. Additionally, it lists all O'Brian's books with a Cliff Notes style summary and along with each item is the cross reference of all mentions in the series by book and chapter. It has helpful optional references to deliniate the fact from fiction.

While I finish the series and re-read it, as I'm sure I will, "Muster" will be my favorite companion. Now, when I'm reading on the plane, I won't have as much baggage.

There are other companion books to Patrick O'Brian's world and works, but none better than this one. Being a foreigner and rather a recent fan, I really need the help of such books to attain at least the merest understanding of what's going on, so I own several others which I enjoyed enormously. However none is so complete and helpful as this one. Most recommendable.

Anthony Gary Brown's "The Patrick O'Brian Muster Book" is truly the ultimate literary companion volume for O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin nautical historical novels. Every serious fan of the series should get a copy. Every named person, animal, ship, or even cannon gets its own entry, very often exploring obscure references (and nicely cross-referencing multiple appearances throughout the series). This new edition of Brown's work covers the entire series, including the twenty-first volume left unfinished at O'Brian's death. It serves to enhance reading (and re-reading) the novels and will provide many hours of pleasant browsing for the serious fan.

If you've never seen a heavily annotated book, you're in for a wonderful surprise! Imagine starting your party in one section of the city, and you wander into a bar. The name of the bar, the street its on, who runs it, who they're connected to legally or illegally, and what peope might be found there are all listed. And not just the bar! Every major building, every major street, is FILLED with luscious detail so that literally you can run a campaign just moving from footnote to footnote.

Ahh... DMgasm.

If you've got access to any copy of this, cherish it! I have never seen a better compiled sourcebook.

While this is one of the best campaign add-ons in the d20 genre, marking it for sale at $695 is at best, an insult to anyone's intelligence.
This is a beautiful piece, full of life. The city breathes almost straight out of the box. The additional CD-Rom material is a blessing for those wanting even more in the way of hooks, plots, and killer devices to ensure your players are kept busy for ages. This city never gets boring. Find it somewhere else for much cheaper, however. This is ludicrous. If I wasn't still using mine I'd offer it up for $60-80 and feel secure in my sale.

I bought Ptolus because it looked like a handy way to have adventures for D&D (having little time to cook them myself). I found that the book is exceptionally good. Design in much like a travel guide; you can nearly see the streets. It is good to read, fills your minds with ideas, and seems very nice to play in (haven't played much yet). The book covers every part of the city, with enough detail to play straight from the book, or to allow you to create complex plots involving multiple power groups. The book is very pretty, well written and in hypertext. My only critic is that that the economics of the city doesn't look very solid to me, but no adventurer really cares about that. And for the things the DM and players care for, the book is wonderful. It is the kind of book that makes you want to play.

The first thing I looked at was the price tag. I'm a huge fan of Monte Cooke's works, but wasn't sure I wanted to spend that amount of cash on ANY campaign setting, let alone Ptolus. I gave this setting a chance and wasn't disappointed one bit.

City by the Spire is an amazing feat of world-building. From the history of the city, to the description of the individual city wards, to the unique personalities that populate it bring the setting to life. Included are personal notes of how Cooke introduced certain aspects into his own City of the Spire game. So it's not just a game designer giving run-of-the-mill tips or adventurer ideas: it's the experience of one gamer to another.

I also like how he incorporates classes from the D&D Basic Set into the setting without the need for special ability revisions or optional rules. The prestige classes are not numerous, but each one is appropriately balanced for gameplay, which is contrary to WOTC's current trend of supplement creation.

These elements, plus the handouts and the CD-ROM with additional gaming material, make City by the Spire a truly worthwhile investment to your gaming experience. It's worth every penny!

...well, almost the best. Actually, I'd put "Ptolus" in a tie with "Harn", the magnificent game setting by Columbia Games. But with "Harn" for low-powered, low-magic fantasy, and "Ptolus" for high-powered, high-fantasy, you're done. You really needn't buy another fantasy roleplaying supplement. (Granted, "Harn" comprises over 2 dozen separate publications, but still.)

Quite simply, given the constraint of minutely detailing a city rather than a countryside or world, it gives you everything you need. There is a teeming amount of detail, enough to make you feel like you're a Ptolusite. There are enough plot hooks and interesting adventure ideas to fill five campaigns, let alone one. And if you don't want to construct adventures yourself, there are enough actual adventures and detailed encounters to easily take a group of characters to 20th level...in fact, choosing different paths through the premade adventures, enough to take two groups to 20th.

There is also plenty of grist for the mill no matter what urban campaign style you want to run. Want to infiltrate an organization and topple it or control it? It's there. Want to play the game of thrones with the powers that be, discovering their political plots and interconnections while creating some of your own? It's there. Want to delve underground and fight magnificent monsters and take their junk? It's there. Want to save the world? It's there.

The foundational strength of Ptolus, however, lies in Monte Cook's genius. Here, he has constructed a location and backstory for that location that supports all of the wacky, high-powered conceits of the D&D universe. He started with the basic premise "If beings really lived in a D&D like universe, what would there motivations, life, and ambitions be like?" The result is a setting where it makes sense that you strap on a backpack and go spelunking to fight evil monsters, where you can walk down the street with a dire bear next to you and a glowing sword on your back,and where magicians hurl fireballs at each other in an alley. Yet, Cook has also included natural controls that would be developed by such a society so a GM's players don't simply trash the setting (Knights of the Dinner Table, anyone?)

In the final analysis, the best endorsement I can give is this: I've been collecting RPG supplements and systems for over 30 years, and rather than being my typically scattered self, all I read and use is Ptolus. It's that good. It will be the best money you've ever spent on RPGs. I promise.

This book is full of examples of brutally racial crimes that go un reported or underreported ONLY because it's Black on White. When you look at all the coverage of the Sean Bell case, the Rodney King case, the Duke "fake rape" case, the Tawna Brawley case, the Imus debacle, etc. you wonder why none of these horrible cases never became common knowledge. People like me KNOW why, but "progressives" always come up with excuses.

This is one of the most disturbing books I've read in a long time.

Some of the essays are chilling, and all are informative, well-written and compelling. There is little here in which one can take comfort.

A must-read for whites and open-minded blacks as well.

This was great book. The chapters always kept my attention. It provides great insight into a lot of different areas. This book seems to be comprised of logic and clear thinking.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3HL090FZUAIMM Hi Bernard Chapin reviewing another great book. Why do I cherish so many that I review? Selection bias...as I wouldn't spend the cash if I didn't think I'd love them.

If Horowitz and the other Neo Cons are going to rightly criticize non-whites for playing the Race Card, then they need to stop playing the anti-semite and holocaust cards themselves and stop their knee jerk lobbying for an affirmative action monstrousity like Israel.

The Rebel and the Rose is an extraordinary - and true - tale of the final days of the Confederate government, its exit from Richmond, the Confederate treasury money and the relationship between Julia Gardiner Tyler and James A. Semple. For all the books over all the years written of this era, The Rebel and the Rose manages to uncover a little known story full of interesting details and mysteries. The research put into this book is impressive. Highly recommended for those interested in the Civil War and history in general. You wont be disappointed.

Explores events which are mentioned in passing elsewhere, uncovering fascinating story. Hated to finish it, because much mystery remains. Presents facts more sympathetic to Jefferson Davis than generally understood, and adds to understanding of turbulent end of war.

For any Civil War or history enthusiast, The Rebel and The Rose is by far one of the best novels written to date. The author's writing keeps the reader locked in to each page desperate for more. While historically the whereabouts of the lost Confederate gold remains a mystery, you have to enjoy the detail for which is was written.
The book is very enjoyable, a fun read with facts and intrigue and lost rebel gold! This book is one of my absolute favorites in my Civil War collection!!

I really enjoyed reading this book. The depth of the "detective work" done by the authors is outstanding. The mystery and the relationships amongst all the individuals was developed and explained very well. Thank you for bringing this portion of the Civil War into such outstanding light.

In April 1865 the Civil War was over for most - but even after the Confederate government dissolved, one Jefferson Davis felt compelled to carry on the struggle, journeying best entrusted with all the remaining gold in the Confederate treasury: some, $86,000 in coins and bullion. It and its carriers disappeared - and their fate is revealed in THE REBEL AND THE ROSE: JAMES A. SEMPLE, JULIA GARDINER TYLER, AND THE LOST CONFEDERATE GOLD, which follows Davis' journeys and considers what happened to the gold. Both military and general-interest libraries will find it engrossing.

We loved this book by our former preschool teacher! The kids have read it so much, the pages are torn and tattered. Beautiful drawings too!

This is a very sweet story but it is the illustrations that I am really drawn to. So vivid and beautiful!

This was such a good book. The illustrations were vivid and beautiful, and the child's voice was very real. It gave my daughter a way to voice the emotions she had while saying goodbye to her father, who is in the Army. The father in the story gave his daughter a touching way to remember that they were close and she was not forgotten...by seeing the "Red, White, and Blue" in the everyday things around her. I highly recommend this book to all military families, Navy or not.

"Daddy is a navy man, a sailor man, a brave man. He's my daddy too." So begins Sarah Wones Tomp's tender book about a young girl whose father is shipping out to sea. I love the realistic interaction between the daughter who does everything she can to keep her daddy home with her and her parents. With understanding and compassion (furthered by Ann Barrow's beautiful and sensitive illustrations) father and daughter share special moments and routines that the father manages to translate into tangible ways his daughter can be close to him, even while they are physically far apart. A great book for any family facing separation due to military duty or even any long separation. Highly recommended.

This is a heartwarming story of a little girl who's dad is in the Navy. She misses her dad when he is away at sea. Her dad has some special rituals they share before he goes. He tells his daughter to write him a letter and stick it in the mailbox and to put the flag up. He says that when she looks at the flag and it's down he will be thinking of her. He also tells her to look and the clouds and think of him thinking of her under the same white sky. Then he tells her to look at the ocean and remember that he's not far way, just right across the blue ocean. She remembers Red flag, white clouds, and blue ocean while her dad is gone. This helps her to connect to him even when he's far way.

What did you like or not like about the book?

Lots of kids have parents who are way in the service of some type. They will relate to the feeling of the girl in the story well.


Would you recommend the book? Why or Why not?

Yes. It a great read aloud for classroom and story times.

To the best of my knowledge, this book offers the single best source for information and counsel on how to design a high-impact learning program that can be implemented and then sustained (with continuous improvement) at all levels and within all areas of the given organization. Better yet, as the contributors to this book (members of Accenture's Capability Development team) explain, the ROI of such a program can be both quantified and verified.

In 2001, Accenture faced a number of major challenges that are best revealed and discussed within the narrative, in context. The fact remains that, led by Donald Vanthournout, Accenture's Capability Development team began a "journey" that had to take those challenges into full account. What they learned provides the most valuable material in this book. The story of their journey is a business story: about how one company - Accenture - advanced toward high performance through learning, knowledge management and the transformation of its workforce. By extension, however, it is about how other organizations can do the same."

In recent years, senior-level executives have been much more interested in knowing how to increase and improve the nature and extent of employee engagement: "how can they best tap into the collective intelligence of their people and engage them in their work, for their benefit and the benefit of he entire enterprise?" Vanthournout and the members of his team shared a business-centric perspective. They were determined to link human capital investments to business benefits, both for Accenture and for each of its clients; to put in place the governance and leadership structures that increase a learning program's chances of success; to ensure that the actual classroom and electrinic training create what the team characterized as "phenomenal" learning experiences; and to maximize the operational efficiency of learning. According to Vanthournout, he selected members to comprise a team that "was more of a team focused more on corporate education than it was an education team trying to have a business impact."

Here are some of the key lessons that members of the Accenture team learned during their "journey,"each of which is supported by hard data rather than by firm (albeit sincere) convictions:

1. Enterprise learning must be driven with the end in mind: the business results to be achieved.

2. An enterprise should build a learning strategy founded on the core values of the organization, as well as its primary leadership values.

3. Through metrics and ROI analysis, learning investments can be linked to business performance outcomes.

4. When conducting an ROI analysis, organizations should focus on how learning improved a person's performance on the job.

5. According to Kurt Olson, a team member, "Although it may be an overused phrase now, phenomenal earning was truly the `secret sauce' for many of the outcomes we have accomplished with the learning transformation initiative at Accenture. Phenomenal learning was how all good planning and design came to life. It's how the `thinking' and the `doing' all came together to produce phenomenal results."

6. To address the increasing emphasis on business outcomes, today's learning professionals must have strong business skills.

7. Because the lifespan of learning content is shrinking as the marketplace changes more rapidly, Accenture must develop the means for faster, continuous, and more efficient content production or revision.

8. A global learning infrastructure can integrate vital decision-support functionalities that help increase the impact of learning and keep it aligned with the most important business needs.

9. Companies should focus on differentiating their workforces, creating deep skills in people that can be brought to bear anywhere around the organization.

10. Increasing the engagement of employees is important not only to retaining them and improving productivity. It is important to growth and innovation by tapping into the collective intelligence of value workers.

It is worth noting that, as a result of the efforts of the Capability Development team, working closely with senior management and countless other associates throughout the firm, "for every dollar Accenture invests in learning, the company receives that dollar back plus an additional $3.25 in measurable value to its bottom line. - in other words, a 353 percent return on learning." Literally, ROL = ROI. To repeat, Return on Learning is also about "how other organizations can do the same." Or how they can at least "use learning programs for major business impact, and can run learning as a business."

Those who share my high regard for it are urged to check out any book written by Peter Senge (notably The Fifth Discipline The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization and The Dance of Change: The Challenges to Sustaining Momentum in Learning Organizations (co-authored with Art Kleiner, Charlotte Roberts, and George Roth as well as James O'Toole's Leading Change: The Argument for Values-Based Leadership, Corporate Agility: A Revolutionary Model for Competing in a Flat World co-authored by Charles E. Grantham, James P. Ware, and Cory Williamson, Dean R. Spitzer's Transforming Performance Measurement: Rethinking the Way We Measure and Drive Organizational Success, and Enterprise Architecture as Strategy: Creating a Foundation for Business Execution co-authored by Jeanne W. Ross, Peter Weill, and David Robertson.

This concise, clearly written book describes how Accenture went from being a company that put its entire workforce through a standard suite of courses to becoming a company with a knowledge-sharing culture. Accenture's employees now embody its knowledge and service capability. Even though your company is probably different from Accenture, your workforce is still the engine that allows it to grow and compete. A company can thrive only if its people have the opportunity to constantly renew their skills. If that level of knowledge management is part of your goals, getAbstract recommends this case study of how to create a high-performance learning culture.

A great book. I'm sorry that I haven't seen it reviewed in major publications. There's a real wisdom at the heart of this book. Lots of ideas about how to deliver great training that has an impact on the business. Personal reflections from the people who work for the training organization at Accenture, all spun as a story. And then some really provocative, forward-looking ideas. Reading the book is like bringing a Trojan horse of ideas into your company.

I'm guessing that "Ed" and I (see other review) might have been at the same conference together where we received a copy of this book. I can second much of what he says, and also add that when it comes to one of my personal measures of a book's value--"number of significant ideas per page"--this book scores very high. I liked the "phenomenal learning" stuff in particular, and I also liked the discussion of Accenture's decision support capabilities that it developed as part of its learning management system.

I'd have to classify myself as one of those getting somewhat disillusioned by the big discrepancy between what a company's leaders say about their workforce ("People are our most important asset, yadda yadda yadda") and where they really invest their money. (Guess what budgets get cut first when things get tight?) I don't know enough about Accenture's inner workings from an employee's perspective to know if it's business really rises above that, but it is clear they are wrestling with it, and that certain core leaders really do "get" it.

There are practical ideas in this book and there are some "big vision" kinds of ideas -- something for about everyone.

I finished this book on a cross-country flight this week (the book is admirably short and punchy) and I'm still shaking my head over it. The book is incredibly honest about how business change and a down economy had apparently temporarily weakened Accenture's commitment to its workforce to provide training and development opportunities. (Actual quote from the book, when Accenture's Chief Learning Officer is trying to convince his executives that something had to be done: "The deal we have made with our people has been broken.")

But then the book proceeds to tell an entirely believable story of how they turned things around. Sure, there is the ocasional bit of consulting-speak in here, but most of what you get are practical ideas about how to plan, how to get your executives on board (please give this book to your local CEO/COO/CFO), how to use outsourcing in a smart way, how to use technology, ect., ect. And its not filled with theory but practical experiences of real people. For those with the background/interest, there is also a chapter on the number-crunching. Doubt it if you want to, but these guys proved that Accenture gets a 353 percent return on every dollar it spends on training. From what I can tell by reading that chapter, the real number probably is even higher since the ROI model they created only used a few parameters that they were absolutely sure they could quantify.

The book is really targeted at executives, but there is also a lot of good stuff for learning and HR professionals. One thing I really liked: Accenture's admission that in previous years they're training people had gotten lots of awards for training courses but weren't as good when it came to delivering projects on time and on budget. This new team got the respect of senior executives by saying, "Yeah, we're still going to deliver great training, but we're also going to do it by being good stewards of your investment dollars."

Not everyone is going to have the money Accenture has to throw at problems like this, but they, too, learned to do a lot with a much smaller budget -- and I can't think of a single thing here that another CEO or HR/learning executive like myself couldn't apply in some way to his or her organization.

On top of it all, the book is written in a totally compelling way. Other writers of business books, take note: it's written such that the authors are actually characters in a story. As a reader, your brought along as if you were reading a novel. Even if learning or HR isn't your thing, take a read to see how you can plan any kind of reinvention business program.

A really well done book, and worth the time it took for me to write a few words saying, "Way to go."