Organizations Books

This is exquistitely written and flawlessly researched. I could not put it down. The bibliography is itself a fascinating read. In the secular world, such evidence as this would provide the foundation stone of a class action suit that would put a stake through the heart of the subject. This is a beautiful covering over dark matter.

Excellent book. Ranan's exhaustive history and analysis of the inner workings and policy making of the Catholic Church is both insightful and a thrilling read. The amount of research and materials reviewed is stunning but the author escaped the danger of writing a dry story. Quite the opposite, once you have started, you will turn pages until you reach the end. If you liked the D'Avinci Code, you will love this book -- but end up smarter.

Written by political scientist David Ranan, Double Cross: The Code of the Catholic Church is a severe indictment of the many flaws, moral lapses, and outright crimes of the Catholic Church, ranging from parish sexual abuse scandals to complicity in genocide. Covering the Church's perpetration of human misery from pre-medieval times to the Crusades to its tacit cooperation with the Holocaust and its ills of the modern Day, Double Cross examines how the Church has structured its power base, policed thought among its members, engendered corruption, fostered violence particularly against non-Catholics, espoused anti-Semitism, and perhaps worst of all among modern-day offenses, denounced nearly all forms of family planning as well as condom use, thereby causing overpopulation and assisting the spread of AIDS particularly in the poorest nations that can least afford either. Extensively researched with numerous notes to clarify details and an index, Double Cross is a "must-read" for anyone involved in or affected by the Catholic Church, both Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

I have just finished David Ranan's "Double Cross, the Code of the Catholic Church", an insightful analysis of the Church's history in which he unravels the whole Catholic power-play. It is quite outspoken, yet factual and not emotional. Ranan, who writes with biting eloquence, has produced a book, the pace of which is breathtaking, and which reads like a super-thriller.

I have personal knowledge of some of the damage caused by the Catholic Church to its own members and therefore consider that this book does a great public service.
The book should be read not only by those who will agree with the author, but importantly by Catholics.

Catholic priests and bishops! Read David Ranan to better understand your Church, even if - and really especially if - some of the facts will fill you with horror when they sink in.

I first read these books when I was in H.S. They inspired me to want to be a better person and devote myself to good works. I know that sounds odd but these are no ordinary books. I recently reread them and found them to be even better than I remembered. These are noble books written by a noble man. Tragically the author died from cancer at a very young age. The background for these books may seem a little dated due to the fall of Communism in Russia but the subject is as pertinent now as it was then and will be hundreds of years from now. Inhumanity and humanity. The cruelty of ideolegies versus the compassion of the individual. These are an excellent choice for any reader from nine to ninety-nine.

Dr. Dooley was a young US Navy Medical Officer, aboard a ship in Haiphong harbor when France was being turned out of Vietnam. Following a plea for medical help he went ashore, got to know the people, and grew to love them. He left the Navy and spent several years in the 1950s traveling among the peoples of Southeast Asia, bringing medical care to regions where whites had never before even been seen, until his return to the U.S. shortly before his death from cancer.

He saw and described many horrors committed by Communists on their own people trying to cross the new border from North to South Vietnam after the country was partitioned. Those descriptions of what was really happening stand in stark contrast to the stories popularly accepted in the U.S. a decade later.

These three books form a powerfully emotional yet factually substantiated account. They are worth searching to find and read. Would that they would be reprinted as many less worthy books are these days.

I first read these books when I was in H.S. They inspired me to want to be a better person and devote myself to good works. I know that sounds odd but these are no ordinary books. I recently reread them and found them to be even better than I remembered. These are noble books written by a noble man. Tragically the author died from cancer at a very young age. The background for these books may seem a little dated due to the fall of Communism in Russia but the subject is as pertinent now as it was then and will be hundreds of years from now. Inhumanity and humanity. The cruelty of ideolegies versus the compassion of the individual. These are an excellent choice for any reader from nine to ninety-nine.

Dr. Thomas Dooley was a hero to me. Fire On the Mountain means to me the Fire yet another time after the French left for honourable reasons Indochine and still the people could not be set free. Agriculture burned and people died. Deliver Us From Evil was their petition, and the world did hear them, but too much, it would seem. Merton would have been his Confessor, but over what teletype would this have been then? I did read Merton as a girl, but it gave insufficient consolation to these wounds of the heart. On the Night They Burned the Mountain, the children of that Tigerland were again left behind. Tom Dooley didn't live to see it, and before he slept, he anguished sore. I neither need to buy these books nor see the film. I've lived in that hereafter and carry in on through the remainder of my life.

ECOFEMINIST PHILOSOPHY
A WESTERN PERSPECTIVE ON WHAT IT IS AND WHY IT MATTERS
By Karen J. Warren

A Review by Wendell G. Bradley

Warren calls herself a `street philosopher'. And, true to her calling, this professor of philosophy at Macalester College reaches the ordinary reader on important issues.

Ordinary philosophy is already superseded in chapter one entitled: `Nature is a Feminist Issue'. Women, world-wide, are shown to experience environmental harm disproportionately. And, they are organizing, as women, against related dominations.

For Warren, dominations tend to follow whenever (allegedly) ethically relevant hierarchies designate their `others' as inferiors. Subordinations, however, have to be first justified by `a logic of domination'. Humans, for example, might be deemed superior to nature because they have the ability to manipulate it. But, without a logic of domination, `superiority' could just as well lead to stewardship.

Patriarchy provides our current logic of domination. Under its conceptual framework, men become associated with reason and volition (read: intelligence and public roles). The result is a prevailing male-other bias that links women and nature--women too naturally something, to be allowed this or that. Accordingly, Warren recognizes both gender and ecology as good points of departure for an environmental ethic, hence ecofeminism.

Warren begins her `quilting' of an ecofeminist philosophy in chapter three. Here, she masterfully interrogates and reconceptualizes the reductive and essentialist rationality of today's male-other bias. Various belief examinations arise from the `cognitive dissonances' she brings to light in an examined patriarchy. At a minimum our loss of ecological integrity has required justification via a logic of domination. Our human spirit, however, can become caring enough to resist oppressions and destructions, especially in one's home place.

Accordingly, Warren introduces a `care-sensitive' ethic. It is characterized by a `loving eye' that focuses on a contextual orientation, a more optimistic understanding of self, an inclusivist ethical pluralism, incorporations of emotional intelligence, and a nonprivileging social justice. Through our spiritual ability to care, these qualities combine to make nature `morally deserving'. Thus, Warren's care-sensitive ethic makes a fundamental contribution to a possible ecological flourishing.

The idea of ecofeminism, itself, is not particularly new, but Warren's insights, clarifications and arguments are. Her overall philosophical synthesis is both refreshing and convincing.

Wendell G. Bradley, is a retired professor of Human Ecology and author of `The Gift of Morality'.

I am totally new to this "ism." Thus, I find this book can offer a good review about ecofeminism.

I read this book for the Jan/Feb 2004 LD Topic: "A government's obligation to protect the environment ought to have precedence over its obligation to promote economic development." I have to say I highly reccomend this book to anyone interested in the connections between the environment and feminism. I especially liked the discussion of how women and the environment are connected through language through the use of word's like "Mother Nature." That use in particular was to put it in a word pimp. Warren covers all areas of ecofeminist thought, and is extremely fair to those critical of ecofeminism. To anyone interested in learning about how our domination of the environment undergirds our domination of other groups this book is perfect. As I said before, this work by a "street philosopher," is simply pimp. Highest recomendations!

ECOFEMINIST PHILOSOPHY
A WESTERN PERSPECTIVE ON WHAT IT IS AND WHY IT MATTERS

By Karen J. Warren
Rowman and Littlefield, 230 pages
A Review by Wendell G. Bradley

Warren calls herself a ýstreet philosopherý. And, true to her calling, this professor of philosophy at Macalester College reaches the ordinary reader on important issues.

Ordinary philosophy is already superseded in chapter one entitled: ýNature is a Feminist Issueý. Women, world-wide, are shown to experience environmental harm disproportionately. And, they are organizing, as women, against related dominations.

For Warren, dominations tend to follow whenever (allegedly) ethically relevant hierarchies designate their ýothersý as inferiors. Subordinations, however, have to be first justified by ýa logic of dominationý. Humans, for example, might be deemed superior to nature because they have the ability to manipulate it. But, without a logic of domination, ýsuperiorityý could just as well lead to stewardship.

Patriarchy provides our current logic of domination. Under its conceptual framework, men become associated with reason and volition (read: intelligence and public roles). The result is a prevailing male-other bias that links women and nature--women too naturally something, to be allowed this or that. Accordingly, Warren recognizes both gender and ecology as good points of departure for an environmental ethic, hence ecofeminism.

Warren begins her ýquiltingý of an ecofeminist philosophy in chapter three. Here, she masterfully interrogates and reconceptualizes the reductive and essentialist rationality of todayýs male-other bias. Various belief examinations arise from the ýcognitive dissonancesý she brings to light in an examined patriarchy. At a minimum our loss of ecological integrity has required justification via a logic of domination. Our human spirit, however, can become caring enough to resist oppressions and destructions, especially in oneýs home place.

Accordingly, Warren introduces a ýcare-sensitiveý ethic. It is characterized by a ýloving eyeý that focuses on a contextual orientation, a more optimistic understanding of self, an inclusivist ethical pluralism, incorporations of emotional intelligence, and a nonprivileging social justice. Through our spiritual ability to care, these qualities combine to make nature ýmorally deservingý. Thus, Warrenýs care-sensitive ethic makes a fundamental contribution to a possible ecological flourishing.

The idea of ecofeminism, itself, is not particularly new, but Warrenýs insights, clarifications and arguments are. Her overall philosophical synthesis is both refreshing and convincing.

Wendell G. Bradley, is a retired professor of Human Ecology and author of ýThe Gift of Moralityý . He lives in Colorado.

As Ron Brill writes about the principles of emotional honesty, he is able to shed light on the mysterious world of emotions. He examines the pretenses and hidden defenses that children and adults employ as emotionally dishonest ways to deal with (or avoid dealing with) hurt feelings. He offers specific strategies to help people become emotionally honest by accepting, listening to, and taking responsibility for painful feelings. Teachers can play a critical role in this emotional education process, providing students with the skills that will enable them to handle their everyday wounds immediately, openly, and honestly before they build up and erupt into violence or self-destructive acts.
As mentor to elementary school children and as grandmother of two teenagers and four preteens, I found this book fascinating and very helpful. I better understand the painful and wounding feelings that young people struggle with. I believe this will enable me to be a more sensitive, active listener as I encourage young people to share and explore their feelings. This book is an excellent resource for teachers and parents. Ron Brill paves the way for a critical new discipline of emotional education as he opens the door to honest communication.

"I have worked for 10 years with public school students who have Emotional Behavior Disorders (EBD), at the elementary, middle and high school levels. I wish I had read "Emotional Honesty & Self-Acceptance" when I was in graduate school as it is tremendously useful in working for EBD students. I am generally disappointed with affective materials available to use with these students, as exercises and activities are often superficial, and kids know it. The concept of emotional honesty is simple to understand and rings true. It is truly a helpful tool when communicated appropriately, which Ron Brill does quite effectively in his book. The information is here to use or not use according to the readiness of the individual facing emotional stumbling blocks. This book can also help support and maintain the emotional health of teachers as well. It has certainly been personally very helpful to me. Many of my students told me up front that they were desperate to find something that could actually make some difference in the misery they face every day. The anger and depression present in most students seems so overwhelming and crippling, no wonder teachers and counselors are also unprepared for the emotional distress that pervades our schools. Many families are also overwhelmed to the point they also need emotional health education adocated in this book. It is simply one of the most important books I have ever read. The author presents so much potentially threatening material in a non-threatening way that it is easy to accept. This is a simple but powerful repair tool for complex emotional/behavioral problems we all face today."

In his book Emotional Honesty, Ron Brill contributes to our basic understanding of human emotions. This readable book will be of enormous value to classroom teachers, parents, and others who live or work with children/adolescents because the author carefully explains the distinctions between "healthy"--and the more common "unhealthy"--manner in which we deal with our own feelings as well as the feelings of others around us. In light of our nation's current inability and/or unwillingness to meet the emotional needs, issues, and problems of millions of our children, I believe that this book provides an excellent basis for individual and group study and reflection.

Ronald Brill's Emotional Honesty & Self Acceptance is an excellent resource for everyone, especially those working with children. The strategies in this book helped me turn "wounds into wings" with hurt high-risk teens in a community school. I have witnessed angry, self destructive, depressed and suicidal teens turn around and express their internally trapped hurt and sad feelings in a safe place, the classroom.

In a world where the "religion salesmen" reign (and are subsequently rejected as unnecessary and distasteful), Ben Pasley has revealed a breath of fresh air. I say "revealed" and not "breathed" because indeed the author has simply caught something in his heart that comes from another, truer, place, where the air the clearer and you breathe in life.

Weaving a beautiful web of images, truth, expression, and mystery, Pasley simply offers seekers a glimpse of his own journey. And in a world of "self-help-infomercial-televangelist-meets-politician-I-have-exactly-what-you-need-now-all-I-need-is-your-credit-card-number", that is indeed a fresh thing. Innovatively written (there are pictures! fun pictures!) from different angles, different visions of the same image, the book draws the reader along into a world of the human heart, a world of the divine, and a world where the two are intrinsically joined: the real world.

If you like to read, or if you just like to, well, LIKE, then I recommend this book to you. You just may touch God in the process, if you're willing to reach out for Him.

-a traveller

I didn't know what to expect in this book, but was drawn immediately to the design and artistic concept. I have always been fascinated by icons and symbolism; the use of icons ('voices') in this book coupled with an "other-worldly" atmosphere reminded me of playing immersive computer games such as Myst and Riven--a sense that all was new, and yet somehow strangely familiar.

I read this book in one sitting (interrupted by a late-night nap), and then promptly proceeded to read it again, annotating wildly (I couldn't even stop long enough during the first reading to underline!) The stories are compelling and do indeed draw the reader from one point-of-view to the next in one uninterrupted convergence of radically different journeys. The author's skill in creating and sustaining a wide variety of voices, temperaments and personalities in the book is impressive and convincing.

This is the first worship book I have read that (in my humble opinion) adequately addresses the call of worship and spirituality upon the postmodern seeker. It has been my experience that many books on worship and seeking God on the market today are written in either extremely academic and archaic language, or (worse) are written as easy "7 steps to.." solutions manuals for goal-oriented people. This book is their polar opposite. From the opening pages I was not sure where the author was going, and that momentary lack of orientation actually gave me a sense of comfort! It takes courage to write about God and leave more questions than answers in the mind of the reader, and in that Mr. Pasley has certainly succeeded.

Whereas many moderns seem unsuccessfully devoted to the left-brained, cognitive approach to Christianity and God, this book focuses upon many approaches and orientations. Logical thinking is included (in a style reminiscent of C. S. Lewis in a contemporary tongue), but is made to share time with emotions, dreams, visions, and, as always, the questions. In contrast to our answer-rich "how-to" culture, this book dares to invite its the reader to ask questions on his/her own. This to me is the essense of true spirituality--to dare to ask God, and to believe that He has an answer for each of us.

So I had listened to the cd's, and I became fairly intrigued to learn that the same singer of 100 portraits had written a book titled: "Enter the Worship Circle." I'm one of those people who have to plunge into something all the way, and then, whether I sink or swim, I know I gave it my all. So, a few days later, I held the book in my hands, and I began to read.

And it caught me off guard.

You see, the book wasn't written the way that I had ever expected it to be written. Simply, the book travels in this order: The author uses seven different view points in his story to bring you through his stories, thoughts, and revelations on worship. He also begins moving from 'outside' the worship circle, to the very heart of it. Using creative stories, logical statements, and beautiful language, he paints a clear picture of who God has to be if we are to worship him, and why Jesus is that God. I won't spoil it by saying what reading is like, Except that you definitely will not walk away from it without having an idea of where you stand in worship. In fact, I recommend this to Christians, and Non Christians, who are willing to say that maybe, just maybe, Jesus is God. And if he is, maybe he is even a loving God.

Ben Pasley has always been such a storyteller. Listen to him speak, listen to his and his wife's music (100 Portraits), they paint pictures in your mind and tell you a beautiful story.

So Ben writes a book, and his storytelling is just as beautiful as it ever was.

Simply put: This book is amazing.

When speaking on the subject of spirituality and more specifically worship, it's very easy to come off very religious, lose people in all kinds of archaic terminology and just be very uninteresting. Ben does an amazing job of talking about spirituality in such way that you can barely wait to read the next chapter and find yourself complaining that each chapter is too small. The one thing I didn't run into was fluff. Too often it seems people get an interesting notion about spirituality and decide it needs to be a book. Then in the first three chapters, you know what the rest will say... This is not true with Enter the Worship Circle. I found myself being surprised until the very end. Ben draws you in throughout the entire book. The pieces of narative sometimes seem non-linear and unrelated, but all pieces have a consistancy about them. Ben seems to weave these threads together and the end picture is beautiful.

Every environmental professional who has to lead (which is all of us, at some point) should read this well-crafted little book. The premise, that others can learn from the contemporary practical experience of Dr. Gordon and Dr. Berry, as well as of their colleagues, is sound. The book explains the essential skills for current practice, why these skills are important, and how to develop them. Recent real-world examples and theory alternate, helping to keep your attention. As a 25-year environmental consultant who also teaches ocassional courses at the graduate-school level I'll be recommending this book to colleagues and students, and even a few clients.

John Gordon and Joyce Berry recognized the difficulties natural resource leaders are experiencing in guiding their organizations to successful, long-term solutions for difficult environmental issues. Both had experienced these difficulties in their respective professional careers. At the same time they saw a few natural resource leaders being very successful. As a result they surveyed these people as a way to identify the attributes that helped these individuals be successful in a highly political atmosphere. What they found was a new style of leadership.

In their book "Environmental Leadership=Essential Leadership", Gordon and Berry share the results of their survey and synthesize the results into tools for leaders. This book provides great guidance to leaders at all levels in their career. It captures the lessons I had learned the hard way during my 17 years as the Oregon State Forester (director of the Oregon Department of Forestry). I wish I had had this tool when I started my career as a leader.

I am impressed with the practicality of this book. The authors discuss not only theory, but provide examples and illustrate how to apply the concepts. I especially liked Chapters 6 and 7. However, this is not only a book on leadership, but also problem solving. I especially liked the focus on multiple leaders within an organization or agency as opposed to a single leader. Many discussions on leadership fail to recognize that institutional leaders (or merely holding a leadership job title) does not make someone a good or effective leader.

Notes for reviewers, "Environmental Leadership Equals Essential Leadership: Redefining Who Leads and How"
J. Gordon and J. Berry, 2006
Yale University Press

Gordon and Berry wrote the book. Dr. Christensen kindly wrote the Foreword. The rating is included because it is mandatory in this Amazon format and because we think it is a good book. But clearly we shouldn't be rating our own book so please ignore it. We provide these notes because we have been asked by reviewers to provide more than is included in the press release that accompanies the book and this is an efficient way to do it.

Approximately a decade after the publication of their first leadership book, "Environmental Leadership: Developing Effective Skills and Styles", Gordon and Berry reassess environmental leadership and outline their current view of its nature and principles. Their major conclusion is that all leadership is becoming like environmental leadership because the problems leaders face increasingly are or resemble environmental problems. Environmental problems typically take a long time to solve, are complex, have an emotion charged atmosphere, have a weak or scattered science base, and require integration across fields of knowledge and political and geographic boundaries.

To answer the question, "How has environmental leadership changed as its context has changed?" they did a survey of people they identified as practicing environmental leaders (listed in the book with their affiliations at the time of the survey). They expected that given the many contextual changes since the first book (e.g. globalization, increased terrorism, greater concern about global warming and a host of other environmental issues) a much changed picture of environmental leadership might emerge from the survey answers. Several interesting near consensus views did in fact emerge:
* Leadership is getting harder because the world is more complicated
* Gender differences in leadership skills and styles continue to exist
* "Command and control" leadership is sometimes necessary
* Leadership can and does occur in the absence of formal authority or "leadership position"
* Leadership is becoming more process oriented as complexity increases

The major characteristics and methods of environmental leadership, however, had not changed materially and the authors use their own experience as well as the survey results and the leadership literature to provide the leader with a leadership learning model. This model is based on the "leadership tree" concept, in which each individual constructs a leadership learning plan based on an inventory of their "tree" components: roots=ethics and values; trunk=skills, style and knowledge; branches and leaves=problem choice and application of skills, styles and knowledge; fruit=solutions, relationships and accomplishments. In their view, leadership is a learned set of skills. Further, they think in today's world, every person should study leadership as a basic component of their professional and organizational persona. Each member of any group will face the necessity, sooner or later, to be an effective leader and follower because, given the complexity of environmental problems, their skills or style will demand that they lead. Almost all environmental problems are "multidisciplinary" and each group member will need the capacity to lead when their area is to the fore.

The major themes of the book, encapsulated in 9 chapters, each with a summary of its essential elements at the end, include:

* There is no single model or theory of leadership now available that adequately describes environmental leadership. Each leader needs to develop a diverse tool kit of skills based on their own fundamental values that will serve a variety of circumstances.
* The creation of useful visions of the future (those that identify achievable goals and solvable problems and what to do about them) is the first step in essential leadership. These guiding visions should be bold but practical.
* Environmental leaders primarily are people who solve environmental problems; thus problem definition and solution are the key leadership activities once a useable vision is created.
* Solvable problems can be defined by specifying five components: a decision maker or class of decision makers, the objective or objectives of the decision maker, alternative ways of achieving the objectives, doubt about which objective to choose, and the context in which the decision takes place.
* The complex nature of environmental problems focuses on collaborative effort, so diversity and inclusiveness are always elements in their solution.

The book examines the path from "old leadership" to "essential leadership" (from hierarchical to inclusive and collaborative, from closely held information to widely distributed information, from geographic isolation to global participation) and examines how essential leadership can be installed in organizations and how to tell if it is working. Gordon and Berry examine selected books on business and political leadership and find common themes with environmental leadership in terms of the nature of vision, the need for inclusion and the need to fight "leadership inflation" (the emotive, soft approach to leadership that casts us all as potential Lincolns or Churchills).

They end the book with their view of the future of leadership and some things they think they have personally learned as leaders.

The book is intended to be used in leadership courses in universities, particularly in but not limited to environmental and natural resource programs,and for professional career development. The authors have used the principles in the book in courses taught over fifteen years to graduate, undergraduate and outreach students at Yale's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and Colorado State University's Warner College of Natural Resources. The book will be supported by a web site, www.leaderesources.com.

Pam has written a delightful book with insights about Board, Staff and volunteer interactions. This book is a fabulous introduction to those who want to steer not-for-profits to greater relevancy.

What makes this work even more interesting is Pam's well crafted titles for the elephants she identifies. She, in effect, has created "spin-variation" titles and the writing in general has pizazz.

She has captured the major areas of crisis and challenge in organizations. There is only one area I have found that she has not addressed. It is the tough area that has to do with mental illness. No one really has a model to deal with this elephant.

What do you do if your boss is crazy? This is the case that happens in organizations all over the country. What do you do if an employee, as defined by the DSM, is plainly-speaking nuts. What happens if this employee undermines the boss, attacks stake-holders and clients?

This is an area that is covered certainly in a general way in her book. However, this issue needs detail and the recognition of being an elephant all its own.

Books on nonprofits often tend to be academic and not very useful for us in the trenches. This book is different - it clarified for me why getting things done is so difficult. There are so many doable nuggets, but the one that really hit home was the "vested volunteer elephant." I can't wait to put these ideas into practice!

I'm not sure elephants had to be part of this critical nonprofit management book, but it works ok I guess. I probably would have liked the book better if the author had used some other "convention" to make her book memorable. I think the book is definitely worth a read by members of nonprofit boards and possibly executive directors (CEOs) of nonprofits. I say probably with regard to CEOs because any CEO who knows anything about his or her job already knows everything that is written between the covers of this book.

When I read the front and back cover materials of the book it became apparent quickly that the author is a new management consultant to not-for-profits and this book is her professional "credibility piece" so she can charge a reasonable (if not handsome) consulting fee for her services. I smile when I write this because after reading the book I doubt anyone who can comprehend the book will need to hire the author since the book is very well written.

According to the author nonprofit organizations that are poorly managed suffer from five fundamental obstacles:

1. An unclear vision and mission
2. A detached board - one that does not relate to the organization
3. An incompetent board - one that fails to develop policy and strategy
4. Incompetent CEO, staff, and volunteers - performance is not demanded
5. Too much people-pleasing and not enough "get the job done"

I don't know whether the nonprofit sector is as bad off as the author suggests. My hunch is that it is, but I don't have the evidence to back up what I believe. I think that the author took a bold step by being as negative as she was about the nonprofit sector without providing more statistical data to support where she was coming from in making the general statements that she makes. She could have written the book to say that if a nonprofit suffers from the five obstacles mentioned above, THEN certain steps that she describes could be taken. But she did not write the book that way.

All in all, this is a great book and one that nonprofit management teams (boards and their CEOs) should read and use to improve the way they do their work. Major gift givers should probably read the book as well so they can better evaluate a nonprofit that is seeking a gift from them. 5 stars!

This is one of those rare informational books that is written in a style that makes it enjoyable to read. I'm already finding myself quoting elephant quips at various non-profit functions and committe meetings.
It is also well organized with exhibits and examples that are easily accessed. Every non-profit CEO and board member needs to read this book. It will certainly stay on my bookshelf as a ready reference for tools and solutions.

As one of the women in this book I must say Alice has done very well telling our stories! I was the youngest in the book and was humbled after reading the other stories. I am now 18 and in college still trying hard to carry on the story. I hope all of you who have read this wonderful story become inspired to do something to help others!

You will be amazed at what these women have done, accomplished or experienced. Each story is inspiring and unique. A true display of how one person can in fact make a difference.

Reflecting the lives of women with widely ranging careers and special interests, Ms. Anderson's book is at once both inspiring and motivating.

From women whose work involves teaching developmentally and physically challenged children and women committed to the rescue and humane treatment of animals, to women whose life work has been to provide career opportunities for other women, these thoughtfully written biographical profiles provide a pciture of diversity and dedication.

Thoughtfully researched and articulately written, Ms. Anderson's book would be an exceptional graduation gift for any young woman embarking on the exploration of her own career options. It is gratifying reading for anyone who finds inspiration in the lives and good works of others.

When we read of famous women there is always a sense of their accomplishments being something beyond what ordinary women like most of us could possibly do. This book looks at the work done by ordinary women that has made a big difference in some way. It would be a perfect book to have in classrooms where teens and preteen girls could use it as an inspiration. But it is also an inspiration to women of any age.

Alice Hellstrom Anderson features a great variety of women both in terms of their ages and in what they have done to contribute to society. Each woman was personally interviewed by Anderson. You will find women concerned about the underprivileged, world peace, world health, and more in this book. It is a wonderful resource and a great way to get in touch with how ordinary women are making a difference.

I use this as a daily reference for advice and sometimes just for a pick-me-up! Many interesting quotes and ideas.Open to any page in the book and let the ideas sink in as your day progresses.An excellent book.

These 2 quotes are not from the book, but are quotes about quotes:

"The wisdom of the wise, and the experience of ages, may be preserved by quotations" - Isaac Disraeli

"It is a good thing for an uneducated man to read a good book of quotations" - Sir Winston Churchill

This book is basically a collection of quotes. Some are extremely powerful and some are well-not so powerful. I'm a big believer in quotes, here are a few from the book:

On change, "Adapt or Die" The first 10 pages are about change and how business is constantly evolving and how those that can't keep up are doomed.

"Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration. Yes, sir, it's mostly hard work." - Thomas A. Edison

"A half-backed strategy well executed will be superior to that marvelous strategy that isn't executed very well." - Allan Gilmour, vice chairman Ford Motor Co.

"The only new thing new in the world is the history you don't know." - President Harry S. Truman

"Good leaders are curious; they spend a lot of time trying to learn new things." - Jeffrey Immelt, CEO, GE

There are lot of good inspirational quotes in this book. It's a good book to have on your desk and glance at time and again.

By Kevin Kingston author of, A 20,000% Gain in Real Estate

My blog: http://www.bloglines.com/blog/KevinKingston

The author provides pearls of wisdom on a plethora of complicated
business topics and decisions. For instance, we are asked to
anticipate or embrace change early. Ideally, this should take
place when things are going well. Sometimes, success breeds
difficulty in unlearning bad habits or undoing complacency.
Very often, the identification of key facts will precipitate
change. The author believes that customer service is part of the
job. We are asked to learn from failure rather than wallow in it.
Intuition is part experience and part talent; however, we should
act upon our best instincts or feelings. The preferred decision-
making process should involve the following:

- framing questions
- fact finding
- analysis and conclusions
- learning from experience and mistakes made previously

Good process design should be common sense. Simplicity and
ease of use by customers are the premier concerns. The corporate
logo should be "faster, cheaper and better" . We should learn
from the people in the trenches because they are aware of the
practical dimensions of new ideas/processes. In addition,
the author provides a timeframe of from 7-10 years to introduce,
perfect and implement new techniques, designs and processes.
The acquisition is worth the price charged for the reader who
will implement the contents dispassionately.

I've looked forward to getting my monthly copy of the magazine Fast Company for an number of years. Now they have have "hit another home run" with an excellent book.

It's a fun, easy read with an three excellent indexes in the back. The first, "Sources" gives the source for each quote found in the 22 different chapters. The second is an "Index of Quote Titles", and the third is and Index of Authors, i.e. the people who gave the business wisdom quote.

This is also an excellent "idea starter" for short, meaningful motivational talks.

Try it, you'll like it and probably will buy a friend a copy!

This book is the text book of my cs education of file organization. And i can comfortably say that it gives much insight not just on file organization but also on algorithms. I haven't read all the chapters but among the chapters i read, without any exaggeration i can say that i've learnt every word of what the author wants teach.

This book is one of the few gems in computer science. It is written intelligently. One can read it fluently. It is about a reasonably important subject. The book is well crafted (hardcover, layout...). In short reading it makes you happy and smart.

The only disadvantage of it: there is no sample code. Desperate people might want to check on Folk, Zeollick, Riccardi "File Structures".

It's ~old book (1988), but it still very actual now, and will be actual in future. This book contain only principles and algorithms, but it all showed so deep and clear, so I was very impressed then read it first time. B-tree type structures description is best I ever seen. (Need to have this book if You perform serious low-level work on NTFS, BFS or other File System, based on B-trees.). And even if You not work with such File Systems - this book is classic algorithm book and I put it on my bookshelf near Knuth's volumes.

I've got a whole bookshelf of algorithms books, and this is by far the best book on file organization in my collection. Tharp was one of the best professors I ever had, and it was a pleasure to work from his excellent (and unfortunately hard to find) book. If I had to own a single book on this topic, well, here it is.