Organizations Books

Tom Wilson's premise: Employee incentives are just as important to corporations as they are to employees. Why? Because a company that aligns its own achievement with that of its employees is well on its way to success. Wilson uses a wide range of case studies to bolster his common- sense advice, including reminders that your employee rewards plan should be simple to understand, geared toward the kind of people you want to attract and should frequently vary. Even the most experienced manager can stand to learn a thing or two from Wilson's keen analysis of Amazon.com, Southwest Airlines, Saturn, and a host of other successful businesses. We from getAbstract think that you owe it to yourself - and to your employees - to read this well-crafted book.

In the modern economy, organizations that compete for the best people must learn to design reward systems that drive performance. The author argues that in today's marketplace, more and more companies are seeing employee benefits not as an expense, but as a tool for achieving particular goals. The author further explains that with loyalty gone, workers need a reward system that works, or they will leave the company.

Author Thomas Wilson explored many different reward systems from different firms. As he reviewed the most successful firms, he started to notice similarities. The author noticed that regardless of the individual goals of each organization's reward program, they all shared these 10 key factors:

· Reward systems play a crucial role in performance.
· Measures give rewards relevance, rewards give measures meaning.
· Alignment with the company's philosophies and values, along with consistency are essential.
· How people are paid is often more important than how much they are paid.
· Build programs with a vision, improving them over time.
· The value of the reward, including psychological value, should exceed its cost.
· Recognize that the program does not become real for workers until the first payment.
· Translate measures into action guidelines for employees.
· Make rewards more meaningful by combing financial with non-financial rewards.
· Use rewards as strategic management systems used to support the strategy, goals, and values of a company.

Tom Wilson's new book is even better than his last, which I found to be one of the best reward systems books written. Rewards that Drive High Performance is a rich and easy reading collection of case studies from some of the country's leading organizations, including Amazon.com, Starbucks, Genzyme and many others. It is a book that I, as a manager, found to be very practical -- a compensation "text" for line managers because it shows what works and why, not just theory.

I really liked the way the cases were grouped, because it shows that reward systems need to be defined differently for different applications and company cultures. Best practices are useful to study, but Wilson's book goes beyond this to show how and why the best companies do what they do and align their reward systems with their business objectives.

It's refreshing to see a book from a leading consultant not geared to "provide just enough" to entice the reader to want to know more -- this book truly tells the whole story, and does it in a way that proves to be a compelling read.

This book provides insights into some of the most talked about companies in America. It helped me understand their situation, and how they developed an effective reward system. It also gave me specific tools, and hundreds of ideas. It is clear, well written, and well presented. Thanks.

"This book provides a series of stories that offer a window into today's organizations. While the focus is on the reward systems that these organizations devised and implemented, the true picture goes much deeper. Each story reflects an organization that was facing a need to change the way it coducted its business and developed a process to support and reinforce change. So, the reward systems are manifestations of a new set of values and practices within organizations...The case studies in this book were developed with representatives of these organizations. They are true, real-life descriptions of what goes on inside these companies...While this book can be read from front to back, it was not written to be read in a traditional manner. It may be useful to take a non-linear approach, jumping from one section to another...This book is not intended to represent the best practices of the best companies, although it often does. It is a book about reality. It may not include the design for the perfect reward system, but it should give you ideas and approaches that will change the way you think about, develop, and manage rewards (pp.1-7)."

In this context, Thomas B. Wilson focuses on:

* How does an organization such as Amazon.com instill or retain the entrepreneurial spirit that it had when it was small?

* how companies such as DuPont, Coca-Cola, and Cisco Systems seek to create a bridge between the requirements for success and each individual.

* how companies retain a customer focus so that people collaborate and strive to perform better.

* how companies such as DuPont, Cumming Engine, and K/P Corporation encouraged people to collaborate and provided a share of the benefit if improvements could be achieved.

* how companies retain their critical talents.

* how companies such as Allied Signal, and Harvard University Health Services have integrated a variety of quality management processes into their organizations.

* how companies have changed their reward systems to support new business strategies.

Finally, he writes that "to aid you in developing your own approach to change, I have summarized the 10 key factors that seem to most accurately determine what makes reward systems successful. While this list summarizes common characteristics, the true significance is in applying these principles to your own situation and to learn from the direct application of experience."

1. Reward systems play a crucial role in performance.

2. Measures give rewards relevance; rewards give measures meaning.

3. Alignment and consistency are essential.

4. How people are paid is often more important than how much they are paid.

5. Build programs with a vision, and then improve them over time.

6. The value of the reward should exceed the cost.

7. The program begins after the first payouts.

8. Translate measures into action.

9. Make rewards meaningful.

10. Take a strategic, systemic, and holistic approach.

Highly recommended.

My two favorite players are Pat Rafter and Pete Sampras so this book was destined to be of interest to me. Overall, I would say I'm slightly disappointed for not getting more in-depth into Pat Rafter the man. This is nothing but a simplistic diary of a year traveling the circuit, what he did at tournaments, where he practiced and with whom, and status of his injuries.

There is nothing in this book to criticize; it's just very simplistic reading. Pat is the epitome of an Australian man, a great athlete who credits his mates and his family for his strong bearing. Everyone knows Pat likes to toast a few and this book describes a few all-nighters after key wins.

Unfortunately, this book needed to be written sooner. The yearlong diary covers few highlights. He did make it to the semi-final of Wimbledon losing to Agassi and he did play in the Davis Cup match in Boston beating the Americans in an epic struggle with Todd Martin. But while the book starts after he won his second US Open, it ends with him losing in the first round of the US Open in 1999.

Probably the most interesting part of the book to me was the squabbles with Pete Sampras, my other favorite player. Pat starting beating Pete and I assumed Pete was struggling with this and was at fault for fallout by some of his comments. From reading this I suspect Pat was just at much at fault based on comments made at a press conference and the way he states his side of the relationship. Irrespective, they're both quality individuals and great players who went at it from different angles. It says a lot for their character that they talked on the phone to hash out any difference and can both walk away with respect for each other.

I don't mean to be disrespectful to Pat about this review. I miss his game. You knew when you watched a Pat Rafter match you got 100% effort win or lose and that attitude comes through loud and clear. I just wish it had covered more background about his upbringing including his junior tennis career to show how he grew into such a champion.

I immensely enjoyed reading this book. I read it on the road while traveling to away matches. It was a refreshing and encouraging reading. It's very heartening to see such a down-to-earth person as Rafter be so succesful at tennis. The narrative is very personal and informal. It's like Rafter is having a couple of beers with you while he gives you his insight on life as a professional tennis player. Great tennis player + Great person = Patrick Rafter

As a tennis fan, I always liked Rafter and was curious to read about his career. This book has everything for the Rafter fan, match results, insights, quotes from fellow players, and even a revealing centerfold that will leave any woman satisfied.

I highly recommend this book!

If you are a Patrick Rafter fan I think you will enjoy this book. It's like he's speaking to you throughout the entire book. You get to know how he feels before and during matches. I enjoyed reading the book and hope he comes out with another book telling his story from the beginning.

It's really flattering to actually know how Pat Rafter feels inside and go through a year of tennis with him. In additional to the well-written diary, there includes pages and pages of terrific photos. I'd recommend anyone who likes tennis or Pat!

I had never thought to find the link between German right wing movements and white emigres within Germany and Europe and what impact they had on the future Nazi Party and Hitler. This book was an unexpected find and a pleasant one at that. Not too difficult to read, somewhat repetitive but at the same time this makes it easier to keep track of all the 'characters' that the reader is introduced to. This book gives an excellent analysis on how the white emigres affected Hitler and his party and how without them Hitler might not have turned east or if he did might have done some things quite differently. What surprised me most was that before 1919 Hitler did not really say or write anything anti-semitic, in fact at times he defended Jews and even spoke like a socialist from time to time, which to a degree is less surprising since the Nazi party was a socialist party. I was also interested to learn of the assassination attempts undertaken by these white emigres against both Soviet politicians and German ones as well. Bottom line is that there is a lot of information here put into a context I never thought existed before, the book is expensive but in my opinion worth the money for the input it provides and the new view I now have of how Hitler came about with some of his ideas regarding Jews, Bolsheviks, and the Soviet Union.

In this highly enlightening book, Michael Kellogg argues that in becoming National Socialist Germany did not follow a special path predetermined by German culture. Rather, the genesis of National Socialism must be understood within the context of German defeat of WWI and the Bolshevik Revolution. The co-occurence of these events brought Baltic German and Russian Nationists to Germany where they joined völkisch leaders and radicalized the masses. Formerly fringe anti-Semitism was joined to anti-Bolshivism and became virulent. The book sits on original research done in German and Russian archives.
Karla Poewe
Professor, University of Calgary

This is a superb book based on solid archival research in German and Russia that provides startling new insights into the ideological roots of National Socialism. It is a must read for anyone interested in understanding Nazism and the development of its ideology. Kellogg shows how the Russian Revolution affected the thinking of various Russian and Baltic intellectuals who fled to Germany where they spread their poisonous brand of anti-Semitism based on a unique mythology. I strongly recommend this book which should be read alongside Karla Poewe "New Religions and the Nazis", New York and London, Routledge, 2006. These books complement each other in a remarkable way and genuinely change our understanding of the origins and growth of Nazism.

Irving Hexham, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Calgary.

The various interconnections between Germany and Russia in contemporary history have become a recurring subject of research after the end of the Cold War. For instance, there has been a new wave of books and articles on the comparison between Nazism and Stalinism as well as on the Nazi-Soviet co-operation of 1939-1940. Another example would be the recent talk about `Weimar Russia' when interpreting post-Soviet developments.
With "The Russian Roots of Nazism", an extremely dense and well-researched text, Kellog provides an important new study on a still insufficiently explored aspect of the history of contemporary German-Russian relations. His book focuses on the years 1918-1923, and details at length the connections that a number of prominent émigrés from the former Tsarist empire had with the early Nazi elite, in general, and Adolf Hitler, in particular. The central theme of the study is the rise and fall of the short-lived, yet important émigré association Aufbau: "Wirtschaftspolitische Vereinigung für den Osten" (Reconstruction: Economic-Political Organisation for the East). With such an intriguing subject, Kellog will find many readers among historians and the interested public of both Russia and Germany as well as other countries.
Kellog's analysis suffers, however, from an overemphasis of the pro-Slavic tendencies in the German extreme right and an insufficient consideration of the deep roots of the Nazis' rabid anti-Slavism. More generally, Kellog could have considered in more detail rival influences on Nazism such as `scientific racism' or occultism in order to make a better case for his thesis about the `Russian roots' of Nazism. While he, at one point, puts his position on the nature of Nazism close to Ernst Nolte's (p. 199), he, in fact, succeeds in providing arguments against Nolte's assertion that fascism is essentially anti-Marxism. Kellog's many quotes show that the `bolshevik' part in the Nazis' talk about `Jewish Bolshevism' was secondary and that the Nazis instead thought that the bolsheviks were guided by `Jewish finance capitalism' (e.g. p. 226) - thus, oddly, making the Nazi interpretation of communism somewhat similar to the communist interpretation of Nazism.

When one considers for what short period the German Army occupied the Ukraine after the treaty of Brest Litovsk, it is interesting how many White Russian came out with the retreating German Armies.Their prejudices were a remarkable influence on the early Nazi Party in Munich, particularly the ideas engendered by the Protocols of Zion. Until this book Scheubner-Richter had been written off as a body, the only one shot dead, marching alongside Hitler and Ludendorff in the 1923 attemptef Putsch. However it transpires that he was as great an influence on Nazi doctrine as Rosenberg ( normally described as just a Baltic-German Russian , but actually also a White Officer )
Interesting also is the relationship with Wagner clan in Bayreuth , so that the book is complementary to Joachim Kohler's Wagner's Hitler; and that both groups visited Henry Ford in Detroit to seek funds , arising from his anti-semitic attitudes.
Kellogg does not explore the implications that the General Staff in Berlin was seeking a rapprochment with bolshevik Russia at this time .Nor does he assess Ludendorff as a politician.Above all , he does not refect on the confrontation between class-ridden White Russian Officers and the Bohemian Corporal who spent the war in the trenches on the Western Front.
Anyone coming to study this period and phase of the Nazi Party/ Adolf Hitler will have to take note of this book and its importance.
I hope that Michael Kellogg will go on to produce works that follow on this pivotal start.

My company picked up some valuable tips and techniques we had not ever focused on before reading the book and put them into practice. I bought one for all of our employees and suppliers!

I havent read his book yet, but I cant wait im getting it as soon as i can! He was a guest speaker for Shelly Elliots entrepeneur class at UNO (University of New Orleans) and Lee Pryor was freakin hilarious. Not only is he an easy going, laid back, down to earth dude, he is brilliant. I was amazed at how much of a regular guy he was despite his excellent track record of being the 1st man every company calls to gently tell the current CEO "YOU SUCK GET OUT THE WAY AND LET ME SHOW YOU HOW ITS DONE!" Before you start your own business, read his book, meet him in person, whatever just definitely heed his wisdom. The advice he told my class and many anecdotes im sure are in his book and are never-the-less, priceless. Im still holding on to the class notes and have put them in a separate binder for when im ready to use them.

A big thank you to Lee Pryor for sharing his wisdom with anyone wanting to start their own business. His sage advice comes from experience, and lessons that he learned, he lends a penetrating eye to tough situations, and I for one, am glad he decided to fill us in on his secrets!

These are the insights CEOs discuss when they talk shop.

Lee Pryor's book is full of those hands-on insights that come from decades of running businesses. Pryor's wisdoms were earned from long hard experiences that are shared and verbalized only with Pryor's small circle of CEO peers. Thankfully, Lee Pryor has a literary bend. He captured his CEO lessons-learned, and provided me three decades of experience in one readable book.

P.S. I find myself verbally quoting from his book (without attribution) in my conversations with my business colleagues.

Lee Pryor's book is a godsend to anyone starting up a business--or even those who already have. His recommendations on pretty much everything are right on the money. I wish I'd had this to read before I started my business.

FIVE BIG IDEAS: 1. The purpose of schools can be viewed by different models. The tribal model suggests that the purpose of school to teach moral and civil literacy. The factory model suggests that the purpose of school is to separate out and track the educated elite, the semi-skilled and low skilled workers. The hospital model suggests that school is the great equalizer that can diagnose, teach, test and cure the ills of society. Schechty suggests that we need to use the best aspects of these cultural, economic, and nurturing models.

2. Students need to be thought of as knowledge-workers where groupwork, self-discipline, loyalty, respect for others, respect of self, sensitivity to social and ethnic issues are stressed. Students need to go beyond the 3R1s. They need to learn how to think, create and solve meaningful real world problems.

3. Education needs to develop a vision that supports that idea that the purpose of school should be student success at doing knowledge-work. Every student can learn if they are provided with the correct work and mode of interaction. Motivated students will achieve by risking failure. The learning results must be valued by the community.

4. In implementing change, resources such as people, knowledge, time and space need to be developed. Questions such as, who is affected by the change, how do you market that, what are the values of the affected constituents, and who1s support is needed, need to be answered. Defining existing conditions, desired conditions, constraints and next steps are all part of a change system that need to be developed and marketed. 5. Methods of setting expectations, providing feedback and setting courses of corrective feedback need to be established. People know what is expected by what is inspected and respected. A system of rewards and consequences need to be put into place at all educational levels. If a person does well his or her only reward cannot be that that he or she does not get punished.

THREE IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION SYSTEM OF THE FUTURE

1. Models of participatory leadership need to be implemented. Employees must be involved and valued as important contributors. Vision tied to purpose must be results oriented. Teachers need to be viewed as leaders and leaders need to be viewed as teachers. Leaders must teach others to make decisions not make the decisions themselves. The district office should support not direct the individual sites.

2. Existing policies, procedures, rules, and regulations need to be reviewed to identify constraints and develop new strategies. A human resource department would need to be established in order to provide the needed support and training to assure that the vision remains aligned with the purpose that every student will be successful at doing knowledge-work.

3. At all levels of the school system, goals and objectives need to be established to increase the rate and frequency of student success in the employees area of responsibility. Evaluation systems to be ongoing and tied to rewards and consequences. If goals are not achieved, then plans need to be put in place to help that employee or student increase their chance for success.

Five big ideas: 1. A need to redesign our schools: Our society has moved from a simple agrarian society, to an information-based society. Schools began in this country promoting Protestant morality. They later changed, and began promoting the American culture to the immigrant masses. Today, education must change again. Schlechty claims that the educational reform movement cannot further proceed without a clear purpose for schooling in the 21st century. The entire structure on which schools are based must change in order to fit the cultural, economic, and social aspects of the next century.

2. Manual work to knowledge work: In our information-based society, the means of production is based on knowledge and the ability to use it to create and solve problems. Working conditions of the 21st century will require that people be able to work well in groups, exercise self-discipline, and exhibit loyalty while maintaining critical faculties. The workplace needs people who know how to learn. Therefore, curriculum must be treated as material to be processed and worked on by students.

3. Clear purpose = student success: Within a knowledge-based school, the purpose of school is to create knowledge work at which the students will be successful, and that the students learn the skills that society values.

4. Participatory leadership for compelling vision: Ideas are formed by people. It is of little consequence whether the ideas go bottom-up or top-down. The important factor is that the leadership process involves individuals at all levels. People who lend their support wish to feel a part of the change. Everyone must be involved. Everyone must feel connected.

5. Changes can occur if...: a) the nature of the change is conceptualized b) the people who are called on for support who were not part of the conceptualization process must be made aware of it c) feedback is solicited from those not involved and it must be incorporated into the change process d) people are motivated to act in the direction of the! change e) a system of support and training are provided to those involved.

Implications for education: 1. Teachers are the leaders. Site-based management must increase. Participants must feel they are valuable contributors to the system. Teachers will teach each other to make decisions. They must become risk-takers and trouble-makers.

2. All stakeholders must become more conscious of education. Business' success and the success of society as a whole depends upon the people that emerge from the schools. We all have a stake in education.

3. A change of attitude: Schools need to redirect their thinking. What is our current purpose for schools?....student success. We must rethink the way we teach, the way we think about the learners, and the way we view ourselves. Our roles must change. A vision must be created in order to guide those changes.

"Can our schools prepare children for the next century?" This is what Phillip Schlechty asks of all educators, parents, and the community. His book exposes what schools need to do to keep current in the new and upcoming age. He advocates an educational renaissance for administrators, community, parents, teachers, and even the government. He states that leaders who are in current positions capable of producing change are usually the ones who are hesitant to generate said change. Therefore, leaders are needed who are actively participating in the visionary process of schools, rallying support to current educators, sharing innovative ideas, and actually initiating the process of change. These leaders need to be at all levels of the educational process. Schlechty also states that leaders need to be proactive in thinking and future planning. Ideas abound in his book for individuals and groups seeking to reform education.

Schools for the 21st Century or... the ABC's of SCHOOL RESTRUCTURING Phil Schlectly What is Restructuring-Schlectly says it this way, If you do what you1ve always done, you get what you always got. Schlectly says that altering the existing rules, roles and relationships must change from the classroom to the superintendent of schools. Change what you do. We could never have gotten to the moon if we spent time refining the combustion engine. We expect 95% of Kids to do what 5% used to do. How to restructure? 1. Develop a shared understanding of the problem 2. Create a shared vision 3. Focused school activity on students. ASK THIS QUESTION EVERYDAY Is there anything here we did today that will harm kids? ALSO ASK THIS QUESTION EVERYDAY Is there anything here we did today that helped kids? 4.Create a results oriented management system. What results do we want is the answer to all questions.Typical statement is we must reduce class size...What's better is results orientated. The results we are after is more personal attention from adults to children. 5.Ensuring a pattern of participatory leadership - It1s easier to make decisions by myself than to give decisions to staff. Why should we adopt this participatory model? Schlechty's analogy! SHEEP Must have dog barking and bitting- sheep move only in big flock, follow the one making most noise-very dumb-will find a green field and stay for life-Very unionized-week leadership-move from behind ! CHICKENS Can1t be herded- only way to get them to move is by being the one they are familiar with-the one who feeds them-Very independent-don1t move from behind-only way to move chickens? Be the one who feeds them, walks by and they follow! Schlechty also gives this analogy "CANARYs in the mine are like AT RISK students in the schools. They1re just die a little earlier. Our schools were built and structured around the game of monopoly, read rules, get the advantage- The problem is kids are playing nintendo-You learn rules by playing the game. You quickly share information -Networking answers to new level of problems will benefit the player. Schlechty defines the different models of schools out there. A School can be a Tribal Center, a Factory or a Hospitals. Schlechty defines knowledge work and that it is what should be the core curriculum of schools. Performance Evaluations =People know what is expected by what is inspected and what is respected. The key steps to moving forward on reform is defined through the superintendents role. THIS IS AN EXCELLENT CHAPTER!

Five Big Ideas and Three ways Schools for the 21st Century: Leadership Imperatives for Educational Reform will help create a vision of a future educational system:

Big Ideas:

1. The purpose of schools must be defined by educational leaders with support from the community. The purpose will reflect the values and commitment of the stakeholders, and shape the goals that schools will pursue.

2. To foster Educational Reform is to foster change. Change in our educational system can be embraced, if there is an understanding of the history of schools evolutionary process. School structure can be reshaped when purpose and vision of schooling are understood.

3. Unless there is a rationale for change, reform will not occur. There are some who believe that "If it isn't broken, don't fix it." Educators must constantly look to reformulate the purpose of schools and create new visions and goals.

4. New visions and goals will be created. Restructuring efforts will consider participatory leadership and followership, accountability and assessment of schools.

5. The creation of a new framework for schooling will address the needs of children and society. Components of the framework include staffing, the distribution of knowledge, and the utilization of time and space, physically and virtually.

Three Implications for the creation a vision of a future educational system:

1. Addressing the five big ideas will raise the collective consciousness of all the educational stakeholders for the need to reform. The process listed above will open our minds to a common vision that can be clearly stated and shared by all the stakeholders.

2. Technology is changing the global workplace. Therefore, technology will be a catalyst for rethinking how we do and redefine school. Becoming digital implies leaving behind an analog and linear approach to an anywhere, anytime, multidimensional approach to learning.

3. Education and schools in the twenty first century must be reinvented and supported by the glo! bal village and must be designed for the betterment of the students, at all age levels.

John M. Marion, Educational Technology Doctoral Student, Pepperdine University

The first line of the Foreword to Scientology: A History of Man reads: "This is a cold-blooded factual account of your last sixty trillion years." How in the world could anybody claim to give such a factual account?

I am not a scientologist, but I've read enough of Hubbard's work to know that he had an extraordinary approach to gaining knowledge--an approach that appears to be quite unique in man's modern history. I feel that the people who ridicule Hubbard for his rather amazing statements about mankind's history fail to appreciate Hubbard's unique approach.

Hubbard noticed early in his researches (before beginning his work on man's history) that man is vulnerable to a unique type of injury: Whenever he is forced into a state of pain or trauma, he has a mechanism (which Hubbard calls the "reactive mind") that takes over the task of protecting the organism from further injury. It's an old safety measure that is part of the makeup of most living things. But it has no capacity to reason and instinctively associates all sensations that it encounters during one of these periods of injury into a big "mass". When some similar set sensations is encountered later, the reactive mind is restimulated to re-experience aspects of the original injury. When the reactive mind is restimulated (Hubbard calls this the "keying in of the engram"), it literally takes over the operation of the body (you've seen people fly into a crazy rage -- that would be a dramatic example of the reactive mind taking over).

Much of Hubbard's work, especially in the beginning, was to free people up from these engrams, using a technology that he developed ("auditing") that allows the cognitive mind to become aware of these engrams (engrams have their power because we are totally unconscious of them). Every detail about each injury that has caused an engram is stored in complete detail in the reactive mind, and can be directly accessed with the proper technique.

Hubbard began to find that human beings have engrams whose origin pre-dates their birth. He also found that even when someone is free of all his engrams originating deep into ancient history, there are still certain types of limitations that man, as a fundamental pure spirit, has had imposed upon him.

It was in Hubbard's effort to free up man's spirit, working individually with many hundreds of men and women with a variety of technologies, that he was led to his discoveries about the ANCIENT history of man. This work is not the work of a historian or a novelist. It is the work of a humanitarian whose investigations into the human spirit led him to uncover unchartered territory. These are not speculations of a crazy man but a road map pieced together gradually over many years, resulting from endless probing into the consciousness of clients, always with the aim to free up imposed limitations on the spirit.

It is perfectly possible that some of the details of Hubbard's account of man's history are wrong. What makes his account compelling is that he derived it from thousands of hours of interviews in which this material was consciously recollected by clients. Is that any less reliable than our more familiar way of learning about man's history even as far back as 3000 years -- where we rely on bits and pieces of rumors and relics in order to piece together a story about our past?

Hubbard's investigations, particularly as seen in this book, are truly worth studying. The book is fascinating to read, and when you keep in mind where it all comes from, it is all the more fascinating. Our history as a race may well be far more intriguing than the best science fiction.

A fascinating book covering the findings from the early work of Mr. Hubbard into past lives and the history of the spiritual beings on this planet.

Hubbard pulls no punches about what he found. He doesn't try to be "acceptable" he merely states what he found.

What are the true capabilities of a spirit (i.e., you)?

What is the relationship between a being and a body?

How did we come to be in the less than perfect state we are now in?

These and many other questions are answered in this fascinating book

I read it three times in one week! A great book which not only reveals spiritual origins and truths but as an added bonus gives new insight into the phenomenon of alien visitation and the purpose of these visitors. L. Ron Hubbard was not afraid to write down his discoveries for all the world to read. The book also provides the reader with a better understanding of the "internal spiritual energy" that flows through the human body. This book is a must for anyone who seeks to understand the nature and capabilities of the human spirit.

I love this very special book! It helps me put many things in life and my life in perspective. I hope my experience as a Scientology practitioner who has advanced to a high spiritual state and helped many others do the same, can influence a few to read this concise volume. It's not a beginner's book but only for those few who wish to see beyond what is currently being fed to them. It's a book I'm only able to recommend infrequently at this time to the rare person who displays advanced openness regarding his/her spirituality.

If you ever wondered about past lives and reincarnation, but were not content with the events of the last few thousand years and want a look at a much longer time scale, then this is it. While current reincarnation theories usually only refer to spiritual growth (because the only ones that can tell their stories were those that grew), the content of his book tells what happened and shows that on this much larger scale that there had been more decay than growth. It points out types of events which caused that decay, and thus points back upwards to a true resolution towards spiritual growth for mankind.

When reading this book, I ran across a paragraph that specifically applied to me -- something had happened to me that was very similar to what was in the book. It was amazing. Only a few other times has something I read caused so much self betterment in so little time.

Plato's allegory of the cave is a story that everyone must read in order to claim to be educated. In it, people are permanently located in a cave with their back to the entrance. The shadows of what takes place outside the cave appears on the wall and the residents use that information to reach conclusions regarding what is outside. It is designed to show you that much of what you think you know is only a faint shadow of what the world really is.
This story begins in that vein; Unga, Bunga, Oogie, Boogie and Trevor are cave dwellers with a fear of the outside. They watch the shadows and reach conclusions and each has a different opinion regarding what terrible fate would befall them if they ever set foot outside their domain. They eat only what blows into the cave, so their diet consists largely of dried plant life and dead insects.
Eventually, Boogie expresses a desire to explore the exterior world, an opinion that immediately gets him ostracized. When he leaves, he discovers an amazing world of animals and vegetation. He wanders until he encounters a wise man named Mike, who tells him how it used to be.
In the old days, there was a major civilization that built towers to see what was beyond their immediate vicinity. In one direction, there were enormous herds of wild animals and in the other direction there were abundant fruits and vegetables there for the harvesting. There were two groups, each of which looked in only one direction. This led to an immediate split, one group wanted to build spears and other hunting tools while the other wanted to build baskets for gathering. Neither side would budge from their position, which led to a battle for control. This battle led to separate groups retreating into caves, where they remained to this day.
After the initial story of the cave dwellers, there is a serious discussion of the meaning of the tale. You are asked to ponder the significance of the story and how it relates to the modern business world. With the advent of global markets and the instantaneous transfer of information, for most companies a strategy of staying put is suicide. Each and every day, someone in the company must be examining all of the fundamental assumptions used to justify the business decisions.
This is a short book that is perfect for the half-day management seminar. Illustrated and only 81 pages long, it can be read in about an hour and is packed with information designed to get you thinking about your approach to life, work and career.

Fun and easy read but compelling! This is a book that I will want to keep on my bookshelf and revisit. A must read for managers, educators, and leaders.
Just as enjoyable and illuminating, Outlearning the Wolves, again, by David Hutchens.

Simple, yet powerful. A fun way to learn and very effective for group discussion.

I really enjoyed this book! The author's clever sense of humor and the great illustrations make a difficult subject--mental models--fun and easy to learn about. I think the book would help any company, family, or even couple get better at exploring why they think the way they do, and how to communicate better with colleagues and loved ones. The discussion guide at the end of the book makes it easy to start using the ideas in your day-to-day life.

David Hutchens brings new insight and twists to an age old metaphor. This book begins with a humorous tale whose analogy, to the world in which we live and the mental models which we hold, will hit you between the eyes. The writer quickly points out problems every organization battles with to improve performance and grow. While the business culture has become so overwhelmed with change, many leaders have embraced their current state of affairs. Holding tight to what we have, we spend much of our energy trying not to lose market share. This book gives insight into why and when this happens and how to move from there. "In a world of chaotic information, the mind instantly locks onto that which it already knows--and simply filters out other data." (from Shadows of the Neanderthal) I'm glad I bought it. Thom Hazelip, Arthur Andersen LLP

An excellent overview of the liturgical development of the early church. I would recommend this book to all people like myself that are non-liturgical. Dix brings out that the general outline of the service of the Eucharist "is everywhere most remarkably the same after 300 years of independent existance in the widely scattered church" in the Mediterranean region. If the non-liturical fundamentalist arguement that pagan intrusion was the origin of the Eucharist service were true, we would expect to see widely divergent local customs surrounding the eucharist service. The only explanation to explain the remarkable similarity is a common origin that must date to the very beginning of the Christian movement, before its missionary expansion. This would mean that the original design of the Eucharist liturgical service was done with Apostolic oversight.
This is blockbuster news to a non-liturgical cleric like myself. After reading this book, I now have more of a respect for the desire of my liturgic brother to keep the shape of the liturgy as it has been handed down to him or her. And I now will be more open to incorporating parts of the liturgy into our non-liturgical service. This is a must read for those that are contemplating throwing out the customs and practices of the liturgical service as being boring and repetitious. Instead the ministry of the liturgical church needs to teach what Dom Gregory Dix writes to the laity of the church, so they understand the various parts of the service, what they mean and their Apostolic origins. If someone had done that for me when I was an adolescent growing up in a liturgical church, I might have stayed in the church, instead of moving on to be a pastor in a non-liturgical denomination.

This is the end all for the liturgy. Detailed to a fault and well written. Dix did christianity a favor by producing this work for the people.

Most Liturgical scholars own a copy of Dix's `Shape of the Liturgy.' The reason is that Dix is perhaps the most thorough and erudite liturgical scholar of the 20th century. `Shape' is a classic that has fundamentally shaped most Protestant and Catholic denominations. To the person not familiar with `liturgy,' it means `work of the people,' and is the way in which Christians have traditionally worshipped. It is a common worship, in which the worship of various separate churches is similar, but varies by time of year, and with the local culture.

Dix starts with an introduction to the Liturgy; then he moves on to the performance of the Liturgy. Then he begins his historical quest, in which he attempts to find the roots of the liturgy in the Biblical documents, moving into the pre-Nicene time period. It was in the very early pre-Nicene times that the Eucharist came to consist of a four-action shape: offering, thanksgiving, fraction, and communion. He discusses the Eucharistic prayer, the local traditions, the meaning and theology of the Eucharist, consecration theology, sanctification of time, and the ceremonial. He then discusses the completion of the shape, and the use of variable prayers. Then he covers the medieval liturgy, the Reformation liturgies (with particular attention to Anglican issues), and a call for renewal.

Overall, Dix's work is monumental. Sometimes, it is a bit too monumental. The work is 764 pages long. Much of what he says could be condensed into probably 200 pages effectively. However, his attention to detail is marvelous: he has read every Church father writing 2-3 times! Dix is partly responsible for the rediscovery of Liturgy in most mainline Churches, from the Evangelical Lutheran Church to the United Methodist Church. His research into early liturgies has demonstrated the Jewish nature of many Christian liturgies. I highly recommend this book. However, a little patience is needed to get through the entire book.

"Everything old is new again" seems to have impacted the Christian Church in the 21st Century. With the "rediscovery" of the richness and depth of the ancient forms of worship, the reprint of this classic on liturgy is very welcomed.

Dom Gregory Dix, an Anglican scholar, began a short presentation of the shape of liturgy that by his own admission became an expansive examination of how the Church has worshipped over the centuries. The research is outstanding and the general usefulness of the book is amazing considering the length to which the author has gone to verify his conclusions.

This outstanding work is a key for those theologians, pastors and priests seriously interested in the worship of the church through the ages. A serious layman can obtain much from the book as well.

Dom Gregory Dix's "The Shape of the Liturgy," originally published in 1945, is a classic work that anyone who appreciates the importance and beauty of liturgical planning and development should own. This work represents one of the first serious attempts to influence liturgical reform in the Church of England toward pre-Nicene forms, and Dix's overarching structure of "take,bless, break, and give" still serves us well today. This book is written in a very accessible way, and it provides the background for understanding the theology behind many of the post-Vatican II reforms. I highly recommend it.

I don't know anybody who having read Sharing Words doesn't believe that social transformation by education can be a reality. Sharing Words explains the possibility for adult illiterates to partake of literacy to the extent of reading classical literature. In addition, it outlines how it is possible to overcome the main obstacles like gender, race, age, and ethnicity that curtail literacy experiences and social participation. The reader appreciates how the literary circles and their organization become a democratic educative practice which produce a transformation in the learners, as well as in their daily and societal context. The experiences depicted in this book do away with stereotypes that relate to the low expectations of our society from people who lack a university degree. I identified the two elements that are propagated by Freire, the theoretical base of the educative experience and the dreams evoked by it. From deep understanding of theory and practice, Flecha deals with both in a very accurate way.

Before reading this book, I didn't believe that one person coming from illiteracy could read James Joyce. Going through Sharing Words, I have realized that to believe that this is possible is the only way to make it. Definitely: Sharing Words is a revolutionary book, it do to believe that the people make dreams possible by education.

What most impressed me about this book is how Flecha successfully overcomes the common gap between educational practice and theory. "Sharing words" is about an efficient educational practice which is taking place every week in different places around the world. The secret for the educational practice efficiency is dialogic learning. This innovative way to approach education is convincingly argued for by the author by introducing the powerful intellectual basis - Freire, Habermas, Giddens - which supports it. Flecha not only presents the seven principles of dialogic learning as a theory or as possible outcomes when the theory is applied; he also includes the voices of those who are actually taking part in the practice. This combination of theory and practice is insightful, especially since it is not easily found in the literature. As a result Flecha gives the reader the opportunity to be immersed in the successful learning experience of literacy students reading Kafka, Joyce, Garcia Lorca... an amazing real utopia! The seven principles of dialogic learning are the most exhaustive set of principles to be used to completely overcome all kinds of discrimination and problems that are at the center of the educational debate. All possible bias are taken into account: ageism, sexism, racism, classism... For all these reasons, I strongly feel that "Sharing Words" will be of great interest and of greater reward for all who care about education, believe in social justice and work everyday to make such ideals a reality for all.

What most impressed me about this book is how Flecha successfully overcomes the common gap between educational practice and theory. "Sharing words" is about an efficient educational practice which is taking place every week in different places around the world. The secret for the educational practice efficiency is dialogic learning. This innovative way to approach education is convincingly argued for by the author by introducing the powerful intellectual basis - Freire, Habermas, Giddens - which supports it. Flecha not only presents the seven principles of dialogic learning as a theory or as possible outcomes when the theory is applied; he also includes the voices of those who are actually taking part in the practice. This combination of theory and practice is insightful, especially since it is not easily found in the literature. As a result Flecha gives the reader the opportunity to be immersed in the successful learning experience of literacy students reading Kafka, Joyce, Garcia Lorca... an amazing real utopia! The seven principles of dialogic learning are the most exhaustive set of principles to be used to completely overcome all kinds of discrimination and problems that are at the center of the educational debate. All possible bias are taken into account: ageism, sexism, racism, classism... For all these reasons, I strongly feel that "Sharing Words" will be of great interest and of greater reward for all who care about education, believe in social justice and work everyday to make such ideals a reality for all.

"Sharing Words" is a book to be read if you want to know about an alternative educational method that listens to the voices of those people who are usually descounted. This book demonstrates how any person is able to analyze culture and society on the basis of his/her experience. Knowledge, as it is understood in "Sharing Words", is not only something abstrct with an academic degree; knowledges also comes from life experience and has not a concrete age, gender, colour of skin or preferences, this is, all the people are able to learn from their own capabilities and necessities and have the right to decide what and how they want to learn.

I had read this book's review in the Harvard Educational Review and I had very much anticipated its release, because it seemed to offer a unique look at education, its beneficiaries, and its methods. I must admit the book has measured up to all that deal of anticipation.

In "Sharing Words" Ramón Flecha raises critical issues. The book is both provocative and thought-provoking, and it challenges, in particular, mainstream ways of dealing with the world of literature.

The book offers ways of crossing cultural borders by focusing on the use and enjoyment of literature by ordinary people, and on their views, rather than on those of the elite, which is a somewhat rare approach in our so-called advanced democratic societies. However, these critical approaches are fortunately becoming less and less of an oddity these days, and books such as this one bear witness to that.

By way of a conclusion, I cannot but reproduce the H.E.R. reviewer's literal words: «'Sharing Words' crosses many borders. It highlights both theory and practice; it is both expository and narrative; and it refers as much to educational and social science works as to classical literature. In this way, 'Sharing Words' may be an example of a new way of writing about educational theory and practice, one that results in a captivating and enjoyable experience that invites the reader to share and comment with colleagues, students, and friends.»

McIntyre's book is an absolute MUST read for the lay or professional pastoral worker/counselor. Her insights regarding the dynamic of transference are penetrating and relevant to a proper understanding of the subject. Whether you are being transferred onto, or have engaged in this behavior yourself, McIntyre's book illimunates the subject in such a way as to enlighten the reader to the harmful effects of pressing transferences, the appropriate measures and precautions to take when we're the object of transference, as well as what to do if we're the one in transference. A much needed and useful tool in spiritual and emotional warfare.

The book i personally found very helpful in my own family setting as it looks on why people transfer their emotions onto others. It deals wisely with the need to find wholeness in our relationship with God - to open the memories which when repressed can lead us to transfer onto others. For the one transfered upon the importance of holding onto the truth and not wallowing in a reactive and subjective attitude is made clear. The book has helped me feel less alone and fearful in response to others' transferance and also my own unhealedness. I recommend the book as a 'restoring' book to those 'subject' to their own unresolved needs and those of others.

McIntyre's book is an absolute MUST read for the lay or professional pastoral worker/counselor. Her insights regarding the dynamic of transference are penetrating and relevant to a proper understanding of the subject. Whether you are being transferred onto, or have engaged in this behavior yourself, McIntyre's book illimunates the subject in such a way as to enlighten the reader to the harmful effects of pressing transferences, the appropriate measures and precautions to take when we're the object of transference, as well as what to do if we're the one in transference. A much needed and useful tool in spiritual and emotional warfare.

McIntyre's book is an incredible testimony of personal experience in emotional enmeshment and the underlying spiritual and psychological issues that accompany it. It is also an incredible explication of how this common emotional condition is connected to christian concepts of idolatry. For those who have been caught up in the emotional turmoil and conflict that is common in these kinds of experiences, especially when they come out in a church, counseling or ministry context as well as interpersonal relationships, this book can bring insight and clarity to the spiritual and emotional underpinnings of this common condition. Contrary to some interpretations, this book does not label "transference" as "sin", but rather points out from a testimonial and pastoral perspective how the dynamics of transference play an integral part in emotional enmeshment, emotional dependence and emotional idolatry in present relationships. It also covers well how to deal with it outside the therapy office in the contexts in which it can occurr. It is not a substitute for more in-depth psychological understanding of the concepts presented, or for therapy where it is needed. It is a great book for gaining insight and initial understanding on a pastoral level about issues that are tumultuous and confusing in nature.