Resources Books

Wally Bock's Performance Talk is a must-have for managers of all levels, in all industries. I currently am in management at one of the largest financial institutions in the world, and have truly valued Bock's down-to-earth, story telling approach to management. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about, as well as striving to improve, his/her own management style.

10 May 2006:

Performance Talk is, in my view, a minor masterpiece, maybe even
a future classic.

For years I trained supervisors and first line managers all over the USA. So, I know whereof I speak.

Wally Bock capture, engage, and reveal every possible point of friction a new manager faces.

He clarify the challenges all new managers endure.

He delineates principles, postures, and practices that yield more effective performance. Performance by the manager and performance
by subordinates.

Burt Dubin, president,
Personal Achievement Institute

____________________________________________________

Managing people is difficult. Through story dialogue Bock's book introduces the reader to topics which strengthen management skills. Key points are absorbed without having to take notes or study the material. Reminders and resources highlight concepts and are located throughout this concise book. For in depth study, workbooks and learning aids are conveniently available on the web site. Performance Talk supplements other courses on management and self-development with a painless and easy to read format.

I normally stay away from (a) books on leadership and (b) business books written in story form. But Wally is one of the smartest guys I know, and this little book is surprisingly entertaining and useful. Unlike other books on leadership which are ponderous and dull, this book is fun and motivating.

If you are in the business of managing people then this book is a must read. "Performance Talk" is easy reading, a little over a 100 pages, and a book you will not want to put down. This book needs to be in every Manager's tool box and should be required reading for ALL Supervisors regardless of the industry or profession they work in. "This stuff really works!"

Chelsea Hall
October 13, 2005


This year I read The Pit and the Pendulum, by Edgar Allen Poe. It's about a guy who is captured and tortured by a pendulum, but shortly after is thrown into an abyss. My favorite artist, Griss Grimly makes drawings from Poe's stories. So since I love Griss so much I decided to check Poe out. I'd recommend this story to any one who likes Griss Grimly's art who is over the age of thirteen. If you don't like guar, crazy, magical, scary, mystery books you wouldn't like this story, but if you do like everything I said you like this book.
This book was wonderful because of all the torture. The guy in this book was hearing people that really weren't there. For example he said "I saw the lips of the black robed judges. They appeared white whiter then this sheet upon which I write these words and thin even grotesquely. Also another scary moment in this story is when the pendulum gets closer and closer to his rob, it was very suspenseful. It said "down steadily down it crept. Down certainly, relentlessly down". The only thing wrong was it was a little hard to understand. Like "it enveloped my limbs and body close in all directions, save in the path of the destroying crescent".
My over all opinion was a wonderful experience. It was fun and not boring, unlike all the other books I've read. Anyone looking for horror stories, which love terror scary and fun you will like this book.

Edgar Allen Poe (1809-49) is one of the most famous of American authors of mysterious and macabre stories, certainly the most famous 19th century one. The Pit and the Pendulum was first published in 1843, and is one of his best known works. The early part of the story has a diffuse, dreamlike quality, but before you know it, the story quickens and sharpens as it descends into hair-raising horror. The hero must strain and struggle to stay alive, but will the Inquisition let him live, can nothing save him?

OK, it sure is easy to see why this story is recognized as a classic work of American literature! It is scary, in the older way, without recourse to blood and severed limbs, and keeps you glued to your chair reading it. I am now quite sorry that it took me so long to get around to reading this story, it's great, and I highly recommend it.

SPOILER BELOW:

By the way, is it true that this story is a Christian allegory? It is inevitable that, regardless of what the hero does, he will end up in the pit (Hell). When he avoids it early on, you see the figure of time with its pendulum slowly moving towards taking his life away, and afterward the pit is still inevitable. And then, when all hope is lost, and his efforts won't save him, it is the hand of God that reaches out to save him. Read this story and decide for yourself!

I think that this was a very exciting book. It's one of those books where you need to keep reading to find out what happns next and it's like you can't stop. The narrator is stuck in the Spanish inquisition and he discovers a pit--no one knows whats down there, but you can guess by context clues. Then he awakens to a pendulum swinging over him, that comes down so slow. Will he be cunning enough to escape? Read and find out!

I really enjoy very much Poe's short stories, mainly those where he gives us only a glimpse in some part of his main character's life.

"The pit and the pendulum" has almost no begginig and no end. It's the story of a man condemned to death by the Inquisiton. This death is not a simple one, since he is thrown in a dungeon with no light and lots of dangers.

This short story is full of anguish and told in an almost hysterical way. The reader discovers the horrors of the dungeon together with the main character. We don't know his name, we don't know what he did to be condemned, we don't know where he came from, we don't know nothing at all about him. And yet we keep turning the pages to see whet's going to happen next.

Poe had a dark style of writing; he could toy with his reader's minds as well as with his character's minds, and that's what makes him a master of romantic-gothic storytelling.

Read with the lights on.

Grade 9.6/10

I thought this short story was very good! It is about a man(with an unknown name) that is sent to the spanish inquisistion and is stuck there for many nights. One night he later awakes and is awoken by a swinging pendulum coming down to slice him. The only way out is through a never ending pit or to be killed by a spiked pendulum...which way will he choose...read it and you will find out!

A thoughtful, accessible plunge into the subject of human nature and our impact on biodiversity.

Russ Finley, evoking the wit of Studs Terkel, the scientific eye of Jacques Cousteau and the wisdom of Dr. John Gray, takes the reader on a free ranging tour through the historical and current debates on population, biodiversity and the male-female dynamic. Entertaining, educational and always insightful, this well referenced work will have you chuckling as you reassess commonly held beliefs on the environment, politics and the choices we all make in life.

"Poison Darts" is really two stories in one. Volume I, a quick read, is an entertaining fictional story. It illustrates a world where a clever think tank of specialists, each devoted to protecting the environment in their own special way, basically save the world from certain environmental catastrophe. It all revolves around the "TIFIC" or the "Take It and Forget It Contrapceptive" as it is named in the book, and the effects our ever growing population has on the environment. The story lays out in detail Finley's theory on why our environment is being destroyed and his solutions to many of the most challenging problems our world has ever seen.

Finley, is more realistic than many environmentalists I have ever read the work of. Working on the proven but unaccepted idea that the "noble savage" is a myth, Finley bluntly tells the story of future environmental degredation at human hands. His solutions to the difficulty encountered in preserving the environment are quite different. Instead of the all too familiar approach of just roping off the wilderness, and making laws against environmental damage, Finley proposes that the reason for the destruction of our eco-system is mostly because of the amazing growth in world population over the last 100 years. His pushing for the development of the "TIFIC" is a main theme in this book and he continually discusses the connection between a rapidly growing world population and environmental destruction. His theory of reducing the world population by all but eliminating unwanted pregnancies (using the TIFIC) is the key to saving the environment from human destruction. If there are less people, they will not use as much of the Earth's resources, and thus there will be far less environmental damage. Volume I is a witty, interesting story that gives the reader hope that a solution to the problems that come with preserving biodiversity are possible to impliment.

Volume II is downright scary. Instead of taking place in a fictional world, Finley is dead honest in describing what is happening in our world and why we must act quickly to save the Earth. Finley doesn't tree hug, or say we shouldn't destroy eco-systems because they are beautiful. He explains point blank why the destruction of the eco-system will really hurt human kind and the environment alike, and will most likely lead to irreversible destruction. Finley, and engineer, takes a more analytical look at the problems we face as a planet, and the difficulty caused by not making any attempt to solve such problems.

This book (Volumes I&II) is essential reading for those who care about preserving the planet's biodiversity, and are interested in solving the problems caused by its destruction. This book does not do much finger pointing, just analyzes the main causes of environmental destruction, and presents solutions to such problems.

Finley's analysis of our world and human kind's effect on the environment is well written, descriptive, and realistic in its attempt to solve the problems we will face in the future. This is a great book, I recommend buying this book, and circulating it among your neighbors and friends after you finish reading it.

Enjoy!

This is a two-volume book about a hypothetical contraceptive, the "Take It and Forget It Contraceptive" (TIFIC) which Russ Finley believes is just what the world needs in order to stem its population and prevent the loss of biodiversity.

Here's how a hypothetical TIFIC might work: a vaccine is made that "creates antibodies that deactivate sperm cells by interfering" with "the operation of their little tails." (Vol. I, p. 20) This works for both men and women. Fertility would be restored by having both prospective parents take a daily antidote pill until conception is achieved. Finley's idea is that nearly everybody would want to have the vaccination so that they wouldn't have to worry about unwanted pregnancies--the "take it and forget it" aspect.

In Volume I Finley writes a novel in which a rain forest frog and its tadpole supply the contraceptive and its antidote. The problem with the novel is that it lacks tension and is rather flat emotionally. The characters and the story are primarily vehicles for the dissemination of Finley's ideas. However, Volume Two, which is a collection of Finley's writings on overpopulation and allied concerns, contains some of the best writing on this subject that I have ever read.

Finley's main point, and one that few in the environmental debate seem to get, is that we are NOT going to save the biodiversity of the planet by good intentions or any combination thereof, simply because human nature is such that we will always look out for our own welfare first while the welfare of other beings, especially if they are distant, will be of secondary importance. I once asked a student of mine who wanted to have half a dozen children, if she would be willing to forgo having one of them to save the tigers. She said no.

At least she was honest. Most people would not even give up the convenience of their SUV for the tigers (if such a thing were possible). Indeed, another one of Finley's points is that "There is no mechanism to shift resources" from those who have them in the US to those in, say, Africa, who do not. He believes that the profit motive and status-seeking behaviors of humans override "most ideologies that do not have those drives as part of them." (Vol II, p. 16)

Note well that Finley wants our population to stop growing immediately because the more people there are, the more they will expand and bring about the extinction of other forms of life. Indeed, Finley believes we already have too many people on this planet. I agree with him and his assertion that both Malthus and Paul Ehrlich will ultimately be proven right, and that sophists like the late Julian Simon will be proven wrong.

Here are some examples of Finley's insight and his considerable expertise (page numbers are from Volume II):

"...[O]verpopulation has always been a local problem...When the people of Easter Island were starving to death, the planet was far from overpopulated. The archaeological record is rife with example of populations that have crashed because of overpopulation..." (p. 24)

"I prefer a definition that says you have overpopulation whenever you have people living at the subsistence level. If you assume that people who live on less than $2 a day are at the subsistence level, then roughly half of the people in the world are living in overpopulated boundaries." (p. 53)

"Once a Chinese peasant can afford a scooter, he will obtain one, and when he can afford an SUV, he will obtain one of those too. The instinctive urge to continuously seek higher status does not satiate itself." (p. 56)

"The economic systems available to us fall into a spectrum. At one end, you will find unbridled capitalism and the use of slaves...As you move toward the middle, you will find regulated free markets. This is capitalism with rules in place to limit how badly people with power can abuse those who are making them rich." (p. 76)

"Attempts to reduce CO2 levels are treating the symptoms of what ails our planet, not the cause. The cause is overpopulation--the needs, and the desires of billions of people...Giving aspirin to reduce the discomfort of a fever--global warming--is not as effective as prescribing an antibiotic--the TIFIC--that would reduce the number of agents that caused the fever--us." (p. 92)

"...[T]he people in China and India have an average ecological footprint that is many times lower than yours or mine...[Yet] China's and India's destroyed ecosystems are the perfect experiments showing that lowering one's ecological footprint all the way down to that of a rice eating peasant will not save the planet." (pp. 113-114)

Finally, let me quote from the Prologue to Volume I: "...[How] do you allow people to satiate their status-seeking urges (which are closely related to sexual urges) without allowing them to advertise their prowess with trophies--books, published papers, houses, remodels, or cars? The answer is revealing--you can't. Tell people that they must stop having sex and seeking status is no different than telling them that they must stop walking upright. You couldn't call yourself a normal healthy human if you stopped doing all of those things. You cannot change human nature." (p. iv)

This work would be more effective if Finley would publish the second volume (with the prologue to Volume I) separately. It would also help if he would hire a professional editor. His writing is incisive and persuasive, and what he says needs to be heard. His refutation of Julian Simon was especially instructive. His metaphor that frogs are the canaries in the coal mine that is our planet (and that frogs can save us) is well taken and alarming. Ask yourself, when was the last time you saw a frog?

If professional editing is indeed what this book needs to ensure that its message is heard, as some of the reveiwers seem to think, then let us hope a professional editor who cares contacts Russell soon.

As a relatively undemanding reader with a quest to know more, I simply found it easy to read, funny and refreshingly down to earth, realistic and human. I was looking for solutions rather than problems, and solutions that recognised that what drives most adult humans, for better and worse, is greed.

I am someone who has happened rather belatedly upon a concern for the environment, and the critical importance of maintaining bio-diversity, due to finding out about Peak Oil. Having grasped the implications of resource depletion, I immediately fell into a doomsday depression, coupled with a burning desire to impress upon everyone the urgent need to restrain their consumption and live a simple life. Not long after that, I realised the futility of "rioting for austerity". I therefore decided to be optimistic, and place my faith in human ingenuity, like my father's hero Paul Simon, despite mounting evidence that the Ehrlichs were right in all but timing.

One of the many encouraging points that Russell makes in this book is that both Simon and the Ehrlichs were right, and what is more, Simon's point about the potential of human ingenuity to overcome problems means that one plank of Russell's solution - creating well protected reserves of bio-diversity - simply gives humans the opportunity to demonstrate that ingenuity sooner rather than later. (Unfortunately, just to prove how urgent the message is, since publishing the book, the agreement to develop ANWAR has gone ahead - enough oil to last the US 200 days in exchange for an arctic wilderness of inestimable value to future generations. Go figure).

As a former marketing professional, I can quite see how the other plank of his solution - the Take It and Forget It contraceptive (with antidote), for men or women, is a winner - and worthy of investment in research.

When I understood that the likely investment to bring this contraceptive to reality (it is already a partial reality for animals), coupled with the costs of preserving 70% of the world's current biodiversity, is less than the cost of a few days war in IRAQ, I wished I was Bill Gates.

Humans are a very successful species. They are so successful that they have circumvented evolution and ecology to a point where significant selection pressures applied to the human population have been nearly severed. With the simple act of passing along DNA, the human population has exploded to an unprecedented level. Over the past several thousands years of human existence on the planet earth, several major technological events occurred that have bumped up the carrying capacity of the population.

For thousands of years, humans were supposedly hunters and gatherers - but, if the truth were known, they were probably more like gatherers and scavengers, since some recent evidence has debunked the image of the "mighty human hunter." At any rate, this lifestyle can only provide support for a limited number of people - and as a result, the human population remained low for thousands of years.

Agriculture was invented around 8 to 9 thousand years ago, no fewer than 10 times by various cultures. Along with this paradigm shift in food management, came stabilized living areas (as opposed to a nomadic existence) and the domestication of animals. The invention of agriculture bumped the carrying capacity significantly - a population increase began.

With the stabilization of humans came cities, industrialization, and manufacturing of goods - first with simple metals, initiating historical periods, like the Bronze and Iron Ages, to the Industrial Revolution, that allowed the population to grow even more.

The Industrial Revolution gave way to the Age of Medicine, and the Space and Computer Ages. These later periods led to the greatest human population explosion ever witnessed. These historical events were the necessary paradigm shifts that allowed the short-changing and short-circuiting of evolution and natural selection.

As a result of this snow-ball effect of passing DNA along from generation to generation, and the lack of a natural "check" on the population that can significantly keep the population to naturally manageable numbers, the environment on earth has experienced a catastrophic and detrimental decrease in biodiversity.

In order to support such a massive and "out of control" human population, natural resources need to be harvested, mined, gathered, and processed at a phenomenal rate. Most of these materials are not renewable, and those that are, cannot be renewed at the rate the human population is growing. With the gathering of natural resources by an irresponsible species, with a lack of understanding of basic biological principles, ecological doom is soon to occur. The earth can handle only so much manipulation. The organic and inorganic cycles of the planet can only function to a certain limit - the biogeochemical cycles have their thresholds - and humans are pushing these cycles to their limits.

Not only is the harvesting of resources detrimental to the planet - but so is the destruction of natural ecosystems to make room for more humans - urban sprawl, city growth, and the development and construction of canals, dams, highways, and related infrastructure are only a few examples of how the environment is being manipulated and fragmented for the benefit of humans.

The past few years have witnessed the explosion of the "Information Age" - the invention of the Internet and the ready exchange of ideas via electronic means. People have the ability to access tons of information that they otherwise would not have access to. Using this to their advantage, environmental groups are reaching out to an otherwise ignorant population, and educating them on the perils of human meddling in the natural systems of the planet. A faint cry can be heard - a cry of concern, shame, and worry. The environment is falling apart, and a crippled scramble is manifesting an attempt to address the environmental damage created by humans. But is it enough? Will humans maintain the status quo of being a creature that doesn't react to a crisis until the 11th hour?

Enter Russ Finley. No doubt he has fretted with these questions throughout his life. What is the solution to this looming "end of the world as we know it?" He is rich with ideas, and he successfully created a means to communication his ideas for the greater good - he wrote a book entitled "Poison Darts."

In this brilliantly written book, divided into two sections, Russ Finley addresses the looming doom head-on. Although part I of the book is science fiction in nature, it presents plausible and reasonable solutions to the human over-population problem. Once the speeding human population freight train is under control, the rape of the earth can stop - and the healing can begin. Part II contains a series of essays of an intellectual character that concentrates on many of the issues discussed and explored in part I.

The first section is about a non-profit group that engineers a pill to neutralize sperm cells and switch the cells over to a non-viable form. This allows the prevention of un-planned pregnancies. It's a clever strategy and if distributed properly, can be very effective in inserting a "check" back into the human population. In addition, the group also starts to set aside and preserve the last undeveloped tracts of land throughout the world. Of course, the group also ensures the properties are protected from poachers, loggers, etc. with an elite team of soldiers, trained to keep the peace and the land safe from unscrupulous people.

As a result of placing a control on the human population, many of the environmental problems and issues have a chance of being reversed. But, it will take a tremendous effort to maintain this new "way of doing things." Russ Finley has thought of nearly everything when writing this fictional account. The story provides plenty of "food for thought" and allows the reader to ponder the fate of the human species, and the planet earth.

The book is sprinkled with scientific facts, which makes it interesting reading. Also, the book is supported by a web page. Uniform resource locators (URLs) are cited throughout the text, and the reader can refer to these URLs for updated links and information. This allows for the text to never be out of date.

The essays in Part II continue the discussion with focused queries into the many environmental issues facing the planet today. The essays can be read independently from Part I and can be read in any order. If you are avid student of the world with an environmental twist, this book is a must-read.

Before MLK, Gandhi, Tolstoy, or Thoreau, there was the brilliant Etienne de La Boetie, who explored civil disobedience, resistance to tyranny, and the brutal exploitative nature of the state.

Murray N. Rothbard's insightful introduction places this pioneering work in historical context and in the pantheon of Libertarian classics.

Boetie wrote his "Discourse" around 1553 when he was about 22 years of age and a student at the University of Orleans. This libertarian essay, two centuries ahead of its time, was never published by the Catholic and soon-to-be conservative Boetie. Huguenots published it anonymously in 1574 and fully credited it in 1576 (Boetie died in 1563 at 32 years of age).

The "Discourse" is an abstract, universal, naturally reasoned argument passionately calling for widespread civil disobedience to tyranny. Harold Laski later made the observation that "A sense of popular right such as the Friend of Montaigne [Boetie] depicts is, indeed, as remote from the spirit of the time as the anarchy of Herbert Spencer in an age committed to government interference" (see his "A Defence of Liberty Against Tyrants, p 11). Boetie appealed to man's universal nature rather than presumed or real historical precedents resulting in a timeless document that speaks to all ages.

Boetie begins "I should like merely to understand how it happens that so many men, so many villages, so many cities, so many nations, sometimes suffer under a single tyrant who has no other power than the power they give him; who is able to harm them only to the extent to which they have the willingness to bear with him . . .". He asks "Shall we call subjection to such a leader cowardice? . . . If a hundred, if a thousand endure the caprice of a single man, should we not rather say that they lack not the courage but the desire to rise against him, and that such an attitude indicates indifference rather than cowardice? . . . What monstrous vice, then, is this which does not even deserve to be called cowardice, a vice for which no term can be found vile enough?"

Boetie made a profound insight into the nature of the State - all states, including tyrannous ones, are based upon general popular acceptance.

Boetie continues "If we led our lives according to the ways intended by nature and the lessons taught by her, we should be intuitively obedient to our parents; later we should adopt reason as our guide and become slaves to nobody". He says ". . . there can be no further doubt that we are all naturally free", and asks "what evil chance has so denatured man that he, the only creature really born to be free, lacks the memory of his original condition and the desire to return to it?"

"He who thus domineers over you . . . How does he have any power over you except through you? How would he dare assail you if he had no cooperation from you?", he asks, ". . . you can deliver yourself if you try, not by taking action, but merely by willing to be free. Resolve to serve no more, and you are at once freed".

Boetie is saying that tyranny dissolves when the majority of the ruled withdraws its consent and thereby deprives the ruling minority of its support and grudging acceptance. Yet, the ruled seldom accomplish this. Boetie tells us the reason is "habituation":

"It is true that in the beginning men submit under constraint and by force; but those who come after them obey without regret and perform willingly what their predecessors had done because they had to. This is why men born under the yoke and then nourished and reared in slavery are content, without further effort, to live in their native circumstance, unaware of any other state or right, and considering as quite natural the condition into which they are born . . . it is clear enough that the powerful influence of custom is in no respect more compelling than in this, namely, habituation to subjection. It is said that . . . nature . . . has less power over us than custom."

Boetie made a second profound insight into the nature of the State - all states are in essence a hierarchy of privilege that benefits a limited minority. In his illustration of this point, Boetie employes the language of natural law and natural rights.

Boetie also noted the State's use of propaganda and techniques of information warfare (IW) employed upon its subjects to maintain servility. He says "it has always happened that tyrants, in order to strengthen their power, have made every effort to train their people not only in obedience and servility toward themselves, but also in adoration."

In conclusion, Boetie should be considered the first "Gandhi" or advocate of civil disobedience and it should be noted that he grounded his notions in man's natural right to liberty as dictated by natural law. His insights into the State ring true today. Modern Americans allow themselves to be regulated, taxed, and shipped off to invade and bomb their global neighbors to the same extent as their "cousins" across the pond in the United Kingdom - a phenomenon that no doubt has their liberty-loving forefathers rolling in their graves. Boetie hoped education would induce the withdrawal of consent, but as his turn to conservatism lays tribute, it is the weight of the yoke that prompts any reaction.

"...And you are at once free. I do not ask that you place hands on the tyrant, but merely cease to obey him, and you will see him, like a colossus, fall of his own weight and break into pieces." So begins this short classic. It reads as if written with words of fire. Astonishing clarity and moral certitude bathe the ideas expressed. There is no room for temporarizing in La Boiete; the breathtaking clarity of his ideas blew cobwebs from my mind. It was like learning to walk on two legs instead of four. Some toung in cheek references to how his rhetoric does not apply to the France of the Capetian dynasty merely add flavor and wit to his insights. Non-violent resistance and civil disobedience both trace their modern pedigrees to this work. This is a book for the ages, and it is a shame that it is not widely available in English. (Knowledge Products excerpts it on tape in their, "Giants of Political Thought" cassette series.) I wish every student could be given a copy of this book; then, our liberty would face a brighter future than now appears to be the case. -Lloyd A. Conway

"The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude" has influencedsome of the world's greatest social thinkers; from Leo Tolstoy toMohandus Gandhi to Ayn Rand. Written in the 1550s, as something of an underground tract or pamphlet by a young French student and friend of essayist Michelle de Montaigne, this short work remains a timeless expose of the psychology and inherent corruption involved in social or political power. The work has been in and out of print in English (Some of its various titles over the years were "Slaves By Choice," "Anti-Dictator," "The Will To Bondage," and "The Politics of Obedience: The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude"). In North America it has been out of print for some time now, unfortunately. Since its original circulation in the early 1550s as "de la servitude volontaire ou contr'un," this short but powerful work seems to find its way back into print whenever the winds of social change began blowing toward tyranny.

Etienne de la Boetie's THE POLITICS OF OBEDIENCE has also been named THE WILL TO BONDAGE edited by James J. Martin. The focus of the Boetie's book is the fact that the "Terrible Tyrant" is often a wimp and a coward and only survives because of the sychophants who readily obey him and betray each other to prove their loyalty.

Boetie cites historical examples of tyrants who ruled large populations due to the fact that their immediate supporters and the masses of people were immune to thinking that they could do better if their changes or regime changes. Yet, history provided very few examples up to the time of Boetie(the 16th. century). Boetie witnessed some of the excesses of the Reformation and Counter Reformation and the fact that tyrants were only too willing to take advantage of religious hatred to exploit their subjects.

Boetie's work is relevant in the 21st. century. The game of politics has not changed much except for the fact that The State has expanded exponentially since the 16th century. Boetie's argument that thinking only have to withdraw their support to bring the State to its knees which Ghandi did in India. Yet, there are so few surviving examples of this political ploy to expect too much except to write for the record.

What has made the situation worse is that the State has layers of burcaucracy with brainless bureaucrats who staff these powerful offices. These bureaucrats are basically useless and stupid and easily fit James J. Martin's description as "The New Stupid." They are useless which is why the State has made them indespensible.

This book has been reissued only a few times since it was first published in 1577. Yet, the reappearence of this book is a good sign that some people still consider it an important study in understanding the State

I can't believe this book has such a low price. Fitness and nutrition is an area where you can easily spend a lot of money (coachs, nutritionist, gyms, special diets, equipment).

On the other side of the coin you can also spend a lot of money if you don't have a healthy lifestyle (doctors to treat diabetes, hypertension, heart disease).

Well, here is a guide that might very well save you tons of money and change your life for the better.

Just the first chapter of the book is worth its price, by far. In that chapter the author gives a general description of what an average guy would eat through out a complete day. As she describes this hypotetic guy's diet she explains what happens to your body at each stage, she explains all the mistakes we commonly make when eating.

In the second part of the first chapter she tells you what you could do instead during a complete day, she explains what you should eat, at what time, in what amounts and why.

Her explanation of the glygemic index and its relation to glucose levels opened a new world for me. I finally have come to understand why I was having terrible lows of energy during the day.

I believe those explanations would be enough to get you on the right track and start seeing results. With results I mean, more energy, less fat, better feeling in general.

She builds from there and each chapter is devoted to understanding what you need to do to achieve specific results. The last chapter is as good as the first one. It has a lot of tips on what you can do to improve your diet and how it can become part of the life of a very busy guy.

The advice in this book is thorough and most of the time she is on the right track. The only aspects I did't like was how she promoted milk, eggs, and soy. But I really don't blame her for that, since there is much controversy around dairy and soy.

There are books like The China Study that constitute a serious analysis of why certain very common foods are actually the cause for many of the health problems in the western world. So, basically when it comes to dairy and soy you should read both sides of the debate and make up your mind as what you think might be good for you.

Other than that, the book is just amazing, and I did't really mind much about her mention of dairy since she really doesn't talk too much about it.

It is clear to me that the author knows a lot about the scientific aspect of food, and some of her explanations go in that direction, still you don't feel it like a heavy read. So, I believe the tone of the book is perfect for an average guy who just wants to know what he should really eat, when, how, and in what amount.

The best book on nutrition I have seen so far!

I think if you read this one and The China Study, you will have almost all information needed to make a sound decision when thinking about your diet and your goals!

By the way there are tons of menus you can use. I really really liked that, because the books on nutrition I have seen have very poor menus or ideas to get you started.

I have to make something clear. I liked the China Study more for what it promotes than for what it forbides. According to the study you should eat tons of plants, fruits, vegetables. And even though the author of the China study promotes the elimination of animal protein from diet, he actually compromises and says if you want to eat animal protein, do it but still try to focus on eating a lot more vegetables. So, before anyone start a long debate here, I have to say I do eat dairy! Just that not in the amounts I used to! Which is by the way the advice given by the author of The Powerfood Nutrition Plan to lactose intolerant, to eat yougrth in small amounts.

This book is flawless. I'm a personal trainer and it has been an invaluable resource in dealing with my clients' nutrition needs. Sometimes they need a little convincing when it comes to breaking some of their bad habits and this book explains it all in plain english, and the meal plans are fantastic.

This book is working better than i have expected i have lost a little more than what i personally thought in twenty-eight days and i have cheated a little lol but i am doing great i give this book a 5 star rating

Aimed at men, this huge reference book tells it all about diet for optimum health. Includes meal plans.

Great book. I wanted information to help me know what kinds of food I should eat. I enjoyed reading this book and the diet plans were very helpful. I wish that the book had more information that was applicable for women so that my wife and I could both benefit.

I strongly believe in the power of prayer and credit it for helping me in my low-carb weight loss journey back in 2004. God gave me the strength to stay on plan even when I felt like giving up and He rewarded me with a 180-pound weight loss in just one year. So naturally I am supportive of anyone who wishes to implore the Almighty as part of their weight management plan.

The Prayer Diet espoused by Dr. Matthew Anderson is focused specifically on making prayer the central focus of your weight and health plan. By taking the focus off of food, your weight, the health problems you may be facing, and all those other issues that tend to dominate the discussion regarding your diet, Dr. Anderson shifts the focus to God where it belongs and His sovereignty to make the necessary changes in you to bring about weight loss.

If you're not a Christian, then you probably won't understand why this diet could possibly work for you. But any believer who trusts Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior will tell you how essential prayer is to a healthy spiritual life. And The Prayer Diet simply extends this to your physical life, too. Specific prayers for yourself and others are included in the book to help guide you towards God's will regarding the weight and health of you and your loved ones.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is willing to face the underlying causes of compulsive overeating. This book was the first step on a journey of making changes in my relationship to food. I wrote down many of the prayers and carry them with me. I believe the prayers made me aware of and receptive to the "compassionate and wise sources of healing" that are available to everyone.

One person in a review above gave one star, saying she didn't have the book, that everyone raved about it, but didn't say how much they lost, how long it took and if things in the book helped them keep it off. This misses the point of the book. I was drawn to it because I know prayer works for other things and I thought, why not for weight loss? But there are so many more gifts in the book, or actually, ways to give yourself gifts. The book is very well written too. Dr. Cooper manages to gradually add, in each succeeding chapter, more depth to what he had written in the chapters before. It is a book I will refer to again and again.

Anderson is no Billy Graham type. In his introduction you will find out he is definintely a different kind of Christian Minister. His writing and beliefs sounded New Agey to me but to my surprise, by page 162 Anderson was criticizing the New Age movement for its lack of depth and discipline of mind and heart. He says the New Age movements cannot provide guidance into the dark areas of life such as grief, self hate and self sacrifice. I agree with him on this point.

Anderson's ideas about weight loss are based on two assumptions: first, that man is instinctively spiritual and secondly, that Americans are spiritually deprived.

Anderson's solution to overweight is not so unique. He takes the perspective of Overeaters Anon that people can be addicted to food and that they are powerless to end the addiction on their own. They need divine intervention and must be in constant prayer. Interestingly Anderson says we are not to ask God to reach a specific target weight. Our ideal weight should be left to the will of God.

The highlight of the book is the Dieter's Prayer to be said before each meal. There are other prayers as well to deal with the difficult emotions that contribute to over weight.

It was a very interesting and motivational book. Easy to read and easy to follow. Throw away those diet books and take on Anderson's prayer challenge

What a great book! I couldnt put down this book and read it in less than one week. I am a Jewish man who has fought the battle of food addiction my whole life. After OA, hypnosis, therapy, medications and a lifetime of frustration, Dr Anderson has opened up my eyes to the world of prayer in fighting my weight problem. This book has released me from the self-imposed restrictions of asking God for help and believing that I was not worthy nor capable of receiving it. Dr Anderson is upfront and personal in his style. You get the feeling that he really does understand the pain of repeated weight gain. The basic prayers that are layed out are simple and can be offered by those of any faith or belief without causing any religious conflict or discomfort. Just basic spiritual truths that make a connection with God easy.
This book may truly be the missing link for those of us who are searching for peace and permanent weight loss. Whether rebel or visionary, Dr Anderson has earned his place among the great spriritual teachers of our time.

This book was a delightful read! It gives an up close and personal view of what the priesthood is like for so many that have answered God's call for their lives!

I no longer think of the priesthood as a "lonely" life.....this book has proven what "fulfilled" lives these men lead and that they truly do have lives in addition to their ministries of preaching, counseling, administrating parishes, performing weddings,funerals, baptisms, Holy Communions and Confirmations!
What an inspirational read, especially for those interested in vocations, young and old alike! Tom Kane is to be applauded for his work!

This book is a delightful compilation of very heartwarming stories depicting the human side of priests. With all the recent scandals surrounding the clergy in the Catholic Church, it was a pleasure to hear from the "silent majority" of good priests. If you ever thought priests were "holy" all the time, this book provides a refreshing look at the human and often humorous side of our church leaders.

THE CONTENTS OF THE BOOK ..WHILE WELL WRITTEN AND ENTERTAINING..WAS A
COMPILATION OF SURVEY REPLYS THAT SHOWED SOME VERY SINCERE MEN AND... LIKE ALL HUMANS...SOME PRONE TO THEIR OWN EGO...
THE BOOK WAS WELL PACED AND KEPT YOU GOING...HOWEVER..SLOWLY...SOMETIMES !!
I HAD THE MOST FEELING READING THE HILTON RIVET SJ.SECTION PG 167 AND DONALD KANE PG 139...THEY WERE UPLIFTING FOR ME !!!
FROM MY PERSPECTIVE...IT WOULD BE A WORK THAT ANY YOUNG MAN SHOULD READ IF HE IS PROSPECTING FOR A LIFE STYLE.....AND... THE BOOK SHOULD BE IN EVERY RELIGIOUS ARTICLE STORE..

As a young man considering the priesthood, Mr. Kane's book answered many of the questions and curiosities that I had concerning many aspects of the priesthood including: celibacy, the many aspects of their job, and their temptations. After reading this book I am more enthusiastic about answering my call from God than ever before. Mr. Kane's book truly lives out the vocations slogan in my diocese that "A priest is an ORDINARY man called to do EXTRAORDINARY things." How true that is now. Any young man, even those who have never considered the priestly ministry should read this book and learn the awesomeness of being ordained and all of the amazing works of the spirit that priests perform. It is a great book to discover oneself and also to learn that everyone has theor own vocation.

This book is a must read for Catholics and others interested in the continued viability of the Catholic priesthood. In a time when priest-bashing has become a cause du jour, Mr. Kane has filled the need for a positive report on the priesthood. His entertaining and uplifting account of the daily lives of priests is a welcome tonic to the bad news we seem to be bombarded with every day. A great and easy read that made me laugh and cry. I hope we will see more from this author.

Our 5th grade uses this book to review and demonstrate real uses of economics terms we've learned. Kids have a worksheet with simple definitions of terms and the following columns. Production- Natural Resources,Capital Equipment,Human Capital; Distribution - How?,Where?; and Consumption - Uses. As we read the book together, the kids write examples from the story under the correct heading (we stop often and prompt "Did we hear some Natural Resources?" YES - the field, the seeds, sun, rain. etc.) This book is such an easy-going way to introduce 10-11 year olds(possibly younger) to the terms and understanding of Economics. Illustrations are also very engaging and gentle.

I use this book each year to teach my class about different countries and means of travel. I made up math related questions for small group work that includes estimating how many pumpkins could fit on/in each means of travel, How many for sale signs the man had to make, the children time themselves writing out the for sale sign that was attached to each pumpkin. Each child also uses multiplication, divison, estimating with the use of calculators. In the end the book, Pumpkins is a sotry for the chidren to express fellings and emotions about the mans experience in his field of dreams.

I am lucky enough to be able to see Ms. Ray and thumb through her books at the Concord Farmers Market each weekend. She is a lovely, magical lady and this is a lovely, magical book! I cried when I first read it and it still makes me weepy because it shows such love and hope. (I am a grownup.) It is also very witty and it SOUNDS good out loud, so parents won't get tired of reading it over and over to the children. Everyone should have a chance to read and re-read Pumpkins, any time of year (it's not a Halloween book, really). Several local conservation organizations carry this book because it demonstrates (in a technically unrealistic way, but that really doesn't matter) how one person can make a big difference. I can't imagine anyone not being touched and amused by this book.

This sweet book captivates younger readers with its wonderful painting illustrations, and the simple story of one man's determination. I love the spare, simple text full of evocative details (when he needs to write explanatory tags for every pumpkin he ships to countries that don't have pumpkins, "luckily he knew how to write in many languages"). This is one of those that I get a lump in my throat reading even after who knows how many times through it.

My son's (4 1/2) current enthrallment is pumpkins--he loves the book Pumpkin Day, Pumpkin Night. So when we found this book at the library the other day he was happy to sit and read it. For some reason we didn't check it out and had to go back the next day to get it (and I've since purchased it here). The subtle absurdities and lovely turns of phrase make this a wonderful book--subversive on the order of Good Dog Carl--and the illustrations are lovely. We love reading this together so much that he's memorized the words and loves to talk about walking in the field amoung the young hills that grow up to be mountains. Highly recommended.

I have been assigned at my school to teach Readers Theater as an enrichment class. I teach 6th grade Social Studies at Gilmer Jr High in Gilmer, Texas. Aaron Shepard's web site has been extremely helpful in getting me started so I purchased his Readers on Stage to get some background. I have only started the class and have really enjoyed the book and all the helpful hints. The material is presented in such a way to make, what could have been a miserable six weeks, to be something I am looking forward to sharing.

My 4th grade students beg me to let them do these and they love to share them with other classes. It has greatly helped increase their fluency.

I applaud Aaron Shepard on his gift to educators. This book is very good and user-friendly. Congratulations!

Using the Reader's Theatre format is becoming more and more popular in Language Arts, Communication Arts, History, and Drama classes in public schools. Teachers, you do not need to take a summer workshop to use Readers Theatre. This book takes you by the hand and effortlessly guides you through the process.
Your students will love this participation activity!

As an elementary school teacher and reading specialist, I've been thrilled by how much my students have enjoyed the chance to read and perform reader's theater. I would recommend Aaron Shepard's books to anyone interested in creative ways to teach literacy skills. The stories are fun, there are plenty of parts so that you can involve lots of kids, and they're also good for discussing story elements--especially character and plot. Once you've used one, you'll want them all!

Provides the real challenges for real change in today's culture and our love for past formula's, our disdain for a world we disagree with.

This book is not filled with a statistics that tells the church what it already knows - "things are bad and the church is losing effectiveness."

McLaren digs into our thinking habits and compares that to the culture around us. He provides a bridge that helps us maintain our spiritual integrity but reaches out to a world that has fully embrassed the postmodern philosophy.

The title does not accurately describe the contents of this book. Reinventing Your Church is not about comprimising the values and morals of Christ for the sake of the world, but just the methods of how the church chooses to communicate them. Brian McLaren really takes an honest look at why people are so turned off by church today. He states that our culture continues to change, and that churches need to adjust their mothodologies to spread the gospel effectively. He doesn't condemn any particular denomination, but explains how each church needs to understand who they are trying to reach and how to create an environment to welcome those individuals.

REINVENTING YOUR CHURCH

By Brian D. McLaren

There are many books being written these days on the need for change in the church. This book certainly should be included among the better in this category. It is remarkable for its clarity of thought and its balance in venturing into this somewhat controversial area. The author does not hesitate to suggest bold and radical departures from "tradition", but not without good reason.

For example, he distinguishes between renewed, restored and reinvented churches. "The renewed church is an old church that, after having lost touch with its own people, goes through a process of change in order to relate to them and better meet their needs again." (p. 20).

The restored church is the result of a sincere effort to establish a "New Testament Church". Often this involves resurrecting some detail of New Testament church life, and making it the litmus test of faithfulness to the Biblical pattern. For this reason, McLaren suggests that the restored church often becomes "The Church of the Lost Detail". The "lost detail" can be almost any form that is found in the book of Acts, such as speaking in tongues, elder rule, house churches, one church per city or whatever. McLaren is not nasty about it, but he does conclude that eventually this lost detail assumes a significance beyond all sane proportions.

"By contrast, the reinvented church not only changes its style, but it changes its attitude. Change is accepted as an unchanging fact of life. The reinvented church not only catches up to the present but also corrects those tendencies that would make it keep falling behind. It removes the anti-change bias." (p. 21)

The reinvented church is characterized by "paradigm pliancy". Paradigm pliancy requires a strategy of maximizing discontinuity, "which means not trying to fix up the horse to get a few more miles out of it, but burying it and looking for a new one. The journey is the important thing, not the horse that you take to get there." (p.23)

Perhaps the most significant aspect of this book is the fact that the author has actually gone through the trauma of "re-inventing" his church. In 1982, he planted a church that grew from 11 to about a hundred in three years. He was dismayed, however, that practically all the growth had come by transfer from other churches. He therefore proposed to his church that they "maximize discontinuity" by disbanding it for a period of ten months, after which they would launch a new church with a new name in a new location with a new mission of reaching secular people. Those who like lists, especially long lists, will love this book. The chapter titles are a list of 13 strategies for reinventing your church. In addition, many of the individual strategies consist of long lists as well. For example, he lists:

a) 14 observations on system thinking

b) 6 traditions to trade up for Tradition

c) 5 characteristics of an ineffectual apologetic and 5 new apologetic themes

d) 5 hunches on learning a new rhetoric

e) 16 conclusions on abandoning structures as they are outgrown

f) 7 characteristics of the new breed of leaders

g) A long (21!) list of problems in missions and a short (6) list of solutions

h) 5 core values of postmodernism

i) 15 ways of engaging postmodernism

A major thrust of this book has to do with better equipping Christians to engage meaningfully with unbelievers. He decries the "Christian nation" myth, which breeds an "us and them" mentality and makes us hostile to those to whom we should show compassion. For example, in his second strategy of redefining our mission, he insists that we need both more Christians and better Christians. By this, he means that the key to reaching unbelievers is to be better Christians, that is Christians who better incarnate the Gospel of Him Who was a "friend of publicans and sinners". Even more than seeker-sensitive churches, we need seeker-sensitive Christians. Instead, we often find Christians that are "seeker-hostile", as parodied in a Moody Monthly cover story entitled "Sinners in the Hands of Angry Christians".

McLaren has several excellent thoughts on leadership as well. The title of the chapter on leadership: "Save the Leaders" suggests the many perils that leaders face, and he expresses his regret that many qualified leaders have left, or are considering leaving, the ministry. Perhaps his most helpful insight on leadership is a list of reasons why imitating success in leadership can guarantee failure:

He also gives some very helpful guidelines for understanding and engaging postmodernism, which he sees as a reality with which we must come to terms. He writes: "Opposing postmodernism is as futile as opposing the English language. It's here. It's reality. It's the future." (p. 69)

McLaren questions the assertion that post-moderns don't believe in absolute truth. He suggests that the real issue may be one of absolute certainty. He further argues that post-moderns may care so much about truth that they are skeptical of the ability of fallible human beings to apprehend it or communicate it accurately. Seen from this point of view, it is easy to see how our certainty about knowing absolute truth can come across not as faith but arrogance. Furthermore, many post-moderns probably question our commitment to absolute truth because we seem to have such a hard time agreeing on what it is. He writes: "We have to distinguish between genuine Christianity and our (individual and various culture-encoded) versions of it." (p. 178)

There are several other very helpful chapters on topics such as leadership, church structure, apologetics, theology, and missions that make this book well worth the reading. It will be especially enlightening and helpful for those who are seeking to "go to" the lost and engaging them with the Gospel.

John Ed Robertson

November 27, 1998

This book is a "must read" for every church leader and Bible College student. If you are struggling with how to understand and communicate with those steeped in Postmodern thought this book has many answers. Its not just another mega-church "how to" book. Reinventing Your Church goes much farther. This book is a refreshing and practical look at what it will take to communicate Jesus to the world in the next generation. The chapter on missions is especially insightful.

Brian gives us a book that actually tackles the postmodern subject without losing the reader with philosophical jargon. I found that his approach is so practical because he is living it out. He writes out of experience and gives us a framework to enter this bold new world with a sense of optimism rather than fear, excitement rather than dread.

His writings on leadership and missions are a must read for every church practitioner.