Services Books

As a new hypnotherapist years ago, I was told of Marilyn Gordon in revered terms by my colleagues. Seeing her teach and reading this book transformed me, inspired me. My eyes were open to the integration of EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) into already powerful hypnotic techniques for enhanced success. I referred to this book over and over as I started my new journey into the world of EFT. I am grateful for Marilyn and this book for bringing 2 tranformative healing tools together.

I love this book! Extraordinary Healing is beautifully written, interesting, and inspirational!

If you ever have a time when you don't feel well physically, mentally or spiritually, this book can help. Here you will find clearly written step by step instructions for healing that can change your life. My life has been changed by these techniques and I know I will make use of this information from now on.

This is the kind of book every one should have in their library. Fun to read and full of practical techniques that can be used immediately. Thank you Marilyn for writing this valuable book. I'm looking forward to reading your next book as well.

I consider Marilyn Gordon a wonderful mentor and wise teacher. I have purchased most of her materials and use them in my own practice. My work has become much more compassionate and powerful under the inspiration of Marilyn.

Extraordinary Healing is professionally written and filled with wonderful healing practices for anyone on the spiritual path. We are self-healers, and Marilyn gives us the necessary tools for personal transformation. This book is written clearly. The tools are efficient and effective. I am so grateful that Spirit led me to Marilyn!

Extraordinary Healing is truly an inspirational book. I've learned valuable and effective tools that have helped me heal emotions that have been with me since childhood. It's like the dark cloud that's been looming over my head has finally lifted. Extraordinary Healing is written with such love and compassion, you can't help but feel it and be inspired!

Marilyn Gordon is a marvelous healer and her books reflect her beautiful healing Light! Extraordinary Healing is a double pleasure, two books in one really. First she takes you on an inspirational journey of healing and then she shows you how to overcome common problems on your own using the miracle technique, EFT. She shows you how a very simple "tapping" technique can free you from fears, anxieties, and move you into healing.

Thank you Marilyn for this very practical and wonderful book. I will continue to order them by the case lots so that I can offer them to our students at The Banyan Hypnosis Center for Training & Services. You and your book are the best at teaching this technique.

I seldom find a book that they come a lot of number. the design is cute too.

The author/illustrator is very talented. The pictures capture my 16-month-old's attention. He loves to look for the hidden cat on the pages and most often grabs this book first at storytime. Colorful, unique. Recommend this highly for kids >1.

We first checked this book out at the library. My daughter loved it so much that I went and bought the board book version. The artwork is incredible, and my daughter, who is 2, loves finding the cat on each page. She also loves all the animals, and, of course, the counting and number concepts in the book are an added bonus.

My son loved this book as a toddler. Unlike my daughter, he had a shorter attention span when we sat down for story time. I would keep his interest in other books by having him hunt for objects in the pictures. This was a favorite.
He loved searching for the cat in this book. "There he is!" he would shout and point. Most board books do not count as high as twenty so this left us with plenty of opportunities to search for the cat. The board book format makes for easy holding and durability that stands up to frequent reading.
As much as you love that your child is enjoying books, it can somethimes be hard with this age group for the parent to enjoy mulitiple visitations to the same book with the same excitement as the child.
I always ejoyed this one. The aplliqued felt illustrations are so attractive. The colors are beautiful. The pictures give you much to look at without being too cluttered for the age group for which it is intended.
Quite lovely. I give starter baby board book collections as shower gifts and this is one I always include.

My 2-year-old son has loved this book since he got it more than a year ago, and I love it too. The pictures are beautiful and fun to look at on their own, but now we like to count the animals on each page. Looking for the cat hiding on each page is the best part of all.

This is a very well-documented guide for any service firm. It's also very well written, very insightful and very well researched. It's real deep, complete and full of advice and wisdom from several great minds. I run a corporate reputation consulting firm in El Salvador and this is the most advice-rich book I've encountered in the last five years. I also recommend "the trusted advisor" by David Maister and specially "Managing the Profesional Service Firm" also by Maister.

After reading this book, you'll need to place it alongside your desktop dictionary, Thesaruas and Ron's first book "The Professional's Guide to Value Pricing. This is how strong of an impact their message has made on me.

After reading the first two editions of Ron's book, I didn't think he would be able to improve much on the message of switching to Value Pricing. Boy, was I wrong! He and Paul Dunn have done an amazing job of getting the reader to think differently. As with the radical theme of trashing the timesheet in "The Professional's Guide to Value Pricing", they do a masterful job of convincing you why the old "Revenue Equation" must be replaced with the forward-thinking "Profit Equation". They go on to introduce other new topics not found amongst professional services firms such as developing your Intellectual, Structural and Social Capital, emphasizing effectiveness over efficiency and of course Value Pricing. As is typical of Ron's writing style, and complemented by Paul, their reasoning for making this paradigm shift is well supported and well reasoned.

I've been using practicing Value Pricing for about 5 1/2 years now and I can tell you that it works. In my own firm, I've slowly begun implementing some of their new concepts but with a new perception. I'm convinced these principles will work for me and they can for you as well.

After reading this book, you'll definitely want to keep it handy as a useful reference guide!

Ron Baker is doing for the professional services firms what Columbus and Pythagoras did for the "Earth is Flat" proponents! "Paradigm-shifting" has become so over-used in our culture, but it is not mere hyperbole when describing this book. The work is quite thorough, implementing excerpts, quotes, and philosophies from dozens of well-respected scholars, economists, and management consultants. The work reminds me a lot of Tom Peters' seminal book, "In Search of Excellence" in the way in which the author sprinkles in so many great examples from other successful organizations and industries. In addition, he has many real-world examples (from firms around the world) of professional services firms that have successfully tranformed their practices. I whole-heartedly recommend this book to any professional who is trying to transform a professional services organization or who is wondering if there might be a more effective and profitable way to run a professional services firm.

I first read this book about 2 years ago. I keep it within arm's reach of my desk and refer to it often, still.

I've read one reviewer who stated that this book was the modern almanac of best business practices. I agree completely.

I run my own small law firm. We have implemented many of this book's practices with great success and profitablilty. Primary among them is fixed fee agreements. Yes, we are a law firm that has trashed its time sheets, due in large part to the inspiration and impetus of this book. And, we will never go back.

An earlier reviewer suggested that this book would be more useful for CPA's and not for lawyers. I disagree. Though I'm certain the message of this book is critical for CPA's, I think that any person in law firm leadership must read this book. I think it is particularly suited to small firms and solos who will have the ability to immediately take action in implementing these ideas and making them a reality in their practice.

However, if you are one of my competitors forget everything I said above and do not touch this book. My firm and my family will thank you.

The Firm of The Future coordinates both the theory and practical application of pricing concepts AND business service models in such a complelling manner that Baker & Dunn give Professional services organizations permission to believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

While the Firm of The Future is geared to the legal and accounting professions the message and vision is applicable to Advertising agencies, Consulting Organizations, Marketing service firms and professional service providers of all shapes and sizes.

Cost plus pricing is short sighted and intellectually flawed.The intense pressure on increasing billable hours and driving down costs is destroying the creativity and core capabilities of Professional Service companies.Baker&Dunn explain the flaws of cost plus and hourly schemes and identify a road map which outlines how to move a professional services organization and it's customers to a healthier, happier, more productive and more mutually profitable business process

A great read---Inspirational and practical


Tom Finneran
Executive Vice President
American Association of Advertising Agencies

I ordered the book for a class I'm taking. I find the book to be very interesting and it keeps my interest. Key points that I need to know are included in the text. Excellently written.

The book's content is precise, to the point and not repetitive in hard to understand grammer. The context was really reliable for the course I am currently taking. The chapters are not long and drawn out yet the examples the author uses are up-to-date, on point and target. I truly liked this book because it is a great read outside of higher education.

Kim Klein is a nationally known expert in the area of fundraising, and demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of all aspects of fundraising in the book. She presents the information in an easy to understand format, and shares her expertise in a motivational manner. I highly recommend this book, even if you have been in fundraising for a number of years.

I love this book. It's been around for a while in one form or another. Currently it is in its 5th revision. And with each revision the author has refined it. As a result, it is very well written and outlined. It is also really good because the author is a fundraising practitioner and teaches what she does. She really knows her stuff when it comes to fundraising. At least that's the impression I get from reading her book.

Fundraising at a nonprofit, whether large or small, is basically a profit center. It's a business! This book treats it as a business and has the feel of a startup guide for that business. As a SCORE volunteer believe me when I say this book has the feel of a startup guide; I've read my fair share of startup guides for for-profits and counseled enough wanta-be entrepreneurs on how to start a business. This book is a startup guide.

So how is this book a startup guide? Well, it advocates preparing a written fundraising plan BEFORE you put together your fundraising office and start raising funds. It describes a "fundraising framework" that you must understand before you can prepare a sound and successful plan. Then it tells you about time-tested strategies for acquiring and keeping donors - the strategies that will enable your nonprofit to build a foundation or base of donors from which all successful fundraising will emanate. And next it tells you about the time-tested strategies for upgrading donors so they will (or can be expected to) give larger gifts as time moves forward. There are also sections that explain how to setup and manage a fundraising office, and how to prepare a budget and write a fundraising plan.

The book could have stopped there. That's all that a startup really needs to know and do to be successful at raising sufficient funds to provide its services and distribute its products. However, the author tells us more. She talks about feasibility studies and capital campaigns. And she talks about actually being a professional fundraiser, and about special or unique circumstances where traditional fundraising methods don't always work well.

I really have only one problem with this book. I would like it so much better if the author would change its title to something like - A Fundraising Startup Guide: The Nuts and Bolts to Building a Successful Fundraising Profit Center. I realize the author's background is in helping cash-strapped nonprofits that advocate social change, and that this book was initially created to help her help those organizations (and herself). But the book is not merely about nonprofits that advocate social change. And I wish the title would properly reflect what the book covers. 5 stars!

This is a must read for any staff member of a small not for profit organization. It's a bit freeky how she knows so much about my group, and then cuts to the chase on how to address the problems identified.

We seem to have lost so much original and adventurous cuisine during the past 100 years. The recipes here are fascinating, and every page contains something delicious, something mysterious (Boiled Samp), and something just plain crazy (Peanut Meatose: a combination of peanut butter and tomato juice!) Would make a great gift for a foodie.

I purchased this book and it was a pleasant combination of history and cooking. I also like that the book was reprinted mistakes and all and it includes contextual information from the time and photographs.

Rufus Estes made a great accomplishment yet I first learned about him on Amazon when I purchased this book. This is a great look back into a turn of the century kitchen and the at the food served to a President and rich patrons on the Pullman line. I was married at the Hotel Florence(named in honor of Pullman's favorite daughter) in the Historic Pullman district in Chicago as I was reading this I could actually visualize his food being served there; who knows he may have cooked there.

A friend borrowed my copy and did a dinner from this book for Black History month and it was delicious. Great for history or cooks who like to bring historic recipes to life in the modern kitchen.

Usually, I consider reading a cookbook somewhat like reading the telephone book. But not "Good Things to Eat". "Rufus" conveys his joy of cooking in a natural, matter-of-fact manner, lean of descriptive narration, lending eloquence to the food itself. Many of the dishes in his book seem quite exotic to us now - Salmi of Game, Orange Fool, Snippodoodles, Spawn and Milk, Pineapple Marshmallows ("This is a good confection for Thanksgiving.") - but the way Rufus puts them together makes them seem eminently doable.

D. J. Frienz should be commended for making "Good Things to Eat" more than just a list of recipes by way he has interspersed Rufus's writings with illustrations, placing in context Rufus Estes's service as a star Pullman attendant and chef during the Gilded Age, when dining in a private railroad car was considered the height of luxury. Rufus's was a state-of-the-art American cuisine, good enough for presidents and plutocrats, and to have this formidable gentleman of a bygone era commune with me through a medium we both love - good things to eat - is a special privilege. Hey, I'm getting hungry just writing this!

Usually, I consider reading a cookbook somewhat like reading the telephone book. But not "Good Things to Eat". "Rufus" conveys his joy of cooking in a natural, matter-of-fact manner, lean of descriptive narration, lending eloquence to the food itself. Many of the dishes in his book seem quite exotic to us now - Salmi of Game, Orange Fool, Snippodoodles, Spawn and Milk, Pineapple Marshmallows ("This is a good confection for Thanksgiving.") - but the way Rufus puts them together makes them seem eminently doable.

D. J. Frienz should be commended for making "Good Things to Eat" more than just a list of recipes by way he has interspersed Rufus's writings with illustrations, placing in context Rufus Estes's service as a star Pullman attendant and chef during the Gilded Age, when dining in a private railroad car was considered the height of luxury. Rufus's was a state-of-the-art American cuisine, good enough for presidents and plutocrats, and to have this formidable gentleman of a bygone era commune with me through a medium we both love - good things to eat - is a special privilege. Hey, I'm getting hungry just writing this!

Usually, I consider reading a cookbook somewhat like reading the telephone book. But not "Good Things to Eat". "Rufus" conveys his joy of cooking in a natural, matter-of-fact manner, lean of descriptive narration, lending eloquence to the food itself. Many of the dishes in his book seem quite exotic to us now - Salmi of Game, Orange Fool, Snippodoodles, Spawn and Milk, Pineapple Marshmallows ("This is a good confection for Thanksgiving.") - but the way Rufus puts them together makes them seem eminently doable.

D. J. Frienz should be commended for making "Good Things to Eat" more than just a list of recipes by way he has interspersed Rufus's writings with illustrations, placing in context Rufus Estes's service as a star Pullman attendant and chef during the Gilded Age, when dining in a private railroad car was considered the height of luxury. Rufus's was a state-of-the-art American cuisine, good enough for presidents and plutocrats, and to have this formidable gentleman of a bygone era commune with me through a medium we both love - good things to eat - is a special privilege. Hey, I'm getting hungry just writing this!

I bought this gift as a present for a friend who lives in LA. What a great guide! Very thorough, but brief and to-the-point, summary of every beauty service you could need. My only wish is that they would give a price range for the salons, not just a low/medium/high rating. I hope they come out with one for the Detroit area!

while i do not live in la, this is a useful tool to have when traveling for work/pleasure, etc. similar to a zagat guide for dining, this is excellent. the summaries are short, sweet and to the point. women & men can trust that the research is accurate & reliable. please come out with a nationwide head to toe - we need seattle, dc, chicago, nyc, boston, miami, minneapolis, dallas and many more!

head to toe is incredible. I just have moved from New York to LA and use the book all the time. I found out about the book from an article in Vogue's August issue. It breaks down every beauty service by price with a review. No need to wonder anymore about the best beauty places just for you.

I just received my first client because of this wonderful book. I have a facial salon inRedondo Beach and I never knew someone came in to "check me out" ...how wonderful to find out that they reviewed me in their book and gave me some great advertisement. Thanks for everything Sirrell

Head to toe has been an unbelievable tool in finding the most perfect places to get any beauty needs. The reviews are so detailed with all the information from prices to hours of operation. I would recommend this book for locals as well as tourists who are visiting the Los Angeles area.

I felt that though this was a good book, it needs much improvement

Word for word one of the most important books I've read recently. This book is mandatory reading for every employee in our company.

Word for word one of the most important books I've read recently. This book is mandatory reading for every employee in our company.

I run my own firm and have taken my share of lumps over the years. If I had read this book when first starting out it could have made things a lot easier. It's definitely worth reading, even if you think you have stable client relationships. Nice graphics too.

I had picked up this book out of necessity. There was a sticky situation brewing with my customer and I was in a state where I wasn't going to say I don't want any help. There are two types of books that managers can find in the bookshelves these days. One category is an academic treatise that comes up with a hypothesis and defends that hypothesis in great detail. The second one gets right down to business and shares the author's experience.

This book shines as one of the best I have seen in the second category. Several of the recommendations seem like common sense. However, if I'd gone alone and called on my commonsense, I would've spent several months to come up with this advice & might've missed some crucial steps.

The advantage of having this book by your side is that the thinking is already done for you. Someone made sure nothing falls through the cracks - so that you can concentrate on fixing that relationship.

Hospital Stay Handbook summarizes the essential issues needed to ensure your loved ones will survive a trip to any hospital regardless of duration. Ms. Buck lifts the "White Curtain" on standard operating polices calculated to cause harm to patients - policies not intended to harm, of course, just not carefully and tightly managed by the hospital system. She explains the concept of "body part Doctors" who see the patient as a Liver, Lung or Spleen, not a human being. The most important message Ms. Buck delivers is "be there 24/7" or expect the worse. Our family's experience bears testimony to her advice that some family members must be at or near bedside continuously - the consequences of not doing so are dire.

A Grateful Patient

Hospital Stay Handbook is a necessary read for anyone who is unfamiliar with how the hospital and medical system really works. It is an inside guide to ensuring quality care for you and your loved ones. Having been one of the health care professionals who assisted in the care of Jari's husband, Bill, I am keenly aware of the circumstances from which the book was written and am inspired by the amount of knowledge the book imparts. As a voice of advocacy for patients, Jari's efforts are unparalleled. Raise the bar for hospital-based patient care by educating yourself -- this book is the perfect primer.

I purchased this book for my healthy, yet aging parents who have been facing some hospital stays recently. I was concerned they could be 'wiser consumers'.

Having a book lay out the risks and true dangers and how to prepare in advance is extremely valuable. The idea of 'advocacy' and advance preparation in this field strife with land mines is aided by Jari's unfortunate personal experience.

Thank you, Jari.

Jari Buck has authored a book that enables the family of a patient to potentially make a most significant difference in the outcome of the loved one. The text imparts good common sense, as well as needed encouragement to step up to the bat and participate.

A serious illness can generate overwhelming fear and depression, which of course, makes it difficult for someone to become engaged in the process of healing. Yet, problem solving and just helping out when the staff is stretched too thin can work miracles.

Just try...and if you're lacking in ideas, please read Jari Buck's book.

Holly Fritch, M.D.
Leawood, KS

Having health insurance is a critical component in assuring quality health care ~ but there's another kind of "insurance" that is just as important. Being a patient advocate for someone you love can truly make the difference between life and death, as Jari Holland Buck writes in her "Hospital Stay Handbook." My eyes were opened when I witnessed the constancy and continuity of care that's required to support a loved one who's in the hospital for any length of time. Read this book now ~ before a crisis strikes ~ as a kind of personal insurance policy for how to be an effective advocate for your loved one if the time comes. As with most insurance policies, you hope you never have to use them but, should the need arise, you're always glad you invested in preplanning.

Michael Synk, in this concept, has captured and organized what I have tried to do without being able to identify it myself. Now I have a tool through the book and his training materials (from seminar) to train my staff to meet the needs of our customers. I have young employees and they will 'get it'. I am excited to begin showing them how their jobs can be more profitable and more fun as well as giving them a tool they can use wherever their lives take them.

Buy this book!

This book is a prime example of the brilliance of keeping things simple. The steps that the book uses to create a strong bond between you a your customers work and work very well. Using these simple steps, I have greatly improved my relationship with my cutomers.

I would put this book on par with "How To Win Friends and Influence People" on how to change your business life.

This book is a creative way to teach people how to do what is the purpose of any business--to get and keep customers. We all want customers like Norm, and Michael Synk provides a very clear message on how to create that loyalty. In fact, we will be using the book for leadership development at FedEx because we love our customers just like Norm! The book provides some really practical tools for assessing customers' loyalty and value so that we can meet their needs better and move more customers into the Norm category. A quick and easy read that brings BIG value!

This book is a creative way to teach people how to do what is the purpose of any business--to get and keep customers. We all want customers like Norm, and Michael Synk provides a very clear message on how to create that loyalty. In fact, we will be using the book for leadership development at FedEx because we love our customers just like Norm! The book provides some really practical tools for assessing customers' loyalty and value so that we can meet their needs better and move more customers into the Norm category. A quick and easy read that brings BIG value!

The brilliance of this book is in the simple analogy Mike has used to anchor the fundamentals of customer relationship management. It makes the concepts memorable and real in a way that can connect with everyone in your organization, unlike most academic books on the subject. Grab a beer and enjoy!

Verne Harnish Founder of Gazelles, Inc. and Founder of Young Entrepreneurs' Organization

My "ah" moment about the CIA came in the aftermath of the Cold War, when many Soviet files became open. A professional intelligence operation would have poured over those files in great detail, seeking to discover what they did right and what they did wrong, so they could do better in the future. The CIA displayed no such interest, preferring illusions to the truth. Careerism reigned supreme.

Although ths book focuses almost exclusively and often humorously on the author's struggle with the dysfunctional CIA bureaucracy over a 15+ year career, it does occasionally touch on larger issues. The one the struck me most forcefully came in the aftermath of 9/11 when the CIA faced the distinct possibility that reform would be forced on them after such a monumental intelligence failure. What did they do? They bought themselves near-immunity from press criticism by leaking heavily biased information to a rabidly anti-Bush press, particularly the NY Times. As the 2008 election demonstrates, much of the press, (FOX-News excepted) has become so highly partisan that nothing trumps putting Democrats in office, not even reforming the CIA, so it has the skills to prevent the next 9/11.

This is not the first time this has happened. We should never forget that Britain's BBC displayed a similar bias during the 1930s. The BBC was so rabidly pro-appeasement that it refused to let Churchill on the air. And appeasement was simply the 1930s term for our present day fetish for getting to the alleged "root causes" of violent behavior. Chamberlain's visit to Munich, without preconditions, is precisely what the historically ignorant Obama talks about doing in the Middle East. A horrible war resulted from a failure to recognize that Nazism was evil in the same sense that today many refuse to believe that radical Islam is evil.

Both Churchill and G. K. Chesterton recognized that a radicalized Islam would pose the same threat to peace that 1930s Germany posed. The only distinction was that in their day Islam lacked the military means to go to war, a situation that has changed with the development of terrorism, asymmetrical warfare, Muslim immigration to Europe, and the enormous amounts of oil money pouring into the Middle East.

--Michael W. Perry, Chesterton on War and Peace: Battling the Ideas and Movements that Led to Nazism and World War II

This book would make most readers afraid, angry and sad. All I can say is, "Wake up America".

This is an amazing book. It's truly scary that our intelligence community is this dysfunctional.

Mr. Jones has done a great service in providing this clear, passionate and compelling picture of life in the CIA's clandestine service. People better informed than I can quibble with details, but the Appendix, "Solutions for reform of the clandestine service", should be the checklist against which any future reforms of the DO are judged.

The author writes under an alias, which immediately tells you that the most important thing this expose on the CIA must do is address the credibility problem. How do we know "Ishmael Jones" was really a CIA officer, and that he is telling us the truth? "Jones" writes as if he is unaware this is even a problem, which I suppose is better than protesting too much, but I am still leaning towards the idea that this book is moderately entertaining fiction.

It's not that I'm a fan of CIA. I have seen no credible evidence that CIA has ever given useful warning of a major strategic surprise. I have seen ample credible evidence that they have missed some major surprises. (I'm not sure I can go into detail, since I may have heard the details at my classified workplace at LANL.) The major intelligence coups of WWII were achieved largely in spite of Donovan's OSS, and I'm inclined to believe open intelligence belongs at State and clandestine at Defense, where those who screw up are more likely to face the consequences for it. I would not shed a tear if CIA were summarily disbanded.

I did find "Jones'" description of the bureaucracy at CIA believable, having seen some of the same things at DoE and heard similar stories from friends who are government workers. "Jones" describes layers of risk-averse managers who are more interested in creating the illusion of activity than doing actual useful activity, which after all is going to be risky. His description of bureaucratic inertia is entirely believable. So is his description of memos that talk about salary and vacation policies rather than tradecraft. However, this isn't enough to establish his credibility. Any attentive reader of Dilbert (and "Jones" is one, judging from his use of a Dilbert quote in a chapter header) could probably paint as convincing a picture.

There are "false notes", as another reviewer pointed out. "Jones" found it remarkably easy to simply ignore or deceive bureaucrats in order to do what he perceived to be his job, thereby building up his unblemished career of intelligence success. For example, he claims to have routinely asked permission to make a contact *after* having already met the contact several times. I can't imagine getting away with this kind of thing in my own bureaucracy, which, bad as it is, isn't nearly as bad as what "Jones" claims CIA has become. He shrugs off CIA being a year behind on forwarding his pay as if it was nothing (though I can't rule out an alternate explanation, which I'll come to in a minute.)

"Jones" also irritated me with his description of Mormon temple garments as "wife-beater tee shirt and boxer shorts." I'm guessing he *does* know how offensive this is. (And I acknowledge that that may be enough to have seriously biased my review.) In fact, "Jones" has left us an awful lot of clues about himself, which in a way makes me suspect a carefully designed synthetic persona: His family visited a lot of far corners of the world when he was a child, suggesting his father was either military, State, or fashionably rich. He was a Marine Corps officer. His claims about money are either an outright fabrication (which would completely undercut his credibility; they're essential to his story) or he is independently wealthy. (Not impossible; OSS was basically an alternative to the conventional military for very rich overeducated young men, and the evidence is that CIA inherited this predisposition.) He loathes Mormons and people who are not in top physical condition, and displays a curious mixture of loathing and respect for rednecks. He loathes Russians. He prides himself on being a family man. He is skeptical of conventional religion but has a mystic streak. He comes across as a man who has learned the art of winning by intimidation. This bullying personality is easy to read between the lines, but not so easy that it's obviously part of a synthetic persona. I'm guessing the author of this book, whoever he is, either really is a bully or has been the victim of bullies and is engaging in some wish fulfillment. Most telling, perhaps, is that he doesn't describe a single serious failure or mistake on his own part; the failures are all the fault of others at the Agency. This last part emits a strong odor of decomposing rodent.

Then again, there's no reason why there couldn't be a CIA agent raised in an elite Northeastern family who served with the Marine Corps, is a fitness nut, is a bully, loathes Mormons and rednecks, and is completely blind to his own failings, who resigned from CIA in a huff and decided to write a tell-all.

"Jones" claims the reason he uses an alias is because it's a felony to blow an agent's cover. Well, he says he resigned; he's not an agent any more. Since his alias makes it virtually impossible to check his story, while other disgruntled CIA have put their real names, and reputations, before the world in their exposes, this is another big red flag.

Another suspicious claim is that Ames was revealed by a Russian defector rather than careful detective work. Having heard a classified brief by the woman who led the investigation, I have to say that I found the woman a lot more credible than "Jones."

Still, the book is a mildly entertaining read, even as a humorous fictional account of a made-up government bureaucracy. There are some nice touches: "Jones" claims to have briefly met Valerie Plame, who he claims was removed from foreign assignments out of fear that Ames had compromised her. He thinks she could have been a good agent and is sympathetic to her, but he is also clearly sympathetic to the Novak version of how she was outed. He is not sympathetic to the accuracy of Joe Wilson's yellow cake report. "Jones" describes Plame as a political pawn, which is hard to disagree with, though Plame seems to have taken to the role of liberal martyr with relish. A few pages later, "Jones" describes his theory that a retired CIA agent, active in Democratic politics, was responsible for several damaging leaks during the Bush/Kerry campaigns, but he couldn't get anyone to take his theory seriously. There is very little else in the way of partisan politics in the book, but I think I'd have to add "Republican" to the list of characteristics of "Jones'" persona.

Do I recommend the book? It's not a long read; many readers could manage it in an afternoon. If "Jones" is for real, then, yeah, it's probably worth a read. The problem is that I suspect "Jones" is at least partially a fabrication (maybe even an unconscious one) and I'm not sure the book is good enough fiction to be worth the time. I am, however, curious to see what others' reactions to it are.