As way of introduction (and non-disclosure) my sister, Barbara Harding is the owner of the Otter Creek Book Store. Since I typically read in the range of 50 books a year I suggested to her I provide a book review for this webpage. My selections vary quite a bit: from history; science fiction; business; biographies as well as the classics.
My read of the book went quickly over five days. With appendices there are 352 pages and several graphics and tables. It is a book that is well written and stays on point throughout. To give the book more body, the author provides personal situations he experienced to illustrate points which I found to be effective. He does not claim to be the sole creator of the 7 habits and I believe he is correct. Nothing truly new is presented but what is valuable is how it is presented. I recommend this book for people looking for inspiration on how to make their life (at home and work) better.
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I found the book to be somewhat refreshing and a bit unusual in the approach. All these books do something similar but this one was able to pull it off well. There is no cookie cutter approach which makes sense as every situation is unique. I believe the principles are rather sound and therefore, the book is worth a read. At only 205 pages it goes by quickly.
Here is something I thought was strange: I actually took a few classes of his at the MIT Sloane School of Management. I am convinced he knows what he is talking about. The book, at times, was entertaining and yes, the author writes well. If you want to be a writer or cultural observer you might want to consider reading the book, otherwise, probably not.
A very enjoyable and introspective book which should be a must read for everyone. Some parts of the book are crass and display the dark side of the human spirit. Many of the characters are clearly short sighted and only out for themselves. These characters are willing to lie and bend the truth to a dangerous degree. But, in the end, there is hope!
The book is written well and does flow well. I have read many of this type of book and this is a good, not great one. I personally agree with what the author submits to the reader. The one minor negative thing that did strike me was the theme that an executive should have an executive coach. This just happens to be the occupation of the author. The book is much more than a commercial for her but every now and again that concept did pop up to me.
Othello, has four central characters: Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army; his wife Desdemona; his lieutenant, Cassio; and his trusted ensign Iago. The play has its roots in racism, love, jealousy, and betrayal. The true main character is Iago who manipulates the other characters into doing terrible things.
I believe this is the first book I have read by Agatha Christie. What a mistake I have made in not reading her before! The story was fun, completely enjoyable and so well written. The plot itself revolves around a young couple who have fallen on hard times. Instead of grousing about their misfortune they make do the best they can. Along the way they stumble upon a mystery which they throw themselves into the middle.
To start the year I selected an epic narrative rhymed poem. The poem, written in 1820 describes the Persian attack on the Greek City-State of Athens. What is most intriguing is that the author was born in 1806 making her 14 years old when she wrote this poem. With that in mind it is hard to argue the level of effort and the innate ability of Ms. Browning.
Tom races against his rival Andy Foger to find a valley of gold in the frigid arctic of Alaska. The race is made using air ships which each has constructed in order to avoid the problems of traveling on the ice and snow. Along the way, serious weather concerns are faced and diabolical plots to steal the map which identifies the location of the valley.
Culture is a critical aspect of managing an organization. For the senior leader to ignore the resident culture is to invite disaster. Edgar Schein has written this book with the intent of presenting his model for managing corporate culture. He covers the role of culture in the various stages of an organization from its beginning to an established organization.
I thought the book was a bit slow in developing since it covered the fundamentals and how the values of the culture interact with the corporation at large. The text did come to light for me in Part Two which covered the dynamics of culture formation, evolution and change. There were some concepts that I believe will be quite useful to me in my current organization. One example is that he contends that conducting surveys will not successfully assess culture but will provide misleading information.
A rather intriguing bit of science fiction is what we have here. It is part of the Darkover series by the author and originally published in 1962. The plot is based upon a split personality, Dr. Jay/Jason Allison. He is called upon to attempt to save the planet from a terrible disease affecting most of the population. His split personalities are virtually unknown to himself and quite separate from each other. The experiences and knowledge of the one are not known to the other. They co-exist in the one body but not the mind.
To save the planet, both personalities are needed as Jason was brought up by the Trailman. They are a reclusive society that are native to the planet. Since Jason grew up in the culture his knowledge is essential to convincing them to participate in medical trials to isolate a cure. Jay is needed due to his medical knowledge.
I fully expect as in all cases the movie does not adhere closely to the book. This is (mostly) acceptable to me as the question becomes one of how far is the divide. I cannot provide any comment in this case, nor does it concern me. Books and movies are two vastly different media with success in one unrelated to the other in many instances.
The book though was intriguing. It was written in a different age and, while the concept is timeless, the book is not. I felt it was well worth reading although it seems not the best by the author. Of course, that said, it is still very very good!
Sir Walter Scott wrote this piece as narrative poetry about the Scottish Lord, Robert the Bruce. This is truly an epic poem that is quite impressive and very entertaining as well as educational. The story covers the history of Robert the Bruce and his efforts to lead Scotland into independence from the Kingdom of England in the 14th century.
The book (guide) provides a brief synopsis of the island history, food and drink, entertainment and a few other general items that the traveler should be aware of. Then, the guide goes into a detailed breakout of the various sections of the country with a focus, of course, on the larger attractions. I really liked the maps which were quite useful. Particularly helpful were the recommended walking tours. We did not follow the suggestions closely but I still found them quite useful.
Since this is a guide it is not typical of the other entries. However, if you are planning on a trip to Ireland I can without any reservation recommend CIE Tours (which provided the book). It would also be useful to actually read the book BEFORE you leave instead of reading the pertinent sections the day before you get to the destination (like I did in part). It was kind of fun though to read the book after to see all the details I missed.
So, of course, I completely recommend this book. Oh, you want to know what it is about? Well, so do I and I read it already. It is a space based adventure involving multiple planets, alien cultures, and all sorts of stuff. Leave any knowledge of science behind because every principle is shattered in this book. It is deliciously bad!
I have read many books on leadership and this is not one of my favorites. It comes across as a research paper richly using references and numbers based on studies. Of course, research has its place and is critically important. However, what I look for is how to apply leadership. An author is expected to be able to back up their claims but I found this rather overmuch in the research department.
Overall, the book was dry and hard to keep enough interest to actually read and get the nuggets of information out. Yes, there are excellent leadership points made but they are buried within. If you can get over the first chapters (like the first six to eight) the reading can be worthwhile. Unfortunately, I recommend skipping over this book and pick out another.
After reading a novel about British sailing vessels I thought this book would be a natural follow-on. This book is considered to be a relatively factual narration of the attempted capture of the mutineers from the H.M.S. Bounty.
The book is written by the ships surgeon and tells the tale of their voyage. Their stated mission is to bring to justice the mutineers from the H.M.S. Bounty who are thought to be living in Tahiti. The ship and crew endure many difficult situations including the sinking of the Pandora. They are forced to take the flotsam and what little they could save and fashion the best sailing vessels they can to survive. Along the way they are confronted with bad weather, cannibals, and wild creatures. Ultimately, they do survive and make it back to England.
Not the most entertaining of books but for what it is still interesting. Mostly it is a window into how things were done back in 1790. I did think it rather amazing that a ship and crew would be dispatched around the world primarily to capture mutineers. That was a significant investment of resources back then.
The plot follows the exploits of two men, Captain Jack Aubrey and a ships surgeon/spy Stephen Maturin about the year 1805. In the beginning of the book Captain Aubrey has returned from a successful cruise and is living off the prize money from a ship he captured. Unfortunately for him the money is taken away from him by the Admiralty leaving him in great debt. Throughout the book he is forced to stay in hiding or afloat to keep from being captured himself and thrown into debtors prison. There are several naval battles which are quite well done.
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