Changing Fortunes: Remaking the Industrial Corporation (IGN "TOP250" Red Series Maps)

Book Description

One of the first books to address the role large corporations will play in the coming century
Over the last twenty-five years, an enormous change has occurred in the landscape of business-the rise and decline of the industrial corporation. Changing Fortunes examines this evolution and looks ahead to what it means for owners, managers, employees, and the public. A well-written business history from a rising star at Harvard Business School and two business historians, this book portrays the dramatic shifts in strategy that America's biggest companies (i.e., GE, IBM) underwent in moving from an industrial to a postindustrial economy. It also offers a forward look at their place in a changing economy.

Customer Reviews:

Superb description and analysis--a must-read.......2002-11-05

Changing Fortunes makes a solidly researched, reasoned, and documented case that large economic institutions-manufacturing corporation in this case-have a skewed bell-shaped curve of evolution. Each curve emerges almost unnoticed out of the debris of a fading economic institution-frontier agriculture in the case of the medieval Church, religion in the case of the Enlightenment, and piecework in the case of manufacturing. It rises rapidly to previously unimaginable heights of power and prestige (as peas in a pod, cathedrals and high rises are separated only by centuries), and then begins a long decline that never quite ends in demise (Christmas and Easter are relics of paganism, not the progency of a new religion).

The reasons for the decline are varied and many, but several threads seem ever present: selfish interest replaces collective interest (American politics), accountability shifts from external to internal (American business), the network effect grows too inwardly dependent (Japan), and the life support of the whole thing-the everyday Joes and Joannes-feel more and more betrayed as they watch corruption replace commonweal. The shabby little personal deals these days between CEOs and Congressmen reminds one of the commerce in Church offices during the 14th through 16th centuries, which led to unprecedented levels of disproportion between principle and practice. The book Silent Theft by William Bollinger comes to many of these same conclusions from the commonweal-holder's point of view.

Changing Fortunes documents its case very well. It is so lucidly written that typically leaden case studies are polished into brilliance by blunt, often witty assessments of corporate goofs. No softening the blow with genial dollops of well-wishing comes from this trio. And of goofs, boy are there some dandies. The sequence of awful decisions that took Xerox from poster-child of TQM (Total Quality Management) revolution of the 1980s to the blunderer of 2000 that shredded both their billing system and customer loyalty makes one chortle, but behind management's arrogant imbecilities are unemployment lines.

The book is a goldmine of facts. Between 1982 and 1992 the number of U.S. business consultants went from 30,000 to 81,000 (if you can't do it, teach it). In 1998 102,171 MBAs graduated from American universities (enough to populate a medium-size city, and wouldn't that be a dull place). Such statistics hint at the explosion in business information and expertise now revolutionising U.S. corporate life. Yet how many bright young things lust for life at a widget factory? The authors cite many examples of manufacturing sector decline, but in the end the example they don't cite is the most telling of all: employment in the manufacturing sector is at its lowest point since 1961, and out-of-work statistics have risen every month for the last 27. Somebody's hurting, and it's not the guys at the top. Now recall that every seismic shift in thinking in the West since Rome has happened because the Joes and Joannes have become ill-served to the point where they no longer believe what they are told.

Changing Fortunes certainly has its virtues. For one, its procedure is sound. The authors examine the Fortune 100 lists from the turn of the 20th century up till today. They find a scowly mask behind the veil with the smile: American industrial companies may be turning out more products than ever, and many of them may have healthy balance sheets, but their relative importance in the economy is inexorably declining in favor of firms based on technology, finance, and services. Classic Schumpeter creative destruction. Wonderful, until you realize that corruption is far easier in a service economy than in a manufacturing one. Enron, WorldCom, and the Wall Street analysts didn't manufacture a thing.

For another, the authors' analysis is impressive. The companies they study are household names-General Motors, Xerox, Merck, Kodak. It's not hard to relate to those. These companies have survived some bad shakes-the 1974 oil price shocks, the rise of an information economy that sucks up the best brains, a compliant but aging workforce, and globalization that hurts as much at home as it does abroad. In search of lifebuoys corporations spent 13 years trying to convert to TQM, six years to soak up Business Process Re-engineering, and three years to embrace network technology. The first two had inward effects: management got better. IT, on the other hand, made for better informed and therefore more footloose customers. Despite all these stopgaps, the decline continues.

In addition to its analytic interest, Changing Fortunes is a formidable resource of interpretive history. One detects the hands of dozens of grad students busily scrabbling together the raw material. The authors' main point-that industrial companies are on the way out-has a flaw, however: It is very US-centric. Offshore, manufacturing is still an extremely important engine of global wealth. Asia and Latin America set the pace in steel, cars, computers, televisions, and so on. If the authors had examined the top 100 global corporations instead of the Fortune 100, quite different conclusions might have turned up. One is that globalization has brought sovereign nations to grovel for the blessings of corporations the same way corporations grovel for the blessing of consumers.

The ultimate penalty for the regressive thinking that congealed over the great corporations analyzed in Changing Fortunes is the inspiration it gives to the tiny little lumps on the next bell curve-the inspiration to respond to a brick wall by walking around it.

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Corporate Lifecycles: How and Why Corporations Grow and Die and What to Do About It
Ichak Adizes
Manufacturer: The Adizes Institute
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OICIX0

Book Description

This textbook is designed for all undergraduate students headed for medical, dental, veterinary, and nursing school, as well as biology majors. Classical and modern ethology is discussed in addition to sociobiology and, finally, the physiology of different behavioral systems. Attention is paid to the behavior of primates, including humans, and in some cases mention is made of human clinical syndromes.

Notes on the Elements of Behavioral Science

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Notes on the Elements of Behavioral Science
Doris/ Michael, Richard P. Zumpe
Manufacturer: Kluwer Academic Pub 01/1//2001
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MBUUIY

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Notes on the Elements of Behavioral Science.

Manufacturer: 0
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000IBGUT6

Book Description

This single reference provides basic information on the multiple disciplines of science as they pertain to the science of stem cells.

Customer Reviews:

Good holistic look at hESCs.......2005-12-13

Kiessling & Anderson have packed the 200-page book with concise information about the history, therapeutic potential, & technical challenges of HESCs science in a coherent manner. Most specially, the holistic look of hESCs enables readers to gain better & objective understanding of the social debate about the field. Among various parts of the book, I find the last part 'hESCs & Society' to be the most provocative section; the other 'science' sections were also higly engaging, especially with the clear illustrations, photos, & sidebar stories. Let's hope that hESCs' potential can be fully unleashed to treat various patient populations in the world.

Stem Cells - A brilliant and timely book!.......2005-10-07

A great book! Given the intensity of the discussions in our current culture, cy2005, this book provides the biology, both at a sufficient introductory level for a layman like myself, as well as for the advanced scientest, to appreciate the whats and whys of the subject. The authors carefully and, without emotion or bias, also present some of the issues being debated, and illuminate options for technical progress for society without trampeling on people's beliefs and feelings.

Well presented but biased..........2004-11-20

I found this book to be relatively well written supplemented with clear figures. That being said, I found the book quite biased towards hESC research. Any introduction towards a subject, especially directed to the lay reader should be a little more objective than this book is. I understand that the book is about hESCs, but adult stem cells are given a cursory brush aside as if they were not an alternative at all. I particularly found offensive the following statement, "Scientific ignorance is the driving engine of the antiembryonic stem cell movement." On the contrary, moral indifference, the almighty dollar and scientific ignorance are all driving the proembryonic movement. I also happen to have an advanced degree in bioengineering and am against hESC research. The book neglects to mention that clinical trials with hESCs are far, far away. Instead, as do most books of this type, it paints a picture that cures with hESC's are just around the corner when this is simply not the case. Overall, this book typifies the hESC hype that is prevalent in today's society.

A Shelf of Stem Cells.......2004-07-26

Kiessling and Anderson have produced a very good book, Human Embryonic Stem Cells, subtitled "An Introduction to the Science and Therapeutic Potential." Filled with detail, this is the stem cell textbook I will use for my seminar class this coming semester. The book is divided into five parts: The Basics; Egg Specific Functions; Embryonic Stem Cells; Stem Cell Therapies; and Human Embryonic Stem Cells and Society. It has a thoughtful and lively writing style, and the authors have written it for a wide audience. I think it is just right for advanced undergraduates who have had cell biology. It is well illustrated, and contains diagrams covering everything from crossover events in meiosis to the construction of mouse chimeras. It is unfortunate that many of the figure captions are so brief as to be misleading (i.e., "human chromosome pairing during mitosis"), though the explanations in the text are accurate. I particularly like the highlighted sidebars throughout the book, giving historical context to techniques and experiments. These range from early reports of human egg activation in the 1940's to the development of tissue culture media The authors' strong enthusiasm for the potential of embryonic stem cell therapies comes through (in contrast to Prentice's view, above), and their mission in writing this book is to make the case for public support of embryonic stem cell research.

Read this entire review at: http://www.cellbioed.org/articles/vol3no1/article.cfm?articleID=91#FN1

Addressing both medical and ethical issues.......2003-06-17

Collaboratively written by Ann A. Kiessling and Scott Anderson for readers who are already basically familiar with the fundamentals of cell biology, Human Embryonic Stem Cells is a informed and informative presentation of what modern research and science has learned about stem cells and the therapies that involve them. Addressing both medical and ethical issues, and enhanced with black-and-white photographs and drawings, Human Embryonic Stem Cells is a strongly recommended scholarly and scientific work and an invaluable contribution to having an informed public and academic understanding with respect to an active and controversial medica/social/political issue.

Biology meets ethics: the controversy behind human embr yonic stem cell research.(Book review) : An article from: Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science

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Biology meets ethics: the controversy behind human embr yonic stem cell research.(Book review) : An article from: Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science
Bethany A. Jacobs , and James T. Bradley
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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This digital document is an article from Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science, published by Thomson Gale on July 1, 2005. The length of the article is 2451 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Biology meets ethics: the controversy behind human embr yonic stem cell research.(Book review)
Author: Bethany A. Jacobs
Publication: Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 76 Issue: 3-4 Page: 239(5)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Lots more to like

A.K.'s Best Book to Date

Fly tying advice from the iconoclastic Archie Best

Great Book

Advanced Fly Tying: The Proven Methods and Techniques of a Master Professional Fly Tyer--37 Important Patterns
A. K. Best
Manufacturer: The Lyons Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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A. K.'s Fly Box

Production Fly Tying: A Collection of Ideas, Notions, Hints, & Variations on the Techniques of Fly Tying

Fly Fishing With A. K.

Dyeing and Bleaching, Second Edition: Natural Fly-Tying Materials

Tying Small Flies

ASIN: 1585743399

Book Description

Master fly tyer A.K. Best shows you how to bring your tying to a higher level.

Customer Reviews:

Lots more to like.......2002-12-26

There has a been a certain amount of carping about whether the material in this text is really "advanced". I think that's fair. This isn't a PHD in flytying, but if you like AK, there is lots more here to like.

There is advanced material here like his chapter on dry fly collar shape. There is other material, like that on buying hackle, that is for professionals no doubt, but not useful unless you are buying hackle by the gross, and willing to dye it all. Though the approach he takes to the task is interesting, this is professional, not necessarily advanced content.

I found the chapters on vise maintenance and hand position baby. I have one of the earliest HMH vises too, and I haven't oiled it in 25 years, and I have tied heavily including professionally. I certainly wouldn't oil it with facial oil, which can be salty or acidic. On hand position, the fact is that if you can secure material to the hook properly, then you are probably already doing the stuff described here, though it might be useful to a beginner.

I loved the long sections on small flies, almost a book within a book. I also liked the other section on new or revised flies. It is, however, hard to know the validity of these patterns. I don't fish the same waters he does, and in general, his patterns aren't top sellers, nor are they likely to be correct as sold, given his sharp standards. But there is something about his flies that seems right, and I don't tire reading about them. Even his close friend Gierach makes the point, however, that some of these new innovations may only help 1 out of 10 times. So rather than the information in all cases being that useful, it is just fun to see what he has been up to with his flies, and where they have taken him since his last book.

AK has produced another classic.

A.K.'s Best Book to Date.......2002-04-30

What I like about A.K. is his ability to teach me to tie better flies, faster. From the tiniest details of maintaining my vise and other tying tools to the layout of my tying bench, to specific patterns, each designed to teach me something. The chapter on hand positioning is worth the price of the book alone. If you are past the absolute beginner stage of tying, then you need this book. Whether you tie a few dozen or a few thousand flies per year, you'll find something in this book to help you tie more durable flies faster than you did before.

Fly tying advice from the iconoclastic Archie Best.......2002-04-29

A.K. Best has more than a little skill in an esoteric field. His prior books: Production Fly Tying, A.K.'s Fly Box and Dyeing and Bleaching Natural Materials are all invaluable to a serious fly tier.

The latest book starts with an obsessive rant about caring for your vise. Archie: don't you think that some of us read the manual?

Aside from the vise care clinic, the book is a continuation of the kind of observations about materials and techniques that made his Fly Box and Production Fly Tying so useful. In other words, buy the book.

I would not be without the latest A.K. Best book...but I hope that his next work continues to provide us with his tying insights rather than ranting about vise care or some other trivial issue.

I don't own an expensive vise: I own a Thompson A and a pair of Griffiths and they have suited me just fine for the past many years. If any of them were damaged due to my misuse I suspect that it would have been very obvious. I simply don't fathom the rant about vise care. . .and it is a rant (thou shalt anoint a piece of T-shirt with 3 & 1 oil and store same overnight in a plastic bag so that the oil may penetrate the fibers of the cloth...)on a par with the Old Testament.

Archie, before you set a hard and fast rule about some physical mechanism I would suggest that you try reviewing the rates of surface adsorption of hydrocarbons in cotton-poly blends.

And this brings me to one other little matter: A.K. uses Chlorine Bleach to remove feather fibers from quills. This is a fine way to accomplish that process. A.K. has stated that he uses a baking-soda rinse to stop the action of the bleach. Well, NaHCO3 (baking soda)forms, in solution, Na+ and HCO3- ions making an alkaline (pH >7)solution. Common household bleach is Sodium Hypochlorite (NaOCl)and it is an OXIDANT meaning that it gives up electrons in a reaction known as a REDOX reaction. Alkali solutions are Proton Acceptors and Oxidizers are Electron Donors.

At best, A.K.'s the use of baking soda is harmless as a rinsing agent and at worst it has no effect other than to dilute the bleach remaining on the quills.

If one is going to give definitive instructions, one ought to review the science first.

This little issue aside, all of A.K.'s books have a place in every serious fly tier's library.

Great Book.......2002-03-26

After reading all of AK's books they have one thing in common. Teach you to tie better flies. His advice is very in depth, one whole chapter on hand postion sounds boring, but is very interesting and the reading goes by very quickly. The photos are great showing you what is missing in other fly tying books. There is a wealth of information to be gleaned from this book, for all levels of tiers. Anyone serious about fly tying will enjoy this book.

Book Description

Whether you are composing a Web page on the Internet or agonizing over an annual budget report, these books are the key to clarity, accuracy, and economy in any writing task. Offers more than 100 model sentence types in a catalog format, giving writers many interesting and provocative ways to say what they mean. Writers looking for a more striking way to open a sentence will find these options: the announcement, the editorial opening, the opening appositive, the opening absolute, and the conjunction opening, among others. Examples of each sentence type ensure the reader's understanding of the concepts.

Customer Reviews:

Title promises more than the book delivers.......2005-05-16

I wanted to like this book - a great title, and the promise of techniques such as "stark attachments" and "dramatic flourishes." And there's a lot to like, here: the classification scheme is unique and clever, and examples are plentiful and chosen from a variety of fields and sources. People who learn from loosely organized collections of examples may find this book quite helpful. However, I was disappointed:

- The author's classification scheme is clever and memorable, but it works at cross-purposes with traditional grammatical classification; matters of sentence structure, diction, voice, and punctuation may all be mixed together in a single chapter. Also, the chapters do not appear to be in any logical order.

- While the introduction and first chapter are rather chatty, after that, the author's tone tends to be somewhat formal.

- The author argues up-front for "25 words or less" as the ideal sentence length, yet many of his examples and quite a bit of his own commentary on those examples violate this guideline.

- All the tools for improving sentences - over 50 of them - are covered in a mere 45 pages (the "94 pages" stated length includes all front *and* back matter).

- Finally, while I found a great many competent, effective sentences in this book, I can't recall being **stunned** by a single one.

Perhaps we're all so inured to TV-style marketing hype that we don't expect a book to deliver contents commensurate with the title's promise, but this title seems a bit pretentious, even so. The book has its moments, and the generous offering of examples is perhaps the book's strongest point. But overall, it seemed, well, hasty. I expected more, and the reader deserves more.

"ST...:"How "The Economist", "NY Times Mag.", etc. wrote........2005-04-16

"Stunning Sentences: The Effective Writing Series", by Bruce Ross-Larson, NY: WW Norton & Co., 1999 - ISBN 0-393-31795-1 PB, 94 Pg. (8.1" x 5.5"). It (book) actually started on pg. 13, two Exemplars used 10 pg., & finally "Sources" consumed 14 pg., -- so you only get 58 pg. as a brochure or booklet (not a book).

"Stunning Sentences" covers: Approach, Common Form, Short Form, Dramatic Flourishes, Elegant Repeats, Credible Quotes, Conversational Injections, Stark Attaches, Deft Connects, & One-syllable Openers. (Author's 'Injections' seemingly variant interjections & asides).

Author offers "hundreds of sample sentences cataloged by type" & "this book will show you patterns...in good writing"...& "how you can...write with precision & eloquence." The author offers "many tools...to create...rhythm...& balance...& build...individual style."

Author reports his credentials as "Founder of the Amnerican Writing Institute", but his booklet (at least for me) missed its mark & was neither inspirational nor elegant. What I learned was the author's preoccupation, praise & prediliction for: "The Economist" (74 citations), "New York Times" magazine" (44 cit.), "New Yorker" magazine (15 cit.), "New York Times" (10 cit.), "New York Book Review" (8 cit.), & a few others. Why any author would choose to fill 1/4 of a booklet with such extensive citations is unreasonable (unless to avoid plagarism) & is not evidence of originality (perhaps novelty was sought?).

Alternative? If you desire help on writing skills do consider: "The Little Red Writing Book" by Brandon Royal -- it has much more to offer (see my recent review on "TLRWB").

Go beyond clarity.......2003-05-05

This book is ideal for a writer who already understands how to make his writing clear but wants to learn how to make his sentences sparkle.

Modeled sentence variety.......2003-01-23

This book provides many examples of sentence structures that will provide writers with new ideas for making more effective reports, essays, and letters.

The vocabulary is created for the book. Terms such as simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex are mentioned in the introduction, but the author creates new terms to help writers think of sentences in a new way. For example, the author explains "recast" and "conditioned" sentences as variations that can be used to spice things up. The lack of the standard terms does not make this book more difficult.

I would recommend this book to students and writers. The author explains each structure and gives examples. Rather than being read once and putting it away, this book should be kept as a reference. Your writing will improve!

Fantastic taxonomy of sentence structure.......2000-10-14

This slim and inexpensive volume reviews many effective but under-utilized sentence structures, pointing out the situations in which each is most suitable. You will begin to notice the techniques in everything you read. It's the best guide I've seen for writing-in-the-small.

Effective Writing: Stunning Sentences, Powerful Paragraphs, and Riveting Reports

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An essential writer's reference
For Troglodytes or Bob Woodward
Effective Writing - Beyond Editing Yourself
Effective Writing - Beyond Editing Yourself
An essential handbook for writing

Effective Writing: Stunning Sentences, Powerful Paragraphs, and Riveting Reports
Bruce Ross-Larson
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0393046397

Amazon.com

Bruce Ross-Larson's Effective Writing wraps three of his little books about writing--Stunning Sentences, Powerful Paragraphs, and Riveting Reports--into one volume. With these three little jewels, the author aims to eradicate sloppy writing from Web pages, office memos, budget reports, and the like. For Stunning Sentences, Ross-Larson inspects and categorizes well-wrought sentences of all shapes and sizes by the likes of Vladimir Nabokov, Henry Luce, and Mary Lee Settle. He isolates every type of sentence imaginable, from imperatives and fragments to "cascades" (sentences that, well, cascade), in an attempt to identify just what effect choice of sentence structure has on the reader. What does adding an extra conjunction to a series do to a sentence? What does dropping a conjunction do? A terrific tool for making a writer conscious of the impact of his or her writing at the sentence level.

Once you've got sentences down, it's time to move on to paragraphs. Surprise: A paragraph is more than "a collection of sentences framed by an indent and a carriage return." It also has to be "unified, coherent, and well developed." Ross-Larson starts with the opening paragraph, which needs to "grab your readers' attention, rivet them to your message, and propel them through your argument." From there, he elucidates the many ways to organize a paragraph, and then the many ways to link each of your well-toned paragraphs to one another. He provides many fantastic examples from The Economist and other sources.

Finally, it's time to put it all together. The significant word in the "Riveting Reports" section of the book is plan. Define your message, define your audience, define your purpose. Then figure out, paragraph by paragraph, how to present your message to your audience to achieve your purpose. Use examples, Ross-Larson insists; "an ounce of example," he says, "is worth a ton of abstract generalization." And try taping your completed draft up on the wall. It's an ideal way to see it all at once, and excellent for slash-and-burn editing. --Jane Steinberg

Book Description

A source book of proven tips and techniques to make your writing clearer, simpler, and more memorable. Whether it's a Web page on the Internet or a chapter in an annual budget report, readers today have less time to spend wading through text-they want the writing they read to be articulate and to the point. Effective Writing will help writers at any level of proficiency produce clear, concise writing structured around the messages they want to convey to their audience, and supported with strong, well-developed paragraphs and sentences. Written in plain language and a relaxed style, this book is easily adaptable to a wide variety of writing styles and tasks, and will be helpful at any stage of the process: conceptuali-zation, writing, or editing. Bruce Ross-Larson, author of twelve books, has developed techniques that have set a standard for writing and editing documents of every description. He is the founder of three successful corporations that provide communications expertise and consulting services to such organizations as the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Customer Reviews:

An essential writer's reference.......2004-02-04

This is a collection of books from the Effective Writing series and is a great deal. All the books here, Stunning Sentences, Powerful Paragraphs, and Riveting Reports, are essential for any writer's or student's desk.

The first part, Stunning Sentences, turns from the memorization of sentence forms and gives the readers many examples of ways to model their own sentences. In the examples, Ross-Larson deftly shows the readers how the different sentence styles work and when they could best be used. He also gives the readers an example with exemplary sentences so that readers can see how the sentences work in a larger context.

The second part, Powerful Paragraphs, shows the readers how paragraphs can be formed and used by the writer. Different examples show how the topic sentence of the paragraph can be moved within the paragraph for effect. As with the previous section of this book, the author gives us plenty of examples.

The third part, Riveting Reports, walks the readers through the writing process and shows the readers how they can slowly and steadily build a solid paper. By showing these steps, the readers can eliminate a lot of stress by planning when these steps will be accomplished. There is also a full example of a paper from start to finish.

In all, this is a very handy resource to have available to you. Using this, and not just reading it, will provide you with great ideas in planning and writing. This is a must-have.

For Troglodytes or Bob Woodward.......2000-08-14

If you're a verb-challenged troglodyte, you should read this book. If you're a budding Bob Woodward, you should own this book. Effective Writing is the book for anyone who wants to learn to write, focus their writing, or sharpen their editing. Using numerous examples, Bruce Ross-Larson demonstrates how to write sentences with variety, construct paragraphs that hang together and assemble all of that into the finished product. Ross-Larson's breezy, non-instructional style makes this 269-page book as easy a read as a romance novel.

This book is a compilation of three of Ross-Larson's more subject-specific books: Stunning Sentences, Powerful Paragraphs, and Riveting Reports. Not surprisingly, those are also the titles of the three sections into which Effective Writing is divided. The table of contents for each section identifies every tip so a deadline-pressured scribe can quickly zero in the advice sought, whether it's for "Interruptive Dashes" or "Make Your Points in Compelling Ways."

Ross-Larson's occupation as a writing coach is a primary reason for the success of this book. President of the American Writing Institute, he has helped improve the writing of executives at the World Bank, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Census Bureau, among others. His experience in dealing with non-writers shows. No grammar guides here; there's no spelling secrets. Only practical, easy-to-understand advice on how to polish that rough stone of an idea into a sparkling gem.

He takes it for granted that his readers recognize good writing, even if they can't (yet) do it themselves: "So, to move from the common to the stunning," he advises, "begin to look for patterns in good writing that you can emulate." He also assumes some basic knowledge of parts of speech such as prepositional phrases and clauses. Some of his observations seem boringly obvious: "Most sentences should convey one idea - or two closely related ideas." Yet there are plenty of mental prods here for even the veteran pen-dragger, such as his advice on repetition: "Repetition - far too often avoided - can be a powerful rhetorical device. It can bring order and balance to a sentence's parts. And it can rivet a word to the reader's frontal lobe with more impact than elegant variation ever could." Each suggestion is supported by several examples culled from published articles and reports, with the point he's trying to make italicized.

But this isn't a mere primer. Ross-Larson doesn't hesitate to tempt readers to attempt more advanced forms of paragraph structure. For instance, he devotes 4 1/2 pages to "undermining," which he refers to as "a clever way to make your point stand out while taking the claws out of an opposing view." He describes how to "undermine a premise at the end of a paragraph" as well as how to "undermine a premise immediately." Or even to "undermine a premise in the middle of a paragraph." Of course, examples abound.

It is this hefty use of examples that contributes to readability of this book. For experienced writers, the examples can serve to blow away the syntactical cobwebs and refresh prose that may have grown stale. For beginners, the examples are mini case studies on which to linger.

For journalists, the section on report writing may have less relevance. Reporters facing daily deadlines rarely have time to take advantage of Ross-Larson's detailed approach to planning and drafting lengthy reports. However, for the college student writing a term paper or a junior executive trying to impress her boss with that seamless sales analysis, the time spent on these pages will be a great investment.

This book is written in a style light enough to engage even those who hated English in high school. Still, there's enough meat inside that every serious student of language ought to consider adding Effective Writing to that select group of books which occupy a corner of every writer or editor's desk.

Effective Writing - Beyond Editing Yourself.......2000-05-26

Bruce Ross-Larson has now given us a fitting sequel to his classic Edit Yourself, which I have used since the 1980s to help me cut the fat out of what I write -- and improve clarity. When I worked in the World Bank I had him teach these arts to my staff. This saved me a lot of managerial time which I could devote to strategic pursuits like planning and innovating. Not exercising my red pencil on the prose of my mostly non native English speakers.

Bruce has now outdone himself by giving us three books in one: Effective Writing teaches us how to write "stunning sentences", "powerful paragraphs", and "riviting reports". Still to come, I understand, is "writing for the web". But for now, Bruce has put his wealth of experience as chief editor of some of the most important publications coming out of the World Bank and the United Nations (e.g. the World Development Report and the Human Development Report), just to name two of his clients, at the disposal of the writing public. This book is so good in print that it is being converted into a web-based training service for writers, aimed at corporate intranets. Clearwriter.com is coming soon.

But you can be the first on your block to hone your writing skills and impress your readers, whether they are your bosses, clients, or customers. This book is a must for every writer's bookshelf, whether or not a native English speaker.

Effective Writing - Beyond Editing Yourself.......2000-05-26

An essential handbook for writing.......2000-05-26

I read Ross-Larson's How To Edit Yourself, an invaluable resource, before reading Effective Writing. As a compilation of three useful writing guides, Effective Writing was and is an essential handbook for writing. The system detailed in Effective Writing and How To Edit Yourself is the best that I have used.

How to write stunning sentences (The effective writing series)

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How to write stunning sentences (The effective writing series)
Bruce Clifford Ross-Larson
Manufacturer: American Writing Institute?
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books

Rhetoric | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books

Writing Skills | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006RBLT6

Customer Reviews:

Awesome book.......2005-08-02

A previous reviewer said that this wasn't for beginning treehouse builders. I don't think that is the case at all.

I bought this book because I wanted to explore attachment options, and it had a chapter on that topic. There was so much more inside this book. There is a detailed description of a massive treehouse they built. Even though I never plan to build such a thing, the read was wonderful.

I was going to put a treehouse in our back yard. After reading the section on picking the tree, I realized that it probably would have killed the tree completely. My tree, which I saw as huge and tall and a great tree-house tree turned out to be very sick, and the book even pointed out why.

This is the kind of book that makes you want to sit down with the author and have dinner. His writing style is very conversational, easy to follow, and hard to put down. I wish I was fortunate enough, as those in the book have been, to have him come and build my treehouse.

This book is a great read and great value. I hope that he writes more of his treehouse adventures for us to enjoy.

Highly reccomend for any treehouse builder.......2004-06-15

I live in a treehouse (corbin's treehouse), and I used a lot of techniques in this book when building my house. excellent book, and highly reccomended.

HOME TREE HOME IS A BLESSING.......2003-08-26

FABULOUS BOOK FOR THE BEGINNER WHO IS LOOKING FOR THE STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS ON "HOW TO BUILD A TREEHOUSE"- IT EVEN TELLS YOU HOW TO PICK THE PERFECT TREE. A MUST HAVE FOR ANYONE THINKING OF TAKING ON THIS KIND OF PROJECT!!!!

detailed information for planning a serious treehouse.......2003-01-16

This is a book to read before you even decide what type of structure you want to build. This book is not a book of plans or a quick-read instruction manual of how to build tree houses. This is a serious book about the most important part of the process: the planning.

Nelson begs us to realize that first we must select the tree(s) and that the characteristics of the tree(s) will dictate what size and type of structure can be built. Nelson includes information about which trees are best suited for building in, taking their strength and growing characteristics. This is great information to know, and something I think my tree landscaping books don't include. We learn that the growth of some trees will actually crush the structure over time, while others are too weak to safely hold up a structure, let alone one with people inside it.

The key element in this book is safety. Nelson gives detailed information about how to build a structure that is safe to inhabit, whether it is a playhouse for children or an actual house for adults to use to work or live in. I was surprised to see that some of the tree houses in the book are for actually living in and working in!

Several different methods to attach the structure to the tree are outlined in detail. Exactly what type and how many tree "attachments" to use is explained, such as too many direct nailings into the tree will kill it. I think this information is key.

Looking at the plans for the tree houses in the book, I realized the quality of the workmanship surpasses houses that I have lived in. These are not quick slap-up tree houses, not the type where you use scrap wood that you have lying around. The houses featured have fine edgings, safe banisters and ladders for climbing, beautiful doors and windows. Some have balconies!

Anyone considering building a tree house should read this book first lest they waste their time building a tree house that later kills the tree, ends up being not-secure, or is flat out unsafe for people to use. As a non-carpenter, frankly I am feeling intimidated and doubt I have trees on my property that are worthy!

complicated book.......2001-07-26

Hard to read. It only has a couple of different designs for treehouses. This is for an experienced builder.

Home Tree Home: Principles of Treehouse Construction and Other Tall Tales

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Home Tree Home: Principles of Treehouse Construction and Other Tall Tales
Peter / Hadden, Gerry Nelson
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OJAU3O

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