The End of Work as You Know It

By Milo Sindell and Thuy Sindell

Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.

The eight strategies are share expertise, initiate change, demand autonomy, create meaning, spark creativity, seize recognition, maintain balance, and build legacy.

The book is published by Ten Speed Press which is the publisher of the annually revised book , What Color Is Your Parachute?, which is the “number one job-hunting book of all time.”  Why mention this?  Ten Speed Press has a solid reputation to maintain; thus, it is unlikely (or certainly less likely) they will publish a weak book.

This 119-page book doesn’t offer ground-breaking insights and revelations; however, it is solid material that makes good sense — common sense.  Each chapter begins with a short situation that becomes a success story, then the authors quickly get to the point in each of the 13-14-page chapters, and the authors offer practical suggestions and ideas for how to have a similar success in your (the reader’s) own life.

There are no notes, and the resources are simply additional related resources that can be consulted.

This book is available at Amazon.com: The end of work as you know it: 8 strategies to redefine work on your own terms

The hidden brain: How our unconscious minds elect presidents, control markets, wage wars, and save our lives

By Shankar Vedantam

Book review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.

First, you may wonder what made me look twice at this book.  I read a “Science” editorial in the June 7, 2010, Newsweek, by Sharon Begley called, “The hidden brain: What scientists can learn from ‘nothing,” and enjoyed the article and thought Vedantam could shed additional light and substance on the subject.

Second, you may wonder at the outset, what credentials does Vedantam have for writing a book like this?  According to the back flyleaf, he “is a national correspondent and columnist for The Washington Post and a 2009-2010 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University.”  

About his educational background, I found this at Wikipedia.com zzzzzzzzzzzzzz; “Vedantam has an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from India, and master's degree in journalism from Stanford University. Prior to his Washington Post employment, he worked at the Philadelphia Inquirer, Knight-Ridder's Washington Bureau, and New York Newsday.”

Verdantam was born in Bangalore, India, in 1969, and Wiikipedia also states: “Shankar Vedantam's articles touch on a wide range of subjects, most of them with links to current events. In his column in the Washington Post he routinely explores the overt and covert influences that shape people's attitudes to the world around them. His interests also include the role of science and religion in everyday life, and the effects of religious faith on health. In his articles he has explored the interplay between neuroscience and spirituality.”

For this 270-page book, there are nine pages of notes — 249 citations.

Well, Sharon Begley’s Newsweek essay was just the tip of the iceberg.  That is, she is talking about the mind at rest.  Verdantam, actually discusses some of the forces at play when the mind is at rest: “hidden cognitive mechanisms.”  Basically, what he disputes is the fact that “human behavior [is] the product of knowledge and conscious intention.”  

Verdantam’s entire book, replete with numerous stories, explains the “unconscious forces that [act] on people without their awareness or consent” (p. 6).

He writes about the stories he uses: “The selection of stories in this book is mine and mine alone.  To the extent they are wrong, misleading, or simplistic, the responsibilities lies solely with me.  To the extent that they are revealing and insightful—and not merely interesting—the credit mostly belongs to the hundreds of researchers whose work I have cited” (p. 7).

What is the hidden brain?  “The ‘hidden brain’ was shorthand for a range of influences that manipulated us without our awareness.  Some aspects of the hidden brain had to do with the pervasive problem of mental shortcuts or heuristics, others were related to errors in the way memory and attention worked.  Some dealt with social dynamics and relationships.  What was common to them all was that we were unaware of their influence” (p. 7).

Some of the subjects Verdantam uses to portray the effects of the hidden brain include the brain at work and at play, the brain displayed in mental disorders, in the life cycle of bias (the infant’s stare and racist seniors), the role it plays in gender and privilege, disasters and the lure of conformity, as well as in terrorism and extremism, the death penalty, politics and race, and in genocide.

If you accept his premise (which I do), then some of the experiences he discusses become a bit long and tedious, even though the book is well written and interesting.  The content of the book is 255 pages in length, and, for the most part, I feel Verdantam has chosen good examples that are engaging.  

Pistol Pete "Pete,” of Houston, Texas, wrote this four-out-of-five star review at Amazon.com: “I thought this book was brilliant. Every chapter tackles different subjects and studies that try to explain how the subconscious works. I was very happy with the amount of research, especially scientific studies, that were detailed in the book. There are a lot of anecdotal stories as well, which are also necessary to illustrate the points.

“I found the book persuasive and interesting. How does our group affect our thinking? How does race come into politics through our subconscious? What motivates terrorists? There are many great questions that the author raises and his research into the subconscious helps answer many of the questions. I highly recommend this book to all readers interested in psychology.”

I would probably award the book three out of five stars.  Although interesting and well-written and supported, as I noted above, once you accept the author’s premise — as I did before I began reading the book — then it becomes quite long.  I’m not suggesting it is common sense, I am simply saying that it is not a premise that I question nor is it one that I would pursue (or have an interest in reading) in any depth.


This book is available at Amazon.com: The hidden brain: How our unconscious minds elect presidents, control markets, wage wars, and save our lives

Unfinished Business

By Lee Kravitz

Book review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.

The plot is a simple one.  Kravitz was fired from a high-profile job.  Instead of trying to find a new job, he took a year off to re-connect with the people who mattered most to him in his life — those he had not spent time with or cared much about as he rose in the ranks and devoted his time to his job.

If you’re looking for a moral, it, too, is a simple one.  We all have unfinished business in our lives.  That unfinished business tends to weigh us down, burden us with guilt, and hold us back.  Clearing up that unfinished business frees us, unburdens us, and as S. Lipson, a reviewer wrote: “. . . release[s us]] of regret and stress.”  That “thankfulness, love, [and] admiration,” this reviewer says, adds “deeper meaning and understanding of . . . friends and family,” and, too, “[enhances one’s] character, personality, and spirituality.”  I thought these were very good insights.

Another reviewer at Amazon.com, Tiela A. Garnett, wrote a very short five-star review:
“A wonderful, entertaining book, written from the heart, about one man's courageous and loving path to tying up the loose ends of his life. An inspiring story and a good read.”

David Casker, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, wrote a review with which I totally agree as well: “Most of us in one way or another try to ‘do the right things’ in our lives. But we often become too busy, too distracted, too willing to procrastinate, too willing to accede to the increasingly intrusive demands of employers. In ‘...unfinished business...’ we have a very personal journal of one man's delightful, moving and healing reaction to being fired from his job [at Parade Magazine].  He turned what could have been no more than a very sour jolt in life into, in a sense, a journey into his past, to see if he could still make up for slights and omissions.

Anyone trying to live a spiritual life will soon discover that the most personal is the most universal. And Mr. Kravitz has struck just the right chord between autobiography and reflection on one's life, spiritual growth and the inextricable connections with have with others whose lives have touched ours and vice versa.

An insightful but also entertaining exploration of how really GOOD it is not to let our basic humanity be co-opted, and when we do, how GREAT it is to work up the courage to make amends. Highly recommended.”

It’s a 209-page book and the ten stories are interesting and engaging.

This book is available at Amazon.com: Unfinished business: One man’s extraordinary year of trying to do the right things

The Mom and Pop Store

By Robert Spector

Book review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.

Let me begin by telling you what this book is not.  First, it is not a history nor a background study of mom and pop stores.  One reviewer at Amazon.com commented on precisely this aspect: “If you're looking for a book to give you some background, data and understanding of small businesses, how they operate and how they fit in and affect the US economy, unfortunately this is not it.  It will not tell you, as its title suggests, how mom & pops are ‘surviving and thriving.’”

Second, it is not at all concise.  Rather, it rambles a bit.  

Third, it is not the least bit analytical.  He has no interest in writing a rational, logical, or organized approach to the topic.  He has, instead, put together a love story (or love stories) that reveal the passion, creativity, and tenacity small business owners demonstrate — in the Studs Terkel tradition — in order to survive.

One reviewer at Amazon.com, A. Westerman, writes, “Robert Spector has written a homage to the small, family-owned business -- the type rooted in the American psyche and as iconic as a Norman Rockwell illustration. Spector hopes to combat the notion that the family store is, much like The Saturday Evening Post, fading from the contemporary scene.

“The book, part memoir of the author's childhood at the family butchershop, part tribute to others family-owned businesses, Spector seeks to make the case that family shops aren't leaving the retail landscape. He does this with varying degrees of success: the profiles of business owners and their family members are heart-warming and interesting, but he also makes claims that are not supported by evidence. I can't say he's wrong when he talks about the unique characteristics family-owned businesses, such as old-fashioned values of hard work and community. Yet he doesn't have any other evidence but anecdotes to support him.”

This 291-page book includes five pages of notes, two-and-one-half pages of “selected bibliography,” and a 12-page index.  However, the book is a series of stories (including his own at the family’s butcher shop in Perth Amboy, New Jersey) — anecdotal in nature — that tends to meander (a bit) as he pieces together a portrait of mom and pop stores in the U.S. today.  I found it somewhat interesting but tedious.

This book is available at Amazon.com: The mom & pop store: How the unsung heroes of the American economy are surviving and thriving

Old is the New Young: Erickson's Secrets to Healthy Living

Book review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D. 

Old is the New Young: Erickson's Secrets to Healthy Living

By Mark Erickson, Matt Narrett, Jacquelyn Kung, and Lisa Davila

There are a number of things that make this book an excellent choice.  First, it is expertly written.  Being direct and to the point, it talks directly to readers as if the authors are in the same room, and the writing style is comfortable, relaxed, and engaging.

The second thing that makes this book an excellent choice is that sections are short so that it can be read in brief moments when you don’t have the time for a long, involved, and committed read.

The third thing that makes this book an excellent choice is the brief, interesting, and human-interest vignettes that are set apart in sections that are gray in color.  These segments are always relevant to the material and useful.

The fourth thing that makes this book an excellent choice is the practical, specific advice.  Throughout the book there are tips, suggestions, questions, quizzes, activities, and scales for rating yourself.  It offers so many opportunities for readers to engage in self-assessment.

The fifth thing that makes this book an excellent choice is the topics covered.  Topics include your health, keeping your body young, keeping your mind young, engaging socially, financial advice, and your retirement vision.

The sixth thing that makes this book an excellent choice is all the additional resources the authors provide at the back of the book.  Twenty-two pages of this 241-page book are devoted (in two appendices) to resources.  (Their bibliography is ten pages long.)

Overall, I am impressed with what the authors have put together here, and I highly recommend this book.

Get this book now at Amazon.com: Old is the New Young: Erickson's Secrets to Healthy Living

Theodor SEUSS Geisel (Lives and Legacies)

Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.

Theodor SEUSS Geisel (Lives and Legacies)

By Donald E. Pease

From the English Department, Dartmouth University, website : “Donald Pease, professor of English, Avalon Foundation Chair of the Humanities, Chair of the Dartmouth Liberal Studies Program and winner of the 1981 Distinguished Teaching Award at Dartmouth, is an authority on nineteenth and twentieth-century American literature and literary theory. In the summer of 1986 he brought the School of Criticism and Theory to Dartmouth.  In 1996 he founded the Dartmouth Institute in American Studies and in 1997 he has also served as Academic Director of the Alumni College program.”

Despite his outstanding credentials, this is not an academic book.  It is a readable, factual, well-documented, thorough, and highly interesting book.

These are the first two paragraphs of his biography, published at the website, “Dr. Suess National Memorial : “Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known to the world as the beloved Dr. Seuss, was born in 1904 on Howard Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. Ted's father, Theodor Robert, and grandfather were brewmasters in the city. His mother, Henrietta Seuss Geisel, often soothed her children to sleep by "chanting" rhymes remembered from her youth. Ted credited his mother with both his ability and desire to create the rhymes for which he became so well known.

Although the Geisels enjoyed great financial success for many years, the onset of World War I and Prohibition presented both financial and social challenges for the German immigrants. Nonetheless, the family persevered and again prospered, providing Ted and his sister, Marnie, with happy childhoods.”

The only review of the book posted on Amazon.com when I wrote my review, is this 5-star one by  A. Nazaryan, who nicely sums up all that I have to say about the book: “Highly readable, deeply informative, this is a lively take on the life of our most famous children's author. Much less academic - or heavy - than previous works on Seuss, it covers both his life and work while unraveling aspects of his life readers probably don't know much about: his relationship with his mother (who gave him the name Seuss), his rowdy days at Dartmouth, his work for the New Yorker, his first wife's suicide and, of course, how he came up with some of the most memorable characters in all of literature.”

The book is fantastic, the additional illustrations are a terrific addition, and I highly recommend this book.

This book is available from Amazon.com: Theodor SEUSS Geisel (Lives and Legacies)

 

Difficult personalities: A practical guide for managing the hurtful behavior of others (and maybe yourself)

Book review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.

Difficult personalities: A practical guide to managing the hurtful behavior of others (and maybe your own)

By Helen McGrath and Hazel Edwards 

Here is what I like about this 285-page book.  First, it is a practical book full of specific, applicable, and relevant suggestions.  The various strategies covered in each chapter is overwhelming.  Having written about this topic myself, I find their ideas useful and valuable.

Second, the various sections throughout the book are short and to the point.  There is little excess, padding, or what some people might refer to as flotsam and jetsam.  It is a tight book that is well-organized.

Third, the topics covered are important and relevant.  The authors deal with incompatible personalities (e.g., extroverts versus introverts, planners versus optionizers, and thinkers versus feelers), frustrating and annoying personality patterns (e.g., negativity, superiority, and bossiness), confusing personality types (e.g., the anxious personality, the inflexible personality, and the demanding personality), damaging personalities (e.g., the passive-aggressive personality, the bullying personality, and the sociopathic personality), and a part, too, on strategies (e.g., for coping with sociopaths, dealing with difficult situations and relationships, rational and irrational thinking, healthy self-assertion, and sections on managing anger (your own and others), and conflict, as well as a section on developing the skills necessary for maintaining a strong romantic partnership).

The weaknesses of the book include, first, that it tends to be a bit dry — a bit like a classroom textbook.

Second, the number of examples are useful, but they tend to be fewer than in many similar books; thus, trying to stay with the book is difficult.  Those used are fine; however, many more throughout the book would make it more user-friendly.

Third, I think the best use of the book is as a reference tool.  For those in relationships or in business where different personalities always exist and must always deal with each other in various ways, it is great to have a reference book to which you can go at once to find practical, specific, and well-grounded advice.

Overall, the book is solid, and I recommend it; however, be aware of what you are getting.  This is not a light read even though it is well-written and gets to the point in each chapter. 

Available at Amazon.com for $14.95 or LESS: Difficult personalities: A practical guide to managing the hurtful behavior of others (and maybe your own) 

The Dreaded Feast: Writers on Enduring the Holidays

Book Club... And Then Some!





The Dreaded Feast: Writers on Enduring the Holidays 

Edited by Michele Clarke and Taylor Plimpton
 
Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.


I am not a regular reader of any of these writers (John Waters, Calvin Trillin, Chris Radant, Jonathan Ames, Corey Ford, Jay McInerney, Billy Collins, Mark Twain, Robert C. Benchley, S. J. Perelman, Roy Blunt Jr., Lewis Lapham, Daniel Blythe, Scott Horton, Dave Barry, George Plimpton, James Thurber, John Cheever, Hunter S. Thompson, Charles Simic, David Rakoff, Charles Bukowski, Greg Kotis, P.J. O’Rourke, Fiona Maazel, Augusten Burroughs, Alysia Gray Painter, or David Sedaris), although I was familiar with the writing of some of them—whether or not they are some of today’s best humorists or classic writers.  Thus, it wasn’t because of my familiarity that I picked up The Dreaded Feast.

If you are looking for a short book (only 208 pages in 5 1/2 by 7 1/2-inch format) that is well-written and highly entertaining, this is a great choice.  Makes a great gift as well.

Although every story in the book can be found elsewhere, it is highly unlikely anyone would have found most of them, even if they were searching for them.  I found the choices excellent, and even if you did not agree, each is short; thus, that problem can be easily and quickly surmounted.  Writing styles vary, writers from different genres are mixed, and topics, too, vary, but, overall, this is a quick read.

Our family (all 18 of us) get together for all the big holiday celebrations, and we all enjoy (seemingly) getting together, sharing stories, eating food, and playing with the kids.  I’m not saying that ours is an ideal family situation; however, I think it comes pretty close.  But, you don’t have to have the “ideal” to appreciate the stories found here.  As-a-matter-of-fact, if you have something less than the “ideal,” you are likely to find the insights and revelations in this book sufficient enough to make you feel better regarding your own celebrations.
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Get this book at Amazon.com The Dreaded Feast: Writers on Enduring the Holidays

The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science

Book Club... And Then Some!





The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science             
by Richard Holmes



Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
 
If you are looking for a well-written, engaging, and entertaining read, choose this book.  Just as it says on the front flyleaf: “A riveting history of the men and women whose discoveries and inventions at the end of the eighteenth century gave birth to the Romantic Age of Science.”  That is precisely what you get: “a coherent and compelling brief history of the romantic era scientists.  Well written, engaging, and a pleasure to read,” writes one reviewer.

There is a 33-page (fine print) index, 28 pages of references, and an eleven-page bibliography for this 552-page book.  The 25 pages of pictures (separated into three sections) are useful and excellent.  In addition, the author provides a 22-page cast list which makes reading the story easier.

It is as one reviewer said, “a nail biting drama—what will Davy discover next?  Will he foil his scientific genius with his outsized ego and penchant for fly fishing?  I raced through the chapters to find out what happens next (200 years ago).”

On the front flyleaf of the book, the characters of Holmes narrative are briefly described: “Three lives dominate the book: William Herschel and his siter Caroline, whose dedication to the stuy of the stars forever changed the public conception of the solar system, the Milky Way, and the meaning of the universe; and Humphry Davy, who with only a grammar-school education stunned the scienfific community with near-suicidal gas experiments that led to the invention of the miners’ lamp and established British chemistry as the leading professional science in Europe.”

What I especially enjoyed is that throughout the book Holmes brings together literature and science.  You get Davy’s poems, and although they fill a substantial portion of the book, they provide a delightful respite from the narrative, and it offers, too, a look at the romantic literature of the time. 

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This book is available from Amazon.com: The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science

The Third Man Factor: Surviving the Impossible

Book Club... And Then Some!





The Third Man Factor: Surviving the Impossible         
by John Geiger



Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
 
There are 24 pages of notes in support of this 297-page book; however, as one reviewer noted, “I’ve never read a book that gave the source but ignored adding page numbers.  It’s a basic tradition of scholarship.  Give exact details so readers can confirm the source.  Readers who want to verify a quote from ‘Varieties of Religious Experience,’ for example, might need an hour or more to find the context; a considerate scholar will give the page and so guide readers in an instant.” 

Now, you have to understand as you begin reading these awesome, awe-inspiring stories, that even when people demonstrate a sheer determination to endure in life-and-death circumstances, whether it is the author’s interpretation or that of the survivor, the interpretation will be that “a faith in one’s ultimate survival, seen in so many of the cases in this book, is the power of the savior.”  I have always wondered why it is that people who begin with faith and pray mightily for their own survival in such circumstances end up dying?  We hear that faith creates survivors, but just as likely in life-and-death circumstances, faith can result in death.  Aren’t the odds 50-50 anyway?  And if the odds are 50-50 (do we have any proof otherwise?), then what is the true value of prayer?  Does it make you feel better?  More confident?  More secure?  More assured?  More courageous?  Or, does it simply buoy the spirits with hope and inspiration?  I’m not denying its value, but it doesn’t change the odds.

Whether you are a believer or not, the stories collected by Geiger are amazing.  For example, he begins with a story of a man who was trapped in the south tower of the World Trade Center on the morning of the 9/11 attacks who followed a “voice” and a “presence” who led him through smoke and fire to safety.  He was the last person to get out alive on that day.  (My assumption, of course, is that all of the others who did not get out alive were either those of no faith, little faith, or not the right faith.)

One reviewer of the book wrote, “The author doesn’t make any assertions as to what the third man actually might be, but after doing an in-depth study of other literature . . . and doing the practice of listening to the ‘still small voice,’ I now know that this is none other than our divine higher self—the god of us—in action . . . It is omniscient and will manifest itself whenever our normal human nature gets out of the way.”  For many, “normal human nature”—and the knowledge of science—will always interfere.  But that doesn’t change the odds in any way.

There is no doubt that “the book reads like a collection of anecdotes,” as one reviewer noted, and it can become tiring.  Nonetheless, that does not deny the impact of the stories.  This is an entertaining collection by a talented writer, and if you can be (or are) moved by messages of hope, then this is a great selection.


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This book is available from Amazon.com: The Third Man Factor: Surviving the Impossible

How to Survive the End of the World as we Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times

Book Club... And Then Some!





How to Survive the End of the World as we Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times      
by James Wesley Rawles



Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
 
This 316-page paperback is truly a survival guide that offers readers a list of survival equipment necessary, how to find a survival retreat, find water, store food, acquire fuel and power your home, use a garden and nourish livestock, acquire medical supplies and the knowledge to use them, monitor and use communications equipment, own a home security system and learn self-defense, possess and use firearms, use vehicles and which ones are best, invest, barter and maintain a home-based business.  There is truly a great deal to be learned from this book.

Although it is true that regarding disasters, one size doesn’t fit all, and there are certainly a large number of different kinds of preparations that can be made, depending on the kind and length of the disaster as well as the location and societal issue involved.  The point Rawles makes is an important one—preparing ahead for disaster costs very little, but it can save your life.  It’s a little like buying insurance.

If nothing else, this book will get you thinking about things that may never have occurred to you.  Some of the ideas may seem unrealistic (buying a hybrid car, a diesel pickup, a motorcycle or moped, as well as an electric ATV and a tractor), the idea is simply to get ready before something bad happens.

Although I am unlikely to follow very much of his advice, I found the book practical, useful, and worth reading.  To have it in your library for possible use when the time comes may be a great idea (or as a reference to use periodically), but your library may disappear along with the disaster and render the book meaningless (or lost) just when needed the most.

Nonetheless, the book is, as Eric M. Bessette, of Tobyhanna, PA, said in his review of the book, “Well thought out, well written, and well planned.  In the easy to read instructions, the author teaches you everything from water purification to food storage preparation.”

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This book is available from Amazon.com: How to Survive the End of the World as we Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times

Bozo Sapiens and Live a Little!

Book Club... And Then Some!





Bozo Sapiens: Why to Err is Human      

by Michael Kaplan and Ellen Kaplan



Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
 
This is a fabulous book: well-written, erudite, heavily supported by notes (26 pages out of 304 total), incredibly witty, full of examples and illustrations, with an excellent balance of depth and breadth.

If you are simply looking for a book that will both educate and entertain, this would be an excellent selection.

It is like a 100-level survey course in evolutionary psychology.  The Kaplans discuss the latest research in neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, evolutionary biology, cognitive and social psychology, behavioral finance, among other topics, and although any educated person will be familiar with some of their examples, their endless stream of hilarious anecdotes effectively explain and illustrate the dry research.

What makes this book a captivating page turner is their discussion of sensory mistakes, confirmation bias (motivational reasoning), errors in economics, as well as the stupid mistakes we make in both love and ethics.

If you want to know how the human brain works, depend on the Kaplans for a delightful treatise on human folly.


Live a Little! Breaking the Rules Won’t Break Your Health
By Susan M. Love and Alice D. Domar


Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
  
I like this book; however, I think anyone who is fit and healthy likes to read the reinforcements to their lifestyle, and this is certainly one of those books.  It is designed for women not men, but men need a dose of reality as well.  The authors cover the areas of sleep, stress, preventive care, exercise, nutrition, and personal relationships.  It is an interesting and well-written book.

If you are already fit and healthy you certainly don’t need to read this book.  I found nothing new here that you wouldn’t have read (in sufficient supply) elsewhere, whether it is in the “Science” section of the New York Times or in the “Health” sections and columns of your weekly news magazine or newspaper. 

I do appreciate the specificity of their suggestions, and their little quizzes are enjoyable to take.  Their quiz (pp. 114-117) “Are Your Exercise Habits Pretty Healthy?, is designed for self-scoring, and when I looked at my score (18-24 points), I thought the result was well-written: “You are committed to working out without being a fanatic . . . “ At the top end of the scale, 25-30 points, the authors state: “ . . . consider seeking professional help.”  I’m a fanatic when it comes to “regular exercise,” but I don’t “groan in agony,” suffer “serious pain,” exercise seven days a week, or punish myself “for pigging out” (I don’t “pig out.”). 

The quiz on, “Are Your Eating Habits Pretty Healthy?” (pp. 158-161), also rewards (in the self-scoring portion) reasonableness.  Although 22-30 points is the top and the authors recommend lightening up—“Your extreme attitude prevents you from taking joy in your food, and probably leads to quite a bit of unhealthy stress.”  I like this approach, and it was followed as well in the quiz, “Are Your Relationships Pretty Healthy?” (pp. 187-191).

I thought their box, “How We Studied the Studies” (pp. 9-10) is a useful inclusion for any readers unfamiliar with statistics or statistical studies and their interpretation. 

The various boxes throughout the book, the addition of the personal experiences of both authors, the history and background of research and various recommendations, the use of “From the Trenches” by other authors and writers, and their final chapter, “A Pretty Healthy Life, Decade by Decade” (193-215) (20's -70's and beyond), I think, offers useful, commonsense advice.
 

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These books are both available from Amazon.com: Bozo Sapiens: Why to Err is Human and Live a Little! Breaking the Rules Won’t Break Your Health

The Cost of Bad Behavior: How Incivility Is Damaging

Book Club... And Then Some!





The Cost of Bad Behavior: How Incivility Is Damaging
             

by Christine Pearson and Christine Porathail





Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
 
This is a well-organized, thorough examination of incivility.  Chapters 1-4 introduce the concept of incivility (its prevalence and characteristics), Chapters 5-11 discuss its costs, whom it hurts and how, and Chapters 12-17 describe in detail what individuals, organizations, and society can do to promote a civil environment.  Reading through all the causes for incivility in the workplace—they are many and varied—one not only begins to understand the nature of incivility, but some of the unfortunate characteristics of our society as well and how demographics, competition, selfishness, time compression, information access, and individual stress contribute to the problem and make it worse. 

Pearson and Porath’s definition—“the exchange of seemingly inconsequential inconsiderate words and deeds that violate conventional norms of workplace conduct"—and the examples they offer of workplace incivility, will make it clear how pervasive such conduct is.

The costs they discuss of bad behavior—decreased individual/team performance, stress/burnout, turnover, and reputation damage—drive their points home. 

Reading this book should be imperative for all organizations, not just those interested in obtaining the highest return on their investments.

The research and documentation is extensive, the writing is both clear and compelling, and their wealth of real-life stories, make this book an outstanding choice.  Also, in the final chapters, the authors offer specific methods for recognizing and responding to the signs of incivility, even though they acknowledge as well, that there are no easy answers.this

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This book is available from Amazon.com: The Cost of Bad Behavior: How Incivility Is Damaging

Book Club... And Then Some!

How Did That Happen? Holding People Accountable for Results the Positive, Principled Way
by Roger Connors and Tom Smith

Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.

Based on more than 20 years teaching the concepts of accountability around the world and with 700 clients in 56 countries, Connors and Smith discuss the approaches to accountability that will contribute more to the success of individuals, teams, and organizational life than any other single attribute.

How did That Happen? leaves no doubt in this reader’s mind, that following their specific and well-explained sequence of steps will enable anyone to establish the right expectations in a positive and principled way that will inspire people, make them feel good about their work, and get results.

Accountability is a personal “attribute” that exemplifies who a person is. It is “a way of being” that empowers and allows people to meet and surpass their expectations.

The authors do not provide generalities. For example, they discuss the four main causes of missed delivery: poor motivation, inadeequate training, too little personal accountability, and an ineffective culture. They offer specific solutions to these problems—among many other topics and issues.

This is truly a great book worth reading. It is written by two author who, clearly, know what they’re talking about and talk about it in a direct, readable, and memorable manner.

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59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot
by Richard Wiseman

Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.

In a word: fascinating! 59 Seconds is one of those, “I just couldn’t put it down,” types of books. Having previously cited some of Wiseman’s research on humor in the final chapter of Edgar E. Willis’s book, How to be funny on Purpose: Creating and Consuming Humor, I was already familiar with one area of his research. Other areas include deception and luck. What makes this book utterly fascinating is his ability to distill (and make palatable) thousands of papers (research studies) in psychology, then apply them directly to the way we (readers) live their lives. The way he destroys many of the myths that often are taken for granted, is eye-opening.

Wiseman’s chapter titles reveal how closely the research studies (and his applications of them) relate to our lives: happiness, persuasion, motivation, creativity, attraction, relationships, stress, decision-making, parenting, and personality. How can anyone deny that at least one, and probably more, of these areas relates to his or her life?

Wiseman’s close dependence on scientific studies, while maintaining complete and easy readability, I might add, makes this book a valuable resource and practical guide to change. Wiseman explained his method and approach in this manner: “Over the course of a few months, I carefully searched through endless journals containing research papers from many different areas of psychology. As I examined the work, a promising pattern emerged, with researches in quite different fields developing techniques that help people achieve their aims and ambitions in minutes, not months. I collected hundreds of these studies, drawn from many different areas of the behavioral sciences. From mood to memory, persuasion to procrastination, resilience to to relationships, together they represent a new science of rapid change” (p. 8).

Wiseman’s delightful, sometimes dry, sense of humor not only makes the text engaging, but it makes it entertaining as well.

With the specific, practical tools Wiseman offers, clear reporting of the methods the researchers used, and the delightful encouragement of the author himself, you cannot help but be moved to grow, develop, and change in new purposeful and meaningful directions. His 59-second sections full of useful, applicable advice are thought-provoking and valuable. I remain fascinated! (If you want to see a short video of Wiseman, there is one on the Amazon.com website where his book is advertised.)

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What would Google do?
by Jeff Jarvis

Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.

I found this book fascinating simply because it challenges you to think. Jeff Jarvis has numerous credentials. He is on the faculty of the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He was the creator and founding editor of Entertainment Weekly. He writes the new media column for the Guardian in London.

What would Google Do? has three parts, and if I was asked which part I enjoyed the most, I would be hard pressed to give an answer, and here’s why. I have always been intrigued by Google, and the first part of the book explains its philosophy in a set of 40 rules divided into 10 categories. For example, his opening section, “New Relationship,” includes 4 rules: 1) Give the people control and we will use it, 2) Dell hell, 3) Your worst customer is your best friend, 4) Your best customer is your partner. This is just one example, of course. But I found great information in the rules, “The link changes everything,” “If you’re not searchable, you won’t be found,” and “Simplify, simplify.” There are many more.

The second part of the book, “If Google Ruled the World.” Jarvis simply applies the rules discussed in the first part of the book to a long list of businesses: media, advertising, retail, utilities, manufacturing, service, money, public welfare, public institutions, and exceptions. In the third part (only 10 pages long) called, “Generation G,” Jarvis focuses on social implications of the new power structure, dramatically democratized by Google's solutions. In one Amazon.com review, B. Mann writes, “While many companies were sleeping, the rules of business changed, at least as it pertains to business built on, or enabled by, the internet. Or maybe not all the rules changed (e.g. Wal-Mart, the big dog, will remain the big dog), but a new set of rules has been layered on top (e.g. small is the new big).

With those new rules (plus, admittedly, luck), Google has become a behemoth, cyberly speaking. In the process, Google helped redefine the fundamental nature of the relationships between seller, buyer, advertiser, and the "middlemen" whose value in society is rapidly evaporating.”

Although there is a bit too much of Jarvis in this book, it is still a worthwhile read. It is not a book about what Google does, but a book of what we can do with Google. And, furthermore, it is not a practical book, a well-organized book, or one that offers a deep understanding, but I think it offers a preliminary look at the way Internet-based relationships fuel a new business model, and I found it enjoyable simply because it is speculative. It makes you think!


Reinventing Knowledge: From Alexandria to the Internet
by Ian F. McNeely with Lisa Wolverton

Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.

In this delightful, well-written, and fully documented 276-page (of text) book, with 25 pages of notes, you will discover a wonderful, fully absorbing, history book that, in my mind, completely and satisfactorily answers the question the authors set out to answer: How does history help us understand the vast changes we are now experiencing in the landscape of knowledge? Further, what are the pivotal points of institutional change and cultural transformation from the classical period to the present?

With Reinventing Knowledge you must enjoy an intellectual challenge, it is true, but if you are interested in the key institutions (i.e., the library, the monastery, the university, the republic of letters, the disciplines, and the laboratory) that have shaped and channeled knowledge in the West, this is certainly a book that will both dazzle and exhilarate your senses.

Because of my background in speech communication, I was particularly drawn to the early section in which they explain the public arenas of democratic Athens where competitive speech and writing took center stage, but were considered an inferior path to truth. There was, then, a shift to knowledge as written then, in another shift, to libraries that could produce Homer’s epics as well as the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible — which made knowledge portable. In yet another shift, monasteries arose as key knowledge institutions to not just preserve written culture of the ancient past but create new frameworks for understanding as well.

It was with the creation of universities that knowledge was again embraced and there was an emphasis on performance, use of the spoken word, and the questioning of texts. This is how the authors proceed through the book, and it makes for fascinating reading.

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Civilian in an Ill-Fitting Uniform: A Memoir of World War II

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Civilian in an Ill-Fitting Uniform: A Memoir of World War II
by Edgar E. Willis

Review by:
Major Zachary Miller, U.S. Army
Veteran of the Iraq War
Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart recipient
Graduate of Harvard and West Point

“In Civilian in an Ill-fitting Uniform Edgar Willis reminds us why the greatest generation has earned our respect and gratitude. More than just a vividly told memoir of his service in the Navy during World War II, it is a narrative of the entire war-time experience. From the fortuitous twists of fate that so influenced his path to his faithful portrayal of life aboard the “USS Alaska,” Willis weaves together a wonderful story. But this memoir also chronicles a consummate family man whose most crushing disappointment was not returning home to his wife and kids immediately after the war ended. In telling us how he came to serve and the sacrifices he made along the way, Willis delivers an engrossing account of a life well-lived.”

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Review by:
Darrell Trent, United States Ambassador
Acting Secretary of Transportation under President Ronald Reagan

“This book makes a significant contribution by detailing inefficiencies of war on a personal basis. It describes the impact war has on the lives of those actually doing the fighting. My wartime experience in Iraq gave me the opportunity to experience the tenor of combat, and to see the absurdity of a large military bureaucracy trying to deal with daily operational issues. Willis captures both initiatives in real time experience. I cringed at the moments of tragedy, and laughed at the absurdities of other events as they interplayed together.”

“Civilian in an Ill-fitting Uniform is a book that should be read by policy makers who are sending our young men and women into combat situations in far off places without having clear objectives or opportunities for success.”

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Review by:
William C. Orr, Ph.D.
President and CEO
Lynn Health Science Institute
Clinical Professor of Medicine
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

“This book provides a rare first hand account of a crucial time in American history, the end of the war in the Pacific in WWII. The book is compelling and insightful, and describes the experiences of a young PhD who is suddenly exposed during wartime to the rigors, discipline and dangers of military life. The book is replete with anecdotes which are riveting and sometimes quite touching and humorous. Reading the book is much like reading a book by the eminent American historian David McCullough, in that the accounts of events are as if you were actually there.”


Review by:
Rev. Daniel W. Bellavia
Senior Pastor
First Baptist Church of Greater Toledo

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“Dr. Willis’s command of the written word is extraordinary, and as you read the book, the voice of the author is loud and clear. He is whimsical when recounting the story of Bing Crosby sharing an impromptu version of “White Christmas” on the eighteenth hole of a charity golf tournament, stark and graphic when writing about the effect of hearing General Schmidt’s plea for information during the early days of the Battle of Iwo Jima, and lucid and insightful when sharing the language of the navy in a way that is both instructive and easily understood.”

“Dr. Willis shares his conclusions as well as his memories. While some veterans would be content to simply remember through a haze of rose-colored reflection, Dr. Willis clearly reports the truth as he knows it. The most refreshing aspect of the memoir is how it reveals a mind at work—willing to share opinions and name names—rather than simply providing a stenographer’s account of events. This mind is perhaps the most wonderful aspect of the book as Dr. Willis spins tales of grim reality and utter joy with equal skill and interest. His stories are both intimate and at times shockingly public.”

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Book Club... And Then Some!
Through our reading, researching, and writing, And Then Some Publishing (and our extended family of readers) mine volumes of books representing a wide variety of tastes. We use the books in our writing, test and try suggested techniques, and we read for enjoyment as well. We wouldn't spend the time reviewing the books if we didn't get something out of it. Read more reviews on other fantastic books at our BookClubAndThenSome.com website.

Book Club... And Then Some!

Book Club... And Then Some!
Staff Writer - Anthony Weaver

Every Monday we review two books that are available at Amazon.com. Our reviews begin here on Monday February 1, 2010. The reviews will begin again on Monday February 1, 2010 with special reviews of Civilian in an Ill-fitting Uniform: A World War II Memoir by Edgar E. Willis.

Through our reading, researching, and writing, And Then Some Publishing (and our extended family of readers) mine volumes of books representing a wide variety of tastes. What's great is these books aren't going to cost you a fortune. The majority of our books can be bought for under $15! We have plenty of great books with reviews you can trust. Now, I call that reading...And Then Some!

Interested in taking a sneak peak at what's ahead? Read our previous reviews: andthensomeworks.blogspot.com. Just use the Blog Archive in the right column and click on any Book Review Monday post. And don't worry... all reviews will still be posted on the And Then Some Works blog every Monday.

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