Jeffery Harvey

I am not usually a fan of autobiographies, but this is a fun read. I got to meet Bill Roorbach and have heard him tell stories about Juliet that didn't make it into the book. The book is a wonderful portrayal of how that one special person gets in your life and just toys with your emotions - that one person that you love despite yourself. I read this book in just a couple of days. It's quick and definitely worth the time.

This is my vote for Irene's best book. I love the poem about spreading out luxuriously spreading out in her own grave plot plus the one of her former husband. That's living life and making the best of a bad situation!

The title poem resonates with anyone that is either from or spent significant time in West Virginia. The terminology is especially close to my heart; it makes me think of growing up as a truck driver's son.

This book is written by the president of Mountain State University and the dean of the School of Leadership and Professional Development. From a content standpoint, it is a pretty good read. The advice is down-to-Earth and easy to understand.

The book is slanted toward the CEO in the private sector, but some of the leadership lessons are broad enough for applicability in a variety of disciplines.

As an undergraduate English major, I must say that I noticed a disturbing number of typographical errors in the book which ended up being somewhat distracting to me. The occasional typo is easy to overlook, but a couple of these actually made me stop and re-read a section just to understand what was being said. For a book published by a private university, I was somewhat disappointed with the lack of editing. (Without the grammar inconsistencies, this book would have easily gotten four stars.)

All in all, I enjoyed reading “Apex Thinking” and am proud that its author represents my soon-to-be graduate alma mater. For those who are looking to advance in the private sector, “Apex Thinking” may not prove to be the all-in-one handbook you may think you need, but it certainly should be required reading.

This is your basic text book. It was written especially for the leadership curriculum at Mountain State University (go Cougars!), as is my understanding. A pretty good introduction to the study of leadership, especially the level of research that has been done (since about the mid 1950s).

If you're so inclined to read this one, better set aside a little time. It's one of those texts where every word means something, so you have to almost read it aloud, but certainly read it slow.

Another book read for class. This one started out wonderfully but, for me, fell off in the end. Especially in the epilogue, Lawler rails against researchers and authors that create “catch-phrases” and one-step how-to guides. I'm sure he realizes this, but his whole discussion of treating people right and the “virtuous spiral” is just another catch-phrase.

In general, Lawler's premise is a worthy one. Everyone, but especially those of us that are leaders, should make it a practice to treat people right - with respect and dignity. Lawler is quick to point out that leaders should take the appropriate steps to enrich their employees' jobs, empower them, and motivate them (in positive ways, of course). This is good advice.

As the book went on, it just lost its connection with me. I would recommend it...just with the caution that it is not the “one with the answer”.

This is the anthology that I actually helped compile while a senior in college...look closely in the opening pages, you'll see my name!

Anyway, West Virginia has been blessed with a multitude of very talented writers and this book showcases the major players. The quality of the literature is excellent; while working on it, we spent hours digging through texts to find the very best.

Anyone wanting to learn a little more about WV from those that have lived it, this is an excellent way through fiction. I encourage anyone to pick up this book.

First off, I'm a little weird in that I like books to “feel” a certain way. This one just didn't have that element. The pages were chalky, the cover stiff...you just couldn't get comfortable with this book.

That being said, Morgan dives right into the concept of metaphor. While his metaphors can extend understanding to the masses, the book borders on being a little corny. When reading this for class, I found it interesting that many of my classmates seemed to reject the metaphors because those metaphors didn't fit neatly with their organization. These are very intelligent people, mind you. I think the main message of this book is that one needs to view the organization through the lens of the metaphor as opposed to the metaphor through the lens of the organization.

This book is meant to stimulate thought, not necessarily provide a “one through ten” how-to series. Certainly worth reading, but approach it with an open mind.

This was truly a textbook in every sense of the word. Packed full of information, but maddeningly boring. The latest edition was re-organized to better exemplify the contents. I found the readings in the back to be unnecessary. The short case studies throughout the chapters were much more effective in demonstrating the content.

While I rate this book quite high, I cannot call it entertaining. In truth, I would not have read if I did not have to complete an action research project as part of my masters degree. But, since I had to read it, I tried to approach it with as open mind as possible. Here's what I came up with...

From a purely technical and grammatical standpoint, the book is well written, easy to read, and goes as far as it can go to making the topic interesting. I particularly like that it doesn't try to say too much. By this I mean that the authors keep the book succinct and present the important information - if it's in this book, it's worth remembering. Further, the use of bullet lists, boxes, etc. keep the pace up while reading. It doesn't bore the reader as many textbooks do.

The book presents common sense advice. We could all have probably written it based on our own intuition. But with a tool like this, we can document why our intuition is appropriate and we can explain some of the more abstract, conceptual exclusions we may make in an action research project.

My kudos to you if you are willing to undertake an action research project on your own (I may do a modified form of it at work, but not for pleasure!). If you do and you'd like a good, solid resource that will guide you through some of the uncertainty you are likely to face, then this book is for you.

J.

Very interesting case study of a major change initiative at Harley-Davidson. These are the types of leadership “texts” that I like to read. First off, the book does not try to be the “one-size-fits-all” cookbook that many texts do. The authors recognize that while many of these initiatives worked at Harley, they mail fail at other organizations.

Additionally, it is nice to see a pair of authors give the reason an initiative was selected, what went well and what failed, and what the end result was.

A well-written text that is easy to read, “More Than a Motorcycle” is in the same category of “advice texts” as “Nuts!” and “Guts!” (by Kevin and Jackie Freiberg on the successes of Southwest Airlines).

I've actually only read parts of this one. Gates is from West Virginia, which I'm proud to say. The quality of the writing is excellent; the topics covered poignant social commentary. The implication that white people smell like dogs (and the fact that Gates can write a chapter building on that colloquialism) is fascinating.

Very tough book for me to get into. Not very well written, ridiculously difficult to navigate and understand, etc. The book preaches simplicity, yet presents a book full of charts that are extremely difficult to discern.

My biggest problem with the book is that it lays out several specific steps to achieve organizational perfection. I have trouble believing that a researcher can offer “the” answer for organizational effectiveness. Books should be more like advice and encourage readers to reflect upon and meld the advice into their own.

I can see myself using this book as a resource, but certainly not as the “how-to” cookbook that Rampersad hopes...

Wow...in the realm of books that makes one think, this one ranks very high for me. As someone who has worked for several years on the “ground level” of emergency preparedness, I have been wanting to read what a number of “experts” have to say about the subject. “Americans at Risk” was my first foray into this personal initiative.

Reading this book with an open mind can open one's eyes to the risks that surround us. Everyone should understand that these risks are not insurmountable, so I'm not saying that everyone should go around getting all paranoid.

I tried to read this as a student, not an emergency preparedness professional. Sometimes, when we dedicate a large portion of our lives to a certain cause, we tend to get a little personal when someone else says something with which we disagree. So, I made every attempt to give Irwin Redlener the benefit of the doubt. I agree with much of what he says, particularly when he talks about the need for greater coordination between federal, state, and local partners as well as the need to integrate emergency preparedness and homeland security into a number of other, more “routine” initiatives (e.g., upgrading our roadway and water distribution infrastructure as a means of ensuring preparedness). I don't necessarily agree with other aspects of his opinions, but that is not important. We are all smart human beings and can arrive at our own opinions so long as we do it through a rigorous personal education process and maintain the utmost respect for those that are doing the same thing .

What is much more important, though, is the “thought process” that Redlener employs and implores every citizen and preparedness professional to employ. Ask “what if”. Work your though process beyond what is your comfortable limit. For example, if you know that your capabilities will get you through the most probable emergency in your community, add another wrinkle to it and strengthen your capabilities to meet that new wrinkle.

Redlener's message is to never get complacent. This is good advice - not only for emergency preparedness, but also for life in general.

Wow, what an interesting read. I have been doing my best to add a number of books on topics that relate to my work to my bookshelf and this one didn't disappoint. I was able to add some generalized knowledge of counter-terrorism as well as came up with a couple of ideas on my own company's emergency exercise design strategies.

Counter-terrorism in the 21st century is a new frontier. The NYPD has taken its own path to forging said frontier, and “Securing the City” is a chronicle of this path. The NYPD shows the two sides of terrorism preparedness. There is the very public side, in which our populace must understand that our agencies are doing all they can. This side includes the training, drilling, public outreach, and constant press. And then there is the more covert side, where preparedness officials attempt to identify and expose plots, fully test partner agencies' preparedness, etc. This covert side is what intrigued me the most - the lengths that the NYPD goes to to uncover potential suppliers of bomb-making materials, the steps it has taken to forge a practical working relationship with federal agencies, its success at gathering intelligence from around the globe.

Is the NYPD's approach suitable for all local law enforcement? Absolutely not. But can we glean helpful strategies based on what the NYPD does on a regular basis? Absolutely. The NYPD doesn't mess around. They know that terrorism is one of the city's highest-priority and highest-risk hazards and it stops at nothing to ensure city-wide preparedness. All of our communities should take such a realistic look at their own hazard analyses and work as hard to strengthen resilience to high-priority and high-risk hazards. Preparedness is not a linear or divergent process. Preparing for our biggest vulnerability is bound to strengthen our preparedness for lesser vulnerabilities. After all, there really is only one process used to evacuate a population, whether from terrorism, flooding, etc.

On a more “review-like” note, there were a number of typos in the text that were quite distracting. Other than that, the book read easily, in a conversational tone. Sometimes the endless barrage of terrorist names, response measures, training jargon, etc. can be overwhelming, but Dickey presents this information in such a way that I believe someone from well outside the emergency management-homeland security realm would enjoy “Security the City”.

FINALLY...I get through this book. I must say, content-wise, the book was great. From a readability standpoint, though, I had a very tough time with it. I consider myself an advanced reader, but the book felt intellectually forced. A word to the author, when writing about a subject that forces you to list name after name of foreign language origins, keep your writing style simpler. The names were difficult for me to follow and the sentence structure didn't help me internalize the actual point that was being made.

That being said, as a textbook for a homeland security course, I would highlight recommend this one. Very informative. Very thorough. I read this one to inform my work and it did just that. In today's society, we are over-exposed to al Qaeda and under-exposed to the historical terrorist movements. I also enjoyed the book's presentation of the different types of terrorism: nationalist-separatist, social revolutionary, and religious extremist.

Defoe does what Defoe does best. The poems in this book range from the deep to the whimsical, which is what I'be come to expect and love about Mark's work. I always feel like he can take the most common of events and turn them into mysterious, wonderful benchmarks against which to remember one's life. My personal favorite from this collection is “Lack of an Antecedent”...it is a perfect blend of the taboo feelings many of us have when sitting next to soldier on his or her way home - pride, pity, wonder, disgust, this list could go on for a while. And even as we're harboring these feelings, we know that the majority of them are not directed at or caused by that soldier...it's our way of transferring our own deep instincts about war, peace, and the governments that make us choose between them. Ever want to know how that sounds in metaphor? Pick up “The Rock and the Pebble”.

Though this book was enjoyable, it was one of the toughest things I've read in quite some time...imagine reading a 300-page newspaper article. Its primary theme, though, is one to which we should all serve notice. Excessive secrecy - in government, business, etc.- will threaten our way of life here in America. From my career-based knowledge of the intelligence failures preceding 9/11 to some serious but ultimately trivial things that are happening in my extended family, covering up the truth brings heartache, creates an even greater web of lies to keep a secret suppressed, and so on. Needless to say, this book resonated with me.

Gup presents a number of examples of secrecy and information classification gone awry. What is most disturbing are those cases related to homeland security. What could be more important in a time when we send our sons and daughters abroad to fight a war to protect the very homeland that supports our way of life? I see this personally when I am forced to classify (albeit the “light” classification of FOUO) an after-action report of an emergency exercise. Does the public not have a right to know what strengths their emergency responders have? Does the public not have a right to know of their community's vulnerabilities so it can prepare itself?

In short, pick this book up to learn how you can open the doors of government, the press, big business, and so on. It is paramount. It is our responsibility as Americans. It is patriotic.

J.

What a book to read for someone who makes their living in the homeland security industry. “Incendiary” follows a widow following her husband's and son's death from a terrorist attack on London. Not only is it an insightful statement on an individual's grief for her family and nation, but it is also a poignant statement on that nation's grief. In many ways, we can look at the narrator's descent into madness as understandable, given her extreme losses. England, however, is made out like a just-chastised dog, tail between the legs and sulking in the corner. How does the country react? By growing mean and incapable of trusting others.

But enough about that...“Incendiary” forces the reader to face questions that all of us should face in a post-9/11 world (though many of us can't bear the thought of doing so). Where is the line between civil liberties and security? Where is the appropriate threshold whereupon secrecy becomes necessary? Does force or resilience most-effectively deter terrorists?

Perhaps the book's greatest success is how it explores what happens to “regular” folks in the aftermath of national tragedies. Too often we read about how our politicians are affected, how the families of the NYC firefighters were affected. The New York Times lists Guliani's and Bush's accounts as “best sellers”. As mentioned, homeland security is a daily reality for me and I am afforded the opportunity to talk with a number of people about their emotions and their ideas about how to fight terrorism. One would be surprised at how many people teeter on madness when they really let themselves feel terrorism.

The book explores a number of relevant social issues without being “preachy”. It dissects how class stratification has manifested itself in modern, western civilizations. It touches on ethics in law enforcement and intelligence gathering. It ends with a scathing statement as to how our media can steal what little sanity many have left. Chris Cleave's genius lies in not naming the narrator; she is us.

Thomas Hoover's The Zen Experience is a solid introduction to Zen as a spiritual practice. Candidly, it was much more history than I expected. The book focuses solely on Zen's beginnings and its evolution through China and into Japan. There is no discussion of the practice of Zen. As such, I am glad I have it as a resource for a baseline as I choose other selections on Zen.