The authors ask, "Can women reach the top of America's largest corporations?" They can and they have...but rarely. This book examines the results of a three-year study of women executives in "Fortune 100" companies. First published in 1987 and then in a revised edition in 1992, Breaking the Glass Ceiling is not wholly current with the situation in these same companies today. (Question: How many have lost their lofty rating they have under-utilized the capabilities of their female employees? Hmmm....) From my perspective, however, most of the book's assertions and conclusions are still valid. The so-called "glass ceiling" has been raised since 1992 but it is still there. Although no long legal, it remains a major barrier nonetheless.

Think about it: You can see where you want to go...you know what you must do to get there...and you are confident of your abilities. So your upward journey within the organization begins. Just as Dorothy saw the distant glow of Oz, you see just as clearly your own destination. It excites you, it inspires you, and you begin to think about how wonderful it will be to get there. As you carefully ascend, you encounter what seems to be a pane of glass. Your face is flush against it. You can still see your destination above you, so near and yet so far. You have hit the "glass ceiling." Now what?

The authors organize their material within eight chapters whose titles correctly indicate the sequence of their analysis:

The Ceiling and the Wall: The Double Barrier to the Top

Up or Out: How Women Succeed, How They Derail

Perception Is Reality: The Narrow Band of Acceptable Behavior

Lessons for Success I : It's Not Enough to Work Hard

Lessons for Success II: It's Not Enough to Work Smart

Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Making It to General Management

Hitting the Wall: Facing Limits, Finding Alternatives

The Future: Can Women Make It to the Top?

Where Are They Now? According to the authors, they are encouraged by two trends: the development of a new "business imperative" which requires organizations to utilize fully all of its human assets, and, the renewal of "legal and legislative pressures." The former is best understood in terms of enlightened self-interest; the second is best understood in terms of the threat of litigation if prevailing laws against gender discrimination have been violated. Whatever it takes. The authors observe: "While there is still a long way to go, progress is being made. Some have broken, or at least cracked the glass ceiling, while others have found ways around it. All have treated the last several years as a learning experience and have applied their own advice in facing the challenges of pioneering women." The "business imperative" as well as "legal and legislative pressures" may have done much to eliminate the "glass ceiling" within organizations. Well and good. But a significant challenge remains: To remove it it, also, from within the minds of those who have been its victims.

Breaking the Glass Ceiling (bold face) helps us to measure what has been accomplished since 1987 when it was first published; 14 years later, it reminds us of what remains to be done.

Bringing Back the White Pine is a good learning tool in a couple of ways. The first half of the book covers a lot of history involved with the settling of northern Minnesota. The second part becomes more technical and describes how the author has worked at the regeneration of white pine. All of this information is very useful to anyone who currently has white pine trees or seedlings, as well as those who wish to plant.

Bryan White is THE BEST book I've read, when I start reading it I can't put it down. Him being my FAVORITE country star.
I just can't tell you enough about it. It is a really cool book you will just have to read it yourself to find out what I mean.
That is if your in to Bryan White.

review by: Sarah Hale

Aaron Wildavsky's greatest concern, as expressed in his writings, is how people manage to live together. This concern may at first appear to have little to do with the study of budgeting, but for Wildavsky, budgeting made living together possible. Indeed, as he argues here, if you cannot budget, you cannot govern.

Budgeting and Governing gathers in one place a mass of material that otherwise would be lost in a wilderness of journals and edited volumes. With few exceptions, Wildavsky chose the articles in this collection. They are organized largely chronologically, so that the reader can trace the progression of his thought, which moved from studies of the American federal government, through comparative work, and on to placing budgeting within a broader theory of political culture.

Wildavsky wrote about budgeting because, in his words, "when a process involves power, authority, culture, consensus, and conflict, it captures a great deal of national political life." Wildavsky was interested in budgeting because of what it could tell us about the classic questions of politics: who gets what, how, and why? His earlier analyses focus narrowly on budgeting personnel and agency actors in answering these questions, while in his later work, the contending actors become sub-cultural types.

To Wildavsky, budgeting was about finding terms for living together in spite of ideological differences. Budgetary incrementalism helped to manage this otherwise unmanageable task. He thought synoptic budgeting and all related reforms would increase disagreement and raise the stakes, and so were unwise. Analysis had to serve politics, not try to displace it.

This book by the corageous and pro-active Dr. Neil Compton is a must-have for any river lovers or black/white photo buffs. There are approximately 88 photos by John Heuston that portray the gorgeous and pristine Buffalo National River in NW Arkansas. The introduction briefly explains the reasoning behind the compilation of the book. This river was almost dammed in several places until this collection of photos made it apparent that the natural beauty needed to be preserved for prosperity. Along with the Ozark Society Foundation and other unselfish environmentalists from the Ozarks, the Buffalo was saved and designated the first (and I believe only) national river on March 1, 1972. These actions have stimulated continuing land conservation in Missouri and Arkansas, and people of all sizes, race, and age can see what determination and passion can obtain. Trust me on this one; if you've never visited the river you will be magnetized by this book and if this area is your second home (as it is mine) you will smile ear to ear and cover to cover. See you down river.

Fascinating! Full of detail about the earliest days of the Chicago Cubs. Dates back to the very beginnings of baseball and follows the history of baseball in Chicago through 1886.

This book does everything it claims to do.

Years before I read the book, I bought a car (badly). I had done --everything-- wrong as described by the book. That purchase was not fun.

After reading the book, the process of buying the next car was tense but fun.

I really think the book allowed me to make a satisfactory deal and feel comfortable that I had made a good deal.

Not a good book for those with un-realistic expectations about pricing. No matter how much you negotiate, the dealer will not sell you a car unless he makes a profit. You just don't want him to make too BIG a profit! The book will help with that limitation.

This is by far one of the best, if not the best, work that I have ever read on the subject of the Zulu War. This book gives you a true insiders view to this terrible and costly war. You can feel the pain of the hot sun at Rourke's Drift, and almost hear the chant of the fierce and proud Zulu warriors at Isandlwana. There are period pictures and historical battle facts that add to the enjoyment. A great book. A must read for the serious British Military researcher

This was very uplifting and is very much needed in this hour of peril for our military as well as for our nation!!!! Highly recommended.

Brenda draws on what she knows for great story poems about the lives, loves and heart breaks of hardscrabble rural Texas following WWII. But her real art is in the writing of such rich and lively poetry that even those who do not think of themselves as poetry lovers will be head -over-hills in love with her every word.She uses a traditonal rhyming verse, but with the craft and skill of the masters. It is easy to forget the rhyme as the story sweeps the reader away. Brenda does not accidently throw down a phrase and move on feeling that it is 'good enough'. Each word carries weight in an easy flowing read that belies the craft of writing poetry. The characters straightforwardness in going for what they want and owning up to whatever misdeeds they may have done, call to mind a less complex time. When the wife confesses in The Three Killings, you aren't sure which death bothered her the most. That goes for the narrating voice as well. The teller of the tale lays neither blame nor glory at the feet of the various protagonists.Brenda, like her subjects is 'East Texas level', not missing a detail nor weighing one detail above another.A worthy read!