I found this book hard to follow, as it switches from the main characters life to her fathers, but overall it was an interesting and beautifully written story.

This book is excellent to understand the behaivor of organizations, groups and their structures. If anyone who needs to manage a group (small or large, does not matter), must not skip these subjects. Every group, every project has different needs and a different management plan. They are different like individual person. That book shows and explains that perfectly.

Too much has been made of Lewis & Clark. The real exploration of America's West Coast and the real contribution to American culture was that of a select group of Boston traders who departed poor their New England homes, turned round the Cape, and up to the Pacific Northwest, there trading iron and wool for otter skins, the most dense and precious of all mammal pelts and one of two items alone that the Chinese would deign to purchase from Americans.

Gibson tells the stories of these men, the men who established profitable trade for America, who brought hard currency into a broken economy, who set the stage for the American heritage of exploration cum capitalism that we see today in Silicon Valley.

I don't believe it is a coincidence that the shares held by the investors (half), captain (tenth), supercargo (seven percent), and crew (33 percent, total) mirrors that of technology companies today.

Relates apathy in the church of Christ to story of his young son learning to watch a baseball game only by looking at the scoreboard (which the boy was so proud he'd just learned) without paying any attention to all the action on the field.

Thus, out of stands and into the game, Christians. Good work on letting Jesus use each and every believer as a witness to their friends, relatives and acquaintances in our lifepaths.

Great advice on focusing on salvation and not letting our witness get sidetracked and off-course with other doctrines initially with unbelievers.

Liked his last chapter "on helping rookies," the much needed talk about integrated new believers into the life of the church and congregation.

Pandemonium is a book about organizations and the threat of linearity. The book itself is non-linearily written, it reads very well, and inspires to rethinking of: organizations, science, writing, and life itself... Anyone who doubts organizing is interesting -- read this one!

Eleanor Gibson's little book gives a personal account of her life with her husband, James, as the two of them fashioned careers in perceptual research. The background information on their personal lives is interesting as context for the scientific work they crafted during the 1930's through the 1970's. Eleanor Gibson's own work continued on to this latest book, completed when she was already 90. One hesitates to say it will be her last!

Some few details are perhaps in error; possibly some individuals are juxtaposed more closely than they should be. There may be a bit of disjointedness in some tiny places. One might have hoped for a bit more information than we get about her views on the Gibsons' impact, most particularly through their students across the years.

But the book, on the whole, gives a charming -- and in some ways inspirational -- insight into the life and times of two of our most distinguished contributors to modern thinking in perception. Eleanor Gibson's comments about her struggles to make a career for herself in a climate that was decidedly biased against the success of women is an eye-opener. Her ability to juggle a research career and a successful family life is also worth noting.

One might wish, nevertheless, for a paperback version of this little book. Forty bucks for little more than an evening's reading seems a pretty stiff tariff.

If you enjoyed "The Mystery of the Yellow Room", you will probably enjoy "The Perfume of the Lady in Black". This novel was very well written by Gaston Leroux (who actually included himself as a character in the early pages of the book!). You must read "The Mystery of the Yellow Room" before attempting "The Perfume of the Lady in Black", as it is merely a continuation of the events from "Yellow Room". To say that Gaston Leroux has a few surprises in store for you with this book would be an understatement, as he gives new meanings to the events from the first book. For me to say anyting further would be unfair to a prospective reader. While "The Mystery of the Yellow Room" was a five star book without question, "The Perfume of the Lady in Black" falls just short of that lofty plateau. For those who enjoy a well-written mystery, you could scarcely do better than Gaston Leroux.

RIDERS OF BLACK DAWN is a fast-paced book that started out with a good laugh and ended in a very unusual way. His main character, Mike Bower, wasn't as tough as he thought. But, in the end his frailities disappeared and the real Bower rose to the occasion. Gibson has a knack for characters and, after meeting him at a writers convention, I can see why; it's inherited. Enjoy this book. I did, and I'm anxious to read more of Robin Gibson's work.

Rubbings - A Vietnam Pastoral is an extraordinary novel set in a remote US Army Supply Depot near the village of Long My. The book concerns the experiences of Company A and the "eleven bravos" infantry line unit protecting it during the Vietnam War. Huge in thematic scope, the focus is on the soldiers who served there, including their unofficial mascot, a three-legged mastiff of mythical proportion. Via flashbacks, Gibson takes the reader deep into the personal histories of the soldiers to better understand where they came from "back in the world" and something of how they came to be who they are.

There are memorable characters here guided by the tough insightful First Sergeant "Top" Sorrel whose leadership skills are surpassed in the end only by his strength of character in the face of personal loss. The soldiers are supported by the poetic and spiritual medic "Doc" Barton. Lessons are constant and hard won. The invisible and lethal presence of the enemy beyond the perimeter is the constant backdrop to this "pastoral" providing urgency to the characters' development. The cultural differences and rules of engagement of the enemy are brutally and vividly presented, while the cultural identity of the diverse group of US soldiers is highlighted as they try to understand their roles and search for acceptance, companionship, and compassion.

Peril and fear ( not only of the enemy but also of personal failure) swirl throughout the narrative, culminating in a tragic denouement brought on by bureaucratic ignorance. But within the novel -- this "speck of time" as Gibson refers to it - there shines "art's radiance" in the "duty and coping and decency and loyalty and honor" of the soldiers and the cohesive force of their unit that ultimately abides.

Rubbings is a unique war novel. Gibson writes with deep empathy and authenticity that could have only been the result of personal experience. The themes of human condition are brought to light indirectly through the vivid descriptions of the soldiers' attachments and sense of place amid displacement. Gibson speaks compassionately of the common soldier - who, diverse in background, is set questing, trying to make sense of life under conditions most of us can only imagine.

Great, exciting story about a hit-and-run wreck, a camera, a restless heart, and a cute little sister. It actually was NOT that predictable (or maybe I'm just dense, who knows?). One criticism of mine toward Eva Gibson is her dialog--sometimes it can be just TOO polished. Have you ever heard a six-year-old use the phrases "beck and call" or "I've a mind to"? Still, a satisfying read, and a good moral lesson.