The authors approach groups, both large and small, contexually. The subject matter is handled in a rich and thoughtful way. This book is not just for mental health practitioners but anyone interested in post-structuralist thought.

THE MODERN CONTEST is a master work that deserves a much wider audience than it has received since its publication ten years ago. The scope of the book and its opening claim, that it defines "the common pattern that connects individual psychotherapy, family therapy, group work, teaching, organizational life and large scale social problems," is so vast that the volume was guaranteed a narrow readership probably from the moment it hit the presses. It is a tribute to W.W. Norton that Gustafson and Cooper's ideas, heady and raw-boned as they are, can be studied and savored over time. This is not a lightweight piece of theory-building, and the brilliance of the work only becomes clear after repeated visitation. One is reminded of Louis Armstrong's immortal statement about the definition of Jazz: "Man, if you have to ask, then you just don't know." These two jazzmasters have gone quite beyond the riff and jive of the typical book on group and organizational life. They do not tell us what we want to hear; they tell us what we need to hear.

Having seen these authors in action in both large and small group settings, I was chagrined to realize how little I understood about the true genius manifest in their twenty years of collaboration and dialogue. Their combined insight is impressive, daunting, demanding, and inspiring.

Gustafson, the psychiatrist-physician, writes the odd numbered chapters. Cooper, the psychologist-professor, is author of the even-numbered chapters. That curious structural contrapuntality tells the reader from the beginning that the band is rocking and this is no slow-dance. We are jerked back and forth in an almost primitive rhythm as these mind-drummers explain to us that "the modern contest decides winning and losing very fast," and that our post-modernist era is a battlefield beyond our simple-minded understanding of the way things appear to be.

Throughout the book there are zen-like generalizations about the nature of group life. "Loyalty is the best introduction," they suggest, and "meeting crude challenges cheerfully is the least troublesome for our friends." What transforms this collection of globalizations into deeply valuable insight is the assortment of stories, illustrations, and self-reports offered by the authors. Their unabashed descriptions of failure, misery, suffering, and cruel hardship are painfully personal at certain moments. The most trivial rejection by peers or students illuminates a world of almost visionary proportion when seen properly through the lenses of interpretation and purpose.

Who should read this book? I came to THE MODERN CONTEST as a longtime student and teacher of group process, psychotherapy, and personal growth. Anyone with those interests will be properly hammered by Gustafson, in particular, who has managed somehow to be an iconoclastic survivor in the maelstrom of academic life. One gets the sense that no matter how deep the confederacy of dunces surrounding him, he gets the joke and accepts the new navigational challenge. Like a character out of James Joyce, he seems to say, "Oh? We have changed the rules? Very well, then, we have changed the rules!"

Try this on for size: "Any territory will be invaded by three kinds of armies of contest: the armies of the oblivious who have something they are authorized to check; the armies of the desperate who must have their fortunes improved or else become lost; the armies of the overpowering who can clear the room. Each ought to get a different kind of counterproposal."

And here is my own particular punchline: this book is very, very helpful in my daily work. I am not quite sure why. Certainly the value derives in part from the knife-edge humor that pervades the book. These guys are not laughing with us, they are laughing at us. What redeems them, I think, is that they are enthusiastic about letting us in on every gag, every secret, every nasty little truth about ourselves and our behavior. That is why the book can soar from a small group of medical students, behaving like primitive apes, to a vast territorial organization acting much the same way.

I confidently predict that this book will be reprinted, if not revised in a second edition. I doubt that these two sailors will circumnavigate this particular world again, at least not together. They are like Wallace Stevens' man with the blue guitar, and they do not play things as they are. I can picture the two of them, warm tea dripping from their moustaches, already planning something quite beyond the modern contest. The post-modern contest, perhaps, or the punishment of splendid little insights.

Whatever they call their next duet, I will be first in line in cyberspace to see if I can get my hands on their next commentary on our wobbling little planet and the Great Pattern which suggests that there is meaning in the cosmos.

If you've read any other Cooper Ellis books, you'll be familiar with Wendy Lee Nentwig's incredible talent for writing. Cooper and her friends Alex and Claire are back, along with Josh, Cooper's boyfriend hopeful. While Josh seems, at times, genuinely interested in Cooper, why does he appear to continually be hiding something from Cooper and mysteriously running off somewhere else? And then there's the pretty little redhead Reagan Josh keeps showing up with, even though he's just asked Cooper to the spring dance. At the same time, Cooper's modelling career is flourishing, with getting a job with a hot new photographer. But though his work is very professional, Cooper's just not comfortable around him. Meanwhile, between Cooper's modelling and her struggle to define her relationship with Josh, her friendships with Alex and Claire seem to quickly be drifting away. In this funny episode with Cooper, you'll experience a lot of laughs and a few times of seriousness and contemplation. It's easy to get into this book and hard to put down! Believe me, it doesn't take long before you feel like you're right there. If you liked Cooper before, you'll love her now. Check out Moonstruck in Manhattan!

i'm a picky reader but i couldn't put this book down. when i read a book i like to relate to it and this book i could totally relate to. i highly recommend you read this book.

Walter Cooper's years in the West are recounted by him in a very modest manner, yet his adventures are thrilling in every way. I could not stop reading until the narrative ended suddenly. The young scout seems to be up to every encounter, whether it is with a mountain lion or an Indian. Highly recommended.

This book is a fast-moving adventure story and will appeal to those who may have read the Dover book "Captured by the Indians," one of my favorites.

--Alison is thrilled when she is offered a part in a new TV series - especially since she didn't try out; she was only at the television studio because her friend Dana wanted to audition! But she soon finds out that show business is tougher than it looks: Alison is getting mixed messages from her co-star Jamie. Is she trying to help Alison...or get her kicked out? Jamie suggests something to "spice up" Alison's character on the series, "Sticks and Stones" which the new director loves...but Alison has a feeling that the old director would have hated it. She can't believe that Jamie would try to get rid of her just because the audition staff took an interest in her by chance. What is Jamie really up to? --Nicely written details in this fast-moving novel gave it a great appeal to me. --Marisa

I've read this book several times because of its great, exciting plot and true-to-life characterizations. Anyone who's ever dreamed about becoming a star will love this book.

Ali's a rich girl who inadvertantly becomes a television star when she joins her wannabe-actress friend Dana at an audition. Jamie is a former child star now living with her mother and sister over a chinese restaurant. She is joyous at learning that she's been cast in a new TV sitcom, until she learns that she's been paired with amiture Ali simply because both girls have bright red hair. Jealousy and friction occur between the girls, maily on Jamie's part. These issues are not handeled lightly; instead, they are portrayed as realistically as possible. In later books, issues of body image, class conflict, and absent parents are discussed, and none are given easy answers. That's what I like about this book -- it always feels very true to life. As a reader, i identify with both girls at different points in their lives. As well, I can't help but fawn over the lush and lavish descriptions of Allison's house and the life of fame. This is just the type of exciting and interesting book that makes you want to read more-- Oops! Too bad the rest are out of print. :-( Anyway, I really enjoyed this book, and am glad that I got the first three in the series before they went out of print.

Let's face it, even though squirrels seem like cute furry woodland creatures, that's just a disguise. Squirrels are evil mammals bent on world domination and can never be trusted. It's so wonderful to find a children's book that not only discusses this concept, but supports it.

NEVER TRUST A SQUIRREL! is about a young guinea-pig who fails to listen to the advice of his mother and goes wondering in the woods with a squirrel. When a sly fox shows up, the squirrel abandons the guinea-pig and what follows is a story of love and a lesson in parental obedience.

This is a great book and the kids I used to teach in preschool loved it. The illustrations are lively and full of natural color, augmenting each scene they accompany.

At a time when there is a huge selection for buyers of children's books to choose from, it is surprisingly rare to find a really good story at an appropriate level. This book was a delightful surprise. I bought it for the 4/5 year olds in my preschool class, and it was an instant success. The children found the story absorbing and were not concerned that a squirrel is an alien species here. I recommend this book to parents, teachers and the young children for whom it has been written.

Indigo is traveling with a family of performers, who have kind of adopted her in their midst. But all goes well until they reach a land where people start to rise from their beds and going soemwhere no one knows of, the crops start to bligth and amongst other things the sun doesn't rise.

In this state of eternal night and a forest of thorns growing everywhere, Indigo is sure she has found her demon, but to locate him, that's more difficult. The demon seems to be everywhere, through his illusions, and Indigo's powers of denial must be great not to believe him.

It's interesting how we see from book to book the development of Indigo's character, she really evolves becoming more determined, human, and grown up.

Nocturne is perhaps my favorite chapter in the epic journey of Indigo, although it is hard to pick one.In Nocturne, Louise Cooper blends contrasting elements very effectively. On the one side you have Indigo joined up with a travling show. Where motleys of colors and myriads of songs are the norm. But then color starts to depart from the landscape around them, and in the wake of blighted crops fear starts to grow. It is here Indigo meets her third demon, and unlike those in the past, her power takes center stage. This book gives haunting questions of reality, as well as what is the true nature of fear. With all these elements, it would have been very easy to fall victim to meaningless cliches. But as any fan of Louise Cooper will attest, one of her strongest suits is her ability to take ideas you have seen or heard before, and show them to you in a completely different way. If you are considering staring a series by Louise Cooper, make sure you have every book of the series before you start reading them, or you just might drive yourself crazy in the interim.

I LOVE NODDY BOOKS AND I THINK THEY ARE REALLY GOOD FOR YOUNG CHILDREN TO READ!!! THEY HAVE FUNNY STORYLINES AND ALWAYS MAKE ME LAUGH!!!

I had the Noddy books as a child, brought back from England by a neighbor. I loved them and now my five year old loves them just as much. These are great for early readers, with only a very few British phrases that need translation. Ignore the minor racial insensitivity and get these if you are lucky enough to find them. The publisher should reprint them for all to enjoy!

This is one of those classic tales set in an artificially sustained reality, such as in Shakespeare's The Tempest and Michael Moorcock's Dancers At The End Of Time and The New World's Fair.

Yet The Overman Culture unfolds like a set of Chinese boxes, to finally reveal the reason for the many paradoxes, temporal and otherwise, that haunt the reader as she/he progresses through this masterpiece.

Why is Sir Winston Churchill walking arm in arm with Queen Victoria as the Battle of Britain is re-fought above London's transparent pressure dome? Why do some children bleed and not others?

The answers are all in there. Treat yourself. Then pick up Cooper's A Far Sunset and Sea Horse In The Sky. Trust me.

I first read The Overman Culture in highschool and was rivited by the concept. I found it again as an adult, and on revisiting Mr. Cooper's London, was once again wrapped up in his world. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes future history, end of the world and rebirth stories...

This is a good beginning book on employee ownership that is written in a down-to-earth style that makes it easy to understand the technical financial and legal jargon. I highly recommend it !

This book is a wonderful step by step how-to book on employee ownership. The best part of it is that it is written in down-to-earth english that makes it very easy to understand the sometimes complex financial and legal jargon.I highly recommend it!