Political and economics commentator Phillips (The Politics of Rich and Poor, etc.) believes we are facing an ominous time: "As 2004 began, [a] Machiavellian moment was at hand. U.S. president George W. Bush... was a dynast whose family heritage included secrecy and calculated deception." Phillips perceives a dangerous, counterdemocratic trend toward dynasties in American politic-she cites the growing number of sons and wives of senators elected to the Senate as an example. Perhaps less convincingly, he compares the "restoration" of the Bushes to the White House after an absence of eight years to the royal restorations of the Stuarts in England in 1660 and the Bourbons in France in 1814. To underscore the dangers of inherited wealth and power, Phillips delineates a complex case involving a network of moneyed influence going back generations, as well as the Bushes' long-time canny involvement in oil and foreign policy (read: CIA) and, he says, bald-faced appeasement of the nativist/fundamentalist wing that, according to Phillips, is now "dangerously" dominating the GOP. Casting a critical eye at the entire Bush clan serves the useful function of consolidating a wealth of information, especially about forebears George Herbert Walker and Prescott Bush. Phillips's own status as a former Republican (now turned independent) boosts the force of his argument substantially. Not all readers will share Phillips's alarmist response to the Bush "dynasty," but his book offers an important historical context in which to understand the rise of George W.
Copyright ?© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

This fascinating Handbook defines how knowledge contributes to social and economic life, and vice versa. It considers the five areas critical to acquiring a comprehensive understanding of the knowledge economy: the nature of the knowledge economy; social, cooperative, cultural, creative, ethical and intellectual capital; knowledge and innovation systems; policy analysis for knowledge-based economies; and knowledge management. In presenting the outcomes of an important body of research, the Handbook enables knowledge policy and management practitioners to be more systematically guided in their thinking and actions. The contributors cover a wide disciplinary spectrum in an accessible way, presenting concise, to-the-point discussions of critical concepts and practices that will enable practitioners to make effective research, managerial and policy decisions. They also highlight important new areas of concern to knowledge economies such as wisdom, ethics, language and creative economies that are largely overlooked. Distinguished by a combination of practical relevance and analytical rigor, this Handbook provides new insights into the basic mechanisms that constitute a knowledge economy and society, and will be invaluable to practitioners and academics in diverse areas of interest, including: knowledge management, innovation management, knowledge policy, social epistemology, and development studies.

Amazon.com
"What is 'effectiveness' in a family?" asks author Steven R. Covey. He promptly answers with four words: "a beautiful family culture." Building this culture is the primary theme of Covey's parenting guide, a manual based on concepts introduced in his blockbuster, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Covey, a New-Age business guru and leadership authority, has consulted with the world's top corporate and political leaders, but closer to home he is the father of nine children. Here, Covey reinterprets each of his now famous "habits" (Habit 1: Be Proactive, Habit 4: Think Win-Win, Habit 6: Synergize) to apply to parenting and family-life issues. Covey suggests writing a family mission statement, implementing special family times and "one-on-ones," holding regular family meetings, and making the commitment to move from "me" to "we" as techniques to improve family effectiveness. Covey is a brilliant storyteller. By weaving the voices and anecdotes of his wife and children with his own inspirational and informative stories, exercises, and parables, he has created a book with something for all parents interested in enhancing the strength and beauty of their own families. --Ericka Lutz --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
A personal-development guru, best-selling author, and father of nine, Covey has done it again. Here he espouses the same seven habits to live by as he did in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (S. & S., 1989), but this time the focus is strictly on the family. While his message is not new, it is written with sincerity and simplicity, and even the most career-driven individual should feel passionate about family after reading this book. Covey contends that all families get off track, mostly because they don't know where the track is headed. The remedy: develop a sense of destination. As in Effective People, each chapter here explains the significance of one of the "habits," illustrated by personal stories. Chapters conclude with practical suggestions for putting the habits into action. At times hokey, at times virtuous, always thoughtful and enlightening, this book is recommended for all libraries. [This is the publisher's first adult title.?Ed.]?Kimberly Lynn, Reading P.L., Mass.
-?Kimberly Lynn, Reading P.L., Mass.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From AudioFile
Covey's seven habits of effective people are adapted here to families. The program works well on audio for a number of reasons. Covey's popular ideas are rooted in interpersonal wisdom; he expresses them sincerely in a concise and entertaining manner. He presents a number of useful lists and recommendations with authentic feeling and colorful examples from his own experience. Occasional live segments add variety to the studio recording. Throughout the program a tender, repeated musical theme and Covey's earnest voice offer hope to listeners seeking closer family relationships. For all these reasons, repeated listening will be useful for anyone interested in Covey's ideas. T.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Review
Donald G. Soderquist vice chairman and COO, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. The ever-present conflict between professional life and family life is addressed in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families through an excellent blend of principle, common sense, and example. Success is possible in both with the proper sense of priority and balance.

Book Description

This program will help you solve many family dilemmas, such as:

* how to balance your family life with your work life in the midst of life's pressures.
* how to develop a family mission statement that will serve as a foundation for building a beautiful family culture in a turbulent world.
* how to balance "tough" discipline with "soft" discipline by implementing a Third Alternative?„? that is both tougher and kinder.
* how parents can maintain control while still giving family members the freedom to grow and develop.
* how to build a high-trust and loving marriage relationship in a world where cynicism, violence, and low trust are prevalent.

Book Info
Audio cassette. Covey discusses building a beautiful family culture in a turbulent world. He offers powerful solutions for solving family dilemmas and the courage needed to make the tough choices to build meaningful, loving relationships. Four cassettes.

About the Author
Stephen R. Covey, an internationally respected leadership expert, is the author of several acclaimed books, including The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the New York Times No. 1 international bestseller, which has also been on the Business Week, USA Today, and Publisher's Weekly bestseller lists for more than five years. Sales of this powerful book, which has been published in 28 languages and 70 countries worldwide, exceed 10 million. Dr. Covey is co-chairman of Franklin Covey, the world's premier leadership development authority, which aids organizations in aligning their strategies with proven principles.

The well-known author of our best-selling How to Study Program shows students of all ages how to write a winning paper when there's simply too little time to do it the "right" way. This is a book about the reality many students face.

This volume offers serious Anglophiles 198 entries covering the British leaders who filled "the top four offices of state and the post of secretary of state for the colonies between 1730 and the present," the four top offices being prime minister, chancellor of the exchequer, foreign secretary, and home secretary. Arrangement of entries is alphabetical, either by name or by title depending on how the individual was best known. For example, Benjamin Disraeli is listed under his given name, not as the Earl of Beaconsfield. In cases where official titles have evolved over the centuries, the editors have, for the sake of consistency, used the modern title. Thus, all prime ministers are listed as such, even though the post was once referred to as First Lord of the Treasury.
Entries range in length from just under half of a page for Richard Ryder, home secretary from 1809 to 1812, to almost five pages for Tony Blair. Each individually signed biography concludes with a list of the main sources used in its preparation. For general background information, especially regarding lesser-known figures, the editors relied on The Dictionary of National Biography and Dod's Parliamentary Companion, among other standard British biography reference sources. A comprehensive bibliography appears at the end of the book. Also provided is a "Chronological List of Leaders by Cabinet Office." A small number of black-and-white illustrations accompanies the text.
The volume does an admirable job of pulling together concise biographies of Great Britain's leaders since the early decade of the sixteenth century and presenting them in straightforward prose. It will be a welcome addition to the reference collections of libraries serving researchers with deep interest in British history, politics, and government. However, libraries that do not see heavy traffic in this area may find that sources such as general encyclopedias will serve well enough. RBB

Book Description
This in an exceptional audio production of the author's 1993 book on how to get your time and life organized around what matters to you. A lot of the advice is technical--things like goal setting, using a day planner, and making adjustments based on results--but his illustrations are so well crafted that it flows more like a novel than a self-help book. The meat of the audio is in the author's marvelous insights on how to understand belief systems and personal rules, and habits. He emphasizes learning from one's mistakes and staying flexible. Read by George Lee Andrews with gentle intelligence, humility, and moral confidence, this is a must-hear audio for anyone wanting a more integrated and effective life. T.W. ?© AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright ?© AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Strongly influenced by Benjamin Franklin, Smith, CEO of a Utah consulting company, offers insightful pronouncements on America's time fragmentation. "Life is getting more and more hectic. The daily treadmill is accelerating, and we have to run faster and faster just to stay in one place." His recommendations for regaining control of time, events and hence life are intriguing, as are his suggestions on goal setting, planning and negative behavior traits. Yet Smith's sharply focused managerial constructs become muddled with material on "life management," aimed at achieving "inner peace--the transcendant feeling of fulfillment and well-being." And his commercial endorsements of his company's seminars and products are irksome . Author tour.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc

About Author
Smith is CEO of Franklin Quest, a company that conducts time-management seminars for corporations, organizations, and government agencies, reaching as many as 20,000 persons per month. It also sells day-planner
scheduling books as an integral part of the time-management system it touts. This highly successful company was founded by Smith a little more than 10 years ago and was modeled on the self-improvement system outlined in Benjamin Franklin's autobiography. Smith argues that there is much more to managing time than getting things done. He preaches that only by understanding one's own value system can one decide what matters most, set priorities, and accomplish one's goals. The result is not only a better-organized life but a more fulfilling one. By focusing on time, Smith has provided a self-improvement book that almost everyone can use--and benefit from. David Rouse

Dale Dauten, Star Tribune, March 19, 1997
Winner of the Golden Play Button Award for Best Business Audio of 1996. Chandler doesn't give you a pep talk or a gut-check...he explains the nature of achievement. He doesn't merely give you encouragement, he gives you options. An example of the difference between encouragement and options is Chandler's response to a man who came up to him at a seminar and said, "My problem is that I never seem to finish anything...." The man wanted Chandler to give him some "affirmations" to alter his "belief system." Chandler responded," Do you think affirmations are what you need? If you had to learn how to use a computer, could you do it by sitting on a couch and repeating, 'I am great at using a computer...'?" Chandler then said, "The way to change your belief system is to change the truth about you...."[brought to you by HighBridge Audio]. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description
In this first-ever paperback edition of his long-time best-seller, motivational speaker Steve Chandler helps you create an action plan for living your vision in business and in life. It features 100 proven methods to positively change the way you think and act-methods based on feedback from the hundreds of thousands of corporate and public seminar attendees Chandler speaks to each year. 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself will help you break through the negative barriers and banish the pessimistic thoughts that are preventing you from fulfilling your lifelong goals and dreams. Whether you're self-employed, a manager, or a high-level executive, it's still easy to get stuck in the daily routines of life, fantasizing about what could have been. Steve Chandler helps you turn that way of thinking around and make what could have been into what can and will be.

Description
100 Ways to Motivate Yourself gives you 100 different thinking tools for accessing your most spirited and creative self. It is a book that you can turn to anywhere and read for just two or three minutes and find your whole day lifted up with energy and purpose. Written like a psychological thriller, 100 Ways has been used by everyone from professional football coaches to homemakers to engage the brain at the deepest and most inspired level in order to access the fire of the human spirit on command. This eBook edition contains the complete 221 page text of the revised hardcover edition.

Book Info
Gives readers 100 different thinking tools for accessing parts of the personal self responsible for motivation. Helps readers transform themselves into energetic, optimistic, and enthusiastic people. Written like a psychological thriller to keep the reader's interest. Can be used for improvements in personal life or in business. DLC: Motivation (Psychology)

Do you realize how much your success, relationships, leadership potential, and income depend on your ability to persuade, motivate, and influence others? Whatever you want to achieve, Maximum Influence can help make it real. Renowned expert Kurt Mortensen combines scientific research with real-world studies to provide the most authoritative and effective arsenal of proven techniques for persuading, influencing, and motivating others. You'll learn the 12 Laws of Persuasion, plus how to:
* Read people instantly * Make people trust and like you instinctively * Discover persuasion techniques that 99% of people don't even know exist * And persuade anyone to give you almost anything -- anywhere, anytime!
You'll also learn why prospects aren't buying from you -- and how to change their minds. A refreshing departure from the same old worn-out techniques, Maximum Influence presents the life-changing skills and techniques that will help you fulfill all your hopes and dreams!

FIRST PRINCIPLES examines the flaws and broken promises of modernism, and hopes for renewal in traditionalism. The central spiritual conflict of our time is the struggle between modernism and traditionalism, and the debate over which should be our guide. Many modern conflicts appear intractable because they are hotspots in a larger cold war between entirely different frames of reference. Only by unearthing and examining the divergent frames can we begin to se e which will work better for us. "Thy will be done" versus "My will be done": according to First Principles, modernism and traditionalism differ principally in where they locate the source of values. Modernism believes in an internal, subjective source; it appeals to the ego, and its promises have captured the popular imagination; but its actual practice reveals its destructiveness. Traditionalism believes in an external, objective source: "God" (or gods). Traditionalism is not about traditions, per se - preserving old ways or keeping old rituals - but about dedicating ourselves to Objective Reality's plan.

Customer Relationship Management
"...this book is an insightful resource for professionals in all industries."

Library Journal
"A quality book that will benefit MBA students and executives alike."