Engineering-risk Books

Intervention in one of those books that wakes you up. Not only did I learn a tremendous amount about the potential risks of genetic engineering, I also gained a new understanding about the process of risk assessment itself. The book is a model of critical thinking, as Caruso questions in a fairminded, non-sensationalistic way fundamental assumptions surrounding the biotech industry and the way genetically engineered products are developed and marketed. As I read Intervention, I kept having "ahas" on two levels. The first involved a growing awareness of how we are increasingly all participants in what amounts to an ongoing series of lab experiments as genetically engineered products are introduced around the globe without fully comprehending what the consequences might be. The second concerned a new understanding of the field of risk assessment and the increasing need for collaborative, cross-disciplinary approaches to problem solving and decision making. This is a rich, engaging, thought provoking work that deserves widespread attention and discussion. I recommend it most highly.

This easy-to-read, cogent analysis of the bio-tech - including genetic engineering - industry serves a critical purpose in the world right now. Denise Caruso brings a diligent journalist ethic to a subject that should have most of us putting pressure on our leaders (business, scientific and political) to insist on more rigor in our decision making process in the better interests of humanity and the environment. While she grounds this in the bio-tech industry, Caruso's warnings and proposed solution (of an analytic deliberative process) are equally relevant to many other highly uncertain, risk-fraught, unfettered science domains. I highly recommend this book.

Denise Caruso brilliantly articulates issues around genetic engineering with clarity and insight in Intervention. Everyone who cares about issues of the 21st Century, needs to read this book. - Tiffany Shlain

I am not familiar with genetics, genomics, post genomics and all this stuff, but I read Intervention with a lot of interest, as a guide into the unknown.
I would feel more confident if more scientists understood the problems it raises.
Caruso develops an aproach that, I am convinced, we should encourage. An atitude of openness and cautiousness in front of what's changing and that we don't know. Be there, participate with a critical mind might be the smartest way of entering the future as we make it happen. Be open to all stakeholders knowledge and understanding might be the safest way to move forward.
This is one of the most difficult thing I can think of. But Caruso is of considerable help with the processes she suggests we should adopt.

In Intervention, Denise Caruso, a columnist for the New York Times, has written an important and timely book. The set of people who need to read it include but are not limited to policymakers and voters in the US, in the affluent world, and in the developing world.

Intervention is mainly about transgenic organisms. One of the numerous unsolved problems people need to tackle this century is devising a workable regulatory framework for transgenic plants and animals, aka genetically modified organisms, aka organisms into which engineers have dropped pieces of DNA. In the US, the existing regulatory regime is a patchwork. The biggest part of the patchwork comes from at the dawn of recombinant DNA work at the Asilomar conference in 1975. Asilomar led directly to the "NIH guidelines". These guesstimated different levels of potential risk for different kinds of recombinant DNA experiments, mandated lab practices and levels of containment to conduct research at each level, and set up bodies for review and approval of experiments local to each university. Asilomar also brought about the establishment of an overarching national body, the Recombinant Advisory Committee (aka RAC) to rule on the appropriate level of containment for contested experiments, and established mechanisms by which levels of containment could be ratcheted up or down in response to information coming from new experiments, which in practice has led to sunset of most of the most burdensome regulations as the feared risks did not materialize. The regulatory framework affected experiments in universities funded by the US government, but was extended to commercial work via local communities. Individual cities caused, via their control of zoning, biotech firms to follow the NIH rules. Most of this "Asilomar framework" governs recombinant DNA research in lab organisms such as E. coli, yeast, and mice. In the US, use of recombinant DNA in people, for example in gene therapy, is regulated by the FDA, and release of an organism into the environment, for example a herbicide-resistant potato or an oil-eating bacterium, is regulated by the EPA.

Recombinant work is also regulated in other advanced countries, but in no country is there a system of local and national oversight as strong as that in the US. And the US framework, 32 years old, is fraying at the seams. It is showing its age by showing gaps. Many of the issues are due to the Moore's-law-like growth in the scope and power of the technologies, the democratization of the technical ability to hack DNA, the adoption of recombinant DNA methods by new classes of hackers , and the use of recombinant DNA to engineer different classes of organisms.

The Asilomar framework was designed to regulate research in universities and, extended by zoning regulations, in companies. The Asilomar framework was not designed for a world in which the number of people with basic training in recombinant DNA methods has increased from hundreds to tens or hundreds of thousands worldwide. For example, in most US localities, the only framework that governs recombinant DNA work by private citizens is that sometimes provided by local zoning regulations; and this at a time when affluent parents can and do outfit labs for their high school aged children.

But perhaps the most public change since Asilomar is the increase in the number of different engineered organisms intended to be used outside of the lab. Here, agriculture has emerged as a flashpoint. Last year most of the dollar value of the US corn, soybean, and cotton crops came from transgenic plants. Although introduction of recombinant crops in Europe is stalled, due in part to old fashioned trade protectionism, worldwide, farmers are planting them everywhere they can, from Brasil, where the Lula regime retroactively legalized herbicide resistant soybean seed in the face of the fact that farmers were enthusiastically smuggling in metric tons of the stuff from Argentina and Paraguay, to China and India, where genetically modified insect-resistant rice seed, probably made by multiple independent firms, has been sold since at least 2005. In agriculture, without outright prohibition, the spread of genetically engineered plants and animals is likely to continue until most species of economic importance have been engineered. But even though farmers may love the stuff, it turns out that people tend to view technologies such the recombinant DNA that enables transgenic plants as affecting their lives. Moreover, many may feel that the changes the technologies are bringing are occurring without their understanding or consent.

In Intervention, Caruso uses this steady increase in the contribution of genetic engineering to the economy as a test case, an example to consider how new technologies might be regulated. The book requires the reader to face the question of what an international regulatory framework for recombinant DNA work and genetic engineering of organisms should look like.

Caruso does not lay out solutions, but she does describes processes for involving larger numbers of stakeholders in decisionmaking, promising tactics to provide additional ways for societies to get a handle on the pace of technical change.

Intervention is not horatory, it is not prescriptive. Caruso raises issues and suggests mechanisms that might help address them, but does not provide a ten point set of solutions. I find this aspect of the book to be a strength, although as a consequence the book leaves the reader with many more questions than answers. Here, I will mention two.

First, at the moment, in the US, a new technology is typically regulated only after has been shown to cause harm, and, by law, the degree of regulation is based on assessed risk, and the assessment of risk is supposed to be based on the best science available. Overall, at least for recombinant DNA, I believe that this conceptual framework for regulation has worked pretty well (To my knowledge there has only been one death directly attributable by recombinant DNA (the child Jesse Gelsinger, who died during an experimental gene therapy trial in the 1990s from a dose of a gene therapy vector that should never have been allowed by the local review committee)). But there are other ideas on which regulation can be based. Should the US exchange this basis for regulation for that used in the EU, grounded in "precautionary principle", derived from German Social Democratic legal theory in the 1930s, even if to do so were to carry a cost of delaying the benefits new technologies might bring?

Second, in part because of the science-based risk assessment mandated in the US, people who feel uneasy about a new technology or who simply dislike it are almost always required to assert that their opposition or unease is due to the fact that the technology presents a risk. Why always talk piously about risk if the real issue that one finds some work of engineering distasteful (Caruso even has a term for this, the "ugh factor")? In a democracy, should widespread dislike, by itself, ever constitute grounds for regulating or even prohibiting a technology? If not, why not?

I hope that the publication Denise Caruso's Intervention marks the start of a broader discussion, one that might help societies gain better control of technical change and its consequences.

This book clearly answers the critical questions: why do we maintain, what tasks should we actually do and when should we do them.

This is without a doubt the best reliability text around. No rubbish just straight to the point strategies based on sound engineering. Its a small book but is perfectly suited as a quick reference.

On Page 230 of this book, Vee makes a series of profound statements which summarise the book and its approach.
He writes:
"There are many learned papers that address the application of reliability engineering theory to maintenance strategy discussions. Many of them use advanced mathematics to fine tune maintenance strategies. The authors have limited access to field data, and their recommendations are often abstract and difficult to apply. So these remain learned papers, which practitioners do not understand or cannot apply to real life situations".
He goes on to say later that "This chasm between the designers and maintainers on the one hand and the reliability engineers on the other is what we have to bridge"
I can not agree more with these statements.
While this book ventures into statistics and probability theory in some areas, it does so in a practical way and provides excellent guidance on such matters. Overall it is a practical book providing practical advice for people involved in maintenance and reliability management. It goes a long way to bridging the chasm that exists.
This is a very good text that has a place in any maintainer's library.

That the author has managed to cram so much into 200 odd pages is impressive and I will be using it as a reference for some time. What is very good about the book is the ease of read and the fact that there are a number of real life examples that make many of your points more relevant to the reader. There were a few instances where my own experiences where reflected in the text such as Reshnikovs conundrum and the RCA chapter. On the whole I think it is an impressive book that deals well with a much misunderstood subject.

Since the inception of sensible maintenance work culture which had been a refined terminology of repair for years together and which used to be considered as unwanted event being a cost center, no effort was made by industrial bigwigs to reform the approach to a structured, value added universal maintenance management system as focus was somewhere on market capturing by monopolized products clubbed with less competitive business arena and cultural drawback towards open and free sharing of information. The importance to pay reformative attention to upgrade the maintenance practices was felt in the beginning of 1960 and since then evolution in maintenance concepts &practices have become continuous and multi-directional. In course of this, scoring excellence in maintenance practices have become a inherent part of organization's commitment and much efforts are exerted by professionals to curb & realize the maintenance expenditure in terms of enhanced reliability by adopting formalized tools and functional approaches, so that maintenance no longer remains as cost center as it had been earlier.
Unfortunately alike other management courses there is no formalized academic course exists on maintenance management, and continuous upgrade of maintenance management process grows based on sharing of information through different seminars conferences where knowledgeable & experienced maintenance professionals volunteer to educate the upcoming generation with the tips and key techniques to achieve excellence in maintenance performance.
Respected Mr. V.Narayan is one such experienced personality and his book on " Effective Maintenance Management, Risk & Reliability Strategies for optimizing performance" provides a excellent overall insight that is essential to form a value added, cost effective maintenance management system.
Among the content of book, the basic concept of functional system, the statistical approaches and mathematical insight to find out various inputs required to benchmark and optimize maintenance tasks, the concept and significance of various events/features associated with maintenance& overall reliability, the utilization process of various analytical decision making tools with area of applications, the inherent commitment associated with different strategic maintenance approaches, the technique to integrate safety and compliance to environmental regulation in maintenance philosophy are the most mentionable areas.
The definition of system says, " It is an organized grouping of man, machine tools, equipment, instrument, procedure etc. collectively set to accomplish any task".
This is very well explained in chapter 1&2 and attentive readers can grasp many important factual &practical learning points to enhance their teamwork and organizing capacity as well.
The chapter 3& 4 content mathematical approach and matrix to define and quantify various important statistics on failure rate, survival probability, and hazard rate, MTTF, MTBF, mean availability which are well described through various graphical representations. These are essential inputs for benchmarking and realize the areas of concern for improvement. Here the more elaboration with practical example on applicability or significance of all above statistical data in strategic /functional maintenance approach would have added more learning value for the readers.
It is needless to mention that proper design selection of equipment considering service maintenance & operational flexibility provides a trouble free cost effective life of any plant equipment system. In chapter 5 the key features in relation to above are appropriately explained and possess many learning points. Here I would like to share my experience on widely varying maintenance policies and practices in different process plants/ refining companies across the globe. In India most of the organizations treat having 100% redundancy of plant equipment system is a normal phenomenon, whereas most of the overseas companies don't follow the same concept. More over people are not enthusiastic to carry out tedious task of statistical analysis involving complex mathematics and instead look for fast track solutions and ready-made decisions, without going for in depth analysis. Hence formalized steps to build up a useful design selection plan would have appeared more digestible for such readers.
Risk is probability of occurrence, and risk is a inherent and unavoidable aspect in all phases of human life cycle. Hence well calculated risk can yield benefit and risk taken in haste or without proper evaluation posses great threat towards occurrence of failure/hazard /loss and eventually safety violation. The Chapter " facets of risk" and " process plant shut down" illustrate in depth facts and features of risk management corroborative to maintenance, process plant operation / formalized shut down and its documentation.
The " Escalation of Events" is effectively unveil cost of unreliability and dispel many hard facts, from which readers can tighten their belt to curb undue leniency, indifference and laxity to go for analysis based, formalized, teamwork oriented maintenance practices.
The overall reliability is forthcoming when there exits synchronized operation of reliable equipment by reliable skill with reliable work culture, the avenue for man-machine -man communication. The different matrix and combinations of above there resources with respective merits and demerits are also important content of above chapter.
In maintenance chapter all the concepts, applicable limitations of various maintenance strategies, reliability- maintenance relationship practical approaches of planning, scheduling all are well explained and is a source of substantial benefit for interested readers. The statistical approach to optimize maintenance is also interesting part of this chapter. Here practical maintenance KPIs and its measuring standards/procedures may become further expectation from the readers.
The practical approach to carry out root cause failure analysis with case study, benchmarking of reliability, more elaboration on merits and demerits of preventive & predictive maintenance with its selection criteria & application effectiveness would have been a added attraction for the readers.
Readers also may expect the more details on practical way to achieve reliability through an effective condition monitoring program which is a keen desire of present maintenance professionals as the concept of PM has become obsolete and only adopted if it emerges out be only option undergoing RCA.
The success of all efforts in relation to any activity is definite when supported by effective and appropriate documentation. Though the importance of documentation is mentioned in relevant chapter content, but a general guidance towards forming culture of good documentation practices would have been useful to readers.
Finally, to the best of my knowledge the book of " Effective Maintenance Management, Risk & Reliability Strategies for optimizing performance" By Mr. V.Narayan opens up a new horizon enriched with most effective & practical knowledge base for maintenance professionals, specially for Indian Industry and I strongly recommend that this book must be read sincerely by maintenance professionals followed by implementation of applicable concepts and benchmarking to gauge the benefit as a part of continuous improvement.
I dare furnishing this review comment with professional mindset and hope that all senior maintenance & reliability professionals including respected author will pardon me with educative advices ,in case my understanding on content of captioned book goes off the track.

Sourav Kumar Chatterjee
Senior Manager Reliability
HPCL Mumbai Refinery India

As our western civilization "evolves" our connection with our food supply has diminished to the point where the basic understanding of farming and the processes involved has diminished. One thing we all know despite this is that food comes from seeds. But what if seeds were no longer available or if they were only viable with the purchase of support chemicals? What would happen if the world's food supply were contaminated with a corporate gene that eliminated our ability and right to save seeds? Bob Dylan wrote in one of his apocalyptic songs from the seventies "One day even your home garden will be against the law". This is what is happening in the name of "Feeding the World", the mantra of the corporations bringing us "better living" with genetic engineering. But so far there has not been a genetically engineered crop that has benefited anyone but corporations like Monsanto and Syngenta. Claire has weaved together a compelling call to action and a succinct report of the direction agriculture is heading. I recommend that you arm yourself with this book and prepare to defend.

Uncertain Peril provides a vivid description of the crisis at hand for our food system and the seed source that provides the foundation for all of the ecosystems we depend upon. Claire Cummings describes the crisis in a way that allows for understanding and action, the two ingredients that offer the only solution at hand. The book covers the current socio-political landscape surrounding genetic materials in a fair and factual manner. The book should be on the reading list of all citizens and particularly educators, high school through college, concerned with the interface of science, food, farming and health.

Uncertain Peril provides an excellent depiction of how corporations have gained control of our food supply. It clearly describes ways that the entire global community's inherent right to grow food is under attack by a multinational corporate agenda. Cummings beautifully describes the core connection between Indigenous cultures and food and how everyone's access to seeds is being eroded by premeditated greed that stops at nothing. Claire also provides specific ways out of the peril. An important work for everyone to fully understand how the future of our food supply is at serious risk. [...]

I used to work for Monsanto and thought they were wonderful to work for. i got caught up in their science. as i have got older and switched from conventional to organic farming i have been keenly made aware of just what is going on. Seeing my soil come back to life, diversity in wildlife, beneficial insects and microlife is short of a religous experience. to think i was an addict and they were my dealer!!! what corporations are doing with seeds, chemicals and our freedom to farm is true. Anyone denying this, is either bribed, employed by them, or they own lots of stock and could care less what the agenda is. as our culture transformed from a rural to mostly urban one it's easy to see how most people have tuned out what is going on with their food. what a shame. Claire wrote this book with passion, i read it with passion. God, i wish i could meet her. Claire, thank you for this book, great job.

Young Farmers, urban food activists, locavores and Kingsolverites--those of us who are newly concious about the food we put in our mouths, and the landscape behind that food--> If we've arrived on the scene in recent years, then we never really knew agriculture pre-biotech.

We have learned too late of the gross contamination of our food supply, the 70% of processed foods on our super market shelves that have GMO ingredients, the vast plantations of GMO soybean in Brazil, the open air testing of experimental pharma-drugs and GMOs in Hawaii, the ever more hyperbolus corn fields in our own midwest. These tragedies of monoculture are the result of a deliberate process carried out before our time, and before our involvement in the food system.

While a lot of these biotech developments occurred before my generation got involved in sustainable agriculture, the approval for these technologies and the intellecutal property rights precedents occured at the highest levels. There is a wonderful French film that just came out about Monsanto ( The World According to Monsanto) with a clip of George Bush senior touring the Monsanto research facility and saying "Well if you have any trouble with the FDA let me know, we're in the DEREG business."


With current talk about the 'spike' in food prices funding development for yet another round of "Roundup Ready" crops, with unprecedented hunger pangs, and the recent focus of the Gates Foundation on Biotech for Africa-- what better time to learn what we can from the corrupt history of the Agro-bioscience industry. False promises, superweeds, hegemony and monoculture, lets stop the proliferation of GMO agriculture as soon as we can.

Its a great book, very usefull. The product arrived in time and in proper conditions.

Everything we use everyday comes from somewhere. Getting that product from point A to point B in a timely, cost-effective way is important to everyone in the transportation industry. But the attacks against America both domestically and abroad have shown that we are as vulnerable as ever, and one way to secure our business interests is to secure our transportation networks.
That is the subject of this excellent book, written by three veterans of the industry and featuring a foreward by Tom Ridge, the first Secretary of Homeland Security. Using their years of experience, the authors develop in the book the concept of Total Security Management, and use compelling case studies to illustrate their point that a secure business is a successful business. The book breaks down the global transportation process, shows where value is added along the way, and how to maximize that value while minimizing risk, not only from terrorism but from other less malicious but equally damaging impacts. The book further demonstrates the financial benefits of investing in security, and also how to protect physical corporate assets, whether they be fixed or goods in transit. A "Book of the Month" of the American Society for Industrial Security in December 2006, this book is a must for anyone working in or around global transportation industries.

America's transportation networks are vulnerable. The nation's "wake up," on September 11th is now amplified by government and media clarion calls to protect our ports. Securing Global Transportation Networks answers with an ingenious foundation using Demming's Total Quality Management as its blueprint. Anyone in the public, private, or academic sectors who is serious about transportation will mark themselves ahead of the curve with a first edition of SGTN on their bookshelf.

The authors make a very compelling case that organizations should adopt security as a core business concern.

The book empowers its readers by showing how organizations can avoid disruptive events through planning to protect people, facilities, supply chains, and business reputation. It also outlines how to plan for recovery from those inevitable catastrophes. The book includes many real world examples.

Another benefit of the book is that those in the technology sector can gain insights into how to be part of the security solution.

This book is both well written and comprehensive. The authors have described the multiple facets so clearly that you do not need an MBA to read it.

Total Security Management is a wake up call for global executives. Today's companies are no longer in control of their own fate unless they become proactive. Securing Global Transportation Networks provides an innovative approach to supply chain security and the relationship to value creation. I strongly recommend this book to anyone with responsibility for protecting any part of the supply chain or operating in the business of trade.

Under the Eye of the Clock is the autobiography of Christopher Nolan, the talented young poet with cerebral palsy. He can't walk or talk or write in the usual manner. Since Nolan lacks the use of his hands, this book like Dam-Burst of Dreams, the book of poems that preceded it, was written by means of a typing stick affixed to his head. The book succeeds both as pure artistry and as a window into the world of the disabled. Nolan has re-named himself Joseph Meehan and told his story entirely in the objectivity of the third person. This brilliant stroke allows him to avoid excessive self-pity while making his sufferings and triumphs real and deep. Nolan's use of language had earned him comparisons with James Joyce, Yeats, and Dylan Thomas. Nolan stretches the meanings and implications of words, rearranges their spelling, and even invents new ones to communicate his moods and perceptions and illuminate life, his own and those he observes, with his unique poet's sensibility.

As a college English and literature instructor, I intend to make this book a required reading if it becomes available in print again. It should bless all readers because it becomes a reminder that NO matter what the circumstances, people should still be respected, loved, and appreciated. And, with this in mind, the reader may receive a self-esteem boost when being reminded of inner-personal value. I appreciate this book so much. I have three copies and continually loan them out.

Christopher Nolan's "Under The Eye Of The Clock" is an autobiographical account of his incredibly awe-inspiring and miraculous life. Born a cripple, he could have been consigned to the rubbish heap but instead and against all odds became a celebrated writer of this Whitbread Book winner, "The Banyan Tree" as well as an early book of poems. Without taking anything away from Joseph Meehan (a self portrait of Nolan), he couldn't have overcome his debilitating handicaps to scale the heights he did without the steady support and tender loving care of his family. A father, mother and sister who are such warm and emotionally intelligent human beings anybody would be blessed and proud to have them as family. The school principals, teachers and fellow students who accepted him, nurtured him and gave him the chance to prove himself equal to the best among physically whole human specimens are themselves shining examples of humanity who deserve as much recognition in Nolan's lifestory. Although it has been compared with James Joyce's "Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man", it is in reality nothing like it. Whereas Joyce's work is for the most part depressing and full of pain and harshness, Nolan's story is so morally uplifting you almost forget its grave subject matter. Nolan's dazzling and inventive writing style is also unique and something to relish. He coins and mints new words which have a yet found a conventional meaning but are so emotionally accurate you know they're right. Read this if you're feeling down and need something to restore your faith in mankind !

I found my way to this book after I had read "The Banyan Tree" by Christopher Nolan. This was a book that I read and reviewed back in February, and ever since I have been mystified why the book never seemed to gain the wide acceptance of readers. All of the reviews that have been posted by readers for "The Banyan Tree" have been 5 star reviews, and the same is the case for "Under The Eye Of The Clock".

If you read you understand how difficult it is to write anything, much less a full book, and then have it selected for and win a prestigious award. In the case of the book I review now it was the 1987 Whitbred Award that was awarded to Mr. Nolan. All very impressive, but that's just the start.

This is an autobiography written by a very young man who next wrote the book "The Banyan Tree" and would take 12 years to do so. This is a painfully candid, but uplifting book about a man with the support of a wonderful Family overcomes extreme realities that are his life to become an Author of international renown.

Mr. Nolan cannot speak, he can barely move at all. He types with what he calls his "Unicorn Stick" that he wears on his head, and even then his head must be supported while he works.

An Autobiography is a courageous work if honestly presented. When you add Mr. Nolan's additional challenges he faces as a writer, and as a person living with his physical issues it becomes an extraordinary autobiographical book.

I hope more readers find Mr. Nolan, he is a unique writer of immense talent, and if you pass by his work you deprive yourself of great literature.

To learn about such an exceptional poet who, without the faith of his family, would never have been revealed to the world, gives the reader a new view of people's limitations. I bought 12 copies of this book (when it was in print)and somehow have given them all away over time.

This book by Mark Tweeddale is an excellent reference book on risk assessment of process plants. It provides a balanced review of many risk methods and processes. It also extends into risk reduction and management with many practical examples.
I have already used it on four different occasions for confirming risk assessment processes. A 'must have' for all practitioners.

Looking for an outstanding book on Process Safety? Don't look any further. Dr. Mark Tweeddale has written a practical and resource rich book on process safety that will knock your socks off. Are you looking for that plume release explosion formula? It's in there! Are you looking for risk calculations and methods? It is all compiled into this one text. Do you want to understand how safety climate sets the safety culture for an organization and how to improve that? What active steps should management take to improve safety? This book has that information also.

If you're new to the field of safety or you're an professional with years of experience, this text is for you. If you're a student, grab this book! You'll want to keep it right on your shelf for quick reference!

This is a good resource book. It provides a holistic system, with the essential elements and logical links between the elements, for management of hazards and risks of process plants.

Chapter 13 and 14 are extremely useful especially, when the basic concepts, methods and techniques presented in previous chapters are explained.

Chapter 13 provides a `short cut', in terms of time saving, to the exposure of typical causes of and lesion learnt from thoughtfully selected incidents.

Chapter 14 provides a number of case studies and work examples to further demonstrate how hazards can be identified, assessed (qualitatively or quantitatively) and mitigated, using the methods and techniques described in the book.
This book will not only be useful to the professionals who have already worked in management of hazards and risks but also to those who wish to start a career in this area.

The book was written in a simple and easy-to-understand language, and is a very useful and practicable.

The book is an important contribution to the risk management of process facilities. It will be valuable to those seeking an accessible introduction to the field and also to practitioners seeking a comprehensive and thoughtful reference. The book's strength lies in the integration of descriptive material and quantitative techniques, supported by lessons learned and case studies. The balanced explanations of theory combined with worked numerical examples and practical guidance on applying risk management methods will assist process plant professionals to better manage risk. The breadth of detailed coverage is impressive. It is rare that a single work can provide good guidance on modelling dust explosions and provide valuable lessons on auditing process facilities.

There has for some considerable time been a need for a compehesive and up to date text book covering the whole range of issues and techniques associated with risk and reliability in the process industries and Mark Tweeddale's book meets this need admirably. Its logical and systematic approach will appeal to the student who intends a career in the process industries and to current professionals whether in Management, Safety,Engineering or Insurance functions associated with these Industries.

Managing Bank Risks is the definitive handbook on how bank risks should be managed. It presents new, leading edge techniques of risk management in a practical, user-friendly way. The accompanying CD provides underpinning for the risk manager to hone his skills. Morton Glantz has done a superb job, providing the reader with the latest risk management techniques under öne roof"

This book trully deserves 5 stars. It is literally stuffed with very specific steps, processes and case studies. Moreover the book is easy to understand. It is very worth the money. I highly recommend this book to credit risk managers, financial analysts or to those readers who are involved in development of credit policies or procedures.

Glantz provides an astonishing and comprehensive overview of current banking practices. The book provides the necessary approaches for managing risk and uncovering discrepancies in today's environment of corporate shenanigans. The chapters on credit derivatives and pricing models are the most impressive of all writings on these subjects and are presented in a very clear and concise manner. Finally, the resources and risk rating system included on the CD is worth the price of the book alone.

This book is simply brilliant! Not only did I learn about new techniques for managing bank risk but found it similar to a novel that I never wanted to put down. I never take the time to write critiques but this book definitely warranted it.

Managing Bank Risk, An Introduction to Broad-Base Credit Engineering, takes on a Herculean task of capturing an extraordinarily extensive array of risk management subjects. Having spent several years in my prior career as a Corporate Banker to Fortune 500 Companies, I was familiar with some of the material within the book. However, I found that the most critical tools that I accumulated and have come to rely on have by and large been aggregated and explained clearly through both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Going beyond definitions and methodology, Managing Bank Risk lends focused perspective and context through the use of case studies. Having built various articulating sensitivity models over the course of my career, I appreciated the book's foundation of credit metrics, financial statement analysis with focus on cash flow analysis, proper asset-based lending approaches and detailed explanations of several forecasting techniques. From a pure banking perspective, Mr. Glantz commits significant time to portfolio management, hedging techniques, and understanding derivatives. Having seen only a small fraction of the statistical forecasting tools from business school that Mr. Glantz covers in the book, I found both the theory and practical software-based tools fascinating. Managing Bank Risk also evaluates and lucidly explains many corporate finance concepts and valuation tools such as Real Options and Pricing Models, which I have found important to have a controlling knowledge of in my career as an Investment Banker. Finally, but certainly not in summation, Managing Bank Risk reviews and identifies important Accounting and Corporate Structure insights and lessons that can be taken from recent corporate scandals. Given the sheer volume and quality of topics covered from the most fundamental to some of the most sophisticated, cutting-edge models available today, I would suggest this well-written and comprehensive book as a must-read for business school students or as a reference guide for finance professionals.

Unique methodological approach that brings out the key technological issues, analytical tools, and technical and policy options. Thoughtful. Insightful. Innovative.

Excellent analysis of seismic risk for a given water system with important applications to other sites. The writing style will appeal to a broad range of audiences.

Well written, well researched book that is a must-read for practitioners and policy-makers. Useful not only for Seattle, but findings are applicable to other water systems.

Although the technical matter may seem dry, the writing style is extremely nuanced making this a fascinating and useful book. The author advocates a dynamic analysis of lifeline systems using leading edge mathematical models and seismic risk methods.

This book makes use of case studies to understand lessons learned in seismic risk mitigation. The author is first-rate and brilliant in the analysis and extrapolation of results. Finally a focus on success stories rather than on analyzing failures.

This is just another excellent example of why this country has stayed a free democracy for 232 years.

This book was purchased for my son who is interested in WWII planes and fliers, and since I was a civilian during WWII and lived through that era, this book was definitely to be read (especially after watching Life and Times on our local KCET station and the granddaughter was interviewed regarding this book). Both of us enjoyed reading the life of this remarkable man and it was a must for his growing library.

I can sum this up in a very short space. This is a well written book that not only gives an insight into General Jimmy Doolittle's contributions to our nation and the world, but also into his family and his wife's contributions on the home front during WWII. As far as I am concerned, no history class should be taught without this book as required reading.

This book is about the family life of Jimmy Doolittle written by his granddaughter. It's touching in every aspect of what a family goes through over the years. After reading this book you will understand why his biography is titled " I Could Never Be So Lucky Again" by CV Glines, and why he is known as "The Master of Calculated Risk."

In this excellent book, Martin brings to life the often-dry subject of risk management using evocative descriptions of life-or-death 'extreme environments' (floods, earthquakes, terrorism, nuclear meltdown, etc.) to find common ground in how risk experts think about, plan for, and take action to manage risk.

The choice of extreme environments covers a wide variety of risks, from events that are relatively predictable to those that occur without warning, from those that are mitigated with careful, advanced planning to those mitigated only through rapid, adaptive responses once an event has happened. For each environment, Martin gives practical examples of how lessons learned can be applied in less life-threatening venues like business and finance.

Martin's writing is direct and compelling, deftly balancing clear descriptions in simple language with just enough explanation of professional jargon to understand each case study. Numerous, excellent interviews with real-life practitioners make each section resonate with authenticity that no purely-academic approach to risk could ever hope to match. After finishing each chapter, I found myself curious to know more and frustrated that the chapter went by so fast.

I highly recommend this book to anyone responsible for managing risk. It can be read quickly, but the ideas inside have lasting value.

This book provides an interesting and incisive point of view to risk management techniques and principles. By studying extreme, high-risk situations, the author is able to distill bedrock risk management principles that are generally applicable to mitigate tail outcomes in the business world. Well written and easy to read. Would recommend.

Martin does for risk management what Stephen Levitt did for economics in Freakonomics. Martin uses clear, concise examples to demystify an abstract subject and offers guidelines applicable to anyone wishing to manage risk and uncertainty, let alone survive.

Granted, Martin's focus is less ambitious. He steers his reader to apply lessons from extreme circumstances to the business world. And while the author may have missed an opportunity to appeal to broader audience by focusing his lessons on risk management to business and financial applications, any reader would benefit from the principles Martin so brilliantly simplifies. He masters the art of making abstract concepts real. Worth the price!

Professional risk mangers tend to have an expert and narrow focus on managing a particular kind of risk, e.g., stock market risk. Each area of risk management has its own language and paradigms. This book takes the unique approach of surveying the practice of risk management across many facets of human endeavour and then pulling out the key themes to give the largest possible framework for thinking about risk management.

Within that framework Martin very clearly makes the point that different situations require different aspects of risk management, for example in some situations the emphasis is on planning to reduce the risk whereas in others it only makes sense to plan and train for the response after the event.

The book is crisp, lean and thoroughly researched with expert witnesses ranging from the Head of Reactor Operations at Chernobyl to the De-Mining Program Manger for Sri Lanka. Although I have been a risk professional for many years, the lessons from these different environments challenged my mental framework for looking at risk, extending it to new areas and giving me new ways of looking at the areas that seemed so familiar to me. To those familiar with Zen, this book is like a koan: a puzzle to challenge your linear thinking and force enlightenment.

This book should be read as a mental challenge by all risk managers and those aspiring to understand the risk professions. I plan to make a point of reading this annually to remind myself of the big picture. Fortunately the ideas are so densely packed that the book is short and the reading will not take long!