Enterprise Books

This is an excellent book about how specific corporations, individuals and both European and African rulers have plundered Africa for profit and the accumulation of private fortunes on the backs of millions of Africans who have been slaughtered over the centuries. Some of the individuals have passed into the history books, but some of the corporations and individuals are still very much in the news today and the world still waits for their atonement. Madelaine Drohan has provided a very courageous addition to the literature in the area by in-the-field research in some of the most dangerous places in Africa and written in most detailed and compelling manner.

What happens when multinational corporations decide that the use of armed force is really business? When companies line up with warlords and armies to make a profit? When corporate interests dictate war or peace? Madelaine Drohan's meticulously researched and impressively wrfitten expose, Making A Killing, shows just what happens in a world of multinational power, drawing important connections between corporate armed forces and history and providing food for thought for corporations, policy makers and national leaders alike -- the result is an intriguing, eye-opening discussion.

Drohan cover a number of specifc cases of corporations using violence to further their interests - dedicating a chapter to each case. She makes no effort to be a comprehensive compendium of all the ills perpetrated by corporations, instead choosing to focus on a few prime examples in detail where her experiences as a journalist can bring some perspective to each case.

My own particular interest is around the role of Calgary-based Talisman Energy Inc. in Sudan. The chapter on Talisman was solid and insightful, with Drohan drawing from her own experiences in Sudan and interviews with key players, as well as the volumes of research and reports available.

The book is a telling study of the irresponsible extremes corporations can go to in their simple-minded focus on profit as the only goal.

Resource control is the core of Madelaine Drohan's book. Where the image of empire was once faceless armies, religious zealots or expanding trade, modern conditions have changed this view. Instead of governments launching empires, suit-clad businessmen now decide where the action lies. Decisions to exploit resource areas are not made in ministry offices, but in corporate boardrooms. Businessmen, "and they are almost always men", choose locations, make investments, recruit workers and begin operations. Until there is unrest. Then they call in governments to support their enterprise. If governments cannot or will not respond, the entrepreneur's answer is the "private army". Mercenary professional military men act as "security" teams, policemen or replacement armies. And they are accountable to no-one but the firm that has hired them.

Drohan's account begins with the rule of Cecil Rhodes "who stands head and shoulders above" the ranks of those applying military solutions to "corporate problems". Rhodes built an immense resource empire in Southern Africa. He also set the standard for controlling workers as firmly as he did markets. By the expedient of raising a battalion of "pioneers" to deal with reluctant African peoples and recalcitrant workers, Rhodes expanded his holdings to an unprecedented degree. Attributing his goals to the furtherance of the British Empire, he also ensured the continuation of profits to his own pocket. Belgium's king Leopold followed Rhodes' example by keeping the Congo as a personal fief. The Belgian government was simply shunted aside on imperial affairs for decades. The rape of the Congo is a glaring example of imperialism run rampant, yet it set the stage for what followed.

Drohan's narrative is dominated by personalities. Like a gaggle of rapacious ravens, men prominent in resource enterprise descended on Africa after Rhodes. Some of these were British, some Canadian, but others arose from among Africa's own peoples. These last were flexing political and economic muscle as former colonies became independent. These new nations, with their artificial boundaries laid down irrespective of tribal or ethnic limits, became caught up in internal regional disputes. Resource firms played off these rivalries to their advantage where possible. If contests for power became too heated, the companies had the option to withdraw or find ways of protecting their investments. Protection was provided by "security forces" available for hire. Among the most notorious of these was the South African firm, Executive Outcomes. Staffed by disaffected South African soldiers, it offered services directly or through hidden subsidiaries. Executive Outcomes emerges frequently, if often vaguely, as Drohan valiantly tries to unravel the machinations the firm and its customers perpetrated as gold, diamonds and other resources were sought and exploited. Legality is an elusive term in these activities.

These are not distant and unrelated events. We tend to cling to the image of investment benefiting all - the theme of "globalisation". Drohan demonstrates how firms, pursuing resource wealth in Africa, have followed the Rhodes formula for success. Whether hiring private armies or simply requesting local government forces to act in their interests, resource firms are steadfastly ignoring the impact on local people and their economy. Of all Drohan's examples, the most glaring is the Talisman Energy story. Her chapter on this operation is at once the worst and the best example in the book. Talisman, a latecomer to Africa, seems to have learned nothing from previous resource history in the region. As Drohan describes it, Jim Buckee, Talisman's head, followed a sinuous path trying to keep his firm active in the resource field. With one eye open to profits and the other closed to government activities done in the name of "security" for his operations, Buckee brought his firm close to disaster. On the other hand, the case demonstrated the power of the public in bringing such firms to judgment. Various large stockholders, chastened at the thought of supporting a firm blind to the impact of its operations, withdrew investment. It's a fine example of what individuals can achieve in acting collectively.

Drohan's book is a much needed exposure of business morals left unscrutinised. In her final chapter, "Perfectly Legal, Perfectly Immoral", she shows the path to justice for people under oppressive regimes shored up by rapacious businesses is long and difficult. Yet, if readers pay attention, she shows how they can be effective in making change. With a federal election looming, it would benefit electors to read this book and reflect on its message. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Murray Newton Rothbard tragically ceased to be "the State's greatest _living_ enemy" when he died in 1995. But his thought lives on in this posthumous collection, mostly drawn from his monthly essays for _The Free Market_ between 1982 and 1995.

These essays cover a wide range of topics, from the welfare state to Clintonomics to fiat money to U.S. intervention in the Middle East -- and Rothbard is uniformly sharp, clear, incisive, and witty wherever he turns his pen.

This collection should also be of interest to those of Rothbard's readers who have heard that he somehow changed his views near the end of his life; the fact is that Rothbard was as strongly laissez-faire and libertarian in his later years as he had ever been.

Some of his readers had simply failed to recognize that the earlier Rothbard was not at all "libertine" but socially quite conservative; they were therefore surprised that he found anything good to say about Pat Buchanan (as he does here, several times) or against allowing illegal aliens to have access to the vast machinery of the welfare state (as in a passage regarding California's Prop. 187 in the book's final essay, a previously unpublished commentary on the November 1994 elections).

As the essays in this volume make clear, it was those readers, not Rothbard, who were guilty of inconsistency. Rothbard was uncompromisingly and consistently devoted to liberty throughout his entire career; he simply did not, as some of his readers have done, confuse antifederalism with moral nihilism.

Also, the penultimate essay provides an overview of the history of the Ludwig von Mises Institute (Auburn, AL), of which Rothbard was Academic Vice President until his death. By the time readers reach this essay, they will be unsurprised that, when Austrian economics sprang again to life in the 1980s and 1990s, it was wearing a rumpled jacket and a bow tie.

This is a great book to fill the void if you are lacking in free market economics. Murray Rothbard, a profound Austrian Economist, wrote most of these articles in the Free Market I believe. Each article deals with certain issues and policies. He uses rational thought and logic to come to a free market solution. This book can be read within a matter of days, depending on how fast you want to read it. And you don't need to have a degree in economics to be able to understand the literature. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to gain insight into economics, especially free market economics.

From 1982 to his death in 1995, Murray Rothbard wrote a monthly column for the Ludwig von Mises Institute's newsletter, The Free Market. In these columns - which are collected here - Rothbard commented on the economic affairs and policies of the day. While these pieces generally use certain current events as the starting point, Rothbard used these events as a springboard to discuss Austrian economics. Taken as a whole, they provide an excellent introduction to economics from the Austrian school.

This book also contains a few unpublished pieces. The best is Rothbard's analysis of the 1994 elections. As usual, Rothbard gets to the crux of the issues involved, dealing with the characters whose actions (often behind the scenes) were decisive. Reading this piece reminded me of how much we lost in Murray's death - not just a brilliant theoretician, but a man whose comments on the events of the day were a constant source of illumination. Make sure you also get THE IRREPRESABLE ROTHBARD, his collection of essays from the Rothbard-Rockwell report.

I liked this book because it tries to fill in the gap in the free-market literature of today. I find too many free-market many books on general topics like taxes, education, antitrust, money, and economics in general. However, I like to see real-world opinions of a noted libertarian on topics of the day. This collection is just that. Here, I can see how Rothbard applied his fundamental beliefs and knowledge to the contemporary news stories. The essays range from 1982 to 1995. I can compare his views with views of other commentators, both leftists and conservatives. It's too sad he did not live through all the Clinton years, I'm sure he'd have had much to say. I learned much from these short essays because they _are_ short and to the point.

If you are a practitioner of the true martial arts, then you understand the above statement. If you practice fighting, then perhaps you need this book. Martial arts, as we all know, is the art of self-defence. However, self-defence encorporates thought, spirituality, health, philosophy, exercise, and flying fists/feet. Sang Kyu Shim discusses all elements of self-defence in this tome, and does so with pure talent. If you are seeking more depth, you will find it here.

What I mean to say is not that I am very impressionable, but that I am very happy my Aikido teacher let me borrow his copy. Mr. Sang Kyu Shim writes about many things pertaining to martial arts, and uses quotes from both western and eastern literature to illustrate his points.

Academic and down to earth, barring one footnote, which I feel is a good ratio.

In today's world of "fast food" martial arts (ie: Americanized kick-aerobics and sport fighting) Sang Kyu Shim's profound insight and spiritual depth are a rare gem indeed. It is all to common to find practitioners who are merely concerned with winning trophies, staying "fit", or making a buck with little regard for their impact on others. For this reason it is all the more refreshing to find a book that extols the virtues of character and community, as opposed to capitalism and competition. While the author is somewhat biased by his own experience, his writings transend the boundry of style and have meaning and clarity for any practitioner of martial arts.

Although sometimes abit obtuse, this book is a must for the "thinking martial artist". If you are a student of a traditional Asian discipline, this book will compliment your lifestyle. This is not a book on fighting. It is a thorough examination of the philosophy and history of traditional (not Americanised) martial arts. One warning: the author is a bit of a Korean patriot, and thus sometimes slights the Japanese. This is a fairly minor point however, as he generally treats all martial arts with great respect. Highly recomended (especially if you practice Tae Kwon Do or another Korean style).

Sammy Shore has written an exquisitely funny book for people of all ages. "The Man Who Made Elvis Laugh" is a story from Sammy's childhood and his comedy career. Sammy Shore is probably best known for being the opening act for Elvis Presley... He has written a previous-autobiography called "The Warm Up"... He is a funny man and a wonderfully kind man. The pictures in this book are reflective as to the diverse range of entertainers Sammy Shore has worked with. Be prepared to laugh, cry and be entertained as the pages of The Man Who Made Elvis Laugh come to life. This is a book you will enjoy.

On the back of this book there is a question Who is Sammy Shore?

The answer. A funny comic who worked with Elvis Presley and still works today and who reveals in this book through funny jokes and anecdotes not only what Elvis would double over laughing at, but also what you and I would too. This a memoir of both trying to make it in show business, with all the hard knocks along the way, and also of life's great moments with family and friends (he's the father of Pauly Shore). If you want to learn how to see the glass half-full, read this book. There is laughter and meaning in it for everyone.

In The Man Who Made Elvis Laugh, Sammy Shore uses a very creative way of writing to take the reader through his mind boggling life.

From his humble Chicago beginnings through to the insane upside down world of professional comedy and his time with Elvis Presley. This book is hands down one of the most interesting and best autobiographies I have read in a long time. I can comfortably recommend The Man Who Made Elvis Laugh, based on the tremendous impact it had on me personally. This book was written by true comedy legend that continues to make a positive impact on the rest of the world with his humor and his valuable insights.

I can see why the King loved Sammy, he is funny!

In The Man Who Made Elvis Laugh. Sammy leaves no stone unturned on what went on while he was opening for Elvis Presley. The personal stories about the comedy business from his perspective were also very enlightening.I would strongly recommend this book to anyone starting out in comedy along with anyone that wants to hear things about Elvis that were previously not mentioned. My hat is off to Sammy for being able to convey his story with such brilliance.

Best management book I have read in over 25 years in management. Clear, concise, no bull, no theory. Lessons any organisation can learn.

I've read maybe 100 business books, many on the subject of management, starting with Peter Drucker. This is the best of the lot. An easy read, with many principles that have a lifetime of shelf life. I've read the book numberous times over twenty years, and now, as a consultant, give it out on a continuous basis. I'm currently order another thirty.

Best there is! Order all the used copies you can because you'll be passing them out for youe entire career. Has the usual self serving pap that infects this genre, but the essence of what it means to MANAGE shines through (I use the snow shovels in Minnesota line every time some manager excuses bad performance by telling me that sales are down "everywhere"). Six Sigma, Kaizen, re-engineering: they'll all fade ... and this meat & potatoes book will still be invaluable.

Best how-to manage better book I've ever read. No fluff, no unproven theories. Written by a man who has actually done it. Managers at all levels and in all types of businesses can benefit from this book. Buy it now before it goes out of print again.

Excellent solution references in WSH, the author use many HELPFULL examples to illustrate the usage. Although it is not an introduction book, it is really useful

There are so many book on the market for the Windows Script Host (WSH) that making a decision on which one is right for your own environment can be very difficult.

What this book is: This is a recipe book for network administrators who have at least a solid beginners experience with the WSH and writing scripts in the XML and VBScript format. This book is full of completed scripts, with each script containing a flow from problem identification and script answer to run-time expectations and script component flow discussion. The book is logically organized into easy to find sections, with a useful table of contents.

What this book is not: This is not a reference guide for the VBScript language. This is not an ideal reference guide for script developers. This is not a learners guide for the WSH; there is no overview of the language or of the scripting object elements. This is not a guide for those only familiar with JScript.

The book gives excellent VBScript script solutions utilizing the native WSH objects (WScript.*, FSO), WMI and ADSI and can complement any administrators toolkit. The reading can be a bit dry, but as the book is not really designed to be read cover to cover, it is not an issue. The author is part of the Microsoft Scripting Technologies Team, and the writing style of the book reads very much like most Microsoft documentation, so be prepared to re-read a few things here and there. The author discusses many of the Microsoft scripting tools available from their web site, so be sure to visit Microsoft to download these before reading about them as the author does not introduce a source of the utilities prior to discussing them and assumes you already have them installed. My only other minor issue with the book is that no CD-ROM was included; you need to visit the publisher's web site and download the code from there.

All in all, this is a very handy title and a recommended addition to the toolkit style of books on the WSH.

The best all round coverage of advanced WSH topics. This book provides a huge range
of information, including ADSI, CDO, WMI, FSO, registry, security, office automation, regular expressions.

Lots of recent topics and techologies not found in some of the older books (I have most of them), such as WSH 5.6, WMI and
ADSI information on IIS5 and Exchange 2000. Also covers topics such as regular expressions (very interesting).

While the topics are covered in 'cookbook' format, there is plenty of discussion on the different topics presented, plenty of lists
of properties and methods for various objects.

Another nice thing is all major tasks are performed using internal Windows objects instead of the Visual Basic
COM object approach some other books take, so no additional objects to register or distribute.

Don't buy this book if you want to learn how to program in VBScript or a general VBScript reference, get Tim Hill's
WSH book for that.

While this book, at first glance may seem like a box of nuts and bolts, the author does a wonderful job of showing you what the heck Windows Script Host can do using almost all of the facilities of Windows.
It tends to look like a coder's paradise but it turns out much of this stuff is really very useful in preparing a medium size enterprise for tools to achieve very very low server and application administration.
I am starting to re-read for the 3rd time - I am only now starting to get the depth this work is capable of taking me to...

Highly recommended for anyone teaching cross cultural communication and English in the business environment. The authors have included excellent examples of the principles they have presented. The writing is enjoyable and informative and is appropriate for a professsional in the field or amateur/student.

Managers of diverse workforces in today's globalizing context will find great value and new ideas in this work. Trompenaars provides models that help one understand cultural differences and their likely implications on how people can be managed effectively. Of particular use to those responsible for managing people in organizations with employees having different national/ethnic origins this book talks about the impact of values and beliefs on what is viewed as fair and appropriate relative to processes like selection, development, performance management and rewards management.

While human resource management (HRM) departments are a critical part of the modern corporation, they are often considered detached from the daily workings of their own employees. In a multinational modern corporation, these problems are exacerbated when other issues distract HRM professionals. Authors Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner inadvertently explain why many corporate employees consider HRM departments irrelevant. Meandering and without focus, their book rarely signals just where it is going. While it is part of a cross-cultural series, this book's stated intent is to make HRM a stronger part of corporate management through the ways it recruits, trains and rewards staff members. The authors cite interesting facts and studies as they discuss various facets of human resource management, including change, motivation, recruitment, assessment tools, managing teams, organizational learning, leadership development and diversity, all with some attention to cross-cultural issues. Although this book falls short of hitting its stated goal of placing HRM at the center of the modern corporation, we appreciate its ambition and the scope of its coverage.

Trompenaars, Fons and Charles Hampden-Turner Managing People Across Cultures (Culture for Business) Capstone Publishing Ltd. London: 2004. 208pp (paperback)

For years the value of human resource management has been discussed, debated, and often denied. All too often those espousing the cause of hr management have proffered self defeating positions focusing on the inherent goodness of their activities whilst those in opposition were all too ready to agree with them. The emphasis far too often was on panacean fads that never stood the test of time and less on those issues that motivate, measure human resource development in a meaningful way.

Now Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner have taken on the challenge and provide the reader with an informed and enlightened approach to the very real value of hr management. And in doing so they convince us that human resource management is a genuine profession that pervades the entire corporation and that it is an essential discipline for leaders and leadership.

In this work they characterize hr management as in part a philosophy of protest against dehumanizing technology and bureaucracy. Recognizing that the logic of values and of culture is inherently paradoxical, the authors apply their dilemma approach to reconcile the differences between the opposing view points. If we posit that the values associated with technology and organization are not the only values that drive an enterprise, then we can see that the values of hr management may be needed to qualify the usually dominant technological values. It is the authors' contention that we need not to defeat the technical values from which major innovations are continually derived, but rather to integrate them with the hr values. They suggest that the need is to be more differentiated, more integrated, more non-directive in order to discover a clearer direction, and to be more individualistic to encourage strong groups to support each member, and to be more task-oriented to abet people development around these tasks.

Their vision for the 21st Century includes returning to the values of entrepreneurship in order to compete with the non-stop innovation, where success seems to go to the agile and inventive and where the huge behemoths are vulnerable as never before.

They see the future of hr management as confronting the dilemmas of creativity and destruction, of human resources and physical resources, and of change and continuity. They see human resource departments as the leaders in organizations who can embed human concerns as the technological ideas are first generated and mobilized into action. It is hr management that can explain and reconcile human values and resources with the technological values and resources to created the organization's values, modus operandi, and reason for being.

In ten thought provoking chapters, the authors examine all aspects of human resource management. In chapter one, they look at corporate cultures and the need for leaders and change agents to lead and change cultures so that they best do the work of the organization through motivation, inspiration, reward, and information. Chapter two addresses recruitment, selection, and assessment. It provide some keen observations about extant instruments and how they can be qualified by complimentary measures to create broader syntheses to enhance these processes. The succeeding two chapters look at the power of teams and how to build an effective learning organization.

Chapter six focuses on leadership development across cultures. They state that leaders must increasingly reconcile an ever-widening spectrum of diversities that include: different stages of economic cycles, different national cultures, different corporate cultures, different team roles, different functions, status levels, learning styles, disciplines, and personalities.

The following chapters take aim at how to diagnose the presence of dilemmas (even when they are being denied), provides some powerful insights as to the way people habitually think, and looks at the four cultures models that impact the effectiveness of assessment centers.

The final chapter deals with varieties of culture shock and looks at the visceral and emotional costs of crossing cultures and meeting strangers. The authors offer a simulation designed to aid participants in enhancing their emotional capabilities to deal with new dilemmas.

This is a ground-breaking work which offers new insights and provides new thinking about the field of human resource management. While it certainly should be read by human resource managers, it should also be at the top of the reading lists of corporate leaders.

(...)

Editor Laura Empson has collected papers that present the latest research on the evolution of the modern law practice. Although the writers here are academics, their papers are not overly technical. In straightforward language, they discuss the various challenges new international, corporate structures present to legal traditions, from public service to the "partnership ethos" to billing. getAbstract recommends this book to strategically minded legal executives who want to map out new directions while retaining the best of the old values and ethics.

This book is for those involved with managing law firms, especially those impacted by the move of legal practices from partnerships to corporations and from local firms to behemoths that span the globe. The papers collected here represent recent research on current topics in the legal industry. Their goal seems to be to keep the best features of the traditional firm while accepting the efficiencies and realities of the global corporate legal firm.

The book's ten chapters cover the range of topics in the book in a paper by the Laura Empson, the editor, and Stuart Popham. Chapter 2 looks the decline of partnership and the implications of the rise of the corporate structure in legal practice. Chapter 3 looks at the issues surrounding Diversity in Europe and compares them to the lessons learned from the American experience. Chapter 4 provides a recipe for successfully adding new initiatives to your practice and why failure follows efforts that vary too much from the formula their research revealed.

Chapter 5 covers the issues involved with customers and why marketing is necessary to not on create new customers, but to hold onto your existing base. Chapter 6 looks at the different kinds of value a legal practice has and what that implies about income. In a related area, Chapter 7 looks at the kinds of capital your legal practice has and how you can manage each. Chapter 8 explores the issues of competition in the modern legal practice and the evaporation of the old gentleman's agreements among firms. Ethics and the failure of preserving traditional ethics in some modern corporate law firms is reported in chapter 9. The book concludes with a plea for the preservation of the partnership ethos in chapter 10.

While the book has a definite focus on Europe, there is value for American firms and their managers if they deal in the practice of supporting global clients. You will know more about how your European competitors think and work, if nothing else.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

What makes one modern law firm successful--and another less so? This compilation of chapters analyzes today's multi-national firms and clarifies why some succeed and others fail.

The authors delve into a wide variety of topics--from law firm mergers across cultures, to the morphing of traditional partnership arrangements. As Bruce MacEwen correctly points out in his detailed review, the book thoroughly explores--and challenges-- the concepts of traditional partnership and the partnership "ethos".

Lawyers working for US-based law firms will particularly enjoy the critical analysis of 200 or so large U.S. firms. Some of the results may be surprising, such as that U.S. firms with limited international presences have the highest per partner profits. In addition, the book explains why the firms that internationalized later are usually more profitable. These firms took careful note of the early internationalizers--and learned from their mistakes.

One chapter reveals strategies for successfully launching new practice areas, including giving such attorneys lots of internal support (tangible and intangible). Perhaps surprisingly, hiring a "heroic founding partner" to launch a new practice area does not correlate to the practice's success.

Lawyers at global forms will particularly enjoy the comments about the "Magic Circle" firms and their ability to cultivate a sense of teamwork and partnership despite cultural divides.

This book ranks as one of my favorites of 2007. Any lawyer working at a global firm--or aspiring to do so--will really benefit from this book's insights.

This valuable and multi-faceted collection of essays jointly comprises one of the most sophisticated and nuanced views of how 21st Century law firms are trying to cope with growing pressure on the "partnership ethos" which largely sustained them for a century or more.

The primary source of that pressure is simple: Today's global US- and UK-based law firms have become substantial enterprises in their own right. (Nearly 20 have gross revenues in excess of US$1-billion/year.) Firms such as these can no longer be managed by untutored amateurs, nor can they be governed as Athenian democracies. But if the "Quaker town meeting" style of consensus governance is no longer feasible, firms are equally loathe--rightly so--to turn to pure command-and-control corporate models.

The struggle to reconcile the high-minded and intrinsically precious values embodied in the partnership ethos, with the need to be supple and economically powerful global institutions, is what this book is all about.

While many of the contributors are academics, the approach is by no means "academic." And the final chapter, by Tony Angel, global managing partner of the UK "Magic Circle" firm, Linklaters, is alone worth the price of the book.

Finally, Dr. Empson herself is aware that not all aspects of the partnership ethos are per se good.

* While partnership can form cohesive bonds, it can also work to exclude those outside the blessed fold, such as non-equity partners and extremely high-quality C-level executives.
* Are partners who view themselves as owners entitled to exercise "extreme and inappropriate behaviors"?
* Do clients and potential recruits (your firm's two key aspirational constituencies) understand and value the partnership ethos?
* If the "socialization process" that indoctrinates one for membership in the partnership is too effective, it can "represent a potentially serious block to change more generally...[the] partnership risks becoming a self-perpetuating collection of clones."
* Finally, the partnership ethos can be strengthened not just by preferentially selecting those candidates who embody it but by dealing decisively with those who belong to the partnership but who, for whatever reason, no longer embody its principles.

Incidentally, Dr. Empson just moved (mid-June 2007) from the Said Centre at the University of Oxford to a newly created chair as Professor in the Management of Professional Service Firms at Cass Business School in the City of London.

I just received this book in the mail, (i ordered it off here for .50 cents for the book) it was brand new looking and i think my daughter will love it for Christmas. Great deal specially since they dont print these books anymore!

I have been reading Pooh stories to my children for many years. When my oldest son was little, Pooh was his nickname. How great to have these wonderful stories to give to my grandchildren. It is like passing on part of my sons childhood to their children. Both of my grandchildren love Pooh just as much as their Daddy's did. Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and the rest will never go away. I have to confess, I'm the Nana, but I love reading these stories to my grandchildren. They are my favorites too.

My 2 1/2-year-old discovered Pooh on the Disney video. However, she wanted to hear about his adventures at bedtime, so I bought this book. Now she actually prefers it to the video, which makes everyone happy. Of all of her Pooh books, this is her favorite.

We bought the movie for my daughter's 2nd Birthday. She loves the movie so much that she has almost the whole thing memorized, but the real fun started when we found the book. She sits down and "reads" the book herself. This book is so close the the movie that she can repeat the story as she looks at the pictures in the book. What more could a parent ask for than a book that children can relate to and encourage them to read instead of watch TV. Thank You.

Wonderfully interesting and extremely well written. Mr. North does a great job in taking the reader through exciting and suspense filled travels in the harsh, but beautiful northland of Alaska and the Yukon.

The special bond between the Trapper and his faithful wolf Kai-No, could only have been described by someone who has a very special love and appreciation for animals.

As the author, there were several titles I considered but had to abandon... amazingly, though "WOLF" was in their titles, these other books had nothing about a wolf. In one case, the story was about a criminal in the Southwest who somehow reminded the author of a wolf(!)

But my research shows me that the wolf is a noble animal -- I so try to portray "Kai-No" and his relationship with Trapper; they are huge, powerful specimens of their species. And though each is sort of a fugitive from his own kind, they form a bond that enables them to survive in the cruel arctic climate.

They do encounter some frightening experiences... I hope you will read about them and enjoy them...

Many books these days include the word "WOLF" in their titles, yet have nothing to do with the ANIMAL. Here is a book that takes you into the heart and soul (and intelligence) of the wolf.

Finding a secluded valley in the Far North gives the man and the wolf introduction to a world only dreamt of heretofore... no killing in this valley (well, except for fish). But the strange couple have many obstacles to overcome. And they do overcome one of the strangest events ever included in a "Far North" story... only "The Alaska Incident" comes close.

This reader had never tackled an "e-book" before, but the author and publisher have come up with a new development that is easy on the reading... you can select a print size and color, and even a scroll speed that lets you read as you wish, without touching the computer. And you can even mark your place...

Congratulations, Blue Knight Enterprises, for a great yarn!

A mesmerizing fictional account of a fugitive trapper who is befriended by a wolf. The author follows them in their travels through the heartland of Alaska and the Yukon Territory. Ultimately, the trapper and wolf settle down in the wilderness. and the trapper's long lost daughter finds him. A fine easy read. This gives the reader what would seem to be in many ways a sequel to the well known movie "Challenge to be Free".