Leader

This is a very well-written history of one the most famous battles of World War II which was written for a general audience. Those looking for a David Glantz-like, academic study of the campaign should pass this one by. Eisenhower is a very skilled writer, and his description of the first weeks of the German offensive is very well done.

The book does have some problems. Being the son of the former commander of the ETO and President, Eisenhower had access to interview for his research many of the top commanders who fought in the battle. However, that strength could also be a weakness because most of those commanders interviewed were friends and comrades of his father. Thus, Eisenhower is rarely if ever critical of any of the commanders despite the fact that serious errors were made on the eve of the campaign on the part of the American high command. Also the book is full of GI slang such as "burp guns," which may have been recognizable to readers in the early 60's, but not so in the 21st century.

I've read this book more times than I can count. To me, that's the highest praise I can give. Eisenhower (the author) writes as an historian ought to, with no axes to grind in describing Montgomery's actions, etc. His firsthand knowledge of Army ways and wherefores holds him in good stead: the reader is being shepherded through the material by one in the know who always provides a down-to-earth rational perspective. The story he tells stands on its own as, alternately, a mystery, an excellent character study of the participants (particularly the commanders), and an exciting tale of an event that represented, in my mind, the climatic event of World War II in the European Theater.

The Bitter Woods, historian John S. D. Eisenhower's insightful account of the Ardennes Counteroffensive in the winter of 1944, is one of the best books yet written about the Battle of the Bulge. Along with John Toland's 1959 classic Battle: The Story of the Bulge and the late Charles B. MacDonald's A Time for Trumpets, this volume is a must-read for World War II buffs.

The Ardennes Counteroffensive was the brainchild of Adolf Hitler himself. Even as Soviet forces raced toward Berlin from the east and the Western Allies advanced steadily toward the Rhine in the west, the Fuhrer squirreled away hundreds of tanks and artillery pieces plus thousands of soldiers -- some of them either old men over the age of 50 or young boys no older than 16 -- and planned a daring stroke reminiscent of the Third Reich's triumphs in 1939 and 1940. Three entire armies would strike the Allies in the "quiet" Ardennes forest region of Belgium and Luxembourg and drive to the crucial port of Antwerp. Hitler hoped to drive a wedge between the Anglo-Canadian armies in the north and the American armies in the south and cause inter-Allied political strife. At the very least, the seizure of Antwerp would slow the Allied advance just enough so Nazi Germany could develop "wonder weapons" and rain V-1 and V-2 missiles on London and other Allied cities. At the very best, the Grand Alliance would fall apart and Hitler might be able to negotiate a separate peace with Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

But even though Hitler's offensive caught the Allies by surprise on Dec. 16, 1944 and created much havoc and confusion, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme commander of the Allied forces, remained relatively calm. The Germans did penetrate the thinly held front and created a salient or "bulge" in the Allied lines, but Eisenhower and his field commanders (Bradley, Hodges, Patton and the various corps and divisional commanders) soon recovered and took decisive measures to contain the German assault.

But generals and colonels, no matter how skilled or determined, can't win battles alone. The Bitter Woods contains many accounts of brave GIs and junior officers who fought tooth and nail to slow and stop Hitler's last desperate gamble in the West. Readers who are just beginning to read about World War II will be in awe of the paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division who helped hold the surrounded city of Bastogne, whose capture by the Germans was deemed by Hitler as a principal objective if his plan were to succeed. (Bastogne is where Brig. Gen Tony McAuliffe replied to the Germans' demand for surrender with the pithy one-word refusal, "Nuts!") The author, who graduated from West Point in June 1944 and is the Supreme Commander's son, writes about the stand of St. Vith's defenders, the combat engineers who blew bridges in front of the advancing panzer units, the ill-advised massacre of American POWs at Baugnez (the misnamed Malmedy Massacre) by SS troops and the harrowing baptism by fire of the green 106th Infantry Division, which lost two of its regiments in the largest American surrender since Bataan in 1942.

Eisenhower also writes extensively about the campaign in Northwest Europe both before and after the Battle of the Bulge, allowing both the new reader and long-time buff to place this, the largest single battle in U.S. Army history (there were, by January of 1945, over 600,000 soldiers involved), in the context of the liberation of Europe from Nazi tyranny.

Because the book was originally written in 1969, five years before the revelation of the Ultra secret, the account of the Allies' intelligence failure is not as well-explained as in the 1985 book by Charles MacDonald, but aside from that, The Bitter Woods still stands as one of the finest "case studies" of a major battle of World War II.

...I found this book to be very trite and not worth the money spent. What amounts to idol worship and an attempt to cash in on the celebrity of Mr. Welch is not worth reading. It will be interesting to see in a few years how Jack is looked at as a leader - will he be seen as a icon of corporate good or will be be the next Al Dunlap - only time will tell.

As far as this book is concerned, pass on it. If you are that interested in Jack pick up his own book or the Janet Lowe bio.

This is an excellent book!

It is well written and contains a great deal of interesting information.

If not already familiar with Jack Welch, this book is a great introduction and overview of his many accomplishments and business techniques.

If you are already a Jack Welch fan, Lexicon of Leadership will provide you with new insights to the reasons for his continued successes, and does a much better job than previous "Jack Welch" books in capturing the essence of his business strategies.

For any individual in business, this book can be used as a roadmap to success. The concepts tht Jack Welch employed over his career are timeless, and Lexicon of Leadership has captured and explained these concepts in such a manner that they are immediately understood and can be transferred to today's business climate easily and effectively.

I have known who Jack Welch is but had never read any books on him. With all of the recent attention regarding Mr. Welch I decided it was time to read about him. But I wanted a book that would focus on his philosophies and strategies.

I found Jeffrey Krames' book to be an exceptional book introducing me to the business philosophies and strategies that Welch has brought into the world. Krames takes the time to clearly explain the concepts from impetus to actual practice and what the results were for GE.

Many of these strategies/philosophies can easily be applied to my position as a software salesperson. I know I will read other material on Mr. Welch, but the Lexicon of Leadership book will be kept in my office as a reference manual!

Team at Work focuses on practical, innovative techniques for developing the interpersonal and technical skills of workteams. The 7 Keys to Success were invaluable in our journey from a traditional structure to a team-based organization. Even today, our teams revisit Teams at Work, thus maintaining the strong foundation Suzanne Zoglio helped us to achieve. An excellent read and learning application!

A practical, easy-to-read guide to making effective use of work teams. Although it would be useful in many different kinds of work environments, I found it particularly helpful in assessing and strengthening volunteer/staff teams in not-for-profit organizations. Goes way beyond the obvious in providing tools and sound guidance. "Teamwork" has become a management cliche; "Teams at Work" takes the team concept out of the realm of vague theory and shows how it actually works in productive organizations.

The idea - and advantages - of working together as a team is not new to me. But developing and implementing these ideas, with individuals coming out of an established non-team environment, will be more than challenging. TEAMS AT WORK gave me 7 basic fundamentals to use as a foundation to get started. More importantly, as the teams become integrated and work toward common goals, it will be a valuable resource to have on hand.

I found this book quite helpful for my team. It covers the current issues quickly and well. Although it is repetitive, the book presents a tapestry that steers thinking in IT toward strategic alignment. The book lays the foundation for the holistic integration of IT and business strategy, using techniques (though not explicitly) of portfolio management, continuous improvement, teambuilding, and enterprise architecture modeling.

I highly recommend this book. It should be paired with a more enterprise architecture centric book to provide a complete actionable background. That said, the book stands alone to plant the foundation for successful IT/Strategy convergence.

Information technology has made possible the Information Age. Today, organizations are wrestling with the monumentally complex decisions about how to invest in this ever-advancing technology-investment decisions that are shaping the competitive destiny of corporations. How such decisions are made and how they should be made is at the heart of this book. The central theme is linking strategy with a firm's IT portfolio: its total investment in an IT infrastructure. The authors explore four approaches to such infrastructure investment decisions, ranging from none to an enabling view that positions the firm to optimize its IT core competence in a strategically flexible manner.

The authors have synthesized the approach market leaders take to leveraging IT. This books shows how IT creates business value and how top performing firms use IT in alignment with their current and future needs and goals. The book's concluding section addresses how to manage the IT portfolio for optimum business results. The work includes a useful grouping of infrastructure services into 8 management clusters. Reading this book is a delightful educational experience; it is also requisite reading for all strategists.

Information technology has made possible the Information Age. Today, organizations are wrestling with the monumentally complex decisions about how to invest in this ever-advancing technology-investment decisions that are shaping the competitive destiny of corporations. How such decisions are made and how they should be made is at the heart of this book.

The central theme is linking strategy with a firm's IT portfolio: its total investment in an IT infrastructure. The authors explore four approaches to such infrastructure investment decisions, ranging from none to an enabling view that positions the firm to optimize its IT core competence in a strategically flexible manner. The authors have synthesized the approach market leaders take to leveraging IT. This books reveals how IT creates business value, and how top performing firms use IT in alignment with their current and future needs and goals. The book's concluding section addresses how to manage the IT portfolio for optimum business results. The book includes, among many of its nuggests, a useful grouping of infrastructure services into 8 management clusters.

Reading this book is a delightful educational experience; it is also REQUISITE READING for all strategists. Reviewed by Gerry Stern, founder, Stern & Associates, author of Stern's Sourcefinder The Master Directory to HR and Business Management Information & Resources, Stern's CyberSpace SourceFinder, and the Compensation and Benefits SourceFinder.

While the stories are refreshing, entertaining and inspiring, I found this work limited in scope and not exactly original. Yes, positive attitude is crucial to leading or moving toward any level of success, but for those who need something more substantial in their reading investment, this work was more an enticing appetizer than anything else.

I would love to see Maxwell develop his ideas and generate some new, more "mind blowing" and revelatory messages to set him apart from other self-help authors.

On the up side, it's a nicely priced book that serves a purpose.

In Attitude 101, Maxwell outlines his key thoughts on the importance of a positive attitude from his earlier (and larger) books. This is a good gift item for anyone you believe is ready to take their life and impact to a higher level, from adults to high school students. It would be a good graduate's gift.

The whole book is a quick read, almost outline in format and delivery, full of Maxwell's trademark memorable and applicational illustrations. Hard core cynics and others with superiority issues may sniff at it, but real people will benefit from it. Superior cynics are never leaders anyway.

Buy a few, and give them out. See who comments on something they got from reading it, and begin hanging out with them - if they aren't leaders yet, they're on their way!

This is a great book. I am a big Maxwell fan, and I loved reading this book. It is a compilation of chapters from some of Maxwell's other bestsellers. This book serves as a great reminder of how important our attitude is in every area of life.

In many ways, I agree with the authors observations of organizational life. I once thought like the author: change is hard, change is painful, change is hell.

The author says that first you must experience great pain to call forth the courage to change. The only real change is deep change, and deep change is itself painful. You must take the Hero's Journey to become a transformational leader. When you undergo the deep change, you become aligned with your values and the world. You then make deep and transformational change in your organization, because it's the right thing to do, and your moral authority attracts others to join you. Sadly, most of the big names in Organizational Development think change is nearly impossible.

Fortunately, I've come to appreciate that interpersonal and organizational change happens as a result of skill. It's not mystical or spiritual. It's a skill like skiing (but quite a bit more difficult).

Most of Quinn's clients seem to ignore his advice (to do deep change).

As a potential buyer of this book, do you think you will learn to love skiing and have a blast doing it, if the instructor thinks you have to first suffer greatly, then break your legs, before you can transform yourself into the being of a master skier?

If you want to learn how to do change work, don't read business books. Read modern therapy and human potential books. When you understand the workings of the human mind and therapeutic change techniques, you understand how to change yourself and influence those around you. The more you practice the better you become.

If you want to make skiing mystical, philisophical, and some painful right of passage, go for it. My preference is make if fun and a great ride.

Good intentions, nice metaphors and stories, but off the mark for the reader who wants to do (without the pain).

My job as an associate pastor in a large church has me coordinating a number of support groups. These groups include Divorce Recovery, Grief Support for Death of a Loved One, Alcohol and Drug Addictions, Weight Control, and more. I believe this book may hold some of the key to success in helping people move through change.

I also believe that Robert Quinn is correct when he maintains that people and organization have but two main choices...

1. Slow death, or 2. Deep change

Quinn maintains that today it is impossible to remain the same because everything around us is changing, and therefore we must change.

Early in his book, on page 6, he says, "It is now widely recognized that to remain competitive in today's global enviroment organizations must frequently make deep change. What is not so widely recognized is that organizational members must also make deep change."

He continues by saying, "...an organic organization is one that is responsive, acts quickly and in coordinated way, and can adjust and learn and grow." "...only organic individuals can create an organic organization."

Organizations and people adapt to their environments and change, or they die or they merely exist.(become the walking dead in Quinn's words) However, there are times when something more than evolution is needed and that revolution is called "deep change". Quinn outlines why so many people in so many organizations see the need for change, but the leaders just talk or say, "I told them to change" and the followers wonder why nothing ever happens. Quinn offers explanations for why the change frequently does not take place and then gives examples of how it can and has happened in other places.
He gives us hope that perhaps things can change. In any case he helps us to learn to be the transformational leader, if we look inside and if we are willing to face the pain of change.
Another reviewer pans Quinn for concentrating on the pain of change, but I have seen few people change without pain of some sort motivating them and even fewer organizations. I am a life coach and therapist and helping people change is my business, but there usually is a motivator for the change and with most people and organizations it is pain of some sort.
This book, while not a difficult read causes thought and is therefore a great read. Highly recommended. Thank you Dr. Quinn for being real with us.

Maxwell does a very good job bringing out the leadership lessons from the Bible. The Bible is full of leadership notes on almost every page. Maxwell's 21 laws and qualities are listed in the back in a concordance type format. I like the color scheme inside also. The layout makes reading easy. This is the Bible I use daily. However, I also offer a few notes of caution.

This is not a "Study Bible". If you are looking for a Bible with commentary notes then this one is NOT for you. It is designed for leaders. If you are not a leader personality then you will probably not like this work.

There is no concordance and cross references are limited to the Old Testament quotes in the New Testament. However, it does contain alternate readings and notes from differing Greek texts. (Syriac, and Vulgate too)

The verse numberings are hard to find in the text and probably should have been bolded for clarity. (The poetic passages are the exception here)

Overall, I really like this Bible. Then again, I am a military and Christian leader so it is geared for me.

In my humble opinion, The Maxwell Leadership Bible is better than any of the books, simply because Maxwell takes the core concepts from his various books and shows how they are applied in the Bible.

For example, Maxwell includes:

1. Excerpts from the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and 21 Indispensible Qualities of a Leader books.
2. Over 100 biographical profiles from people in the Bible.
3. A brief introduction to each book of the Bible and how leadership principles were applied.

4. Short articles and "Read As You Go" notes as you progress through the Bible.
5. Topical index of various leadership materials.

The reader has to bear in mind that this not necessarily a study Bible but a Bible whose focus is leadership. With the failures the world has recently seen in the ministry, politics, and business, Maxwell's Leadership Bible is welcomed read for those who are looking for a biblical basis for how to/how not to lead.

Maxwell's premise is that leaders are to serve others (just like Jesus) and not lord it over them (like worldly "leadership" so often does.). Quite frankly, I find much inspiration from the Scriptures to lead properly and not cut corners when the pressure is turned up.

All in all, a highly recommended read for the Christian who wants to learn (and get encouragement) on how to lead from a biblical basis. The non-Christian can also benefit from the book by considering how the biblical type of leadership so often contrasts with worldly leadership. Everyone will benefit by considering how his/her leadership qualities compare with the Bible.

Read and be encouraged!

I've heard John Maxwell speak at Promise Keepers. This was back when he was still a church pastor. Even then, he was quite a comminucator. He good deliver an excellent message and get his ideas across to anyone listening. He was and still a powerful teacher and speaker.

I haven't read any of his books on leadership. So I don't know how much of his leadership Bible compares to any of them. But I read this Bible cover-tocover during my daily devotional time in 2002. Prior to reading this Bible, I never viewed the Bible as a leadership book overall.

What John Maxwell does is take the Bible and views it from the vantage point of leaders and leadership. He explains the Bible books, characters, and stories and shows how leaders can use it to learn what to do and what not to do. If you're a pastor (as I am) or involved in any other type of leadership, you won't see leadership the same way again after reading and using this Bible. To every thing that's in the Bible, you'll see it in whole new light. And if you're like me, you'll see yourself differently in terms of being a Christian leader. You'll also see those that you're leading differently, too.

As another reader stated, this is not a good Bible for the average layman that isn't called to leadership. But if you're in leadership, this book is a must have. And if you know someone in leadership or is called to leadership and isn't there yet, this book would make an excellent gift.

Kudos to John Maxwell! Well done!

If you like crude humor this book is for you. After reading a dozen pages, the only thing I got out of it was I was never going to use his tour company if I ever go to Europe.

I spent 2 years traveling all over the globe, and Thacker's stories are some of the funniest I have ever heard. This is a non-stop laugh-a-page book, and your insides will hurt afterward from all the stories. True blue Aussie humor, and a great read over and over!!!!

This book was amazingly funny, I was laughing out loud from the first chapter. Brian Thacker's adventures around Europe is a must read for anyone venturing out into that part of the world, or anyone who wants to laugh like an idiot for a few hundred pages. I give it eight thumbs up!

Those who have already read Kouzes and Posner's The Leadership Challenge will immediately realize that this volume provides a deeper examination of the concepts introduced in Part Six ("Encouraging the Heart") of the previously published work. After introducing and then discussing five "leadership practices common to successful leaders" and ten "behavioral commitments" among those leaders studied iwhile preparing to write The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes and Posner focus on recognizing contributions (i.e. linking rewards with performance) and celebrating accomplishments (i.e. valuing the victories) in Part Six. In this volume, these two "leadership commitments" receive their full attention. The material is carefully organized within 12 chapters which range from "The Heart of Leadership" to "150 Ways to Encourage the Heart." Why did they write this book? There are four reasons.

Practicality: "We wanted to offer a set of principles, practices, and examples that would provide leaders with a repeatable process -- a set of essential actions --they could apply in their own settings."

Principle: "In this book, we not only demonstrate that encouraging the heart is not soft; we show how powerful a force it is in achieving high standards and stretch goals."

Curiosity: "We've been intrigued for some time by this finding that] "female constituents do not report that their leaders encourage the heart any more than do male constituents, regardless of the gender of their leader] and we wanted to explore the practice in depth to see if we could understand more about these differences."

Finally, "...because we wanted to add our voices to the discussion of soul and spirit in the workplace."

Kouzes and Posner note that the word "encouragement" has its root in the Latin word "cor" which literally means "heart." (So does the word "courage.") To have courage is to have heart. To encourage -- to provide with or give courage -- literally means to give others heart. For me, there are at least three especially important core concepts: First, love what you do. Love those for whom you are responsible. And love them enough to set high standards for them and then give them hope that you and they can meet those standards. Second, don't think of leadership in terms of position, title, power, status, etc. Rather, think of it in terms of initiative. Encourage, recognize and reward initiative whenever and wherever you find it throughout your entire organization. Third and finally, practice what you preach and do that every day. The most effective leaders care....and care deeply. They have credibility because their values and behavior are in unshakable alignment. They have earned others' trust.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out David Maister's Practice What You Preach, Tim Sanders' Love Is the Killer App, David Whyte's The Heart Aroused, and Larry Davis' Pioneering Organizations.

This book will touch your heart and your mind, which is where every leader must learn to work from to truly be a leader-- to "walk the talk" with integrity and to inspire others to take action and to want to follow you.

Encouraging The Heart is one of the five key leadership practices presented in the Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner both leaders and experts in this field. Encouraging the Heart is more than a set of skills. It is a way of being and valuing, a perspective that moves leadership from the left side of the brain to a combination of mind of heart. This encouraging of the heart is also one of the most difficult leadership practices to "walk" and "talk". Kouzes and Posner acknowledge this difficulty and the vulnerability entailed in adopting and enacting this way of leadership at work and at home.

Encouraging the Heart goes beyond a simplistic "just do it" to show us how to REALLY do it-- to encourage the hearts of self and others. This newest book of Kouzes and Posner is powerful because it provides realistic ways to enact and live the principle of leadership. These changes can be a springboard for enhancing effectiveness in their other four practices of leadership-- "Challenging the Process, Inspiring a Shared Vision, Enabling Others to Act, and Modeling the Way." I suggest a standing ovation and shouts of "encore" for Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner so that we may encourage their hearts to give us four more books, one on each of the other leadership practices on which they have enlightened us. Thank you and Bravo!

"We're living in a time that holds great promise. New developments in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology promise that some of the deadliest and most disabling diseases may be cured or at least better managed. New information technologies promise not only to connect us globally and to create whole new forms of commerce but also to foster peace and expand the reaches of our educational systems. Fledgling democratic movements promise to free people from centuries of tyranny and fear. But what is a promise without hope-hope that these promises will be kept? Bold leadership is required if we are to keep these hopes alive...Encouraging the Heart is ultimately about keeping hope alive. Leaders keep hope alive when they set high standards and genuinely express optimism about an individual's capacity to achieve them. They keep hope alive when they give feedback and publicly recognize a job well done. They keep hope alive when they give their constituents the internal support that all human beings need to feel that they and their work are important and have meaning. They keep hope alive when they train and coach people to exceed their current capacities. Most important, leaders keep hope alive when they set an example. There really is nothing more encouraging than to see our leaders practice what they preach" (from the Introduction).

In this context, James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner identify seven essentials to encouraging the heart. According to Kouzes and Posner, when leaders do their best to encourage the heart, they:

1. Set clear standards- The first prerequisite for encouraging the heart is to set clear standards (goals and values or principles). To be successful in encouraging the heart, it's absolutely critical that everyone cherish a common set of standards. It's certainly not very encouraging to be in the dark about what we're expected to achieve, or never to know where we stand relative to what's important. Only when we know the standards can we set our sights for success.

2. Expect the best- High expectations or low expectations both influence other people's performance. Only high expectations have a positive impact on actions and on feelings about oneself. Thus, passionately believing in people and expecting the best of them is another prerequisite to encouraging the heart.

3. Pay attention- One way of showing you care is to pay attention to people, to what they're doing, and to how they're feeling. If you are clear about the standards of behavior you're looking for and you believe and expect that people will perform like winners, then you're going to notice lots of examples of people doing things right, and doing the right things.

4. Personalize recognition- Before recognizing someone, the best leaders get to know people personally. They learn about their likes and dislikes, their needs and interests. They observe them in their own settings. Then, when it comes time to recognize a particular person, they know a way to make it special, meaningful, and memorable.

5. Tell the story- Although the live example is the most powerful of ways to publicize what people do to exemplify values, there are other media available to leaders. Newsletters, annual reports, advertisement, even voice mail and e-mail can be used to encourage the heart and teach positive stories about what people do to exemplify our values. These media sure are a lot more powerful than posting our values on a wall somewhere.

6. Celebrate together- Public ceremonies bring people closer together. As we move to a more virtual world, where communication is by voice mail, e-mail, cell phone, videoconference, and pager, it's becoming ever more difficult for people to find opportunities to be together. We are social animals, and we need each other. Those who are fortunate enough to have lots of social support are healtier human beings than those who have a little. Social support is absolutely essential to our well-being and to our productivity. Celebrating together is one way we can get this essential support.

7. Set the example- Setting the example for encouraging the heart starts by giving youself permission to do so. It starts with putting it in your daily planner. It starts with putting a sign by your door. It starts when you talk to everyone about it. It starts when you turn a routine task into something fun. It starts by giving to others first. It starts when you get personally involved. When leaders do get personally involved in encouraging the heart, the results are always the same: the receiver and the giver both feel uplifted. The reflection in the mirror is the one you portray.

Highly recommended.

This book was written in 1981 and, unfortunately, it hasn't aged well. It is loaded with unfulfilled sky-is-falling, doom-and-gloom predictions that look pretty silly in retrospect. I have great respect for Foster's other books, but this one is in desperate need of a rewrite -- with a lot less agitprop and a lot more spirituality.

I began reading this book with high expectations regarding the insights the author would have to offer. I was certainly not disappointed. Foster divides his work into two parts. In part one, he lays a foundation for a life of simplicity based upon the Old and New Testaments. He also draws upon church history to illustrate the advantages of not being distracted by worldly possessions and pursuits.

In part two, Foster puts the concept of simplicity into action. He speaks of inward simplicity which aligns our lives properly with God. He then refers to outward simplicity, which relates us in a fitting manner to persons around us. He closes his book by referring to corporate simplicity in the church and in the world. Sadly, his work would have been better had he omitted these last two chapters. In them, Foster's liberal economic and political views rise to the surface, strongly overshadowing the Biblical argument he has so skillfully presented earlier.

Still, in an age characterized by materialism within and without the church, this book gives a fresh new perspective on focusing on things eternal that cannot be bought or sold. I recommend it highly.

Of all the books on the market today about simplicity this one speaks directly to the Christian. It explains why many of us may feel drawn to the simple life. What would Jesus do? This is more than a book about how to save money, buy at thrift stores, and save the earth. It speaks to the soul.