Strategy

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This book takes that step.

If you have already mastered around 200 Kanji (maybe Grade1-2) then this book will take you further without assuming you are already a Kanji master.

The title makes the book sound abit more complex than it is. I study with it together with Ken Henshall's (Tuttle pub) "A Guide to Remebering Japanese Characters". The book has space next to the Kanji entry to include notes, in my case I enter a learning mnemnonic.

Not sure what I'll use to go on to the next stage in Kanji study, but this really has been a huge help.

This is, by any standards, an astonishing little book. It should be required reading for every lawyer and for every person who is concerned to see *justice* done in the courtroom.

Mack O'Barr is an anthropologist. His unusual perspective on the behavior of lawyers and the perceived credibility of witnesses offers startling insight into jury decision making. His book is both fascinating and deeply depressing by turns. His empirical studies show that those citizens most in need of legal redress come to the courtroom two strikes down. His account offers a frightening new dimension to Marc Galanter's "Why the 'Haves' Come Out Ahead" and emphasises the obstacles faced by ther disadvantaged when they seek to invoke the law in their aid.

The book explains why many of the forensic techniques discovered empirically and regularly deployed by lawyers work. I wish I had known of this book when I was a criminal advocate - it would have allowed me to cross-examine witnesses more effectively.

Although the book is a straight forward account of a piece of academic research, it is readable and engaging. The only negative comment I would make is that there is little discussion of the implications of the research findings - perhaps that might be better left to John Conley who has subsequently collaborated closely with O'Barr.

This book deserves to be much better known than it is.

I was very, very surprised with his thoroughness and the fact that the book is not merely a repository for a database. Pedersen crafted this book with care and professionalism!

I, myself have gathered some ideas from it and what is interesting is that these ideas are applicable over the board...

I am happy I bought this book and hope to see a next one on the French by him.

Time will tell, but the methodology presented here may just provide the hitherto missing link between what we pay for information and what we get from it. Remember that by the end of 2001, the US alone will have spent the lion's share of a trillion dollars on Information Technology, and though we may not like to admit it, much of that money will disappear down a black hole of failed projects and mis-used systems.

If the case studies are anything to go by, the company that has the foresight to apply the principles of "Information Orientation" will not only offer itself the best chance of avoiding the IT gravity well, but will also be putting itself on track to derive the maximum possible value from its expenditure on information systems, in a way that will be measurable in the real business terms of growth, margin and bottom line.

That's a claim I find pretty exciting and I'm looking forward to applying it in my own environment. The authors say it's no fad, and my gut feeling is to agree. I recommend you get a copy of this book before your competitors do!

George Moseley, The Author

On the lighter side of things, read her story about "George" in the "Get Over Yourself" chapter. She uses this story to point out how personality differences can be a show stopper to implementing innovation and promoting creativity. Furthermore, she explains how collaborative technologies can help bypass some of these differences.