Average customer rating:
- A classic that is very relevant today
- Checkland's masterpiece
- Really worthwhile
- Where it all began...
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Systems Thinking, Systems Practice: Includes a 30-Year Retrospective
Peter Checkland
Manufacturer: Wiley
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ASIN: 0471986062 |
Book Description
Systems Thinking, Systems Practice "Whether by design, accident or merely synchronicity, Checkland appears to have developed a habit of writing seminal publications near the start of each decade which establish the basis and framework for systems methodology research for that decade." Hamish Rennie, Journal of the Operational Research Society, 1992 Thirty years ago Peter Checkland set out to test whether the Systems Engineering (SE) approach, highly successful in technical problems, could be used by managers coping with the unfolding complexities of organizational life. The straightforward transfer of SE to the broader situations of management was not possible, but by insisting on a combination of systems thinking strongly linked to real-world practice Checkland and his collaborators developed an alternative approach - Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) - which enables managers of all kinds and at any level to deal with the subtleties and confusions of the situations they face. This work established the now accepted distinction between 'hard' systems thinking, in which parts of the world are taken to be 'systems' which can be 'engineered', and 'soft' systems thinking in which the focus is on making sure the process of inquiry into real-world complexity is itself a system for learning. Systems Thinking, Systems Practice (1981) and Soft Systems Methodology in Action (1990) together with an earlier paper Towards a Systems-based Methodology for Real-World Problem Solving (1972) have long been recognized as classics in the field. Now Peter Checkland has looked back over the three decades of SSM development, brought the account of it up to date, and reflected on the whole evolutionary process which has produced a mature SSM. SSM: A 30-Year Retrospective, here included with Systems Thinking, Systems Practice closes a chapter on what is undoubtedly the most significant single research programme on the use of systems ideas in problem solving. Now retired from full-time university work, Peter Checkland continues his research as a Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow.
Customer Reviews:
A classic that is very relevant today.......2007-06-13
I originallay read (and wrote a paper about) Checkland's ideas in 1990 whilst I was studying for my MBA. Then his ideas seemed revolutionary, insightful and impractical. Re-visiting his book nearly 20 years on little has changed in my view of its content, but the world has moved on and what seemed impractical now appears possible.
I would urge anyone involved in creating modern systems based on distributed and dynamic principles to study Checkland.
Checkland's masterpiece.......2004-10-23
When I first read this book I thought it to be revolutionary, ahead of it's time (as others have) and insightful. Despite the fact that Checkland has in large moved away from the ideas and the model of this book - to me it represents the original vision of SSM (soft systems methodology) more so than his later books. Checkland presents a history of systems thinking in the book then goes onto to discuss the need for a new approach - that of SSM. With extreme elegance of style Checkland delivers a long and stinging critique to Hard Systems thinking and presents a coherent and thoughtful argument for his own version SSM. Further he creates a platform for real world problem solving that is useful and interesting. A lot of his ideas have appeared in American texts (like the fifth discipline for example) and rarely are they credited or made use of in that regard. This book is a good place to start exploring the real world of problems with but I would highly recommended that before you go to his two other books you start here. This in my opinion has not been bettered in any systems context to date and I am not sure it ever will or could be. Having said that you really do need to read it and find out for yourself. Be warned it's not for those who want to be challenged in their thinking - especially those of you who don't like the qualitative stuff.
Really worthwhile.......2004-07-02
This book is a gem. The basic concepts of systems, hierarchies and emergent properties are developed from the methodologies of physical and social sciences in chapter 3, and makes for fascinating reading. I'm currently writing a master's thesis on it! =)
If you're studying management of information systems or something similar, you are probably sick and tired of overly theoretical approaches to the subject which seem to be just excuses for academics to publish rubbish (eg. structuration, actor network theory, etc). This book may save you from a nervous breakdown.
Where it all began..........2002-07-12
Well, since I've been on a bit of a 'systems' binge lately, I might as well review this old gem...
Checkland's book was the first to introduce the differentiation between 'soft' and 'hard' systems analysis. Soft analysis is much more akin to a general, somewhat philosophical approach to the methodology whereas hard analysis is the development of usable engineering models.
First off, this book is actually two books - the first is a fairly long paper that neatly sums up the systems approach over the 30 years it has been explored. The consensus? Things looked really promising at the beginning but unfortunately the approach simply got hung up on the very thing it was trying to escape: science's current preoccupation with reductionism. That is, the hard systems approach attracted the most attention and it quickly succumbed to the very trap it sought to escape starting with its use of rigidly-defined symbols right up to the detailed diddling with mathematical models that, similar to earlier approaches, did not model reality at all due to assumptions and oversimplification.
Checkland is much more interested in the soft approach and he consistently laments the fact that systems methodology is not being taught even though it holds so much promise to solving many of our pressing problems. The overview presses this point home and should be required reading for anyone in management or engineering.
The second section, the original book with a few revisions, is still very relevant. Checkland's focus, soft systems, never was given a chance given our preoccupation with reductionism. Given the recent failures of reductionism, particularly the genome-mapping fiasco, cast systems theory in new light.
Checkland starts out with an excellent overview of the history of science from a (mostly) philosophical perspective. This very readable overview leads directly into his discussion of the history and early development of systems theory. He then focuses on systems methodology (soft systems theory) with some general applications.
The approach is very readable and should be easily understood by anyone - in fact, Checkland stresses the importance of having a wide base of knowledge to help solve real-world problems and points out that much work has been done by people who 'migrated' from other fields. Smuts, one of the pioneers, was actually a politician and only wrote a systems book after losing an election...
It is unfortunate that there are no references to Robert Rosen here since his work, more of a 'hard' approach to systems theory, fully supports Checkland's ideas. In fact, there is a lot of material that should be included as 'backup' for why the systems approach is important as a new direction away from reductionism. Perlovsky's work in cybernetics, Jopling's recent work on self-knowledge, Prigogine's work in thermodynamics and even Kauffman's attempts in biology now point to hypotheses that are only compatible with a systems methodology.
This book, as mentioned above, should be required reading these days. Certainly for anyone contemplating management or engineering it is a very important reference. In fact, the book could basically be used in high-school with a bit of help from Weinberg's systems books. For those looking for more application-specific information I recommend von Bertalanffy's original, Rosen's work, and perhaps a side helping of Weinberg and Gharajedaghi for more ideas.
Book Description
Widely hailed for its contemporary, cutting-edge perspective, this comprehensive, reader-friendly text covers the latest decision support theories and practices used by managers and organizations. Current examples and cases are drawn from actual organizations and firms. Decision Making, Systems, Modeling, and Support. Data Warehousing, Access, Analysis, Mining, and Visualization. Modeling and Analysis. Decision Support System Development. Collaborative Computing Technologies: Group Support Systems. Enterprise Decision Support Systems. Knowledge Management. Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems. Knowledge Acquisition and Validation. Knowledge Representation. Inference Techniques. Intelligent Systems Development. Neural Computing Applications, and Advanced Artificial Intelligent Systems and Applications. Intelligent Software Agents and Creativity. Implementing and Integrating Management Support Systems. Organizational and Societal Impacts of Management Support Systems. For managers interested in Decision Support Systems, Computerized Decision Making, and Management Support Systems.
Customer Reviews:
Solid publication for DSS & IT Theory--Great research tool!.......2005-10-25
Not everyone will find this book as extremely useful as I did. The information contained within can be intimidating because of the sheer volume packed into its over 900 pages, but for someone wanting a foundation of Decision-support theory, this book should fulfill your need.
Each chapter provides an overview and a list of learning objectives that are adequately covered in greater detail. While theory lessons provide a necessary base for most students, this book successfully ties a "real-world" example to each chapter lesson that is not only relevant, but also includes associated links should the reader require more detail.
The book layout is fairly consistent with the more recent IT textbook publications that provide information with a short shelf-life (technological improvements being what they are today), but the illustrated concepts should be useful until the next revision is published.
The authors provide a wealth of references that are extremely useful for anyone interested in expanding their knowledge on any particular section or detail in the book. This provides a necessary trail for any research project.
The companion website (publisher) provides power point presentations that outline each chapter that were found useful for classroom utilization, however, a few details such as adding notes pages would have been greatly appreciated. Essentially, the material covered by these presentations proved more than adequate, although sometimes requiring a little digging in the textbook to provide enough detail (which I believe was the intent).
All in all this was an excellent book and a great research tool for anyone pursuing an education in IT.
Rambling book.......2005-10-18
This book could get away with about 2/3 the volume of content still be interesting. There really does not seem to be any structure to the way a chapter flows. Its easy to skim, but difficult to read.
Good case studies;
The connection with the web is a little over-emphasized and sometimes unclear. I'd prefer a dense read, with some concise messages.
This is a good course text, not a favorite though.
Purpose of the book: separate you from your money???.......2005-09-21
As far as I can tell the prupose of this book is to separate you from a great deal of your money!
It has a great deal to say about nothing. There is very little substantive detail on anything! Which, given it's size, really is quite amazing! This book will not teach you how to concretely implement any decision support system. It waffles on at a very distant level about such systems but never gets down in the trenches, if you know what I mean. It's basically why (though only just) rather than how! And for me, that makes this book a very pricey door jam.
Seriously, I was really underwhelmed and disappointed by the book. I ended up buying Statistics, Data Analysis and Decision Modeling by Evens and Olson (isbn: 0130783838) to find the information and practice that I need (decision modeling rather than decision support systems per se). It also comes with phstat software which is a VERY useful excel statistical add-in.
For example, from this book, p681-685 is genetic algorithms -> in 5 Pages!!!!! with nothing substantive about recombination, crossover, mutation, fitness or anythign like that (the terms are mentioned but not explained)...all it does is refer you sompleace else! Fuzzy logic gets 4 pages...with no implementation details. That is seriously ordinary!
So I suggest you save your money and look at something else. SOmehow I don't see this book giving anybody too much joy. It amazes me it has lasted through 7 edition. If the 7th is this bad...I'd hate to see the first edition!!! So, as I said before, more a book about why and where to go to get knowledge of how to do rather than giving you the know-how. SO look for a book on how! This is a book for discovering that terms like knowledge discovery in databases (KDD) actually exist...and maybe what it means (like say webopedia) but certainly not how to do it...
Excellent reference, thick college text.......2005-02-07
This is a textbook appropriate for a college-level course at the upper division or graduate level. It gives very thorough coverage of the entire field in one book, and most students really like the book in satisfaction questionnaires, but some feel overwhelmed until after the material is covered in class. I focus on specific chapters or sections of chapters for a single-semester course.
It is an excellent reference for key elements of DSS and related systems. I've followed it through several editions, and when new chapters are introduced, they may be verbose--but they are more focused in later editions. The authors do a good job of describing how computer-based systems support structured, semi-structured, and unstructured decisions and the design, intelligence, and choice framework. The book also has several good general chapters that provide an overview and describe different types of decision support systems. It includes sections on object-oriented systems and knowledge management (KM) systems. It is pretty theoretical and covers a lot of material, yet it's my favorite text for its purpose.
throw it into the trash.......2004-07-19
Used it for school, found it dry, boring, ugly. I got frustrated every time I picked up the book. Really want to throw it into the trash if not for the resell value.
Book Description
Based on the most recent scientific, demographic and financial data available, "Beef Production and Management Decisions, Fifth Edition" examines the biological, ecological, financial, and marketing issues impacting the beef industry today. Harnessing the authors' industry and academic experience, the book explores the demographics, structure, challenges and segments of the industry from a balanced point of view. A must for any professional library, this paperback edition includes concepts of beef quality assurance and devotes chapters to the management of information, the traditions of the business and the future of the industry.
Systems philosophy that looks at the biological, ecological, financial and marketing issues impacting the industry. Discusses each segment of the production and processing chain from a management/decision-making perspective. Identifies the significant biological and economic principles that contribute to the profitable and sustainable production of beef cattle. Written by a leading researcher and consultant in the field.
This book provides a well of resource and reference material intended for the industry professionals and affiliated professional managers with a detailed evaluation of the demographics, structure, challenges, and segments of the beef industry.
Customer Reviews:
Rancher rates it the best.......2007-03-08
I have been a cattle rancher for over 30 years and this is the best reference book I have ever found to help me in my operations.
A GREAT up-to-date text for students or aspiring ranchers!.......2003-12-30
If you are considering cattle ranching or producing beef in a feedlot this book will be invaluable to you or your students.
I found the inclusion of general management advice to be especially valuable.
The data provided to analyze the income potential of various types of production considerations also is appreciated.
If you can buy only one book regarding beef production, buy BEEF PRODUCTION AND MANAGEMENT DECISIONS. If you can afford a second book, purchase STOREY'S GUIDE TO RAISING BEEF CATTLE.
Book Description
Reviews basic principles and presents techniques for evaluating and making decisions about investments and the acquisition of capital projects in industry and the private sector. Provides management and control techniques for construction of facilities or installation and operation of machinery and equipment. Covers sensitivity analysis and methods for ranking projects. Discusses the limitations of various methods. Explains how to carry out economic studies for the proper allocation of capital spending.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Concepts.......2004-05-04
While there is no disagreeing that this book is written at an advanced level, it does clearly present key concepts that are often difficult to understand apart from each other. I used a newer version of this book in Merino's class, and it really is the best book in its class.
Some of the more complex topics like multi-attribute analysis and risk management are presented well. After-tax analysis is not presented in as much depth as I would have liked, but after going through the examples the topic becomes clear.
Overall this book is excellent. It is a must read for those aspiring to go into management or get an MBA one day.
This book does not live up to its name!.......1998-06-21
Having used the book in the course taught by Merino, I have noticed that the examples given at the end of each chapter are erroneous in nature. Many a time, I have found that the book lacks the basic elements of engineering economics. This book is definitely not for undergraduates.
Book Description
Praise for the The Executive's Guide to Information Technology
"This book is important reading. It offers practical, real-world insight and pragmatic no-nonsense approaches for people who have a stake in corporate IT. "
—Lynda Applegate, Henry R. Byers Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
"Information systems and processes are very important parts of our due diligence assessment of a company—yet the jargon is often more difficult to understand than many foreign languages. Baschab and Piot effectively translate IT into words and concepts that businesspeople can easily understand and act upon. This book is a helpful reference guide for corporate executives and private equity groups of all types."
—Neal Aronson, Managing Partner, Roark Capital Group
"Business success increasingly depends on effective use of IT. Effective use of IT depends on the kind of in-depth, practical insight in this book. Baschab and Piot provide a pragmatic approach to information systems investment that should be required reading for senior executives and CIOs alike."
—Erik Brynjolfsson, Schussel Professor of Management, Director of the Center for Digital Business, MIT
"This book should provide valuable guidance for management and technology consultants. The Executive's Guide to Information Technology provides field-proven insight on all important aspects of IT planning and execution, from governance to applications to operations and infrastructure."
—Gary J. Fernandes, former vice chairman, EDS, member of the Board of Directors, Computer Associates
"Baschab and Piot do a great job of laying out the fundamental issues and challenges that every IT organization faces. More often than not, the issues are not technical in nature, but are a reflection of how the IT and business teams work together to define, execute, and implement new business tools. The threshold issue is leadership. Often it is difficult for business leaders to feel that they have the skills and perspective to provide that leadership on technical projects. The Executive's Guide to Information Technology provides non-technical business leaders a solid framework for engaging with their IT peers."
—Tom Nealon, Chief Information Officer, J.C. Penney
Customer Reviews:
Full of complete and important information.......2006-11-03
This book helps form IT users to IT services providers, CIO, CFO and CEO to understand the scope of IT process inside an organization, describing precisely relationships and responsibilities for all. A book which should be read by any manager related with IT and bussiness.
Six stars for content, business value, pragmatism & style .......2005-04-24
This is a "best book" for Executives and Managers responsible for IT management related decisions and practices. Therefore I rank it with "6"! stars. Peter de Toma, Austria, Europe.
A well written practical handbook.......2004-08-19
I personally learned a million from reading and enjoying a well written practical handbook, I recommend all IT folks to keep a copy of the "The Executive Guide To IT" book handy in their workplaces as it covers the major areas that any IT, IT business partner and senior management personnel.
Before you bring in Booz.Allen, read this book.......2004-02-04
This is an excellent book with regard to understanding and managing technology.
Each chapter is filled with so much information, it begs the reader to slow down and soak up the surprising and insightful statistics about IT.
What's so unique about John's book is that he's writing to thousand of IT professionals, and yet it feels as if he has spent time in your department interviewing your staff and clients personally. That's how poignant this book is.
John's ability to explain complex and dynamic problems in easy to understand language using anecdotes and allegories is uncanny. The book is founded on fundamental truths and principles that have been around for ages. It's John's ability to bring these principles to life by practically applying them to the circumstances we face very day. This makes the book both practical for the here-and-now as well as the IT professionals of tomorrow.
I have used many of the templates suggested in this book and find them easy to understand, quickly deployable, and readily accepted by team members and clients. It's surprising, but it is the simplicity behind the templates that makes them so usable and effective. As mentioned many times in the book, applying complex technological solutions to simple requests is a common problem within IT.
This book is like an IT bible. It's not something you read once and put on the shelf. It's something that should be referenced often. Whenever you feel you might want to consult with Booz.Allen or McKinsey... reach for this book first.
Excellent Reference Guide for Medium to Large Businesses.......2004-01-01
I am the CTO of a small financial services company. I read this book to see what recommendations the authors were making about IT organization and use in larger firms, ostensibly as a roadmap for where to take my department. Many of the ideas within the book (change controls, division of labor, alignment with business goals) can be found elsewhere, but Baschab and Piot have pulled it all together created a reference guide for IT managers.
Based on my personal experience, many of their recommedations are on target. Most small- and many medium-sized organizations can benefit from their recommedations, although not without modification. It can only benefit an IT manager whose department is growing to be alert for instituting the ideas Baschab and Piot discuss, especially concerning controls, risk and organization.
One final note: it would have been interesting for the authors to discuss how small IT departments should implement their recommendations as they grow.
Average customer rating:
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Management of Professionals, Second Edition, (Food Science & Technology)
Richard Shell
Manufacturer: CRC
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0824708296 |
Book Description
"Considers the common functions of managers, such as effective planning and decision-making, organizational design and staffing, directing and controlling, and delegating. Offers methods to strengthen and enhance personal leadership stule, communication skills, and workplace motivation and involvement to improve individual and organizational productivity and increase business revenues."
Book Description
The objective of this management science book is to help the reader solve the decision-making problems that confront managers in both the public and private sectors. It demonstrates the use of mathematical models to solve these problems, and provides numerous examples and illustrations to help the reader easily understand the material presented. Its concentration on computer solutions with Excel spreadsheets allows the reader to focus on the newest technological tools.
Topics covered in this comprehensive book are linear programming; integer programming; transportation, transshipment, and assignment problems; network flow models; project management; nonlinear programming; probability and statistics; decision analysis; queuing analysis; simulation; forecasting; and inventory management.
With its comprehensive appendices and CD-ROM module examples, this book is an excellent reference work for managers that utilize modeling techniques to solve problems and make decisions.
Book Description
Container transportation is the predominant mode of inter-continental cargo traffic. Since container ships and port terminals involve a huge capital investment and significant daily operating costs, it is of crucial importance to efficiently utilize the internal resources of container terminals and transportation systems. Today there is an ongoing trend to use automated container handling and transportation technology, in particular, in countries with high labour costs. This in turn requires highly sophisticated control strategies in order to meet the desired performance measures. The primary objective of this book is to reflect these recent developments and to present new insights and successful solutions to operational problems of automated container terminals and transportation systems. It comprises reports on the state of the art, applications of quantitative methods, as well as case studies and simulation results. Its contributions are written by leading experts from academia and business. The book addresses practitioners as well as academic researchers in logistics, transportation, and management.
Average customer rating:
- Tacit knowledge, explicit knowledge, cultural knowledge
- An over-priced but worthwhile book for academics
|
Web Work: Information Seeking and Knowledge Work on the World Wide Web (Information Science and Knowledge Management)
Chun Wei Choo ,
B. Detlor , and
D. Turnbull
Manufacturer: Springer
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0792364600 |
Book Description
This book brings together three great motifs of the network society: the search for and use of information by individuals and groups; the creation and application of knowledge in organizations; and the fundamental transformation of these activities as they take place on the World Wide Web and corporate intranets. As research endeavors, these streams overlap and share conceptual constructs, perspectives, and methods of analysis. Although these overlaps and shared concerns are sometimes apparent in published research, there have been few attempts to connect these ideas explicitly and identify cross-disciplinary themes. This book is an attempt to fill this void.
Audience: The book's primary audience is faculty and students in masters and doctoral programs in information science, information systems, and management schools. Consultants and organizations designing and implementing intranets and portals will find the book useful in providing research-based insights into how information search and knowledge sharing may be enhanced.
Customer Reviews:
Tacit knowledge, explicit knowledge, cultural knowledge.......2004-10-24
Enterprise integration is a must today and this can be achieved by combining infostructure and infrastructure resources. Choo's prescription here provides a framework for assessment of knowledge management using best business practices in Web-based environments. It, also, facilitates furthering knowledge management studies in relation to return on investment in a corporate culture. To achieve this end a direct route is prescribed in this book. It has to be based on the integration of organizational knowledge, i.e. using Choo's favorite trio: tacit knowledge, explicit knowledge and cultural knowledge.
An over-priced but worthwhile book for academics.......2002-02-27
This book has three separate sections, and though the sections are related they differ in style and approach. The first section, which can be attributed to Professor Choo, pretty much contains the same stuff as in his book "The Knowing Organisation", but condensed and more to the point. If you haven't read TKO there's no need to buy it after having read section one in this book. If you have read TKO, well, section one summarises and explains it to you. Theoretical frameworks regarding information needs, information seeking and information use is covered in Chapter 1, while Chapter 2 discusses the relationship between data, information, and knowledge. Choo also advocated his own typology of organisational knowledge: tacit, explicit, and cultural knowledge. Taken together, section one forms a theoretical foundation for knowledge work, but since not much of it is visible in the rest of the book it is kind of a stand-alone framework.
Section two, which can be traced to the work of Detlor, deals with intranets as a platform for knowledge work (Chapter 3) and discusses how intranets can be designed to support such work (Chapter 4). In my opinion, this is the real contribution of the book. The author(s?) does a good job bringing together lessons from different academic fields and offers many interesting references to related work. Section 2 is thus a gold mine for graduate and PhD students engaged in research efforts. The conclusions are however on a meta level and perhaps a bit difficult for the average business person to apply and appreciate.
Section three, finally, seems to be the result of Turnbull's work examining how people use the Web to find information. Continuing in an academic style, Chapter 5 first guides us through the use of various statistical methods for literature analysis and then presents a number of browsing strategies found in the literature. In Chapter 6, some hands-on results are finally presented in form of bar charts, correlation tables, and other graphics. Although I find this section less interesting, it is the one with the most practical lessons and results and may thus be appreciated by practitioners.
Still, the book is interesting and a worthwhile reading to all academics and ambitious practitioners and had it not been for the outrageous price I would highly recommend it. However, [money]is way too much and approximately 3 to 4 times higher than I would normally pay, especially so when much of the content is available elsewhere (other books, conference proceedings, and journals).
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- The Colours of Infinity: The Beauty, The Power and the Sense of Fractals
- The Geometry of Physics: An Introduction, Second Edition
- The Grammar of Graphics (Statistics and Computing)
- The Nature of Consciousness : The Structure of Reality: Theory of Everything Equation Revealed : Scientific Verification and Proof of Logic God Is
- The NURBS Book (Monographs in Visual Communication)
- The Portuguese Empire, 1415-1808: A World on the Move
- Theory of Vortex Sound
- Today's Technician:: Automotive Suspension and Steering Systems (classroom and shop manuals) (Today's Technician)
- Understanding Search Engines: Mathematical Modeling and Text Retrieval (Software, Environments, Tools), Second Edition
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Recommended Books
- Ulysses S. Grant : Memoirs and Selected Letters : Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant / Selected Letters,
- The Establishment Clause: Religion and the First Amendment
- Seeing Salvation: Images of Christ in Art
- Strength And Honor: The Life Of Dolley Madison
- The Accidental Mind: How Brain Evolution Has Given Us Love, Memory, Dreams, and God
- Soft Computing and Intelligent Systems Design: Theory, Tools and Applications
- The Great Bear Rainforest: Canada's Forgotten Coast
- At Home in the Vineyard: Cultivating a Winery, an Industry, and a Life
- Simon's Direct Tax Service
- Only The Dead Came Home: Vietnam's Hidden Casualties
