Real life, real stories, 13 Feb 2003
If you are the sort of person that ends up chatting to the bloke or woman next to them at Railway Stations then this is the book for you. Terkels basically interviewed people over a number of years about their jobs and how they feel about them. If that sounds boring then just keep your head in another book next time you are sat on a train - I found it a fascinating read.

Great Book, 26 Feb 1999
I read this book 30 years ago. It has probably kept me unemployed for most of that time. Warning if you read this book you may quit your job.

Fascinating look at what we do with the bulk of our time, 08 Apr 1998
Working profiles the working lives of scores of Americans. From prostitute to chief executive, coal mine worker to major league ballplayer- a myriad of professions are covered. The book reads like a documentary (which it is). Terkel has included the most interesting aspects of each case study's working life, and ultimately you see why each continues to pursue their career in that chosen field- or at least what satisfaction they get from showing up everyday. It's a great book to pick up and spend 5 to 10 minutes or so reading about how someone else's working life has parallels to your own. The interviews were conducted mostly during the late 60's and early 70's but while it is slightly dated, even that fact makes for an interesting historical perspective.

Real life, real stories, 13 Feb 2003
If you are the sort of person that ends up chatting to the bloke or woman next to them at Railway Stations then this is the book for you. Terkels basically interviewed people over a number of years about their jobs and how they feel about them. If that sounds boring then just keep your head in another book next time you are sat on a train - I found it a fascinating read.

Great Book, 26 Feb 1999
I read this book 30 years ago. It has probably kept me unemployed for most of that time. Warning if you read this book you may quit your job.

Fascinating look at what we do with the bulk of our time, 08 Apr 1998
Working profiles the working lives of scores of Americans. From prostitute to chief executive, coal mine worker to major league ballplayer- a myriad of professions are covered. The book reads like a documentary (which it is). Terkel has included the most interesting aspects of each case study's working life, and ultimately you see why each continues to pursue their career in that chosen field- or at least what satisfaction they get from showing up everyday. It's a great book to pick up and spend 5 to 10 minutes or so reading about how someone else's working life has parallels to your own. The interviews were conducted mostly during the late 60's and early 70's but while it is slightly dated, even that fact makes for an interesting historical perspective.

Not for a practitioner, 25 Jul 2008
There are a few neat ideas here. However, any practitioner will immediately recognise the central theme; the iterative nature of problem definition and solution design and then implementation - 'reflection in action'. I consider 300+ pages largely dedicated to this iterative process as superfluous, indulgent even. It did not articulate anything 'new' nor anything that I have not articulated myself within my brief tenure as practitioner. The repetition within the cases descriptions is tedious. Everything is explained in infinitessimal nuance and several perspectives (indulgent). The book would be worthwhile at 80-100 pages and I would say that parts of the conclusion is worthwhile. Maybe this book is really for educators or philosophers rather than practitionsers (you decide).
The expected benefit to this reader is that the authors articulation may provoke thought or insight into ones own mechanisms or behaviour. This book rarely did that.
I would have liked to read more detail models for analysis into the self-reinforcing Model I behaviour that was very briefly treated and was my main motivation for reading.
Read Theory in Practice by Argyris and Schon instead of this book. A lot of the concepts are very similar to this previous book.
MBAs could head directly to Overcoming Organizational Defences by Argyris.

The Reflective Practitioner, 19 May 2004
This is the first book on reflexive practice that I have read and it seemed to cover the topic comprehensivly. I had heard of Donald Schon as the Father of Reflection-in-action. Unfortunately it was not a particularly easy read; although some effort was made to include anecdotes, the text could be more fluent. I was really hoping for something that painted a warm, detailed and informative picture rather than a more text book type of approach.

Education for all professionals on intuitive insight, 10 Jun 2000
Schon provides information on a subject that many practitioners are aware of but that few know how to put into words; intuition, what it is, and its regular use in daily professional practice. He gives voice to the practical aspects of intuitive practice and reflection in action that professionals from all genres utilize.

A must read for self-aware practitioners, 23 Aug 1998
In this book, Schon gives us a language for understanding professional practice. Because the sum of what a professional knows is greater than the sum of what he is aware he knows -- let alone the totality of what he can articulate -- there is a hidden world of practitioner competence. I found Schon to be a little repetitive and his examples difficult to fully conceptualize. However, his discussion of the Technical Rationality model and his vignettes of five professions provide a framework which may be applied to the practice of any profession. I believe that readers of this book can enhance their self-awareness as professionals and artists.

Real life, real stories, 13 Feb 2003
If you are the sort of person that ends up chatting to the bloke or woman next to them at Railway Stations then this is the book for you. Terkels basically interviewed people over a number of years about their jobs and how they feel about them. If that sounds boring then just keep your head in another book next time you are sat on a train - I found it a fascinating read.

Great Book, 26 Feb 1999
I read this book 30 years ago. It has probably kept me unemployed for most of that time. Warning if you read this book you may quit your job.

Fascinating look at what we do with the bulk of our time, 08 Apr 1998
Working profiles the working lives of scores of Americans. From prostitute to chief executive, coal mine worker to major league ballplayer- a myriad of professions are covered. The book reads like a documentary (which it is). Terkel has included the most interesting aspects of each case study's working life, and ultimately you see why each continues to pursue their career in that chosen field- or at least what satisfaction they get from showing up everyday. It's a great book to pick up and spend 5 to 10 minutes or so reading about how someone else's working life has parallels to your own. The interviews were conducted mostly during the late 60's and early 70's but while it is slightly dated, even that fact makes for an interesting historical perspective.

Not for a practitioner, 25 Jul 2008
There are a few neat ideas here. However, any practitioner will immediately recognise the central theme; the iterative nature of problem definition and solution design and then implementation - 'reflection in action'. I consider 300+ pages largely dedicated to this iterative process as superfluous, indulgent even. It did not articulate anything 'new' nor anything that I have not articulated myself within my brief tenure as practitioner. The repetition within the cases descriptions is tedious. Everything is explained in infinitessimal nuance and several perspectives (indulgent). The book would be worthwhile at 80-100 pages and I would say that parts of the conclusion is worthwhile. Maybe this book is really for educators or philosophers rather than practitionsers (you decide).
The expected benefit to this reader is that the authors articulation may provoke thought or insight into ones own mechanisms or behaviour. This book rarely did that.
I would have liked to read more detail models for analysis into the self-reinforcing Model I behaviour that was very briefly treated and was my main motivation for reading.
Read Theory in Practice by Argyris and Schon instead of this book. A lot of the concepts are very similar to this previous book.
MBAs could head directly to Overcoming Organizational Defences by Argyris.

The Reflective Practitioner, 19 May 2004
This is the first book on reflexive practice that I have read and it seemed to cover the topic comprehensivly. I had heard of Donald Schon as the Father of Reflection-in-action. Unfortunately it was not a particularly easy read; although some effort was made to include anecdotes, the text could be more fluent. I was really hoping for something that painted a warm, detailed and informative picture rather than a more text book type of approach.

Education for all professionals on intuitive insight, 10 Jun 2000
Schon provides information on a subject that many practitioners are aware of but that few know how to put into words; intuition, what it is, and its regular use in daily professional practice. He gives voice to the practical aspects of intuitive practice and reflection in action that professionals from all genres utilize.

A must read for self-aware practitioners, 23 Aug 1998
In this book, Schon gives us a language for understanding professional practice. Because the sum of what a professional knows is greater than the sum of what he is aware he knows -- let alone the totality of what he can articulate -- there is a hidden world of practitioner competence. I found Schon to be a little repetitive and his examples difficult to fully conceptualize. However, his discussion of the Technical Rationality model and his vignettes of five professions provide a framework which may be applied to the practice of any profession. I believe that readers of this book can enhance their self-awareness as professionals and artists.

some gems hidden in amongst the wheat husks, 13 Dec 2001
Smith is much under-estimated both amongst philosophers of money (economists) and philosophers of social life (moralists).

And it is true, as the reader from Melbourne says, that the book requires a great deal of dedication in places. At times Smith repeats the same point three, four even five times in short succession, always in the same carefuyl but ponderous prose. yet elsewhere, surprisingly, there are flashes of wit and humanity, alongside the great methodical reasoning and argument that make a philosophical work powerful.

Prosperity or poverty. Smith vs Marx, 26 Nov 2001
Adam Smith like Marx sees changes in the economic system as a logical, inevitable sequence of events. For example the power of the landed aristocracy declined as a consequence of the increasing importance of the towns. Good government was a result of this decline as people that had worked on the estates in conditions close to slavery moved to cities where they had considerable freedom. The difference between Marx and Smith is that Smith considered all of these changes leading to steady improvements whereas Marx considered the results of capitalism and industrialisation and urbanisation disastrous. Marx lived about one hundred years later than Smith. The system had not produced wealth for all as Smith foresaw. Smith believed that if governments would refrain from interfering in the economy prosperity would increase for all. Marx considered that a revolution whereby the capitalist class would be eliminated and private property is abolished a necessary consequence of the exploitation of the workers. Smith believed the opposite in that private property was the main driving force for progress. Their analysis of the historical development looking at it now shows many serious mistakes. However many more of the ideas of Adam Smith are still valid in hindsight than those of Marx. Somewhat surprising both being persons with interest in morality do not ascribe any importance to that subject. Both are imprisoned by the concept that "mechanical" or systemic changes in society can explain changes in the economic system. Many economists to day still fall in the same trap. They do not believe that moral standards can play an important role in the development of economic system. They therefore typically reject new developments such as "socially responsible investing ". Like "Capital" of Marx, the "Wealth of Nations" presents many interesting facts about for example the near slavery conditions in the large agricultural estates throughout Europe. This information is a good antidote to the romantics that believe conditions in the countryside in the past were very pleasant. The Wealth of Nations is lucidly written and shows quite clearly the dependence of wealthy creation on essential but minimal government regulation

Invisible hand concept missing, 24 Apr 2001
I missed clear implications of today's relevance of the "invisible hand" concept. Otherwise the book is still a classical macroeconomic must.

Real life, real stories, 13 Feb 2003
If you are the sort of person that ends up chatting to the bloke or woman next to them at Railway Stations then this is the book for you. Terkels basically interviewed people over a number of years about their jobs and how they feel about them. If that sounds boring then just keep your head in another book next time you are sat on a train - I found it a fascinating read.

Great Book, 26 Feb 1999
I read this book 30 years ago. It has probably kept me unemployed for most of that time. Warning if you read this book you may quit your job.

Fascinating look at what we do with the bulk of our time, 08 Apr 1998
Working profiles the working lives of scores of Americans. From prostitute to chief executive, coal mine worker to major league ballplayer- a myriad of professions are covered. The book reads like a documentary (which it is). Terkel has included the most interesting aspects of each case study's working life, and ultimately you see why each continues to pursue their career in that chosen field- or at least what satisfaction they get from showing up everyday. It's a great book to pick up and spend 5 to 10 minutes or so reading about how someone else's working life has parallels to your own. The interviews were conducted mostly during the late 60's and early 70's but while it is slightly dated, even that fact makes for an interesting historical perspective.

Not for a practitioner, 25 Jul 2008
There are a few neat ideas here. However, any practitioner will immediately recognise the central theme; the iterative nature of problem definition and solution design and then implementation - 'reflection in action'. I consider 300+ pages largely dedicated to this iterative process as superfluous, indulgent even. It did not articulate anything 'new' nor anything that I have not articulated myself within my brief tenure as practitioner. The repetition within the cases descriptions is tedious. Everything is explained in infinitessimal nuance and several perspectives (indulgent). The book would be worthwhile at 80-100 pages and I would say that parts of the conclusion is worthwhile. Maybe this book is really for educators or philosophers rather than practitionsers (you decide).
The expected benefit to this reader is that the authors articulation may provoke thought or insight into ones own mechanisms or behaviour. This book rarely did that.
I would have liked to read more detail models for analysis into the self-reinforcing Model I behaviour that was very briefly treated and was my main motivation for reading.
Read Theory in Practice by Argyris and Schon instead of this book. A lot of the concepts are very similar to this previous book.
MBAs could head directly to Overcoming Organizational Defences by Argyris.

The Reflective Practitioner, 19 May 2004
This is the first book on reflexive practice that I have read and it seemed to cover the topic comprehensivly. I had heard of Donald Schon as the Father of Reflection-in-action. Unfortunately it was not a particularly easy read; although some effort was made to include anecdotes, the text could be more fluent. I was really hoping for something that painted a warm, detailed and informative picture rather than a more text book type of approach.

Education for all professionals on intuitive insight, 10 Jun 2000
Schon provides information on a subject that many practitioners are aware of but that few know how to put into words; intuition, what it is, and its regular use in daily professional practice. He gives voice to the practical aspects of intuitive practice and reflection in action that professionals from all genres utilize.

A must read for self-aware practitioners, 23 Aug 1998
In this book, Schon gives us a language for understanding professional practice. Because the sum of what a professional knows is greater than the sum of what he is aware he knows -- let alone the totality of what he can articulate -- there is a hidden world of practitioner competence. I found Schon to be a little repetitive and his examples difficult to fully conceptualize. However, his discussion of the Technical Rationality model and his vignettes of five professions provide a framework which may be applied to the practice of any profession. I believe that readers of this book can enhance their self-awareness as professionals and artists.

some gems hidden in amongst the wheat husks, 13 Dec 2001
Smith is much under-estimated both amongst philosophers of money (economists) and philosophers of social life (moralists).

And it is true, as the reader from Melbourne says, that the book requires a great deal of dedication in places. At times Smith repeats the same point three, four even five times in short succession, always in the same carefuyl but ponderous prose. yet elsewhere, surprisingly, there are flashes of wit and humanity, alongside the great methodical reasoning and argument that make a philosophical work powerful.

Prosperity or poverty. Smith vs Marx, 26 Nov 2001
Adam Smith like Marx sees changes in the economic system as a logical, inevitable sequence of events. For example the power of the landed aristocracy declined as a consequence of the increasing importance of the towns. Good government was a result of this decline as people that had worked on the estates in conditions close to slavery moved to cities where they had considerable freedom. The difference between Marx and Smith is that Smith considered all of these changes leading to steady improvements whereas Marx considered the results of capitalism and industrialisation and urbanisation disastrous. Marx lived about one hundred years later than Smith. The system had not produced wealth for all as Smith foresaw. Smith believed that if governments would refrain from interfering in the economy prosperity would increase for all. Marx considered that a revolution whereby the capitalist class would be eliminated and private property is abolished a necessary consequence of the exploitation of the workers. Smith believed the opposite in that private property was the main driving force for progress. Their analysis of the historical development looking at it now shows many serious mistakes. However many more of the ideas of Adam Smith are still valid in hindsight than those of Marx. Somewhat surprising both being persons with interest in morality do not ascribe any importance to that subject. Both are imprisoned by the concept that "mechanical" or systemic changes in society can explain changes in the economic system. Many economists to day still fall in the same trap. They do not believe that moral standards can play an important role in the development of economic system. They therefore typically reject new developments such as "socially responsible investing ". Like "Capital" of Marx, the "Wealth of Nations" presents many interesting facts about for example the near slavery conditions in the large agricultural estates throughout Europe. This information is a good antidote to the romantics that believe conditions in the countryside in the past were very pleasant. The Wealth of Nations is lucidly written and shows quite clearly the dependence of wealthy creation on essential but minimal government regulation

Invisible hand concept missing, 24 Apr 2001
I missed clear implications of today's relevance of the "invisible hand" concept. Otherwise the book is still a classical macroeconomic must.

The truth at last!, 12 Oct 2008
Having grown up in a town in the heart of the Derbyshire coalfield, this book provided a fascinating insight into what really went on behind the Government orchestrated media campaign of the strike.

This book leaves us in no doubt that the powers that be are constantly at work in order to "protect us" from what they will tell us are threats, but really they are just removing what they perceive as a threat to their power. Shouldn't be such a surprise!

This book brings into sharp focus the main players in the campaign against the miners leaders and continues to engage the reader even when the events take complex turns. A fascinating read - well worth a look.

Blistering reading, 26 Jan 2008
I bought this revealing book primarily to improve my facts of an event which happened when I was about 10 years old. My only real memories of the stike were images on the TV of police and miners clashing at picket lines.

What this book reveals is that even the reports I watched on the TV were 'spliced' to show the miners attacking the police first.

This must read covers dodgy legal professionals, machiavellian MPs, even shadier journalists, moles, and the unaccountability of MI5 which makes worrying reading.

Whilst explaining the important events of the 'conflict' Milne's remarkable work leads us through a modern history lesson of the current pathetic state of British politics, the fact there is no real difference between New Labour and the Tories. Unfortunatley the miners strike helped many different organisations to exorcise the Right's nemesis, powerful trade unions and has taken away the mouthpiece of the working man and woman.

The style of writing is top class and facts are presented in an easily digestible fashion.



Not as described., 09 Jul 2007
This book should be called 'Robert Maxwell's secret war against the Miners'. The book shows convincingly that Maxwell actively tried to bring down the NUM, and also that the NUM Chief Executive was very incompetent. It does not live up to the cover claims that it will show how Thatcher used MI5 to infiltrate and subvert the miners' strike. The book speculates heavily about 'right wing elements' within MI5 but provides very little proof of 'dirty tricks' by MI5. The closest it comes is to report the opinion of a single anonymous source (even the author does not appear to know the source's identity).

If any reader wishes to discover that Robert Maxwell was not a pleasant man, buy this book. If the reader believes that the British establishment always tries to undermine the working class and wants the intellectual equivalent of comfort food, they should buy this book. If the reader wishes to find out the role of Mrs Thatcher's government and is prepared to critically analyse any evidence presented, this book will be of limited interest.

The "real" enemy within., 30 Aug 2004
When newspapers pronounce the guilt of a high profile figure, they splash the story across the front-page. When it later transpires that the story is false, they may occasionally print a retraction or correction - but they usually "stick it inside somewhere" at the bottom of a page.

This excellent book provides a thorough account of the real truth behind the smear campaign of the early 1990's directed against the National Union of Miners and Arthur Scargill in particular. A campaign with one goal, but many players - the media, the Tory government and the security services - the objective of which was to follow through Margaret Thatcher's aim of ensuring the coal miners (and unions in general) would never again be in a position where they might hold the country to ransom, or bring down a government.

Seumas Milne's updated and exhaustive work exposes the truth, once and for all, about a campaign that ultimately failed because it was based on a foundation of lies and misinformation.

Milne only touches on the strike itself, and twenty years on there is a real need for a similarly exhaustive study of the 84-85 miners strike to accompany this book (hopefully written by an correspondingly impartial observer), so that students and historians can in the future, fully understand the lasting significance of these events.

The book itself in extremely well written and makes easy reading. If I have one criticism, it would be regarding Milne's explanation of the truth about the "Libyan money". The point is clearly made quite early on, but reiterated and re-explained too often afterwards.

Forget Michael Moore's rants about the corruption and lies in the US: read this book and discover some home truths about those that we entrust with our money, our lives and our security in this country.

Real life, real stories, 13 Feb 2003
If you are the sort of person that ends up chatting to the bloke or woman next to them at Railway Stations then this is the book for you. Terkels basically interviewed people over a number of years about their jobs and how they feel about them. If that sounds boring then just keep your head in another book next time you are sat on a train - I found it a fascinating read.

Great Book, 26 Feb 1999
I read this book 30 years ago. It has probably kept me unemployed for most of that time. Warning if you read this book you may quit your job.

Fascinating look at what we do with the bulk of our time, 08 Apr 1998
Working profiles the working lives of scores of Americans. From prostitute to chief executive, coal mine worker to major league ballplayer- a myriad of professions are covered. The book reads like a documentary (which it is). Terkel has included the most interesting aspects of each case study's working life, and ultimately you see why each continues to pursue their career in that chosen field- or at least what satisfaction they get from showing up everyday. It's a great book to pick up and spend 5 to 10 minutes or so reading about how someone else's working life has parallels to your own. The interviews were conducted mostly during the late 60's and early 70's but while it is slightly dated, even that fact makes for an interesting historical perspective.

Not for a practitioner, 25 Jul 2008
There are a few neat ideas here. However, any practitioner will immediately recognise the central theme; the iterative nature of problem definition and solution design and then implementation - 'reflection in action'. I consider 300+ pages largely dedicated to this iterative process as superfluous, indulgent even. It did not articulate anything 'new' nor anything that I have not articulated myself within my brief tenure as practitioner. The repetition within the cases descriptions is tedious. Everything is explained in infinitessimal nuance and several perspectives (indulgent). The book would be worthwhile at 80-100 pages and I would say that parts of the conclusion is worthwhile. Maybe this book is really for educators or philosophers rather than practitionsers (you decide).
The expected benefit to this reader is that the authors articulation may provoke thought or insight into ones own mechanisms or behaviour. This book rarely did that.
I would have liked to read more detail models for analysis into the self-reinforcing Model I behaviour that was very briefly treated and was my main motivation for reading.
Read Theory in Practice by Argyris and Schon instead of this book. A lot of the concepts are very similar to this previous book.
MBAs could head directly to Overcoming Organizational Defences by Argyris.

The Reflective Practitioner, 19 May 2004
This is the first book on reflexive practice that I have read and it seemed to cover the topic comprehensivly. I had heard of Donald Schon as the Father of Reflection-in-action. Unfortunately it was not a particularly easy read; although some effort was made to include anecdotes, the text could be more fluent. I was really hoping for something that painted a warm, detailed and informative picture rather than a more text book type of approach.

Education for all professionals on intuitive insight, 10 Jun 2000
Schon provides information on a subject that many practitioners are aware of but that few know how to put into words; intuition, what it is, and its regular use in daily professional practice. He gives voice to the practical aspects of intuitive practice and reflection in action that professionals from all genres utilize.

A must read for self-aware practitioners, 23 Aug 1998
In this book, Schon gives us a language for understanding professional practice. Because the sum of what a professional knows is greater than the sum of what he is aware he knows -- let alone the totality of what he can articulate -- there is a hidden world of practitioner competence. I found Schon to be a little repetitive and his examples difficult to fully conceptualize. However, his discussion of the Technical Rationality model and his vignettes of five professions provide a framework which may be applied to the practice of any profession. I believe that readers of this book can enhance their self-awareness as professionals and artists.

some gems hidden in amongst the wheat husks, 13 Dec 2001
Smith is much under-estimated both amongst philosophers of money (economists) and philosophers of social life (moralists).

And it is true, as the reader from Melbourne says, that the book requires a great deal of dedication in places. At times Smith repeats the same point three, four even five times in short succession, always in the same carefuyl but ponderous prose. yet elsewhere, surprisingly, there are flashes of wit and humanity, alongside the great methodical reasoning and argument that make a philosophical work powerful.

Prosperity or poverty. Smith vs Marx, 26 Nov 2001
Adam Smith like Marx sees changes in the economic system as a logical, inevitable sequence of events. For example the power of the landed aristocracy declined as a consequence of the increasing importance of the towns. Good government was a result of this decline as people that had worked on the estates in conditions close to slavery moved to cities where they had considerable freedom. The difference between Marx and Smith is that Smith considered all of these changes leading to steady improvements whereas Marx considered the results of capitalism and industrialisation and urbanisation disastrous. Marx lived about one hundred years later than Smith. The system had not produced wealth for all as Smith foresaw. Smith believed that if governments would refrain from interfering in the economy prosperity would increase for all. Marx considered that a revolution whereby the capitalist class would be eliminated and private property is abolished a necessary consequence of the exploitation of the workers. Smith believed the opposite in that private property was the main driving force for progress. Their analysis of the historical development looking at it now shows many serious mistakes. However many more of the ideas of Adam Smith are still valid in hindsight than those of Marx. Somewhat surprising both being persons with interest in morality do not ascribe any importance to that subject. Both are imprisoned by the concept that "mechanical" or systemic changes in society can explain changes in the economic system. Many economists to day still fall in the same trap. They do not believe that moral standards can play an important role in the development of economic system. They therefore typically reject new developments such as "socially responsible investing ". Like "Capital" of Marx, the "Wealth of Nations" presents many interesting facts about for example the near slavery conditions in the large agricultural estates throughout Europe. This information is a good antidote to the romantics that believe conditions in the countryside in the past were very pleasant. The Wealth of Nations is lucidly written and shows quite clearly the dependence of wealthy creation on essential but minimal government regulation

Invisible hand concept missing, 24 Apr 2001
I missed clear implications of today's relevance of the "invisible hand" concept. Otherwise the book is still a classical macroeconomic must.

The truth at last!, 12 Oct 2008
Having grown up in a town in the heart of the Derbyshire coalfield, this book provided a fascinating insight into what really went on behind the Government orchestrated media campaign of the strike.

This book leaves us in no doubt that the powers that be are constantly at work in order to "protect us" from what they will tell us are threats, but really they are just removing what they perceive as a threat to their power. Shouldn't be such a surprise!

This book brings into sharp focus the main players in the campaign against the miners leaders and continues to engage the reader even when the events take complex turns. A fascinating read - well worth a look.

Blistering reading, 26 Jan 2008
I bought this revealing book primarily to improve my facts of an event which happened when I was about 10 years old. My only real memories of the stike were images on the TV of police and miners clashing at picket lines.

What this book reveals is that even the reports I watched on the TV were 'spliced' to show the miners attacking the police first.

This must read covers dodgy legal professionals, machiavellian MPs, even shadier journalists, moles, and the unaccountability of MI5 which makes worrying reading.

Whilst explaining the important events of the 'conflict' Milne's remarkable work leads us through a modern history lesson of the current pathetic state of British politics, the fact there is no real difference between New Labour and the Tories. Unfortunatley the miners strike helped many different organisations to exorcise the Right's nemesis, powerful trade unions and has taken away the mouthpiece of the working man and woman.

The style of writing is top class and facts are presented in an easily digestible fashion.



Not as described., 09 Jul 2007
This book should be called 'Robert Maxwell's secret war against the Miners'. The book shows convincingly that Maxwell actively tried to bring down the NUM, and also that the NUM Chief Executive was very incompetent. It does not live up to the cover claims that it will show how Thatcher used MI5 to infiltrate and subvert the miners' strike. The book speculates heavily about 'right wing elements' within MI5 but provides very little proof of 'dirty tricks' by MI5. The closest it comes is to report the opinion of a single anonymous source (even the author does not appear to know the source's identity).

If any reader wishes to discover that Robert Maxwell was not a pleasant man, buy this book. If the reader believes that the British establishment always tries to undermine the working class and wants the intellectual equivalent of comfort food, they should buy this book. If the reader wishes to find out the role of Mrs Thatcher's government and is prepared to critically analyse any evidence presented, this book will be of limited interest.

The "real" enemy within., 30 Aug 2004
When newspapers pronounce the guilt of a high profile figure, they splash the story across the front-page. When it later transpires that the story is false, they may occasionally print a retraction or correction - but they usually "stick it inside somewhere" at the bottom of a page.

This excellent book provides a thorough account of the real truth behind the smear campaign of the early 1990's directed against the National Union of Miners and Arthur Scargill in particular. A campaign with one goal, but many players - the media, the Tory government and the security services - the objective of which was to follow through Margaret Thatcher's aim of ensuring the coal miners (and unions in general) would never again be in a position where they might hold the country to ransom, or bring down a government.

Seumas Milne's updated and exhaustive work exposes the truth, once and for all, about a campaign that ultimately failed because it was based on a foundation of lies and misinformation.

Milne only touches on the strike itself, and twenty years on there is a real need for a similarly exhaustive study of the 84-85 miners strike to accompany this book (hopefully written by an correspondingly impartial observer), so that students and historians can in the future, fully understand the lasting significance of these events.

The book itself in extremely well written and makes easy reading. If I have one criticism, it would be regarding Milne's explanation of the truth about the "Libyan money". The point is clearly made quite early on, but reiterated and re-explained too often afterwards.

Forget Michael Moore's rants about the corruption and lies in the US: read this book and discover some home truths about those that we entrust with our money, our lives and our security in this country.

Not working really sounds like a great joy, 10 Jul 2008
I love this book. You can pick it up and read any chapter and feel energised. I found it cathartic and uplifting and would recommend it to anyone whether about to retire, or merely wanting to step down the stress ladder and get life's priorities right.

There are many books about down-sizing ones life but this is well written, humourous, and great fun.

Amusing, wise, easy to dip into informative book., 13 Jun 2002
For anyone driven to work hard due to overconditioning in the work ethic this book is a must. The Chapter "Life Of O'Rielly" emphasises the stresses of modern life and how, with a different atttitude these can be avoided. For those about to retire this book is a must, however it is a good read for anyone in work who wants to alter their lifestyle. Zalinsky writes infomatively on many subjects, from using one's brain creatively to avoiding negative people. This book does not advocate idleness instead it gives pointers to enjoying life. The author discovered the joy of not working when he lost his job. After a period of despondancy, he discovered that a more liesurly pace of life has much to offer and a lot of money is not always necessary.

Average at best, 10 Aug 1999
There are a lot of great books that deal with creativity. This is not one of them. Average, at best, it might fit the bill is someone was looking for a superfluous treatment of creativity.

Big on inspiration, little on practical advice., 07 Jun 1999
This book would be much more effective if it gave practical advice like 'Your Money Or Your Life'. There is little advice on how you get from one financial situation to the other and assumes perfect health (no reliance on health insurance)and diverse talents (able to get money only as needed). If you are in less perfect health, definitely give this book to a younger, healthier person.

One of Top 3 books on business I've ever read, 28 Dec 1998
Even though the Joy of Not Working is technically not a business book, I'd lump it in that category nonetheless. I've read what seems like a gazillion books and I have to rate this little jewel as one of the three best business/lifestyle books I've ever read (the other two are Hawkins' Growing a Business and Lancaster's Secret Money Machine)--it's filled with wit and humor and tons of little tips. I've read it three times and Zelinski seems to add stuff between each reading. Enlighted guy!

Real life, real stories, 13 Feb 2003
If you are the sort of person that ends up chatting to the bloke or woman next to them at Railway Stations then this is the book for you. Terkels basically interviewed people over a number of years about their jobs and how they feel about them. If that sounds boring then just keep your head in another book next time you are sat on a train - I found it a fascinating read.

Great Book, 26 Feb 1999
I read this book 30 years ago. It has probably kept me unemployed for most of that time. Warning if you read this book you may quit your job.

Fascinating look at what we do with the bulk of our time, 08 Apr 1998
Working profiles the working lives of scores of Americans. From prostitute to chief executive, coal mine worker to major league ballplayer- a myriad of professions are covered. The book reads like a documentary (which it is). Terkel has included the most interesting aspects of each case study's working life, and ultimately you see why each continues to pursue their career in that chosen field- or at least what satisfaction they get from showing up everyday. It's a great book to pick up and spend 5 to 10 minutes or so reading about how someone else's working life has parallels to your own. The interviews were conducted mostly during the late 60's and early 70's but while it is slightly dated, even that fact makes for an interesting historical perspective.

Not for a practitioner, 25 Jul 2008
There are a few neat ideas here. However, any practitioner will immediately recognise the central theme; the iterative nature of problem definition and solution design and then implementation - 'reflection in action'. I consider 300+ pages largely dedicated to this iterative process as superfluous, indulgent even. It did not articulate anything 'new' nor anything that I have not articulated myself within my brief tenure as practitioner. The repetition within the cases descriptions is tedious. Everything is explained in infinitessimal nuance and several perspectives (indulgent). The book would be worthwhile at 80-100 pages and I would say that parts of the conclusion is worthwhile. Maybe this book is really for educators or philosophers rather than practitionsers (you decide).
The expected benefit to this reader is that the authors articulation may provoke thought or insight into ones own mechanisms or behaviour. This book rarely did that.
I would have liked to read more detail models for analysis into the self-reinforcing Model I behaviour that was very briefly treated and was my main motivation for reading.
Read Theory in Practice by Argyris and Schon instead of this book. A lot of the concepts are very similar to this previous book.
MBAs could head directly to Overcoming Organizational Defences by Argyris.

The Reflective Practitioner, 19 May 2004
This is the first book on reflexive practice that I have read and it seemed to cover the topic comprehensivly. I had heard of Donald Schon as the Father of Reflection-in-action. Unfortunately it was not a particularly easy read; although some effort was made to include anecdotes, the text could be more fluent. I was really hoping for something that painted a warm, detailed and informative picture rather than a more text book type of approach.

Education for all professionals on intuitive insight, 10 Jun 2000
Schon provides information on a subject that many practitioners are aware of but that few know how to put into words; intuition, what it is, and its regular use in daily professional practice. He gives voice to the practical aspects of intuitive practice and reflection in action that professionals from all genres utilize.

A must read for self-aware practitioners, 23 Aug 1998
In this book, Schon gives us a language for understanding professional practice. Because the sum of what a professional knows is greater than the sum of what he is aware he knows -- let alone the totality of what he can articulate -- there is a hidden world of practitioner competence. I found Schon to be a little repetitive and his examples difficult to fully conceptualize. However, his discussion of the Technical Rationality model and his vignettes of five professions provide a framework which may be applied to the practice of any profession. I believe that readers of this book can enhance their self-awareness as professionals and artists.

some gems hidden in amongst the wheat husks, 13 Dec 2001
Smith is much under-estimated both amongst philosophers of money (economists) and philosophers of social life (moralists).

And it is true, as the reader from Melbourne says, that the book requires a great deal of dedication in places. At times Smith repeats the same point three, four even five times in short succession, always in the same carefuyl but ponderous prose. yet elsewhere, surprisingly, there are flashes of wit and humanity, alongside the great methodical reasoning and argument that make a philosophical work powerful.

Prosperity or poverty. Smith vs Marx, 26 Nov 2001
Adam Smith like Marx sees changes in the economic system as a logical, inevitable sequence of events. For example the power of the landed aristocracy declined as a consequence of the increasing importance of the towns. Good government was a result of this decline as people that had worked on the estates in conditions close to slavery moved to cities where they had considerable freedom. The difference between Marx and Smith is that Smith considered all of these changes leading to steady improvements whereas Marx considered the results of capitalism and industrialisation and urbanisation disastrous. Marx lived about one hundred years later than Smith. The system had not produced wealth for all as Smith foresaw. Smith believed that if governments would refrain from interfering in the economy prosperity would increase for all. Marx considered that a revolution whereby the capitalist class would be eliminated and private property is abolished a necessary consequence of the exploitation of the workers. Smith believed the opposite in that private property was the main driving force for progress. Their analysis of the historical development looking at it now shows many serious mistakes. However many more of the ideas of Adam Smith are still valid in hindsight than those of Marx. Somewhat surprising both being persons with interest in morality do not ascribe any importance to that subject. Both are imprisoned by the concept that "mechanical" or systemic changes in society can explain changes in the economic system. Many economists to day still fall in the same trap. They do not believe that moral standards can play an important role in the development of economic system. They therefore typically reject new developments such as "socially responsible investing ". Like "Capital" of Marx, the "Wealth of Nations" presents many interesting facts about for example the near slavery conditions in the large agricultural estates throughout Europe. This information is a good antidote to the romantics that believe conditions in the countryside in the past were very pleasant. The Wealth of Nations is lucidly written and shows quite clearly the dependence of wealthy creation on essential but minimal government regulation

Invisible hand concept missing, 24 Apr 2001
I missed clear implications of today's relevance of the "invisible hand" concept. Otherwise the book is still a classical macroeconomic must.

The truth at last!, 12 Oct 2008
Having grown up in a town in the heart of the Derbyshire coalfield, this book provided a fascinating insight into what really went on behind the Government orchestrated media campaign of the strike.

This book leaves us in no doubt that the powers that be are constantly at work in order to "protect us" from what they will tell us are threats, but really they are just removing what they perceive as a threat to their power. Shouldn't be such a surprise!

This book brings into sharp focus the main players in the campaign against the miners leaders and continues to engage the reader even when the events take complex turns. A fascinating read - well worth a look.

Blistering reading, 26 Jan 2008
I bought this revealing book primarily to improve my facts of an event which happened when I was about 10 years old. My only real memories of the stike were images on the TV of police and miners clashing at picket lines.

What this book reveals is that even the reports I watched on the TV were 'spliced' to show the miners attacking the police first.

This must read covers dodgy legal professionals, machiavellian MPs, even shadier journalists, moles, and the unaccountability of MI5 which makes worrying reading.

Whilst explaining the important events of the 'conflict' Milne's remarkable work leads us through a modern history lesson of the current pathetic state of British politics, the fact there is no real difference between New Labour and the Tories. Unfortunatley the miners strike helped many different organisations to exorcise the Right's nemesis, powerful trade unions and has taken away the mouthpiece of the working man and woman.

The style of writing is top class and facts are presented in an easily digestible fashion.



Not as described., 09 Jul 2007
This book should be called 'Robert Maxwell's secret war against the Miners'. The book shows convincingly that Maxwell actively tried to bring down the NUM, and also that the NUM Chief Executive was very incompetent. It does not live up to the cover claims that it will show how Thatcher used MI5 to infiltrate and subvert the miners' strike. The book speculates heavily about 'right wing elements' within MI5 but provides very little proof of 'dirty tricks' by MI5. The closest it comes is to report the opinion of a single anonymous source (even the author does not appear to know the source's identity).

If any reader wishes to discover that Robert Maxwell was not a pleasant man, buy this book. If the reader believes that the British establishment always tries to undermine the working class and wants the intellectual equivalent of comfort food, they should buy this book. If the reader wishes to find out the role of Mrs Thatcher's government and is prepared to critically analyse any evidence presented, this book will be of limited interest.

The "real" enemy within., 30 Aug 2004
When newspapers pronounce the guilt of a high profile figure, they splash the story across the front-page. When it later transpires that the story is false, they may occasionally print a retraction or correction - but they usually "stick it inside somewhere" at the bottom of a page.

This excellent book provides a thorough account of the real truth behind the smear campaign of the early 1990's directed against the National Union of Miners and Arthur Scargill in particular. A campaign with one goal, but many players - the media, the Tory government and the security services - the objective of which was to follow through Margaret Thatcher's aim of ensuring the coal miners (and unions in general) would never again be in a position where they might hold the country to ransom, or bring down a government.

Seumas Milne's updated and exhaustive work exposes the truth, once and for all, about a campaign that ultimately failed because it was based on a foundation of lies and misinformation.

Milne only touches on the strike itself, and twenty years on there is a real need for a similarly exhaustive study of the 84-85 miners strike to accompany this book (hopefully written by an correspondingly impartial observer), so that students and historians can in the future, fully understand the lasting significance of these events.

The book itself in extremely well written and makes easy reading. If I have one criticism, it would be regarding Milne's explanation of the truth about the "Libyan money". The point is clearly made quite early on, but reiterated and re-explained too often afterwards.

Forget Michael Moore's rants about the corruption and lies in the US: read this book and discover some home truths about those that we entrust with our money, our lives and our security in this country.

Not working really sounds like a great joy, 10 Jul 2008
I love this book. You can pick it up and read any chapter and feel energised. I found it cathartic and uplifting and would recommend it to anyone whether about to retire, or merely wanting to step down the stress ladder and get life's priorities right.

There are many books about down-sizing ones life but this is well written, humourous, and great fun.

Amusing, wise, easy to dip into informative book., 13 Jun 2002
For anyone driven to work hard due to overconditioning in the work ethic this book is a must. The Chapter "Life Of O'Rielly" emphasises the stresses of modern life and how, with a different atttitude these can be avoided. For those about to retire this book is a must, however it is a good read for anyone in work who wants to alter their lifestyle. Zalinsky writes infomatively on many subjects, from using one's brain creatively to avoiding negative people. This book does not advocate idleness instead it gives pointers to enjoying life. The author discovered the joy of not working when he lost his job. After a period of despondancy, he discovered that a more liesurly pace of life has much to offer and a lot of money is not always necessary.

Average at best, 10 Aug 1999
There are a lot of great books that deal with creativity. This is not one of them. Average, at best, it might fit the bill is someone was looking for a superfluous treatment of creativity.

Big on inspiration, little on practical advice., 07 Jun 1999
This book would be much more effective if it gave practical advice like 'Your Money Or Your Life'. There is little advice on how you get from one financial situation to the other and assumes perfect health (no reliance on health insurance)and diverse talents (able to get money only as needed). If you are in less perfect health, definitely give this book to a younger, healthier person.

One of Top 3 books on business I've ever read, 28 Dec 1998
Even though the Joy of Not Working is technically not a business book, I'd lump it in that category nonetheless. I've read what seems like a gazillion books and I have to rate this little jewel as one of the three best business/lifestyle books I've ever read (the other two are Hawkins' Growing a Business and Lancaster's Secret Money Machine)--it's filled with wit and humor and tons of little tips. I've read it three times and Zelinski seems to add stuff between each reading. Enlighted guy!

The foundations of urban theory, 04 Aug 2005
In The Condition of the Working Class in England Engels immerses himself into the hitherto hidden world of the working class in Victorian Manchester. In doing this Engels who was in Manchester to look after the Engel's families manufacturing interests lays the foundations of modern urban theory. Engels work attempts to use vivid descriptions of sights and smells in a brave attempt to stir the middle class redership from their denials and force them to acknowledge the existance of such poor conditions for their fellow man.

Engels language however, betrays him as adopting a similar style to a colonial explorer of the same era 'discovering' what had only been hidden from the eyes of the middle class European male. Engels also pours scorn on some of his subjects and fails to acknowledge the assistance which he recieved in being guided through the slums by his Irish mistress.

Engels conclusions are therefore mediated through these personal flaws of his and are a matter of much, great debate and opinion however, the inmportance of his work in the canon of urban studies cannot be underestimated and as well as being truly groundbreaking allows us to see the lens through which the city first became understood and conceptualised.

Fascinating, impassioned reporting, 13 Mar 2004
This book is interesting as an historical peice of journalism and scientific investigation. It is equally interesting because it provides such a fascinating insight into the lives of ordinary, working class people living in and around Manchester, Stockport and Stoke in the mid-Nineteenth Century.
It's often cited in modern discussions of complex systems as the book also gives an idea of the interactions between social, political and economic factors and their results in the real world. The origins of these much more modern ideas, how social and economic conditions interact, taking the holistic view etc. are all visible here.
It gives some ideas of what Engels must have been like and his compassion for the suffering of the people described is clear throughout the book.

Truly shocking and enlightening, 22 Jun 2003
Engels paints a truly dreadful picture of poverty, disease and the suffering of the working class in Northern England at the time of the Industrial Revoultion and the rise of captialism.
As Engels was sent to England by his father to look at factories, his attention was drawn to the absoultle poverty of the workers, their terrible working conditions and the brutality of captialism.
One of the most shocking things personally was the deprivation he witnessed in my own home town and the surrounding towns and Manchester.
The book is written with great compassion and ideas for change.
Engels believed that a working class uprising would take place in Britan. Engels may have got it wrong but he highlighted theplight of the poor.
The book is truly powerful even in the 21st Century while poverty may not truly pervasive anymore due to the inception of the welfare state and trade unions but has only changed it's colours. This should be essential reading for all politicans!

Vivid description of the conditions of the working class !, 09 Oct 2002
Great description of the Great Unwashed, of the conditions in which the working class in England was forced to live - where the wages of man, woman and children were not sufficient to feed the family. The book describes the construction of English capitalism on the exploitation of the populations which are driven out of country as they cannot compete with mecanical weaving machines. The progressive concentrations is neighbourhoods, the raise on unemployment and the building of poorhouses to jail the poor and force them to work for insufficent food. It also shows the birth of the first protest movements. A very vivid description of the conditions of the working class in England by young Engels - not quite materialist yet - but impressive all the same.

A disturbing observation on the nature of capitalism, 10 Oct 2001
This was the first book written to describe the lives of the working people in Victorian Britain. It paints a shocking picture of poverty, exploitation and the utter despair of the working class as they work themselves slowly to death without any reward, in a society where those in power do everything they can to make as much profit from the workers while denying them the most basic principles of human rights and dignity.

I had always been aware that Victorian Britain was well known for the poverty of its masses, but nothing prepared me for the detailed, horrifying descriptions of living and working conditions, starvation, disease and a stagnant existence of poverty in which there was literally no way out of except suicide.

For all its justified power, I do feel that Engels does tend to drift from being a critical and detatched observer in favour of spectacular tirades championing the case of the working class. Though this is clearly understandable as a result of what he saw and experienced in the numerous cities of England and Scotland in the twenty-two months he spent in Britian for the material of the book.

The first book to give the working class a voice in a society which entirely suppressed it, and a damning study of the cruel and exploitative nature of capitalism, which proves to be as relevant now (with the imergance of globalisation) as it was when first written in 1844.

Real life, real stories, 13 Feb 2003
If you are the sort of person that ends up chatting to the bloke or woman next to them at Railway Stations then this is the book for you. Terkels basically interviewed people over a number of years about their jobs and how they feel about them. If that sounds boring then just keep your head in another book next time you are sat on a train - I found it a fascinating read.

Great Book, 26 Feb 1999
I read this book 30 years ago. It has probably kept me unemployed for most of that time. Warning if you read this book you may quit your job.

Fascinating look at what we do with the bulk of our time, 08 Apr 1998
Working profiles the working lives of scores of Americans. From prostitute to chief executive, coal mine worker to major league ballplayer- a myriad of professions are covered. The book reads like a documentary (which it is). Terkel has included the most interesting aspects of each case study's working life, and ultimately you see why each continues to pursue their career in that chosen field- or at least what satisfaction they get from showing up everyday. It's a great book to pick up and spend 5 to 10 minutes or so reading about how someone else's working life has parallels to your own. The interviews were conducted mostly during the late 60's and early 70's but while it is slightly dated, even that fact makes for an interesting historical perspective.

Not for a practitioner, 25 Jul 2008
There are a few neat ideas here. However, any practitioner will immediately recognise the central theme; the iterative nature of problem definition and solution design and then implementation - 'reflection in action'. I consider 300+ pages largely dedicated to this iterative process as superfluous, indulgent even. It did not articulate anything 'new' nor anything that I have not articulated myself within my brief tenure as practitioner. The repetition within the cases descriptions is tedious. Everything is explained in infinitessimal nuance and several perspectives (indulgent). The book would be worthwhile at 80-100 pages and I would say that parts of the conclusion is worthwhile. Maybe this book is really for educators or philosophers rather than practitionsers (you decide).
The expected benefit to this reader is that the authors articulation may provoke thought or insight into ones own mechanisms or behaviour. This book rarely did that.
I would have liked to read more detail models for analysis into the self-reinforcing Model I behaviour that was very briefly treated and was my main motivation for reading.
Read Theory in Practice by Argyris and Schon instead of this book. A lot of the concepts are very similar to this previous book.
MBAs could head directly to Overcoming Organizational Defences by Argyris.

The Reflective Practitioner, 19 May 2004
This is the first book on reflexive practice that I have read and it seemed to cover the topic comprehensivly. I had heard of Donald Schon as the Father of Reflection-in-action. Unfortunately it was not a particularly easy read; although some effort was made to include anecdotes, the text could be more fluent. I was really hoping for something that painted a warm, detailed and informative picture rather than a more text book type of approach.

Education for all professionals on intuitive insight, 10 Jun 2000
Schon provides information on a subject that many practitioners are aware of but that few know how to put into words; intuition, what it is, and its regular use in daily professional practice. He gives voice to the practical aspects of intuitive practice and reflection in action that professionals from all genres utilize.

A must read for self-aware practitioners, 23 Aug 1998
In this book, Schon gives us a language for understanding professional practice. Because the sum of what a professional knows is greater than the sum of what he is aware he knows -- let alone the totality of what he can articulate -- there is a hidden world of practitioner competence. I found Schon to be a little repetitive and his examples difficult to fully conceptualize. However, his discussion of the Technical Rationality model and his vignettes of five professions provide a framework which may be applied to the practice of any profession. I believe that readers of this book can enhance their self-awareness as professionals and artists.

some gems hidden in amongst the wheat husks, 13 Dec 2001
Smith is much under-estimated both amongst philosophers of money (economists) and philosophers of social life (moralists).

And it is true, as the reader from Melbourne says, that the book requires a great deal of dedication in places. At times Smith repeats the same point three, four even five times in short succession, always in the same carefuyl but ponderous prose. yet elsewhere, surprisingly, there are flashes of wit and humanity, alongside the great methodical reasoning and argument that make a philosophical work powerful.

Prosperity or poverty. Smith vs Marx, 26 Nov 2001
Adam Smith like Marx sees changes in the economic system as a logical, inevitable sequence of events. For example the power of the landed aristocracy declined as a consequence of the increasing importance of the towns. Good government was a result of this decline as people that had worked on the estates in conditions close to slavery moved to cities where they had considerable freedom. The difference between Marx and Smith is that Smith considered all of these changes leading to steady improvements whereas Marx considered the results of capitalism and industrialisation and urbanisation disastrous. Marx lived about one hundred years later than Smith. The system had not produced wealth for all as Smith foresaw. Smith believed that if governments would refrain from interfering in the economy prosperity would increase for all. Marx considered that a revolution whereby the capitalist class would be eliminated and private property is abolished a necessary consequence of the exploitation of the workers. Smith believed the opposite in that private property was the main driving force for progress. Their analysis of the historical development looking at it now shows many serious mistakes. However many more of the ideas of Adam Smith are still valid in hindsight than those of Marx. Somewhat surprising both being persons with interest in morality do not ascribe any importance to that subject. Both are imprisoned by the concept that "mechanical" or systemic changes in society can explain changes in the economic system. Many economists to day still fall in the same trap. They do not believe that moral standards can play an important role in the development of economic system. They therefore typically reject new developments such as "socially responsible investing ". Like "Capital" of Marx, the "Wealth of Nations" presents many interesting facts about for example the near slavery conditions in the large agricultural estates throughout Europe. This information is a good antidote to the romantics that believe conditions in the countryside in the past were very pleasant. The Wealth of Nations is lucidly written and shows quite clearly the dependence of wealthy creation on essential but minimal government regulation

Invisible hand concept missing, 24 Apr 2001
I missed clear implications of today's relevance of the "invisible hand" concept. Otherwise the book is still a classical macroeconomic must.

The truth at last!, 12 Oct 2008
Having grown up in a town in the heart of the Derbyshire coalfield, this book provided a fascinating insight into what really went on behind the Government orchestrated media campaign of the strike.

This book leaves us in no doubt that the powers that be are constantly at work in order to "protect us" from what they will tell us are threats, but really they are just removing what they perceive as a threat to their power. Shouldn't be such a surprise!

This book brings into sharp focus the main players in the campaign against the miners leaders and continues to engage the reader even when the events take complex turns. A fascinating read - well worth a look.

Blistering reading, 26 Jan 2008
I bought this revealing book primarily to improve my facts of an event which happened when I was about 10 years old. My only real memories of the stike were images on the TV of police and miners clashing at picket lines.

What this book reveals is that even the reports I watched on the TV were 'spliced' to show the miners attacking the police first.

This must read covers dodgy legal professionals, machiavellian MPs, even shadier journalists, moles, and the unaccountability of MI5 which makes worrying reading.

Whilst explaining the important events of the 'conflict' Milne's remarkable work leads us through a modern history lesson of the current pathetic state of British politics, the fact there is no real difference between New Labour and the Tories. Unfortunatley the miners strike helped many different organisations to exorcise the Right's nemesis, powerful trade unions and has taken away the mouthpiece of the working man and woman.

The style of writing is top class and facts are presented in an easily digestible fashion.



Not as described., 09 Jul 2007
This book should be called 'Robert Maxwell's secret war against the Miners'. The book shows convincingly that Maxwell actively tried to bring down the NUM, and also that the NUM Chief Executive was very incompetent. It does not live up to the cover claims that it will show how Thatcher used MI5 to infiltrate and subvert the miners' strike. The book speculates heavily about 'right wing elements' within MI5 but provides very little proof of 'dirty tricks' by MI5. The closest it comes is to report the opinion of a single anonymous source (even the author does not appear to know the source's identity).

If any reader wishes to discover that Robert Maxwell was not a pleasant man, buy this book. If the reader believes that the British establishment always tries to undermine the working class and wants the intellectual equivalent of comfort food, they should buy this book. If the reader wishes to find out the role of Mrs Thatcher's government and is prepared to critically analyse any evidence presented, this book will be of limited interest.

The "real" enemy within., 30 Aug 2004
When newspapers pronounce the guilt of a high profile figure, they splash the story across the front-page. When it later transpires that the story is false, they may occasionally print a retraction or correction - but they usually "stick it inside somewhere" at the bottom of a page.

This excellent book provides a thorough account of the real truth behind the smear campaign of the early 1990's directed against the National Union of Miners and Arthur Scargill in particular. A campaign with one goal, but many players - the media, the Tory government and the security services - the objective of which was to follow through Margaret Thatcher's aim of ensuring the coal miners (and unions in general) would never again be in a position where they might hold the country to ransom, or bring down a government.

Seumas Milne's updated and exhaustive work exposes the truth, once and for all, about a campaign that ultimately failed because it was based on a foundation of lies and misinformation.

Milne only touches on the strike itself, and twenty years on there is a real need for a similarly exhaustive study of the 84-85 miners strike to accompany this book (hopefully written by an correspondingly impartial observer), so that students and historians can in the future, fully understand the lasting significance of these events.

The book itself in extremely well written and makes easy reading. If I have one criticism, it would be regarding Milne's explanation of the truth about the "Libyan money". The point is clearly made quite early on, but reiterated and re-explained too often afterwards.

Forget Michael Moore's rants about the corruption and lies in the US: read this book and discover some home truths about those that we entrust with our money, our lives and our security in this country.

Not working really sounds like a great joy, 10 Jul 2008
I love this book. You can pick it up and read any chapter and feel energised. I found it cathartic and uplifting and would recommend it to anyone whether about to retire, or merely wanting to step down the stress ladder and get life's priorities right.

There are many books about down-sizing ones life but this is well written, humourous, and great fun.

Amusing, wise, easy to dip into informative book., 13 Jun 2002
For anyone driven to work hard due to overconditioning in the work ethic this book is a must. The Chapter "Life Of O'Rielly" emphasises the stresses of modern life and how, with a different atttitude these can be avoided. For those about to retire this book is a must, however it is a good read for anyone in work who wants to alter their lifestyle. Zalinsky writes infomatively on many subjects, from using one's brain creatively to avoiding negative people. This book does not advocate idleness instead it gives pointers to enjoying life. The author discovered the joy of not working when he lost his job. After a period of despondancy, he discovered that a more liesurly pace of life has much to offer and a lot of money is not always necessary.

Average at best, 10 Aug 1999
There are a lot of great books that deal with creativity. This is not one of them. Average, at best, it might fit the bill is someone was looking for a superfluous treatment of creativity.

Big on inspiration, little on practical advice., 07 Jun 1999
This book would be much more effective if it gave practical advice like 'Your Money Or Your Life'. There is little advice on how you get from one financial situation to the other and assumes perfect health (no reliance on health insurance)and diverse talents (able to get money only as needed). If you are in less perfect health, definitely give this book to a younger, healthier person.

One of Top 3 books on business I've ever read, 28 Dec 1998
Even though the Joy of Not Working is technically not a business book, I'd lump it in that category nonetheless. I've read what seems like a gazillion books and I have to rate this little jewel as one of the three best business/lifestyle books I've ever read (the other two are Hawkins' Growing a Business and Lancaster's Secret Money Machine)--it's filled with wit and humor and tons of little tips. I've read it three times and Zelinski seems to add stuff between each reading. Enlighted guy!

The foundations of urban theory, 04 Aug 2005
In The Condition of the Working Class in England Engels immerses himself into the hitherto hidden world of the working class in Victorian Manchester. In doing this Engels who was in Manchester to look after the Engel's families manufacturing interests lays the foundations of modern urban theory. Engels work attempts to use vivid descriptions of sights and smells in a brave attempt to stir the middle class redership from their denials and force them to acknowledge the existance of such poor conditions for their fellow man.

Engels language however, betrays him as adopting a similar style to a colonial explorer of the same era 'discovering' what had only been hidden from the eyes of the middle class European male. Engels also pours scorn on some of his subjects and fails to acknowledge the assistance which he recieved in being guided through the slums by his Irish mistress.

Engels conclusions are therefore mediated through these personal flaws of his and are a matter of much, great debate and opinion however, the inmportance of his work in the canon of urban studies cannot be underestimated and as well as being truly groundbreaking allows us to see the lens through which the city first became understood and conceptualised.

Fascinating, impassioned reporting, 13 Mar 2004
This book is interesting as an historical peice of journalism and scientific investigation. It is equally interesting because it provides such a fascinating insight into the lives of ordinary, working class people living in and around Manchester, Stockport and Stoke in the mid-Nineteenth Century.
It's often cited in modern discussions of complex systems as the book also gives an idea of the interactions between social, political and economic factors and their results in the real world. The origins of these much more modern ideas, how social and economic conditions interact, taking the holistic view etc. are all visible here.
It gives some ideas of what Engels must have been like and his compassion for the suffering of the people described is clear throughout the book.

Truly shocking and enlightening, 22 Jun 2003
Engels paints a truly dreadful picture of poverty, disease and the suffering of the working class in Northern England at the time of the Industrial Revoultion and the rise of captialism.
As Engels was sent to England by his father to look at factories, his attention was drawn to the absoultle poverty of the workers, their terrible working conditions and the brutality of captialism.
One of the most shocking things personally was the deprivation he witnessed in my own home town and the surrounding towns and Manchester.
The book is written with great compassion and ideas for change.
Engels believed that a working class uprising would take place in Britan. Engels may have got it wrong but he highlighted theplight of the poor.
The book is truly powerful even in the 21st Century while poverty may not truly pervasive anymore due to the inception of the welfare state and trade unions but has only changed it's colours. This should be essential reading for all politicans!

Vivid description of the conditions of the working class !, 09 Oct 2002
Great description of the Great Unwashed, of the conditions in which the working class in England was forced to live - where the wages of man, woman and children were not sufficient to feed the family. The book describes the construction of English capitalism on the exploitation of the populations which are driven out of country as they cannot compete with mecanical weaving machines. The progressive concentrations is neighbourhoods, the raise on unemployment and the building of poorhouses to jail the poor and force them to work for insufficent food. It also shows the birth of the first protest movements. A very vivid description of the conditions of the working class in England by young Engels - not quite materialist yet - but impressive all the same.

A disturbing observation on the nature of capitalism, 10 Oct 2001
This was the first book written to describe the lives of the working people in Victorian Britain. It paints a shocking picture of poverty, exploitation and the utter despair of the working class as they work themselves slowly to death without any reward, in a society where those in power do everything they can to make as much profit from the workers while denying them the most basic principles of human rights and dignity.

I had always been aware that Victorian Britain was well known for the poverty of its masses, but nothing prepared me for the detailed, horrifying descriptions of living and working conditions, starvation, disease and a stagnant existence of poverty in which there was literally no way out of except suicide.

For all its justified power, I do feel that Engels does tend to drift from being a critical and detatched observer in favour of spectacular tirades championing the case of the working class. Though this is clearly understandable as a result of what he saw and experienced in the numerous cities of England and Scotland in the twenty-two months he spent in Britian for the material of the book.

The first book to give the working class a voice in a society which entirely suppressed it, and a damning study of the cruel and exploitative nature of capitalism, which proves to be as relevant now (with the imergance of globalisation) as it was when first written in 1844.

Read this book!, 13 Nov 2008
An eye-opener. What kind of country do we live in- a shiny one of shopkeeps and suits and bureaucrats- a capitalist success that somehow runs without much in the way of labour? Or a country whose very bedrock is exploitation, that we all take advantage of?

I had previously thought that such exploitation was confined to western companies- our Nestles and Mars bars etc- going abroad for cheap slave labour- which is of course an abomination. Before reading this book I hadn't given a thought to the exploitative work that goes on just out of eyesight- in kitchens and industrial estates we drive past to get to our office jobs. It seems staggering after reading this- did I ever really believe that our food/clothes/electronics/*everything* just came from nowhere? I can't help but look at the country and New Labour differently- and I also can't help but feel that if there was a God, we'd have been Great Flooded by now.

Fantastically effective. I'd recommend to anyone, this isn't a preaching to the choir book for Marxists. It's for everyone- should be required reading in school! All you wanting legitimate reasons to hate New Labour- right here (not that the Tories or the Libs are at all different)!

Broadens your horizons, 17 May 2008
"Chinese Whispers" broadens your horizons: not by whisking you off to some far flung place but by opening your eyes to Britain. It exposes the terror our society inflicts on those people who desperately turn to us for a better life. It tells a story of Britain through the eyes of "illegal" workers and Hsiao-Hung Pai, an ex-Guardian reporter.

Hsiao-Hung, who has been classed as equal enough to live in Britain legally, has documented the lives of those immigrants we class as sub-human, sub-Britain and therefore "illegal". The resulting stories show the injustice, near slavery, extreme poverty and cruelty that would be classed as human rights violations worthy of war if they happened anywhere but Britain.

Hsiao-Hung worked undercover in massage parlours, factories and on farms as an "illegal" worker. She recorded the exploitation and abuse that followed. An "illegal" who she lived with in Norfolk said: "The first few nights I was just crying in bed. Working like a machine, getting bullied by the agency people, the factory supervisors, coming home every day just to sleep and get ready for the next day's work... It's like being a robot. I ask myself, what will all this bring?"

It sounds like the maltreatment of a time long gone in Europe or the experiences of a worker in a less "developed" country than today's left-wing Britain. In fact, this is the story of a man who's sought refuge in our rich, "civilised" country, paid a heavy penalty to get here, and works to support our economy suffering back-breaking pain and finally gets nothing from us Brits except exploitation.

The book shows the life, dignity and resilience of the people who we classify using the dehumanising term: "illegal" and it forces us to remember that the "illegals" are illegal second and human first.

It is a relief and a pleasure to read a book that refuses to bow to the majority rule that economic considerations take precedence. Instead the author treats humans as primary and economics as secondary.

This way of working fosters a depth of feeling and understanding that news reporting aims to cut out of each of us.



The real story behind the headlines, 15 May 2008
Hsiao Hung Pai's book is fantastic. Investigative work which accurately details working life for those living on the radar. A compulsive and important work. Read it!

I know these people!, 05 May 2008
This book is something very special for me. I am a UK resident of Chinese origin. Those people and their stories in Pai's book reminded me of my friends from that 'status-less' part of the world in UK, my hairdressers, porters at Chinese grocery stores I've visited etc. They give their blood to this country's economy every day. They've been treated hostily in return. I've heard so many times that my local (UK) friends and colleagues complainting about these people wasting NHS money. Do you have any idea that out of the 170k to 200k Chinese illeagal immigrants probably less than 0.01% of them would ever dare to come into light and expose themselves in the NHS system in fear of deportation. (I know this for a fact because I work as a freelance interpreter in the public sector.) Majority of them are forced to be invisible. They work commonly around 12 hours a day and 6 to 7 days a week with no holiday pays. My friend Mrs Zou's husband was not even allowed to take a day off when she was delivering a baby. They actually have work permit but UK government's plicy about work permit means they are equally open to be exploited by their employer. (The reasons are explained very clearly in Pai's extrodinary book.)

The common view about human rights in China has always been that when the American's talk about human rights they are using it against China but when the Europeans (especially the British) talk about human rights with China they mean it. But I am a bit disillusioned now. What I see here is that we have double standands. We only respect the basic human rights if the people in question have proper documents.

Why does it take 5 or even 10 years to consider someone's asylum seeking case? Is the government conveniently slowing down the process to ensure Britain having a steady pool of cheap labour whose lives are cheaper than ours and whose rights can be ignored. The thought of this is frightening!

If you have ever bought a pack of salad at supermarket then you owe these people to read this book. If you care about justice and lives of others you need to read this book. You will get angry about what you are about to discover and you might even want to do something. You definitely will from now on look at these odd and peasant-behaved people on the street in the shops with different eyes.

A big thank you to the author Hsiao-Hung Pai.

Brilliant, 04 May 2008

Well researched and deeply moving.

I hope some change in government legislation can become of this.

My hat goes off to the Hsiao-Hung Pai for not only the undercover work but the voice she has given these people who live beneath our noses and are in so much need. We are listening...

Real life, real stories, 13 Feb 2003
If you are the sort of person that ends up chatting to the bloke or woman next to them at Railway Stations then this is the book for you. Terkels basically interviewed people over a number of years about their jobs and how they feel about them. If that sounds boring then just keep your head in another book next time you are sat on a train - I found it a fascinating read.

Great Book, 26 Feb 1999
I read this book 30 years ago. It has probably kept me unemployed for most of that time. Warning if you read this book you may quit your job.

Fascinating look at what we do with the bulk of our time, 08 Apr 1998
Working profiles the working lives of scores of Americans. From prostitute to chief executive, coal mine worker to major league ballplayer- a myriad of professions are covered. The book reads like a documentary (which it is). Terkel has included the most interesting aspects of each case study's working life, and ultimately you see why each continues to pursue their career in that chosen field- or at least what satisfaction they get from showing up everyday. It's a great book to pick up and spend 5 to 10 minutes or so reading about how someone else's working life has parallels to your own. The interviews were conducted mostly during