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The Guardians of Erum

The Guardians of Erum publishing permitted by UAE’s National Media Council. Permit # MC-01-01-9623856. Book age group: +17 copyright ISBN: 97899483445, and written by “Self-Publisher” A. Ali Hasan, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Sub-titled, ‘and The Calamitous Child of Socotra’, the story’s setting is one of “Arabia’s pre-Islamic history, traditions, religious beliefs, and local culture and folklore” with abundant activity by jinn. Most locations exist in modern-day Oman or Yemen, but Wadi Erum, in which Part One is centered, is a magnificent city which now is believed to be buried under the sand dunes of Rub’ Al Khali Desert. The story line follows a young farmer and his wife who have a male child born under a particular star which indicated he would ruin Wadi Erum and bring other disastrous results to the world. This all set forth by “Behas the saher, deceiver of all weak minds, master of all sorcery. Necromancer and conjurer, alchemist, and lord of the jinnic realm, and widely known as the worst of mankind.” This jinn Master, or master sorcerer, was at one time acclaimed as a hero by saving Wadi Erum, but has fallen into a less credible position with the gigantic rulers of the city and country itself. Thus, his word still is believed by many and he entreats one of his jinn to kill the baby. The jinn is interrupted and killed by a member of another of an opposing group but cannot stop the baby from being kidnapped. The story continues as a desperate concerted effort is initiated by the baby’s father aided by the rulers and guardians of Erum plus others supporting the powerful Gray Mountain Queen who also wants to find the child for her own reasons. Fundamentally, the story becomes a chase provided in three parts. The first covers the area of Wadi Erum and its surroundings. The second moves the action to the coastal area of Salalah. The third continues onto the island of Socotura where a huge battle takes place, and gradually returns to the Wadi Erum area with a finalization of this section of the tale.

Discussion: This is an interesting historical fantasy involving a chase by the father to regain his son kidnapped by a jinn Master who is fundamentally wicked, but controversially considered good by many for an earlier deed that saved the city. There are numerous characters important to the story and they diligently maintain their parts. All maters considered, a book of fantasy, full of the occult that should greatly appeal to the younger members of the YA group. The author’s fascination with the historic folklore of pre-Islamic Arabia is evident and a thread to which he strongly adheres. From this reader’s perspective a cautionary note must be entered, however. With the level of sophistication existent in today’s youth, at least within the United States, it would seem that the level of 17 + or – suggested as the best reading level may be lowered a little for greatest reader enjoyment.

5* For lower level YA readers with suggested caveat reason set forth.

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The NO Limits Enterprise

The NO-LIMITS Enterprise ISBN 9781946633279 ForbesBooks Copyright and written by Doug Kirkpatrick.

After an unusually large number of strongly supportive statements by individuals of prominence, the author’s book subtitled Organizational Self-Management in the New World of Work, the author’s introduction, Life is a Concert (or it should be), presents overall tenets with respect to self-management and the importance thereof. He quotes Kahlil Gibran: “Work is love made visible”; presents Buurtzorg, a highly prosperous Netherlands-based health care company (initiated by Jos de Blok) where 9000 health care nurses work remotely delivering care. They work for the company but make decisions as they see them; he explains that people (most prominently the millenniums) want their creative, innovative and passion about their work to be appreciated and understood; briefly speaks of Morning Star, a Tomato products distributor company (where he initially became involved in the business) which probably is the most well-known for self-management company success. The book’s content is presented in 2 Parts. Part 1, the promise of self- management consisting of 4 chapters covering the breakdown of bureaucracy; 15 unavoidable challenges found within; the power of self-management; before you plan: self-management considerations. Part II, the self-management roadmap, consisting of 6 chapters covering new ways of working; determining where your organization fits in the self-management continuum; establishing your self-management philosophy and principles; self-management implications (or what to expect); making the case for self-management; bringing self-management to life: 12 real-world components; A conclusion – making “no limits” your reality; About the Author; A passion for freedom and accountability at work; Our services. Extensive Acknowledgements follow immediately, leading to an explanatory Forward and ultimately, the Introduction as briefly summarized above.

Discussion: The business of running a business gradually has been changing since those establishing such organizations with advent of the Industrial Revolution. They had only the Army, its chain of command and its organizational abilities as a template. Humans became increasingly dissatisfied with their need to ‘slave’ for many hours a day to receive pay for their labor which they did not enjoy. Chapter 2 provides a list of 15 unavoidable challenges provided by bureaucracy employed by most businesses – Genetic engineering, nanotechnology, virtual reality, increasing information, and communication moving at speed of light, Robots, AI, all of this additional knowledge when much of business is still at the level employed when we moved into the Industrial Revolution. Thus the required Bureaucracy is wasteful of human life; simply stated, 8 hours/day of doing something not desired is just that, a waste of life.

Thus, gradual change has evolved and has gained increasing momentum with advent of new generations who are unwilling to spend long hours performing tasks which have no relationship to their personal thought patterns and desires. The increased level of interest has been initiated by a few future thinking entrepreneurial individuals and aided immensely by the arrival into the workforce of the millennials, a generation that seeks a work/life balance and have no fear of job loss, plus, a driving need to be engaged as part of a group (company) with a purpose and meaning that is part of the larger world. Repeatedly, the suggestion is made that to best run a business, it is best first to become a philosopher with the other necessities added as needed. Names of numerous prominently successful owners of self-managed companies are provided. Chris Rufer, a single truck owner fascinated by philosophy as well as an MBA was fascinated with human principles and management practices, established Morning star, one of the premiere successful self-management companies, by believing people worked best when they were free to manage themselves at work as they did in their daily life. He also believed they were happiest and most successful. Jaipur Rugs in India is another entrepreneurial self-management phenomenal success story as are Vagas, a Brazilian software company and numerous others blossoming throughout the world as well as here in the United States. In all, the book provides extensive coverage of every aspect of how “Strength of a self-managed organization, where every individual is part of a human network of accountability, responsible to everyone else in the enterprise itself” actually functions. These basic tenets, and philosophies serve to undergird the human network.

Summary: The author, partner in the full-spectrum international consulting firm, NuFocus Strategic Group, consults, lectures on self-management around the world and appears to be the present-day spokesman for a large group of advanced-thinking individuals in the rapidly growing movement toward self-managed business. His book covers every aspect of the subject and certainly is a must read for any person desiring to enter a business and become a success in this era of constant change and regeneration. For this reader, the redundancy and repetition typically exhibited here emulates the tendencies of all lecturers and would benefit from judicious editing for readers. However, the material, to reiterate is a must read.

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The Apricot Outlook

The Apricot OUTLOOK of Katherine Koon Hung Wong ISBN: 9781734824018 Clever Clock Press copyright and written by Dennis W. C. Wong.

This is an unusual genealogical investigative book that opens with several illustrations, acknowledgements, and an introduction that leads to The Apricot Outlook which is a short recital of Katherine’s life in her own words. In turn, Beyond the Apricot Outlook recites the almost monumental task of attempting to discover the background of her and the author’s roots. An endeavor almost impossible to accomplish for Chinese natives who had immigrated to Hawaii at or around the turn of the 19th – 20th century. A huge part of the problem is that many came from small enclaves of several small villages within an overall larger collection within areas of this huge country and especially when one considers how children were named and the fact that Chinese men routinely could have as many as 7 different names.

The story is simplistically told and, although somewhat difficult to follow, must be a treasure trove of material for a sizeable number of people. It is most difficult to rate the reading interest/enjoyment for general readership.

5* for specific individuals and research accomplished; – ? * for other readers.

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Hidden Wealth

Hidden Wealth ISBN: 9781950863488 ForbesBooks copyright Clayton Investments, LLC written by Terry B. Monroe.

The author has sub-titled his book, “the secret to getting top dollar for your business” and dedicated it “To all the entrepreneurs who have spent hours of hard work building their business, hiring employees, and supporting their families. I hope they will be able to reap the rewards for everything they have toiled to achieve.” There follows an Introduction, eight chapters, a Bonus Chapter on the issue by a well-credentialed friend, Conclusion, Acknowledgements, About the Author and an extensive Index. Each chapter more specifically is single subjected oriented with the first providing the importance of the business owner really introspectively knowing his/her unvarnished self; #2 discuses why business owners do sell their, while #3 presents reasons they do not sell; #4 discusses when is the best time to sell while #5 admonishes that you must actually know what you are selling; # 6 presents the large number of activities required to ‘get the job done’; #7 explains the rather extensive process involved in order to conclude the sale; #8 provides an estimated length of time required to complete the sale and the extensive list of the large, mostly unthought-of, matters than can interfere with completion of the sale. The Bonus Chapter is written by a highly-credentialed seemingly as corroboration of the material presented by the author. The author’s conclusion is largely a repetition of admonishments previously set forth.

Discussion: The material provided would appear to be a treasure trove of information for the individual attempting to decide whether or not to sell the business he/she has birthed, coddled through its infancy to its accession to a top level of performance. It presents a complete picture to peruse while deciding IF you really do, or don’t, want to proceed, ant the number of features involved, many of which you may never really had considered. This aspect of this book is right on the subject and presented by a person who “Has been there. Done that” and gained a broad array of knowledge of every aspect of the subject. Regrettably, if you are not a member of the target group, it contains much redundancy and repetition of even many well-known maxims and similar. Obviously the author lectures frequently making the usage understandable as all employ these features for emphasis.

5* book for target group; interesting, but several -*s caveat for others.

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The Price of Safety

The Price of Safety ISBN: 9781950890811 World Castle Publishing copyright and written by Michael C. Bland.

The storyteller opens with his statement that “Igniting a miniature sun was the riskiest thing we’d ever attempted. Yet we were doing it in front of the entire planet” With 45 seconds left in countdown, he was mentally checking all aspects of the project while his onetime best friend and company co-founder CEO Nikolai, was in front of the 200 assembled CEOs bragging about the various accomplishments. The ignition is accomplished, in part, but must be terminated by a structural failure. From this introduction the tale continues as we follow the activity of Dray Quintero, a brilliant scientist who is the inventor of the extensive array of methods employed by the government supposedly to protect and provide a better life for the citizens. He discovers far too late that instead, these features are being employed to control them. Seemingly, the CEO has been able to provide the manner in which they are disseminated and has been completely tied to the government resulting in great wealth for himself, while Dray was involved in the brilliant investigative activity of providing the blueprints. The story is a matter of many twists and turns that involves his wife and three children. Death of the first one having a tremendous effect on him and his wife and directing their attention in an unhealthy manner toward attempts to protect the remaining offspring. But here, we discover that the older daughter has an agenda of her own. There are a large number of twists and turns in the plot with abundant distrust, deception, betrayal and treachery discovered to have been extant for some time and even within his own family.

Discussion: The author has provided a tale that reflects much of the thought and attitudes of much of today’s population set in a sci-fi of a number of years in the future. There is much repetition and some inexplicable thoughtless activity. However, this is a book for individuals who are devotees of sci-fi non-stop action thrillers. Regrettably from this reviewer’s perspective, it may be a little ‘over-the-top’ for even the reader who enjoys sci-fi/thrillers but is a tad more pragmatic.

3* 5* great read for die-hard readers of action-packed sci-fi/thrillers; -2* as explained.

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Observe to Unmask

Observe to Unmask ISBM: 9798653727696, Kindle Direct Publishing, copyright and written by Pushpendra Mehta.

Subtitled 100 Small things to know people better, Pushpendra Mehta opens his discussion by admonishing individuals “Pursue your passion. Work with your intuition, learn as a child. And adapt as water.” There follow his suggestions for careful observation of individuals, their behavior and preferably from as large a number of situations as possible, to understand the person and how his/her true persona may be used to affect one or more encounters with you as an individual. Thus you must be able to introspectively evaluate yourself and realize how this other person’s traits will actively react with those you contain. He provides copious examples of actions and comments and how they variously may be used to affect their inter-relationship with you. The list of usages and their possible intention are great in number and far too copious to discuss per se. This is a presentation requiring one’s own individual perusal in order to attempt to make one’s personal evaluation. Thus quite simply stated, providing further material from the contents of this book would be a disservice to the prospective reader.

Discussion: Basically, this appears to provide suggestions that individuals should consider when engaging in personal intercourse. Occasionally, this reader believes more details would be helpful when dealing with the discussion about persons mostly discussing news events happening around the world or events they did not witness of experience. The author offers the suggestion that one should know they are more talk and less action oriented and are simply providing their opinion or information of facts already known. This basically, is not necessarily true and there are blatant exceptions to this suggestion. However, the reader must realize the author’s overall attempt to provide simply basic features. His suggestions with respect to Gossip, Social Media, importance of eye contact, actually hearing, not just listening, positioning of feet, primary pursuit in one’s life and the rest provide many suggestions that are relevant, including the old accepted statement that the greater number of friends one has, is better. He provides the most appropriate admonishment that one should reconsider the statement from the perspective of selectivity. Thus basically this is a book that many readers should find noteworthy. A highly amusing aside with respect to the author’s advice, in a very small section he strayed into using a tennis situation for discussion. Unfortunately, he appears to be totally lacking in the rudiments of the sport.

4* Suggestions for understanding unspoken aspects of interpersonal communication.

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Eastbound from Flagstaff

Eastbound from Flagstaff ISBN: 9781642793369 Morgan James Publishing copyright written by Annette Valentine.

The story introduces Simon Hagan, a man in his late twenties, in his small apartment in Albuquerque. His present activities include washing dishes at the hotel, classes in acting and first year pre-med college courses at the university. He is waiting excitedly for the love-of-his-life’s arrival from Flagstaff in an hour. Thus he leaves a little early to drive his typical crank Model T. Ford. At the bus station he learns that there has been a disastrous accident. The story moves from here to follow Simon’s life from its beginning on a rather successful farm outside of Elkton, Kentucky. He is the oldest son of a growing family – God devoted father who is a mentally, as well as physically, a strong man – a loving mother, a two-year younger brother Alain and several other siblings. Although never quite happy with the life of a farmer, he functioned well while dreaming of some other path in life. When he was eighteen, his mother was mauled to death by a bear which he had slowed but not stopped with the family shotgun. Unnecessarily blaming himself for her death and stimulated by his desire not to be a farmer. He leaves for Detroit, Michigan where Ford Motor Company was hiring workers for the very excellent pay of $5.00/day. The tale continues with his ability to equate easily with new people, and his activity on an assembly line. Through a chance remark by one of his new friends, he is given a job as a rookie on the Detroit Police Force. Here he rises very rapidly, becoming a Police Captain within a very few years. Regrettably, he acquires tuberculosis and must resign to move to a sanatorium in Albuquerque. The entire sequence of episodes covers a 9 year period during which he encounters many devastatingly crushing personal blows. Many of which, as with his mother’s death, he blames himself and continues a struggle with attempting to accept the fact pounded into him as a child, that God was in control. All of this mental stress is exacerbated by the constant presence in his bedroom of his mother’s bible that his father insisted he take with him and read the numerous notes he and his mother had entered on various pages. His continuation to do so adds immensely to his tension. Specific details and their chronological order really need to be read to understand the deep feelings and emotional turmoil dealt with in this tale.

Discussion: The author, a well-recognized figure in other endeavors, has presented here a debut novel depicting a period in the early life of her father. An Endorsement recounted before beginning the story points out quite accurately, that this “powerful story of resilience and recovery is a quest filled with brutal tragedies that explores the depths one endures and the path that ultimately leads to redemption”. This reviewer heartily concurs with the summation quoted by the endorser. But most regrettably, as a novel, several features require a greater degree of attention. The protagonist has a self-accusatory problem initiated by his mother’s death, but employed to strengthen his desire to leave the life of a farmer. Subsequent catastrophic occurrences strengthen the belief as his life continues. Furthermore, he fails to recognize the importance of the good matters that so easily come his way – his easy arrival at a pleasant boarding house resulting from his enquiry at the wrong address; similarly his hiring as a rookie police officer; his rapid advancement; and more all are serendipitous. Seemingly he makes a number of wrong decisions, especially with respect to his love life. But then again, his character is so sketchily developed as are those of his loves that it is impossible to even conjecture adequately. Therefore, and most regrettably, from this reader’s perspective the author has set forth a story with all of the elements of a fine fictional biography providing a powerful message, but it does require considerable character enrichment to reach the powerful story latently existent.

3* 5* powerful tale of a tormented trail attempting to reach redemption.

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Loose Threads

Loose Threads: Cool Assassins in ISBN: 9780994070807 Creator/Distributor: Psignologic Services copyright written by J. O. Quantaman.

This story follows a number of members of the “Cool Assassins Series” – Cool Assassins 1. Hot Wheels: Cool Assassins 2 (in 2019. Soar Down: Cool Assassins 1 & 2 (in 2019)’ with a Cast List of members of the Dog Breakfast Co-op, an organization composed of seemingly well-trained martial arts specialists established to fight underworld organizations such as the Japanese Yakuza; Mishima Security members for the area, and others. The world described is an intergalactic one containing earth, as well as other parts of the all-encompassing universe. The story opens with a young girl, Jenna Marov whose love of adventure and amazing acrobatic ability leads her to a professional life as an aerialist and fearing burn-out, a move to Kuala Lumpur 17 years later. However, the main plot centers on Nyssa Person, a teen enticed into acting but eventually arriving under the control of a powerful Yakuza overlord from whom she escapes with aid from the Dog Breakfast Co-op, which as described above, but also is a well-organized training facility producing assassins loosed upon members of organizations such as the one from which she had been rescued. She joins the Co-op and begins training and continues for several months before earning an R&R trip to the nearby metropolis, TCP, a large city complex, with its residents and/or workers, endless shops and entertainment. Here she becomes involved with several ensuing adventures. In a somewhat unexpected manner, the reader encounters a second plot that one eventually learns involves Nyssa, in ninja-like activity that seemingly occurs a few years later. The tale continues with more varied activity.

Discussion: This is a sci-fi story set in 2073 and years following. It is a tale that no doubt will find readers who are devotees of the genre who will enjoy the tale as long as they understand that sexual innuendo and/or activity, whether intersexual or within the same sex and loose language are basic to the presentation. There also are numerous ‘new’ words for which the author has furnished a glossary. Regrettably, this reader found that although several of the characters were interestingly described, as well as some of the scenes, the action and individuals involved were combined in a quite confusing manner that provided frustrating moments that detracted greatly from any flow of enjoyment.

3* or less for this reader who prefers to enjoy rather than search for clarity.

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Management Practices of Successful CEOs

Management Practices of Successful CEO’S 9781734641417 Desert Haven Publishing copyright and written by James O. Armatas.

This is a Memoir of a Psychological Consultant to Management and consists of the usual dedication, preface, Introduction, The Genesis of Psychological Consultation including Background of Training, the Assessment Procedure and 8 Chapters. Number 1 presents three entrepreneurs; #2, Conglomerates (IBM Corporation and Colt Industries; #3 CEO’s of several Multidivisional Companies; #4, some CEO’s of Legal Monopolies; #5, Service Companies; #6, Restaurants; #7, Manufacturing Companies; #8, Final Comments (a summary – each group having its own pertinent comments); My Memoir; Postscript; Appendix that includes a variety of relatively pertinent material; About the Author” and endnotes.

Discussion: The author’s summary notes at the end of each chapter are quite explicit in some, and either general or selective in nature, of traits of others. He describes some of the entrepreneur’s characteristics as demonstrating dominant control and total commitment to their companies. One employed a conservative approach while another was willing to take bold risks. The third personally raised venture capital, spent it wisely on reduced operations functions/salaries to establish competitive contracts. The conglomerates he declares recognized the need for a tightly controlled central organization with proper status maintenance and system/department heads reporting to the proper superior. Many of the leaders in The Conglomerates exhibited supportive developmental training. With respect to The Legal Monopolies he presents most interesting pictures of AT&T and TWA and the different paths taken as a result of regulatory changes affecting their management. Other CEO’s success depends in large part on their social skills especially in acquiring and maintaining clients. Some had an inordinate ability to monitor and remember details, as a ‘turnaround specialist’, or even by employing a dedicated commitment to self-improvement to his advantage. Still other characteristics exhibited as the bases of their success in their particular field of endeavor was honesty and leadership, instilling integrity to an entire workforce as the basis upon which the entire business functioned, ability to meld all facets of a business into predictable, controllable monopolistic enterprise that generated extreme profits with controllable expense.

He has noticed that most of the characteristics of CEO’s have changed greatly as American business structure similarly has been changing substantially because of, and along with, a huge social revolution toward democratization in American and international institutions, Workers feel they have entitlement to greater job and management involvement. Additionally, technical advancement has been huge and entrepreneurs exist both within and outside working industries. Smart CEO’s keep the organization simple and basic with minimum hierarchy and bureaucracy and don’t lose their entrepreneurial perspective. Generally speaking, successful CEO’s are intelligent, conceptual, competitive and ‘managerial’ but flexible, adaptable and quite socially versatile exhibiting no narcissistic or autocratic tendencies. Some positions call for a greater or lesser amount of some characteristics and the author has presented the apparent differences most helpful for CEO’s to have to be able to be successful in each of the types of industries described.

Amusingly, perhaps, he brings forth the statement so often set forth, but frequently ignored (especially by governmental agencies) – “You can’t run a business, or anything else, on a theory”.

This reviewer also found the short discourse on well-known, non-Freudian psychologists Carl Rodgers (nondirective development of the individual’s ‘self-concept’). Abraham Maslow (humanist a requirement to satisfy an ascending group of needs’, Frederick Herzberg, Douglas McGregor and Kurt Lewin, interestingly pertinent.

Conclusion: The material presented here by the author is quite essential for individuals in, or contemplating entrance to, a position in the areas discussed. It also provides interesting material for any reader with eclectic interests.

5* Must read for participants. Fascinating for other eclectic readers.

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The DAR LUMBRE Chronicles

The Dar Lumbre Chronicles ISBN: 9780692086162 assumed published, copyright and written by Don Johnson.

The author has devised an interesting plot where a highly intelligent geneticist, Dar Lumbre, was about to be arrested by the government for his continued work in the field. Although he had engineered the only viable heart replacement available, one evolving from actual heart tissue. They were concerned about other of his experiments and decided he must be apprehended and kept from continuing. The heavily controlling government was unable to find him in spite of all their efforts. The book opens a hundred years later, where the government has evolved into an all-encompassing power where there were only two political parties that alternated years of control, but regardless, all housing, food allotment and distribution of other necessities were administered by the ruling body. There was a requirement for citizen enrollment in one or the other party with non-registrants considered ‘Outsiders” who were forced to survive the best they could. Trouble begins with the DL-666 heart tissue losing ability to function properly and two extremely intelligent geneticists Craig Hopkins and Annie Lee working for the owner, Cal Tech, are assigned to discover why it is failing. The new laboratory director who was hired to ‘turn the company around’ because it was losing revenue, ultimately dismisses Craig. Because the wife of the government’s President suddenly requires a heart transplant, Craig is rehired and he and Annie continue to make advances in repairing the damage. Numerous other complications arise with a long-existent, but secret, Dar Lumbre Society surfacing and registering the ‘Outcasts’, an overwhelming majority of whom believe that eventually  the missing Dar Lumbar wil reappear  a hundred years after he disappeared while in his late fifties or sixties. Numerous supportive characters add levels of suspense to the tale as it evolves and any further details would be a complete disservice to the prospective reader.

Discussion: a well written, spaced and paced, sci-fi, mystery, thriller with extensive details on genetics presented in a readable fashion.

5* Pleasant, easy to read sci-fi/mystery/thriller involving genetics.