I am a fan of “fly on the wall’ books, and I think this is among the best (and least known) of the lot. Kidder does a wonderful job providing insight into the process of organizing and carrying out a project that occurs everyday throughout the US. Brilliantly done.

One of the few books in public administration that deserves the label of “classic”. While the Forest Service itself has changed, the insights this work gives to the operations of government agencies remain extremely valuable for any student of the public service.

Another classic study in the field of public administration, although this one crosses many disciplinary borders.

First, let me say that this book came highly recommended by people I love dearly—and who thought it was an absolutely fantastic read. And looking over the reviews—professional and otherwise—I think there is a general consensus that The DaVinci Code is a terrific book. That is why I was shocked at my own reaction—I thought this was a terrible book.

OK, so maybe I am an impatient reader, or maybe I have limited my past reading only to well written books (not!). Whatever the reason, I did not find this an entertaining read at all. I wouldn’t even call it a “quick read,” but rather a “thin” one. How could a 593 page book be labelled “thin”? Let’s face it, this is a 200 page book (if that) fattened up to 593—and unnecessarily so. This is an action thriller in very slow motion, and whatever informational value there was embedded in the plot was, frankly, hardly worth the ‘trip’.

Don’t get me wrong—the Holy Grail narrative that emerged in the book was intriguing, but you would think that the author could have weaved it into a more tightly designed plot.

That said, and despite the fact that I complained about the book to anyone who would listen while I read it, I did finish it with some sense of accomplishment. There was a sense of pride of having endured this torturous journey.

But it will be a long time before I even think about picking up another Dan Brown “thriller”—even though they come highly recommended.

This is the published version of lectures that can be accessed (audio as well as in text) online @ http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/reith2002/. Nicely done, I especially liked Lecture 3 (“Called to Account”) which raises issues about the current stress on performance accountability in the UK.

I suspect that I am inclined to like historical fiction (if that is the correct label), and so this book fit the bill. It is a 692 page version of a TV costume drama—a mystery of sorts set in post-Cromwellian England (Oxford, actually) in the 1660s and (except for three or four characters) relying for its cast on real individuals of the time. A young John Locke is present, albeit in a secondary role, as is Robert Boyle and others who are recognizable even to me. Others, a bit more obscure to someone who lacks a detailed knowledge of the period, play more significant roles. The plot itself attempts to provide one possible rendition of what was taking place behind the scenes as Charles II reclaimed the throne after Cromwell’s death—and it probably delights those who are curious about the intruiguing events of the time. For me, however, it was just an interesting and good read—an antidote (suggested by a colleague) for my dispappointment with the equally long (although substantially thinner) DaVinci Code (see my comments on that book). My enjoyment of the book was tempered by a lack of historical knowledge at the outset, especially about the significance of period for contemporary British history. I now know a good deal more of the issues and significance of the events of the time, but I regret not having all that in place before tackling this—it would have made the long trip through these pages more enjoyable. It will go into my list of enjoyable reads, but not among those I would call a ‘favorite’.

Heard so much about Lodge that I picked this one up to read on flight over to Northern Ireland last year. Nice little book, but a bit disappointing. It was like seeing a movie that slowly develops a plotline for 90 minutes, only to have everything come to a head in unbelievable fashion in the last ten minutes. Almost as if the author thought, okay time to put this one to rest….

I read this after diving into Dennett, et al on consciousness, etc. —and since I had already been exposed to Lodge via Small World, thought I’d give it a read. Not bad book, but nothing to recommend it either. Lodge seems to have the luxury of “novelizing” whatever literary or social theories he happens to be interested in at the moment. The novel as intellectually “vehicle” or plaything. Not bad, but not great.

I picked this up after reading Thinks and doing related reading in Dennett and other folks working in cognitive theory/science. The lead essay was really quite interesting for someone like me who knows literature mainly through osmosis (my spouse is the literate one), and who knows enough about hte cog sci literature to be dangerous in conversation and the classroom…. I put it aside when the later essays seemed irrelevant to my immediate concerns. But I was tempted by Lodge’s style and critique to keep going. Perhaps someday I will pick it up again.

With US public adminisntration focus, Kettl provides a “governance” approach that shifts our attention to the boundaries of PA. Good effort, worth the read.