Books

The New Economics

for Industry, Government, Education

". . . competition, we see now, is destructive. It would be better if everyone would work together as a system, with the aim for everybody to win. What we need is cooperation and transformation to a new style of management."

In this book W. Edwards Deming details the system of transformation that underlies the 14 Points for Management presented in Out of the Crisis. The system of profound knowledge, as it is called, consists of four parts: appreciation for a system, knowledge about variation, theory of knowledge, and psychology. Describing prevailing management style as a prison, Deming shows how a style based on cooperation rather than competition can help people develop joy in work and learning at the same time that it brings about long-term success in the market. Indicative of Deming's philosophy is his advice to abolish performance reviews on the job and grades in school.

Source: MIT Press

Intelligence Reframed by Howard Gardner

Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century

Intelligence Reframed presents itself as a progress report on how the theory of multiple intelligences has changed and evolved since it was first set forth in Howard Gardner's 1983 book Frames of Mind. The theory posits that intelligence is not a single property of the human mind, as is commonly believed, but rather that each human being is endowed with a set of several intelligences each of which can be nurtured and channeled in specific ways.

According to Gardner, there are seven distinct intelligences that can be linked to their own neurological substrate: linguistic intelligence (sensitivity to the spoken and written word and the ability to master languages), logical-mathematical intelligence (the capacity to analyze problems logically and scientifically), musical intelligence (skill in the performance, composition, and appreciation of music), bodily-kinesthetic intelligence (as exemplified by dancers, surgeons, and artists), spatial intelligence (characteristic of pilots, graphic artists, and architects), interpersonal intelligence (a talent for understanding and relating to other people) and intrapersonal intelligence (the capacity for understanding oneself).

The Sustainability Revolution

Portrait of a Paradigm Shift

Sustainability has become a buzzword in the last decade, but its full meaning is complex, emerging from a range of different sectors. In practice, it has become the springboard for millions of individuals throughout the world who are forging the fastest and most profound social transformation of our time - the Sustainability Revolution.

This book, now in its fifth printing, paints a picture of this largely unrecognized phenomenon from the point of view of five major sectors of society, concluding that the values emerging from sustainability work define a major paradigm shift. The first book of its kind, it will appeal to business and government policy makers, academics, and all interested in sustainability.

The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm

In the absence of love, states Fromm, individuals attempt to palliate their existential aloneness with less satisfactory “solutions”. The first is the “orgiastic solution”, in which the individual abandons his or her sense of separateness through fusion with the “tribe” or the cosmos at large. Orgiastic experiences are facilitated by the use of drugs, alcohol and group rites like dancing, chanting, drumming, and permit a deep and gratifying sense of immersion in nature, a loss of ego-boundaries etc. But however gripping the experiences afforded by orgiastic practices, the relief they bring is transient. When the ecstasy wears off, they often leave the person even lonelier than before. A second “solution” less convulsive and episodic than the orgiastic approach is “automaton conformity”, which entails a pervasive (but semi-deliberate) numbing of our humanistic conscience and critical faculties resulting in a state of frictionless adaptation to one’s surroundings.

Text Source: The Literary Encyclopedia - The Art of Loving

Simple Zen

Beginning with a history of Zen from the time of its origin until the present, "Simple Zen" outlines the themes and practices associated with Zen and addresses ways in which Zen can help one realize a deeper, richer life.

About the Author

Drs. C. Alexander and Annellen Simpkins live in San Diego and are both psychologists who have specialized in studies of the mind. They have devoted many years to the study of hypnosis and have taught meditation skills to people of all ages. They have also spent the past 25 years involved in the martial arts as practitioners, instructors, and writers. Their work in meditation spans their two worlds of professional interest: martial arts and psychology, adding a unique and comprehensive perspective to this book. In addition to contributing regularly to martial arts publications, they are the authors of Principles of Meditation, Living Meditation, Zen Around the World, and Meditation from Thought to Action, all published by Tuttle.

Text From: Amazon - Simple Zen

Doing School

How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed-Out, Materialistic, and Miseducated Students

Named as a 2001 Notable Book in Education by the American School Board Journal

This book offers a highly revealing—and troubling—view of today’s high school students and the ways they pursue high grades and success. Denise Pope, veteran teacher and curriculum expert, follows five motivated and successful students through a school year, closely shadowing them and engaging them in lengthy reflections on their school experiences. What emerges is a double-sided picture of school success. On the one hand, these students work hard in school, participate in extracurricular activities, serve their communities, earn awards and honors, and appear to uphold school values. But on the other hand, they feel that in order to get ahead they must compromise their values and manipulate the system by scheming, lying, and cheating. In short, they “do school”—that is, they are not really engaged with learning nor can they commit to such values as integrity and community.

Coming To Our Senses

Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of the groundbreaking book Wherever You Go, There You Are, has written what has to be the most comprehensive book about mindfulness published to date. Coming To Our Senses is over six hundred pages of pure spiritual gold, offering a definitive look at the connection between mindful awareness and our current physical and mental states of well-being.

Kabat-Zinn, founder and director of the Stress Reduction Clinic and popular author and workshop leader, brings ancient Eastern teachings into the Western light by focusing on the power of being aware and paying attention to the moment at hand, based upon Buddhist teachings. The book is divided into eight sections, each focusing on a different aspect of how we can, and must, come to our senses in order to heal, to find our purpose, and to live the life of our dreams. In other words, a life spent in the present and not agonizing over the past or worrying over the future, which is where most of us spend, and waste, our lives.

Earth in Mind

Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect

Earth in Mind is a must read for anyone interested in environmental education. Orr presents the relationship between the nature of education and how the environment is treated by the very professionals that are the future. The original introduction began with a list of facts and statistics that will shake the foundation of ones belief system, to put them in the context of being ten years old and to know that things have only become worse begs one to investigate the balance of the text.

The book is a series of essays organized in four parts. The first of which deals with the problem of education with regard to the lack of environmental awareness and the problems that will persist with a new generation of efficient vandals of our biosphere. Part two delves into guiding principles for education reform, those relationships of the human condition that are being lost through an increasingly specialized education process.

Last Child in the Woods

Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder

In this influential work about the staggering divide between children and the outdoors, child advocacy expert Richard Louv directly links the lack of nature in the lives of today's wired generation—he calls it nature-deficit—to some of the most disturbing childhood trends, such as the rises in obesity, attention disorders, and depression.

Last Child in the Woods is the first book to bring together a new and growing body of research indicating that direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development and for the physical and emotional health of children and adults. More than just raising an alarm, Louv offers practical solutions and simple ways to heal the broken bond—and many are right in our own backyard.