Review of "Lefty’s Long Throw," by Bill J. Carol

Review of

Lefty’s Long Throw, by Bill J. Carol

Four out of five stars

 Pete Gudoy throws left-handed, plays Little League baseball and is a very good pitcher. When he joins the team, the coach (Mr. Farber) is impressed by his velocity and control. However, when Pete demonstrates that he can also throw sliders and curve balls, Mr. Farber forbids him from throwing them. As a quality coach, Mr. Farber understands the strain that such pitches place on young arms and he would rather preserve Pete’s future than win now.

 This idealistic approach is at first lost on Pete, for he possesses an admirable, yet misguided drive to win. There are several times when Pete violates the coach’s instructions, to the point where he is removed from the game. Pete is so angry that he leaves the team and joins a group of boys that play sandlot baseball. It is only when Pete strains his arm while pitching that he realizes that Mr. Farber was right. The fear that he might not be able to pitch again focuses his mind. Since he loves to play baseball, Pete finally agrees to rejoin the team as an outfielder and pinch hitter and the predictable happens. He makes the play that saves the game.   

 This is an entertaining book of juvenile sports fiction, with the moral of the story being as much of the tale as the sports action. It is well worth reading and taking seriously as a way for young teen boys to approach the world and life.

Review of "The Digital Helix: Transforming Your Organization’s DNA to Thrive in the Digital Age," by Michael Gale & Chris Aarons

Review of

The Digital Helix: Transforming Your Organization’s DNA to Thrive in the Digital Age, by Michael Gale & Chris Aarons ISBN 9781626344648

Five out of five stars

 While readers will understand that the phrase “Organization’s DNA” in the title is figurative, they generally will not realize that the use of the term “digital helix” is also metaphoric. It is used to mean surviving and thriving in the modern condition where business and industries are changing at a pace never before seen in human history. A business model with products that can take a company to the level of being in the Fortune 500 can vanish in a few years to the point where there is the threat of bankruptcy. Many of the old, “tried and true,” methods of doing business simply no longer work as well, if at all.

 The authors cover the wide spectrum of tactics that modern managers can use to form, grow and maintain their businesses. Some of those tactics involve true digital automation, while others deal with the often more difficult strategy of acquiring and maintaining the talented people that allow for the needed agile operations.

 Many companies make the mistake of thinking that acquiring new digital technologies will lead to an automatic improvement in their internal performance. That is a false belief, changes of this form have to be across the organization and are more about being flexible in all approaches, effectively imaginative and avoiding complacency. That is the message of this book and it is well delivered.

Review of "...If You Lived With Sioux Indians," by Ann McGovern

Review of

...If You Lived With Sioux Indians, by Ann McGovern

Four out of five stars

 While there is a great deal of information about how the Sioux people lived before the Europeans arrived, the systematic destruction of their culture is not mentioned, except on the last three pages and in an afterword. The title should end with a colon followed by “Before the white man came.” The lives of the Sioux is depicted as one that was rather carefree, with the occasional small conflict between tribes that could hardly be described by the term “war.”

 The lived in harmony with nature, with their society described by their relationship with the buffalo. They acquired most of their consumable goods from the herds, with the occasional other odd animal, such as deer or antelope and berries that they would encounter by chance. Gender roles were very specific, the education of the young started early and was continuous until adulthood. There were strict social codes of behavior, with punishment for transgressions determined by the tribal leaders.

 While based on facts, this is a book that has many of the characteristics of a fairy tale. Years ago, there was a bumper sticker that read something like this, “Before the white man, the women kept house while the men hunted and fished. This is progress?” In reading this book, you sympathize with that statement.