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Summary: Giuliani ... big time!
Review: Awful text and words. I cant understand how his publisher let him wrote this book. He does not have a clue on how internal politics or Leadership is done and the only thing he has taken advantage of is his Sept. 11 actions, wich in my opinion he did not make anything out of the extraordinary.
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Summary: Concrete examples of integrity in action
Review: Guiliani's accomplishments even before he became America's Mayor folowing the tragedy of Sept. 11, were astoundingly evident in the change in NYC during his administration. In this book he outlines the principles that guided him in his decision making and provides concrete examples of how he put these into action to get RESULTS.
His anecdotal accounts of various incidents and people he encountered during his career give the book the added dimension of memoir of a great leader who has earned the respect of so many by demonstrating the principles that he expresses so well here.
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Summary: Highly Recommended!
Review: In Leadership, former NYC Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani (with writer Ken Kurson) gives you the inside look at how he applied basic leadership principles to being Mayor, Associate Attorney General and U.S. Attorney. Giuliani reveals how he and his key team applied these principles in the face of the Sept. 11 World Trade Tower collapse, and focuses on exercising leadership all the time. The principles may sound familiar - prioritize, prepare, take responsibility, hold everyone accountable, recruit great people, reflect and then decide, under-promise and over-deliver, develop and employ strong beliefs, be loyal and purposeful - yet the thrill comes from learning how Giuliani straightforwardly applied these principles to accomplish Herculean tasks. We from getAbstract recommend this breezy, engaging book to business leaders, governmental managers and politics junkies.
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Summary: High-Five-Star Book!
Review: This is an enlightening book that demos the qualities of a great leader: a person of sound principles, who is not mired in indecisive management and who is unafraid to take a firm, well-thought out stand on issues and also take on the consequences for any decisions! In "Leadership" these qualities are detailed in typical lively Giuliani-style --- very pleasing to read and interesting to see the influences that shaped his personality. Now, I only wish that managers of all corporations would take this advice to heart and pattern themselves after Mr. Giuliani's leadership principles. If they did, we would not be faced with ENRON, WORLDCOM, TYCO etc scandals! "Leadership" shows that in all workplaces --- political or corporate --- it takes integrity and knowledge to lead and steer clear of the kind of counterproductive managerial behavior wickedly exposed in the satirical book, "Management By Vice" (C.B. Don). Once you've read "Leadership", I also highly recommend "Management By Vice" to fully appreciate the difference between great all around leadership skills outlined in the former and in the latter book a sharp and witty look at the kind of "vice-riddled" character traits that can be found in many of our so-called "leaders" these days within both the industry sector workplace and political circles!
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Summary: Leads By Example
Review: I have lived in NYC for over 30 years and I have never seen such positive changes as when Rudolph Giuliani was Mayor. His no-nonsense attitude exemplified that you need a tough person to run a tough city. By not swaying to other's whining and complaints, he tackled important issues. Never was crime as low as it was during his administation. Already only a few months since he has been out of office, we can see crime on the rise. He didn't take credit for a good economy (something Bill Clinton would do) but assisted with positive change that affected the positive climate overall. Al Sharpton could learn a few things by reading this book, or even better, he should get a job first, then use some of these techniques to further himself rather than instigate negativity and trouble, all while benefiting off of funding. I'm not trying to bash Democrats or any other individuals for that matter, for I am only comparing Giuliani to others that were also active during his administration.
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Summary: A POLITICIAN THAT ISN'T "POLITICALLY CORRECT".
Review: What I like most about Guiliani is that he doesn't just say things to please others. He tells it like it is. When he says he wanted to take out Osoma Bin Laden he meant it. And he doesn't make any bones or apologies for it. This tough talk throughout the book is what makes me respect him greatly. They way he lays into the terrorist and what they did during 9-11 makes me want to cheer and say 'Go get em'. It reminds me in many ways of another book that took wacko religious zealots to task called, "I TALKED TO GOD AND HE WANTS TO TALK TO YOU". Similiarly, this book didn't worry about what others thought, it simply stated what it thought was right and wrong. No apologies. I recommend this book.
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Summary: You Can't Take The Politics Out of the Politician
Review: I've been a fan of Rudy Giuliani since he was the U.S. Attorney for the Southen District of New York. Anyone who put John Gotti in jail has to be admired. In addition, his true leadership came shining through on 9/11. However, this book was a little disappointing because of his constant reminder of how great the Republican Party is. His constant diatribes about the GOP got old, and took away from what had the makings a great leadership book written by a real leader. Plus he has some facts incoorect. He states the Republicans can run government better by bringing in fewer cronies. I have worked for the federal government for the last 15 years, and the current Bush administration has brough more croines than any previous administration. He goes into great length explaining how a leader should not read speeches. And he speaks of what a great leader President Bush is. However, rarley does President Bush deviate from written speeches. Then there is the timing of the release of this book. Rudy states that he had it completed summer of 2001. I heard about its completion in May 2002. But it doesn't get released until a little over a month before the elections. Funny isn't it. That's not leadership - that's politics, and it what keeps me from giving this book five stars. There are so few politicians that are leaders that Rudy allowed himself to be blinded by party politics at the fate of something as noteworthy as leadership. I would have expected better from him.
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Summary: O U T S T A N D I N G ! !
Review: I found this book riveting. I am not much of a reader, I used to follow the Dangerfield see it in a movie in less time theory, but I am currently on my second reading of this book. I simply could not put it down the first time. Excellent insight to the behind the scenes workings of New York. No one could imagine how to handle an incident like 9/11 but Giuliani was prepared long before 9/11. Excellent ideas for leading a company or your own life. I Highly recommend this book.
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Summary: Dr. J and Jane Yolen's Briar Rose Critique
Review: RMU: Dr. J Class Joan Yolen's Briar Rose begins with Gemma "The Briar Rose" telling her granddaughters and family. Gemma told her granddaughter Becca about the fairy tale of Briar Rose other wise known as Sleeping Beauty; how she was the princess and how she lived in this beautiful castle with this handsome prince. She was there until a curse was put upon her, and her family, and the townsmen. She also told them how this green mist will come upon them and the will pay with their lives, and sleep for ever.
Gemma was not hesitant to insist to her family that she was that princes in the Briar Rose. Gemma's family was thought she was senile and old as she laid on her death bed.
The story continued by Becca and her grandmother promising that Becca will uncover the mystery of Briar Rose, her grandmother Gemma the Sleeping Beauty, and that Becca will uncover the truth.
The whole family did not believe Gemmas stories since she was old, and senile, and on her deathbed. Becca felt close to her grandmother and as well as obligated to uncover this mystery of her grandmother's. Upon Gemma's death, Becca and her family received a box of Gemma's belongings. Upon receipt there were documents, pitchers, visas, documents of citizenship and birth certificates.
It was up to Becca to travel through the dark end times of the Holocaust, and Poland, as well as Germany to find the mysteries of the thorn twig of Briar Rose, and to uncover her grandmother's secrets, Becca will also uncover the partisans of Gamma's path in the forest.
One Might find it quite interesting or one could say historical by Briar Rose the fairy tale telling a story, and telling you the hard facts of Hitler's and Germanys war called the Holocaust.
Jane Yolen focuses in her novel on the story of Briar Rose as a fairy tale and as well as Sleeping Beauty. Jane Yolen also includes the Holocaust in her novel were Gamma's grand daughter will uncover Gamma's past and then will link it up to Becca past.
Upon completion of this novel I found it to be quite knowledging, and still found it to be cool to be reading a fairy tale.
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Summary: Read the McKinsey Report First
Review: After Giuliani was term-limited out of office at the start of 2002, the new administration commissioned the security experts at McKinsey & Company to evaluate New York's preparedness and response to the events of 9/11/01 and to make recommendations. Curiously, Giuliani does not even acknowledge the existence of the McKinsey Report, at least nowhere in this book. Perhaps the reason is because it pours ice water on the mindless media hype that has been sold to the America people, and even to the rest of the world, that Giuliani Is God. The McKinsey Report is found at www.nyc.gov/html/fdny. Its authors carefully refrain from finger-pointing, but its implications are clear. For example, since as far back as the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993 it was well known that the New York City Fire Department's antiquated communication equipment was prone to unacceptable breakdowns in high-rises. "There are approximately two thousand high-rise buildings in New York City today," according to McKinsey. "Field experience suggests that FDNY personnel can communicate reliably in just a fraction of these buildings." As the horror of 9/11 unfolded, "[T]he chiefs [in the lobby of WTC 1] were able to get through to some units, but not others." They had no idea "whether their messages failed to get through, whether the units failed to acknowledge because they were too busy with rescue operations, or whether units did acknowledge, but the acknowledgment did not get through." Meanwhile, police choppers hovering over the towers could plainly see that the fires were doing irreparable structural damage, and that at least a partial collapse was imminent. Tragically, thanks to the city's horse-and-buggy communication technology, the fire chiefs had no way of knowing this until it was far too late. Just pause to consider how many of the uniformed personnel who were killed on 9/11, firefighters and cops alike, might still be alive today had they only been able to stay in contact with one another. After an earlier brush with World Trade terrorism in '93, one would think it would have been an urgent priority to bring FDNY and NYPD technology into the 21st century. McKinsey points out that during the Giuliani years, "[T]he FDNY had considered several of the recommendations in this report before, but never fully brought them to fruition....The Department purchased new UHF radios in 1999, but was unsuccessful in an attempt to deploy them in 2001." In the aftermath of 9/11, the FBI was justly skewered for failing to provide its agents with state-of-the-art computers. Yet, Giuliani's apologists would have us believe, it was too difficult to provide New York's Bravest with state-of-the-art radios?!? Which is worse? Then there was Giuliani's brilliant decision, years before 9/11, to install the city's Office of Emergency Management (OEM) in 7 World Trade Center -- against the pleas of fire professionals and other security consultants, who loudly warned him that was one of the dumbest places to put it. For good measure, the OEM facility also had a massive diesel tank, which contributed to the toxic dust cloud that choked lower Manahattan on 9/11. As McKinsey observes with characteristic understatement, "The evacuation and subsequent destruction of the ... OEM further impaired the coordination process among the FDNY, NYPD and other responding agencies on September 11." With "leadership" like this, who needs dissension? Any other mayor would have been run out of town after such a catastrophic fiasco. In this book's next-to-last chapter, Giuliani indulges in snide partisanship, insinuating that former President Clinton should be the scapegoat for 9/11 because the military and intelligence agencies "were not paying attention to terrorism" because they were "underfinanced and underpaid." Like George W. Bush was just a helpless bystander in the weeks and months leading up to 9/11. Is this the same Rudy who forced his city's firefighters to work without a contract for two years? Who is he to criticize the feds for not paying CIA analysts enough money? In light of the Giuliani administration's own bloopers leading up to 9/11, that is truly the pot calling the kettle black. America's mayor? Man of the year? An honorary knight of the British Empire? Gimme a break.
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