<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: A Welcome Addition to My Library
Review: Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) has received lots of attention over the last decade or so, and I'd like it to receive more. Here's a good place to start.
As an [ahem] older law student, I recently signed up to participate in a mediation program through a local courthouse. As I looked around for helpful references, my eye fell naturally on this modern classic by Jennifer Beer. Continuously in print since 1982 and now in its third edition, it's probably _the_ book that did most to teach the American public how to "do" mediation.
It's full of nuts-and-bolts advice on everything from what to say to where to put the chairs. And it's got something some other mediation books lack: a sense of the "spirituality" of mediation.
For the techniques in this volume grew out of the Friends Conflict Resolution Programs (FCRP). And the Religious Society of Friends ("Quakers") is pretty good at conflict resolution.
(It's those "meetings." Some readers may know that in the early days of the United States, a half-century of so before the Emancipation Proclamation, the Friends unilaterally, voluntarily, and unanimously freed every last one of their slaves -- and paid them to boot, if I'm not mistaken. And anybody who has ever attended a Quaker meeting will understand why, even if they've never heard of John Woolman.)
I've got quite a few Quakers in my family tree, so I'm pleased by this approach. But it's very understated and mostly behind the scenes, so the casual reader will notice only that the book has a certain mood or tone.
What's really going on is that the mediation advice herein is implicitly predicated on the presumption that people are competent to settle their own disputes because each of them has "that of God" within. And the extraordinary sensitivity of the advice is based firmly on Quaker sensibilities: namely, respect for the individual conscience as the very voice of God, and a profound belief in the power of _listening_ both to others and to oneself.
The result is a book of advice on mediation that looks an awful lot like a book on how to grasp the "sense of a meeting." Even beyond the nuts and bolts, the "flavor" of the book will itself help the reader get a feel for what mediation is all about. That's a nice feature in a book on ADR, and it's no wonder Beer's book has been in print for so long.
Allan Goodman's _Basic Skills for the New Mediator_ is a good companion volume, by the way. His book is more aimed at people who do mediation in "courtlike" settings, whereas Beer's is for pretty much any context (including workplace and family, both of which she discusses). The two together are a powerful combination of resources, arguably surpassing many more expensive books on the subject.
And for a good history of the subject of ADR, see Linda Singer's _Settling Disputes_, which I've also reviewed.
Rating:
Summary: God is in the details, and vice versa
Review: Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) has received lots of attention over the last decade or so, and I'd like it to receive more. Here's a good place to start.
As an [ahem] older law student, I recently signed up to participate in a mediation program through a local courthouse. As I looked around for helpful references, my eye fell naturally on this modern classic by Jennifer Beer. Continuously in print since 1982 and now in its third edition, it's probably _the_ book that did most to teach the American public how to "do" mediation.
It's full of nuts-and-bolts advice on everything from what to say to where to put the chairs. And it's got something some other mediation books lack: a sense of the "spirituality" of mediation.
For the techniques in this volume grew out of the Friends Conflict Resolution Programs (FCRP). And the Religious Society of Friends ("Quakers") is pretty good at conflict resolution.
(It's those "meetings." Some readers may know that in the early days of the United States, a half-century of so before the Emancipation Proclamation, the Friends unilaterally, voluntarily, and unanimously freed every last one of their slaves -- and paid them to boot, if I'm not mistaken. And anybody who has ever attended a Quaker meeting will understand why, even if they've never heard of John Woolman.)
I've got quite a few Quakers in my family tree, so I'm pleased by this approach. But it's very understated and mostly behind the scenes, so the casual reader will notice only that the book has a certain mood or tone.
What's really going on is that the mediation advice herein is implicitly predicated on the presumption that people are competent to settle their own disputes because each of them has "that of God" within. And the extraordinary sensitivity of the advice is based firmly on Quaker sensibilities: namely, respect for the individual conscience as the very voice of God, and a profound belief in the power of _listening_ both to others and to oneself.
The result is a book of advice on mediation that looks an awful lot like a book on how to grasp the "sense of a meeting." Even beyond the nuts and bolts, the "flavor" of the book will itself help the reader get a feel for what mediation is all about. That's a nice feature in a book on ADR, and it's no wonder Beer's book has been in print for so long.
Allan Goodman's _Basic Skills for the New Mediator_ is a good companion volume, by the way. His book is more aimed at people who do mediation in "courtlike" settings, whereas Beer's is for pretty much any context (including workplace and family, both of which she discusses). The two together are a powerful combination of resources, arguably surpassing many more expensive books on the subject.
And for a good history of the subject of ADR, see Linda Singer's _Settling Disputes_, which I've also reviewed.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't Be Better
Review: As a mediator and one who trains others how to mediate, I highly recommend this clearly written,comprehensive mediation handbook. I have yet to see a more practical book on mediation skills.
Rating:
Summary: A Welcome Addition to My Library
Review: I am a mediator, arbitrator, and trainer. The Mediator's Handbook is a welcome addition to my library. It is filled with practical advice,theoretical information, wonderful charts, and the nuts and bolts of mediation. I am sure every mediator, new or experienced, will benefit from this book. I recommend that every mediator skim the "Mediator's Handbook" as well as "Basic Skills for the New Mediator" by Allan H. Goodman (which I purchased at the same time) before every mediation.
Rating:
Summary: Mediator's Handbook
Review: The original Mediator's Handbook - continuously in print for over fifteen years - was the first mediation manual available to the public. It set the standard for the methodology of conflict resolution, providing a time-tested, flexible model for effective mediation in diverse environments and situations. Completely revised and expanded, this new edition is an invaluable resource for people working in corporations, government agencies, community organizations, schools, or any other situation where there is a need to build bridges between diverse perspectives
<< 1 >>
| 
