Bellwether

Rating:
Summary: Great Novel with puzzling discrepancies
Review: Often missclassified by libraries, this is not science fiction but rather fiction about scientists and about corporate life. If you want more on jargon, consult http://www.thespewfactor.com/ and read You Look Nice Today by Stanley Bing or A Shortage of Engineers by Robert Grossbach.
Each chapter of this splendid and well-researched read, with the exception of three, is headed by a description of a fad. The three errors are dancing mania (public health problem not a fad), coueism (still in existance in the Church of Religious Science), and ouija board (used to communicate with the dead). Why the errors? carelessness or indifference on the writer's part? a deliberate puzzle? My own guess is that she simply forgot until some copy editor calling an hour before the deadline demanded three more fads.

Rating:
Summary: Sharp, Biting Humor
Review: Willis' apt observations of fads, crowds, and group behavior were spot-on. I laughed so hard I almost wet myself. Then I felt a little guilty because I was being snobby and feeling superior to all those "sheep" who follow fads. Then I laughed at myself because I am guilty of following fads, too (Rachel haircut, anyone?). Hilarious.

Rating:
Summary: Fair
Review: After reading the Doomsday book, I was not prepared for such a light-hearted and witty book on fads, chaos theory with just a dollop of romance. After the large scale carnage of the Doomsday book, it was a relief to find everybody surviving at the end of this one ( more or less retaining their sanity)!
I give this book 5 stars because I think it is a lot harder to write a funny book than it is to write an apocalyptic one. I also have a deep respect for authors who explore different writing styles and subjects. Can't wait to get hold of another of her books..I'm sure it will be as refreshingly different.

Rating:
Summary: Cruelly Accurate
Review: Somewhat lighter than her usual style and very funny. Her Dilbertian portrayal of the workplace, and in particular the relationship between those obsessed with their jobs and those obsessed with themselves, is instantly recognizable. One wonders where she worked. I particularly liked the concept of people acting as chaos vortices, again an instantly recognizable concept. My only problem with this book was that at times it is so cruelly accurate that I felt guilty at laughing.