Ungentle Shakespeare - Arden Shakespeare: Scenes from his Life (Ungentle Shakespeare: Scenes from His Life)

Book Description

This lively, readable and challenging new biography, by the editor of the acclaimed Arden edition of Shakespeare's Sonnets, takes a fresh look at an enduring cultural icon, about whose life it is widely claimed that nothing is known. As a result Shakespeare has tended to be viewed in Romantic isolation: the Bard as lonely inspired singer enthroned on a mountain peak. The aim of this study is to replace the image of the lonely genius with one of Shakespeare as deeply involved, even enmired, in the geographical, social and literary context of his time. This Shakespeare is a man who lives in a congested city and has to deal with disease, debt and cut-throat competition; his manifest brilliance often makes him the object of envy and malice, rather than adulation. Much of his life and writing is seen as the result of accident and circumstance, rather than the product of artistic vision or a grand career plan. From his shotgun wedding at the age of 18 to the burning down of the Globe Theatre over 30 years later, he is beset by bad luck. His most brilliant works are seen as creative responses to external constraints, such as the plague outbreaks that frequently closed the public theatres during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Katherine Duncan-Jones also takes a fresh look at the tradition of Shakespeare's love for a 'Dark Lady' and concludes rather that he devoted his most personal and passionate writing to the service of young men.

Customer Reviews:

Rattling the Bones.......2004-06-07

I enjoyed this highly original Shakespeare biography, if only because of its deliberate departure from mainstream Bardolatry. Biographers of Shakespeare are in a paradoxical situation: Shakespeare left behind reams of writings of genius, and many legal documents, but there is little solid indication of what sort of personality he was, or what made him tick. Would-be biographers therefore resort to supposition and fabrication to fill in the numerous blanks. Biographies of Shakespeare thus reflect more about the desires, needs, and personality of the biographer than Shakespeare himself. Duncan-Jones' book is no exception. She seems to be motivated by a rather adolescent resentment of Shakespeare because many fine Elizabethan or Jacobean writers, such as Sidney, Nashe, Webster, and Marston, are neglected at his expense. This leads her into the worst possible interpretation of Shakespeare's activities at every turn. Despite this, or because of it, Ungentle Shakespeare is compelling, provocative, and important, by forcing us to acknowledge the possibility that Shakespeare (gasp!) was a complex, flawed guy. It is well-written and generally well-argued. Occasionally, her animus against Shakespeare leads her into assertions which are plain silly: Why should Shakespeare's appropriation of Robert Greene's Pandosto for the plot of The Winter's Tale be seen as "settling scores"? More realistically, this is a probably a generous tribute to a departed rival.

Readers seeking a more favorable slant are advised to read Michael Wood's intriguing biography (another shocker: was Shakespeare Catholic?) or the very sober, but highly reliable biography by Park Honan.

Provocative and informative.......2004-02-26

The reviewer who dismissed this book as "fiction" was totally wrong. This is a highly original book, which shows us that the implications of the familiar evidence for Shakespeare's life have never been fully understood until now. The author is not afraid to challenge many of our most entrenched assumptions about Shakespeare -- not least the hope that he must have been "a nice person". Duncan-Jones uses her brilliant knowledge of original documents and sources to demonstrate that there is a great deal of evidence that Shakespeare behaved pretty badly in relation to the poor and towards his daughters, and that he wangled his way to getting a coat of arms. It's a refreshing picture, which hasn't been presented in ANY previous biography; perhaps it's no coincidence that this is the first Shakespeare biography written by a woman. But this is by no means simply a hatchet job. Duncan-Jones' account of Shakespeare's social climbing is balanced by some wonderfully sensitive accounts of the plays; she shows her capacity both for sharp psychological insight, and for appreciative literary criticism. Anyone interested in Shakespeare (and who isn't?) needs to buy this book.

Yawn.......2003-11-10

As with Duncan-Jones's biography of Sidney, her strength is her imagination. A book, like so many other 'Shakespeare biographries', that belongs on the 'fiction' shelf.

The Arden Shakespeare graced by a provocative new biography.......2001-08-18

Recent years have given us several fine new works on Shakespeare, among them Harold Bloom's prickly but masterful "The Invention of the Human" and Park Honan's well-researched, sober "Shakespeare - A Life". To these we must now add Katherine Duncan-Jones' "Ungentle Shakespeare". Where Bloom illuminates the works and marvels at the scope of Shakespeare's mind, and Honan relates the life based on the "facts", with as little speculation as possible, Ms. Duncan-Jones draws on what is clearly an encyclopedic knowledge of documents, history, and scholarship to consciously extract from the context of the times possible insights into the man and his craft.

The author (refreshingly) sets out with nothing special to prove and no incipient desire to deify or demonize the Bard. Even Honan seems to tend, if in doubt, to "find in the Bard's favour": the sum left Stratford's poor in Shakespeare's will, for example, is deemed a "generous bequest". Until, that is, it is viewed next to the bequests of other contemporary people of wealth, as Duncan-Jones does, revealing it as paltry by comparison - once we view it in a broader context.

This is the pattern for the entire book: intentionally not an exhaustive biography, "Scenes From His Life" (the book's sub-title) are used to illuminate the poet's achievement, hitherto unexplored but likely aspects of his personality, and his journey through his times in a way that nicely supplements more (and also far less) cautious biographys. In questioning certain aspects of received wisdom, Duncan-Jones invites us to envision Shakespeare the man, living and interacting in a complex, high-pressure reality, not as a Cultural Icon on a pedestal.

Book Description

For this sumptuously illustrated catalog, Kalman A. Burnim—picture editor and compiler of the iconographies published in the sixteen-volume Biographical Dictionary—has selected more than 350 portraits from various editions of the John Bell publication Bell’s Shakespeare (including John Barker’s continuation of 1799–1800) and from Bell’s British Theatre (including George Cawthorn’s 1797 edition). Philip H. Highfill Jr. has furnished the introductory essay for the catalog.

These are portraits of players in costume for their roles. Most are by James Roberts and Samuel De Wilde, who were among the leading painters of actors and actresses between 1770 and 1820. Richard Cosway, William Hamilton, Gilbert Stuart, and other painters also have work represented in the catalog. The beautifully detailed engraved plates are by James Thornthwaite, William Leney, Philippe Audinet, and others.

William Shakespeare; an introduction to his life, times, and theatre (A Blaisdell book in the humanities)

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William Shakespeare; an introduction to his life, times, and theatre (A Blaisdell book in the humanities)
Irving Ribner
Manufacturer: Blaisdell Pub. Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Shakespeare: The Evidence: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Man and His Work

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Wonderful
Behold the Man!
Flawed
Finally a page turning biography
Great look at Shakespeare.

Shakespeare: The Evidence: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Man and His Work
Ian Wilson
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Shadowplay: The Hidden Beliefs and Coded Politics of William Shakespeare

ASIN: 0312200056

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful.......2003-10-29

This is a great book. It is easy to read and it is interesting. Mr. Wilson does not just write about Shakespear and give his theories, he provides reasoned arguments about those theories. Mr. Wilson also provides alternative arguments and alternative theories regarding Shakespear.

My only complaint? I'd like to see a list of the main people that are discussed with some clue as to their context. I say this because you will be introduced to someone on page 10 and not read about him again until page 87. A quick reference page would be very helpful in keeping everyone straight.

Otherwise, this is a great book.
Enjoy.

Behold the Man!.......2003-01-10

Books on Shakespeare roughly seem to fall into two categories: Standard scholarly books that downplay the man and focus on the plays and ingenious, entertianing books by frequently learned amateurs of anti-stratfordian theories of authorship. Anti-stratfordians have an advantage with the popular reading public; whereas academics are content to deal with texts as if they have no referents, laypeople necessarily have to ask (as William Paley said in his "natural theology) what kind of man wrote these plays. Anti-stratfordians are all too willing to oblige.

Furthermore the field is fairly well uncontested as practically all academics consider anti-stratfordian theories as beneath their contempt. This is a shame because generally they are entirely worthy of contempt. Ian Wilson is educated amateur, with the sort of background one associates with anti-stratfordians. He summarizes and interprets the available evidence and comes to some remarkable conclusions.

Best of all, his is not an "anti-anti-stratfordian rant" he concentrates on considering the "stratford man" not knocking other candidates. But the position of there being an "authorship problem" is made untenable. Particularly when read in conjuction with Matus' SHAKESPEARE IN FACT which addresses subsequent assessments of shakespeare (culminating in romantic "bardolatry") as well as a dissection of the claims for Oxford. This even though there are plenty of "arguably"'s, "almost certian"'s, "likely"'s that stud the text which the loyal opposition will make much of.

The one substantian objection is that Wilson argues for the likelihood of a position (for example the identity of the "dark lady") and then frequently treats it as establish fact. This is a chief vice of anti-strafordians A few more qualifiers would have enhanced the book's credibility.

Flawed.......2000-01-25

This is a fascinating book, but I was dismayed by Wilson's anti-Elizabeth bias. He refers to her as a "hideous old woman" responsible for the death of "many worthy young people" like Mary Queen of Scots and the Earl of Essex. Worthy young people...those two? Mary Stuart was singularly lacking in common sense, and, after catching Mary red-handed plotting against her numerous times, Elizabeth had little choice politically but to execute her. As for Essex, he was a spoiled egomaniac who bit the hand that fed him. Wilson also does himself no service by referring to Robert Cecil as "the little secretary Cecil" or by repeating without caveat a discredited story about how Essex's ring was not given to Elizabeth.

Finally a page turning biography.......1999-09-11

Being a Shakespearean actor, I am very interested in consuming any information concerning the bard from critiques of the plays and sonnets to varied information about his life. Usually though its a chore to ponder through overblown scholarly disertaions on the works that totally ignore the dimension of the presentation and performance. Even more so with dull biographers who grapple with sparse facts on Shakespeare's life and who eventually draw a very incomplete view of the man. That all changed in reading this book! Ian Wilson paints the most complete portrait of the bard that I have ever read. Piecing together bits of direct and surrounding evidence, selections of the plays and political intriques of the time Wilson writes an exciting narrative that reads more like a screenplay then a dissertation. I found myself dieing to know what happend next as his life unfolded. Here Shakespeare appears as a true Human being and not the stuff of half baked legend and places emotion and motivation behind the writing of the plays. It describes in detail his dealings with the high members of the court of England, rising through the ranks of the theatrical world and gives a poignant glimpse into the man himself and dispels any allusion to the authorship question, especially from Edward De Vere. Given the success of "Shakespeare in Love", Hollywood should take this book and fashion a mini-series on his life. There is more than enough drama and mystery in these pages for three films. Definitely a great read for any scholar or Shakespearean actor that seek to relish the rich legacy that Will left to our culture.

Great look at Shakespeare........1999-03-06

This is very well written account of what we know of Shakespeare's Life. Wilson makes a very persuasive case for Shakespeare as the author of the plays and sonnets. At times his reasoning becomes a little convoluted, but almost all books on subjects like this have some twistings in their reasoning. After reading this I would stand behind Shakespeare on the authorship debate, partly because there is no reason to believe that he did not write the plays. Jeff Anderson

The Best Actors in the World: Shakespeare and His Acting Company (Contributions in Drama and Theatre Studies)

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The Best Actors in the World: Shakespeare and His Acting Company (Contributions in Drama and Theatre Studies)
David Grote
Manufacturer: Greenwood Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0313320888

Book Description

Shakespeare knew actors because he was one. The first book-length study of its kind, this volume investigates Shakespeare as a member of his acting company, dating and casting all the plays they presented from 1594 to 1614, and exploring the effects of actors on his writing. Much has been written about Shakespeare and a great deal is known about the Elizabethan theater. Yet little has been done to examine Shakespeare in relation to his acting company. This book casts light on Shakespeare's life in drama and the creation and staging of his plays. More precisely than any other work, it establishes the dates for his company's productions, exploring the varied and profound influences actors had on the works of Renaissance dramatists, and giving us a unique look at the man who knew his actors best of all. As a member of the newly organized Chamberlain's Men, a company that rose to fame in the London theater, Shakespeare experienced the numerous crises, both personal and political, that nearly destroyed the company at the construction of the Globe. Grote describes the company's reorganization as the King's Men, which led to the writing of Shakespeare's great tragedies, as well as the trials of the plague years, Shakespeare's retirement from the stage, the development of writers to replace him, and the burning of the Globe.

Fancy's Image: Contexts, Settings, and Perspectives in Shakespeare and His Contemporaries

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Fancy's Image: Contexts, Settings, and Perspectives in Shakespeare and His Contemporaries
Charles R Forker
Manufacturer: Southern Illinois University
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

In ten essays spanning more than three decades of scholarship, Charles R. Forker, the author of Skull Beneath the Skin: The Achievement of John Webster, explores the dramatic and poetic styles of Shakespeare and his contemporaries in relation to Elizabethan ideas of space and time, image patterns and aesthetic form in drama, cultural contexts (the family, the state, the individual), and political and religious values.

Forker has divided his essays into three sections. The essays in the first section, "The Stage," explore theatrical self-consciousness; those in "The Green World" examine the use of pastoral and natural settings as significant factors in dramatization; the essays in the final section, "The Family," discuss ideas of dramatic engagement and disengagement in major Elizabethan playwrights other than Shakespeare.

A Guide to Scenes & Monologues from Shakespeare and His Contemporaries

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A Guide to Scenes & Monologues from Shakespeare and His Contemporaries
Kurt Daw , and Julie Matthews
Manufacturer: Heinemann Drama
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0325000158

Book Description

Finding good material for scene study, monologue work, and auditions is a constant challenge for actors. This volume makes that job a whole lot easier. It is a complete guide to over six hundred playable scenes and monologues from Shakespeare and his contemporaries - the most extensive offering available in one place.

This guide is designed to be easy to use. The authors have grouped the plays into traditional categories: comedies, tragedies, histories, and romances. From there, categories are broken down into further groupings (in the case of tragedies, for example: revenge tragedies, major tragedies, tragedies of classical times, and Jacobean tragedies). Short overviews are provided for each grouping; individual introductions are provided for each play. At the end of each section is a list of suggested excerpts suitable for use in auditions, monologue work, and scene study.

Both beginning and seasoned actors will find this a valuable resource for making intelligent decisions about the roles they choose.

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Hamlet: Edited with a Life of Shakespeare, an Account of the Theatre in His Time, and Numerous Aids to the Study of the Play.

Manufacturer: Allyn and Bacon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000E7KTQO

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Fail often, Fail fast, Fail Cheap

Growth-focused Management

Great insights, a must for corporate "victims" everywhere.

Low Inflation Makes Revenue Growth Harder to Accomplish

Hits the nail on the head

Double-Digit Growth: How Great Companies Achieve It--No Matter What
Michael Treacy
Manufacturer: Portfolio Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Discipline of Market Leaders: Choose Your Customers, Narrow Your Focus, Dominate Your Market

Anointed for Business

Profitable Growth Is Everyone's Business: 10 Tools You Can Use Monday Morning

Every Business is a Growth Business: How Your Company Can Prosper Year After Year

Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant

ASIN: 159184066X

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After Michael Treacy finished writing his bestseller, The Discipline of Market Leaders, he continued to track the companies profiled to answer one major question: how do market-leading companies foster growth? In Double-Digit Growth: How Great Companies Achieve It—No Matter What the MIT Management Professor addresses this problem with a five-part portfolio of management disciplines. He offers case studies of well-known and little-known companies that have achieved growth year after year based on this diversified approach.

His first three disciplines--"keep the growth you have already earned," "take business from your competitors," and "show up where the growth is going to happen"--may seem obvious, and even beyond the control of the average executive. But Treacy provides frameworks for applying each as business practice, not just wishful thinking. His fourth and fifth disciplines, "invade adjacent markets" and "invest in new lines of business," are perhaps the most controversial. Here, though, he is not advising rampant conglomeration. Rather, he stresses the need for acquisitions and expansions made based on reliable data predicting long-term growth with risk spread over diversified investments.

Treacy is not presenting a step-by-step formula for success. Through his quick, readable prose he offers instead a course in mental re-training for executives. A management team must construct tools for tracking and measuring its success against each of the five growth disciplines, and it must build a corporate culture that instills growth as a core goal. While he offers no guarantees, his arguments are compelling, and the nuanced management strategies he suggests seem a plausible base for attaining predictable growth. --Patrick O'Kelley

Book Description

The bestselling author of The Discipline of Market Leaders reveals how companies can achieve sustained growth.

In their 1995 blockbuster The Discipline of Market Leaders, Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema explained how great companies dominated their markets by offering superior value propositions. Now Treacy is back with an equally groundbreaking book-revealing how great companies master growth each year and how all businesses can identify and exploit opportunities for increased revenues, gross margins, and profits.

Treacy's main point is simple-it really is possible to grow your business by 10 percent or more, year after year, in good times and bad, without cheating. Great companies already know how to do it, and the rest of us can learn their strategies and do the same thing. Using case studies from industry leaders such as Dell Computer, Home Depot, and GE, he shows the five steps that are imperative to ensure growth:

€ keep the growth you have already earned
€ look for growth where it's likely to be found
€ take business from your competitors

Treacy believes that any business can grow at a consistent double-digit rate, and with Double-Digit Growth, managers and investors now have the tools to achieve that lofty goal and maintain corporate success.

Customer Reviews:

Fail often, Fail fast, Fail Cheap.......2006-04-20

[...]

This is now one of my favourite books. (I tend to be a bit fickle and flip from book to book as to which ones are the best.) One thing that I love about the book is the number of examples it gives of companies that maintain double-digit growth for long periods of times. I am a huge growth addict (growth is a great way to drive efficiency into an organization painlessly). Growth is also fun and inspirational. I could rephrase one of the principles of the book with one of my favourite sayings, "Fail often, fail fast, and fail cheap." The gist of it is to experiment in different areas and search aggressively for areas where things can get traction. Look at the downside so don't risk too much. Do it fast and do it often.

The book talks about the toughest way to grow as taking market share from another competitor, growing within a static market is extremely expensive and in most cases very damaging to a company. That's why we constantly seek new markets or markets and change. I have always said, "Change is opportunity".

The book is a great read and I highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in business.

Jim Estill

Growth-focused Management.......2005-12-27

This straightforward book reduces the problem of corporate growth to five simple disciplines. Some of these disciplines will be familiar to readers of author Michael Treacy's bestseller `The Discipline of Market Leaders'. The author identifies sound principles, and he supports his case with numerous examples from the annals of corporate success and failure. Although the five disciplines are sometimes so obvious (try to get more customers) that a reader may well wonder if any businessperson could possibly be unaware of them, it is true that egregious corporate downfalls often result from a failure to recognize and respond to the obvious. If the book only pointed out the obvious to those in danger of ignoring it, we would find that entirely worthwhile and, for companies that wish to grow, it does a good bit more.

Great insights, a must for corporate "victims" everywhere........2004-04-25

Michael Treacy sets out to show that growth, double digit growth at that, is possible in every economic environment. This is of course a creative possibility, but is often not acknowledged or even sought after by many in corporate America who are content to do the easy risk-avoidance strategies which ensure their ultimate demise. I liked this quote early in the book to set the tone: "Why do many managers preside over no-growth organizations without confronting the reality that accepting the status quo is the business equivalent of committing suicide?"

The highlights of the book are the way the ideas are laid out and then described in action with examples across several industries. Some of the tactics include; Spread the risk, Take small bites, Balance your strategies, and Commit to superior value. One key according to Treacy is to accept that growth is a choice. He describes managers talking about growth difficulties as "a little like listening to an addict in denial. Don't they understand that growth is a choice - a choice that lies entirely within their power and no one else's?" (Page 17).

Treacy covers 5 disciplines; Improving customer base retention; Market share gain; Market positioning; Penetrating adjacent markets; New lines of business. While these are certainly solid examples of the ways to approach growth, the real depth in the book is around understanding consumer behavior. He points out the reality behind why most "customer retention" strategies don't work, and how to increase "switching costs" of your products and services. Making your products and services "sticky" is a key to growth working well, by retaining current customers while attracting new ones.

While the information and theories here are certainly not the final word on growth, this book should be required reading for all the corporate "victims" blaming their woes on things outside their control. It is clear that countless opportunities exist within every market niche and through every economic trend to facilitate growth. Many companies do in fact continue to grow, and they are usually ones who are committed to it. The companies that do not grow are usually gone in time. The section on Corning, caught in the euphoria of the late 90's telecom boom, was a great example of how even market leaders fail to get ahead of the indicators and lose as a result.

Overall, a great read, with some good insights. I would have liked to see a bit more focus on the inspirational factors that great leaders bring to align their employees to deliver when the employees themselves may not see the way. That is obviously a huge key to executing a strategy, and was not covered as in depth as it could have been here. Otherwise, a good look at how to achieve growth and will likely cause many light bulbs to go on while reading.

Low Inflation Makes Revenue Growth Harder to Accomplish.......2004-02-09

During the times when inflation and GNP growth in the United States were higher, investors gradually expanded their expectations of what "growth" meant. During the great bull market of the 1960s, a company that grew revenues by 10 percent a year was considered a great growth firm. Soon, that target was being set north of 15 percent. Exciting breakthroughs in technology meant that many markets were actually growing faster than that, so those who were growing market share were expanding at enormous rates (remember Cisco in the 1990s?).

Since then, inflation has declined to almost nothing, GDP has been stagnant during the Bush administration (with a recent up tick), and the dollar has been plummeting (making overseas revenues worth much less). That's a tougher environment to grow in than even the 1960s. So Double-Digit Growth is talking about a difficult target for those who are not in the highest growth industries. In appreciation of that point, Michael Treacy (coauthor of The Discipline of Market Leaders) says that companies should measure their growth in terms of total gross profits. So if you are expanding your value-added enough, you may be able to have double-digit growth while having less than double-digit revenue growth. That said, he argues that ANY company can have double-digit growth. I assume that he means it is POSSIBLE. Based on the track record of the last three years, most would agree that it?s IMPROBABLE though if we look at time frames of five years or more.

As with The Discipline of Market Leaders, Mr. Treacy looks at a few successful companies that have met his targets in the past (Johnson Controls, Mohawk Industries, Paychex, Biomet, Oshkosh Truck and Dell) and extrapolates what they did into a few simple lessons. The strategic lessons are:

1) Spread your risk by pursuing many growth initiatives

2) Take on small growth challenges so you don't become overwhelmed by the size of the task

3) Use a variety of strategies involving organic growth and acquisitions, as appropriate to grow

4) Be committed to providing superior value

5) Develop your management to handle growth opportunities before tackling more opportunities

6) Make growth a central focus of your management processes (using Balanced Scorecard-like measures).

To implement these six strategic perspectives, he counsels that each company should focus on five management disciplines:

a) Reduce customer turnover

b) Take business from competitors

c) Emphasize those areas in your industry that are growing fastest

d) Invade adjacent markets where you can bring important advantages to bear

e) Invest in new lines of business

The heart of the book is devoted to these five disciplines. Each receives a chapter that talks about the difficulties involved and how to over come those difficulties. I thought that the book's advice was most practical and interesting when it talked about the disciplines.

If I look back to when I was first learning about strategy, I think that every article or book I read talked about the last four disciplines . . . but omitted the first. In fact, the best chapter in the book is on the first discipline, especially in debunking those who advocate that you can build loyalty in customers with any method other than making your value proposition be terrific.

Another excellent part of the book comes in the case history of First Data which used these disciplines to improve its situation. Presumably First Data was a consulting client of Mr. Treacy's.

I was pleased to see that Mr. Treacy noted that many of his champion growers frequently changed business models in positive ways (especially Paychex and Dell). Double-Digit Growth is rare book in noting and describing such management excellence. In doing so, the book's only weaknesses were that few examples of continuing business model innovation were included and not enough attention was paid to describing the key elements of this new and important management discipline. I hope in future books that Mr. Treacy will place more emphasis on the best practices in this area.

The book's perspective is that of the strategist and marketing executive, so those who come from other perspectives will probably gain the most from this book. Double-Digit Growth will give other executives a chance to understand what they should be focusing on as they meld their talents together with others in the organization.

If you are, however, a veteran strategist or marketing executive, you may get little benefit except from reading whichever company cases in the book (listed above) you have not read or heard about before.

As I finished the book, I wondered about how companies can make it more exciting to work on customer retention. Perhaps Raving Fans! has it right in that regard.

If you are not in a high growth market, though, I would still rate your chances of double-digit growth in revenues or gross profits to be slim . . . unless you become a master of continuing business model innovation.

Hits the nail on the head.......2004-01-01

In this excellent book, Michael Treacy discusses a subject that had been forgotten by most companies---growth. It's all about growth. Creating revenues. Being creative and competitive.Too many companies are focused on being Mr. Cheapskate by cutting back and many of those companies have lostbusiness to companies that are growth focused.Every executive and every business person must read this book if you want your company to move forward or even stay around in this new, tougher enviroment.Also recommend Good To Great by Jim Collins.

Choices.(Marginal, Double-Digit Growth: How Great Companies Achieve It--No Matter What)(Book Review): An article from: Automotive Design & Production

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Choices.(Marginal, Double-Digit Growth: How Great Companies Achieve It--No Matter What)(Book Review): An article from: Automotive Design & Production
Gary S. Vasilash
Manufacturer: Gardner Publications, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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This digital document is an article from Automotive Design & Production, published by Gardner Publications, Inc. on September 1, 2003. The length of the article is 623 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Choices.(Marginal, Double-Digit Growth: How Great Companies Achieve It--No Matter What)(Book Review)
Author: Gary S. Vasilash
Publication: Automotive Design & Production (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2003
Publisher: Gardner Publications, Inc.
Volume: 115 Issue: 9 Page: 8(1)

Article Type: Book Review

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Michael Treacy: Double-Digit Growth.(co-founder and chief strategist of GEN3 Partners)(Interview): An article from: Bank Marketing

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Michael Treacy: Double-Digit Growth.(co-founder and chief strategist of GEN3 Partners)(Interview): An article from: Bank Marketing

Manufacturer: Bank Marketing Assn.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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This digital document is an article from Bank Marketing, published by Bank Marketing Assn. on January 1, 2004. The length of the article is 713 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Michael Treacy: Double-Digit Growth.(co-founder and chief strategist of GEN3 Partners)(Interview)
Publication: Bank Marketing (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2004
Publisher: Bank Marketing Assn.
Volume: 36 Issue: 1 Page: 4(2)

Article Type: Interview

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