Who's Sorry Now? (Grace & Favor Mystery Series #6)

Book Description

Sister and brother Lily and Robert Brewster may not have a penny to their names, but at least they're in good company––times couldn't be tougher in the Hudson River Valley during the Great Depression, and even the much–revered Chief of Police has lost his home. Their poor town has been stripped of its Post Office, too; now mail gets dumped off the trains steaming up the Hudson River, and people have to rummage through the bags to find their letters and packages. When Robert helps a young widow and her newly–arrived German grandfather haul the old man's trunks to his granddaughter's shop, he thinks he may have found a new set of friends––especially the kind train porter who helps them out. But when a red swastika is found painted on the widow's shop window, and the train porter is found dead, Robert knows that something much deeper, and much darker, is happening in his sleepy little town. Even back at Grace & Favor Mansion, where Lily and Robert live, things are falling apart. The Chief of Police has just unearthed a very, very old skeleton––right on the grounds! Could the two murders be related? It's up to Lily and Robert to find out the truth, before their quiet community is town apart by hatred, secrets, and a killer who may have set his sights on Grace & Favor...

Customer Reviews:

Well-intentioned, but terrible.......2007-07-04

I just read the Booklist review (at the top of this Amazon page) and saw the description of Churchill's "spare and eloquent" writing. To me, it sounded like it was written by a 12-year-old, for an audience of 8-year-olds. Based on the other reader reviews, it sounds like maybe the earlier entries in this series are better, but I didn't make it past the first chapter in this one.

Terrible "mystery", unedited, looks unfinished.......2007-03-18

This looks like a draft. None of the characters you follow in the first few chapters appear in the last few chapters. Every sentence is noun, verb with no variation, no clauses. The first mystery, a teen girl's body in the garden, is completely ignored halfway through and never looked into! The second mystery, lots of cash in the bookcase is clearly a case of a manipulative lawyer scamming them, but never looked into again. The third crime seems to hinge on their only clue, it was done with a jeweler's wire. But this is never found nor attributed to the person arrested. And the running gag of trying to build a homemade post office at the station is not only pointless but also left hanging at the end.
None of the characters do anything natural. None of the dialog is worth hearing once, but it is repeated at least three times each (and once five times), apparently to fill the pages. Don't waste your time on this hack.

A children's book?.......2007-02-09

I've read one other Churchill book, but was willing to give this one a go. It was light, and charming, but, I just don't get it. The style of the writing, with the repitition of main plot themes over and over; it just seemed either the author thought we needed to be retold a story over and over, or she just ran out of things to write.

Let me give an example. Early in the book we learn that 3 "biddies" were going through the mail, and they wanted to prevent certain letters from being delivered. As the plot progressed, the protagonist felt it was important to tell others about what happened. Follow me so far? Now, in most books, the author would have written "...and he told them about the incident he saw with the mail," but this author has him repeat the same story with the same details to each person he sees. And WE, poor readers, have to hear it all over again. Likewise for other important "clues," they are repeated in detail over and over again as if the reader is a child, and needs to be reminded of these not-very-complicated plot developments.

The mystery itself was mundane, and there is a whole "subplot" of burying up some bones that is not at all relevent to the book.

Nice sense of life during the depression era, though. And charming (although 1 dimentional) characters

Another good book in this series.......2006-12-27

This is the fifth in the A Grace and Favor Mystery series, and just as charming and fun as the previous titles.

Robert and Lily Brewster have been left the Grace and Favor mansion in rural New York by their Great Uncle Horatio. It is just after the stock market crash, and their privileged childhood has not prepared them for a life of searching for work and poverty.

Uncle Horatio had some odd conditions in his will; so they must live in the mansion with a number of other odd lodgers and their Great Uncle's property manager, Mr. Prinney. Police Chief Howard Walker moves into the mansion in this story, and he must deal a number of problems: a murdered railway clerk, an old skeleton found when some dead bushes are dug up on the mansion's grounds, hate crimes against the new tailor in the town of Voorberg, and some stolen library books. His new assistant, Deputy Ron Parker, proves to be a gem, with unusual talents.

Armchair Interviews says: The characters in this series are the story here--the relationships, and the way the community solves problems and people pull together.

What Was The Point?.......2006-12-12

I normally enjoy this series more than the Jane Jeffry series, which has gotten silly and boring...but this installment gave it a run for its money.

What was the point of this book? The murder seemed to be secondary to endless babbling about Robert and his postal center idea, or who was getting a dress hemmed at the tailor. The ending kind of came out of nowhere with no real reason. And the other mystery just seemed to be completely dropped without any explanation or resolution.

Though this series has two main characters, Lily has always seemed to come across as the star...but she was barely present in this one. And Robert has gotten exceptionally annoying. Does he have any purpose other than to drive around town showing off his car and bothering people while they're trying to make a living?

I hope the next installment is better or I'm done with this series.

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Dark-black comedy
Comic novel with a deep social conscience

Who's Sorry Now?
Howard Jacobson
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0099437376

Book Description

From the author of The Mighty Walzer, winner of the Everyman Wodehouse Award, for comic writing.

Marvin Kreitman, the luggage baron of South London, lives for women. At present he loves four -- his mother, his wife Hazel, and his two daughters -- and is in love with five more. Charlie Merriweather, on the other hand, loves just the one woman, his wife of twenty years. Once a week the two friends meet for a Chinese lunch in Soho, contriving never quite to have the conversation they would like to have. Until today, that is. What follows shows Howard Jacobson in majestic form -- unnervingly truthful, poignant, and very, very funny.

Customer Reviews:

Dark-black comedy.......2007-08-03

Jacobson is a genius. I read WSN after his recent masterpiece Kalooki Nights. Both novels are the blackest comedies imbued with high purpose. The big puzzle: why are Jacobon's books not widely read in the U.S.?? Anyone else across the pond we don't know about??

Comic novel with a deep social conscience.......2005-01-21

Howard Jacobson is a brilliant comic writer just waiting for that breakout novel to catapult him into the ranks of young promising talents who get their first exposure to the reading public on the strength of making the Booker shortlist. Well, "Who's Sorry Now (WSN)" made the longlist a couple of years ago but inexplicably got no further. That's a real shame because WSN should have been that breakout novel. It's hilarious and an out and out winner in the best English tradition of comic writing. Crisply written, hugely funny, razor sharp in its humour, deadly in its comic timing, yet terribly sad in its observation of the state of contemporary life in England.

Those with an inherently biased view that comic writing has to be lightweight and frivolous should read WSN and then reconsider. Such is the deceptive modesty and slyness of Jacobson's aim that before each laughter dies on your lips - usually after another of Marvin's or Charlie's pathetic antics - you begin to discern the taste of bile in your mouth. The Kreitmans and Merriweathers are or think they're good friends until the men agree on a spouse swapping experiment to cure one of them of boredom born of envy and fidelity. The contrasting lifestyles and social milieu of the couples soon find the experiment taking them to places they never imagined. Happiness and bliss from their new coupling soon dissipates, and here's when the plot takes a surprising turn. Jacobson's deftness and sureness of touch shines through in the spying sequence that ends on a deliciously jaw dropping note ! The novel winds down dispensing a general sense of poetic justice, though not everyone comes off safely. Some emerge with more than a scratch. The title's message is reserved deservedly for Marvin.

WSN isn't all about sex and infidelity. The relevance of the family as a social unit, class-based lifestyles and cultural snobbery all come under Jacobson's cleared-eyed scrutiny. Naturally, the verdict isn't encouraging.

WSN isn't funny ha-ha. It's a comic novel with a deep social conscience and that's a rarity.

Who's Sorry Now: The True Story of a Stand-Up Guy

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Right on the money...
family life
A true Paisan'
Making it a love story
We are Joey ... sorry we bought the hype

Who's Sorry Now: The True Story of a Stand-Up Guy
Joe Pantoliano , and David Evanier
Manufacturer: Amazon Remainders Account
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B0001Q5U4O

Book Description

Everyone knows him as Ralph Cifaretto on the HBO hit show The Sopranos. But before Tony, Carmela, Silvio, and Dr. Melfi took Sunday-night television by storm, Joe Pantoliano was one of America's busiest actors, giving unforgettable performances in such films as Memento, The Matrix, The Fugitive, and Risky Business. Now, the street-smart kid who grew up in Sinatra's hometown shares the stage with the eccentric and colorful wise guys from his family and neighborhood.

Fade in on the projects of Hoboken, New Jersey, during the fifties and sixties. That's little Joey, running numbers with his chain-smoking mother, Mary, so they can keep a roof over their heads. When he wasn't busy staying one step ahead of the bill collectors, he was learning the ropes from "Cousin" Florie: his "stepfather" and a wise guy whose connections to the Genovese family couldn't keep him out of jail for drug trafficking. Then there was Joey's real father, "Monk," a factory worker with a weakness for gambling at the track who was later reborn as a hearse chauffeur for the local funeral parlor.

With a winning blend of humor, charm, and pure showmanship, Pantoliano tells it like it was. From a connected Jersey street kid to a successful Hollywood actor who would, ironically, re-create his wise-guy boyhood in role after role, Who's Sorry Now is an irresistibly entertaining treat for anyone interested in this true-life "Soprano" and a real stand-up guy.

Customer Reviews:

Right on the money..........2004-11-13

I'm a little late weighing in here, I just bought the book earlier this year and just now got around to reading it. Anyway, as an Italian American with an extended family that "got off the boat" in Hoboken, NJ, and as someone who ran some of the same streets that Joey once did, I can totally identify with the way Joe Pantoliano grew up and with the cast of "characters" that comprised his family, friends and neighbors. The book was extremely entertaining and written in a way that had me laughing out loud more than once. It's admirable that Joey expresses no bitterness or self-pity -- I think this is partially because people of his generation, in that place and time, just accepted the fact that family was the way it was, you didn't sit around feeling sorry for yourself, you just dealt and made a life for yourself! Also, in spite of the dysfunctionality, there was love there for Joey and I guess he chose to focus on that, whether it's just a trait he's been blessed with or if a little therapy helped him get there, it's still admirable and wonderful that he is able to see that & rejoice in it. I can understand how someone not from this subculture would see his mother and some of the other people in the book as complete monsters or animals but remember their shortcomings didn't come from an intention to be cruel, it came from the difficulties they faced as largely uneducated immigrants or children of immigrants starting with nothing in a new land. They were people who were weak and maybe more corrupt than most but not totally evil. If they knew better they would do better, so to speak. It's also nice to see the real, un-glamorized version of what it means to be a wise guy -- no mansions, Mercedes or limos for these connected guys. All in all, I enjoyed the book and read it practically in one sitting, the way the plot flowed was a little bit uneven and the writing style was a bit weak in spots which is why I give it a four instead of a five. But the story itself and the way Joe's viewpoint really came through, make it a good read for anyone who is fan of his work.

family life.......2003-07-30

The best part about this book is the author's unique voice. It's creative and to the point. The way he describes things carries the book.
The story itself is an interesting one, but it's more about his dysfunctional parents and their marriage than about the author. His mother is quite a trip. He had a rough time growing up but goofy as some of them were, his extended Italian family was a strong source of support and I think that's why he didn't drown in his parents' craziness.
This story is not about the mafia, although some people in it apparently have some bad connections. It's about a boy growing up in a close-knit, somewhat goofy family in 1960s New Jersey. And there's a lot of great insight into the family members and their peculiarities that makes it well worth the read.

A true Paisan'.......2002-12-17

I feel like I grew up with Joey Pants. His family is my family! I picked up this book because he played in one of my all time favorite movies, "Goonies," and I new his face, but not his name. He's just one of those kind of actors. I don't mind saying that I hate him in the Sopranos, 'cause who doesn't? But after reading this book, even I am proud of what he made of himself. And it has restored my faith in my own abilities. I now must write a book about my verbally abusive Italian-American man-hating mother. Although his family had problems, you still get the sense that in the end they all sit around toasting to love and family like the last scene in Moonstruck! It's a quick read and you'll love it!

Making it a love story.......2002-12-13

My brother got me this as a birthday gift - not something I would have bought myself. I figured it was one of those books where someone is cashing in on their current fame. It wasn't - it is an inner glimpse at a totally disfunctional family that I couldn't put down. Joey Pants was always one of those actors you love to hate - after reading this I can see where he got his inspiration - his nutsy Mommy (I have to admit I get a little uneasy reading about a guy in his 50's who still refers to his mother as Mommy). From this I have great admiration for Joey now - it is amazing what he overcame - the very things that would have caused most people to give up and accept their existance - inspired him to seek a better life. Anyone wishing to see the day-to-day live of a Goomba growing up in Jersey should grab this - a great read!

We are Joey ... sorry we bought the hype.......2002-10-30

I was lured by the bait of his Ralphie persona, the Imus interview and a good excerpt on Amazon, but the life of an insecure little fat kid is not charming. Mommy was a gangster's daughter who browbeat her poor husband and was ready to cheat anyone including her young son. Some of the "Cousin" Florie stories were ok, like hijacking the Seagram's truck from the Hoboken ferry, but a book? Fuggedaboutit!

Average customer rating:

Could have been much better
This Book Will Tug At Your Heart!
Missed opportunity
An interesting glimpse of the fifties/sixies teen culture

Who's Sorry Now?
Connie Francis
Manufacturer: St Martins Mass Market Paper
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312903863

Customer Reviews:

Could have been much better.......2006-10-28

This book is about what you would expect from an autobiography. It didn't get into Where the Boys Are or her Christmas show in Asia with Bob Hope. It did talk extensively about her early pre-celebrity years. Didn't talk much about her later years, except for her rape in the Long Island Motel. I did see Connie perform in Wallingford, CT in 1993 and would recommend her show.

This Book Will Tug At Your Heart!.......2002-01-30

What a story! I laughed, cried, smiled, and yes even felt angry that someone so warm and tender could go through the things that Connie Francis did. Her story will cause you to treasure life in a deeper way than ever before.
I saw Connie in concert in 2001 and will be seeing her again this year. With all that she has been through she still gives her all to her fans. She is Wonderful!

Missed opportunity.......1999-05-25

What is amazing about this book in that Connie Francis never gives a clue as to how she chose her songs, how they were recorded, how she became a worldwide artist in a dozen languages (how was there time to make so many records?), her evolvement as an artist, her legendary unreleased album "For The Boys" (recorded at Abbey Road), and the fact the cute, darling girl the public saw was markedly different from the confident, authoritative, knowledgeable and throughly professional and businesslike person in the recording studio. Being capable in the entertainment field while being darling to the public was a difficult achievement Connie Francis attained beautifully. But IT'S NOT IN THE BOOK! Her music was unsually far-ranging, her recordings had their own sound and her hitmaking instincts were unparalleled. But IT'S NOT IN THE BOOK! And once the hits stopped coming, she found it impossible to restart even though her later records were easily the most brilliant she did. But IT'S NOT IN THE BOOK. At the end, her record company basically deserted her the way record companies tend to do. Years of making a fortune for it didn't mean a thing. But IT'S NOT IN THE BOOK! What IS there is interesting and informative but the important stuff? IT AIN'T IN THE BOOK!

An interesting glimpse of the fifties/sixies teen culture.......1998-04-02

I enjoyed this book more for the youth culture references than for Francis' writing style or history (although they were okay). The clothes, phrases (broads, squares) and the ethnic cultures she envelopes ands embraces were highlights.

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Who's Sorry Now?
Kalmar Bert & Ruby Harry Recorded By Connie Francis
Manufacturer: Mills Music Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LDYZSO

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Who's Sorry Now?
Connie. Introduction By Dick Clark Francis
Manufacturer: St Martin's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GQ7WXQ

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Who's Sorry Now?
Cindi Madison
Manufacturer: Tate Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Perfect Paperback

Child Abuse | Family Relationships | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1598860135
Release Date: 2006-11-21

Product Description

On a weekend visit to Grammaw s, Cindi Madison discovers that one of her grandbabies is being sexually abused. This is the passionate, true story of the far-reaching consequences of that abuse. Cindi offers a blow-by-blow account of the heart-rending and often appalling events that follow and the significant impact they impose on the lives of so many innocent people. Who s Sorry Now? is the intimate account of the raw emotions, the horrors, the challenges, and the victories Cindi experiences throughout this life-altering drama.

Who's Sorry Now? (Grace & Favor Mystery Series #6)

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Who's Sorry Now? (Grace & Favor Mystery Series #6)
Jill Churchill
Manufacturer: Sound Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 0792738276

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Who's Sorry Now? (Grace & Favor Mystery Series #6)
Jill Churchill
Manufacturer: Avon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000P7OB6C

Who's sorry now: most Catholics take Jesus' teaching to forgive "70 times seven" very seriously. Forgiving one's enemies is difficult, but a majority of ... survey).: An article from: U.S. Catholic

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Who's sorry now: most Catholics take Jesus' teaching to forgive "70 times seven" very seriously. Forgiving one's enemies is difficult, but a majority of ... survey).: An article from: U.S. Catholic
Heidi Schlumpf
Manufacturer: Claretian Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from U.S. Catholic, published by Claretian Publications on February 1, 2003. The length of the article is 2346 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: Who's sorry now: most Catholics take Jesus' teaching to forgive "70 times seven" very seriously. Forgiving one's enemies is difficult, but a majority of U.S. Catholic readers still say the virtue of forgiveness is essential, not only in their personal lives but also in public policy. (reader survey).
Author: Heidi Schlumpf
Publication: U.S. Catholic (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 1, 2003
Publisher: Claretian Publications
Volume: 68 Issue: 2 Page: 26(4)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Offering a fresh perspective on the making of the American nation, Forging America: New Lands and High Culture shows how the various "new" portions of the country--the Northeastern wilderness, the West, and later the South and Midwest--were assimilated into the national and intellectual consciousness of the young nation. Specifically, author David P. DeVenney examines the ways in which the arts helped achieve this assimilation, primarily through music and painting, but also through literature and architecture. The search for "American-ness" in the arts, for what it meant to be an American painter, composer, or writer, occupied artists for the entire 19th century and for the first part of the 20th. Intellectuals viewed America in the 1800s as a new Eden, a primordial wilderness, and viewed themselves as chosen by God to begin a new chapter in the development of the world. This Romantic idea included exploring and taming the vast regions of the country and making their beauties accessible to the nation's Eastern population centers, filtering notions of the West through the arts and arriving at an idyllic vision absent any signs of danger or exoticism. DeVenney writes for the educated nonspecialist as well as the scholar, making Forging America a fascinating and useful tool for understanding a key way in which America became America.

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Forging America: New Lands and High Culture
David P. DeVenney
Manufacturer: Praeger Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORWJS0

Customer Reviews:

Amazing book.......2000-07-12

I believe this is one of the best books that you can buy. The entire book is mesmerising, from start to finish. Don't pick it up if you were waiting for the bus or during lunch -- it'll probably need a whole Sunday afternoon and even then you'll be solving the problems at work on Monday.

It is entertaining as it is, but it gets better if you work your way through and start solving puzzles of your own without looking at the solutions.

One way to increase the fun is to work with a partner. That way, you'll be able to explain most "impossible" situations in one go, because what you might miss again and again, your partner might catch.

I read this book and "The Chess Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes" and both are absolute gems. If you don't like the book, it simply means you don't have the aptitude and patience for solving puzzles.

Wonderful, tricky problems.......2000-05-07

The prevoius reviewer misses the point of the problems, I think. They are not normal chess problems. They are "retrograde analysis" problems, where you have figure out how a given position came to be.

Perhaps this is the reviewer's problem: he claims several of the positions are impossible. In fact, the challenge is to figure out how in the world they *can* be possible; many do indeed look impossible at first sight. I disgree that the book is filled with mistakes. I've worked all the problems, and haven't found any mistakes.

This is a wonderful book, cleverly written, full of ingenious and diabolical puzzles. I heartily recommend it.

Perhaps now that the companion volume, Chess Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes, has been reprinted, this one will be as well. It is a classic.

Chess Mysteries of the Arabian Nights.......2000-03-13

This is a very entertaining book but the editing was quite poor. The author is very clever, but he has set up some impossible situations i.e., one side will have 17 pieces, etc. In the first 11 problems, I found four such mistakes. It may be that this has been discovered by the author or publisher, and the book is out of print for that reason.

The Chess Mysteries of the Arabian Knights

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The Chess Mysteries of the Arabian Knights
Raymond M. Smullyan
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OK8DWS

Book Description

Since its original publication in 1995, The Courageous Follower has been put on reading lists everywhere from corporations and the military to unions and churches. This guide helps transform passive followers into active players who can help right leadership wrongs and support and foster a values-based organization.

Customer Reviews:

Important Concept; Format Distracting.......2007-08-30

The concept of followership is important and often ignored in a sea of leadership materials.Chaleff has tackled an important issue, and for that he should be applauded. Most of the book is clear and easy to follow, with many lists that can be used to conduct training on being a strong follower. The ways in which followers support leaders and interact with each other are useful to anyone working with teams. Chaleff has also made changes in the second edition that make it easier for followers to take a stand instead of walking away.

Where the book falls short is primarily in design, in my opinion. The switch from single- to double-spacing made me feel like the editors were trying to stretch the material to meet a pre-set number of pages.Overall, though, the book provides much to think about.

Transforming!.......2004-10-04

This is a significant contribution to the workplace no matter the environment. Chaleff integrates sound principles of human decency with enormous respect for human potential. The result is a practical approach to managing yourself and your leader especially when the stakes are high.

The Fine Balancing Act of the Courageous Follower.......2004-09-08

In The Courageous Follower, Chaleff focuses on the relationship existing between the formal leadership of an organization and the followers, all the people who ultimately report to the leadership team directly or indirectly. Chaleff also examines the interaction among followers within the leadership team in their relationship with the ultimate leader of the organization (pg. 14, 32).

Like Peter Drucker in The Essential Drucker, Ira Chaleff acknowledges right away that leadership may be informal and distributed throughout an organization (pg. 14). Knowledge workers, who are considered partners rather than employees, can only be helped. The close supervision of knowledge workers is often illusory because of their unique expertise.

Chaleff is conscious of the potential negative baggage associated with the word follower by making clear that a follower is not the same as a subordinate (pg. 15). Chaleff recognizes that being a courageous follower can be a risky proposition. Contingency plans are in any circumstances a necessity, whether the follower is courageous or not, in a fast-changing global economy (pg. 20-21, 163-165). However, a respectful individual who is not afraid to speak and act on the truth, despite the inequities in the relationship between employee and employer, is a force to be reckoned with (pg. 20, 25).

Not everybody is called upon to become and remain a courageous follower. Chaleff divides followers into four profiles that he calls respectively, implementer, resource, individualist and partner. Only the partner, who sooner rather than later dares to challenge on a regular basis the orthodoxy of the leadership team in a constructive, non-confrontational mode, can be counted on as a courageous follower (pg. 40-43, 51, 66, 103-104, 147-148). Readers cannot conclude from this assessment that the contribution of the remaining profiles should be downplayed. However, working closely with an existing or new leader open to the feedback from courageous followers is on its own an excellent growth opportunity (pg. 45, 217-218). Chaleff reminds his audience that well-balanced professionals should take ownership of their career and look for growth opportunities both inside and outside their organization (pg. 45, 47-48).

Reasonably, Chaleff recommends that the follower take an incremental, step-by-step approach to becoming a courageous follower (pg. 22). There is no silver bullet for developing the profile of a courageous follower. Credibility must be earned during the process. As Chaleff states, service is an art and art is developed through commitment and discipline (pg. 85, 150-152).

Passion for the job, initiative, buy-in, loyalty, trust, open mind and communication skills are some of the key ingredients in the establishment and development of a relationship based on courage (pg. 29, 48-50, 53, 62-63, 74, 84, 157). These ingredients take on an even greater importance when a conflict arises between different leaders. Often, these adversaries put pressure on their respective constituencies to build a strong alliance against the "enemy (pg. 81-82)."

Courage cannot lead to disobedience unless special circumstances such as the preservation of life and the respect of the law are deemed important enough to supersede the human tendency to follow orders (pg. 101-103, 170-171, 178-181, 183-185). Leaving the organization will sometimes be the only option left to the courageous follower to maintain his/her integrity after having exhausted other options (pg. 155-187). However, courage does not need to be absolute. The courageous follower could decide to stay after trying in vain to convince the leadership team or leader about the perceived right course to follow (pg. 185-187).

Courageous following is a two-way street. A great leader is not afraid to develop courageous followers because of his/her sense of self-worth (pg. 29, 50, 106-116, 125-128, 189-212). Similarly, the courageous follower is willing and able to directly or indirectly comfort and confront the leader, at the right time and at the right place (pg. 61-62, 97-98). The courageous follower should not abuse his/her access to the leader. Otherwise, access will diminish over time (pg. 64). Developing this talent pool can be critical to the success and/or survival or an organization because of the dangers of groupthink, self-censorship and lack of concern for legal niceties (pg. 99-101, 122, 130-131, 189-193). Unfortunately, a common response is to devalue the individuals taking the stand with potentially disastrous consequences as the recent wave of corporate scandals convincingly demonstrates (pg. 215-217).

Courageous followers, conscious of the importance of buy-in, are flexible enough to see their ideas tested on a small scale with good measurements before a full-blown implementation is considered (pg. 55-56). Furthermore, courageous followers offer if possible at least three different options with their respective pros and cons to get this buy-in (pg. 74-76). Acting along these lines encourages consensus building in pursuing success.

Although leaders receive much value from courageous followers, leaders also need to keep their channels of communication open with their peers as Chaleff rightly points out (pg. 76). A leader's peers, especially those who do not belong to the same professional circles, can provide him/her with an extremely valuable service in further refining the leadership skills in a multitude of settings (pg. 76-77). Alternatively, an outside facilitator can be called in to coach the leader (pg. 139-140).

Changing a leader's behavior is usually more challenging than altering his/her policies for these people gravitating around the leader (pg. 87, 93-94, 132-134, 145-147, 183-185). In all these interactions, the negative feedback should not be directed at the leader himself/herself in order to keep communication channels open (pg. 94-95). When genuine transformation happens, it should be acknowledged and celebrated (pg. 152-153).

I learned leadership principles by learning to be a follower.......2003-01-23

The Courageous Follower is one of the most important books on leadership I've ever read. It is clear that in one way or another, we ALL face the challenges of leadership, perhaps daily. However, it is rare that someone who has been designated a 'leader' considers that they are also a follower with a 'constinuency' - someone they answer to. This book discusses principles designed to encourage the follower AND leader to become assertive, communicative and accountable. Bravo to these brave authors for enlightening us to the art of followership!

This book is how everyone should view the follower!.......1997-07-22

Our society's focus on the top dog and our incessant desire to "develop the leader" has left our organizations developing only the management and then blaming leadership when the follower doesn't follow. It's time to re-define the importance and responsibility of the follower. This book is a beautiful, well-written and much-needed approach to defining the leader-follower relationship and the importance of this relationship to the organization. I highly recommend this book for anyone who finds themselves wondering what their role as a follower should be and how to develop the people in your staff who are doing the following.

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