Unpracticed in the difficult technique of fresco, he accepted the commission reluctantly. Illustrating stories from Genesis in the brightest and most costly pigments available, he created powerful visions of a terrifying and vengeful God in twelve panels, which depict stories of crime and punishment, prophets crying in the wilderness, and doomed sinners facing hanging, beheading, flood, and plague. Halfway through his commission, Michelangelo decided that his earliest, most tumultuous panels were too "busy," with too many figures painted too small, and he changed his style significantly. Beginning with the famous Creation of Adam, he painted simpler, more powerful designs with larger figures, dramatically foreshortening and contorting them. God, who appears fully robed in classical attire in the early panels, becomes far more vigorous, muscular, and "human" in the later panels, appearing with his chest bare, his poses contorted and foreshortened. Eventually, he appears to "tumble down" toward the viewer from the ceiling.

Full of fascinating, memorable details, Kings text tells how Michelangelo constructed the scaffold for the fresco (which did not require him to lie on his back), how his first panel was ruined by the build-up of salts and efflorescence and six weeks labor had to be laboriously chipped away, how a child in one panel is "making the fig"" (an obscene gesture), and how the fingers of God and Adam at the Creation are not the work of Michelangelo or of his assistants but complete restorations. A helpful "map" of the ceiling allows the reader to locate particular details, though the colored pictures of the ceiling itself, reproduced almost in its entirety, are extremely small.

When the ceiling was completed in 1512, the world was dumbstruck, according to Vasari, and Michelangelos figures were said to surpass those of the ancient Greeks. Never before had the human form been used with such "astonishing invention and aplomb...or with the brute force of Michelangelos naked titans." Writing with enthusiasm and insight, in addition to careful scholarship, King tells the intriguing human story of this artwork, which is as fresh and relevant today as it was when it was painted almost six hundred years ago.

Also, I once attended a class taught by one of Betty Edwards students. It was such a helpful and inspiring class, and everyone improved dramatically. It was a wonderful class.

Even though I am no longer a drawing "newbie", I found new insights and new ways to observe and see, thanks to this book. It truly can help new artists and "non" artists draw more accurately. Its amazing! Fabulous!

However, this book is not the ultimate book on drawing, and it should never be regarded as such. It cannot possibly answer every question, or provide every insight. It is only a first step. Drawing accurately is just one component to being an artist. (And I hasten to add, Im REAL big on drawing accurately, I think it is important.) There is a lot of exploration and growth that each artist must undertake in order to fully develop. There will be further study of anatomy, color, line, etc. etc. This book does not pretend to teach everything, and no one should expect it to.

The book itself is filled with stories and lovely photographs of the quilts. All the quilts are hand-stitched, of course. I couldnt imagine anyone creating such beauty with a needle and thread.

In his 1st book Rich Dad Poor Dad, Kiyosaki addressed the differences in mindsets between the Rich and the Poor. Then, in his 2nd book Cashflow Quadrant, he spoke on the 4 quadrants from which one can generate income. To be wealthy, Kiyosaki recommended that we learn to generate our incomes from the "B" (Business-owner) and "I" (Investor) quadrant as opposed to the "E" (Employee) and "S" (Self-employed) quadrant.

In his 3rd book Rich Dads Guide to Investing, Kiyosaki tells how he got started in his investment journey, starting with nothing, and in fact at one stage, with a negative net worth. Most of us, having read his first 2 books, would have wondered if we could have embarked on our journey to become financially independent without much resource at hand. In this book, Kiyosaki shows how anyone can get started and how it does not take money to make money. He teaches how time is more important than money; how investing in ones self and getting an education and experience precedes excessive cash; how having a plan is more important than being in a hurry to make money.

This is not a book for those who want hot tips and quick fixes. This is a book on mindsets. Kiyosaki plants ideas and provides a road-map. The reader must take the first step and learn to navigate his/her own journey.

What I like about this book, is Kiyosakis concept of being an Ultimate Investor, a "selling-investor". The Ultimate Investor creates deals and businesses that the public hunger for and are willing to pay a premium to acquire a share of. With the internet, it has never been easier to create businesses and deals which one can take public.

To give us a detailed account of this reality, I doubt if we can ever have a better team than this. Welcome to Execution. This book is not just for CEOs but is a must read for all Managers who are accountable for results.

The Organizational processes are classified as Strategic, People and Operational. The Strategic aspect deals with Economy, Markets, Competition and where the Organization would like to go from where it is. The Operational aspect deals with putting strategy into action; the how of reaching there with details on budgeting, reviews and course correction in the short run. The People process emerges as the core and most important element of the three. It is ultimately the people who are responsible to put Strategy into action. It is they who define the culture of the Organization and build its character. In fact it is recommended that the CEO should never delegate the responsibility to hire and apprise his A team. The CEOs main strength comes from the top 30 percent of the people. It is important that a strong culture for performance and rewards is nurtured to get Strategy into reality. Human Resources function should play a key role in assisting the CEO in this vital area. HR is not a staff function for hiring and compensating people, but it should integrate itself with he Operations and Strategic aspects to understand the quality of people required for the successful accomplishment of goals. Organizational mechanisms to identify high potential employees, constant appraisal and feed back and a plan to get the best out of these bright people is the foundation of the people process. Needless to say, Organizations run the risk of losing their best people to competition if such systems are not in place. In such a system it is also important to identify and remove obstacles for growth. Sometimes, over a period of time some people are elevated to their levels of incompetence and are occupying positions that are key to success of strategy. But unfortunately, while these executives have been successful in the past there is no guarantee of their reaching anywhere near the goals in future. They fail to understand markets, are not culturally tuned to performance driven environments and are a sure prescription for disaster. The people process should take the courage to clean up such patches and bring in the flexibility to hire the required talent from outside.

The CEOs is not an ornamental position of meeting the press, analysts and consultants, but an integral part of running the business; day in and day out. It is through such deep involvement and setting personal example of getting things done that he or she can continue to preside over the engine of growth and wealth creation.