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Transformative Enterprise Architecture

Name: Transformative Enterprise Architecture
Author: Atul Apte
ISBN: 978-1-4912-3156-2

by Atul Apte ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 24, 2015

A searching look into the evolving world of IT enterprises, despite unfortunately hyper-technical language.

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An attempt to prepare organizations for a new business culture of rapid change.

Companies once insulated themselves from the disruptions wrought by sudden change; now, the zeitgeist encourages businesses to embrace such opportunities for salutary transformation. In his debut effort, Apte says that information technology ecosystems are key to any organization’s ability to respond to change—and therefore, integral to future success. He devises a perspective that he calls “transformative enterprise architecture” or “TEA,” through which one can interpret an IT system’s viability. The author’s considerations are impressively synoptic, even exhaustive, as he covers decision-making processes, data models, value management, and even the significance of visual modeling. The primary, guiding principle of the study seems to be the necessity of a “holistic” analysis that considers all components of an IT ecosystem as interdependent. Apte is at his best when discussing the range of elements that one must address when building strong IT structures, and their relationships to one another. He also understands that adaptability must be combined with “resiliency,” or durability in the face of problems. The book largely lacks the specificity of a how-to manual; as such, it’s more of a reflection on fashioning a blueprint than it is a blueprint itself. Also, the prose can be frustratingly bloodless and jargon-laden, as is often the case with contemporary business books. The point underneath this gratuitous convolution, for example, is almost comically banal: “By using a simple heuristic scale between one and four, TEA is able to represent the determination of urgency, which makes the formalization of transformation urgency feasible.” That said, patient readers will still find the book to be full of timely, thoughtful reflections.

A searching look into the evolving world of IT enterprises, despite unfortunately hyper-technical language.

Pub Date: Dec. 24, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-4912-3156-2

Page Count: 420

Publisher: CreateSpace

Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2016

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.