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THE E-FACTOR

THE BOTTOM-LINE APPROACH TO ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

Massive information-gathering and a dedicated belief in the potential profitability of green business practices distinguish this lively manual for the environmental reform of companies. Makower (Woodstock, 1989) is the editor of The Green Business Letter. The author's focus is not on ``what business has done to the environment'' but rather on ``what effect a degraded environment'' and public concern about it may have on ``business's ability to be profitable and competitive'' in the 1990's. His prediction: negative, unless—as in some of the many corporate case studies included here—companies are willing to move out in front of the regulatory curve and become environmentally ``proactive.'' Makower's prescription for proactivity is offered through a collection of euphonic directives: Companies, he says, should take into account ``economics,'' including the cost of new regulations, shareholder lawsuits, green taxes, and customer good or ill will. Businesses should also increase ``enforcement'' of environmental regulations, which should teach them not only ``not to break the laws but to do no harm.'' And they should invest in ``empowerment,'' or learning to draw on employees, community groups, environmental experts, customers, and suppliers to preserve the environment; in ``education,'' or learning how to create and promote a green image and/or to set up a team for damage-control when an environmental disaster happens; in ``efficiency,'' or finding ways in which pollution prevention, waste reduction, and energy efficiency can maximize profits; and in ``excellence,'' or combining ``Total Quality Management'' with the ``E Factor'' for accounting bliss. In conclusion, Makower tells company environmental officers—a rapidly growing occupational category— how to launch a program, step by step. Unabashedly pro-business, which leads to some anomalous moments—as when, without irony, Makower quotes an Amoco Oil executive as saying ``I killed two birds with one stone'' by running contamination tests after a refinery containment failure. On the other hand, the author knows American business and businesspeople thoroughly, making this an important management tool for a cleaner era.

Pub Date: March 1, 1993

ISBN: 0-8129-2057-0

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Times/Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1993

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NUTCRACKER

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

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

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

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.

Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955

ISBN: 0670717797

Page Count: -

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955

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