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Cities and Regions as Self-Organizing Systems: Models of Complexity
Peter Allen. Gordon and Breach, 1997.
Increasing Returns and Path Dependence in the Economy.
Arthur, W. Brian. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1994.
Anthology of essays, including Arthur's pathbreaking 1990 Scientific American piece, "Positive Feedbacks in the Economy." ISBN 0-472-06496-7.
The Third Culture.
Brockman, John. New York: Touchstone, 1996.
An oral history featuring complexity and "new science" intellectuals in their own words: Stuart Kauffman, Chris Langdon, Stephen Jay Gould, Steven Pinker, Richard Dawkins and others. ISBN 0-684-82344-6.
The Web of Life: A New Scientific Understanding of Living Systems.
Capra, Fritjof. New York, Doubleday, 1996.
Excellent layman's overview, with much less anti-industrial ideology than in Capra's earlier The Turning Point. ISBN 0-385-4765-2.
The Open Book Experience by John Case
This one sounds interesting -- a business as an "Open Book".
Complexification by John Casti
Complexity and Postmodernism: Understanding Complex Systems
by Paul Cilliers
The Collapse of Chaos by Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart
Frontiers of Complexity by Peter Coveney and Roger Highfield
Dealing With Complexity : An Introduction to the Theory and Application of Systems Science
Robert L. Flood, Ewart R. Carson / Hardcover / Published 1993 / Amazon.com: $34.50
Chaos: Making a New Science.
Gleick, James. New York: Penguin, 1987.
The grandaddy of all the popular works on this subject. Elegantly written, told as a tale. Still perhaps the best primer out there. Gleick's Web page is at http://www.around.com. ISBN 0-14-009250-1.
Chaos and the Evolving Ecological Universe
Goerner, Sally.
Sally deals with social and organizational issues in a very approachable (if provocative) way. It also comes the closest of the legitimate complexity books to revealing a spiritual aspect.
How the Leopard Changed Its Spots: The Evolution of Complexity.
Goodwin, Brian. New York: Touchstone, 1994.
A layman's guide to how complexity science may explain the forms and structures of life. ISBN 0-684-80451-4.
Chaos, Catastrophe, and Human Affairs: Applications of Nonlinear Dynamics to Work, Organizations, and Social Evolution.
Guastello, Stephen J. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Updates catastrophe mathemetics and cusp modeling with a complexity perspective. Math may exceed the untrained but the applications are real-world. ISBN 0-8058-1634-8.
Exploring Chaos: A Guide to the New Science of Disorder.
Hall, Nina., ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 1991.
A collection of essays originally appearing in New Scientist magazine, each investigation a specific application--chaos in engineering, chaos on the trading floor, etc. ISBN 0-393-31226-7.
Hidden Order: How Adaptation Builds Complexity.
Holland, John. Reading, Mass.: Helix Books, 1995.
A short, mostly readable invetesigation of complex adaptive systems by the father of the genetic algorith. ISBN 0-201-44230-2.
Crisis & Renewal: Meeting the Challenge of Organizational Change.
Hurst, David K. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1995.
Fresh and insightful look at corporte change through the lens of complexity, enriched with revealing historical research. ISBN 0-87584-582-7.
At Home in the Universe: The Search for the Laws of Self-Organization and Complexity.
Kauffman, Stuart. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.
A bit daunting in places, it goes further than many other books in exploring what complexity theory might mean for the future of economics and organizations. Kauffman's speculations on the origins of life are thrilling. Some of Kauffman's work is available at http://www.santafe.edu and at http://www.biosgroup.com. ISBN 0-19-509599-5.
The Origins of Order: Self-Organization and Selection in Evolution.
Kauffman, Stuart A. New York, Oxford University Press, 1993.
Most goes way over my head, but if you want the unexpurgated science behind At Home in the Universe, it's all here. ISBN 0-19-507951-5.
Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, and the Economic World.
Kelly, Kevin. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1994.
Great writing, great thinking from the executive editor of Wired. Every page a delight. Full text available at http://www.absolutvodka.com/kelly/5-0.html. ISBN 0-201-48340-8.
The Self-Organizing Economy.
Krugman, Paul. Cambridge: Blackwell, 1996.
Though the tone is pompous and the math gratuitously dense, this book provides a nice, brief overview of the potential relevance of complexity theory to a few macroeconomic issues. ISBN 1-55786-699-6.
Complexity: Life at the Edge of Chaos.
Lewin, Roger. Macmillan, 1992.
Has the virtue of being extremely basic, a great testament to the writer. Readers interested in the relevance of complexity theory to history and anthropology might consider starting here. ISBN 0-02-014795-3.
The Intelligence Advantage: Organizing for Complexity.
McMaster, Michael D. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1996.
Complexity applied to knowledge management by a veteran consultant who has seen a lot and knows a lot. ISBN 0-7506-9792-X.
Coping with Uncertainty: Insights from the New Sciences of Chaos, Self-Organization, and Complexity.
Merry, Uri. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishing.
Extremely approachable overview. Dr. Merry's homepage is at http://pw2.netcom.com/~nmerry/Urihome.htm. . ISBN 0-275-95152-9.
Images of Organization.
Morgan, Gareth. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1997.
Second edition of a work that was years ahead of its time. Explores the value of metaphor in viewing organizations, with emphasis on self-organization and biological systems. ISBN 0-7619-0632-0.
Thriving on Chaos : Handbook for a Management Revolution by Tom Peters
Very good. The co-author of In Search of Excellence and A Passion for Excellence now gives readers a program of 50 specific courses of action essential to corporate survival in today's (and tomorrow's) turbulent economic/political world. Line drawings. --This text refers to the hardcover edition of this title.
Reprint Edition Paperback, 736 pages / List: $18.00 ~ Amazon.com: $14.40 ~ You Save: $3.60 (20%)
Organizations and Chaos : Defining the Methods of Nonlinear Management
H. Richard Priesmeyer / Hardcover / Published 1992 / Amazon.com: $59.95 (Special Order)
Order Out of Chaos: Man's New Dialogue with Nature.
Prigogine, Ilya, and Isabelle Stengers. New York: Bantam Books, 1984.
A compelling historical account of the limitations of Newtonian science and the dynamics of complexity by a Nobel laureat in chemistry, with an emphasis on thermodynamics and dissipative structures. ISBN 0-553-34363-7.
Turtle, Termites, and Traffic Jams: Explorations in Massively Parallel Microworlds.
Resnick, Mitchel. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1995.
A concise look at how software simulates life. ISBN 0-262-18162-2.
Bionomics: Economy as Ecosystem.
Rothschild, Michael. New York: Henry Holt.
Pathbreaking look at the metaphor. ISBN 0-8050-1979-0. Check out http://www.bionomics.org.
Complexity and Creativity in Organizations.
Stacey, Ralph D. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 1996.
A book that seems to take great pains in describing the obvious--until you realize that most organizations fail to pursue the obvious. Academic, but thoughtful throughout. ISBN 1-881052-89-3.
Does God Play Dice? The Mathematics of Chaos.
Stewart, Ian. Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers, 1989.
It helps to bring some math to this book--I didn't, unfortunately--but it is a worthy overview mostly suitable for the layman. ISBN 1-55786-106-4.
Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos.
Waldrop, Mitchell. New York: Touchstone, 1992.
A clear, cogent and well written overview of the origins of complexity theory through the eyes of the explorers. ISBN 0-671-87234-6.
Leadership and the New Science: Learning About Organization from an Orderly Universe.
Wheatley, Margaret J. San Francisco: Barrett-Koehler, 1994.
This fascinating book has been widely recommended to us by BDA members. The author takes the reader on a mind-opening journey into the "New Science" - the revolutionary discoveries in quantum physics, chaos theory and biology that are changing our understanding of the universe. She applies these scientific concepts to offer new light on the fundamental issues of organising work, people and life. The author modestly says that the book is about "the early stirrings of new ways of thinking about organisations". 151pp 1992
ISBN 1 881052 01 X ; Ref.No. B76 £19.00 HB Reading Class C
A very approachable if somewhat loose introduction to quantum mechanics and complexity theory with speculations about the relevance for organizations. ISBN 1-881052-44-3.
(There is an excellent video on this subject in the RAF Lakenheath Base Library as well.)
A Simpler Way.
Wheatley, Margaret J., and Myron Kellner-Rogers. San Francisco: Barrett-Koehler, 1996.
A prose poem describing the virtues of self-organization in social and economic life. Deightful photos. ISBN 1-881052-95-8.
Fast Focus on TQM : A Concise Guide to Companywide Learning
Derm Barrett / Hardcover / Published 1994 / Amazon.com: $14.00 ~ You Save: $6.00 (30%)
Learning Organizations edited by Sarita Chawla and John Renesch.
Productivity Press, 547 pages, $35.
An anthology of thirty-two essays by some of the leading thinkers in the field, this book is a fascinating and demanding exploration of how to foster learning in organizations. The inspiration behind the book is the systems-thinking theories of Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline.
Organized into four parts, "Guiding Ideas," "Theories/Methods/Processes," "Infrastructure," and "Arenas of Practice," Learning Organizations explores the entire issue -- from broad, conceptual discussions on learning to specific organizational techniques. Authoritative and thought-provoking. Best Business Books
The Learning Company by Mike Pedler, John Burgoyne, Tom Boydell
The authors define a "learning company" as one which creates learning opportunities for all its members and is able to transform itself as a whole. They believe there is no blueprint for the learning company because each is unique. However, the authors provide you with the practical tools to help design and create an organisation that is capable of adapting, changing and developing. The book is described as a manual copiously illustrated with 101 ideas and examples, as well as illustrations of what others are doing to work with this vision. 213pp 1991
ISBN 0 07 707479 3 ; Ref.No. B84 £20.00 PB Reading Class C
The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization by Peter Senge.
Excellent.
This is a book that has quickly attracted much attention and praise, including from Dr Deming. It draws on science, spiritual wisdom, and psychology, and on Senge's experience in working with top corporations. It is subtitled: "The Art and Practice of the Learning Organisation". It was described by Fortune Magazine as "the best selling classic on learning organisations". Both this book and the Fifth Discipline Fieldbook have rather rough-cut pages which might make you think that it is a manufacturing fault--it is in fact deliberate--a bit like designer stubble! 423pp Currency-Doubleday Book. 1990
ISBN 0 385 026095 4 ; Ref.No. B50 £16.50 PB Reading Class B / List: $18.95 ~ Amazon.com: $15.16 ~ You Save: $3.79 (20%)
The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook by Peter Senge, et al.
Also excellent. Tools-- a modern 'Book of How', or Tao Te Ching.
This fieldbook sets out to answer the question: "What shall we do on Monday morning?" in an intensely pragmatic way. This is a book with lots of stories and case histories about companies, businesses, schools, agencies and even comm-unities who have succeeded in undoing their "learning disabilities" and achieved superior performance. Quite a good book to use as a resource for various inputs to internal training exercises, meetings etc. 593pp Currency-Doubleday Book. 1994
ISBN 0 385 47256 0 ; Ref.No. B63 £21.00 PB Reading Class C
Transformational Learning by Daniel R. Tobin. John Wiley & Sons, 283 pages, $29.95.
You've heard about the "learning organization." Here's the most useful look at the subject since Senge's The Fifth Discipline. Tobin offers practical ways for you to keep skills polished and ideas fresh in your organization. Best Business Books, 1996
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Revised 27 June 1998