What can I say? I just love Max Barry's books, he's so deliciously cynical & satirical! I really enjoyed his creative views on the corporate world and the absurd situations he describes here. The scariest thing is, some situations depicted in the book really reminded me of experiences I've had in the corporate world... You never know, what might seem absurd today may very well be put into practice in the near future;) A great read!

From Publishers Weekly:
With broad strokes, Barry once again satirizes corporate America in his third caustic novel (after Jennifer Government). This time, he takes aim at the perennial corporate crime of turning people into cogs in a machine. Recent b-school grad Stephen Jones, a fresh-faced new hire at a Seattle-based holding company called Zephyr, jumps on the fast track to success when he's immediately promoted from sales assistant to sales rep in Zephyr's training sales department. "Don't try to understand the company. Just go with it," a colleague advises when Jones is flummoxed to learn his team sells training packages to other internal Zephyr departments. But unlike his co-workers, he won't accept ignorance of his employer's business, and his unusual display of initiative catapults him into the ranks of senior management, where he discovers the "customer-free" company's true, sinister raison d'être. The ultracynical management team co-opts Jones with a six-figure salary and blackmail threats, but it's not long before he throws a wrench into the works. As bitter as break-room coffee, the novel eviscerates demeaning modern management techniques that treat workers as "headcounts." Though Barry's primary target is corporate dehumanization, he's at his funniest lampooning the suits that tread the stage, consumed by the sound and fury of office politics that signify nothing.

Wow! This looks like one very scary book. Having escaped from the hierarchical Public Service world about 4 years ago I took the risk of browsing into this book. Certainly re-inforced my belief that I had to get out while I was still sane - even just a little bit sane.
The awful gut-wrenching feeling of fighting against management sprang to life in an instant as I dipped into random pages in this book.

It arrived today in a lovely parcel of books and goodies for the Convention.
Thanks very much ChiCh. The postcards and book marks will also be much appreciated.

As this convention is in Wellingto, the seat of Government, there will be many people attending who will be attracted to the book even though the Public Service isn't quite the same as a Company there are similarities in how it works.

I picked this up off the book table at the Meet and Greet night.
I finally have time to catch it!!

Thank you. :o)

I am going to start this book tonight. (13 March)

I finished this book tonight. (Saturday 17)
An interesting concept, to study a company from the inside like that.
So many things were going wrong, it was bound to happen as it did in the end.
A good book that kept me reading to find out what would happen next.

Oops, sorry - I completely forgot I picked up this book at the post-booksale meetup, and it's been languishing until now in the bottom of the bag of books I bought at the sale.

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This book would be funny if it wasn't so believable. Not the company-as-research part (I can't believe there's any actual thinking behind most management decisions!), but all the details of corporate life - it's frightening that some of the most over-the-top elements are things that I or people I know have actually experienced in real businesses (for instance, just recently Lytteltonwitch posted in her blog about a power failure at her work causing doors to automatically lock, trapping people inside...)

Barry's writing style reminds me a lot of Ben Elton - there's that same frenetic pace to it, and the same feeling that it would be funny if it wasn't so scarily true.

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Futurecat thought I would enjoy this book

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Clearing out my garage of all the bookcrossing books and they are being given to fellow bookcrossers. I was going to leave this at work as a themed release.

The Christchurch bookcrossers meet up on a regular basis,the information is on BCNZ Yahoo NZ The main organizers are FutureCat and myself and we welcome new members to our very friendly group.

Lytteltonwitch told me she was bringing round a few books... I think she meant to say a few boxes of books!

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WILD RELEASE NOTES:

On a table in Cafe 101.

Happy bookcrossing to the finder!

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P.S. If you live in the Christchurch area, you might like to join us at our monthly bookcrossing meetups. For details, see the BCNZ Yahoo Group.