Product Description
This book shows that in business, moral questions are not just theoretical; they arise in practice and have to be dealt with in practice. It illustrates that 'ethics as practice' is an important area of study because it focuses on how ethics are enacted and embedded in everyday organizational reality. In contrast to the approaches dominating mainstream literature, the authors of this thought provoking volume focus on the tensions, paradoxes and ambiguities that underpin ethics in practice. Recent corporate scandals such as those involving Enron, Worldcom and Parmalat have brought to the fore a problem which mainstream economics and management studies have long ignored: the fact that neither rules, regulations, nor the laws of the market can ensure ethical behaviour. The authors of this fascinating book take the tension between 'morals or money' and 'profits or principles' as the starting point of their investigations into how ethical problems emerge and are managed. They show that ethics are at stake in ambiguous situations where different, often contradicting, sets of moral values and rules clash."Business Ethics as Practice" will prove a stimulating and fascinating read for scholars of organization theory, organizational behaviour, business and management, and more generally, humanities and the social sciences. Business practitioners will also find much illuminating material to reflect upon and consider within this book. ... Read more

Product Description
Under the cover of night, a little girl is kidnapped from her room. At the exact same time, a waitress 20 miles away faints--her uniform covered in the victim's blood. FBI Special Agent Mulder thinks there may be a psychic link between the two. But it is the woman truly channeling the little girl, or is she simply part of a twisted kidnapping plot?. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

It was okay but sastifying
I quite like this book. I borrowed it from the library. After I had read it, I went back to the library and borrowed Hole. It wasn't as interesting as empathy though. Overall, I quite like the books in the X-Files YoungAdult series. Definetely worth reading, if you like the X-Files.

This book is the best out of the other 3 I read.
Epathy is a great book. It has a great ending. The story takes place in Washington state. At10:00pm Amy Jacobs is kidnapped from her bedroom by Carl Wade. At the same time Lucy Householder a waitress finds her uniformcoverd in Amy's blood. I didn't like that because it wasn't very realistic. At the end agent Fox Mulder kills Wade when he should have justdisabled him. I thinkagents Mulder and Scully solved the case perfectly.If you read this book and like it Iwould reccomend Control. OverallEmpathy was great. I think anyone should read it.

A good book, I've read better
I finished this book about a month ago and I was pleased with most of it. This book is rather boring I thought and was rather dumb. If you ask why did I give it 3 stars instead of 1 or 2 is becuase it has a great ending.It has good detail of these two people running from Mulder and Scully. Ifyou like a book that is nice and short and will satisfy you read this book. ... Read more

Product Description
Topps Comics The X-FILES (Volume 1, No. 2. February 1995): #2 Special Numbered Edition: this is 17645 of 90,000. $2.95 Features "A Dismembrance of Things Past" by Stefan Petrucha, Charles Adlard, Miram Kim. ... Read more

Product Description
There is considerable global interest in the culture of finfish species both for cold and warm water aquaculture development and growth. Essential information on the biology, domestication and aquacultural characteristics of a wide selection of novel and established species is provided in the form of technical sheets, species descriptions and information on current rearing practices, making this a must-have reference in the field of aquacultural science. The book also offers a basic framework in order to support investment strategies for research and developement efforts aimed at the emergence of a profitable finfish aquaculture industry and presents a rationale for species diversification, different approaches to species selection and basic economical and market considerations governing the launch of strategic development and commercialization efforts. ... Read more

Product Description
Dr. Gregory, a renowned nuclear weapons researcher, is not only dead--he's been charred to a radioactive cinder.

Since this is a death on Federal property, Mulder and Scully are hastily called in. As FBI agents who specialize in unexplained phenomena, they are the investigators of The X-Files, strange and inexplicable cases which are also mysteries that the FBI doesn't want solved.

When a second victim, completely unrelated to nuclear science or Dr. Gregory is obliterated in the New Mexico desert, and then a third dies the same way in Washington, DC, Mulder and Scully begin to focus on the frightening dimension of their task. The bizarre deaths cannot be a coincidence. And as they work to uncover the secret unifying element that unites these deaths, it becomes clear that this twisted puzzle has fatal consequences for the entire world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (46)

Good series tie-in novelization
Our favorite FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully investigate a nuclear mystery in this tie-in that dates back to when the X-Files was a thriving TV series. As tie-ins go, this one is pretty good. Kevin J. Anderson's written a lot of sci-fi tie-ins and he wisely avoids the number-one pitfall these sort of things make - he does not turn the series characters we care about into supporting characters shoehorned into a story they otherwise have nothing to do with. Anderson stays true to the spirit of the characters and TV show and if it weren't for the fact that this would require a very large budget, this could almost have been one of the more intriguing episodes of the series.

Is this worth reading if you aren't a fan of the series? I don't know. Anderson assumes familiarity with the basic premise of the X-Files so if you haven't seen the TV show you may not understand much of the dynamic between Mulder and Scully and why they seem to get so little support from the FBI in their investigations. The mystery at hand is one of the more unusual paranormal ideas I've come across, and I just wish Anderson set it up so that someone could enjoy it as a standalone without ever watching the TV show. Still, I may have erred on the side of generosity by giving this a 4 rather than a 3 but this was one of the more entertaining books I've read on my commute in a while. If only the most recent X-files movie as nearly this good . . .

A good read for X-Files fans
In Ground Zero Mulder and Scully investigate the mysterious deaths of two people involved with a secret government project that involves a new type of nuclear device and an above ground test that is against international law. They manage to get a trip to the test site to watch the detonation. Once there they meet up with one of their suspects, a scientist turned nuclear protester and her friend, a blind man whose skin is covered in burn scars and who carries the secret to what has been happening.

Ground Zero has a great plot and excellent use of the supernatural that made the X-Files such a fascinating show. The characters don't have extreme depth, but are well drawn. While the ending is telegraphed, Anderson uses great descriptive language to paint the scenes. Mulder and Scully could have been a bigger part of the story and the author didn't really capture Mulder's personality, but Ground Zero was a very enjoyable read.

A review of the abridged audiobook
So, how can I say this succintly and clearly?

The abridged audiobook is not good. It is bad. It is not well read. It has few of the best qualities of the TV show.

Read by Gillian Anderson, the abrdiged audiobook clocks in at about 3 hours and read unenthusiastically by Gillian Anderson. One of the reasons I picked this one up is that I figured she'd read it well. It says it was recorded in Vancouver in 1995 (where the show was filmed) and it sounds like she read it between takes. She sounds tired and completely uninterested in the text.

Then again, when you look at what she was reading, I cannot blame her for being uninterested. This book has none of the zip of the show. Mulder's lines are almost non-existant. No smart-aleck lines or observation. No wry sense of humor that makes even the weakest of the TV shows watchable (I love the X-Files but let's face it - every episode is not being shipped to the TV Hall of Fame...). This book is a tired and pale imitation of what the show was. You can see the ending coming and you wish it would just hurry up and get here. Perhaps the abridgement gutted the book but I was glad it was abridged.

The science behind this audiobook is laughable. Not the supernatural stuff - that's what the X-Files is all about. I mean the atomic science. Does the author really think that anyone can explode an atomic bomb without radiation detectors picking up on it? Remember Chernobyl? The West knew it had gone wrong long before the Soviets admitted to it because it was detected by Western atomic sensors. Atomic blasts show up on seismographs. That's how we knew India and Pakistan had them. But, let's ignore facts like that and roll right along with a silly premise.

Skip this one.

Intriguing from Beginning to End
Of the three X-Files novelizations by Kevin J. Anderson, I think I like this one best. The plot is fast-paced and the story line is mysterious.

It's a shame that there are only a few X-Files novelizations by Anderson and other authors. I loved the show and am just discovering these books.

Now, it's too bad there aren't any "Millennium" novelizations!

Supernatural happenings in a nuclear age
This is a review of the audiobook version of Ground Zero by Kevin Anderson read by Gillian Anderson.
Set against the world of government sponsored nuclear weapons research , Ground Zero has agents Mulder and Scully investigating the death of a researcher who is blown to bits - but the rest of his office is intact. There is no known personal sized nuke- so what happened? The audiobook is read by Gillian Anderson , and the abridgement has the focus on Scully's part of the investigation and the unlikely supernatural conclusion that takes the agents to the south pacific and the site of a planned above ground test of a new super weapon.
Anderson's reading is great! I got a good chuckle out of her comments about how that Mulder's theories were bound to be way out there and not grounded in science. Well paced, the book moves along with action and theory and some cool supernatural mysticismconcerning a lost tribe , wiped out by an above ground nuclear test in the 50s and their long journey to retribution and vengeance from beyond...... ... Read more

Product Description
Based on the popular Emmy Award-nominated television series, a tale of supernatural suspense brings the FBI psychic investigator team of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully up against one of their most confounding cases. 50,000 first printing. TV tie-in. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (69)

It was entertaining
Okay so I just finished reading X-Files: Ruins and the book was really good up until the end.

The premise was very intriguing, a team of archelogists go missing down in the Yucatan Penninsula and Scully and Mulder are dispatched to find out what happened to them and bring them back alive if possible.The dialogue was spot on for Scully and Mulder through most of the book, but Dr. Rubicon left a lot to be desired.For someone who is an expert in archeology, he sure used the word "uhhh" an awful lot.I know most of us use this word as filler in our daily lives while we search our minds for the right words we want to say and it works in the movies but in a book it just looks stupid.

Towards the end of the book, like the last 30-40 pages Mulder and Scully start spouting stupid catch phrases from the 90's over and over again.Also I don't remember Mulder talking out loud to himself so much in the show, why couldn't he have just internal monologues instead of talking outloud when no one was there?

Finally when he is sitting at his desk when the case is all said and done he's fiddling with a statue of a feathered snake.Yet we never find out how he got this, he never buys it, never finds it, no one gives it to him, it's just magically there at the end of the book.So much for continuity.

All in all, the book wasn't bad, it kept me interested but the ending seemed too rushed to me.3 Stars is the best I can give this.

This is NOT a five-star book!
As I write, forty of sixty-seven readers have given this book five stars. I am sorry, but I have just finished reading it, and at least for me it does not come close to being a five-star book.

Here are some books I have recently read and that I think deserve five stars: "Tigana" (Guy Gavriel Kay), "A World Undone" (G. J. Meyer), "The Dreaming Void" (Peter F. Hamilton), and The Farseer Trilogy (actually three books by Robin Hobb, though each one deserves five stars). I have read many other five-star books, but these are recent reads that I remember well and can easily compare to Kevin J. Anderson's "Ruins." Please note that "The Dreaming Void" is part of a trilogy and that "The Evolutionary Void," the third volume, is not due to be released until August 31, 2010.

Recent four-star novels: "The Empty Chair" (Jeffrey Deaver), "Berserker Kill" (Fred Saberhagen), "The Sixth Book of Lost Swords: Mindsword's Story" (Fred Saberhagen), "The Messenger" (Daniel Silva)

Recent three-star novel: "Seven of Nine" (a Star Trek Voyager novel)

As you might expect from a pulpish franchise novel, "Ruins" is short and to the point. You are taken on an adventure with Mulder and Scully to Mayan ruins in Yucatán. Being interested in the X-Files, you are probably interested in things like villains, monsters, and aliens. In that respect, maybe "Ruins" satisfies. Though the story has tragedy, it has a good ending.

What's my beef with it? Though it is okay--at least I finished it--it has too many shortcomings to get five stars. Here are some of its shortcomings:

1. Shallow characterizations: In a 264-page novel, space is limited. You get a basic picture of supporting characters Cassandra, Aguilar, Rubicon, Barreio, and Major Jakes but you don't spend much time with them. You don't get a taste of the bread of life that you get from characters in Kay's "Tigana" or Hobb's Farseer Trilogy.

2. Simple plot: The story is straightforward and unadorned with twists, turns, and surprises. It is the opposite of epic.

3. Gratuitous Levity: Mulder is a veteran of perilous adventures. So maybe it's reasonable that he makes quips during moments of peril. But Cassandra is just a humble archaeologist, and she should not be making quips during such moments. Also, most of Mulder's quips were beneath him. They were flat. Maybe I should excuse Anderson, though. I can't expect him to have Mulder's IQ. Also, near the very end, a talk show is on television. To avoid spoiling the story, I won't reveal the subject of the talk show, but I will say that it was inappropriate. Anderson was probably trying to be humorous.

4. Style: Anderson made some unnecessary descriptions and some repetitive descriptions. He uses too many adjectives.

Decent idea, phoned-in execution
Okay, let's call this novel what it is...an effort to cash in on a popular television show by hiring out a popular sci-fi writer to produce a quick and dirty imitation of the real thing. And that's exactly what you'll get. Anderson has come up with a decent-enough idea embedded in a cliché-riddled story with halfhearted dialogue and characters only loosely resembling anything from X-files canon. At the end of the day, you're left with a semi-satisfying romp through the jungle with the feeling that this novel should have been listed in the "young adult" section of the local bookstore. All in all, Anderson delivers exactly what he was commissioned to do and kudos to him for that. After all, he's produced a ton of novels based on popular TV shows, none of which are all that good but each of them doing just enough to give you a slight taste of the original. Personally, I prefer some of the fan fiction available all over the internet, which is free and only a quick google search away. Nothing smart or sophisticated here.

Great, entertaining read
The X-files: Ruins is a fun, quick read that any fan of the show should find entertaining.It is well written by Kevin J. Anderson who also wrote the bestselling `Ground Zero' prior to Ruins.His style has a nice flow to it and he is able to transfer Dana Scully and Fox Mulder to text in a near perfect fashion.So if you're worried about this book because of its writing do not threat, because unlike most tie-in authors Anderson seems to have a real grip on his quality and what pleases viewers of the show.

The plot centers on (of course) FBI special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully who handle strange and mysterious cases known as "The X-files."Scully is the skeptical one who tries to rationalize the abnormal occurrences in the files while UFO-phile Mulder seems to believe in just about every paranormal concept imagined (due to his sister being abducted by aliens when he was young.), but I'm sure if you're reading this book you're already familiar with one of TV's most iconic pairings.

At the beginning of this adventure there seems to be little to do between Mulder and Scully other than to exchange idle chit-chat.That is until they discover that the daughter of a famous archeologist has gone missing while excavating a new site in Central America, but due to unknown circumstances they have had no contact with her in well over a week.Needless the say the old man is greatly concerned and summons to help of Agents Mulder and Scully to follow him to Central America to find his daughter.Along the way of course we discover the region is full of leftover beliefs from the long forgotten days, drug lords rage war across the region over each other's operations, and rebellion is brewing as determined rebels take artifacts from their ancestor's temples in order to fund their operation.Just another day in a chaotic world, but it only gets better once our agents get down there and discover in the hot, humid forests that human sacrifices are still practiced in this region and rumors of large feather-headed serpents slinking through the forests come up.Could this be the ancient God's returning for revenge?The pair will have to discover the truth when the venture to the previously un-excevated ruins of the lost city of Xitaclan; a place known for strange disappearances.

Mulder (as usual) brings aliens into the picture believing them to be the "Gods" worshipped by the ancient Central American civilizations (Mayan, Inca, Aztec, etc.)were in fact aliens.This also leads him to believe extra terrestrials are behind the disappearance of the archeologists and all the strange occurrences around the Xitaclan temple.

Scully doesn't have long to debate Mulder's irrational explanation for they are soon thrown into the middle of just about every Central American conflict and they even manage to get the US military involved.It becomes a fight against time as Mulder tries to discover the secrets of Xitaclan, and the whereabouts of the missing girl while Scully tries to comprehend the situation and why anyone in their right mind would still practice such barbaric rituals as self-mutilation and human sacrifice.

Ruins is an exciting read and really plots itself well even with its limited page count and is one of the best book tie-ins I've ever seen for a movie/TV series.The writing is quick and exciting while still managing to be descriptive enough to give the reader a clear visualization of what it is they're processing.When characters talk the dialogue comes as if directly from the show.Mulder's sly comments are funny, and his interactions with Scully retain their charm in this novel.

If you're an X-Phile or just a casual fan of the series you should enjoy Ruins as a quick adventure with TV's favorite FBI agents.Trust me, if you have a quiet afternoon, are away from the TV, but you still want your dose of X-Files, or just sci-fi/fantasy adventure, lean back and open a copy of Ruins and read the day away.

Great Book!
Love, love, love this book!Kevin Anderson has the characters of Mulder and Scully spot on.The story is gripping and adventurous and is the best in the series.Definitely a must read for the X-files fan craving more Mulder/Scully stories. ... Read more