Thursday, May 1, 2014

Book Review: Hostage & Crisis Negotiations


(From The Black Swan Group)- As a negotiations practitioner for over 17 years, I fashion myself a “student of the game”, meaning I maintain an insatiable appetite of all things related to negotiations. I try to learn as much as I can from others’ experiences and research so as I can continue to improve. Therefore, it stands to reason that I waited with great anticipation for the arrival of Thomas Strentz’s latest book, Hostage/Crisis Negotiations; Lessons Learned from the Bad, the Mad and the Sad, (Springfield, Illinois: Grand Rapids: Charles C. Thomas, 2013. 181 pages), hereafter referred to as the BMS.
...Strentz wrote BMS because he, like me, is a firm believer in case studies. We both are incredulous at the lack of knowledge many negotiators have regarding significant cases in the history of our discipline. Strentz recognizes that all of us, regardless of our level of experience or skill (the New, the Old and the Mediocre) learn from studying the success and failures of others. Whether the incident occurred last week or forty years ago, there are always lessons to be learned from case studies.
Read the full review from The Black Swan Group [HERE].