Customer Reviews

Robert's Rules of Order

5 star:		(81)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I first came into contact with this book during the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of high school. I was going to be participating in something called Student Congress in the fall, and although I had never heard of it before, all of my teachers and teamates told me to get a copy of Robert's Rules. Not knowing of any of the "watered down" versions that existed, I simply purchased the official copy. Having cut my teeth on that copy (dutifully reading the entire book that summer) I have little sympathy for people who shy away from it because it's too complicated :-) But honestly, this book has become a source of pride to me. Although I have been criticized for perhaps too zealously insisting on adhering to the rules in the book, I am also accepted as a Parliamentary expert and some have remarked I know more than the Parliamentarians who run our exercise (although I would be loathe to admit that, they are very intelligent people). Anyway, given a proper forum Robert's Rules of Order have been a very rewarding thing for me, as they have given me something to study and learn and be recognized at, and I intend on buying all future editions of the text to make sure I stay on top of any developments. Truly the best book of its kind!

Do not be put off by the size of this book. It is large because it is complete. As you can see by the table of contents, everything is covered-- all the motions , how to write bylaws, boards and committees, conventions, forming new organizations, etc. Nevertheless, it is easy to read and you certainly do not need to read it cover to cover. Read the first 5 chapters (119 pages, ~ 1/5 of the book) straight through, then skim the rest so you know where to find the answers, and also look over the tables in the back. If you are in a big hurry, just read pages 21-78 (as recommended on the books web site: www.robertsrules.com)

You need this book.
You need to learn what is in this book to be an effective member of any organization where members have the right to vote. Do you know how to get your idea considered by your organization? Do you know how to make a change to an idea that someone else had? Did you change your mind about what happened at the last meeting and want to rescind it? Well, its all in this book.

Many people will recommed other parliamentary authorities whose primary benefit is that of being shorter. Other authorities I've read ("21st Century Robert's Rules" and "Riddick's Rules of Procedure") are shorter because they've left out substantial parts, or don't include useful examples.

Some other authorities, like Ray Keesey's "Modern Parliamentary Procedure" do not actually reflect current (or past) parliamentary practice, but attempt to redefine procedure based on the author's own bias. Robert's Rules are more obviously the result of centuries of practice, and use.

This book will not get you up and running overnight, but it is indispensable to anyone with a desire for a comprehensive understanding of parliamentary law. And even though it is a more massive work, part of the extra material is instructive on shortening your meetings by acting more efficiently without abridging anyone's rights.

A very crude scan. Badly formatted for Kindle. You can read your way through it, but you would be hard pressed to use it as any sort of active reference. Spend your $ elsewhere.

While there certainly are other options to understanding parliamentary procedure, "Robert's Rules of Order" is a traditional key to knowing the ways things are done.

True, true, this isn't exactly the sort of book you bring to a coffeehouse on a Saturday. However, it is also true that if you are part of an organization that has organized meetings, 'Robert's Rules' is a great place to start. The liturgy of meeting procedure starts and finishes with the rules set forth in 'Robert's Rules.'

Get this book, but consider getting one of the plain English versions as well. If you are new to parliamentary procedure, you'll find both books in tandem quite helpful.

I fully recommend, "Robert's Rules of Order" by Henry M. Robert III.

Anthony Trendl
http://anthonytrendl.com

This is the definitive authority on parliamentary procedure I've been studying for over a year. The majority of the 700+ pages will never be used by the average member of an average organization. However, the fact that virtually every situation IS covered, is the reason to have the whole book. Because when it comes to meetings it's like Forrest Gump said "You never know what you're gonna get." Used in conjunction with the forum on their official website (robertsrules), this book can answer almost any question you can come up with.

I find it appropriate that this book has a gold cover. Following the old cliché, it's worth its weight in gold.

Having been involved at all levels in various organizations operating in various venues, I have found that 98% of the headaches that arise are due to someone's ignorance of the rules of how to "play nice with others" who are also on a given committee, board, or panel.

People who don't take the time to learn Robert's Rules of Order have no business serving on a committee, board, or panel. Such people do more harm than good. They hurt people's feelings and propagate misunderstandings. They create rework, pointless discussion, and inefficiencies. All of these problems would have been prevented by applying the basics of Robert's Rules of Order.

A person can choose to learn the basic rules by observing, but such learning would occur over too much time for that approach to work well. It's much better to just buy your own copy of Robert's Rules of Order and study selected parts for a few minutes a day over the course of a week or so.

Some folks object to using Robert's Rules of Order on the grounds the rules are too formal or too hard to learn. These objections are not valid, because the rules are not overly formal and are fairly easy to learn.

Another objection is the rules create too much of an administrative burden. Again, not true. The reality is the rules facilitate communication and reduce administrative burdens. The rules provide a flexible structure that any organization is free to modify, but less modification means less of a learning curve for people new to the organization.

I have served on bylaws committees in which we did modify Robert's Rules, mostly because the rules are still based on face to face meetings when electronic meetings are increasingly the norm. Yet, the same principles apply--only a few details need to change.

Yes, the book is thick. This can lead people to think it's full of stuff to memorize. But, the core of what's needed for the typical organization member is relatively small and all of it makes sense. Making things even easier for the reader, the book explains the rationale behind the rules as you go.

The bulk of the book consists of "extra stuff" that falls outside of what a person normally needs to know. But the core is actually pretty light. So, don't be intimidated by the page count.

As you might expect, Robert's Rules of Order is, well, orderly. It consists of 20 sections. An astute reader can quickly pick out which sections are applicable for studying right away, and which should be reference later. The former far outweighs the latter, for the typical board member or meeting attendee.

If you want to succeed as a member of a board, committee, or panel (or if you simply don't want to be a pain to everyone else), this book is a resource you must have.

Robert's Rules of Order is a charming little volume that will temporarily satiate the obsessions of control freaks. If you've ever been involved in an organization and have a keen sense of annoyance at inefficiency and improper democratic process, Robert's Rules of Order is for you. If you have a very systematic, logical mind and like learning new patterns to help bring order to a chaotic world, Robert's Rules of Order is for you. If you are bossy and want to impose "The Right Way" on your organization, buy a copy of Robert's Rules of Order and wave it over their heads.

The book is well-organized, attractive, and easy to read. You might expect that reading a book of rules would be boring, but it actually is quite interesting, because it is easy to see how the intricacies of correct parliamentary procedure can be applied and manipulated.

This is a review of the Kindle Edition of RONR 11th Edition

I had just bought a Kindle 3G, and Robert's Rules 11th Edition came out a few days later, so I was happy to see I wouldn't have to lug the thick book around with me any more. Wrong. The internal page number references are not linked, and page numbers are not available at all for external reference. There is, however, an index, which references page numbers that _are_ linked, so there's some progress being made. This book depends more on page numbers for reference than any other book I'm familiar with. It also uses line numbers occasionally, as do most legal documents, but I'd be happy with page numbers for now.

I did find out from Amazon product support that:

Page numbers are available in many but not all Kindle books. Kindle books that include page numbers will list "Page Numbers Source ISBN (the print book identification number)" under "Product Details" on the detail page at Amazon.com. To see page numbers for Kindle books, your Kindle must connect to a Wi-Fi or 3G network after the book has been downloaded.

The text is very poorly formatted and the links promised in the description do not exist. Save your money.