Customer Reviews

Systemantics: The Underground Text of Systems Lore

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I know the author personally. As a lawyer and a former executive, I found the book insightful, hilarious, and - even - depressing. John does an excellent job of uncovering cultural blinders we all labor under. Our genes have not prepared us to work in the gigantic systems and organizations that provide, govern, and torture us. I enjoyed the second part of the book ("Applied Systemantics") more than the more conceptual first part. This book is an important antidote to Organizational Development hucksterism.

Discovering John Gall's book a view of life. Gall spells out the failings of, largely, cultural assumptions in the realms of education, food production, corporate culture and so on, in ways that are easy to understand despite complexities. Systemantics represents a collection rules and laws that characterize and define systems (from corporations, organizations, religions to families and other social groups), and Gall cites notable examples that have graced the headlines (from the mid-80s, in my edition). With humor and wit, Gall outlines potential and obvious pitfalls. Despite its age, this book is even more relevant today since much of what Gall elucidates is even more rampant than ever. Fans of Daniel Quinn (author of Ishmael, The Story of B, etc.) may find this appropriate to augment their interests.

I read the previous reviews -- the most of them came from people with engineering bend. But this book is not only for engineers, it is for everyone - managers, politicians, lawyers, programmers, urban planners -- you name it. As the matter of fact, you will never read a newspaper the same way after being familiarized with Dr. Gall's book. The Diberterque environment of your office will not feel like something extraordinary after you realize that there are natural reasons why it has become Dilbertesque.

I am ordering yet another copy of Dr. Gall's jewel after giving my previous copies away to friends who after skimming my book simply must have it now. This book should be a must read for everyone but especially managers - it is easy to get caught up in "the system" and forget what you're really doing. This book is a brilliant and witty reminder.

Years ago I had a copy of Gall's thin paperback. This expanded version adds somewhat to the humor, but the underlying seriousness of the message isn't changed. Further, there is significantly more discussion about how one may change one's own frame of reference in order to reduce a model to a previous case. The laws Gall and his team elucidate function better than any meta-rules have a right to. I know of no other text for systems engineers that better describes the pitfalls of designing complex systems, and what to do about them when you have them and they refuse to go away

I like this book. It contains pithy and often humorous stories that illustrate every point. It also provides catchy labels for each major concept so that the author's ideas tend to stick in your mind. For example, The Fundamental Law of Administrative Workings (FLAW). This book has stuck in my mind and it continually reminds me to think twice before expanding any of my systems - whether they be cooking systems or computer systems.

Systemantics is a humerous look at the world of systems and how they don't work. It is a book of tongue in cheek rules that are not only funny but true. John Gall used humour to point out the fatal flaws in our approach to systems of every sort.

I think this is a book every systems engineer must read. It is so funny, yet explores all the details related with systems at all levels. It has also an amazing quantity of examples related to system failures. I really loved this book, and I will keep it after my graduation. For the years to come.

I read this book several years ago and I am still spouting its precepts to managers and fellow developers to this day. Systems ( and systems culture ) are cynically analysed in easy to grasp well reasoned terms. A pleasure to read.