Thinking in Systems: A Primer

Thinking in Systems: A Primer by Donella H. Meadows (list price: $19.95; 2008 Sustainability Institute).

Donella Meadows is a genius. Rather, she was a genius; she passed away before this little gem of a book was published. I didn't know her or her work personally, so it is probably more conservative to only comment on this one little book --- which I thought was brilliant.

Meadows delivers exactly what she promised: a primer on systems thinking. She digs deep enough and provides wide enough coverage to provide a strong grounding in the topic with a style that should be understandable for most readers. Where it is important, Meadows provides an adequate treatment of the nuts and bolts in a non-technical and enjoyable to read narration.

Although hardcore systems modelers and programmers might find this primer simplistic, I found the simple explanations, integrated delivery, and concise package beautiful. I've read through some of the highly technical volumes about systems dynamics models, but I've not come across a book on the topic that packs more pound-for-pound punch than Thinking in Systems. My copy is riddled with marginal notes throughout, because Donella Meadows really made me think. No, she really made me understand. If you have even a passing interest in systems dynamics, this is a good place to start.

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