The Art of the Longview: Planning for the Future in an Uncertain World by Peter Schwartz. Doubleday/Currency, 1991. This book describes the techniques for creating scenarios -- stories of the future -- which are powerful in selecting paths into the future.

At Home In The Universe: The Search for the Laws of Self-Organization and Complexity by Stuart Kauffman. Oxford University Press, Inc., 1995. Kauffman explains how self-organization, selection, and chance work together in ecosystems, economic systems, and cultural systems.

Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of The Learning Organization by Peter M. Senge. Doubleday/ Currency, 1990. The five disciplines discussed in this book (systems thinking, personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, and team learning) can help individuals and organizations -- including congregations and annual conferences -- see the opportunities and overcome the threats they face in a rapidly changing world.

The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization by Peter Senge, Art Kleiner, Charlotte Roberts, Richard Ross, and Bryan Smith. Doubleday/Currency, 1994. With this guide to practicing the five disciplines discussed in The Fifth Discipline, the reader can chose to work on a variety of exercises at different levels of difficulty.

Fuzzy Thinking: The New Science of Fuzzy Logic by Bart Kosko. Hyperion, 1993. This book describes the shift from the paradigm of "either-or" to the paradigm of "shades-of-gray". It also looks at the systems in that new world view.

Sculpting The Learning Organization: Lessons in the Art and Science of Systemic Change by Karen E. Watkins and Victoria J. Marsick. Jossey-Bass Inc., 1993. Case studies illustrate how individuals, teams, organizations, and societies create learning. The book shows how learning at all four levels interrelate.

Seeing Systems: Unlocking the Mysteries of Organizational Life by Barry Oshry. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 1995. Oshry writes out of the experience of leading workshops about power and systems and about improving the ways people live and work together.

Systems 1: An Introduction to Systems Thinking by Draper L. Kauffman, Jr., Future Systems Inc., 1980. Available only from Pegasus Communication, Inc., Cambridge MA (617-576-1231). This brief primer on ecological and societal systems was to have been the first in a series on systems thinking, but the rest of the series never materialized. Its easy vocabulary, creative cartoons, and use of white space make it a non-threatening place to begin learning about systems.

The Systems Thinker: Building Shared Understanding, published ten times a year by Pegasus Communication, Inc., Cambridge MA (617-576-1231). Available by subscription. Although this resource probably shouldn't be on a best books list, it offers a comprehensive, ongoing discussion about organizational systems that should be considered by the serious student of systems thinking.

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