ON THE SHELF: New books of note

American Demographics, Oct 1, 2003 by Rebecca Gardyn

Byline: REBECCA GARDYN

A Nation At Work: The Heldrich Guide to the American Workforce

By Herbert A. Schaffner and Carl E. Van Horn Rutgers University Press, 2003

The story of how workers work in America has changed dramatically over the last few decades, and is likely to change even more in the decades to come. In A Nation At Work, Carl E. Van Horn, founding director of The John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, and Herbert A. Schaffner, director of communications at the Center, spend 450 pages masterfully chronicling past, present and future workforce trends in an easily accessible reference. The book is set up in two parts. Part 1 consists of three chapters - "Social, Economic and Demographic Trends," "Recruiting, Educating and Training the Workforce," and "Regulating the Workforce" - each of which is full of charts and figures, as well as references to additional books, Web sites and periodicals citing sources for more information. Part 2 encompasses five chapters. Each contains a collection of reprinted essays on a particular workforce issue. More than 50 articles by well-known journalists, analysts and experts are included.