Andrew Carey – författare

Secular assumptions are being introduced piecemeal into our way of life. From the Millennium Dome (what exactly was it celebrating?) to the restrictions on the wearing of crosses and abolition of nativity plays, Christianity is being marginalised. Christian social initiatives at local levels are now so severely restricted that several Christian bodies issue guidelines on handling local council prejudice. There is a widespread if ill-defined sense that a valuable heritage is slipping away. Yet the Bible and Prayer Book are seminal for our language and literature; Christian social action predated the modern welfare state; our laws are based on Christian ethical systems. Christians should push back, re-engaging with politicians and opinion formers. Christians must be salt and light. Introverted Christianity must give way to engagement with the world, not defensively but with confidence and hope. It is time for a proper debate about the place of faith in modern Britain.

Sometimes a diary, sometimes an essay collection and always an insightful guide to the process of innovation, "Project Red Stripe" chronicles the work of six staff members of "The Economist", who were given GBP 100,000 and six months to come up with 'the next big thing' that the company should do. The only stipulation was that it be Internet-related. The group had permission to develop and launch a new business without prior approval from the Board."Project Red Stripe" unravels the many issues and dilemmas that "The Economist"'s innovation team faced: How businesses should prepare for the next phase of web innovation; How to integrate a team of complete strangers to work together seamlessly; How to balance calls for transparency and the need for commercial secrecy; How innovation might work in a world of online social networking and blogging; How six people can survive in a tiny office for six months without killing each other; How to evaluate ideas and choose the best; How to merge technical and non-technical people on a technical project; and, How well current theories of innovation work in practice.For anyone involved with innovation or creativity in business or the public sector, or working in a media company or simply working in a team, "Project Red Stripe" suggests new ways of approaching thorny problems and provides a wry insight into the workings of homo creativus.It also offers a fascinating look inside a small London office to show how six of "The Economist"'s cleverest people worked at the 'bleeding edge' of technical and technological know-how but still didn't get their office door to stop slamming for the first five months.