Management: A Sociological Introduction By Keith Grint. 1995, Cambridge: Polity Press, 277 pp., £13.95. Reviewed by Richard E. Boyatzis 1,2 The lead titles of the first six chapters of Keith Grint’ s erudite and well-written book provide a taste of his style: “ Into the Heart of Darkness,” ‘‘The Black Ships, ’’ ‘‘Mimetic Pyrophobes,’’ ‘‘From Silent Monitors,’’ ‘‘ Reengine ering Utopia, ’’ and ‘‘ The Alchemy of Leadership.’’ He offers complex concepts with tongue-in-cheek asides from a social constructionist perspective. Although not a good introduction to management for a new or a practical manager, it is an excellent intellectual primer on manage- ment. It prepares the reflective observer, and the philosophically and/or conceptually-orie nted executive to appre ciate and consider a numbe r of currently perplexing issues. Professor Grint introduces his view in Chapter 1 by saying, “The analy- sis of manage ment can be read . . . as a journey to acquire the secret of success, to drink from the ‘ holy grail ’ of managerial truth and to achieve the desired status of manager, or even better chief executive officer (CEO). Yet the journey through the maze of management texts leads in ever de- creasing circles into the clear, cold knowledge that nobody really seems to be able to deliver the magic elixir ” (p. 2). “ . . . thus the secret of manage- ment success is imposed from without, a socially created, regulated and legitimated practice, not one subject to the measurable objectivity of facts or truth. This book is intended as a guidebook to the heart of darkness which I take to be management ” (p. 3). The reader is initially struck with the possibility that Professor Grint does not like managers or executives. Although he might take a long walk Book Review Human Relations, Vol. 50, No. 4, 1997 461 0018 ¯ 7267/97/0400 ¯ 0461$12.50/1 Ó 1997 The Tavistock Institute 1 Departme nt of Organizational Behavior, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106. 2 Requests for reprints should be sent to Richard E. Boyatzis, Department of Organizational Behavior, Weatherhead School of Manageme nt, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106.