REVIEWS Evaluating Training Programs: The Four Levels, zyxw by Donald L. Kirkpatrick. (1994). San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler. 229 pp., zyxw $32.95 cloth. Reynolds (1993) identifies zyxwvu evaluation as one of the 100 key terms in a trainer’s vocabulary and defines it as a systematic process to determine the worth, value, or meaning zyxwvu of something. He goes on to define the Four Level Evaluation Model as a “summative evaluation model developed by Donald L. Kirkpatrick, one that is widely respected and used in HRD” (p. 77). Evaluation is important; that is almost a given. And the “Kirkpatrick model” has been around a long time-so long that the thousands of practi- tioners who are familiar with it must wonder if anyone has not heard of it, for it was first introduced in 1959. Some would argue, in fact, that the model has almost taken on an aura of impregnability. So the first logical question becomes “Why would anyone want to write a book explaining the nature and applica- tions of a model that has been around for over thirty-five years-and one that has not even been the subject of substantial criticism?” Kirkpatrick provides the answer to that question in his introduction to Part One. His objective for writing the book was “to provide a simple, practical, four-level approach for evaluating training programs” (p. 1). And his publisher contends that the product is “a handy reference guide that provides a practi- cal and proven model for increasing training effectiveness through evaluation.” Although Kirkpatrick originally published a series of articles introducing the four levels and has reiterated zyxwv ~ L S thoughts in subsequent publications and hun- dreds of seminar and conference presentations, there has never been a com- prehensive, readable, integrated explication of the four levels that practitioners could turn to for an introduction, a review, or applied illustrations. Now there is one and, appropriately, Kirkpatrick produced it. The books 200-plus pages are divided into two main parts. Part One (Chapters One through Eight) explains where evaluation fits into the ten-step training process, provides three main rationales for evaluation (assessing goal contribution, making program continuation decisions, and identifying pro- grammatic improvement ideas), gives an overview and details of the four lev- els (reaction, learning, behavior, and results), and provides implementation suggestions. Part Two (Chapters Nine through Twenty-one) provides thirteen discrete case reports on the application of all or some levels of the model. Nine of the case reports are new; four were published previously. Eleven cite the organization using the model (for example, units within IBM, CIGNA, and Motorola), one refers to a large automotive company, and the last is a hypo- thetical example. Who is the intended (or most appropriate) audience for this book? The most probable primary market is encompassed by the thousands of new HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY. zyxwvut vol. zyxwvuts 6, no. 3, Fall zyxwvu 1995 GJossey-Bass Publishers 317