Human Resources in Crisis is a personal journey of Rudolf Hartong. It is a reflection of impressions, experiences, and interviews signalling developments in human resources spanning forty years, which made the author worried about the future of this profession. It is a very practical booklet that describes the ‘bankruptcy’ of human resources as he sees it and puts forward a way to re-install trust, respect, service, support, and real help to all employees in the interest of the company. The writer mentions the ‘hidden’ resources of loyalty in a company and their unique local culture, which can immensely contribute to the success of a company. This is especially needed in difficult (financial) times. The writer is worried about a too large centralization of the HR function, neglecting the local and unique culture in a company and country. He prefers a ‘quilt’, a patchwork, of different HR solutions based on local situations but part of an overall corporate HR policy. He prefers to go for local solutions. In his time as general manager and managing director it worked very successfully compared to ‘fashionable’ trendsetters, which he calls ‘acting like sheep’. The author hopes that the reader will re-gain his or her own focus on HR with the aid of this very personal, sometimes emotional, journey – a journey about Hartong’s conviction that a better way is possible, as he has proven it during his many years in human resources and general management. Rudolf Hartong’s new book will be published in 2013: GENERAL MANAGEMENT for operational managers: Practical guidelines and answers covering 1001 questions and situations.