What worked & what was valuable in the quest
This book contains a great list of activities to improve retrospective meetings. It describes the ideal basic structure a retrospective meeting should have and shows how to make each retrospective different to the other.
What didn't work, what you'd change next time
I read it linear from the first to the last page as I do with every book. This book is much more useful as a workbook and reference to be kept nearby while preparing a retrospective meeting.
What you learned (related items from the Skills Inventory)
Reviewers, please comment below:
| 
The key take-home message for me in this book, aside from tactical things like using neutral statements to diffuse heated discussions, is the 5 stages of a retrospective. Would you mind elaborating on them? (setting the stage, gathering data, generating insight, making decisions, and wrapping up).