Training Books

I borrowed this book from my cousin when I watched him run the Boston Marathon last month. I read the book needing some advice for a marathon I plan to run in October. It made me want to go running as I was reading it. Rather than make copies of lots of pages, I just decided to buy another book for my cousin so I can keep the old one.

Great strategies and tips for training and nutrition. Although I have yet to put the book's method to the true test (by actaully completing a marathon), the training is going very well and I feel confident about my race this spring.

I started running consistantly about 1 1/2 yrs ago (37yrs old). I set a goal of running a 15k race which I did in about 1:20. I wanted to improve my time as well as attempt some longer runs so I read a few other books / magazines before buying this one. Most of the others I read seemed to be more geared to the "elite" runners which I am definetly not. I appreciate Tom's knowledge and his ability to help the novice as well as the experienced runner. I also like Tom's approach to overall fitness, recovery and avoiding injuries. I have had the book for a couple of months and I have improved my time slightly but the greatest benefit for me has been helping me run further (I ran my first 14miler averaging 9min miles - which I am happy with) This is a great book for someone wanting to go to the next level.

I originally got turned onto Tom Holland at his Nantucket Beach Boot Camp. I really liked his style. During the hour long session he gives great advice in an easy going manner. His workouts are tough, but they are full of variety and full of fun.
I sat down with this book, expecting it to be like a text book- tons of information to be learned and studied. I had my highlighter in hand and paper on the desk to take notes. MARATHON METHOD is so much more than that! Tom shares his knowlege of exercise combined with nutrition in a very clever manner. His expertise of the sport paired with a great sense of humor made this a pleasure to read. I stayed up late to finish it because it was that good!
I have a good base to start training for the Paris Marathon!

I'm a 42 year old father of 2. Mid-July I decided to run the Long Beach Marathon with my best friend, who had run 2 marathons previously. It would be my first; I had done a little bit of running, but didn't even own running shoes. I bought Tom Holland's book "The Marathon Method", then I bought shoes.

To make a long story short, using only this book as a training guide, 12 weeks after buying shoes and taking up running, I ran the Long Beach Marathon last Sunday in 3:59:12, beating my friend by 6 minutes. My time would have been even better if I'd not ignored one of Tom's marathon "commandments" about staying hydrated (I didn't like energy drink provided at the race). Bottom line is, Tom Holland's training marathon training methods, in my opinion, have you running just enough miles to properly prepare you for the race while still keeping running pleasurable!! I enjoyed and looked forward to all my training runs and definitely got benefits from the strength training in between runs. Additionally, the other race preparation advice (mental strategies, diet, supplements, equipment, etc.) were extremely helpful. I highly reccomend this book.

Probably you have heard this is the hardest windows server 2003 exam, then i will say that it is. The good news are really study this book and of course really do practice this material on a virtual machine or a test enviroment. Why may this book will not be enough to pass the exam, it is because you will get simulations (you'll have to configure dns, dhcp, etc) and that's why you will need lot of practice. But the book will help you along the way.

This was a great book for the 70-291 exam. Most people refer to this one as the hardest in the MCSE 2003 track so I spent some extra time pouring over this particular book. The information was comprehensive and I'd say it was one of the best in the series in terms of learning that just keeps on giving. I'm studying for the Server 2008 upgrade now and it's nice to see that a lot of the concepts covered in this book are still valid. Passed this exam using the book and a little experience with a healthy margin.

Before I started on my MCSA path, I had basically zero hands on experience with server. I picked up this book along with the book for the 70-290 test and these are ALL I used to pass both the tests.

Just read and make sure you UNDERSTAND what you are reading and do all the exercises and practice quizzes/tests. You really need 2 computers to do all the exercises.

Excellent prep for the exam, but you definitely need a multi computer lab environment. W2003 Server(32 and 64bit) will run on an old machines with only 512Mb memory. Useful to also upgrade old servers via W2000 and various service patches, change and kill old domains etc. Trivial problems can sometimes take a long time to resolve, but you learn a lot in the process.

Well, I'm impressed. For starters, I got a valuable education from this book, not to mention a 980 on the exam. This book is a thorough course and will prepare you as much for the real world as it will the exam, but it requires a practice network of at least 2 computers (I recommend 3), and a lot of time - 250 to 300 hours. This isn't the kind of book that you read in bed or on the couch. The book is approx. 25% reading, 75% hands on lab work.

I give my money to Microsoft reluctantly, especially on products that depend on solid communication skills, but since the book came with a trial version of Server 2003, I plugged my nose and bought it. I expected a litany of typos, endless ambiguity and the "good enough" quality standards that their software has accustomed me to, but that wasn't the case at all. The book was 98% accurate. The practice exam software was an asset, and like I said, it was thorough. It's only shortcoming was in the topic area of "Windows Software Update Service". I should add that I had two years of experience within an Active Directory environment under my belt.

I found the book to be useful as a beginners guide to the media and media relations. It is a very quick read.

PR can be the most effective guerilla marketing available to companies that are trying to capture a bigger piece of the pie in their niche. Ms. Stewart has taken away the fear any executive may feel in dealing with the media and PR by writing a logical step by step book. I can definitely testify that her professionalism and realism in how to deal with the media has had a major effect on our company.

Media Training 101 gives strong fundamentals for anyone new in dealing with the news media. This book should be a part of any PR pro's library.

When being interviewed by media, it is tempting to do a `brain dump,' and give them as much information as you can. This can backfire, though. Faced with an information overload, the journalist has to pick-and-choose through all the data to construct her story. She probably has room only for a few of your points, and she may not choose the ones that you would like.

Politicians understand this. When they do interviews, they focus on `talking points.' The politician prepares by selecting three or four points they want to get across during the interview. The preparation allows them to get their message across clearly and succinctly.

You should do something similar to this to prepare for your encounters with the media. In 'Media Training 101,' Sally Stewart recommends that you have five focused and concise Key Message Points.

Key Message Point #1 is a general statement about your company. It might include facts such as how long you have been in business, what you sell, or where you are located.

Key Message Point #2 gives financial information. For example, revenues, growth percentage or number of units sold. Don't overload on statistics. Choose something easy to understand.

Key Message Point #3 identifies your target market. What characteristics do your customers share? Are they consumers or businesses? Are they in a specific industry? Are they located in the same geographic area? What need do they have that your product or service fills? You might also mention your share of the market, if it is impressive.

Key Message Point #4 addresses the company's future growth. Are you expanding into foreign markets, creating new products (or identifying new uses for existing products) to appeal to new types of customers, opening a new location or adding more employees?

Key Message Point #5 can be anything not covered in the other four points. It is a way to point out the uniqueness of your company. You might mention awards or other recognition your company has received, the specialized training or experience of your staff, or whatever you would want customers and the public to know about your business and what makes it special.

Once you have your Key Message Points, you are prepared for an interview at any time. This is important, because you won't always have a lot of advance notice of an interview. In some cases, you will have only minutes (if that) to prepare. With your Key Message Points you will know what to say-and when to stop talking.

Cathy Stucker
Author and Marketing/Publicity Consultant

This book gives you the essentials about dealing with the media, starting with interviews and calls from reporters. Sally Stewart, former journalist and PR practitioner, delivers the nitty-gritty. Her advice to recognize reporters' financial and emotional pressures is particularly useful. Reporters have two clear priorities, she says, to write good stories and to go home. If you want their good will, try a little respect, she suggests, although she displays considerable cynicism and negativity about them. Her lessons include getting reporters to pay attention and which reporters to contact and how, be it by phone, e-mail or fax. Stewart tells you how to deal with unexpected calls from the press, and how to decide whether or not you want to be part of a story. If you do, here's how to make the most of it. And if you don't, this book tells you how to extricate yourself, if possible. Along the way Stewart explains how to dress for a television appearance. If this paragraph mentions any core skill you don't already have, we have a newsflash for you: get the book.

this is a great book i used this book at home and in my office.

If you need to know the correct format for an office document or the correct way to address an official, it is in this book. This book covers the traditional means of communication as well as the electronic arena. It is well organized and very easy to use.

We are a small firm, and I am a licensed professional who types his own correspondence, contracts for clients, transmittals, etc.. Because the styles and forms of business letters have changed since I was in college, I decided I needed a good reference to help me with the tricky stuff that comes along occassionally.

This book did the job. Whether I need to know how to address a letter to an elected official, or pressure someone to pay an invoice, the Secretarial Handbook covers it. From punctuation to collation, this is the best single office reference I have ever used.

If you do your own administrative tasks, buy one for yourself for National Secretaries (Administrative Professionals) Day.

A superb one-stop reference volume covering topics highly relevant to the duties of secretaries and personal/admininstrative assistants, this handbook has withstood the test of time. The third edition dates from the early 1990s, but most of the many tasks treated comprehensively in this handbook have changed very little over the years: forms of address, basic grammar and punctuation rules, formal business correspondence, organization of meetings and travel, postal mail procedures, telephone etiquette and procedures, and so on. A few chapters that are very technology-sensitive (computers and word-processing equipment, desktop publishing, etc.) have dated considerably, but the handbook overall is so useful that it's worth having within arm's reach in just about any office-for both secretaries and their managers.

In an increasingly global business environment, this handbook is also very useful for assistants and secretaries outside the U.K. and U.S. who must deal with English-speaking colleagues on a regular basis by phone, e-mail, or mail.

We are a small firm, and I am a licensed professional who types his own correspondence, contracts for clients, transmittals, etc.. Because the styles and forms of business letters have changed since I was in college, I decided I needed a good reference to help me with the tricky stuff that comes along occassionally.

This book did the job. Whether I need to know how to address a letter to an elected official, or pressure someone to pay an invoice, the Secretarial Handbook covers it. From punctuation to collation, this is the best single office reference I have ever used.

If you do your own administrative tasks, buy one for yourself for National Secretaries (Administrative Professionals) Day.

Well laid out manual for learning some of the finer secrets of using Word 2003.

I've been using Word 2000 for years. I was finally able to get most of thr functions I needed to work, but it was a "try & try again" approach. The on line manual is helpful, IF you know what questions to ask. And most software has features you might not be aware of, and therefore can't use.

The Word 2003 Step by Step manual is wonderful. You can find what you want to do easily in the index, then get step by step instructions on how to do the project. You can just read the index and/or manual, and learn of the many features available that you never knew existed, and so hadn't tried to use.

It's like having an instructor on hand, any time you want one. I expanded my use of Word greatly, just by learning about new features, on learning how to do things I knew existed, but couldn't figure out how to access.

I highly recommend this book.

This book tells you exactly what you need to know for the exam. I was able to concentrate on the proper information without worry. I passed the exam first time :D

This book is for everyone, novice, intermediate and experts (who need a refreshers course). Its plain and to the point. There was one section of it that was not quite right, however, this is no fault of the seller but the writers of the book. Once you over look that it works just as stated in the book. The book got to my freight forwarder quicker than I expected.

Fast shipping. Book received in same great condition as described on website. All in all, an A+ transaction.

This book is loaded with information on how to code JCL efficiently. We cut the run time for a 12 hour job to 3 hours using this book. I highly recommend the book for IT Professionals working with JCL.

This book is loaded with practical and valuable information. Excellent tool--even experienced IT professionals will benefit from the tips and techniques.

This JCL publication has all the parameters and statements most often used. The book also presents the most efficient and effective means to code the most common JCL parameters and statements. Olivia Carmandi hit the bullseye, writing a book that contains practical day to day answers in an easy to use format and size, an appealing tool to the busy IS professional.

This is an outstanding book that addresses and responds to the needs of its target audience in a very time efficient, practical, and helpful manner. Five stars.

A good little book for the most commonly used JCL and ideal for someone who does not have to deal with JCL on an everyday bases. The format is easy to follow and book size makes is easy to slip it into you pocket.

The focus of this book is on developing your survival skills quickly, helping you grasp and understand major concepts and terms so you can be productive in days; not weeks or months. JCL is an intense and complex computing skill and highly-valued in the industry. Traditionally, learning JCL takes years, learning small components at a time. Many programmers and operators eventually give up the chase. This book will help ensure that you don't. To paraphrase the line, "this is not your father's JCL manual." This book is not a thousand pages of prose, explaining every conceivable element that might appear in JCL. Instead, it focuses on what is actually being used in the computing world and packages it for easy consumption. I wish such a book had been available when I was learning JCL many years ago.

Happy Reading!! David Shelby Kirk

Great book. This was a huge help to me as I was planning my first retreat. Thank you for providing the great ideas!

I am periodically asked by my coaching clients to support them and their teams by conducting offsites. While I have had a lot of experience participating and doing offsites, this book has introduced me to some additional techniques and activities. I have found the book to be extremely helpful, complete, instructive and have recommended it to others.

This book is really worth the money. Last year I was asked to faciliate a retreat for a nonprofit organization. I had absolutely no idea what to do or how to start. I researched many books on retreat planning, and Retreats That Work was far and away the most comprehensive and easy to apply. It walks you through interesting exercises that provoke real dialogue and inject energy into the process. I would have been completely lost without this book. The retreat was a complete success and I was asked to repeat the process this year. I recommend this book to novices and professionals alike.

Even though I was trained at a local University in facilitation and have years of experience facilitating meeting and retreats, reading Retreats That Work took my skills to a whole new level.

I've been facilitating retreats of and on for about 18 years as part of my marketing consulting business, and I've always thought I was rather good at it. However, I just facilitated a strategic planning retreat for a professional services firm AFTER reading (in great detail) Retreats That Work, and it was by far the most professional, organized, productive and dynamic retreat I've ever facilitated. The thinking in the book is so very lucid and instructive, that using it as a reference allowed me to cover all of my bases and greatly increase my confidence and creativity.

From here on out, I am going to pursue much more facilitation work, because I feel I understand the process much better than before, and having this book on my desk makes me feel like I have a senior advisor available whenever I need it.

Just to let you know, there are numerous excellent retreat exercises that are categorized to help you choose the ones appropriate to different retreat types, there is a disk with printable resources, and throughout the book, there are numerous referrals to other professional resources that the authors have found useful. I really benefited from the author's thoughts on the consultant/client relationship and tips for managing client personalities and expectations.

If anyone else has ever read a professional resource book that is as good as this one (on almost any topic) I want to hear about it - this one is by far the best one I have ever read.

We design retreats for both large and small groups and needed to pass this knowledge on to others without our background and experience. This book was extremely helpful in providing some fundamentals that we were able to adapt to our clients needs.

As someone who is both a medical professional and a father, I found this story to be a wonderful one to share with my children.
They know that daddy is training a Therapy Dog to help his patients, so this book was particularly wonderful for them!
Enjoy and have tissues nearby (for yourself!)
Be well,
Dr. Ferraioli
www.drferraioli.com

Rugby and Rosie is a well-done children's book that helps explain the important elements of raising a guide dog puppy. I have read this book aloud to a fourth grade class. The story created good dialog and the children learned about how dogs can help those with disabilities.

Well, I happen to have a chocolate lab named Rugby and I just had to have this book! The book is a wonderful story for children of all ages! It helps to teach responsiblity! My Rugby and I just loved it!

I take issue with the School Library Journal review: "The flat declarative sentences...do not evoke emotion or drama". WRONG! I, a former declared dog-hater, received this book as a gift for my kids. Not only have I read it dozens of times and it has not once failed to make me cry, but it inspired me to adopt a retired Labrador guide dog! This is one of my favorite children's books of all time.

From a puppy raiser, this book it very faithful to the puppy raising experience. It describes, perfectly, all the emotions involved with this process.

This is a superb look at the nitty-gritty world of selling. Although the author does fill it with case studies, they are all useful and thought-provoking. My favorite bit of advice concerns what happens to all top salespeople: they get their territory cut. Why? To keep them from getting complacent, of course.

Joe has gone out of his way to cut to the chase. There is no self esteem building and you can do it rah rah rather Joe's frank honest and what it takes to stay on top, remain on top and what to do when you are caught in a no win situation. As an MBA this type of book should be a mandatory read but the reality of tenured professors that are effectively running a union job do not understand how duplicitous and unethically the real business world can be. I finish this book in a few hours and the insight will last me a career. It is also refreshing from the standpoint that Joe has a soul and is interested in seeing the world and some great sales jobs he has had launched that opportunity. If you surf this book is especially cool(which I do and I can relate to the author on many levels.) Another reviewer was turned off by some profanity of which I do not remember so don't focus on issues of crass.

Anybody. I repeat anybody who sells, or wants to become a sales person, has to read this book. This book will keep you in the "game" longer, by playing corporate business model to your advantage. All successful companies value their sales force. But most Sales Managers make you feel like a zero. By reading this book you can change that number and pave a brighter future. Read and Prosper.

This book is a "must have" for the new graduate or anyone who is considering a career or taking on an adventure in sales.

Finally, a fun-to-read book on sales with valuable and positive insights on getting-in, finding the right company, and getting-out when your company becomes the "wrong company."

Joe T has real-life examples and experiences that show you how to work for yourself and enjoy the adventure. He teaches you what to expect in sales and get the most out of your job and keep your sanity. Rather than providing, rehashed "supposedly new", methods of achieving one time sales success, this book provides a "big picture guide" that helps a salesperson's lifelong career. HIGHLY ENTERTAINING AND RECOMMENDED!!!

I went to B-School, got my MBA, and gained valuable education on the theory and practice of managing a successful business. What I was disappointed by, were the unexamined assumptions around the "corporate dream", which I found pervasive at all levels of the curriculum. Too complex to go into here, but essentially...

Most business schools are in the business of selling the corporate dream and training future managers in the arts of profit maximization, organizational efficiency, competitive advantage, and market penetration. Rarely do they ever address the human reality of corporate downsizing, except as economic data points relevent to the afore mentioned topics.

The Sales Adventure Guide is a practical manual on how to cut through the corporate BS, understand the true meaning behind management-speak, and know how to cover your butt when your job is on the line, through no fault of your own. It uncovers the tactics, often unethical and sometimes illegal, that HR and upper management will use to make you go away, meekly, without costing the company a penny.

The Sales Adventure Guide will help you probe underneath the company's glossy exterior and public face, by showing you how you can ask the right questions and find out important information about the organization you will be contracting your time to.

This book will teach you how to protect yourself, play the corporate game with finesse, and enjoy your life, rather than feel browbeaten at the company's ingratitude towards the days, months, years of your life you gave them - which you will never, ever get back.

Corporate loyalty is a myth, most companies will lay you off without a second thought. Read this book, understand that we are all contractors now.

I just finished this training and have to say it is wonderful. SEO is such a hot topic, and the trainer, Richard John Jenkins, does a wonderful job in covering the topic in fine detail. The foundation of what is obtained from this training can be used to drastically improve a website's ranking in the major search engines using ethical methods, without resorting to "black hat" tactics.

This video explains not only SEO processes and sources, but also how to go about the thought processes and the also the correct way (white hat) to go about performing SEO services for your site and your customers if you are in the business. I thoroughly enjoyed Richards cavalier and no nonces approach in this video. If you want a quick jump start into the SEO world, I recommend this video.

I have gone through a few other tutorials and the only thing they had in common was that they were BORING. This is not the case with Richard Jenkins' SEO videos. He is able to present vital information in a way that is very easy to understand and his scense of humor makes the video series very enjoyable to watch. I would recommend this tutorial series to anyone who wants to understand search engine optimization.

This resource is a must for anyone who has anything to do with a website...whether it be design, marketing, analysis...anything. Richard Jenkins and Lynda.com deliver a thorough review of Search Engine Optimization that is highly watchable, insightful and inspiring. From beginning to end, Richard Jenkins addresses important strategies for ranking with search engines, driving site traffic, important web design considerations, meta descriptions and tags, and much more. He also introduces the viewer to many tools that will ensure SEO success. This resource is well worth the investment of time and money.

I discovered search engine optimization after having a website up for 3 yeaars that never seemed to generate any business. In fact, I couldn't get my company name to come up when I searched for it myself. In doing some marketing research I discovered this process called search engine optimization (SEO) and what you didn't know about it could hurt you. And it was. I then discovered John's SEO CD that taught everything I needed to know in a way that I could easily comprehend. He teaches using lots of live examples so you know exactly what he's talking about. John is an excellent teacher and reveals valuable resources in his tutorial. Step by step he tells you what you need to do and why you need to do it. What he teaches not only improves one's website, but marketing in general. I highly recommend John's CD and urge everyone to learn about SEO. [...]