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L Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

L
Toddler Rhyme Bible
Published in Hardcover by Multnomah Books (2000-01-25)
Author: L.J. Sattgast
List price: $16.99
New price: $17.87
Used price: $5.08
Collectible price: $24.98

Average review score:

Great 1st Bible!!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-13
This is a wonderful 1st Bible for infants and toddlers! I've purchased it twice because the 1st copy was so "well loved" and showed it. The short rhymes that make up each story and colorful pictures are perfect for a young child with limited attention span. My son is 2 1/2 and has enjoyed hearing the stories since 18 months. My daughter started with this bible as well, and was able to remember many key Bible stories by the time she was old enough for Sunday school, simple because of the rhymes she had heard.

Easy to memorize
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-04
My 2-year-old loves having her very own Bible and reads stories from the book every night. The rhymes are simple, yet thoughtful and humorous at times, and the sing-song cadence allows toddlers to quickly memorize the stories. My daughter's favorite story is about "Noah's boat," as she says, and after a few weeks was able to recite the story herself. We even bought her a toy ark to reinforce the story. She has now memorized several of her favorite stories.

It's been such a joy to see her, at an early age, enjoy reading about God, Jesus, and the lives of His followers.

Loving introduction to the Bible
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-26
I checked this book out of the library. My daughter generally gets easily distracted when I read to her. After reading several books with me feeling like I was reading to myself instead of to her, I pulled this book out. She looked at every page, every picture, as I read the rhymes. We finished the Old Testament. I asked her if she wanted to put it aside for the next day. She asked me to keep reading--we read the whole book in one sitting! Amazing. The rhymes are simple and accurate but leave out the "bad" things. It is a very happy book. This would be a great introduction to the Bible for baby and toddler up through age 4.

Great Bible for 1-4 year olds
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-07
We got this Bible years ago for our oldest daughter (now 4, we started when she was 1). As we read the stories, we dated the corner of the page. Now we are reading it to our younger daughter (now 2). She askes for Bible each night as part of our bedtime routine and loves to "read" it throughout the day. My four year old now reads this Bible independently and I love to listen to my oldest read the stories to my youngest. I have given several of these to friends with young children.

The Rhyme Bible Storybook for Toddlers
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-07-05
My entire congregation loves this beautiful book. It's now a tradition that our ladies' group gifts one of these to every baby baptized at our church: we used to give bibles which an infant would have no immediate use for. It's beautiful illustrations grab even the smallest child's attention and it's stories are captivating -- mothers even tell me they've read each so often that they have it memorized and their child is big enough to turn the pages while Mom recites the words while driving or making dinner!

L
101 Jumping Exercises
Published in Paperback by David & Charles PLC (2003-09-29)
Authors: Linda L. Allen and Dianna R. Dennis
List price: $37.20
New price: $65.68
Used price: $61.24

Average review score:

A great instructor reference
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-19
I used it teaching beginner lessons. It really helped me come up with new and creative exercises for the kids to do. You replace the jumps for rails on the ground for students that do not jump yet. I love it and use the exercises in this book all the time.

Detailed Brilliance
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-25
Brilliant diagrams, excellent keys, simply mapped out and laid out information for difficult and also the easiest of dressage manoevres. It's bound at the top for a vertical flip, with a hole punched down near the bottom so you can hang the book on a nail on your bulletin board or at home and keep it open while you study it. It has handy hints how to achieve positions and gives you ideas to improve certain flaws. It is by far the best book on jumping exercises I have read so far that is dedicated purely to jumping exercises.

Just about EVERY page has another full A4 riding arena on it showing the pattern where the horse is going, it shows crossbars and it shows trotting poles, verticals, gymnastics and where to place them, it shows where you should be directing your horse and what way to approach with an excellent use of diagrams and patterns which have a key right next to it so the design remains uncluttered and simple to read. It even gives you cheap alternatives to make some jumps yourselves and offers quick solutions. A best buy for anyone serious about jumping - or even dressage - to keep their horse supple and to keep their horse (and themselves!) from boredom. Brilliant.

101 Jumping Exercises
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-12
The best how to book on ground poles and jumping that I have experienced. It's a great tool by an expert to keep your horses (young and old) interested as well as the rider thinking. Linda laid out the book very well. Good illustrations and great explanations accompany each exercise. The ground pole exercises are very helpful to use between jumping lessons. This one is a book to keep and give as a gift to a riding friend!

great jumping ideas
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-07
This book has so much info on different exercises and each exercises has little hits about when to use this exercise and what to watch out for while riding it.

Evolution of jumping skills.
Helpful Votes: 14 out of 14 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-13
This book breaks the demands or jumping down into a logical progression of skills until it takes the insecure beginning rider into a confident partner to the jumping horse. If these lessons are followed correctly, it can also take a training level horse into a skilled show jumper. This book is a must for anyone interested int he discipline of jumping.

L
Bankrupt: Restoring the Health and Profitability of Our Banking System
Published in Hardcover by HarperBusiness,U.S. (1991-06-19)
Author: Lowell L. Bryan
List price:
New price: $2.99
Used price: $0.01

Average review score:

Wonder who bought this for "Only Sixteen?"
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-08-05
While their cover of Only Sixteen was all over the radio, I wonder how many folks bought the LP after hearing that song, and discovered this stoner classic? This is music to listen to with a lot of friends, with plenty of various libations on hand. A true party album.

As usual, the album contains great Shel Silverstein penned classics. Shel was at the top his game, and Dr. Hook delivers the songs with skillful wit. Interestingly enough, Dr. Hook as a band was bankrupt, and this album very well could have been their last. The success of Only Sixteen saved them, but alas, instead of more songs like The Millionaire and I Got Stoned, they went.... DISCO!!!! Bankrupt turned out to be the last, great Dr. Hook album. And what a great one it is!

Every bit as good as I'd remembered it to be
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-02-25
Good times and good music from a long time ago.
Light one up, kick back, and enjoy.

Whistle Test
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2004-03-03
I love this album. I saw the 'Hook' in 1974 on The Old Grey Whistle Test doing it and was blown away - I went out and bought it the following day. The Millionairre is excellent, I got stoned...... just me at the time. I've just ordered on CD from this site - delivery in April - I can't wait. I've worn out 6 copies on 33 over the past 30 years. The only other album I've done that with is Neil Young Harvest

Great Release
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2003-09-04
some very funny moments on this CD. i used to listen to the LP many years ago , wore it out completely. WUPS makes me smile everytime i hear it. this was the bands last chance to make it big. Only Sixteen was the hit that made them superstars. A very hard to find CD, get it while you still can.

Hooked on the GREAT doctor!
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2003-01-30
This album holds so many memories of my teenage years as I used to listen to this when going to Speedway with my brother. I have been searching for this to add to my collection of CD's and this is the first place I have been able to find it. As for the songs there isn't a bad one amonst them "Levitate" truly does lift me high, "Only Sixteen" reminds me of when I was ONLY SIXTEEN and "Millionaire" well listening to it will make us all feel like MILLIONAIRE'S

L
The Burning
Published in Hardcover by Demco Media (1993-10)
Author: R. L. Stine
List price:

Average review score:

Fear Street Rocks
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-03
I am 24 years old and I still love Fear Street. I read this saga over 10 years ago and I started thinking about it a few months ago for some reason. I looked in book stores but it was order only, so I didn't bother. Finally my husband told me to go on Amazon and order it. After all, we would be going to the beach for Labor Day weekend and I don't like going into the water, so reading material is a must.

I'm almost done with the first book, and I love it. I feel like a teen again.

Cursed Forever
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2004-07-31
The Burning is one of the sagas set in days of old explaining the curse that possesses Fear Street.it is an interesting read but it involves much death and is not a cheery book by any means.So I am wondering if it is really worth it.There isn't really a positive aspect or moral to it.Except, perhaps, that the Fear family's own evil is what eventually destroyed them.

Danny's review
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2005-12-12



I was reading The Burning by R.L. Stine. This book was a pretty good book; out of ten I would give this book a high eight. I liked this book because of all mystery and horror combined.

In this book it is told by Nora Goode, who is married to one of the Fears. In this book it is about how this guy Simon Fear goes to this party and falls in love with Angelica Goode. But Angelica has two guys that are really wealthy and smart and handsome. So Simon kills both of them and marries Angelica. Then bad luck comes back to Simon. He kills his own daughter. Now Daniel has to go for Simon's birthday.
and mystery. They would like this because it is all mystery and horror. So read this book
A person who would like this is a person who likes horror

Kristen's review
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2005-05-13
I didn't like the ending because it could have been a better, but if he did a different ending then there wouldn't be any Fear Street books. I did like it from the beginning up to the end. I only liked the beginning because it had the mystery to it and I didn't want to put it down. I like it when I can't put it down because then it keeps me hooked. When I'm hooked the book doesn't get boring that easily
The story is about a boy named Simon who tried to forget about and stop the family curse. But then, it finally caught up to him. It is about Simon's grandson named Daniel. Daniel didn't know about his family curse until he got to his grandparents. He fell in love with Nora Goode before he knew about the curse and he thought that if they got married it would end the curse. Will the marriage and their true love end the curse? What will happen to them in the end?
If you didn't read The Betrayal and The Secret then you will not understand the book that well. If you like mystery, love, and not wanting to put the book down then you may like this book most of it or all of it. This book will help you understand why bad things happen to people who live on Fear Street in the Fear Street books. There is dying in this book and if you like that in a book then you may just like this book.

Best One Of The Fear Street Saga Series
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2004-10-22
This is the 3rd book in the series. It's about a girl name Nora & a boy name Daniel want to stop the curse of the family. They think that the only way to end it forever is to get married. This book actually need 10 stars because it was better than the other 2.

L
The Cunning of History
Published in Paperback by Harper Perennial (1987-09-15)
Author: Richard L. Rubenstein
List price: $13.00
New price: $5.00
Used price: $0.28

Average review score:

Well argued and intelligent
Helpful Votes: 12 out of 14 total.
Review Date: 2004-06-25
In this essay Richard Rubenstein contends that the Holocaust should be viewed within the context of a tradition of slavery that is deep rooted in western culture. Drawing on Max Weber, Rubenstein argues that the combination of unrestricted capitalism and protestantism helped to create the conditions necessary for the ultimate form of slavery as expressed in the Nazi death camps. Additional factors include a European trend toward viewing certain segments of a given population as expendable.

The analysis is thought provoking and intelligently written. My reservation is that while I agree that viewing the holocaust in this way leads one to the conclusion that under the right circumstances genocide on this scale could happen again , I also believe that there was something uniquely evil in the Nazi leadership that contributed to the Holocaust. Rubenstein's analysis focused on historical/economic/social forces at the expense of the personal responsibilty of Hitler and his inner circle. Despite that this is an important book that should be mandatory reading in any study of the Holocaust.

Everyone should read this short but important book/essay
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2006-03-04
If you doubt his premise, think about World War I. The leaders of the nations of Europe and the US put their male citizens into soldier's uniforms, lined them up in close proximity to one another to dig trenches, ordered them into the trenches, and then gassed them. It was an extermination experiment. It's time we all woke up to the global death machine and its propaganda. Also read How the World Really Works.

Poles, Like Jews, Recognized as Victims of Genocide
Helpful Votes: 30 out of 30 total.
Review Date: 2006-09-02


In 1944, Polish Jew Raphael Lemkin coined the term genocide, applying it to Jews and Poles alike. In this small but thought-provoking book, Richard L. Rubenstein approaches the German Nazi exterminationist policies in much the same vein, while stressing the role of the modern state bureaucracy to make it possible.

Probably the first step in genocide is the denial of the humanity of the intended victims: "Once the victim is categorized as belonging to a different species, the task of transforming him into a thing is immensely simplified...Before the Nazis assaulted the Jews, the Poles, the Russians, and the Gypsies, they were categorized as members of sub-human races."(p. 54). Terms such as Tiermenschen ("animal people") and Untermenschen ("subhumans") were commonly used. Rubenstein (p. 83) points out that Jews were often referred to as "a surplus population", but not the fact that the Germans also used this term for Poles.

The denationalization of those intended for genocide was also significant: "Unfortunately, the Nazis clearly understood the importance of the question of statelessness. When they began to deport Jews from such occupied nations as France, Bulgaria, and Hungary, they insisted that the deportees be stripped of their citizenship by their respective governments no later than the day of deportation. There was no need to denationalize Polish and Russian Jews because the Nazis had destroyed the state apparatus as soon as they occupied the territory. The absence of a state apparatus in Poland and occupied Russia was an indication of the ultimate fate of the Poles and the Russians had the Germans won."(pp. 32-33).

While the mass shootings and gassings of Jews were already well underway, the Germans set their sights higher. Rubenstein cites an October 13, 1942 letter by Otto Thierack, the German minister of justice: "With a view of freeing the German people of Poles, Russians, Jews, and Gypsies, and with a view to making the eastern territories which have been incorporated into the Reich available for settlement by German nationals, I intend to turn over criminal jurisdiction over Poles, Russians, Jews and Gypsies to the Reichsfuhrer-SS (Himmler). In doing so, I stand on the principle that the administration of justice can make only a small contribution to the extermination of these peoples." (p. 34). Richard L. Rubenstein comments: "Soviet domination of Eastern Europe was closer to that of a classical tyranny than was the German occupation. The German aims were far more radical. They sought to create a society of total domination involving initially the enslavement and extermination of the Jews and eventually similar treatment to other subject peoples. They were determined to clear a Lebensraum, a living space, for German settlement."(p. 76).

Of course, owing at least in part to the much greater numbers of Poles than Jews, and despite the fact that 2-3 million Polish gentiles (including half of all educated Poles) were murdered before the Germans before the latter were finally driven out of Poland, the overall extermination of the Poles was more of a long-term German project. In this regard, practical methods of mass sterilization were actively being developed (p. 49), with the 3 million Russian POWs to be the first large-scale victims (p. 50). The Nazi goal was clear: "As we have noted, had the Germans won the war, mass sterilization would have been an important aspect of their program for the subject peoples. It must be remembered that with both the Nazis and the Bolsheviks, victory inevitably led to an intensification rather than a diminution of terror. Mass sterilizations of Poles, Russians and, in the more distance future, the French and the Italians, would have permitted the Germans to exploit the vanquished at their own convenience in the certain knowledge that the subject peoples' national existence was at an end. Whether extermination or killing was the means of securing absolute dominance or whether a certain number of the vanquished might be permitted to reproduce in exactly calculable quantities would have depended solely on the requirements of the German masters. The victims would have had as little control over their own destiny as cattle in a stockyard. In a society of total domination, helots could be killed, bred, or sterilized at will."(p. 52).

Richard L. Rubenstein also picks up where scholars such as Hannah Arendt and Isaiah Trunk left off in discussing the role of the Judenrate (the Jewish community councils) and its central role in the Nazi extermination of Jews (p. 3). Although the degree of Judenrate-German collaboration differed from place to place, the reader may be stunned by the degree to which the collaborationist actions of some Judenrate eliminated the need for large numbers of Germans and non-Jewish collaborators in the roundup of Jews for extermination: "In almost all of the killing operations, the German personnel were short-handed. It is estimated that only fifty SS personnel and 200 Lett and Ukrainian auxiliaries were assigned to the Warsaw Ghetto which hade a population of five hundred thousand at its peak, almost all of whom perished."(pp. 74-75).


History as Learning
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2006-02-25
Few incidents have exposed man's inhumanity to man like the Holocaust. Richard Rubenstein in his pamphlet "The Cunning of History," attempts to demystify the Holocaust to show it as not only an event that happened, but also as one capable of happening, again.
Rubenstein establishes a linkage between the Reformation and the concentration camps. He asserts that the contemporary culture of death was the apex of ideas forged way back to Martin Luther's schism from the Catholic church. He establishes that without the active collusion of business interests, a docile citizenry and the military, the extermination of Jews might not have occurred. The complicity of Britain and America is barely treated, but the little touched on is informative.
A Century of Progress, the last chapter in the book, exposes the excesses of power as not inherent in the executive, but rather in the structure of government. To Rubenstein, an American president "can resort, if not to overt terror, at least to extralegal bureaucratic harassment to secure the compliance of the governed."
While a very good book, The Cunning tends to skip over events that could interrupt the narrative, like his definition of bureaucracy. Far from being a mindset unique to Nazi Germany, the rationalization and disenchantment of the natural existed since the Enlightenment. The Nazis set up concentration camps not because of bureaucracy, but because there was economic incentive. Rubenstein also posits that men have no natural rights - A dreadful propostion considering that if rights are granted by the state, those rights can be taken away. (A point he had repeatedly emphasized.)
Notwithstanding these kinks, The Cunning of History is a stimulating book with much to tell us about our past, as well as our future.

Professor Rubenstein was my most fascinating and challenging
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2005-03-10
Professor Rubenstein was my most fascinating and challenging professor at FSU during the 1970s. His range of intellectual inquiry makes him a "Renaissance" man. He has written numerous provocative and important books -- ones are still important books -- that are available at amazon.com.

L
Detecting Women: A Readers Guide and Checklist for Mystery Series Written by Women
Published in Paperback by Purple Moon Pr (1994-12)
Author: Willetta L. Heising
List price: $24.95
New price: $5.50
Used price: $0.46
Collectible price: $25.00

Average review score:

A Terrific Resource for Mystery Readers!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2004-04-04
This book is an outstanding resource for readers who devour mysteries. Heising's multiple ways of listing books (geographical, by profession, etc.) provides a wealth of information for the reader who is always on the lookout for a new author. I just wish there was a new edition! I wouldn't part with this one, though. It's always a good way to start on a new author.

When will the next edition appear?
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2006-01-14
This reference work is invaluable in finding mystery series by woman up to 1999 or so, when I bought my copy. However, it is now very much out-of-date and of little use on newer series/authors/titles. I keep checking to see if there's a Detecting Women 4, and can still hope, but possibly this one is the end of the line. What a shame!

A Must Have for the Mystery Connoisseur!
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2000-07-03
This is a wonderful tool to keep track of all those mystery books on your shelves. This book offers a comprehensive listing of women's fiction mysteries. Books are listed by author and title. It is great way to see the order of books written in a series. There is also a check list where you can check off the book once you purchase it, and then check it after you read it. I like to make notations next to the books once I finish the book. Books that have been nominated or received awards are designated with a star by the title.

Watching The Detectives
Helpful Votes: 8 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2002-03-03
Watching the Detectives
How far has Sue Grafton gotten in her alphabet mystery series? What's the first book in Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series? Who are writing books featuring bed & breakfasts?

As those who love reading mystery series know, it's difficult to keep track of the hundreds of writers past and present who have contributed to the mystery genre, which is why reading sleuths will love "Detecting Women," a guidebook to the distaff side of mysteries.

This handsome, large paper bound book lists more than 600 series and 3,400 books written by women. Each entry contains a biographical introduction with the title and year of each book, and notes if the book has been nominated for any awards. Editor Wiletta Heising has done an exceptional job of breaking down the information, providing extensive lists that break down series by year, occupation, geographic location and even pseudonym.

The brief biographies are gold mines of fascinating information that invites lengthy browsing. Here is where you can learn that Grafton's fictional P.I. Kinsey Millhone will celebrate her 40th birthday once "`Z' is for Zero" appears in 2009 (when Grafton will be 69); that Agatha Christie wrote 35 novels featuring Hercule Poirot, and 12 about Jane Marple; and that the largely forgotten Anne Katherine Green is considered the "mother of the detective story," and was a best-selling author nine years before Arthur Conan Doyle put pen to paper.

Purple Moon also publishes a pocket guide to help mystery fans track of their favorite series, and comes with a notepad useful for noting suspects, clues, and books desired. "Detecting Women" provides a welcome overview of the rapidly expanding mystery field, and can reintroduce readers to now-forgotten and obscure writers. It is nothing less than required, fascinating reading for mystery fans.

Taking the Mystery Out of Series Characters
Helpful Votes: 8 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2000-09-01
How many times have you discovered a new author and tried to unravel the sequence of the series? Publishers sometimes list previous books - provided they published those previous books. Or the author's work is neatly cited in alphabetical order. Great if you've picked up Sue Grafton, not so good if the author is Martha Grimes. Or only the books still in print appear.

I edit two mystery newsletters, one for a general bookstore. My readers want to know series order. Short of tracking all the mystery writers yourself (good luck!), DETECTING WOMEN-3rd Ed. is the very best thing. Willetta Heising also includes bibliographies to catch the fancy of the most fanatic fan - settings, characters, types, historical venue, pseudonyms, and award nominees/winners. The master list even has blank spaces to accommodate future titles.

There has never been a more comprehensive listing. I wouldn't/couldn't prepare a newsletter without it. This is definitely a keeper -- until DETECTING WOMEN 4 comes along!

L
Discovering the Soul of Service
Published in Kindle Edition by The Free Press (2004-01-07)
Author: Leonard L. Berry
List price: $16.99
New price: $9.99

Average review score:

How and why humane core values sustain human service energy
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2006-09-28

I recently re-read this book (1999) and Berry's previously published On Great Service (1996), curious to know how well they have held up since they were first published. My conclusion? Rock-solid. In fact, both books are even more relevant - and more valuable - now than they were when Leonard Berry wrote them. That is amazing...and commendable.

With regard to the title of this book, consider this brief excerpt from the concluding chapter: "Great service companies have a soul that underlies their strategies and day-to-day operations. The company's soul - its value system - is its foundational center, its inner core." Berry fully understands how difficult it is to achieve and then sustain a great service company, noting that such companies are "humane communities that humanely serve customers and the broader communities in which they live." Decision-makers, especially in companies which have problems attracting and then retaining the talented, skilled, and principled people needed, would be well-advised to consider very carefully the meaning and significance of Berry's concluding observation. The same can be said for companies which have problems keeping valued customers and don't know why.

As Berry explains, his purpose in this book is to identify, describe, and illustrate the underlying drivers of sustainable success in service businesses. Creating a successful service operation is unquestionably a difficult task...The greater involvement of people in creating value for customers, the greater the challenge." He examines 14 outstanding service companies which include The Container Store, the Charles Schwab Corporation, Chick-fil-A, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, the St. Paul Saints AAA baseball franchise, and USAA. He suggests what lessons can be learned from them. Although quite different in terms of their size and nature, they demonstrate the same nine drivers of success, to each of which Berry devotes a separate chapter.

One of his key points is that humane core values sustain human service energy as organizations grow and mature. When the "product" is a human performance, values-driven leadership is at the center of sustainable success. He focuses on often-neglected or under-appreciated basics and explains how the superior service to which the exemplary companies are wholly committed creates for each of them a significant, perhaps decisive competitive advantage. The core strategies seems obvious: focus on serving a specific market need rather than on marketing a specific product for that need, focus on serving underserved market needs, and focus on serving the chosen markets with executional excellence. When stressing the importance of "trust-based" relationships, Berry includes everyone involved in the given enterprise. Hence the importance of what he characterizes as "humane organizational values" and he correctly insists that such values depend on values-driven leadership which must permeate the organization, at all levels and in all areas of operation. Stable leadership stabilizes values and propels all other success sustainers.

Of special interest to me is what he has to say about Cora Griffith in Chapter 8, "Investment in Employee Success." She is a long-time waitress for the Orchard Café in Appleton, Wisconsin. According to Berry, she implements each day the nine rules of success: she treats each customer like family, she is an alert listener, she strives to anticipate her customers' wants, she is attentive to significant details ("simple things make the difference"), she "works smart" by constantly scanning all the tables, maintains an on-going effort to improve her skills while learning new ones, and is contented in her work. "Cora is a team player, an all for one, one for all employee." She takes great pride in her work. And credits her employers, Dick and John Bergstrom, for convincing her how important it is to take good care of each customer and who gave her the "freedom" to do it. How many service providers have you encountered lately who measure up to Cora Griffith's standards? The sad fact is that most service providers could but, for whatever reasons, don't.

It is to Berry's great credit that he recognizes the importance - and significance -- of the Cora Griffiths in this society at a time when most books which discuss superior customer service focus almost entirely on companies such Nordstrom, Ritz-Carlton, and Southwest Airlines. They are indeed exemplary organizations but two points need to be made: Each has its own significant number of Cora Griffiths, and, the same high level of customer service can be provided by all other organizations, even by a hotel restaurant in a small midwestern town.

With all due respect to Mies van der Rohe, God may not be in the details but "the soul of service" certainly is.

Great companies must give great service
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2006-02-25
I read this book for a graduate marketing class, but it is a good read for any business professional out there. Why do companies succeed in the long-term? They find a way to put the customer first, time after time. And not just customers, but employees, suppliers, and other stakeholders as well.

Solid summary of Basics of Customer Service
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2004-08-23
"Excellent customer service" is a the frequent promise, which is SELDOM achieved. This book is a good guide to how the elements of really great customer service can be identified and cultivated in an organization. While it is directed more to the larger enterprise, the principles can be applied to small business also.

True, sustainable recipe for sucessful Customer Service
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2002-02-04
It is very difficult for me to work with "interviews and case study" based books since they are almost invariably full of "brilliant" quotes and "success and beyond-duty" stories that, to say the least, sound too good as to be of a sustainable nature in real world. This book is based on experiences and what seems very solid research and, for sure, is not free of this type of passages; and yet, it is one of the most useful and often-referenced books that I own and work with. So, if you will yourself through it, you'll find one of the best and most down-to-earth books on Customer Service. The author identifies nine drivers that can make any organization successful, all of them emphasizing the human nature of the relationship with customers (customer-centered). It is truly a recipe for success, more easily applicable to on-going enterprises rather than to start-ups. From this book the reader can produce very useful check-lists to diagnose the company and its strategic practices regarding their service approach. It can also be used as a guiding document to move a company to a truly customer-awareness territory and, most important, to keep it there. Of special relevance is the author's brilliant exposition in the final chapter "Lessons from World-Class Service Companies", where the reader obtains a rarely seen synopsis of all the good things that excellent companies do "to sustain their excellence". If nothing else, this chapter by itself justifies buying this book and incorporating it to your professional library.

Insightful!
Helpful Votes: 8 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2001-04-05
Leonard L. Berry takes an in-depth look at how service can sustain the success of a business in this detailed, footnoted exploration that includes plenty of interviews and examples from the business world. Written authoritatively, yet conversationally, this book outshines similar works because of its thoroughness. Far from a quick-fix, self-help business guide, the book is thoughtful and doesn't rely on the obvious. We [...] recommend it to managers and leaders in all businesses, particularly if your competitive edge rests on pleasing your customers.

L
The Emotional House: How Redesigning Your Home Can Change Your Life
Published in Paperback by New Harbinger Publications (2005-04-15)
Authors: Dawn Ritchie and Kathryn L. Robyn
List price: $14.95
New price: $8.98
Used price: $7.24

Average review score:

What a fantastic book!
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-25
This book has been indispensible for my husband and I. We used it to find and decorate our house. I recommend it to all of my friends and relatives. When's the next book coming?

The Emotional House
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-13
Great book. Well worth the money. Has saved me from buying new decor and furniture and storage without thinking through what I really need. Gets to the heart, your heart, of what you need out of your house and guides you there. I am half way through the book and already am more comfortable in my house with the changes I have made. I have plans for the house and am looking forward to them. Don't hesitate ordering this. This is not a 'decorate your house' book, but is so... much more. Very well written and hands-on. Loving it!

Eureka!
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-29
This is the book I have been looking for. I have been trying to make my house work better for my family and me for years and it was almost there, but something was missing. The exercises and suggestions in this book were exactly what was needed to transform my house into my emotional home.

This book is not about "decorating". It's about reassessing your needs and making your house work better to fulfill them. In the process you certainly end up with a more beautiful, nurturing environment, but you also end up with much more.

I can't recommend it highly enough.

The place to start thinking and planning your space
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-08
I am a designer, and I loved this book. It gets to the heart of what a home should be- even for pets and children. No nonsense writing, straight to the point, sage and timeless advise for making your home or apartment into your own castle without major renovations. I would change the title, though-since the word "emotional" can have negative connotations for this most positive book.

Just for customer information:
Helpful Votes: 9 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-07
A reviewer expressed disappointment in this book's lack of new content, and commented that the author had discussed something about creating an "altar." The altar reference did actually belong to another book (see page 79) called Creating a Charmed Life by Victoria Moran. The Emotional House is a very different book in idea and style. Hope this helped clarify.

L
Executive Thinking: The Dream, the Vision, the Mission Achieved
Published in Hardcover by Davies-Black Publishing (1999-09-25)
Author: Leslie L. Kossoff
List price: $26.95
New price: $14.99
Used price: $4.45
Collectible price: $27.00

Average review score:

Begin To Think Like An Executive With Executive Thinking
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2000-06-20
Dream, Vision, Mission: Achieved - Begin to think like an executive with dreams. Organizations exist based on and because of dreams. Dreams of success. Dreams of product or service differentiation. Dreams of creating an enterprise the likes of which have never been known before. In Executive Thinking, the Executive Thinker, rising through the ranks, leads an executive team with ambassadors, working ambassadors and associates, ultimately leaving an executive legacy. A good read.

Insightful Visions for Dynamic Development
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2000-04-11
Kossoff delivers in this book. She not only shows you how to dream, she shows you how to reach and realize the new vision of your organization and your place in it. In clear, graceful and logical writing, she gives you step-by-step guidelines for creative, "out-of-the-box" thinking and the means to harness the ideas that emerge. Using compelling case studies, she reveals how this technique energizes management structure to move ahead, empowering individuals throughout the corporation. The book will have a significant impact in maximizing operations. A MUST READ FOR EXECUTIVES ON EVERY LEVEL.

Finally! A truly worthwhile management book.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2000-04-02
Leslie Kossoff shares with us in clear, easy to follow words, the secret of successful executives. It is like being invited inside the heads of our corporate leaders both today and from yesteryear. The principles in this book are tried and true, yet nobody discusses the thinking process of success. There are no management fads or latest buzz words in here - This is the guide of how to turn dreams into reality. Today's business world is changing at light speed. To succeed in these topsy turvy times, now more than ever we have to understand the thinking proces. Ms. Kossoff has done this for us. No other management book comes close. This is THE book for today's and tomorrow's leaders.

President and CEO
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2000-05-16
If you've a business that seems to have grown like topsy very likely this little book is for you. Have you been told that communication within your firm is a problem? What does it mean and more important what do you do about it? Call a general meeting only to find that with 200 or more employees things it's different than when there were only 15 or 20. Employees no longer know you, worse they may no longer trust you. Or maybe you decide that a better e-mail system can help. I'd laugh but I've been there. If any of this seems familiar Leslie Kosoff's little book should help. I've just ordered a copy for each of our supervisors. I tired of hidden agendas and office politics, maybe we can finally begin to pull this firm in the same direction.

A Solid Effort!
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2001-03-20
Remember the old Broadway song, "You gotta have a dream, or how you gonna have a dream come true?" This is the executive version. Author Leslie L. Kossoff maintains that executives must have - and must clearly and enthusiastically articulate - a dream of what a company can be in order to get everyone else in the company excited, aligned and active. As an executive (or as a climber of that ladder), you may find this a pretty reasonable introduction to leadership, though it could also sound fairly simplistic. Kossoff offers a few non-specific examples, either citing news stories or alluding to individual executives, but primarily she tells us how she thinks successful executives should behave. Like the content, the book's tone also is a little reminiscent of a show tune -not too challenging and enjoyable to hum - but its attitude is sincere. We at getAbstract recommend this refresher as a philosophical pep talk that reminds executives how their approach to their jobs affects the realization of their dreams.

L
Fall Down Laughing: How Squiggy Caught Multiple Sclerosis and Didn't Tell Nobody
Published in Hardcover by Tarcher (2000-09-11)
Author: David Lander
List price: $22.95
New price: $11.89
Used price: $0.13
Collectible price: $22.95

Average review score:

meaningful
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-02-20
I felt better knowing that my fears with my illness are not mine alone.

mixed review
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 18 total.
Review Date: 2006-02-12
I recently read this book, and I can't honestly say that I liked it. I too have been diagnosed with MS. I'm happy that Mr. Lander can find humor in his condition, however I find nothing he had to say not in the least bit funny.

MS is a terrible diease that affects the Central Nervous System and there's nothing funny about that. Even the title of the book is seriously upsetting(How Squiggy caught Multiple Sclerosis and Didn't Tell Nobody). You can't catch MS, and to put that in print is misleading.

I take my MS, the treatment for it, and all the symptoms very seriously. I have no desire to joke about them.

Some of the information in his book were very informative and very much worth reading, however I believe his approach is less than ideal.

Buy and read this book!
Helpful Votes: 11 out of 11 total.
Review Date: 2005-09-20
When my father finally told me he had MS (like David Lander, he kept it a secret), he suggested I read this book. The insight it gave me was priceless. Everyone will find their own path, but I can tell you that by sharing his experiences, Mr. Lander has helped me to be the best son (and friend) that I can be.

David Lander has a great story!
Helpful Votes: 11 out of 12 total.
Review Date: 2005-09-07
I just loved this book. It is a very quick read and very upbeat. For someone with MS or caring for someone with MS it is a story you can relate to. My husband was recently diagnosed with MS and has been very reluctant to read anything about the disease. I am going to have him read this book because while I whink it might confirm some of his fears, at the same time it does so in a positive manner.

Great Book
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2006-04-02
The book is a quick read. Sometimes you feel very alone with MS. This book will help you feel better. And, it explains some of the MS symptoms that you are experiencing better than a medical text. It will put some words on your feelings.


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