Tracy Nelson Books

I received this 3 years ago and wasn't sure if I liked it. Yes, some of the questions seem redundant... But! Your child changes that fast! This week, he loves peas! Next week, he hates them! It seems minor, but it's so much fun to look back and remember the little things that could have been lost to amnesia-due-to-sleep-deprivation. This was a great way to record the joys of baby- and mother-hood.

Since then, I've bought this for every new parent, and keep a couple on hand for baby gifts. Be sure to point out that there is a special area in the back for special events (holidays, etc.) I didn't have time to pore through it the first time, and almost missed it. Also, this could be really special if presented with a special toy or blanket or something that they can be pictured with each month to measure their development.

I have just purchased my sixth copy of this book for another friend. I received this book as a gift when I had my son and bought another for myself for the birth of my daughter and have given the book as a gift 5 times! It's easy to complete - walking you through every stage and first year event. It makes me reflect on things I may not remember if I was free journaling. And I love that I have my son's book to look back on and compare my daughter's growth to. The book is quality and the binding makes it easy to leave the book open to the week you are on. A must for any new mom!

My son is now two years old and having some developmental issues. During our screening process I was asked a lot of questions about his development as a baby, things no mother would ever be able to pull out of her head. Having such a well written journal that asked so many good questions was monumental in helping the professionals assess my sons past and current situation. Thank you Ms. Nelson for putting pen to page and providing this tool for me and my son. It not only helps me remember that first precious year, it is also helping us get a sense of where my son has been and where he is headed!

This journal is really great! It asks questions that you wouldn't normally think about when writing free form in a regular journal. Some of the questions are "Did you choose to bottlefeed or breastfeed, Why?", "How are you feeling about your body?", "Describe your feelings on the way home from the hospital.", "Describe a typical day for you and your baby." Some questions are asked every week, others every month. There is even a place to put a picture of your baby each month next to some "benchmark" object so you can see how big they are getting. I highly recommend this journal to not only record typical milestones, but also your thoughts, feelings, and emotions as a new Mom. I think it will be a wonderful keepsake for my daughter and an honest memoir of how things were. Lets face it, there are many joys to being a Mom but also many challenges. I think it is great to have a record of both.

While I realize this is a type of "journal", I ended up wishing I hadn't purchased this item or had supplemented it with another standard baby book. There are no pages for the baby's firsts so I ended up putting them at the end of the book in the blank pages section but didn't think to start doing it until my son was 9 weeks old. There is a lot of repitition in the book as well, such as asking every week "What is your baby's sleeping schedule?", "Describe a typical day for you and your baby", or "What have you done for yourself this week?" I ended up leaving so many items blank because the answers didn't change on a weekly basis. Other things I ended up putting in the weekly "notes" section only to find it touched upon a few weeks later - Example: "Have you used a babysitter yet?" "Has your baby been sick yet?". Again, I realize this is a journal but I think the format is a bit odd and I see myself filling out less and less as time passes. The idea behind the book is good and the book itself is nice so I am giving it 3 stars.

WOW! What a fun book. My kids never tire of hearing and reading this book. We parents enjoy it too. Tracy Nelson-Maurer paints vivid images in our minds of how life is in November on Lake Superior. We bought this book for the libraries at both of our childrens schools.

This is one of the most beautifully illustrated children's books that I've ever seen! The setting is Duluth, Minnesota, in the 1960s. During a raging ice storm, seven-year old Katy is worried about her father's safe return from Lake Superior to Duluth Harbor. He is the captain of the Edward B. Greene, an ore boat that stretches about 600 feet long and carries cargo such as taconite (pellets of baked iron ore) from Duluth to ports on some of the other Great Lakes.

As the storm rages on, Katy and her mother "batten down the hatches" at home, while Katy hopes that her father is doing the same on his ship. As she listens to the foghorn's "baaaah-rum" noise, she can see out the kitchen window that the foghorn is keeping time with the Harbor's lighthouse beacon. The combination of the foghorn sounds and the light flashes speak in codes to Great Lakes sailors, with each port having its own special series of flashes and sounds. Katy imagines that the rhythm of her own heartbeat is sending her own special code to her father, guiding him safely home.

In the morning, Katy and her mom head out in the raw weather to go to the canal at the mouth of the Harbor to await the arrival of the Edward B. Greene and Papa. The phone lines are down and the power is off from the force of the ice storm, so Ma decides they should wait where they can see any arriving ships. Before the leave home, Katy runs to her bedroom to take along with her the three "good-luck" pellets of iron ore that her father had given to her.

They sit at the mouth of the Harbor, on a bench. Katy sends her secret code to her father - her heartbeat - Buh-bump! Buh-bump! Buh-bump! Come home! Come home! Come home!

In the far distance, Katy's mom spots a small dot on the horizon with her binoculars. Could it be Papa's ship?

This is a historically based book that kids will love, not just for the great story and terrific illustrations, but also for learning the "secret" of the nautical codes of the Great Lakes sailors as well!



About the Author and Illustrator:

Author Tracy Nelson Maurer grew up near Duluth, and her grandfather was the late Captain Harvey C. Almstedt, skipper of the real Edward B. Greene. Her grandmother, Alice, knew everything about the boats coming in and out of the harbor; it was often joked that she knew more than her husband on this subject! Tracy now lives near Minneapolis with her husband and two children, and is the author of many nonfiction children's books.

Illustrator Christina Rodriguez earned her degree in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design. Christina is a freelance illustrator and designer - her work has appeared in many children's books. She resides in Stillwater, Minnesota, with her husband and dog.

Both Tracy and Christina are members of the Minnesota branch of the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), a worldwide organization of over 22,000 members.

My children listened through the whole book. Even the one who always wiggles away. It gives a taste of what life is like on The Great Lakes while telling an important story of comfort for children. The illustrations are lovely.

Storm Codes is a children's picturebook set in Duluth, Minnesota during the 1960s, amid the sights and sounds of Great Lakes shipping were commonplace. Seven-year-old Katy and her mother wait anxiously for Katy's father's ship to return to the harbor; Katy even creates her own secret code to help bring her father back safe and sound. Author Tracy Nelson Maurer, herself a Duluth native, has crafted an emotional tale firmly grounded in nautical history. Storm Codes introduces young readers to basic nautical terms, and the color artwork of Christina Rodriguez perfectly evokes the restless ocean. Highly recommended for young people who are almost ready to make the transition from picture books to chapter books.

Behavior Disorders of Childhood is an absolute must read for students in the field of child clinical psychology, school psychology, and child psychiatry. The content in this book will provide a foundation on which future learnings can be placed. It is very well written and full of details about the field of developmental psychopathology, causal factors, and particular childhood disorders. With so many claims in the pop literature, this book is a wonderful resource to help others understand what is true and what is not so true. I also recommend this book to parents who have an intense need to know the research in the field. Steve Curtis, Ph.D., author, Understanding Your Child's Puzzling Behavior: A Guide for Parents of Children with Behavioral, Social, and Learning Challenges

Excellent. Gets into the the reasons why some salespeople are more successful than others and what you need to do to change your thinking to be a better salesperson.

My whole life I thought no way could I be a sales person. That's just not the kind of person I am. But Brian Tracy thoroughly explains selling and how to do it properly. He makes it seem easy. Now I feel like I could do it and I almost would like to try my hand at a sales job just to see how well I could do it. However, the reason I read this is to help me with selling stuff in my online store. Some of the advice he gave can be applied to that too.

If you are new to the field of Sales, this is a must read. You will learn how to think like the buyer and increase your sales.

Very informative. Intelligently written. A great tool to help spark ideas. Perfect for any salesperson or business owner whether just starting out or looking to expand your knowledge.

It is a misconception that people hate salespeople.People hate BAD salespeople.When you use the mind set and methods that Brian Tracy teaches you are not selling you are helping a customer to solve problems.The sales are a natural by product of focusing on the clients needs not yours. I wish that every sales person that I had to deal with used Brian's methods.This is one of my top ten sales books.

If you are working in Retail or Direct Selling the techniques for framing and closing a sale are all here.This little book is literally worth thousands of dollars in sales commissions if only you would stop and apply some of the well proven ideas in this book.

The ideas are simple, well proven and easy to apply.I have trained literally thousands of sales people in the Retail Electrical Appliance Industry in Australia to sell extended warranties. I encourage them to use some of the techniques in Brian Tracy's book and have literally watched individuals sales figures skyrocket over night as a result.

If I was a business owner or sales manager working in sales I would give a copy of this book to every team member and then use it as a focus for team meetings and skills development.

Highly recommended

I am a big fan of Brian Tracy and have purchased many of his tape programs and books. His previous books on selling, Advanced Selling Strategies and The Psychology of Selling were b rillantly done, contained a lot of useful content and were easy reads.

When I heard about this new book by Tracy I rushed to my bookstore to buy it. Unfortunately I was told that there has been a delay and the book will not be released to bookstores untill June 4th.*

** This note added October 6th. I actually bought this book at my local bookstore after it's release on June 4th and absolutely love it. I used the "fish or bait" close and closed a huge sale. Thank you Brian.

I highly recommend this book along with Brian's other classics, Advanced Selling Strategies, Be A Sales Superstar and The Psychology of Selling.

To the person who said he saw this book on May 22, I believe he was confusing the release of Brians best seller "The Psychology of Selling" in paperback in which case his comments would make sense as it was the same book only in paperback format.

The Art of Closing The Sale was released after June 4th. GREAT BOOK for all serious sales people and those who want to join the Mega-Buck Sales Pro category!

My local Brian Tracy distributor indicated as well that the book is not available yet and the content will be different from Tracy's previous books. In fact, this book will be based on Tracy's best selling video programs specifically targeted on closing the sale with powerful closing techniques.

I am not sure why the reviewer indicated that he saw this book in his bookstore or why he feels the book is the same content as Tracy's earlier work. Perhaps he saw Tracy's earlier books and got confused.

As a very satisfied Brian Tracy fan, I can't wait untill June 4th and read this great book! No doubt another winner by Brian Tracy.

I grabbed a seat in my local bookstore today and spent about a half hour reading through this book. I own Tracy's "The Psychology Of Selling" (a pure classic, right up there with Zig Ziglar's "Secrets Of Closing The Sale") and "Advanced Selling Strategies" (a good add-on to the principles found in "Psychology Of Selling"). As a result, I give the two previous books "5 star ratings" and this one a 3, because Tracy really covers no new ground here. My strongest possible recommendation goes to "Psychology Of Selling." If you have to choose between that book and "Art Of Closing The Sale," go for the former. It's a much better book.

In "Art Of Closing The Sale" Tracy advocates the principle of "making 100 sales calls in the shortest amount of time possible." Doing so desensitizes you to the inevitable rejection you'll encounter as a sales person, and you WILL...eventually...close some sales. But once again, those familiar with Tracy's work will know immediately that this isn't the first time he's proposed this game plan...or the second, or the third.

But therein lies the problem with this book. All of the info you'll find in "Art Of Closing The Sale" is extremely valuable, wise, practical...please understand that the ONLY reason I'm being critical here is that there's NO new ground covered. The "Key To Making More Money Faster In The World Of Professional Selling" is simple: Get up every day, work as hard as you can, believe in yourself, feed your mind with positive thoughts and never give up.

I got that message from Tracy's previous books. This book has no new message.

I have been a fan of Brian Tracy since 1989 when I accidently came across his tape series, "The Psychology of Success" in my local library. I quickly became a "Brian Tracy Addict" and listened to his other programs offered at my library including "The Psychology of Achievement", "The Psychology of Selling", "21 Secrets of Self Made Millionaires" and more.

In 1993, I added his book "Maximum Achievement" to my library. Nobody compares to Brian Tracy for content or value.

Using Brian's techniques in "The Psychology of Selling" and his other programs, I was able to move up at sales position in 1993 from 67th place to 3rd place in only 1 month increasing my sales from $200 a day to $1500 a day and from $1500 per month in sales to over $20,000 in sales per month. While I was no superstar, I made rapid improvement in record time all thanks to the techniques I learned from Brian's tapes.

Need less to say, whenever a new book with Brian Tracy's name comes out, I usually buy it without question.

Brian's newest book, "The Art of CLosing The Sale" just arrived in our bookstores today and I unreservedly bought it and have already read through most of it. While some of what Brian has discussed in his previous books, "Advanced Selling Strategies" (1995), and "The Psychology of Selling" (2005) is repeated here, there is also much new information.

The Art of Closing Sales is chock full of proven, real world-tested closing strategies such as:

- The Invitational Close: A sinple, powerful way to close 90% of sales
by issuing an irrestible motivation to buy.

- The Sharp Angle Close: How to take any objection, turn it around, and
make it a reason for buying.

- The Ultimatum Close: How to force a hesitant or indecisive buyer to make
a decision, one way or another.

- The Directive Close: How to keep the initiative, assure the sale, and
wrap it up quickly and painlessly.

- The Sandwich Close: A proven way tor educe price sensitivity by
emphasizing benefits and results.

- The Lost Sale Close: When you've tried everything and nothing has worked
this technique discovers the real objection and overcomes it.

Abd there are more closes to like

-The Just Suppose Close

- The Change Places Close

- The Instant Reverse Close

- The Remaining Objection Close

And more.

Tracy also takes a close look at the psychology of the selling process and reveals the 9 Most Common Objections every successful salesperson must answer. He teaches the keys to boosting productivity by eliminating 11 Time Wasters in the sales process. Action exercises at the end of each chapter help you translate what you've learned into real-world results.

Everythong you need to take your sales to the next level is in this great new book by Tracy such as:

- Overcoming Price Resistance

- Uncovering Unstated Objections

- Building Buying Desire

- Recognizing Buying Signals

The Art of CLosing Sales provides the methods, techniques, and strategies to launch your sales career into the stratsphere.

In addition, Brian's other books, "Advanced Selling Strategies", "The Psychology of Selling" and "Be A Sales Superstar" along with his Nightingale-Conant tape programs "The Psychology of Selling" and "Advanced Selling Strategies" are also highly recommended.

Tracy Elliott's beautiful smile as the winner of the 2006 Mrs. Texas pageant hides a secret past, which she boldly reveals in her new memoir.

Co-authored with Jenna Glatzer, the narrative reads like a novel. Orphaned at age six when her mother died of alcoholism, Tracey grew up in the projects in small-town Georgia, raised by her grandmother.

Also living in the house were several drunken, violent uncles who verbally and sexually abused Tracy, breaking everything in the house except a lone wooden china cabinet, which survived intact, like she did.

Now married and the mother of two sons, Tracy credits her early faith in Jesus for bringing her through years of trauma, which later included living as a stripper and drug addict.

Even after being married to a wonderful man, Tracy struggled with perfectionism as a mom, wanting to give her husband and sons everything she never had.

The author's honest, real faith is captivating to readers, proclaiming the truth that Jesus has the power to heal anyone from a stained past. This is a beautiful book, with a message the world desperately needs to hear: just because you had a bad childhood doesn't mean your life can never be whole again.

--Christian Women Online Book Buzz

I received inspiration and comfort from reading Tracy's story. It is told well, and is a story of triumph and healing. The only issue I had was her insulting view of what she called 'metaphysical' or 'new age' spirituality she encountered in her rehabilitation program. I am not saying all 'new age' philosophies are healthy, just as not all 'Christian' churches preach healthy spirituality. But, what I guess is called 'metaphysical' spirituality (for a lack of a better label or term) is what I embrace and follow and what has been profoundly loving, uplifting, empowering, and healing for me. Also, Jesus and metaphysical spirituality are not mutually exclusive. I do not think Jesus is only the domain of contemporary Christians, or those who call themselves Christians, and go to a conventional Christian church. To me this is spiritually insulting and all to often becomes a form of possessiveness, religious greed, and sometimes even spiritual abuse. Jesus belongs to everyone and he is very important in my life. When I was reading some of Ms. Elliott's views of Jesus and the Bible, etc, I felt disconnected from her story and I had to work to remind myself we are both on a spiritual path that is healing to us and I have to honor that her expression of a spiritual path is different than mine. That is ok, as she herself discovered in her in-patient rehabilitation program that was so healing for her. But, despite this obstacle, there is much wisdom, inspiration and insight to be gained from this story. I recommend it.

I am writing this review because this book pissed me off; in a good way.

I was expecting a business-centric read, however, it is more about human nature. He spends almost the first 100 pages describing how humans are inherently lazy, greedy, selfish, ambitious, vain, ignorant, impatient, and constantly striving to fulfill their needs for safety, security, comfort, leisure, love, respect, and fulfillment by acquiring money and power. These human characteristics and needs are constants. Our environment is the variable in this equation and that is what this book is really about.

Tracy discusses the environmental systems, such as law, free markets, entrepreneurship, and the idea of freedom, that guide us to be peaceful beings on this Earth. Then Tracy takes us to the dark side. This is where his rants begin and the book gets controversial. Tracy analyzes numerous situations throughout history where people, politicians, businesses, and countries act expediently and feel they deserve entitlements without earning them. This is also the point where I got pissed off because he is right on so many arguments. His research and views have helped me strengthen my own beliefs and realize just how inefficient, corrupt, and fragile our World really is.

Anyone who reads this book will find themselves agreeing and disagreeing with the author and that's what makes this a provocative read. Tracy is very raw and to-the-point. This is really a social study dating back to the Revolutionary War on through the current Iraq War.

This is a bit of a different book than Brian Tracy's usual but I found it great! Brian has researched into how many people in society are not taking responsibility and what we can do about it. Too bad Brian isn't running for the US Presidency, he'd be great in the White House

"Something for Nothing" is Brian Tracy's cry for a social reform in America where people are encouraged by law to live responsibly and everyone is taxed equally. Throughout the book he poses a question "where did people get a notion that the world owes them a living" and then points finger to different elements from the universal law of least resistance that is wired in everything in nature, including in human beings (when it gets to humans he is labelling it either "laziness" or "expedience"), to upbringing of children, and then to laws, regulations and social customs. He gives examples of situations where people who were receiving financial assistance from welfare miraculously found jobs when the support from welfare was discontinued. He sounds bewildered and enraged because the governmental system is essentially punishing people who are willing to work by taxing them and then giving that money to those who are unwilling to work - and he has a point there. It is a ridiculous system and the system should be changed to encourage all people who are mentally and physically capable to work to contribute to society in some constructive way and to be responsible for their
financial needs. I think that instead, people should be helped to discover their talents, to develop abilities and to contribute to the wellbeing of the society by sharing their skills.
Some people are more self-motivated or spiritually conscious and feel propelled to contribute to the world in some constructive way through the inner drive, an urge to justify their existence in this world through the contribution they can make, some people's souls cry for creative expression louder than those of others, while some act more like little children who need motivation and direction from the outside.

In spite of some good points, the tone of this book is rather condescending and cynical, which I found surprising coming from a man who wrote a book on the power of charm, and many other motivational books.

Look, if you are a liberal AND are CLOSED minded, then you won't like what you will discover in this book, because your world will come tumbling down. And if you are in support of large government and think that world owes you something, then you also won't like this book either. BUT, that's the worst problem about this book. The people who will hate it are actually the same people this book was intended to help.

Next, if you are open minded, and want to read some of the most compelling arguments of what is plaguing out western democracies, then this book is a must and absolutely the best place to start. I liked it so much i bought 7 of them to give out as gifts.

The next huge point to understand,,, this book is NOT just about politics. Sure, politics is the stage which Brian uses to get his point across, BUT, if you were to read this book and internally reflect about how it applies to you personally, and how it applies to those around you, you will be amazed at how powerful the societal influences have been upon all of us up until now. This book is really a book about human nature. But then again, I am just a Lazy, Greedy, Ambitious, Impatient, Selfish, Vain, Ignorant, and Expedient,,, so what do I know?

Additionally, even though Brian says that it is estimated that I am wrong at least 70% of the time, I am banking on being part of the 30% this time and I couldn't recommend this book any more highly.

The way I see it, your thoughts lead to your feelings, and your feelings leads to your actions, and your actions lead to your results. Let's face it, if you keep doing what you are doing, you are going to keep gettting the same results your are getting right now. So, if you want to get different results than you are getting now, then you need to start thinking differently. This book might just be that wake up call you need to change your perspective on some key things. If you adopt to even some of this new thinking, the change and results in your life will be tremendous.

I recommended this book to the President--not because he himself lacks character, but to remind us all that WE lack character, and large numbers of us keep expecting it to show up in the mailbox every month. How DARE we allow the government to set such minimum mediocre standards for us to achieve and be happy with! How dare we settle for such mediocrity in our lives, and then scream for more "something for nothing" in the form of handouts.

This book is full of lessons about the elements of character, how to put it all together, and finally, what to do with it. We as a nation need to turn in our rested laurels for a pair of bootstraps, and PRONTO!

If you are already in possession of a pair of bootstraps, you'll find this an inspirational read. If not, then you will find it a disgusting finger-pointing accusation of what you AREN'T doing to help this nation thrive--and you SHOULD be disgusted with what you AREN'T doing!

"Nelson's Battles" is not a biography. The subtitle really says it all; "The Art of Victory in the Age of Sail". About half the book is devoted to discussing the navies of the Napoleonic Era and the technical aspects of combat and communications. The rest of the book examines Nelson's fleet battles: Cape St Vincent (where he was not in command, but was principally responsible for the British victory), the NIle, Copenhage, and of course Trafalgar. The writing is clear and interesting and the contemporary illustrations are excellent.

A good book, yes, even if doesn't tell anything I wanted to know. I would say it is a good introduction book. What I was hoping was to find accurate and comprehensive descriptions of Nelson's battles... They are well described, it is a fact, and there are beautiful reproductions of contemporary pictures, but good maps are cruelly lacking. For the least important battles there are a few modern maps, but for the three most important battles (Nile, Copenhague and Trafalgar) there are only reproductions of contemporary maps. Not that they are not good maps but they are too small and it is difficult to read the legends and they are only "static" maps. I would have hoped several maps showing several crucial steps of each battle.

For a better understanding of naval warfare in the sailing ship time, you should better read Keegan's book "The price of admiralty". The first chapter is devoted to Trafalgar but tells a lot more about this epoch.