Resources Books

This handbook is a collection of ideas from companies for designing employee training and learning systems. It covers such areas such as creating the "learning organization", outsourcing, electronic performance systems, interactive multimedia training systems, diversity training and development, training for global operations and benchmarking for best practices.

This comprehensive handbook helps trainers design classrooms, self-study and computer and web based training programs. While delivering the latest information on how adults learn best, it shows trainers how to prepare lesson plans, create visual aids, and deliver dynamic and powerful presentations.

This is a great resource for HR professionals from tiny to mega corporations. Contributing authors are the most respected experts in their fields. Primary focus is on training and development: accountability, justifying programs, format, leadership, pros, cons, pitfalls, challenges . . . all aspects are covered.

As I research and write my Adult Education thesis, this book is the most useful tool I've found.

The ASTD Training and Development Handbook, Fourth Edition, by Robert L. Craig, is an essential reference book for faculty, teachers, educators, and learning system administartors at all levels including University, Corporate, K-12, and Community Colleges. It is easy to use, very comprehensive, and has great quick summaries. With the fusion of the teaching, training, and tutoring into a learner centered model this book is more useful than ever. A MUST BUY. The price is worth every penny.

The Handbook is arranged to cover almost all aspects of Training & Development. The topics are carefully selected and their authors picked from among the top names in their respective fields and therefore, the chapters are focused, targeted and provide the right mix of information and practical guidelines.

Each chapter addresses a single topic (like corporate universities, customer service training, leadership development, etc.) and is written in a straight-forward manner at the right depth making them easy to read and the perfect introduction to the topic without losing it's functionality as a reference.

No T&D professional should go without this book whether as a reference and a quick source of information when memory will just not oblige or an informative and valuable resource for information and ideas.

The Handbook is divided into 5 Sections:
1) The Training & development Function - Covering such topics as the learning organization, history of training and cost accounting for training.
2) Program Design & Development - The chapters on ISD; HPT; Adult Learning; & Evaluation are brilliantly written. I keep on going back to them again and again.
3) Media & methods - Includes some good case studies as well as Thiagi's excellent chapter on instructional games.
4) Training Applications - This is a brilliant discussion of almost all training topics that you might come across.
5) Resources - While these might be a little dated, they are still quite useful.

Check the table of Contents and some of the samples in the pages so obligingly provided by Amazon.com and don't be deterred by the length or the price of the book. This book is worth every cent and will last you long after you have forgotten the cost.

I enjoyed each and every chapter of "At Work in Penn's Woods." The author did a tremendous amount of research and it was very thorough. He covers the CCC from its inception until its death. Despite the fact that it is an historical book, it is very readable and not at all boring.

He does an excellent job of describing what the purpose of the CCC was; the politics involved in administering it; the role African-Americans took (had to take) in the CCC; the role of the CCC during the Depression, when the Corps began, through to the buildup to, and beginning of, World War II, when the program was finally shut down; tasks that the CCC men (boys) performed; as well as other topics.

Although there are some statistics and charts in the book, they are interesting and needed, and most are contained in an appendix.

As mentioned in other reviews, Dr. Speakman's inspiration for the book came from the fact that his father was in the Pennsylvania CCC. My father was also in the Corps, hence my interest. Unfortunately, my father's time and work in the CCC was a topic that we didn't really talk about, so I have no oral history from him about his experiences. On the bright side, my sister does have the documentation of my father's service in the Corps, so at least I know the Camp, Company, and time that he served. That's a start.

To those who have had a relative in the Pennsylvania CCC, this book is a must read. To those who did not, or don't realize that they did, it is still very highly recommended for the fact that you will be amazed at how many projects these men worked on throughout the Commonwealth. I'd be willing to bet that there's one close to where you live - most likely still in existence.

Very informative information about Pennsylvania and its history. Would like to see more of the same type of books. Would recommend this to any one who enjoys the State Parks in Pa.

This well-researched and authoritative book will be of great interest to anyone with an interest in Pennsylvania's history, and a love for the state's outdoor resources. The Civilian Conservation Corps program during Roosevelt's New Deal was especially successful in Pennsylvania, due to the presence of tens of thousands of unemployed young men during the leanest years of the Great Depression, plus the need for statewide conservation work to repair forests and natural lands after the logging era. Visitors to any number of Pennsylvania State Parks and Forests will make use of facilities built by the CCC, and backpackers will not have to hike far to find remnants of the widespread tree farms that CCC workers planted in previously denuded or clear-cut areas. Speakman untangles the confusing administrative history of the CCC, as the program was set up during an economic emergency and had conflicting goals and priorities. We learn that the CCC truly benefited thousands of young men during hard economic times and vastly improved Pennsylvania's natural environment, but also that the program was marred by political infighting in Washington, poorly-planned administration and logistics, and creeping militarization during the war years. Speakman also digs deeper into some unexpected aspects of the CCC program, as some companies worked on private farms or in city parks, and there is an outstanding chapter on the inequality faced by African American CCC workers. While the CCC ultimately proved to be a temporary outgrowth of the New Deal, the evidence of the program's usefulness can be seen all over Pennsylvania. [~doomsdayer520~]

A great look into the history of our state. The CCC not only provided work but also hope in our countries darkest times. Why can't we have programs like this for todays youth? One of Roosevelt's great legacies.

This book looks small, but it offers a BIG gift to those who really care about corporate responsibility and the direction we need to be going today. I could not stop reading it when I got it. It has a series of short articles that can be read in a few minutes about various options corporations are employing to take more responsibility for what they do and their long term impact on the environment and the world's resources. It makes an exciting read because each company approaches CSR slightly differently, and the outcomes are most encouraging. It should be a "must read" for trainee management and for the CEO's of any large corporation which is planning to be around for the next 30 years. What is great is that women created this book...women from different backgrounds, but sharing a similar goal. They inspire by their intention to "awaken" everyone to what we SHOULD have been doing in business practices for years, and they offer the bottom-line evidence that this is good business practice. But this book really made me excited about the future of American business practices. And I am a college educator. I shared some of these articles with my college students to inspire them to see ways that they might contribute. It was like a light went on. They had not known that business is not always the monolithic monster, gobbling up resources and despoiling the land for profit. Their eyes lit up with the possibility that they could enjoy working for a company that takes responsibility for its impact on the world. It is a small book, but it carries a very BIG note of hope for the future.
Awakening Social Responsibility: A Call to Action Guidebook for Global Citizens, Corporate and Nonprofit Organizations

Derickson & Henley have really captured social responsibility in a global world. The use of multiple authors and giving each a voice in this book is masterful. In Chapter 5, Dinesh Chandra states, "If others do not feel safe,we are not safe. If others are struggling, we experience the consequence of the struggle. If others are poor, no matter how wealthy we are, we experience the consequence of impoverishment." This spoke to me about ourselves in the global economy. The book is a great read for those awakening to a larger life.

Derickson and Henley have demonstrated by the very format what Awakening Social Responsibility is all about, promoting the dialogue of corporate and global citizenry to speak directly to the issues facing each of us as individuals. The timing could not be more awakened, joining other illustrious authors such as Bill Clinton's "Giving" in the national discussion. I opened the pages of Awakening Social Responsibility to participate in a prominent forum with corporate brillance and individual leaders. I have been given a voice and a pragmatic, effective tool to maximize my individual action with Awakening Social Responsibility. This is a timeless work and a timely one! It is work I will be sharing (gifting) with others this Holiday Season!

This book was very inspiring! In this changing world, there is a huge need for each of us to be more involved personally and professionally in making improvements on a global basis. We often read about the problems of the world, and we do care. However, it is never clear what we can do to help specifically or how we can get our company to take these issues more seriously. This book provided actionable ways to engage in green initiatives, employee giving, volunteering, etc. and inspires one to go out and get things done. It also spelled out ways to change the mindset of companies to take advantage of these strategic opportunities. I can see how these baby steps start to have a snowball effect, and the collective energy will move things in the right direction. This book was well written and offers sound advice and solutions. A great read!

"Bargaining for Eden" is really two books in one. The first book, and the one that has garnered the most attention, is about self-made billionaire Earl Holding and how he finagled, with the help of powerful friends, to add over 1,000 acres of public land to his Snow Basin ski resort in advance of 2002 Winter Olympics. It's an interesting tale, and author Steve Trimble tells it with careful, well-researched precision. Trimble, a self-avowed environmentalist, treats all sides of the controversy fairly, as witnessed by the reading he gave at the Salt Lake City public library where one of Earl Holding's minions, who probably didn't care much for the book, complimented Steve on his good writing and accurate quoting.

The second book within the book is, to me, really the more important one, because it's about all of us who love and live in the West. As Trimble writes, "On some level I am Earl [Holding]--we are all Earl." Here, Steve chronicles his own adventures as a small-time land developer in Utah's redrock country, and what he thought about and considered as he built a second home for his family on a previously-undeveloped piece of land. As I read this I thought about myself, the places I've lived in Utah, Oregon, and Montana, and how I've impacted those places. I doubt few of us have considered our own impacts and worked to mitigate them in the way Trimble did. I know I haven't.

The last chapter of the book, "Credo: The People's West" is something of a non-sequitur. It's Trimble's rules for living in the West, and it clearly draws on more than what's in this book. I agreed with some of parts of the credo; disagreed with others. My credo would be different from Steve's. So would yours, I imagine.

Overall, the book is fair and even-handed, possibly to a fault. It is not a rant and it steers clear of the self-righteousness so common in environmental tomes. Buy it. Read it. Think about it.

Steve Trimble's latest book is a compelling look at the tensions between private mega-enterprise and public interests. If you care about the future of open spaces (and not just in the American West), if you care about the future of community, if you care about how to tend to democracy in an age of fracture and fracas, this is a sobering look at a battle in Utah that can stand in for many such battles across the country. Refusing to give into cynical preaching, Trimble offers a nuanced look at his own complicity in questions of ownership and activism, which makes this book even more important. It ends with a hopeful, necessary "Credo," which also was recently published in High Country News. A fine naturalist, photographer and writer, Steve Trimble is a treasure. This book demands to be read, understood--and its lessons put into action by thoughtful citizens everywhere.

Stephen Trimble tackles the paradox of the modern west: how do people inhabit and develop a rapidly vanishing landscape? Trimble weaves the important tale of public land transformed into a commercial ski resort with his own construction of a second home near a national park. This juxtaposition elevates the book from polemic to a serious discussion of the many facets of land development. Trimble recognizes that there are no easy answers, but argues convincingly that wise land use policy requires the contribution of all of the stakeholders in the landscape: developers, environmentalists, long-time residents and the public in general.

What sets Trimble's book apart is his obvious affection not just for the land, but for the people who have lived on the land for many years. His interviews with men and women whose families have lived on the land for generations provides the reader with an often neglected perspective on the west. Trimble has an ear for the ironic poignancy of how development displaces those families who have lived and loved a particular place for generations, even as that landscape is changed by their own decisions regarding its value and use.

Highly readable, Trimble's natural storytelling ability comes through to illuminate a transformative moment in western history. As a native Montanan and long-time resident of Utah, I recommend it to all those who seek to understand a sense of place.

Trimble tells the story of reclusive oil executive Earl Holding and his struggle to develop a wild mountainside into a an elite ski resort, using the Olympics as a cudgel to overcome passionate local resistance. This is a compelling story that has not been covered outside of Utah. It is a shocking example of how the powers-that-be facilitate destructive and one-sided land use and how common citizens who personally know thew land and love it resist. The book then takes an unexpected twist: Trimble builds a second-home in a wild canyon in southern Utah and realizes he is becoming like his nemesis, Holding, just on a different scale. This confessional realization makes him dig deeper. Ultimately it is our own human nature he uncovers.

Why do we violate the integrity of ecosystems and habitat and how can we stop ourselves? these central questions are not resolved here. Trimble's book is both a heartfelt and intelligent invitation to public discourse on these critical questions. The reader could not get a more honest or wise guide than Trimble.

The original version of this book, published in 1972 by Alfred A Knopf, reflects the thinking of historian Roy A Medvedev in the period of August 1962 to August 1968. The revised and expanded 1989 version must first be examined in light of the original.

The original was translated by Colleen Taylor and edited by David Joravsky of Northwestern University. Medvedev couldn't get published in the USSR, and this work thus first appeared in the West. It was written primarily during the transition from Khrushev's anti-Stalinist reforms to Brezhnev's immanent social-imperialism.

August 1968 is also the month of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslavakia and the defeat of Dubcek's "socialism with a human face." This is also the period of Mao's Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.

Stalin was as evil as Hitler, yet he rose to power in the first Socialist state. The Second World War played itself out as one totalitarian dictatorship in a death struggle with another, yet Stalin ended up through the course of events as an ally of the democratic and capitalist Anglo-American West in its life-or-death struggle against fascism.

Totalitarianism turns out to have been the big infatuation of the twentieth century intelligentsia. Medvedev represents Russia's awakening from this plague. He is wrong about so much, yet for his age he was so far ahead of his times.

This book is a classic, and I believe the original should be the preferred version. Stalin's terror is nearly beyond belief. It is tragic in a different way than Nazism; perhaps with consequences more evil.

If Leninism ever revives, this will be a classic, just as it is now in the wake of the Cold War defeat of Communism.

This book is a very thorough and well-written biography of Josef Stalin. It was one of the few books I read in college that I didn't mind reading. The information on Stalin's political and personal life gives the reader an opportunity to make informed judgements about Stalin's actions.

This book was the first in the Soviet Union to treat Stalin in an objective way. Prior to its release Stalin had been the great hero of the patriotic war the father of the country and so forth. Whilst the secret speech by Krushev had distanced the country from his system scholarship had not taken the step of subjecting his rule to objective analysis.

The author was a person who was an opponent of Stalin and prior to the fall of the regime was active in its criticism. The book goes through the issues associated with Stalin such as the decision to collectivize agriculture, the forced industrialization, the terror and the handling of the war. The author forms the view that Stalin was an unmitigated disaster. That is the country would have progressed economically better without him, and his handling of the war was catastrophic.

It is a good book to read with other western accounts such as Bullocks.

The late 1990's saw the publication of numerous scatterbrained, and ill-intentioned, attempts to descredit Vladimir Lenin, Nikolai Bukharin, Leon Trotsky, and Karl Marx, by associating their actions, and ideas, with those of Joseph Stalin. One must ask, "were these attempts in any way successful?" Luckily, the answer is an emphatic, no. The individuals who bought into the "Marx and Lenin created Stalinism" theory, alluded to in works such as 'The Black Book of Communism', by Mister Courtois (or Miss), 'The Passing of an Illusion', by Mister Furet, and 'The Soviet Tragedy', by Mister Malia, already harbored such fantastic illusions. Most of the population has no interest in Sovietology, so attempts at descrediting Lenin, Marx, Bukharin, and Trotsky, were, and are, virtually fruitless (I took a Public Speaking course at a local community college, and most of the students hadn't even heard of Lenin, Marx, or Trotsky!.)

To find true objectivity, on the subject of Sovietology, one must reach back into the distant past, and read Roy Medvedev's incredible, 'Let History Judge'. One could refer to Medvedev's writings, as "Solzhenitsyn, without the racism and bitterness"(a spew of biographies show that Solzhenitsyn is without question anti-semitic; however, this fact doesn't mean he's no longer one of the elite writers of the twentieth century). 'Let History Judge', is not so much a history of Stalin, but a history of Russia from 1917-1953. Described, with minute detail, is Lenin's seizure of power, Lenin's benevolent feelings toward Stalin (which ended effectively after the Eleventh All-Congress of the Bolsheviks), Trotsky's role as leader of the Red Army, Trotsky's complete ineptness in regard to the left-opposition, and Stalin's remarkable, almost super-human, political abilites. In addition, one will never discover a finer description of collectivization anywhere (although I must admit Conquest's 'Harvest of Sorrow', is pretty excellent). Russia's grain production in 1930-1933, were almost certainly below pre-WWI levels, apparently, but Stalin wanted Russia to appear forceful, so he sold grain internationally, as if it were "business as usual", which resulted in the death of millions of non-guilty peasants (however, one can not deny George Carlin's classic quote, "there are no innocent people, once you're born, you're guilty as charged").The description of the horrible Gulag system is not quite as great as Solzhenitsyn's, but it's pretty darn close. Unlike Solzhenitsyn, Medvedev doesn't slander the dead, or embark on anti-semitic diatribes (thankfully, for the population at large, Medvedev critiques much of what Solzhenitsyn wrote in the 'Gulag Archipelago' with absolute clarity).

The price is pretty high, but at 800+ pages, the person isn't really buying just one book, they are buying a multitude of books, which cover a variety of subjects. In addition to, 'Let History Judge', I would also strongly recommend you read Edvard Radzinsky's 'Stalin', Volkogonov's 'Autopsy of an Empire' (being a Yeltsin staffer, Volkogonov is biased, but there is some interesting anecdotes!), and Robert Tucker's magnificent two-volume biograpy of Stalin. Unlike other works on the subject of the Russian Revolution, these works actually take a "scholarly" approach!

Morell's astounding level of research reveals the Leakeys individually, as a family, and as dogged searchers for the truth about man's origins--and as living, breathing humans. Through letters, diaries, journals, personal interviews, and family archives, they speak to the reader with unprecedented candor about their personal travails, but more importantly, about their early struggles for funding, their fossil discoveries in remote desert locations, their constant surprise by the historical record, and their uncertainty, to this day, about modern man's exact lineage.

Some Leakey peccadilloes, never secret, are fully documented here: Louis's constant womanizing and his "adoption" of young female researchers, such as Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Birute Galdikas; Mary's scotch-drinking, her cigar-smoking, and her intolerance of those on her Stinker List, some of them other researchers; and Richard's boyish brashness and arrogance, along with his health problems and dislike of Donald Johanson. Less appreciated, however, is the fact that before Louis's work and significant discoveries, people still believed that early man was from China or Europe, not Africa. Mary Leakey was the first person ever to excavate a Paleolithic site, and her meticulous care about documenting the tools and animals found in the same stratae as her hominid fossils, told here in detail, revolutionized the way fossils were recovered and catalogued. Richard found as many hominid fossils in two years (1971 and 1972) as Mary and Louis found in 36 years, and his level of dedication to research since finding his first hominid fossil at age 6, his mentoring of young researchers, and his creation of museums and foundations in Nairobi have perhaps received less attention than they deserve.

The Leakeys believe at least two and perhaps three or four different hominids may have lived in certain areas simultaneously, sharing space for a million or more years, and that the exact line of descent to modern man is still unknown. Tens of thousands of extinct, fossilized species of hippos, elephants, saber-toothed cats, crocodiles, antelopes, and even insects, unearthed by the Leakeys, are overwhelming evidence that if species, including hominids, do not change and adapt, they die. While some may argue about how certain hominids are labeled, no one can argue with their existence in the historical record, and nearly all of them have been unearthed by just one family. These contributions continue beyond the purview of this book into a new generation: Dr. Louise Leakey and her mother Maeve (Richard's wife) found yet another completely new hominid species in March, 2001. Mary Whipple

This is an engrossing story of archealogy's first family. The title hints at their adventures, loves, intrigues, battles, all most passionate. I could not put the book down. The landscape of archealogy will forever be, for me, after this book, a color filled map with the land of our ancestors fully pictured in my mind. No longer will archealolgists seem to be dull digging tan people,but exciting real people, made of the passion of us all. A superb read

Amidst the splendor and corruption of Africa, this family battle the weather, the government, the prejudices, the lack of funds, and even each other. Their intelligence and love for the country is evident as they search for prehistoric evidence of earliest humans. The more I read about them, the more I admired their contribution to East Africa and to the world.

This is a long, engrossing, detailed book about the Leakey family and their impact on paleoanthropology in Africa. It's a real pot-boiler of a book--hard to put down and a totally fascinating study of the family. You get a real sense of their human failings as well as their triumphs. The family comes across as stubborn, intense, egomaniacal and prickly, as well as totally dedicated to their pursuit of man's ancestry in Africa. Although the author has a higher opinion of the Leakeys than some of their rivals (Donald Johanson), she by no means glosses over the more unsavory aspects of their characters. I would highly recommend this book, regardless of your level of familiarity with paleoanthropology.

This book gets five stars because it includes practical information I was able to implement. I hate books on theory that don't give you a sense of how to put that theory into action. We've been able to incorporate these ideas to create a process of our own.

It was well organized, easy to read!, and I loved that the author lets his personality peek through. I actually laughed out loud a couple times and you can't often say that about business books.

Finally I have found a book that makes the complicated simple. Employee benefits and all of its components are both extremely important and overwhelming! Mr. Sears, who obviously is a true expert in this field, walks though a process that while in-depth is still simple to follow and understand. When looking at employee benefits I think there are three objectives most companies are looking for:
1. Provide the best package possible while at
2. The best price available and
3. Save time and internal resources
The Benefits Performance Process provides the path to those objectives through real examples and with an enjoyable style. If you are involved with your companies' employee benefit program, then this book is a must!

Heard him speak at the ISCEBS Symposium...dynamic...got the book from him there. Sears argues that we should apply strategic planning principles to our employee benefits and that failure to do so is one of the reasons they don't work right. But, more than that, he goes on to tell HOW to go about fixing it. I particularly loved the workshop method he outlines. The process outlined here actually goes beyond just employee benefits. I hope he writes a book about planning for broader business issues.

For me, it is great that this isn't a textbook..I don't have time to read those and run a business. I found this to be a lively read. He makes his point and gets on to teaching how to do it.

Every Human Resources Manager, CEO and CFO needs to read "The Benefits Performance Process" and implement the plans outlined within it. Without doing so, they are simply throwing away money and valuable employees. Every company that offers benefits to its employees will want to be sure that they are doing the best that they can when it comes to providing a competitive package while getting their money's worth. Matthew Sears offers the plan to do just that. Whether your company employs 50 or 3,550, you can benefit from this book.

By "Maximizing the Performance of Your Employee Benefit Plan" you will be learning how to assemble a benefits team, analyze current plans and problems, develop concrete objectives and plan for your company's long-term success. Through self-analysis and workshop exercises your team will develop guidelines to follow. From there you will have a plan to follow that will see you through staff changes, acquisitions, and changing regulations. "The Benefits Performance Process" is a workshop to go; it is a plan to help you develop a plan that will eventually benefit your company and your employees.

Matthew T. Sears is an Executive Vice President of Athens Benefits Insurance Services and a Fellow of the International Society of Certified Employee Benefits Specialists. You couldn't ask for a more qualified guru in the benefits performance process. Yet his book is an easy to read, understand and implement guide to improving your benefits plans. Sears is straightforward and concise, while being upbeat and friendly in his text. You likely won't find another business guide like this one and why would you want to? When it comes to improving your current plans, this is the guide to follow.

Don't put off thinking about your benefits plan until the day before your renewal is due. Don't wait until the premiums are upped once again to do something about it. Don't fear the CFO telling you to cut costs by 30%. You can be prepared. If you're not, you may lose the loyal employees you have to another company who has followed "The Benefits Performance Process."

Review by Heather Froeschl of BookReview.com.

Fr. John's gospel reflections are GREAT!!! This book goes through all four gospels and detailed meditations and reflections to really give you an encounter with Christ. Highly recommended to boost your prayer life!

The path to holiness is not a primrose path. It is a daily battle, a daily carrying of the cross. Prayer, especially in the form of intimate daily conversations with Christ is sadly one of the most neglected weapons available to us in this battle.

The Better Part equips Christians with the resources they need to, "set of into the deep" to enter into a personal, intimate conversation with Christ. Father Bartunek Begins his book with a short prayer primer, an exposition of the basics of Christian prayer that is worth the price of the book by itself. The rest of the book contains guided meditations on the Gospels with a liberal sprinkling of quotes from the Doctors and Fathers of the Church. The book contains the entire text off all four Gospels taken from the Jerusalem Bible (an excellent and very approachable translation). Each unit is meant as a stepping off point. While reading and reflecting on each unit would be of great benefit to anyone, using them as a starting point for your own conversation with Christ is the ultimate goal.

These meditations are not of the fluffy, vague, feel-good variety that has sadly become too common these days. Father Bartunek offers deep and meaningful meditations from four aspects of our relationship with Christ: Christ the Lord, Christ the Teacher, Christ the Friend, and Christ in my life. By using the principles of concentration, consideration, conversation and commitment, each meditation should lead one to an experience of Christ's presence and a firm, concrete commitment to better imitate him.

The price of the book is not cheap, but neither is the book itself. The paper and binding is of the highest quality, meant to stand up to daily handling for years. The font is easy on the eyes and a quality ribbon is sewn into the binding so you never have to lose your place.

Father Bartunek has rendered an invaluable service to Christians everywhere. If I could have only one book (other than the Bible and Catechism) this would be it without question.

Fr. John Bartunek once again steps to the plate and knocks it out of the park! This book "The Better Part" is a tremendous resource for individual or group study.

Have you ever been stumped by something you read in the Gospels? If so, this book will clear up the matter and breaks it down into several easy to comprehend sections and viewpoints.

Highly recommended !!

Written in Fr. Bartunek's practical, readable style, The Better Part brings the practice of mental prayer within reach in two ways: first, introducing the reader to a simple step-by-step methodology for meditating on the Gospel; and second, by providing a total of 303 meditations based on distinct Gospel passages.

In other words, Father Bartunek teaches us how to fish and then gives us the fishing rod and the bait, all in one book.

Each meditation is about three pages long and looks at a specific Gospel passage from four points of view: Christ the Lord, Christ the Teacher, Christ the Friend, and Christ in My Life. Each subsection has its own specific purpose:

* The "Christ the Lord" sections help the reader to see Christ as the Lord and Master, and as a model for our own attitudes and actions.
* The "Christ the Teacher" sections give solid Catholic doctrine to enlighten the mind with lessons drawn from the Gospel passage at hand.
* The "Christ the Friend" sections give a more intimate, affective perspective on Christ, looking at him not through the mind or will alone, but through the heart.
* The subsections entitled "Christ in My Life" take

While this book is purported to be a manual in how to manage young people, the advice can be applied to the management of all employees. If you are a manager, you must:

*) Not expect people to work extended overtime with little or no compensation.
*) Praise employees for work well done.
*) Not expect people to work at jobs that lack an inherent meaning.
*) Set an example by your actions and words, not just your words.
*) Allow people to have a life outside their job, not expect their job to be their life.

If you do these things, which should be part of the standard managerial playbook, then your employees will be more productive, happier and you will retain them. If you don't, you will become one of those managers who blame everything besides incompetent management style for the fundamental problems of their company.

This book is great reading for 'Baby Boomer' Managers and for those who belong to Generation X. Claire Raines describes the wants and needs of both generations; giving pratical advice to 'Boomer' managers on managing the 'X' generation. As an X generation reader, Raines' gives incite to why some'Baby Boomer'Managers are "All work, no play" and what frustrates them about Generation X employees today. Excellant source of information for both generations!

Beyond Generation X is an insightful look at how Baby Boomers and Gen Xers can peacefully coexist in the workplace. I recommend it especially for Boomers who have trouble understanding their Gen X workers (and vice-versa). Claire Raines (a Boomer herself) has some great ideas and presents them in an easy-to-follow manner. One thing to remember about this book is that it's not attempting to classify individuals. It's just helping us understand generations. It's also a quick read. I read it in an evening.

Whether we like it or not a great generation gap exists between the boomers and the gen xer's. This book helped me to understand what I, as a boomer, represented to the younger generation. These younger folks are not lazy, they just need a different motivational program. This book is a must read for those interested in surviving problems associated with the current labor shortage.

Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction is unique in every way. First, it is the rare book co-authored by a Caucasian male and an African American female. This bi-cultural authoring team provides a richly textured narrative captivating in every way.

Second, while many books outline African American history, and a number of books highlight African American religious history, this book narrates the history of African American personal ministry. Readers not only are inspired by amazing Black heroes of the faith, they are also equipped to provide biblical counseling, soul care, spiritual direction, and spiritual friendship to one another.

Kellemen and Edwards use a historic model of ministry (sustaining, healing, reconciling, and guiding) to map the contours of how African Americans provided healing and hope to one another. As the title suggests, this is not a book that stops at excruciating suffering. Rather, it shows readers how past African Americans empowered one another to move beyond external and internal suffering to eternal and supernatural victory.

Some may assume by the focus on African Americans that this book is only for one race. Nothing could be further from the truth. By embracing the legacy of past African American Christian ministry, all people of all races learn how to grow personally and how to help others to grow in grace.

The true power of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction comes in the narrative vignettes themselves. Reading this book is like reading a Christian version of "Roots"--compelling, exciting, thrilling, troubling, illuminating, deeply moving, and redemptive.

If there's only one book that you can read on spiritual formation and Christian nurture--read Kellemen and Edwards. If there's only one book that you can read on African American ministry--read Kellemen and Edwards.

Looking at the cover of Beyond the Suffering, one might assume the book is only for African Americans. Not so. While it certainly tells the poignant story of slavery in America, it captures the essence of humanity when it is rooted in a profound, life giving faith in Jesus. It is a story of suffering, hope, grace, and deliverance. It paints a picture of a community that understood that shared sorrow is endurable sorrow. The stories told by the slaves remind all of us that there are always two stories, the earthly story of pain and grief and God's bigger story of redemption and glory. Beyond the Suffering is an inspiring narrative that demonstrates in a powerful way that it is possible to move past unbearable pain into the land of joyful anticipation. Beyond the Suffering is full of wisdom for today's soul care givers from the professional counselor to the spiritual friend, pastor, and lay care giver.

Few books have touched my heart as powerfully as Beyond the Suffering. This is no ordinary story. It is the extraordinary account of the history and legacy African Americans. Using a biblical and historical modeling of soul care and spiritual direction, this book introduces many "heroes" of the faith. One thing is for sure, there is no sugar coating in this book! The personal accounts of slaves contained in this book will both challenge you with deep sorrow and encourage you with supernatural hope. But, I believe that is exactly the goal of Kellemen and Edwards. They understand that the history of African Americans is filled with terrible injustice and inequality. Yet, they demonstrate with great clarity that the history of African Americans is filled with much greater hope, healing, and forgiveness.

As a person ministering in a multicultural setting, I have been able to use the stories in this book to help people understand that the principles they contain go beyond any single culture or race. These stories are filled with biblical insights I am sure will produce great fruit for the entire body of Christ. Kellemen and Edwards do a phenomenal job in articulating the value of the African American legacy for every one of us. This book should be used in Sunday School classes and small groups all around the country. I have already shared some of the book with my youth group, which has created healthy discussion and reflection.

Finally, this book is written well. The authors navigate the issues with sensitivity, compassion, and humility. They realize that in many ways the personal accounts really speak for themselves. And after navigating through such turbulent waters (the "suffering"), Kellemen and Edwards find a way to leave the reader with a profound sense of hope (the "beyond" the suffering). And that combination makes this a powerful and transformative resource.

Beyond the Suffering proved to be a fascinating experience for me and not just another book on slavery. I was able to walk with and in a sense experience the pain and the numerous challenges that the African American slaves endured during the oppressive days of unjust suffering. The book is written on two levels, it is obviously well researched and thereby a scholarly and credible source of history, but secondly, it is "jus plain" good reading, if you will pardon this expression of former slaves. The book helps to debunk the myth that Christianity for the African American is a "white man's religion". The numerous quotes from former slaves inform the reader that the slaves "got it right". They rightly utilized Biblical principles in order to help them in their time of distress in spite of how the Bible was being misused by those who agreed with and promoted slavery. The book offers a firm foundation for the origins of many of the hymns and sayings in the African American community. The song "Lift Every Voice and Sing", as well as the many other songs referenced in this book, has taken on more in depth meanings for me. These songs were born out of real experiences and calls for the reader, whether African American or of a different ethnic group, to gain a deeper sense of the pain experienced and the empowering faith that the slaves exemplified.
The book reviews the tremendous suffering placed upon the African American slaves and provides a plausible answer to the question "how did the slaves endure this much adversity?" The answer to that question is embodied in the books explanation of sustaining, healing, reconciling and guiding, a process born out of suffering that can help anyone walk with another who is in pain. The sense of community genuinely practiced by the slaves enabled them to leave for us a lasting legacy of faith that could join the "wall of faith" giants as depicted in Hebrews, chapter 11 in the Bible. The slaves truly practiced what it means to be a church in the midst of hypocrisy and crisis. I see this book as a must read for the faith community and anyone serious about bridging the gaps across cultures. The bibliography alone is worth the price of the book. The life changing messages within its pages are priceless