Resources Books

I wish I would have read this prior to starting to work for his new company and also I could've used this about 5 years ago to encourage me to change careers. This is an excellent book and I'm using some of the examples in it for my MBA application this fall.

I don't think I need to tell any educated person that a review from a disgruntled ex-employee needs to be taken with a grain of salt, if not a whole handful (9/26/02). Rosenbluth is not a perfect company, and Hal never pretends it is but the lifeblood of his company is his belief that every member of the company is a valuable contributor. His book does a great job of conveying that value proposition and how others can make it work.

Although many companies preach an employee empowerment model few practice it. That's why Rosenbluth's mascot is the Salmon - we swim upstream.

As an Executive Coach and a close observer of many corporate cultures it did my poor old tired heart a world of good to read this book. If what Hal Rosenbluth says about his company is even half true, it puts his organization at the forefront of employee value and relationship management. Beyond all that, it makes perfect common sense. Why we would think in our wildest imagination that an employee who does not feel valued by his employer would not transmit that lack of appreciation to his customers, is a mistery to me. The first 100 pages of this book are not be missed by any company who truly wants to improve their workplace culture, increase the productivity of their workforce and cut their turnover rate down dramatically. Read it and implement any one of the outstanding programs explained within and watch s shift in morale and productivity start right away. This book is a keeper and an excellent reference source. I could not recommend it more highly.

I am an avid reader of business books, and if I gain just one or two usable ideas from a book, I consider it worth my time. This book is a stand-out among management books, because I got not one or two, but at least a dozen solid ideas I can implement right away. I have shared it with all my top level managers, and have wathced it being shared throughout my multi-national organization. It is a gem, to be kept within reach in one's office -- not with the countless other books that sit, read once, on most managers' bookshelves. I highly recommend it for anyone who cares about the success of their business.

As an Executive Coach and a close observer of many corporate cultures it did my poor old tired heart a world of good to read this book. If what Hal Rosenbluth says about his company is even half true, it puts his organization at the forefront of employee value and relationship management. Beyond all that, it makes perfect common sense. Why we would think in our wildest imagination that an employee who does not feel valued by his employer would not transmit that lack of appreciation to his customers, is a mistery to me. The first 100 pages of this book are not be missed by any company who truly wants to improve their workplace culture, increase the productivity of their workforce and cut their turnover rate down dramatically. Read it and implement any one of the outstanding programs explained within and watch s shift in morale and productivity start right away. This book is a keeper and an excellent reference source. I could not recommend it more highly.

This was a 9th Birthday present for my nephew. It kept him entertained for hours! He loved the book and still uses it almost daily after 8 months.

This book has many examples of step-by-step drawings. The only drawback might be that there is very little explanation. You learn mainly by copying the examples. It has a great selection of different cool cars and vehicles to draw. Equally good for young teens or adults.

I have the 1993 publication of this book, and it's amazing. It teaches you how to draw cars in general, not just the ones shown in the book.

Hi!!The book is wonderful for beginers.It helps you get the basic right.Almost all aspect are covered so that you can start sketching cars on your own like side view,3d view.Gives detail information for drawing tyres.This book has helped me a lot and I would recommend this book to everyone without any hesitation.

I bought this book for myself as a 37th B-day gift and realized after all those years.... I can draw!!! : ) My wife swears I've taken art before but I haven't. After drawing 2 cars I used the techniques to draw a car out of another book and it looks good. I am my toughest critic and I like what I see. I bought 2 other books which cost more and they don't teach you half as much as what you learn with this book. I wish someone had given me this for my 9th B-day. Good luck.

This is a great, straightforward reference. It covers everything any person needs to know about dining etiquette without any useless "filler" material. The audio format is great and the speaker is one of the best I have listen to.

After a few months as a first year associate at my law firm, one of my former law school classmates told me that their firm had sent its new associates to an etiquette class. I decided that it might be a good idea for me to brush up on my etiquette skills as well, so I purchased this CD and also the Food Scholar Wine Basics CD. I recommend both for new professionals to prepare them for any "dining" situation they may encounter in their first jobs. These situations frequently fall into the "you don't know what you don't know" category of student knowledge.

I, for one, had very little experience in more formal dining situations upon graduating from school. This CD was just what I needed to get myself up-to-speed. It is well-organized and well-presented, covering a number of very specific situations that convey the elements of common sense and consideration that underlie all etiquette.

The author thankfully avoids spending time on how to arrange the seating at a state dinner. What he offers is practical, usable advice on the types of real social interactions that occur in all kinds of business. A very useful CD and well worth the price. Definitely five stars.

I will be graduating from college this year and have started to interview for jobs. I have a decent GPA, am in the career placement office every week for advice, and have spent hours polishing my resume. I thought that I had all my bases covered. Then I started actually interviewing for jobs. I have already had three interviews that included meals and two "mixers" with drinks and appetizers. It was a little overwhelming. I could tell there was an order to things I did not completely understand. A friend recommended this Dining Etiquette CD, so I ordered it. I had yet another meal during an interview after listening to it. It made a big difference. Knowing what to do at every turn during the meal was a confidence booster and I am sure it helped me appear more polished and professional. I HIGHLY recommend it, Two Thumbs Up.

A good etiquette book should sit on every professional's bookshelf alongside "how to win friends" and "7 habits." I purchased this book along with Essential Etiquette Fundamentals, Vol. 2: Wine Selection & Etiquette and The Etiquette Edge: The Unspoken Rules for Business Success to cover all the bases. These books do an excellent job covering the important etiquette skills often overlooked in today's environment. Although often underappreciated, exhibiting proper etiquette signals to others (especially your boss and clients) that you are well educated, care about detail, and have respect for others. I highly recommend these books for anyone new to the business world or for those of us who may need to brush up on the basics.

The last book on CD my wife and I bought was terrible: mens' voices for female characters, etc. And what's the alternative on the radio? Pop music or Howard Stern? I spend twenty percent of my waking life in my car. I might as well spend it wisely. The Food Scholar is easy listening and presented in a way that makes the information easy to learn and remember.

I purchased Dr. Thomas' book to assist me in my research in leadership behaviors and stakeholder empowerment, and what a great help.

However, the best part of reading this book, I was forced to remember much of my past training and reignite many of the qualities I had forgetten to practice.

What a great book, would recommend to anyone interested in understand how and why motivation works.

Intrinsic Motivation is one of the better books on leadership and management that I have read recently. Thomas targets both managers and employees, arguing that salaries and other extrinsic rewards are neither the sole nor the primary source of motivation in modern organizations. In fact, monetary compensation is only a factor when making major life decisions (e.g., whether and when to change jobs) and when there is a question of fairness. The best a manager can hope for, says Thomas, is perceived equity - that those doing the most and the best work are the best compensated. Absent major life decisions and inequities, it is intrinsic rewards that will motivate employees.

Intrinsic motivation, according to Thomas, means giving employees an understanding of the purpose of the tasks they do and giving them whole tasks whenever possible. Today's workforce is more highly educated than its forerunners. Competition and the need for quick decision-making have reduced the reliance on middle managers and bureaucratic rulebooks. In this environment, employees must be self-managing and they must have a sense of meaningfulness, choice, competence, and progress in the work that they do. If they feel that they have all four of these factors, employees will feel a great sense of job satisfaction, be highly motivated, and perform well.

Thomas offers managers and employees suggestions on how to improve in each area if it seems that that factor is lacking. In fact, if an employee is feeling unmotivated, Thomas suggests the employee consider which of the four "vital signs" is weak and address it accordingly. It is important, for example, for employees at all levels to have a personal vision to boost their sense of meaningfulness. Feeling that you have no choice in how you do your work? Negotiate with your boss for more authority or, if all else fails, consider moving to another job that provides more choice. A sense of competence comes from training and learning, but it also comes from patting oneself on the back for a job well done. Progress can be measured in a number of ways, but one of the best is through contact with customers.

Thomas's book is only an overview into each of these areas. He intends Intrinsic Motivation to be an all-encompassing model of employee motivation, and he generally succeeds. Those seeking more details would need to use Thomas's notes to find articles and books on individual subjects discussed within the book. And it is a shame that while Thomas characterizes outdated management styles as "paternalistic" he uses analogies of parents and children when describing intrinsic motivation. Overall, however, Intrinsic Motivation is a healthy reminder to both managers and workers that there are many steps we can take to improve employee morale and productivity. More money is better than less, Thomas agrees, but a true sense of purpose and worth can be priceless.

This is the first book that I have read that provides me with the information to confront the problems associated with instilling intrinsic motivation in those that I manage. It is often the problem that people show little concern for their work. The rule seems to be something like this- Do just enough to get by while exerting the least energy as possible. I like this book because the information is not a story of what a good manager has as an opinion as to what works best but it is a scholarly book in the sense that it provides information based on research that is proven. This is to date the best book that I have to reference when dealing with teams that act out of extrinsic motivation or no motivation at all. I applaud the author for this work.

This book deserves more than five stars.

Prior to Intrinsic Motivation at Work, management books often referred to the need for intrinsic motivation or sources of thta motivation (such as an inspiring purpose or interesting work). This book takes those isolated thoughts and connects them into a systematic method of improving overall motivation by increasing internal motivation and connecting with external sources of motivation. This book will be a landmark in the field of human resource management for decades to come.

The book contains many helpful elements to help you understand its message. One that I particularly liked was the management tale. In one connected example, it showed how management attention has shifted in the last 120 years from making people perform more effectively at predefined tasks (the rational approach as defined by scientific management) to creating passion and fulfillment from work, by focusing on the emotional side of a person. You get an overview of management practice and theory in very small and easy-to-digest doses. For example, one of my favorite sentences was "So the executives crafted Vision Statements that emphasized Contribution to Customers and Quality . . . but often [they] rang hollow in time -- like unkept promises."

The author distills the relevant sources of intrinsic motivation into meaningfulness, choice, competence, and progress. These ideas are nicely developed in several dimensions. For example, it is explained how these affect the worker (or associate, if you prefer that term). You also find out what the leader or manager has to do to help create those factors for the worker. Then, the author also exposes how the four areas are connected in a system of postive (or potentially negative) feedback. Further, you are given five elements of each one to develop.

Basically, the model calls for the meaningful purpose of the organization as the starting point. The next step is to give people a choice of actions to implement that purpose. Then activities are performed, and these are monitored for the competency shown (which may generate the need for better choices to pursue the object or to enhance the competency of those involved). After the activities are completed, you also look for progress and relate this back to the original purpose and your choices for fulfilling that purpose.

The book goes on the explain how to integrate intrinsic and external sources of motivation so that they reinforce one another.

There are several points to keep in mind when considering this book. First, you will get even better results if the organization picks a meaningful purpose that offers the potential for more intrinsic motivation. Some purposes have more potential to be accomplished and some are more exciting to more people. I find that most people latch onto an organizational purpose with too little consideration of the alternatives. Second, any on-going organization has a perceived purpose that attracts and retains employees now. You should find out what that is before changing it. My experience has been that you get better results by building upon that assumed purpose than by striking off in a totally new direction. Third, simplification (see Simplicity) is a related thought process that should be employed with this one. A lot of demotivation along intrinsic lines follows errors in making things too complicated and difficult.

Although this book is about work, its principles apply just as well to volunteer activities. I suggest that you share the book with those you volunteer with and then discuss how to employ its lessons to fulfill your empowering purposes.

Kenneth W. Thomas presents a model for using intrinsic motivation in the workplace to assure a more committed, self-managed workforce. He advocates leading for meaningfulness, choice, competence, and progress. He emphasizes the need to use this approach to give employees the greater independence and decision-making authority they need as bureaucratic management models break down. While many of these themes are presented in other books on leadership, motivation, training and worker empowerment, Thomas pulls them together in a well-organized, clearly written presentation that gives readers clear directions. The succinct style of writing is easy to understand, even though it is directed toward the serious reader. We [...] recommend this book to executives, managers, trainers and management consultants, as well as to employees, who will find helpful ideas for exercising greater self-management.

So far this is my favorite Beth Moore book. I've already read it twice and am sure to read it again. She tackles a very familiar story with fresh insights just about every chapter. It's not a "preachy" book. Rather she makes you feel like you're a fellow learner with a good friend. Unlike some of her other books, this does not require looking up many references which makes it ideal to read when you're reading somewhere other than your desk at home.

I have been in numerous Beth Moore Bible studies and this is one of my favorites! This is the study of Christ's life in the form of a daily, personal study. It is 53 short chapter messages.

You can never go wrong with a Beth Moore study. She has a gift for opening the Word and revealing Truth!
I would not buy from this seller, however. It took almost an entire month for it to arrive.

As always, I am very satisfied with the Beth Moore studies. She does an excellent job and everything is well researched and Biblical.

This book had great depth but was still fun to read. The author has an excellent knowledge of her subject and presented it very well. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

This book goes beyond the surface to the mind of successful entrepreneurs, which is refreshing. The ballooning analogy to strategic decision making is very interesting and amusing. The real life stories of many successful entrepreneurs and particularly their reflecting back to the past successes is fascinating on the one hand and confusing on the other. One would like to ask what guide this book provides to persons without successful story in the past. Despite some unanswered questions, overall, the book is very readable, interesting, and rewarding.Learning to Think Strategically (New Frontiers in Learning)

The author denies this is a "How-To" book, but if read with the same care that went into writing this learned volume, it is just that. She combines historical overviews with theory and practical advice. I would think this is required reading for anyone in business (and, one hopes, by government policy planners).

Julia Sloan models the very concepts she espouses in her brilliantly written and just-in-time book. What sets her work apart is that she not only reminds us of the imperative for critical thinking particularly within the competitive global business environment, but she offers the strategies needed to develop these new skills in today's complex world. Sloan does this by demonstrating the practical application of classical adult learning theory. Sloan's insight and wonderfully engaging style makes this work a pleasure to read. This is a valuable addition to my own library, and a book I will certainly recommend to others.

Dr. Linda Dale Bloomberg
Adjunct Faculty, Adult and Organizational Learning
Teachers College, Columbia University
Co-author "Completing Your Qualitative Dissertation: A Roadmap From Beginning to End" (Sage, 2007)
August 1, 2007

Julia Sloan has produced a powerful, insightful and clearly written book that will become a benchmark in reframing our understanding of strategic thinking and decision making. In this timely work, Sloan effectively moves the reader from linear and traditional notions of planning and decision
making to the kind of critical thinking needed to gain competitive advantage in todayÂ's world. Sloan demonstrates how thinking strategically can be learned in a systematic way and she does this brilliantly by applying sound theory to real practice. Her work is at the same time innovative and down-to-earth as she guides the reader to the key attributes required in learning how to think strategically.
Dr. Marie Volpe
Adjunct Professor
Adult and Organization Learning
Teachers College, Columbia University

This is an exceptional book! Essential reading for every global business person.The author is clear,succinct and right on the mark with the differentiation between strategic thinking and strategic planning. The first half of the book is informative and the second half is insightful and challenging. Sloan raises questions that should be at the forefront of every strategic discussion: what and how are we investing in developing strategic thinkers? This book is candid, thorough and original. The author makes a convincing and sobering case for plain, hard work when it comes to learning to think strategically -- a welcome and honest assessment of what is necessary to compete on a global scale -- no simple short cuts. This is an outstanding leadership book and should be read by every serious executive. Bravo!

I am using this book as a textbook in a course that I facilitate for international engineers at the University of Manitoba. We're using the text to explore cultural parameters and the different ways they manifest themselves in different cultures, both generally and specifically in engineering business. I value the book for the work it does in framing the larger concepts behind specific cultural differences, but also for the practicality it offers through anecdotes and tips for working with other cultural styles.

While it's early in the academic term, this book has already been extremely useful in framing discussions in our class. Also, as I talk to employers in Manitoba, many have asked for the bibliographic reference to source the book for their corporate library.

We all know how much difference there is when a team functions well - the tricky part is getting it to happen. This new book tackles this topic in the context of Canadian engineering teams, which are almost all composed of people from many cultures. In this insightful book, Dr. Laroche includes lots of material to help get multicultural teams firing on all cylinders.

Written for both managers and technical contributors, the book uses a multicultural lens to look at management styles, teamwork, communication and career management. This new perspective drives home a central theme that cultural differences are key in how our teams work, and not widely recognized in their importance. In these kinds of abstract topics I find concrete examples very helpful, and the author includes numerous anecdotes drawn from his consulting background. These vivid examples show the profound impact of what sometimes seem like small issues, like the Mexican engineer who resigned the day after getting some negative feedback in front of his colleagues.

The book also includes a number of quantitative charts and tables showing how different cultures have quite different expectations of the importance of hierarchy, individualism, and risk tolerance. Having read this book, I now much better understand the experience I had in Canada managing an employee from another culture. What I experienced as a lack of assertiveness was actually the case of an employee expecting highly directive management, and their way of showing respect. Had I understood that well at the time, I would have approached the situation quite differently, even starting at the interview stage. On the flip side, the book would have helped me a lot during my two-year stay in France. In particular, it wasn't until I read this book that I realized that when my French colleagues were jumping in and finishing my sentences, they were demonstrating their agreement by showing they knew how my sentences were going to end!

The book closes with a number of interesting comparisons, like the different emphasis on theory and hands-on work that exist between engineering schools in Canada, the United States, France and Mexico. And to finish off, an entertaining appendix containing explanations of expressions which we take for granted from such diverse areas as baseball ("to be out in left field" - to make no sense at all) and warfare ("loose cannons" - ones which are not fixed down, and fire a different direction each time).

We all know how much difference there is when a team functions well - the tricky part is getting it to happen. This new book tackles this topic in the context of Canadian engineering teams, which are almost all composed of people from many cultures. In this insightful book, Dr. Laroche includes lots of material to help get multicultural teams firing on all cylinders.

Written for both managers and technical contributors, the book uses a multicultural lens to look at management styles, teamwork, communication and career management. This new perspective drives home a central theme that cultural differences are key in how our teams work, and not widely recognized in their importance. In these kinds of abstract topics I find concrete examples very helpful, and the author includes numerous anecdotes drawn from his consulting background. These vivid examples show the profound impact of what sometimes seem like small issues, like the Mexican engineer who resigned the day after getting some negative feedback in front of his colleagues.

The book also includes a number of quantitative charts and tables showing how different cultures have quite different expectations of the importance of hierarchy, individualism, and risk tolerance. Having read this book, I now much better understand the experience I had in Canada managing an employee from another culture. What I experienced as a lack of assertiveness was actually the case of an employee expecting highly directive management, and their way of showing respect. Had I understood that well at the time, I would have approached the situation quite differently, even starting at the interview stage. On the flip side, the book would have helped me a lot during my two-year stay in France. In particular, it wasn't until I read this book that I realized that when my French colleagues were jumping in and finishing my sentences, they were demonstrating their agreement by showing they knew how my sentences were going to end!

The book closes with a number of interesting comparisons, like the different emphasis on theory and hands-on work that exist between engineering schools in Canada, the United States, France and Mexico. And to finish off, an entertaining appendix containing explanations of expressions which we take for granted from such diverse areas as baseball ("to be out in left field" - to make no sense at all) and warfare ("loose cannons" - ones which are not fixed down, and fire a different direction each time).

This book is really helpful in a way to understand cultural difference. It focuses on new immigrants issues, multiculture team work and communication barrier. Also focuses on why this has happend and how to overcome it. Different countries have different working style and one really understands this when reading this book. It also emphasises all the ideas a technical person needs to overcome all barriers and get aquainted with
multiculteral system.

The most important representation for me in this book are pages 69, 91, 93,and 148, as well as the graphs on pages 188, 216, and 217.

This book is really helpful in a way to understand cultural difference. It focuses on new immigrants issues, multiculture team work and communication barrier. Also focuses on why this has happend and how to overcome it. Different country have different working style and one really understands this when reading this book. It covers all the ideas a technical person needs to overcome all barriers and get aquainted with multiculteral system.

The most important representation for me were page numbers 69, 91, 93, and 148. I found the graphs on pages 188, 216, and 217 really helpful.

Well I have just got the book but feel so fascinated as each page moves. It has reinforced my understanding also. How companies waste their time and HR department undertake such a process that will put off any candidate seeking career opportunity. We all know that CVs hide more than they reveal. and the best of the talents do not apply for the jobs.

All that is required in what Chris Resto aptly advises is to reflect contagious energy , fresh perspective and abundance in aspiration.. The job seeker wants is a career accelerator and not a mere job.. The Recruiter wants is a profit accelerator. Unless that bandwidth does not happen, the very exercise shall be futile. Yes one does get a job but managing and growing in it is the real challenge.

Since I happen to run Professional Mentoring Programmes and Pre placement training, the first thing that I advise people is to put the CV into a shredder. Because the Recruiter needs them more than the job seekers.. So first read the Nick Corcidilos ASK THE HEADHUNTER ([...]) That is indeed a must read for avoiding the HR Dept traps. Jeffrey J Fox also advises the same in Don't send a CV.. But now Christ Resto in this new title Recruit or Die explains the dynamics of Job market and best practices.

Read all this if you want the " right job " and never be a CV pusher.

with best wishes

RK Dhanvada
rk@dhanvada.com
India

I have gone through the interview process three times at MIT, twice as a student and once while an employee at Microsoft. I have also interned at Thomson West, which is frequently mentioned throughout the book. From all of my experiences with these companies and others, the information presented in the book is extremely accurate, both from a process perspective and the attitudes of students.

For a company, I loved that the book focused on:
1. Knowing what you are selling - I have talked to many employers who did not have a clear idea of this, and it was a huge turnoff. The book provides a great list of questions to help you identify what you are selling to students.

2. Establishing personal relationships with your recruits - When looking at competing offers, in retrospect, I realized that I have always chosen the company where I had the greatest relationships with the recruiter, other alumni, etc. The book emphasizes building these relationships and provides great suggestions on how to build them.

3. Setting expectations appropriately - This is a prevailing theme throughout the book, and I couldn't agree with it more. The book lists everything from making sure you tell recruits when you will follow-up with them to how to properly set expecations about recruitment goals within your organization.

While the primary audience of the book is recruiters, as a current student, I also found the information in the book helpful in navigating the interview process the second time around. I used the contents to identify companies with great recruiting processes, ask more meaningful questions about the companies, and provide better feedback to companies on how they could improve. While juggling information from so many companies, it even helped remind me of what was important to me about the next company I work at: career growth, opportunities to solve challenging and meaningful problems, and the culture of the company. I can't wait to apply what I read in the book when I start recruiting for the next company I work for.

Whether you are a student, a new recruiter, or an experienced one, I would definitely recommend picking up Recruit or Die!

I graduated college a couple years ago and I think the viewpoints on college students and grads are dead on. That's probably because they're from tons of actual interviews with students and grads ha. The book is definitely well researched and I would be very attracted to any company who practices the things this book recommends.
Also, I found this book applicable to many aspects of recruiting in general. Many of the concepts work great for student organizations on campus, similar to non-profit orgs or small businesses that can't afford to pay large salaries. If you're the leader of a student org, I recommend reading this to improve your recruitment tactics. There are many parallels you can draw between a college org and a business when it comes to recruitment, like applying job fair tactics at your next tabling fair (or whatever your college calls it... a day or days when many/all clubs table and flyer).

I was very excited to read this book, and it didn't disappoint. I am a leading edge member of the millenial generation and I work for a college in career services, so this book is quite relevant to me. Resto and co. are very accurate in describing what college students want out of work and how they operate, as well they should be accurate-they also work with students. Their suggestions are pretty good as well-I will be very curious to see if any of the recruiters coming to our campus employ these suggestions!

If your company recruits new hires by going to college campuses, you need to read Recruit or Die, no matter how good you think you are at recruiting. If you have a formal recruiting program or even if you just attend job fairs looking for good new employees, this will still be a valuable book for you.

The good advice begins in the Introduction, where the authors ask and answer the question: "Why Microsoft, McKinsey and Goldman Sachs?" They point out that all three of these favorite places for graduates to seek employment have a great brand. But other companies do, too.

What sets these three apart from the pack is what they do. The authors identify four things.

They won't settle for anyone other than exactly the recruits they want.
They work harder and smarter than their competitors to know their target audience: the recruits.
They sell themselves better than their competitors do.
They present a united front.

That's strategy. Tactically, the authors tell you that contact is king, that you should sell your people first and your company second and that courtesy and class go a long way.

The authors suggest that if you follow the kind of diligent process that the recruiting stars follow, you'll get great results. I think they're right.

Years ago, when police departments suddenly found themselves facing massive retirements with few recruits showing up at the door, I designed recruiting programs for police departments. Almost everything I learned that's positive is here plus a ton of details that I wish I'd known at the time. You can cut your recruiting learning curve by reading Recruit or Die and applying its lessons.

You'll learn to think, for example, about your company and the jobs you're offering from three perspectives. You'll ask yourself what the differences are between what you have, what recruits think you have, and what recruits want. That set of distinctions, alone, can help you sharpen your offerings and your process.

Again and again you're reminded to build on your strengths. You're reminded to meet the questions and needs of the people you want to recruit. That's all good, but there are some things I wish were different.

There's too much emphasis on "talent" as "people who've done well in school." Sometimes the young person who's dramatically improved performance late in school is a better choice for your company. One Fortune 200 company used that as part of its target recruit profile for years.

There's also way too much emphasis on big schools, big companies and the east and west coasts. Scan the schools whose students are quoted in the book and you're hard pressed to find any schools in the Midwest or in the South below Chapel Hill.

There are virtually no smaller company examples even though the lessons of the book are adaptable to small companies. And there are virtually no small schools represented either.

The fact is that the bulk of college graduates will be something other than first-tier brains and come from something other than first-tier schools. They will go to work at companies of all sizes, all over the country.

I wish the book reflected that reality better. But even if you're a small company recruiting at a small state school in a Midwestern state, there's a lot of good practical nuts-and-bolts advice in this book. You'll find a wealth of information on the operational details of attending job fairs, effective job postings, following up with recruits.

The bottom line is that if you need to recruit, you need to read Recruit or Die.

If you enjoy consummate skill in the written word you will treasure this book. It is the most beautifully crafted collection of short stories I have ever encountered. The characters are powerful, endearing, heartbreaking, loving, loathsome, self centered, generous, and sometimes frightening - the scope of this work is breathtaking. It is unfortunate that a book perfect for "dipping into" is so large and heavy - a reissue in rice paper would halve both (The Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1918 has 1166 pages and fits quite comfortably in a coat pocket!) William Trevor is a genius - if you buy his book you will not be disappointed. Dr Peter J Kirby.

It took me a couple of months to make my way through these 85 stories and it was definitely worth the time I spent with them. Trevor's prose is always simple and clear, yet his range of characters and plots is astonishing because of their superbly captured detail and variety. Most of these stories deal with Irish and English characters, and many swirl around the realities or possibilities of extramarital affairs. "In Isfahan," one of Trevor's best stories, a married middle-aged man carries on an impromptu affair with a young woman he meets while in Iran; in "Lovers of Their Time," another top-notch story, a married man carries on a long-term affair with a shop girl by meeting her in a hotel's second-floor public bathroom. Trevor is also quite adept of presenting the romantic yearnings of women. In "The Ballroom of Romance," a country girl's dreams and consequences are highlighted in her trips to the local dance hall; in "Afternoon Dancing," a middle-aged married woman dallies with the idea of an affair with her dance partner after the death of her close friend. Like Chekhov, to whom Trevor is often compared, this writer also has an admirable sense of comedy. "Mulvhill's Memorial" finds an unlikely pornographic set-up within an office; "The Trinity" has a couple booking a vacation to Venice and ending up in Switzerland. Accidents spiral out of control in "The Penthouse Apartment," and in "A Complicated Nature," a man is forced to help his upstairs neighbor when her suitor unexpectedly dies. Another one of the best stories of this collection is "Broken Homes," where an elderly woman suffers the indignities of having her kitchen painted by a team of indifferent youths. Other first-rate stories include "The Smoke Trees of San Pietro," where a boy's sickness propels his mother into an affair, and "Death in Jerusalem" where a mother dies while on vacation.

Someone else here refers to the problems of 'star' hyperbole. He's right. The five stars Trevor deserves must be especially large and dazzling.
He goes wrong, just a little, once in a while. So did every truly great writer we know. Most of the time he opens a door on the world of two or three people, and shows us the universe in the process. He is a breathtaking artist. Witness 'Another Christmas' - in a dingy living room and armed with no one but an aging Irish couple, he brings home the Troubles in Ireland in epic, heartbreaking scope. And 'Torridge'...a girl said to me when this story first appeared in The New Yorker that it was like Beethoven's Fifth; you can't imagine it not having been around before. It's that good.
Readers! You can do no better than to get to know what this man can do with a pen.

Not all stars are created equal. By awarding 5 stars to this book, the implication must be that they are stars of the purest gold. I have read some "5-star" novels and short story collections before, but little, in my experience, compares with this: the combination of an extraordinarily beautiful prose style, the seemingly effortless creation of literally hundreds if not thousands of alternately sympathetic and detestable (but always vividly memorable) characters, a profound insight into the psychology of the human mind to rival (and pretty easily surpass) that of any other writer alive, a recreation of atmosphere so real it clings, and a brilliant inventiveness when it comes to creating great story lines (and, often, superbly twisty [but never illogical] endings) places this collection among the very greatest of its kind. One measure of how deeply impressed I was with this book is that now, more than half a year since I finished it, I can look back through the table of contents and still remember not merely every story with tremendous vividness, but often where I was at the time I read it.

Stated broadly, Trevor's stories seem to fall into two distinct types, English and Irish. The former tend to be (as do many of the earlier stories) sharp and edgy, whereas the latter tend to be quiet and pastoral. Although it is the Irish stories that appear to garner the greatest praise from the critics, I prefer the greater cynicism (often bordering on, but never quite reaching, downright misanthropy) of the English stories.

Having to choose my favorites from among this potent collection is akin to separating gold coins that are 100% pure from those that are 99.975% pure (soft though they would be!), but three continue to haunt me just a little more than the others. "The Death of Peggy Meehan," one of the Irish stories, and one of the collection's shortest, tells the tale of a young lad who is taken to his first movie during a summer vacation, and how the fantasies he draws after seeing that movie color (for better or worse) the rest of his life. "In at the Birth," is, unusually for Trevor, a creepy ghost story that Rod Serling would have marveled over. In it, an elderly woman takes a baby-sitting job for a peculiar couple who turn out to be (and this is hardly among the most riveting revelations provided) childless. But rather than leave me frightened, it left me pondering the meaning of life, age, and human relationships. Finally, "The Hotel of the Idle Moon," is what I described to a friend as "the greatest short story ever written." Its title is especially evocative and, in its context, has a host (no pun intended!) of powerful resonances. The "set up" is baldly cliche: on a dark and stormy night a middle-aged couple stop in front of an estate, pretending that their car has broken down. Foul play, one can be sure, is bound to ensue. And so it does. But the play is much fouler and more upsetting than anything anyone can imagine (trust me, until you read this story you cannot imagine what happens). It is one of Trevor's gifts that such a story can't be adequately explained. It has to be read, felt, lived. Suffice it to say that by the end we realize that we have read nothing less than a parable of (very) contemporary times (I don't know when it was written) that manages, in a trice, to both limn and condemn humankind since the beginning of history.

High marks also to "The Table," which reads like a hilarious comedy of errors until the last line suddenly blackens everything that came before it with perfect (and perfectly uncanny) inevitability, "The Forty-Seventh Saturday," as poignant a story of loneliness as I know, and "O Fat White Woman" (the title may be funny; the story is anything but), which spins a tale of the tragedy that follows passive resistance. (And when is the last time you read a story that dealt with that? Why does it seem that Trevor is our only contemporary writer who consistently confronts such common yet seemingly taboo foibles?). As is usual with Trevor, the tragedy occurs on many planes and is of an inestimable magnitude.

Oh, heck, let me not forget "Nice Day at School," an incredibly sensitive and piercing drama, and the superb and highly regarded "In Isfahan," in which a married, middle-aged English man meets a married, youngish English woman on tour in Iran. They try to get close, but their chequered pasts prevent them. What we don't realize until the end, however, is that one of their pasts isn't real. Or is it? And what purpose does fantasy play in encroaching human relationships? Can it be used to repel as well as to lure? Or is it there to comfort? And, if so, comfort whom? Particularly rich stuff.

Amidst a sea of great short story collections, this one by William Trevor will always have its place at the top. There's a word for books like this, and that word is "perfect." May it never go out of print.

Had never heard of the guy - got it at a bookstore because it had 1200 pages (I needed a lot to read) and because it was written by an old guy (well, he's old now, at least - well- wrinkled but kind looking). So far I'm about a third of the way through it, but like everyone else has said, this book is great. Some writers get lazy and write the same story over and over. Not this guy - every character, every situation is unique. For people who like movies, read the one about Istafan and compare it to "Lost in Translation". The story about the swingers party is indescribably great also, just in the way he describes a man kissing a woman's hair or them barely dancing at all.

Excellent book for all trainers. Many useful concepts and I especially like the parts about how our brian processes information. It's fun and easy to read and more importanly, a lot of what is written is based on lots of research. So the stuff in there is validated. I used this as a complement to Bob Pike's Creative Training Techniques.

Reading this book was well worth my time. The authors present academic concepts in plain english. They did a great job of shifting my training mindset from a focus on content to a focus on learning. They gave me many practical strategies for improving my trainings.

This book is a great tool for trainers. Not only does the book explain the dynamics of adult learning and training approaches, it provides 25 learning activities to help keep your programs interesting, fun, and productive. This met all of my expectations.

There are so many "how to train" products out there and most are so academic so as not to be practical. This book is easily understandable, fun and most of all, practical. I have already incorporated most of what I've read and have seen dramatic improvement in our new employees' performance. Reading this book was as comfortable as talking with a friend over coffee, very informal and very fun! Thank you!

This book is a perfect blend of theory and practical application in a compact package. Small enough to slide in a purse or briefcase, so you can take it with you when you need to brush up. Love it!!!