Interviews Books

I dont want to ruin the book for you. If you loved the show then buy the book. I got it for my wife as a birthday present. Enjoy its funny.

This book is super fun! It has tons of awesome details about the writer and the story's background. Lots of pictures from the show. And I really enjoyed reading the whole script! It's all in here! From "It Sucks to be Me" to "You Can be as Loud as the Hell You Want" to "For Now"! The entire script is there so you can make sure you didn't miss anything from the show!

The only problem with this book is: you may be picking monster hair out of your mouth when you read it! This book is super hairy! But it's all part of the fun!

After seeing the touring version of AVE Q, I had to get this book. It has become my favorite show ranking over Phantom of the Opera and Les Miz. (I nerver thought that would be possible.) The book is colorful, full of fun information and most important the full text of the show. Lots of pictures and interviews including other casts besides the original Broadway cast.

As for the mentions of the orange fur shedding, I immediately sprayed both covers with a couple coats of hair spray and it has not shed at all.

Only fault I have is the book was published before the tour so no pictures of that excellent cast headed by the wonderful Rob McClure.
Don't wait BUY THIS BOOK!

Fun and whimsical, this book servers as a great "coffee table" companion to the play itself. It contains the usual info about the creation of the show and its original cast, as well as the full script. If I've any criticism, it's with the "furry" orange cover, which, though fun, tends to shed.

The show was great - the book is wonderful with the lyrics and such. The key downside to the book is that it sheds.

This book comes in a couple sections. First Loren writes about his personal history and shows photographs he has taken of himself. Some of the most interesting ones are the ones surrounded by things people have said about him, such as "Men are jerks, why would you want to become one?" and "I can't be with you: I'm not a lesbian." There are two sections with photographs of other transmen and their stories, and a section called "emergence" which shows transmen and their "before" pictures. There are also surgery and modification pictures, including two metoidioplasties, a phalloplasty, a set of piercings, and two mastectomies. The last section is Loren and his partner, Kayt, talking about their relationship with photos of them together.

The pictures are very nice, and I feel the writings and the photos are an accurate representation of trans life, especially considering diversity. Doctors, bodybuilders, surfers, an interesting story from a Jewish transman about the Bar Mitzvah, and of various sexual orientations rather than just transmen who love women.

I'm a minority. I am very much outside this book's intended audience, to say the least. I am a straight bio-male. And I can say without any homosexual tension, that Mr. Cameron you are built like a god.

The photos border on Arbus-esque but offer a more compassionate less spectacle treatment of the subjects. I guess that's a point well demontsrated when the phographer spends as much time in front of the camera as well as behind. You are more inclined to look at these unusual subjects with reverence not repulsion. The book overall is beautifully put toether. Sparse and poignantly so.

Now the "green with envy" part. Even if Cameron is 5'3", for me to stand next to him would be totally emasculating. There aren't a lot of "real" men out there who are willing to go out to the gym to look that ripped. I feel so flabby.

Simply stunning collection of photographs and stories of men from every backround, and men who are willing to share this personal (yet public) journey.

What can I say that hasn't already been said before?
The photography is beautiful, the subject is very well presented and the amount of courage to open up like this is unbelievable.
I would recomend this book to anyone interested in photography and/or transgender issues.

This book was one of the greatest gifts I have ever gotten myself. When I finished reading and looking at the beautiful photographs, I hugged the book to my chest.
This book not only told me thru writings but also showed me that I wasn't alone. This book meant the world to me as a bigendered female. I had only read about others transgender people, but had never seen anyone besides myself.
Thank you Mr.Cameron. :)
I recomend this book to anyone dealing with transgender issues- whether they be trans themself, a realtive or friend of a trans person, or just plain curious.

Disclaimer: I know Tim Darling and was given a copy of the book to review prior to its publishing. When there are hundreds of book on "How to get a consulting job at a Top firm", why another one? That is precisely the point. One can get easily lost in the hundreds of books and references. What one wants is a quick, easy to read and yet comprehensive guide. Tim Darling's book, filled with lots and lots of nuggets does the job.

Getting a consulting job is not just about acing the case interview. The enormous amount of preparation that goes into the process prior to the interview (resumes, networking and mixers, office hours, the behavioral interview stories etc), make the difference. This book does an excellent job going into just enough and relevant detail about the entire process.

Let me share a few reasons as to why I recommend this this book to a 1st year MBA student.

You enter a top B-school. Everything is so different. People always ask, so what is your bottom line contribution? Can you quantify and can you make it appealing to the CEO? You have great stories, but you are in need examples of how to succinctly structure our thoughts and make it appealing as well. The book is full of how-tos.

I also found the book particularly helpful with case interview preparation. I am sure, during your preparation, you were inundated with hundreds of frameworks. However, you might often wonder, is there a big picture that ties everything together?

Tim does just this in his simplistic framework covering 80% of the real life cases interview questions. You will be surprised as to how the thousands of cases you may see/do fit nicely into the structure that Tim uses. After conceptualizing the framework, regardless of the type of case you are given (market entry, M&A, P&L, Growth Strategies), you will be armed with a comprehensive starting point.

So what should you do about the rest of the 20% of the time when curve balls are thrown at you? Tim provides excellent tricks to help guide your thinking so you arrive at that answer which awes the interviewer.

The book has several other nuggets that pretty much guide you through the entire process from soup to nuts.

Finally, the consulting club of Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University was looking to develop a handbook that pretty much hand holds a member from start to when he/she lands into a consulting job. Tim's book covers bulk of what we were looking to incorporate into the handbook.

I would not recommend this book, especially compared to Cosentino's "Case in Point" book. Let me give a few reasons why:

Considering the price paid ($30) I was a little bit taken aback by the thin content when the book arrived at my house. The book is about 90 pages long, if you're generous. Content starts on page 7, and between that and the end at page 89, there are 12 blank or essentially blank pages (of which several are fill in the box pages for you to do work on the example problems -- do we really need this?), followed by 3 tables/charts for use with the problems, and a few supplemental pages and index. On first opening, I'm sorry to say it gave me the feeling of an elementary school workbook.

The page count of course, in itself, need not be a signal of whether the book is good, but the content on the remaining pages is also rather thin. In the introduction and first chapter, there are a few pages on the lifestyle of a consultant, resume format tips (which you have already gotten past if you're getting this book), networking techniques, all of which are covered better in other books, and not the primary reason for buying this one.

In the 55-60 remaining pages after taking away the above extraneous elements, the example problems are standard fare, and present some interesting, but not mindblowing ways to attack them with a framework. I don't think the single framework proposed is really *that* amazing, the way people have commented here.

Most of all, what struck me when comparing with the Cosentino book, is that in the example problems, aside from the 3 with supplemental charts (which is also odd -- why do relevant charts have to appear at the back, separate from the problems?), they are just lacking the fleshed out problem data for you to practice with. I don't mean they're not specific, but the Cosentino book regularly provides tables of sales figures, market data, example charts and tables, etc with almost every problem. The problems in this book seem a bit vague in comparison, with brief answer outlines and occasionally supplemental data provided. Combined with the 3 charts placed almost as an afterthought at the end, it makes it seem like the problems in this book were just not really compiled from careful examples. You can just see the difference in detail if you compare.

The most amazing thing I discovered after reading the book, which I must point out as a warning to others who rely on Amazon product reviews, is that to begin with, I was wondering how everyone seemed to provide amazing comments on the book here, making it sound like the 2nd coming of Christ, like a lifechanging read. It's ok at best, but consistently 5 stars from everyone?? Well, if you look at some of the Amazon commenters who have given 5 stars to this book, they magically also appear in the back of the book's acknowledgments! Surprised? J.Wu, Sachin Kotwani, Joshua Swartz, among those who've commented here, these are all names found in the book listed as contributors! And who knows about all the other similar glowingly positive reviews all submitted on or around April 8, 2008? The book only came out at the end of March. Did the author stoop to asking his friends to shill for him here? A bit ridiculous, don't you think?

I will be sending this book back for a refund, and keeping the Cosentino book, which costs only $20 for much more content.

Unfortunately, I had high hopes for this book from all the descriptions, but was disappointed on receiving the real thing.

The obvious comparison to this book is Marc Cosentino's Case In Point, which has been a best-seller in case interview preparation for many years. So perhaps the most obvious place to start a review is to say how this book differs from that.

The focus of Darling's book is on problem solving and how to get your hands dirty with a problem for 15 minutes, then to come up again for air and communicate a coherent, polished recommendation based on it. The problem-solving tips he suggest are simplified - but still surprisingly effective - variations of the problem-solving techniques used by strategic management consultants. Key topics include defining the problem/objective, building a MECE tree to disaggregate the key drivers of the problem, and understanding how to analyze that tree to solve the problem.

Most interesting to me (as someone with an MBA and 2 previous years' experience in a strategic consulting firm) was his explanation of how to use the various industry standard frameworks (such as the 3 C's, Porter's 5 Forces, the Value Chain, the 4 P's ...). In my previous experience, as with Cosentino's book, these frameworks were just thrown into a general toolkit with little guidance offered on how to use them. Do you know how and when to use the 3 C's or 5 Forces while solving a generic business problem? Darling offers his thoughts and they are very lucid and insightful. I don't know that they are the "right" or only answers, but his vision is well worth reading and considering for anyone in business - not just consultants, and certainly not just consultant firm candidates.

This brings me to the contrast with Cosentino's book. Cosentino offers more tools for your toolkit; Darling offers fewer tools with more detailed explanations. Cosentino falls on the side of learning the "answers" to a set of problems ahead of time and demonstrating your poise and polish in presenting them; Darling falls on the side of learning a general problem-solving technique and showing you can be a force in the team room with polish and poise saved for the end of the interview.

Which book or approach is better? Again, I don't know -- but as a pair, they make an interesting enough contrast that any serious candidate should most certainly read both.

This book dispenses with the variety of frameworks that other books offer and instead focuses on a single overarching framework built to handle a majority of case interviews. I personally preferred this approach as it provides a single logical and coherent framework that handled both strategic and tactical questions well. Of course, the best advice is only beneficial if put into practice. Practicing case interviews with others will help internalize the method in this book. There are some cases provided in the book but practicing with a larger variety of cases will show how effective the framework can be.

I received an advance copy of this book for review; hopefully it will be in stock on Amazon soon.

Simply, I'm glad to see a resource out there that will help us put and end to the canned frameworks everyone seems to be applying to consulting interviews (and even consulting engagements?).

Tim's book is about problem-solving and getting to the business economics of an issue quickly. Thanks for taking this on!

I really enjoyed this book. You meet famous and not so famous people in this book. Some you will never forget like Hystercine Rankin, who made a quilt of her fathers killing in Mississippi, when she was only ten.She eventually won a $5000 prize for it. Or how the author talks about his family and the "healing quilt" and his lifelong affinity of quilts. The stories in here are good, and the quilts are out of this world. One of the best oral African American history books out there.

Influenced by his love of quilts, photographer Roland Freeman acts as anthrolopologist and quilting historian in this beautiful, comprehensive book. Featuring full color photos of African-American quilts and quilters and well-researched text, this book is a must-read even for non-quilting enthusiasts. The history and cultural heritage of a people have been preserved in this beautiful artform. I found myself moved after reading this book. You will be too.

This book is truly awesome. Although I have almost every quiltmaking book in print, the photos here are of the most unique and breathtakingly beautiful I've ever seen. And the accompanying stories about the quiltmakers are at once inspirational and humbling ... e.g., a quilt depicting the lynching of a woman's father, and explanation of how neighbors were afraid to attend the funeral. (Don't let that discourage you; most of the quilts are uplifting and gorgeous by any standards -- and the few sad ones are incredibly moving and meaningful.)

I can't imagine anyone not loving this book. Frankly, I was so awed by the gifted artists whose work is contained therein that my first thought was that African Americans have all the talent and creativity (and, no, I'm not an African American). Even if you're not moved by the stories/bios (although I can't imagine not being), you've *GOT* to be awed and inspired by the extraordinarily beautiful and truly unique quilting, which cannot help but enable you to improve your own designs.

I wish that there were more stars than 5 ... This book deserves the highest rating imaginable.

African-American Quilters, Preservers and Their Stories represents the first national survey & a personal record of how this photographer & folkorist's life has intertwined with the world of quiltmaking.

The communion refers to the power of quilts to create a virtual web of connections-individual, generational, professional, physical, spiritual, cultural & historical. Some of the names of those glorious quilts are: Rainbow Block; Slave Chain; Log Cabin; Three Pigs in a Pen; Double Wedding Ring; Black Jack Scarecrow; Monsters, Dragons and Flies; African Diaspora; African-American Women; African-American Men; Memories of My Father's Death; Memories; Scripture; Martin Luther King Jr.; Hand Me Down My Mother's Work; Mother Africa's Children; The Underground Railroad; Baltimore Arabber Selling Watermelons; Harriet Tubman Quilt & Tableau.

For all those who consider quilt making one of America's finest crafts, this will be a lifetime companion & will rekindle that dramatic & endearing form of art. Very well done!

You have got to read this book! It is filled with women & men & the love of fabric & colors; of the love of design & community coming together to stitch lives together. Do visit my site for my full review & more books on quilting.

This book thoroughly documents quilting and quilt makers from across the USA. Roland Freeman tells the story of the quilt makers largely through his spectacular photographs. He includes unknown but highly talented artists as well as celebrities who also quilt. The photographs are accompanied with stories from the artists, and these narratives provide a terrific base for understanding why this folk art retains its vibrancy in the 21st century. In many ways, Freeman's photography and writing can also be understood as part of the artistic fabric that he stitches together.

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.

First-person tales from the likes of Herman Badillo and Jimmy Breslin recall life here a half-century ago.

THE CITY HEARD

Words can conjure up places and times as vividly as pictures do, especially when people are speaking from the heart, fueled by intimate experiences and affectionate memories of a place.

It Happened In Manhattan stitches together anecdotes and recollections told by a disparate group of Manhattanites - from writers and architects to rabbis and restaurateurs - all steeped in the spirit of the city where they live and work.

Stretching from the close of World War II through the psychedelic 60s and beyond, the subjects of the recollections are equally diverse. Many of the chapter headings come from songs - "East Side/West Side," "Puttin' on the Ritz" - reflecting the writers' wish to celebrate their city as enjoyably as generations of entertainers have. They also note its dark and somber sides.

Imaginatively chosen photos round out the portrait capturing nostalgic moments or illustrating stories told on adjoining pages. Flipping through the book is like riding a time machine to one of New York's energetic eras.

Myrna Katz and Harvey Frommer's It Happened in Manhattan ... is an encyclopedic oral and visual memoir of life in New York from the end of World War II to the fiscal-stricken era of the mid-1970s. The Third Avenue El, Ebbets Field, the Automats, the Chelsea Hotel, the Fillmore East, and the pre-AIDS clubs of the swinging gay '70s can all be found here, along with accounts of the rise of abstract expressionist and pop art and Norman Mailer's mayoral race. This book captures a New York in transition, accelerating through the cultural changes of the 1950s and '60s from the world of Joseph Mitchell to the world of Tom Wolfe.

It Happened in Manhattan probably is the anti-book for unreformed New York haters. It revels in the story of Manhattan, a 22-square-mile borough in the city during the mid-20th century.
Interviews with more than 60 current and former residents of Manhattan tell a rich story of city life in the post-war era. The prologue, a monologue by Sid Bernstein, the music promoter who arranged the first Beatles's appearance in America, is wonderful.
"I'm still a tourist in the city I was born and raised in," says Bernstein. "I'm a walker of the city streets." Bernstein wanders and explores by his own north star: his sense of smell. "If I walk by a place and an aroma greets me, I go there."
There are plenty of food stories in It Happened in Manhattan. There is a lot more, of course. Sections deal with memories of growing up in Manhattan, of starting careers in finance and fashion, of finding sanctuaries in churches or museums. There are memories of restaurants, nightclubs, department stores, eateries, celebrities. People remember when they cleaned out a section of a restaurant for Frank Sinatra's posse, the early days of Bette Middler, described as colorful as a "Jewish parrot."
Tin Pan Alley, the Guggenheim Museum, Yiddish Theater, Walter Winchell, Harlem, Greenwich Village, escapees from the Hollywood blacklist - they're all in here, not in formal history, but in the memories of people who knew them.
Perhaps Manhattan expatriates will enjoy It Happened in Manhattan most, as there really is a lot of nostalgia in a book like this, but others can find many pleasures.
After all, even if we never go to New York, part of it come to us. It's that big a town.

Manhattan is a narrow island, only 22 square miles, but its history is much bigger. It Happened in Manhattan is an album of vintage photos and first-person reminiscences that form mid-century Manhattan. Ranging from the early post-World War II years to the mid-1970s, the book is an oral history constructed from dozens of interviews with New York luminaries such as Jimmy Breslin, Elaine Kaufman, Alan Greenberg, and Pauline Trigère, as well as everyday people like Rabbi Dan Alder, teacher Linda Kleinschmidt, and drugstore owner Joel Eichel. With chapters like "If I Can Make It Here..." about emerging celebrities, "Sanctuaries in the City" concerning religious communities, and "Politics As Usual," It Happened in Manhattan evokes an era when Checker cabs still passed down a two-way Fifth Avenue, when 11 daily newspapers covered the city beat, and when young women attended their Katharine Gibbs continuing education classes in hats and white gloves. Their reminiscences and perceptions are woven into a narrative that describes how New York became an international center in the wake of victory in the Second World War, and how the city was affected by new immigrants from Europe fleeing fascism and immigrants from the Latin America seeking opportunity. This was an era when soaring real-estate values led to the tearing down of whole neighborhoods, and when community activists rallied to save many architectural treasures. It Happened in Manhattan illustrates with personal details and anecdotes the passing of the Manhattan of the Industrial Age, how the city government almost went bankrupt, and how New York City survived and continues as a financial, political and cultural center of the nation. Father Peter Colapietro, pastor of Holy Cross Church on 42nd Street, offers his recollections:

As a kid, I always saw Sixth Avenue as the dividing line between the East and West Side. The East Side was Rock Center and St. Patrick's Cathedral; the West Side was the stuff on 42nd Street. It was like you needed a passport to go from one to another... Even though Manhattan was only a fifteen-cent ride away from where I lived in the Bronx, it was a whole new world. I felt I had to dress up to go down there. I couldn't wear jeans and a polo shirt. I was an eleven- or twelve-year-old, I knew what Playboy magazine was, but when I went into some of these stores on 42nd Street - wow! Ten or twelve of us used to come down to Herman's Flea Circus. It had an arcade with pinball machines, magic shows, and a famous Flea Circus. We would go to Rockefeller Center and see as many television shows as we could get into, getting there early to be first on line for shows like The Price Is Right, The Match Game, and Truth or Consequence. A warm-up person like Johnny Olson would ask the audience, "Anybody out there celebrating a birthday? anniversary? parole? We got to know the routine. Once my kid brother and I got a pair of handcuffs. When Johnny Olson got to "Anybody celebrating parole?" we raised our hands handcuffed to each other.

I read this every once in a while to gain perspective and to make sure I hear the stories of these women. To make sure I'm aware of, and to acknowledge their sacrifices. They touched so many lives then, and are still making a difference in other ways now. I think this should be required reading for every woman.

Written in 1985 when many of the wounds of Vietnam still bled fresh, Keith Walker interviewed 26 women who served in country in a variety of capacities. The result of this ambitious and courageous project is a heartbreaking, captivating and ultimately transcendent oral history.

The stories here filled with an evolution that mirrors the changes of perception that accompanied the war. This is not only a history of women in Vietnam (a history all too frequently too overlooked)but also a history of America as well. Each woman, in her own way experiences the journey from ambition to horror to disillusionment to healing. Many of the women interviewed (as of 1985)are still works very much in progress- as our Nation is as well.

This oral history depicts not only depicts the immediate horrors and consequences of combat but most importantly the post combat experience as well along with the living conditions and political environment as seen in the first person.

Later adapted (by Shirley Lauro) into a powerful dramatic event, A PIECE OF MY HEART makes for a must read for anyone interested in either Vietnam history specifically or American history in general.

A classic.

These stories are so heart-wrenching I had to take a break while reading simply to keep from falling to pieces. These women are so amazing and strong - they're inspiring. I Loved this book and GREATLY recommend the play with the same title by Shirely Lauro that was based off of these stories. It's so unbelievable and so real it makes you feel for those 6 women more than you'd ever imagine!

"A Piece of My Heart: The Stories of 26 American Women Who Served in Vietnam," by Keith Walker, is a powerful addition to the large body of writings about the Vietnam War. Walker's technique for compiling this book was to interview the featured women and turn the transcripts of the interviews into chapters. One chapter is drawn from a dual interview of two of the women, and another chapter consists of a letter written by a woman whom Walker did not get to interview. The book is full of black-and-white photographs that further document the women's service in Vietnam. Also noteworthy is the stirring foreword by entertainer Martha Raye, who briefly discusses her own experiences in Vietnam.

Most of the women featured were Army nurses, but the book also includes women who served as WACs, Red Cross personnel, a civilian flight attendant, a USO worker, and more. There are some significant recurring themes that connect a number of chapters: the experience of being under hostile fire; men, women, sex, and dating in the war zone; encounters with the Vietnamese people; fun and recreation in Vietnam; challenges the women faced in doing their jobs in a war zone; and personal and psychological problems some of the women faced after returning home from Vietnam. Also, two of the women discuss possible Agent Orange-connected health problems faced by children they had after serving.

There are some extremely graphic and disturbing accounts by some of the nurses as they recall the horrific injuries suffered by their patients, as well as their own struggles to deliver compassionate care in the combat zone environment. There are many other noteworthy memories, some heartbreaking, some funny. Army nurse Pat Johnson describes painting the barracks "red-and-white striped with pink polka dots." Entertainer Bobbi Jo Pettit recalls touring Vietnam as part of an all-girl band called "The Pretty Kittens." Navy nurse Maureen Walsh delivers a vivid account of an enemy rocket attack at Da Nang.

The voices of these women strike many tones: feisty, introspective, proud, caring. I was especially moved by the memories of post-war reunions and experiences at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. I consider this book to be an absolutely essential complement to the many fine works, both fiction and nonfiction, written by male Vietnam veterans. Recommended as a companion text: Wallace Terry's "Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans," which is similar in both format and impact to this book.

... for all of the women who served in Vietnam. Read this book, plus the late Lynda Van Devanter's Home Before Morning and you'll see why.

While Lynda's book is a hauntingly graphic record of the triumphs and tragedies that the ANC nurses and Army surgeons experienced in Nam, A Piece Of My Heart gives the reader a very broad perspective of the contributions of women in many other areas.

The foreword to the book was written by the wonderful Martha Raye, whose unflinching commitment to the men and women who served in Nam led to her being a two-time Purple Heart recipient. That even an entertainer could be wounded twice in the line of duty speaks volumes about the risk level In Country.

Equally, Civilian Flight Attendant Micki Voisard almost met her end when her airliner almost collided with a B-52 that was maintaining radio silence during an airstrike.

Yet even though the Red Cross Donut Dollies, such as Penni Evans and "Sam" Bokina Christie and WACs such as Doris Allen all have compelling stories to relate, it is the experiences of the nurses that really stay with you, long after you have put the book down.

For most of her post-Nam life, former ANC nurse and author Lynda Van Devanter (Home Before Morning - available through Amazon.com) was haunted by the memory of a young soldier who had no face, and who eventually had to be left to die because of the extent of his injuries.

When you read the piece by Anne Simon Auger (91st Evac. - Chu Lai) you realize that injuries of that magnitude were not as uncommon as you might hope and pray. Anne also described a young soldier whose face had been shot away, leaving him blind and in her words, "a vegetable".

While my own view is that people in such terrible physical condition should be given enough morphine to shut down their breathing, or in the absence of that, on the battlefield, a mercy round from an M-16, I fully accept that however you have to deal with such shocking injuries, it will stay with you for the rest of your life.

Let us not forget that while the cowardly Stalinist flag burners were calling the returning troops "baby killers", thousands of true blue American women were risking their own lives to support the largely teenaged US soldiers in a war that increasingly made no sense to the people who were being asked to fight it.

These women were Vets. These women were heroes. These women were angels.

We must constantly seek ways to honour them. Their sacrifice must never be forgotten.

Larry King is humorous. I read this book in 1 day I couldn't put it down! If you want to understand prayer from a wide range of people from different faiths and beliefs then you should get this book. I read it free from the library years ago and for some reason I just thought to myself maybe I will buy it. lol....hope you enjoy this book as I did.

This book is going on eight years old as I write this review, but I suppose it will always seem timely. Larry has quite a knack for just telling it like it is. As an admitted agnostic he has no agenda in passing along this delightful collection of tales and interviews with those who [mostly] have belief in God. And mind you, this is not a book on religion. True to its title, the book relates prayers - moments - that have moved others to prayer. In some instances it is the circumstance which catches your attention, and other times it is the prayer itself that provides the power. And Larry's personal asides are even more delightful.

All in all I was always interested in reading on to the next page, person, or prayer. This is an "un-fussy" book and a wonderful read.

This book will open your mind if you are agnostic, and it may make you angry if you are set in your conventional religious beliefs. This is not a politically correct book, and King takes some risks, but it is worth a good read whether you are spiritally inclined or somewhere in the middle.

Jeffrey McAndrew
author of "Our Brown-Eyed Boy"

Mr. King delved into the foundation of Spirituality and Religion and made simple an otherwise complex and controversial issue. The book focuses on the individual and his or her communication with God, while setting aside religious beliefs. I would like to recommend to friends who are too formal about prayers and to those who maybe agnostic such as Larry King in his book.

Mr. King delved into the foundation of Spirituality and Religion and made simple an otherwise complex and controversial issue. The book focuses on the individual and his or her communication with God, while setting aside religious beliefs. I would like to recommend to friends who are too formal about prayers and to those who maybe agnostic such as Larry King in his book.

this book is absolutely wonderful in guidence in the interview process. i havent' been in the managers position in about 10 years and had forgotten what was allowed and not allowed to ask. i'm glad this book was there for me to review and learn from. the "red flag" information was a great help in determination of review. very to the point and easy to understand.

This book was an excellent resource in recent interview preparations for a new hire and I will definitely keep it in my collection. I was able to quickly compile ones I thought were applicable and have a handy list for the interview. My only wish is that they made more interview books suited towards public sector jobs. Still I highly recommend it.

Paul Falcone worked as the Employment Manager for a very large mortgage company. His 96 questions are a compilation of questions that he gathered over the years that help narrow down a candidate pool. These questions are above and beyond the normal tested legal quidelines, they ask whether a person can do the job as described.

If you are a hiring manager, this will help you to have a template to ask great job related questions. For those organizations who like to have structured interviews, this can be used to pick and choose questions for various managers to help compile a great profile from the interview process. Structuring allows you not to repeat the same questions and shows the candidates that you are careful in your selection process and are interested in getting the best.

If you are a recruiter, manager or even a job seeker wondering what may be asked in an interview, this is a great tool to have in your library.

Falcone offers invaluable advice as to how to "identify high performance candidates, probe beyond superficial answers, spot 'red flags' which indicate evasions or untruths, get references which provide reliable information about candidates, and negotiate job offers which attract winners." The value of this book is perhaps best indicated by the results of research conducted by Bradford D. Smart of more than 4,000 executives in 50 of the "Fortune 500" companies, shared in Topgrading which I have reviewed previously. The results confirm Peter Drucker's assertion that "The ability to make good decisions regarding people represents one of the last reliable sources of competitive advantage, since very few organizations are very good at it." For me, the most stunning revelations in Smart's book are found on page 50, in Figure 3.2, "Cost of Mis-Hire Study Results." According to the results of Smart's extensive research study, the sum of total costs of a mis-hire (on average) are as follows:

Base salary Less than $100,000: 14 times salary

Base Salary $100,000-250,000: 28 times salary

All Salaries: 24 times salary

Sobering statistics indeed. In his book, Falcone includes two recurring sections which define the context within which each of the 96 questions is asked: "Why Ask This Question?" and "Analyzing the Response." He also alerts the reader/interviewer to relevant "Red Flags" which might otherwise be invisible. Books such as this (and it's one of the best) can guide and inform a rigorous process by which to identify those candidates which offer the strongest talent, skills, and (yes) character. I strongly recommend this book to any and all decision-makers and decision-influencers who are involved in their organization's hiring process. But please keep in mind that candidates may have also read this book. For interviewers, it is highly desirable to reveal the person "behind the resume." It is also imperative to obtain "real information" from credible reference persons. My own opinion is that they as well as candidates need to be thoroughly checked out.

From a job seeker perspective, this book has been worth personally more than 2000 times its list price. It is like being able to read the other team's playbook before the championship game! If you are seeking a job in Corporate America, don't go in without reading this book because this book will get you half way there......and in some unfortunate "buzz-word company" cases - all the way. It tells you everything they want to hear and why. Satisfy HR first, and then worry about your potenital new boss. Why waste your money on learning what you could say during an interview from other books. This book truly allows you to switch seats with your interviewer. This book is truly deserving of the yellow cover with black stripes and should be entitled, "Interviewing in Corporate America"

Well-done book, written concisely and full of information. I enjoyed the information against popular myths about the elevator pitch and giving presentations. I would recommend this as a great start for people going into pitch meetings.

this book is a must for anyone trying to improve their communication skills in any business. So much is done "in the room" and the fact remains that talent for the job and talent for getting the job are not the same thing. The author tells us things we may not want to believe but are things we are be better for knowing. It's like having ammunition, or a great coach with you when you go in for that interview or pitch meeting. I've already used some of the techniques and benefited greatly. Will most likely read this one a second time when another big meeting comes up.

This book was actually a gift for my husband. I remembered him commenting an article he had read about Stephanie Palmer and she impressed him. My husband is like a sponge. Always reading and trying to soak up knowledge. However, rarely does he comment out loud to me, unless the person or subject matter really zings him.

I also remember him indicating that Stephanie Palmer had a book out.
I decided to find the same book he was talking about, without hinting that I was going to buy it for him.

Well, I found it, he read it, he really liked it and got some excellent information from it. Now I am putting it on my list of the next books that I read.

He recommends this book and says it is helpful whether or not your are in a speaking position on any regular basis, a job you have that you may need to present yourself in front of anyone, or as he did to myself, just a housewife, he said would benefit me.

So, we give it an A+

We all have problems closing the deal. Whether it's pitching a screenplay to Spielberg, ironing out the final sale price with Trump, or negotiating who picks up the kids with the hubby/wifey.

This book provides an entire canon of strategies that can be used by different personality types in different situations. This isn't the stuff they teach you in school, but is precisely the type of knowledge and skills needed to be successful (or at least to avoid picking up the kids).

I can say first hand that the skills in this book helped me discover an unadvertised job in the industry of my dreams only a few weeks ago. Yesterday, I closed the deal and start next week.

I think that's worth doling out for the hardcover, don't you?

We don't often see everyone giving a book 5 stars - this one deserves it. The other reviewers have touched on some of the important points in the book, don't assume that you can extrapolate and get all the benefits just by reading the reviews - read, re-read, and study this book!

Although the book is focused on business applications specifically sales and moving up the corporate ladder - its tenants can be applied in most any interactions between people - friends, family, organizations, and of course business.

Palmer does not propose flashy or manipulative techniques; it's down in the trenches building solid and genuine foundations. She advocates thoughtful planning, with allowances for mis-steps along the way (and excellent advice on how to handle them).

A few of the gems that stand out for me relate to interacting with others - could be a boss or a (potential) client - organized a bit differently than in the book:

1. Before the meeting starts - do your homework, be prepared, dress appropriately (could be different that how client dresses), don't sit in the wrong chair.
2. Remind the others why you're there - the appointment could have been set days ago and they forgot.
3. Don't start your pitch too soon, develop rapport.
4. DO NOT try to be the smartest person in the room (even if you are) and do not be the center of attention.
5. When the inevitable interruptions happen - determine if it just a pause or a reason to break off the meeting for now. If getting back into the meeting after an interruption, easy back in with a brief summary of what was covered before the interruption.
6. Have a smooth way of informing the attendees on details that perhaps they should know, but perhaps don't remember (or don't know). "As you probably know, the Brothers Grimm are the nineteenth-century German professors..."

I could go on and on, but you need to read the book anyway. Go for it!