Performance Books

I'm delighted with the book and had a great "ride" reading it. I recommend it to anyone who is a newbie to NASCAR (like I am) or has enjoyed it's growth.

I saw the book report of this book by the author, Liz Clarke, on BOOK TV a few weeks ago and throughly enjoyed it. I am a NASCAR fan of lots of years so naturally I wanted the book. I am so glad I got it for it is one of the best reads I have ever experienced. I would recommend it to anyone, NASCAR lover or not. I have shared the book with some fellow NASCAR followers and each of them has had the same opinion, GREAT READ!

It's a great book. The best thing is buying online thru Amazon. Delivered right to your home, plus save a few bucks also.

With equal parts sports history, business strategy and social commentary, Clarke tracks the rise of NASCAR by focusing on the personalities that made (and continue to make) the sport grow.

If you're looking for a book that recaps significant races or focuses on racing strategy, this isn't it. However, if you want to walk away with the feeling that you've spent an afternoon on Richard Petty's front porch chatting over a few Cheerwines, then you'll thoroughly enjoy this book. Clarke has clearly invested much of herself in NASCAR and the sport has repaid the debt with the gift of its personalities which Clarke presents here as very few could do.

While Clarke clearly loves the sport, she does not sugarcoat some of NASCAR's historic flaws such as the reluctance to quickly address safety issues. In the end, this fast-paced account will leave you with some great insight and knowledge that will serve you as well in Hueytown, Alabama as it will on Madison Avenue.

Take a good look at Liz Clarke's new book, One Helluva Ride: How NASCAR Swept the Nation. You don't have to know auto racing to relate to NASCAR's populist, dirt-track roots, its self-made heroes and multibillion-dollar marketing revolution. If you're already a fan, you'll find fresh insights and up-close portraits of the sport's most compelling personalities. If you're on the fence, climb over: Follow the money, meet the stars, get inside the rivalries and tragedies that pull them together and push them apart.

Clarke knows sports on the world stage. She has covered the NFL, the World Cup, Wimbledon and the Olympics from Sydney to Salt Lake to Athens and the Italian Alps. In 15 years of writing for the Charlotte Observer, the Dallas Morning News, USA Today and, now, the Washington Post, she has also become an authority on NASCAR, a truly American sports phenomenon.

If you can't get past comparing strawberries and cream at Wimbledon's Centre Court to chicken bones at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, you're missing a great story. Clarke's colleague Michael Wilbon, the Post columnist and co-host of ESPN's Pardon the Interruption, says it well: "You can't pretend to have a full-scale discussion of sports anymore without understanding NASCAR."

Clarke is an especially observant guide. As a reporter, she didn't choose to write about NASCAR; she knew almost nothing about racing when she was sent to cover her first speedway practice in Charlotte in 1991. As she got to know the drivers, she found them more accessible and interesting than many of the arrogant athletes in pro sports. It was clear that the drivers' personalities, not their 3,400-pound cars, were the sport's real drawing cards.

NASCAR has outgrown clichés about stock car racing and its tens of millions of die-hard fans. Madison Avenue's embrace is hastening change. The small Southern tracks that launched the sport are closing, with new speedways popping up in southern California, Las Vegas, Chicago and Kansas City. International drivers, including Colombia's Juan Pablo Montoya and Scotland's Dario Franchitti, are pulling into NASCAR garages.

In One Helluva Ride, Clarke charts NASCAR's rise with energy and expertise. The book profits tremendously from the trust and respect she earned from such racing icons as Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt. The big picture is clear, but details set the book apart. Readers learn the secret of Petty's elaborate autograph, start a day at Earnhardt's farm with a Sundrop soda and a sausage biscuit, watch his fatal crash from the press box at Daytona in 2001.

[...]

This book can easily be used as a college textbook on Oracle RAC. I am studying for the Oracle Certified Master exam and this is possibly the most high level book on Oracle I have read.

It has 3 major strengths which I found to be superior to any Oracle RAC books I have read (including the manual from Oracle).

1)Technical Depth
2)Comprehensive Overview and instructions
3)Quality of writing


1)Technical Depth
The authors write about Linux and Oracle and are high level experts in the subjects. For example, the authors have a very detailed description of how Oracle Cache Fusion handles locking across all the nodes in a RAC environment (probably the crown jewel of RAC technology). They also discuss, in detail, different types of CPU, memory, and storage and contains detailed description of each architecture. Lastly, it contains vastly number of "how to" install, configure, change, analyze, backup/restore, and utilize Oracle RAC and Linux.

2)Comprehensive Coverage and Instructions
No small amount of detail has been skipped. The book contains every utility (there are many) provided by Oracle to implement RAC. It provides a good step-by-step coverage of Linux and Oracle RAC installation as well what each step is adding to the RAC environment. To top it off, it adds how to performance tune, administer, troubleshoot, backup/restore, and use Dataguard in a RAC environment. I can't think of a subject on RAC which the authors did not cover.

3)Quality of Writing
I was pleasantly surprised how well written this book is. Although far from a Pulitzer Prize material, it certainly belongs in that category amongst the Oracle books. Every praragraph has been well organized and written. The proofreader of this book deserves major praise for their work.

Many books around Oracle's advanced topics simply parrot the manuals. Julian avoids that. Instead, he describes Real Application Cluster technology from the ground concepts up to full implementation, with practical notes and tips. He gets into topics that the manuals never touch, and much of what he writes can be useful in any RAC environment, not just Linux.

I whole-heartedly recommend this book and own both the paper and eBook version which I often reference.

This book delivers what it promises. It contains a great balance of technical detail,examples and theory. It encompasses all aspects of implementing/maintaing 10g RAC on Linux.

Very well written. No mater you are a Pro or a newbie, it will be helpful. A very well written book.


Highly recommended.

This is a very hands on command line oriented book. Good understanding of RAC concepts. I found it extremly useful in my day-to-day work.

Highly recommended.

Thanks!

I am a veteran runner who has completed 23 marathons.
I found the book to be entertaining as well as informative.
I loved the story of Joe, it is a story that many runners can relate to. I think the most interesting thing Coach GP has done is write a book that can be understood by novices, yet be informative to seasoned runners. The strength training section I found to be especially useful. The book is a must read for all runners.

In RUN TALL, RUN EASY coach GP has created a must-read for runners(beginners,experienced,young,old, and everything in between). I had the pleasure of meeting GP and hearing him speak one day before my 1st marathon, his words and techniques inspired me to finish in 4:09:46, blowing away even my own expectations. Without any prior racing experience and having trained only 8 weeks i was thrilled with my time!!! I highly doubt, in fact know, it wouldn't have been such a succes if it wasn't for his wisdom. Already planning a second marathon-looking for sub four hours baby.... Coach GP and his book will make your dreams whether it be runnning a 5k to 1st marathon become realities, RUN TALL, RUN EASY.... dougfuino long branch, nj

Ive finally found a book I couldn't put down.Very enjoyable as well as informative. Too many books on running have bored me into not finishing them, but not GP's. I have followed his advice daily and have already seen improvements after a few weeks. I even feel better! I highly recommend this book to anyone with a desire to improve.

This is the finest distillation of running technique that I have ever read. I personally improved my marathon time by 1 hour after listening to a lecture from this books author before the Detroit Marathon last year. This book is not beyond the comprehension zone of a midlife runner seeking improved fitness or a goal such as running a marathon. This guy has put outstanding coaching into reading that connected with me in an "aha" very deep level.

Reading GP's book is like sitting down for a beer (or two) with your favorite friend - who also happens to be very knowledgeable in the field of distance running.

My study is full of books on endurance training. GP's is a practical one which I have returned to many times in the few short months I've owned it. It is practical and easy to read. GP's core ideas (his Fab 4) are well grounded in science and he offers practical advice on how to apply them in everyday training.

It is a pleasant book - and it has been a very helpful book. For any distance coach looking for a user-friendly tone in what can be a very technical & scientific sport it is 14.95 well spent. The athletes I coach will benefit this season from GP's Fab 4 and his Top Twenty core exercises. I have benefitted already from the friendly tone and easily understandable nature of GP's writing style.

(The author is USATF certified Level II in Endurance Events and has been coaching track & field since 1989)

The book begins with a foreword titled: "It's not supposed to be this way." The authors outline the problems and issues that many people have with performance appraisals. Then they make two key points. Here's the first one.

"Rather than a painful yearly event, performance appraisals can be viewed as a discussion, a culmination of small meetings held throughout the evaluation period."

In other words, performance review grows out of supervision. The rest of the book assumes that those "discussions" are going on. They're necessary to the process, but they're not the subject of the book.

The authors also make the point that: "In one form or other, performance reviews will continue to be a fact of our work life. This book is designed to cut through the anxiety and make the process, or series of discussions, more pleasant and productive."

Even though there are some people calling for the abolition of performance reviews as we know them, that's not likely to happen on a large scale any time soon. If the place that you work has a formal performance appraisal process now, you can count on having to deal with it for years to come.

I assume that if you're considering purchasing this book you will either be looking for ways to make your company's performance review system better or you will be looking for ways to make the process of actually doing performance reviews with your subordinates less daunting. For that reason, I'll split my analysis and recommendations into two parts.

Designing the Performance Review System

If you are responsible for designing or re-designing the performance review system in your organization, this is a book you should read. The research that's referred to matches up well with research I've done and read. The authors do a good job of presenting it and drawing conclusions.

They're also thorough. There's discussion of the current state of performance reviews, supervisor-employee relationships, scorecards, compensation, and much more.

Working Managers

If you are a working manager who has to do appraisals within your organization's system you will find some helpful material here, too. There's good discussion of how appraisals go off track. The authors cover different kinds of rating errors. And, there's material on actually conducting the appraisal.

But this part of the book is not as strong as the part about designing formal appraisal systems. There's not much depth or reach to the material on face-to-face discussion of behavior and performance issues.

That's because those are peripheral issues for the authors in this book. If you want more on face to face discussion, read my book, Performance Talk: the one-on-one part of leadership, which deals specifically with that aspect of supervision.

That's a quibble, though. Stress-Free Performance Appraisals is a solid, well-researched and well-written book that can help you improve the performance review process in your company.

Everyone, it seems, hates performance appraisals. Some corporate cultures compel managers to "grade on the curve," which means that even good employees may have to fail. Even in less draconian corporate cultures, performance appraisals require supervisors to tell people about their shortcomings, an uncomfortable exercise for both the appraiser and the appraised. Meanwhile, lurking in the not-too-distant background is the threat of litigation instigated by an employee whose appraiser lets slip an awkward reference to race, sex, age or some other legally proscribed subject. This book tells you how to avoid the stress and anxiety of appraisals by focusing on a few basics. Authors Sharon Armstrong and Madelyn Appelbaum provide valuable counsel - albeit not terribly well organized - for people on both sides of the desk, both the supervisor and the employee. We recommend the authors' useful potpourri of advice, role playing exercises, case histories, evaluation forms and observations about appraisals to everyone who participates in a performance appraisal system and certainly to anybody who runs one.

Sharon Armstrong is a known expert in the field of performance appraisals and human resources training and her latest book does a fantastic job of covering a critical issue for any manager. This is a must read for any manager or would-be manager - its well-written, easily readable, and has the capacity to improve any workplace. Strong reccommend!

This is a great resource for HR consultants and practioners who are creating innovative performance management systems for their organizations. It addresses the underlying issues that prevent organizations from successfully managing performance and delivering candid and constructive feedback. I highly recommend it to all of my clients.

As an experienced human resources professional, I have dreamed of the day when I could create a succesful performance appraisal program. And I had concluded that there was absolutely no way to please everyone. Cheer up -- Stress-free Performance Appraisals offers a fresh perspective to this tired, worn topic.

The text is, surprisingly, useful for human resources professionals, managers, and employees. It is visually attractive and chocked full of valuable questions, extensive documentation, great examples from well-regarded organizations, and ideas to cover a variety of cultures and performance appraisal philosophies. As examples of their recommendations, the authors weave -- chapter-by-chapter -- the scenarios of three fictional employees with varying performance levels. The book is an easy read in about three hours.

good book, just to know about the history of the celebration and some good pictures. quick read ...

"This is Burning Man" is an excellent view on the Burning Man festival held every year in the desert near San Francisco. The book provides a rare multi-viewpoint perspective on the festival and it's researched very well.

The first part of the book describes the history of the burning man event, how Larry Harvey one day decided to burn a wooden man in the golden gate park and how it created an audience of people who organized around the burning of the man. He decided to do it again and slowly the burning man event was created. It describes how Larry hooked up with several other groups and how they moved to the middle of nowhere, in the desert. The stories about the early days of the burning man event are insane and clearly describes the sense of freedom that's part of the burning man event.

The second part of the book focuses more on the later years of burning man and describes the different viewpoints as it follows several different people and their burning man history. It talks about the art creation, the city build-up, the city cleaning, the expressions of total freedom and the shared sense of making the event a better place. Near the end of the book, it tells how burning man has now grown and how, unfortunately, the original atmosphere started changing and how everything is slightly more controlled. That's probably inevitable for growing an event like burning man.

The book is exceptionally well researched and the writing style is clear. The author tells the many stories from his research while linking it with his own experience and his own opinion. I enjoyed reading burning man, recommended for everyone interested in the burning man event.

Burning Man is the arts/creativity/freedom/whatever festival held every September in the Nevada desert.

It started in 1980s San Francisco, in part as a reaction to Ronald Reagan's America. A man named Larry Harvey and some friends gathered on a San Francisco nude beach to burn a wooden effigy of a man (for no especially good reason). The event was "adopted" by various California punk and arts groups, like the L.A. Cacophony Society, and soon grew too big for the nude beach. A home was found deep in the Nevada desert, miles from the nearest civilization.

It is a huge, empty, desolate place, described by one person as living inside an ashtray. The wind blows constantly, sometimes up to 100 miles an hour, and within seconds, everything and everyone is coated with the same gray dust. Permits are required from the Bureau of Land Management, the official owner of the land, and from the local county governments, not always an easy process. As the attendance at Burning Man has grown over the years, from a few hundred people to, presently, 30,000 people, changes have been needed in the organizational structure of the festival. An LLC was formed to take care of the financial recordkeeping, which, for several years in the 1990s, was loose, to say the least. An unofficial police force was formed, to peacefully resolve disputes and to supplement the actual police force, there to keep things from getting too out of hand. Actual zoning has taken place, including the laying out of streets.

At Burning Man, self-reliance is expected by all participants, which includes bringing your own water. Everyone is expected to participate in some sort of art project; spectators are discouraged. "Art" does not mean a painting that is hung on a wall, but some sort of large, interactive creation that people can touch and feel, usually involving fire.

For those with any sort of familiarity about Burning Man, this book does a fine job at getting behind the scenes. For those who have never heard of it, read this story of a truly unique American arts festival. Either way, this is very much recommended.

I just finished reading the day that John Law sued the other founders over the name. So what we they call it now?
For someone who would like to but cannot attend Burning Man it is fun to read. I did not go to Woodstock either. (Too pregnant.)
The book really is an underground networker's dream.

No one can tell the whole story, but to date no written account is out there to equal to this masterful work.

great book; we have had the author working in the netherlands many times now; his model is great for the public arena; we have introduced his work in cities, agencies and so on; worthwile for every worker and manager in the public sector; the book is easy to read with many practical tips and exercises; this is all about how you reach your customers and how you organise your agency!

This is a short, easy to read book that gets right to the heart of performanace measures in government agencies. A absolute "must read" book for anyone working in the public service.

Interesting book, hits you over the head with the point. could have been more and less at same time.

Common sense? Lack of jargon? Plain, understandable language? Minimal paper? Humor? How can this be in a text on managing social change?
The writing shows the broad span of Mark's expertise and interests. The structure of the approach reflects linear logic that can only come from a mind trained in math. No mushy thinking here! The style shows some experience with teaching, and the humor shows a person who is comfortable with himself and who has no need to impress. Very useful!

"Trying Hard is Not Good Enough" and the Results Accountability framework are proven and effective tools for all federal, state, local and non-profit organizations looking to improve conditions of well being for the clients they serve. Having trained or provided technical assistance in the implemention of Results Accountability to leaders in all sectors, including undergraduate students, I have found that the concepts in the book are easy to grasp by all. The book also shows how to effortlessly get from talk to action on the issues that matter most.

This is a superb book. A must for anyone wishing to improve the power or reliability of their BMC A series engine. I am a BMC A enthusiast and this is the second time I have bought this book 20 years ago for my road going Sprite and now for my 1960 Formula Junior racing car.

This is the bible for any engine builer or enthusiast. Great instructions, great ideas, great detail, great result when followed to the tee. Vizard is brilliant. Buy it

Vizard's book is an excellent resource for anyone interested in anything from basic performance/economy to all out race setups for an A series engine. Lots of detailed information backed up by hands on dyno and track testing by the author. My only complaint is the text layout is a little difficult to follow with the images and captions, but once you get a feel for his writing and layout style it is easier to follow.

It's a veritable bible for anyone trying to scrape even just a couple of horsepower out of an A-Series.
My 33 year old 1275 motor can now do things the factory never intended, it's excellent!
Any A-Series owner needs this book.

David's book answered every question as it came into my mind as i read his book. The writing is A+++ with plenty of details no "fluff". If you want to know about A-series engines buy this book.

Information is reasonably current. Many on this subject contain only the info from "the-day". Vizard knows of what he speaks. Real dyno info, real race experience. Applies to later BMC B just as well. Quite different views on head porting than Burgess.

There are a growing list of coaching book authors that share their coaching "formula" or model with you - supposedly so that you can learn to be a great coach from reading their book. Unleashed is not that kind of book. Gregg Thompson and Susanne Biro have written a book that shares what goes on "under the skin" of great coaching and reveals not only the guts of coaching, but the guts you have to have to be a great coach that can unleash potential in others. I enjoyed their focus on the qualities of great coaches - things like holding the highest expectation for others, the courage to share the truth, and the willingness to engage in Dangerous Conversations, and more. They share their experiences and their wisdom and I appreciate the courage they had to write a coaching book unlike the others. If you want to know what makes for GREAT coaching, this is your book.

True to their authentic selves, Gregg Thompson and Susanne Biro created a brilliant model, the Great Expectations Coaching Model, which calls us to be who we are as a leader coach. In their book Unleashed they challenge us to use our talents to be in the service of others, to commit ourselves to their success, and to sacrifice ourselves in the name of enabling the very best abilities in those we lead. The call is resounding...soul shaking. You cannot read this book without feeling an up tick in adrenaline and a gnawing curiosity for what is possible. Don't go looking for a "five easy steps how-to" chapter. You won't find it here. What you will find is a challenge to look within yourself, unleash yourself and use the best of you to help others realize their greatness. Daunting? Yes. This book makes the journey doable, purposeful and rich.

I have just finished Gregg Thompson and Susanne Biro's book "Unleashed!" Now this is not my usual read as while I am in the business of coaching people it is at a different level i.e. I am not a professional coach in the normally accepted way those words would give meaning.
However, I would like to comment about the book rather than me. I really enjoyed the principle of "Great Expectations" as described in the book. So much of our lives is about scrutiny and tests. This methodology sets the "Talent" up to be as successful as she or he can be, before any limiting judgements are made.
The book is easy to read while retaining lots of "meaty content". Peppered with interesting and appropriate quotes, the book holds the readers' interest all the way through.
A thoroughly reccommended read............almost textbook quality.
As a New Zealand resident, this is/was a refreshing and instructive read appropriate to our social rules and environment.
Thankyou Gregg and Susanne.

Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (6/07)

As everybody in the Human Resources field knows all too well, it is time-consuming to find new talent and quite expensive to keep hiring new people all the time. That is why the idea presented by Gregg Thompson and Susanne Biro in "Unleashed!" should prove invaluable to people who are in a managerial/coaching position, regardless of the size of their company. They will show you how to expect greatness, which should open a wealth of opportunities for you and people who work with you.

If the reader is expecting another step-by-step, how-to guide, I would highly recommend he or she picks up another book. This book does not follow such an approach, but rather teaches one the process of becoming the kind of a person that other people would want to receive coaching from.

Thompson and Biro lead the reader through three principles essential to coaching: Earning the Right to Coach, A Perfect Partnership and Dangerous Conversations. Although this book is not a step-by-step guide, as I've already mentioned, it still provides many practical tools and thought-provoking sections. If you want to make sure this is the right book for you, just check out chapter 12. If you can agree with it, buy a copy and I am certain that it will drastically change your approach to life in general as well as your approach to leadership and coaching.

I found this book an enlightening read, written in a fluid, easy-to-follow and easy-to-understand style. My favorite parts were the "Try This" sections, which I found applicable not only to the work situations, but quite often to the general life. The 60 Big Coaching Questions found in Chapter 12 were truly eye-opening and I would have bought this book just for those pages. There are also some great photographs, notably the one on page 98 (and no, I am not going to tell you what is in it!), that complement the writing very well.

Overall I found "Unleashed!" to be a provocative read that delivers. I surely hope a similar description (provocative, but delivers...) would be used for anybody who reads it and applies it to his or hers approach to coaching.

Gregg Thompson and Susanne Biro hit pay dirt with a great read for those that want to unlock the secret of coaching - Unleash the Talent in those you lead. It's in them. Know it and believe in them and great things will happen.
After coaching executives for over 24 years and having read everything I could find on the profession of coaching I would place this book in the top 3 books about coaching on my shelf!

This book was helpful, but not as much as I'd hoped. It would be best for someone new to writing reviews.

This product was a quick way to finalize a review. It has great phrases that are very useful. Ever have one of those days where you just can't think of the greatest way of putting a sentence together? These phrases help put everything together in a well written manner.

excelent book, easy to read and to understand.
excelent seller, quick shipping and great shape.

This is a great little book. It covers just about very situation. It gives, on the money, phrases. It also provide phrases to use for recommended improvements. I'm the newest member of management in my corporation. When my boss read first reviews, he was totally impressed. It is definitely worth the money. I highly recommend this book.

Excellent tool for assisting managers with written comments on the performance reviews they are required to do on their employees. It especially helps managers with new phrases for employees they have been reviewing for years.

I found this book very, very helpful and informative. I purchased this book when I was stage managing my first musical (community theatre) and read through it again before the last show I did. I have only stage managed three shows so far, but thanks to what I learned in this book I received a great compliment - Thanks for your work, you were so professional, I look forward to working with you again. This is a must have for a stage manager. I feel that as I progress and do more (including hopefully professional jobs someday) I can continue to refer to this book and hone my skills.

As a young budding director I found this guide helpful in some of things, I MYSELF was trying to achieve. At the same time this book reads like automotive directions in Spanish. Those unfamiliar with theatre lingo this is not a beginners guide!

As a recent graduate with a BFA in stage management, I have found Kelly's book to the the most in depth look at the craft. It addressed more complicated issues, and most interestingly, new developments, that the other books I've read(Stern, Ionazzi) don't touch on. I agree that it isn't a book for a beginner, but for someone with a little experience, looking to refine their skills, its the best book out there.

This is the best book on theatrical stage management currently available, for the money. It is well written, well organized, and very comprehensive. Kelly's approach to stage management is outstanding and he communicates it in a clear and interesting manner in the book.

Besides, being such a good book, it is priced very well. The only books that are comparable in content cost at least three times as much.

A must have for everyone seriously interested in stage managing.

From the minute I picked this book up it has become my "bible". Chock full of helpful tips and funny stories of the author's experiences as a stage manager. Not overly technical - with lots of helpful forms to smooth the way for a production (and the stage manager's nerves)! Have it with you through every show - before, during, after. Bravo! Encore!