Programs Books

Just read this, and thoroughly enjoyed it- I particularly liked the honesty throughout re. the state of Nasa and some of the decisions made over the years. Flaws from the earliest to the current days of the Shuttle program are explored, but this is no witch-hunt- just an honest appraisal of things that went wrong with the Shuttle- but not forgetting, all the great, great things that went right, right too. Wets your appetite for the forthcoming new launch system, too! Recommended.

This is one of the finest books I have read in a while on the space shuttle. With a comprehensive look at how we got into the shuttle, remained there for close to thirty years and now are finally in the process of getting out of. If you don't have acopy of thie book...go out and get one.

I discovered this book while doing research on Kennedy Space Center and found it really helpful. As someone who was "there" during much of the story covered by Duggins, I found his information to be accurate and enlightening. It was also a lot less dry than most of the other related books I was reading on this topic. In particular, I was impressed by his candid narrative. Many of the books I reviewed on KSC and NASA seemed to gloss over issues that may have put the agencies in a bad light, but Duggins was able to tell the truth about what happened using an unbiased voice.

Final Countdown is a great book about NASA's plans for the future of space travel and their intentions of ending the Space Shuttle program. This book explains how the Space Shuttle program evolved along with it's success and tragedies. Author Pat Duggins wrote this book in a way to where it is not only entertaining but educational as well. A nice addition to a space travel book collection!

Final Countdown is an excellent book for Baby Boomers who grew up watching the massive Saturn 5 rockets of the Apollo program lumber off the launch pad and dreamed, one day, of drinking Tang on the Moon or taking a Space vacation. Final Countdown is an excellent book for anyone, regardless of generation, interested in politics, science and man's future in Space.

The book is a well researched history of how America's shining achievement in Space technology was a mistake, a design of political compromise, constrained federal spending and promised secret military payloads. Frank Lloyd Wright would have told NASA that form must follow function, but in the case of the Shuttle, Wright would have learned that function had not been fully defined.

Final Countdown also gives the reader a look at Space exploration beyond the Shuttle program and how NASA has returned to mission-based designs for selecting the vehicle that will likely carry man back to the Moon and possibly on to Mars.

Beyond the well documented history of the Shuttle itself, author Pat Duggins introduces readers to the personalities and individual career turns that ultimately gave life to the Space Shuttle program. He tells the unlikely story of how the demise of plans for a spy agency's secret space program helped shape the Shuttle. Along with the Shuttle's achievements, the book takes readers through the pain and lessons learned from the disasters of Challenger and Columbia.

In the end, the book serves as a wonderful "Program Guide" to the Final Countdown of the Space Shuttle Program and gives readers a reason to anticipate with excitement the next chapter in the story of manned space flight.

This book is really THE milestone, the only one I really enjoy. A page-turner, a must for all people into FE stuff.

The enormous influence Zienkiewicz and Taylor have had on the profession of engineering as mentors, teachers, engineers, and researchers, places them among the very best professors this century has seen. May I take this opportunity at Amazon.com to pay tribute to such professors worldwide for the spirit they infuse, dynamism they create, and the legacy of selfless service and excellence they leave behind. Students of 21st century will be grateful that Zienkiewicz and Taylor went before them.

From the masters of the finite element method, this may well be the best book ever written on the subject. In this book, the authors come across as the sages of ancient India preaching what they know is the best, guiding us, and setting a stage of research for the years to come. This is a monumental piece of work in the history of engineering.

This is the ideal book for beginners in finite elements, though the approach is slightly more theoretical. If you have a good background in linear algebra and are comfortable with matrices etc, you should have no trouble finishing this one. You can aim at the definitive work by Professor Bathe after finishing this one.

There is no more complete review of the finite element method. Furthermore, all notation is written in matrix from without any hard to read diadics. Every section gives explicitly, the implementation of the procedure discussed so there's no guess work required.

When I was coming of age in the 1960's,one of my favorite TV shows was "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In"-It was downright hysterical-When I heard that a book had come out about the program,I knew I had to purchase it-Author Hal Erickson begins his book by listing several performers whose comedic style paved the way for "Laugh-In",such as the vaudeville team of Olsen & Johnson & Ernie Kovacs-"Laugh-In" ran from January 1968 to May 1973-Along the way,it introduced us to some truly talented individuals such as Arte Johnson,Ruth Buzzi,Goldie Hawn,& Lily Tomlin-"Laugh-In" was the top rated show from 1968-1970-However,once certain cast members started to leave,the show diminished in popularity-NBC cancelled the show in early 1973-There's an appendix in the back of the book that features a brief synopsis of each & every episode-If you're a bona fide "Laugh-In" fan,you must purchase this book.

I am a huge fan of "Laugh-In." If you are a fan also, this is THE book for you. It includes everything. The only thing missing are pictures- there are not any. However, all of the behind the scenes, inside info about the show, its history, series revival attempts (thus far- there is talk about another one,) and reunion specials, is all here. All of your questions are answered. I know mine were. Also included is a season by season episode guide, with a detailed synopsis for each episode for all of the six seasons.

This book is usually pretty expensive, but it is worth the cost. Every TV show should have a book written about it that is this wonderfully brilliant. Double thumbs up!

A very worthwhile piece of literature which belongs in any library of comedy or television. It chronicals the history of one of the best and most inventive events in TV history. The book is more the history of the show than the humor but it does contain lots of the wit and the flavor.. Now I want a book of the jokes with photos. Good work.. Buy it.

A thorough history of a legendary television classic. The book paints a picture of the popular culture of a time that will surely not be repeated. I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to learn about a fascinating era or just simply wants to revisit a phenomenon long gone.

It's been a year-and-a-half since Hal Erickson's "Sid and Marty Krofft" was published...too long for this reader, as Mr. Erickson is quickly becoming as vital to the world of TV history as Brooks and Marsh. The bulk of "From Beautiful Downtown Burbank" recaps the origin, growth, and ultimate demise of "Laugh-In" with Mr. Erickson's trademark savvy enthusiasm, the kind that comes only aftermonths of research and interviews. What's more, the book's appendix isn't to be missed, since you'd be hard pressed to find a more thorough "Laugh-In" episode guide anywhere (it even includes the never-been-syndicated sixth season). The lack of photographs is completely made up for by Mr. Erickson's gifted ability to recreate the show's backstage atmosphere. Can't ask for more than that in a history book... Perhaps the only question the book doesn't answer: why Ian Bernard replaced the program'soriginal theme song in the 2nd, 3rd, & 4th season, only to resurrect it in the 5th. Asking that is pure hairsplitting, though, and shouldn't dissuade anybody from doing themselves the favor of purchasing this book,a gripping read from a multi-talented writer. So until Columbia House or Rhino immortalize "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" (heck, even after they do), "From Beautiful Downtown Burbank" is the definitive tribute to a marvelous and groundbreaking program.

One tip for cutting pieces from these books - Laminate the whole page first and then cut out the pieces. The lamiate will not pull off after cutting as long as the plastic is hot enough. You can also laminate the chart pages right into inside of file folders and use re-stick glue for the pieces. It keeps the pieces together so they don't get lost.

The concept of this book is great, and the pictures are very vibrant and inviting. My only problem with the book is that you have to cut out each and every piece, and they don't make them easy shapes to cut out! (Not a lot of straight lines; lots of squigly lines.) Plus, you have to cut them out once, then cut them out again once you laminate them. I know this sounds petty, but to a teacher who is already short on time, it's an important factor.

This book is so awesome, I bought the other 2 in the series. After laminating onto file folders and cutting out the pieces, I use Post It glue so they stick to the charts. This is an easy way to have meaningful, independent centers for ALL students. For advanced students, I copy the blank charts for each group. Then students sort the words and write them with dry erase markers onto the correct place (on the laminated pages). I've also found these a very good way to get parent helpers involved.

This is the PERFECT center activity!!!
I have been teaching for many years and this is by far the BEST product I have found for easy to use and make phonics word sort centers. I've always had to make my own- what a pain! My students love to use these in small groups because after I introduce the words with the whole group, they are able to complete the center on their own and then play the game that is included. Some tips- I laminate the charts to the inside of file folders. Then I use Post-it (or Avery?) restick glue on the back of the laminated pieces. That way, none of the pieces ever get lost and they stay right inside the folder. I also laminate the student pages if I'm using these with only a few students at a time. They can use white board markers and just clean the pages for the next group. ALSO these are perfect centers to set up for when parents are helping in the classroom!

I have been teaching for many years and this is by far the BEST product I have found for easy to use and make phonics word sort centers. I've always had to make my own- what a pain! My students love to use these in small groups because after I introduce the words with the whole group, they are able to complete the center on their own and then play the game that is included. Some tips- I laminate the charts to the inside of file folders. Then I use Post-it (or Avery?) restick glue on the back of the laminated pieces. That way, none of the pieces ever get lost and they stay right inside the folder. I also laminate the student pages if I'm using these with only a few students at a time. They can use white board markers and just clean the pages for the next group. ALSO these are perfect centers to set up for when parents are helping in the classroom!

This is an excellent book on Networking in Java. I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn sockets, TCP/IP and UDP. Just make sure you have the API available when you're reading this book.

This book is what Im finding to develop server applications with Java language, it is filling the market gap.

This book describes its subject from the basics of the underlying IP networking technologies (including both TCP and UDP) all the way up through the "traditional" socket classes to the new Channel classes.

Personally I particularly benefitted from the discussion of channels and the rest of the NIO (New IO) package, but I believe that the solid coverage of Java networking basics in tandem with the comprehensive description of the available libraries makes this both a good introductory text and a good reference to the more obscure niches. It helps that while there are quite a few reference tables and lengthy discussion sections this is still a hands-on book with plenty of code examples.

Not quite suitable for a complete Java beginner - but any novice developer with a grip on syntax and the core API would benefit from this.

I have never read a more concise but clearly written technical book, and the code looks beautiful too. Pretty much every software engineer needs this book.

If you absolutely know what you are doing it reduces the solution time for most known problems from hours to minutes. If you are not all that clued up about IP but want/need to be, this is the book. Fundamental Networking in Java could just as easily be just called Fundamental Networking.

I expect this book will become the standard text in Software Engineering courses on Networking. And if your course has a different text, this book is probably a better choice. It will be one of the very few textbooks that will survive your transition into the working world.

And the beauty of this book is that because it is written in crystal clear english it is also very useful to a much wider audience - technology manager, business analyst, etcetera.

Pitt demonstrates how to connect between machines in a TCP/IP network, when at least one of the machines is running java. He explains that the standard java, which you get free from Sun comes replete with a a core set of networking classes. These free you from a lot of the grungy low level I/O issues that programmers using C and the default unix libraries have endured since the 1980s. C network programming is notorious for the amount of sweat that developers have to endure.

In contrast, the book is an easy and concise read of a compelling alternative. The java networking classes also include the ability to connect to an arbitrary URL and to download data (usually a web page). A fundamental subroutine for Web access.

Hopefully, the book will deter you from going back to C networking.

".....What do you really need to maximize the quality of your life?
What are the strategies that will give you the edge physically, emotionally, financially, and with your relationships?
In this powerful seven-day program, Anthony Robbins will personally coach you and passionately entertain you as you begin to implement the proven strategies and tools for achieving the results you want and deserve---
FASTER THAN YOU MAY EVER HAVE IMAGINED POSSIBLE!....."
[from the back of the audio CDs case]

I just finish with "Get the Edge" and I have to say I learned a lot of wild stuff in this course. If you do what he tells you to do and take action than one thing I can guaranteed you is success in all of the areas in your life.

Depending on where you are at in your life this may have a lot to offer you. I wasn't all that familiar with Anthony before my co-worker said "Hey, I got this at a tag sale, see if there's anything you want to listen to". I took to it immediately. I felt charged to make major changes. I also thought "Wow, what a great guy. Genuine, really out to make the world a better place." I asked around to see if my friends had heard of him and all I got were negative comments about him being annoying and conceited. I can't imagine they have actually listened to him because he is far from those things in my eyes. Have they heard his messages??? Through these discs, Anthony gives solid actions you can take to improve the quality of your life. It is a step by step guide. I found no part of it unreasonable. It makes so much sense. It's great even when things are going well as motivation to continue on the path that is making things work for you.

It worked for us (as did Personal Power) the first time and, again, this time around. WHEN WE REALLY LISTEN TO WHAT IS BEING SAID, we pick up new issues to focus on and improve with each session, some that we missed the last time. Life is too precious to keep on making the same mistakes. Thank you TONY!!!! When it gets down to it, it's up to us to make it all happen. For those who are serious about this, the green fresh ph diet actually works. Have known an actual case where it cured cancer in a good friend. Chow

If you have done the "Personal Power" series, you probably will like this although there is not a lot of totally new thought here. If you have not, you can start here and experience the very best in motivational tools. This guy pretty much says it like it is:

(1) Get your rear out of bed early in the morning
(2) Take time to reflect on who you are and who you wish to be
(3) Exercise and eat right (more on this below)
(4) Decide what you really want, and take action immediately and every day to make that work.

He has some neat techniques to help you stay on track and focus without getting bogged-down with too much planning. In my experience in working with people, I find that most either plan too much (and never execute) or they don't plan at all and wander around aimlessly. This program helps you to find the right balance.

I'm not a huge fan of the dietary recommendations, as I don't believe there is good science behind some of the theories (at least none I could find on PubMed, Medscape, or credible medical journals). However, I don't thing the recommendation of eating less meat and lots more vegetables will cause harm to anyone! [What seems to work for me is a diet that consists of lots of green vegetables and salads, some fuits, Fiber One cereal in the morning with skim milk and berries, and a small-portion lean protien source with lunch and dinner meal - preferably fish or one-quarter grilled chicken breast.]

I'm not a graphic artist, and I don't have time or the desire to read a mammoth tome on image manipulation. What I want is a book that will teach me the basics of GIMP in as little time as possible. This is that book. With this book I was able to get up to speed with most of the basic functions in just a couple of days. This is the best GIMP book I have seen for beginners. My only complaint is that most of the illustrations are in black & white, and the sections on color manipulation, etc. would probably be a little easier to follow with color illustrations. I plan to read the author's book on CorelDRAW in the near future

This is an extremely complete guide to the Gimp. Everything you can do in PhotoShop, you can do in the Gimp -- and more! (Plus, the price of the software is right!) Phyllis Davis' book tells how to do anything you might want to do, with easy step by step examples. It is well illustrated. Perhaps the best part is the full color gallery section, showing Gimp art from around the world. If you want to learn to use the Gimp, I highly recommend this book. (Heck, you could learn stuff about PhotoShop from it while you're at it. Phyllis Davis is a wonderful writer, and explains computer graphic concepts and tools very clearly.) If you are just curious about all the fuss about the Gimp (Gnu means images!) check it out, too!

I agree with previous reviewers that this book provides easy-to-follow instructions for learning GIMP. I used it recently to help me devise lesson plans for a 5-week class for children ranging from 8-15 years old! Having it with me to consult during class boosted my confidence, since I had never used GIMP before teaching the class! My only additional comment is that I quickly discovered that GIMP, which is continuously being revised, has new and different features which are not covered in this book. Fortunately, the online manual fills these gaps. Still, I think this book was a good purchase, and I do recommend it to GIMP newbies.

At the time of this writing, this is easily the best introduction to the GIMP. It covers about 90% of the material in the GIMP for Linux Bible, but the explanations are more concise. I would recommend the other book only if you need coverage of scripting, which this Quickstart doesn't really have.

This book is *so* easy to use. There are pictures with each step and instructions that are really easy to follow.

This book is a wonderful book for beginning hibernate. It has the right balance of theory and practice, and it is always right to the point and concise. I used it to get up to speed on hibernate 3 after not touching hibernate for two and a half years, and it was exactly what I needed. The paper quality is pretty bad, like some others have noted. However, I have read through about 70% of it (the only 70% I am going to read) and the paper/binding has shown no sign of deterioration, so do not let that keep you from reading it.

'Harnessing Hibernate' is a great resource for learning more about and how to use the Hibernate technology to map Java code to relational databases and vice versa. In today's programming world you want to be able to create object that directly map to database tables and fields. Not only does this allow for persistence and good scalability, it hides the SQL stuff that can otherwise make for difficult programming and puts them into familiar classes instead. Before this book there really wasn't great resources out on the market for learning about this technology but that is no longer the case. With 350+ pages spread over 14 chapters, good writing and separation of content this is a must have for all seasoned Java database and Hibernate developers.

***** RECOMMENDED

While I was at work one day, I decided to write the persistence layer of an application that my team was working on. I had minimal experience with Hibernate because I had worked on another project where a coworker implemented the persistence layer and used Hibernate. I got to see a bit of the magic that Hibernate provides, and I thought it would be excellent for my current project. My problem was that I did not really know how to set everything up.

I searched on Amazon for books about Hibernate, and I wanted to make sure I bought one that was fairly current so that I could see how to use it with the latest technologies. I came upon Harnessing Hibernate which is only a few months old. Even though there were only two reviews, after reading them, I decided to take a chance on this book. Wow, these reviewers were exactly right!

The authors take you through a music cataloging project. Their progression through the concepts is nothing short of amazing. They seem to give the perfect amount of detail and explanation at each step, and then you begin to form questions in your mind. They seem to anticipate them, because these questions always seem to be answered in the next section.

I should inform you that I often dislike reading books on computer technologies. I find that most authors tend to make the books as dry as possible, going on and on, ad nauseam, about every detail and idiosyncrasy of the topic. The authors of Harnessing Hibernate, however, make the book completely enjoyable to read. Their style is conversational, and they do not try to talk over anyone's head. They give you plenty of useful information that you can use immediately, and inform you of other sources to investigate if you want more information on a particular aspect of the material.

Anyway, if you want to learn Hibernate in a clear and concise manner, then you will not be disappointed if you buy this book. It will keep you reading, and you won't fall asleep while doing so. And hey, you'll understand all of the material and you will even learn a lot about Hibernate! I do not give complements lightly, but this is indeed a perfect book.

I just got this book in the mail last week, as it was just recently released. From reaing it, I can tell you that it carries on the tradition of high quality editing and content that we expect from O'Riely books.

There has been a real lack of good, up to date, READABLE books about Hibernate on the market. You only have to scan amazon to see some of the horrible reviews many books have received. But this book is excellent, and I can assure you that many five star reviews will follow this one.

Harnessing Hibernate is a fine book, which uses the most efficient ways to achieve its goal. Though focusing on Hibernate, the book enlists the usage of various frameworks such as Spring Framework, Stripes and Maven.


Part I: Hibernate in a hurry: The core

Build:
The book starts with how you should build which used to be a dread. The authors choose to use Ant - Maven task, which is cool. I use Maven directly, but that's beside the point. Both approaches are better than finding the JARs on the web.

Database:
HSQLDB is what the book recommends and for some reason it makes sense . It really is the best way to go. I am not suggesting to format your Oracle DB server and install HSQLDB; but I am suggesting you stay focused and worry about the big DB later; the book goes back to a larger DB; so don't worry too much right now.

The Project Hierarchy:
This one, I must admit, I do not care for; I think Maven directory structure is better and one should not have to create this manually, but that's probably personal. This is later reviewed in Chapter 12: Maven in More Depth.

Core hibernate:
The book doesn't mess around too much. It explains how to configure hibernate and before long you find your hands in hibernate mapping. From chapter 2 through chapter 9 you'll find yourself in the core of Hibernate: mapping, hibernate configuration, persistent objects (creating and finding), collections and associations, richer associations, custom value types, annotations, criteria queries and a look at HQL.

Part II: Playing nice with others: beyond the core

MySQL - a nice short intro to MySQL is shown.

Hibernate and Eclipse - yes, this is in here too (and up to date Eclipse v3.3). And just in time for you to get ready for a later chapter, Spring and Hibernate, which is the way J2EE is going anyway (lightweight).

Maven in more depth - Maven does not have many books out there and this is a very nice in depth explanation. If you think you've gotten short changed, take a look at Java Power Tools (you'll love that book too). The chapter is enough to get you moving with Maven, and if your Maven experience is anything like mine, you'll never go back to Ant.

Hibernate and Spring - this book could not have gotten any better than this. Spring, is like a dream. Rod Johnson, Colin Sampaleanu and team have done it well. Unlike the other monolithic approach, Spring takes advantage of already existing frameworks and offers this invisible layer to allow you to focus on what's important; your business code... and, of course, the book delivers. It shows you how Spring simplifies Hibernate development. If you're new to layered development a la separation of concerns (SoC) the book first introduces you to the DAO pattern. It then continues with the reason so many of us like the Spring framework: HibernateDAOSupport and the HibernateTemplate. Although I prefer to use the HibernateTemplate directly and avoid loosing my one chance at inheritance, I agree with the book examples. The authors are tying to help you understand what kind of support Spring offers.

Stripes with Spring and Hibernate - Now, the book could just end here and be done with it, but no, it continues with the web app. I mean, wow. The book ends with style. It uses Tomcat - and I think it does it to prove a point. You don't need a fancy big server to get J2EE running these days. Stripes is a cool project to work with and I thank the authors for introducing me to a framework I was clueless about.

This book is truly amazing. If you're looking for an in-depth approach to Hibernate take a look at Java Persistence with Hibernate. If, however, you're an impatient developer this is the book for you. I think it offers just enough in-depth theory and it keeps you awake with frequent easy to understand code.

James Elliott, Timothy M. O'Brien and Ryan Fowler; I thank you all for writing this book.

/.Will

The approach outlined by Dr. Kirschenbaum is not only sensible, it's tracked for long term success. When we looked for a weight loss camp for our son, we wanted to know that the people running the camp knew what they were talking about. The Wellspring camps and Academy of the Sierras school track long term results, and not just weight loss while at camp or school. The program outlined by the book is not merely successful, it's ridiculously easy, compared to other diet programs we have tried to implement. It has to be, since it has to be something a teenager can remember and follow. To help our son, after camp ended our entire family followed the program, and 3 of our 4 family members have lost at least 40 lbs each. And the weight has stayed off. Our 4th family member never needed a weight loss program, and he eats whatever he wants -- which, at home, obviously, is what we eat. He is fine -- He has not lost weight or gained weight. So this is a plan that will work for a family with mixed needs. With weird things like surgery as alternatives, you owe it to yourself to check out this entirely free and open program. (Well, Ok you have to buy a book and you may choose to buy a pedometer, a food scale, and anodized pans. But you don't have to subscribe to an expensive program or buy only the program's food (yuk). You don't have to tortuously convert nutrition facts into "points".) What's to lose except lbs?

I am a parent whose daughter is in the Wellspring Camp this summer and I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Kerschenbaum last weekend talk about his "healthy obsession" program. I had read all of the information online and in the enrollment package before deciding to send my child to this camp to help her begin to tackle her weight issue. I knew that the camp was based on solid scientific understanding of weight controlling. But my decision to send her was based on faith that we needed an outside intervention. However, hearing Daniel Kerschenbaum was inspiring...and reading his book has been edifying. More importantly, it is clear to me that following this program is something that we as a family can and must do, not only for my teens health, but our own. This program is based on their rendition of the KISS principle...keep it simple, scientific, and sustainable. Having the statistics on what is needed to let go of weight and seeing that it can be broken down into a doable and simple system has given me the courage and the information to tackle my own weight issue. This book is a must read for anyone with a weight concern.

My daughter is currently in a boarding school (Academy of the Sierras) that helps teens lose substantial amounts of weight, as well as to learn a lifestyle that they will want to follow for the rest of their lives. Dr. Kirschenbaum is the Clinical Director for the school. I was fortunate to meet the author this past weekend at a Parent Workshop and to hear him speak about the program.

This book is very comprehensive and returns us to a very low fat eating approach, and to develop a "healthy obsession" for eating and exercise. From reading this book, I believe you will be inspired to take action to implement his approach. My entire family is now following the guidelines he sets forth, which are very simple. I know that it's easier for us to follow his guidelines because he has explained the program, via this book, in a way that is easy for us to understand.

His writing style is much like his speaking style....low key, empathetic, solid, factual and with some humor thrown in. You can tell he absolutely is an expert on the subject, yet the way he presents the material is not overwhelming, nor overly scientific.

I also recommend that if you are trying to find a way to solve a friend or loved one's obesity issue, that before you give up and go the way of gastric-bypass, etc, that you read this book and check out the school's web site. [...] I am SO grateful to have found this program for my daughter, and if you read this book, you may be able to truly help yourself or someone you care about.

I've read all the books and tried all the diets; The Zone, Atkins, Protein Power, Sugar Busters, Eat for your Blood Type, etc. They all made sense and I followed intently and achieved significant weight loss in all of them. But none of it was permanent weight loss. This book is about a healthy lifestyle, not a diet. It is straight forward and backed by years of clinical research. By eliminating the fat in our diet, my whole family has lost weight...slowly and steadily it melts away, and I feel good every day. No bad breath or light headed feelings from the low carb luncay. I've been losing 2 lbs a week for months...this book will lead you to the promised land!

Dr. Kirschenbausm book and program at Camp Wellspring has changed my daughters life. This book is the most honest, no nonsense and factual book on Healty Eating. This is one book I think should be in every physicians bookself who deals with adolescents. Any family dealing with obesity will find this research based book is the answer for making lifelong changes.

As a new occupational therapist, I am pleased to have been introduced to the Alert Program. The Leader's Guide offers exceptional information on sensory integration and very easy to read and understand guidelines for treatment. The authors present an excellent explanation of the complex sensory systems in ways that make it easier for me, as a therapist, to explain to parents and other team members. The book is an great reference to have, as it explains how to modify the program to meet age specific criteria. It offers many activities that are incredibly useful for treatment planning!

The "Alert Program" is fantastic. I attended the "How Does Your Engine Run?" workshop my second year as an OT and feel that the leader's guide has been one of my most valuable resources in my nine years as an OT. I use the program in school and clinic settings and my clients love it. Additionally, their teachers and parents have been successful reinforcing and teaching the language and concepts without difficulty. The leader's guide is easy to follow and contains stages to guide you through the program. I have found the strategies presented in this program to be beneficial for children, teenagers and even adults that have difficulty regulating their activity level.

I got this book at the authors two day workshop. A must have for therapists, teachers, caregivers and parents- well written and easily understood by anyone who works or lives with individuals with sensory challenges. This book offers theory and clearly defined steps for implementation in any environment. The authors make it easy to educate team members and family members so that consistency is achieved and maintained. (They also offer a quick read Introductory Booklet that I lend to other team and family members as the first step in its use. For those who are crunched for time, I offer the Alert Program CD which has excerpts from the Leaders Guide and really fun songs for activity!! ) While this program is most frequently used for children, I have been able to modify it for adults with developmental disabilities, too.

I am on my second copy now-- I use it so often, my first copy had to retire! This book is well worth the price as it contains well designed activities for clinical, home, school and community environments. It is self-paced and easy to navigate through the stages and activities. It is user friendly for individuals and groups. Typically, after lending it to other professionals and parents, it is quickly returned because they order a copy for their own library! The individuals who support clients with sensory struggles often report that they learn something about their own "Engines" and it helps them to identify and respond adaptively, too! What a great modeling opportunity!

I did not buy this book. Because of the price I borrowed it from my library before deciding to buy it or not. I am glad I did not buy it. The book is wonderful, but it is an easy read and can be read over a weekend, so there is no need to spend the money on it.

That being said, I am very glad I borrowed this book! My 7 year old has autism and was having a problem self regulating. He would be hyper, but not bouncing off the walls hyper, just hyper in his seat. I tried to tell him he was hyper and needed to calm down. I tried to make HIM aware that he was hyper so he could calm himself down. This book very simply helped me do it. He now recognizes when he is running "on high" and we do things to bring him down a bit.

The book has charts that are great, although we drew our own chart on a wipe-off board so we could change it easily. It also has lots of games to play to stress it's point of self regulating.

I think this would be a GREAT book for anyone or any parent that wants to learn how to be more aware of their body's needs.

I got this book on the recommendation from a friend for my son who has some sensory integration issues. This book does a fabulous job of explaining sensory integration and the nervous system to those who may have never had any knowledge or understanding of these topics before. It has really helped me understand what is happening with my son and how to handle it.

I love the real life examples and practical suggestions! I love how easy it is to follow and implement. I appreciate how it gives information on how we all regulate our states and how it gives suggestions for modifications based on different ages. This program can grow and change along with my son and will continue to be a useful tool for our family. For the price, this was a wonderful investment for our family and I highly recommend this book.