Training Books

This is an excellent hands-on learning guide. I have been able to put the new skills to use in my own personal files right away.

Very useful guide for studying for the MS Office Specialist certification.
Well laid out.

This is the best book ever for someone that needs to learn anything about excel and how to use the spreadsheets, workbooks and any function within. I would recommend this book to users that have never used excel to the more advanced user that needs to utilize other aspects that they have never used before. Great book.

Excellent how-to book!!! you will be taken by your hand to learn in a easy way how to work in excel

I am so glad I bought this book in that it went and showed me the little details that you may not always hit in your normal day to day workings of Excel. I also bought Microsoft office step by step but I never got to use it as this book was all I needed! I will be buying the Microsoft Wor dversion next.

Oh by the was within two weeks I took the specialist test and passed by quite a bit.

Richard S. Levick and Larry Smith have delivered the definitive book, at least for now, on crisis communications and litigation PR. (Brief disclosure: I have met and chatted with both of them, but this review is, I hope, unaffected by any personal contacts.)

Levick and Smith don't hold back in describing some disastrous public relations gaffes by major companies, and they also give credit to corporations that understood how important the "court of public opinion" can be. These authors also know how to write: the book is free from marketing and PR jargon, and is easy and even fun to read. As a media relations professional and former reporter and editor, I have put this book on my desk next to my computer.

The authors also recognize the importance of blogs - both as tools that a company or law firm's opponents can use and as tools that are well suited to defense as well.

The recommended use of "message points," though hardly original with Levick and Smith, reaches a high plateau here. Their recommendations for pharmaceutical companies, antitrust defendants, even asbestos makers, are not merely plausible but convincing.

Sometimes a firm needs to stand tough and fight the battle in the media. Sometimes it needs to stand down. Levick and Smith help explain the difference.

This would be a five-star review except that the authors' constant use of brief stories -- in a different and jarring typeface -- as sidebars in the text is off-putting and even a bit amateurish. Sometimes, it's even hard to follow. The fact that they must put "continued" lines into their book ("See page 147") should have been a tip-off that the typography here is not ideal.

Still, this is a terrific book.

Don't buy this book for your PR department. Buy it for your attorneys.

Levick bridges the gap between the need for an organization to speak publicly during a crisis and its legal department's desire to keep the corporate yap locked tight. An attorney himself, Levick understands perception trumps fact, and that at crisis time the real battle won't happen in a court of law; it's already happening in the court of public opinion.

Filled with insights and strategies for short-circuiting a media assault from newspapers still in print to online bloggers, "Stop the Presses" is a must-read for those who think they know crisis communications.

Levick also explains the critical need for advance preparation, on-going media awareness and outside legal and communications counsel in a crisis, three steps lacking in too many organizations.

A clear winner.

Dennis Dean
The Dean Group

It's rare that a book can serve as an "insurance policy," but Stop The Presses comes as close as any I have read. Nobody relishes the idea of a crisis situation befalling them or their business--but crises do strike--and by definition, they are unexpected. If a company's management has read, or even browsed those neat little gray "So Don't Forget" boxes at the end of each chapter of Stop The Presses, it will have taken the first step on the road to preparedness.

Ricard Levick and Larry Smith make this sometimes frightening topic eminently readable, and fill the pages with useful, do's, don't and "don't forgets." Their experience is evident all through the book. No book is a substitute for the right advisers and advice, but this one covers many of the crises and legal/regulatory troubles with just enough explanation to start readers on the path to the right kind of actions.

As I stated at the start: it isn't quite an insurance policy, but for $30, it might just save your reputation or your company. And that's probably the best $30 you could spend. Buy it; read it; and hope you never need it. You'll sleep better at night.

After having devoured this book, I can highly recommend reading it.

It is easy to read and offers lots of very practical advice on how to master or even prevent crisis. Richard and Larry have apparently broad experience in helping troubled companies in times of difficulties; and they share their knowledge with a good portion of humor, many real world references and examples, and very helpful appendixes.

Their emphasis on "prevention" made it clear to me how important it is for nearly every company's "survival" to anticipate the potential for crisis and to set up early the required structures. I liked in particular the reminder - or wake up call for many of us - on how important it is to become part of the blog community.

This book should be bed side lecture for everybody who manages communication on behalf of any size and type of company, in particular outside counsel, members of legal and PR departments. It is a great 1x1 on crisis management but also offers lots of depth.

I immediately thought of British Airways' management who should have read this book before opening Heathrow's new terminal and entering into disaster. They would most probably be better off today!

Stop the Presses (2nd Ed.) is a reference book, but it can only be considered a primer for anyone needing to respond to crisis and litigation. I especially like appendix. Most readers will find them helpful.

Years ago I ran into this book in my local book store (long before Amazon.com) and bought it. I had taken 2 ski lessions in my life and got started downhill skiing later in life, perhaps I was in my forties. I struggled along with the green and easy blue slopes, but the majority of the mountain was not open to me. If I tried something more difficuilt, I would fear and fall. No matter how hard I worked the green slopes, I just wasn't getting any better. I lacked skill and confidence.

Then I started reading this book. What struck me was how I felt like I understood what Lito was trying to get into me. I remember copying a couple pages of each section and placing them in a zip lock bag when I would go skiing. I'd pull out the lession points I had selected and read it over and over carefully and practiced exactly what he said to do.

I realized that each chapter was seemly long, but also easy to read and then I realized that what Lito had done was to explain the same lession many different ways and one, at least, was sure to hit me right on. That was his key, and what made the book so thick; he explained it over and over but each time from a different perspective until each reader would click on at least one of the explainations and just get it!

As I write this today, I have just skiied all over Kirkwood's black diamonds, I'm 58 years old and 13 years ago had quad heart bypass. I buy a season pass and ski as many days as my schedule and the weather permits and have for years now.

I looked this book up today on Amazon to see if I could buy it for a friend as I seemed to have loaned my copy out and haven't seen it in years. If you have started skiing, taken a begining lession or 2, you will want to read this book like no other. And if you think that you can't really learn to ski well from a book, just remember this "old man" skiing the black diamonds of Kirkwood and every other place he visits.

Wow. This is like the ski bible, if there is such a thing. In this book, you learn how to create beginner wedges, transition to wedge christies, progress to parallel, and finally ski parallel dynamically like the pros do. You also learn how to carve and ski in various conditions using simple but effective techniques. There is even a chapter on tactics for Nastar racing. I was skeptical whether this would be a good how-to-ski book when I browse through the book because the illustrations are in black and white and look so simple. But after I read the book cover-to-cover, I realized this is the best ski book I ever read. I found the instruction in the other ski books very hard to remember as they are complex. Time and time again when I'm on the slopes, I would fall back to the techniques and tactics taught in this book.

I am a 29 yr old non-athlete, who started skiing last year and could only go upto the wedgie turns level down the green slopes. Thank heavens I found this book and bought one copy. After reading three chapters, I hit the slopes, pushed myself to moderate and difficult blue slopes. Oh boy! I couldn't believe the way I was skiing. I couldn't conceal the wide grin on my face as I was making those smooth parallel S turns. I never believed one could learn skiing by reading a book. This book works, delivers everything it promises. Thanks Lito, for teaching me how to ski.

This is not just the best book on skiing available, it's the best way to learn, period. I never thought I could learn a sport from reading a book, but I skied for twenty years and never got any better. Then I read this book and in one week I was three times the skier. It was like a new sport. Since then I have encouraged a half-dozen friends to read it, all with the same results. My friend Al neglected to actually read the book for years. Then one time we went skiing together and he was suddenly doing everything right, looking like a new, confident, expert skier. I was amazed, and I remarked "your skiing is SO much better!" He replied "I read the book!"

It's happened to just about any skiier. You get over the initial fear of falling, and learn how to get from the top of the hill down to the bottom. You move from the greens to the blues, and get a sense of what skiing is generally about. But you're not *great*.

This plateau is hit by skiiers of all ages and backgrounds. They know the mechanics of skiing, and they know what to do. But they marvel at those people zooming down the slopes effortlessly, as if they were dancing on the snow.

The solution is this book. I didn't even buy it on my own originally - it was given to me by a skiier friend who had read it and loved it. The book made a circuit through our skiing group and soon we all had copies of it. We then lent those out to friends, so they could learn too! This wasn't the basics - how to snowplow, how to stop. And it wasn't complicated either. It was full of great, practical, easy to understand *tips* that you could immediately apply to your own skiing.

Highly recommended!

What happens to you on the inside -- your thoughts, emotions and imagination are reflected by what's happening on the outside - more sales, happiness, excitement, etc. If you try to change the outside without first aligning what's going on inside of you, only temporary change will happen.

Jeb's book is a master class in getting your inner game in order. He takes you through the program step-by-step. If you follow his guidance and are consistent with it, you will produce results. And great results are what makes selling fun. It is the best paid fun work there is.

Jeb Blount has captured the pure essence of success with Power Principles. He not only gives you the map to success, he shows you the steps to get there as well.

Power Principles is an absolutely Amazing read. With real life stories that we can all relate to, Jeb really hits it out of the park with this book.

It is more important than ever to have a clear understanding of how to achieve your dreams. Jeb Blount gives you everything you need and more with Power Principles.

Curt Fletcher, author of How to Sell More Homes and Increase Your Income

Jeb is one talented dude! This is one of those books I will read over and over and over again! I literally could not put the book down and have read it three times already! I love how Jeb simplifies gaining the winning edge. Many people aspire to have that edge, but never take action because they are overwhelmed with having to read a large motivational book. With this book, Jeb gets right to the meat of what you need to have that edge. It is one of those books you can carry with you and read throughout the day, especially if your soul needs a pick-me-up. Just sit down, read it, and you will get it!

The stories of the yearbook club were so motivating. If you put your heart and soul into sales, you will always be rewarded. When he illustrates his first big sales call, he shows that our mistakes can be the best teaching tool. If you haven't purchased this book by now, shame on you! Take action! Once you have done that, get Jeb to speak to your salespeople. What a difference he will make! You will be missing out if you don't.

Yurani Caicedo - University of Central Florida Graduate

This is the ideal book for any entrepreneur or business owner. I highly recommend not only acquiring it but reading this one. Very powerful.

Who said it takes a three pound novel to get you what you need? Read Jeb's new book! You will quickly discover this book is not written by a consultant or researcher with book knowledge but by someone that has been there and done it successfully.

The book does away with the fluff and is perfect for busy salespeople and sales managers not interested in wading through a swamp of hard to read words. Discover what professionals in sales, sports and business know. Success is about drill and practice on the right stuff. This book is how to develop yourself using secret powerful principles that will jump-start your career and get you to top performance.

What you didn't learn in school and what your company can't help you with is that personal success is what you must do for yourself. It does not come in a little blue pill or by going to weekend sales retreat climbing ropes. Selling is based on Talent, Skill and Desire and you must be willing to invest in yourself and your own education.

You can read this book in an hour. It will take a lifetime to digest. The genius of this book is in the simplicity and power of the 5 Principles.

Excellent reading for old pros and new sellers alike. A reference guide for sales managers and a must have for any sales library. Jeb's website is a fantastic resource for sellers and sales managers, check out Sales Gravy for the latest in sales strategy, jobs and networking.

The authors take the mystery out of how to create a tuned-in, turned-on profitable workplace. Well written. Well researched. I'm juiced! Two thumbs up!

Great book with down to earth practical info - You can taste Joe's depth of knowledge, background and experience on almost every page. - JA

A very good read. I found many useful strategies for maximizing workplace productivity. Concepts were clearly defined and well thought out. Everyone (employers and employees both) would benefit by reading this book!

I have a free lance consulting business.....and this will be one of
my top books I will recommend to those who want to turn around
the harmony and productivity in their workplace.

Having read many management books previously, I was expecting more of the same, old boring stuff. This book offers new insights in an easy-to-read way. All managers, both new and experienced should read this book! I have been a manager for many years, and was able to take away information and new methods which I could implement immediately in my workplace. I found the section on personality styles unique and very helpful in dealing with both my employees, and with higher management. This book is fun, educational, and a must read for every manager.

Since purchasing this book...I have not been able to read it...Why...because my wife can't put it down!!! It really does explain all of those little things that a dog does! It is funny and entertaining. It covers things you have always wanted to ask...and things that you never even thought of asking. Can't wait for the next one to come out!!!

I loved the book so much I also bought a copy for my mother-in-law (the hardest person to shop for) and for my veterinarian for Christmas. The book is informative, entertaining and answers questions that I had always wondered about but didn't want to ask. I can't wait for Dr. Lee's next book.

This book makes a great gift for your dog loving friends! It's a funny, light and informative read. Dr. Lee gives plenty of advice and offers a compassionate and caring opinion, interspersed with lots of wit and sarcasm.

Lots of people have mentioned how funny this book is -- rather than echo those comments, I'll mention how touching and heart warming the book is too. The author is clearly an expert and is very funny, but the thing that stood out the most for me is how deeply she cares about our 4-legged friends.

The author provides sage advice on how to best care for our dogs, maximize their quality of life, and even discusses the best options for when it is time to say goodbye. This book is a fantastic tribute to the slobering little buggers that bring joy to ours lives like nothing else in the world. Bravo Dr. Lee! Can't wait for more from you!

This book is funny and informative! It covers serious and not so serious questions with a sense of humor and some interesting facts. I couldn't put it down!

This is one of the best books I have ever read on leadership. The author outlines a realistic approach with proven techniques. I've grown tired of all the silly communication methods and manipulations, found in the flood of many books on the market, on how to motivate those under your supervision. Paul Howe knows how to lead. If you are truly interested in leadership, this book is highly recommended. On the other hand, if you are looking for quick fixes and feel good techniques, you should move on to a management in corporate America style book. There are many to choose from.

Outstanding book by a true professional. MSG Howe is the real deal and an outstanding authority in his field. Would recommend this for any law enforcement or military professional.

Very good book, well structured, pleasant to read. The examples are clear, and the theories easy to apply, even if you aren't L.E. or military.

This is the best book on military leadership and training I have ever read and I have read a few on this subject. All of my team leaders are reading it now after hearing nothing but great reviews from myself. I think all NCO's in the Army, reguardless of MOS, should read this book.

There seems to be no shortage of leadership books available to our self-help addicted society. How many people do you know who brag about having read "The Art of War"? This is not one of these types of books. I mention "The Art of War" because I find it helpful to draw parallels between life and battle. I find that if I approach my life's commitments and challenges like all-out warfare, I tend to get after it with aggression and a hunger for success.
If you feel the same, this book might be for you. In truth, this book is geared mostly for soldiers and police specifically combatants of the special ops variety and swat officers. In short it is by and for modern Spartan warriors.
You will have to work to draw your own connections between how you run your organization, business, or life, but if you are not inspired by some of the greatest men to walk among us, you are dead inside.
If you are in charge of or lead anything and you are interested in developing your leadership skills, you will find it here. If you think that leadership in the world's harshest conditions when the bullets are flying and men are dying doesn't apply to how you run your small business, ask yourself this, "Is there a difference between kinds of leadership, or is good leadership in concept more or less the same everywhere?" The only real difference is that if you are a shooter, your failures in leadership can cost lives, in business it is only money.
If you are considering this book, take the journey and trust the author to share his ideals and wisdom with you.
This book feels aggressive and extreme in it's intent to convey to the reader not just leadership skills, but in philosophy towards life.
We all want to be like the guy in the movies who remains calm and wins in the chaos of extreme conditions, this book shows you how. If you could do this imagine how you could attack your own life.

Very good and the information is very helpful for the small breed of dogs and todays new methods of training a small dog

I recently read the book: "Little Dogs: Training Your Pint-Sized Companion" by Deborah Wood.
I really liked and enjoyed this book. It is about 130 pages long and is an easy read. But she shares a lot of tips on how to train your toy breed dog and shares some insight into how these little dogs think.
This book is all about training your dog to be a better companion and a good dog that people will enjoy being around. It includes a brief section on house training and other problem issues. It also discusses the basic commands that we should teach our dogs so that they behave and to protect them from possible harm that could happen if they do not respond to your commands.
The book is sometimes humorous and tries to get you thinking what it's like from the dog's point of view and what the dog actually hears when you say something.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has recently adopted a new puppy or even an older small breed dog. This book is for someone who is not interested in getting into performance events, but wants a well trained dog. However, it can get you thinking that, if you can train your small dog beginning obedience, perhaps you can go on to compete in other dog activities such as Rally, Obedience and/or Agility.

Gail
'mom' to two Shih Tzu

This book like little dogs, Happy, Fun, and full of good humored ATTITUDE.I like to give this as a 'new puppy' or 'newly rescued' gift, especially to big dog people getting their 1st experience w/ the smaller cousins. Ms. Woods book has lots of great ideas for care, training and even game playing w/ the little guys. I love this book...you'll read it w/ a smile!!

I thought this book was an excellent training manual for my 2 yorkies. Gives you insight into the dogs' perceptions of the world, and offers great advice on training your little dogs. When I trained my first yorkie, I tabbed certain "tricks" and wrote an index in the back to give me a quick reference point.... Came in very handy when training my second yorkie. I liked this book so much I purchased 1 for my mom, who has chihuahuas.

My toy poodle is my first dog (although I had dogs growing up, they were never *my* responsibility, heh.) This book has been an invaluable training tool. It even had a solution for his incessant barking. He was worse than a car alarm. Anytime there was a noise, he'd go off. But the book gave multiple suggestions on stopping this. It took less than 2 weeks to train the alarm-barking out of him. I'm shocked. And all of the techniques are so gentle. I am able to use my soft-speaking voice and he listens. No yelling. No yanking on his leash. No forceful grabbing that could injure his tiny body. One thing, I did put him through a puppy training class, mostly for me to learn training techniques. It made this book easier to follow.

I agree with the previous reviewers. This book was particularly excellent for my steps 2 &3 for a number of reasons, the main one being that everything's beautifully outlined and intuitively laid out. My favorite resource especially for CK & 3.

A must have for all the internal medicine residents!!!
Extraordinarilly structured questions and even better explanation focused on the highlight topics in internal medicine. The questions are well-written, and the answers give you really good feedback. The questions are highly relevant, reflecting what the ABIM wants you to know. Whether you are preparing to take the Internal Medicine boards for the first time or preparing for recertification, this is an excellent resource. It is well-organized, concise, and comprehensive. The questions are challenging and pertinent with clear answers that emphasize the teaching point being made. The outline format highlights important points about each subject. In our program, we are also using this book as a resource for everyday teaching during morning report and other clinical conferences. Overall, I am very satisfied with this book and highly recommend it!

I am currently in nurse practitioner (NP) school and am studying within the acute/critical care track (ACNP). As a NP student, I believe this book to be a valuable 'quick and dirty' reference. I will be using this as a supplement throughout practice, residency and for my certification boards.

Just finished taking step 2 & 3...I highly recommend NAIL THE BOARDS, The Ultimate Internal Medicine Review for USMLE STEPS 2 & 3 ... , it is concise and, most importantly, the information in the text is relevant to the actual exam. This book is the most current resource reflecting the new changes to USMLE step 2 and 3. The book is up to date and contains all the major topics needed for step 2 & 3. This book contains a lot of excellent contains and summaries that I could not find in any other review book. It seems to be a great companion while doing review questions. I also found this book to be an outstanding source when I prepared for work rounds to teach the interns and students. I can highly recommend this book to all residents. I wish I had it when I started my residency. Great Book!

I initially heard of this book from the 2nd & 3rd year residents in our program. A lot of them used it for their Step 3 and were successful and loved it. I was skeptical at first because this exam was important to me for a number of reasons. In any case, my experience was much the same as theirs, and I did extremely well, as with my predecessors, but I wanted to provide greater detail that I know will help you. I was pleasantly surprised, but at the same time totally relieved, when I sat for the exam because everything I'd studied here was right there on the exam. Specifically, I found the book was incredibly helpful in all of the following areas, which are the key areas required on the exam:

** Associating current complaints with presented history and identifying pertinent factors.
** Interpreting elicited history.
** Interpreting mental status & identifying neuro exam findings
** Interpreting specific physical findings as relates to differential diagnosis
** Knowing appropriate directed physical examination & required technique.
** Recognizing commonly associated pertinent history
** Identifiying risk factors--especially oustanding
** Recognizing signs & symptoms and physical findings

I also found the book super useful for all the lab stuff, specifically:

** Knowing when NO diagnostic or lab studies are indicated
** Knowing which studies to select and when
** Interpreting all the key tests
** Basic lab/diagnostic study algorithms
** Identifying which study/procedure will most likely establish the dx or differentiate it from another
** Predicting the most likely lab or diagnostic test result

Bottom line: I passed easily and I'm thankful to those who recommended this gem. But I also wanted to take a few minutes to "pass" this on to others as well. I know there's a lot of other favorable reviews below, but they really didn't go into much detail. I'd also give a top recommend to the Frontrunners Q&A book which was another treasure trove and landed me a lot of extra points on the exam. As far as I'm concerned, it was the perfect combination.

Talk about a seven-course menu!

If you are even remotely considering starting any type of restaurant or food operation, this book isn't dessert, but an absolute necessity, especially when you consider that a recent Ohio study found that a failure rate of between 57 and 61 percent for restaurants in their first year of operation.

It's hard to imagine any topic this book doesn't cover in its 39 extensively researched chapters, whether it's on how to get a sign permit, obtain financing, execute a successful business plan or, my favorite, how to speak "the language of wine."

Don't even think about opening a food place without reading this first. As many doughy thumbs up as a book can get.

This book offers information on starting a restaurant from the ground up. If you have just the idea of starting a restaurant, this book will take you by the hand and guide you through every step of making your idea a reality. My family owned a restaurant and I can not imagine any knowledge I gained from that experience that was not covered in this handbook. The writer goes into great detail about how important it is to pick the right location for your restaurant and match your restaurant's theme to your target market. It covers the all important factor of cleanliness and how it could make or break the success of your business. There are several worksheets in the handbook that would serve as great templates to use in real life work situations, everything from budgeting to how to write an efficient business plan.

Advertising for a small business can be very expensive, but there many great tips in the reading that will help spread the word about your establishment that are absolutely free. There is a section that will give you great ideas on hiring and keeping the best staff available. There is also advice for those who want to open a franchise, instead of going it alone. The instructions on writing a menu should be very helpful in attracting customers into your establishment. There are strategies on forecasting expenses to insure you get the maximum benefit from your cash flow. The author provides great design guidelines to set up your dinning room in order to appeal to your customers. This book would be a great resource for any restaurant owner and would serve anyone in restaurant management well.

Want to open a restaurant? This is certainly THE book you need.
It covers every little detail - from the best skin protecting gloves your prep cooks should use to the type of silverware you should have based on your restaurant's style.
It's like a restaurant bible, I just got mine today when I was about to step out to the gym, and alas, this arrives.

Boy was I tempted to bring it with me and plop it on top of the treadmill while I exercised, but I didn't want to get strange stares hahaha.
Overall, it's an excellent excellent book. All of my questions are being answered. Highly recommended!

The title may be a bit of an understatement - The Restaurant Manager's Handbook goes well beyond the basics of restaurant management, ultimately encompassing the entire scope of owning and running a full-service restaurant. In an industry where, as this book points out, a large percentage of ventures fail, a comprehensive resource like this can prove an invaluable tool for restaurant owners and managers, one that you'll return to again and again.
The Restaurant Manager's Handbook runs a full 1,057 pages, making it a reference tome that covers all the bases - from "pre-owing" business planning and research to active operation and management practices . The guide offers hard-line business advice, but presents it in a way that's easy to read and eminently accessible to the novice restaurateur .
Never written a business plan? It's in there. Don't know the first thing about effective public relations? It's in there. Need the lowdown on menu planning? Yep, that's in there too. Linen service. Music licensing. Kitchen layout. Food preparation safety. Employee relations. Planning to open a bar, not a restaurant? Don't let the title fool you - it's covered.
The guide also includes numerous valuable resources - from reproducible forms (for everything from food facility compliance checklists to acquisition and inventory to cook's lists, and more) to detailed lists of suppliers for everything from flatware to point of sale systems. And if you still need a little encouragement, check out the case studies of successful restaurant ventures with practical advice from those who've been there . . .

this is a solid, almost academic, handbook. it's points you toward the things you need to figure out but you'll still need to get additional information on your local regulations. personnaly, it discouraged me from opening a buisness at this time.