Conferences and Events Books

This book is probably one of the most comprehensive books that I have seen thoroughly equipped event planners use for their events at Alliance Redwoods in Occidental, California. Planning a retreat is no small feat that is easy for first-timers to underestimate. This book eliminates many potential surprises and stresses of planning a retreat for a large group. I highly recommend a book like this for any first time retreat planner as I have experienced some very wonderful retreats that were planned using this book. If you have ever been stressed out or frustrated planning a large retreat, then you will be pleased to know there is a book that shows a detailed, easy to follow, step by step methodology for planning a surprise-free hassle-free Christian Conference.

This book is remarkably well written, easy to read, along with refreshing humor! Helpful to organize any size type of event and maximize the purpose of the event. An absolute must have for every church!

This book is a absolute must for anyone planning a conference or retreat. Applicable for men and women no matter what the size of the event. If you have always wanted to organize an event at your church and never knew how to get started get this book

This helpful book was a great read, and is sure to be a much-referenced item in my library... organized, specific, well-written, and all the details are already thought-out and listed in clear reference sheets for me! I found that the examples, quotes, and details were not limiting but helped me to come up with my own ideas. Although I probably won't be planning a conference for 5,000 anytime soon, this book will help me even with small weekend retreats. Can't wait to get the workbook!

If you want to find out about the role of negotiation in today's world, and its place in conflict then this book will tell you more. It highlights the everyday approach to negotiation in the field, as well as larger perspectives from organisations such as the UN. I like the way in which it explains the problems and dilemmas faced by aid workers, soldiers or any other peacekeeper when trying to negotiate on the ground...few books examine this task and relate it to the real world. Easy to follow, thought provoking, it brings a new perspective to an area dominated, too much, by business books.

An excellent book. Essential for the study of the period between the wars and causes of WWII.

I'm proud to say that I read William P. Wanker's book when it first came out, many years ago, and it changed my life. Despite it not becoming the literary classic I had expected it to become, I'm glad to know that Wanker's popularity is again rising amoung young readers, making him, despite his age, an up and coming author. I highly recommend the book to anyone, whether an urban or rural resident, since its importance cannot be understated. Excellent. William P. Wanker, we salute you!

This product is same as described in purchase. Delivery was very quickly and good conditions. I recommend this product and provider. Sincerely. Jose Pena

Details, details, details. That's really what successful event planning is all about, and that's the key to this very successful event-planning manual. Author Judy Allen notes, lists, copes with and gives an example of virtually every detail in planning anything from a sedate corporate event in a major city to a huge celebration on a remote island. She provides examples galore plus tips, questions and answers, sample cost sheets and schedules. How much floor space does a person need to be comfortable in a tent? Answer: 20 square feet. How many bathrooms should be available for a party? Answer: One per 75 guests. And don't forget to ask about the stemware, adequate parking and even the photographer's back-up camera battery. This author seems to have thought every contingency, as the book's ambitious title promises. Her one glaring omission is that she does not include the party planner's fee - our guess is that she'd be worth it. We highly recommend this well-organized, very practical book to all event planners. Don't send out press releases for your party without consulting Judy Allen.

It was very useful to me as I used it to brak into the wedding/event business. It presents a very corporate approach, yet it seems to uncover all kinds of secrets of the event world that are hidden to the public eye.

Being an avid reader of Event Planning literature, I must say that this book is alright.

It is hard to tell who this book is geared towards. A novice should not take on any event that is as over their head; as most of the event situations that are listed in the book are. A professional would know from experience the answers to most of the questions or they would have the common sense to take care of any odd situation that arose. The book may be helpful to assistant managers or banquet captains, but most houses have their own way of doing things. Interesting read and a good refresher, buy used.

I first located this book from the library. I ended up checking it out for an additional few weeks. It was so full of useful information, I decided I needed to add it to my arsenal of information for repeated use.

This book is the assigned reading for the Event Planning certification course I'm taking. It's great, very concise and to-the-point. Lots of realistic resources and handy tips.

This has been a really great book and has been a huge help in getting started in event planning. I've planned six events now, and this book is helping me understand some of the processes better and help me better hone my skills. Definitely recommended!

I think this is the best guide for event and meeting planners. there is a lot of source references (especially internet sources available for professional event planners or prospective event planners) It is fun and easy to follow. Everything is clearly explained. There is not too many jargon words used.
I am yet in the middle of the book and I can't wait to see the later parts of it. I am getting all the necessary information I need.

This is a comprehensive introductory book for anyone starting out in the meeting planning industry. The title is a bit misleading (Meeting AND Event Planning) as there is very little information on event planning itself - about 10 pages. The event planning section mostly concentrates on the events that would be part of a meeting (golf tournament, fundraiser, final night gala, etc.) but doesn't go into great detail. There are, however, concepts and information presented about meeting planning (checklists, timelines, vendors etc.) that can be easily transferred to the event planning process.

If meeting planning has recently become part of your job responsibilities, this guide will help you understand the basics. If you are looking for information about becoming an independent meeting planner or event planner (i.e.: getting clients, starting your company) you might need to continue looking for other resources.

Overall the book is well written, has plenty of examples and explains the underlying concepts to organizing a meeting.

My sister found this book years ago when she was looking for sites for her wedding. I used it to help find a location for my companies 25th anniversary party. I had to buy a newer version when I was scouting locations for my own wedding! If found wonderful places I never heard of before. It saved me a lot of time and energy by eliminating contacting places that would not have been a good fit.

My husband and I are not from the DC area, but have settled here. We knew we wanted a DC area wedding, knew we wanted it outdoor, but didn't know where to go from there. This book breaks down sites by how many guests it can accomodate, and lets you know prices, rules, etc. This saved me hours of phone calls and pointless drives to sites that wouldn't have been right for us. If you know the DC area, this might not be the right book for you, but for us carpetbaggers, it was a lifesaver!

When our two daughters recently became engaged, I ran out to buy this new Unique Places book, written by local author Elise Ford. For the price,(around $20 including shipping. For our weddings, each around 120 guests for sit-down dinner, I found this book not helpful. Locally distributed free publications have more information, more sites,similar information on costs, and are more a propos for planning weddings. This book would be useful for an organization, or for planners of galas or huge corporate functions. Most of the interesting locations do not allow private parties, especially weddings. A small percentage of the locations would be suitable for 'small' parties of around 100. I will donate this book to a non-profit organization I belong to. Many sites are excellent for large non-profit gatherings. Other sites have their own food preparation on site so renter can't bring in one's own caterer. A few private clubs are included, but not enough. This book might be helpful to some people, but not to this family. I should have checked it out in the library first. Mea culpa! Fine for event planners... but not mothers of brides.

Absolutely wonderful reference book if you are looking for a place in the Washington, DC area to have a special party. Arranges different sites by size, area, type etc. Is very useful and convenient to use. Saves hours of phone calls!

I used an earlier edition, but I would assume they won't differ too much. This was an invaluable resource for our initial wedding planning. We were able to find out ahead of time and w/o phone calls that some sites we were interested in were too small to accomodate our guests. And, then we used it to investigate locations we had never thought of, or knew existed.

I have also used the book as a resource when planning social events for a non-profit association. Again, we narrowed our selections based on size and found locations that we did not know of.

My event planning went much more smoothly because of this book, and I have loaned it to several friends who have also praised its resources.

This is a wonderful book--full of great advice, ideas, history of cats, treatment and handling of felines--and wonderful photos--full color! Excellent book just for looking at great felines! I loved it!

This is a really nice book, very informative and with beautiful photos of cats of all types. Wonderful gift for your favorite cat lover.

Samuel Kernell argues that Washington politics have undergone a structural change over the past half century. Traditionally, politics in Washington were conducted according to a system of mutually beneficial interactions and bargains. Kernell refers to this structure as institutionalized pluralism. Under such a system, the political elite are the ultimate decision makers. It is these elites that have access to a number of political resources that help shape and enforce their political power.
As such, this early era Washington is essentially isolated from the core constituents. Party leaders and other senior political elites offer support to candidates who will not only tow the party line, but respect the seniority system already in place. Furthermore, institutionalized pluralism supports an environment in which coalitions form the spine of the system. The coalitions often shape the options available to the early presidents. Kernell describes the role of the President; "(he) seizes the center of the Washington bazaar and actively barter's with fellow politicians to build winning coalitions. He must do so...or he will forfeit any claim to leadership" (18).
However, Washington politics has moved from a closely regulated environment of institutionalized pluralism to what Kernell refers to as individualized pluralism. A system of individual pluralism is one in which the system of strong parties, seniority and bargaining are in decline. In their stead has emerged a system of individualistic politicians which are driven not by coalition building and party support, but by maintaining the will of their constituent base. Kernell describes the institutionalized plural Washington as, "a political community constituted of independent members who have few group or institutional loyalties and who are generally less interested in sacrificing short-run, private career goals for the longer-term benefits of bargaining" (27). As such, a president is forced to deal with weakened leaders and weakened parties who may be unwilling or unable to deliver on proposed bargains.
Kernell explains the change from institutionalized to individual pluralism as the result of an increased welfare state which "increased the size of the community and created large, interested constituencies outside of Washington" (28). In other words, Washington was no longer an isolated island of political elites. Secondly, individual pluralism emerged as a result of changes to communication and transportation. The President and elites had the means to communicate directly to the people. Lastly, Kernell argues that a decline in the strength of political parties in Washington as well as nationally fueled the evolution towards individualized pluralism.
In the new era, the President and other major Washington players have evolved new leadership strategies. Going public can be described as political elites making a conscious appeal for support to their constituents, or as in the case of the President, to the nation as a whole.
Kernell explains the increase in making appeals to the public in order to garner support for views or popularity as the result of a number of developments in national politics. First, in the system of individualized pluralism, bargaining between the Executive and legislature has grown ineffective. For example, since 1956 the United States is often confronted with a divided government, one in which one party controls the legislature and the opposing party sits in the Executive office. In such situations, negotiations become difficult. Often the President cannot get his policies through and opposing Congress. As such, he calls on the people to pressure their representative into accepting the President's proposal.
Second, rather than being nominated by major political parties, presidential selection reforms have allowed ordinary voters to place their presidential choice on the ballot. Now, a President is no longer beholden to party leadership. Instead, the president is beholden to the people. As such, the President does not always feel obligated to negotiate with party leadership and may appeal to the people to pressure the party.
The ways in which the President shapes "going public" differ. Perhaps the earliest method of going public was through manipulation of the media. In an earlier era, a good deal of bargaining existed between press and President. A system of reciprocity existed. A President would exchange personal interviews for an article that leaned in favor of his proposals.
However, John Kennedy shaped a system which is still in use today. President Kennedy used live television to carry his message. With the use of such a direct medium, the president is able to shape his message with little outside influence from newspaper men, editors and others. In this way, the President had to rely on bargaining to an even less extent.
Aside from "going public" in order to garner support for policy, the President uses public appeal to garner popular support. The President does so in a number of ways. First, the President may offer a public address. The public addresses used by a President appear in two forms, major and minor. A major address allows the President to speak directly to the American people. "Of the major addresses, the most dramatic and potentially the most effective are special reports the president delivers to the nation on primetime television" (107). These addresses often accompany some sort of crisis and can develop into what Kernell calls a "rally event." Rally events often drive the President's popularity up a few points in the polls. However, it is important to note that the major address can only rarely be used as the interest of the voter wanes quickly. If the President continuously interrupts Desperate Housewives, regardless of the importance of the address, he is bound to lose 5 points with every broadcast.
The second type of address Kernell refers to is minor. The formality of the address is limited and generally the message is specified to a particular constituent group. For example, Kernell cites Ronald Regan appealing to Catholic voters in order to garner support for a school funding initiative.
Lastly, the President may go public though appearances. In this situation, the President need not say anything. His presence alone will suffice. An example of an appearance shaping popularity would be George W. Bush visiting the Twin Towers shortly after the September 11 attack. He said very little, but his presence increased his popularity.

Kernell's fine work is a wonderful addition to the scholarly literature in political science on the American presidency. It's well-written and well-organized. His insights into why, when and how presidents "go public" and take their case over the heads of congressmen to the people are informative and worthwhile. Not all of his observations fit the case studies he uses, and he sometimes exaggerates his case a bit, but overall he makes good points.

Highly recommended for scholars of the presidency, or American politics in general. Also a good book for a knowledgeable layman interested in politics.

Sam Kernell's book is a must-read for students and scholars of the American Presidency. He artfully examines how modern American Presidents seek to persuade their constituents in a media-driven political environment. He takes Richard Neustadt's Presidential Power, and adds to it a crucial blend of modern circumstances in this evaluation. It is an enoyable read, chalked full of potentially valuable information for anyone seeeking to understand the modern Presidency and its persuasive difficulties.

Kernell described "going public" as "a strategy whereby a president promotes himself and his policies in Washington by appealing to the American public for support" (p.2). Use of this strategy is said to be on the rise as it is particularly well suited to the modern president. Kernell argued that this strategy is a powerful tactic that can be used by a president to force a reluctant Congress to go along with a certain policy, but that it is incompatible with Neustadt's "bargaining president." He described several cases where the strategy was used, sometimes it worked, other times it did not, he said. The underlying premise though is that our government has moved from being institutionally pluralistic to a more individualized pluralism where every Congressman must fend for themselves (decline of party argument). One is left agreeing that public support does give a president certain leverage in bargaining with Congress, but how the support is measured or that it definitely replaces bargaining and forces Congress to act is not adequately substantiated. The book has some interesting stories on how some policies of some presidents played out in the political arena. If you like behind-the-scenes writings on policy making and president-Congress relations - buy the book.

As an undergraduate political science major, I've learned that research on the institution and person of the President of the United States of America deals primarily with general theories of leadership and governing. Dr. Han narrows the field of research to the topic of White House communication-- specifically television-- strategies, beginning with Kennedy and ending with Clinton.
The book focuses on which strategies failed and which strategies succeeded, by examining the various media communication strategies applied by each administration towards their certain domestic policies. These case studies provide the reader with a look at the various consequences an administration must consider when "going public" with a policy. This book could be used in teaching mass media or political science.