Tools Books

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.

An excellent book for beginning turners. Detailed explanations and lots of pictures.Taunton's Complete Illustrated Guide to Woodworking (Complete Illustrated Guide)

I am really impressed, what an introduction, great information!
I am interested in turning wood so I bought this book to research lathe wood working, and it seemingly covered questions that I had and so many others that I had not even thought of yet.
The illustrations give visualization to understanding of new jargon and concepts. I now feel like I have been properly introduced to a new creative expression in woodworking and am ready to pick up a gouge and try my hand at turning wood.

It was really great all Richard Raffan's book are so easy to do the projects as he writes and has photos of the item he is telling you about

Richard Raffan is by far one of the most recognized Master Turners in the world. This book is most likely a compilation of all of the works he has produced and presented in such a way that Turners on every level will gain something beneficial to their own turning. It is well organized and written in such plain language that every turner will have no problem understanding. The illustraions are top notch and very helpful. I would recomend this book to turners of every level.
Dave Earl

All I needed to know, Plus much more.
Easy way to learn the tips and tricks of turning.
All turners should have a copy on hand.

I can't say enough great things about this book. It's full of interesting projects to try, and the design of the book itself is great, light and airy, despite being packed with useful information.

You'll need some software to try the projects in it, an image editor of some kind and a printer. But that's all you need for most of the projects described. Janet Ashford has really creative ideas for transforming every day objects like metal tins and boxes, using computer designs.

I can just about guarantee, if you're artistic at all and you buy this book, you'll not only enjoy it, but you'll wind up designing some really amazing things as a result!

Being an arts and crafts designer from way back, I have always wanted to own this book. I couldn't find it on the shelves a couple of years ago and proposed to write such a book when I found myself inventing paper crafts for PrintMaster, a card design program produced by the Learning Company.

But Janet Ashford beat me to it. And she has the know-how it would have taken me years to acquire. This is a magnificent tome, one that inspires as well as informs the crafts addict. Her expanations are sophisticated but clear to anyone who has passed beyond the basics. Lots of the projects are very artful and have the look of "handmade" without being too cutsy or too advertisingly slick.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves crafts and has access to a computer with the big three type programs: layout, photo adjusting, and drawing. If you are new to computers, an accompanying book or class will set you up for this one.

The potential of the computer in craft has been seriously damaged by the excitement computers have generated. A parallel can be found when the Russian novelist Tolstoy was given a dictaphone to help speed up his writing. After a few weeks he threw it out the window. His neighbor asked if it didn't work. Tolstoy's reply was "It worked fine, but I got so excited using it I couldn't write." For almost two decades a generation of designers have succumbed to the excitement and hype of the computer without significantly adding any real content or substance to their work under the digitized banner. It is time for that to change, and Janet Ashford is a winning harbinger of that change.

It doesn't help matters that most design software seems to be written by the left-brain dominant spouses of craft practitioners...well intentioned souls with no sense of the real kinesthetics of working color, form, texture.

Janet Ashford has navigated through the difficult middle course between technology and entrancement. She draws! She creates custom palettes in her application software! She doesn't hit you over the head or talk down to the reader. Perhaps her experience of designing for and with her daughter has given her the wonderful tone of teaching someone she likes, who is lacking in knowledge but not in ability. That is a prized gift in any teacher, and Ashford has it mastered.

She has maintained her enthusiasm, her innocent pleasure in sharing the joys of color and pattern, line, light and form. She is conscientious in gathering really useful resources together into a book that can pay off in serious fun the first weekend you get to use it, without resorting to false expectations. Buy the book. Use the example. You, and your craft, will be enriched without hype or over-simplification. Serious artists and craftspeople do not expect the tool to do the real work of creation for them. This book is written for the serious artists and craftspeople at any stage of their careers...from about 9 years old on up.

This is a good reference for general information about using a computer to enhance or create art. The author mainly uses Adobe products, such as Photoshop and Illustrator for editing images and graphics. Before you will be able to create these projects, you have to be familiar with your software AND have software to create some of the effect (image editor, paint and graphics program). If you are looking for a book that specifically tells you how to do these things, that will not be found here. You have to be "computer-literate" and software-literate to get the most from this book.

There is a lot of good information provided and several projects are shown using illustrations and photographs, not in a step-by-step format.

Ashford knows the art of computer craftmaking and provides the reader with very good starting points for crafts that intertwine computer and manual art. Regarding hardware/software she clearly favors Mac/Adobe, so her recommendations reflect this. In spite of this slant, she gives some helpful overviews of the technological side of various formats, graphic standards, etc.
Want to intermingle computer graphics with your arts and crafts? Here's a good starting point.

I started candle making several months ago. I wish I had had this book on Day 1. I pretty much figured out the basics on my own, but would have saved a lot of time (and mistakes) if I had had this book to start with. It's Candle Making 101: basic, simple, step by step, and lots of photos. A great book if you are just starting out.

If you have made candles before, this book isn't for you. It is however the perfect book for me. I am new to candlemaking and have read all the candle books in the library and bought several more. But when I make candles, I find myself jumping from book to book trying to get all the steps straight.

This book is an extremely detailed explanation (with pictures) of the steps to making several types of candles; container, molded, dipped, and rolled beeswax. It is like having an expert standing beside you, "This is the way you prime wicks. This is how to add color to the wax".

Includes information on equipment, a good explanation of the different kinds of wicks and then step-by-step instructions with lots of pictures and a checklist of materials needed.

Once I get the hang of candle-making, this book will probably be put back on the shelf in favor of more advanced techniques. But until then, this is the next best thing to having an expert walk you through each step.

What's best about this book are the step by step photos included with the instructions. That's what makes it so easy to understand even for the novice.

Offers valuable tips and advice for those who are more advanced as well. This book is a must for your collection if you're serious about candle making.

[...]

Excellent long-lasting bound Book. Excellent colored photos throughtout!
Highly Recommend for Candle Maker Beginners!
Would have to be "Advanced" Candle Maker to need any other Book!

This is a great book for people who are just starting making candles or has never done it before. The pictures are big and all color and the directions are clear. It also has a list of supplies that you'll need to get started for basic candles with easy to do projects.

I have been using The Heart of Change book in my consulting practice. Dan Cohen's Field Guide adds a new dimension to the useability of the model. In this book Cohen has brought his extensive experience with Deloitte Consulting's Large Scale Change Practice to bear in delivering tacit knowledge of how successful change initiatives using the Heart of Change model really happen. There are ample insights, tips and tools. In addition he very successfully integrates the the theory behind the model with key challenges, diagnostic tools, stories to remember and other helpful resources.

This is a strong practical guide to organizational change. It's foundational with tools well integrated and clearly defined. Brilliant. Thanks for this practical guide.

Dan S. Cohen's The Heart Of Change Field Guide: Tools And Tactics For Leading Change In Your Organization is a follow-up to the 1996 John Kotter best-sellers Leading Change, which outlined an eight-step program for organizational change which was applauded and followed by businesses around the world. Here leaders and managers receive tools and frameworks for bringing these changes to life within their own companies, teaching how to implement each step in the process and packing in checklists, commentary, tips, and practical application methods throughout. From communicating for buy-in to creating, shaping and imparting a vision for change, The Heart Of Change Field Guide takes idea and applies it to real-life situations.

The Heart of Change (2002), co-authored by Kotter and Cohen, hit a chord in the marketplace because it told stories that leaders could relate to (based on the eight steps of change) about project successes and failures. Cohen's Field Guide (2005) takes those winning principles and translates them into practical tools to help monitor and measure success along each step.

As a consultant, I use these principles and tools on a regular basis to help my clients achieve lasting change. The diagnostic tools for each step are a great way to identify barriers and risks so you can bust through those barriers and mitigate risks.

If your organization is undergoing significant change, this is a book that you MUST have not only in your library but on your desk for regular use.

I was initially skeptical when this book was recommended by a coworker. But wow! The two most outstanding points are:
1.The change management insights to be gained from the real-life case studies. It's reassuring to know you're not alone in facing these challenges.
2. The dignostic tools are very helpful in identifying similar issues to be resolved in my company. Great not to be "insulted" by cookie-cutter solutions.
This is information and guidance that I can put to work immediately. Would recommend to any executive currently facing change management issues.

I did like this book because it offers a "battle plan"-you feel empowered just reading it. Some of the ideas in the book are very very practical and I would have never thought about them. However...not all the ideas are all that original, and I was doing lots of the things described anyway. Another problem is that the author, instead of showing more about organizing paperwork, refers her readers to a different book... Overall, it's a pretty nice read, but for the organizing freaks out there-don't expect an epiphany!

I like the author's use of humor as well as the included lists for organization. It is possible to organize one area at a time. I have read Alexandria Stoddard in the past and like how this author incorporates her ideas especially for the Decompression Chamber. I live in a one room apartment so I can develop my own Cozy Corner.
This book is more an advanced course in organization than other books I have used in the past. This previous knowledge is often assumed. The book also has another problem common to books on organization. Many of us rent and for that reason cannot add built-ins to where we live.

Household Winners For Working Women: Your Personal Organizational Tool Kit To Declutter & Design A Comfortable Home is a highly practical and "user friendly" guide for keeping one's home free of useless encumbrances and enhancing a cozy, liveable space in which to better enjoy life. Written specifically for working women with limited time for housework, individual chapters address everything from an easy-to-access closet, to choosing groceries that offer maximum nutrition and delicious preparation with minimum fuss, to car cleaning and car jacking prevention tips, Household Winners For Working Women is packed cover to cover with solid, useful, and highly recommended ideas, suggestions, and advice.

I purchased this book as a gift for my wife. She is a fairly well organized person but she said that she needed to be better about certain tasks. So anyway, I gave it to her and she said it was perfect. The fact that she was able to read and zoom in on the relevant chapters to her pleased her to no end. I highly recommend this book. It is a great gift idea.

Written in a conversational style, Dr. Bishop guides us through a delightful process of decluttering and organizing our home environments--to Assess, Zone, Unload, Rearrange & Enjoy. Chapters address creating organized rooms and work and storage spaces throughout the home. This comprehensive manual is especially valuable for the numerous checklists for project planning and for documenting important family and household information. Also includes extensive, useful Resources, Apprendix, and Bibliography sections.

If reading from beginning-to-end is not your style, start by learning Dr. Bishop's philosophy of AZURE-ing (p.340-41) and move to Chapter 4 to create your own Personal Decompression Chamber. Then, in your personal care retreat, read the remaining chapters that will guide you in the process of organizing your other home environments, and simplifying your life to enjoy it more!

Linux System Security: The Administrator's Guide to Open Source Security Tools, Second Edition
by Scott Mann has advice on starting from scratch when you are setting up a machine to make it secure from attack from the outside.

It looks at everything from the filesystem upwards, and will give you a good starting point for looking at this.

Linux is better than Windows.

Actually all tools described are not Linux specific and can be used for any Unix including FreeBSD and Solaris.

The authors seems to know the subject and really used tools that they are writing about. For several popular tools the book provides some useful info that is difficult to find elsewhere. Pretty decent typography, although it's a little bit too academic and does not use icons on margins that IMHO simplify reading. 

As for the classic open security tools, the book covers PAM(36 pages), Sudo(20 pages), TCP Wrappers(24 pages), SSH(55 pages), Tripwire(24 pages), CFS and TCFS (30 pages), and ipchains.

From the first reading it looks like the chapters are *not* a rehash of existing online documentation. In addition to the chapters about classic open source security tools I like chapters about logs: a chapter on syslog (Ch.8) and a chapter on log file management (Ch.17). 

Now about weaknesses. The chapter on Tiger is rather weak. Moreover regrettably Tiger is a legacy tool, but actually information is not completely useless -- it's not difficult to switch to another tool after one understands how Tiger works. Actually Perl is superior for writing Unix vulnerability scanners in comparison with shell. May be hardening scripts like Bastille would be a better choice for this chapter in the second edition of the book.

Book is incomplete in a sense that neither Snort (or any similar intrusion detection tool), nor open source network scanners (Saint, Sara, etc.) are covered.

Of course there are some typos, but generally not that many. But what is really bad is that the Prentice Hall book page currently is pretty basic with no errata or additional links. The authors do not provide a WEB site for the book.

This book can probably be used for studying Unix security at universities along with somewhat outdated Practical Unix and Internet Security and this combination can somewhat compensate deficiencies of the latter (non tool oriented descriptive approach).

This book is well-written, thorough, and practical rather than academic. I particularly found the chapter on securing network services to be helpful, and was able to identify some potential security problems on the systems I support as a result of information provided in that chapter.

This book is incredibly thorough, and up to date. For example, Red Hat Linux 7 has just come out, and does now has xinetd as a replacement for inetd. Well, you guessed it, this book has about 27 pages on xinetd!

Want info on ipchains? This book has at least 50 pages on the subject!

I could go on and on about this book it is so good!

This book is written by experienced people, not just an author who was assigned another book to write.

You will not regret buying this book!

Perl is my workhorse language. I've written more Perl code, both personally and professionally, than any other language I've learned. Whenever I receive a new project, I immediately think of how I would accomplish it quickly in Perl. I've also been a fan of O'Reilly's "Hacks" series of books. When I heard of the marriage of Perl and O'Reilly's "Hacks" series in the book Perl Hacks, I knew I had to pick up a copy. It was a match made in heaven. The nature of Perl for terse, yet powerful constructs, and the hackish nature of the "Hacks" series makes for one of my favorite books in this series. The collection of articles in Perl Hacks are great for putting more productivity into your programming experience.

Those of you not familiar with O'Reilly's "Hacks" Series may need an introduction. The "Hacks" Series is an ever-growing set of books with focused attention on a particular topic, like Astronomy, Mental Improvement, or even Halo 2. The books are generally short, and contain article-length "hacks" of varying difficulty, noted by a thermometer next to the hack number and description. These "hacks" fall into several categories; the non-obvious solution to a problem, the performance improvement, and the "gee, I didn't know it could do that" oddity. What makes this series special compared with other books is the willingness to "void the warranty" on a particular product, and get straight to the internals, whether they lay in hardware or software. If something can be made better by opening the covers, or twiddling with the program layout, then its eligible for inclusion in these books. The series lends itself to a wide range of topics, and the format is great for a quick read, or for (my favorite) just randomly opening the book and reading what's there.

Perl Hacks is not a book that you'd find yourself reading straight through (although you do want to make sure you visit every hack in the book at least once). The book is divided into nine chapters: Productivity Hacks, User Interaction, Data Munging, Working with Modules, Object Hacks, Debugging, Developer Tricks, Know Thy Code, and Expand Your Perl Foo. There are 101 hacks in this book, ranging from the simple (Reading files backward, or managing your module paths) to the truly perverse (Replacing bad code without touching it by substituting the system-wide exit call with your own[...]. Each hack title is listed in the table of contents, with both the page number and the hack number. Each hack contains a graphic of a thermometer next to the number to show the relative difficulty of the hack (higher temperatures = more difficult hacks). There quite a variety of hacks placed throughout the book. Not once did I feel that the book was padded with something that really didn't belong in the book. If anything Perl Hacks opened my eyes to things that I would never have thought to do, but could easily see as being useful. I wouldn't have thought to create my own personal module bundles for moving my Perl programs between machines (I've always done it the old fashioned way: run, cpan install, repeat), but hack #31 makes it so "of course" that I'm thinking of including this in all of my Perl code that I ship. Hack #74 shows how to trace all of the modules your program uses (and all of their modules, too). Hack #52 is a simple hack ("Make Invisible Characters Apparent") but I can see this saving a developer or two some time when figuring out why their code isn't behaving properly. Of course, not all hacks in the book are productive (at least, not while you're programming). Hack #37, "Drink to the CPAN" is a drinking game you and your Perl buddies may want to try.

Perl Hacks is a short book, at less than 300 pages, but it's loaded with incredibly useful information. Much like the "Perl Cookbook" (also from O'Reilly) you'll find lots of useful items hidden in their pages. Many times I started with one hack, and finished the chapter reading the rest of the hacks because there were just that interesting. Perl Hacks is highly recommended for any Perl programmer to have on their programmer book shelf. Sure, you might be able to find some of the hacks out there on the net, but I think you'll find as I have that this is more of a go-to reference for finding out some of the more interesting corners of Perl.

I received this book as a token of appreciation for my contributions to
the 2006 Perl Advent Calendar. It's the first book I read as part of the
O'Reilly Hacks' series of books, and it proved to be a light yet informative and entertaining
read.

The book covers various useful "hacks" or small tricks that allow one to
achieve a lot of cool tasks when working with Perl. These tricks are unorthodox
and stretch the limit of one's Perl knowledge. Since they require an advanced
knowledge and understanding of Perl, I would recommend this book only for Perl
experts. Some of the B:: using modules were even too high-level for me to
understand how they worked internally. However, I understood the purpose of the
code in all cases, even if I didn't understand the code itself.

So it is a recommended read for people who've worked with Perl a lot,
and wish to learn many new and useful tricks. Perl Hacks for Perl hackers,
indeed!

From the title, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Perl Hacks. Was it going to be about rummaging around in Perl's internals? Making Perl do clever, yet ultimately dumb and pointless tricks? It turns out that, while there is some fairly voodooish material here, some of it quite playful, on the whole it's a very practical book. Aimed firmly at the advanced Perl programmer who knows when it's appropriate to mess about with the symbol table, temporarily turn off warnings, or crack out one of the B:: modules, this is a collection of 101 suggestions to improve your productivity, boggle your mind about what Perl can do, or both.

The content reminds me a little of the likes of Exceptional C++ Style, a mixture of advanced best practices, and things which you may not need to know, but you'll probably still be interested in finding out how it works. For instance, have you ever considered tieing an array or hash variable to a function? Ever wanted to name a supposed anonymous subroutine? Print out the source code as well as the line number of a syntax error? Nor me, but Perl Hacks shows how it could be useful. These are illustrative of the spirit of the book.

My favourite material was probably the chapter on modules. Included are how-tos for outputting all the modules used in a package, automatically reloading modules in running code, shortening long package names with the CPAN 'aliased' module, and making up your own bundle of modules for easy installation. There's also an interesting object chapter with subjects such as: inside out objects, using YAML for serialisation, using traits and autogeneration of accessors.

Additionally, there's a little on using those scary B:: packages, using modules which use the B:: packages or other dark magic (e.g. peeking inside closures), some fairly hardcore tracing and profiling, that touches on some Perl VM internals. Also worth mentioning is the hack that hijacks the angle bracket glob operator to create Haskell/Python-style list comprehensions.

You are going to have to be one scarily gifted Perl hacker not to find something useful or at least thought-provoking at regular intervals throughout this book. My only complaint is that the hack format, which the blurb on the back of the book describes as a "short lesson", does not lend itself equally well to all hacks. While I liked the chapter on objects, some of the hacks (in particular the traits hack, some of the testing material) were too short.

If you like the sound of a book that's somewhere between Perl Cookbook, Perl Best Practices and the second edition of Advanced Perl Programming, you're going to love this.

In a time when new computer languages are dime a dozen, perl unquestionably retains its beauty. Keeping with the philosophy of perl - there is more than one way to do it - the book shows you ingenious ways to work with this powerful language. This is a true hacks book and meant mostly for the advanced user. Before reading this book, I didn't even realize what I didn't know and I rate myself just short of contributing to CPAN. Even if you have read all the popular books - Perl Programming, Perl Best Practices etc. you'll still find a lot of gems.

Simply put if you like perl, you'll love this book. Welcome to the next level...

To be completely honest, this isn't the book I thought it was going to be. Most O'Reilly Hacks books start off pretty simply and in a few chapters take you to the further reaches of their subject area. Whilst this is a great way to quickly get a good taste of a particular topic, it has the occasional disadvantage that for subjects that you know well, the first couple of chapters can seem a bit basic. As I know Perl pretty well, I thought I would be on familiar ground for at least half of the book.

I was wrong.

Oh, it started off easily enough. Making use of various browser and command line tools to get easy access to Perl documentation, creating some useful shell aliases to cut down typing for your most common tasks. "Oh yes", I thought smugly to myself, "I know all that". But by about Hack 5 I was reading about little tweaks that I didn't know about. I'd start a hack thinking that I knew everything that the authors were going to cover and end up frustrated that I was on the tube and couldn't immediately try out the new trick I had just learnt.

It's really that kind of book. Pretty much everyone who reads it will pick up something that will it easier for them to get their job done (well, assuming that their job involves writing Perl code!) And, of course, looking at the list of authors, that's only to be expected. The three authors listed on the cover are three of the Perl communities most respected members. And the list of other contributers reads like a who's who of people who are doing interesting things with Perl - people whose use.perl journals are always interesting or whose posts on Perl Monks are worth reading before other people's. Luckily, it turns out that all these excellent programmers can also explain what they are doing (and why they are doing it) very clearly.

Like all books in the Hacks series, it's a little bitty. The hacks are organised into nine broad chapters, but the connections between hacks in the same chapter can sometimes be a bit hard to see. But I enjoyed that. In places it made the book a bit of a rollercoaster ride. You're never quite sure what is coming next, but you know it's going to be fun.

In fact, the more I think about it, the more apt the fairground analogy seems. When you ask Perl programmers what they like about Perl, you'll often hear "fun" mentioned near the top of the list. People use Perl because they enjoy it. And the authors' enjoyment of Perl really comes through in the book. It's obvious that they really wanted to show people the things that they thought were really cool.

Although I did learn useful tips from the earlier part of the book, it was really the last three chapters that were the most useful for me. Chapter 7, Developer Tricks, had a lot of useful things to say about testing, Chapter 8, Know Thy Code, contains a lot of information on using Perl to examine your Perl code and Chapter 9, Expand Your Perl Foo was a grab-bag of obscure (but still useful) Perl tricks.

So where does this book fit in to O'Reilly's Perl canon? I can't recommend it for beginners. But if you're a working Perl programmer with a couple of years' experience then I'd be very surprised if you didn't pick up something that will be useful to you. And don't worry about it overlapping with other books in your Perl library - offhand I can't think of anything in the book that has been covered in any previous Perl book.

All in all, this would make a very useful addition to your Perl library.

I would definitely recommend this book. But, don't just take my word for it.

Here is what a leading metaphysical reviewer says about the Psychic Counselor's Handbook:

Richard Fuller, according to his own words receives daily books from all over the world and makes his decision of promoting and endorsing a particular book dependent on two major factors:

"I must find the author's integrity within the pages of the book. Once I have read the book from cover to cover I must be able to say that it will lead people to a better place."

His comment about the Psychic Counselor's Handbook was: "Yes, I would endorse and promote this book. You have a booster here."

Who is Richard Fuller?

Richard Fuller, senior editor and columnist has spent his entire working life as a writer, magazine editor and advertising executive. He is considered by his peers to be a truth-seeker, upholding the highest levels of integrity in his support of the new age community. He only endorses the finest books, videos and recordings available. Any work that is endorsed by Mr. Fuller is very worthy of your interest.

How often can you hope to get advice that's frank, honest and from life's experience? When you read this book you will feel like you are there in person with author and medium Ralph Jordan. How authentic he is, and what alot we have to learn. A must read for anyone who sees themselves as a psychic counselor, healer or a "wannabe".

The amount of books on counseling techniques is so great that it would easily fill a library. So, why should it be that there is one book on the art of counseling which belongs on every practitioner's table? Actually, there are two reasons why Reverend Ralph D. Jordan's "Psychic Counselor's Handbook" is outstanding. Number one is the book itself. Starting with The Basics, it provides the reader with a working model that he can use no matter what psychotherapeutic approach or group of clients he is working with. A vivid and comprehensive description of the Techniques, Tools and Attitudes for successful counseling is followed by a whole chapter on Pitfalls, which is as rare as it is invaluable for anyone who wishes to avoid them. In Part Four, the editor has compiled dialogues between the author and some of his students, dealing with subject matters which even the very experienced counselor might like to clarify for himself. Plus, they have managed to fit all of this into 160 pages of a robust paperback, thus giving the counselor a true handbook which he can carry with him and read chapter for chapter just as well as put on his office table and use as a reference book. Still, there is a second reason which strongly recommends the "Psychic Counselor's Handbook": its author. For Ralph D. Jordan is not only a brilliant psychic counselor and masterful practitioner of transactional analysis, Jungian psychology and behavioral confrontation but, being a student of Paramahansa Yogananda, has gone on to teach a pathway of metaphysical evolution that has helped thousands of Western seekers to make a better life for themselves. Thus, getting his book is also a wonderful investment in our self-growth - at a very good price.

As a practicing psychiatrist, I can say that this book channeled by Ralph Jordan, has been an eye opener in regards to the way I practice psychiatry, the way I view my patients, and my overall attitude about life. I have learned that, too often, we counselors have a tendency to view our patients/clients from a superior perspective, a "poor you, you're not good enough" attitude. This no nonsense book states it as it is, which is that we're all equal, we just make our choices. His approach to the use of non-empathy, non-judgment, non-pity is very refreshing when working with my clients because it gives the freedom to see them as just another human being, not a subject incapable of thinking or incapable of caring for themselves.

A point well brought out in the book is the concept of the law of attraction, knowing that the people that come into the office for counseling are coming due to similarly acting properties, or "bugaboos" as it's termed in the book, in the life of the counselor. I have learned that this is an important factor in psychiatry and plays into counter transference feelings/ideas the therapist may have for the client. The psychic counselor is just as prone to counter transference issues, and transference issues, as the mental health counselor. Counter transference issues get in the way of how we counsel; that's why the "Twelve Golden Rules of Psychic Counseling" are particularly helpful, because they point out the pitfalls a counselor will encounter, signaling that counter transference issues are interfering. Transference is an oft overlooked but very important factor in how someone hears the counselor and the expectations placed on the counselor.

It's a wonderful book, full of a wealth of information and wisdom which is helpful for moving beyond the ordinary into another aspect of counseling. Starting from page one, the reader is made aware that Ralph Jordan values professional ethics, the belief in being a neutral reader vs. one infusing their own values into the reading, and the assistance of God in all things. One builds an ethical practice by treating everything as information. There is no such thing as "good or bad: things simply are." The book is divided in 4 different parts: The Basics; Techniques, Tools and Attitudes; Pitfalls; and Seeker/Teacher Dialogue. There are Appendices also which add more valuable insights. This is psychic counseling done with the recognition that truth comes from God, that "Everything is working for God's greater recognition on this earth plane." Just reminding oneself of that principle helps to change the course of the psychic reading from being non-neutral to being a more neutral reading.

The Psychic Counselor's Handbook will always serve as a reference book, even a text of inspiration, when it comes to counseling of any type. Thank you, Ralph Jordan, for your channeled ideas!

The amount of books on counseling techniques is so great that it would easily fill a library. So, why should it be that there is one book on the art of counseling which belongs on every practitioner's table? Actually, there are two reasons why Reverend Dr. Ralph D. Jordan's "Psychic Counselor's Handbook" is outstanding. Number one is the book itself. Starting with the Basics, it provides the reader with a working model that he can use no matter what psychotherapeutic approach or group of clients he is working with. A vivid and comprehensive description of the Techniques, Tools and Attitudes for successful counseling is followed by a whole chapter on Pitfalls, which is as rare as it is invaluable for anyone who wishes to avoid them. In Part Four, the editor has compiled dialogues between the author and some of his students, dealing with subject matters which even the very experienced counselor might like to clarify for himself. Plus, they have managed to fit all of this into 160 pages of a robust paperback, thus giving the counselor a true handbook which he can carry with him and read chapter for chapter just as well as put on his office table and use as a reference book. Still, there is a second reason which strongly recommends the "Psychic Counselor's Handbook": its author. For Ralph D. Jordan is not only a brilliant psychic counselor and masterful practitioner of transactional analysis, Jungian psychology and behavioral confrontation but, being a student of Paramahansa Yogananda, has gone on to teach a pathway of metaphysical evolution that has helped thousands of Western seekers to make a better life for themselves. Thus, getting his book is also a wonderful investment in our self-growth - at a very good price.

I happened upon this book while looking for some words of wisdom about motivation. I am an educator and pursuing my Masters Degree in Education. I am interested in motivation, and Muna has made his chapter on motivation and job performance so relevant that I can easily translate the metaphor of the tripod to the needs and talents of my students in an effort to increase performance and learning. Thank you, Farid. Excellent read!

The Seven Metaphors was one of the nicest Christmas presents that I recieved this year. It covers seven tools covering various subjects from child upbringing to retirement planning.

This book is valuable for both business management and personal life. For example, the chapter entitled the Helicopter View is very useful for solving business as well as personal problems. I enjoyed this book very much.

Dr. Muna succeeded in distilling a career of valuable experience and wide reading into a very interesting, clearly written, and thought provoking book full of wise comment. I could not put the book down once I started reading it. I highly recommend it.

As a regional director for a multinational company, I found this book extremely helpful in highliting the different ways available to you when you are facing a problem,planning your retirement, or strengthening your leadership quality. I strongly recommend it for any manager who wants to climb up the corporate ladder.

As an expatiate working in Germany, Dr. Muna's book applied to situations that I have encountered in Germany. Although his book only attempts to deal with the management styles in the Middle East, it has a much broader reach that can be applied to many management situations, especially on the Affiliate level in American companies. I found his to be book very insightful and applicable. This is a must read for managers, especially those who work abroad.