Tools Books

This book is clearly written and user friendly. Biafore gives links to information sources, making it easy for the reader to get more information on each of the hacks. These links alone are worth the price of the book.

I've been trading for over twenty years, including a period as a floor trader on the Chicago Board of Trade. Even with that experience there are tips and tricks in this book I found useful to the point where I employ them daily. To be complete as a reviewer I will say there is a lot of pretty basic stuff from my point of view, but still well worth reviewing since some of it I had forgotten.

Well written, easy reading, well organized

Online Investing Hacks is an excellent introduction to the world of investment. Though the title does contain the word 'Online', I would say that the general information the book provides on investing is not limited to the online realm.

Overall, I was very happy with the book, and found it incredibly useful. Though I do have several investments (401K, some stock, mutual funds etc) I would hardly consider myself an authority on the subject. This book provided very detailed explanations and tips on various forms of investment, from CD's to Index funds, and everything in between. While the experienced investor might not glean much from reading this book, anyone just getting started will find it an excellent reference, and resource.

The format of the book is similar to the other books in the 100 * Hacks series published by O'Reilly. There are exactly 100 hacks, or topics, which are spread across 9 chapters. Each one is an individual entity and can be read and understood without reliance on any of the other hacks.

One minor annoyance I had with the book is that it is geared toward those of you who, for some reason or another, run Microsoft's Windows OS, or have access to Microsoft Excel. Luckily, of the Excel examples that I played with, Open Office's Calc program handled them with minimal tweaking.

I can easily recommend this book to anyone who wants to invest, but is unsure of what to invest in, or needs some tips on making the most of preexisting investments. Those of you who enjoy research and building your own stats and graphs will also find parts of this book rather intriguing, as it covers data acquisition and manipulation with Excel in great detail. It will make an excellent addition to my reference shelf, and I have a feeling it will be well thumbed through in a very short time.

It seems like everyone is involved in investing in some form or another. While I always felt like I should be investing too, it was never clear to me how to begin this process. After all, it's my money. How can I be sure I'm investing in something that will provide some sort of reasonable return? This book is an excellent resource in answering some of those questions and putting the new investor on the right track.

This book is written in the same format as the other "hacks" series by O'Reilly. This format is very easy to read, and the format makes it very easy to find answers. Rather then having to read the book from cover to cover, the reader can pick out topics they are dealing with, read the answer, and move on. Since many of the people interesting in a book of this nature will likely have little time, the book's format works to its advantage.

The book begins with some basic introduction to the stock market and tips for selecting appropriate stocks or mutual funds. The whole middle section of the book deals with data analysis. The author discusses how to understand a company's balance sheet (e.g. what that P/E ratio means), how to spot companies in financial trouble, how to pick a good stock, and even how to trade. There is also a good discussion on minimizing the effect of taxes on your little return on investment.

The author even goes further and gets into a discussion on financial planning. In addition to discussing debt reduction, the author also talks about IRA plans and different strategies for saving for your child's education expenses. I think my favorite part of this book was the discussion on different education savings plans. The author discusses the ins and outs (as well as tax consequences) of each of the plans, and provides some examples illustrating the fact that it's better to start saving earlier than later.

This is an excellent book, not just for its investing advice, but also for its sound financial planning. This is a great book for anyone who is interested in increasing their wealth, saving for a rainy day, or simply saving for future financial goals.

Online Investing Hacks by Bonnie Biafore (O'Reilly) is one of those books that can pay for itself in short order, as well as over and over.

Chapter list: Screening Investments; Hacking Excel for Financial Analysis; Collecting Financial Data; Analyzing Company Fundamentals; Technical Analysis; Executing Trades; Investing in Mutual Funds; Managing Your Portfolio; Financial Planning; Index

I worked at Enron from 1998 through 2001, and spent plenty of time during that dot.com era following my stock portfolio. I watched my Enron stock value go from incredible value to a point where it cost more to sell the stock than it was worth. I won a few bets (face it, that's what they were) on a few dot.coms and lost many more. What could have been an incredible nest egg, isn't. This book would have been a lifesaver if I had read and paid attention to it a few years ago. Biafore shows you how you can analyze and invest wisely using a variety of tools available to everyone.

If you're an Excel user, you'll find it an invaluable tool for analysis. She'll show you how you can use it to create financial charts (#13), calculate compound annual rates of growth (#26), and use rational values to buy and sell wisely (#36). #39 - Spot Hanky Panky with Cash Flow Analysis (using Enron as an example) would have literally saved me hundreds of thousands of dollars had I known about it. Even if you don't care about the investing tips, the hack on downloading data via Excel web queries (#7) was something I didn't know how to do (or that you could even do it!). The book has a little something for everyone.

As with all Hacks titles, you probably won't be interested in every single item. Some may not be applicable to your situation or may be too complex for what you care to handle. But all it would take is one hack to work out and change your investing for this book to pay huge dividends. If you do your own investing, you owe it to yourself to get 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.

I have the first SewFastSewEasy book which is really the best book to learn how to sew from. This book is even better. The instructions are so clear and the illustrations are too. I love the new projects. The patterns alone are worth the $16 bucks for this book. If you want to learn to sew and progress, or need something a little more advanced, I suggest this book. Also I noticed the author has really good background and comes from the garment industry, which shows in her books.

My husband and I wanted to learn to sew and this book looked perfect for us. It was so easy to follow and enjoy doing it together. Even the part about the overlock machine was so helpful since we bought one a long time ago and never used it. We really love the illustrations in this book. They are so clear and easy to follow. Also there are a lot of good sewing tips as you go through the chapters. Yowser!--- I made Bob's T-Shirt and he made mine. It took us two trys to get it right but it was fun to do it.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R32UK093KPF2JU Customer testimonial at Sew Fast Sew Easy. Service with a smile!

I got this book because it looked guy friendly and there aren't any sewing books geared for guys who want to sew. This book has very easy instructions and the greatest illustrations. I just got up to the ottoman which is a bit of a challenge to make but I will be proud when I finish.

I had to buy this new Sew On book. I have both Ript It! and Sew Fast Sew Easy. I taught my daughter to sew with these books and with Sew On, I'm teaching myself to use my overlock machine. The patterns are more diverse than the Sew Fast Sew Easy book and still just as easy to use. With the TShirt and pant pattern, I'm able to make my own work out clothes and play clothes for my kids. Love these patterns! The pictures and illustrations really make this book standout. The instructions are very clear. Great follow up book.

This is not a book for beginners. But for the rest of us, it's the best book you can buy on this subject. In most audio literature you'll find the same old info you have already read in other books or know by experience. Not so here: this book is a treasure!

By Bob McCarthy.
This is a essential toll to your knowledge.
Even if you're unconversant with the high techniques on sound design and alignment. But prepare yourself to spend a lot of time on this book.
Get serious....
Thak you Mr.McCarthy.
Carlos Guinle.
[Milton Nascimento & Jobim Trio FOH enginner]

What surprised me most about this book was how readable it was. OK, I know it's not going on Oprah's book club list, but I was expecting a book that I wouldn't be able to understand beyond certain basics. Kind of like my 10th grade math book. But the way McCarthy works his way through the subject was well organized, clear AND at time humorous. I think that it's an excellent book that most sound engineers are going to want on their bookshelf.

I'm can honestly say, this book is changing (the more I read) how I think about designing the systems I've been setting up for the last 17 years.

I am so glad I have this tool.

Peter Thompson- Thunder Audio Inc. Detroit MI

Bob McCarthy did a great job. This book cover the black holes on sound systems design.
No matter how good audio guru you are, this is a MUST HAVE TOOL!.

This book was SO funny - had me laughing out loud from page one! A GREAT gift idea for co-workers and colleagues. Definitely worth the read. Can't wait to get my hands on the next Stooples book!

When you set three wise guys loose in the office, you're going to get something unpredictable, funny and smart. "Wise" is the operative word here--all the things you were told not to be in high school. Or most anywhere else. Nothing is exempt! I wouldn't be exempt, or you, or the authors--everything goes. Go with it, you'll like it!

First there was Dilbert...funny, yet so close to the truth! Now comes Stooples: Office Tools for Hopeless Fools. I got hold of a copy, and I haven't let go or stopped laughing since!

It's essentially a table top book, although if you leave it on your corporate reception area table, it WILL disappear. Same for the washrooms.

At only $12.95, cheaper at Amazon, for this 128 page full color parody of an office supply catalog, it's well worth thinking about it as a Christmas stocking stuffer, your office gift exchange, or as a give-away at your office holiday bash. The authors will be on tour throughout the US in October and November just to make sure you got their message. You were warned!

This book was hilarious! For anyone who has ever worked in an office setting, it's a must-read when you need a good laugh. This would make a good gift for co-workers and bosses with a sense of humor!

This is one of the funniest office-related books I've read. These guys are cynical, sarcastic and have more insights in modern workplaces than most business consultants. If only we could buy these products--coffee mugs with your six-figure salary emblazoned on it and other ego-pumping products. It reminds me of the Alex Baldwin character in Glengarry Glen Ross, who plunks his Rolex on the desk in front of some loser colleague and says "Who am I? This watch cost more than you earned last year, that's who I am."
This book reminds me of when I got my first job in the early 90s. My predecessor cleared out the bookshelf and left only Dilbert's "How to Build a Better Life By Stealing Office Supplies," which turned out to be the best sources of career advice I had. Now, as I'm preparing to clear out of an office, I think I'll leave the Stooples book to my successor...

I bought this book years ago and I have been using it since then as a reference.

The topic of critical thinking has always interested me, but I must confess that my curiosity in this particular book actually was piqued by its synopses and reviews (especially those below). So, in the philosophical tradition of skepticism (and as one who strives to be a good "critical thinker"), I decided to check it out for myself. To say that I was impressed would be a gross understatement. Levy's book surpassed my wildest expectations. I found myself concurring wholeheartedly with the comments of Drs. Szasz, Loftus, Taylor, Peplau, et al. (all of whom are highly respected, tenured faculty at prestigious institutions of higher learning and noted experts in relevant fields). In short, the book is a masterpiece. It is not only informative, enlightening, and a sheer pleasure to read, it is also (in stark contrast to philosophy courses in "logic") actually USEFUL as applied to real life. But don't take my (or anyone else's) word for it. See for yourself. You won't be disappointed.

I came across this book by accident and ordered it due to the strength of the online reviews. However, had I had a quick browse of it first I wouldn't have.

I expected a serious attempt at systematically categorizing fallacies in thinking. What it actually is is a very rudimentary workbook for undergraduate psychology students that introduces some common failures in reasoning in a very simplistic way. For that purpose it may be fine. If you have already done much thinking or reading in this area you are likely to find this book dissapointing, and in a number of areas surprisingly naive.

I teach software testers how to explore and analyze products. I recommend this book to all my students.

I found it entertaining and insightful. But, the main thing I like about the book is that it's set up so that every chapter is a standalone tool for analysis. You can read and use one chapter without having to read any of the others. I collect books on critical thinking, and this is the only one I feel I can recommend to casual students of the art.

Well written, with easy to understand examples of fallacious thought. The exercises are well thought out as well, helping the reader to really grok the subject.

Let's face it...sooner or later we all have something to sell in business and life, whether it's to help launch a new business, re-energize an existing one or to sell an idea. Elisa's book helps you do it all with great examples, easy-to-digest advice, and lots of passion! You'll want to keep this handy reference around whenever you feel stuck and in need of a fresh perspective on your next sales endeavor.

A key to success is to create a message that inspires others to help you succeed. Elisa explains how to share this message with others so you can achieve more. Her clear, insightful secrets show us how to use the resources we have to attract attention to our goals.

I am a highly trained engineer for the first time selling my services as a consultant. With The Break Through The Noise tools, I crafted my message not in terms of engineering-ese, but in terms of actions and experiences my customers would get. As a result, CEOs of major companies (e.g. revenues more than $50M) replied to my email solicitations and fowarded my messages to their staff.

As the Sales and Marketing executive for a small engineering company, I was having trouble converting some of our more effective Marketing efforts into specific Sales opportunities. I was successfully getting myself into professional and social situations where Prospects abounded, but competitors abounded there as well. Because I wasn't able to "Break Through the Noise" typical in those environments, I often couldn't generate enough interest on a Prospect's part for him or here to seriously consider us for a major project.

Then I read "Break Through the Noise," a tight, applicable-to-all-industries, tip & technique-packed instruction manual on how to connect with even the most reticent or distracted of Prospects. (And few Prospects are as reticent or distracted as our target customer, the middle-management engineer!).

Read this book, and you'll never engage in "hand-to-hand" Marketing the same way again.

Elisa Southard and her great book: Break Through the Noise helped me to succinctly articulate what it is I do. So many words, so many ideas, so much noise -- she helped me wade through the muck to find not only one pearl, but an entire strand, all the while keeping those I want to reach in mind.

I would like to highly recommend this book. I recently had the opportunity to attend a class on Chair Design and Construction. The instructor was Mr. Chan. As a weekend workworker I have always dreamed of one day designing and building a chair but thought that day was still pretty far into my future. Mr. Chan's prop for the class was a classic reproduction of a Ming Dynasty chair he built. He described how he first understood the joinery techniques, then how he replicated those joints by hand then then finally with power tools. His book describes many of those techniques.

I use this book as a reference to joint design and to remind me of the wonderful experience of the class.

This book is absolutely engrossing. Mr. Chan is inventive and does a great job of demonstrating how to re-create his designs.

I know Yeung and have taken a number of classes with him. At first, I was surprised to hear that he was writing a book on power tools. He is the master of hand work skill and sensitivity. His philosophy of furnituremaking is one of respectfulness and thoughtfulness about the wood, the design of the peice and the process of creating it. This book on using power tools carries this philosophy through in the directness and clearity of his discritptions, explaination and instruction. His familiarity of the process of joinery is so complete that the information flows to the reader as if they are having a friendly converstaion with Yeung about the ins and outs of what to do and how to do it. I recommend this book fully.

This is a top book on joints. This books deals exclusively with joints and is full of information. There are some jigs shown at the beginning with plans that will allow you to create some of the common or not so common joints. The book is written simply and is attractive. If you use your table saw a lot you will like this book but a router and bandsaw are used in some of the joints. In the back of the book there is a small gallery. If you ever had any questions about joints they are probably explained in this book. I am pleased with this book you should also be.

Classic Joints with Power Tools by Yeung Chan is unique amongst books on wood working. Logical, concise, and written by someone with a wealth of experience. The unique thing is how adept he is in explaining it; yes, an excellent teacher.
When you see some of the pictures of work the author completed, which is included in the book in full color, as well as pictures of works created by others, you realize that this is the work of someone who practices what he preaches.
Simple yet profound. One tip for example, is when cutting stock, cut it 1/4" oversize, then re-joint it, and re-cut it to final size. You know the problem of cutting a board, and the internal stress makes the board move a little. Then you have an edge cup in your piece. By cutting and jointing it twice, you eliminate that. What a great idea.
This book is made for the master woodworker, and the beginner alike. For the master; so they can compare techniques, and glean a new bent on methods, and for the beginner, because they can learn the simple truth of the best way of creating the right joint, using the best procedure.
I can't recommend this book enough. It makes for a great read, and a convenient reference guide, due to the fact that it is laid out so logically. Buy it you won't be sorry.