Development Reviews

How to Design Programs: An Introduction to Programming and Computing

Published in Hardcover by The MIT Press (2001-02-12)

Authors: Matthias Felleisen, Robert Bruce Findler, Matthew Flatt, and Shriram Krishnamurthi

List price: $71.00

New price: $56.80
Used price: $44.36

Average review score:

Above and Beyond

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-23

This order was handled above and beyond the call of duty. They handled everything, including the problem of USPS losing the package. No questions were asked and the book was reshipped immediately. Thank You for the great service.

A Recipe for Programming

Helpful Votes: 16 out of 16 total.
Review Date: 2006-07-06

This book opened my eyes. I'd finished a Ph.D. in computer science, and had a decent exposure to quite a few programming languages and paradigms, before coming across this book. I was surprised to start working through this introductory book, and find myself learning new things! The book transformed my approach to programming.

From page one, HtDP starts talking about good program design, and gives a methodical approach. Until this, I'd always thought programming books were "here are ten small example programs; go write ten more." That's hardly teaching. But HtDP builds up a straightforward design recipe, to guide programs along. If I get stuck or have a mistake in my program, 90% of the time I realize it's because I strayed from the book's recipe. The approach is language-independent, although some programming environments make it much easier to implement the design recipe; the book provides links to a good (free) Scheme environment, which it uses for its code examples too. (I've come to use that environment day-to-day). My code--in any language--has become much more robust, and when I do have a bug I usually locate it early, thanks to this book.

In addition, HtDP made me think about things I'd taken for granted: How is assignment to a variable fundamentally different than assignment to a structure's field? Even, *why* do I use assignment statements in certain situations, instead of choosing a functional approach? How often do my programs actually need the efficiency of imprecise floating-point arithmetic, vs using bignums which totally liberate me from numerical inaccuracy?

Although the text is available on line, I cherish my hardcopy. This is a book to first learn programming from, and one to revisit every five years.

Everyone should learn to design programs

Helpful Votes: 25 out of 43 total.
Review Date: 2004-06-03

As a programming do-it-yourselfer I've had many conflicting responses to this text -- it's didactic style, its attention to detail, its sometimes patronizing tone, its rigor and broad scope and at the same time its immersion in minutia and quiddities I have never encountered in 'computer books' I had ever perused. Perhaps it's my liberal arts background, or love 'em/hate 'em sensitivity to all those broad stiff-spined textbooks I had carried in back-packs since childhood, combined with a disdain for the authoritative stilted style these educators exude -- despite their patent love of their subject. I felt at once both patronized and condescended to.
From the very start of their journey into a detailed six step-by-step process that show the reader how to analyze problem statements, how to formulate goals, make up examples, outline a solution, and test a solution the authors proclaim their pedagogical ends: "We [...] believe that the study of program design deserves the same central role in general education as mathematics and English. Or, put more succinctly, everyone should learn how to design programs..." This is not a textbook, this is a revolutionary pamphlet calling for educational reform. I had read nothing like this in the tens of 'Dummies' and 'In 24 Hours' books I had exposed myself to. One part priggish, two parts pedagogic. I often found myself asking for whom was it written? First-year college student?, ambitious would-be high-school programmer wanna-be? Math mavens? Surely not a middle-aged bookish clerk who tastes run more to Turgenev and Dostoevsky than Turing and Dijkstra. But then I demanded more than mere anonymous web-lurking from my lowly pc. I remember myself many years ago trying to learn BASIC on a massive time-share computer and telling myself surely there was had to be more magic to computing than this. Well, after reading more texts and having had to unlearn the 'Dummies' and the 'In 24 hours' style of disinformation I had finally found the marrow of a discipline that is as demanding as any I had ever come across and as vexing as any artistic rigor I had ever been inspired by. Come be confused, come be amused, amazed and intellectually abused. Sorely, if I find I have little talent for this excruciatingly logical endevour, I have also found a full-blown appreciation of such daunting computational cheekiness. Much to learn here, and this is only the "core subject of a liberal arts education." What had I been wasting my time on all those years as a professional student?

Excellent Book for Rookies and Veterans

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2006-12-25

I have been professionally developing software for about 5 years. I found this book to be one of the most useful and helpful books to help my coding skills. Even though I have been programming professionally for a few years and have a computer science degree, I learned a lot of new neat concepts from this book. It also helped to me to remind me of all the basic good practices that I have forgotten.

It is also an excellent book for beginners. The books doesn't use a popular programming language like Java to accomplish its goals. Instead, it uses Scheme so the student can focus on the concepts rather than syntax. It also teaches great concepts and breaks the problem down on how to solve various problems. Also it isn't "hardcore" like SICP-- it is very friendly to non-MIT level people.

The joy of learn programming

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 16 total.
Review Date: 2003-11-15

Great book! I liked the way the author approaches how to begin designing programs. I am half-way through the book and I am finding it very entertaining. Yeap! I recommend this book.

I Like Me! (Picture Puffins)

Published in Paperback by Puffin (1990-05-15)

Author: Nancy Carlson

List price: $6.99

New price: $3.25
Used price: $0.43
Collectible price: $10.00

Average review score:

I like me

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-08

I had this book when I was a very little kid. My mom bought it and to this day I remembered it. I am definetly thinking of buying a copy for when i have kids.

Inspiring for young and old.

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-07-29

I am a therapist and I use this book for clients both young and old. It is such a precious book with a wonderful message. If you are a parent especially of a little girl get this book for your child. Then get a pig of some kind as a reminder to like themselves no matter what.

Everyone should have a copy of this book!

Helpful Votes: 23 out of 27 total.
Review Date: 2001-05-01

My mother bought a copy of this title for me to give to her future grandchild. I was so inspired by it, that I want to give it to all of my friends now. This book has delightful drawings and a wonderful message. This book is fun to read as an adult and a child. It is so important that children and adults are surrounded by positive messages like the one this book has to offer. I recommend it for everyone!

excellent for a preschooler's sad moments

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2000-09-21

A great way for preschoolers to repair their fragile sense of self and self-respect. Any child should be able to absorb these positive message to repeat to themselves when they feel down.

Terrific and fun book for young ones!

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 2000-10-31

The positive messages of this book are complemented by the terrific illustrations. A very simple yet important text as it teaches little ones to like themselves. The main character is one very upbeat pig. My son enjoys and laughs at the illustrations. The text provides fodder for conversation. Not too heavy in a figurative or literal way, this book is small enough to warrant a place on every small child's bookshelf. You may also want to check out Ms. Carlson's other books as they are all terrific. Highly recommended!

Infinite Wealth: A New World of Collaboration and Abundance in the Knowledge Era

Published in Paperback by Butterworth-Heinemann (1999-06-15)

Author: Barry Carter

List price: $26.95

New price: $26.00
Used price: $9.68

Average review score:

An Excellent Book...

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2000-01-25

If you can overlook certain things that I find a bit grating--especially the author's touting companies like Microsoft and Amway as exemplars of the new "win/win" economy (I prefer to see them as the WORST examples of the exploitative Industrial Age economy)--you will realize this is an important and timely book. The author has created an inspiring and stimulating collage--his work itself an example of the infinite possibilities for creativity that the Information Age offers.

I regularly scour library catalogs for new books in subjects like "Information Society" and "Knowledge Management." This is one of the few that I've read from cover to cover.

Infinite Wealth

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2000-01-11

I wish I had this book at my disposal when I started to change the management system at my own company. I begun a bold and seemingly insane program to get our employees more interested and involved in the company's future for the same reason Barry Carter decided to write this book. We both realized that today's big corporations are nothing more than mini Soviet Unions, controlled and socialized economies, where wealth creation is inefficient, the people are unmotivated and unhappy. (When I first got in contact with him, he thought I read his book). With this book I could have explained to my partners and the employees why I thought we needed to change and avoid the traditional pyramid structure in our company and create a self-managed environment.

The author provides a clear historical and organizational analysis of our current corporate environment through his personal experience and skillful inclusion of other modern thinkers on the subject. I started my movement from a gut feel, and was doing it by the seat of my pants, while feeling like an idiot sometimes, not being able clearly define the final structure, and at the same time, I felt very lonely in the wilderness. After reading his book, everyone at my company would have clearly seen the advantages and reasons for abandoning the old management structure and creating a modern organization that could have thrived in the Information Age. I highly recommend this book and the WEB site to anyone who is aware of our changing world, who wants to survive in business, and who cares about the customers and employees by creating or changing a company to the new way of doing business, where wealth creation is maximized, while people are creative and happy.

Infinite Wealth - Not exactly as you might think

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2000-02-10

Assuming that Futurists do their homework right, one should be able to act on their insights with a fair degree of confidence. With "Infinite Wealth" the same trending snapshots caught by noted futurists such as Faith Popcorn, Alvin Toffler and John Naisbitt take on more personalized dimensions. Barry Carter opens up before his readers doors to personal fulfillment, inviting them to join the driving forces of 21st Century new economies. If ever there was insider information worth its weight in gold, this is it.

Whether or not you are already a pioneer of the emerging Free Agent Nation, this book is a must read! If you are one of tens-of-millions sensing that the world you thought you knew is changing, not certain where you might fit in, I highly recommend "Infinite Wealth" as a beginner's guide to learning. But be forewarned! "Infinite Wealth" is not really about material wealth - per say, and if that is what you seek...well then maybe you should read the book. Otherwise, you may never know what hit you.

Understanding the coming Future

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2001-03-10

With the publication of Infinite Wealth, Barry Carter has established himself as a voice on the leading edge of the synergic paradigm.

The synergic paradigm is a place where you and I can be much more by working together than we could ever be by working separately. It is a place where we both can win. It is a place where we can create a win-win world in contrast to our present win/lose and often lose/lose world.

To solve the problems facing us (humanity) at the beginning of the 21st Century will require nothing less than our learning to work together. We must learn to Co-Operate. As Barry Carter explains in his Conclusion to Infinite Wealth:

"Our social institutions are dying. The pain we feel is the pain of death and birth simultaneously, the death of one civilization and the birth of a new one. We have entered a period in which the conservative person who does not take risks and needs stability has become the risk taker, the radical, and the gambler. It is a period in which the one who refuses to change will surely be the one who will lose the most in the coming years. There is no going back to the way things used to be. Back to the basics is a failed policy. The future has already begun, and the trend is clear.

"Starting today you must have a completely new outlook on life. You must be responsible. You can no longer depend on employers, unions, or governments to look out for your economic well-being, to provide you with a job, retirement, social security, health care, or a safety net.

"From this day forward you and your global network of partners are responsible for creating work and wealth for yourselves. If you have no network you have no security. All of the rules have changed. The guarantees and promises made to you by Industrial Age society are null and void and will be breached.

"The government and controlled economies have no choice. The power bestowed on them in the Industrial Age is slipping away--to you the individual supplier and customer. You the individual supplier and customer have no choice about accepting this responsibility. Mass victimization is no longer an option.

"Because most companies and employees are not seriously preparing, the number of companies that fail to make the transition could be extremely high. And there likely will be no unemployment benefits, no welfare, and no Social Security safety nets to catch those who fall. Your network is your security. As we stand poised on the edge of the greatest advancement and growth boom in history, we may stumble. Many may lose life, fortune, and standard of living and suffer tremendous hardship.

"We the individuals are the only ones who can make the change. Our corporate and political leaders do not have the power, vision, or intelligence to address the root causes. We the people must wake up from the Industrial Age sleep into which our factory-style schools, jobs, and governing system have lulled us. We must come out of our defined compartments and take responsibility. Our leaders cannot do what has to be done to correct our problems; this responsibility does not lie in their bureaus of specialty. It is not in their job descriptions.

"History has shown that real change usually comes only through crisis. The evidence shows that the crisis has begun. Tens of thousands are dead from the transition. We can possibly lessen or prevent the crisis if we align ourselves with the change. Today we have the technology, knowledge, power, ability, intelligence, and willingness to move faster toward win-win wealth creation.

"We must use intelligence to recognize what is occurring and move with the natural flow of things and with all deliberate speed. Either way, we have to make the transition. Meandering along simply means that we will pay a higher price in life, death, suffering, standard of living, and debt for our children. Meandering also risks complete collapse and possibly a dark millennium.

"The universe does not guarantee our standard of living or our survival. Perhaps our ancestors had to meander during periods of social transition because there was little or no precedent and little knowledge to use the precedents there were. We are fortunate because we can learn from their mistakes. As the late Carl Sagan said, "we see further because we stand on their shoulders" (1980).

"Becoming aligned with the coming change will allow us to avoid pain and to prosper. Let's get on with it. Let's stop the bleeding and start the fun, passion, and living! This will be the most fun and exciting time of our lives!"

Barry Carter has discovered one of the biggest secrets of science: "When you read and understand the work of a world's leading expert, you can become the world's second leading expert."

Carter spent 12 years of his life studying the world's leading experts in the synergic paradigm. In Infinite Wealth, he shares what he has learned and interprets his new understanding from his unique perspective developed from working as a cog in the wheel of our present Industrial Civilization. With this interpretation he has expanded the paradigm. As a synergic scientist working in the field for 27 years, I was surprised and delighted to learn more. Infinite Wealth has much to offer to both novice and expert.

This is an important book that explains the shape of the coming future. I recommend that every thinking human read it!

Survival Manifesto for Anyone with A Brain

Helpful Votes: 9 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2001-02-11

First off, this book made the cut above another ten or so options on the fringes (the amazon reviews helped). It was a good choice. The author captures the essence of many other books as well as real-world experience with two fundamental points that every manager and every employee--including fast-food employees and others in "drone" jobs--needs to absorb: first, that the existing bureaucratization of the economy at every level is costing so much as to place those companies in jeopardy during the forthcoming economic shake-out, and second, that the sooner every individual begins the process of inventorying their personal capabilities and creating the networks for offering their personal services and knowledge via the Internet to all comers, the sooner they will be able to share in the profits associated with their direct individual contributions to the new economy.

The Department of Defense acquisition and contracting examples are especially shocking because they show, so credibly and in detail, how we have institutionalized multi-billion dollar waste.

This is a special book. It is by a practical man who has drawn very personal and transformative lessons from the school of hard knocks, and whose recounting of those lessons have value for anyone who expects to work for a living today and in the future. This is not a "get rich quick" book as much as it is a "get rich together or get left behind" book.

Journey to Enlightenment

Published in Paperback by Blue Lotus Press (2008-01-01)

Author: Ross Bishop

List price: $22.95

New price: $22.95
Used price: $74.82

Average review score:

GET READY TO COVER A LOT OF GROUND

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-22

Ross Bishop has been there and back again. He's taken the hits, wound up in the ditches, and seen the high side, all for a price: to find his way along the path. In his case a path that led him to discover that he is a natural healer, a shaman.

To our good fortune he is also one of those compassionate beings that realizes that spreading the word of what he learned helps us all and the planet we so precariously live on.

Ross has a knack for explaining things, always a helpful attribute. Our Universe is complex, a gazillion learning experiences happening simultaneously, all guiding us along our path. We sometimes need help along this path and Journey To Enlightenment can fill this need.

A wealth of information is offered to us in this book. Some of it the kind one must go over several times to ingest. I noticed right from the start that this is going to become an importance reference book in a lot of people's lives. To his benefit, Ross has endowed this book with an easy to follow format: principles we can gather and begin to assimilate and an index to help us find our way back to particularly meaningful bits.

I am always delighted when authors pull quotes from knowledgeable sources and then expound on them or use them to guide us to an important junction. Ross calls on the likes of Ghandi, Rumi, Ramana Maharshi, Juan Ramon Jimenez, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, and Black Elk to name just a few. He uses stories where they do a particularly good job of illustrating his point. The best of these being Steve Job's infamous, "Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish" commencement address at Stanford.

So, where can this book take it's readers? Pretty much anywhere you want to go, but most importantly to find what Bishop calls the God Space. The work involved is not easy, and it will take time. But as you work thru his suggestions and exercises dealing with your inner child, entities that may have attached themselves to you or past lives that need to be visited you will little by little, or in astonishing leaps find your way. Remember, as Principle No. One states LOVE EVERYTHING. Just imagine how far that could take you towards your own personal God Space.

A resounding yes!

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-02

Reviewed by Irene Watson for RebeccasReads (3/08)

Ross Bishop is a natural shaman that writes from the heart and his truth. He says "No matter how you slice it, it's about compassion. Certainly about compassion for others, but mostly it is about compassion for yourself." He couldn't be much closer to the truth. Bishop explains in "Journey to Enlightenment" being compassionate toward oneself, letting go of limiting beliefs, acceptance of challenges in life and steps on what to do about them. According to Bishop, understanding why we created the beliefs and challenges is the first step to enlightenment.

However, as Bishop explains, this is not an easy task. He quotes Carl Jung "He who looks outside, dreams. He who looks inside, awakens." Dreaming is easy but wakening is often a task we consider as being difficult. Bishop talks about awakening and why we struggle against it. According to Bishop, our inner child is usually damaged due to parental dysfunctional behaviors as well as disharmony within the environment - home and outside influences. Changing our pictures and rewriting the scripts, combined with resolution is the first step to awakening. Bishop contends we "came to Earth to resolve" the issues.

Bishop further challenges us, when we are worried, upset, or have "problems" we "take a deep breath and recognize that this is not occurring as punishment, or because we are unworthy, or that we are messed-up. It is happening because we need to learn to open our heart." He feels this is an opportunity that presented itself to us to learn how to open up our heart. However, we can choose to take it as an opportunity or we can wallow in our issues and feel sorry for ourselves, usually getting nowhere but deeper in our "stuff" and further away from enlightenment.

Bishop explains that according to traditional concepts blood pressure, high cholesterol, joint issues, or cancer are systemic illnesses. According to non-traditional healers these are just "natural progressions from unhealed psychic or emotional disturbances." This is where Bishop comes is, as a healer in non-traditional means. "Journey to Enlightenment" not only explains why we have challenges but Bishop gives the process of awakening through a "journey" of an ancient shamanic healing process (in a Western concept.) But, he doesn't just leave you there; he explains how to deal with issues that manifested during the process and move past the obstacle stage to awakening and enlightenment.

I give Ross Bishop's book, "Journey to Enlightenment" a resounding YES! Being a student of the enlightenment process myself, I've read many books and attended many workshops. I've even facilitated workshops and retreats myself. From my personal experience, I must say this is one of the most concise, yet simple books I have come across. Bishop writes with extraordinary precision, giving the readers the opportunity to look at their own beliefs and interferences in a gentle way while bringing an end result of compassion to oneself and enlightenment.

A Resource For Your Journey!

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-04

According to Shaman Ross Bishop, "Enlightenment may not be as unreachable as you think." In his important book, Journey to Enlightenment, Bishop provides readers with a new way to view their life experiences as well as recommendations to reconnect with "God space." Readers are given concrete techniques for addressing "obstacles" on the path to enlightenment. Bishop encourages readers to live a life of compassion rather than fear and encourages readers to make their spiritual growth the most important thing in their lives. Bishop presents 13 core principles as a guide to finding one's way to the Divine. Among these principles are: Love everything or it will become a lesson. Bishop also provides specific exercise to work and heal the inner child as well as information about healing ritual with the Shamanic Journey Process. The book is a fantastic resource readers are sure to refer to as they advance on their pathway to enlightenment.

Journey to Enlightenment

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-21

This book truly allows you to "see the light." I was fascinated with Ross's background with him being in the Advertising field and he is now a Shaman! This is my hope for others to take a look at their journey and figure out if it is the right one for them. He was led kicking and screaming onto his new path, what a way to go!! We should all be so lucky to have his wonderful insites on the how to of this journey of enlightenment. You will not be disappointed with his easy to understand and helpful suggestions to encourage you on your spiritual path. Happy Journeys!

Insightful Enlightenment at it's Best

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-03

This 248 page journey into self love was a great treat to review. The format was easy to follow and I fell totally in love with the author's compassionate down to earth style. It was so comfortable it was like sitting with my best friend and mentor discussing the road map to enlightenment over a cup of tea. I was energized and comforted all at the same time.

The book touched on many areas that I have found sticking points through out my life and then proceeded through personal stories and great insights to give me a way out of my pain and the blocks that have held me back for so long. There was a meditation that really helped me get more in touch with my spiritual self and I was amazed how simple it was to accomplish. I would recommend this awesome teacher to anyone serious about reaching to the light in a more focused and supported way. Thanks Ross, your blessed contributions have helped many.

Keep Your Donors: The Guide to Better Communications & Stronger Relationships (The AFP/Wiley Fund Development Series)

Published in Hardcover by Wiley (2007-11-27)

Authors: Tom Ahern and Simone Joyaux

List price: $50.00

New price: $37.98
Used price: $33.79

Average review score:

At last, a practical book

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-03

Keep your donors offers some of the best advice from one of the world's leading fundraisers, and it will help you to become a much better fundraiser - should you want to be of course!
It is a great resource and an important part of any development library. When you follow the advice and experiences in this book, you will attract and develop lasting relationships/ friendships for your organisation.

Tom, Simone: My desk is groaning happily under the weight of your combined body of knowledge

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-23

Tom, your tome arrived in the morning mail and I plunged in. What a mammoth achievement! This is a textbook like no other...it should be the nonprofit sector's bible. You and Simone are so readable in such different ways. You've packed it with enough how-to's, why-to's, a-ha's, reflections, reminders, research, stories, samples, inspiration and wit to make it THE essential fundraising reference. With freckles. Wow, I'm lovin' it. You are colossal to the nth level.

Curse you for ruining my productivity today. And THANK YOU.

This is a great book

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-16

This is a wonderful book, and I give just two words to describe it: inspirational and practical. What a great combination.

Keep Your Donors: The Guide to Better Communications and Stronger Relationships

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-24

The thoughts and opinions written in this book gave me the confidence to go to management and implement positive changes to our fundraising. Thank you so much. Mitch (Australia)

No one knows their stuff like Simone & Tom

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-26

I had the pleasure of picking up my copy of KEEP YOUR DONORS at Simone and Tom's workshop in Smithfield, RI just yesterday. It's a fantastic reference guide, especially helpful when presenting fundraising principles to my CEO. This volume is especially perfect for me, since my duties include both fundraising and marketing. A day after receiving it, I've used the book twice at work. First, drafting our organizational communication plan, I used the sample from Planned Parenthood Maryland along with Tom's tips. Then, I needed to call to thank a donor for their gift, and I thought, "What do I say after I say thank-you? How could I get a conversation going?" To my delight, the book had the answers. Most highly recommended!

Keeping Good People: Strategies for Solving the #1 Problem Facing Business Today

Published in Paperback by OakHill Press (1999-03-01)

Author: Roger E. Herman

List price: $21.95

New price: $7.99
Used price: $0.12
Collectible price: $21.95

Average review score:

Worforce Retention "Bible"

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2001-03-02

Commonsense, practical advice about what employers can do to enhance the longevity of their workforce and halt the drain and the expense of 'revolving door' recruiting and hiring.

Find out the top 5 real reasons why people leave their jobs (and it isn't for more money!).

This book is invaluable and a 'must have' for everyone responsible for recruiting, hiring, and hanging on to, good people!

A helpful book on a critical area

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2000-09-23

Roger Herman gives us an excellent reference and guide to an important area of profitability for business. Keeping people is every bit as important as finding them in the first place. The techniques set forth in this book will benefit the employer and the employee as well. It is well organized and to the point, especially in areas of making the employee part of the overall team.

Wayne D. Ford, Ph.D., author of "The Recruiting and Retention Handbook" docwifford@msn.com

A Book to Study and USE!

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2002-05-12

In today's job market, it is challenging to attract the best-qualified and well-suited job applicants. It is even more difficult to retain excellent employees. The cost of employee turnover is high in terms of lost productivity, lost knowledge, and financial expense associated with filling the vacancy.

Roger Herman, futurist and certified management consultant and speaker, provides an exceptional resource for any organization seeking to retain its best employees. Keep Good People is divided into three sections. The first effectively sets the stage by providing valuable insights into the competitive nature of the job market, the value of good employees, and what prompts employees to stay and leave an employer. The first section provides essential background that led to an essential, yet basic understanding of employer/employee relations regarding retention. Section two provides nearly 200 very specific and useful strategies. Each strategy is clearly defined and concisely explained. Herman does not stop with a somewhat overwhelming list of strategies, yet provides suggestions for implementation and an "eye to the future" in section three.

Keep Good People is an excellent resource for human resource professionals and managers seeking to prevent undesirable employee turnover as well for the organizations seeking to reduce turnover. Use this book as a guide to simply review current practices and development of strategic, and it will be well worth the investment of both time and money.

A great book!

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 13 total.
Review Date: 2000-04-11

Finding, attracting and hiring new employees can be one of the most important investments employers can make. If don't hire good people, you'll have to continue recruitment at a high level -- a costly proposition. This book serves as a great guide and serves as a tremendous tool for employers and human resource staff.

Great Opportunity to Build Your Team!

Helpful Votes: 7 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2001-01-03

My secretary Neicy, picked up my copy of "Keeping Good People" while I was out of the office. When I returned, she mentioned that she thought a certain strategy would help me and our business. And she was right! Full of "one page strategies," this book provides some terrific team conversation. Pick a strategy, read it and then discuss its implications on your team and how the team works together. Some random examples: Strategy 1.17 Promote a healthy working environment. Strategy 2.27 Be accessible. Strategy 3.35 Fight Boredom. Strategy 4.15 Provide incentives for for growth. Strategy 5.15 Give Away Lottery Tickets. Our team decided to discuss one of these strategies each time we meet (usually at "tea time" held at 3pm each day). While some of the strategies may not apply, it does create a space for great conversation. When given the opportunity, team members or "employees" will reinforce what's working well and tell you what they need to be successful.

Lean and Green: Profit for Your Workplace and the Environment

Published in Paperback by Berrett-Koehler Publishers (2001-09-09)

Author: Pamela J Gordon

List price: $24.95

New price: $9.30
Used price: $1.67
Collectible price: $29.00

Average review score:

Practical hands on book

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-06-13

This book is unlike many how to business books out there. It actually gives you the steps to implement it. Whether or not the earth is warming, it makes sense for everyone to do their part to show their respect to our home. Buy the book. Save the earth.

Simple "How-To" Approach to a Leaner, Greener Organization

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-04-18

"Lean and Green" takes an enjoyable, practical, action-oriented approach to environmental change. It presents a step-by-step strategy that assures everyone that they can take positive steps within their organization by inspiring leadership that doing the right thing for the planet is also doing the right thing for the company's bottom-line. Pam removes many of the personal barriers we all face as we attempt to align our internal values with our external actions.
Most importantly - IT IS AN ENJOYABLE READ!!

Over a hundred examples from major companies from Intel to Polaroid discuss various commitments

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-01-06

Quite often the idea of profit and environmental health work against each other; but if 20 leading organizations as outlined in Pamela J. Gordon's Lean And Green: Profit For Your Workplace And The Environment can succeed at both, any business can. Lean And Green shows how these companies succeeded by adopting solid environmental principles which worked economically as well. Over a hundred examples from major companies from Intel to Polaroid discuss various commitments, from recycling and environmental management systems to involving top management on down.

Excellent. Practical. Hopeful.

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2004-11-16

"Lean and Green" is a must-read for anyone involved in business and/or sustainability. Personally, I've been involved in both. I've hosted my own radio show that included "lean and green" types of subjects. And I'm impressed by what Pam Gordon has done. Rather than being theoretical or abstract, she's drawn upon her corporate experience and expertise. She's provided a ton of real-world, lean-and-green business examples from IBM, Celestica, NEC, Apple, Horizon and many other companies. She's also provided a framework for people in business who want to introduce lean-and-green activities within their own companies. And, perhaps most importantly of all, she has chronicled some key indicators of a little-recognized trend these days: the shift towards a world of manufacturing that uses far less materials and energy and produces far less waste. "Lean and Green" is easy-to-read and hopeful. I don't recommend books very much. I recommend this one.

Useful at the level to which it is pitched

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2003-02-25

The core theme is that, if you reduce waste and increase recycling, it will be good for the environment and for profits. The theme is supported with a wealth of examples. This is a book for those who are 'putting a toe in the water' rather than for those who wish to move beyond the first steps, but is useful at the level to which it is pitched. It helps to contest the pernicious myth that business profitability and environmental responsibility are at odds with each other.

Legacy Systems: Transformation Strategies (Yourdon Press Series)

Published in Paperback by Prentice Hall PTR (2002-06-10)

Author: William M. Ulrich

List price: $44.99

New price: $29.87
Used price: $23.99

Average review score:

New Tools for Old Programs

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2002-10-03

Mr. Ulrich has delivered a framework with which IT areas can effectively leverage their existing applications and data to meet the ever-changing business environment. Bill's chapter on Case Studies provides real life examples of how to use his methodology. We face rapidly changing business drivers, including the need to make our businesses internet-ready. This book provides the materials to allow companies a fighting chance to succeed.

We give it to our clients

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2002-07-24

I read Bill Ulrich's book and was delighted to see that he was clearing laying out strategies that we were dealing with as we worked with our clients. We now make Mr. Ulrich's book part of our mandatory reading for our consultants and have purchased copies for distribution to some of our key clients. This has helped both our consulting teams and our clients in planning and project executiion.

Timely guidance in hectic times

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2002-10-03

Mr. Ulrich understands how businesses have a tremendous reliance on legacy systems. Pressure is always on the IT staff to meet the demands of the business cusomter. The IT community is asked to bring products and services to the consumer through the internet while managing the internal demands to keep expenses under control. Bill's book lays out a framework in which the business community can build company-specific plans to leverage their prior investments while striving to meet today's business drivers in a manner that is cost effective.

Neat, pragmatic ideas for a messy business

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2002-09-04

Bill has filled this book with tremendous value for any one working with existing systems of any kind. He builds in the flexibility of approach by mapping many common and not-so-common methods and strategies through his exploration of specific case studies. Chapter 3 is a valuable item on its own - rarely have I seen such a thorough and clear examination of all the different 'movements' in IT in the last 10 years. Nice job, Bill.

No silver bullets when dealing with legacy systems!!

Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2002-11-08

Corporations have been trying to retire legacy systems for the past couple of decades. Each new technology (be it client/server, ERP packaged apps, etc) were supposed to put the nail in the coffin for legacy systems. Yet, legacy systems continue to thrive despite attempts to retire them. One reason why they continue to exist is that in many instances, they support business processes in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible. Bill's book views this area more as a transformation effort (evolution) rather than wholesale legacy replacement (revolution). This book is a must read for IT departments as they struggle to remain relavent in an era of outsourcing.

The strategies outlined in this book will help the IT department become a partner with functional business units in delivering solutions that address burning business problems. The focus shifts to providinig measurable value to the business as opposed to implementing unified and elegant technologies.

The Library at Night

Published in Hardcover by Yale University Press (2008-04-29)

Author: Alberto Manguel

List price: $27.50

New price: $16.99
Used price: $17.59

Average review score:

beautiful

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-16

This is an absolutely beautiful book for all lovers of books and reading. Highly recommended.

Ideal Mix

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-06

The LIBRARY AT NIGHT is an ideal blend of contemplation and observation, of thought and history. With chapters that read like short stories it is accessible to the 'not enough time" as to the "google stupidized" reader. A great gift for any librarian, or reader of books. Books in history . . . back to the shelves. Leaves the reading feeling like he's just left a scene from The Ninth Gate.

A Unique Book For Those Who Love Books

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-15

The Library At Night is the first book I have read by Alberto Manguel. I can say now, after completing it earlier today, that I am looking forward to reading other selections that this author has written.

I was not quite sure what to expect from this book, from simply reading the title. I could only hope that it would not disappoint and it did not. The book is broken down into 15 chapters. Each of them begins with "The Library As...." You can fill in the blank with such words as "Power," "Myth," "Shadow," and "Chance" (among 11 others). The chapters begin with personal anecdotes from Manguel. We learn a lot about who he is as well as the extent of his personal library. Following the brief reflection, he delves into well-researched historical data that revolve around his chapter topics. The stories he tells flow nicely together and endnotes are provided in the back of the book for further reading. The chapters are quite strong, though I really was expecting more from the last two chapters.

The only negative aspects, and really they aren't negative to all, of this book are Manguel's erudite use of language. He excels at linguistics and I found myself needing a dictionary nearby to help me through the text. Manguel makes many comparisons throughout the text between books, many of which, I had not heard of before. While I was excited about these newly discovered books,at least to me, they are not commonplace. So, yes, this book is written on a somewhat high intellectual level and a portion of its charm is lost by the author speaking over the reader's head.

The scream of a dying star

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-01

Alberto Manguel's The Library At Night is a curious confection: ostensibly a love letter to bookishness, it rejoices in collections of books and their owners through many prisms; how they're collected, how they can be arranged (as many different ways as you like), how they represent knowledge, time or space - even how the space they occupy can express the personality or idiosyncrasy of their collector.

It will instantly appeal to those, like me, who aspire to have their own "real" library one day (I am hoping mine evolves from its current status as a mere collection of books on a few dusty shelves, though I don't know - and this is one aspect Manguel doesn't delve into - what it takes for a merely juvenile collection of books to matriculate to a mature library).

Manguel also describes libraries through the content of the books they hold, and his range is eclectic, from Greek poets, Arab philosophers and Jewish philanthropists to Anglo-Saxon fantasists like Shelley and, memorably, Stoker. Each new vista builds a new perspective, but curiously after these multiple shafts of light, while one is well illuminated, the general impression is no more specific than that libraries - physical libraries - are pretty neat and we'd be worse off without them.

Which, for a while, made me ponder what the point of the book really was. After all, who could disagree with that?

But then it occurred to me, as surely it did to Manguel, that *we* could, in the same way we've, collectively, disagreed that it's strictly necessary to have a record collection or a even a television any more. Books may not have succumbed quite so easily to the digital ether as did music or film - yet - but there's no reason to suppose that state of affairs is irreversible, and if dear old Amazon would kindly (!) sort out its Kindle supply chain, we might yet shortly see a precipitous decline.

Manguel's subtext is that this would be a frightful outcome. He is certainly more equivocal about digital libraries than he is about physical ones, and sees the advent of the electronic book as a threat to the legitimacy and, possibly, longevity of his bibliophilia. For what good are batty old books, occupying acres of floor-space, however splendid the architecture, when you can have millions of volumes on a portable hard drive?

This issue Manguel only really addresses obliquely, and many of his arguments to counter this position are fatuous (especially as regards the durability of electronic information). The gating issue will be whether les gens can be persuaded to curl up with a Kindle rather than a book. I haven't seen one yet, so I'm yet to be persuaded, and that question alone might save the library's bacon. But otherwise the digital realm solves many of the drawbacks (like an optimistic computer programmer, I suppose he would call them "features") of physical libraries that Manguel documents, such as their physical space and susceptibility to combustion. Such as their inherent need to be ordered one way, no matter how cleverly, to the exclusion of all others. Such as the extreme limitations they impose on the actual retrieval of information (imagine how powerful it would be to be able to Google search the text of an entire library. With a digital library, you can).

All told, Manguel adopts a narrow concept of the value of a library, suitable for dinner parties and night time expeditions, but which won't be familiar to the younger generation who have grown up with Google. Though I am sure he would hotly dispute it, I suspect Manguel would emphasise the space, spirit and idiosyncrasy of a library over its actual, textual content; he would accentuate the intellectual statement a library makes over the intellectual statements contained within it; he would value a book's spine as much as he would the pages bound by it. There is a place for that view - to a certain degree, I share it: I like visitors to my house to see my collection of books, which one day may be a library, and I don't expect them to open any of them.

But when using it in anger, when studying or writing; when I need to quickly find what I am looking for, my physical collection can irritate me intensely. At those points - real ones for genuine scholars, you would think - Manguel's cosy view seems Luddite and hopelessly outdated. For professional library users - as opposed to literate bon vivants - the Google revolution will bring only positive change to what used to be a rather painful and time-consuming endeavour.

Whilst this remains a heartfelt and warmly written elegy, it remains likely that, before long, its subject will be a bygone age. We will have to find new ways to represent our learning. The web is already generating them: perhaps Alberto Manguel should set aside his scepticism and sign up to LibraryThing, and catalogue his books there. Wonders never cease.

Olly Buxton

The Romance of Reading

Helpful Votes: 8 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-20

Alberto Manguel has produced a romantic history of libraries which incorporates their best feature: the ability to wander down hitherto unsuspected byways and make new discoveries, often winding up far from your original objective but still satisfied by what you have found instead. This is a discursive history of libraries through various categories: Myth, Order, etc. with fascinating essays for each. Those who love reading and libraries will learn much history and philosophy and will recognize in Manguel a kindred spirit and friend.

A Mathematician's Survival Guide: Graduate School and Early Career Development

Published in Paperback by American Mathematical Society (2003-08-01)

Author: Steven G. Krantz

List price: $28.00

New price: $27.44
Used price: $24.88

Average review score:

Must have for all graduate students

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-11-05

This is a great book with lots of important information on what it's like to be in academia. I recommend it highly for all graduate students as well as for their advisors.

Clear, Helpful Grad School Insight

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-24

I graduated a couple years ago with BS in Mathematics and was trying to decide if I should return for my PhD. This book was extremely helpful. It presents a very thorough overview of the PhD process with helpful information regarding thesis advisors (both selecting and working with) and thesis preparation. Material is easy to read (conversational tone) and very specific. Definitely recommend this to anyone considering a graduate program in mathematics.

Also gives extensive information regarding the application of a PhD in academia- such as types of jobs (tenure track, post-doc fellow, etc.), types of colleges and the workload (and pay) to be expected at those colleges.

End of text is an overview of mathematics topics important to the post-bachelors, pre-grad student.

It does not spend time explaining all the different areas of mathematics, so that part you'll need to figure out for yourself. Reading this book will get you excited to talk to your professors about a doctorate program. Good luck!

A good starting point for graduate school

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-12

Dr. Krantz's lucid "Survival" guide is rich in advice for the aspiring mathematician who sees a plum job in academia as the ultimate career goal. With section names such as "How do I work my thesis problem?", and "Why does everyone else appear to be succeeding?" Dr. Krantz's chronological account of Math graduate school and the first few years in the work force does an excellent job of providing step-by-step guidance for us future mathematicians. This advice, and the author himself are at their best when talking about prevalent insecurity issues with which all of us mathematicians deal and showing us how such issues are indeed very commonplace and how the solutions are also commonplace and readily available to you.
Now, that being said, it is also important to remember that this is just a rough guide and that not every section in the book should be followed to the letter. More to the point: Dr. Krantz's advice should be used in addition to, not instead of, grad advisors, faculty in your department, and even more senior grad students. Dr. Krantz's advice can be detrimental in some instances and in others, it's just plain wrong. For instance, his advice that a student should NOT study for general and subject GRE's is particularly questionable; in fact I do believe the opposite to be true. GRE tests follow a well-defined set of rules and question formatting; thus, the question themselves have a finite amount of variation to them, and therefore it is precisely in this type of standardized exam MOST students will benefit from reviewing old material and going through numerous practice tests before taking the real thing.

Overall, this is a very good book, full of wisdom and it is, alas, even entertaining at times. If you're considering a career as a mathematician, you would be doing yourself a favor by buying this book and reading it with an epsilon amount of caution.

College Math Major

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-09

I gave this to my son who is a high school junior planning to major in mathematics in college. He thought it was great because it looks beyond just getting into college and taking a bunch of math classes. What does a math major do next? Do you have to teach? What do professors and TA's really do? What does it take to get into grad school and is it worth it? I would recommend this book to anyone contemplating any type of career involving higher level mathematics.

THE Survival Guide for Graduate Students

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2007-07-14

I'm a graduate student in computer science, working on my PhD. If you're looking for a sort of rulebook that contains all the meta-knowledge one needs to know to survive in the scientific game, this is it.
The book includes helpful information to questions you probably wouldn't dare to ask anyone:
"How do i choose a thesis advisor?",
"What if I can't solve my thesis problem?",
"Am I in competition with the other graduate students?",
"What kind of money can I make as a professor?"
There's also lots of information about life after graduation, especially relevant for those of us who want to pursue an academic career.

The book is written in an easy to follow style, and gets straight to the point. You really feel that the author knows what he's talking about.
I highly recommend it to anyone planning a career in a science related to maths.

Development Books