Computers Books

Hi,

This book is great for DBA and Developper alike. I would recommend it to anyone working with Oracle, even if you're not working to solve performance issues. With all those tips at hand never your application will suffer from poor programming.

Guillaume

I highly recommend this book as a handy reference to keep at your desk. It is full of handy tips and a great assessment for reviewing your own environnment.

I love reading this book. I typically read a few pages before bed. It's filled with lots of practical examples and suggestions. Very thorough explanations. Some of the examples could do with a little more explaining but overall it's still very useful.

This book manages all concepts, basical and advanced, and the reader can review and fortify concepts. The OCM Author with explains in an easy mode Oracle Products. Excellent book.

A "must have" Oracle book for anyone who works with Oracle on a day-to-day basis. The database efficiencies I have been able to obtain for my clients by simply using Rich's book as a point of reference are well worth the cost in purchasing it.

Adam Suber, Event Chairperson, Southeastern Michigan Oracle Professionals (SEMOP) Group.

One of the most difficult hurdles a QA new to performance testing can go through is shifting their testing methodology from specific to componenents to a balanced environment-wide perspective. This book helps guide the Architect or QA through the process of discovering HOW we look at metrics and WHY we use certain metrics over others. This is much more useful in the long run than rather just looking at WHAT to look at since this can vary depending on your specific infrastructure.

If your reading a RedBook on WebSphere Performance Tuning and you haven't yet figured out what your Peak Average Load is, your performance testing is doomed to fail. This book guides you on the right path to the methodology that will work for your testing. It provides test plan guidelines and even sample scripts. In addition, there are several guidelines for analysis and interpretation.

The book only requires a couple of things to be a truely complete performance testing guide in my opinion: More detailed information and guidelines for Performance Testing Failover situations and slightly more concise guide for scripting. For the type of sites that you'll use this book for, you'll most likely have more complicated scripts and script requirements.

Over all, this book provides a great introduction of the core concepts and outlines quite a few of the more overlooked requirements in this increasingly important field.

This book's title has "Java" in it (and book covers Java performance analysis very well), but large part of it is about web performance analysis approach and methodology that can be applied to non-Java web sites. This is a great resource and a must have for those who deals with performance of web sites. Simply look at the table of contents and you'll love it: http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0201844540/ref=sib_rdr_toc/104-1411948-5301507?%5Fencoding=UTF8&p=S00H#reader-link

It takes a comprehensive look at the java performance analysis. It is very good at describing common bottlenecks be in architect, hardware (load balancing) , user interface etc.

Ideas are well received by our team and book provide food for thought on diverse topics. We have continuous integration testing and continuous inspection (and adaptation) for performance testing and this book was very helpful.

This is an excellent book, providing thorough coverage of performance analysis. Although this book is aimed at Java based sites, it would serve as a good primer for anyone learning how to tune a website with dynamic content. The authors assume the reader has only basic familiarity with internet technologies, and explains concepts as needed. After providing a basic theoretical grounding, the authors illustrate the concepts with a case study, going from simple to complex.

The book is well-organized and thought out, and presents its information in an understandable, easy to follow fashion. I particularly like the inclusion of the test and capacity planning forms in the appendix. This gives readers the chance to put the information to work, instead of just giving case studies or presenting only theory.

A highly recommended and informational book.

The team of authors who wrote this book have two things going for them - in-depth knowledge of performance analysis, and, most importantly, the ability to impart that knowledge in a crystal clear manner.

I like the way this book starts out, showing the contrast between a bricks & mortar store and its online equivalent. This introduces the basics - throughput, transaction, page and user rates, response times and states. More than an easy to follow introduction, it contains all of the key elements of performance analysis, doled out in easy to understand chunks, and sets the stage for the rest of the book.

Every facet of a typical environment is covered, including Java server performance factors, external and internal factors related to networking, load balancers, protocol behavior, and Java internals. The chapter on performance profiles of common web sites is especially useful. Different site types are characterized in a set format that shows caching potential (of the site type), any special considerations, and specific performance testing considerations. This allows you to go directly to the type of site you are going to test, get the relevant information, then proceed to conduct the testing, which is covered in subsequent chapters.

The chapters on testing begin by showing how to develop the test plan, associated test scripts, and select the right tools to support the testing. The areas covered in these chapters are comprehensive. Actual test execution and results analysis are covered in equal detail, using examples and scenarios. One especially useful chapter is 13, Common Bottleneck Symptoms, which is useful to track the cause of observed results that do not match expected ones during testing.

This book goes beyond testing, though - it also covers capacity and performance planning, which is normally a discipline onto itself. Again, excellent advice and coverage of key points. The appendices are an invaluable collection of templates, worksheets and checklists.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It exemplifies top notch writing, is well illustrated, and is technically accurate, and based on proven approaches.

OK- it's Perry's! Standard Perry's... there no phenomenal extra features... the packing is fairly nice though.. BUT the CD.. I cannot get the CD to self run- I can't get it to work period!!

If you are a Chem-E and don't own this book then you might as well kill yourself, or switch to mechanical.

The platinum edition is perfect - CD and hardcopy. While the CD doesn't replace the hardcopy it is very handy for it's portability and the accuracy of the 'active charts'.

The book is much more user friendly than the CD and if you can only afford one or the other then I'd recommend buying the book.

It can be quite difficult to find things on the CD version and it is slower than it needs to be as it always works off the CD drive (copying the CD onto the hard drive isn't an option).

great deal!
i recommend it for anyone

The hardcopy Perry's is a fun bedside table read for chemical engineers, and makes an excellent review manual. But it is bulky and heavy to lug around to labs or study rooms, and so the CD's that are part of this edition are first rate tools to load on your laptop so that Perry's tables and measurements in searchable format( the next thing to 'The Force' that there is a for chemical engineers) is aways with you. Excellent item, and fortunately Amazon had it at an attractive price. It is a bonus to also have the hard copy. Good item to have for your 3d year forward, and essential for grad students or working engineers.

Most books go over all the essentials. Even Deke McClelland's find ADOBE PHOTOSHOP CS2 ONE-ON-ONE is great at introducing the NEW features and changes. But Ben's book is a quickie, one-day overview of what's new and improved and changed. For the price, there is no better book for someone buying PSCS2 to upgrade from any older version (like I did, from quaint old Photoshop 5.5). Full color pictures and clear typography -- making it easy to go back and review -- just make this book a steal at Amazon's discounted price. Get it!

Ben Wilmore is one of the foremost Photoshop trainers in the world. When he has time, he writes articles he sends to his photoshop mailing list (well worth joining). His tips are always on target and have provided me with extremely valuable insights into using Photoshop.

If you are a novice with Photoshop, or have never used a version before CS2, this isn't the best book for you. Willmore assumes you have substantial experience with Photoshop CS. However, if you are a CS user who is moving up to CS2, this book is an invaluable guide to the many new features in CS2. I have found this book extremely helpful and very readable. As usual, Wilmore's style is clear, easy-to-read, and the color illustrations very helpful. No, I don't get a cut of his royalties, I just love it when I find a reference that is truly worth the price!

Title: Photoshop CS2 : Up to Speed
Author: Ben Willmore
Publisher: Peachpit Press
Number of pages: 171
ISBN: ISBN: 0321330501
List Price: $24.99

Photoshop CS2 - Up to Speed was written for users of Photoshop CS (v8.0)who plan to or have just upgraded to CS2. The longer you have been using CS the more you will appreciate and benefit from this book. Expert Photoshop user/author/teacher Ben Willmore had access to the Adobe Photoshop design team to review chapters and technical issues which resulted in an in-depth
and accurate detailed description of the changes made in CS2(v9.0).

Each chapter starts out by providing an overview, and a section called "Where's My Stuff". From there each topic in the overview is explained in detail. Visually the book is well written and easy to read - using bold colored text, and colored screen
captures (with additional descriptions below each screen capture). Occasionally the small screen captures can be difficult to read. There is an overwhelming amount of information contained within each chapter. Ben covers all types -what's new, what's changed, what's been removed, changes to menus and keyboard shortcuts.

The 1st chapter provides lots of details on Bridge but may be better served from a DVD based video explanation. Bridge is a very visual application. The 2nd chapter on General Tweaks covers numerous miscellaneous tweaks that is a must read for
CS2 upgrade users. Chapter 3 covers the new Layers palette in fine detail. Chapters 4 and 5 on Smart Objects and Variables respectively are worth the price of the book alone - well done Ben. Chapter 6 covers small gems (WYSIWYG Font Menu, Smart Guides, Animation Palette, Swatches, PDF-X, Adobe Stock Photos) sufficiently. From here the next chapters cover photographic related topics (Camera Raw 3, - High Dynamic Range imaging, Retouching & Filter Enahancements, Small Gems). These chapters are clearly explained through a thorough use of screen captures and photos.

Summary: If you are a long time photoshop CS user then this is the 1st book you should buy and read. Ben covers every area (except ImageReady which had esssential no changes and Version Cue) in great detail and leaves no area untouched. Since there is an overwhelming amount of information (changes) described in this book (that's a good thing) I would suggest while and or after reading each chapter to bring up CS2 and go over the information just covered. Also, you do not need to read the book in the order in which it was written. Choose the areas you are interested in most first then come back to the other chapters. Finally, if there is one suggestion I would make to the author for the next version of "Up to Speed" consider creating a DVD based visual guide to describe the changes going from CS2 to CS3 to accompany/supplement the written book.
Overall I highly recommend this book for the target audience just described and the price of the book with an online discount is a bargain.

This book does exactly what it says on the cover, and it does it extremely well. It has been my constant source of reference for the past three weeks as even the often neglegted Index is well thought out.
I was always a big fan of the File Browser and was sorry to see it replaced in CS2 by the Bridge, which I must admit it took me some time to get my head round (where has the Desktop gone?) until this book came along. Ben goes through it in great detail, as he does with everything, and I now find it a breeze.
Everything new, and everything moved or hidden, is covered in a very well explained and simplistic style accompanied by detailed illustrations. The presentation and layout of the book is absolutely superb, and for anyone with a knowledge of Photoshop, moving up from CS to CS2 this book must be at the top of the shopping list.
It is not for anyone coming straight into Photoshop at CS2 level

The biggest challenge to anyone upgrading to a new version of an application is figuring out what's new. Willmore makes this easy. In a clear, concise format, he lays out exactly what's new in CS2, from the relatively mundane to the great new hidden features that you wouldn't likely find without a tour guide like this.
It's important to note that this is not a beginner's guide. The very format of the book should make this clear, but this isn't a starting point for someone looking to learn Photoshop - it's a book for people that are already familiar and comfortable with Photoshop who, as the title says, just need to get "up to speed" with the latest release of Photoshop.

If only every technical book was written this well! Anyone who is working with Java and XML should have a copy of this book. Highly example driven with clear explanations, the author makes using XML in your Java programs a breeze. Even better, the author has a style that makes the book fun to read as you feel like you are learning all sorts of secrets from an XML insider.

The book starts with a quick introduction to XML and then gets into how to create XML documents in your programs. The first four chapters cover everything you need to know about creating XML whether it is for XML-RPC, SOAP, or simply to store in a file. The next section covers parsing XML documents. SAX and DOM are compared and then the next eight chapters discuss these two methods of parsing documents, explaining how to use them, comparing them, and helping you determine how to decide which technique to use for which situation. The section on DOM explains not just how to parse documents using DOM but also how to create new documents. The final chapters of the book cover JDOM, XPATH, and XSLT.

Did I mention that this book is full of examples? The author doesn't rely on simply explaining how something works or how to use a technology (even though his explanations are excellent), he has examples to demonstrate everything he discusses. Each example builds upon the previous example and makes learning the techniques easy and enjoyable.

This book is an excellent resource for combining these two technologies, XML and Java. The author starts with the assumption that the reader is conversant in XML and at least intermediate skill level with Java. The first chapter of the book serves as a XML refresher. The author uses this chapter to reach a common understanding of terms with the reader. The first part of the book covers using many of issues of managing XML from Java and introduces two XML based services, XML-RPC and SOAP.

The remainder of the book is devoted to the various APIs for parsing XML hence the subtitle "A Guide to SAX, DOM, JDOM, JAXP, and TrAX". Throughout the book the author creates clear code examples and very readable text. This serves to develop understanding and insight in reader. This particular technical topography is under continuous change. Adapting to these changes will be much easier after having read this book.

A lot of tips and "gotchas" are shared in the book, but it is arranged so that the developer grab what he needs or he can sit and camp awhile. The book text is available at the author's website, but I prefer to read the paper copy. If you are going to use XML and Java together, this book would be a good investment.

I really like reading this book. It is easy to read and understand. The author does a good job of describing the XML technologies related to JAVA. This book has a lot of code to analyze. This book is a must have for the experienced developer who wants to do JAVA with XML. I have a message for the experienced developer: THE CODE WILL CHALLENGE YOU; IT CHALLENGED ME!!!

Michael

This is definitely a valuable resource for anybody dealing with XML and Java, written by one of the best tech writers in town. The author covers in details a huge amount of topics and API, so many that you couldn't ask for more.
Be advised that some basic understanding of XML and intermediate Java skills are required to get the best out of this book

I bought this book when it first came out. I really enjoyed reading it. The book is well written. It has a lot useful code.
The author code that can be used in the real world of JAVA and XML. I liked the books section on JDOM. This book shows the differences between DOM and JDOM. Also, this book has a lot of information on SAX, DOM, JDOM, and it shows the differences when using each. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn JAVA and XML. Make sure you are an experienced developer before purchasing this book.

Michael

I have already been blogging, but this book helped me focus my efforts in a way that may help my business. Lots of great insightful info, and common sense explanations in this book. I found it very helpful and easy to read.

I need a blog for the homebuilt aircraft community, particularly those working with composite (fiberglass) technology. I work alone and will require additional help with developing a good active blog. This book has helped me to ask the right questions of the professional IT type who must help me get the blog going.

Blogging isn't just for the chatty consumer: not with the appearance of PUBLISH & PROSPER: BLOGGING FOR YOUR BUSINESS. Here it turns into a viable approach for furthering business, coming from business owners who offer real-world techniques and ideas to blog to improve business. Learn how to start such a blog and build momentum and interest to promote a brand, products, or customer relations. The authors have extensive background in the blogging world and in business alike and have put their premises to the test, so this offers realistic ideas already applied to solid business pursuits.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

DL Byron and Steve Broback have really done an excellent job in writing this very thorough primer on blogging for business. The book, actually, is more than a mere primer: its breadth is surprising. They've managed to cover virtually every aspect of business blogging in a mere 180 pages. Quite an accomplishment and one the authors can certainly take pride in.

The approach is linear, beginning with an explanation of what a blog is, determining the focus of your business blog, the varieties of blog, design, tools for blogging, writing the blog, getting noticed, monitoring and managing and ending chapter on syndication and other fine points they refer to as "beyond blogging".

What is impressive is how much solid information the authors manage to convey without overwhelming the reader. The writing style is comfortable and spare. They avoid technical language and do a good job of explaining each point.

Overall this is one of the best books on blogging I've seen. It is practical, not theoretical and the authors left dogma and cant at the door. They are clear that blogs are not miraculous but can certainly help a company advance toward its goals.

Well done and a worthwhile read that will serve as a quick reference after you've read it.

Jerry

As a longtime blogger and an entrepreneur I approached this title from New Riders with interest. I was happy to find out a wide range of information that I immediately put to good use in my own blogs. Interestingly enough, though the focus of the book is on blogging for businesses, the elements it presents are not limited to the business world. As a matter of fact, there at times throughout the book that you forget about the title of the book and get sunk into it due to the usefulness of the knowledge the authors share from their experience.

The framework Byron and Broback offer makes perfect sense, taking the reader through a natural progression to make sure the resulting blog is a success. From determining the focus of the blog, how much to write and how to design and implement it; to getting down to the task of posting, getting traffic and monitoring it, the book is thorough in spite of the fact of being less than 200 pages in length.

So, if you are considering to start a blog for your business, do yourself a favor and read this book before. I suspect you will thank me for it!

I've loved reading this book and learned a lot from it. It's even still relevent with Photoshop 6. My only negative comment is that the book is so heavy physicaly that you cant enjoy reading it but by putting it on a table.

What makes this book great is the personal perspective of the authors. Rather than simply explaining features, the authors tell you which features THEY use and when. I suppose this is what they mean by "real world."

If you use Photoshop, but you don't use high-level techniques, you owe it to yourself to get this book. This is not one of those books on how to do crazy effects, rather it's a tool for serious users to get the most from Photoshop's tools. This book takes you through each of the different features of Photoshop -- sharpening, color correction, making selections -- and teaches you things you thought you already knew.

P.S. Years after writing this review, and attending Photoshop workshops, I can attest that the information in this book holds up. The advice on topics such as color correction, making selections, sharpening, etc are still on-the-money and totally applicable to Photoshop 7, so if you can get this book at a big discount it may well be worthwhile.

while this book does have a lot of useful info, there are a few things i don't like about it. for starters, there is NO cd. most books come with a cd full of imges and other goodies. that may seem like a minor detail, but it would be nice to be able to have the same images from the book in order to practice on. the other thing i dislike about this book and this is my biggest complaint is the very bad rosette pattern of the halftone dots. it is so bad, that in some cases it's hard to see the "before and after" effect in the images. i also don't like the fact that all of the curves in the book are backwards!!!!! i have been drawing curves before DTP ever exsisted, and find it very hard to do things backwards and i have yet to see anyone use curves in that manner in the working world. the authors also seem to place too much emphasis on histograms...in my 7 years of working in photoshop, i've never seen anyone call up a histogram and use it for any sort of work yet the authors make it seem like it's an everyday thing for people to judge images with a histogram...these are minor rants, but i'd recommend the photoshop bible to people before this book.....real world photoshop is definitely a book to own, but not as a first photoshop book....

This is for people who use Photoshop in a professional setting. It will help you get better scans and get better output from your scans.

I adore this book! It is one of those books that I just pick up and flip to a random page, and absorb the wisdom. It is full of tiny little things you can do to make your work look more professional. This guy is amazing.

One-Minute Designer Revised edition Roger C. Parker MIS:Press, 1997

Like it or not, if you use a computer you are a typographer, and that's anyone who arranges words within a given space: letter, report, bulletin, brochure, ad, billboard, book, sign etc. You don't have to be a graphic designer to create good typography because Roger Parker makes it easy to communicate clearly. The book is methodically organized. Each page is devoted to one subject, i.e. column width, placement, type sizes, word and letter spacing, font choice-all 204 of them. Parker writes easily, clearly, succinctly, and is always on the side of the reader, and the absence of verbiage and posturing is refreshing. Each page has direct, easy-to-understand two color illustrations that unambiguously define the text. Unlike program manuals that have incomplete or misnamed subjects, I'm impressed with Parker's contents page and glossary, which makes it easy for the reader to find information quickly. The soft cover book is a comfortable, easy to hold 7" x 9" portrait format. For quick review, the italic captions are printed in red. Text is set in one of my favorite fonts Minion, designed by Robert Slimbach one of the world's great type designers. The generous 11-point size makes is easy to read. This is a book that makes it easy to produce good looking, well organized layouts that communicate, a rarity in manuals. Parker's book should be within arm's length at a workstation, and [for the money], it's money in the bank.

Doyald Young, teacher and author: Logotypes & Letterforms and Fonts & Logos

This book is amazing. It lists 200 examples of good and bad design in a text/title/image/graphic perspective for business documents (which is just like a website). This book is a bible for begining or intermediate graphic designers who want to make the perfectly organized data (newsletters, website, newspaper, etc). Instead of long chapters of boring theory and idealism, it points out common design mistakes and shows a better way to do it and throws in a couple sentences of theory to it. In my opinion this is a must in anyone's library of books.

I bought this masterpiece after I read 'The Non-Designers Design Book' by Robin Williams. The content is much the same, but explored much more thoroughly, with clear examples and well-thought layouts.

If you want to get only one book on Desktop Publishing, THIS IS THE ONE! Don't waste your time with other books.

A paper design is self-explanatory and self-maintaining. This is why Roger Parker was able to write this superb book on design for paper. Web publishing involves collaborative maintenance of a collection of material. So one can never achieve such clarity. Anyway, this is a great book if you want to design some paper stuff and it is also good to think about why you'll never have it this easy in the Web world.

I have used the 1st edition for years as my primary Test & QA reference. Being a fan of Dr. Demming, this book supports his teaching. Mr. Lewis's book provides many pracical examples and templates for the QA practitioner, be they a seasoned pro or someone just thrown into Testing for the first time.

This book represents the most complete and comprehensive approach to total quality of any I've read on either software testing or software quality assurance.

Highlights include:

- A structured quality cycle based on Plan-Do-Check-Act. This cycle is the foundation of continuous improvement, which is the theme of the book.

- Complete description of testing techniques - in this respect the book is an encyclopedia for software test professionals and a definitive reference.

- Comprehensive resource for forms and checklists (I wish these were also provided in soft copy on a CD ROM or author's web site, but they are not).

- Full view of metrics across every aspect of the development life cycle. In the same manner that the testing techniques are encyclopedic, the metrics are also an encyclopedia for SQA professionals.

I've used this book as a reference, and it had a heavy influence on a reference chart a colleague and I developed for depicting life cycle key metrics. It does not confine itself to testing alone, and in fact, has something for production services and service delivery professionals, as well as project managers involved with large scale development and implementation projects. You would have to buy at least a dozen books or download thousands of documents off the Internet to get the information contained between the covers of this book.

After reading Software Test and Continual Process Improvement, I am impressed by the breadth and depth of William Lewis' test and quality process coverage. I recommend his book to anyone who is involved in the software development life cycle, including Project Managers, System Analysts, and IT Directors.

Mr. Lewis' book is particularly relevant those of us who must reduce development costs while meeting our customers' maturing expectations. Times have changed; financial restrictions prevent using development resources to correct software defects. Initiating the prevention processes outlined in Software Test and Continual Process Improvement will boost project efficiency and product value.

My suggestions for improvement: If Mr. Lewis left out the vendor references (in Sections IV and VI), then his book would be less vulnerable to obsolescence. More emphasis on how requirement and test management tools map to each other would strengthen the same sections.

It's naive to assume that a book on software test and quality can describe all the components and nuances of thorough testing. Software Test and Continual Process Improvement comes closer than any other book I've read to describing effective end-to-end software quality interventions. It's the software test compendium to hold on to.

You'd have to download over a gigabyte of internet resources, then cross-reference them to come anywhere close to having a resource as valuable as this book. Lewis has taken proven techniques spanning both software testing and SQA, wrapped them into a quality process based on the PDCA model and places all of the information you need to master testing and SQA between the covers of this outstanding book.

All you need to add is the ability to think. If you can do that you'll be able to transform the incredible amount of information in this book into action. If you do that I guarantee you that you'll be able to develop a world class quality organization.

Of course, you can mine the publicly available resources and sort through them. Before you do, think carefully about how much your time is worth and just how much you can absorb. If you're intelligent enough to understand this book, you'll quickly see that you'll save thousands of manhours. If not, you still need this book because approach will make you think in terms of cost/benefit.

The forms and checklists in this book alone are worth many times the price.

After reading Software Test and Continual Process Improvement, I am impressed by the breadth and depth of William Lewis' test and quality process coverage. I recommend his book to anyone who is involved in the software development life cycle, including Project Managers, System Analysts, and IT Directors.

Mr. Lewis' book is particularly relevant those of us who must reduce development costs while meeting our customers' maturing expectations. Times have changed; financial restrictions prevent using development resources to correct software defects. Initiating the prevention processes outlined in Software Test and Continual Process Improvement will boost project efficiency and product value.

My suggestions for improvement: If Mr. Lewis left out the vendor references (in Sections IV and VI), then his book would be less vulnerable to obsolescence. More emphasis on how requirement and test management tools map to each other would strengthen the same sections.

It's naive to assume that a book on software test and quality can describe all the components and nuances of thorough testing. Software Test and Continual Process Improvement comes closer than any other book I've read to describing effective end-to-end software quality interventions. It's the software test compendium to hold on to.

In my business as a book editor and consultant, I am always looking for good resources for clients. I have been able to find some good books on book marketing--and others on writing a good sales letter or press release. But until I read Karen's Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal, I knew of no book that gave in-depth help on design and writing. I am very impressed with the quantity and quality of Karen's information. I especially like the easy to use format. Her book is a great example of the quality of work Karen produces in her business as a graphics professional.

Barbara Munson
Munson Communications Editorial and Ghostwriting Services
www.munsoncommunications.com

I wished I had purchased this book before publishing my first book, but there will definitely be a revision after reviewing this material.

Being exposed to many business people, authors and graphic designers over the last year, I find that Karen Saunders is the "real deal" when it comes to giving relevant information that you can use.

Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal has helped and is helping me to develop my brand. Let us face it-everyone desires to turn his or her product into a sale at every glance.

Everyone wants their idea or product to speak without speaking and that is precisely what you will get when you put the principles of this book to work.

There are many out there promising to help you when it comes to developing a plan and putting it to action, but Karen Saunders delivers in Turning Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal.

My name is Walter Taylor, Jr., Minister and Author of Touchdown Love and I approve this review.

I purchased Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal by Karen Saunders last year and have found it to be an invaluable resource for designing marketing materials including counter displays, book description sheets, our own website, etc. My book is now our distributors best selling book on recreational boating, and I believe the marketing materials derived from Karen's book contributed significantly to this success.

My copy has all kinds of Post-It notes marking pages of particular interest, and lots of Hi-Liter marks, so you can tell I use it a lot. It's not just about graphics-it covers such things as writing good marketing copy, typography, digital imagery, and printing, and that's not all. Even if you hire out your graphics and marketing materials work, this will help you understand and evaluate the contractor's work. I can absolutely recommend this book to anyone who needs to develop marketing programs and materials.

Tom McEwen, author of Boater's Pocket Reference

As partners of clients who help make their businesses more successful, virtual assistants often have to oversee the creation of marketing material. While one option is to hire a graphics firm to do it all while the business owner remains hands-off, most small business owners can't afford this luxury.

Enter Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools! by Karen Saunders. Filled with beautiful images, information-packed articles, and helpful tools, Turn Eye Appeal Into Buy Appeal is a must-have for any business owner who even thinks of creating (or getting someone else to create for her) logos, business cards, newsletters, brochures, and websites.

Turn Eye Appeal Into Buy Appeal overcomes all manner of design and print roadblocks with answers to such questions as

"What colors should I use to add 'zing' to my design?"
"Where should I start in designing my logo?"
"What will make people read my marketing piece?"
"What paper should I use for my printed marketing piece?"
"What should I say about my company?"

One of a business owner's goals is to increase his revenue. One of the best ways to increase revenue is to attract consumers through powerful flyers, business cards, brochures, and logos. Turn Eye Appeal Into Buy Appeal will help business owners be able to produce appealing marketing material that really sells.

Dawn Goldberg, CMVA, COO of AssistU. Since 1997, AssistU has been training, certifying, and referring the best virtual assistants in the world.

Karen's years of experience is brilliantly conveyed in her book "Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal." Saunders, the designer of many award winning books, gives credibility to the easy to read and implement information. It's a great resource book for anyone wishing to create any type of written material - whatever form it may take.

Barbara J. Butler - Aurora, CO
Destination Wedding Minister - Author - Speaker