Consultants Books

I really had to work on this one to keep the story straight. I felt like I had ADD most of the time. It is not a bad story and parts of it I really like but it was just too much work.

Kitty the Cutter finally got what she deserved in the last book, which is where this book picks up.

Temple is hired to do PR for a furniture store, which is really a front for a drug smuggling operation. Bad things happen to nice people and Temple investigates the murder of a loved one for an old friend. Windows are shot out, Temple is threatened by a gay motorcycle gang, and there is another murder.

The romantic triangle is back and stronger. Max has other fish to fry and just sort of drops in a time or two in this book. That leaves Temple open to the attentions of Matt who is definitely interested in a relationship with her, and they come VERY close to acting on it. Max had better do more than just feel guilty about neglecting her.

The Fontana brothers are an absolute hoot and I hope we see more of them. We also find out a little more about them in this book. More of Ma Barker and her gang would be welcome, too.

There are some weaknesses. Like an earlier reviewer said, there are too many Jimmy Choo references and shoe talk in general. It is hard to tell who is speaking sometimes (a chronic fault in this series). The part about the pictures used as a signal is weak and not very subtle, even if the plot is built on it. Also, there is one glaring error that neither the writer nor the editor caught: Mozart's "murderous rival" was Salieri, not Solari (Solari was an architect). Antonio Salieri was Mozart's competitor of sorts, not a killer. Why change the name, unless it was an error? Temple put her Jimmy Choo'd foot in it

Overall, it was a good read and I look forward to the next one.

I couldn't get into the story as most of the sentences were gussied up with fancy prepositions and the gratuitous use of "Jimmy Choos." With 380 pages to go, I wrote my $$$ as a loss.

A tad bit slow in the beginning but so worth it when the hook finally sinks in. The characters are as colorful as always and I feel a thrill of delight at each of their witty snaps. I was ably caught up in the relationship troubles of our svelte lady Temple and the visit to Midnight Louie's mother was precious.

For those who haven't read any of the Midnight Louie books before, I'd say start at the beginning but by all means, continue on down to this one. For those who have... of course you must have this for your complete collection!

I'm desperately addicted to these books. While I really enjoy the individual mysteries, and "Orange Twist" is a good 'un, I'm absolutely hooked on the overarcing storyline, laid out in what will, eventually, be 27 chapters (starting with "Catnap" and "Pussyfoot" before the alphabet starts with "Blue Monday"). About the only thing I can't stand is that I'm going to have to wait about eleven years for, oh, say, "Cat in a Zebra Stripe"!

This installment moves the lives of our intrepid cast of characters forward without losing track of the intriguing mystery at hand, murder in a new furniture store. The ever-resiliant Miss Temple Barr tackles her PR duties while sleuthing out who the culprit(s) are with her usual finesse and style, and in the meantime, my favorite golden boy Matt finally makes his move while the nice-but-rarely-there Max is too busy, once again, saving the world from rogue magicians to get in the way. Pardon my lack of impartiality, but good.

Midnight Louie and possible-daughter Midnight Louise round up a cast of cat characters to help save the day and rope in the baddies and, of course, save Louie's beloved Miss Temple! Also nice to see some folks from the "old days" back, including Danny Dove and the flotilla of Fontana Brothers. I also very much appreciated the extremely sensitive and intelligent use of gay characters. Hooray for Ms. Douglas.

All in all, an extremely pleasant read and my favorite of the series since "Cat in an Indigo Mood." It's really tough to have to wait a year between chapters. One fun thing is to read the series rapidly and in order, which, with this volume, is up to 16 chapters and of course has taken over a decade to write, while only about two years of "book time" has passed, which means Las Vegas has swelled, changed, and grown at an awesome rapid pace. Topical events happen in staggeringly rapid session. But no matter. Even with the occasional inconsistency (often a sudden change of hotel or stumble over detail, and just a few little things anyone familiar with Vegas might cringe at), I just can't wait for the next installment.

First Sentence: Bob Peterson scanned the track before him.

Charlotte Lyon may suffer from OCD, but she is an expert at crisis management. A train crash has resulted in the death of two people; the conductor, even though no cause of death is immediately apparent, and a woman who turns out to be a well-loved actress. In order to contain the crisis for the rail company, she has to know the cause of the accident and whether it was an accident.

Barbara Saranella's last book was the start of what would have been a wonderful series. The human elements in the story are so well done; Charlotte's OCD, relationship with her mother, possible romance, and handling of the crisis. I learned a lot about trains and was never bored by it. There were a couple, small weaknesses in the plot, but the story definitely held me all the way through. In some ways, I like the character better than Munch and am very sorry we've lost such a talented author.

Having read and enjoyed the Munch Mancini series, I was disappointed by the weakness of this book. I agree with other reviewers that the premise of a PR person with OCD has great possibilities. Surprisingly, though, the writing was in many ways like that of a new author - many awkward bits, where, as a reader, I wanted to edit/rewrite. I'm not sure why this happened with an experienced author unless, maybe, she was ill and wanted to finish quickly. In any event, it is sad to know that she will not be able to continue this series.

Deadman's Switch is one of the best murder mysteries I've read all year. Seranella creates an engaging heroine with OCD (did she know about the Monk television series?) who functions best amidst others' crises. Hired to manage a specialty train's derailment, she digs deeply into the mechanics of trains. She combines her PR knowhow with her unique specialty of crisis management.

The book's plot and pacing are superb. The end might follow mystery conventions a little more closely than some readers will like but is ultimately realistic and satisfying.

As a special treat, readers will learn a great deal about trains and about the world of public relations.

I must admit I got totally involved. I found myself enjoying the story and wanting to learn more about the characters. Not being familiar with Munch Mancini, I checked the back flap and was horrified to learn there will be no sequel. The author's untimely death will leave readers wondering how the characters would have developed in future. That's the only bad part of reading this book.

I enjoyed reading from the late Ms. Seranella's Munch Mancini titles. Charlotte Lyon, the main character her new projected mystery series, is likewise a resilient, flawed, but sympathetic lady. Charlotte, 33 and a widow, operates a crisis management consultant business in California. She's good at what she does, and commands top dollar doing it.

In this case, Charlotte is hired by Sun Rail after their train derails under suspicious circumstances. During Charlotte's subsequent dogged investigation, we learn lots of cool details on trains and railroads. Interestingly, what emerges is Charlotte's forceful personality and her somewhat chaotic personal life.

Saddled with an OCD like TV's Adrian MONK, Charlotte learns to channel her energies and phobias to do good. She cultivates a budding romance with Todd Hannigan, a NTSB investigator, and reconciles with a difficult mother. The proper elements, then, are successfully established to grow a new, winning series. That fact alone captures my first vote.

However, sadly Ms. Seranella passed away on Jan. 21, 2007 while waiting for a new liver transplant, leaving behind her mysteries for her many reader fans.

I didn't realize that Barbara Seranella had passed away until I was 3/4 done with the book. The Munch Mancini series was very good and this series showed a lot of promise. Ms. Seranella will be missed in the crime fiction world.

I enjoyed the new character of Charlotte Lyon. A type-A OCD inflicted character is always interesting since they tend not to be cookie-cutter. **I absolutely adore Monk.** While the character was good and the plot was reasonably suspenseful, I felt much of the novel was bogged down in railroad technicalities that were a bit dry (except perhaps for railroad buffs).

A temporary job at a Mexican Spa is just the thing Nora Franke needs to take her mind off her teetering personal relationship.

The work isn't difficult; menu changes, receipt suggestions, lectures, and demonstrations. Her time is more a vacation than work. Nora enjoys the guests and all the perks that the facility offers. At least until a missing guest is found dead from a fall. When a second guest dies mysteriously, all the fun is taken out of her holiday job.

Nora's editor asks her to do an article on the spa and the deaths which turn out not to be from natural causes.

Helen Barer lets you follow Nora as she searches for clues and the truth, and finds lots of both. This book is a good, fun read.

Reviewed by Wanda C. Keesey

This is a riveting FIVE STAR story, masterfully told. Hellen Barer is a wonderful writer and I'm already eagerly awaiting her next one. From the opening chapter, I could not turn the pages fast enough to find out what happens next. Fitness Kills is set in a spa ranch, and Hellen will leave you guessing until the final end.
Buy this book!

Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (09/07)

When I received Helen Barer's "Fitness Kills" in the mail one Tuesday, I had my day all planned out. There were things I didn't particularly want to do, but they needed to be done. But every new book is like a Christmas gift to me, so I opened this book in a striking green dust jacket, thinking I'll read a page or two and then get going. Four hours later I got up, absolutely enchanted with the book I've just read - and could not put down.

Where should I begin? I loved the book on so many levels... The heroine, Nora, is somebody I would love to meet in real life. She is brave and spunky and funny - and 30 pounds overweight after her recent "sort-of-a-break-up-and-then-maybe-not." Ms. Barer's portrayal of the New York food writer, turned into a sleuth, is absolutely brilliant and seeing the life in a posh spa in Baja California through Nora's eyes is a candid and colorful experience. We get to see, feel and definitely smell it.

The story line is engaging and Nora's quest for the killer produces a fair share of nail-biting moments. The best part of it is probably Nora's refusal to take herself too seriously and her refreshing lack of cunning as well as the refusal to believe that people are anything but good. Some would probably call her naïve, but I prefer to think of her as good and honest.

Then there are Ms. Barer's wickedly funny descriptions of spa staff and guests, the daily routine of the spa's "torture" (Liquid fast, anybody? How about a hike at dawn?) and Nora's daily struggles to fulfill her role as a menu consultant for the ranch. Some of my absolutely most favorite pages are those where Nora tries to deal with the unsurprisingly temperamental chef or when she cooks or thinks of food. And while I probably won't be tempted to make almond milk - and yes, you should read the book to find out why - I have already made a spicy pumpkin soup.

"Fitness Kills" was a wickedly funny and intelligent read, which I would wholeheartedly recommend to lovers of good mysteries and strong female characters. You will not be sorry that you picked it up and if you are anything like me, your only regret will be that it is not longer. But then the notes on the dust jacket inform the reader that Ms. Barer is already writing the next Nora Franke mystery. I've learned my lesson already - I will know better than to schedule anything else on the day I receive it.

A food writer named Nora Frank takes a job in Baja to get away from her former boyfriend and to shed a few pounds. She's been on an eating binge since they broke up and she wants to feel better about herself again.

The job she takes is in a spa. Not long after she arrives there, there's an accident and someone dies. Nora makes several new friends, all of whom hung out with the deceased. One of them, Ce Ce insists that there's something fishy going on. She doesn't believe the victim would have climbed a mountain by himself and fallen off. No one pays much attention until Ce Ce herself dies of poison.

Nora is upset and decides to find out the motives behind the murders and the culprit, whoever he or she may be. There are plenty of suspects to go around and Nora starts checking each of them out.

Max, her ex- boyfriend arrives to try to help, but Nora manages to get herself in hot water with some of the locals as the suspense keeps mounting. Can Nora find the killer before he or she kills her?

I enjoyed reading Fitness Kills and think it's a great beginning for Barer's series.

Spending time at a health spa and getting paid to do so might sound like a dream job. However, food writer Nora Franke, who has landed that job as part of an assignment to make over the resort's menu while she writes an article on them, finds it less than dreamy. First, fitness is tough work. Secondly, people are dying and as she starts to probe the murders, she becomes a potential target.

*** Nora's strong, honest voice leads readers through the maze of clues to a surprising ending that only the most savvy armchair sleuths will even begin to guess at. The conclusion is one that will haunt you. On a side note, Nora's trouble relationship with Max is also an intriguing aspect to the plot, one that readers will enjoy seeing developed as the series grows, I predict.

I really enjoyed this book. We as woman know what we are feeling those 9 months of pregancy, its nice to see it from a man's point of view. It was fun to compare Alan's experience to that of my husband's. I think it takes a lot of courage for a man to put his pregancy thoughts and fears down on paper for the world to read. This book just show's another talent of the multi-talented Alan Thicke.

I thought it was a good book, Alan showed the man's point of view which most of us woman can't see during the 9 months of pregancy. We know what we as woman are feeling but in this book we can see the man's side. I also enjoyed the quotes from other celebrities. This book show's another talent of the multi-talented Alan Thicke, he's a great author too.

I got this for my husband. Alan Thicke is kind of consistently and gently slamming or joking about women and thier behavior while pregnant. It is humorous most of the time... so I didn't have a problem with it. But, If you're looking for a book that is really educational or filled with knowledge about pregnancy-this isn't it. Like the title says, this book is more about teaching men to cope with thier wives while the are pregnant than it is about pregnancy.

After reading so many books that are filled with facts, statistics etc. It was REALLY fun to sit down with a lighthearted book that really made me laugh. I already knew the odds of a pregnant woman over 40 giving birth to a baby with Downs Syndrome, and why it's not OK to drink while you're pregnant. This is not the reason I went to a book by Alan Thicke. If you just need to be entertained and relate to the stories he tells, buy this book!

Funny and informative. Bought this for hubby but of course read it first. Thicke is in great comedic form, lots of interesting facts, and although he has lots of physiological/medical info it's not overwhelming...Also a very quick read- laughed aloud alot and then passed it on to my better half.

Jim Ainsworth clearly demonstrates his extensive financial consulting experience throughout this book. Much of the information is valuable, and it covers the important beginners' range of knowledge effectively. However, his 'down to earth' style is not only irritating, it actually makes the book painful to read. Good written English is not always the same as good spoken English. Surely the man is a succesful financial consultant, but that doesn't make him a good writer. It just goes to show that in a hot, growing industry like financial consulting a book written by a 'qualified' author will sell even if it is poorly written.

The author's background is a small town CPA, which may account for his no BS approach. Simple (not simplistic) straightforward solid advice for anyone wishing to start a financial advisory practice.

I'm have a CPA background and obtained my CFP several years ago, but never practiced financial planning, other than a brief foray working with an insurance company, which was an excercise in high pressure selling. Ugh! I wish I had this book back then!

You're in mid-career and you're investigating a switch to the new industry of financial services. You know a few people in the industry but are looking for some good sources of comprehensive information. This is it.

Jim Ainsworth lays it all out. If you want to know what to expect, this is it. Get the book, you won't regret it.

Jim Ainsworth clearly demonstrates his extensive financial consulting experience throughout this book. Much of the information is valuable, and it covers the important beginners' range of knowledge effectively. However, his 'down to earth' style is not only irritating, it actually makes the book painful to read. Good written English is not always the same as good spoken English. Surely the man is a succesful financial consultant, but that doesn't make him a good writer. It just goes to show that in a hot, growing industry like financial consulting a book written by a 'qualified' author will sell even if it is poorly written.

*A good book of guidelines for the undecided about becoming a financial consultant, planner?

Kate Boothe is like a thinking woman's Bridget Jones. And her polical adventure is so perfect for this campaign season. If you are looking for a fun, breezy read that will still work your brain a bit, I recommend this book.

I thought this book was average. THe plot is pretty good- political consultant decides to take on an unwinnable case- her ex ( a journalist) is accused of treason. We go through lots of Washington politics- how you get to see the people you need to know, how important being being best friends with the matre'd of a restaurant is, how a nice bottle of champagne will get you everywhere. Kate Boothe guides us on this journey. We see her battle audits, vengeful old friends, scheming new enemies, an assalt on her reputation. We see her fighting the good fight, saving an innocent man who everyone has turned their back on. But it is just not a very interesting literary journey.

Mitchell makes the mistake of telling not showing. Their are many positive personality traits to Kate, but we hear about them in narrative rather than in dialogue. I needed to hear some of her intelligence, wit, and media smarts. This did not come through to me. She becomes just like every other mediocre heroine I've ever read. There is nothing to separate her from everyone else, and since this is the story of Kate, it makes for a very average read.

The humor is trite, the characters are forgetable- I even think Mitchell forgets why she introduced certain characters. Th eplot is definately good, but the story that goes along with it isn't.

I highly reccommend this politcal thriller and its saucy heroine Kate Booth. It's an edgy trip through the cobblestone streets of Rome and the back rooms of Washington, D.C.: a perfect blend of political power players and gourmet delights. In Booth, Mitchell has created a female character who is clearly flawed, but all the more lovable. She is someone who you want to hang out with, just to get a taste of her exciting and non-stop action work-social-love life.I can't wait to read the next Kate Booth adventure and see if she ends up back with the gorgeous Italian or checked into rehab!

While I support our Presiden't strong stand against terrorism, I do understand some folk's concerns regarding the Patriot Act and some of the actions by the Attorney General. Good fiction can take a stand on political issues as it tells a story and I sense this author has some serious reservations regarding the Attorney General, conservative talk radio hosts, and the military establishment.

The problem she has is that good fiction still needs to be plausible and the story needs to make sense. This book, which is essentially about a government plot to frame a reporter on a trumped up espionage case fails those tests. The story goes a bit too far over the top. More importantly, the narrator's perspective as a PR professional/talking head on television is hard to take. In this case, the writer has written a novel in the first person where the main character is shallow and unlikeable. She comes off as a ditzy PR person more interested in fluff and yet another example of the Washington elite's lack of understanding of the rest of the world.

The positive part of the book is that it is paced well and easy to read. Yes, you can read this on the beach, but the impression that it will make on you won't last as long as the tan or sunburn you might get while reading it.

The Chinese have been buying more U.S. military secrets and this time the government has picked the perfect man to take the fall. Reporter Lyle Gold isn't liked by anyone, has annoyed the military on a number of occasions, and he could be the traitor. A few leaks, some political wheeling and dealing, and some post-9/11 rushing to judgement and there's no one in the country who will take Gold's case. But political consultant Kate Boothe has been out of the country. She dated Gold years before and knows that he didn't care enough about money to sell his country for more. She doesn't realize the extent to which the nation needs Gold as a scapegoat for everything that has gone wrong and agrees to work for him. What she doesn't realize is that too many people have a stake in Gold's guilt--and are prepared to take whatever steps necessary to make sure that no one raises too many questions.

Author Michele Mitchell knows her Washington D.C. politics. The who-do-you-know and where can you take me atmosphere of D.C. comes through solidly. She also grasps our national intolerance for uncertainty. If the Pentagon says Gold is guilty, only a traitor would believe him innocent--right? More importantly, though, Mitchell writes a compelling story. Kate Boothe is a sympathetic heroine, with her fears that her boyfriend has abandoned her for the latest blonde, her concerns over what her mother will think when political operatives taint her as a ..., and outright fear when the IRS breaths down her neck after being unleashed by an aggressive White House.

Warning--THE LATEST BOMBSHELL has little sympathy for talk radio, Attorneys General who take their guidance from the Old Testament rather than from the U.S. Constitution, or those who believe that our basic rights must be thrown away to protect Americanism. Even if you don't like the politics, though, the novel is worth reading for its insights into the way the U.S. government is run--and for its intriguing lead character. Very nice.

I found useful many parts of the book for who are starting an IT consulting business. Obviously it is not a magic recipe. You need to work each point, to custom it for your company, your kind of projects, your culture.

This book is a must for anyone working in IT. Full of practical advice and information, the book is also an engaging read. I plan to apply the valuable information I obtained from "High-Value IT Consulting" to my business.

Having worked as an IT consultant and on the other side, frequently purchasing consultant services, I can attest to the difficulty in successfully managing such a complex business. The authors' new book goes a long way to helping create order. It is a comprehensive and thoughtful approach to helping IT Consultants get a solid perspective on how to establish or improve their consulting practice. Excellence in managing a professional services practice requires a systematic approach to achieve balance between the big picture and the minutiae of details. This book provides the reader with both.

I believe the authors are right in their declaration that excellence in this field depends upon focus and determination, and a commitment to continually demonstrate how your consulting organization adds value lest you suffer the fate of obsolescence. I encourage practice managers to read this book. It is an important contribution to best practice and should be a part of their consulting toolkit.

Purba and Delaney offer a powerful playbook for creating and delivering customer solutions that exceed customer expectations and result in outstanding customer satisfaction.

Although this book has a great deal of useful information, there are a number of areas where it misses the mark. Often the obvious is stated as important. In many respects the book takes a 35,000 foot view of the IT consulting practice and addresses issues faced primarily on very large projects with large consulting practices. With limited resources to acquire and read books on IT consulting, this is a book to skip - there are so many others that are quicker to read and have more valuable information (for example Alan Weiss general consulting and Janet Ruhl for IT).

There is the suggestion that payment terms should be negotiated after the contract is signed, but before actual work begins.

The pipeline, backlog and sales hit ratio sections don't mention the typical discrete steps in the sales cycle.

At one point, the authors write "It is said with tongue-in-cheek that any consulting firm that cannot operate its photocopier as a profit center probably also cannot do a decent client engagement." A couple paragraphs later in the same section the reader is instructed how to arrive at a price for a given markup using the formula Price = Cost/(1-Markup). Any large IT consulting firm that can't calculate markup without help cannot do a decent job consulting.

Elsewhere, the authors point out that switching from First Class to Coach travel, reducing out of town allowances, and reducing social/entertaing expenses are not good for employee morale but lower costs.

I picked this book up, not because I am a consultant, but because I am an executive at a company that uses consultants frequently. I was hoping to spot in these pages all of the "tricks of the trade" that consultants use so that I would be a smarter customer of consulting services. As someone that occasionally loathes, and infrequently appreciates the perspectives of so-called outside experts, I was pleasantly disappointed (yes, pleasantly disappointed) to see that what Holtz and Zahn are suggesting in these chapters is non-manipulative, ethical, and above board practices that in no way try to take advantage of a customer that is not as sophisticated as perhaps they need to be. I was disappointed because I wanted to be armed with ways of combatting what I perceive to be the car salesman approach taken by far too many of the consultants I have worked with in my career. Perhaps the fault is as much mine as the consultants we hired. Maybe I have to spend more time doing exactly what this book recommends consultants do when it comes to; scoping out projects, ensuring agreement on objectives, managing project timelines, and agreeing on how to fairly compensate the consultant for his or her assistance. I found this book pleasant in that it convinced me that not all consultants are cut out of the cloth of the "give me your watch and I will tell you what time it is" type. Seeing what the consultant is SUPPOSED to be doing when engaging with a client (me) and being able to compare that to what happens in my company makes me want to buy this book for a few of our most senior executives and dog-ear those pages that they need to read. The chapters on how to set up a business, accounting, and other organizational necessities were initially of little interest to me as my focus was on the actual working with the consultant, but even those chapters were enlightening in that I better understand why the consultants we use pressure me about some things and not others. The point made about cash flow being critical to the success of the consultant over and above other issues was not something I would have realized on my own. Now that it was explained, I can understand and appreciate it better.

This classic "instruction manual" for consultants has been well-known for years in the consulting world as a primer for people just starting out, or for those who are thinking of making the jump from working for others to working as a consultant.

However, the last edition was showing its age and I'm glad to see that this 4th edition breaks a lot of new ground while retaining the great "blocking and tackling" advice from Herman Holtz which drew raves in consulting circles worldwide.

New co-author David Zahn has taken this classic and put an afterburner jet on it and zoomed it in to this new millenium with up to date advice that resonates with clarity and strong, well grounded counsel. As I read the revised volume - which was just released in March of 2004 - I found myself nodding vigorously as he discussed cash flow (the consultant's biggest obstacle year in and year out); marketing in today's internet world; the use of email as a newsletter medium; and so many other great directional points that I realized that an experienced consultant could also benefit greatly from this new volume.

If you are reading this review, you no doubt are considering purchasing this book and you're probably wondering if it is worth the money. That's what I use these reviews for here at Amazon, and that's why I wanted to post this review as soon as I read the new edition....because I believe it can help EVERYONE in the consulting profession hone their skills to a much sharper edge.

From my perspective, the 14th chapter (How to Handle Negotiations, How to Set Fees and How to Handle contracts) alone is worth the cover price, and then the rest of the book is a remarkable bonus. And I speak from personal experience, having been involved in consulting for 14 years - first working for a midsize consulting firm and then going out on my own several years ago.

I think this is a TERRIFIC book that you'll use again and again...and again. And if you are thinking about joining the profession of consulting, it will give you a real eye-opening peek at what it takes to enter, survive and prosper in the world of consulting.

Highly recommended.

Take a deep breath and sit where the light is good as author David Zahn (who wrote this with the late Herman Holtz) attempts to describe everything about consulting in 400-plus pages of small type. The book realizes a good bit of its ambitious goal, though not without cost. Information is abundant, but not tidy. In this fourth edition, chapters pile up as the authors add coverage of new technologies to their previous reporting on older forms of media. The result is a big onion: layers and layers of information. Some are useful, topical and important; some dated, redundant or irrelevant. You can skim the parts that don't affect you, but a tougher editor would have slimmed it down and combined some basic chapters, such as the extra treatment of marketing and second careers. However, if you persist, you will garner some valuable information, especially about the competitive process of bidding for government consulting contracts. We consider this book worthwhile for those who are serious about becoming consultants. Just be diligent about ferreting out information that is pertinent to you (and bring a magnifying glass).

I can't believe the authors are consultants who write for a living. This book has good information but suffers from redundancy, typographical errors, and uneven modernization between editions.

I read this book straight through, and I think I read the same anecdote three times. There's some good advice buried in there along with some so-so advice, but the (minimum three) parenthetical passages (per page) make the text hard to read. Along with all the typos. (I had to laugh when they went on for several paragraphs about how proofreading is important because typos will "torpedo" a report to a client.)

In places they emphasize the changes made in the newest edition, but it seems the end of the book didn't get as much attention to these changes. The section on computers is talking about tapes!

This book also suffers from an over-focus on government contracting, a specialty of one of the authors.

I purchased this book when the third edition first came out. I found the information so brilliant and so helpful. It has remained a constant bottom line reference for those hard questions that have simple answers! I have referred the book to many other who were trying to establish viable consultanting businesses and were searching for all the 'questions and answers' of getting started. And more important - "how do I figure out what to charge???" When I purchased the book, please note, I was living in the highly competitive North Eastern United States!

It has too many photos and only a few lighting setups, and very little useful information.

For the cost of this book, I expected more information and up to date photos. I think that this book and the High key lighting book should be combined for the same cost.

Excellent book for every photographer who wants to use white background and lighting techniques.

This guide is a well-illustrated look at tried and true practices of portrait photography. That being said, the photos themselves seemed dated and almost Sears-portrait-esque. They are technically sound but do not push the stylistic envelope.

If you're looking for a good explanation of standard practices, this will fit your bill.

I personally was looking for something more along the lines of Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait: The Art of Celebrity and Editorial Photography, but with in-depth explanation of techniques instead of just examples. That book is highly recommended for more creative examples of portrait lighting.

The text is of great quality. Content is superb. It's a good guide for beginners who would like to achieve remarkable low key photos. It provides details on how to set up background, what clients need to wear, and lastly lighting setup. I have read other photography books and by far this is one that I can easily understand and apply. Overall I would highly recommend this to others.

I wish I had this book when I started my business. Everyone considering going into business for them selves should own this book. It is a dis-service to your customer not to.

This book is everything you need to get started on your documentation for your customers. Karl covers the documentation you need to create to fully cover your customers networks.

Don't expect to buy this book and be done -- this book will give you guidance and a starting point to create your own comprehensive documentation. You should take Karl's work and make your own documentation from it. You'll be able to save enough of your own time re-inventing the wheel to pay for the book and make a profit.

The most important yet least performed task is network documentation. Karl provides IT professionals an easy to follow framework for compiling the necessary documentation using straight-to-the-point forms you can customize with your own branding. Whether you are an IT administrator for your company or a network consultant with many clients, this workbook and CD kit is a "must have" tool.

No more excuses for not providing complete documentation on your supported networks! Thank you, Karl!

I think that one of the real strengths of this workbook is that it forces a network admin or network consultant to consider a structured approach with respect to the vast amount of information they deal with in everyday management of a network - even a small network. It is too easy to "know" a network but not be able to provide that information to another person when it is needed most, usually in a time of crisis when you can't be onsite to deal with the issues personally.

If there ever was an unfulfilled need, it certainly has been network documentation in many, if not most, small businesses, and likely a large number of medium sized businesses, too. This workbook provides a very useful framework for accomplishing the necessary documentation by simply following the format that is presented. From there I think that the results could and should be customized as desired to make it work better in each user's environment. If you have never really thought about how to perform this daunting task, get the workbook and start now to get up to speed with every network you administer.

I have used it on several networks and I have been pleased with the way it has forced me to reduce to writing many pieces of information that I once carried around in my head. My clients appreciate the results, as do I.

I, too, would be embarassed to present these forms to any of my clients. Books with "and awaaayyy we go" phraseology are in the hobbyist category. And that's the quality of "network docmentation" this presents.

Where is the use of Visio at? Where is the finesse of asset management? Why aren't IEEE/TIA/EIA standards addressed?

This very thin book is not worth $89. At best, it is worth $15.