Tools Books

I am a public school teacher and until I discovered these Energy Tools, my days ended with stress headaches and an upset stomach. I've also had the privledge of taking the beginning seminar. I practice the tools everyday, at home and in the classroom. I am now able make the classroom environment more condusive to learning. The students seldom argue and the days have returned to being fun. I've even introduced some of the Energy Tools to the students and they enjoy the sense of power and certainty they now experience. Thank you, Roxane! No more stress and nausea for me.

I am so thankful that Roxane Burnett has written this book. It is simply written so that anyone who has the desire to learn how to work with their own energy can use this book. It is a beneficial step-by-step instruction that teaches you to identify and manage your own energy field along with other tools. Through using the tools in the book she shows how to gain more certainty and command in your life. I love reading her stories and appreciate her talent to easily illustrate through words the valuable teachings. I recommend this book highly to many clients in my personal consulting business.

The energy tools in Spirit Matters are very useful in my massage practice. This book presents these tools as exercises which are clearly and concisely laid out. They are simple to do, yet I have found them to be very effective. I am finding the grounding tool as well as the use of the rose to keep personal energy between me and my massage clients to be especially useful. I've read many books on energy for personal and spiritual growth and find Spirit Matters to be excellent. The stories illustrating the tools are fun too.

By using the principals as outlined in this powerful book, you will be able to change your life for the better. Each tool that is explained, if followed consistantly, will give you a new insight into your life and the changes will be noticable. I am now reviewing the tools and find that what used to be a concern or aggrivation is now viewed from a detached view point and no concern or aggrivation occurs. If you are willing to follow the book's teaching, you will become a person that you like.

This is a great first book in stocks. Before reading this book I didn't know what questions to ask or where to begin investing in the stock market. I especially like this book's ground up approach
1) providing motivation to invest
2) defining stock jargon
3) introducing professional tools and resources

The rest of the book introduces investing strategy, stock analysis, economic trends, and many many other details. I like how the author doesn't seem to be pushing an agenda, but just introducing the tools to be used by both aggressive and conservative investors.

The book provides overview of fundamental and technical analysis. Authors were able to present material in a clear way and explain it very well. I am sure this book can help to invest better.I will recommend this book to my friends.

I was a novice to the financial markets before I read this book. I have successfully used the ideas and principles in this book to improve my investment criteria, and feel much more confident about success in the stock market.

This book provides information about technical and fundametal analysis.It is written in a clear way. I would recommend this book to my friends.

Much has been written about violence very little of which is useful for the average person at the moment when it erupts. This helpful book does an admirable job at closing the gap.

Real life scenarios explain in detail how an aggressive encounter works. Each scenario is presented twice: Once how a well-intentioned but unprepared person might (mis)handle it and then an improved version.

My favorite example is a receptionist handling a client who tries to bully his way through in order to see his layer. The scenario shows which options the receptionists realistically has (the power to leave and to help) and how he can communicate them verbally ("Your layer requested not to be disturbed in her present meeting. But I may be able to get you in, if you are willing to wait.") and nonverbally (By standing up and stepping back he says "I may leave" when the client comes to close to him).

The scenario shows how aggressors test boundaries before they attack in order to gauge the targets reaction (testing rituals). I have noticed this most disturbing behavior in real life on various occasions. This is the first place I found practical advice on it. The reason seems to be the author's particular background: he watched his father, a barkeeper, handling aggressive clients and he and his friends where targets of violence as children which prompted him to analyse the situation. Later, he studied psychology and was a member of the "Guardian Angels" patrol.

Many thanks to Shawn Smith for writing this outstanding book.

This book speaks to those from all walks of life. Those with no prior experience handling violence and those who spend a lifetime in aggressive situations. From the lay person to the experienced law enforcement officer there are lessons that can be learned here.
The content is clear and concise. The techniques are time tested and true. When push comes to shove, this is the book you will have wanted to have read!

"Smith uses apt anecdotes and a narrative style that keeps the reader eager, awake, and open to turning old saws into new tools of conflict resolution. This book will earn a place with the all-too-few great practical writings on preventing and managing aggression in many contexts." -Foreword Magazine

Smith's book is a great reminder that violence is everywhere and it can happen to anyone. It is a brilliant tool book to avoiding and dealing with conflict. It lays out ground rules of how to act and react to conflict. It also gives an idea of what type of people start conflicts and why they do. Personally I found the book to be very interesting because Smith uses real life scenarios that anyone can relate to. Surviving Aggressive People is a great book for anyone in the workplace, for parents, teachers, and anyone else who wants to be street savvy.

Excellent set of books, and the DVD is invaluable. You get to see a master at work while he gives reasons about his methods.

I first came in contact with this set while in college studying woodworking about 6 years ago. While in school I referenced it many times for a complete 'how to' to a 'how do I do that again.' Now, I am still in the woodworking business, and this is a great set of books to have around to consult for what ever reason, thus, I recently got my own. I especially like a chart he has for doing compound angled miters- I must have looked at that a hundred times. Though the pictures are obviously dated, the skills and basics techniques he writes about are timeless, and are a fantastic jumping off point for someone to figure out how to make anything. He teaches you everything you need to know, I highly recommend this set.

This is the first of three volumes by Tage Frid that are literally a brain dump of techniques and approached to woodwork. Frid is a true working craftsman. He began as an apprentice at a time when most work was done by hand, and survived the transition to machinery without missing a stroke of his plane. Teaching both at the Rochester Institute of Technology and the Rhode Island School of Design, Frid has influenced over a generation of professional and amateur wood workers.

This book is an exhaustive study of joinery. Frid starts with the traditional sections on wood, the tools, and the preparation of stock. Sections then follow on dovetails & other multiple joints, tongue and groove constrution, mortise and tenon, and mitered joints. What is different from other books on the subject is that Frid's explanations are clear and well illustrated, he covers many of the 'tricks' of the trade, and he will address a problem from several directions.

If you could remember everything in this book you would be a woodworking wizard. If you are more forgetful, like me, you will keep this book in the shop where you can grab it when planning out your work. If you have to have only one book on joinery Tage Frid's work may be all you need.

These are great books full of good information. Not all of his furniture is
in a style that I would choose, but it's constrution is great. The DVD is good.
Although not packed full of woodworking skills, it's nice to watch this master work
in his shop. You'll wish you could spend a few days working with him.

The Tool Kit was written from work with real teams in real work situations. Everything was designed to be immediately practical and useful. I'm grateful that people have found the book so helpful. Please visit our website - www.newdirectionsconsulting.com - for more helpful information on teams. Deborah Harrington-Mackin, author

I'm the Training Coordinator at a manufacturing facility with 200 hourly employees whom we are trying to get more involved in a team-based work system. This book has given me so much PRACTICAL information on the how's and why's of doing this! I'm actually able to relate this information to our employees in a way that it clearly shows the benefits TO THEM of working in teams. Too many of these so-called "Team Building" books are filled with silly exercises that do nothing in the long run. If you want something practical and useful, I recomment this book!

Harrington-Mackin creates a good overview of teambuilding in the workplace. She also provides very practical suggestions that can help team leaders, team members, or the leader of an organization.

I have easily paid 8x more for other 'manuals', and have none with a more ugly cover, yet this is the anchor of my team building library. It is short on philosophy and long on the day-to-day requirements of goal-setting, consensus building, procedures, and strategies. This is THE book of practical advice to guide a team and its' leader, regardless of prior experience.

This could be your health curriculum. Very age appropriate and fun. An excellent resource for all heath teachers new and experienced. I highly recommend this book.

What a great book.....I have used many ideas and/or lessons from the book in my classroom.

If you are a health teacher, a physical education teacher or anyone working with children or adolescents, you need to buy this book!!! The lessons are easy to use and the activities are creative and engaging. One of the best methods books I have ever used!

An absolute MUST for anyone who teaches health topics and needs to liven up his or her instruction. Dr. Whalen and her co-authors present "tried and true" ways to engage learners and get the content across in a way that engages and holds students accountable students during the learning process.

Dr. Patricia McDiarmid
Assistant Professor Health Education
Springfield College
Springfield, MA.

If you are a new teacher or a veteran this book is a great resource to help with notes, graphic organizers and literature ideas. The templates are user friendly and explained very well. A must for the classroom!

Jim Burke created (and compiled) a lot of useful graphic organizers in this book. Each organizer comes with the author's explanation and examples. The book is my most useful toolbook in my collection. It helps my teacher and student learning. Highly recommended!

This is my FAVORITE teaching book. It has graphic organizers that are neither too simple nor too challenging for high school level students, and better yet, examples of how to use each. A must-have for all English teachers!

Tools for Thought: Graphic Organisers for Your Classroom
by Jim Burke

Books on graphic organisers & visual tools have generally fascinated me for more than two decades, probably in the light of my own personal interests in visual thinking. Also, my strategy consultancy work with adults & teens in helping them to navigate reading materials is a contributing factor. I have already amassed a large collection of them in my personal library.

Strategically & tactically, I am a avid practitioner of visual thinking. When I read, I always annotate in the margins. I also strenuously use the MindManager Pro & SmartDraw Pro to support all my reading - & thinking - pursuits. All the interesting ideas captured in my marginal annotations - & insights from my reflections & assimilations - are alway transformed into mind-maps &/or mind-scapes.

This book has recently entered my library. It has been written by a English Language teacher. Therefore, I noted that the book has an obvious slant towards applications in language arts.

There are twenty six tools listed in the table of contents & twenty four of them are illustrated graphically in the Toolbox: Visual Directory of the Tools. Each tool has its own description, notes & examples, assessment standards as well as application possiblities. From the teaching standpoint, the inclusion of thirty two reproducible tools for classroom use is certainly an added benefit for teachers.

The 'Annotations' on page 1 is definitely not a graphic organiser. The author admitted that "it looks a little different from the other tools, yet it is no less a tool." The author's idea of incorporating such things as crayons, high-lighters, pencils, coloured pens, sticky notes & symbol codes is a refreshing change to conventional annotations.

The author's introduction of 'Visual Explanations' on page 114 is another refreshing innovation. He has based it on the work of information scientist Edward Tuft. In some way, the many examples shown resemble the 'mindscapes' as formulated by Nancy Marguiles in 'Mapping InnerSpace'. Incidentally, mindmapping created by Tony Buzan is lumped together in this section.

The graphic format of 'Vocabulary Squares' on page 124 is very useful & practical, but I believe using it in combination with an index card would be much more effective. Sentence constructions can be written on the flip side.

I am intrigued by a number of 'discrepancies' I have found in this book:

1) On page xvii, under 'Making Effective & Efficient Notes', what follows is actually a full description of 'Cornell Notes'. I am surprised that the author did not mention this fact & also did not credit it to Professor Walter Pauk of Cornell University.

2) 'Cornell Notes' is mentioned in the 'Appendices' on page viii, but it is inserted before 'Q Notes' & after 'Pyramid Notes' on that page, thus upsetting the alphabetical order of all the other graphic organisers as listed. Likewise, a reproducible form showing 'Cornell Notes' on page 159 is inserted - against the alphabetical rhythm - before 'Q Notes' on page 160 & after 'Pyramid Notes' on page 158. What is the author's rationale?

3) 'Cornell Notes' is correctly depicted on page xvii, showing the various format components: orienting information (for name, topic, date), connections column (for questions), notes column (for essential information about the suject) & Summary column (for synthesising all the noted information), as originally envisaged by Professor Pauk. The summary column, however, does not appear in the reproducible form for 'Cornell Notes' on page 159. I am quite puzzled by this omission.

I still maintain that, because of the author's English teaching background, the graphic organisers in the book will find more appropriate use in the language arts. These are generally reflected in the many book examples.

Nevertheless, I reckon that, in contrast, Jim Burke's book still surpasses two other books with a similar slant in an educational setting, & they are:

- 'Drawing Your Own Conclusions', by Fran Claggert;
- 'Going Beyond Words', by Kathy Mason;

Readers who want to explore other graphic organisers & visual tools for multi-disciplinary applicatons should explore these books:

- 'Cooperative Think Tank', Volume I & II, by James Bellanca;

Those who prefer graphic organisers &/or visual tools with a critical thinking perspective, should explore:

- 'Organising Thinking', Book I & II, by Howard Black & Sandra Parks;

For navigating scientific materials, 'Concept Mapping' & 'Vee Diagrams' as postulated by Joseph Novak in his two seminal books on the subject are definitely worth exploring.

Those who want a more spontaneous free-form approach, I guess Nancy Marguiles' mind-scapes in her book, 'Mapping Inner Space', would fit the bill.

For a technology-based system in an educational setting, David Hyerle's 'ThinkMaps' as postulated in his two books, 'Visual Tools for Constructing Knowledge' & 'A Field Guide to Using Visual Tools', are recommended, even though they have some limitations.

Dr. Robert Schwarz is a healer, a teacher, and a multi-dimensional writer. He has found the words and the techniques to guide the therapist in healing the trauma client. This invaluable text is both brilliant in content, readable, clear, and direct. I recommend it!

This book is a must have for anyone in the trauma field. It provides clear, step by step guidelines and demonstrations for some of the most powerful techniques for bringing people to healing. It integrates a multitude of techniques and provides the modern therapist with a toolbox of options to utilize dependent upon the specificaitons of the situation. Dr. Schwarz' 20 years of running conferences and training thousands of the best therapists in the country clearly shows in his careful delivery of every technique presented. Bravo! I eagerly await his next book and utilize his self help tapes with my clients on a regular basis.

Tools for Transforming Trauma is the best book I've read on understanding and treating trauma. Dr. Schwarz does a great job in both explaining and integrating the two most crucial issues in this field. The book helps the reader understand the psychological, neurological, and social nature and ramification of trauma in ways that make the many complexities completely comprehensible. It also, and most importantly, provides step-by-step blueprints of the most innovative and powerful tools for change. These include Ericksonian, Neo-Ericksonian, Energy psychology, and other strategies with careful illumination of how to choose, fine-tune, individualize, and use the strategies in each phase of the treatment process. It's clear that Dr. Schwarz is a seasoned and creative therapist who has taken his years of experience and training and put it into language that makes sense to those of us in the trenches.

There are so many books in the trauma field it is hard to know which one to invest precious time reading. I highly recommend this book, for several reasons: 1) it is clearly written in a down-to-earth style, 2) it provides an integrated framework for understanding and working with various experiences of trauma, 3) it offers specific tools for helping people overcome the effects of trauma.

This book is wonderful. It makes navigation easy to understand. There are tons of interesting facts and little biographies. The experiments are easy to do and very appropriate.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book - and learned quite a few new things, even though I've been out of school for years. The author really knows how to present informative material in a fun and interesting way.

It is obvious that the author did a lot of research and put a lot of time into this book. There are lots of fun facts and surprising bits of trivia - plus, the projects and activities are wonderful, and really get kids' imaginations working.

Navigation is a complex topic. Presenting the history of navigation in a way that children can understand is a daunting task, but Tools of Navigation pulls it off. I can see this book being used by homeschoolers and school kids as the resource for a year long study, but each chapter would stand on its own for any interested student. A nice thing about this book is how many of the activities take place outdoors: traveling by compass, mapping your backyard, and, our favorite, geocaching. It also breaks down map reading to make it easy for kids to learn. I look forward to teaching this section to my two kids so that I'll have a couple of navigators in the backseat during car rides!

This book is titled "Tools of Navigation, a Kid's Guide to the History & Science of Finding Your Way," but this 45-year-old reviewer found it fascinating. I've always loved reading books about people who venture to the North Pole, through the Amazon Rainforest, or across the Sahara Desert, but always wondered how they did it without getting hopelessly lost. Author Rachel Dickinson sheds light on this mystery.

The book explains navigation from the Ice Age to the present, and also includes info on ancient navigators such as Marco Polo, Lewis & Clark, Robert Peary, and Ferdinand Magellan. It's very easy to understand and includes great photos and lots of fun activities, such as: how to make your own compass, go on a treasure hunt, work with topographic maps, and make a sky chart that maps out constellations.

Rachel Dickinson does a wonderful job of explaining navigation and history. It's a great book for parents to share with their children or teachers to share with their classroom. But it's also a fascinating read for anyone interested in navigation, history, and early explorers.

I don't follow handbooks very well. However, the guides and worksheets made it simple for me to use this new Strategic Thinking Approach. For anyone who was taught to solve problems as they came along without any real understanding of where they were coming from, this new concept of "working backwards" and viewing things as a "whole" is somewhat intimidating but made more sense as I read on. This new idea has definitely changed how I look at everything, not just solving conflicts.

I don't follow handbooks very well. However, the guides and worksheets made it simple for me to use this new Strategic Thinking Approach. For anyone who was taught to solve problems as they came along without any real understanding of where they were coming from, this new concept of "working backwards" and viewing things as a "whole" is somewhat intimidating but made more sense as I read on. This new idea has definitely changed how I look at everything, not just solving conflicts.

These "Top 10" Tools really are the best I have ever seen to actually use Systems Thinking in a clear and simple way on a daily basis. These Tools are something everyone should and can learn quickly--I would use it for every single employee in my organization.

A fantastic guide for everyday use. A definite must have for anyone, especially those of us in a leadership role, as all ten tips apply to any kind of problem solving, whether they are organizational or personal.