Tools Books

I thought I knew a little about the scroll saw and this book showed me how little really I knew. I know what projects that I want to build and this book has the answers on techniques that I need to accomplish them all.
Referencing the scroll saw machine features from the book, I bought the Hitachi 16" Variable Speed Scroll Saw Model: CW40 from Lowes [great value: $150, including table legs, vacuum port, 45` table tilt left & right, flexible blower hose, accepts plain or pin end blades, attached work light, and with a $25 rebate/gift card] Now I feel almost totally prepared to begin trying my hand at a new skill.

There is a lot of info in there, almost too much in some chapters like machine history, but it is very much worth the USED LIKE NEW book price.

Synopsis (quote)
The world's leading scroll saw expert offers a masterful comprehensive reference covering the equipment, materials, and artistry, from time-honoured methods to critiques of the latest machines and accessories. A bestseller in its classic first edition for 15 years, the guide's massive technical updates and new sections make an even more valuable contribution, with simplified instructions on ways to apply the latest innovations and how to make the best projects from the past even better. Sections on current models and major parts of the scroll saw; accessories; how to select a saw; blades, speeds, & feeds; safety techniques & guidelines; patterns & layout; scroll-sawing basics; stack-cutting & cutting thick wood; sawing thin & small stock; compound sawing; inlay work; marquetry basics; fine fretwork; appliques & overlays; joinery; sawing plastics; sawing metals; segmentation & intarsia; finishing basics.

The synopsis above says it all, but what it doesn't say is how readable and informative it is. I first saw the early edition of this book at my uncle's, and spent the entire evening engrossed in it, to the dismay of my wife and aunt, but delight of my uncle. Subsequently I purchased the new updated version, and was pleasantly surprised at how many of the modern saws were included and appraised. Although American, so are the majority of the designs in your major Hardware Store (even if they're actuallly produced in China or Taiwan).

The history of the scroll saw is given, with plenty of pictures of the various makes, showing improvements and simplifications to the basic design. Then we get the theory and mechanics of scroll sawing and why some designs are better and/or more or less expensive than others - what you get for your money, in short.

The book manages to avoid the trap of 'designs that any idiot can make', instead detailing the whole gamut of techniques, blades, jigs and materials to enable one to produce anything from the simplest to the most complex, professional-looking piece of work.

Loaded with hints, tips, Dos&Dont's, this is a must-buy for all woodwork/filigree enthusiasts. *****

A little long on the history of scroll saws but still very interesting. Well put together and relitively up to date on equipment. The only scrollsaw not shown is the new Delta saw. Great book for beginners but there is something in this book for everyone. Very well documented lots of how-to photos.

This book is very informative and a must have for all those interested in learning to use a Scroll Saw.
I was very pleased with this book and would highly recommend it. It is very thorough and covers all the bases concerning Scroll Saws such as history of the saw, saftey tips, how the saw works and much more useful information.

I haven't touched my Scroll Saw since High School (10+ years). I wanted to fire it up again and do a little more than cutting letters out of plywood. I bought this book primarily because it looked pretty extensive and was recently re-published. It mostly covers technique and has no patterns for stupid schlock like owl napkin holders. This book shows you what you can do with your saw from simple to complex. If you are a beginner or looking to increase your skill, this is a must have.

I highly recommend this book but it is a little disorganized. It appears to have graduated from being a collection of coveted class handouts for MBA's to an almost-book. Its perfectly bound but the fonts are large, uses Power Point graphics, and needs great editing to turn it into a professional book.

That aside, you will find information here that you won't find elsewhere. It is easy to read and the information is easy to apply to your own business, although the book's focus is on evaluating existing (not new) technology companies. I'm glad the author has made it available.

The author assembles critical strategic and financial methodologies and ratios into one book, then shows how they applied to real companies over the last 10 years. This works quite nicely with two small problems for me. First, many of the examples were telecommunications companies where a deep understanding of the technologies was needed to understand the context of problem being highlighted. Secondly, the over-reliance on financial ratios restricts many of the techniques to existing (and not startup) companies.

However, I immediately applied two of the techniques to a new software product. I particularly liked the application of his adjusted Altman's Z Score to finding inflection points. Many of his techniques could work quite well for evaluating existing IPO's for example.

Again, I highly recommend this book.

John Dunbar
Sugar Land, TX

Dr. Nugent's book is a must to read, if you plan to win in business world, especially for people in telecommunications industry. I have been enjoying listening to him in many occassions. Dr. Nugent has provided training and consulting to major telecoms companies such as Ericsson using the tools in his book. This book summarizes all the necessary business tools based on his knowledge and management experience for business and financial analysis. We shall benefit a lot from reading the excellent book.

Frank Pan, MBA MS MS.Ed.
Ericsson Inc.

First of all, I would like to congratulate the author for bringing such a great piece of work to the market. I can't think of a better time to read this book!. I have read this book and am very impressed with the concepts, content organization, clarity and flow.

I have spent two years in the business school while obtaining 50 credit hours and reading 20 books!. I wish we had a course with this book!!. The essence of the tools needed for a successful business is gifted in this book. I would recommend this book for any one who would like to improve their business understanding or dealing with competition. Again I would like to thank and congratulate the author. They say big things come in small packages. Considering the price of this book, it's a great investment. Good luck.

Amidst the flood of literature attempting to explain the demise of the dot.coms, the contraction of the telecom industry and the accounting shenanigans of once reputable companies, few authors have been bold enough to claim that the prudent and diligent manager (investor) could have foreseen these events in time to act. In Plan To Win, Dr. John Nugent contends that managers (investors) not only could have, but should have seen these corrections coming.

Dr. Nugent purports that managerial decisions when imposed on present enviromentals lead to logical, determinable consequences. Discontinuities between strategy and the fundamental drivers of one's business give rise to inflection points. It is these inflection points that signal a shift in the underlying business. Those individuals who correctly identify these shifts stand to lead the product curve and/or business cycle.

Plan To Win is a visionary's toolbox. Through easily understood, real-world examples, the reader learns to apply a variety of tools. Each of Dr. Nugent's tools takes a slightly different cut at analyzing a business. Each tool gives the practitioner a vital piece of information. By combining these disaggregated pieces, it is possible to create a fundamentally rooted, objective picture of a business, its market and future trends. Obviously, the winners are those who hold this blueprint.

In academia, Plan To Win can serve as a valuable supplement to any business course where strategy and business fundamentals are taught. For investors and managers, the lessons, fundamentals outlined and tools presented herein are ignored at risk of great peril.

Sean Shingler
University of Dallas, Graduate School of Management

'Plan to Win' packs a powerful punch of insights in financial analysis, and makes each concept understandable and enjoyable to even the less experienced professional. While several books could have been written to describe each one of the numerous tools and topics presented, John Nugent does a great job at highlighting, with an easy and demystifying writing style, the most relevant points of analytical and operational tools utilized in business today.

Dr. Nugent - strategy consultant, business school professor, and former senior executive of the telecommunications sector - succeeds in accomplishing the arduous task of breaking down both simpler and more complex financial methods into their most essential constituents so that each of them becomes thoroughly digestible even to sensitive "financial stomachs." Dr. Nugent's book is highly recommended for the business student and the business professional, which will both find it a valuable compendium of essential financial concepts as well as a stimulating instrument to implement older and newer analytical tools in order to gain competitive advantage.

'Plan to Win' is particularly useful to understand (or recall) just what kind of business information is relevant from an investor's perspective. In fact, modern-day corporations often incur obligations to disclose their financial statements or, in general, facts related to their performance. However, their financial departments are traditionally adept at presenting information to their maximum advantage. For instance, there can be several ways to exhibit bulging revenues or magnify positive data versus the negative ones. Nonetheless, we all know that looking at bottom-line profits is often a different story.

Adhering to Sir John Templeton's tenet that "fundamentals ALWAYS win out" - Dr. Nugent's draws our attention to the fundamentals of business, on the one hand, as well as to the basic signs of any enterprise's financial health; on the other hand, he shows us what to look for when we are trying to determine the early symptoms of change in a company's performance, and includes real-world dramatic examples like AT&T, Enron, and others.

Upon familiarizing with a few of the methods explained in 'Plan to Win,' some of us might even think, "I can't believe I hadn't thought of that before!" Well, the truth is that most of us do not have the time to devote their entire career to the study of analytical tools, but John Nugent does help by taking away the esoteric aura that often surrounds the best ones and by making each tool presented practically available to anyone with a genuine interest in gaining a competitive edge.

Dr. Michael D. Zincani, MBA
Southern Methodist University

I liked Power Tools for Women because it really hit home. I could identify with many of the real-life examples the author wrote about. I kept thinking, "Yeah, that's me she's writing about!" Daniels' advice helps you figure out how to make things work whether it's on the job or at home. She shows that you probably already have the ability to tackle something tough, you just have to recognize it. She also gives suggestions on how to develop that ability. This book is packed with great ideas and is one that I'll keep referring to. It's smart, funny and right on target.

I liked Power Tools for Women because it really hit home. I could identify with many of the real-life examples the author wrote about. I kept thinking, "Yeah, that's me she's writing about!" Daniels' advice helps you figure out how to make things work whether it's on the job or at home. She shows that you probably already have the ability to tackle something tough, you just have to recognize it. She also gives suggestions on how to develop that ability. This book is packed with great ideas and is one that I'll keep referring to. It's smart, funny and right on target.

This is a must have book for you and all of your friends. Joni Daniels shows us clearly that we have the tools to get what we want from our work, families, relationships, and life we just need to "put on the safety goggles" (i.e. have a clear vision) first. The stories she tells have universal appeal -- you'll recognize yourself and your close girlfriends. Just spending 15 minutes at night reading this book was a great way to get a charge to my batteries, get me planning my next career move. This book is the kind that you don't want to lend. I find myself buying additional copies to give to friends.

Power Tools for Women is one of those books you want all your friends and collegues to read, only you can not bear to lend your copy!. This book is a must for all women. We are in a position of transition, trying to balance home life and career, being wives, mothers, bosses, role models, and somewhere in there trying to maintain our sense of self. Joni Daniels has captured our issues and given us a wonderful resouce on how to work with them. Her wit and writing style coupled with her examples of real people situations make it such an easy read.
I am buying this book as gifts for all the women in my life,and I know they will love me for it!!

I just finished reading Joni Daniels new book- "Power Tools for Women" and I had to write this review. I have never done this before but I wanted to let other women know how essential this book is to help all of us understand how to change our lives and have more personal and professional satisfaction. We do have the power and the tools to be successful, to be who we want to be--deserve to be and not what our society, corporations, families,teachers, etc. peg us to be.

The methaphor of power tools makes it easy to understand and apply the advice in this book and I related to many of the examples Ms. Daniels used. I have worked in a "man's world" for over 30 years moving from secretary to vice president in a billion dollar company. You don't get there simply because you are good technically. The secret to how you get what you want is in this Power Toolbox. Read this book and level the field!!!

It is nice that you can depend on at least one good fun game on PS3,and this game has all the fun that the first in the series had, but updated nicely for the new console.

I was not sure if I would like this game. I read a review on IGN and took a chance. What a hoot!! I am not good at video games, so this game is a challenge BUT I am having a ball with it...

Have a great Holiday!
Smacka

I got this (Ratchet & Clank Future) guide and game for my 15 yr old grandson, who loves the game and has found this guide to be of great help in locating quest areas and hidden items. The guide maps and instructions are very well done and is a good value for the price. I highly recommend this guide for those who desire to locate all of the hidden treasures and unlock additional items in the game.

This is a well-edited, beautiful book; a real treat to look at. It's not really a must for playing through the game, but if you're one of those obsessed with 100% completion, don't think it twice. Besides, it will look great on your bookshelf.

A real collector's item.

This book helps find the few pieces I couldn't find. It was pretty easy to navigate and gave all the info I needed.

I found the author's walk through of Sybase installation to be of great use. Each section of the book provided enough detail to get you started, without overwhelming you with a vast tome. Not a lot of fluff in the book.

If you want to step up to a more powerful relational database on Linux, the Database Servers chapter is a must read. The book also provides an excellent head start on using PHP scripting on Apache to access Sybase or PostgreSQL.

This book has been very helpful to me in learning the basics of Linux. It is well written in an easy to understand format. The front cover graphics could be a little better. But what do I know; I'm just a little troll.

This book has been very helpful to me in learning the basics of Linux. It is well written in an easy to understand format. The front cover graphics could be a little better. But what do I know; I'm just a little troll.

This book has been very helpful to me in learning the basics of Linux. It is well written in an easy to understand format. The front cover graphics could be a little better. But what do I know; I'm just a little troll.

This book has been very helpful to me in learning the basics of Linux. It is well written in an easy to understand format. The front cover graphics could be better. But what do I know; I'm just a little troll.

Angel On Board, Second Edition

Written by the same person who gave you Angel On Board, Profitable Publishing and more, EJ and her new partner John give you idea after idea after idea as to how to create passive income.

The plan they devise for you to guage your success is easy to follow and actually very fun to figure out! I know my "Financial Freedom Goal" and I'd never thought of it before. Now, I think about it daily and am making progress toward it!

The resources, ideas, examples and actual implementation instructions are useful, informative, current and quite surprisingly - entertaining.

This is a fun book - that gives us all a great new perspective on our future - our financially independent future!

If you've ever needed to earn some extra money but didn't know how you were gonna do it - GET THIS BOOK! The heck with financial freedom, it is life changing just to have a few extra hundred a month come in. I'll build to the financial freedom model within the next year or so, because it is so doable!

The book helps you brainstorm your own genius then shows you how to apply it on the net and in the real world. It helps you tally your assets, things you used to take for granted, now can help make you money - every month - consistently.

It was easy to read and the ideas were easy to get and the implementation and paychecks virtually immediate!

This book is intended to get your creative thinking going. The ideas spawned from the exercises and stories inside these pages are all so uniquely your own, that there is no way two people could have the same experience reading it, not even husbands and wives.

The deal is, it is simple to create passive income streams. EJ & John told you their stories, tactics and put the plan right there in front of you on these pages. Because the ideas are simple, many are actually very 'small,' yet yield big rewards. So, you can do a bunch of them and add it all up to get to your financial freedom goal!

If you're struggling right now, you owe it to yourself to get this. You'll free yourself from the struggle and find your way all the way to freedom!

As a state employee, I have to wait for the legislature every year to vote whether or not we state employees 'deserve' a raise. At best, it is a cost of living raise maybe 3-4%. We cheered when we received it, but usually, it still only amounted to maybe $50 more a paycheck. Frankly, the system for government employees stinks. A stereotype also exists for us that we are unmotivated, because of situations I describe above, but our jobs are pretty secure and in this economy, that means alot.

But the stuff in this book... I can do without risk of my job - in fact, it just might get me a promotion if I do right! I can make more than what the legislature 'blesses' us with each year with almost every single idea in the book. There are so many; not just ideas, plans and resources too. Whether or not your goal is financial freedom, this book can help you make more money in your current situation.

With the economy in it's current mess, this book is must-read for all! If you don't need it, someone you know does!!!

I recommend it highly!

This book has everything!!!

First, it explains the goal - become financially free in the most straightforward way I've ever seen it explained. Then it works you through a boatload of ideas, giving real-world examples for each, then it gives you resources, helps you establish your goals, and lays out the plan you'll need to have in place to get there. It's a complete roadmap to financial freedom.

Again, I say WOW!

I own many of Marjorie's products and I love them all! Her heart and soul goes into the making of her meditation tapes and this book touches you deep in your heart and soul. It lightens my day whenever I read it. It most certainly brings out your inner child and brings you on a journey to life beyond this earth. It is amazing! Marjorie is amazing! I recommend these products and all of her products!

Not only is this a magnificent self-help book for self-esteem to be read by "children" of all ages, but it helps to answer the age-old question, "Who Am I?" Whether male or female, 8 or 108, this will surely be a book to treasure and pass down for generations. It's a little book with a volume of discoveries.

This book and tape set are truly amazing. You will find Margie's book and tape both soothing and empowering. You will not be dissapointed!!!

An enjoyable childrens book and audiotape to work with your children in regards to their self esteem. The drawings are done by the authors own children and it is a charming story line that reaches kids as well as adults.

Excellent book, Marjorie did a fabulous job! Self esteem is more vital than ever for our children.

This is a must-have guide for anyone in, or preparing to work in, a professional field involving scientific discovery, creating things, or solving complex real-world problems.

Knowing how to increase my productivity has benefited me in several ways: monetarily, satisfaction, competitive advantages for myself and clients, etc. Leohle explains why skill, motivation, and strategic use of time and effort results in professional success. Worthy library addition for any thinker.

Politicians have trusted advisers and strategists who guide them in their every move. There are, however, many professions that require innovative thinking and decision making, and whose practitioners have to be their own strategists. Of course, people in such occupations could do what most people do, which is to use a trusted colleague as a sounding board for their ideas. However, many times a colleague is not available, and even if one were, there is no guarantee that he or she will have the level of discernment needed for a particular problem. It is possible to circumvent the lack of a guru, a spin doctor or a discerning friend, by verifying our own ideas before implementing them. Loehle's book Thinking Strategically: Power Tools for Personal and Professional Advancement, teaches us how to condition our intellect to think ahead so that we can plan a strategy to attain that which is important to us. Naturally, this includes choosing the best path whilst avoiding pitfalls, side-tracking and even derailment from the path. For that, we must learn how to study the particular, while keeping an eye on the whole, and to keep in perspective several logical and causal connections simultaneously. Then, when we master how to think by ourselves, we must learn how to be our own sounding board, that is, how to check our results against all possible errors that can occur during the thinking process and compare them objectively against a known standard. This aspect of strategic thinking is referred to as reality check. The author distinguishes two types: internal and external. The former is important because many of the patterns we perceive are not real but artefacts of our imagination or, may have resulted from an array of potential errors of thinking such as faulty generalization, bad use of logic, incoherence and bad risk checking. The external reality check is like scientific hypothesis testing or the test drive of a new car, and it requires us to submit our result to an array of tests to discredit it, and finally to peer review. One does not need to be a book worm to fully appreciate this book but being reasonably well-read in scientific and technological matters will help to fully appreciate the examples taken from the great innovators. Thinking Strategically is a cornucopia of rich pickings of allegories, common sense and wisdom tempered by the amusing illustrations of Richard Loehle. I recommend this book for anyone challenged to provide novel ideas or solutions to problems still untackled by routine manuals. pires.obrien@netmatters.co.uk

This book was higly recommended to me by a colleague, and after reading it I realize that the content is indeed very good. But the aridity in the author's writing style sometimes jeopardize the content. The text should be more pleasant to read, with more passion and more fun, but instead, it reads like a scientific thesis, with almost no emotion. The few times the author tries to throw a little humor into the text, it looks like it's out of context. But, again, it is worth reading for the very well structured message about strategic thinking tools and techniques, even if ater a while you become a little bored.

Politicians have trusted advisers and strategists who guide them in their every move. There are, however, many professions that require innovative thinking and decision making, and whose practitioners have to be their own strategists. Of course, people in such occupations could do what most people do, which is to use a trusted colleague as a sounding board for their ideas. However, many times a colleague is not available, and even if one were, there is no guarantee that he or she will have the level of discernment needed for a particular problem. It is possible to circumvent the lack of a guru, a spin doctor or a discerning friend, by verifying our own ideas before implementing them. Loehle's book Thinking Strategically: Power Tools for Personal and Professional Advancement, teaches us how to condition our intellect to think ahead so that we can plan a strategy to attain that which is important to us. Naturally, this includes choosing the best path whilst avoiding pitfalls, side-tracking and even derailment from the path. For that, we must learn how to study the particular, while keeping an eye on the whole, and to keep in perspective several logical and causal connections simultaneously. Then, when we master how to think by ourselves, we must learn how to be our own sounding board, that is, how to check our results against all possible errors that can occur during the thinking process and compare them objectively against a known standard. This aspect of strategic thinking is referred to as reality check. The author distinguishes two types: internal and external. The former is important because many of the patterns we perceive are not real but artefacts of our imagination or, may have resulted from an array of potential errors of thinking such as faulty generalization, bad use of logic, incoherence and bad risk checking. The external reality check is like scientific hypothesis testing or the test drive of a new car, and it requires us to submit our result to an array of tests to discredit it, and finally to peer review. One does not need to be a book worm to fully appreciate this book but being reasonably well-read in scientific and technological matters will help to fully appreciate the examples taken from the great innovators. Thinking Strategically is a cornucopia of rich pickings of allegories, common sense and wisdom tempered by the amusing illustrations of Richard Loehle. I recommend this book for anyone challenged to provide novel ideas or solutions to problems still untackled by routine manuals. pires.obrien@netmatters.co.uk

Do you want to get more out of your team or run it more effectively - then this book is for you. As a trainer, I look for tools that can help me get more out of my employees and team members. This book is a great resource for any manager or HR person.

Great Book the author uses clear and Insightful examples to illustrate his ideas.

The author builds upon "Tools for Team Excellence," his previous work, this time focusing on leadership. He provides an advanced set of approaches and techniques for successful team leadership. This self-study book explores the central qualities of leadership in a team environment. It includes a toolbox for analyzing a team and methods to help a team help lead and build itself. The book is loaded with key points, extremely well written and organized, and offers many examples, 36 exercises, 21 highlighting tables, chapter summaries, and after-chapter reviews. A book that sparkles with substance.

This is a solidly written, clear and comprehensive guide to leading teams. Author Gregory E. Huszczo touches on almost every subject a team leader needs to know - what skills are necessary, how you develop them, how you build teams, what you do when conflict erupts and so on. This book is an excellent introduction to team building for someone newly assigned to a team. It also offers important advice for executives of companies that are considering a team approach to management. The style is clear and straightforward, but quite academic. The author cites research and evidence to back his assertions, but he does not provide much in the way of entertainment. We find that those who like to swallow their management lore straight from the bottle will savor this book; those who prefer to mix it with anecdotes may wish to imbibe elsewhere.

I had the opportunity to attend a class with Gregory Huszsco on building teams. I have to say that the class, as well as the book, was very informative and very well thought out. Those of us who are in teams, managing teams, or thinking of using teams in our organization all should read this. It should be required reading for management and all team members.

I work as an Educational Assistant with behavior challenged children and I think this book offers a lot of great ideas for classroom control. The programs are explained very well and the book comes with a variety of awesome reproducibles to save time. The lottery program, along with several others, can also be effective with older kids. It can prove to be a challenge to find workable ideas for the older kids, but this book has some very useful positive reinforcers for them as well.
Mrs. Arlene Ricker E.A.

I teach special education and if someone were to say to me, "You can only have one book to help you in the classroom, what book do you want?" I would choose, Tough Kids Tool Box. I had loaned this book to a fellow teacher and she thought she had lost it. I was frantic, trying to find another copy. Luckily we located mine. I no longer loan it. I recommend it to all teachers, fresh out of college or the veteran.

This book, along with "The Tough Kid Book"(the companion book), would be a wonderful reference for anyone who teaches or works in an elementary school setting. I have used both of these classroom behavorial management books for many years, and just purchased copies of each title to give to two beginning teachers. Of all the books I own, these are the two I utilize the most. They are both realistic and include many practical ideas & copy-ready sheets. Buy both of these books. You won't be sorry!

I have recently read this book and read it from cover to cover. The stragies are useful and realistic. They are easy to understand and again, realistic. We, as educators, need "quick fixes" that WORK! We need to know what, why, how, and the pros and cons of implementaion of behavior stratagies and plans. This book certainly has all of this and is a must have for long time educators that need refreshing ways of dealing with children and for new teachers that need to start somewhere. A MUST HAVE!

This book is a must have for anyone that works with children. It has great ideas for every social situation your children may have. Best investment I ever made. This book is my wowrk training manual.