Tools Books

An essential tool for the Biblical reader who has some knowledge of Hebrew, but not enough for the all-Hebrew Even-Shoshan Old Testament concordance. As an example of its usefulness, the seven Hebrew words translated "praise" in the King James version can be easily traced individually, and understood thoroughly. The frequency of appearance is clearly marked, in all of its forms, making HEC tremendously valuable as Strong's requires the scholar to do a lot of counting over various forms of the word. Again, an example shows that _hll_ or _halal_ appears 89 times as praise, or praised, or praises, etc. Each of these forms would have to be counted individually in Strong's. The same holds true for the other words for praise, namely, tehilla, yadah, zamar, shabach, todah, and barak.

A previous reviewer has mentioned disdain for the name of God. This is simply not the case. The tretragrammaton, YHWH, has been transmitted over centuries as the LORD because the name of God is SO REVERED. This is a convention of the KJV, RSV, NIV, and any other version of the Bible this reviewer has ever seen.

A very helpful index based on the English of the New International Version of the Bible is included. The citations of verses within the concordance is based on the NIV - users of other translations only need to turn to the passages in their own Bibles to get the exact English word with which they will be most familiar.

The only limitation this reviewer found to Kohlenberger's fine work is that his numbers are not keyed to Strong's.

All in all, this is an essential tool I am pleased to have at my disposal.

This reference book (HECOT) is an excellent resource for studying the range of meanings of words in the Torah (five books). For those who read Hebrew well and are accustomed to translations published by and for Jews and use in synagogues, some caution -- at least alertness -- is advised because HECOT is based on the NIV, whose translations of words sometimes vary widely from those in the aforementioned translations (e.g. the old a new Jewish Publication Society editions, or the brand new translation published by UC Berkeley Professor Robert Alter). However, because HECOT is organized alphabetically by Hebrew words, one can always easily refer to the Hebrew text, and from there to both Jewish and non-Jewish translations such as the NIV. A good second concordance to use in tandem with this one is the Exhaustive NIV Concordance (Regency Reference Edition), also the so-called BDB lexicon of Biblical Hebrew.

I enjoyed this very much. It shows you exactly how many times the word appears in the NIV and KJV and how it looks in the original Hebrew/Aramaic. Exhaustive doesn't even begin to describe this book. The only problem with this book is the blatent disregard for the Divine Name, Yahweh, which is just translated as "the LORD." Nevertheless, it is an important part of any Bible reader's library.

I originally thought this was an interlinear, so don't make my mistake.

This book provides a whole new perspective to the Old Testament. It shows the real words of God before they were translated. If you enjoy reading God's word and don't hard reading this book is for your. I highly reccomend for people who have a strong knowledge on the Bible.

Hiring Great People provides an excellent, common sense approach to handling some of today's more challenging staffing issues. From recruiting to orientation and everything in between, hiring managers can depend on the sound advice presented by Klinvex, Klinvex and O'Connell.

Whether in your briefcase or on the bookshelf, this is a must have for the human resources professional or for any professional involved in selection and hiring. This book is really appropriate for any audience. I have used it as a textbook with my graduate personnel selection classes.

Hiring Great People is a well-written, easy to read book. At the same time, it presents highly technical information in a format which demonstrates how such information can be turned into practice. There are may useful hints, guidelines and forms in the book. As I have indicated above, I have used this book as a text in graduate courses. It is more valuable than books which cost five times as much.

This is not a book about fluff or fads -- it deals with the latest research and technology in the practice of personnel selection in a highly readable fashion. I find myself turning to it repeatedly for advice on topics such as interviewing and competency assessment.

Kevin C. Klinvex, Matthew S. O'Connell, and Christopher P. Klinvex present a guide to creating a more effective hiring process. They cover each step, from defining the job to hiring the best person. The book provides techniques for attracting the right employees through advertising and promotion. It also covers effective use of applications, interviews, testing, and background checks. This book is clear, well-organized, and easy-to-read. While some of the suggestions may be obvious to those who are experienced at hiring, they are presented in a careful, step-by-step way. We at getAbstract recommend this book to those involved in the hiring process in larger companies, from company owners and top managers to human resource professionals. Small business owners who wish to use more sophisticated hiring techniques may also find it useful.

Not another book on hiring! Enough! Can any more be said that hasn't been said already? Can the same information be presented any better than it has before?

I'll admit that I opened this book, part of McGraw-Hill's Briefcase series, with a bias to dismiss the publication as just another also-ran. Surprise! Hiring Great People caught my attention right away and held it for most of the book. Starting with the three-page detailed table of contents, the book was easy to read and easy to use. A Manager's Checklist at the end of each chapter offers a good summary for reality-checking and later reference.

I liked the way each chapter begins with a scenario, usually including dialog, that catches the reader's attention and focuses on the problem to be solved by the chapter's content. Nicely done. An abundance of examples aid in understanding of the authors' points and in the practical application of the knowledge presented. A common feature of the Briefcase books is effective use of icons to call out sidebars and boxes that highlight and amplify the text. The boxes are categorized as Smart Managing (tactics), Caution (warnings), Tricks of the Trade, Key Terms (jargon explained), Examples, Tools (proven procedures), and Mistake Proofing (how to minimize the risk of a bad hire).

The book begins with an emphasis on competency-based job descriptions. Helpful information includes definitions of competencies and advice on conducting a competency analysis. The second chapter jumps right in with the legal stuff that employers must be wary of today. A number of pertinent laws are carefully explained so the reader knows what to do and how to avoid costly mistakes. The chapter on attracting the right employees (note: not just warm bodies) addresses recruiting as well as what today's workers are looking for. The table on page 47 provides information on over a dozen internet sites that can be used for recruiting.

So now we have all these applications coming in. What should we do with them? Chapter 4 shows us how to use those applications as screening tools in our efforts to find the right people to bring in for interviews. Chapter 5 does the same thing with resumes. Frankly, I was astonished at the volume of advice; I learned about tools and procedures that opened my eyes about my own hiring. The next two chapters on interviewing was equally valuable; again, I gained knowledge that I didn't have before. Just when you think you know it all, this kind of book comes along to remind you and give you some more.

Do these applicants really care about working here, or are they just looking for a job? Chapter 8 shows us how to evaluate how motivated that applicant is to perform. The interviewing approaches are most useful, as are the charts and score sheets to help the interviewer focus on what's most important. Testing and background checks were discussed next-good sequencing of chapters. I thought the chapter on testing got a bit too deep in testing methodology for a book like this, but the information is interesting.

The chapter on making the hiring decisions and notifying applicants includes a weighting system that helps put appropriate emphasis on the most important characteristics. I liked the advice about sending polite rejection letters promptly. There are so many applicants that wait a long time-nervously and needlessly. Chapter 12 advises wise ways to bring new employees on board with the right kind of offer of employment and the subsequent orientation process. The final chapter on blended workforces highlighted the alternatives that employers have today, using part-timers, job-share, and contingent workers to get the job done.

Our three kids, 6,8,and 10, just love the fun activities from this book. Their teachers tell us to keep doing whatever it is because they go to school and tell everyone about it. My husband and I like the fact that we don't have to think up the great ideas, we just have to do them and have fun too.

We had tried family devotionals before and our children's attention span barely made it through reading a few verses. We never had time to discuss and apply it to their level of understanding until we came across this series by Heritage Builders. Fun activities are interspersed that all relate to the message and have our kids requesting family nights time and time again. Instructions are given to help you adjust for various age levels. We started these when our kids were about 4 and 7 and usually set aside one night per month. Of course it would be even better to do weekly! Currently we are into the "Holiday" volume which is great too!

This book has made it fun for all of us to do "family nights" (devotions). In fact, the kids are always asking when we're doing it again! They look forward to it, and their enthusiasm makes our job - raising them with sound Biblical principles - that much easier. With this book at your disposal, you'll never have to struggle with family devotions again!

If you have been looking for a way to start family devotions, but did not know where to start, this is a must. The book outlines several inovative family night sessions for kids of all ages. You will not only have fun, but you will be able to clearly instruct your children to better know our Savior, Jesus Christ.

This is a best book I have ever seen. It has every details about how to use the iText. It's very clear in every technical aspects. iText is also a great API for Java programmer. It's also really easy to learn. I love iText.

I love this book. I strongly recommand this book.

This is a great book for people developing or maintaining applications using iText. It covers every corner-case I've run into, typically offering various options on how to solve a problem. The writing is concise, with easily approachable chapters and examples.

In January 2006 I was assigned to build a system that would create lots of PDF reports, typically with hundreds of pages of tables, and with tables nested in other tables. I started with an an open-source tool called BIRT that is well-designed and powerful, but it didn't quite give me sufficient low-level control over some aspects of PDF creation. When I realized that BIRT wasn't going to work for me, I was behind schedule and in trouble. Then I discovered iText. (BIRT actually is built using iText jar files.) I found that iText gave me exactly what I needed: an easy-to-use yet powerful Java API for creating PDF files. The remainder of the project, using iText, went smoothly, and my boss was very happy with the results. But I sure wish that I'd had Bruno Lowagie's "iText in Action" book at the time! That would have shaved a few weeks off of the project and would have saved me from learning some things painfully, by trial and error. As the original developer of iText, Bruno Lowagie is uniquely qualified to write this book. He obviously put a huge amount of effort into it, reflecting his longstanding commitment to iText. He made every effort to explain things as clearly as possible, and to document the pitfalls as well as the attractive features. It is evidently a labor of love for him. The book is written to the high editorial standards of other Manning books, with clear organization, good typography and layout, and so on. I highly recommended iText itself, and also this book, to anyone who is using Java to work with PDF files.

This is nice book, though most of the contents can be found online (I believe it is linked from the author's website). I have created some complex PDF files using iText following the examples on the book and online tutorials. This is the book from iText creator, surely it worth a 5 starts.

I've always figured that there should be some way to create PDF files without the manual effort of any 3rd party software client. Now I find out there is a way, and it's rather exciting... iText In Action by Bruno Lowagie covers the iText open source software project. It's a very well done reference manual that can also serve as a tutorial for a decent Java developer.

Contents:
Part 1 - Introduction: iText - when and why; PDF engine jump-start; PDF - why and when
Part 2 - Basic Building Blocks: Composing text elements; Inserting images; Constructing tables; Constructing columns
Part 3 - PDF Text and Graphics: Choosing the right font; Using fonts; Constructing and painting paths; Adding color and text; Drawing to Java Graphics2D
Part 4 - Interactive PDF: Browsing a PDF document; Automating PDF creation; Creating annotations and fields; Filling and signing AcroForms; iText in web applications; Under the hood
Appendixes: Class diagrams; Creating barcodes; Open parameters; Signing a PDF with a smart card; Dealing with exceptions; Pdf/X, Pdf/A, and tagged PDF; Resources; index

Lowagie starts off with a brief background of how iText came into being, along with a scenario of where the ability to programmatically create PDF files could dramatically change the way a college would run a department. Then after a short Hello World example that involves creating a simple document, he delves into all the different features and capabilities. The book at this point starts to change from tutorial to reference manual, but it's done in such a way that you could just keep working through the material in tutorial fashion with little effort (and good results). The example code in all the chapters are extensively annotated and explained, so you're not left to your own devices to try and figure out what the logic is trying to accomplish. In fact, I would say that the code annotation and commentary is some of the best I've seen in a book of this type. Great job...

The main target audience for this book is the Java developer, as the iText project is Java-based. There are .NET ports for J# and C#, and knowing how close those languages are to Java, this book should work pretty well for those development efforts with a little bit of thought and modification. Other languages should be able to use the iText toolkit if they have some way to call Java code modules from within their programs. As a Notes/Domino developer, I should be able to utilize all of this package in any Java agents I write, and the LS2J feature of LotusScript might also work well. After reading this book, I know I have some things I need to try...

If you have any sort of need involving the creation of PDF files from within your own system, iText is a great alternative to explore. And if that seems to be the way to go, I don't know of any better book to get than this one...

This is a unique, classic piece of literature that anyone interested in ecology and biodiversity will find fascinating. it is a real cutting edge piece from the late 60's/early 70's that gives great perspective to the modern efforts to save the planet.

Most of the tools and sources have given way to the churning forces of capitalism but the spirit and philosophy remain untouched.

Part tool catalog, part survival manual and part psychedelic novel, The Last Whole Earth Catalog is a snapshot of human psyche circa 1972.

There is much unmined treasure in this pulp catalog, especially for those interested in connectivity, systems design and sustainability.

448 pages, amply illustrated, generous editorial content includes everything from a organic recipes to lessons in economics and philosophy. Printed on newsprint.

I married a woman from Big Sur and was inadvertantly thrown into the counter-culture revolution. As an observer, mostly. Anyway, I owned several WEC and pored over the pages endlessly. Now, as a man in my 60s,
I decided to relive my past. Firstly, I want to say how incredibly pompous and ridiculous Buckminster Fuller was.
What he wrote is total gibberish. Any parts of the catalog that delt with environmental change were very pretentious and lecturing. No wonder things proceeded at a snail's pace.
Those subjects that are about tools are written in a straightforward manner.
I also realized that this is the first time I am truly reading this book.

The first issue of The Whole Earth Catalog surfaced in the fall of 1968. Original copies of that issue are now next to impossible to find. The earliest issue that's not impossible to find is the Fall, 1969 issue. WEC was founded by Stewart Brand, who was associated with Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters, so you know what you're getting catered to the counterculture of the time. In 1971, thinking the Whole Earth Catalog legacy was coming to an end, Brand issued The Last Whole Earth Catalog. Since I bought the Fall, 1969 issue of the WEC first, I was in utter shock just how thick the LWEC is, with over 400 pages! I was born in 1972, so there was no way I could experience the late '60s/early '70s personally myself, but nothing stopped me from digging information from that era, be it books, movies, television, music, etc. which I did. Here in the Last Whole Earth Catalog you could find just about everything under the sun, from living out in the country, books on fringe literature, architecture, different magazines, underground publications, how to survive in the wilderness, etc. Tools, camping gear, woodstoves, water pumps, boots, how to fix cars, purchase used school buses and trucks, how to fix a Volkswagen, and on and on. I also like the fact The Last Whole Earth Catalog realized not everyone associated with the hippie/counterculture movement were vegetarians or vegans, so they even sold books on how to raise livestock and how to store meat and so much more. They even touched upon communal living, including the real Drop City which was in Colorado. They even sold Foxfire before it was ever a series of books, but a Georgia high school student project publication, which chronicled old-time Southern and Appalachian living. Technology was even touched upon, and in an era where synthesizers were still associated with something like W. Carlos' Switched-On Bach, you get to see in there pictures of several synthesizers of the time, including a big modular Moog (like what Keith Emerson used), an ARP 2500 (like what Pete Townshend used, and was seen on Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind), a VCS-3 (like used on Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, as well as artists like Jean Michel Jarre, Klaus Schulze, and Tangerine Dream) and a Buchla. There's even an interview with Wendy Carlos (then known as Walter Carlos), and her opinion on electronics and of the album she's best known for: Switched-On Bach. The Last Whole Earth Catalog was never afraid to touch upon controversial subject matters, and there are the occasional pages with disturbing photos. Certainly a lot of the books the catalog offered had long been out of print (and some surprisingly still in print you can get here on Amazon), but of course, you can still get a lot of these out of print items used online. It was strange this was to be called The Last Whole Earth Catalog, because it got resurrected many times in the coming years: The Whole Earth Epilog, The Updated Last Whole Earth Catalog, The Next Whole Earth Catalog, the Millenium Whole Earth Catalog, and a series of computer software catalogs in the mid 1980s. Both the Whole Earth Catalog and The Last Whole Earth Catalog are simply wonderful historical items which I'm glad I got. This is truly a wonderful book/catalog for those wanting to go back in time.

Lifelong learning expert Nancy Merz Nordstrom and critically acclaimed writer Jon F. Merz present Learning Later, Living Greater: The Secret for Making the Most of Your After-50 Years, a guide to reaping the benefits of lifelong learning. From why learning is important to stimulate activity in the aging brain, to pros, cons and distinctions of classroom learning as compared to learning through educational travel or through volunteer work, to where to find the most innovative lifelong learning programs, Learning Later, Living Greater effectively demystifies the fun and life-enriching promise of improving one's knowledge. Highly recommended.

Filled with useful tips and lots of resources, this book helps the reader makes his retirement years happy, productive years. A must read.

Joan Fitting Scott
Skinning the Cat: A Baby Boomer's Guide to the New Retiree Lifestyles

Lifelong learning expert Nancy Merz Nordstrom and critically acclaimed writer Jon F. Merz present Learning Later, Living Greater: The Secret for Making the Most of Your After-50 Years, a guide to reaping the benefits of lifelong learning. From why learning is important to stimulate activity in the aging brain, to pros, cons and distinctions of classroom learning as compared to learning through educational travel or through volunteer work, to where to find the most innovative lifelong learning programs, Learning Later, Living Greater effectively demystifies the fun and life-enriching promise of improving one's knowledge. Highly recommended.
[....]

Learning should be a lifelong project, according to the author of `Learning Later, Living Greater,' Nancy Nordstrom. She herself went back to school at the age of 51 for a masters degree and then pursued a new career.

She spells out three types of learning: learning in the classroom, through educational travel, and through community service. "Lifelong Learning expands your intellectual, social, spiritual and physical horizons," she writes. In other words, mind can continue to grow even at an age when it is expected to decline.

Nordstrom cites research that mental decline as we age is not automatic. Instead, it is entirely possible to grow new brain cells as old ones age, if we give ourselves the stimulation of challenges. Active lifelong learning can provide a "Learning Vaccine", in the words of Dr. Paul Nussbaum, a researcher and author of "Brain Health and Wellness."

In an interview, Nordstrom called "lifelong learning a health club for the mind, body and spirit." She says medical science has begun to find evidence that the brain will grow, adapt and repair itself, if it is kept stimulated and challenged.

Nordstrom's book and website, learninglater.com, give tons of suggestions for meaningful volunteer work. Many new retirees are looking for more interesting volunteer assignments that have more responsibility.

Those over the age of 50 or so generally have a void once child rearing is done, and this is where "lifelong learning can step in to fill the void. Being engaged in lifelong learning enlarges the scope of our interests, provides opportunities to meet new people, keeps us current and active, expands our horizons, and provides opportunities to develop new ideas and handle change."

This book is a must read as you will pick up many many investment strategies. I read the book cover to cover in 2 days and wrote down several ideas which am now incorporating in my trading strategy. It has made me a lot more $$$ than what I paid for the book.
Definitely worth every penny!

a very interesting books that provide an insider's view, hope more books like this could be put on market

I have been reading Michael Brush columns for years and his flair for writing intelligent straight forward editorials and articles is not only educational for the amatuer investor, it is remarkably insightful, honest and right to the point captivating the interest of investment pro's. I highly recommend this book as money well spent (and invested)

Great book and invaluable resource. Wish I had it a few years ago when I started investing. It would have saved me a lot of money. The book is full of useful market insights that can only come from those who are there every day. I particularly liked the chapter on what to do when stocks blow up, since it is too easy to get scared out of a good position in times like those. Likewise, the chapter outlines the typical sell off scenarios that are actually great buying opportunities, and it tells you how to identify them.

I liked this book. It covers a lot of the Linux basics that many of the others WON'T cover. What I didn't like is a 98 page section on modem compatibility. This info is available on the web and those pages could have been used for something else. On the whole, the book is good for beginners who have no experience with setting up a Linux desktop in KDE or Gnome (bear in mind, this desktop setup is mostly geared to asthetics) and I enjoyed reading it.

In Linus Desktop Starter Kit, computer expert and professional consultant John Lathrop has assembled everything a user must know to install, configure, and get started with Linux. This complete book/cd-room kit covers all major distributions available, including Red Hat Linux, Caldera OpenLinux, TurboLinux, and SuSE Linux. Lathrop writes in an engaging, easy-to-understand, non-technical style and offers comprehensive, detailed, step-by-step instructions. Linus Desktop Starter Kit is a hassle free, highly recommended guide and reference that will be deeply appreciated by all who are new to Linux, and has a wealth of valuable material for even the experienced Linux user.

This book is very clear and provides step-by-step guides. That's all you need to get familiar with Linux.

I have an AMS Roadster that gave me problems when installing red hat 6.2. I know that the red hat cd I had was good because it worked for my desktop. Knowing that laptops can be a struggle I got this book, one because it already had a good rating, and two, it comes with 4 versions of Linux! I had already tried the cumbersome method of downloading it off the net (just my opinion). I've already got the Caldera up and installed in one hour and all of the author's directions worked like a recipe book! I don't think this is as extensive of a book on linux as is readily available, but it seems to be the best book for the win 32 user that's trying to get up and running.

This book explains the lithic forms and reduction seqences as clearly as anyone, and better than most. Definitely one for the archaeologists reference shelf, and good for students.

This is a must have primer for anyone learning about stone tool manufacture. Andrefsky adeptly informs the reader of all the major aspects of non-micro lithic analysis, and I plan to require this book if when I teach lithics in the future.

The best book on the authentication and dating of stone items I have ever seen. A complete guide suitable for study or browsing. I even read mine in bed!!!

Andrefsky, pulls together great narration and drawings that make complex physics look easy. This book will help any one understand what is involved in lithic tool production, and shed some light and interesting insight for those that consider themselves advanced in lithic tool study. This is a great addition to the cambridge books on archaeology.

I bought the book to help me in my internship as a marriage/family therapist and discovered that it is better than a textbook and a lot more fun. Deborah and Jerry Meints give specific tools to move our relationships forward so we never again have to return to the old battleground of conflict. It's informative and playful, but best of all - it works. One copy isn't enough. Love Tools is now a staple on my desk in my therapy practice as well as in my home for continued harmony in my marriage. Linda Prejean MFTI

If I had not stumbled upon a copy of Deborah & Jerry Meints brilliantly written book, my marriage would have been doomed. My husband and I read the book together, discussed the easy-to-use communication tools described in the book and implimented them into our lives. You cannot imagine how our relationship has changed. Just knowing how to manage our "Cast of Characters Witin" and recognizing when our "Ogre Witch" comes out has added humor and passion back into our relationship. I am practicing the art of the "Olympic Apology" on a weekly basis! Thank you Deborah & Jerry for bringing love back into my marriage.

This book offers excellent tools for working on your marriage.
Most couples fight because they just don't understand each other. After sharing this book you will have learned a new language that you both understand.
The exercises were direct and easy to put into practice. A must for couples of all ages.

This book is written by married therapists who know how to talk to real people. The exercises and illustrations were fun and easy to remember. My husband loves it because it is easy to read and the tools work! Finally, a book on communication that communicates. Saved me years of therapy!