Tools Books

This book is really amazing. Going through it page by page was the best thing we have ever done for our relationship.

I have used this book in premarriage counseling for over 30 years. It is the best I have seen. It is also helpful to use after the wedding for fine tuning. If a couple is dilagent in filling out the questions & then discussing them together and/or with a trained counselor, they will be richly rewarded with a good marriage. This book should be used by all who are getting married with each person having their own copy.

I really liked this book. Our pastor got us to purchase it as a part of our premarital counseling. It has a short ammount of information that gets straight to the point in each chapter (2 or 3 pages), and then it has at least a page, if not two, of great discussion questions. The questions are deep and thought provoking. They challenge the couple to really deal with the issues at hand. The information is short, but impactful. The book also has a great, natural flow. I love it!

I'm not engaged, or even close to being engaged. Nonetheless, I found the Frylings' handbook refreshing and honest about communications and expectations among couples. I bought it on a whim, having heard that the Frylings do not sugarcoat reality in their presentation. My own relationship was floundering and I needed direction. I wish I had bought it several months earlier!

While written from a evangelical Christian perspective, it has that special universality of truth for every couple looking to understand and to communicate with their mate or future spouse.

I can see it being read alone for personal growth, with your fiance, or even the two of you with a counselor or older, wiser friend. Better yet, try going through this (be ready to be challenged!) with a married couple who seems to "have it together."

Catholics will love it as an addition to their time spent in pre-marital counseling. You're best to buy two copies, with each person reading a portion (set up in topical chapters with discussion questions).

Though I'm one who has never been married, I believe it would be great for a couple married several years as well, helping re-ground your marriage. Don't think of this as just a tool to get your spouse to open up, but as a mutual opportunity to renew the love which drew you to marriage in the first place.

This book is no panacea, but it can assist a new beginning, or a careful grounding for a future marriage.

For you single guys (and gals) get a copy of "A Handbook for Engaged Couples" and read it. It'll help you (and me) relate to anyone you might consider saying "I do" with on an altar someday.

(post-script: I have since been engaged, and can further attest to this book's usefulness, having been happily married now since 2004).

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

I have used this book for premarital counseling for several years. I can give one to each person and use it as a "get started" tool to help in counseling. It provides a very good scriptural groundwork for our sessions. It also covers some hard-to-counsel areas very well.

Keep it simple book is what I mean. Not going over and over ideas. They are just simple and worthy ideas that will put your brain and business to work efficiently and directed toward the goal of anyone that wants to have positive results on any sales arena.

Forget everything you ever read or heard about the overly complex sales process. Beck distills the complex sale and what you should be doing to execute on every facet of the process to a very Nike'ese "just do it". He includes real world examples and aligns them into practical approaches for selling. If your a soaring eagle sales person the advice given by Beck may seem like a dose of common sense but the book is a refreshing dose of reality for either the seasoned road warrior, the newbe or anyone inbetween.

I don't normally like sales books but this one was actually pretty good. There are quite a few suggestions he makes which are actually good. He covers everything from writing proposals to handling objections. This book is written in simple terms, so simple that a lot of sales people overlook them. You may not read the entire thing from cover to cover but I'm sure you take away a few hints to help you with your sales.

Terry Beck's selling wisdom is practical and based in common sense. Many of the suggestions here pertain to the most basic of all sales traits: persistence. It's refreshing to hear a sales guru say simply that it's a salesman's basic job to make the call, and he has no one but himself to blame if he doesn't. The advice here is grounded in hard work: show initiative, do your homework, know your product, cater to your customer, be yourself and don't make phony pitches. More distinctively, Beck corrects a lot of myths that actually harm your ability to make a sale. Of course, if you're a weathered sales veteran this information is not exactly breaking news. But if you're always looking to sharpen up your skills - and in this day and age you should be - we [...] recommend this well organized and conversational manual.

A practical guide to mastering complex sales situations - ideal for people selling big-ticket items such as enterprise software, equipment, or other "purchased by companies, not people" goods or services.

This little book is a gem! Twenty-five easy to use tools that help me to feel more joy, more of that sparkle in my everyday life of being a wife and mother. I apply these tools while working with my husband, my self and my children. Thank you Craig and Amy!

CUTE AND CONCISE PRESENTATION OF WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT IN A RELATIONSHIP. KEEP IT HANDY AS A GENTLE REMINDER! MAKES A GREAT SHOWER GIFT, STOCKING STUFFER, ETC.

This is a great quick reminder of how to work on the relationship and make the relationship work. It is easy to read and easy to follow, to the point and focuses on what is really important at the end of the day. I love it.

This is a great, little but practical and simple book that provides tools we often forget in relationships and new tools on how to connect deeper within our relationships and fully unveil the potential for love! Great gift for Newlyweds, Anniversaries, or just for a friend who is hitting a bump in the road in their relationship.

The tools in this book seem simple, but they have helped my husband and I tremendously.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to strengthen their relationship!

Written in a conversational style, Dr. Bishop guides us through a delightful process of decluttering and organizing our home environments--to Assess, Zone, Unload, Rearrange, & Enjoy. Chapters address creating organized rooms and work and storage spaces throughout the home. This comprehensive manual is equally valuable for the numerous checklists for project planning and for documenting important family and household information. Also includes extensive, useful Resources, Appendix, and Bibliography sections.

If reading from beginning-to-end is not your style, start by learning Dr. Bishop's philosophy of AZURE-ing (p.340-41) and move to Chapter 4 to create your own Personal Decompression Chamber. Then, in your personal care retreat, read the remaining chapters that will guide you in the process of organizing your other home environments, and simplifying your life to enjoy it more!

Household Winners for Working Women is the most complete personal organizational tool I have found to declutter my home and my life. Dr. Bishop knows just how I think and gives me step by step instructions to enable me to succeed. As a working mother, I have no time for extra projects and this book gives me plans, charts, lists and examples of how to organize and declutter! Mealtime was always a stressful time for me. Now, with the menus and shopping lists, mealtime is a pleasure for my entire family! My hat is off to Dr. Bishop - excellent work and presentation!

A. Kingsley Bishop has thought of everything! You name it and she can tell you VERY SIMPLY how to organize it. I have always been a very organized person myself, but I am constantly looking for new ideas. This book definitely provided me tons of great new strategies for organizing my home, better yet my entire life! Bishop is brilliant! If you want to save yourself time , money, and a lot of stress then READ THIS BOOK!!!

As a business owner, I pretty much am the "follow the rules and keep the integrity to get success" person. My shelves are lined with Steven Covey and Anthony Robbins materials. Dr. Bishop is fast becoming a part of that setting. As a woman, my need to keep order in my household (my primary concern), begins with excellent organization. Every chapter in this book is dedicated to bringing order to your life. Buy the book, use it faithfully, and see true order begin to take place. What an author!

Bishop gives busy women easy-to-use tools to bring every area of their lives under control. Whether it's your car, your linen closet, your kitchen, your closets, your entry way, your garage -- there are strategies here to master the mess. She also provides a formula for creating your personal decompression chamber. This book is a treasure; get it today!

Marilyn Ross, author of Shameless Marketing for Brazen Hussies

As a husband whose wife does not go to church with him, I read this book from the perspective of a man having a similar problem but with his wife - the same spiritual truths apply to men! If a man would implement what this book instructs, he too could learn to operate in faith and allow God to move on his situation. Armed with knowledge of the scriptures and an understanding of the actions I can take, I have every expectation that my wife will soon be going to church with me! This book provided me with the hope and tools that not only this situation but any situation I may face can be turned around by God

As a single woman, never married, I was not sure how this book would apply to me. I found this book to be an outstanding account of "Faith in Action." The biblical references and examples of standing in faith for God's promises apply to all of us. I was moved by the honesty of the author to share her experience and the willingness of her husband to allow this story to be told. I also learned a lot about the importance of respecting your husband, standing on the promises of God (regardless of how the situation looks) and faith that the Lord will accomplish his plan for our life if we don't give up. It is a story of hope, perseverence and victory! I highly recommend it.

When I started reading this book I could not put it down. I was astounded by its practicality to my every day life. The principles used in this book can be applied to any situation. The book is a loaded with scriptures and also real life experiences which gives you hope that you are not alone. Loved the book, and greatly recommend it.

This book is packed with little known bible techniques to help carry out God's plan for you and your family. Don't let your denomination hinder your exploration of God's Word.

This book lends instruction on how to get the promises of God to manifest in your life. The best kind of prayer is ANSWERED PRAYER. It is a read that will get you excited about what is truly available to you through the scriptures. I have never read a book that offers instruction on 'How to be baptized in the Holy Spirit'. These principles apply to anything that you are praying for, not just a husband who isn't going to church. It's worth its weight in scriptures!

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 book could also be titled "Bicycle Repair for Dummies" and is on a par with that classic book on auto repair. The easy-to-read content includes basic information that every bicyclist (young or old) should know, but that most don't. If you ride a bike, you need this book. Also, the illustrations are superb and greatly help the reader identify parts, discover problems, and perform certain repair and maintenance techniques.

This is a creative book with delightful and practical illustrations. In an entertaining and instructive way, it teaches children responsibility to take care of their bikes. It also teaches important safety rules. Any child getting a new bicycle would benefit greatly by receiving a copy of this book. Even parents whose child owns a bicycle would benefit from reading this book. It is a great book for parents and kids to read together.

"Kids' Easy Bike Care" is a wonderful, thoughtful book authored by Steve Cole. Mr. Cole addresses all of the fundamentals of bike ownership and maintenance, and hass thoughtfully geared the book for the inquisitive youngster (and his or her parents) who is about to begin bicycle riding for the first time. From hand signals to the "five step tune-up", Mr. Cole covers all the bases. Moreover, Mr. Cole responsibly emphasizes the importance of "Safety First!", which is a crucial message that needs to be communicated to every child who sets upon a bike. The text of the book, coupled with clear and informative diagrams and illustrations (drawn by Sarah Rakitin), is easy to understand for kids and adults alike.

I believe that "Kids' Easy Bike Care" is a perfect gift (holiday, birthday, or otherwise) for bike-riding kids -- and I would especially encourage parents to purchase this book both for the novice bicyclists within their family, as well as for their own information. While I learned a lot from reading "Kids' Easy Bike Care" as an adult, I would have found this an invaluable resource as a child still learning to ride and take care of my bike. Great work, Mr. Cole!

It is evident to me after reading this book, as a senior citizen who just bought a new bicycle, that the contents of this book are not just for kids. It was extremely helpful to both me and my husband who are SENIOR kids. This book would be a very appropriate purchase for anyone regardless of age who owns or is contemplating buying a bicycle. After reading this book, children of ALL AGES would gain the confidence to maintain and use their bicycle safely. This book should be available at all bicycle shops.

This book really tells you everything you need to know about caring for your bike including repairs, tune-ups, safety tips, etc. As other reviewers have said, it's a great resource for adults and kids alike. Sarah Rakitin's illustrations are both cute and helpful. A great addition to anyone's library!

I got this book at a local Linux talk given by the author about a week ago. This book really opens my eyes to see how much resource there is for multimedia on the Linux platform. It's a must-have if you are serious about multimedia, even if you are not a heavy Linux user. As you see, a software dies on Windows PC when the software company (or Microsoft) stops supporting it (or the software company goes under), because you only have the binary code. But the Linux software lives on because you can always pick up the source code from the open source (that is if it's an open source project, of course. Fortunately, most of the Linux software are). Bottom line: this book does what it says ! I am very happy with it !

Kyle Rankin's Linux Multimedia Hacks: Tips & Tools For Taming Images, Audio, And Video covers a program which typically disappoints multimedia fans with what seems like shortcomings in playing DVDs or MP3 files. Overcome these seeming detriments with a book which tells how to tweak and build Linux multimedia entertainment systems. Both newcomers and advanced users of Linux learn how to edit images, audio and video, manage music, burn DVDs and VCDs, and much more. Linux Multimedia Hacks isn't just one developer's knowledge base: it reflects contributions from many Linux experts - even the software creators themselves.

I've spent the last few days going over this book and experimenting with the different hacks on my Fedora Core 4 workstation. I use Fedora Core 4 almost 100% of the time at home, and I've felt the need to manipulate and use multimedia objects for a long time now, but didn't have the practical knowledge at my fingertips to do so. For example, how do I take a screenshot? This book answers this and other questions.

Now I understand how to use ImageMagick, take screenshots, and work with mplayer. I've implemented some hacks with gratifying results and experimented with bits and pieces of other hacks. For example I installed mplayer and the software bits needed to import video from a camcorder with a Firewire (1394) port. Mplayer is now running smoothly, and I'm waiting for a convenient camcorder to come my way so I can plug it into my 1394 port and let it rip. These hacks really seem to work, and they are quickly implemented. The authors of the various hacks give brief explanations that help build multimedia skills. Each hack is written with great clarity.

This book will gently introduce you to the power of scripting in Linux. Simple 1- or 2-line scripts pepper the book, and by using them you can quickly get the effects you want without having to spend long periods of time learning how to do the same thing on a GUI interface. Now, I can dump all 300+ photos from my 1 Gb flash card into a new folder and then use a script to resize them to a size small enough for a web page and for sharing with other folks. Try doing that to hundreds of photos on a GUI interface! With the suggested scripts, you can let the computer do the work, not you, and you can congratulate yourself on your smarts. Each script is carefully explained in plain language. I especially like Rankin's discussion of how to set up a digital camera and download all the photos from it automagically.

Today the Linux desktop is every more GUI-friendly. It is very easy to use; some of my friends have used it without realizing they were on Linux. I can see thumbnails of all my imported photos on Gnome -- it just works. I can expand the thumbnails into new windows with the actual photo. I can plug a compact flash card into my card reader and Gnome will recognize that, too, and offer to download the photos in the card. I can and often do edit photos with the Gimp and email them to my relatives. This books discusses all these things except possibly the emailing bit.

I began to realize that my hard drive is way too small for all the media I hope to work with. I recently ordered a 400 Gb drive to solve this problem.

This book shows you how to work with your media at no cost to you. It rolls up a lot of useful knowledge right at your fingertips. I can't think of another source of well-thought out media hacks either on the internet or in the documentation that comes with your Linux distribution. Every person wanting to work with media on Linux ought to have this book. Rankin and the other hack contributors have done a superb job.

Do you want to master the entertainment possibilities of Linux? If you do, then this book is for you! Author Kyle Rankin, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that takes the best of Linux's multimedia tools and shows you step by step how to use these tools to do cool things you would not have thought possible with images, audio, and video.

Rankin, begins by defining hacks that are specifically for images. Then, the author describes hacks for all things video. Next, the author shows you how to get the most out of video tools under Linux, which are some of the best in the industry. The author then gives you tips for accessing and creating your own web broadcasts. Finally, he shows you hacks to help you tweak your web browser under Linux so it can get the most out of the multimedia Web.

For the most part, this most excellent book allows you to look for hacks based on the multimedia type. More importantly, with this book, you'll be able to move quickly beyond anything you previously thought was possible, without spending a small fortune on commercial software.

Most versions of Linux have minimal multimedia abilities without the installation of additional software. Of course there is a lot of Linux software out there that can be used to change your Linux installation into a powerful multimedia computer with amazing capabilities. And, since it is Linux, it can be done at minimal or no cost for the software. Author Kyle Rankin details how to install and configure these products in this book. To keep the information organized he breaks it up into chapters on Images, Audio, Video, Broadcast Media, and Web. Working through the hacks you soon discover everything from how to rip a CD, convert file types, and edit a sound file to how to build a MythTV system where you can record television, watch videos, listen to music, and play arcade games from one system. There's even a tip for automatically removing commercials from digitally recorded television shows. When you are trying to figure out how to get your Linux system to do something special in the area of multimedia this is the first book you will want to turn to for answers. Linux Multimedia Hacks is highly recommended.

"MacOSX Panther Hacks: 100 Industrial-Strength Tips &Tools" is an updating of the earlier "MacOSX Hacks" to address the newest operating system from Apple, OS 10.3, popularly known as "Panther". The Panther OS update continues to provide opportunity for basic users and power users to customize, tweek, and hack their machines. Unlike all previous Apple operating systems, the OSX iterations incorporating Unix underpinnings, legacy OS9 and Classic components, and a continuing evolving Mac GUI, provide unusually rich and complex textures allowing for all kinds of customizations.

The book is a compilation of 100 ideas, hacks, tips, and tweeks contributed by a large handful of developers and power users covering mostly productivity-enhancing items, but also security and maintenance items, and some fun and geeky items. It is designed for the adventurous spirits who may need some guidance in customizing their machine and applications.

There are nine chapters of such hacks. Chapter 1 covers the user interface including how to customize the Apple-provided animations like the "genie-effect". Available third-party applications for customizing the user interface, like Konfabulator, are noted and evaluated (Hacks #2).Others include launchers, desktop applications, keyboard shortcuts and the like. (Hacks 3-9).

Other sections include an introduction to Applescript, Safari tips and tricks, multi-media tricks, file and device synchronization, and Unix tips and tricks, including how to use the Terminal application. Hack #27 is a guide to the hidden debug menu, which provides access to otherwise unknown Safari and browser features. Hack #30 informs how to use RSS with the Mac. You can learn to build your own MPS server from Hack #41 and build an emergency boot volume with iPod in Hack #52.

Many of the hacks are quick and easy. Some require geek-level knowledge. The most interesting and perhaps most valuable sections deal with Panther maintenance and security. Hack #93 is a 19-page security primer useful for both basic and power users.

OS X UNIX is amazingly friendly and accessible. Some people who had never used it before type commands and work with the operating system directly as a "cool guys" in movies! This book is very helpful and well written and it is serves as a very nice reference. I paired this book with that "UNIX Essentials" DVD I found here on Amazon and it is complete UNIX course recorded and this book and a video they contribute one another greatly. You improve the reading and by reading you improve what you have seen.
The book is very particular about the subjects that related to OS X and because there are some differences between OS X and other UNIXes it is nice to have a book that deals with it.

....do that??!!

Once cracking this book open, it didn't take me long to have a "eureka!" experience. "I didn't know I could do that!" I heard myself say to myself. I learned something new that I bet no one else knows....or do they?

My favorite hack so far is using the services menu under the application menu. It's an amazing thing and has been used more often than anything else I read in the book. The next thing I'm going to do is use more scripting and attach those scripts to my file folders. Fortunately, the authors provide lots of great examples. Whew...I don't "do" Apple scripting.....yet. I will after reading this book.

The authors don't exclude the use of other applications in "hacking" the OS but they sure do provide a lot of helpful ways to use them. My very favorite hack in that way was their suggestion to "Clutter Your Desktop with Music." In that hack, #42, they suggest using a little iTunes add on called Clutter. Ohh...I don't want to give all of it away. I want everyone to have a copy of this book. You just have to use this little app. It's a great helper if you love your iTunes.

Some of these chapters will require return visits for me as I managed to find out that I knew very little about some aspects of "hacking" Panther. The book now resides on my desktop and will for the foreseeable future.

No one will lose by getting Mac OS X Panther Hacks and will surely be surprised at what they don't know when they get through this wonderful volume. Be sure to check one out for yourself very soon. You won't regret it.

This book has a little bit of everything for everyone. O'Reilly publishes a lot of OS X titles, but this one is the most unique of those that I have read (and I have read most of them). The reason is the insane breadth of the book. It covers everything from how to use Quicksilver (the best application for OS X, bar none) to how to share desktops, to script iPhoto with perl. If you want to see in just how many ways you can hack your Mac you have to check this book out. It's one of a kind, and for those with the need to really see how they can tweak their Mac, this is a must have.

The hacks in this book seem to end up in one of three categories. Useful to me, useful to somebody else, and just plain weird (but good for a laugh). The last is represented by Hack #60 - iOscillate. Think iChat, iSight, some adhesive, and a stripped down oscillating fan. Mac people have all the fun...

I found the hacks involving bluetooth, cellphones and your Mac worth the price of the book. Prior to this I "wanted" a bluetooth phone. Now I "need" a bluetooth phone. =) I was also happy to find the info on getting the Postfix Mail Server running.

The great thing about the hacks, IMHO, is that despite there only being 10 hacks or so that you might find useful enough to start using right away, you're bound to come up with another few on your own. For example, by combining what I learned from a few of the hacks, I was able to set up Virex to scan my Mail inbox for viruses every 15 minutes. So far, I've only found W32 viruses, but you can never be too cautious. =)

If you want to feed your inner geek, this book is for you.

As vice president for plant operations at a medium scale manufacturing plant in Saint Louis I have searched for an approach to improve the plant's productivity for many years. "It's Not Magic" has given me the tools to approach my problems differently. I have found the book's methods of management applicable to my manufacturing plant. Although I have only been able to test them out on a small scale, I look forward to being able to implement them plant wide. Kudos to Klein and Zawacki for hitting the nail on the head !

The book follows a small company as it starts down the road of modern management. The book is a fast read, and is similar to The Goal in style. In it the problems faced and the resources available reflect the real world of small to mid-size manufacturing. The key benefit to the reader is the blending of academic theory with shop floor reality. I enjoyed the book and learned some new ideas from it. More importantly, it also showed how to start putting those ideas into action.

"It's not Magic" is a must read for anyone involved in constantly seeking improvement. The efficient mix of production techniques and management philosophy is needed to be successful in an increasingly competitive workplace. As anyone who has ever been on or around a production line knows the ultimate goal has to be seeking better methods to complete the work. It's very refreshing to see a real life example of how production and philosophy can work so well together. I look forward to the next publication by Klein and Zawacki.

It is refreshing to hear from a professor who has his feet on the ground. The easy stile of writing is very appealable, and the dialog flows easily while devulging the enjoyable relationship of owner, supervisors, line employees and Keen, the professor/consultant. All participate together in the rebirth of a small manufacturing company. All this takes place while decades'old organizational certainties meet with, blend, and in some cases are replaced by new discoveries. The author demonstrates that "salesmanship" is a key ingredient in effecting in-house change. A must read for anyone seeking to improve the bottom line. -- Rodger Faherty

It's Not Magic should be read by everyone involved in organizational change and improvement. It examines not only the need to change systems and structures but recognizes that success also requires the ability to bring about change in the organization's culture and way of thinking. In an easy to read and interesting format, Klein and Zawacki focus on a few fundamental concepts and illustrate how they actually applied these throughout an organization. The insights gained from their experiences are invaluable. Reading this book will motivate you to modify your outlook and organizational systems in order to transform your company into a world-class organization.