Tools Books

This is great stuff. I finished the material earlier this year and implemented it about 6 weeks before the summer season hit. I've had some excellent results with the step contact system and have done a couple of the seminars with a good turn out and some closed deals as a result. There was a lot of background on marketing included in the training portion of the material that I enjoyed reading and helped me with my sales and marketing efforts. The best inclusion for me is the reminder system. RE Agents in our area are very used to being the referring partner in any deal. I used the ads and seminars to bring the customer to me. Referred them out to agents I wanted to build a referral relationship wtih and used the reminder systems to make sure they didn't forget where the deal originated. So far so good! The agents really seem to appreciate that I can get the borrower and create a referral. Everyone of them has referred back to me so it is working just as explained. Overall a good course that proved a bargain for me.

Great material. I am newer to lending and marketing for originations seemed overwhelming. A portion of processing for our office is to assist with the marketing. I did well in the other aspects but didn't have any background or study material to help me with marketing. We were using a lot of lists and I wasn't having as much success as I hoped. I got this as a last ditch effort to improve the incoming biz. I really appreciated some of the fundamental skills taught in the program and love the marketing concepts. Many of them are new to our area and seem unique. I've used some of the ready made fliers and tools and have had good success so far. I have started using the training to expand my marketing portfolio and can see continued success. Overall a good program. The LO's are pleased wtih my efforts and success. Thanks!

World-famous cocktailian Robert Hess was a "behind the scene" contributor to this book. He wrote the "Classic Cocktails" section. Other contributors include Jeffery Lindenmuth, David Wondrich, Audrey Saunders, Julie Reiner, Gary Regan, Dale DeGroff, and William Grimes.

Update your library now with this substantially improved new edition.

I was originally looking for a "regular" Mr. Boston book to arm myself with drink recipes for the occasional entertaining my wife and I do at our home. The book had been recommended to me by several friends as being the best bar guide available so I came to Amazon to begin my search. It was here I discovered Mr. Boston Platinum Edition. I ordered the book, it arrived quickly and I'm very impressed.
The book contains a lot more information than just drink recipes. It is an intersesting read and I was surprised to see a history of the origin of a lot of popular drinks. I love a good Manhattan and now I know the city, the "inventor" and the bar where this drink was developed. I also know the difference in the ingredients, what makes whiskey bourbon, rye, etc.
Many of the drinks in Mr. Boston have variations and they are listed with the reasons for the differences. I even know why a drink should be either shaken or stirred.
What I really like besides all the recipes is the section on essential home bar equipment. I have already looked at the web sites suggested in the book and started to order the equipment I need to outfit our new home bar.
The recipes have been contributed by many professional "mixologists" and it is evident that they take pride in their profession.
The book itself is very nice looking and well constructed. The ringed binder is sturdy and the book lay flat so I can read it while my hands are full of bottles and strainers.
This is the perfect book for me, being a beginner, and I highly recommend it for the home bar owner or for professional bartenter who is interested in the right way or a new way to mix a drink and arming himself with many interesting facts to relate to his customers.

I bought this not knowing whether it would be appropriate for my daughter, aged 7. It was, however, a perfect resource for her, guiding her gently to explore some of the facts and circumstances of her birth and life in China prior to my adopting her. She giggled at some questions, thought deeply about others, and seemed to really enjoy that she had the option to draw as well as to write (or dictate) her answers. We work on it together, some weeks a lot, and other weeks just a little. Like many things, creating this book is a process -- and a welcome one. I would highly recommend this to parents of children adopted from China.

My daughter and I made her lifebook together when she was 3.5 and we have read it many times since. She sometimes reads it to herself privately. We also talk frequently about all the issues/questions/feelings around her first year of life. Though Beth O'Malley's workbook covered much of the same ground, the fact that my daughter was filling in answers for herself felt different. Also, unlike the lifebook, which is largely a mother-written endeavor, the workbook was written by an adoption expert--and my daughter is getting to the stage where confirmation from a non-parent source matters!

This is an excellent resource in what I think of as a progression of lifebooks--the toddler lifebook (mainly photos), the small child lifebook
(photos plus more text and detail), this workbook, and eventually an
autobiography written by the teen adoptee. None of us ever really finish
writing our story, do we?

Claire McDonald
Mom to Ming age 7.5
President, Families with Children from Asia Winchester

I've been poring over books about building stuff (cabinets, furniture, built-ins, etc) on and off for years now, but rarely buy any. You can buy full-book advertisements like the books from Black and Decker (which aren't bad, actually), but you kind of need to buy the tools too.

Same goes for all the other books: they generally assume you'll somehow magically acquire a shop full of tools (not to mention plenty of space to put your shop), as well as all the materials.

Mr. Frost is a wise old dude, who has put in a lot of years of living and knows a lot of good stuff. If you're afraid power tools like me--I've known way too many people over the years with fewer than average fingers due to them--then this is a great introduction.

But if you're interested in graphic design (Mr. Frost designed the Gilbey's Gin bottle long ago), this is an awesome book as well: throughout, the illustrations illustrate not just the projects but also how to do illustration and graphic design.

And if you just feel inadequate because your dad never showed you how to use a saw or gave you positive feedback when you were learning something, well, you should get therapy--but also get this book. Mr. Frost is a gentle and sensible teacher, and his common sense comments (on using a power jigsaw: "Very little skill is needed to operate this saw, except to *remember not* to put your other hand *under* the board to feel the blade when it's running!") are more sincere than condescending.

Watch out, though, because someone forgot to proof read the manuscript (or else left lots of boo-boos in); it doesn't matter, it's still a great book.

So turn off "Yankee Workshop" (anyone could make *anything* with a 20x40 workshop and a hundred thousand or so in tools). This book will take you from the simplest of projects (a pair of sawhorses) to more challenging projects without breaking the bank.

I bought this book after buying his, "Whacky Toys, Whirligigs & Whatchamacallits" book. His writing style is truly clever and engaging, and his knowledge of the subjects he writes about is deep and beyond well rounded.

Even if you never actually pick up some tools and craft all the projects in this book, it's a great read, and Mr. Frost shares his wisdom on many topics, not just woodworking. It's philosophical without being ponderous or windy, and extremely practical. I can't praise this book enough, and consider myself blessed to have both of Mr. Frost's books. They fill in so many little gaps in my woodworking and tool knowledge (like the other reviewer, I have read tons of other woodworking books). This book has real "soul", and I urge anyone even remotely interested in this topic to buy this book ASAP! It's truly amazing what one can do with a few simple tools and a little bit of practical knowledge.

Documented procedures are an essential part of any quality-driven management system. I have been working in this area for over 15 years. There is no finer resource that I have found (and I have looked for them) than "The New Playscript Procedure". This book explains all aspects of procedure writing as simply and concisely as I have ever seen. If only every customer and supplier would document their systems in this manner. Simply put, it is the best method I have ever worked with, and give this book my highest possible recommendation.

Although this book was published in 1977, the instructions for developing and writing office procedures is very much in keeping with the current need for simplicity and clarity in business writing. I have written the type of procedures covered in this book for many years and recommend them as being the most easily understood and most often used by employees. I was glad to still see the book is in print and was so readily available from Amazon.com. Thank you

It is the ideal. If we could incorporate these ideas in our workplace it would be a better place to work.

I use this book often in my interactions with healthcare staff. Want to know how to develop a staff council, develop a mission statement, set goals, or problem solve around relationships. This is the best and most practical of all of their books.

Partnership Tools: Transforming The Way We Live Together by psychotherapist Alan Konell is an emotional self-help book that enables readers truly understand such vital practices to a relationship as forgiving, expressing conditional and unconditional love, making true commitments and much, much more. Written from a very practical point of view, chapters discuss not only how to improve the bond with one's partner, but also what to do when good intentions are not clear or obstacles to communication are seemingly too great. Partnership Tools is strongly recommended reading for anyone aspiring to, or involved in, a personal relationship.

If there was ever a book whose time has come, Partnerships Tools is it!

We live in a time of freedom in our relationships---now, more than ever. In the past we were expected to marry and stay married, no matter what. Now, the divorce rate is soaring and many couples have no idea why or what to do about it. Indeed. "They believe that somehow there is something wrong with them because they don't already know how to make their relationships work, that somehow their lack of skills means that they are inadequate or stupid."

Help is here. Psychotherapist, consultant and author Alan Konell provides the means to deal with these new freedoms and for our needs for even more intimacy than ever. Partnership Tools enables the reader to make healthy choices and clear away old patterns to sustain and grow in our relationships. And this growth can only lead to evolution as human beings---individuals, families and the world.

In his easy-to-read writing style, Mr. Konell leads us to an understanding of 14 different tools for success. Partnership Tools includes forgiving, and requesting rather than complaining. We learn how to set boundaries, express appreciation, to be straight and share. And the evolution from conditional love to unconditional love: giving and receiving freely and making true commitments.

Alan's last chapter has to do with rituals in relationships. In this powerful segment we read how rituals help us step back and take the space we need to remember our connection to our partner. And to remember our commitments, "...to what was, what is and what will be. It is a celebration of achievement and an acknowledgement of our contribution, to each other."

Partnership Tools is not just a good book, it is a great book. Alan Konell has provided a new set of tools to create dynamic and fulfilling relationships. This reviewer regards Partnership Tools as a must-read for better communications and happiness, one that you should run to get, not just walk!

I was looking for a good book to learn concepts on patent-searching, and this book--after a long search--satisfied my need. This book explains theoretical concepts behind patent searching and analytics, tells how to extract ideas from forward and backward citation, and pros-and-cons of online databases. I have read some books from NOLO, but they teach about online tools only, and such tools are obsolete by the time of finishing reading the book. This is the only book to go for as of March 2008.

I bought this book on a whim, thinking that as an experienced patent searcher for over 10 years, it wouldn't teach me anything. I WAS WRONG! This book is very well organized and will be useful to the novice as well as the experiences searcher. I actually learned a number of useful techniques and tools and am recommending this book to my colleagues. Finally, a book that has pertinent complex information in one place for easy reference. Mr. Hunt is to be congratulated for his unambiguous writing style and format. Kudos to Amazon for letting me know it was available. Thanks.

For anyone who is desperate for a new take on group facilitation, I strongly recommend this book. The simple exercises, tools and techniques provided by the author make the learning easy to comprehend and enjoy. I only wish I could have found this book earlier in my career.

A great reference for anyone who facilitates whether you are a seasoned facilitator or a novice you will find a wealth of easy to use materials, tools and models in this book. Many are presented in a step-by-step format which gives facilitators the opportunity to implement new skills immediately. No matter what your role is in group facilitation, you will find your key to success in this book.

Judith Hale's book-title should not put off those who don't have the job-title "Performance Consultant". Anyone who is required to determine how performance can be improved--HR Development Professionals and Trainers, especially--will benefit from the tools and worksheets she shares.

The last five chapters of the book detail her techniques and share some of her tools for determining the source(s) of performance problems, identifying interventions that will improve performance, and instruments to help measure the results of the improvement. Her book sits on my shelf within easy reach, and gets used often.

Judith Hale is a proven professional in the field of human performance consulting, and in this book she generously shares her depth of knowledge and experience. Most valuable, I think, she accurately portrays the potentially overwhelming complexity that is characteristic of effectiveness in (a) assessing human performance levels, (b) diagnosing prevailing barriers to higher levels of performance, and (c) designing and delivering "whole system" interventions that can achieve the desired improvements. She also speaks candidly about the crucial relationship and alchemy that must exist between consultant and (manager/executive) client.

Judith has developed numerous tools and techniques to aid her in her own consulting work, and she presents many of them in this book in the context of her full and accurate perspective of effective human performance consulting in action. Even professionals that have been working in this field for years will find tools and techniques that can enhance their work.

I have put this book to the test as a "tool for learning" and I works beautifully. As a 20-year veteran consultant in this field, with much of my current work focused on developing new candidates to do this important work, I have used Judith's book as required pre-reading and as a tool for facilitating workshop activities. It has become required reading for all serious learners, and a regular part of our development programs. I heartily give The Performance Consultant's Fieldbook "two thumbs up."