Online Books

As an author...this is a necessary reference book for me. It takes a great deal of research for such a presentation. I sincerely thank Author/Editor, Robert Lee Brewer, and Assistant Editor, Chuck Sambuchino, for their very timely efforts into the publication of the Writer's Market, for the benefit of all writers. Peggy Inez, Author, [[ISBN 978-159858-400-4, The Gully.

I didn't even know there was such a book with so much information about publishers. This book will save me time finding the right publisher.

I have been looking to buy Writer's Market for awhile. I was surprised with all of the inforamtion that is stored within it's pages. From Freelance writing to Greeting Card companies. Not to mention that there are other Market Books out there. If you are going to submitt poetry to be published, there is a seperate Market book just for poetry. I find this book very usful, and it will help me in the right dierection of where to send my manuscript.2008 Writer's Market2008 Novel & Short Story Writer's Market (Novel and Short Story Writer's Market)

The 2008 Writer's Market Deluxe Edition cuts through the guessing at to which publisher I need to look at and which are not right for my work.

This addition also has the online access to it's resources. Easier to search. Great addition.

This resource guide is on the short list of desk references for writers. This includes people who write books, articles and more. It is thoroughly researched, comprehensive, extremely well organized and written, has fantastic resources and is full of great ideas.

The detail and accuracy of this book is amazing. For example, in the query letter section, good and bad examples are given to help you write the best query letter possible.

Topics include, but are not limited to: How much should I charge?, How to find (and Keep) the right agent, Script Agents, Book Publishers (the section is huge!), Playwriting and more.

This is an essential resource for any serious writer!

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

Should be a required read for any engaged or recently married couple!

Before getting engaged, my husband and I read this book and completed the workbook exercises. We found it extremely helpful, much more so than the premarital counseling we were required to get from our pastor. We entered marriage feeling extremely well-prepared and after 5 1/2 years of being happily married, I am so glad we went through this program. I have since given the book and workbooks to several friends as an engagement gift. Don't miss it!

I have used this book for years with couples who come to me to get married (I am a pastor). The book begins with several mythical expectations that many have of marriage - which lead to greater disappointment during marriage. It helps the couple understand the nature of true love - as passion, intimacy and commitment. Though the authors do not point it out, the Parrotts' triangular view of love parallels the New Testament description of love as eros (passion), philia (intimacy), and agape (commitment).

Communication and conflict resolution are covered, including a chapter on gender differences. Finally, the authors gently approach spiritual life with a chapter on becoming soul-mates.

Many couples who come to me to be married do not share my Christian world view. This book provides an introduction to some of the most important marriage skills from a Christian point of view, but without assuming knowledge or acceptance of the Bible. The discussion questions at the end of each chapter, help the couple talk about their reading and their relational skills with each other. I also recommend the companion workbooks.

Husband and wife Doctoral team, Les and Leslie Parrott have established themselves as the gurus of modern marriage counseling. This book, SAVING YOUR MARRIAGE BEFORE IT STARTS: SEVEN QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE (AND AFTER) YOU MARRY is, I believe, their best work.

This is an wonderful work that will benefit all marriages, but I do have a couple of complaints about it. The book does not read exceptionally well all the way through. It's great in most areas, but seems to wane in others. Also, for maximum effectiveness, this book should be used in conjunction with the workbooks, one for him, and one for her. That being the case, the book should have been bound into one volume or sold only as an all-inclusive package. Some readers will be put off to buy this book only to find out they need to go buy two more!

Now that I have that out of the way, let me amend by stating, I believe this is one of the very best and most practical books available for couples, especially from engagement up through the first year of marriage. I don't want to give away too much content, but the book begins with setting the right "expectations" in your marriage. I believe this is the most critical aspect of marriage that is most often a major contributing factor to disillusionment. Other subjects covered are things such as how to have disagreements without devastating results, learning how to communicate with each other, identifying the "love styles" of the couple and much more.

The advice is practical with a strong emphasis on your marriage from a Christian aspect. I highly recommend this book, but do yourself a favor and buy the workbooks with it.

Pastor Monty Rainey

Although my husband and I knew each other well before we got engaged and married, this book was a great help for us. Recommended by our pastor, the book (and accompanying workbooks) are great for opening discussions on topics you probably wouldn't even think of!

Preconceptions about who should do the dishes, who did the laundry aren't really things you would think to discuss when you are starting out as a married couple -- but misconceptions based on how you were brought up could create some serious resentment within your relationship!

Thanks to this book we were able to realize our different preconceptions and work on finding a new balance for ourselves. Actually doing the exercises in the workbooks was the most helpful because my husband and I were able to see the discrepancies in our ideas based on our upbringing. It brought us closer together while giving us insight into each others' family structure.

This book will give you a strong foundation for maintaining a close relationship throughout your marriage -- the key is communication and understanding the differences in your spouse/fiance 's background and upbringing.

The guild creator (and probably the same guy who is hocking this book + wrote it) runs The Syndicate like a business, not like a guild. It's a sad dilution of what the word "Guild" actually means. Basically he cares more for the reputation of his "pet creation" than the individual people/members that make it what it is. If you've ever been a part of The Syndicate you'll see how the turnover rate is that of Mcdonald's and it is quite the mass of cluster soup.

I picked up this book after reading about it on Slashdot. I play World of Warcraft and help manage a guild, so I was interested in the subject matter.


The story and history of the guild is interesting, as is the explanation of the guild structure and how they've managed to last for more than ten years (which is remarkable).

The book, however, was hard to read. The author writes in the third person about himself, which made for awkward reading and promoted a certain self-satisfied tone that I really had trouble with. As other people have mentioned, the editing is atrocious. Typos, missing words in sentences, etc. A lot of the chapters feel like standalone essays that were pieced together to make a book, so there is some repetition.

I would recommend this book if you're interested in learning about guild structure and management, but I didn't enjoy reading it.

This book should be used as a blueprint for how to build a guild in a MMORPG. Yes, The Syndicate started in the perfect storm, but it was true leadership from Dragons and others that built this group into the power and friends they are now.

The book covers the history of gaming as well as the guild, worth the read for that "insiders" look at the Syndicate.

The Legend of the Sydicate, while a good book overall for the MMO Industry, didn't live up to my expectations. The book goes over the same few topics over and over. In addition, there are TONS of 'facts' within' the book do not appear to have been researched. For example, they list they are the 1st guild to last 10 years, which is incorrect. It is just a bunch of little things, that add up for me to not reccomend the book. If you are just interested in MMO's in general then it will be a good read.

If your going to base claims, you need to be sure that you are correct when you write them in a book, otherwise you look a little foolish.

This book really embodies a great idea that suffers from a very amateurish execution. This is one of the first (if not only) books focused on describing the history of an online gaming guild, and its an ambitious aim that I'm sure we'll see much more of in the future. To his credit, the author clearly knows a great deal about his subject matter, and his passion and enthusiasm for the guild being described is evident.

The biggest problem unfortunately stems from the author's enthusiasm, as it tremendously colors the story. The author literally has nothing negative to say about the Syndicate, and every decision Dragons (the syndicate's leader, and the author) makes is one that ultimately leads to the triumph that is the guild today. The tone of this book reminds me of an autobiography of Kim Jong Il published by the North Korean government...in reality, a guild this long running must have had more interesting situations than the way they are described here (which is invariably 1) Crisis happens, 2) Dragons presciently thinks it over and decides on the best course of action, 3) said course leads gloriously to today's wonderful guild). Ultimately, the consistently glowing descriptions of everything involved with the guild are just boring.

The less said about the tiresome fantasy sections, where the author describes the guild's activities as if it was a fantasy novel, the better. Suffice to say, your 12 dollars could get you two good fantasy paperbacks, and about 100 times more value if your looking for fantasy stories.

On a more technical level, the writing and especially editing is really haphazard. In addition to numerous typos, grammar errors, etc, the chapters don't flow particularly well together, and occasionally it veers off into tangents that can't possibly be of interest to the casual reader; several chapters, for instance, are basically just recounts of happenings at the various conferences the guild has organized ("John got drunk thursday night", "the hotel guards let us use the pool late," etc.) A quick google search seems to indicate the publisher is an arm of this guild (their only other published book is a fantasy story by one of their guild members); the book definitely could have used the services of a professional publisher.

The basic idea here is a good one (describing the history of a long running fantasy guild). Hopefully it will pave the way for other books like it that will benefit from a more experienced author and more professional development. I'd save your money for those.

As a mom of two boys under the age of 4, and a freelance writer , I didn't (and still don't) have a lot of time to devote to researching online markets for possible queries. This book has done all the work for me in a fun and relaxed read. The Tedesco brothers begin the book with all the web-related jargon and skills you need, including a great primer on sending HTML files, followed by a thorough complilation of "paying" online markets. This is one book that serious freelancers must have if you want to break into the online marketplace.

The Tedesco brothers have written a book with good advice, useful infomation, and many links to sites using freelance writers. Some of the information is still valid, and for that it is worth reading. However, the book is hopelessly outdated, as the Interent is constantly changing.

This resource for writers is excellent. Funny and well-written, the authors really did their homework. Best of all, updates are available for readers. I heard from the author personally via e-mail. Very nice.

If you're even remotely serious about writing online, you need this book. The spotlight stories were very informative and the markets section is filled with leads. I lost count of how many markets I found that I'm querying.

-This book covers all the basics you need for writing online; the how to's of query letters, electronic rights, pay rates, contracts, and more. It's informative, well presented, and enjoyable to read. In addition, the authors even have a sense of humor. I've ordered other books on the subject and "Online Markets for Writers" is clearly the best.

-MUCHO THANKS TO THE AUTHORS FOR MAKING THIS INFO AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE!

Best Regards--Dan Murphy

I can finally see the "picture" on the charts and I am doing much better with my trading.

Trade Stocks Online was a fantastic book ! I especially loved Larson's stock splitting strategy which helped identify the perfect timing in entering this strategy with leaps.This book will help anyone who has trouble with information overload or who suffers from paralysis analysis when trading options because Mark gives a detailed explanation of his trades.This book facilitated my success and profitability in trading options right away ! thanks Mark!!!!! Mary Oneil

I enjoyed the book a lot. I have had the opportunity to work one on one with Mark Larson for a few years and I have learned a lot. I have passed this book on to a few friends that really appreciated the information especially on options. I would recommend this to anyone that wants a good primer on the basics of investing online.

See my review of his other waste of time for more detail. I have met his guy and know that he is just a terrible trader. Everyone made (and lost) in the late nineties into 2000. The key to successful trading is having a set of methods that can work in any market, or at least keep your losses limited during tough times. This book niether provides any insight into profitable strategies that work today or lessons on how to keep losses to a minimum (in fact I KNOW that his guys averages his losing trades...losers average losers, mark). Avoid this waste of your time. Spend toime reading the educational resources on your own brokers website instead. Its free.

Both of Larson's books are well worth the read. His treatment of trading splits is an absolute read for anyone who want to profit from stock splits whether by stock purchase or using the option route. Mark has mastered advance technical analysis, and has an uncanny ability to teach that master. I have met Mark on a few occasions, and he is really one of the good guys. He passionately cares about helping others succeed, and demonstrates that both in his seminars, mentoring program and through his books.

I'm an active sell-side options trader and came across this book almost by accident. It is very well written and filled with lots of current examples of the most common and reliable chart patterns. I have no connection to the author or company, but I have a retail account at Thinkorswim and find the Prophet charts excellent, even as a more advanced trader.

The book should be required reading for anyone that uses Prophet charts, as the book lists lots of suggested settings which are only relevant if you use the product. Specifics aside, it is still an excellent book and much easier to read than most of the other ones out there, charting can be a very dry but important subject to study, this book is highly recommended for the beginning and intermediate technical trader.

Good stuff.

I consider Tim's book and web site (Slope of Hope) to be invaluable. It's been pivotal in helping me understand price movement. Of particular benefit to me was the chapter on Fibonacci retracements.

This is a must read book for anyone that wants to make money in the markets. Tim makes difficult topics easy to understand with his clear and often witty dialog. He not only explains the technical side but also how the charts reveal investor sentiment. Worth every penny and more.

Great book, no BS, by someone who puts his own money on the line using options, using these exact principles.

As a reader of Tim's blog for the last few years, I finally bought his book and am glad I did. Tim's approach to Technical Analysis is simple, yet his concepts really do work. He focuses on just a few of the main TA tools and he really explains each concept in an easy-to-understand language. It was a very refreshing and engaging read after reading other books on TA which confounded me with the numerous concepts that all jumbled into each other after a while. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to learn Technical Analysis, as well as anyone looking to expand their knowledge.

As CEO Coach, Poet and author of a leadership book that helps leaders learn how to unleash the genius of teams and corporations, I feel this book is a must read. Max is not talking about theories, he is sharing his real experiences from his successful leadership of an excellent company. If you want to learn how to be a leader, this book is core to your collection. I have learned much from this insightful book. Paul David Walker Unleashing Genius: Leading Yourself, Teams and Corporations

This book was purchased as a birthday (May) gift for a family member who has subordinates reporting to her. Shipment was prompt and book arrived timely and in excellent condition. I have seen others review of this book, saying it is a "must read" for anyone having people reporting to them. Since the birthday isn't until May, I won't know her reaction till after then.

I enjoyed the book. It was an easy read and the concept was one I believe all of Corporate America should embrace.

Max Depree has captured the essence of leadership in plain language. His clarity is unmatched in a world filled with leadership related noise. You will not enjoy the book if you are a moron. However, if thinking is something pleasurable for you, you will not be disappointed reading Leadership is an Art. I have shared this book with every person I have worked with who has leadership in their soul and a lifetime of learning in front of them.

Pound for pound the best investment you will make in leadership education this or any year.

Not everything that is old is wise. But this book, written 20 years ago, is jam-packed with wisdom. Max DePree wrote in 1987 that the management team's job "is to provide an environment that allows momentum to gather."

DePree's simple, but profound leadership primer has never been equaled. Read it and you'll marvel at the insights--like in his five-page chapter, "Pink Ice in the Urinal." Few CEOs before him and hardly anyone after him have so eloquently discussed the tendency of organizations to deteriorate like in the pink ice chapter. Even DePree's chapter titles are memorable: Theory Fastball, Tribal Storytelling, Some Thoughts for CEOs Who Build Buildings, and Why Should I Weep?

DePree wrote that a financial analyst once asked him, "What is one of the most difficult things that you personally need to work on?" DePree's answer: "The interception of entropy."

"One of the important things leaders need to learn is to recognize the signals of impending deterioration." He kept a list and observed that leaders, especially in large organizations, fail to see the signs of entropy, including: 1) a tendency toward superficiality; 2) no longer having time for celebration and ritual; 3) a growing feeling that rewards and goals are the same thing; 4) when people stop telling tribal stories or cannot understand them; and 5) when problem-makers outnumber problem-solvers. His list was longer--but you get the idea.

The pink ice in the urinal? It was a team member's odd suggestion for dressing up the men's room for their VIP visitors. "Despite the good intentions behind this idea," DePree commented that the team member was signaling a clear deterioration in thinking and strategizing. The pink ice in the urinal would have little effect on the VIPs--so why bother? Focus on the strategic, not the cosmetic.

This book was a great outline for buying a pre-construction home. The author gives general overviews of the building process. He makes some interesting points on topics such as "sight lines" and interior design that I have not seen often in other home buying literature.

I give this four stars because it wasn't very in depth in any of the chapters. A bonus is the sixty-some page glossary of real estate terms at the end of the book. Enjoy!

The additional information about plans and why the layout and design are important really helped me. It helped explain the difference in price for homes that look the same but feel larger or smaller when you move around in them. Thanks Mr Weekley

I was familiar with David Weekley's homebuilding company so I was afraid that this book would only contain information about building a new home. I was really pleased to find that this book had great advice for purchasing an older home. There were so many "secrets" that helped me through my home buying experience. Thank you David!

As a first-time buyer, I found this book very helpful in wading through the process. David's able to de-mystify the process and he pointed out some things to look for that helped me. Even though he is more familiar with new homes (as a builder), his advice about pre-owned homes works. In fact, I used it to buy my pre-owned home.

Please ignore the reader from Bothell, WA who apparently does not get the pun in the title of this book and proceeds to levy some b.s. criticism on a book he/she apparently didn't really read.

This book is geared toward buyers of new homes, especially construction homes, but has information that can help any home buyer. I myself am looking to buy a condo and I especially enjoyed the chapters on "curb appeal" (exterior) and floor plans. The latter topic is covered in a lot of details with examples of good layouts and bad layouts. You may not totally agree with what the author says should be a good floor plan -- and I don't -- but it's great to know what the latest trend in floor planning is and what angles (no pun intended) you should see a home from.

The book covers from why you should buy a home to what to do if you are unhappy with your newly bought home. Again, the target audience is really potential buyers of new homes, so there's a lot of information on that, like seeking out a builder's reputation, working with salespeople (as opposed to real estate agents), etc.

I recommend this book as a second book for getting home-buying advice. For more in-depth coverage of mundane home-buying topics such as mortgages and dealing with agents and closing, check the Complete Idiot's Guide to Buying and Selling a Home.

I loved this book! The examples are great and really show that you can express and exude the personal brand you desire if you know how you are perceived by others (gathered in the extract phase). I really enjoyed the chapter on on-line identity and felt that the information provided on how to improve your on-line visibility was right on target. The ideas are easy to implement. With so many hiring managers and recruiters now googling potential employees, it is a chapter full of information that will assist you in establishing your on-line identity for career distinction. Wonderful book that I recommend to all my clients!

As this is written, personal branding is a hot topic. The authors make the argument that job searching and recruitment will be radically different in only a few years. The authors have been involved in career management for years and speak with demonstrable authority. The book pulls somewhat random information together and provides a comprehensive manual on developing an approach that is easy to follow.

The book is easy to read and the information flows well and those attributes alone justify its purchase. I have one criticism to offer: there are too many references to the services sold by the author. This, of course, is not unusual nor fatal. It does distract, to some degree, from the authors' otherwise fine presentation.

Overall, a worthwhile investment, especially if the authors are correct in their belief that most all recruiting will be based on personal branding in the not-to-distant future.

This book opened my eyes to the reality of having an online brand. I was surprised I needed one and even more amazed that I already had one. The author's take you on a journey of the what, why, and how of online branding. The advice is to the point and easy to implement.

I agree with the author's premise that everyone needs to actively manage "their" online brand.

Buy the book.

Personal branding is very important in today's web 2.0 world. In a world where anyone can google you and people change jobs multiple times in a decade, your reputation and brand are essential to your career. If you've never thought about personal branding or you've wondered how to go about it, then you should read Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand. It offers some concrete advise and metrics for setting up your personal brand and measuring how well you are doing. For example, they recommend you google your name and check the number of accurate results you have. They make recommendations like you should have 5,000-50,000 if you are "a vice president, acknowledged thought leader, highly regarded consultant or subject-matter expert." (I did well on that one, a search for "Stormy Peters" returns 161,000 results where 98 of the first 100 are me.) Their suggestions ranged from creating home pages to public speaking to what type of clothes to wear.

All that said, if you are already an expert in career branding, you might be disappointed. The book is only 192 pages and it's full of white space and quotes. (24 of the pages are either blank or title pages.) And in a lot of places where more detail would have been helpful, they refer you to a workbook that's not included with the book.

In summary, Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand is a great introduction and overview of personal career branding but should be combined with the workbook or they should come out with a Career Distinctions 201.

The book "Career Distinction" outlines the new path of career management in the 21st century. It highlights specific tools that one may use to increase their visibility in both the concrete and virtual work place. The book provides thorough insiight to branding your own image and increasing your virtual credibility.

I've heard some say this book is too detailed for a quick review, and they would rather stick with FA. They must of missed the memo that in medical school you have to know everything and know it in detail. This book is the real deal. If you know these concepts and can work them from a few angles you will surely do well on the boards. If you just read FA you're in trouble. This book should be mandatory!!! It might take a while to get through some chapters but don't fret, stay persistent and it will all come together. This is BY FAR the best book for review, read it a couple times and do a bunch of questions and you're set.

I bought Goljan's RR after having listened to his audio files throughout my M2 year. When it came time to review path for boards I realized I didn't like BRS path. RR has colored pictures, 2 tests at the end of the book (didn't do them, i was using a qbank online by then) and the outline format is great. The wide margins with notes was what I liked best (lots of room for me to write too). Definitely look at a copy before choosing a path review book!

...don't try to use this for your pathology review if you are only allotting yourself a month TOTAL for board review, and you haven't been through it before to highlight the key information. It is far too much material to get through. I spent 9 half days (4-5 hours each day) on pathology and came out of it feeling like I hadn't retained anything due to the density of the book. I think it's EXCELLENT and very well-organized, but it's far too much if this is your first complete pass through it. I ended up giving up and switching over to BRS Path because it was so much more concise. I did, though, go back through RR after reading BRS to look at images and read through the margin notes, which I found to be extremely helpful. I think for many people this will be a great resource because it's complete; you almost don't even need to read extra physio stuff! But for students who have limited time to prepare and/or who haven't read through the book during the course of the year, this may be too much.

Dense book but Goljan includes pretty much all the salient path you need to learn for the boards. A great adjunct to First Aid if you can handle it.

By far the best review book for pathology. I would recommend this with Kaplan for studying for the boards. Has high yield review along with images and there are questions in the back with answers and explanations.