Practitioners Books

Wicca is a religion and this book gives you the basics of it. It's written by the late Scott Cunningham who has written many books on Wicca and knows the subject very well.

Cunningham did quite well in putting together this book, he starts strong, continuing where he left off while at the same time simultaneously picking up any new comers along the way. He quite eloquently writes the information that can come in handy for a pretty decent BoS but somehow along the way to the end he misses and loses a few people. The book is strong but probably Borrowing it from your local library first would be a good idea before picking this one up.

Scott Cunningham is a great Wiccan author and I would buy any of his books at any time, they are very easy to read, understand and very informative.

Living Wicca is Scott Cunnigham's followup to this Wicca : A Guide For the Solitary Practitioner. If you just want to read a bit about the religion and how people practice it, you really don't need this book, just get the first one and it will satisfy your interest. This is more for those who are definitely interested and want to read more for themselves.

I would recomend most of Scott Cunningham's books they are very informative and have helped me find my path safely

I found this book very informative yet easy to read. And it is fun to color all those organs! I am a yoga teacher and anatomy seems to be an avoidable subject in a class. I have read quite a few anatomy books and thus far, I like this one the most - Highly recommended.

Ullasini Khwan
www.urbanyogis.com

I was introduced to this dvd in a teachers yoga class recently. I think it is an invaluable tool for anyone teaching and/or doing yoga. It explains the different "looks" of the asanas and why that is. It will prevent many practitioners from hurting themselves or others trying to acquire a position they are physically incapable of.

Overall it is an excellent, easy to read and detailed book that I highly recommend to anyone wanting to know a little bit more about the Anatomy of Hatha Yoga. Especially, students or teachers wanting to expand on their yoga experience.

Just a quick comment... This book is a genuine bible for yoga teachers, particularly those wanting to know about how detailed anatomy plays into each yoga pose. The descriptions are so thorough and helpful--an amazing way to create safety in a yoga class and learn how to prepare the body for more advanced poses, using foundations of anatomy and alignment. Brillant and a must-have to always pull down from the bookshelf for reference.

Not exactly light reading! But, I didn't expect it to be. I find the material beautifully presented, extremely clear and articulate. Just the reference source I need!

I purchased this book for my credential program, but I think it will provide useful in the future as a "real" teacher and not just a student. The book is well written, easy to navigate through, and is very eye opening. I have come back to this book several times throughout my credential program to reference for my papers.

As a student in a credential program with no teaching experience whatsoever I found this book to be very useful. I was given a glimpse into one educator's viewpoint--what worked and did not work for him, real life experience, and straightforward questions and answers. Since I came into the credential program with little experience I found this book to be very helpful with some of the biases people have, key terminolgoy, and honest commentary. I have referred to this book log after my initial use of it and that in itself says a lot as far as its usefullness to me personally.

We live in a noisy world in which parents and educators face a deluge of do this and do that. What this book does is make complex information accessible to everyone and therein lies its greatest value. The book does not talk down to anyone but rather it is like having an expert educator at your side, who explains concepts and methodologies and asks you the reader to broaden your perspectives of how you can best serve the needs of your child or your students. This is a fantastic book and a worthy addition to your library.

Mark Ryan's Ask The Teacher: A Practitioner's Guide to Teaching and Learning in the Diverse Classroom, is a beneficial read, as well as resource, for teachers at every level in their professional development. Ask the Teacher is useful for the student teacher all the way to a seasoned veteran educator. Ryan has effectively incorporated the diverse needs of students in the classroom with the everyday teaching and learning process. Ryan's informative style of writing and clear illustrations are easy to understand, which was a fresh breath of air throughout my credential/masters program. I am a second year high school science and math teacher and I still refer to Ryan's Ask the Teacher for daily questions and clarifications on the diverse needs of my students. I highly recommend this book for all educators teaching in the 21st century.

Using a question-and-answer format, this book presents the teachers with the opportunity to confront issues dealing with foundations, educational psychology, curriculum, methodology, or family involvement in the teaching process. This book is for one who desires a contextual intellectual discourse-a dialogue that promotes a genuinely reflective understanding of the diverse classroom in the 21st Century. I highly recommend this book!

This is a very indepth book which describes in great detail the process by which the ketogenic diet occurs and how this impacts different individuals. It is very technical, yet extremely informative.

This book is a remarkably thorough resource on low-carb dieting and its variants as applicable to those working towards a high level of fitness. By that I mean bodybuilders and other athletes. The rest of us are addressed and educated to a great degree with this book, as well.

The ketogenic diet as explained here is for those who can execute a plan with a high level of independence. There are no food lists, menus, recipes, or pep talk. Just the facts and the methods. There are workout routines, but there are no illustrations or explanations of the exercises. It is assumed that the reader already knows what, say, a deadlift is. If you can assemble the nuts and bolts for yourself, you'll have no need to examine any other low-carb approach (Atkins, South Beach, Protein Power) at length. You'll want the food lists and maybe recipes from such books, however. If you want the all-in-one deal with all that information, I believe the author recommends Protein Power by Drs. Eades.

It bears repeating: it is a very thorough and robust read with an academic tone. If you're interested in the nitty-gritty ins and outs spelling out the rationale of doing such a diet, it's here.

The approaches are in three flavors:

Standard ketogenic- eating low-carb all the time while doing nothing more than, say, walking for exercise
Targeted ketogenic- low-carb eating except before and after weight training only
Cyclical ketogenic- a few days of eating low-carb followed by a couple of days with higher carbs-rinse and repeat

For what it's worth-this book needs some editing, both in text and layout. Enough to notice, not enough to miss the message.

Strongly recommended for the purest of intentions, for those that can.

McDonald is a true scientist who has produced a wonderfully thorough and well-researched book.

The "true scientist" tag is important, for at least four reasons:
(1) This book contains no hype, pep talks, or unduly biased recommendations. It's also not a feel-good "collaborative" book that works with the reader to set goals; it assumes that readers will set, or have already set, QUANTITATIVE goals.
(2) It expects readers to comprehend, and think in terms of, QUANTITATIVE concepts like grams/%/calories of macronutrients, lbs/% of LBM, etc.
(3) It contains no recipes, convenience tips, or lifestyle advice, unless absolutely vital to the program (as with timing of workouts/carb-up in the CKD).
(4) Its text is concise, scientific, and QUANTITATIVE, and therefore rather dry.

If you're looking for an easy-to-read diet book that could potentially sell millions of copies in the aisles of grocery stores, look elsewhere. If you want a thorough volume with exact, QUANTITATIVE factual data, as well as honest discussion of the current state of knowledge regarding various aspects of the diet, this is the book for you.

Did I mention "quantitative"?

"You should also read www.c-k-d.com, particularly the forums."

The people over there generally do not like Lyle, due to the fact that he is not a product of his philosophy whatsoever - google him.

I tried this diet and it worked...to a point. I couldn't perform my work outs because I was so drained all the time. As soon as I resumed normal eating I gained back all the weight I had lost. Then, I just went crazy over carbohydrates for awhile and put on more weight than before, although some of it was muscle (which isn't too bad) since I continued working out. However, I'm still never as lean as I was BEFORE the Ketogenic Diet (I didn't do the CKD), and I was on Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle (e-book).

The best resource you can find for this type diet. Actually, I do not consider it a diet but a way of life now. It is not hard to follow. All my questions were answered in this book, and some I did't even know I had.

I bought this book with two John Kotter books and was surprised at the comparison. This book was in no way useful. If you need help leading group change, get a Kotter book.

Beitler's purpose is to provide to the reader a strategic & real-life approach to facilitating organizational change. This succinct book is intended for working consultants. The content here is roughly equal parts theory and application. It is not extensive theory. It is not exhaustive. Rather, it is a handbook containing what works, as judged by the author's considerable consulting experience. Beitler is Professor of Business Practice at UNC Greensboro, and a practicing consultant. This new 2nd edition succeeds an earlier work. Familiar readers will now find a much needed index (subject & name) and comprehensive reference list added to the back of the book. Chapters 12 & 14 are completely re-written. Summaries of each chapter:

1 - Opens with 3 roots of org change. Introduces a model for thinking about change that distinguishes strategy vs. structure vs. human processes vs. culture. This, plus the Action Research Model, combine to form the framework for Beitler's approach and the organization of the book.
2 - Introduces the tried and true Action Research Model (ARM) and it's 6 Steps. Beiter proceeds to build a foundation here for ARM (and then returns to the Steps in Chapter 5.) Provides summary of influential OD concepts like Systems Thinking and Continuum of Management Styles. Checklist of management style was useful.
3 - Process consulting. Fan of Kurt Lewin & Edgar Schein. Introduces change and covers Schien's Ten Principles for process consultation. Provides useful guidance in contracting and interacting with clients.
4 - Facilitating change. Covers Kotter's 8-part model for change and drills into the details of each component. Would like to have seen additional content covering the emotional side of change, as discussed in Kotter's companion book, The Heart of Change, to round out the topic.
5 - Acton Research Model Step 1, Data Gathering. Identifies 6 methods for collecting data. Introduces 6 target groups and 6 target organizational processes for data gathering. I find the processes to be helpful in assessing the relative health or maturity of an organization that I am consulting to: goal setting, leadership, decision making, communications, conflict management, and organizational learning.
6 - Steps #2 - #4. Feedback, Diagnosis, and Action Planning, respectively. Step #5, Intervention, is introduced and divided into 6 types, and then described in the following 6 chapters.
7 - Strategic planning interventions. Identifies 7 leading approaches to strategic planning, including Summer's Rogers' and Beckhard & Harris', to name a few. Concludes with the Beitler Approach, which is his synthesis of what works for him.
8 - Structural interventions. Talks about 5 org structures: functional, product, process, matrix, and network. Considers attacking at the enterprise, group, and individual levels - classic OD.
9 - Organizational culture interventions. This was one of the most interesting for me. Spends time on Schein's view of what culture is. Compares it to Cameron and Quinn's 4 types. Concludes by talking about how to transform an org and the relative difficulty of changing an org's culture.
10 - Human process interventions. Team building. Conflict resolution. Utilizes techniques borrowed from Lewin, Fischer, Blake, etc. to share strategies for creating high performance work teams and solving relational conflicts. Practitioners will return here frequently for reminders on how to put out brush fires at the team or individual level.
11 - Management development interventions. Covers assessments, development, and performance management. Popular OD tools and techniques show up in this chapter, like MBTI and FIRO B. Ends by touching on rewards. Very light treatment of topics. Practitioners can refer to other solid sources for deeper discussions.
12 - Organizational learning interventions. In the previous 1st edition of this book, Beitler cited an extensive reference list at the end of this chapter on learning. He then went on to expand and amplify on this topic in a second, similar, and highly recommended book called Strategic Organizational Learning. In the 2nd edition this chapter still covers knowledge management and the learning organization, but now places a good deal of emphasis on what works in training adults, especially in using self directed learning.
13 - Puts the ARM to bed here by covering Step 6, Evaluations. Here we learn how to evaluate the intervention, as well as the consultant; recognizes that much of this is subjective yet important.
14 - Future of Change. In this 2nd edition, Beiter has consolidated Chapters 14 and 15 from the earlier edition into a new rewrite. This section now talks about OC relative to globalization, IT, and the 21st century organization.

Some reviewers have complained about the depth of coverage of topics covered in this book. As a practicing consultant I find the balance between theory and application to be about right. I carry this book with me on my assignments. It's thin enough to fit easily in my computer bag without adding bulk. It's field-tested and contains a wide ranging collection of techniques for working through a wide variety of organizational changes and issues. I appreciate having ready access to proven techniques, which by my reckoning should cover 85% of the challenges one encounters in the field, and all in a slim 231-page volume. I would encourage working managers, professionals, and consultants to pick up a copy of this fine work, and to also check out other useful content posted at the author's website.

Mike Beitler's book has been designated as a text for my graduate class at a local University. Based on his user-friendly style of writing and valuable chapters on organizational change processes, I'm sure my students will find it a useful addition to their learning about managing organizational change. His chapters are well thought out and carefully edited to remove unnecessary clutter and as such, the book is a joy to read.

Perhaps Mike could provide additional useful tools for consultants in his future books such as case studies and activities to help clients understand and apply his strategies. This would be an added bonus for all of us!

If anyone is looking for a book on organizational change look no further. I assist organizations on organizational effectiveness which always involves organizational change. This book is a full operations manual for anyone thinking of implementing organizational change. Very precise, detailed and easy to read with clear instructions on how to implement process consulting. Reading it will make you an expert in change management. I have now ordered Dr. Beitlers' other book Strategic Organizational Learning. Can't wait to receive it.

I really think this should be used by the MBA programs teaching Strategic Organizational Change.

While an astoundingly relevant overview text of key theory in the field of OD, Management, Communication, and Change, the delightful surprise to me as a leader of adult learning was the inclusion of right-on, creative activities that allow the learner to practice key ideas. Partner exchanges, self-analyses, and discussions are all well-designed - and my standards are very high when I judge learning activities. So many are trite - but not these!

Beitler's own approach to leading change as a consultant is admirable - both practical and smart - reiterated throughout the book. He wastes no time disagreeing with theories he does not feel are useful to today's practitioner, yet in true reporter fashion, he cites them for the student. I plan to use this book in a college course I teach for full-time working adults returning to school for their BS in Management. The theory will enlighten them and the activities will allow them to apply ideas to their work. Thank you, Michael from Cyndi Maxey, author of Present Like a Pro: The Field Guide to Mastering the Art of Business, Professional, and Public Speaking

A good resource for preparing for the AANP FNP certification exam.

Pros: detailed information on a range of content, hitting all the systems plus health promo and disease prevention.

Cons: each set of questions is organized by system; there is no practice exam offered with questions randomly distributed. It would be helpful to also find a book with a higher number of practice questions and less content.

This was the best study tool I used while preparing for the exam. The questions in this book most closely resembled the questions in the exam when compared with other books.

This is one of the best review books I've ever read. Better than the one written by ANCC. That one was a waste of money compared to this one.
It has test questions and an excellent review of the pertinent information you need to know on each subject. Good review book for students

I passed the ANCC FNP exam on the first try today and this book was a huge help. I also bought the Fitzgerald review CD's. This book has all the informatin you need to pass.

I just passed my ANCC today and here are some books I wish I had in school. The following four books helped me to pass the ANCC because they are most like the test. First, Margaret Fitzgerald's book Nurse Practitioner Certification Examination and Practice Preparation is a great must have book for school and test prep. If you can, take her live seminar or get the CDs. Next Leik's book Family Nurse Practitioner Certification Intensive Review:Fast Facts and Practice Questions, great book, good to synthesize all of the Fitzgerald info. The Hollier/Wirfs book: Certification Prep Exams Practice Test s and Questions with Rationales 4th ed is a great prep for questions, don't bother buying the review book by Hollier, it is too basic. Next, make SURE you buy the Family Nurse Practitioner Certification Review by Zerwekh and Claborn. This is the only review book I could find that has a CD rom . The CD is almost like the actual test and some of the questions are very similar. If you start off by buying these four books you will be in good shape. Good luck on the exam!

After reading some chapters I arrived at the conclusion that is a very easy-reading book. It lumps all topics together. I found only an objection, some related topics are set on different chapters.

A must have for any student nurse anesthetist during didactics. Good book to keep throughout your professional career.

I read Guyton's for med school and I only read this book when I was studyig for the Post grad entrance exam in India. This is the real deal: If you love internal medicine, you must have this book.Beg borrow or steal it.
Its the best Pathophysiology text ever written.
I would have given in 6 stars if they would have let me.

This textbook is a very detailed writing with some explanation of basic physiology. It is a difficult read for a beginning text and needs to be backed up with supplemental information if you are learning from this text as a first line of education. I feel it is a very good review of physiology already understood with an in depth explanation into more detailed physiology.

this book is too detailed for the step, a better books is brs physio.i read the whole section on neuro, it was very detailed but not once did i come across such info on my boards. Stick w/ brs physio unless u are trying to become a physiologist.I made a 229/95 on my boards reading brs physio, pocket robins, lipincott biochemistry, first aid, high yield anatomy mainly, then skimmed through high yield embryo and histo. Even though i read katzung for pharm it was a waste of time as first aid is more than adequaate.

Really good book for anybody using Minitab in Six Sigma or just plain statistics. Not too superficial (like many 'Management Books') and not too many silly examples (like some 'Text Books'). Really useful. After reviewing it we bought one copy for each Black Belt at our company.

Hi, This is a good book, It is laid out in simple style and overall presentation is superb. However, there are many areas that the book doesn't cover. If you are a Green Belt, this is Superb! But, if you are a Black Belt and wanting to learn advance tools like RSM ,full scale Logistical Regression and Residual analysis you will not get anything out from this book. There are many instances the book says, this is not discussed here, which are the things a black belt must know.Overall compared to Rath n Strong book on Minitab 15 and other Minitab books on Minitab 14 this book is better.So if you are a Green Belt Buy it!If you are a Black Belt think about it :-)

This guide really shows you how to use MiniTab while following the DMAIC model. It will show you in detail how the process works and how to use the tools in Mintab in a process flow map manner. It uses real screen shots and explains what you see and what it means. Very well done.

The title pretty much says it all. I was hoping this would improve my Minitab knowledge and it wasn't so great for that. I already had 6Sigma BB training, so I didn't really need to 6Sigma review, but it does a very good job of it for those that have never had 6Sigma training. So, my advice is don't buy this if you are looking for improving your Minitab knowledge.

I have been a Lean Six Sigma practitioner for over 12 years (MBB since 1995) and this is by far the best reference text I have found.

Highly recommended regardless of level of skill or position in the organization.

Good Book. Worth a reading by people in finance. Might be too layman like for you if you are already experienced. Good stuff though.

My professor is the author of this book, which is extreamely horrible because no student would wish their professor knows every single word in the book. However, this book give a pretty detail introduction to the market structure and all things you need to know about trading. The language in the book are quite easy to understand even thought some terms are very technical. According to my professor, the contents on the side are useful when combining the reading, which will give you a whole picture of what will be the issue when come to real life doing the trading. It's a great book. However, if you are planning to buy this one, you may want to wait for a little bit becuase my professor is on the way to the second edition. I believe that must have more updated information. Good luck! ^_^

I've used this book as a textbook and I have to admit it's invaluable in that it explains in a detailed yet rather straightforward way what happens when you send an order to the marketplace and how it is worked by market participants. In the light of recent developments in academic and professional literature, showing how good execution is an essential part of an outstanding money-management performance, I strongly recommend it to all beginners ready to step in the arena or practicioners who aren't fully aware of these matters.

This book is not really that good. It's printed in tiny fonts and filled with sidebar BS so it's hard to read and keep track of what you read. The author rambles a lot and there's very little concrete information even though a lot of topics are covered in a cursory manner. Worst, this book is already way outdated, as ECNs and ATS's as well as industry consolidations plus the Grasso fiasco have changed industry landscape (and enriched many a capital pig who does not produce real products but reaps billions for stealing other people's money). Ok, I'm a financial analyst so i don't contribute anything to this society either, but I'm no capitalist pig, just a lowly employee.

I'm not a trader. I do occasionally look longingly at high frequency trading positions (stat arb, automated trading; whatever you'd like to call it). This is the book that actually answers all those questions any curious person who has ever made a trade might ask. What happens when you make a trade? What is the mechanics of making a trade? How does liquidity work? What happens if your trade is bigger than the daily volume of the traded equity? How does index arb work? What do flow traders do to make money? What are the different exchanges, and what are their rules? How does GAAP play out in exchanges? What are NASDAQ's idiosyncrasies? Why don't they have an automated auction model out there (they do)? How do traders scalp you when you want to dump a block on the street? Is this legal? This book answers all, and far more.

I don't know how people used to learn this stuff; presumably either by word of mouth, or by losing millions of their employers dollars. I also don't know what motivated Mr. Harris to spill all this wonderful information, but I am very grateful that he did. I almost feel like I should trash talk the book to prevent people from reading it (yeah, some of the information actually is outdated -pffff, like it matters), but enough know of it already I wouldn't gain much edge.

The person who recommended this book to me is generally mentioned in the same breath as the name "Jim Simons," so I have to assume it is as accurate as anything on the market out there. Wonderful, wonderful stuff. Anyone interested in markets should read this from cover to cover.

As a physical therapist, I find myself turning to this book frequently. This book compiles some of the best minds of today and integrates the latest research on the back into an accessible format. The techniques and exercises are clear and easy to reproduce. The focus on functional outcomes and patient activation are critical in framing how clinicians treat those with back pain. I strongly recommend this book to any practitioner who works with people with back pain.

As a neurosurgical resident, the care of the spine patient can be summed up as: "can I cut it out." For many patients, this is helpful. For many others, sadly, my knife cannot help - most of these patients are left without a diagnosis, and more importantly without an explanation for why they are having the troubles they are having.

This book clearly and comprehensively covers the topic of spine pain, providing a context and perspective that I have found extremely useful in the clinical setting. This book can help the spine surgeon give direction to otherwise direction-less patients with life-ruining conditions.

This should be required reading for anyone operating on the spine.

Best comprehensive approach to rehabilitation methods to date. I have taken the diplomate program to get board certified in rehabilitation, the basis of which is from the Rehabilitation of the Spine. Craig Liebenson's book is one of the finest rehab manuals out there today.

This is a great source of information for patients and doctors in the journey to better health and improved function for the patient who is willing to work at becoming healthier. A program can be created for a patient to achieve a much better level of functioning no matter what their age. Chiropractic care and proper rehabilitation can change lives for the better!!

This text is the "sine qua non" for spine physicians and therapists who focus on rehabilitation. It establishes a firm foundation for spinal stability and how this process becomes dysfunctional, discussing the neurophysiological, pathophysiological, and biopsychosocial dimensions of the patients we treat. Additionally, more information is provided for the cervical spine and upper and lower extremities. Moreover, the treatment procedures and accompanying DVD are excellent resources for the practitioner. Dr. Liebenson is to be praised and thanked for this needed update to the first edition. The international experts, including Dr. Liebenson, have provided an outstanding text. Many thanks!