Resources Books

Amazing source for talent management covering the most important HR functions to be fully utilized for building a sound strategy. Full of case studies, role models, statistics,. It is a source so valuable to use and keep for reference

An easily understood, quickly assimilated read. I read the entire 200-page book at one sitting, and shared ideas with the co-owners of my company right away. Usually, business management textbooks are full of jargon. Competing for talent is in plain english, and can be applied immediately.

This book offers "heads up" competitive intelligence that will work for any company or organization that wants to attract and retain a high quality workforce. I have seen bits and pieces of this information as we have worked with our own corporate culture. Having "Competing for Talent" in my hands five years ago would have saved us a great deal of research.

Employers are continually concerned about competing with each other to hire and hold the best employees they can find. Sometimes this competition becomes a frenzy, since the best people-qualified, experienced-are in high demand. It's essential, to compete well, to become an Employer of Choice. Ahlrichs, in her preface, observes that employers of choice "know that their 'choice' status is a significant achievement attained through consistent application of comprehensive strategies and tactics, as well as top-bottom organizational responsibility for retention.

This book is divided into three important sections: the big picture, recruiting, and retention. In Part One, How Employers of Choice are Winning the Talent Wars, the three chapters focus on Learning from Employers of Choice, Employer of Choice Foundation Strategies, and Building and Communicating a Top Employer Reputation. These writings present a good overview and insight into how Employers of Choice are operating. The orientation is to understand what these companies are doing, rather than a how-to approach. There is a lot to learn here.

The second part, Creative Strategies for Recruiting Top Talent, offers the readers four chapters, starting with How Employers of Choice are Redesigning Recruitment. The next chapter, Only You Will Do, has a little more instructional tone, but still primarily takes a third person view. This chapter concludes with a helpful Orientation Checklist. Chapter 6, Surfing for Recruiting Results Online does provide a healthy amount of how-to. While this field is changing almost daily, there is a lot of value here for the reader. Plenty of website domains are included. The last chapter in this section, Finding New Hires in Unlikely Places, is filled with good ideas. Here I felt a lot more of the how-to I was looking for.

The third section is entitled Comprehensive Strategies for Retaining Top Performers. Here the chapters are titled Understanding Why Employees Leave; Managing and Leading for Retention; Retrain, Develop, and Profit; and New Compensation and Benefits Strategies. There is a lot of value in these chapters-lots of ideas and perspectives. An exit interview guide will be helpful to those companies that have not taken advantage of this tool. The author seems to really hit her stride in providing ideas for readers in this section. The same holds for her conclusion, Becoming an Employer of Choice.

The book is well-written, filled with valuable information for the reader. The solid chapters are supplemented with a good resource guide and an index. I'd recommend this book for company owners, senior executives, and human resource professionals. As an ethical reviewer, I must share with you that I am co-author of "How to Become an Employer of Choice," a competing title in the same field. With that perspective, I would be quite comfortable recommending my clients read "Competing for Talent" as a supplement to my book.

Competing for talent should be required reading for anyone interested in learning new approaches for hiring qualified employees in today's very competitive work environment. I work for a state university system that has restrictive limits on what we can pay. Competing for Talent provided me with useful real world solutions to attracting and retaining qualified employees. This book had a positive and immediate impact on our hiring success.

A wonderful guide book for people new to anime. Includes a overview of anime history; year by year breakdown of TV programs released in the States from the 60's to the 90's; a listing of videos released in the states (both in and out of print), and a listing of anime related clubs, retailers, and conventions. Dated now, but still a wonderful resource.

Trish Ledoux is an absolute genius, and it shows in the amount of information held within this relatively short TPB. I have never seen such a vast amount of information in so few pages. The Complete Anime Guide succeeds is giving a very thorough account of the Japanese artform without boring the reader.

With out a doubt the most complete guide I've ever seen. Not only are most of the Anime tities cover with short synopses but history, fan clubs and retailer addresses are included. A superb book

This is the best book on anime released in North America. The section on anime TV series is interesting as well as informative. It just about covers every series that aired on U.S. television. It also covers the vast genres of anime while it gives informative side notes. It also has brief synopses on a few anime titles as well as a listing of all titles released up to December 1995. To sum it up, I believe that this is the definitive source on anime released in North America. The authors really did their homework in writing this book

This is solid an knowledgeable work, and an excellent resource for anyone new to Anime (Japanese Animation). The first half of the book covers the history and culture of Anime, and is thorough and well-researched. The second half gives quick synopses of the Anime titles available on video in the US. This section is slightly weaker: it is dating rapidly (unavoidable in such a work), and the synopses tend to be back-of-the-video stuff and not always too informative. On the whole, though, well worth buying.

The Complete Publishing Resource Manual has a special place right next to my computer because I reach for it at least three times a day. Linda Able has done a wonderful job of compiling key information into one source that can be used by writers, editors, and publishers. For those newer in the field, the extensive glossary of terms used in publishing, printing, and book marketing will give you an answer to the question of what exactly is a verso, a recto, and a quarto, as well as keys to the more esoteric printers terms such as X-height. I'm especially fond of the Resources section which catalogs sites on the Internet where publishers and writers can find answers to their questions. This section alone has enabled me to weed my bookmarks down to a manageable level. Able also provides a thorough bibliography of the last decade's books about writing and publishing. In an industry that has almost recreated itself over the past five years, these references can help guide writers and publishers through the tropical storm that is the current book publishing industry.

If you're writing and/or publishing a book, you need this manual. From the comprehensive list of books on the subjects of publishing, printing and book marketing, to the resource list of vendors, suppliers, associations, contacts, web sites, this manual will make your life a lot easier. It also includes a great glossary of terms commonly used in this industry.

Able's book is a one-of-a-kind desktop resource for today's busy publishers! Her glossary covers it all from verso/recto to bleeds to bluelines. Her resource section lists hundreds of *current* organization, vendor, distributor and media addresses and phone numbers. No more sifting through a dozen books (or search engines) for the right address. My copy is already getting dog-eared!

Using Linda's book allows me to cut down on the time I use searching the Internet and puts me right where I need to be. The entire 3rd chapter-a resource database(most of which have Internet links)-is alone worth the price of the book.

~~Barbara O'Neill, author of Second Chance (Periwinkle Press)

The Complete Resource Manual lists all of the books on publishing, printing and book marketing. It contains an up-to-date glossary of terms used in the trade and it has a voluminous list of vendors to the industry, associations and web sites. This valuable reference belongs within easy reach-next to your dictionary. DanPoynter@ParaPublishing.com

The book came amazingly fast and was in great condition!

Thanks!

It's a great book. The authors explain step by step from tutorials to simulations.

This book should be on the shelf of very instructional designer and course developer responsible for creating computer-based training or web-based training. The book stands out for three important reasons: (1) if offers concrete directions regarding how to develop instruction at the lesson level; (2) the recommendations are based on research findings and when research findings are contradictory the authors acknowledge the divergence; and (3) the book is well written, it is accessible to the average reader. The first chapter **alone** makes the book worth the price - it will help you answer the question "What is the difference between information and instruction?"

Seen from the point fo view of a non-expert readers, and comparing with <10 other books on similar subjects, the book looks quite good. It covers most of the basic types of learning activities (tutorials, drills, simulations, educational games and tests), plus a detailled overview on more organisational issues (analysis, design, ...), some chapters on technology for implementation of CBI as well as more advanced topics as instructional modelling, computer managed instruction and AI-techniques. Good reading, no hyper-specialised vocabulary. Happy that my holiday in canada brought me back this good reading to Flanders (Belgiium/Europe). Coming from an IT background (engineering & computing), it gives some goods clues on project management for development of CBI products. Les solid on educational/didactic theories.

Hesitating between 3 and 4 stars (don't feedl myself sufficiently qualified to give higher scores).

This book is excellent. There are many sections, in fact, which I will refer back to later as job aids. This book reinforces and elaborates on many concepts and methods that I, as an instructional designer, have been using intuitively when developing courses. It provides a structure to the process of organizing content and developing computer-based training. The only drawback to this book is that it is slightly out of date from a technology standpoint. However, it is so strong in every other area, including instructional design, interface design, interactivity design, and project management, that its strengths far outweigh its weaknesses. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who designs or develops CBT and WBT, I think it will prove to be a valuable resource.

What it comes to Christian mothering help (with the right touch of humor) Jean Stockdale is by far the BEST! Biblical principals, much needed empathy, and large doses of humor make her entire teachning series a hit with me. I'm on my 2nd teaching book and I actually enjoy & look forward to doing my homework. I have learned so much.

I did this Bible study with a group of women from my church. Every one of our lives were transformed by it! Jean Stockdale is an incredible Bible teacher, but it was her message that was so dynamic - become a student of God's Word. This study was challenging as well as encouraging!

Jean Stockdale has truly changed my life and the way that I mother my two girls. She has so much wisdom and provides so much insight on how to raise Godly children. She is also very practical on how to handle such things as sibling rivalry, discipline, and releasing your children one day to go into the real world. I have learned so much from her. I recommend this book VERY much. You will be blessed.

WOW! This is really an insightful Bible study taught by a very gifted Bible teacher. I have studied under Jean for a couple of years now and can see how God has used the Biblical insight taught through her studies to cultivate a love for God's word in my life.
This study was one of my favorites because the weekly lessons teach on wisdom, friendship, importance of our words, anger, discipline, and integrity through an indepth study of Proverbs. This is an excellent resource to do as a group or individually. You will find the biblical teaching to be doctrinally sound and from the heart of a mom who has trully cherished the gift of mothering!

I have had the pleasure of being a part of the Moms Ministry at Bellevue Baptist Church, where Jean teaches, for a couple of years now. We actually completed this Bible Study last semester and it is excellent. Jean's lessons are full of wit, maternal wisdom, and most importantly- the word of God.

I am very selective and find most Bible Studies to simply skim the surface, but I have been very encouraged and challenged by each of Jean's studies. They are appropriate for both the new beleiver as well as the more mature Christian and will be beneficial to moms of children of all ages.

I definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to learn good Biblical principles and be a better mom (and wife if applicable). I should also mention that the study is not geared toward any denominational slant, so whether you are Lutheran, Baptist or Catholic you will learn valuable lessons from God's word told through a Mother's Heart.

Not at the level for me of Tales of Old-time Texas but still an excellent collection of stories from J. Frank Dobie. This collection is focused, as the title should tell you, on buried treasure, treasure maps and things of that nature. The book is still a joy to read and I don't understand why more of the country doesn't know about Mr. Dobie.

The author, a premier folklorist from Texas, writes about the Southwest and the type of treasure with which nature consoles the seeker -- "shadows for want of substantials." Unlike Coronado, the author seeks the treasure that emanates from the heart and mind. This is a fine book written seven decades ago and improves with each reading.

Dobie talks about this land of shadows where we meet Alice Henderson, who faced down fifty cow thieves; Don Milton Favor, who built his own fort while making treaties with hostile Indians; and Cheetwah, a mystic Indian chief who vanished into the mountains to keep vigil over hidden treasures. These and other characters spring from the pages of Dobie's book with a vigor and purpose that makes the heart sing.

The Texas of the Big Bend country is where Dobie's prose satisfies, "Outlandish pictures painted down the sides of caves by aborigines which no white man can now decipher...a jagged and gashed land where legend has placed a lost canyon, its broad floor carpeted with grass that is always green and watered by gushing springs, its palisaded walls imprisoning a herd of buffalo...somewhere in this land credulity has fixed a petrified forest with tree trunks seven hundred feet long."

The author claims, "After I hear a tale I do all I can to improve it," and this is an understatement. Readers who possess a sense of wonder will enjoy this book. History often cloaks personages with dusty trappings, stuffy sayings, and mixed motives so time has faded the awe that Drake, Cortez, Raleigh, and Coronado experienced. Dobie illuminates the wonder of the children of Coronado as they chase their dreams and draws us into their world of enchantment.

Francisco Coronado never found his golden riches or the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola during his time in the Southwest. When he returned in 1542, and told the truth about his barren search, he wasn't believed. One person who did believe said, "Granted he did not find the riches of which he had been told -- he found instead a place in which to search for them."

And the search continues. For centuries Coronado's vision of wealth has lured countless thousnads to the Southwest where tradition and myth have marked mountains, rivers, and ancient ruins with boundless treasures. This book follows long forgotten Spanihs trails, buffalo trails, cow trails, and areas where there are no trails as searchers dig for riches which eludes their grasp. Others, rather than searching, have sat and told stories of lost mines, buried treasure and of ghostly patrones who guard the treasures -- adding layers to the myths that abound in the land of Coronado.

This book lovingly describes Spanish influence and tradition on the Sountwest and combines a terrific cast of characters, interesting situations, and Dobie's unmatched skill at weaving a tale. The author's footnotes are at the end of the text and are filled with tales and legends of lost mines and treasures. There's an interesting section on the elaborate Code of Treasure Symbols used by the Spaniards. An excellent glossary of idioms used in the Southwest follows that section.

There is more to the American West than gunfighters, farmers, bankers, cowboys, and miners. The author has given us the realm of the dreamers.

J. Frank Dobie was a folklorist of Texas and "Coronado's Children" may be his best and most famous book. He was born in 1888 and bridged the old west and modern times. CC was written in 1930 when many of the old timers, who knew how to spin a yarn, were still around. Dobie sought them out and recorded their stories of lost gold and buried treasure. He was also a serious scholar who rummaged through Spanish and American archives to give authenticity to his stories -- and he was not adverse to saddling up a horse and doing a little on-the-ground research.

"Coronado's Children" has inspired thousands of otherwise normal people to pick up a shovel and head off to some god-forsaken wasteland to dig in the ground looking for the "Lost San Saba Mine," the booty of pirate Jean Lafitte, or the $2 million the James boys supposedly buried in the Wichita mountains of Oklahoma. These are the kind of stories that dreams are made of -- and who knows? Some of them might be true.

Dobie has collected nineteen tales in CC and he tells them beautifully in prose that is conversational and colorful. He has enormous respect for the land and the Indians, the Mexicans, and the Anglos who live in the harsh, dry country of the southwest. An oft-used adjective to describe his stories is "magical" and so they are. "Coronado's Children" is an American classic.

Smallchief

Perhaps the best folklore book ever written about lost mines and buried treasure, caves full of gold bars, and Spanish silver. As in most of Dobie's writings, this is not straight history but Dobie's version of other people stories with a large dose of Dobie in all of them. A Texas classic.

I read this book 30 years ago. I am now 75, and I rank it as one of the most fascinating books of my lifetime. It opened up a whole world of places and things that are long gone, but which deserve to be remembered. I believe that I have since read almost everything that Frank Dobie has written, but believe this is still the best.

This book offers great insight into these valuable assets--- our MVPs. The practical advise on how to manage MVPs is a extremely important for the HR community in supporting the organizations they work with. The authors research an area of leadership that is critical in these challenging times.

There are just so many business books, and most of them are one-dimensional--taking a single theory and stretching it into a cure-all. Butterris and Roiter offer something different and refreshing here...a framework for how to think about the people around you, and how to build strong individuals and teams. The specific stories are great... I highly recommend this for one's senior staff.

The authors tell a tale of business success that has been recently repopularized by Jim Collins in his book, Good to Great: hire good people and nurture them to success. In corporate MVPs, the entire thesis is to find and support your biggest assets. I found the authors' perspective refreshing and bold. I thought their tips on how to ID and exalt your corp MVPs to be common sensical, yet not obvious. This is a very good how to book for managers who have accepted the fact that recruiting talent is a wise career move. This is not to be confused with the presidential situation where the DUMB are hiring loyal DUMBERs, so as not to be threatened.

This book provides new research into the whole concept of the few people that create the most value for an organization.

The concepts are clear and practical and are enhanced by the stories from the people interviewed

A business friend told me of this book and suggested it to me when one of my most important employees was thinking of leaving.

I run a decent sized company (1200 people) and I know that a precious few employees make up the heart of my business. If these 3 or 4 people left I would be up the creek. We have a good program to manage our talented people but have not felt that we really had a handle on how to manage these "MVP"s. Corporate MVPs really helped me to think about these people and what makes them tick. I now appreciate them more than ever, and now I am pretty comfortable that I know how to manage them. I am less on edge about my MVPs leaving.

Corporate MVPs is a good companion to one of my favorite business books "Good to Great". Good to Great looks at how organizations can move from good to great. Corporate MVPs looks at how individuals can move from good to MVP status.


I found the Chapter on "Managing the MVP" to be especially helpful. I have followed its advice and I have seen great results with my 5 MVPs. I also really liked the anecdotes and ideas from many successful business people that are scattered throughout the book. It adds a real life business feel to the research.

I have given the book to a number of my promising people so they could read "How to Become an MVP". It has created some very interesting discussions in my staff meetings on how we can all find ways to improve.

I have also found the chapters on recruiting MVPs and on managing difficult MVPs to be timely and extremely useful.

I have bought copies for my HR Director and for all my direct reports. Once read it becomes a good reference book as the needs arise.

This book is a wonderful read. I highly recommend this to pastors, teachers, and leaders!

Dr. Jones' book is a welcome addition to the field of Christian counseling. Without proof-texting or shallow explanations, he gives a clear picture of what Christian counseling can and should look like.

Excellent book! It is academic and practical. I've used it in class as well as in personal ministry. Dr. Jone's practical applications and illustrations of Biblical truth and Psychological theory are right on target. I highly recommend this book, especially to those in ministry.

In "The Counsel of Heaven on Earth," professor Ian Jones outlines the essential features of biblical counseling. He clearly demonstrates how from cover to cover, the Bible provides Christian counselors with the blueprint for developing an effective counseling ministry.

His primary model, not surprisingly, is Jesus, the Counselor of heaven on earth. In particular, he highlight's Jesus greatest commandment(s): to love God and others. This guiding commandment of redemption builds upon an understanding of creation (the starting place for biblical counseling), and the fall (lostness and the human condition). Jones fleshes out his CFR (Creation, Fall, Redemption) model through personal illustrations, counseling narratives, and descriptions of counseling in the local church.

This is a valued addition to the field of biblical counseling that is well-balanced, practical, and theologically-sound.

Reviewer: Robert W. Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of Soul Physicians: A Theology of Soul Care And Spiritual Direction, Spiritual Friends: A Methodology of Soul Care And Spiritual Direction, Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction , "Biblical Psychology," and "Martin Luther's Counseling."

Dr. Jones does a wonderful job of presenting a form of counseling that is modeled after the ultimate counselor, Jesus Christ. It is a well written book with illustrations and good explanations. In a time of too many debates of the difference between biblical and Christian counseling, Dr. Jones gets it right. He presents the representation of a counselor who counsels with a Christian worldview, in accordance with the Bible and counsels in the most beneficial way for the client. The counselor is to find the client's "location" and meet them there, as Christ has met us.

This book has all the major policies and considerations for an employee handbook. I appreciate its clear concise language. It points out the policy considerations in choosing between options. It is current. (Laws change enough each year that I wouldn't suggest anyone buy a legal text over 5 years old or even a couple of years old in some cases.) The CD is easy to use. I'm a lawyer and was curious about it so I bought it. I was pleased with its thoroughness. If you are in a unionized environment remember that you can't just implement many of the policies therein without negotiating with your union. It would, however, give you language to discuss and the pros and cons of the alternatives.

I used the book for a class and found it full of a lot of helpful and useful information.

This is a complete kit for making your company's own employee handbook. There is legal information, state specific information, resources to follow for your specific needs, and then, the best part of all, there is CD that comes with this that has everything you need already typed for you. All you have to do is insert the CD and save the files, which are in MS Word, and voila - you have it. The only thing you have to do is decide which policies you want for your company, fill in a few blanks, change the TOC and you are ready to print it out! A very practical and easy way to create your own employee handbook! I was quite impressed.

I am very pleased with this book. I was placed in charge of writing an employee handbook for a small office and this book (and accompanying CD-ROM) made my job very easy. The CD-ROM allows you to easily cut and paste most of the general verbage of the handbook - and customize to your needs. It is also very helpful in educating on laws. I highly recommend this for anyone taking on the task of creating an employee handbook.

When my boss asked me to write an employee handbook I freaked. I had no idea where to start. This book gave me everything I needed to get what my boss wanted. Everyone was happy. This is the book you need.

I liked reading it. Was simple to understand. I got a lot of info. on starting a web page. The only thing is it shows you how to use a program to get a web page going but its only 2 programs so if you don't have the programs that it helps you with than don't buy this book.
The programs are Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 and Microsoft FrontPage. It also helps you learn about some basics about photo editing and some graphics. I got some good use out of it. I just wish that it had the info. on my program I have. Other than that its a great book very informative about the basics of running your own web page.

i generally have found the for dummies series to be helpful, and this book is no exception -- you can sit down, thumb through it, and create a photo album online quickly without having to wade through any technical jargon or fluff. i'm no slouch in the web development department and even i found lots to like about this book -- it has helped me explain certain concepts and steps to my less technical family members. i'm including it with my standard baby shower package from now on (which also includes an aromatherapy relaxation candle, lip moisturizer, charmin-to-go, dove facial cleansing wipes, hand sanitizer, and other small items that new moms appreciate).

What a lot of helpful information, and it's written so average folks like me can understand it! My family is having fun sharing photos from our family reunion, and this book made it so much easier. Other books I've seen assume I know things I don't know. If you want to create a Web site but aren't sure how, I recommend this book.

If you've ever been bugged for photos from the family reunion, or wanted to show off your new kid/cat/car, this book actually makes it seem easy. I know, I know, putting up your own website has a reputation like dragging all your neighbors in and making them sit through your vacation slides used to. But this book shows you how you can still show off a little, without boring everyone to tears. Actually, you can do some pretty neat stuff, which can be really fun when your family is scattered all over, and you don't feel like running up the long-distance bills just so you can keep up on current events.

Very highly recommended.

As with the other For Dummies books, this book is intended for beginners and absolutely minimizes the jargon. At the most basic level the book provides a series of templates that can be used with a fill in the blank approach to get a site up and running quickly. Then it branches out to increasing the creativity by designing your own pages. At this level there is almost no mention of dynamic database driven sites. This is building a static web site with pictures and text. This is a book to get you started.

Most of the book is on showing you how to do things using Microsoft's Front Page. But on the CD is a trial version (30 Day limit) of Dreamweaver MX 2004. In addition, the CD includes:

Family Tree Maker
Contribute
Fetch, and
WS_FTP.

If you're a complete beginner to web design and programming, here's a good way to get started.