Professional Resources Books

What a great read. I found it very helpful to have a great set of references that are organized by topic. This book would be an ideal one for the Kindle--especially if it could be continually updated (the references stop to the year of publication). If you are eager to expand your coaching horizons, I think this is an excellent resource. Also, chapter six is a fabulous model for framing coaching issues. So far, one of my favorite books!

Frederic M. Hudson wrote this exhaustive reference manual and survey of the field of coaching primarily for coaches and aspiring coaches. He focuses on teaching the best practices in coaching and conveying knowledge, extensive resources, thorough book lists and professional programs. The real message underneath all this data is that a good coach is the ultimate human resource. If you're a coach, you'll benefit from the book's thoroughness. If you're unfamiliar with the field, it's a textbook for understanding many facets of professional coaching and its impact on people and organizations. We recommend Hudson's book particularly to coaches, and also to those who want to learn more about coaching, human resource managers, business libraries, and executives who are recruiting coaches or team leaders. Just forget the idea that all you need to know you learned in kindergarten; to thrive, you need to keep learning continuously. Just ask a coach.

The author has been working with adult developement and coaching since earning his PhD in the 60's. Hudson shows us how the field of coaching relies on the work from a variety of disciplines. He provides many sources from these disciplines to help aid coaches when working with specific groups or specific problems. For anyone building a strong foundation in coaching, this is a great reference book to have handy on your shelf. It's especially useful for newly-trained coaches who might need a deeper understanding of their profession or a good way to avoid reinventing the wheel.

I have read several books about coaching and generally enjoy them alot. This book however was a big disappointment. Really it only contains list after list of suggested reading. That is all it is. I would really estimate that no less than 75% of the book is made up of "Basic library suggestions". Terrible.

As a Life Skills Coach, based in Melbourne Australia, I am always on the search for coaching texts that will enhance my professional skills and coaching knowledge. 'The Handbook of Coaching' is with out a doubt I believe one of the most valuable coaching resource materials I have discovered. Hudson has covered a great deal of material, yet the insights into the various areas of coaching, methodologies and foundations of coaching, are supported by an excellent bibliography section, relevant to the end of each chapter.

The author's writing style is clear and only uses jargon relative to the context, ensuring a novice to the coaching practice feels immediately able to grasp key concepts. This is the value that managers, HR personnel and coaches alike will gain from the book...ease of understanding and practical.

It is a how to book and refernce guide that sets out to (and I daresay achieves)to establish a relationship with its reader; as a handbook of this nature should.

The life transition model that Hudson introduces, acknowledges the validity of adult hood problems, as being more than mere extensions of our child hood challenges. It acknowledges also the process of transition versus the static nature of a changing event.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

I bought this book based upon a positive review I read in Usenix's Login magazine. I've used OpenBSD for some minor things, but never really used it on any long term basis. I recently ordered the 3.8 release CDs and am interesting in delving further into it.

With that backdrop, I bought this book. Overall, I think this book is pretty good.

Along with some others who have read it, after having read it--I share some reservations about the title. I'm not so sure "Secure Architectures with OpenBSD" should be the title. It may be a bit misleading.

I'd this is more of a OpenBSD manual or guidebook than a book on building a "Secure Architecture". It is the book you really want to have at your desk if you deal with OpenBSD regularly (and a lot of it is good for any Unix-based system).

I like this book and it definately is a quality book, though I wonder if some people may have been mislead by the title.

Before buying this book you need to understand a few facts about it:

- at first glance the title may lead you to believe it's about securing OpenBSD - it's not. It is about using an inherently secure operating system, OpenBSD, to its best advantage.

- you will need to be an experienced UNIX or Linux (or ideally OpenBSD) system admin to get the most out of the content.

- it is intended to be used in conjunction with OpenBSD man pages; as noted by another reviewer this book aggregates a lot of OpenBSD documentation, making it a convenient reference.

Because OpenBSD is more than a little different from other *NIX variants, and because it is cantankerous with respect to installation and configuration, the material in this book will save a lot of time and reduce the learning curve for anyone migrating to the OpenBSD environment. Reasons for this migration include the enhanced security by default and the inherent stability of this operating system.

Chapters 3, 4 and 5 are good places to start to get up-to-speed in OpenBSD because they thoroughly cover installation, basic use (especially with respect to the not-so-standard filesystem layout), and basic default services. All of Section II is essential reading for those new to OpenBSD. Among the topics covered are user admin (almost identical to other *NIX variants), pre-compiled third party software packages (unique to OpenBSD, especially with respect to ports tree), and other administrative tasks and operations. Section III, advanced features, is also essential and will greatly reduce the learning curve.

Overall this is an exceptionally well-written book that covers everything you need to know about OpenBSD from installation, and administration maintenance perspectives.

About a year ago I read and reviewed Michael Lucas' excellent "Absolute OpenBSD." That book covered OpenBSD 3.2 and the CURRENT of that time, pre-3.3. Palmer and Nazario's "Secure Architectures with OpenBSD" (SAWO) addresses OpenBSD 3.4, which at the time of writing is just behind the current release (3.5). Lucas' book is an excellent introduction to OpenBSD by a relative outsider; SAWO is a more detailed discussion by insiders. Each has its strengths and I highly recommend both.

My favorite aspect of SAWO is its coverage of the internal workings of certain aspects of OpenBSD. Ch 4 features an enlightening walk-through of the /etc/rc script. Ch 13 not only describes how to use the ports tree, it explains how that system of software installation works. In some cases the authors reach beyond subjects strictly associated with OpenBSD, such as compilers (ch 21) and CVS (appendix A and elsewhere). As OpenBSD relies heavily on widely-used open source tools for standard administration, I welcome these discussions.

I also congratulate the authors' decision to focus on practical aspects of OpenBSD administration or functionality. Ch 3 gives installation advice for non-i386 hardware users. Ch 17 explains how to enable STARTTLS. Ch 22 shows why Pf is superior to many or most commercial firewalls. Some of the material can even be applied to the other BSDs, like the coverage of mergemaster in ch 31 or the advice on using IPv6 in tandem with IPv4 in ch 28.

I only have a few critiques of SAWO. Ch 27 (VPNs) was a little terse and hard to follow. I didn't think the authors needed to address applications like Snort (ch 30), when entire best-selling books are written about that very topic. I did not see a single diagram in the whole book. A picture speaks a thousand words, especially when explaining IPSec modes!

The second edition of SAWO will have plenty to add, including coverage of spamd, Common Address Redundancy Protocol (CARP), and pfsync. I suggest BSD users of all types take a close look at SAWO and consider supporting the OpenBSD project by purchasing books like this and official OpenBSD CDs.

This book is a raw front-to-back walkthrough of the OpenBSD operating system targeted a systems administrators. There are no diagrams or pictures anywhere in the book. It consists entirely of Courier type shell work with terse exposition to hold it together.

I can recommend this book if you are a Systems Administrator for OpenBSD and you are looking for something to guide you through the morass of commands in a step by step manner. And even then, I think you should look at the book in person first to make sure that it covers the topic you are interested in adequately.

I should have read the other reviews:
"at first glance the title may lead you to believe it's about securing OpenBSD - it's not. It is about using an inherently secure operating system, OpenBSD, to its best advantage."

Fair enough. As an introduction to OpenBSD for those with experience with other Unix systems, this is a great book. But I can read the man pages and other documentation. I wanted a book that discussed a way to build secure networks with OpenBSD as one component.

The chapter on VPN setup is the best that I have seen on that subject. But otherwise, it's a walk-through of basic installation and configuration.

I also purchased "Building Firewalls with OpenBSD and PF", and it is more what I was looking for: less about OpenBSD itself, and more about how to apply the system to protect your network.

The author does an excellent job of pushing the reader to get engaged with their work / co-workers and to not be scared of displaying emotion. Down with the sterile arms length work environment and up with sincerity and high energy dedication. I especially like the discussion of building a high performance team where the author says "My strategy is to always build teams around the highest performers and let them set such a blistering pace that the mediocre performers can't hide and chose to go someplace else where they're more comfortable." A great book for people looking for a positive jolt of career energy.

I'm a sales trainer and, from a calloused standpoint, don't believe that there is anything really, really new in the world of sales. What's left is the ability or strategy of finding your passion and setting or staying on a course of success. I believe Frank Pacetta is all about that.

I've had the pleasure of meeting Frank and his family and can attest to the fact that this man "walks his talk"! As he says, if you're spending a little too long in the shower or can't read this book, you need a change!

Pacetta's book is a real winner! Of course there is nothing new in the area of sales, motivation, or inspiration. What is new is the way it is all arranged. And Pacetta arranges his material with wit, honesty, humor, and a blatant attack on the basics. Back to basics is what every professional needs. We get so caught up with our careers and lives, that we stray from the basics; the basics of business, customer relations, employee development, etc. I read this book from cover to cover and loved every page. BUT, did anyone else notice all the typo's? I have never read a book with so many typo's and grammatical errors. It got to the point where it was humorous. Several in each chapter... but it was still a great book and worth every penny. It is especially a must read for those in top level management!

I had the privilege of attending one of Frank Pacetta's presentations last month and enjoyed it so much that I bought his latest book. His passion and no-nonsense style has really inspired me to help in eliminating the "ho hum" in our organization or move on to a place that has that "passionate attachment" towards its employees.

Thanks for a great book Frank!

"Stop Whining" is the same old management book with a different cover and title. I bought it to get some new material, but there is nothing here that hasn't been written before. The entire book revolves around one point: treat others (employees and customers) like you would want to be treated. A vital concept but hardly original. The author is smart using todays hot business buzz word, "passion" in the title, however this material has little spark. The title caught my interest, but having invested money and time into this book leaves me feeling short-changed. As a reader I want fresh ideas not redundant material.

I bought this thinking since it was a 2008 edition it would be up-to-date on the latest materials and techniques. Not. This is essentially the year 2000 edition and does not address the composite bentonite-hdpe systems that are common today. I was also looking for some technical details on how a bentonite system should work but only a few overview-type comments were in the text.

Most of the drawings are clear and useful, but the black and white photos are small and sometimes hard to discern what is being depicted.

All in all, this book is a useful resource but not worth the high price being charged.

EDIT: On Page 2.58, author states: "Clay swells 10-15 percent of its dry volume under maximum wetting." This is incorrect, should be 10-15 TIMES, not percent. At 10-15 percent, bentonite would not work.

This book does not contain much information on wood-framed buildings. It focuses primarily on concrete and masonry structures, with some information on EIFS systems. As an architect, I bought the book as a resource for drawing construction details. I found that the index was hard to use (sparse) and it was difficult to find specific information on certain building transitions (window flashings, for example). I'm sure the book would be helpful to someone looking for information on large-scale commercial waterproofing solutions, or in-depth discussions regarding sealants. I needed a book that was a bit broader in scope.

While too many other books present only a portion of information on the topic, in this book it is obvious that the author has extensive experience in the field and leaves no topic regarding waterproofing untouched. What makes this book a great resource is ability of the author to associate the text with sufficient detail drawings or photographs for each of the waterproofing areas presented. Waterproofing is not a topic that can be described in words only and this book is the only one that makes sure a reader at any level of knowledge in the waterproofing field can understand the necessary concepts involved. This book has been a great resource for the maintenance work of building management whenever we have a waterproofing related issue arrise. I imagine that if architects or engineers would make better use of such a book in the design phases of a project, buiding owners wouldn't have so many related problems while operating the facility. The chapters on leak repair have saved us many headaches and dollars!

This is the first book that offers a complete guide to any waterproofing related subject. Even better it offers a great chapter on finding and resolving leaks when they occcur. THIS CHAPTER IS WORTH THE PRICE OF THE BOOK ITSELF! Anybody in the design, engineering or construciton fields needs this book on their bookshelf. Finally somebody has got this subject right!

This book could make a waterproofing expert out of anyone! It offers complete and detailed information on every imaginable topic about waterproofing, restoration and even testing for leaks. The best part about the book's structure is that it provides answers and information for the simplest to the most difficult of waterproofing situations. The author has made great use of details from manufacturer's detail drawings and job site photographs to explain how to properly install and inspect waterproofing systems. I got to this page through his web site that even lets you ask questions if the book hasn't answered them - what a GREAT IDEA!

This book is a major wake up call. Having been deeply suspicious of personality profiling during most of my professional life, and very critical of most of the leading methods - Patrick and Dee Dee Aspell gave me my first introduction to the Enneagram and it has changed my whole perception of how to get inside other people's worlds. While the book may be short of academic snobbery it (a GREAT PLUS) and short of complex jargon (a GREATER PLUS) for many so called 'experts' in the field - it is superb for people who simply want to understand people. Academic excellence written in an easily accessible style. Perfect. This book started an exploration of the Enneagram for me, which I now use extensively in my professional work, and I always come back to this book for straight forward, practical insights into how people tick.

A good book - clearly set out. I have to disagree with the negative review on this page. The white space, simple layout is a huge bonus for users who do not want to wade through page after page of padding. Authors take note.

I think this must be the Aspell behind the brilliant Aspell-Gilpin Profile which led me to search for more on the authors. If so, it seems the Aspells are the real thinkers behind the system. This book gives much less information on the types than the on-line version and I got confused by the fact that the personality types were given different names but it was useful background reading. The on-line version also dispenses with the enneagram 'star' and makes it easier to follow.

Fellow Brit Gilpin has written Unstoppable People which is worth a read and is much better than most of the motivational writing that I have read.

This book has almost everything you always wanted to know about understanding yourself and others in both the professional arena and in your personal life. There are many books about the Enneagram and many of them have a lot of information to plod through before getting to the heart of the message. The beauty and power of this book lies in the authors' abilities to capture the essence, the bottom line, of the nine personality types in clear and concise, phrases, and charts.

It only takes a couple of hours to read this book to get a vivid mental portrait of who you really are. Not only that, you can also get a clear picture of how you can most effectively and efficiently grow and develop yourself. And as for improved relationships with others, a whole new world of celebrating others' differences and strengths can open up.

The authors Patrick and Dee Dee Aspell say the Enneagram is a cutting edge system that "describes nine personality types and professional styles of thinking, feeling, acting, and relating." But there's even more than that. This book provides a framework for the appreciating and empowering of personal and professional styles. From this vantage point, it can be a springboard for a person and/or team to grow in many areas of development.

This book tells you the next steps you can take so you can eventually have all the strengths of all nine types in your reach.

Like me, perhaps in reading this book, you will also have many "a-ha" moments of deep insight and a feeling of new vistas opening up in front of you. The pages of this book seem to exude a real feeling that you can immediately put this information into practice in some area of your life, professional and/or personal.

Although there's a chapter for each personality type to be discussed in depth, the summary charts in the appendix are well worth the price of the book. You can almost read these charts and in a few moments figure out what type you and others are. But that's not a good idea. It's strongly suggested that a person complete an Enneagram Inventory and Profile test to determine his or her type. On page 111 of the book is information on how to order this self test.

THE ENNEAGRAM PERSONALITY PORTRAITS, Enhancing Professional Relationships by Patrick J. Aspell and Dee Dee Aspell, is an easy-to-read and very understandable introduction to the Enneagram personality system. It is unique in its business friendly approach to personal and professional development. The terminology, the application, and the physical appearance of the book and companion workbooks all lend themselves easily to the business environment.

The book describes the personality traits along with work, leadership, and thinking styles. This description immediately focuses in on those interested in using this system at work to become more effective. The description then goes on to include beliefs and principles, and motivation which appeals to the total person approach of self improvement. Finally the section on personal and professional development brings the work and personal aspects together in an easily applicable prescription for greater growth and effectiveness.

In the relationship section, Aspell and Aspell clearly explain how each type relates and communicates with others, how they engage in conflict management, and how to develop rapport with each personality type. After reading how each type relates and responds to others, one has a much better grasp of how to communicate with others both at work and at home.

The Summary Charts of Key Traits and Techniques for Matching Behaviors and Words for each type are quick reference guides in better understanding self and others. They bring very intricate and intellectual information together in a format that is user friendly for the beginning as well as the advanced Enneagram student.

The positive and empowering style of writing enables the reader to see gifts as well as challenges of personality in a accepting way, and points to directions of growth and decline as dual sides of life and personality that lead a person either toward a more fulfilling life, or toward a less fulfilling life. They liken the process to a description by Carl Jung termed "shadow and light", and point out how often the characteristics are the same - "they differ only in the degree to which they are exhibited in a particular situation."

Claudette Keller Director, Self Empowerment Services

This 30,000-foot review of personality profiles suffers from a severe lack of depth and practical application. The authors manage to turn what should be a 5-page magazine article into 125 pages through the use of generous font-sizes, spacing and margins.

The text truly has no redeeming qualities. Definitions and characteristics of nine personality types are reasonably clear, but information/techniques on identifying which type you are (or your coworkers) is totally absent. Strategies for managing interrelationships are left out, except for a comment that "understanding types and managing relationships is important." Duh.

The lack of accolades on the back cover further should remind one that this book is best avoided. A major disappointment.

Some good ideas- very short lasting group activities. Childish worksheets included, seem more appropriate for developmentally delayed than older adults. Most adults cognitively impaired enough for these to be appropriate for would not be able to write or offended by coloring.

Wonderful resource for those who work in nursing homes and with an elderly population. Great exercises to get people talking. Can be adapted for use for individual sessions as well.

Clinicians and caregivers alike will find this a very useful and helpful tool.

This book provides a good starting point for reminiscence groups with older adults. I find many of the exercises, however, to be infantilizing and in need of modification before use in a group.

I would highly rocommend this book for those who work with people in nursing or retirement homes. I found this book very helpful in getting older adults to express their feelings and share stories from their pasts. This helps to build community with the other people in the group. It also helps build self esteem and friendships with others. Ms. Link has done an excellent job of presenting opportunities through these exercises to help chaplains, ministers, social workers, etc. to be able to offer encouragement and help to our older adults. This book is well worth the investment!

As a comedy, this would rate 5 stars. But I don't think the author intended it as such. This book comes off as the hysterical ranting of some one who has decided to impose their idea of morality upon everyone else. I am still laughing at this nonsense.

I enjoyed a lot the reading of that book. Dr. Coles is a man who really dedicated himself for the well being of children and society in general. His examples are powerful and instructive. But reviews like the one of John S. Bradburn inspires me pitty. I looked at Mr. Bradburn's interest, and found out that Charlton Heston seems to be his favorite "philosopher", and war his theme of predilection. Fortunately, USA has citizens like Robert Coles and the individuals he described in his book, and it is because such people that Leonard Cohen is right when he sings that "Democracy is coming to the USA"...

The book clearly deserves more than 5 stars.

Dr. Coles is helping us see "circles of human moral connectedness growing, touching, informing the lives of individuals and of the communities to which we belong."

This is the most insightful book on moral leadership that I have read. That success builds on giving you an inside-out examination of how moral leaders developed their perspectives, how their words and deeds affected others, and how moral progress ensued. Professor Coles was able to do this by heavily drawing on people and situations he knew personally, so that you get many lovely nuances of how moral leadership has worked in his life through civil rights and humanitarian examples.

The book opens with a lengthy anecdote about how Robert Kennedy (when he was a Senator) worked with a group of Doctors, including the author, to develop the food stamp program. The physicians would have been satisfied with venting their moral outrage at hunger in America and going home. Kennedy helped them understand that they could accomplish much more by matching their indignation to the practical matters of influencing others. The author often thought that Kennedy was not being sincere as these lessons were being given, but later came to realize that Kennedy had given them all and the nation a great gift of moral leadership.

Unlike most books about leadership, this one talks about ordinary people as well. Those examples speak louder to us, if you are like me, because they describe situations where we are likely to find ourselves, and can draw practical inspiration. I was especially interested in how the Tomasellos encouraged Mr. Thomas (a black man) to go after the vote in the South, Elaine Vogel's efforts to develop her white students' moral sensibilities during the school integration years in New Orleans, and Al Jones' example in encouraging busing in Boston (both by speech, becoming a bus driver, and using the bus rides to provide moral lessons for the embattled black students).

Many anecdotal books seem to have no point, but Dr. Coles has created one here that gives you the rich detail necessary to make the points for yourself. The lessons you learn from your self-examination will stay with you more than if he continually made all of the points for you. This is a greater gift of moral leadership than a traditional book attempts.

Clearly, moral leadership has many roots, and each is examined in detail through the cases here. The most important ones seem to be in literature (such as Conrad's heroes), the examples of great moral leaders (such as Gandhi), and the supportive reactions we get to efforts at moral leadership (as when someone tells us we should go ahead). We can each stimulate much more moral leadership by reading literature about moral leadership, sharing what we learn with others and encouraging them to read the same literature, reading about the lives of moral leaders and sharing those lessons and encouraging similar reading, encouraging the moral observations and actions of others, and by being a good example in taking moral stands and actions. I came away with a sense that the amount of moral leadership could be greatly expanded if each person simply absorbed and acted on the major lessons of this book.

If you are moved by this book, I suggest that you develop your moral consciousness by looking for places every day where you can share what you learned with younger people. In that way, you can have the most influence for the longest time, and help create a magnificent legacy for your own life.

Create more goodness!

Coles does a fantastic job of capturing the essence of morality in our every day life. This book is a great gift for any graduate (or anyone), allowing the reader to fully understand that just as our teachers, Senators, and even bus drivers should me moral, we too are called upon to be moral to others. It is a great book for anyone looking to get inspired about a couse. I loved it.

I agree with the Washington Post Book World assessment that Robert Coles should be declared a "national treasure." For years his writing have shown him to be a man of compassion with a heart for the oppressed and downtrodden as well as for the children who are often so easily overlooked in our society.

Coles new book "Lives of Moral Leadership" is also a national treasure. I think it is important not only for the insights it provides concerning moral leadership but also because of its behind the scenes glimpse of historic events that shaped the American character in the latter part of the 20th century.

In the book, Coles displays the tensions inherent in moral leadership including the tensions of inherent moral force and political pragmatism, the leader as hero and also as one who must garner the consent of his/her followers, wisdom and innocence, and "standing apart" in order to give courage to others.

The book is a collection of narratives and reflections. Much of the material is drawn from Coles interviews with such people as Robert Kennedy, Dorothy Day, and Danilo Dolci. The reader is asked to do a good bit of reflecting based upon the stories Coles tells.

My only complaint about the book has to do with Coles style of writing. While his style is clear in most instances, he has a tendency to launch into never ending sentences. Me thinks he sometimes feels "he will be heard for his much speaking." Every so often you will want to say, "Robert, a period costs no more than a semi-colon, dash, colon and parentheses."

The chapter on Dorothy Day is worth the price of the book and is a wonderful of example of someone who tried to stay faithful to the leading of God as well as to the wisdom of community.

Great book. Tiresome sentences at times.

The extensive coverage of every aspect of manufacturing planning and control, such as pegging, back-flushing, phantom BOMs, etc. makes this book the indispensable companion for any manufacturing professional, whether the user of the manufacturing module of ERP or an implementer.

Instead of buying the David Vitale APICS 50 minute series, buy this book. I have been in the software business for several years but did not know anything about MRP II. This book is a comprehensive resource that is also well-organized. Also, it is a good reference book for those who are more familiar with MRP I and MRP II. You don't have have MRP knowledge or experience to read this book but being from a manufacturing background is extremely helpful. This book has resulted in me being well equipped to partnering with the manufacturing division to implement the chosen software package (keeping in mind that my lack of knowledge is not in software implementation but is in MRP II/manufacturing shop floor activites).

The book is an excellent supplementary reading for preparing for APICS CPIM examination. This book has made my preparation for CPIM a lot easier as it covers the entire APICS body of knowledge in a single volume. You don't have to search for another book on MRP or manufacturing. It is also a handy reference for all MRP/ERP/SCM professionals.

Was expecting a great book about MRP II but just didn't cut out to be on just MRP II. Too much other information were placed there that should have belonged to another chapter. Quite confusing with all the acronyms that were randomly placed in the text. This book assumes that you have read other MRP II books. Definitely not a primer on MRP II.

My search for MRP II study and reference material ended with this book. This 585-page HANDBOOK OF MRP2 is the most comprehensive text on the subject. It starts with the basics of manufacturing and builds an exhaustive knowledge base for MRP2 students and practitioner. After reading this book you are well prepared to learn the Manufacturing/Production Planning module of any ERP/SCM package.

Because this book covers manufacturing right from strategic planning level to the shop floor, it helps as a primer as well as advanced reference not just for ERP users/implementers but also for SCM learners and practitioners.

The highlight of the first chapter is an exhaustive and lucid coverage of assemble-to-order manufacturing and mass customization. This is the best sourcebook for learning mass customization, product configuration, and planning bills of material.

Material requirements planning is covered in utmost detail in the 2nd chapter. The working of the entire manufacturing module is covered in this comprehensive chapter. Every relevant acronym is explained.

The next 7 chapters cover topics like Strategic and Business Planning, Sales and Operations Planning, Demand Management, Master Production Scheduling, Bill of Material, Capacity Management, and Shop Floor Control. Each topics is covered in a very concise and precise manner. The logical organization of topics in the book and the flow makes learning an extremely complex subject like manufacturing far more easier than one can ever imagine.

The last three chaptrers introducing ERP, SCM, and CRM are rather disappoining in content and coverage. However, the topics covered in this book are indispensible prerequisites for learning ERP and Supply Chain Management. Overall, this book can help you master MRP2, even if you don't know the basics of manufacturing planning.

I saw the title of this book and picked it up - we are trying to build web services via SOAP at my company and we are not migrating to .NET for a while yet. The book proved worthy of it's title. This book covers modern implementations with legacy technology. Thank you to the authors. I suspect that there are quite a few companies out there that, like us, need to see VB6 references for a while yet (Microsoft has seemed to replace their VB6 documentation with VB.NET documentation on their site).

I recommend this one!

This is a decent Wrox book. Not the jumble of pages stacked together that you get most of the time, but a well rounded compendium of nice to know things for the casual VB Developer. I say "casual", because when it comes to professional programming, you really shouldn't have to read (again) about doing some basic ADO stuff or creating an install package. Three stars for this book because it's good, but not written for a professional developer...

I saw the title of this book and picked it up - we are trying to build web services via SOAP at my company and we are not migrating to .NET for a while yet. The book proved worthy of it's title. This book covers modern implementations with legacy technology. Thank you to the authors. I suspect that there are quite a few companies out there that, like us, need to see VB6 references for a while yet (Microsoft has seemed to replace their VB6 documentation with VB.NET documentation on their site).

I recommend this one!

This is a very thorough compendium of essential information for Visual Basic 6 developers. All of the authors are developers themselves and understand their subject matter thoroughly. You'll find a wide range of helpful information including SQL, COM+, XML, SOAP and much more. You'll even find step-by step information on how to deploy your Visual Basic applications using Visual Studio Installer and Wise Installation System. A great reference book that you'll pull off your shelf again and again...

Being a fan of the Wrox series, I was not disappointed with the latest Professional Visual Basic 6 book. Even though .NET technologies carry the current industry momentum (for MS-based development), there will always be a place for VB 6 within the Enterprise. In my case, for example, I will always have a need to use VB6 for certain clients who are either unwilling or slow to adapt to the newer technologies (namely, .NET) for any number of business reasons.

The authors of this book have done a very good job of bringing together some of today's hottest technologies under one cover. Experienced VB developers will find the chapters within a practical reference (if not a valuable introduction) to modern APIs, such as ADO, COM+, MSMQ, XML, and SOAP. In the short time that I've owned this, I have already pulled it off of the shelf to reference the text and examples on several occasions.

Having said that, though, there is only so much that can fit into any one book, so it does not serve as an absolute reference manual for any single technology.

The book comes with a CD that contains the usual source code from the book, plus 10 Case Studies and 5 Wrox titles in PDF format. Just a technical note, though: I couldn't open the PDF files using Acrobat Reader 4.05, but a simple upgrade to the latest free version resolved that problem.

This is a nice book for anyone who owns or plans to own a business, and is seeking more than just financial rewards. Lots of companies are sharing their wealth with the rest of the world, but not many take the time to write a book about how it can be done, and how rewarding it can be. I found this book to be inspiring and entertaining.

This is the Tom's of Maine Tom Chappell. His story picks up after Tom's has become just another profit seeking business infested with MBAs and looking at the bottom line. It seems that Tom is disallusioned, depressed and goes searching for personal answers by enrolling in Harvard Divinity School. His search helps him and his wife bring the company back to the environmentally and socially conscious organization they began. His story gives some insights and suggestions on how to achieve this mind set turn around in any corporate structure.

The Soul of a Business, though lesser known than many of the myriad of business advice books, does a better job than any other in giving a foundation from which to work.

The business guru often spends an entire book telling us how to treat others. Chappell tells us what basic principles he found that led him to this position of responsible commerce.

Shelves are full of books offering cliches and platitudes on why why ethical behavior leads to a better company and eventually more profits. However, Chappell's book goes back to the root question - why should we as individuals or companies seek one kind of relationship over another? In other words, what should guide us in how we treat each other?

For a book that delivers far beyond simple diagrams and behavior modification tricks, a book that provides the philosophical foundations of Buber and Edwards to guide us in how we should interact with our employees, customers and community read Chappell's book. I ended up owning both paperback and audio tape.

This was a wonderful book to read. After reading it I felt as though I probably know its author pretty good. Not as a friend or someone I'd necessarily like to be friends with, but he seems to be very open about his past, his present, and his beliefs. I am sure that what he discloses in this book will help any wanta-be entrepreneur or small to medium sized business owner rethink whether he or she is leading his or her company in the right direction. I highly recommend that entrepreneurs give this book a read.

Some of the issues addressed are as follows:

1. Will the mission of the company allow the company's leader to enjoy a reasonably good state of mind or conscience?
2. What does a CEO have to do at work to feel fulfilled?
3. Is the CEO of the company a happy and fulfilled person?
4. Are people who work at the company happy at work?
5. Does the company interface well with the community in which it operates?
6. Does the community appreciate the company?
7. Do people trust one another who work for the company?
8. Does much discrimination exist at the company?
9. Is the company all about profits, or not?
10. Is competition good?
11. Is winning always good?
12. Is there more to life than making a buck?

The above issues are just the first 12 that came to mind while I was writing this review. There were many more, but I'm not going to list them all here. The above issues are representative of the content of the book. Maybe the book provides answers, and maybe it doesn't. But the book is great because it reminds business people who are caught up in the rat race of making a living that there is more to business than just making a buck. What comes to mind is: joy, happiness, success, family, friends, and a legacy. Is the business damaging the world, or helping to make it a better place?

I would have enjoyed the book more if the author had not started off explaining what the book "was not." And I would have had a more positive image of the book if the author had not mentioned that he got a lot of his theory from the Harvard Divinity School. There was no need to bring the Gospels into the "story." There is no question that things that can be learned from studying the Gospels are wonderful, but the same things can be learned from other sources. So why throw a religious slant on the issues? I think the book would have been more forceful if religion had be left out entirely.

I enjoyed hearing about the author's wife, but I would have enjoyed hearing more about her thoughts on helping to run the company she and her husband co-founded. I felt a little cheated not hearing a woman's perspective on some of the issues. After all, the author points out that women should be included in management decisions, and that his wife's in fact were.

For those of us who have had difficulty reconciling our personal desires to make a difference with our career demands to turn a profit, this book connects. It's a study in managing value complexity and speaks well to the enormous rewards of striving for a goal much higher than improving ROE. Not all of us can take the same route as does Tom Chappell, but, if we're to be truly fulfilled by our business lives, we must find our own way to his destination.