Professional Training Books

This book is an absolute jem! I found this book to be an invaluable resource for preservice and new teachers. Kronowitz provides practical advice on curriculum planning, dealing with parents and school presonnel, discipline, materials and assessment. She addresses many issues and questions new teachers have and provides realsitic solutions and tips on how to deal with these issues. This is book guaranteed to help with the first days, weeks and months of teaching.

I recently purchased this book set in preparation for the MCAT. In my opinion, the science information is presented in a satisfactory manner in most cases however, I have a hard time understanding how Jonathan Orsay, a history major, feels that he has any business writing a science text.
Moreover, I would recommend that any student who intends to use this book set should take the information presented in the verbal reasoning booklet with a grain of salt. Some of the tips are useful but the practice exams exhibit just how abysmal the authors' comprehension of the written english language truly is. If you can, try to find something better.

Even if you are capable of looking beyond the blatant errors in the text, to which the company admits to themselves, this "complete" study package still falls short of its promise. The lecture-review questions found at the end of each lecture are not oriented towards the testing style of the MCAT, considering that the MCAT is in large part a test of comprehension and analytical-skill.

At times, Examkrackers' attempts at skimming-down the volume of material to the essentials interfered with the ability to fully comprehend various concepts. Specifically, the section on naming compounds in the Organic Chemistry section was especially brief.

I would certainly NOT recommend using Examkrackers as the only study guide for the MCAT. Kaplan's review book goes into more detail with helpful notes on MCAT favorites and provides the buyer with a great section on the mentality and testing style of the MCAT in general

Even in the 7th edition, these books are filled with mistakes- typos, grammatical errors, inconsistent explanations, and inaccurate information.

The only good thing about this set is the biology book. I would recommend only buying that. I think you are better off getting Princeton Review books for Physics, Chemistry and Organic. I definitely don't recommend Kaplan, because they try to cram textbooks into their study guides.

Although there are lots of practice questions, many of the explanations are hard to follow and the most of the time the book doesn't review material that are in the questions. It makes it very difficult to find what you should review.

I'm a pre-pharm student and I was told that it would be helpful to use the mcat review books because it's more informative. I'm not sure how these books got so many good reviews because beside for the cute pictures and animations it was lacking a lot of useful info. Additionally, there's barely any math review in the package, and there's a big chunk of calculus on the Pcat and Mcat...I was kind of disappointed...

I bought the examcrackers complete study package and managed to read through all of the books and complete the practice questions in each chapter. It was very difficult to follow the information, and I felt very frustrated.

A friend of mine just took the MCAT and used the Kaplan book, so I have been borrowing his book and the material makes a lot more sense. It's laid out in black and white, with to the point examples and diagrams. The examcrackers books are simply not well organized. The explanations are very wordy, and ill-worded at that, and I'm not sure how much of a benefit the color pages really are, except to increase the price.

I feel much more confident with the Kaplan book. I don't think examcrackers is worth the trouble, and I am a little confused by all of the positive reviews.

I followed all the advaice in the book and did poorly. I would have been better served using the CBEST on-line practice tests.

"Cracking the CBEST" book is an excellent source of material. It explains in great detail how to solve the problems of reading, mathematics, and writing. Though the methods of cracking the problems are simple, it gave me confidence that under stress of test taking I can succeed because the solutions do not bombard you with over explanations. Everything is simply laid out and I felt that I didn't have to guess for the answers because the solutions teaches you how to approach each problem. I felt confident taking the two tests at the end of the book and even scored better on the second test! For someone who suffers from test anxiety, I feel confident taking the CBEST test next week because now I have the tools and the positive attitude to follow through. And that's no easy task for me! I say buy this book because you will not regret it.

This book completely prepared me for the CBEST. The tips on how to tackle the questions were right on the mark. If you do the essay's how they tell you to do them, you will pass the first time! I did exactly what they said and followed the book to a "t". Worked like a charm. I hope they offer cset books but I don't see any right now.

I took my CBEST test this weekend and this book helped provide me with tips to be prepared for the test. It also helped ease my anxiety. I was worried about the essay section and by reading through the essay examples, it showed me that the essay grading standard is not as bad as I thought it would be.

Two things made this study guide worth the purchase price. #1. I got the big picture of what I would be tested on. I was able to see what kind of questions I'd be asked and identify my weak areas for brush-up study and review. #2. I used the full-length practice exams to study for the real test. I passed by a wide margin.

I liked this book and found it to give me the inspiration for becoming a chef. When you really love what you do in work, other parts of your life are usually less stressful. I also highly recommend:
Study Guide for Baking: Key Review Questions and Answers by Melissa Heilman. This book was excellent for helping get excellent grades in my culinary baking classes

From the National Culinary Review's HISTORY OF CULINARY EDUCATION IN AMERICA: "Upon its publication in 1995, BECOMING A CHEF offered the first compendium of answers to some of the most common questions an aspiring chef can ask."

From The Culinary Institute of America: "In preparation for your studies and career, we offer you this helpful list of recommended readings. You may find this extra preparation to be an opportunity to gain a sense of what is occurring in the industry that you are joining. This reading list has been selected by the faculty and administration at the CIA and supplements the required reading for your individual course work. Good luck and happy reading!

Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, BECOMING A CHEF. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1995.

Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, CULINARY ARTISTRY. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1996."

Dornenburg and Page assembled some really interesting insights and experiences from many US chefs and sprinkled the book with some of their recipes. First the good stuff...

When the chefs tell their stories, you get some interesting and entertaining insight into the restaurant world both here and abroad. The discussion of the apprenticeship process in Europe is facinating, as are the stories about how various chef's started.

Now the not so good stuff...

The recipes are not well edited at all. In some cases little information about ingredient quantities is provided, and the procedure descriptions are hit-or-miss at best. Don't risk a big dinner party on these recipes unless you've tried them out first.

Also, the authors include several pointless tables addressing things like who once worked for whom.

"Finally, a book that lets chefs speak for themselves! An insightful look at the complex life of a professional chef. Fascinating portraits of the people who have defined American cuisine -- who they are, and how they got to be where they are today. Anyone who is interested in becoming a chef will find this book invaluable: This is what it takes to make it."
--MARK MILLER, chef-owner, Coyote Cafe (Santa Fe, NM)

Becoming a Chef by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page is filled with information that anyone who wants to achieve greatness as a professional chef needs to know, based on the experiences of dozens of America's leading chefs (from Daniel Boulud to Emeril Lagasse to Charlie Trotters to Alice Waters). You find out what first got them interested in pursuing a career as a chef (including early memories of family influences) to what their first steps were (from first jobs to cooking school to externships) and how they made their way up the ladder to success. My favorite chapter is Chapter 9: Persevering In The Face of Reality, in which top chefs admit some of the boneheaded mistakes they made along the way, making it clear that even the greatest chefs faced setbacks along the way. Whenever I question my sanity for wanting to cook for a living (which is at least once a week), I pick up this book, open it to any page, and get inspired by remembering that we're all in it for the love of food and our common passion for cooking things that taste amazing and please others!

I really like this book because it builds on concepts by working through lessons and exercises. You actually create the Flash objects as you go along...there is also companion videos that reinforce the concepts at the end of most chapters, showing you the process again.

Nicely laid out and makes it easy to learn.

If you "learn by doing" this is a great book to get you there...

After completing most of the chapters I can say that the Hands on Training is really good. There were only one or two instances where the directions could have been written better, and even then I easily figured out what the author was talking about.

From this book I learned how to:
Draw shapes
Make a shape tween
Make a motion tween
Make an animated symbol
Use different aspects of the timeline
Change the document properties and publish my files to include in Dreamweaver
Draw using frame-by-frame animation
Use symbols and instances
and other things too small to mention

I'd also recommend the Dreamweaver 8 Hands on Training book, it's just as good.

I'm a beginner. I've been looking for a book about Flash that can give me a solid start and understanding of the program. This is the best book I've read about Flash so far.I've read about 7 on this topic but this one is the best. I recommend it to anyone who wants to get a good grasp on the program before moves on.

I'm always apprehensive about purchasing tech books so I normally go to the library and check them out for a few days before the purchase. With this book I didn't do that and I must say I am pleasantly surprised. The exercises are interesting and easy to follow. The tutorial CD is also quite good.

I wanted to add some dynamics to my web pages and I got Flash 8.
I needed a book so I bought this book. I found the book very helpful
and useful

For those like myself, interested in science policy, Fiebelman provides an unusually candid view of research life with the "Queen of the Sciences", physics. As an earth scientist I used to tell physicists I met that I figured that physicists could do anything that any other scientist could do - only better. Fortunately, they didn't want to do all those other things - leaving room for us.This is a joke - if other scientific types are taking me seriously and getting mad (hm, well there's some truth here, anyway).

Beyond the specifics regarding university science departments, such as the publish or perish syndrome, grantsmanship, and requirements for promotion and tenure, the book inadvertently, perhaps, touches on a larger issue: where does the research university's activities fit in with society and its needs? Some academic research departments place inordinate emphasis on specialized subdisciplines through peer-reviewed publications. They may operate in invisible colleges in which participants communicate with each other but are isolated from the larger society both with respect to science as well as the nation's needs.

In such departments publication may come to serve competitive or self-preservation goals more than meaningful larger objectives. This kind of condition is one of the reasons for the enormous proliferation of literature a good deal of which may be duplicative in character. E.g. the keywords, "intensity interferometry" in Google Scholar yields 77,000 scholarly articles or books. How does one extract meaningful synthesis or the best insights out of such accumulations?

This is where Fiebelman's suggestion that work in industry may yield value in the early stages of academic careers is interesting. Almost by definition, work in industry must serve realistic needs. The research literature and methodologies to which individuals are exposed tend to reflect this. I got this kind of benefit with respect to geology in my first job, working for an oil company. I "sat on wells", analyzing cuttings from rocks and cores in drillholes, experiencing "backward trips in geological time". I became familiar with geophysical logs and other technologies that added valuable perspectives to my later research career.

To sum up, Fiebelman's suggestion to new graduates or others entering the job market that jobs in industry can yield benefits down the road are well worth paying attention to. From the larger U.S. policy perspective Fiebelman's book also offers useful insights.

I think this book could be really helpful to first year Master or PhD students, especially those who want a career dedicated to research in academia or also a government lab. I thought the subject matter was good and written in an interesting way, but my big problem was the lack of detail and excess of anecdotes. Mostly, the chapters seem more like half-chapters; introductions to good ideas that aren't elaborated upon. As someone who is at the end of a first post-doc looking for "what's next" outside of academia, there was not any revelatory information in this book - just good reminders on how to be savvy about your scientific career and make a good reputation for yourself.

This is a great little book for those who have recently gotten their Ph.D.'s or postdocs, and are wondering: "what next?". The book touches on everything from giving good talks, writing good papers, and even comparing the pros and cons of various career tracks. This should be essential reading for young scientists.

Overall, I did not find this book to be helpful upon reading it. The vast majority of the advice is either obvious or something you already know by the time you become aware of and purchase this book. Who doesn't know that working long hours and refraining from having children is one of the best ways to succeed in science? Who doesn't know that having a good mentor is an invaluable asset, but not guaranteed to happen because we as scientists receive no training in how to be good mentors?

On the positive side, if you read the anecdotes and success/failure stories that constitute a significant fraction of the book, there is a lot to be learned. Some provide hope because they remind you that others have successfully overcome the same challenges you have faced. Others reinforce the often overlooked point that, while having a supportive mentor is beneficial, we are in a career where being your own best advocate is a must. Taking the anecdotal stories as advice on how to best represent yourself and prepare for your career can make this a useful read. That having been said, the value of the advice tapers off the later in your career you read it.

I am currently finishing my Ph.D. study. I thought that it is too late to read this book. However, it is NOT! Based my own experience, the descriptions of Ph.D. study in the book are really accurate and the suggestions given by the author are really helpful.

It is never too late to read this book, strong buy!

Excellent!!!! In 30 years studying music, I've never seen anything like it. Gorow has really found a brilliant and logical approach to training our ears. I recommend this book very highly.

OK, so that's a cliché, and we should avoid clichés like the plague.

My limited imagination, though, couldn't come up with a better way to express the way that Gorow hits the nail on the head (oops, my bad) with his method for learning the art of music.

The thesis is that you must hear the music, then be able to recognize and communicate what you are hearing. His reasoning is tight, and the methods he suggests to improve your hearing and identifying musical elements work for me.

I can't speak to how one who reads this work without having any prior knowledge of the craft will respond, but for those who are conversant with the pedantic side of music, and who realize that there is more to it but can't really tell what that might be, this book tells you how to get your music away from your intellectual brain and get it flowing directly from your feeling brain.

It took me a while to get used to the style of presentation and the style of writing, but very soon I found myself learning the material with ease. Everything is broken down into small teaching/learning units so the reader doesn't feel overwhelmed even by an unfamiliar topic. I am an amateur musician and the book appears quite suitable for my needs and very comprehensive in its coverage. I would recommend this for anyone wanting to pursue ear training.

I don't normally review my Amazon purchases due to my busy schedule, but this book just really deserves one:

This book is a Narnia of information and Ron Gorow is an absolute fountain of musical knowledge. He has a real knack for getting straight to the point; explaining even the most complex theoretical concepts in an entirely non-frivolous and understandable manner - his average paragraph size is about 5 lines, but that's really all it needs to flick a light-switch on in your head! He's also taken the time to provide exercises to help 'drum in' the theory.

I don't recommend reading this from front to back; Dr. Gorow has provided a extensive index at the back which I use as a reference to tackle all the big problem areas, and it works! If you're problem's with rhythm, just look up Rhythm in the index and there you have it, about 20 different page numbers to help you out. A simple enough concept but SO many music books just don't have this. Granted, occasionally the pages might seem somewhat haphazardly placed, but then I guess it's primarily designed for the cover-to-cover reader and each detail is presented in order of importance. In any case, this is but a minor inconvenience considering just the amount of information you're gonna get from this. I can't have read even a quarter of this book yet and already I feel enlightened by its teachings every day!

With it's exhaustive wisdom and surprising clarity, I can tell this book is gonna be in my life for many years to come; even once completed, no doubt this will be an invaluable reference book for life. Could easily be the best $20 I ever spent.

Extensively detailed, yet to the point, I'm still struggling to put this one down! A MUST for anyone serious about studying music.

This book will become the most important book in your music library!! They don't come around very often. The author amazingly manages to wrap up the "big picture" and lay it out at your feet.

WOW!!!!!!!!!

I have no securities experience, I started studying on Friday and took the 65 on Tuesday and PASSED!!!!!!!

The 7 is next!

Thanks!

This book and accompanying CD are the clearest, most comprehensible, engaging and even entertaining material out there. You also get access to almost weekly webcasts on various topics. Congratulations to Robert Walker for making the Series 65 less daunting. At one point in my studies, I considered augmenting my materials and looked at Morrison Media's flash cards and eBook, and was not impressed.

This was the only in-depth reference I used in preparation for the test. The on-line "go-no go" test that Walker provides was right on the money. I passed the 65 on the first try with a virtually identical score. I highly recommend this book and CD.

I highly recommend this book. I liked the casual style and the quirky sense of humor scattered through out the book. It's good to crack a smile while you're learning dry material. I did the Series 63 and 73 3 years ago, so some of this was a review. I read through the chapters highlighting the stuff I wanted to remember, took the quizzes and practice exams, highlighting the ones I missed and then reviewed all the highlighting before the test. Over 5 days between scheduling and taking the exam I probably spend just over 20 hours with the book. I scored 90.

Positives:
1 It didn't go into gory detail: it gave you what you need to PASS the exam.
2 The three study sheets were great for cramming and knowing what you need to know.
3 The focus of this book is PASSING.
4 the Powerpoint presentation video on his web site was nicely done and was a good review the day before the exam.
5 It didn't cover everything that was asked on my exam, but then again, you can't cover all the material that could appear and still have something that can be studied in 20 hours. It covered enough to PASS the exam.

Negatives:
1 There were 3-4 errors, I believe all in answers to questions. Not a big deal, but annoying.
2 Many of the questions were duplicated, some on all three exams. I would have preferred different ones, but they were reinforcing and, after all, I did pass.
4 Other than the video, there were no updates in 2008 for a book dated 2006. While it turned out that I didn't need it on the test, it would have been comforting (but obviously not necessary, to at least have updated tables on current levels of limits and contributions for various instruments.

This book and its accompanying web materials, coupled with Mr. Walker's pervasive (some would say nagging) admonishments about the depth and breadth of the series 65, enabled me to easily pass this exam. The author writes clearly, has a wonderful sense of humor, and his materials produce results. I feel fortunate this book was recommended to me and I, in turn, plan to recommend it to all who sit for the series 65.

I studied this book for 5 hours a day for a month, and failed with a 66%. I then studied hours on end each day for another month, and failed with a 65% (second attempt), effectively losing my job. I hold a Series 7, 63, and 55 (passing all on the first try using Dearborn materials). If you want a broad overview of the test, this book is perfect. If you want to pass the test, look at a different study guide!

I have not read this book. I don't know alot about programing. I know some HTML and a little Javascript. I know alot about linux and unix but zero C++. I really need to know if this is a good book for a begginer like me.

sir/madam,

I am in the starting stage in c++. Please send c++ programms and Notes.

Thanking you, Lakshmanakannan.

Every book has things that I don't like and this book has a few. But, compared with ALL the other books I have tried to read, this one is head and shoulders above the crowd. The disk comes with a C++ compiler so you get everything the book tells you that you should be getting. I needed that comfirmation as a confidence builder; I learn by doing. I learned C++ and I am moving on to Heller's "Who's afraid of more C++?," which is the sequel.

Just another note: Heller doesn't just teach the syntax of the language, he teaches you the details of programming. He taught me hexidecimal math. He helps you understand how the C++ is translated by the compiler. I have never seen such a generous discussion in any C++ book. Which leads me to my complaint... I am impatient and all these details took some discipline. If you want to benefit from these chapter, some of them require a good deal of thinking.

I am sure that I am much farther along because of this extra information. And maybe my programs won't generate so many General Protection Faults as a result of that discussion.

If you are looking for a real book plz don't choose this one. I felt really cheated... it is very very very very beginner ... and the way it is written is very poor.. even the fonts are misrable ....

The C++ Training guide is an outstanding book for a beginner who wants to learn programming. Here is why:

- Crystal clear description of how program code actually works, all the way down to the hardware level (machine language, bits, registers, etc.). - A clear relation of how the various C++ "tools" can be applied in programming, as opposed to simply listing them and how to write them. - The inclusion of dialogues between the author and a novice using the book. An author can easily take for granted that something he understands is just as clear to a beginner. These dialogues help point out and resolve conceptual obstacles the author would not have thought of. - The use of concrete examples to illustrate points. - The provision of a compiler (on a companion CD). - The inclusion of exercises to try your skill, with solutions in the text. - Incredible detail and completely thorough coverage. - A friendly, conversational tone that makes the book a pleasure to read. - Clear, down to earth language. - An author who is INCREDIBLY accessible. I had a lot of problems with installing and setting up the compiler. Steve exchanged a number VERY detailed e-mails with me, sticking with me until it was completely resolved. He is amazingly patient.

Steve Heller loves programming, and has a natural talent for explaining things. This book was wonderful not only because it teaches the nuts and bolts of the C++ language, but because it shows how it all actually works in the computer, all presented in a straightforward, logical manner, that makes it quite enjoyable to read. It is almost like reading a novel.

I noticed another review that knocked the writing, and complained the skill level was for beginners. That reviewer must be a plant. I am a writer myself, and can attest to the high level of the writing. As to the skill level, it says on the book that the skill level is "Beginning/Intermediate." Go figure.

This is the first product I've written a review on - but after completing the book and its projects I had to. If you want to learn both Flash 8 and Action Script 2.0, this book is what you are after. Everything is explained throughout the book - the author does not take anything for granted. I would say this is for the Beginner Plus - it explains all the steps, but you will learn key aspects of Action Script as you progress. The Action Script you will learn is very useful, and most importantly, transfers to your own projects. My background is two semesters using Flash and action script, and I wish I had this book at the beginning of the first semester. I saw some comments there were errors in the book - I beg to differ. Every error message I received was my own fault - mostly through mis-typing the script. However, with a little effort, and backtracking, I figured out my error and fixed it. To sum up, at the end of the book, everything worked the way it was supposed to!

I'm not one to write reviews. But I was compelled to take the time to do this. As someone Brand new to flash, I picked this book up and was actually having Fun in no time! What I thought would be tedious reading turned out to be humerous, extremely accurate, and user-friendly information, for someone like me very unfamiliar with the program. My faith in self education has been lifted even higher.

I wasn't planning on reviewing any of my school books on here. This was a great school book though so I couldn't resist.

I got this book for a course that I was taking on Flash. It is a great book and I am happy the teacher recommended it.

The chapters are arranged in easy to follow exercises that teach all the basics of Flash. I really liked this style of teaching because it forces you to open up Flash and do the exercises. Much more useful than a book that you just sit and read.

The author of the book is also very good about telling you multiple ways of doing something. In the course of the exercises there are little colored boxes that will talk about how you could have done the above action this way or this way or this way. The fact that these tips are usually separate is nice if you don't care and want to skip the additional information.

So far I am about 3/4 the way through the course and the book and have been very happy with it. A great book; especially for a newbie that doesn't have any programming background.

I had to learn flash and create a site quick - and this book had everything I needed - thanks!

Excellent for beginners - easy to follow step by step format.Macromedia Flash Professional 8 Beyond the Basics Hands-On Training