Support Groups Books

I thought this would be a book about hope and living life to its fullest. Obviously the author has never been suicidal since a "topper" would not find validation in life the way these characters do. I read the whole book, expecting someone to die. The character, Jess, is a teenaged cliche and I ended up skipping over her chapters. Basically, these characters have no reason to live, not in the beginning nor the end of the story. Their circumstances aren't altered in any way. They have no joy. Friends. Family. Hope. Its a book about nothing but setting appointments an deadlines.

This book was an interesting subject since it took such a dark subject and made it amusing. It's true to life in many parts, and makes a lot of good points about life in general. This book is more about life and screweing it up than suicide, and is quite enjoyable.

Built on the utterly ridiculous premise that four people have chosen to leap from the same building on New Year's Eve, Hornby faces some pretty tough odds from the get-go. He fails. True, he doesn't back away from the sad but true fact that depressed people are not a lot of fun to be around, and presents them to us in all their self-absorbed, angry glory, but this accuracy dooms the novel. I made it to page 1000 before I started wishing all four would jump off the damn thing holding hands.

I am a massive Hornby fan. I read all of his books, all of them are very enjoyable but this one tied the first place with High Fidelity. Personally, I love the way he used 4 main charactors to narrate one after another, it's a great way to alternate my own experience through the book. We have 1 middle-age man, 1 angry teenager, 1 conservative lady, and 1 young punk(not punk-as-in-punk-music). And I love them all! The plot is great too. They all met because they all one way or another found eachother on the rooftop while comtemplating jumping off it.

I do have to see that it's not funny in an American way, it is a dark-funny British story that you have to love their dark humor to get it. Be open-minded and read it, satisfaction guaranteed!!

***The worst of his book is Slam which is really for young adults but I read it anyway, it is ok but certainly his worst. Fever pitch is great, awesome for me because I am an Arsenal (English FOOTBALL team - real Football play by using your FEET) fan so (OH and the movie adaptation of this book is a TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL CRAP, why would they use it as a base at all is beyond me).

Another New Year's Eve, another party...another group of four people who meet unexpectedly on the rooftop of a building they've all trekked out to so they can kill themselves.

I read the back-cover synopsis and went "What?!" out loud in the bookstore. (Though I don't recommend doing this, as people stare.) This could have been such a grisly novel, but not with Hornby. I devoured this book and loved every page. He tells the story, through four different perspectives, of an unlikely group of misfits who are desperate and unhappy with their lives, and meet each other on a rooftop. They've each come here for suicide, but they end up with so much more than they had planned on. It's darkly comic, without feeling dark. It's imaginative and creative, without exploiting the characters for the sake of an extra laugh. Hornby takes gruesome subject matter and, in his inimitable style, treats it with humanity, compassion, and humour. His characters are so real, and I laughed out loud many (many!) times. You relate with each on some level.

This is a great read, and classic Hornby. He's a master of fiction -- truly good, truly funny fiction -- and with this novel, he will not leave you disappointed.

This book is not perfect - but among all the available SUPPORT references - this one appears to be more useful. The support exam is littered with dump questions, stupid answers - which literally cannot enter any self-respecting reference - so do not expect this book to cover every thing - but I suspect what this book covers would allow you to get a pass - since the passing mark is at a low 692/1000. Some of the things I find relevant are: 1. This is the only book that list the LED status of Catalyst module in a very compact, easy to study format - and being compact give you a chance to compare the differences to clarify the confusion. 2. Everyone talk about SAGE/SAINT/EARL - but only this book talk about MCP/LCP/Pheonix. 3. This is the only book that mentioned there is a command "show apple ADJACENT-route" - not many guru would have know this command out there. 4. I have came across many books that talk about the 4 loopback tests - this is the only one that gives the 4 IOS commands that did the loopback test - whatever happen to all the other authors - including the legendary Cormac Long? 5. He managed to trick me with one tricky question on SAP updates calculation - twice! 6. This is the only book that gave me ISDN bri port RJ45 pin out - not sure if this is exam question. 7. This is the only book that mentioned debug and show command that you can run on the Cisco router to troublehshoot VLAN/ISL problems - all other authors tunnel vision on the Catalyst IOS commands when they discuss Catalyst switch. 8. Most people provide OK explanation on Ethernet frame type - this author use precise diagram that left no doubt. 9. The end of chapters questions are OK - but I think it would have been better if it adds some packet/frame analysis type question. 10. There is some thoughtfulness when it come to organise those show and debug commands - I find that I can easily compare IP, IPX, Apple commands in 3 different chapters since simiar command occurs in similar place in each chapters.

Wise remarks here and there appears to be exam relevant. But given the dumbness of the exam, I afraid this is as good a book on support as it can ever be when it comes to exam preparation. There is not much use for a book like this after the exam.

Remember that this is an "exam cram". It is a refresher for those that already know the material. As such, it is a good enough book.

If you don't already know the material or don't have at least a year of hands on experience, this book won't do the job.

If the book alone is applied to the test, the best that you can hope for would be 70%.

The book is mostly accurate, with few typos, but it does not cover everything.

I always thought I had excellent technical skills with over 12 years of hardware troubleshooting experience. I also though hardware and software support was fairly straightforward and easy to understand, that was until I started reading Cisco books.

Coriolis has put together a book that begins to breakdown Cisco support and clear up my confusion. The Cram Sheet, tables, figures, screenshots, practice questions and sample test in this book are great ways to make the learning easier.

Covering topics like resources, methodology, the technician's tools, protocols, frame relay, ISDN, IP, IPX, AppleTalk, and the Catalyst 5000 switch I have the beginning of a very goof foundation.

I am anxious to read the Support Exam Prep book once published to fill in the details of the areas covered in this book. Visit Coriolis's website to find this and other certification books on several subjects.

I passed the CCNP Support Exam 640-506 on Feb 18 2001. I had purchased Amir Ranjbar's book 3 weeks ago,last week of Jan 2001. I also bought CORIOLIS support Exam Cram by Matthew Luallen. The following is what I did to pass the exam.

1. I read Mr. Ranjbar's book cover to cover 11 Chapters. Second time around I read the Q&A in each section and the Foundation Summary in each Chapter. ( Excellent layout ). Third time around I just paid attention to the screen print out of all commands, there are many and Mr. Ranjbar has done a great job of explaining various sections of the output. Great diagrams of the ISDN, Internal architecture of 7000 & 7500 series Routers, and troubleshooting scenarios. These are actual printouts of the commands just visualize you are looking at a screen on a PC, and you will be fine. This book is GREAT !!! on the job too, it is practical.

2. Tear out the cram sheet on the Coriolis exam cram book. it has 103 commands and brief description of each, this is imperative to know,laminate this sheet at office depot for one dollar. Keep this laminated sheet with you wherever you go, good for rush hour commute, waiting at Dentist's office etc. Keep looking at it every day, it will make sense in a week or so.

3. 3-4 days before the exam, just read the Coriolis book 13 short and easy reading fun chapters, take the exam at the end of the book, keep in mind that the actual exam is much more harder than that, fill in the blanks are great.

4. Take the exam on the test engine provided by Mr. Ranjbar's CD that comes with his book, keep taking the exam until you start getting above 90% and close to 100%. If you fllow the above directions, with discipline, dedication and hard work you can pass this exam too. Good Luck to You.

Although I barely squeeked by this final exam , this book was definitly not enough info for the test. Not even the format of the practice exams was the same as the test. The test had tons of enter the command on the blank line (rather than multiple choice as the book presents them) as well as questions on interpreting sniffer output, which was not mentioned once in the book. I recomending that everyone try another book because this book didn't give much "test relevent" info, nor did it give an idea of what to expect on the test

Do you wont sam Do and Dont advices or sometig to think and observe about. In this book you will find the second. I must recognize the stile of writing is much too scientific and hard to read. But in it I find the answer whay one friend (of avarege look) much beter succeed with women then all others. If you wont to succeed with women you must work on:
1. Prepare yourself - grooming, dresing, how to be better listner, care about vitaliti - trim and slim
(good book: Understanding Women: The Definitive Guide to Meeting, Dating and Dumping If Necesary by Romy Miller )
2. Understand what women want and think (this book)
3. Love tactics - how to combine respect, houp , pasion
(good books: The Art of Seduction by Robert Greene and
Men Are Like Fish: What Every Woman Needs to Know About Catching a Man by Steve Nakamoto - valid olso for men)

Actually, I am amazed by the fact that there are few positive reviews. In my opinion this book is absolutely useless. Do not waste your money and time.

One of the classic books on understanding women in terms of how they really operate emotionally. For guys who need to deprogram what's going on (why so many women prefer bad boys, what really turns them on/off, etc.) its a great book.

What the book will not provide are detailed, scripted ice breaker routines now on the market. These current routines ensure men put their best foot forward - demonstrating their best qualities without being a 'wuss.'

- Razr

Some of the content of this book is quite abstract, but some is practical. Badalamenti points out that men and women have more in common than they have different between them. Yet it is the differences that attract men and women to each other.

Women want to be discovered gradually, and for this reason a male should be persistent as he gets to know a woman. A woman wants to sense that she is valued, and that the man is her champion.

Dancing is a very effective way for a man to reach into the heart of a woman (pp. 49-51, 226, 278, 297-301, etc.). And women love playfulness in men.

I do not reccomend this book by Baldalamenti. I have read and been collecting self-help books on dating/sex for a couple of years now and I have a number of good ones (and dozens of bad ones!) Instead of this book, get "How to Succeed with Women" by Copeland and Louis. They offer practical advice in their book that this one lacks. Beware that you might confuse the two books because of the similar titles.

I guess this book would help someone who has never been in a support group or, perhaps, needs help organizing his thoughts. I found it very obvious and condescending.

This small, concise, book provides a great practical guide for anyone wanting to initate a support group of virtually any kind. I found it more helpful than college texts 10 times it's size.

This was a fascinating read, as it really opened my eyes to the needs of my students as they progress into adulthood. The discussion of the clients included in the book was intriguing, and the ramifications for those of us who are responsible for the education and care of disabled people were inumerable.

There were times that I blanched, thinking that a professional could really get into trouble with some of the situations that clients were placed in, but I would then remember that the clients were all adults, and that heterosexism prevents many disabled adults from experiencing appropriate peer interactions.

Perhaps the most important story to underscore caregivers need to support disabled adults in their pursuit of their sexuality was the story of the woman who met a partner on the internet. The subsequent manipulation and heartbreak by her cyber-partner shows how critical it is that we actually educate in and provide our students, clients or loved ones appropriate sexual outlets.

I would recommend this book to anyone who works with disabled adolescents or adults, or is the family member of a disabled adolescent or adult.

First off, I went into this book, an autistic lesbian, with an expectation. I expected that I would be included in the book's definition of 'developmental disabilities'. I don't seem to be. The book focuses entirely on 'intellectual disabilities', never on the peculiarities of autism as juxtaposed with sexuality and gender. But autistic people face prejudice and discrimination similar to that of people with different developmental disabilities. Within the first chapter, I adjusted my expectation as to who the book was about, and moved on to read the book without my original expectation.

This book tells the story of a support group for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered) people with intellectual disabilities. Importantly, it tells it from a staff point of view. It starts with background information on the group's formation, moves on to descriptions of the members, and finishes with descriptions of the staff.

It is a good reference on this subject, and one of the only books I've seen that addresses this issue directly and continuously, instead of a chapter here and there. But there were some things in it that were decidedly unsettling.

It is interesting, and perhaps ironic, that the author describes the members of the support group as often being much more accepting of their LGBT qualities than their disability. Because the major flaw of this book is being sensitive to LGBT people but not to disabled people.

You can sense the staff-centered nature of the book when several members in a row are described as "manipulative" and "attention-seeking", labels that would likely not be given to them were they non-disabled. One man who acts in ways I'm very familiar with -- rocking, for instance -- at varying frequencies at varying times, is described as liking to engage in "obnoxious" behavior and exaggerating his disability at times to affect other people's behavior toward him. At the same time as the book's descriptions had me wanting to attend the support group, I was thinking, "Wait a minute, if I attended, what would the facilitators think of the fact that I rock and flap my hands a lot? Would that get written up as attention-seeking in the next book? Especially if the frequency changed under stress?"

To view survival tactics, ways of taking control when oppressed, and ordinary behavior as "manipulative" or "attention-seeking" is an old pejorative trick staff use to belittle disabled people, and I very much wish it was not occurring here. This was doubly disturbing when an incident was revealed, halfway through the book, in which an administrator used a series of individual phone calls to cause two disabled men in love with each other to avoid pursuing a relationship. The word "manipulation" was curiously absent in descriptions of this event, and the event was never confronted head-on for what it was.

Among the issues of discrimination discussed in the book, in fact, are the fact that other people try to prevent these relationships. Group homes, where too many of us unfortunately live, often have policies against sex or against closed bedroom doors. Education programs don't have sex education, and if they do it's usually heterosexual only. Adults are put under guardianships in which their guardians can control whom they see and when, and may not regard them as capable of consent to sex or relationships. People are stuck viewing people with developmental disabilities as childlike and don't even want to *think* about us having romantic relationships or sex, much less being anything but heterosexual. I have seen too many stories like this in real life to disbelieve anything the book has to say in this regard -- such as parents who chase away their offspring's lovers, believing, even if their offspring are the ones who initiated the contact, that someone else led their 'innocent helpless children' into a gay lifestyle.

The book describes this discrimination, and the way people face it. It describes people taking pride in who they are, as well as people turning desperately to heterosexuality for solace. It describes successful relationships and unsuccessful ones, as well as love triangles. With few exceptions, it doesn't sugarcoat the experience of LGBT disabled people.

This is a powerful myth-buster that I would recommend, among other reasons, because it strips away the thick layer of denial around the issue of sexuality and gender in people with developmental disabilities. But I dearly wish that it had been written in a way as sensitive to people with disabilities as it was to LGBT people.

As a long time C4 owner and having read and own many, many Corvette and other auto books, I was hoping for a detailed and specialized book on C4s (of which there are not that many). Reading it today for about 30 minutes, I must say that this piece is the worst publication I have ever laid my hands on. The contents of this book are 60% listings of factory TSBs. No, not even the long detailed version, just the short listing version... 60% of the book are totally worthless and wasted paper.
Now, for the first part of the book. It deals with the various C4 models, changes from year to year and some information on how the C4 was incepted. BUT!!! much of the info is rudimentary or superficial. Some incomplete. The Corvette Buyers Guide and the Corvette Black Book have much more info and detail than this book and they are both much cheaper.

The entire book looks like someone printed it on his home printer in th basement and copied the pages. This book in my opinion is not worth more than $[money].
I am returning mine ASAP. Stay away! Don't waste your time and money.

I am the author of the book that the person from Iowa trashed. For perspective, here is what Corvette Fever said in November 2001 in a review on page 65: "Of particular interest for C4 owners would be the Performance section", and "Over half the book is committed to service bulletins designated by year [which]can help someone searching for a c4 by letting them know some problem areas and what years were affected." In their October 2003 issue, Corvette Fever lists the book as "mandatory" for a c4 enthusiast's library (page 25). In April 2002, Vette Magazine had a full page review on page 72. Read it and then decide if the book is worthwhile. For instance, Vette Magazine says: "The listing of error codes and service bulletins alone make the C4 Corvette Sourcebook...worth the price." And, about chapter 2; 'Buying your Dream Car', "...a pretty comprehensive guide to checking out a used Corvette...Loughmiller covers just about all the bases." So, whose review do you trust? An anonymous person with no credentials from Iowa or the technical editors of the two best Corvette Magazines in the world?

I requested and it has been confirmed per e-mail that I ordered the Conquering Chemical Dependency - A Christ Centered 12 Step Process (Life Support Group Series), however, I received the leaders guide instead. This is causing a delay in work I need for ministry purposes.

This book is a God sent to those who are in enough pain to seek help. Dr. Robert McGee's book took me out of bondage of my own self destructive sinful behavior. Once I made a commitment to God to accept help I followed the steps of the book and began my path to recovery. I recommend this book to all of those who feel unworthy for the love of Christ. This book will set you free.

Ackerman's brief work (101 pages) offers insights as to how psychology (of course, there are so MANY schools of psychology; perhaps it is better to say, "psychological theories that do not downplay the preponderance of evil intrinsic within people":)) supports the Biblical perspective of fallen human nature and creation in general.

Chapters include topics not often covered, among them: Normal Unhappiness (worth the price of the book itself), Moral Inconsistencies, and The Reality of Choice.

The chapter about "Normal Unhappiness" claims that most people have an emotional thermostat that maintains a "moderately unhappy" setting. When great things happen, they are high for a while, but then settle down to that setting. When tragedy occurs, they tend to get down for a while, and then work up to it.

As a pastor of 22 years who has dealt with people at all levels (visiting the babies at the hospital, teaching kids, counseling, marrying, visiting in the home, the hospital, and conducting funerals), I will vouch that the author has an authentic view of the realities of human nature. It fits with "what is." Go for it.

I am a minister (UCC) and a scientist (a real one). This book is but one from a group of so-called creation-scientists. As a minister/scientist, I have to say this book, and others like it, are unhelpful garbage. I believe that science and theology must go together - and have preached that they must, and that they very well do go together in a beautiful and meaningful way. But to do that, one has to have a mature enough faith to realize that the Bible is not a record of scientific fact.

As far as creation-science books go, Ackerman's book is easily one of the worst. His conclusions consistently cross over into the realm of science-fiction (and really bad science-fiction at that), which only makes sense, since his data and his starting points are also equally into the ream of bad science-fiction. One thing the fundamentalists like to do is ignore actual scientific data, and simply cite other creationists (assuming they even cite anything at all). Since they are, obviously, speaking for God, I guess they don't need footnotes or reproducible science data, or anything else that anyone would need making an argument. And that's what appalls me so much about creation-science (and all fundamentalist theology, actually) - that writers have no need to try to sway their audience, they simply imply that everything they say is true, so why does it need to be cited, proven, or substantiated? I am appalled at books like this because they obfuscate the real issue (of a majestic, mighty, beautifully creative God) to ke! ep their parishioners from actually thinking. I mean, thinking leads to questions, and once they start questioning a fundamentalist theology, they realize it is wrong and bad, and they move elsewhere. So, books like this are excellent resources to keep your laity and your parishioners ignorant, confused, and afraid of the world outside the church, and, therefore, books like this keep their almighty donations in the church.

It's even more bizarre when a psychologist, which isn't even really a scientistic, tries to venture into the realm of using psychology to prove a creationist stance. It's so funny, it's worth reading, but it's so funny, it makes me sad that some so-called Christians actually think this way, and *don't* think it's funny.

Please remember I am saying this as a minister, who serves a church, and who loves the church mightily. But I also believe that evolution is yet another magnificent manifestation of our wonderful creator's process. The Bible is about faithful life for us, and the faithful (and most times unfaithful) lives of our forebears. It is not, and I am very confident in saying this, a science textbook. Evolution does not go against the Bible at all. I don't think that one has to be a creationist to believe we are created in the image of God - I believe God created everything (but not in the strict order given in the two *very different* creation stories ni Genesis), and I also believe that evolution is certainly plausable, and the most likely vehicle for God's creation. Ackerman believes, and I don't know why because he never says it, that if one is an evolutionist, then one cannot possibly believe that we are created in God's image. Well, folks, I am an evolutionist, and I do believe we are created in God's image.

Please, I ask the authors and the followers, please open your eyes and realize that books like this are written to keep you ignorant of truth, incapable of thought, and powerless under your clergy-persons and elders and deacons and other people who benefit from your fear of going to hell.

Read this book **only** because you should know what the creation-scientists are doing. But for all means, don't read this book thinking that you will find something true in it.

"In God's Image After All" unfortunately only serves to continue to perpetuate the world's idea that Christians are obnoxious, ignorant, money-hungry, uncompassionate hypocrites. Huse doesn't offer anything that might make evolution "collapse", but simply serves to further collapse the relevancy of Christianity to today's world, and serves to make my job even more difficult since I must even more diligently apologize for my brethren when speaking with non-Christians to say "No, Christianity is not like that at all - Jesus actually expects us to think for ourselves, and not blindly follow the people who have a financial interest in keeping us ignorant."

This book explains decision support systems fairly well, but does not have a great deal of diagrams to explain the processes. The definitions in the back are clear-cut and help with the explanations. Printer should have done a better job copying the book, because it looks like it was copied by a machine that was running out of toner.

This book is easy on the eyes. There are a lot of cartoon type drawings to illustrate the authors points. It's almost like reading a cartoon magazine except for the fact it's over 140 pages.

What I would use this book for is an elementary understanding of building an MLM organization for which some sound principles are laid out in the book. However, you won't learn any "how to's".

This book is a great beginners book to help you to understand the basic fundamental principles of network marketing.

I hope this helps!

Travis Robinson, Jr.
Professional Coach
www.TheMlmSuccessVault.com
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