Communications Books

Very useful book. Wish I would have had it before I got our puppy.

I used Paul's book to train my puppy and it has been one of the most rewarding things I've ever done! His methods are completely reward based and compassion driven so there's no using pinch or choke collars, something I am very opposed to. I have have had great success overcoming all the normal puppy issues such as potty training, nipping, separation anxiety, and digging by using Paul's methods.

All in all I can't say enough good things about this book!

I loved this book. It is very helpful and easy to read. I highly recommend it!

This book is it! Five stars quality!
We got "The Puppy Whisperer" with the hope of getting an overall guide to training our new puppy full of energy. We were amazed at how detailed and full of great advice this book is. Paul Owens explains the bare bones of dog training technique while maintaining a style full of warmth and compassion which makes for a perfect combination helping to train the puppy to be an obedient and loving companion.
Definitely recommended for people who want an easy to use tool and a serious method.
Ruy Folguera

I am not a professional dog trainer and found this book to be very helpful in dealing with some basic behavioral issues I have been having with my goldendoodle. It gives good direct instructions on how to deal with specific problems. It is far better than a few other books I have read rectently, but you may want to look at "Puppy Perfect" by Sarah Hodgson as some of its training methods seemed more practical than this one.

Basically this is a wonderful idea for a book. The world does need more kindness. And Kindness , being kind to others not only makes us better people it also enriches our lives and gives them meaning. To give is often the greatest form of helping oneself possible.
Nonetheless I could have wished some of the stories here were more 'tough and complicated ' stories. I also could have wished that there was more deep thought about kindness. For kindness too has its qualification in the Jewish wisdom, " He who is kind to the cruel will end up being cruel to the kind"
Kindness is important.We should all be kind as we can. But there is a time and place for everything.

This book was great! I shared the stories with some of my students. It is so nice to hear the nice things people do.

This book does not need a long review. It is simply about the very best of what human beings are capable of doing. Random Acts of Kindness is simply the most important book I have ever read. -- Sam Yulish, author of WHERE HAVE ALL THE HIPPIES GONE? and THE HESITANT PSYCHIC.

"Imagine what would happen if there were an outbreak of
kindness in the world," notes Daphne Rose Kingma in the foreword
to RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS by the editors of Conari
Press . . . you'd bring "delight and goodness
to yourself and others."

Methinks that could well be possible; i.e., if everybody took
the time to read this short but oh-so-powerful book . . . it is
packed with practical ideas that can be applied to work
situations, such as the following:

I had a client who owed me a good deal of money.
Eventually she stopped seeing me, but each month
I would send her a bill and receive no response.
Finally I wrote to her and said, "I don't know what
difficulty has befallen you that you are unable to pay
me, but whenever it is, I'm writing to tell you your debt
is forgiven in full. My only request is that at some point
in your life, when your circumstances have changed, you
will pass this favor on to someone else."

By the same token, there were perhaps an equal number
of things that could be utilized if you wanted to make
your home life more enjoyable, including this one:

There was a time in my life when everything was working
so smoothly, I found myself sitting at home one Saturday
with all my work done, all my household chores completed:
dishes washed, laundry folded and put away, house dusted,
grocery shopping completed, and that delicious feeling of
having nothing to do. Then I thought about a friend from
work who was a single mother of two small children and
never seemed to have the time for anything. I jumped into
my car, drove over to her house, walked in and said, "Put
me to work." At first she didn't really believe it, but we ended
up having a great time, cleaning like mad, taking time out to
feed and play with the kids, and then diving back into the
chores.

I also liked the quotes sprinkled throughout the book . . . what
caught my attention was the fact that many had not been
seen by me previously, including:

* Do every act of your life as if it were your last.--Marcus Aurelius;

* I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community,
and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever
I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the
harder I work, the more I live. Life is no "brief candle" to me.
It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for a
moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible
before handing it on to future generations.--George Bernard Shaw; and

The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live.--Joan
Borysenko.

Lastly, I appreciated the thought-provoking suggestions presented
throughout RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS . . . among the ones
that caught my attention were these:

* As you go about your day, why not pick up the trash you find on
your sidewalk?

* Buy a big box of donuts or chocolates for the office next to yours
Or the kids who hang out on the street corner. Or the UPS person
or the mail carrier.

* If you have an infirmed person living near you, offer to do the grocery
shopping for him or her.

In 1982, California peace activist Ann Herbert wrote on a placemat at a restuarant "Practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty." A fellow diner was impressed by these words, and wrote them down. Gradually they spread and inspired conversation and thought. This international bestseller greatly accelerated the process. Today there is a World Kindness Movement and many organizations spreading the concept of kindness throughout our country.

Bestselling author Dapne Rose Kingma writes the forward, and there is an introduction by Dr. Dawna Markova. But about 63 others participated in stories and ideas for this book. It is a group project than transcends anyone author.

The concept of random of kindness is an antidote to the concept of random acts of violence. Random of kindess are far more common than random acts of violence, and the more they are encouraged, the more they should dominate.

Random acts of kindness can be both as simple as talking to strangers, as inconspicuous as allowing people in a hurry to get ahead of you in line, as generous as doing unsolicited chores for people in need, as philanthropic as paying for a stranger's dinner or sending books to a sick child.

Random acts of kindness can be as fulfilling as climbing a tree after a runaway child, and then leading the child down, or as planting a tree that others will enjoy decades letter. They can be forbearance in the case of a minor traffic accident or of a personal debt. They can be meaningful advice given, compassion and empathy shared. They can be tips given in appreciation of the server instead of the value of the service. They can be the willingness to let others act on misunderstandings despite some element of personal sacrifice by the actor.

The endless examples of the ways people can treat others with random kindness are well sampled in this book. So are inspirational quotes.

Pennsylvania founder William Penn says "If there is any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do, let me do it now, and not dter or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again." Martin Luther King describes the concept of agape as "understanding, create redemptive goodwill toward all men...and overflowing love which seeks nothing in return. When you rise to love on this level, you love all men not because you like them, not because their ways appeal to you, but you love them because God loves them."

The Dalai Lama says "My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness." Jesus says "If you bring forth what is inside of you, what you bring forth will save you. If you don't bring forth what is inside of you, what you don't bring forth will destroy you."

Herman Melville says "We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among these fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects." William James says "I am done with great things and big plans, great institutions and big success. I am for those tiny, invisible loving human forces that work from individual to individual, creeping through the crannies of the world like so many rootlets, or like the capillary oozing of water, which, if given time, will rend the hardest moments of pride."

M.C. Richards says "Compassion is an alternate perception." Albert Einstein says "A human being is part of the whole that we call the universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest--a kind of optical illusion of conscioiusness. The illusion is a prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for only the few people nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living beings and all of nature."

So having demonstrated the relevance and the vitality of the random acts of kindness philosophy to both everyday situations and to the thoughts of the world's greatest humanitarians, the authors praise part of the beauty of the concept of random acts of kindness as "the turnaround from the ugliest and most frightening of all phrases: random acts of violence....It's so easy to fear. It's so easy to create an almost palpable reality out of our imagined teerror. Random acts of kindness ring pure and true to that fear, as life-confirming revolutionary acts."

"Kindness," the authors say, "is soft and bubtle. It permeates everything it comes in contact with, remains as a permanent reminder of what could and should be."

At some level, this is a book of great idealism. At another level, it is a book of great pragmatism. A world of kind people is a world that values all people and gives all people the great gift of a friendly and supportive environment.

This reviewer can think of no one who would not beneift from reading this book. At a practical, everyday level it is an invaluable guide to building up communities of hope, trust, friendship, and love. It seeks not a Utopia on Earth, but communities around the globe worthy of the best aspirations of our most profound and visionary insprirational leaders and the day to day lives of our nicest and kindest people.

I've been a full time coach for over 10 years and Ron Ernst's RealTime Coaching is a real contribution to the coaching profession. The model he developed is easy to understand and powerful in its application. His use of actual coaching dialogue demonstrates how to use the coaching model and let's you go behind the scenes and view not only what the coach said but why she said it. A very practical "how to" book for any manager who is charged with getting work done with and through the cooperation of others. I highly recommend it!

I'm always disappointed with coaching models and processes that suggest you can basically coach and motivate all people the same way. Real Time Coaching is the best and most complete method of coaching that considers the motivation and behavioral style of each individual AS WELL AS the values and preferred style of the coach. It presents a theory and a method that is easily adapted to any situation and every individual. I highly recommend both the Real Time Coaching book and Workshop to all my managers and have incorporated into our Leadership Development Curriculum. To realize the full benefit, be sure to take the personal profile offered in the back of the book.

RealTime Coaching is a practical, collaborative process that allows people to focus on what's really important and develop an action-based plan for achieving it. Using this process, I've coached, been coached, and trained others to coach. It really works! The book provides an easy-to-follow framework for the coaching dialogue, supported by "how to" tips and pointers. Although the book provides numerous real-life examples of RealTime Coaching at work, the best examples will be your own as you start to use the process. A must read!

Real Time Coaching is the simplest, yet most profound, coaching model I have come across in the years I have been coaching. It is a model that is easily understood and urges one to see the cause and effect between their behavior and the results they are achieving. I have gotten rave reviews from all classes who have gone through the model and as one leader in a company said, "I wish my boss would use this approach on me." One of the greatest testimonies to Real Time Coaching is that participants get their own "aha's" and therefore have a high motivation to make the needed changes to achieve the results they, and others, want them to have.

As the Founder of the Coach Center Group, I see a lot of coaches and material about coaching.

It's refreshing to see a book that is not only practical - but Results-Now Oriented. (Too often, some coaches sound like they are reading from a list; or their coaching is oriented to some future that isn't connected to present reality. This book is a cure for all that.)

Coaching is becoming so popular that the hype about coaching isn't helping. A good coach can coach in the present moment, resulting in plans rooted in reality and decisions in the present that get results.

If you want to learn to coach for such in-the-now results, with decisions that actually make a difference -- so that productivity and morale improves, employee turnover is reduced, job satisfaction and effectiveness improves -- then you really ought to look at this book, and read it. Take it seriously, apply what it says, try it out.

Because when you do, I expect you'll be getting results that delight you.

--David Burnet, DavidB@CoachCenter.com

this is a great kids book. and even i love anything that rhymes. thank you so much.

The original "St. George and the Dragon" story is a frightening tale. Depending on which version you read, the townspeople give the scaly, stinking, vicious, dragon tribute of two sheep per day, and, when they invariably run out of sheep, they begin feeding it their own children. The King is obviously horrified, but what can he do? However, when the lottery selects his own daughter, who should appear but Sir George, (later the patron Saint of England) just in time for the king, if not for the subjects. The daughter worries for his safety, but the knight spears the dragon in its one vulnerable spot, then in a gallant display, borrows the daughter's girdle to drag the wounded dragon down to the town. For his own tribute, George asks only that the citizens become baptized; after this, he cuts off the dragon's head. Not a good ending for the dragon, but then, he wasn't a very nice dragon.

Like others before him, Kenneth Grahame modified this bloody tale for the consumption of the very young, and turned it completely on its head. This dragon would rather sleep than slay, purr than prey, and his true nature is discovered by a tow-headed young boy who gradually becomes friends with the pacifist, poetry-loving beast ("why I wouldn't hurt a fly."). Lay low, he advises him. Naturally, though, St. George arrives, and everyone acts as expected--except for the dragon. He simply refuses to attend his own demise:

"Well, tell him [St. George] to go away," said the dragon. "I'm sure he's not nice. Say he can write if he likes. But I won't see him." The boy, however, understands the underlying social pressures (which echo those of the British class system during Grahame's time) and replies: "But you've got to," said the boy. "You've got to fight him, you know, because he's St. George and you're the dragon."

The dragon, the knight, and the young boy, a person with neither power nor social distinction, make a plan. The plan is simple: Fake it. And so, like one of Vince McMahon's TV "wrestling" matches, St. George and the Dragon have it out, with flames and fury, and, as St. George just barely pierces the dragon in a pre-arranged safe spot. The townspeople, who have brought picnics for the presumed slaughter, were satisfied with the spectacle: "And all the others were happy because there had been a fight, and-well, they didn't need any other reason."

The original story, one of several short studies published in Grahame's "Dream Days" (1898, ten years before Grahame's most famous and beloved work, "The Wind in the Willows") may be found at http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=GraDrea.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=7&division=div1. Grahame wrote "The Reluctant Dragon" long at times, and one sees his concerns with religion and nature so evident in the river adventure scene of Wind in the Willows. Inga Moore takes out most of the slower, descriptive narrative (which might be enjoyed by older readers), and focuses instead on the dragon/boy/St. George relationships and the exciting battle. Compare the following excerpts (the first is Grahame's); this is great abridgement except for the inexplicable deletion of the last sentence, a very funny, modernist touch by Graham:

1. Then a cloud of smoke obscured the mouth of the cave, and out of the midst of it the dragon himself, shining, sea-blue, magnificent, pranced splendidly forth; and everybody said, "Oo-oo-oo!" as if he had been a mighty rocket! His scales were glittering, his long spiky tail lashed his sides, his claws tore up the turf and sent it flying high over his back, and smoke and fire incessantly jetted from his angry nostrils. "Oh, well done, dragon!" cried the Boy, excitedly. "Didn't think he had it in him!" he added to himself.
2. Then a cloud of smoke billowed from the mouth of the cave, and out of the midst of it the dragon himself, shining, sea-blue, magnificent, pranced splendidly forth; and everybody said, "Oo-oo-oo!" His scales were glittering, his long spiky tail lashed his sides, his claws tore up the turf and sent it flying high over his back, and smoke and fire jetted from his nostrils. "Oh, well done, dragon!" cried the Boy, excitedly. "Didn't think he had it in him!" he added to himself.

Moore also displays great taste and talent in her beautiful colored pencil and ink drawings. She draws landscapes and houses in a traditional style with meticulous shading and detail, trees show the undertones of illustration from a 1912 publication. The friendly, easygoing dragon is drawn showing an easy confidence and an engaging smile, but he's actor enough to look ferocious when required. He's drawn in one of the most striking shades of blue since the ceramic in the movie "Diva." Overall, Inga Moore honors the original Grahame story while making the story and pictures maximally entertaining for young children. Publisher Candlewick has done it again; this is an extraordinary book.

Fanciful and charming. I enjoyed reading it to my nephew and he loved it too. The artwork is lovely also. I'm looking forward to reading it again, with or without my nephew.

I bought this book for my future child (due Feb 2006) as part of my growing library. I read it through and thought it was cute, if a bit antiquated (what do you expect for a book that was written over 100 years ago?) Basically, a young boy befriends a dragon. When the townsfolk realize the dragon exists, they call upon a champion to vanquish him, blaming the dragon for crimes that he didn't commit. The boy talks to the champion about his friend and they all agree to stage a fight, rather than fight to the death. Once the play fight is over (the champion only gives the dragon a small flesh wound), it is agreed by all that the dragon will not harm anyone and the townsfolk will stop telling lies about the dragon. Nice moral story.

My only problem with the book is that it has been "sensitively abridged". I'm not sure what that means for "The Reluctant Dragon", but my "sensitively abridged" copy of "The Wind in the Willows" (also by Kenneth Graham) edits out silly things like "splashes of whitewash all over his black fur". If the book has to be so politically correct that it can't even refer to the color of an animal's fur, I'm not sure that I really want to associate with the edition. I'd be curious to compare this edition of "The Reluctant Dragon" with the original text now.

(The following is a review of "The Reluctant Dragon" by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Ernest Shepard and published by Holiday House. It also appears on reviews for other editions.)

Just as Ernest Shepard's illustrations for "The Wind in the Willows" set the standard, so, too, do his drawings capture the essence of "The Reluctant Dragon."

The tale itself is well known. A dragon emerges from a cave overlooking the Downs at the outskirts of a village and only a spunky shepherd's son is brave enough to befriend the sonnet-composing critter. Over time, the dragon's existence becomes the talk of the town and St. George is called in to dispatch this evil scourge that has wrought so much death and destruction, uh, so much theft and vandalism, er, well, actually, hasn't kidnapped a princess, devoured a horse or even stolen a single chicken, but, blimey, he's a dragon and he jolly well might, you know!

The Boy is caught in the middle with St. George insisting that he must battle the dragon, and the dragon solidly refusing to raise so much as a single claw against anyone, let alone St. George. All three put their heads together and formulate a plan to satisfy the battle-monger villagers while sparing both the life of the dragon and St. George's reputation.

Ernest Shepard's illustrations are masterpieces of understatement featuring nothing but line work to portray the Boy's book-learned confidence, the dragon's sheer size and bulk, and St. George's movie-star pin-up good looks. They are illustrations in the truest sense, tickling the reader's imagination instead of repeating in visual form what the author has already drawn with words in the reader's mind. Particularly humorous is St. George's wide-eyed horse, who appears to be never fully at ease with the dragon.

Newer illustrated editions might be more detailed and in full color, but compared to this one, they appear overblown and overdone, an illustrator's showcase at the expense of the story. Ernest Shepard had the good sense and restraint to let the story tell itself and simply embellish a moment here, a bit of action there. Holiday House honors both creators by avoiding unnecessary alteration or abridgement. The result is a literary and visual picnic.

I purchased this text book for my sixth grader to use with a private Spanish teacher. It is a very comprehensive and well compiled textbook. It covers all necessary topics (grammar, reading/comprehension & writing) in a organized and easy to understand format.

If you had Spanish in high school but it's been a while since you've used it,then this is the perfect book for you! It begins with the simple present tense then progresses to the more complicated preterite and subjunctive. At the end of the book you will find interesting cultural tidbits to enhance your experience of learning the Spanish language. Have fun!

Although I agree that this book is certainly a bargain when compared to the standard textbook options that often cost 3-4 times as much, I was disappointed to find that no solutions to the exercises are provided. One must purchase ANOTHER book before the exercises in this book can really be said to be useful. I am a firm believer in immediate correction when it comes to language review and acquisition--spending time on exercises without knowing which you did wrong will only reinforce what are your misunderstandings of grammar. However, if you are willing (and able) to buy the solutions manual along with this book, then it will make a good review--though it won't be the bargain that it at first appeared.

As a Spanish 2 and 3 teacher I highly reccomend this book. I use it as a reference myself because it has great explanations and the order of the grammar structures is useful. I would reccomend getting an answer key along with the book. This is a great book to refresh your memory on grammatical structures.
I am glad I bought this book!

Repaso was used as my school textbook for higher level Spanish courses in high school. Everything is great about it. The instructions are in English which makes it even more compatable. The book is able to review old concepts, but has enough to teach the little proper things about Spanish. It is a great purchase for any student that is just learning Spanish or has been taking it for many years and needs a reference.

This book is EXCELLENT. It is so good in fact that it showed me why a retreat is not for us. Instead, I am using the activities it describes to create a series of training sessions for our senior and middle managers, or what you might call a series of mini-retreats, a couple of hours each once a week over several weeks. The activities contained in this book are intelligent and fun, unlike several others I've read. I highly recommend this book for the activities section alone -- and if you do want to do a full retreat, it will prove even more valuable. Also, the sections on pre-interviewing participants and retreat design components were very helpful, and I am putting them to good use.

I also like "101 Games for Trainers" by Bob Pike, and "Games That Teach Teams" by Steve Sugar. I think these three books together are the best place to start -- there are a lot of other titles out there that are, in a word, garbage, and should be avoided.

This book gives examples of various kinds of retreats and includes sample exercises for each that are simple, creative, and effective with no hint of the flaky factor that makes some retreats go offtrack. In fact, I'd say that the section on "Reasons NOT to hold a retreat" was alone worth the price of this book for its value in clarifying what a retreat can and cannot do.

As a communications trainer with my own non-profit board to deal with, I was most impressed by the fact that the chapter on non-profits identifies as a "most common concern" exactly the thing that causes my board trouble -- complaints of micromanaging on details while sidestepping needs for fundraising. The insight that this is a structural problem rather than a personality issue has been extremely helpful to me -- even without a retreat -- and convinced me these authors must know what they're talking about.

Retreats that Work (Jossey Bass, 2003) is highly readable and valuable resource is a comprehensive guide to retreat planning. Authors Sheila Campbell and Merianne Liteman address medium- to larger-sized organizations in the for-profit, nonprofit and government fields. Campbell and Liteman offer both a "how to" for planning and conducting a retreat and a fine sampling of facilitated group activities for different kinds of retreats.

The overall message is that the top decisionmaker should hold a retreat only for important purposes, he or she must be truly ready to hear divergent views and to be open to real change, including change not anticipated by the decisionmaker. CEOs, boards, division directors and other "head honchos" that are not ready to share control need not apply. For instance, Campbell and Liteman recommend confidential pre-retreat interviews conducted by the facilitator. One of their retreat design principles is that at least some of the participants should contribute to formulating the goals of the retreat. To do so, they believe it is essential for employees to feel safe to share their views in planning the retreat as well as at retreat. Thus, Campbell and Liteman call for anonymity and non-attribution of pre-retreat views and assurance of no negative actions for expressing views candidly during the retreat.

A key strength of the book is the attention to pre-retreat and post-retreat concerns. Pre-retreat matters extend well beyond choosing the meeting facility and menu [although their retreat logistics chapter is first rate] to the more important question: "Why have a retreat?" Campbell and Liteman specify nine reasons to hold a retreat and ten reasons not to hold a retreat. Both lists are enlightening and are foundational to further pre-retreat work.

A retreat is not a conference and not a regular meeting. Campbell and Liteman believe a retreat is best served "off-site," that is, at a location away from the workplace. They do cover the challenges of time and money in choosing an appropriate facility, and the discussion reinforces two more of their principles of retreat planning - designing a retreat to result in action for change and ensuring whatever happens at the retreat relates to the day-to-day work of the organization.

Other pre-retreat elements are: setting the goals, deciding on the format, and inviting people; defining the roles of convener, facilitator, administrator, participants (and non-participants); and a review of fixed-format retreat designs (such as Future Search, Ropes courses, and Appreciative Inquiry). Campbell and Liteman do a fine job discussing the tension between having a small enough group for good interaction and the group being large enough to be inclusive of the key players. In particular, they offer eight common criteria for how to choose participants. I think the criteria are especially helpful as an organization thinks of board-staff concerns, clients or customer involvement in a retreat, and inter-organizational issues.

A logical, but often overlooked, planning proviso is to design the retreat backwards-What is the outcome you seek? Instead of holding a retreat because its done annually, or because someone likes a particular format, or to "boost morale," Campbell and Liteman forcefully highlight the need to have retreats only for special purposes, and to work from the question "How will the day-to-day workplace be different following the retreat?"

The structure of the book opens with coverage of the why, goal-setting, logistics planning and role of leaders at the broadest view of a retreat. From there, most of the guide is devoted to facilitator assistance. Campbell and Liteman cover design issues ranging from pre-retreat work for participants to having "unprogrammed time" as an essential part of a successful retreat. They offer tips on ground rules, giving feedback to the group, and decisionmaking. For in-retreat concerns, general facilitator principles are leavened with brief guidance on how to respond to over a dozen glitches (such as repetitive discussions, disruption by a participant, a participant walking out, or a senior manager violating the ground rules).

A large section of the book identifies activities appropriate for four kinds of retreats: a) strategic planning, b) culture change, c) relationship-building and teamwork, and d) creativity and innovation. Each activity offers a clear description, steps and facilitator notes. Equally valuable are accompanying sidebar notes on the experiential elements, set-up, special supplies and degree of facilitator experience to conduct the activity effectively (easy, moderately easy, or only for experienced/specialized training). While retreat facilitators will probably eat up this part of the book, I hope they don't overlook the earlier "menu-setting" essentials of effective retreats.

Campbell and Liteman know that typically the worst part of a retreat is....after the retreat. Does the great thinking from the retreat get lost in the daily grind or new crises? Do non-participants not support the outcome? While a retreat's impact depends on organizational norms outside of any retreat's reach, Campbell and Liteman nicely select a few post-retreat points. In brief: announce the outcomes to everyone affected, not just the participants; move briskly into the actions steps identified at the retreat; and avoid a letdown by offering a memento, having periodic updates, or celebrating milestones. They highlight "critical leadership actions" for retreat follow-up.

Campbell and Liteman know that retreats have a purpose within the larger context of an organization. They provide a fine guide the knits together the earliest hints of whether to hold a retreat to effective planning to post-retreat steps to offer the best possible assurance that the change initiated by the retreat is converted into a better organization. The book is a must-have for both the senior management and for internal and external facilitators. (...)

This is a terrific handbook for anyone who wants to (or has been assigned to) organize or lead a retreat for their company or non-profit organization. The authors describe the guiding principles for designing a retreat, they outline the logistics in detail, and they provide all kinds of good advice about how planners and facilitators should work together to get the most out of an offsite meeting. The checklists alone are worth the price of the book, and the activities sections are priceless!

"Retreats That Work" could be subtitled "Everything you ever wanted to know about retreats." Just a look at the table of contents told me that there was going to be an answer to any question I might have -- from the basic who, what, when, where and why, to the types of specialized retreats.

I am in a related, but quite different, field. As a qualitative research moderator, I am often asked to facilitate meetings or retreats by clients who are unaware of the differences -- hence, my interest in this book. But, whether you are working for a small or large company and want to hold a retreat, or you are someone needing to actually facilitate such an event, this book is a wealth of information. And for anyone thinking of facilitating a retreat or just understanding what a facilitator must be able to do, they would be advised to read the "definition" or role of the facilitator on page 116!

I found this book very well-written, easy to read and follow. It's filled with lots of practical information and tips, valuable time estimates for the various activities, and additional resources given.

The creative thinking section was particularly interesting to me. As a "left brain" person, I am usually skeptical of these kinds of activities. But the authors' examples and explanations of each exercise gave me a new appreciation for the value of this type of retreat.

I also visited the authors' or book web site, which is a nice accompaniment to the book, including additional resources.

This is a great book, providing relatively unbiased information compared to what you normally get in RF MEMS. There are some sections that could be better, but this is overall the best book you can currently get in this field.

The book, in a surprisingly simple way, gives in depth treatment of the fundamentals of modeling/design, fabrication technology, and reliability/power handling/noise analysis of MEM components and circuits. It has an exceptional tutorial value. At the same time its comprehensive and analytic coverage of the vast diversity of MEMs components (switches, varactors) and complex circuits makes it an excellent handbook for microwave professionals. Even a "diagonal" reading of the book inspires the reader to start designing/making his/her own MEMs devices!
This is definitely one of the best books in microwave technology published recently, which will have enormous impact on the microwave community in the forthcoming years.

This book has quickly become the standard reference in the field of RF MEMS. It is the place to start when looking at performance of RF MEMS technologies and circuits built using RF MEMS devices. The focus is on device design and performance, with supporting material on device fabrication.

Rebeiz has done an excellent job in constructing a book that is valuable to both novices as well "experts" alike. You will not find a more comprehensive treatment of RF MEMS in one place anywhere else. This book covers both mechanical (static and dynamic)and electrical (EM) modeling of the all important MEMS switch. A survey of MEMS switch topologies and results will quickly get you up to speed as to who is doing what. The discussion on packaging and reliabilty are timely as these are arguably the two most intense areas of focus at this time facing the MEMS community. To round things off, phase shifters, varactors, filters, reconfigurable networks and antennas are also addressed as key RF MEMS technologies that have the potential for great engineering impact. Simply stated, if you have an interest in MEMS, you will benefit by reading this book.

Rebeiz's book is a fantastic work that is certain to become THE reference in the field of RF MEMS. Rebeiz and his colleagues have authored a text with remarkable breadth (covering from MEMS devices to RF system applications) and depth (including detailed device design/performance). This book offers a complete and up-to-date view of RF MEMS, and insightful perspectives on the field's future. I have no doubt I'll be referring to this book on a daily basis.

In order to know what is fake, you need to compare to what is real. After meditating on this book you will know that this is the real thing. You will also know that the so-called "sages" of our popular culture are actually empty. The cupboard is bare. If you don't want to be empty in the 2nd half of life, read - no, meditate on the wisdom of this book.

Having just turned forty I don't know if I'd call myself a sage yet, but this text offers thoughtful passages about later life as well as life in general. The author maintains a grounded taoist perspective and expresses it using examples and metaphors that will be familiar and relavant to the present day reader.

In searching for meaning in the second half of life, William Martin offers guidelines for living a quality life of being a good example for the younger generation. He also offers guidelines on ways to give back to others all we have been blessed with. A book of encouragement not to remain young, but to live our age.

Being interested in Eastern religions and philosophies, I've read several translations of the Tao Te Ching, one of which is William Martin's (A Path and a Practice). I was so impressed by this book, that I wanted to read more of his writings. Having recently passed "mid-life," I was especially drawn to The Sage's Tao Te Ching. Mr. Martin's interpretation of this ancient work is sensitive, thought-provoking, and challenges popular cultural norms about aging and the meaning of "success." I recommend it to anyone -- regardless of age -- who is interested in cultivating the virtues of wisdom and compassion. I intend on reading it at least once a year.

Lao Tzu, the "OldBoy", isn't called the master of paradox for nothing. This is a great book for the "OldBoy" in all of us. Though it is directed towards the older in years among us, it is applicable to anyone that has tired of the rat race of modern life and just wants to sit back and relax a while. Sit back and contemplate the mystery of life. Maybe even sit still long enough to hear the still small voice of our inner being. To be an old boy or girl again, only without the naivete of youth. As William Martin titles the first lesson of his beautiful little book, "Older or Wiser?"; and I quote:

Growing older either reveals or hides
the mystery of existence.
If you are becoming a sage
you are growing in trust and contentment.
You will discover the light of life's deepest truths.
If you are merely growing older,
you will become trapped by fears and frustrations.
You will only see the darkness
of infirmity and death.
The great task of the sage
is learning to see in the darkness
and not be afraid.

If you are serious about becoming a screenwriter, this book will be a valuable addition to your professional library. Lucy goes into depth on subjects other authors ignore or treat lightly. Usually if you can learn one or two things from a screenwriting book, it's worth reading. This book clarifies subjects other authors fail to explain. Lucy not only explains all the loose ends, but ties them together. There are a lot of good books on screenwriting, and this is one of them. Cynthia Whitcomb has a couple of books on screenwriting that you might also want to read.

This book should be a mandatory read for writers of all types and all levels. Story Sense offers the tools to develop an entertaining, clever plot with emotionally and psychologically dimensional characters. It takes you step by step through idea, plot, and character formulation, as well as explains how to develop structure, dramatization, and everything else you need to write the perfect screenplay or fictional story. You will find yourself highlighting passages and constantly refering back to this "bible" throughout your writing journey. Keep this book close by, it has all the answers you need as a writer.

This should be required reading for any type of writer--novelist, screenwriter, playwright. The sections on plot and character development are worth double what this book costs.

Too many "how-to" books on writing perpetrate the image of a writer as a conduit for mysterious creative forces. While I'm not entirely discounting that image, there needs to be a balance between writing as an art and writing as a craft. This book falls firmly in the craft column. It demands you cast aside any artistic pretensions and get down to the plumbing of creating a story. And it doesn't stop with the obligatory pep talk--Lucey shows you how it's done. And he shows it better than any other writing how-to out there.

If I could give this ten stars I would. Highly recommended.

When ordering several books on screenwriting this book caught my eye because of the high ratings afforded it by others. After reading it I fully concur with what others had to say. I went out and purchased DVDs of the four main example films (The Verdict, Terminator, Sleepless in Seattle, and Witness) that Mr. Lucey focuses on and they allowed me to pick up the fine points described in the text. His vast experience in script writing shows through in each of the topics discussed. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. For a detail-oriented individual such as myself, this book met all my expectations. If you are interested in this topic, this book is a "must have" by all means.

I have read many screenwriting books and this is the most complete. It takes you by the hand through each step of the process. I would recommend it to anyone interested in screenwriting. The book even states that if you follow the steps in the 12 chapters it should take you 120 hours and would be equivelent to a college course. No need for any other training. This book is it!

There is now a 2.0 edition of this booklet.

In my opinion, this book represents an extremely well thought out piece of work. Dr. Berens displays a rich amount of expertise in Temperament. The clarity of theory is remarkable and the quality of work for such a small book is amazing. Well done.

I really liked this booklet and would recommend it to all of my colleagues. I feel it has a strong message and powerful voice. If you have read Please Understand Me then this is a must have resource.

I found this booklet through a link from Please Understand Me and I have found it invaluable as a resource when I am teaching temperament and using the keirsy sorter. I would give it to anyone who has taken the sorter.

This book is easy to read, understand, and apply! Dr. Berens insights into personality (temperament) are refreshing. A much better framework then the "label and blame-men and women" jargon. A good read for all ages. I will give one to every student I teach!