Communications Books

GIAT means "give it a try"!! Is simply magnificient. The security of ordering, the speed of delivery and the packaging of ordered books are simply world-class.

For update differentiationn and innoovation in training concepts/methodologies, best to read Active Training. Its a compelling companion for effective trainers/coaches.

This book arrived in excellent condition. The book is easy to read with great examples.

This book is an excellent supplement for teaching employee training and development as a course. I'd recommend combining it with Noe's text (Employee Training and Development) for a college or graduate level course on this subject. The book is also a good stand-alone reference for teaching aspects of active training to a firm's curriculum development staff.

Great book with plenty of practical comments and ideas which allow you to design a truly active session that both, your audience and you, will enjoy.

Mel Silberman is the master of active training. Just skimming his book gave me a handful of new ideas I applied to my training. Reading the book helped me to revamp my training courses to include many more participatory training exercises.

Everybody loves being involved, talking, interacting, and exploring during training. Lecture, however, is too often the default methodology. In some ways lecture takes less time to prepare and is less risky, but is it more effective learning? In this day and age, linear, slow, from-up-front training just isn't effective. Instead, shift over to active training that engages and empowers participants to learn rather than be taught. I'm reminded of Winston Churchill when he said, "I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught."

Silberman gives idea after idea of how to spice up lectures, or better yet, replace them with other a dozen other learning methods that actively involve the participant. The 100+ exercises and examples in Active Training makes it easy to incorporate non-cheesy learning activities that really work.

Wake up your participants! Get active.

The book is very comprehensive, covers many topics and each is covered in good detail. Concepts are explained in simple language. A must-read for all data center administrators

This is one of the best book to read specially for sysadmins , network administrators and Datacenter Administrator.I have read the book and have been benifitted a lot from it.

Thanks

Amitabh Talukdar
Unix System Administrator
Cisco Systems

I would recommend this book to any network, systems, or server administrator, even if obtaining the certification is not desired. This is one of the most precious resources I have in my bookshelf. Aside from its fine organization, the book states the learning objectives for each chapter and complements them with vivid graphical representation wherever possible to ensure understanding by readers.
I strongly recommend having this as a quick reference guide as every single topic has been taken up and discussed with utmost simplicity. You don't have to be a Rocket Scientist to grasp logics of the topics. 100% value for my money.

Thanks again for coming up with this wonderful work of its kind on such a topic.

happen to read this book at one of my friend's place. I couldn't resist to buy it immediately. I have been working as System Administrator for last 8 years, but found all aspect required for Data Center operations from scratch. Various topics covered, like power requirement or Air conditioning to Server performance, networking with storage technologies in impressive manner with excellent style of subject presentation.

This book is an asset for Data center managers or Systems Administrators also can be used from Academic point of view by Computer informations systems students.


Anitha Lingala

Book has illustrative real-life examples. It sure covers many topics, however each topicsa has enough matter and depth. Areas such as HA, network and DR and well covered. Data center design is described well.

This is a great book for any Ham Radio operator. More information in this book than you could shake a stick at.

This is the best ever issue of the annual ARRL Handbook. With more projects to complete at home than in many years. DSP is also covered in more depth than ever. Get up to date on the latest, keep fresh on the past, and have fun with amateur radio with your new 2002 ARRL Handbook.

The book is a must for everyone who is interested in radio circuits and more. The first time I heard of it was many years ago when I was approaching the world of radiohams; since then it's been my reference many times and I often found it sitting on other people's desk at work as a quick and reliable reference.

This is a great book for both beginner and experienced Amateur Radio Operators. This book has more information than the previous books and has a lot more projects. The Arrl Handbook for Radio Amateurs 2002 truly upholds its reputation as "The Bible" for Amateur Radio Operators.

It takes almost 1,200 pages to cover thirty (30) chapters of diverse information. These chapters are logically grouped as Fundamental Theory, Construction Techniques, Practical Design and Projects, and Operating Practices. I previously used a hardback copy of the 1988 printing of this text, and the 2000 edition is properly updated to make it an outstanding replacement. If you are interested in radio wave propagation, antennas, building electronic equipment or the amateur radio hobby itself, this is one reference you shouldn't be without. Compares favorably with professional publications at several times the cost.

"As Seen On TV" is a fond look back at those Kitschy products and their even tackier commercials for products as diverse as the Chia Pet to K-Tel records. These products would make household names out of people like Ron Poeil, Billy Mays, and Susan Powter as they pushed products to enhance yourself, your cooking, or your home. These 50 products, most of which are still on the market today and still being seen on TV were the forerunners of the dreaded infomercial which made their way into our homes back in the 1984 when the FCC loosened regulations on TV advertising. You'll chuckle as you read about these products, many of which you probably haven't thought about in years.

The book is arranged by product type including Kitchen Marvels, Fashion and Beauty Wonders, Fabulous Fitness, Entertainment Breakthroughs, Home Improvement Miracles, and Get Rich Quick. A history of each products is provided along with details about its use, inventor, and other interesting facts as well as photos. Ron Popeil is certainly the godfather of these products who got the ball rolling with the Veg-O-Matic, actually invented by his father. Popeil's list of products is long and often notorious and includes things such as GLH Formula #9 spray for balding men, as well as the Pocket Fisherman. The book includes a lengthy interview with Popeil as well.

Other items in the Kitchen gadget category include the legendary Ginsu knives...and who doesn't fondly remember those commercials where they sawed through knives and aluminum cans? Then there is a modern classic as former boxer turned pitchman, George foreman introduced the grill bearing his name.

There's the Blue Blocker glasses, Hairagami, Thigh Master, Matthew lesko's books on free Government money, Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts, The Clapper, and Life Call Alert in which Edith Fore uttered those words that would become grafted into American lexicon, "I've Fallen...AND I CAN'T GET UP!!!" But perhaps my all-time favorite for pure cheesiness would be Mr. Microphone. Who can forget the goof in the convertible telling the girl walking on the street, "Hey Good Lookin', We'll be back to pick you up later!" It was the epitome of tackiness back then and would probably get him arrested today.

Oh...and the book is informative as well. I never knew that the K-Tel in K-Tel records stood for Kevis Television named after its founder Phillip Kevis. A true pop culture treasure trove!

Reviewed by Tim Janson

If you recognize this catch phrase from the Mr. Microphone ad, you'll love this book. Indeed any child of the '70s or '80s can appreciate the nostalgia and humor of the infomercial era, which is vividly and humorously captured in "As Seen on TV". It's all here, from Abtronic to Zamfir, Master of the Pan Flute. If you have any doubt about whether your money would be well spent on this gem, then to paraphrase Ron Popeil: "Just forget it and GET IT!"

What a fun book! I definitely recommend this book to anyone who has ever gotten caught up watching infomercials or home shopping channels. It's fascinating to read about products that became hugely popular, even though in some cases, you look at them now and say "what were they thinking?".

It was especially fun for me because... as I turned each page, I had to wonder if the next product was one I've bought. LOL
Yes, I have succumbed to the "power of the pitch" and bought into the hype. And yes, I have purchased a few of the items in this book (George Foreman Grill, Steamer, etc... and I LIKE the Dr. Ho's Muscle Massage System!) but I'll never admit to how many.

Anyone who has heard "and that's not all" will enjoy the fact that a section with that title is included AFTER the index.

I only gave this book 4 stars because I wanted more products to be in it! It was so fun to read, I wanted more of it.

This book read itself!

I bought this trip to entertain myself for a long drive home from Wisconsin to Florda. (Don't worry- I was the passanger, not the driver. Gusee I should've used the word 'ride' but I'm too lazy to backspace!)

I think the ultimate compliment to a book is when your constantly interupting other people around you to read the next wonderful thing you've read. I lost my voice from this book.

There's not too much to tell in this review. You've simply got to read it for yourself. It is so much more than just a list of goofy things sold via infomercials and TV ads. We get interviews, product history, trivia and much, much more.

We also get the lowdown on what was legit and what wasn't.

So the next time your using the flow-bee and screw up so badly your running to the store for some GLH (if you don't know what that sentence just meant, buy the book)... think of this book. It'll help ya.

And if you're just looking for some easy entertaing reading... this is it folks!

Did folks buy this stuff? They sure did, by the millions according to Harry and Stall. Some of these products would really be hard to parody, the Chai Ceramic Pet that grows vegetation, the Turbi Twist, a hair towel with an elastic loop (with the predictable AS SEEN ON TV on the box) the Copper Tongue Scraper, PROVEN EFFECTIVE was the bold statement on its packaging but it really does look just like a piece of bent metal! Each product has a spread with photos, copy and several colored panels (more on these later) containing background material and other trivia. I liked the Product panels best with their Description, Availability, Claimed Innovation, Upside and the Downside, just read the Downside to each product and really get the truth.

The six basic chapters are Kitchen Marvels, Fashion and Beauty, Fabulous Fitness, Entertainment Breakthroughs, Home Improvement Miracles, and finally Get Rich Quick, between these chapters are some interesting features, pages 122 and 123 cover the rise of the home shopping channels where you will be amazed to find that QVC have studio tours (yours for only [x ammount of dollars]). Ron Popiel, the founder of Ronco, has four pages explaining the background to the infomercial techniques he uses to shift the goods. Incidentally the Ronco story is covered in 'But, Wait! There's More!' by Timothy Samuelson, lots of product photos, vintage ads and packaging and a fairly accurate history of the Popiel family. Ever wonder what happened to yesterday's celebrities, check out pages 74 to 79 to see the Top 100 infomercial-land stars from Allen (Debbie) to Zappa (Dweezel) you'll be surprised who's listed, well, perhaps not. 'As Seen On TV' is a fascinating and fun book covering a subject that most of us would hardly think twice about.

But, wait! There is more! DON'T TOUCH THAT DIAL! Buy this book and get absolutely FREE hundreds of words that only come out in daylight! The book's designer (unfortunately) decided to use pink panels, on many of the product pages, with text in light blue. Big mistake, because it is very hard to read in a normal domestic lighting environment and the type used for the headlines on these panels is hard to read even in daylight!

I was impressed from the beginning with the content of this book. It has been a great help in my recent graduate projects. This is one I will keep on the shelf for reference.

This book is simply the best book on post-production audio out there. I have over a decade of experience mixing live sound and some formal training in post production, but Rose gets to the real nuts and bolts of the day-to-day sweetening of sound that I was able to apply his ideas the same day I read a chapter on EQ. I have read so many books on sound where authors get into all the details, but fail to give hands on practical advice. Rose has two unique things going for him in this book: the included CD that gives A/B comparisons of various audio sweetening and processing techniques and the cookbook format at the end of each chapter. Try any one of these "recipes" and you will instantly get results and be able to solve various problems and massively improve your soundtrack.
He gets technical in spots going into the physics of sound, studio design, and other minutia but the non-geeks you can usually skip these sections and side-bars. For those who just want to fix things they can jump to the end of each chapter and use the cookbook/troubleshooting sections. I can't recommend this book enough. If you are serious about filmmaking, you can't be without this book.

Audio Postproduction for Digital Video
By Jay Rose
Review by Pi Ware

Don't listen to the title. It's bigger than the title. The "Digital Video" part of Audio Postproduction for Digital Video restricts the scope of this classic Jay Rose text. Rose's book goes far beyond DV, in fact, it starts with an explanation of what sound is on the molecular level and then takes you not just through audio postproduction for TV, but to techniques specific to movie production, techniques that are entirely independent of the format you originate on. Audio Postproduction for Digital Video is top-notch. It's an excellent, text-book quality manual, a soup-to-nuts guide on how to deal with sound in postproduction.

Jay Rose never gives you solutions that are applicable only to specific Digital Audio Workstations, he arms you with knowledge you can use in any platform or program. The book is an education in sound and, together with the numerous photos and diagrams (and Rose's good sense of humor), it's a liberation from the dry prose of most manuals on postproduction.

Rose teaches you from the ground up what sound is, what good sound is, and how to make bad sound better. He doesn't just stop at good writing, however, he illustrates important points with an audio CD included in the back of the book. Together with the CD, the text guides you through importing audio into the computer, editing dialogue, Do It Yourself Foley and ADR, working with filters, noise reduction techniques, pitch and time changes, the sound mix, and even, if you're so inclined, designing, constructing and wiring your own postproduction audio facility.

Though postproduction changes with every new advance in technology, Audio Postproduction for Digital Video stays current by focusing on strategy, not software. Rose avoids giving specific keystroke instructions in specific programs, but instead explains common solutions to common problems using common tools. As he says in his introduction, "You should be able to use these pages for a long time."

Anyone considering directing a short or feature, anyone who wants to be even nominally involved in the sound design of their film, and, of course, anyone interested in working in audio postproduction, would do extremely well to pick up a copy of this classic Jay Rose text.

This book in fantastic. The author's voice and style make this not only easy to read but a joy to read as well. There are little tips and tidbits in each chapter that will make a good audio guy great and a great audio guy better. I recommend this book to anyone in the audio post world.

I decided to buy this book because I had used the forum on the DV.com website for information before, and Jay Rose's comments there had proven to be spot-on and well-informed.
This book contains a thorough examination of all the factors which contribute to the quality of post-production audio. The level of information includes the spectrum from basic to advanced, but through Mr. Rose's clear explanations the advanced information should not go over the heads of the reader.

Milly R. Sonneman has really done it: written a book that demonstrates in easy, concrete steps that anyone can draw well enough to enhance their communication skills!

Sonneman takes you through initially simple and then progressively more advanced steps that can teach any person--in spite of self-doubts--how to make compelling drawings that will clarify ideas and make them more interesting. If you have any doubts that this book can help YOU, just have a look at the other reader reviews!

Doni Tamblyn is author of Laugh and Learn: 95 Ways to Use Humor for More Effective Teaching and Training and The Big Book of Humorous Training Games (Big Book of Business Games Series)

Excellent guide for communicating concepts, ideas, etc.

All my 50 years I was convinced i could not draw and I was not artistic. This book proved me wrong. Quickly my intuitive mind grasped the concepts and I started drawing. Folks comment all the time how long I have been drawing. Their jaws drop when I tell them for only a year. This book's style was instrumental in making it easy to enjoy drawing.

All these reviewers are right. I opened the book and within 30 seconds i drew the first picture which looked EXACTLY like the one in the book. I have spent hundreds of dollars on books on drawing - all wasted. The beauty of this book is that every concept is applied instantly and transferred to your brain subliminally.

If you are spending 2 hours to make the perfect PowerPoint, this book gives you the confidence to make your own drawings, pictorals, and basic diagrams on any whiteboard or paper easel. I was a statitican (so you know I can't draw) but often needed to work out ideas of my own and in groups. The simple pictures learned in this book helps everyone understand the discussion that's going on. Connect words, ideas, and your audience with esy to draw colorful pictograms of your ideas.

Not sure if you can draw, the publishers sample made me get the book.
http://www.handsongraphics.com/index.htm
click on animated guy.

I haven't read it all yet, but everything I have read I understand fully. You also find some pretty interesting stuff.

This is a valuabale study tool. It includes outlines of every book, a synopsis of every chapter along with notes to references that need clarification. There are also lots of illustrations, maps and other helps for anyone on any level who is reading God's word. It is easy to understand, but goes deep enough for the serious student.

this is a great book
what ta tool for studying the word of god
cross referance and facts
high points
themes
just so easy to use
love it

The Bible Reader's Companion is a very nice concise overview of the Bible with numerous black & white drawings. The comments are interesting and the conclusions are generally conservative and traditional. If you like this book you may also enjoy THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE BOOK OF PROVERBS by Cody Jones. Numerous biblical characters are pointed out who illustrate King Solomon's witty observations on human nature.

I have owned this book since 1991 when I first became a Christian and have returned to it over and over again when I need more information or an explanation for Scripture. The book is well laid out, with commentary and application. It is written in a down to earth way, making it easy for anyone to understand. This is one book I would NOT be without! I love it!

This resource is a gold mine. As an employment consultant I have found Parker's book to be practical, realistic and extremely helpful, especially since I primarily work with the Blue Collar sector. If you are experienced in writing your own resume, this book offers great tips on polishing it and if you are new to the resume process, Parker also takes you through it step by step in a manner both instructional and interesting. This should be on every employment consultant's bookshelf. Easy to read and easy to understand; simple but not simplistic.

We provide workshops on job searching, resume writing, interviewing, hidden job market etc. for a varied background of people. Some of our customers do not relate to resumes prepared for the executive or highly educated job seeker. These customers can now understand and see how their similiar skills can be marketed. We now use this resource in every district office. With many employers using the resume instead of applications for screening and with most occupations now requiring resumes, this book is essential for all job seekers.

In my position as a state and federal employment counselor, I deal with large numbers of displaced blue collar workers. Many have limited computer skills and writting ability. BLUE COLLAR & BEYOND has become my most used source book. (In fact I recently purchased a second copy as the first on was wearing out) Using BC&B to teach folks how to prepare their selves to re enter the workforce has raised my success in placement rate to over 75%. VERY EXCELLENT TEXT! Must HAve! Must Buy! Must USE! C. Baugh

Finally, a resume book for jobs that do not require a college education. The book has 171 resumes for jobs such as master cake decorator, clerical office worker, plumber, cruise line customer service. It has a helpful section telling how to get around difficult problems such as job gaps, lack of experience, a spotty education record, and age discrimination. It is readable and encouraging.

This was adapted from the Annotated Bibliography of Learning A Living; A Guide to Planning Your Career and Finding a Job for People with Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit Disorder, and Dyslexia

This author produces the best resume writing materials on the market! This book fits perfectly for those individuals not targeted by many other resume writing books. Many of these skills are transferrable and I encourage clients to browse through the entire book.

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is an old technology by Internet standards, but still a very viable means of interpersonal communication; i.e., chat. Sure there are lots of nutcases out there, but you can also find people who can provide help on a wide variety of subjects (i.e., programming in specific languages), discussions on almost any subject (which is not to say they'll be intelligent or reasoned).

There's not much flash or glamour to be found in IRC or the tools to use with it. This book, however, is a great guide to IRC for those who need to know the nuts and bolts of whatever technology they deal with.

Though old, little in the technology or tools has changed since it was published in 2000.

It's an inexpensive and worthwhile addition to any techie's library or for anyone who is interested in enlarging their online social millieu.

Jerry

Very well written and illustrated guide that starts with the very basics and takes you all of the way through to advanced use. The IRC protocol and client side commands are explored in depth. Numerous clients for Window, OS X, and Unix are covered. This basic coverage, which is about two-thirds of the book ends with an excellent chapter on managing channels.

The advanced chapters cover installing an IRC server, using DCC, and some advanced security issues.

This book sets a comprehensive foundation of knowledge for IRC which is then supplemented by O'Reilly's IRC Hacks book. Beginners looking to get seriously into IRC will want to buy this book. More advanced users will want to look at the coverage of their areas of interest to make sure it's worth the investment.

An truly outstanding book. I have used IRC for many years now, and although I do not consider myself to be an expert-user I definitely know my way around. This book is really the only comprehensize "A - Z" source on IRC, and it is wonderfully-written as both an introductory text for IRC newbies as well as an in-depth compendium for power users. Even after using IRC for so long I could not believe how much I learned, particularly the last chapter which deals with server-side configurations.

Alex Charalabidis uses his expert knowledge of IRC to explain the network's subcultural quirks and expectations in all its many instances, and provides information about IRC on the whole in an amusing, almost rhythmical deliverance. In my opinion, a must read for all IRC users. Even Nick Burns, the company computer guy, suggests it! YOUR WELCOME!!!

I am an IRC junkie, so when I saw this book I just had to pick it up.

This book was written in 1999, and it shows. There are outdated server lists and statistics. The attacks described are mostly outdated (who "nukes" "jupes" and "floods" these days? This is only interesting from a historical perspective). The IRC clients described are now of outdated versions, and some of the now popular clients (xchat, irssi) aren't mentioned. The book claims to have a companion website with updates, which I was excited to see, but the site's domain (bookofirc.com) seems to have expired and been snatched up by an unrelated website.

All that aside, IRC is a pretty basic protocol, and most things about it haven't changed a whole lot, so this book is quite useful. It can walk someone new to IRC through the basics, describing what everything in the IRC world is, as well as providing experts with some interesting tidbits. The whole chapters on DCC and CTCP were especially informative to me. Appendix B "Terminology" was great for providing some of the "language" one might encounter in channels with tech/irc-saavy occupants.

The book even touches upon "IRC Netiquette" when it comes to what is acceptable or not behavior-wise in IRC (I think a whole chapter should have been devoted to this, this seems to be a major stumbling block to new IRCers). The fun way in which the author presents this book makes it very amusing to read, not at all like normal techical books (this is something I enjoy about all No Starch Press books).

In summary, this is a very informative book, even for someone like me who has been using IRC for over 6 years, and now run my own server. But it needs a second edition and/or the companion website revived.

This book is written by an experienced IRC user and operator and I can't think of anyone better qualified to write this book. Additionally, his sense of humor makes this book enjoyable to read as you find out about all the features of IRC. This book is useful for anyone who spends time on IRC, from the "newbies" to veteran IRC "addicts" like me. I wish there had been a book like this around six years ago, when I logged on to my first IRC channel.

Among the subjects the authors covers include a brief summary of IRC and its history, IRC clients for UNIX, Windows, and Macintosh machines, how to connect to an IRC server, finding various channels and people on IRC, and also a good description about the dreaded "net splits" and lag you will eventually run into on IRC. I just wish the author had gone into more detail about ways to deal with server splits and lag. Maybe the next edition will cover that.

More and more users are logging on to IRC all the time (which probably explains why it seems there's always those "splits" I mentioned) and this book is an excellent guide to what you can do on IRC and what to watch out for.

Breakaway Management articulates what's true about workplace behaviors: all people have them and they are less than ideal. People bring along their less than ideal histories (Managers are people too!) and create barriers to change that keep organizations or work groups stuck. The dysfunctional patterns can be identified and named, openly dealt with, and constructively managed. The tools provided in this book help to talk about what's real in the workplace and that's a common sense approach that experience teaches works well

Finally, the fix-it for dealing with those "people problems" that ultimately cause organizational ineffectiveness and failure! Dr. Jones spends just enough time outlining the origins of dysfunction and the widespread impact of dysfunction to convince any business person that it is this dysfunction we must focus on first in our organizations--and not our structures or policies or procedures. Throughout his book, Dr.Jones develops the pathway for any manager to deal respectfully and responsibly with dysfunctional behaviors. No matter how rampant the dysfunction in your workplace, Dr. Jones has beautifully and practically developed the "way out" for managers so they can implement and foster the "way back" into functional behaviors which, ultimately, creates the "way to" organizational success.

Very insightful;full of useful strategies and information. Dr. Jones style is humorous and very down-to-Earth. Chapter 5 was a real eye-opener. I now have a better sense of how to approach discussion of the issues we've been avoiding for so long. Our Thursday morning staff meetings will never be the same. If you supervise 1 or 1,000 people, this book is for you!! John A. Wilson, Area Group Manager, DMS. Inc., California

Truly explains the the reasons behind the time, treasure and pain that Corporate America has endured through the misdirected and failed implementations of Total Quality Mangement, Teamwork, Re-engineering, Downsizing and Right-sizing that has prevailed through the 80's and 90's. This text offers the reader a practical, no-nonsense approach to many of the obstacles that prevent the successful implementation of continious improvement efforts in terms of viewing the organizaiton from the perspective of Dr. Tom Jones who has laced the pages with no-nonsense advice for understanding and improving your organization's effectiveness. If you're in a position to lead people and "been there and done that," I suggest that you re-assess your organization through the "hands on "experience and techniques conveyed by Dr. Jones...You'll find it as impacting and insightful as "The Goal" (Eli Goldratt) and potentially more effective than the scores of business books offering "silver bullet" solutions to the complexities of organizational life in the 90's

Many managers go home each night feeling sick, frustrated and demoralized from facing a daily struggle to reach goals and improve performance in a dysfunctional workplace. The practices they have used effectively in the past are not working, their people seem confused and hostile, and the job is suffering. This book is written for them. It is packed with ideas and techniques for overcoming the barriers to productivity that these managers face. Identifying the symptoms of dysfunction and specifically outlining steps to overcoming them will give managers increased options and tools that can bring the whole workplace team to a new level of productivity