Butler Books

This was a wonderful find. The watercolor and pencil illustrations are beautifully drawn and executed, with especially good depictions of children and animals. Lots of details and interesting information. Kids and adults alike will truly learn from and enjoy this book. Would make a great gift for former Hoosiers now far away.

Most books, whether about religion or anything else, can be summarized
in a few paragraphs or a few pages.

But not Here Lies the Bible.

Here Lies the Bible is so densely packed with information that the only
possible summary is the book itself.

In just 365 pages Mr. Pike explores and exposes just about
every story in the bible.

He challenges both the Old and New testaments.

Every atheist and agnostic will find enough material in this book
to win a lifetime of arguments with religious believers.

But not exclusively because rational religious believers enjoy learning
the difference between what is symbolic and what is factual in their religions .

I think the authors and editors of this book has done a great service to the area of Macau studies. Macau, formerly a sleepy Portugese enclave in southern China, has been neglected for a long time by the academia. Yet, despite its small population, it is a thriving society that is expected to further develop now that China has resumed its sovereignty over the city.

This book, a clear, concise and meticulously study on the education system of Macau, is useful both the educators in Macau as well as people who're interested in the subject of, and development, in education in general. It has also filled a glaring hole in the field. Recommended.

That is what Limonov's writing is, dangerously beautiful. His characters are so real that you can touch them, smell them, envision them and His Butler's Story is no exception. What is dangerous about his writing, I can't quite say. His main character, Edichka, seems to be flirting with the idea of political assasination and world domination, all at the same time serving lunch to a NYC bourgeois or half-heartedly smoking a joint. The inner workings of a fanatical mind are a scary thing to observe (Dostoevskyesque) and at the same time they are frightningly beautiful. Definately worth the read and re-read and re-re-read...

This is a great human anatomy book because it explains things very well and it includes great pictures so that you can understand it better. I defenitely recommend this book for people that are interested in the Human Body.

Easy to read, this informative book provides many anecdotes about Hollywood's bizarre casting decisions. Enjoyable to the cinema buff as well as grandma and grandpa; a great gift for anyone who loves the movies. Many of the tales involve classic movies, with which most are familiar. A real conversation provoker.

I bought this entire New Testament series commentary to help me in teaching an adult Sunday School class. I'm glad I did! All of the books include a verse-by-verse description that is very helpful. A teaching outline is included for each chapter, along with discussion questions and an area with a more deeper discussion of certain topics important to that chapter.

As a new teacher, I have found this series invaluable in preparing my lessons. I think you'll like this one.

A New Type of Dictionarv - "The Hospitalitv English-Japanese Dictionarv"

On a population basis, Australia has more students studying Japanese than any other country in the world except Korea. Even primary schools teach Japanese, often with the assistance of young Japanese who come to Australia to participate in language programs. This means that young Australians are often able to study Japanese in some form or another from primary school right through to university.

But Japanese is not an easy language to master. The writing system is extremely complicated: in order to properly read Japanese, a student needs to memorize 96 syllabic characters and around 1,900 Chinese characters or kanji, each of which generally has at least two different ways to pronounce it. On top of this, Japanese language relies strongly on different levels of politeness, and students rarely achieve any real ability to properly use these levels of politeness even after 4 years of study at university.

After graduation, quite a large number of these students find employment in the tourism and hospitality industries, requiring to use their Japanese language skills on a daily basis in dealing with Japanese tourists and business people. Unfortunately their ability to use correct and polite language is often insufficient to avoid giving offence and creating misunderstanding on the part of their Japanese clients.

With this type of problem in mind, Yoko Pinkerton of Monash University, together with three other highly qualified authors, has recently produced a new type of dictionary -"The Hospitality English-Japanese Dictionary" - which lies somewhere between a traditional dictionary and a phrasebook. Yoko has had extensive experience in the hospitality/tourism and business client contact areas, and also in teaching Japanese to Australians at university level. As such, she has an acute awareness of the difficulties faced by students of Japanese, and the problems they face when attempting to take what they have learned in the classroom and put it into practice out in the real world.

"The Hospitality English-Japanese Dictionary", written in "romaji" (a system for writing Japanese using the English alphabet) so that even students of Japanese who can't read the Japanese Script can use it, is designed to ensure that users avoid the common pitfalls of using "pidgin Japanese", and at the very least learn to speak correct Japanese at a suitable minimum level of politeness. Then, when users of the dictionary feel they have mastered this minimum or "standard polite style', they can progress to using the "extra polite style" of language which is especially desirable in tourism, hospitality, and business situations. For ease of use, unlike regular dictionaries which generally only list abbreviated or "impolite" forms of words, "The Hospitality English-Japanese Dictionary" lists standard polite style expressions first, followed by extra-polite style forms. The content has also been carefully edited to ensure that words which would not normally be useful in client contact or tourism situabons have not been unnecessarily | included, to facilitate looking up required words and expressions speedily and easily.

The introductory notes of "The Hospitality English-Japanese Dictiona~y"contain helpful information about speech styles, adjective and verb structures, and pronunciation, while at the back of the dictionary are detailed appendixes covering such topics as "counting words" and "kinship terms" which are very important in Japanese but not generally listed in other dictionaries. Favourably reviewed by such Japanese language experts as Dr. Anne de Kretser of the Melbourne Centre for Language Education, "The Hospitality English-Japanese Dictionary", is a must for any one who needs to use Japanese language in hospitality, tourism, or business situations.
Etsuko Akasaka

Mr. Ferry has produced a handbook for training Hotel Butlers that can be used in a wide variety of hospitality venues from large properties with numerous suites served by butlers to smaller boutique resorts and spas offering butler service in very intimate settings.

The objective of this manual in all of these situations is to train and promote great service and inspire butlers with attitude, skills and focus to wow guests as though they were being served in their own homes.

First there is the discussion of butlers in a historical context and their evolution from servants to professionals over the years. The hotel butler is in a different role than the single family butler because multiple guests replace single employer as the central focus of service. The purpose of the butler remains the same " to smooth the lives of those who he or she serves" Understanding this role is key, and Mr. Ferry then moves on to the skills that enable the butlers to execute their mission with efficiency.

Skills involved include how to handle many of the more common situations that arise in terms of etiquette and navigating the "sticky wickets" or complicated situations that often arise. Then there is excellent discussion of some of the systems that are used for butlers to communicate effectively- the white board, the passport, the radio systems and protocols. Packing and unpacking, shoe care, laundry, setting the table and serving the proper English tea are but some of the many details of the butler trade that are covered in expert fashion.

The book ends up with a wide range of check lists that are wonderful templates ready to be customized to the particular hospitality location. Guest Room readiness checklist, list for organizing a dinner party and a guest record form are just a few of the great organizing tools that Mr. Ferry has provided.

"Hotel Butlers, The Great Service Differentiators" is a clear guide to explaining butler service and how it can be done to a high standard by motivated professionals.

"Household Careers provides succinct and comprehensive information on a wide range of 'hidden careers' on the home front...a valuable resource for domestic workers, entrepreneurs, small business advisors and career counseling agencies."