Reference Tools Books

After having collected many books on LaTeX i consider this set the best reference set of books on LaTeX. If one is serious about using LaTeX this is the initial must have set of LaTeX books

The set is wonderful quick reference! If you are LaTeX user, then its likely that you are aware of thousands of manuals spread all over the place in the LaTeX structure, and everywhere else. These book comes in extremely handy when you are busy writing up a document in LaTeX and do not want to spend hours searching through countless online/electronic manuals. I found all four books very useful. I usually go to "Guide to LaTeX" By Kopka and Daly, and if they didn't go in enough depth, then it's to The LaTeX Companion book which usually finish the job. Whenever I wanted a more specialized info on presentation/graphics, it's "The LaTeX Graphics companion" time. I do not write much Web-related materials, but the book, "The LaTeX Web Companion" has excellent section on making PDF files which I use for presentation materials.

This 136 page spiral bound volume adds useful materials for the study of the Syriac New Testament. The text is well laid out, the Syriac is in a nice readable Syriac (Serto, very close to a Jacobite) font. Initially a computer generated list of word frequencies occupies the first 34 pages, followed by a frequency list of proper nouns, a list of words derived from Greek, consonantal homographs, and elegantly displayed verb paradigms. Added to this work is a fine "skeletal" Syriac grammar by the great S. Brock, which in itself is very handy. The text ends with an English and Syriac index to the work. Kiraz is a known expert with this language, and this work is a useful and accurate tool. It serves as a SUPPLEMENT to a grammar.

This practical little book contains about 90% of the information that you'll ever really need without going to Machinery's Handbook. It is also about a tenth of the price, is much less bulky, and is durable and easy to flip through with the spiral binding.

These are the specific sections included: I. Mathematical Information (decimal equivalents, areas, gage blocks, shop trig.), II. Drills (grinding, common problems and causes, drill sizes- decimal and metric, cutting speeds) III. Tapers, IV. Screws, Threads, Fasteners V. Milling, Shaping, Turning (cutters, speeds and feeds, lubricants), VI. Gears, VII. Weights, Gages, Tolerances, VIII.Tool Steels, IX Metric Information, X Reading Shop Prints (symbols, dimensioning and tolerances, geometric tolerancing, surface texture specs.)

There is a good index in the back of the book and the table of contents in the front is also detailed. There are black side indexes to help you flip quickly to the ten main sections. The spiral binding is durable and the paper quality is heavy.

Between school, the shop floor, and engineering offices I've been working around machinery for about thirty years now- this really is a practical, usuable book for a reasonable amount of money. Fits in your pocket- and if it disappears you won't be out a fortune.

I rarely get excited about a book that has information that I've already mastered, but this is an exception, and here are the reasons why:

- It's a short guide to the essential tools that will assure success if they are all used in planning, scheduling and controlling a project. In this respect the book is a memory jogger and sanity check.

- Each tool is succinctly, but thoroughly, covered. The format is: What it is, How it's used and an example. The copious use of graphics and the clear writing result in a small page count that is crammed with information.

- It epitomizes great document design. Like all consultants I spend a lot of time writing and communicating. This book is the standard to which I compare my own work, and I appreciate the , thought and effort that went into writing and laying out this book. It may look simple, but I assure you that the design alone is a masterpiece.

Even though I know the material the book has valid uses beyond serving as a model of technical writing. One use is to convey to team members (and stakeholders) the value of the techniques and tools that you're using to manage the project. Instead of spending valuable time drafting explanations, simply hand them a copy of this small book, or borrow heavily from it and throw together a presentation. Another use is to use this book as both a framework and checklist during the project planning phase.

The book is divided into eight sections. Section 1 is an overview that depicts project management as a process and superimposes the Plan-Do-Check-Act quality cycle on the process. This guides you in planning a project within the context of a quality-focused framework, and the potential pitfalls and prevention checklist in this section adds depth to the overview. The remaining seven sections list tools that you'll use in each process stage: project selection, selection and contract, planning, implement, monitor progress, and complete and review. The final section covers tools for managing multiple projects, such as resource loading and monitoring. The acid test is to assess whether the tools are appropriate and reflect best practices. The book passes with flying colors, and I am basing this opinion on the content of the planning section. It contains all of the key tools used in proper project planning, including work breakdown structures, responsibility charts, cost breakdown structures, critical path analysis and contingency plans.

Regardless of your level of expertise or experience you'll appreciate this book. If your budget allows a copy for every key member of your project team I predict a substantial return on your investment.

I borrowed this book through interlibrary loan because I'm working in a woodshop for historic interpretation, and I needed to know what I was doing. This book reminds me of the DK Eyewitness books in that it simply explains a tool and shows you with various line drawings and also photographs. Not a lot of explanation for each tool, but a good quick reference. The tools in the book are not necessarily period pieces, but they are derived from period tools. I think this is a good beginner reference book, of course because of the price (less than 10 bucks), and especially because it shows things well in the photographs.

"Mastering Knife Skills" by chef Norman Weinstein is a marvel of a book - visually attractive, overflowing with facts both historical and culinary, the ultimate guide to the choosing of knives, their care and upkeep, and their optimal use.

This book fills a real gap in the field of cook-bookery. I, a serious amateur cook, have been cooking for over forty years now, and yet, in forty years of watching television cooking shows and reading cookbooks (of which I own some thirty), I have never before seen any teacher or TV chef relate - really relate in any serious and systematic, way - to this most important of all our cooking tools, at least not until the present illuminating book.

One could be forgiven for expecting such a book to offer mere dry factual knowledge on the subject, but in fact it is excitingly written and lavishly illustrated, and Weinstein's style has a flow and a sweep that pull the reader along from page to page, like a good detective novel, from slicing through dicing, to mincing to filleting to fabricating - yes, fabricating - a chicken. The accompanying DVD, furthermore, is graphic and extremely well presented.

I have seen Norman Weinstein in the classroom. He is an inspiring teacher, who wears his prodigious erudition lightly, and enlivens his classes with a quick and warm sense of humor. That same encyclopedic knowledge, sympathy and warmth come across in his book as well.

And one last note: following Weinstein's instructions I sat down for an hour with a sharpening stone and sharpened all my knives to an edge the like of which I have not ever gotten from the "professionals".

While this may not be the only cookbook you will ever want, it certainly is the only knife book you will ever need.

Harvey B.

I have been in the field of business development and Instructional Design for over 15 years. Over the years, I've seen many organizations resist change, attempt to change, fight to re-engineer, adopt TQM, QA, SOPs (sic)...you name it. Many have attempted to succeed by using a part and partial approach. It seems Roger Kaufman has taken Needs Assessment and shown how it can encompass the best practices to insure business success by careful, committed, comprehensive planning. The elements of change we have come to know as fundamental to world-wide business and organizational survival and success are woven into a convincing model.

At a high level, his paradigm is truly holistic. At a "micro" level, it is detailed to the point where it can be put into practice step-by-step.

Aside from the strength of his thinking, his writing style is refreshing. I found myself actually chuckling at points throughout the book. Once again, his parallels and examples are real-world and sometimes so simple that anyone should be able to comprehend and accept his rationale.

I am currently working on a needs assessment for a VERY large Federal Agency. They have demanded that we follow this model from beginning to end; testimony to its acceptance beyond academic settings.

i would like to take a look at it

This book is a must for "New Guys" to be on your shelf, and give you a quick reference. It is jamb packed with information! It is non-technical, practical and written by a technical guy. There are many things I have learned in "fixing things" and I come up with novel ways of doing it, but this guy is good! If you work with both hand tools and power tools, as I do, you may neglect a tool and find it rusty. Inside this book is alchemey magic for the small shop. Reversing the rusting process! Each page has something for us. It also tells me why, and if I want more, the facts behind it. Only one draw back, but it probably kept the cost of this book affordable. I'd like it to be on better paper, and have a few more pictures of what the project or technique looks like, so I can have a visual reference point.