Teams Books

This is the kind of story we don't get enough of in America today. On the surface, it's about a poor California boy who grows up battling adversity and, through determination and showmanship, makes a name for himself as a Dodger Stadium peanut vendor. But it's also about the healing power of family and friendship, and the importance of faith and a positive attitude. This kind of life story is getting harder to find, as society gets more hectic and we get more and more insulated from one another. How refreshing it is to read about a man who dedicated his life to connecting with people -- by tossing them a bag of peanuts -- in the classic setting of the old ballpark. It may sound corny, but we'll miss it when it's gone. Books like this can inspire us to maintain values and traditions that are sadly slipping away.

The Perfect Pitch is a biographical portrait of Roger
Owens, the famous Peanut Man at Los Angeles' Dodger
stadium. Owens has been expertly trick-tossing bags of
salted peanuts to enthusiastic baseball fans for over
40 years. He began working as a peanut vendor at the
age of 15. In 1962 he moved right along with the LA
Dodgers into Dodger Stadium. His arsenal of throwing
tricks (behind the back, overhand, underhand,
between-the-legs) and general friendliness had made
Owens into something of a celebrity, which was
cemented in 1976 by an invitation to appear as a guest
on The Tonight Show hosted by Johnny Carson.

The eldest of nine children, Owens struggled in his
youth with issues that many readers will be able to
relate to. His mother's battle with a mental illness
sent him and his siblings into foster care for some
time. In his twenties, Owens was involved in a Jeep
accident that nearly cost him his life. But even in
the face of poverty and distress, Roger Owens never
let it crush his optimistic and warm spirit.

This is a delightful story of an underdog coming out
on top, and you don't have to be a baseball fan to
enjoy it. (Although baseball fans will love the
detailed descriptions of the games). It is a story
about real people persevering throughout the struggles
of life. You can put yourself in Roger Owens' shoes
and feel his excitement radiating from the pages. A
moving tale with plenty of photographs, it is a fast
paced and engaging story for all readers.

Review by Gretchen Olson of BookReview.com.

You might be thinking to yourself...why would you want to read a book about a peanut vendor...but this isn't any ordinary peanut vendor, this is the famous Roger Owens who has thrown peanuts at Dodger games for the last 46 years and is still going strong.Roger's story is heartbreaking and uplifting. It is inspirational and engaging. He came from a very large family and spent a very tough childhood trying to find himself and help support his family who were very poor.His mother suffered from mental problems and Roger and his siblings were placed in different foster homes.Baseball and the LA Dodgers turned out to be Roger's saving grace. He began his long career at the Coliseum and moved with the Dodgers to Dodger Stadium in 1962 and he has been there ever since.Roger developed quite a following in the sports and entertainment world with his humor and special ability to throw peanuts behind his back and between his legs and hit his mark every time.Roger also experienced a life threatening jeep accident early in his career. Roger's nephew Daniel wrote this book about his uncle and it is indeed a labor of love.If you read one book about a peanut vendor make it this one.

You could probably run a small country with the money sales organizations spend on standardized training. Unfortunately, most of it goes right down the drain, according to sales guru Derek Gatehouse, who says many of today's highly touted sales methods don't make much difference. To him, they are all so much voodoo. Gatehouse believes that instead of wasting money on ordinary training and cookie-cutter processes, companies should focus on hiring only people with "naturally born" sales talent and enlisting only the very best sales managers to supervise them. Then, they should carefully structure their pay programs to give salespeople true incentives. Gatehouse developed his robust sales acumen while toiling for three decades in America's toughest sales trenches. Given this lucid manual, getAbstract finds that he has a lot to teach most companies about organizing and running topflight sales teams.

Ignore this book's title. Surely Derek Gatehouse knows that there is no such entity as a "perfect sales force" but indeed there is much of great value to be learned from what the book's subtitle suggests: "the best practices of the world's best sales teams." However, questions immediately arise: Which are they? Who selected them? According to which criteria? How recent was the information when the selections were made? (Note: Most of the companies that Peters and Waterman praise in In Search of Excellence no longer meet the criteria by which they were selected and several of them have since been acquired by another company.) Gatehouse shares the results of the Gallup organization's 30-year study of top performance, which includes more than 3,000,000 people thus far. He asserts that people rather than processes process sell, and, that those who are "natural born" sales people will "sell circles around all the rest."

How to develop such a sales force? "The only feasible growth system for a sales force, and the only way to build a sales force of top performers, is to learn the language of selling talents. This will let you cast the exact right talents into each stage of your particular sales type, and then gain an understanding of what specific conditions generate autonomous top performance from these gifted sellers." That in the proverbial "nutshell" is what Gatehouse's book is all about: explaining "the formula for a top-producing sales force, one that is made up primarily of those salespeople that sell four times more than all others." This formula takes into full account three separate but interdependent components: "natural-born" sales aptitude, performance enhancement training, and the environment (i.e. "external conditions")in which people sell.

With regard to how Gatehouse organizes his material, he introduces the six best practices of "the perfect salesforce" in Chapter 2 and then devotes a separate chapter to each. For example, #1 consists of ten "selling talents" that Gatehouse examines with rigor and eloquence and #6 consists of best practices in results-based management. In the final chapter, he explains the need for a Perfect SalesForce committee that has only one purpose: to ensure that initiatives "stay on track" as the six best practices are adopted during what amounts to a two-phase process: determination of the changes that need to be made and then the on-going, daily operations. "This latter phase is where companies go off track; everyone is too close to the daily grind to step back and see things objectively. It is here that your committee best serves." Gatehouse then offers a detailed case history of an actual company, Dilan Ink, with which he was closely associated. He explains a four-stage process that begins with an assessment of the current situation and concludes with training.

For whom will this book be most valuable? Certainly anyone who serves on a "Perfect SalesForce committee" whose membership should include a C-level executive, someone from HR, the sales manager, at least one top sales performer (preferably more), and the company owner(s), if appropriate. Others who should read this book are those who are sales administrators or aspire to become one. My own rather extensive experience in sales and sales management suggests that most "natural born" sales people, those who "sell circles around all the rest," would rather be selling than reading about others who do...one man's opinion. However, I think CEOs should be among those who read this book because Gatehouse offers some valuable perspectives on how those in the salesforce, out on the proverbial "front line," in active and frequent contact with current and prospective customers, can provide invaluable competitive intelligence, especially about market trends.

Gatehouse encourages those who purchase his book to check out a wealth of resources at www.theperfectsalesforce.com that include articles, training videos, tools, his daily blog, and a members' forum.

Derek Gatehouse has spent more than 30 years working at every level of sales in many industries. This book distills what he has learned about what works in sales and what he teaches to his clients as CEO of Vendis, Inc. The foundational idea of the book is that there is no secret to sales that you can give to people without sales talent that will turn them into top performers. Instead, he argues, you need to understand the kind of talents your company needs in its salespeople and hire the most talented people of that type that you can. He urges you to study your most successful salespeople and guides you in what to look for in their work. By learning what they do right you can hire more people with the same abilities. The key is to be more dispassionate and not hire someone because they seem good to you or that you like them. You need performers. So, learn what makes such people tick and hire them.

The book has 9 chapters and an appendix with a 50-page case study of a real company that illustrates the entire process he lays out in this book. And a good index.

The nine chapters cover:

1) The Perfect Salesforce - he makes his case for native talent over the notion of teaching sales.
2) The 6 Best Practices - The 10 Selling Talents, Sorting Stages for Talent, Talent-Based Hiring, Pay and Quota, Sales Behavior Training, Result-Based Management.
3) The 10 Selling Talents
4) Sorting Sales Stages for Talent
5) The Talent Based Hiring Process
6) The Pay Plan and Quota
7) Sales Behavior Training
8) Result-Based Management
9) Growing `The Perfect Salesforce'

While the first 3 of the best practices are likely to be the most different for you (at least they were for me), the author lays out his principles very well. He also provides online forms and even a bookmark you can print out to help you.

I think what Gatehouse says about sales makes sense and much of it agrees with my personal experience. There are naturally talented salespeople, and there are different sales requirements at different companies, for different sales assignments, and the way you set up their pay and quote matters and great deal. And I like his emphasis on sales training having something to offer in adding refinements to talent and management by emphasizing the positive. His saying that under performing salespeople are miscast is spot on. What others call firing he calls releasing and I like that wording a lot. I did the same thing when I found people who just couldn't get a job done. My emphasis was that they deserved to be successful, but the job they had was not going to help them be successful.

A thoughtful and helpful book.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

This was definitely the most complete and insightful report on Philadelphia Phillies history that I have ever read. A complete look at each season, the players, as wells as the management and administration of this fine organization. Wonderful pictures and a complete record section made this book one of the finest of its type.

A one stop book on Phillies history. Stats, stories, photos. Its all in there. It is truly an awesome book for any Phillies fan, any baseball fan for that matter. A great piece of work.

The third edition of The Phillies Encyclopedia was released prior to the 2004 season. The original version was released in 1983, and a second edition was printed in 1993. Anything you've ever wanted to know about the Phillies is all here from their inaugural year of 1883 through the end of the Veterans Stadium era in 2003. A summary of every season is included, bios of over 200 players, every manager, owner, and club president. Rare facts, stories, you name it, it's here.

If you are a diehard Phillies fan, this is for you. If you are a casual Phillies fan, and would like to learn more of the team's history, this is a great place to start. If you are a fan of baseball history in general, I highly recommend The Phillies Encyclopedia.

I can't wait until the next edition comes out!

Some books I read for the history, some I read for the story, and then there is The Phillies Reader. Being a life long Philadelphia Phillies fan, this book allowed me to read about some of my boyhood heroes and bring out the kid in me once again.

Follow the 300-page trail of one of baseball's oldest and most storied franchises in this remarkable collection of Phillies archives. From the earliest days of Ed Delahanty and his four home run game to Billy Hamilton to the roaring 20's with Pete Alexander.

Travel back in time to watch the Whiz Kids like Robin Roberts and Ritchie Ashburn of the 50's to the Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton lead powerhouses of the 70's and 80's. You'll read about the Wheeze Kids with Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and Tony Perez of 1983.

I was amazed at the ups and downs, the trial and tribulations, the emotional roller coaster this book presented and how it all falls neatly into place. A true must have for any Phillies Fan at a price that should be of no objection. Congratulations on a spectacular job well done!

This is a wonderful and educational chronological collection of newspaper columns written about the Phillies from the 1930's through the 1993 World Series. There is a pleasing array of writing styles, perspectives and events chronicled. I wish the book were bigger, though. For instance, I hoped for more detail about the infamous 1964 "stretch drive." I was born in 1958 and first started rooting for the Fightins in 1970. 1964 is not in my personal memory bank, thank goodness. But, even in the absence of material I had hoped to see, this book is very entertaining reading, and a must for any Phillie fan - or baseball fan - who appreciates the history of the Phils or the game itself.

Yes, I am one of the few, the proud,.....the Philadelphia Phillies' fans. And was this book ever perfect for me.

I have always been a baseball fan, and my favorite team has always been the Philadelphia Phillies. This book allowed me to travel back through the wild history of the ball club. The stories are wonderful, but more importantly, most of them are written by top-notch newspaper reporters or well-known authors. Some of the more personal stories, written by players, etc., are also well-done, and give a nice human touch to the book.

This was an intersting and entertaining read, and one that could be enjoyed by all fans of America's Pastime.

I'm not a big baseball fan, but I wanted to read this book because it pertained to the Negroe Leagues, a part of baseball most of us don't know much about. I was delighted. The Pittsburgh Crawfords was both entertaining and informative. What a wonderful cast of characters! And wonderful stories.

I'm not a big baseball fan, but I wanted to read this book because it pertained to the Negroe Leagues, a part of baseball most of us don't know much about. I was delighted. The Pittsburgh Crawfords was both entertaining and informative. What a wonderful cast of characters! And wonderful stories.

The Pittsburg Crawfords by James Bankes presents an excellent insight into the world of black baseball and some of its greatest stars such as Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Bell and Josh Gibson. One of the books fascinating parts is a comparison of black stars with the 1927 Yankees Murderes Row. As a baseball fan, I highly recommend this book.

This is not a typical boring history book. It is a fun history book. Wex wrote a collection of mini-biographies of the men who made the Steelers. But he did not limit the book to just Steeler stars from the past, he also included players that were lesser known. The stories are told by the players themselves. Growing up in the 70s, I would study the Steeler all-time leaders lists and read names like Lynn Chandnois and Roy Jefferson, but I had no clue who they were. Now I have a feel for who those players were and their place in building the best organization in the NFL. I don't want to tell the stories here, but I will say I learned Mean Joe Greene earned his nickname both on and off the field. Was Roy Jefferson Terrell Owens before Terrell Owens was born? I asked myself that question while reading about Roy Jefferson.

A couple things I learned were I was wrong when I thought the Steelers stunk before their 70s dynasty and a common link between players was their love and respect for Art Rooney.

Men of Steel is easy to read but hard to put down.

Jim Wexell ("Wex" is he known around sports discussions in The Burgh) has produced another great book about the Pittsburgh Steelers.

There are many things to enjoy from this books such as a behind-the-scenes lok at NFL players, the unknown stories associated with players that have never been told before, and also the nostalgia aspect of the book.

Most of the 35 players documented in the book I have watched play football with the Pittsburgh, but there are some that I never had the pleasure to watch. Jim Wexell introduces these players to you and then gives you some information that tells you about the person behind the player.

Alot of books about the Steelers will use third-hand accounts or have stories that any Steelers fan would already know. Wexell seperates himself and his book from books like that, because he uses first hand accounts and brings fresh new stories to the reader.

I don't know why I expected anything different from Wexell, because his first book that I also purchased, "Tales From Behind The Steel Curtain" was also an excellent read.

I really enjoyed the chapter about Frank Lewis and how he did not fit into the Steelers scheme of things during the Steelers dynasty years, but he was a very good NFL wide receiver. And then to learn how he he left the team...I will let you read for yourself.

My only hope now is that Jim Wexell continues to publich books like these. If you are true and die-hard Steelers fan, get this book and other Steelers books that Jim Wexell has written.

Men of Steel, is a tremendous collection of Steeler history. The book takes you through the lives of 35 former players. Interesting, funny, and informative this book held my attention start to finish. I laughed reading the Chapter on Tunch Ilkin and Craig Wolfley, and I now know what prompted the NFL to have oxygen available at every football game. Throughout this book you see the support and influence the Rooney family has had in the former players lives. I read of a connection to a necktie and a playoff game from the mid 70's. I learned how the coaches used a snow fence to motivate rookies. The Kevin Greene chapter mentions how he brought Big Macs and fries late at night for crazed fans camping out for a chance to get playoff tickets. I was one of those campers and was in awe of the free food from a player.

Jim Wexell put together an amazing book of Steeler profiles. I appreciate the extensive research that must have gone into this work. A must read for any football fan.

this guide gives you a great insight into the latest pokemon card expansion-team rocket.it gives you tips on how to build decks. it also shows you twelve decks that you can make using the team rocket expansion. wether you are interested in collecting the cards or just battling with them this is the guide for you.

Has all the things you learn about being a Pokemon Master!

This book features everything you could possibly want to know about Team Rocket Pokemon cards. It features everything from the top 10 Team Rocket cards to amazing decks you can build using Team Rocket cards to a complete encyclopedia of everything about every Team Rocket card! This book is a must-read for all collectors and players.

This book help me to solve several problems in my company. I recommend.
Fabio Camara

There are a lot of books on Microsoft's Studio Team System that are written from the standpoint of the developer involved with a team development project. These books seem to be lacking the first forty pages or so. That is, they don't explain just what it is that you are trying to do, how to set up a development team, how to administer the Team System software.

It turns out that there's a lot more than forty pages in this book, but it covers exactly those points. The book is specifically aimed at project managers, administrators, and IT professionals who are charged with implementing a project.

Part one of the book covers planning and implementation of the Team System software and of the project itself. This of course includes working with security and the foundation for server backup and recovery.

The second and third parts of the book is the creation of the project itself and the customization of the Team Software system to fit your particular project.

The last section includes management of the project from initial steps through completing the project and performing a postmortem as preparation for the next one.

Team Foundation Server (TFS) is a new Microsoft product designed to help development teams better manage the software development cycle. It is a huge product, just installing and configuring it is a big task because you need to deal with Windows SharePoint Services, SQL Server 2005, SQL Server Reporting Services, a data warehouse, a build server, a proxy server and of course, TFS itself. Where do you start? How do you plan such a large deployment inside your company? How the decisions that you take right now will affect you in the future?

Professional Team Foundation Server is a book that will help smooth out the installation process and help you better understand the beast that is TFS. The target audience is not the average developer; in fact, the book targets a few roles: the lead developer, the IT administrator or the person responsible to install and maintain TFS, the project manager.

Part one covers the TFS installation, how to plan for it and the maintenance so it's IT focused. Part two covers how to create projects and what process template to select so it's project management focused. Part three covers how to extend and customize TFS so it's more developer focused and lastly, part four covers management.

I was very impressed by the quality of the information presented in this book. Two of the authors are Team System MVPs so they know their stuff. You'll find lots of hard to find tips; the kind of tips you would have liked to know before doing the install. It is an invaluable book and it should be mandatory reading for anyone wanting to install, configure, support, extend and manage TFS. It is a great reference book that will help smooth out any TFS installation. High praises of Professional Team Foundation Server.

I have not received the book yet. I would like to think I came across this book by the hand of God. My father passed away this past May. He was a Red Sox fan his whole life, even though he had never seen them win a World Series. I have bought this book for my sons who are Yankee fans. I am going to write them a letter signing it Love Grandpa. So many of my father's friends and families could not believe that a man waits his whole life for his team to win and dies on the year it happens. My youngest son said that pop was in heaven asking God to take the curse off Boston and God seemed to have listened to him. Hoping pop did not ask God to put the curse on his Yankees. In memory of my dad, I hope this book will be a 5 star book to my sons.

George Higgins has done a great job of opening up the world of baseball, as well as tradition, life, and the passion the game holds. I thoroughly enjoyed this book

Not only the best book I've ever read about the Red Sox and what they mean to their fans, but the best book I've read about baseball and the significant place it has in our lives, whether we are aware of it or not. His referral to The Boss as 'King Steinbrenner the Odious' is as fitting a moniker of that man as I've ever heard. Simpy a shame so many of Higgins' books are out of print.

Debbe Kennedy is one of those rare business book writers who "gets it." She understands that the true value of a business book is the degree to which the book can actually be applied. "Putting Our Differences to Work" is valuable precisely because it can be applied by organizations of any size, starting TODAY.

Debbe uses a clear, welcoming writing style to communicate real-life stories of change agents across the for-profit and non-profit spectrum who have employed the principles outlined in this book not only to transform their organizations, but literally to change the world for the better.

The good news, as Debbe shows us, is that whether you are an owner, C-level executive, manager or "rank and file" employee, we ALL have the resources necessary to transform our own organizations. That's because "diversity" goes beyond the traditional notions of gender, ethnicity and cultural diversity to include the myriad of as-yet untapped skills and talents of our co-workers, suppliers and customers. And these diverse talents, skills and resources are available to every one of us, every day. Debbe shows you how to identify and harness the power of these resources to transform your organization (or at least your piece of it).

Read this book for the wealth of information it contains. More important, learn from this book and APPLY IT. Debbe shows you how. Follow her lead and you'll enjoy watching your organization - and the world - change for the better.

"Siemens chief says its managers are too German, white and male" by Richard Milne in London, Financial Times, USA, Wednesday June 25 2008, p.1, col.3.

The article above is a report ready-made for "Putting Our Differences to Work," underscoring the pertinence of the subject matter of Debbe Kennedy's book: Siemens is not alone.

However, this book goes beyond the trite "'Diversity' solution" parroted by many industrial leaders; in fact, in so many ways, it is not quite about diversity. Nor does the book apply to Industries and Businesses alone: from self-help / personal growth to family to management of Nations and States, there is use for, and value in, this book.

And, do not expect the kind of pedantic presentation of material typically seen in Industrial and Business white papers, executive summaries, consulting reports and the sort. The story-telling style used for this type of material is entirely refreshing (especially coming from an author steeped, as it were, in the tradition of Business and Industry): it makes for easy reading and mass appeal.

Often, one reads a book quite mindful of the title and generally oblivious of the subtitle: not this book. The title is married to the subtitle: keep this tight couple in mind in order to reap the most benefit from "Putting Our Differences to Work...the fastest way to innovation, leadership, and high performance."

If there's only one book to read this year, make it "Putting Our Differences to Work..." You will be richer for that. Of course, considering what its chief is quoted as saying as above, Siemens could sure use the book, and there is Siemens everywhere!

Oguchi Nkwocha, MD.
California USA.
June 25 2008

This is just a wonderful book. The topic of diversity is one fraught with land mines, but Debbe Kennedy has figured out a way to discuss the issue without stepping on any of them. She makes it clear, for the first time I think, that it's not just about skin color but about how people see things in different ways and how others can profit by looking from various angles. The stories in this book are particularly rich and should resonate with both managers and employees in every size company. But don't think it's just for the workplace; I think it can also be valuable for everyday interactions at home and in the community as well.