Models Books

This book will open your mind on how to launch a bew business or innovative product or server. However the authors could write this book in a more simple way and not with a hard to read english text.

Before reading the book, “The Ultimate Competitive Advantage” it seemed to me that most management books were written for “big” business problems. Most authors quote one case after the other to make their own case. A collection of postmortem reports of different companies to tell you how they failed.

This is the first book that has taught me however small a business may be, its success depends on competitive edge it creates with its own resources. There are numerous ways that even limited resources can create an added benefit for the customers and increase my business. The example of “free cold water” on an off beat road is one such method in the book to remember as a simple but brilliant solution to attract customers and add value for the customers. The authors give a set of tools to help one think in a different manner. I recommend this book especially to young person trying to get their business started and also those seeking to break out of dead end situations. A great work!

Mitchell and Coles have done businesses a tremendous service in writing this excellent book. They have done so by providing a practical toolbox of ideas with which to stimulate entrepreneurs, business leaders and managers to enhance and improve their business prospects in today's very competitive marketplaces.

I must admit to having struggled with this book for a long time. Not because of difficulty in reading and understanding. To be sure this is a very lucid and comprehensible book and is accessible to all levels from a twelve year old bringing out his lemonade stall for the third year in a row and adding iced tea to his product range to the CEO of a major corporation.

My struggle was with trying to make overarching sense of what lessons the authors were trying to encourage readers to learn. It became clear to me after several periods of reflection upon completion of the text. The crucial significance of this book in a practical way lies in understanding how deep into national economic systems the process of globalisation has seeped. We see the reults in our everyday lives, how quickly new or improved products come into the marketplace. We see how quickly established businesses change or die, we see cheaper and better products come from remote parts of the world leaving us a greater part of our disposable income to spend on the things we would prefer to spend on them.

It is clear that in life and not just in business the process of change has quickened and that as individuals we must be more adaptable and more attune to the world around us to the opportunities that exist. It is as if we need to become our own business in ourselves.

Mitchell and Coles focus on but one part of this continuous change and that is on the business model. Their strong focus on this area has great strength but we must also learn the broader lesson from their well researched work. To survive in today's world we must not only accept change but we must embrace it as people, as workers, as entrepreneurs. It is as Schumpeter pointed out inherent in the nature of capitalism. But, to be sure it is inherent in the nature of all life, as Hayek observed. We must change or die.

I would heartily recommend this book to everyone, for there is much to be gained from within it's pages. Mitchell and Coles have produced an excellent book which far and away exceeds it's remit as a business book.

The Ultimate Competitive Advantage is a gold mine with a rich vein of unusual ideas from Mitchell and Coles' nimble minds. Its stated purpose is to help readers develop and implement a superior management process for continuous business model improvement. The book goes ahead to do just that.

The authors' approach make deliberate what used to be an accidental, hapazard, uncertain and hard to repeat process.

This book, like Mitchell and Coles' others, is best used as a workbook. After each chapter, several questions are posed to stimulate your thinking, and 95% of the value of the book will be unlocked for you when you take the time to think through them rigorously. Serious entrepreneurs looking for fresh ideas for getting out of the rut and improving their businesses will.

This is a practical book, but it is not a "how-to-book" instead, it deals with the what, when and why; with such tangibles as pricing, cost of doing business and benefits to stakeholders. The authors- Donald Mitchell and Carol Coles researched and found out that unsuccessful companies doggedly apply outdated business models while the successful ones improve their models every 2 to 4 years. The book provides a straightforwad and a systematic method which any company can use to review and improve its business model basing on its key components: pricing, cost of doing business and benefits to its shareholders.

I have a 1987 Catalina 30 sailboat with a diesel engine. I wish I had purchased a copy of this book six years ago when I bought my boat. I might have saved hundreds and maybe even thousands of dollars in yard bills by doing more of the work myself with the help of this book. I have the 2nd Edition published in 1995. I think it is well organized, well written, and I find the illustrations to be clear. A friend of mine purchased the 3rd Edition, which has updated information, particularly on electronics. However I am extremely satisfied with the 2nd Edition for my needs.

No this is not a book for inland gas boats! This is a book for ocean going vessels. Both power and sail. I have cruised on a 28' Columbia (outboard) and a 41' Islander Freeport (perkins). It was a *must have* with the Cruising Handbook in 4 years of full time cruising. [...] Fairwinds!

This is the second Nigel Calder book I own, and I am even more impressed. I am an ASA-certified instructor qualified to teach through bareboat chartering and coastal navigation. I have sailed on all sorts of boats, have owned a cruising style boat for six years, have heard boat owners and students complain about various problems, have read dozens of books, and through all of this have experienced so many mysteries related to corrosion, electrical problems, equipment problems, and issues with various boat systems. For the first time, I feel I have a single reference manual specific to boat systems that not only provides clear troubleshooting steps but goes beyond troubleshooting to clearly explain the mechanical and physical principles that demystify why things go wrong and how the troubelshooting steps systematically work through problems. The explanations are understandable, the instructions and safety tips are effective, and the diagrams and photos are valuable. It has already helped me deal with a grounding problem that was causing our main cirvruit breaker to trip!

I'm redesigning the electrical system for my boat and portions of this book has given me the knowledge to make informed decisions, with an understanding of the trade offs, about what features and capabilities I would like my new system to have. It has also provided information to allow me to make intelligent decisions about selecting new components to achieve my electrical system goals efficiently (save money by not buying things I don't need). I would recommend this book for the person with a basic knowledge of electricity who wants to understand either how their current electrical system works or how they might change it to make it better.

This is a great book. I love the extensive coverage of electrical systems, as it seems so many boaters have problems with electrical. I was a little surprised that the engine section only covers diesel engines. No big deal, as most of the other stuff applies to gas too (impellers, transmission, etc), but I wanted to know a little about a head overhaul and there's not much there for the gas engine owner.
Still, I'd highly recommend this book to any boat owner who also has the gumption to do the work themselves.

A great book that describes how to create customers for life, with "enlightened hospitality", creating an outstanding customer experience, based on a dialog with the customer. As he puts it "picking up the rocks" (to find the info) and "connecting the dots", a process that could and should be copied for every business.

His passion for food comes across the written page, its contagious.
I'm not a wine drinker but his passion made me want to give it a try.

I never been to one of his restaurants but I now see a trip to New York to visit his restaurants.

Highly recommended not only for restaurateurs, but for every business that has contact with customers.

This is one of the best books I have ever read on the hospitality business. Given that it is the industry that I am in, I probably found it more entertaining and insightful than many may who are NOT in the industry. Either way, a great read.

I was about to leave for vacation, and was looking for a beach read. Danny Meyer had been generous enough to supply an endorsement for my book, The Art of Client Service, so the least I could do was buy his book.

I am very glad I did.

Setting the Table certainly is a book on how to provide superior hospitality to customers, but it's more than that: it's the best book I've read on what it means to provide service to clients in ANY business. Its candor, humility, and generosity of spirit are reflected in all the lessons Danny learned, applied, and now recounts as he grew to be a leader.

My only quibble, and it is a small one, is that the book lacks an index. I assume this was a conscious decision on Danny's part, possibly because he does not view Setting the Table as a "how to" guide. But the reality is, the book is loaded with practical advice on how to build and sustain enduring client relationships. An index would help readers refer to lessons that inspired or motivated them.

My one regret is that I failed to include Setting the Table in my book's annotated bibliography of the 20 titles advertising people should read. I will, however, add it to the Art of Client Service website. And most important of all, I will recommend the book to all my advertising industry colleagues.

Love it, love it, love it. Finally an empowering business book for those of us who don't believe you have to be a soulless, emotionally retarded cheeseball prick to succeed in the business world. Danny Meyer's financial results give ample validity to his approach, so while you can still get rich the "traditional" way, his experience supports the fact that you can also get rich AND make the world a better place. Gets a little blah towards the end, but all of my stars, underlines and dogears throughout the beginning and middle parts more than make up for that. Others will do a better job of dissecting and analyzing the book in detail, so that's it for me. If you're tired of getting the beat-down for having the gall to have "feelings" at work, you'll love this book.

Danny Meyer's "Setting the Table" is a very enjoyable and informative read. It's a nice combination of things: there's the interesting story of how Meyer got his start and grew his business, one restaurant at a time; and then there are the lessons he passes on from the running of his organization. Most impressively, Meyer penned this himself...not a ghostwriter or "with" to be found on the cover.

There are heaps of good lessons in here that are applicable in every walk of life. The other reviewers do a good job spelling out some examples. My favorite is making sure you get to write "the last, great chapter." In Meyer's world, not only do you solve a problem, you look to put a memorable and unique close to the event. Meyer references some wonderful instances.

Danny Meyer's success in the nation's toughest market is no fluke. The evidence of his hard, well-thought-out work abounds in "Setting the Table."

I absolutely love Jackie Collins, but I think that this book fell short at the ending.

I didn't like how Lauren eluded Nick for the entire book, even up to the last few pages. She seemed a bit too pretentous and untouchable. I thought she loved him?

Otherwise, I loved Nick and empathized with his pain. I had hoped Lauren would have been more of a likeable character.

I was expecting a little more from Jackie with this book. It was still an enjoyable read but nowhere in the league of some of Jackie's other books like "Chances".

I loved this book. I could not put it down and since the first time I read it, I have read it twice more. There are some great plotlines in this book that keep you on your toes.

This is one of my favorite books of all time. I'm not a huge Jackie Collins fan, I've read some of her stuff and most of it just isn't my cup of tea. This one though! WOW! Its such a great story, peppered with flashbacks and different points of view. You just WANT Nick and Lauren to get together and just when you think they might, some tragedy yet again looms, ripping them apart. Its a smooth read, and hard to put down, so make sure you have lots of time on your hands because you won't want to stop reading. I first read this book about 6-7 years ago, put it on my bookshelf and just a few months ago pulled it out again. By this time, I had remembered the main story line but had forgotten a lot about the characters lives and the circumstances that bring them together...like the tornado....the murder....the marriages...wow.

If you're a Danielle Steele fan, but like me, think her stuff is a bit too syrupy sometimes, then this is for you. Jackie Collins pulls no punches in this one, just shooting straight from the hip and telling it like it is. Its a GREAT book, buy it for your collection and you WONT be sorry!

when the book said love story i thought it was going to be one of jackie's regular sleep around love story, but surprisingly this was a book of true love and not just true lust. great book i couldnt put down. =)

The book is OK. Photos are not all that great (some blurry and out of focus, obviously amature). Most of the dolls are modern and mass produced. I was hoping that there would be more artist creations, one of a kinds, limited editions, and antiques. Instead there are a bunch of plastic/vinyl manufactured dolls with just a few quality pieces sprinkled in. I only recommend this if you collect that style of doll (manufactured/mass-produced).

Loved this book. I am a collector of black dolls for many years. I saw several of my dolls in the book.

I enjoyed looking thru this book to get ideas of the different kinds of dolls to add to my collection. There were a lot of dolls that I didn't know existed untill I read this book.

Debbie Garrett's "The Definitive Guide to Collecting Black Dolls" is a magnificent combination of beauty, knowledge, and cultural celebration! It was wonderful learning about the history of antique and vintage black dolls, as well as the current artists and their creations. This guide provides a fabulous array of delightful pictures denoting the significance of black doll collecting, that is both informative and inspiring!

It is the answer to all Black doll collector's dreams! I have a number of "doll" books and magazines but none of them have ALL color Black doll photos in additon to valuable collecting information such as that found in this book. I must confess that initially, I looked through it four times on the day it arrived. It's fun seeing how many of the pictured dolls I have in my own collection!

This book is definitely not for beginnings. The authors have put too many technical words into each sentence, which makes for much confusion. There are many fine books out there for those who are beginning to learn about automobiles. This is not one of them.

This book has alot of good information about automotive technology. It has the basics and foundation to get you started in your career as a technician or if your just curious about the industry in general. Great book.

I've always been interested in cars but never knew very much about what was under the hood other than the very basics. All I'd previously done to my cars is top off any fluids, change burned out bulbs and change flat tires. So, I finally decided to learn about cars and do some maintenance myself which led to this book. It took me a full year to read completely (maybe 2 months actually reading) but with a new baby and a move to a new house mixed in, I think I did pretty well! I was very serious about learning and that is almost a requirement as this book is very detailed and needs to be studied in many areas to really understand the concepts, especially if you have nothing else to go on.

This is a multi-semester text book intended for students in an auto shop class that covers all automotive systems from engine internals to wiring to air conditioning. Everything is covered in detail with multiple designs of components covered where appropriate.

My only complaints are that many times the text references figures that are on the next page so there's a lot of flipping back and forth. Also, some illustrations are a little difficult to make out to really visualize a complex part while some exploded views (many direct from manufacturers) are so overly detailed that the important information discussed in the text is lost.

These are small gripes though as the few gaps left from a few sections with bad drawings can be supplemented with an internet image or animation from sites like howstuffworks.com. These really help with things like differentials and transmissions.

Otherwise, armed with the knowledge in this book you will have no problem understanding any shop manual and doing most auto maintenance yourself. Where the Haynes manual you buy at the auto parts store goes over your specific car and what bolts to loosen to fix whatever and the torque required when you bolt it back together, this book goes into much more detail on all systems in a more general but complete way. It doesn't assume you know any of the basics. The layout is pretty good too. Things are broken up so you don't have a lot of very detailed chapters all bunched up like engine internals, carburetors and transmissions. They are seperated by chapters like Tool identification and use, electricity fundamentals and wheel alignment. The best part is how everything builds on previous chapters or sections. For example, the engine internals section starts with just a piston in a cylinder, then they add valves, then cooling, then timing for those valves, etc until all the major components are added to the final engine drawing.

I can't say enough good things about this book. It's obviously a mature work (previous edition copyrights go back to 1963!) and I can't see much that can be improved. So buy this book, a service manual for your car, a jack and some tools from Sears and do your own work and be able to knowledgeably discuss more complex procedures with your mechanic when it comes to that. Also find a forum on the internet for your car (such as automotiveforums.com) for help troubleshooting.

I am a beginner mechanic, this book is helpful in explaining how a vehicle works. It shows you many types of engines, there parts and how they work together, plus it shows there subsystems. trans/clutch/axle/air/heat and so on.

I am new patent attorney working on patent applications related to the automotive industry. I was looking for a great book that was easy to understand and had tons of diagrams. I have found it!!!!

This book is really impressive. Is an eye opener. Must read for Industrial Engineering Students, must have for professors and great addition for a professional looking for new ideas.

"Business Dynamics" is a great book leading the knowledge seeking "fresh" system dynamicist into the field of SD and the experienced system dynamicist can use it as a knowledge pool.

John Sterman removes the theoretical barriers and brings SD to real life as he goes along known complex questions in order to understand them through the use of System Dynamics and Systems Thinking.

Learning and getting more experienced in System Dynamics and the use for daily problem solving is a dynamic and evolving process of wisdom with lots of feedback and "Business Dynamics" is the right companion in getting deeper insights in order to achieve the goals.

Best regards

Ralf

Excellent guide to systems thinking, clear examples, clear thinking and very interesting conclusions reached. highly recommended

como parte de la materia lo llevo, me salio mas barato que en mexico y me es util para mi carrera

The definitive book on Business dynamics !
It may look dificult to follow, but it isn`t really easy to read and follow !
The cd brings good examples.

This book gives a good description of the theory behind different valuation techniques. It is very detailed and very helpful. The only downside is that it is hard to get through at times.

An overall excellnet text on valuing any asset. The author does a wonderful job of highighting the only 3 rational ways to value any asset: discounted cash flows, relative valuation, and the options pricing model. This book may help you consider the value of assets using all 3 methods to arrive at a true valuation for your purchase or divestment.
A must have for anyone who values assests.

From dozens of valuation books I've read, this is the best one. All different views and theories are explained with good examples.

Great, perfect step by step valuation instructions!

Like other reviewers have said, this book should not be used as an undergraduate textbook. But as a reference book it is among the best for reviewing valuation principals. It covers many asset classes, including equities, bonds, options, futures, and real estate. This book also does a good job of breaking down principals used for valuing various firms (private, start-ups, takeover targets).

The real value for me, however, was its explanations of various DCF models and how they are used: adjusted present value, equity valuation, and firm valuation. The material does a good job of getting to the reason behind the numbers and not just how to use them (such as its explanations on how to determine a terminal value).

In summary, a great read for an undergrad or graduate finance student who wants to get familiar with valuation techniques, or even for an analyst who needs to brush up.

As an adult Model Rocketeer for the past 16 years, I can say that every Rocketeer should have this in their library. It is indeed "the Bible" of Model Rocketry. It is a goldmine of information and technical know-how, and will lead a beginning Rocketeer on the right path. Even someone who's just curious about Model Rocketry will learn a lot from it.

This is without a doubt the best book on model rocketry I've ever seen, and I read it from cover to cover. It deals with every aspect of rocketry in a very accessible manner (for example, presenting formulas for various calculations, but not requiring their use). It is organized so that the reader can focus on single aspects of a rocketry program (for example, separate chapters on aerodynamics, rocket propulsion, recovery systems, altitude measurement). I am a science teacher and coach to two Team America Rocketry Challenge teams, and I keep copies of this book available for my teams as reference. I wish it had more information on electronic payloads, but that is a more advanced topic, so it is very forgivable. If you own only one book on rocketry, this is the one to buy.

Great reference for all levels. Perfect for schools or curriculums that have a model rocketry club.

Very detailed, easy to understand, its rocketry 101 and much more.

Model rocketry has come a long way since this book's first edition was published and the book does a great job of covering the basics of "How to get started" while addressing the ever expanding set of topics being introduced 40+ years later. The book provides some of the hobby's history and the 'hows and whys' of model rocketry. The book balances detail such as mathematics to compute aeronautical computations with rules of thumb one can use if science and math are not as interesting as building and safely launching a cool model rocket. While the book does not comprehensively cover mid and high power model rocketry topics, it does address some of the basics for those 'moving up'. Photos and illustrations are great.

As a child of the 60's growing up in England, I was exposed to a lot of American popular culture and toys.
"Major Matt Mason" and "Zeroids" were some of my favourites. This book gives me an excellent reminder not only of what I had, but also stuff I never saw or even knew existed!
This book is well produced with magnificent colourful photos, but they are let down a little by the matte paper used for the pages that dulls their brilliance. Also, some images suffer from "the jaggies" caused by low resolution of the originals.
Likewise, the layout and text is often jumbled and there are some annoying factual errors.
Also, if the author had a rudimentary knowledge of 50's Hollywood monsters he would have recognised the inspiration for many of the Colorforms Outer Space Men.
Apart from these minor annoyances, this is the book I have been waiting for, for almost fourty years!
"Space Toys of the 60's" is worth every cent, even if only for the photos of the magnificent package and box art!
Those colourful boxes are always the first thing to be discarded by young hands too eager for adventure in space!

This oversized, full color paperback is not a glossy coffee table book. Neither is it a collector's price guide. Instead it's an impassioned and informative discussion of three collectible toy lines: Major Matt Mason (Mattell's Man in Space), Colorforms aliens and my favorite, Ideal's Mighty Zeroids.

I read and learned a lot about the other two toy lines, but I used this book when buying a Zintar Zeroid on E-Bay (for only thirty times the original price of $5, which shows how rare they are). Before that I read the book over and over, looking at the photos and dioramas from catalogs. Gillam even includes pre-release pictures from wholesale toy guides of what these toys might have looked like, as well as extensive photos of alternate versions.

Interest in Matt Mason has never flagged, and Zeroids are once again coming into their own in the world of retro toys (see the Zeroid movie link under Robot Links at alivingdog.com). They represented a high point in Ideal's Motorific line of cars and later boats and cleverly ran on the same replaceable motor. Anyone interested in these three lines, or the history of toys, or just taking a trip down memory lane will enjoy this inexpensive and captivating book.

I bought this book on ebay from the author and I am very happy with it. It is loaded with pictures of each space toy and has nice text. Some toys are shown in their original package. Best book I have bought in a long while.

A Collector's Guide to Major Matt Mason, Mighty Zeroid Robots and Colorforms Outer Space Men. Veteran collector and author James Gillam details the story of toys inspired by NASA ventures into space.

SPACE TOYS OF THE 60's could have been the Major Matt Mason collector's dream come true. However, be warned that the quality of the paper and the image quality of the photos is not very good. I wish the publisher had done a much better job and creating some high quality images that I would want to look at over and over again. Looking at these pictures, as a substitute for expanding my collection, is not fullfilling.

All in all though, being the ONLY book out there right now with any information on Major Matt Mason, this is a pretty good book. At leaset it has photos of all of Mattel's Major Matt Mason - Man in Space figures, vehicles and buildings with detailed descriptions, construction and instruction sheets, product catalogs, collector's reminiscences, prototype information, and company histories.

If you can find a used copy for around $5 it's worth adding to the library as a reference.

...than this "Time Machine" that Mr. Gillam has produced. He left no stone unturned. Covered ALL details and variations very thoroughly. I discovered 3 OUTER SPACE MEN in my attic and a Scorpio in my basement. When I was looking for a reference guide to these 60's Spacemen, I coincidentally saw "SPACE TOYS OF THE 60's" on EBay. I said it, you'll say it: "That's how I would have done it!"