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Adams Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

Adams
The Last Valley: Dien Bien Phu and the French Defeat in Vietnam
Published in Paperback by Da Capo Press (2005-12-26)
Author: Martin Windrow
List price: $18.95
New price: $2.49
Used price: $2.35

Average review score:

5 stars for effort, but 2 stars for readability
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2007-07-25
I must say that the author did an excellent job if he intended this book to be a record of the day to day action on all theaters of engagement between the French and the Viet Minh.

Because of the excessive level of detail, the book is very diffcult to read and appreciate. It is a mind numbing experience.

Read this only if you wish to know in detail the horrible sufferings that that combatants on either side faced in a senseless war. Otherwise you will be better off with just a summary.



Great account, but French faults are downplayed
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-23
The Last Valley: Dien Bien Phu And the French Defeat in Vietnam

Apparently the best account ever written on Dien Bien Phu. Just two brief remarks:
1. History is shaped by strong personalities, and there was an abundance of them in Dien Bien Phu. Despite the book's large volume, there would be welcome a chapter sketching portraits of key protagonists (Bigeard, Langlais, de Castries etc), at the expense of details on arms specifications.
2.The author is favorably predisposed to French military leaders, and I tend to sustain his argument about injustices inflicted to the French army by politicians. Nevertheless, he is inclined to offer unnecessary excuses to the former, as well as to soothe down quarrels. Why not state bluntly that Cogny and Langlais could not tolerate Navarre and de Castries respectively? Even though the outcome might not be different, leadership exercised by de Castries was apparently inadequate. During this epic battle, besides heroism, mistakes had been made also on the French part, which the author appears quite eager to justify, out of respect to this unique effort.

The very best history of DBP ever written
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-24
T. E. Lawrence wrote that amateurs do something because they love to, and professionals because they must. We can thank the muses that Martin Windrow is a self-described amateur, because this work bears all the hallmarks of serious and loving craftsmanship. He places both the war, and the battle in context, he casts a glaring light upon some of its myths, and he gives serious attention to the technical aspects of the battle that the great majority of military professionals would otherwise miss, such as the state of Viet Minh artillery tactics and doctrine. Were Fall still alive and writing, Windrow would still have outclassed him. Anything and everything you want or need to know about the battle for Dien Bien Phu is here. The very best military history I've read in English in a very long time. Bravo!

simply excellent
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-21

the book just kind of grabbed me, twice.
first when i saw it on the library shelf, i read "hell in a very small place" many years ago and have a continuing interest in vietnam and america's involvement there.
the second time is when i started reading it, it reads like an excellent detective story, i sat and sat and finished it at one sitting, not a small feat considering it is over 700 pages long. This style is the first very notable characteristic.

not only is the writing excellent, but the author is one of those people who you can imagine talking to. he appears to a military historian from his amazon authors page. writing since the 1970's with an accent on french and the foreign legion. But this book looks like a long term research project and literally a work of love. the detail and interest he displays puts it in a class almost by itself. the only other military history that i've been this impressed by is the boer war by pakenham. The research and simply put love that went into this book is evident thoughout and is a second notable item.

there is something else that makes it outstanding, several places he shows some very unique and well thought out ideas. they are just snatches of his worldview: some pages about the wounds caused by military bullets, a couple of places where he talks about the relationships between politicians and military leaders, and his discussion about how men fight for their buddies next to them, not geopolitical big things. There are just a few of these rather tantilizing glimpses, enough to make me look for more of his books. This disclosure of the man behind the work and his ideas developed from a lifetime of study in history is remarkable and the 3rd item i wish to point out.

I'd not a fan of military histories, nor an i particularly interested in the genre. But i do like his writing. I find the careful analysis of what happened, what lead up to it, how people responded fascinating and as yesterday proved, somewhat addictive. There is an overwhelming number of names, who went where and fought whom, etc, those datum that make up military history, but it is not so bad that it bores or obscures the ideas. He is a very careful documenter of the facts, desirous of completeness and setting the historical record straight. All elements which appear strongly in the book.

There is another thing remarkable about the book and it's author, a desire to look at the facts and the events and truly learn from them. To see this part of our world, a somewhat dark one, filled with the dead and lost, and remember them not just for their sacrifices but what these things have to teach us about ourselves and the societies we find ourselves in. and the first place to find the meaning of events is to get them right, to be factual and see what happened and propose why. something that this book does in a uniquely interesting and useful way.

i sure wish the militaries of the world had more thoughtful people like this author, either in their general staffs or in their officer universities. perhaps a significant dose of reality and history is what more of our military leaders need before embarking on disastrous campaigns.

The Last Valley: Dien Bien Phu and the French Defeat in Vietnam
Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2007-02-04
This is a superb and well constructed book and is by far one of the best accounts of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu that has been written. The author gives the reader a great insight to the formation of the Viet Minh and their rise to become a formidable fighting force whose journey to power led to the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu.

The book is well balanced and very readable. It gives a well presented account of the battle and how it unfolded and also shows how, although the French were defeated, at some stages of the fighting, victory could have gone either way with the staggering battle casualties suffered by the Viet Minh.

He also deals with the communist purges in the north after the French had been defeated and the division of the country into North and South Vietnam.

This fine book would not be out of place on the bookshelf of anyone interested in the military campaigns of Vietnam.

Adams
Orphan: A True Story of Abandonment, Abuse, and Redemption
Published in Paperback by Adams Media Corporation (2000-11-15)
Author: Roger Dean Kiser
List price: $10.95
New price: $15.16
Used price: $1.40

Average review score:

I read it straight through without stopping.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2006-06-01
I must have said "Oh my Goodness" or it's equivalent at least 10 times throughout this book. Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down and read it straight through without stopping for any reason. It took me one hour. This is a horrifying book. It appalles me that anything like what happened to this boy could happen to anyone, let alone tons of kids in orphanages. I'm glad things are a little better now a days but we still have more work to do. This book is NOT for children and only select teens who are ready for something as horrifying and sickening as this story.

I commend Roger for living through what he did, I probably would have just given up.

Adopted by the world!
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2002-12-28
Orphan is a testament to good triumphing over evil and how one boy grew up to be adopted by the world. Author Roger Dean Kiser is a 54 year old, happily married father and grandfather who now calls Brunswick, Georgia home, but he once was a beautiful child longing for love and attention, a hug or a pat on the back; a prayer or a kiss goodnight. Things too many of us take for granted.

Little Roger also had beautiful eyes and wonderfully original ears that made him truly unique. Unfortunately he didn't know that and no one ever told him when he needed to hear it the most. What he did hear and on a daily basis was that he was unwanted, unloved, crazy and wouldn't amount to anything. That's pretty much what every child raised in the orphanage in Jacksonville Florida was told. But because of Roger's wilful spirit, uncommon wit and boundless curiosity, his guardians punished him with particularly cruel and unusual punishments. In a nutshell, they tortured him.

From beatings for trying to free butterflies to being forced to eat a personal letter that Kiser found that was hidden from him under the head matron's bed, there was no rhyme or reason to the punishments. Yet, within Roger's small frame of reference, this behavior seemed normal. And instead of spouting 'poor me', the young boy kept searching for, if not love, small doses of recognition, kindness and compassion.

Like so many children lost in the system, Roger had to find his own way to freedom. Although Orphan promises us he eventually does (no doubt, there will be a follow-up memoir) Kiser mostly deals with his years at the orphanage and ends with his experiences in Juvenile Hall at the age of 13.

I'm a tough cookie, but tears definitely dotted the pages of my copy of this memoir. I also heard myself laugh. Kiser has a way with words and knows how to spin his tales for maximum effect. Besides the obvious joy at his surviving such a brutal childhood, I suggest Kiser's gift is short story telling. The book is actually made up of short stories in chapter form. Because they are chronologically laid out, the result is a success.

Orphan was a roller coaster ride with all the expected hills and bumps you would expect, but a few less bumps would have made for a more satisfying story. Human nature, I guess. We want, no, we need to know people we care about are all right. And care about Roger you will. Reading Orphan, I wished that I could have entered Roger's little world, hug him, and tell him he was beautiful and that God loved him even when everyone around him didn't! The most satisfying part of reading Orphan is the knowledge that in writing his memoir, Roger Dean Kiser, Sr., has been rewarded ten-fold, with large doses of recognition, kindness and compassion. He deserves it

Heartbreaking but triumphant!
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2002-01-26
I had read some of Roger Dean Kiser's work on Heartwarmer's. Reading about his entire childhood in this book filled me with such a deep sadness. I can't imagine enduring the kind of physical and emotional torment that he grew up with. Roger is such a fine example of the triumph of the human spirit. It amazes me that after surviving his childhood that he could become a loving husband, father and grandfather. He's not filled with hate, rather he's determined to wake us up to prevent more children from suffering the same abuse. We can all learn a very important lesson from his life.

FIVE (5) GOLDEN STARS
Helpful Votes: 8 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2001-07-17
I have read many non-fiction books in the course of my life. This is the only book that has actually made me cry, and I am not exactly sure why. I am not talking about the crying of normal tears. I am speaking of the type of tears that (slowly) glass over the eye until a tear falls out onto the page. You stop for a just a moment and realize that your hand is now covering your mouth, and a almost whimpering sound is now coming from deep in your throat. If there was ever a book written that makes the reader feel that they are the child that is actually being abused; This is the one!

Excellent read but a few minor quibbles...
Helpful Votes: 8 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2001-07-06
In the style of A Child Called It (the bestseller by Dave Peltzer), Orphan is told from the viewpoint of a child who endured nearly unspeakable horrors in a Florida orphanage and somehow emerged, spirit intact, to not only survive but tell his story with unflinchable honesty. The book is divided into three sections: Before, During and After,with the majority of the book (the During section) devoted to memories of the orphanage. With no one to love him and with repeated beatings, abuse and pain to love forward to, I find it miraculous that the author, Roger Dean Kiser, Sr, actually managed to make a life for himself after enduring the indignities of orphanage life. His memoir reveals in vivid detail how orphans were seen as societal rejects and throwaways and treated as objects, not people. While he was often beaten severely till he passed out, Kiser emphasizes that "it is not the physical pain that endangers orphans the most. It is the mental pain caused by stress from years and years of being neglected, pushed aside, disregarded, unloved and made to feel undeserving..." While I'd recommend this book as an eye-opening, even inspiring, read, I do wish there had been more detail in the After section of this book, the part that dealt with Kiser's life after he left the orphanage. This section seems rushed and abbreviated and there is little explanation of the life he made for himself as an adult - or how he got the courage to rise above his painful past to do so. He notes in the book's introduction that he has a wife, son and daughter-in-law and yet he doesn't note how he met his wife, how she felt about his past and if it affected his present life. After learning so much about his early life in the orphanage, I was left with plenty of unanswered questions like: How does a person who suffers so many blows to his self-esteen find the confidence to make a new life? Did he/does he suffer from painful flashbacks or memories today? Would he describe himself as happy or at peace now?

Adams
Sink Or Swim!: New Job. New Boss. 12 Weeks to Get It Right.
Published in Paperback by Adams Media (2006-04-15)
Authors: Milo Sindell and Thuy Sindell
List price: $14.95
New price: $3.75
Used price: $1.99

Average review score:

Excellent guide for earning respect in any job...
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-09
This book is awesome and very readable. Being so clearly written and straight to the point, it makes for a quick read and serves as a great reference.

While geared towards a business environment, the survival guide is written from a unique perspective which gives deep insight into the psychology of managers and coworkers.

I truly wish I had "Sink or Swim" for my first job. That would have helped me to avoid so many small mistakes which I was totaly oblivious to. It's just jam packed full of useful tips which coworkers usually won't tell you.

Even after two years in my current position, I found that reading this book gave ideas to naturally improve my professional image without any major effort or changes!

Definitely recommended for any professional employee - regardless of rank.

Read This and Refer Back
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-22
Within the first week of starting my new job at a startup internet company, I came across this book and it made all the difference. Working at a startup can often be disjointed, especially since we didn't have an office to call our own. By incorporating some of the advice in my weekly routines, I created a structure for myself that I continue to follow. The advice was clear, concise and right on.

This is definitely a must-read for anyone starting a new job.

Another 5-star review from SF, jeffnc!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-07-03
Pay no attention to Jeffnc, the bitter reviewer from SC! I live in SF and have no idea who the Sidells are, but this book is fascinating! Follow everything they say week by week,a nd you'll get that "This is going very well" at your 90-day review just like me! What's more, you look not only super organized with this book on your desk, but also super-conscientious....I brought this book into a one on one with the boss, and I cracked the book and said "I'd like to talk about my career goals.." she asked me what the book was...she was impressed!

A Great Resource/Tool
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-04-09
"Sink or Swim" is the book that I wish I had when I started in the working world over 18 years ago! It is a simple, step-by-step tool that shows new hires how to "get it right in 12 weeks". The week-by-week approach gives individuals the opportunity to set good habits and strategies that can be applied throughout one's career. This book has been very helpful to me as an HR professional in getting my recent college graduate new hires to better engage with the company and job they accepted within it! I would highly recommend this book.

Helpful survival guide for new employees
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-11-02
This book is perfect for new college graduates or inexperienced employees starting new jobs. Milo and Thuy Sindell provide a wealth of information about proper business conduct and etiquette, including a checklist for recommended activities during your first 12 weeks on the job. Although the material is basic and somewhat repetitive (just like a start-up job), we think the book would make a great gift for anyone who is just beginning to learn the workplace ropes.

Adams
The 100 Year Lifestyle: Dr. Plasker's Breakthrough Solution for Living Your Best Life - Every Day of Your Life!
Published in Hardcover by Adams Media (2007-02-01)
Author: Eric Plasker
List price: $19.95
New price: $2.49
Used price: $1.00

Average review score:

GREAT BOOK!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-06
I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Plasker at the 1st annual DCS Jam and the book is a must for anyone who wants to be in on the 100 year lifestyle. This is also a great read for your patients!

Early Warning A Good One
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-08
Dr Erik Plasker's Book is a great read for anyone looking to take stock of their life. The main message revolves around the fact that many of us will live to be 100 and beyond, so we may as well start preparing for this increased longevity that not many of us have planned for.
"What changes would you make today, if you knew you would live to be 100?"
Health, finances, relationships, career, social, and more are looked at in this book.
What will we do with this advanced warning our ancestors didn't get?

Life changing
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-06
This book is life changing! Realizing that we have all this time to accomplish things in life is an awesome feeling. I loved the comparison of cris care vs. self care. If people realized this and started practicing this we would have a healthier nation. I have personally given out over a hundred copies of this book and everyone for Christmas will be getting a copy!

Best book I've ever read!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-04
I've given this book to more than 100 people. They are changing their lives from stopping smoking and loosing weight, to starting exercise. The people that take the message of the 100 year lifestyle to heart are playing harder and living a higher quality of life. Thank you Dr. Plasker for allowing me the privilege of helping so many people through your wonderful book.

Excellent holistic blueprint for health & longevity ....
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-03
Dr. Plasker presents a compelling blueprint for a hundred year lifestyle. Whether or not you seriously have a shot at living to be a centenarian, his advice here on health, diet, fitness and emotional/spiritual well-being makes eminent sense. It is truly a holistic approach to lifestyle and longevity that has merit. Making the book more practical is the fact that it has a number of checklists and each chapter closes with a list of action items for the reader to take. The latter underscores the point that merely reading a book will not improve your lifestyle unless you follow through, act and execute upon it.

Since Dr Plasker himself is a chiropractor, there is a pitch for preventative chiropractic care. His plea here is not over-the-top or in-your-face, however, and is probably well founded.

The author's point is that many lifestyle changes can produce long-term positive results. In many cases, though perhaps not all, certain types of illness are products of lifestyle and tiny diet and fitness decisions made over the course of months and years. Making better fitness and health decisions every day can put extra years in your life and life in your years.

Adams
The 101 Habits Of Highly Successful Screenwriters: Insider's Secrets from Hollywood's Top Writers
Published in Paperback by Adams Media (2001-10-01)
Author: Karl Iglesias
List price: $12.95
New price: $6.95
Used price: $4.44

Average review score:

BUY IT!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-05
I own several screenwriting books and consider this one to be in the top 3 (McKee and Vogler being the other 2). The reason is because this is one of the few screenwriting books with information coming straight from successful screenwriters. This is key, because through their insights you can better understand how they work, think, and live. And this ultimately affects your writing positively because a lot of the uncertainties during the writing process are discussed. It won't teach you about structure etc, but it contains information that to me was equally vital: how to think as a successful screenwriter.

If you read only one book on screen writing, read this one
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-18
In real estate they discuss the three "L's" Location, location, location. This is the three "W's" Write, Write and Write more. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to write a screen play.

Yes, I am tired of reading old reviews on Screenwriting Books too.
Helpful Votes: 13 out of 13 total.
Review Date: 2006-03-06
I always find it frustrating when I go to Amazon and look at the reviews that are posted and find that they are at least 2 to 3 years old. So I decided to at least make a more up-to-date review.

First and foremost, this book is NOT a `How to Write a great Script' book. This book is about screenwriters and their knowledgeable insight on the practice we all know as Screenwriting. These established screenwriters ( Akiva Goldman: A Beautiful Mind, A Time to Kill, and the up coming The Da Vinci Code Steven E. de Souza: Die Hard, 48 Hours.) reference their past experience on what works, what does not work, and what habits you need to establish to have a successful career in the shark infested waters of Hollywood. Not sure how many hours you need to write day in day out? Thinking that you are the only one with a spouse and kids, fearing that you will not have enough time to write? Arrived at Hollywood lost with no plan of action on how to get your script read? Worried that you born yesterday and began sending inquiry letters to agents and producers? Fear of rejection (it is inevitable) from everyone? All these topics are discussed and more in this book.

This book is required reading for all serious screenwriters. I also suggest Breakfast with sharks by Michael Lent, The Art of Dramatic writing by Lajos Egri, Story by Robert Mckee, Making a good script Great by Linda Seger, and The Writer Got Screwed by Brooke A. Wharton.

A Must Read
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-14
This is a must read for anyone who aspires to be a screen writer. Any wannabe writer has their own personal favorite blogs, a blog that helps inspire, motivate and teach them. This book is almost a best of those blogs from successful writers whose movies they have written have actually BEEN PRODUCED.
The one main theme of this book is just write and write and write because you love writing and not because you want the Hollywood celebrity lifestyle. Great writing will open a lot of doors for one and most importantly, keep that door open.
In my opinion, I like to study and and read how successful writers from all genres got their first break, their work ethic and how most importantly they work through writer's block and rejection. Again, Karl Iglesias' book does that successfully.

The truth you need to hear before pursuing your dreams
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2006-04-10
I was lucky enough to meet Mr. Iglesias at the Screenwriting Expo. He knows his craft, he loves the business. And he's brutally honest in conveying the realistic odds of breaking into Hollywood. While no one ever says it's easy, he can tell you just how hard. This book is a must read for any aspiring screenwriter. Interviewing some of the greatest screenwriters, they all are forthcoming in telling their own tales of struggle, achievement, success, and most of them, frustration.

This book may be geared toward all screenwriters, however it succeeds in leaps and bounds, by telling the realistic truth any up-and-coming screenwriter needs to hear. Too often people are putting together a script hoping to win the lotttery, sell it for mid-six figures, and not taking the time to understand that the money should never be the motivating factor of writing any script. And if that's your only motivation, you'll never succeed in making your dream come true. This book reminds those of us that do it for a different reason, what that reason is. It's the love of writing. Anything else, any other reason, is simply a waste of time and energy.

Mr. Iglesias lays it out in plain view, through interview after interview, just how much of an uphill battle it is get someone to simply give your script a look, and even then, chances of your selling it are slim. Nicholas Kazan once spoke at a seminar. He told them to go turn in their registration forms and go home. He then told them that if any of them seriously entertained that advice, they would never make it. It's all about challenge and it's all about sacrifice. This book will help you realize how important both of those things are.

Adams
22 Keys To Creating A Meaningful Workplace
Published in Hardcover by Adams Media Corporation (2000-06-01)
Author: Tom Terez
List price: $24.95
New price: $22.95
Used price: $7.41

Average review score:

Practical Advice
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2002-02-26
I recommend Terez's 22 Keys for all business professionals. Terez uses practical examples to bring forth important points to the reader. (Humor included!) The book has a human touch as voices of hundreds of folks from all walks of work life reach out as they share their experiences.

You will walk away with practical examples and useful advice.

22 Keys To Creating a Meaningful Workplace
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2002-02-15
Without question, the work at the American Red Cross, where I work everyday, is MEANINGFUL! Meaningful work, though, is inclusive.....ALL jobs...volunteer and paid are meaningful and have great value. Tom Terez's 22 Keys To a Meaningful Workplace is a powerful reminder of how hard we must work to keep talented people engaged...even at the American Red Cross!

It is great reading, provides helpful skill building and is a great reference for the keys to being delighted at work!

High Fiber Content
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2002-03-18
22 Keys is much more than an interesting book about building a meaningful workplace. It is a practical guide for creating the kind of environment we all wish for. While many books talk about how "nice" it is to have meaning at work, this book has practical excercises for transforming the workforce to one that both improves productivity and retains the best employees. You don't just read the book and put it away, but actually use it to make tangible improvements. Tom's research was fascinating, and he writes in in a style everyone will appreciate. Thanks for all the actual ideas that have made a difference Tom!

The Key to Success
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2002-02-22
22 Keys To Creating A Meaningful Workplace has changed the way our company does business. Period. These simple, common sense keys open the door to a new level of committment, service and pride for our team. We've been so pleased with the results in our workplace, we have featured the book in our company newsletter, which is distributed to over 11,000 professionals in Canada. Simplicity is the key to action and change!

Highly Recommended for Bosses and Workers
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2002-08-01
This book was a delightful surprise. I expected to read yet another business book directed solely toward owners, executives, and managers. This specialized audience will gain quite a lot from this book, but so will "ordinary employees." 22 Keys is an Everyman's book, written in a tone that encourages focused initiative by all sorts of readers. Not only does this approach add value to the book, it makes it much more salable in bulk to companies interested in changing their work environment.

Corporate culture has been defined as "what it feels like to work here." Terez has captured what people are looking for in today's work environment in his exploration of what it takes to create a meaningful workplace. Before going any further, it's important to list the 22 Keys. As you read this list, pause at each one and think about how it relates to your personal situation. Purpose, Direction, Relevance, Validation, Respect, Equality, Informality, Flexibility, Ownership, Challenge, Invention, Support, Personal Development, Dialogue, Relationship Building, Service, Acknowledgement, Oneness, Self-Identity, Fit, Balance, and Worth.

Each key is presented in a chapter heavily seasoned with vignettes that hold the reader's attention. Not all the stories have happy endings, making this book even more valuable. It's not a quick-and-easy-guide-to-Nirvana, but is a realistic presentation. Questions challenge the reader's thinking and, hopefully, stimulate behavior. Actions by others are described to build a sense of confidence that the reader can also do these things and make a difference.

The book has a number of features that increase its readability and usefulness. Reality checks at the end of each chapter focus the reader's attention. Did you get the message? Quotations, liberally sprinkled throughout the book, stimulate thought. I felt the author could have done with a few less quotes, but that's a very minor issue. One of the pages I turned down (there were many) marks a quote by Albert Einstein: "Not everything that can be counted counts, but not everything that counts can be counted." When we're all looking to measure our performance, yet at the same time achieve life-work balance, the quote is meaningful. Ah! Meaningful. The objective of the book: well-achieved. The action plans will help you get started to make a difference in your organization.

This book will be around for a while. It fits comfortably with what needs to be done in the world of work-in the private sector, in government, in non-profits, in education. If it isn't on your shelf yet, now is the time to get a copy, read it, and share it. I read the hardcover edition.

Adams
Adam & Andy
Published in Paperback by Bookazine Company (2003-10)
Author: James Asal
List price: $9.95
Used price: $59.50

Average review score:

I love this book-need I say more
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2005-08-09
James Asal's comic genius has given us ADAM AND ANDY. It is about two gay men in a long term relationship and now marriage. It is simply irrisistable. James is a sweet and kind guy too.

5 stars for a gay classic
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2005-07-16
I love gay comic strips. I love Adam and Andy because it is just like what a real gay couple are like. Thank you for creating a book and strip that helps gay people have pride in themselves.

James Asal is a genius
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2005-07-07
Mr. Asal I heartily recommend your book. You are a genius and we your fans love you. God bless.

A colossal talent-James Asal
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2005-06-28
Oy vey! James Asal's Adam And Andy is too cool! I love it! Buy it please.

refreshing
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-07-04
The only flaw I find in this volume is that it is too thin.

As for the rest we have an artist with a personal, essential drawing style depicting with humour the very "normal" life of a very "normal" long term gay couple. Adam and Andy are just adorable, funny, fun loving, witty and honest.
Mr Asal has created two full rounded characters and manages a very wry humour out of everyday situations.

There is no explicit sex. This volume can be safely read by teenagers too.

Adams
Eating the Big Fish: How Challenger Brands Can Compete Against Brand Leaders
Published in Hardcover by Wiley (2008-11-10)
Author: Adam Morgan
List price: $29.95
New price: $19.77

Average review score:

Break your own balls
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-29
This book is about breaking through into a world where you don't accept number two status but you focus every element of your business into being the best of your own category.

Don't accept that this book is just for marketing executives, it should be read by everyone in business to comprehend how crucial it is to change your way of thinking. The entire book is summed up on page 264, where there is a clear four stage process outlined visually. The book is full of stories to illuminate Morgan's theories and outlines 'think tank' processes in order for your business no matter how big or small to 'break with your immediate past' and forge a new way of doing things.

Brilliant book that changed the way I approached business and marketing. I'd not have the drive and success without it.

fantastic read
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-07-21
This book did great things for my understanding of a challenger brands greatest strengths and strategies. Not to turn this into a forum, I have a few questions though: Does anyone know more about Adam Morgan? Did he work for TBWA? Any other agencies? What was his discipline? Any info would help.

one of the best marketing books available
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2005-08-31
I own (oooooh) probably between 80 and 100 books on marketing, some are obligatory read for my masters in marketing, some are handpicked in stores and on amazon and I stand by the title of my review. What can you take out from this book: YOU CAN compete with big brands, there are attitudes and ways of running your business that can knock down the goliath in your industry, and this book explains how, giving numerous examples from various industries. Only negative, if I can call it that, is author's writing style, which was rather hard for me, but then again, I am croatian, so it could be my english, not mr Morgan's :). A MUST!! have.

Insightful!
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2004-06-09
Author Adam Morgan went hunting for the second most successful brands. He sought commonalities among them to develop guidelines for those who are challenging the number one brands in their fields. In other words, if you are coming into the battle in the number two slot, here's your strategy for winning the marketing wars. Morgan is very adept at breaking things down into precise action steps. Witty and engaging, he offers a detailed analysis of the current consumer attitude about brands plus strategies you can use to market your second or third rank brand. We recommend this compilation of competitive ideas to those who want to boost their "Challenger" brands.

Demolish the 3-piece suits that stand in your way
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2005-08-09
I don't know how to explain the insightful ideas I have taken from this book.

I have read tens of books on branding and how to gain a competitive advantage, yet none were as ground breaking as "Eating the Big Fish".

While others will tell you "what" marketing approaches they used...this one explains the "why".

I got my copy almost free using a coupon from UnderTag.com

Adams
Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich
Published in Hardcover by Harcourt Children's Books (2006-09-01)
Author: Adam Rex
List price: $16.00
New price: $7.39
Used price: $7.36

Average review score:

Clever and funny
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-18
Very clever book of poems. My two daughters (6 and 9) giggled at the funny vocabulary. The illustrations are are cool and inventive. Every movie monster must be in there somewhere. We liked the son of Dracula drawn as Charlie Brown. Adults will like this one too.

I LOVED Frankenstein Makes A Sandwich--I'm 42!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-03
Frankenstein Makes A Sandwich is a funny, upbeat, down-to-earth wonderful book about monsters, food, and day to day issues like hunger, hygiene, being respectful to others (the Open Letter to Wolfman from his dog is HILARIOUS!!), and everyday stuff like fear of the dentist. The poetry is easy and unforced, funny and a wonderful experience. I hope Rex Adams writes and illustrates more and more and more. I'll be waiting!! 5 stars!!

Adam Rex is a genius!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-11-30
I love this book. For the past two years, I've read it aloud to my elementary school library classes prior to Halloween. They beg for it. The poetry is so well syncopated, and the rhyming is near perfect. The humor is mature, so I have to explain many of the poems, but a lot of it the kids understand without explanation. They can really identify with the torment of having a song stuck in your mind that keeps going on and on, as happens to the poor Phantom of the Opera when he gets "It's a Small World After All" stuck in his head. And they understand why offering a toothpick to Count Dracula to pick his teeth makes him nervous because it resembles a sharp stake. I love this book so much that I bought it this year for my 54-year old brother for his birthday. Unlike the song "It's a Small World After All," the sophistication of these poems will keep them fresh for many, many, many Halloweens to come. If you're a poetry buff who appreciates a humorous twist on the classic scary characters, do NOT pass this book by.

Scary Illustrations
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2007-11-14
Nice prose, but the illustrations, other than Frankenstein's, are rather frightening for young children. I bought this book for my grandchildren, ages 4 and 6, after having only seen the Frankenstein illustration and was disappointed when I opened the book to see the other very dark and frightening pictures throughout the book. I don't recommend this book for children under the age of 8.

Best. Kids'. Book. Ever.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-11-13
Adam Rex is a man after my own heart. He's funny, intelligent, witty, talented, and most of all he likes sharing these qualities with the rest of us. He may be my favorite author for children in years, and this from an arts librarian in the public schools. I've even given to my friends' kids to make sure that they get to have access to it, too. This book is too good to pass by; get copies for everyone you know! Kids will love it and adults won't be bored; win-win for everyone.
And the bit about the Phantom of the Opera having "The Girl from Ipanema" stuck in his head? Priceless, absolutely priceless. I love you, Adam Rex.

Adams
Journey to Cubeville
Published in Paperback by Andrews McMeel Publishing (1998-08)
Author: Scott Adams
List price: $77.70
Used price: $98.00

Average review score:

The Corporate World is Just One Big Cube
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-07-22
Just thumbing thru the book already has me laughing out loud. The business plan in disarray... the Family Friendly policy... and my personal favorite - the office thermostat! I wish I had Alice's chutzpah." I wouldn't be freezing to death all day!!!

A must-have
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2004-09-13
Journey to Cubeville is a 224-page collection of Scott Adams' hilarious Dilbert cartoons. Dated between 11/1/96 and 1/4/98, these cartoons include all of the normal Dilbert crew: Dilbert, Alice, Wally, Asok, Dogbert, Catbert (a personal favorite), and so forth. The cartoons themselves appear as they did in your favorite newspaper, with the big Sunday ones printed in bright color! Plus, as a bonus, this book includes pop-out finger-puppets, which includes Dilbert, Wally, Alice, Dogbert, Ratbert, the Pointy-Haired-One, and a cubicle. (Dilbert wouldn't be Dilbert without a cubicle!)

This book is great, a must-have addition to the library of any Scott Adams fan. And, the finger-puppets make it that much better. This is perhaps the best Dilbert book of them all - buy it!

The best Dilbert collection ever!!!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2004-08-07
JOURNEY TO CUBEVILLE is the absolute best collection of Dilbert comic strips!!! The whole hilarious gang (`specially Wally,Alice and Dilbert et. al) just saturates every single page with their best laughs.So whether you`re wandering through a bookstore,or on the net,DO NOT miss out on JOURNEY TO CUBEVILLE.It`s worth the money!

Absolutely hilarious!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2003-12-21
It's amazing how Scott Adams is able to produce hundreds of hilarious Dilbert strips that revolve around just a few themes -bosses are stupid, engineers are geeks, and the whole purpose of management, marketing, and the like are to squash productivity. This book is proof that Adams is a genius because not a single strip fails to produce at least a chuckle. Get this book and laugh your a** off.

Cliché in a Box (or Cube)
Helpful Votes: 7 out of 12 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-27
Dilbert is the perfect hero for the modern office, which consists mostly of cubicles, or cubes as we frequently refer to them.

What happens in a cubicle? Oh, you know. The boss comes around and indicates that he is the great power behind everything, though he actually knows nothing about the product. If anything goes wrong, downsizing of those best suited to fix the problem follows.

What of marketing? Well, they are selling a product we have yet to build, for a price we are unable to achieve, with features that marketing neglected to tell engineering about. When all else fails, hire a consultant!

But Dilbert also has to face things like synergies. What are synergies? Ah, well, Dilbert can tell you that when you hear a cliché word like synergies, down-sizing is sure to follow in Cubeville, along with additional doses of cluelessness.

Any Dilbert book is perfect for a modern office worker, especially if they are in engineering, as Dilbert is. This collection of cartoons published from 9/1/96 to 1/18/98 are sure to give you more than a few chuckles as you recognize behaviors from an office you once worked in, or, if you are unfortunate, an office your are currently working in. At least you get gain some perspective and humor from your misery!

Enjoy!


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