Brian Books

This is a wonderful book -- but the price is ridiculous. I purchased a paperback copy of "The Awk Programming Language" about 15 years ago, and its price was in the $20 range. Times change, and prices go up, but $73 for a 200-page book, even if it is a hardcover, verges on outright theft.

Which is a shame, because this is a great book, written by the men who developed the language. In addition to a lengthy tutorial, it contains many examples of sophisticated programs that can be constructed from the simple tools provided by Awk. Anyone who supports computers for a living, whether in the Unix or Windows environment, can find valuable ideas here.

But the price: c'mon guys, you've got to be kidding. This book has been in print for 20 years now. You've long since made back the initial costs of publishing it. The authors are famous in computer science circles, and have written many other books. I'm sure they don't need the money. So I have to conclude that this is just a cash cow for the publishers.

If you're looking to learn about Awk, and you're on a budget, I would suggest "Effective Awk Programming" by Arnold Robbins. It's available in PDF form as a free download. If you'd like to support the author, buy a printed copy of the book, as I did. Published by O'Reilly, it's available in paperback at Amazon for about $26.

And if you can find a reasonably-priced copy of "The Awk Programming Language", by all means, grab it. It's a classic. Thanks to the publishers, however, it's a classic that's out of most people's reach.

I am torn about this book. My primary complaint is that this book costs so much. Its only a 200 page paper back book. I'm a sucker for classic books though. This text appears to be the original 1988 version by the authors. The actual text of the book is very good and being written by the authors of AWK, provides a certain view on the language and their intent that was well received. I do carry this book with me as a reference which I have found invaluable in my shell scripting endeavors. This book will give you a solid overview of the language. Be prepared for example references to the world of 1988 such as the USSR. Despite my complaints about the price, I have to admit that I enjoy owning this bit of Unix history and having the authors own words about AWK. From a practical standpoint however, I think that you can learn every bit as much about AWK by learning from freely available internet content on GNU/Linux versions of AWK (gawk). Since I have worked with Unix since about 1984, I have to concede being blinded by a bit of nostalgia. However, AWK is still a vital tool for anyone's shell scripting bag of tricks and this book will help you further develop your skills with AWK if you have only used it lightly in the past.

This is my choice for the answer to the question "If you were stranded on a deserted island and you could have only one programming book which book would you choose?". Over the years I have periodically returned to this book to read or work through for fun. "The AWK Programming Language" may be from 1988 but it is still outstanding! It has an incredible amount of depth for a book of only 200 or so pages. Well-written, concise, with great examples. Truly an enjoyable book to work through.

I've become a big fan of Awk. Some people may tell you that Awk is outdated and no longer useful; not with other languages such as Perl and Ruby available. Well, Awk does one thing and does it well. It does it "fast enough" most of the time, and does it with a very small language.

Perl and Ruby are fine, but if you lean towards "small is beautiful", you must learn Awk. For times when you need it, it's a Godsend. I've used it recently to automatically generate SQL insert statements from some flat files and to do automatic code generation for larger languages.

Some of the best tools have survived the test of time.

In this book, I feel like I learned all the things I need to know about Awk - all the way from beginner to advanced. It's a classic. Not a lot of books get five stars for me. This book fulfills it's goals perfectly, so deserves a perfect rating.

In Unix today, several scripting languages exist: awk, perl, tcl and python. Awk is a small, easy-to-learn, yet powerful programming language, and is language of choice for quick, think- and analyze-on-the-fly tasks. This book is written by the inventors of this wonderful language. It provides an excellent introduction to the language, with many practical examples for day-to-day use. Over many years, it has also served as a good reference to the language. In addition, this book gives concise introduction to numerous fundamental algorithms in computer science (interpreter, calculator, parser, sorting, graph algorithms, ..), which I consult for complex tasks even today.

Always a joy to read! Highly recommended.

Brian Browne Walker subtitles his book, A Guide to Life's Turning Points. This book certainly keeps its promise. The I Ching is one of the most profound guides for the seeker of truth and balance in one's life. Walker's version inspires deep levels of self-awareness. He has captured the essence of the I Ching - that we must first nurture and then act from our inner strength and always follow the principles of "humility, simplicity, equanimity and acceptance." His description of each of the sixty-four hexagrams is elegant and true to the ancient wisdom with an economy of words. Brian Browne Walker's I Ching lends itself beautifully to everyday use.

I won't say much, except this. I have been studying and using the I-Ching for over 20 years and have found this to be the most concise, responsible book on the i-Ching in quite some time. A lot of interpretations are completely irresponsible, and do more damage then good.
I use this everyday now. I highly recommend Brian's Hua Hu Ching also. Now if I can get his "crazy dog series" I'll be set.

This is a good edition for more logical and straightforward people.
The interpretations are not always very well-rounded, but it can be a good introduction to the I Ching.

This is one of the easist I Ching books I've found, so far !
The text is "right on" when throwing the coins for the hexagrams, it
always seems to be just what is needed at the time. In times of
confusion or crossroads in life this book always seems to give me the
answers I need.
I hope you enjoy this book as much as I do.

I decided on Brian Browne Walker's version of the I Ching because I have gotten so much out of his translation of the Tao Te Ching. And I have not been dissapointed. Far from it, right now I am ordering a copy for my brother.

His interpretations are so clear, easy to read and insightful, one could easily read it strictly as a spirtiual/ philosophical document without even using it as it was intended.

For years I was a bit awed and intimidated by the I Ching as something very arcane and difficult to use. I couldn't have been further from the truth. Its SO simple and SO profound and often SO spot on. (Several times when deep down I knew I was putting forth a silly inquiry, number 4--"Youthful Folly" often came up. You can appreciate the joke if you know the Hex I am talking about).

This is an amazing book translated by a wise man. Get it!

This book does an excellent job in teaching the keys of IT sales. The author has worked for Novell and other big technology companies, and he reflects that with good examples of several sales situations during the negotiation phase. You should have this if you want to achieve million dollar quotas.

There's also another book out there called "How To Sell Technology" by a guy called DiModico. It's ok for people with no experience in sales that want explanations of the basic sales processes, people types and all that stuff. Best wishes for your sales careers.

This book does an excellent job in teaching the keys of IT sales. The author has worked for Novell and other big technology companies, and he reflects that with good examples of several sales situations during the negotiation phase. You should have this if you want to achieve million dollar quotas.

There's also another book out there called "How To Sell Technology" by a guy called DiModico. It's ok for people with no experience in sales that want explanations of the basic sales processes, people types and all that stuff. Best wishes for your sales careers.

I've been in sales for 15 years. I'm a learner and I've read many of the books and been to the popular seminars on sales (Strategic Selling, Selling Solutions etc.). I just got into the IT sales field last year and highly recommend this book. This book is a solid, no-hype approach to complex selling. It gives me a blueprint to follow, it's very accurate for today's technology challanges and I found it easy to read as well! I usually don't recommend stuff but this book is a real "secret" weapon.

Recently I had the opportunity to interview for a sale position with a much respected software company. A few days before the interview I had just finished reading I.T. Sales Boot Camp. The concept and fundamental ideals of selling in an I.T. arena that were taught and express in the book enabled me to land the job. I believe that the knowledge that I gain from I.T.Sales Boot Camp made the different in my interview.

As opposed to most "hot new" sales approaches which focus on changing your personal style, this book does a great job of providing a strategic step-by-step plan from A-Z. It's void of fluff and gets right to the point of outlining the nuts and bolts of the process including pre-sales planning, performance tracking, maintaining growth, and writing proposals. It's worth reading in general and especially for those migrating into tech sales.

This is THE best scrapbook in the wooooooooorld!!! What can I say??!! I'm obsessed!!! Along with the two albums this is wicked...JUST BUY IT AND DROOL OVER NOAH aka CHAD!!!... R.I.P Michael Cuccione xXx

This is the ultimate book for the ultimate 2GE+HER fan! Although I got a book that only had 92 pages - and I think I'm missing the last 4 pages of the book because it suddenly ends. But anyways, this book is hilarious and is filled with various trivia about the guys! QT can't write, Jerry was born without a jaw, Mickey wasn't always a gangster, Chad's blue eyes hypnotize, and Doug wears a balding toupee! A book that's definitley worth your money.

I love this book but the person that I bought it from ripped me off. I am totally pissed about this. Someone took out 4 pages so now I have 92 pages. I was supposed to have 96! Damn con artist. I still love 2gether though but I need to know what I'm missing in those 4 pages.

2Gether is the best musical grop and will always be the best, there cd's are funny, and good, whenever I have a bad day I put in one of there albums and it makes me feel better. The guys of 2Gether are talented, cute, sweet, and adorable. Noah is my favorite member and he sings beautifully and I love him with all my heart. I would like to say R.I.P. to Michael Cuccione, he was a brave kid until the end, he's a great singer, actor, and he is defintly a role model to all people. I will always love you.

This is one of my favorite books! I do enjoy "real" literature, novels, and that sort of thing -- don't get me wrong. I just think that this is written very well and it's extremely hilarious. You find out stuff about these guys that you've never known before. For example, did you know QT really couldn't write? He signs his name with an X! Never before seen pictures of all the guys (ever wonder what Doug's high school yearbook pic looked like?) are included, too. A little bit of old skool Whoa! is in here as well. If you ever watched 2Gether, this is a great book to have! Besides, it's cheap enough. Give it a shot. Or else Chad will cry.

Using contemporary data and years of coaching experience, the authors offer a robust tool for guiding the coaching process. Experienced and beginning coaches will find gems that will enhance their coaching effectiveness. This book is a focused, no-nonsense guide to effective leadership coaching and development.

Executive Coaching for Results provides an invaluable service to the field of talent and management development:direct information from dozens of top flight corporate leaders and practitioners of executive coaching.
Quite simply there is nothing else like this book in the marketplace and anyone who wants to gain a comprehensive knowledge of the state of the art of this ever dynamic field and area of practice needs to purchase a copy today.

This book is a helpful and practical guide with stories, research and ideas. The authors describe how organizations successfully implement coaching. A must read for any leadership development professionals!

This book belongs in every internal and external coach's library! Leadership Development, Talent Management and Human Resource practitioners, who play a direct or indirect role in leadership development, would also find it greatly beneficial.

This very comprehensive and easy-to-read resource covers all aspects of executive coaching. The research, authors' experience and organizations' first-hand learnings and best practices are insightful and invaluable.

Executive Coaching for Results: The Definitive Guide to Developing Organizational Leaders

Whether you have enterprise responsibility for leadership development and talent management or simply need to develop one leader, this book is THE comprehensive and practical guide for using executive coaching to developing leaders. Based on extensive experience, this book will provide you with the guidelines, checklists, and tools to ensure successful coaching outcomes.

This is the book that provides the Rosetta Stone for all other personal development books.

The concepts of this book run so deep and wide that if you just read it off in 2-4 hours in one sitting, you will miss the whole point of the book. This book takes the self-help genre to a new level. Not only from my experience with this book and from meeting the author behind the book, but also from the experience of all of the people I know who have read it, I can say that essentially, to anyone with an open mind, this stuff is awesome. Klemmer's other book about intentions running smack into reality is even better.

The merit of this book lies not in fancy language nor impressive theories and facts. What makes this book different is the RESULTS it produces. Nothing speaks louder than RESULTS.

I read this book with my students and they are amazed at what they have learned! It has changed the atmosphere of my classroom. I am willing to risk with them and they know they can trust me.

I recommend this for people that are serious about getting what they want out of life or more of what they want out of life. I know I have gotten better communication, a sense of respect for myself and others and a lot more of what I want out of life.

Brian Klemmer is a master craftsman in this incredible colletion of short expositions relating to topics for Personal Mastery. The author's great insights present the reader with spell-binding synopses of reflections about human paradigms, relationships, and effective methods for changing one's viewpoint from where they've always viewed things in the past, based on their experiences. It's a must read for anyone looking to seriously embark on a personal growth journey. Beyond information, beyond motivation, this book fosters growth from the inside out, which makes it extremely unique and exclusive.

Anyone who is stuck in his (or her) life, not making the progress he would like, should incorporate these concepts. Brian gave me the tools that I needed. Not only have I made exponential progress, but my husband is so pleased with his "new" wife that he is going to the next level, too. ANYONE,(yes, I mean you!) can take this book and find what is holding him back and ZOOM ahead. Brian is a master teacher!

First, I must say that I do not like to race through these novels. Instead, I like to read them slowly and savor every page. That was hard to do this time because this was a real page turner, an excellent follow-up to the previous installment.

Once I had finished The Reverse of the Medal, I instantly began pouring over this one, and indeed it was uplifting. Any fan of these books will be very pleased with this episode.

However, what I like best about these novels is the friendship between the characters. It says alot about honor, devotion, and true friendship, which I believe is the finest element of this series. That quality is particularly apparent in this novel.

Simply put, these books mostly get better and better as they go, and this one is probably my favorite of the lot (up through #14 at this point). Adversity strikes, and the boys are tested to the limit. Wonderful stuff from a spectacular writer.

I don't have time for a long analysis, but these books are fantastic. I am on my second read-through of the series, and this time I am buying them as I read them. I have never been interested in the sea or ships or the military, (I used to wonder why anyone would have a painting of a ship in their house, waste of wall space), but now I have a whole new respect and admiration. Patrick O'Brien brings the English navy to life in a way that evokes feelings of pride, sympathy, horror, elation and pure heart-pounding anticipation. The contrast of the main characters, Aubrey and Maturin, is amusing sometimes, often heart-warming. The galaxy of supporting characters is rich with personalities and details. The only character I really don't like is Diana, but she does lend another facet to Stephen's persona. All in all, I highly recommend this series, they are the best historical novels I have ever read.

After being deprived of his rank as post captain in "The reverse of the medal" Aubrey starts a new career as a "letter of marque" (private man-of-war) is started in this book. It's the characteristic seal of the series, it's a story of efforts and success, it enforces you to have read "The reverse", and to continue with "The thirteen -gun salute". If it will be your first book in the series it won't be the last. Save you don`t like this kinda book, then better don`t step through its board, and keep away of such a seizing.

It is a bit unfair of me to say that Patrick O'Brian's "The Letter of Marque" is a "character-driven" novel. Indeed, one of the many joys of O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series is his ability to sustain and develop such compelling characters over a long series ("LoM" is the twelfth book).

But while there is a fair amount of action in this novel, what distinguishes "LoM" is O'Brian's further exploration of his two heroes, Captain "Lucky Jack" Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin.

The novel opens with Aubrey bereft after being unfairly stripped from the lists in the Royal Navy. Unfairly charged and convicted of a financial scheme in which he played an entirely unwitting part, Aubrey has had his lifeline to the Navy cut as harshly as with a boarding axe. Now this merry captain, who used to delight in dreadful puns and baroque music, has been reduced to a cold, frightening visage. Remote, distant, joyless, Aubrey is at his lowest ebb.

Thankfully, Aubrey's boon companion, Dr. Maturin, has a lifeline. Thanks to a prodigious inheritance, Maturin buys Aubrey's beloved H.M.S. Surprise and outfits her as a privateer - with the titular letter of marque. This letter essentially authorizes the Surprise to be a pirate for the British Navy. While this offers Aubrey a chance to go to sea in his favorite ship, this joy is tempered by the shame that is attached to the word "privateer" by the serving sailors of the Royal Navy. Aubrey feels this acutely.

But privateer or no, the command of the Surprise offers Aubrey the chance at redemption through a heroic action . . . possibly even reinstatement to the lists! And so Aubrey leads the Surprise into various actions, including a complicated night-time raid on a French-held port to steal a ship from under French noses. O'Brian writes these scenes as only he can.

But this novel is not only about Aubrey. Dr. Maturin continues to ply his intelligence trade. He also continues to struggle with his two demons - an addiction to opium and an addition to Diane Villiers, his estranged wife. Maturin has heard that Diane has fled to Sweden with the attractive Swedish colonel Jagiello after she heard (incorrectly) that Maturin was having an affair in Malta. And so Maturin heads north to confront her, and possibly Jagiello, with the truth.

All of these plots allow O'Brian to explore both Aubrey's and Maturin's characters in new ways. Aubrey has had his troubles before with the law, but those were always civil matters involving nothing more than unsavory characters. Here, Aubrey is confronted with shame for the first time. Maturin also must confront his own nature, for as a man of intellect and science, he is not proud to be addicted to either a drug or a woman. And yet he is.

"The Letter of Marque" may be the shortest of the Aubrey-Maturin novels so far, but there is a lot of meat on this small bone. Do not read this novel unless you have read those that come before - the characters won't make nearly as much sense. But you will be thankful once you get to this novel - it is well worth the wait.

This is a very encouraging book about courage and faith in the face of a devastating terrorist incident. I was moved by LTC Bidwell and his wife's faith in God and each other as they fought their way back from the brink of death, after he was burned over more than 60% of his body on 9/11. One of my battle buddies was just badly burned by a bomb blast in Kabul, Afghanistan and is currently making this same recovery. Reading this book encouraged me about my friend's prospective future, after recovery.

This book is one of the most amazing faith filled stories I have read in a long time.
What Mel and Brian Birdwell went through after the tragedy of 9/11 and how it made them grow in the Chrisitan faith never giving in to others negativity is a true testimony of how God does work miracles. Brian Birdwell is a walking miracle.
This was the best of all the books I have read about people who have survived 9/11. This is one book once you read it, you will never forget it!

This book is an amazing testimony of God's mercy, love and faithfulness to those who call upon His name. As Brian and Mel Birdwell share their experiences from the Pentagon attack and aftermath, the reader gets a vivid mental picture of much of what they went through. They share their pain and suffering, but they also share their hope and trust in the Lord which is ultimately what gets them through such an appalling tragedy. God is clearly glorified in this story!

Refined by Fire is an autobiography of a couple's experience of faith, endurance, and love of God. It evokes all human emotion.

Brian is a friend of my son and his family and while visiting with my son, I was fortunate enough to meet Brian and his wife. They are a very loving sincere couple who have had their faith tested and have come out of this stronger than ever. I have recommended this book to others and am giving the books to friend and family because I think it tells a great story of love, devotion and faith.

It's clear, clever, engaging and informative. It's smart and interesting and packed with great and pertinent information.

Too long we have ignored most of the human brain. Brian Walsh's book clearly shows us how to take advantage of the rest of it.
Parents should read it, too.

Former educator

I've read a lot of books about superlearning, photoreading, success habits, brain functioning, mind mapping, memorizing. But here's a book that brings it all together in one place, full of way more realistic information than I'd known about before. In 273 pages, Brian Walsh gives a practical overview of state-of-the-art learning tools and techniques.

The book was a pleasure to go through! Not academic and heavy and boring, but a fun, informative read. Filled with great quotes, illustrations, internet links, practical information--heavy-duty reality--the structure itself is an example of facilitated learning.

In a sense, the book is a portal: one opening up a host of resources for the mind. Walsh points the reader to all kinds of ways for producing change. We learn how to break negative patterns and how to experience more productive and satisfying lives. He shows us how to best learn--and teach--a second language. He writes about brainstorming, about effectively influencing others, about real listening. We learn how we learn: what works and what doesn't.

It's a handbook for the human brain. I learned a lot by reading it. And I'm learning a lot by checking out some of the other sources referred to. If "unleashing your brilliance" is one of your goals, here's definitely a book to read.

Brian Walsh's book, "Unleashing Your Brilliance", has everything you need to get on the way to achieving more, in less time, with less effort, and have more fun doing while doing it. The author gives you the tools you need to explore everything from NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming) to Photoreading to Hypnosis and much more. This book is a road map to accelerated learning. The top twelve (I tried to limit it to ten, but could not) things I learned from reading this book twice (yes, you read that correctly) are:

1. "I tried" is a cop-out. It is an escape hatch. "Try" is one word you should work on removing from your vocabulary.
2. "I will" tells the subconscious mind to not act on something since it only operates in the "NOW". Remember that when you are making affirmations or writing goal statements.
3. Exercise enhances memory, improves reaction times and aids in the generation of unique and spontaneous ideas.
4. Self-master is a lot like poker, you need to know when to learn new skills, when to hold on to beliefs that serve you and when to let go of beliefs that do not serve you.
5. People with high self-efficacy choose tasks that are more demanding. They set higher goals, put in more effort and persist longer than those who are low in self-efficacy.
6. Emotional Intelligence is a completely learned phenomenon that helps people excel in life and have flourishing relationships and careers.
7. The words "always" or "never" indicate a false statement.
8. Whatever is strongly believed becomes reality.
9. Anything can be learned if it is broken down into smaller units. There are no mistakes, only outcomes and no failures, only lessons.
10. If something can be learned by anyone else in the world, it is possible for you to learn (something my Grandmother always told me).
11. Photoreading is something more people should explore and put effort into learning.
12. The Vivaldi I played when my son was very young may have improved his recall by at least 25 percent.

If you think these twelve things are valuable, you should see the things in this book that I did not include in the list. Overall, "Unleashing Your Brilliance" offers a clearinghouse of information and is enough to get you started and to whet your appetite for more. This book, written in language simple enough for the average person to understand, gives enough information for even those already practicing many of the topics to find it valuable.

"Unleashing Your Brilliance" by Brian Walsh is a well-written, well-researched book about the great potential each of us has within us. It's fascinating the way in which we absorb and process information. Brian's book gives a thorough, simple and comprehensible explanation of how we learn.

I'm drawn to self-help books that explore the human mind. I think the science of human understanding is vastly changing. Brian points out in his book that more progress has been made in understanding the human brain in the past five years than we had in the preceding decades. Imagine what we will know in five more years.

The techniques Brian introduces to stimulate thinking, creativity and learning are helpful. I used several of them before writing this review. I pinched my right nostril to get more oxygen to my creative, right brain. I cross-crawled (left elbow to right knee, right elbow to left knee) to improve my focus and concentration. I tapped my K 27 to increase the blood flow to my brain.

The book is targeted for teachers, parents and students wanting to improve performance. It is also designed for corporate HR personnel wanting to better understand how employees learn in the workplace. I recommend this book for anybody who has an interest in the human mind and its potential.

I ordered this Bible for my 11 yr. old grandaugher and she thinks it is wonderful. It was in excellent shape and shipped very fast.

This is a real good bible with a translation you could use to "quote". I liked the pages and inserts with explainations. You could sit down and just read facts and info on many subjects in the bible. I wish the pages were a little thicker so you could write or highlight on them. I suppose it would make this book thicker and heavier. It would make a great study bible for youth or any age. I, definately, would recommend this bible to anyone.

I have used this bible for a few years now and love it! I find the additional notes to be informative and thought provoking for students of all ages. We now purchase these for our 6th graders at my parish. The parents who saw our 'new' bibles really liked them too. I cannot recommend this book enough for both students and adults!

This bible is explained for understanding the meaning inside of the bible. It's described with more detail how God works to every prophet until His own Son Jesus Christ and full of guidances.

Excellent Easy to use Bible. Great for the Young adults in our lives. Makes great sense out of scripture. Hard to Find and Usually expensive, Extremely reasonable on Amazon.