Fitzgerald Books

That's practically all I have to say for this book. It shows you exactly how to make a go-cart with step-by-step instructions. It's amazing!

From the first page I laughed until I cried! Trisha's talent for description is awesome. I couldnt read fast enough to find out what Peggy would do next. Her character comes to life on the page and carries the reader on a hilarious as well as a suspenseful journey. Trisha skillfully blended witty, realistic dialogue with fantastic description. I felt as if I were literally there, feeling everything right along with Peggy and viewing Ireland first hand. And the ending doesnt let you down! More hysterical laughter and heartwarming drama right to the end makes this book a definate copy to keep on your shelf to read again. I'd like to think there's a little Peggy in me as she makes tracks in search of a break from her stagnant life. But as the story unfolds, I began to realize that the grass is always greener on the other side. The mother in-law bit had me in stitches! Trisha nailed it to a tee. If you want to laugh, cry and enjoy a great suspense along the way, I highly recommend Making Tracks by Trisha!

Review by Elliot Love
Author of Night Brigade
www.nightbrigade.wetpaint.com

I have bought about eight copies of this wonderful cookbook to give to friends after buying one for myself. It contains beautiful photos of the Oklahoma governor's mansion and delectable food made from recipes served at the mansion. It makes a wonderful gift because as well as having recipes you'll use over and over, you also get an Oklahoma history review. It's delightful to look through even if you never use it as a cookbook.

I have often wondered why most company boards have finance committees, human resources and remuneration committees, ethics committees and audit committees, but no customer or brand committee. Especially as the customer and brand are central to strategy and the source of operating revenue and profits.

HOW EFFECTIVELY ARE MARKETING DECISIONS ANALYSED AT BOARD LEVEL?
`Marketing in the Boardroom' places the issue squarely on the agenda, saying, "For most companies, brands are significant assets and marketing is a major investment. Yet how often - and how effectively are brand and marketing decisions and investments rigorously analysed at board level?"

The book quotes Sir George Bull when he was Chairman of Diageo. He stands out by declaring that, "Brand deliberations belong in the boardroom, with all the data, scrutiny, commitment, rigour and accountability given to the key financial measures of a company."

The publication also includes comments from Sir Anthony O'Reilly who draws on his experience as a director on many boards (ranging from Mobil to Bankers Trust, through to the Washington Post and including G.E.C and H.J. Heinz). In his broad experience, "marketing has typically received not more than 15% of a board's attention" and this very singular reflection seems as pertinent as it is remarkable.

WHAT DRIVES THE FOCUS OF THE BOARD?
As the authors point out, a board's focus can be direct reflection of the members' background rather than a function of the needs of the business. That's a problem because most boards are filled with directors who have a background in either finance, legal or operations. Even with the plethora of change that boards have embraced today, it is quite rare for a board to have a director from a marketing background.

That situation won't change overnight. So the issue is, how to help directors to broaden their skills and increase their engagement in the customer-brand strategy of the company. Which is why `Marketing in the Boardroom' is essential reading. It has been written for directors and CEOs, to help them analyse the effectiveness of marketing strategy in their organisation. No doubt market analysts and shareholder advocates will also be interested in the questions that boards of directors ask about marketing strategy.

The book also provides a wonderful insight for marketing practitioners on what directors want to know (or should want to know) - and what directors should look for in the executive response. It will give practitioners confidence in the validity and importance of the information that they put forward. (It is too easy for boards to avoid a meaningful discussion about the customer and brand by saying, `Just give me the high-level stuff''. Too high level and the analysis is cursory).

BOARD'S INFLUENCE ON CULTURE, MANAGEMENT FOCUS & RESOURCE ALLOCATION
Recognising that the role of marketing is to identify, attract and retain the profitable customer (my definition), the book addresses the full marketing discipline and not just marketing communications. "To put it at its most practical, marketing is about the role a company plays in the choices of its customers and how value is delivered to those customers."

A degree of rigour in board reviews of marketing effectiveness is important because, as this book explains, `through the culture they foster, the way that they operate and questions that they ask, boards can also have a profound impact on operational performance'.

IMPROVING THE TYPICAL BOARD MEMBER EXPERIENCE
The lesson is clear, if the board is not interested or engaged in the marketing strategy of the company, that attitude will undoubtedly cascade throughout the organisation. Lack of attention to the marketing strategy and intent at board level will directly be reflected in the level of management support and resource allocation, and therefore the effectiveness of the marketing function.

To tackle this problem, `Marketing in the Boardroom' arms directors with an overview of the marketing philosophies, concepts and questions they need to consider at board level. The Q & A for each marketing topic is prefaced with an introduction to the concept, plus a practical scenario that would mirror a typical board member's experience.

ADDRESSING REASONS BEHIND NEGLECT
After reading `Marketing in the Boardroom' I also want to find out more about Sir George Bull, who asks why the disciplines of good brand management are neglected more often than observed. Provocatively he asks, "Is it because the marketing fraternity has not earned the respect and confidence of other functional colleagues?"
Or, he posits, ". . . is it that the process of building brands is more art than science, demands flair and inspiration, qualities which are not commonly found in the business community and, when they are, win scant respect from the majority of earnest business executives who, unable to comprehend, instinctively mistrust?'

GOOD PRACTICE NOT ENOUGH
Upwards management has its limitations so marketing practitioners will be pleased see the authors emphasise that marketing should be driven from the most senior position in the company. Sir George Bull contributes his thoughts on this topic too, saying, "Corporate conviction and commitment offers the key to excellence in brand management and these are things that can only originate at the highest levels within a business, otherwise, like a thinly-rooted plant, good practice will be washed away by the first winter storm."

KEY TO WEALTH CREATION
Sir George points out that if the business community can unlock the gates to the brave new world of marketing-led business management, then job creation, wealth and higher living standards will flow. Ever the optimist, I think that `Marketing in the Boardroom' could provide that elusive key.

Marshall McLuhan was a Wise Guy, a very wise guy. In some ways, he was a phrophet, coming from Canada, no less! It opened my eyes to him and I think Judith Fitzgerald will go down in history as being a great poet, thinker, and genius herself, like her mentor and favourite Canadian. I didn't know he was a McLuhanatic until she wrote about that and she proves he was anything but. I like her writing style in prose but I LOVE her poetry. I started reading her writing in my first year English course but after I read River, I found Iphigenia's Song and it was the best find I could have found. It made me soooo happy when I was very dpwm and feeling I could never be anything but a lonely girl. Judith showed me there is peace and joy, and she helped me stop hurting myself with her book. I never thought I would read about razor blades and scars and find it devastating and beautiful both. I know I am just a girl in Ottawa but I am very very happy to know that even a girl like me matters and I know she wrote this book to help others but it is mostly and the poetry that is so moving and beautiful, the poet is extraordinary and I love her writing.I will order more of her books when I have more money. I have already bought Given Names and Rapturous Chronicles but I am saving them to read them on my birthday because I am not really a published poet yet. All my friends know I am asking them for books by Judith Fitzgerald and I will give me these birthday presents when the time comes, too. I was born on Canada Day. I am truly a Canadian and I think Marshall McLuhan and Judith Fitzgerald are our greatest artists and poets and thinkers. Both are Genius! Awesome. I love them both. I also bought Understanding Media but I don't think I am smart enough to understand it all yet. I know I am not a narcissist in a narcotic haze. Other than that, buy anything you can by either Marshall McLuhan and Judith Fitzgerald. They will make you see the world with fresh eyes.

This book is truly a veggie cookbook of the 60s, lots of eggs and dairy, but the benefit is that it uses many ingridients with which we are all familiar instead of "newer" ones that make cooking difficult for novice vegetarian cooks. Furthermore, it is easy to cut the fat, eggs and dairy as you learn these recipes so that they will be more in keeping with current dietary guidelines. I think that this book would be an asset to any vegetarian kitchen.

Published in Dublin shortly after the cowardly murder of our great leader by secretive and international forces, this large but brief book records with the technology of the times photopgraphs and speeches and the itinerary of the voyage.



Some may balk at the colorization of the photographs or the illustration of the new Kennedy coat of arms, still awaiting our President to select a motto. But we must cherish this work as our history, the history of our nations, and a relic of the hope we once had for peace and justice. In the closing words of President Kennedy's address to the combined Parliament (Dial Eireann and Seanad Eirann) of Ireland, he yet exhorts us all alive today: "My friends, Ireland's hour has come. You have something to give to the world, and that is a future of peace and freedom."



In another speech our greatest leader warned us that we had arrived as a nation and as a people at a crisis, a crossroads, and a choice between taking up the glorious instruments of peace and development, or the instruments of destruction and of war. Would that we had made the better choice. Would that the choice had not been made for us by his assassination and replacement with the dynasty which oppresses us now and all of the peoples of the world.

METAPHORS OF IDENTITY crosses and combines disciplines to examine the nature of identity in human society. Fitzgerald, in deftly separating "identity" from "culture," clearly provides a reasoned and critical view of social, biological, and political factors which thwart understanding and cohesion among groups of people. This book should not be confined to the academic world, but should be enjoyed by literate humanists who find the canon of "political correctness" politically, intellectually, and spiritually pinching, but who despise bigotry in all its many forms.

I bought this book for my niece who is a dentist in South America. It is a delightful book and very nice to read to children. Makes it fun to think about going to the dentist. I wish there were more books like this in Spanish.
The story about going to the dentist and finding out the dentist is not a monster is fantastic. i do think all parents of young children should buy this book.

Maureen F. Fitzgerald's Mission Possible: Creating A Mission For Work And Life is an impressively written and thoroughly "user friendly" self-help guide to creating a personal mission statement to guide one's search for a rewarding career, strengthen one's character, and improve the quality of one's life. Guided activities, encouraging advice, and an emphasis on learning how to plan to achieve fill the pages of this personally motivating and highly recommended "go-getter" self-help book.