J Books

This is a must-read for anyone launching a job search. Follow the instructions and you'll find greater clarity on what constitutes your "dream job" and how to land it. It's all good advice. Don't shirk the seemingly difficult tasks. You'll see their value once you've completed them. Best wishes!

This book is an outstanding resource if you're having any kind of career angst. Don't know what you want to do or what your core competencies (as opposed to regular competencies) are? This book will help you figure it out, prepare a kick-[...] resume and set you on the path to success. Loaded with helpful worksheets, resources, and a step-by-step approach to getting the job of your dreams, you can't miss with Make the Right Career Move!

This is a great book for job-seekers making a career move in all sectors. While I have a non-profit background, this book proved to be a great resource to re-vamp my resume and strengthen my job search techniques.

The book was much more helpful than guides I have used that were geared specifically to those who work in private non-profits.

The author has distilled into this very accessible text a trove of practical advice about how to find and land a good job. "Make the Right Career Move" is like having a career counselor on your bookshelf. It serves both as a handbook about developing a job search strategy and as a reference guide about how to implement the plan. All job applicants would be well-advised to read the chapters on interviews (they are short) before every job interview. It will help them avoid making mistakes that would otherwise take them out of the running.

This book is a superb guide for making a career change. There are worksheets, guide lists for what to do (and what not to do), and the advice is solid and understandable.
Written in clear language, this book helped me enormously in a recent change. I found it especially helpful, as I am at the executive level, not at the bottom level. It provides web search assistance (where to look; what to look for), specific guidance on resume building, and even a glossary of words that are more direct and action-oriented than what I might have used otherwise.
No book is going to get a job for you; but this one helps you understand that a search well thought out is a search well done.

Ringer does it again, this and looking out for #1 are tied for my favorite Ringer books. Here is page after page of wisdom coming from the the experiences of an action oriented and open minded man.

Ringer bravely takes off the glasses of illusion and stares at reality for what it is, often it is painful/horrible, but it is the only way to truly "live".

I love all of Ringer's books, but this is his best. Much of his previous books were an offshoot of Ayn Rand's objectivist ethics, an attractive, but not always viable worldview. Ringer seemed to have written this book as an addendum to his previous works, when he was a hard-core Ayn Rand disciple. In Million Dollar Habits, he admits that Ayn Rand is great stuff- for people who live on a planet of Howard Roarks and Dagney Taggerts. Million Dollar Habits isn't for people who live on that planet- it's for the people of planet earth! In this book, he takes a more flexible, positive world view. The advice here is much more practical a real-world. Those who found Ringer's previous works good but impracticle should read this.

Robert Ringer discusses 10 habits (in order of importance) that contribute to success:

1. Accurate perception of reality

2. Developing an attitude to objectively evaluate alternatives and creative out-of-the-box thinking in the face of difficult situations.

3. Keeping problems in relative perspective, e.g., comparing day-to-day problems with true catastrophes such as death of near-ones, life-long disability / disease enables one to not panic unduly from more "normal" problems

4. Live in the present - identify what you enjoy doing and are naturally good at. Then, continuously seek opportunities that enable you to spend more time on these activities.

5. Morality - Every action has a consequence although the final result may be delayed. Taking short-cuts eventually come back to bite you and damage you in a variety of ways.

6. Numerous ways to improve human relations including brevity, compassion, assertiveness, discretion, closure, genuineness, refined behavior, responsibility & commitment, tolerance, and win-win.

7. Simplicity - evaluate your time / frustration costs and let more grievances slide,

8. Discontinue reltionships with folks that drain you

9. Self-discipline

10. Action / persistence

The habits are easy to understand and are intuitive. Reading the book will help you identify and act on several improvements.

This is an insightful and enlightening guidance on how to achieve success through adopting some winning habits. Drawing from his experiences, Ringer presents the following ten basic habits which are crucial for succeed in life: simplicity, positive attitude, perspective, high moral principles, human relations, drain people habits, present living, self-discipline, and the action habit.

The book was very informative and helpful. It is simple, clear, and gives ideas that are sensible and workable. The book contains a lot of practical and useful ideas that can help you. The habits make sense but very often, they are not practiced, in view of the fact that, although they are simple, they are not easy. The author has a profound understanding of human behaviour as he has had some serious setbacks in life from which he recovered and went own to achieve remarkable success.

The book is recommended to anyone with a sincere desire in the development of their potential.

I have a friend who is a self made millionaire. This is his favorite "success" book. Please notice that I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. The following comments are primarily critical, but I hope to add more value to the discussion by questioning the book. If you just want to read praise of the book, read all the other reviews.

Quote: "Life is nothing more than the sum total of many successful years; a successful year is nothing more than the sum total of many successful months . . . and a successful week is nothing more than the sum total of many successful days."
Reply: Life is not simple addition. The reality is one mistake can devalue 100 successful actions, or 100 successful days. Life is not always linear & progressive. I agree with the spirit of the author's statement, that success can be promoted by repeatedly doing profitable daily habits, but positive & negative actions are often not equally weighted. The cost of a negative action is often larger than the benefit of a similarly positive action.

Quote: "Success is not a grand slam home run. It's a matter of consistently hitting those singles and doubles every day."
Reply: Success can be a grand slam home run. It has been for me several times. But the author is right, most of the time it is not. But when life gives you a grand slam, it is important to know how to recognize it & perserve it. A person should appreciate their good fortune, and realize extraordinary acheivements & luck are not necessarily normal or sustainable.

Quote: "Reality is precisely the same for everyone. There is only one reality. What differs is each person's perception of reality."
Reply: While I agree in large part, it must equally be emphasized how different perceptions of reality and truth vary. There are at least 2 dangers. 1st: A person can get in trouble being too certain they have THE correct perception of reality. It's important to always have the ability to concede a perception of reality if data suggests the perception might be wrong. 2nd: Even if your perception of reality is correct, if you don't understand another person's perception of reality, you will still often err in dealing with them.

Quote: "Life is a never-ending stream of hardships . . . None of these are fatal; they're just life."
Reply: I like the author's intent here, but the principle is overstated. It is important to remember that some mistakes are fatal & final.

A final thought: The book regularly suggests that success is more simple than it is. The book hypocritically uses the "Something for Nothing" temptation it warns against. Success is not simple.

Being a fan of Walter Lord's impeccably researched book "A Night to Remember," I was instantly intrigued upon learning of "The Night Lives On." I had had several lingering questions for years: why was an order given to turn the ship starboard when the iceberg eventually hit starboard? How, specifically, was the matter of the Californian's involvement dealt with? Which theories about "the gash" don't pan out? All of my questions and more were painstakingly answered as if I had asked Mr. Lord for an explanation myself. His ingenius weaving of history, statistics, personal testimonies, and logic, blended into an easily understandable format, made my love of the Titanic's story grow even more. Anyone can buy one book and know the generalities of the ship. But this book goes above and beyond to educate those already acquainted with the story and wanting a much more in-depth look.

WALTER LORD DOES IT AGAIN. HE BRINGS IT ALL TO LIFE. A MUST HAVE FOR ALL "TITANIC" FANS!

I picked up this audiocasette due to curiosity. The information packed tape was interesting, and even made me angry because this tragedy did not have to happen. Like people say, most tragedies are a string of unfortunate events coming together at the same time. I don't think the sinking of this liner is anything different. It gives a glimpse into the technological limitations of the day, the caste system of the gilded age, and the prevailing seaman's attitude of the time. After listening to this (and reading The Perfect Storm), my interest was certainly piqued. I ordered some books on the Titanic and the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, and can't wait until they get here.

Walter Lord follows up his best seller of the fifties-A Night to Remember--with this eighties version on some mysteries about the sunken liner. One learns about the musicians (two groups actually) and what they played that night while the life boats were being loaded. Another story details the negligence of the freighter Californian for not answering the eight rockets of distress from the Titanic. Another story details the shootings and suicide near the end of the launch of the last life boats. Still another story details why there were not enough life boats on the Titanic and most other ocean liners of the day. Walter Lord clears the air about these mysteries with his well informed writing.
If you want to know more about the Titanic, read both Lord's books on the subject (A Night to Remember, The Night Lives On). They will help the reader understand this tragedy. I have seen the movie and I know the producers consulted these books when they made the movie.

Calling this 'the sequel to _A Night to Remember_' is slightly misleading. Rather than the storytelling style employed to relate the story of the sinking of the Titanic, this is almost a collection of 17 1-chapter essays about various points of the disaster. Excellent stuff, but if you were expecting, say, the story of the Congressional and Parliamentary investigations of the disaster, you need to look elsewhere, e.g. Wyn Craig Wade's _The Titanic: End of a Dream_.

"Unsinkable Subject" - Overview of the popular fascination with Titanic.

"What's in a Name?" - The actual launching of Titanic from Harland & Wolff's shipyards.

"Legendary from the Start" - Titanic was indeed popularly supposed to be unsinkable, but the trend of sacrificing safety features for competitiveness had actually taken hold during her design.

"Had Ships Gotten Too Big for Captain Smith?" - Explores Smith's record, including a near-collision in harbor with Titanic's sister ship, the Olympic.

"Our Coterie" - The group of first class passengers, including Col. Gracie, mentioned in _A Night to Remember_.

"Everything Was Against Us" - Contrasts the ice warnings, lack of coordination between radio room & bridge, and lookouts, with the notion that the accident was a one-in-a-million chance.

"The Gash" - The collision itself.

"I Was Very Soft the Day I Signed That" - How and why ships the size of Titanic could legally sail while carrying so few lifeboats.

"What Happened to the Goodwins?" - Facts and figures about 1st class vs. 3rd, contrasting White Star's implication that those people down there couldn't understand English, with the Goodwin family (an electrical engineer and his family, emigrating from London to New York, all of whom were lost, including the 6-year-old).

"Shots in the Dark" - Explores the stories about Murdoch, one of the officers loading the lifeboats, and whether shots were fired.

"The Sound of Music" - An in-depth look at the "Nearer My God to Thee" myth, and the 2 bands on the Titanic. (I was aggravated to learn that that entire, touching sequence with the cornet in _Raise the Titanic!_, which I loved as a kid, was made up from whole cloth - the musicians were just as courageous as the movie made them out to be, but no cornet players.) And if you're a professional musician who thinks *your* agent is heartless, wait till you read this.

"She's Gone" - Compares the eyewitness accounts of Titanic's last moments with what we now know.

"The Electric Spark" Captain Rostron of the Carpathia, who picked up the survivors at great personal risk.

"A Certain Amount of Slackness" Discussion of Captain Lord (no relation to the author) of the Californian, in sharp contrast to the preceding chapter.

"Second-guessing" - The inquiries and subsequent litigation (Lord's treatment of Senator Smith should be contrasted with Wade's more detailed treatment, but then Wade has a whole book to play with).

"Why Was Craganour Disqualified?" What happened to some of the survivors. (Craganour, owned by a member of the Ismay family, was disqualified from winning a major British horse race.)

"Unlocking the Ocean's Secret" - The search for the Titanic, leading up to Robert Ballard's successful attempt in 1985 (written before others began plundering the ship for relics).

I purchased this book for my husband after the loss of his/our dog that he had adopted 15 years ago. The book is a beautiful look at why older dogs are the best and hardest to lose. I designed a page identical to those in the book with a picture of our dog and a list of a few of the items that made her life so great. It is a great book for dog lovers.

This is a wonderful book for anyone who loves dogs, especially people who understand the true beauty of older dogs. Asher's photographs are emotion provoking as they seem to capture the essence of the dogs' personalities. I bought this book as a present for someone and one for myself. I am going to buy at least 2 more as gifts. :)

good pictures of the dogs; I liked the captions for the pictures. another good book for dog lovers as our doggies get older.

If you are a dog person, you'll love this book. The pictures and short "sayings" from the dogs match perfectly. I've given this as a gift to friends who love dogs, and they have all loved it.

Mark Asher has captured, in a series of haunting photographs, the rare beauty and vast wisdom that old dogs give to those of us fortunate enough to love them unconditionally. If you have ever loved an old dog, this book is for you. Nothing here but fabulous pictures of old dogs and the secrets of their longevity expressed in brief but memorable phrases. This book makes a beautiful gift for the dog lover in your life.

I have read many of John McPhee's works. They are all excellent and captivating. He writes on so many subjects, it is amazing that they are all great. No wonder he teaches at Princeton, or did as I remember.

This time John McPhee turns his hand to one of those
anomalous natural treasures that has survived in
spite of intense urbanization. The Pine Barrens are
two-thirds of a million acres-an area the size of
Yosemite that sit beside a major artery of the most
developed region in the country. With the New Jersey
Turnpike to the west and bustling, chintzy Atlantic
City to the East, it's hard to imagine that this great,
weird wilderness could be so little known.

McPhee is the perfect guide to the Pines. He is as
sensitive to the natural history as he is to the
culture. He has a sympathetic ear for both the natives
and the outsiders who wander in from time to time. He's
a writer who can focus on a detail-a threatened fern or
the quality of water and then pull back to the big picture.

A thoroughly entertaining book.


--Lynn Hoffman, author of THE NEW SHORT COURSE IN WINE and
the novel bang BANG. ISBN 9781601640005

Those of us from the Northeast know that wilderness can be found if you're willing to hit the road and search for it, and also that it's precious and worth protecting from the onslaught of industry and sprawl. But even those familiar with the region's wilderness offerings will be surprised by the natural bounty and remoteness of New Jersey's Pine Barrens area. The masterful essayist John McPhee published this travelogue and study of the area back in 1967, when the depths of the Pine Barrens still offered genuine seclusion form the outside world, with hardy folks still living off the land by picking berries or making charcoal. And this beautiful area was surrounded on all sides by the most urbanized and industrialized blight on Earth. Things aren't quite so rustic there anymore, but reading McPhee's engaging treatise on the area should make modern folks wish to both visit the Pine Barrens area as a valuable slice of nature, and to protect it as a precious and dwindling resource. That's what makes this short but lovable book from the great McPhee a timeless classic for nature lovers. [~doomsdayer520~]

My wife gave me this book in 1978, and I devoured it in one evening. I have since been all over the world, and no matter where I go, the pines are always the reference point for me. My teen years were spent in the pines, with my good friend Tom, where we would travel its dirt roads, canoe its streams and fish its lakes, and hike its trails and roads. Mr. McPhee weaves a story that is so true, so historically rich, and for me, so reminiscent of the years of my youth. Please read this book, and then go and make your own memories.

I'll keep this short and sweet: McPhee's The Pine Barrens is an entirely outstanding, fascinating look at the unique area that is the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. McPhee covers Piney culture, the unique ecological nature of the region, its history, and its hidden treasures. The writing is poetic and rich, the people interesting, and the information detailed, thorough and never dull. A really great read that anyone living in NJ should get.

This is the most expensive book I've bought, but it's well worth it. It's full of content and covers many topics. It's recommended to anyone from an enthusiast to anybody involved with law or law enforcement.

This was a great textbook, very helpful. Only thing, it's really graphic. Some of the pictures may be offensive to some people.

although the author has a fixation for weird sex deaths and spends more time then they are worth for an investigator in most areas, this is the best overall book i have seen for laying out a thorough investigation and peripheral issues. i wish more law enforcement officers used this book--rank, too--rank on a scene or in front of a camera can be like a bull in a china shop.

Vernon brings many years of experience to us all in his book so that we do not make the mistakes others have made.

Talk about a disturbing book. This one will probably give you nightmares if you haven't desensitized yourself to violence yet. If your denial mechanism is in disrepair, you'd probably be best to avoid this book which is the "Bible" of crime scene investigation techniques. Extremely graphic photographs of murder and suicide victims along with a compelling forensic text with such chapters as 'The Homicide Crime Scene Search,' 'Estimating Time Of Death,' 'Modes Of Death,' 'Suicide Investigation,' and 'The Autopsy' makes this one of the most informative and disturbing books available. Highly Recommended!

I enjoyed the family saga that is portrayed in the novel but that is as far as it goes. The novel is not at all historically accurate in that in the 1940's the characters speak of African American's as "blacks" and speak of racism. These terms were NOT used in 1940 America. Blacks were called negroes and nigras. So the book does not get 5 stars since it does not ring true historically. Also, introducing Martin Luther King at a civil rights rally as a young man in 1940 Mississippi is also highly inaccurate. I doubt that there were civil rights rallies in 1940. So based on the lack of historical accuracy and inaccurate speech patterns in this book, I can not give this novel more than 3 stars. Read it for the interesting family story but nothing more.

Amethyst Noble is locked in a court battle with her son who thinks that, at age 93, she is too old to live alone in her house. While waiting for the court date, Amethyst spends time with her namesake, her great-granddaughter, and begins telling her stories about her life and the lives of those who came before her in the Noble family. Woven into the family story is the story of the Noble's relationship with a black family who were first slaves and then co-workers. Also important in the story is an amethyst heart which is passed down from generation to generation. This is the first book of Penelope Stokes that I have read, but it won't be the last. She is a delightful Christian writer who knows how to write a story with a good message.

I am a stokes fan, I own every novel she has written and with this one she has done it again, you will not regret reading this one! I loved it.

I have read Penelope Stokes' Circle of Grace book from the library. I checked the author on her official website and I was impressed by her education and writing skills and style. After that, I start to buy books which she has authored. I have purchased The Amethyst Heart and The Amber Photograph and will intend to buy the rest of her books.
First, the title of this book is touchy...amethyst which is a spiritual stone. Secondly, she puts bible verses and passages that are applicable to the lines in her story which makes it a more enjoyable read. Then in this book, there are touches of civil war issues and racism which are intriguing subjects and as her words flow, the reader will feel that he or she is being mentally taken to this imaginative world and being a witness to this story. I think this is one of her best, if not her best written story judging from the 3 books that Ms. Stokes authored that I have read.
Would I recommend it to every reader? Absolutely, because I believe in her style and her prose is written very adequately and consistent to her very excellent writing gift and talent.

I have recently discovered Ms. Stokes books and "The Amethyst Heart" is my favorite. After purchasing a few of her books, I decided to use my local library to continue with her collection. Now I need to purchase "The Amethyst Heart" so I can highlight various sentences and thoughts for future reference. This book was a very enjoyable, inspirational novel that I look forward to owning and reading again.

A cute story about how children see their dolls and dolls see their children. Perfection is in the eye of the child. And the most worn are often the most loved. Any one with a passion for dolls would love this story.

Absolutely love this book for girls ages 0 to 12 -but most compelling for ages 6-10. This was a favorite of mine when i was young. My 8 year old daughter is so enamoured wtih the story she wants to have a Best Loved Doll birthday. Don't hesitate - buy this book!

This wonderful book captivated me as a child. It is probably my most favorite book from my childhood and I loved it so! I remember so much how I wished I could have owned the best loved doll, and how it made me tear up after my mother read it to me for the first time. I cannot wait to read it one day to my daughter(s)!

"The Best Loved Doll" was the first book I fell in love with as a little girl. Even after I grew up I still remembered this book. When I got pregnant and found out I was having a little girl, I knew I had to find this book. And to my astonishment, I found it and didn't think twice of purchasing it. I can only hope that my little girl will love it as much as I did. A true treasure for all little girls with a good meaning: just because something looks old and is in tatters, it doesn't mean it can't be loved or give love.

I have loved this book my whole life. I think it is a great reminder for today's materialistic youth.

So far many of the names I've been reading in the newspapers are coming to life in this fun read! Just enough mayhem to wet your appetite for more! The format makes it easy to read and pick back up and I find myself using it as a reference book at this point as I'm going through various newspaper articles. I'm still in the process but am learning quite a bit about mobsters outside of the Chicago area. Must have for those getting started like myself!

I was given this book as a birthday present... This book is a must have for any organized crime geek... Its meticulously written in a straight forward manner. Covering a wide range of topics from Prohibition era gangsters like John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and others like Al Capone and other wild gangsters of Chicago... Most of the focus is in the Chicago area and Outlaw Prohibition type bandits... It does have some dates concerning happenings in Detroit, Cleveland, New York, etc...

In the beginning of the book it has brief bio's of most of the major gangsters of the 1920's era... In the back it has two pages covering the dates various gangsters died... Over all its a well written book complete with other stories woven in with the almanac... This book is a must have for your organized crime library whether your just a mafia buff, amateur crime researcher, or just into reading about Prohibition era crime...

wonderful book.informative.makes good late night reading.i love reading about local gangsters/crimes.what an era!and this author really dug out the details.

Respected authors William Helmer and Rick Mattix have provided us with a reference book of nearly 900 pages relating to "the gangster and outlaw era: 1920--1940." The book is divided into seven sections dealing with all facets of crime during this turbulent era. Parts of this book can be read like any other book while criminal incidents from various years are listed chronologically. I feel this part of the book can be best used as a reference. The book contains numerous photos, several of which I have never seen before. The big shots of both Chicago and New York are all here as are the depression-era desperadoes. Depending on your interest level you may feel you are being told more than you care to know. However, as I said, much of this book can be used as a useful reference book to your crime library. If you do have such a library this book would be a worthy addition. Co-author Rick Mattix has reviewed numerous crime books on Amazon, and his opinion carries considerable weight with me in whether or not I decide to purchase a book.

This is a must have referance/gangster/outlaw book. If this subject or even this era of history intrests you at all this book is a goldmine.

If you grill, and you want to expand what you are capable of, beyond basic techniques that may just be wrong, this work is a great reference and should help you exceed your present abilities as a grilling cook, especially with the complicated world of charcoal and smoking meets and vegetables

Yes, if I had to choose just one grilling cook book, it would be this one--not just for the exhaustively clear and detailed instructions for barbecuing a comprehensive range of foods, but for the outstanding sauce, rub, glaze and marinade recipes. It's all carefully tested and presented for both charcoal and gas grillers.

There are even some "ultimate" recipes in here; the one for charcoal grilled maple glazed salmon comes to mind.

I upgraded to this new edition when it was first published, and it was well worth it for key additions like that grilled salmon.

For its sheer competent scope, this book has no true rival of which I am aware. It deserves a place in the core cookbook collection of the serious griller, from beginner to expert.

If you like Cooks Illustrated or America's Test Kitchen, you will like this book dedicated to BBQ and grilling. Same style, same type of recipes.

I got this book for my husband for his birthday and boy did I hit the mark! My husband doesn't read for pleasure but he, no pun intended, ate this book up. He refers to it constantly and everything he has tried from the book has been wonderful. He says that it is full of the reason why a technique is used and he has learned much from it. I then bought it for my twenty-something son and he says the same thing!! It was a good investment for both my culinary tastes and to get my husband to read something!! The food is great and I don't get chenobyl chicken anymore!!! Really worth the read. Period.

I'm not much of a meat eater, but wanted to be able to cook really good meat when I grill. This book may make me a meat lover! Each recipe is very educational as they explain many of the methods they tried before determining the best method for grilling a particular item. I've tried four recipes so far and they have all been absolutely perfect. I grilled burgers for a crowd on the 4th of July and throughout the meal everyone kept commenting on how good the burgers were. Seems that burgers should be simple, but now I know how to make a perfectly cooked juicy burger! The pork tenderloin recipe was also superb; tender and juicy. I won't be looking for any other grilling or barbeque cookbook.