O Books

This book does for Ruby what Kernighan & Ritchie's "The C Programming Language" did for C. It provides a concise, accessible introduction to the Ruby programming language.

Starting out with a tour of Ruby, you are then taken on a deeper dive into chapters on "Structure and Execution", "Datatypes and Objects", "Expressions and Operators", and "Statements and Control Structures". Some of the real power of Ruby is revealed in chapters on "Methods, Procs, Lambdas, and Closures", "Classes and Modules", and "Reflection and Metaprogramming".

The book closes with chapters on "The Ruby Platform" and "The Ruby Environment". The chapter on the Ruby Platform is like a condensed API guide to Ruby's core library. The chapter on the Ruby Environment will help you navigate through the Ruby interpreter's command-line arguments and environment variables as well as a grab-bag of extra Ruby topics that were not covered earlier in the book.

The book is well organized and easy to read. Each chapter is peppered with code samples. If you are serious about learning Ruby, get this book! It sits on my bookshelf, next to a copy of the Pickaxe book and The Ruby Way. Bonus: each chapter of the book starts with a work of art by why the lucky stiff!

The Ruby Programming Language is my new favorite Ruby book. I personally think it is a better text than the famous "Pickaxe" book. While the Pickaxe has a great class/module reference (it's over half of the book, after all), the actual explanations of how Ruby works in The Ruby Programming Language are clearer and go into much more depth. Most importantly for me, The Ruby Programming Language covers some of the more complicated topics, such as metaprogramming, with MUCH more depth. From the Pickaxe alone I had trouble understanding how some of these Ruby features worked. But with this new book, it's much clearer.

If you want the defacto Ruby book, this is it.

This book is quite simply one of the finest software development books ever written. The style, the length, the scope, and the structure are all absolutely perfect. The balance creates a reading experience that seemingly opens a channel to your brain and feeds the information in.

Flanagan is a master author of technical books, especially languages. His JavaScript book is equally well done. Matsumoto's unique technical mastery here leaves no stone unturned. And even the artwork by "why the lucky stiff" added a fun element that just rounded out the book as the best in its class.

If I could forget the whole thing, just so I could read it again, I would. It is that good.

Really found this to be an excellent guide to the Ruby programming language. This is definitely not just the API rehashed in print.

The difference in the style of this book and some others, in my opinion, is the difference between a map and a travel guide. A map may show you what and where things are, and may even be useful for figuring out how to go between locations, a travel guide will often include maps plus the inside scoop on what is interesting.

This book is similar. The writing style is like having an expert sit down and explain to you the various facets of the language, how to use them, points that are notable, etc. And all of this content is within a reasonable 400 pages.

Highly recommended.

I wish every book about a programming language was written like this one:

First, it is fairly compact and doesn't waste space (and your time) explaining to you what is a byte or a register, like some 800 page "volumes about everything" do. It correctly assumes that the reader is a programmer and explains the language, not the programming.

Second, it covers Ruby in depth. Read this book and you'll easily understand the most craziest Ruby code examples that could be found inside of Rails and other popular libraries. Moreover, I've found a few tricks in the book that I don't believe I saw in the wild.

And finally, author's language is very clean, free of buzzwords and needless repetitions. As always with O'Reilly books, this one is also very neatly structured and makes an excellent reference book.

Buy it.

Winning collection in the inaugural Salmon Poetry Publication Prize in 2001.

Mary O'Donoghue was also the winner of the Hennessy / Sunday Tribune First Fiction Award and the overall New Irish Writing Award for 2001.

Mary O'Donoghue's debut collection introduces a remarkable new voice in Irish poetry. The range of that voice is matched by the integrity of tone and feeling which is evident throughout. The poems move easily from classical mythology and biblical references to contemporary street-talk with no diminution of rhetorical conviction. Like the character in 'Jezebel's Palms', O'Donoghue gets under the skin of the female characters whose disturbed lives she gives voice to with empathy and unflinching candour. She articulates the wit and suffering of the witches, gurners, saints and vestals and others who inhabit these poems in language that bristles like backbrushed velvet." Louis de Paor

"From the ancient limestone of her native Clare to classical mythology and Irish folklore, Mary O'Donoghue ranges far and wide to unearth her sources. Her work is driven by an elegant sense of form and by a cool, subversive attitude. Tulle is an luminous first book which will leap from its pages and devour you." Eamonn Wall

About the Author

Mary O'Donoghue is from County Clare. Born in 1975, she is a graduate of the Irish Studies programme at NUI Galway. Her poetry has appeared in Poetry Ireland Review, Books Ireland, The Shop and other journals. She has written for The Sunday Business Post, The Bloomsday Review and aspects of her research into 1890s Irish women's writing appear in the critical anthology, New Voices in Irish Criticism. She has recently begun to write fiction, and has been published in The Sunday Tribune. In April 2000, Mary O'Donoghue was the recipient of the Sean Dunne Young Writer Award. This collection was the winner of the inaugural Salmon Poetry Publication Prize.

Tulle is written by one of Boston's best young writers right now. It is written with confidence and is not afraid to toy with different plays on words. There is a thin line between success and failure when working like this. With 'Tulle' it's success all the way. My favorite poem was the witty 'Witches of Monin Na Gloigeann'. This poem conjures up so many chaotic images, I get the feeling that is what O'Donoghue intended. O'Donoghue skips gently but surely between the light side and the dark side. 'Bova' is very dark and despairing. "Is this the same book!?" I ask myself. With someone moving so comfortably through so many themes, I don't have to ask but only to definitely announce- "Mary O'Donoghue is the voice of the new generation!". I only hope that Tulle is not the last installment.

Tulle is written by one of Boston's best young writers right now. It is written with confidence and is not afraid to toy with different plays on words. There is a thin line between success and failure when working like this. With 'Tulle' it's success all the way. My favorite poem was the witty 'Witches of Monin Na Gloigeann'. This poem conjures up so many chaotic images, I get the feeling that is what O'Donoghue intended. O'Donoghue skips gently but surely between the light side and the dark side. 'Bova' is very dark and despairing. "Is this the same book!?" I ask myself. With someone moving so comfortably through so many themes, I don't have to ask but only to definitely announce- "Mary O'Donoghue is the voice of the new generation!". I only hope that Tulle is not the last installment.

Tulle is written by one of Boston's best young writers right now. It is written with confidence and is not afraid to toy with different plays on words. There is a thin line between success and failure when working like this. With 'Tulle' it's success all the way. My favorite poem was the witty 'Witches of Monin Na Gloigeann'. This poem conjures up so many chaotic images, I get the feeling that is what O'Donoghue intended. O'Donoghue skips gently but surely between the light side and the dark side. 'Bova' is very dark and despairing. "Is this the same book!?" I ask myself. With someone moving so comfortably through so many themes, I don't have to ask but only to definitely announce- "Mary O'Donoghue is the voice of the new generation!". I only hope that Tulle is not the last installment.

This is where I just want to say in a deep husky voice 'If there's one book you gotta read all year...then it's Tulle'. It's that exciting a read from a richly talented poet. A friend mailed me this raving about it. His hype was on the mark. I will type 5 titles of poems randomly and bet you when I read over them they will be classics- 'Cattle Cars', 'Textures', 'If You See Kay', 'Trupi M'Leshon' and 'Embezzlemen'. Yes! I knew it, they are 5 classics- classics amongst classics. This collection is clever, funny, sad, sentimental, mocking of sentiment- everything! Bring on Book Number 2!!!

Rabbi Harold Kushner is best known for his book When Bad Things Happen to Good People, but this work is in my judgment his greatest contribution to the philosophy of the spiritual life, Kushner's pièce de résistance. Using my favorite Hebrew Bible text, Ecclesiastes, as a springboard, Rabbi Kushner writes about the "ultimate thirst of our souls": the need for "meaning," for "the sense that we have figured out how to live so that our lives matter." Rabbi Kushner offers readers his wisdom -- born out of years of study, struggle and life experience -- about how to live a life that matters.

READ this BOOK! Rabbi Kushner hits on so many relevant and pertinent topics that you will be amazed how you see yourself in the anedotes and examples used to illustrate Kushner's point. Rabbi Kushner uses the Old Testament story of Ecclesiastes to illustrate how man's search for happiness is eternal and not unique. I could not believe how similar Ecclesiaste's view on life and search for happiness are so similar to my own. I found myself stopping on many occasions and telling my wife "READ THIS!"
I have been on a self-help book crusade for the past several months. Reading a bunch of these books have helped in finding some understanding to the search for happiness I have been after. After each book, I can say one or two of the points explained in the book have made sense and have some good practical applications to dealing with everyday situations that arise in my life. Kushner's book is by the far the best. He gives you straightforward and understandable examples of the negative behavior that conflict in man's search for happiness.
From the opening pages Kushner had me! He hits the nail on the head when he says the lines "If you ask anybody what is more imporant - work or family? - without a doubt they answer family. But then ask them how much time they spend away from family by putting work ahead of family and making work more important than family obligations." (paraphrased) He has many of these observations that help the reader get some insight into how destructive these behaviors are towards our supposed goal of happiness. I highly, highly recommend this book - READ this BOOK!

A great book and one the everyone should read at some time in their lives!

Thanks again for getting me the book so fast and in such good condition!

Gary

A thoughtful, spiritual examination of why fame and fortune do not produce happiness, and why "average" and "successful" people often feel emptiness in their lives. Many brief anecdotes are used to illustrate the author's observations, which are linked to the book of Ecclesiastes.
Read by the author. You will read (or listen to) this more than once!

Kushner is a sage and this book is a classic. As always Kushner's knits together wonderful stories, quotes, and historical observations that are always on the mark and move his thoughts forward. The disease that plagues our age is overconsumption and Kushner invites the reader to step away from the table of materialism and instead search out the things that really matter.

I used it teaching beginner lessons. It really helped me come up with new and creative exercises for the kids to do. You replace the jumps for rails on the ground for students that do not jump yet. I love it and use the exercises in this book all the time.

Brilliant diagrams, excellent keys, simply mapped out and laid out information for difficult and also the easiest of dressage manoevres. It's bound at the top for a vertical flip, with a hole punched down near the bottom so you can hang the book on a nail on your bulletin board or at home and keep it open while you study it. It has handy hints how to achieve positions and gives you ideas to improve certain flaws. It is by far the best book on jumping exercises I have read so far that is dedicated purely to jumping exercises.

Just about EVERY page has another full A4 riding arena on it showing the pattern where the horse is going, it shows crossbars and it shows trotting poles, verticals, gymnastics and where to place them, it shows where you should be directing your horse and what way to approach with an excellent use of diagrams and patterns which have a key right next to it so the design remains uncluttered and simple to read. It even gives you cheap alternatives to make some jumps yourselves and offers quick solutions. A best buy for anyone serious about jumping - or even dressage - to keep their horse supple and to keep their horse (and themselves!) from boredom. Brilliant.

The best how to book on ground poles and jumping that I have experienced. It's a great tool by an expert to keep your horses (young and old) interested as well as the rider thinking. Linda laid out the book very well. Good illustrations and great explanations accompany each exercise. The ground pole exercises are very helpful to use between jumping lessons. This one is a book to keep and give as a gift to a riding friend!

This book has so much info on different exercises and each exercises has little hits about when to use this exercise and what to watch out for while riding it.

This book breaks the demands or jumping down into a logical progression of skills until it takes the insecure beginning rider into a confident partner to the jumping horse. If these lessons are followed correctly, it can also take a training level horse into a skilled show jumper. This book is a must for anyone interested int he discipline of jumping.

This an excellent book. Short chapters, easy to follow, common sense advice and really helpful suggestions for a person looking to put their illness in remission.

I bought this book (along with others)for my Dad after he was diagnosed with Stage 4 RCC. He absolutely LOVED this book. He then bought 5 copies and gave one to me, my brother and three other people because he felt we would all benefit from reading it. I read it and agree with him 100%. This book is an easy read and really put things in perspective. Great book for anyone going through this or for someone whose loved one is in this situation.

For anyone facing the big C or anyone with a relative in the same bandwagon, this is the best, most uplifting and practical book to get. It will give you advice, nutrition guidelines that help and most importantly, how to battle the depression that may arise. Get it!

Somewhat helpful, mostly things I had previously read in other books. But it was interesting and did keep my attendion. I did gain some knowledge that I have put in place in my treatment and am finding it helpful.

This book was easy to read and gave definite things to do to stay healthy and be a long term survivor.
It is especially good for people who first receive the diagnosis of cancer.

Endurance: an Epic of Polar Adventure
By F.A. Worsley
W.W. Norton & Company, 1931
ISBN: 0-393-04684-2

They say that truth is stranger than fiction. Endurance: An Epic of Polar Adventure is a sterling example. This riveting first-person narrative of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914 - 1916 recounts an extraordinary survival story replete with close calls, near misses, imminent disaster, and harrowing escapes. It's a true story "of invincible endurance and irrepressible humor through hardship and danger" in the face of overwhelming odds.

Sir Ernest Shackleton set off to cross Antarctica, a journey of more than 2,000 miles. Although his ship Endurance was wrecked before he set foot on the "most desolate, storm-swept place on earth," Shackleton and his men pulled off the greatest escape in the history of polar expedition. I've read and seen several accounts of this "bottom-of-the world" adventure, but none so detailed or compelling as the account of author Frank Arthur Worsley, commander of the doomed HMS Endurance.

Shackleton and his crew leave South Georgia, an island in the South Atlantic Ocean, in December 1914. While the ship makes good progress initially and pushes her way through thick pack ice off Antarctica, the wind shifts and closes the narrow channels or "leads", packing ice floes around the ship until she's stuck like a fly in honey. During the long winter the pack ice carries the Endurance almost 600 miles north.

In July 1915 Shackleton conferences with Worsley and Frank Wild, Shackleton's second in command. "The Boss" prophesies of the Endurance: "She's pretty near her end." He's right. A "splendid little ship," the plucky Endurance eventually succumbs to the enormous pressure of thousands of tons of ice and hoves onto her side. The crew salvages what supplies and stores they can just before she goes under, along with three life boats. The ship finally shatters and sinks, leaving twenty-eight members of the Expedition shelterless in the one of the harshest, most inhospitable regions imaginable.

At Shackleton's direction, the crew initially camps on drifting ice floes dubbed "Ocean Camp" and "Patience Camp" and allows the current to carry them north to safety. During this time Worsley recounts encounters with sea leopards, Emperor penguins, and deprivation - "we had been living for some weeks principally on seals and penguins" and when these migrated away, the men were reduced to "fourteen ounces of food a day" - which resulted not only in physical weakness but also a significantly reduced ability to fight the intense cold. Worsley recalls the "sad day" when all of the dogs, save one team, "had to be destroyed, to save food." Despite the omnipresent threat of exposure, frostbite, thirst, starvation and other adversities, Worsley dubs "the dreaded monotony" as the expedition's worst enemy. They are saved from starvation by a flock of migrating Adelie penguins.

After five months of drifting and countless dangers on the floes, the crew sights the Antarctic Continent in March 1916. Shackleton has brought them safely through two thousand miles of pack ice (p. 65). Deciding upon a safer but longer route to the nearest island to avoid more deadly pack ice, Shackleton orders the men to prepare to sail for the forbidding Elephant Island.

Worsley narrates the crew's reaction to Shackleton's decision, "... for most of us, I think our former lives had receded to that dim and shadowy vagueness usually associated with drams... I was unable to picture an existence in which a desert of ice and snow, battles with sea leopards, the dread killer whales, and a regard for penguins as almost personal friends did not play a part."
The floe cracks and the crew hurriedly launches the boats and embarks upon a hair-raising journey across the Southern Ocean to Elephant Island. On the stormy crossing the crews of the three boats - the Stancomb Wills, Dudley Docker and the James Caird - fight to stay together against blizzards, contrary currents, starvation, exhaustion and a voracious ocean that constantly threatens to swamp the small boats. Only the thinnest sliver of hope and a huge chunk of confidence in Sir Ernest keep his men going. Worsley describes the journey through "white hills of ice-clad sea, capricious currents, constant, unrelenting cold," sleep deprivation, exhaustion and exposure in an orderly, almost calm narrative without a trace of self-pity, panic, or despair. The men had such faith in their leader that the thought of failure never took hold. (See pages 83, 84, 86 and 88.)

Separated from the two other boats, Worsley and his men endure a hellacious night in the Dudley Docker before finally sighting the forbidding the coast of Elephant Island. Worsley and his crew eventually land on "a low, rocky beach" and are overjoyed to find the two other boats at the same location, which Worsley describes as "a gigantic mass of rock, carrying on its back a vast sheet of ice."

The full weight of responsibility for the safety and well-being of his men falls solely and wholly on Shackleton, whose self-sacrificing devotion to his men was legendary: "He was not only the leader of a great expedition but a true brother and shipmate to each one of us, thinking of us always before himself." In the wild, inhospitable, inaccessible environment of Elephant Island, this responsibility would have crushed a lesser man than the indomitable Shackleton:

- "It was due solely to Shackleton's care of the men in preparing ... hot meals and drinks every four hours day and night, and his general watchfulness in everything concerning the men's comfort, that no one died during the journey (to South Georgia)."

- "Shackleton's popularity among those he led was due to the fact that he was not the sort of man who could do only big and spectacular things. When occasion demanded he would attend personally to the smallest details, and he had unending patience and persistence which he would apply to all matters concerning the well-being of his men."

- "Shackleton had always insisted that the ultimate responsibility for anything that befell us was his and his only. ... My view was that we were all grown men, going of our own free wills on this expedition, and that it was up to us to bear whatever was coming to us. Not so Shackleton. His view was that we had trusted him, that we had placed ourselves in his hands, and that should anything happen to any one of us, he was morally responsible. His attitude was almost patriarchal. True, this may have accounted in some measure for the men's unquestioning devotion to him, and it always seemed to me that they bore toward him the love of sons for a singularly noble father..."


In the chapter entitled On Elephant Island, Worsley describes Shackleton's extraordinary leadership abilities. The Boss quickly discerns that a severe food shortage is imminent on Elephant Island. The consummate commander, Sir Ernest acts swiftly and decisively. He readies a twenty-two foot boot for the "forlorn hope" of sailing across "the most treacherous seas in the world" in the dead of an Antarctic winter to South Georgia Island, some eight hundred miles away. The odds of success are staggeringly slim, but Shackleton and five others remain undaunted and resolute. Reaching South Georgia Island and launching a rescue effort is the expedition's sole hope of survival.

Leaving Frank Wild in charge on Elephant Island, Worsley and Shackleton and five others set out. Worsley describes the scene the night before the leave: "It is a dreadful thing to face your shipmates, men who have been through thick and thin with you, and to realize that in all probability it is for the last time; nor does it add to your serenity of mind to know that if you fail to come back they will starve to death."

Worsley concludes On Elephant Island with thoughts of the men left behind: "...I felt that whatever hardships we might be called upon to face, we were the fortunate ones. Inactivity and uncertainty would come harder to men of the type of my shipmates than the unknown adventure that was before us." He adds pointedly, "We had in fact started on the greatest adventure of our career."

In chapter VI, The Boat Journey Begins, Worsley chronicles some of the challenges facing the determined little crew of the James Caird in their desperate attempt to sail north:

- Finding a way of breaking through the encircling line of pack-ice to north of Elephant Island so they can make for the open water
-Constant risk of being smashed by sea ice
-Being constantly wet for the duration of the journey
- Frozen reindeer skin sleeping bags
- Contaminated fresh water
- Being battered by blizzards and ferocious storms

Deciding upon the best point to make for, Shackleton emphasizes getting north as quickly as possible, "even though the route might be lengthened, so as to avoid all danger of ice and to relieve us from the almost overwhelming cold":

"What do you think of Cape Horn?" he asked, adding, "it's the nearest."
"Yes," I replied, "but we can never reach it. The westerly gales would blow us away. With luck, though, we might fetch the Falkland Islands."
"I am afraid that, although it is the longest run," he remarked, "we shall have to make for South Georgia, as you originally suggested. The gales will drive us leeward." And do they do, but not without incident on what Worsley understates as an"eventful and truly dreadful journey."
They finally land on South Georgia, but on the opposite side of the Norwegian whaling station and help. The boats isn't safe to put to sea again, nor are some members of the crew, who are too weak to continue. So Shackleton, Worsley and Tom Crean "rope up" and set out to cross the uncharted "impassable" interior of South Georgia Island. Worsley later records:

Without sleep, halting only for meals, we had crossed South Georgia in thirty six hours. Incidentally, he continues, "I learnt afterwards that we had crossed the island during the only interval of fine weather that occurred that winter. There was no doubt that Providence had been with us. There was indeed one curious thing about our crossing South Georgia... which I have never been able to explain. Whenever I reviewed the incidents of that march I had the sub-conscious feeling that there were four of us, instead of three. Moreover, this impression was shared by both Shackleton and Crean.

The exhausted trio stumbles into the whaling station on South Georgia on May 20. Three days later Shackleton and Worsley leave the island aboard a whaler bound for Elephant Island, determined to rescue their marooned shipmates. Weather forces them to turn back within sixty miles of Elephant Island. Heroic efforts to secure another vessel and safe passage finally pay off - on their fourth attempt. The strain of Shackleton and concern for his men is recorded by Worsley, who writes: "Lines scored themselves on his face more deeply day by day; his thick, dark, wavy hair was becoming silver. He had not a grey hair when we had started out to rescue our men the first time. Now, on the third return journey, he was grey-headed."

It is August 30, 1916. "One hundred and twenty-eight days since we had left them" writes Worsley, "days covering the worse of the Antarctic winter." One of the most poignant passages in this narrative appears on page 179 as Shackleton, on his fourth attempt at rescue, peers "with almost painful intensity through his binoculars" at the near coast of Elephant Island. He's counting: "There are only two, Skipper!" Then, `No, four!' A short pause followed and he exclaimed, `I see six-eight-` and at last, in a voice ringing with joy he cried, `They are all there! Every one of them! They are all saved!""

A boat is lowered and Shackleton leaps into it. "And as he drew close into the shore I hear him shout: `Are you all well?' Back came their answering yell, `All well!' followed by his wholehearted `Thank God!'

It is an historical fact that not a single man was ever lost in any expedition headed by Ernest Shackleton.

The narrative drops off precipitously following the Elephant Island rescue, but picks up steam on page 251, Southwards Again, when Worsley rejoins his old friend for another assault on the Antarctic. The year is 1922. Sadly, the return expedition isn't meant to be. The author's "best friend" dies of a massive heart attack in his cabin on South Georgia Island on January 5, days before his return to most desolate, storm-swept place on earth" that proved his mettle and made him a hero. Shackleton is buried on South Georgia Island.

Worsley's final chapter, The Death of A Hero, sensitively records the final scene with affection and admiration that shine through in every paragraph. "He had a way of compelling loyalty" writes one who sailed with him. "We would have gone anywhere without question just on his order." Asks Worsley rhetorically, "What more glowing tribute could any man wish for?"

Indeed, Endurance isn't just "a tale of unrelenting high adventure," but a tribute "to one of the most inspiring and courageous leaders of men in the history of exploration." This book is a compelling look into the heart and soul of a man whose extraordinary sagacity, capability, kindliness, courage and "wonderful capacity for self-sacrifice" set a standard for Leadership that still makes the world sit back and wonder. A great read.

I took a copy of this during an overseas military deployment, and in being reminded of the incredible conditions of the Endurance expedition, I found it hard to complain about some of the comparatively minor discomforts of being in the Army. This account by Worsley, the skipper of the Endurance and a lifelong friend of Shackleton, is a useful complement to other writings on the subject. The details of the Antarctic conditions, and particularly the section on the famous open-boat crossing to South Georgia Island, are described in way that no one but a participant could tell the tale. Worsley includes material about his WWI era experiences that doesn't appear in other works about the Endurance expedition. This is a recommended book for not just the Antarctic subject matter, but for its treatment of bravery, resourcefulness, survival, adventure, and leadership. This is a book that I will keep and re-read.

Endurance: An Epic of Polar AdventureI wanted to know something new, beyond the shackleton's book - south, but sometimes I think Worlsley had a great imagination.

Amongst all the books on Shackleton's voyage, this one provides the best insight into Shackleton as a man and as a leader. Due to his sense of humility and perhaps focus on the task at hand, Shackleton's own account of the voyage tends to dwell on the daily details of the group's struggles. Worsley's account on the other hand provides great insight into group dynamics and Shackleton's skill at maintaining unity under trying conditions. Shackleton's story needed someone other than Shackleton himself to tell it, Worsley being the expeditions captain and Shackleton's right-hand man, not to mention a masterful writer, is just the person. This book should be mandatory reading for anyone studying leadership and team building.

Now those were some tough adventurers back then...just solid outdoorsman and really strong willed and strong physically. This was outstanding to read and imagine what the human spirit can endure.

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 interesting insight into the world of executive coaching across the US. The authors and their contributors have condensed into this volume much of the coaching research on what makes for effective coaching, coach matching and coaching impact. These research elements are mixed with excellent short real life case studies which illustrate the points made from the rsearch.

Overall this is an excellent read.

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.

This is the best reference I have read about Executive Coaching - how to manage your own stuff when you coach, the best models to apply and how to create lasting shifts. A must for every coach's bookshelf.

I found several concepts very helpful, especially the Three Key Factors model for executive coaching and the description of the Client Responsibility Model. Mary Beth O'Neill also shares, with examples, how to help a client identify habitual behavioral patterns that might not be effective and a methodology to recognize those patterns and create new, more effective ones. This book is filled with insightful wisdom...a real gem.

The combination of theory and practice lends well to readers of all levels (from graduate students to seasoned professionals). The author's systems perspective focuses on the executive as part of a greater whole within the organization and the importance of understanding the influences that are impacting his/her behaviors. O'Neill also focuses on the importance of a results orientation (a topic often lost in other coaching books). She discusses the importance of thinking like an executive so that you (as a coach) can produce at a level that executives expect - increasing the likelihood of establishing rapport, a long-term relationship and, most of all, bottom-line results.

I highly recommend this book to new and seasoned coaches. Not only is it enjoyable to read, but the author presents a clear description of the application of systems theory to executive coaching. There are a number of coaching books that describe coaching skills, but O'Neill's book provides a solid theoretical framework for applying these skills.

Sabrina Starling Schleicher, Ph.D.
Licensed Psychologist
Executive and Life Coach

This is a well written and thorough resource which aptly combines theory with practical application of the systems theory to executive coaching as well as advice and tools to use. The book is very useful in translating the systems theory to readable and useful frameworks, pragmatic tips and case studies.

The author methodically explains the four phases of coaching process namely contracting, planning, implementation and debriefing. She explains that coaching is a complex process which involves the application of the principles and methods of psychology, leadership principles, business management and organisation development, among others, to assist the executive and the aspiring executive improve their effectiveness.

The book will assist the executive coaching practitioners, business executives and managers who need them and offers a practical guide to developing the effective communications and relationship expertise needed by business managers to run effectively their organisations in the highly competitive operating environment.

Read this book and you will have a comprehensive understanding of this emerging new field.

O'Neal has given the reader something pretty serious to think about.Final Conspiracy is a fascinating use of the issue of global warming,something Australians are really concerned about and the lust for power and greed to deliver a very entertaining and seemingly plausible story.It seems there is more to come from Caroline the story's main protagonist. I enjoyed the book, it was a great holiday read. I highly recommend it.

A.M. O'Donovan

New South Wales,Australia _

An exciting, stimulating and thought provoking story; the characters and events are intelligently woven into a fast moving political thriller about the very topical theme of global warming. I was hooked..., suspending other activities, reading eagerly and captivated to the end!
I can't wait for the next novel by Jim O'Neal.

travel to different continents, meet the characters, experience the intrigue...cannot wait to discover the ending...hoping for the next book already...there will be another?!?!

Wow! This book reads fast...I couldn't put it down. Engaging plot line and non-stop excitement. Timing couldn't be better either, now that people are becoming more and more aware to global climate change. Can't wait to read more from the author. New book coming soon???

Final Conspiracy is a great story that features a finely interwoven web of characters whose actions unfold in a powerful and intriguing story of deception, death, greed and lust for power. The story is however plot driven, but it is nonetheless refreshing to have the main character, Caroline, stand out in the way she does. She is a woman, who when faced with the unimagined threat of danger to her son, digs deep and finds the strength and courage to deal with the most unscrupulous and persistent of villains. All too often women in genre fiction--especially thrillers--are portrayed as weak, but Caroline is both feminine and strong. I also liked that the story is told in short concise chapters which lead you on to the next chapter at a fast pace. At the end of each chapter you find out more, which leaves you unable to put the book down until you have finished it. I enjoyed the story and the characters very, very much and look forward to more adventures for Caroline, assuming that she is returning!!!!

As someone in the business of helping others and teaching how to survive life and business, after reading the book I realize maybe I do not follow directions as well as I should. I consider this an instruction book for other consultants and coaches to help balance their life and business. This book was packed with excellent information and was a "one plane trip read". Those that travel know what I mean.
Highly recommended read for anyone that has the energy, passion and commitment to reach their own level of success. Also a must for storing on your desk for easy reference..

Dr. Joel Freeman has granted unprecedented access to some of the best kept entrepreneurial secrets. His candor, honesty and humility are woven into the fabric of each page. Dr. Freeman's genuine love for people shines through, as he opens his own archive of personal experiences to assist those that are brave enough to start their own enterprise. I encourage every budding business owner to utilize this book as an instrument of change for business and for life.

Damon Denson
Former Professional Athlete
DamonDenson.com

Wow!! What a tremendous resource. An entrepreneur's bible: the greatest investment you could make in yourself.

Roy E. Chitwood, CSP, CSE
President
Max Sacks International
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I am a professional life and business coach for young adults in life transitions. I also operate the Young Adult Crisis Hotline for young adults transitioning in various stages of life. I have used this book to coach young adults through the mountain passes of life's difficult transitions. I also have been using this book in various ways to teach practical entrepreneurship to individuals who want to start their own businesses or who are self-employed as a professional life Coach. It is practical and has easy to follow steps that empower people to know how to work not only hard but smart.

Personally, this book has radically revolutionized the non-profit I founded and operate daily. I took the book apart section by section. Practically applied numerous chapters to the non-profit's marketing and promotional department. We have grown in one year from a local crisis hotline to a national crisis hotline for young adult in difficult life transitions who have life controlling problems. Before using If Nobody Loves You Create the Demand we averaged only six calls a month, now we have sometimes a thousand calls a month nationally, write daily articles on our blog, and still applying learned principles from this book. We operate our non-profit on a shoestring budget and the steps that this book suggested we applied vigorously in promoting our purpose. It was and continues to be a of jolt great wisdom for our organization and the clients that we recommend weekly to read the book for personal growth and development. We are looking forward to the upcoming workbook that will be released soon.

Thank you for contributing to the many young adults who comment "If Nobody Loves You Create the Demand: is amazing road map of entrepreneurship."

[...]

Thanks,
Teddy Awad
Certified Mental Health Professional
Young Adult Crisis Hotline
[...]

This is not just another mediocre motivational book with grandiose theories, but this is one of the most practical books I have ever read for entrepreneurs. Although I have been in business for years, this book is still very helpful to me. Many of the ideas in this book can be put to use immediately, and I have already started applying some of the things I have read. From a business and marketing standpoint, this book is a great tool for the new entrepreneur or for the more experienced person in business. In the book, Joel Freeman is very generous in sharing many of the practical secrets to success he has learned over the years, so the reader gets a wealth of knowledge.