Research Books

I love the new "Classics" section -- how could so many famous and loved songs not be Top 100 hits? Separating the "featured artist" from the artist's main body of work was also a good idea. And the information on which greatest hits compilation has the most hit songs on it has already helped me get the most for my money. If you love music, this will help you put it in order so you can find what you have and find out what you don't have yet.

I really love this book! Its so comprehensive, it helps me find songs I've been looking for over many years! I also like the categories it broken down into. Like top sellers, top average sellers and with the more popular groups tells you how a total of weeks they've been on the charts. Its also current which makes it even better. I love reading about groups and their songs, also finding out what the number one songs were for each year.

If you are looking for something that is comprehensive in covering the music top 100, this is it!

Since I also purchased Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs (1944 to 2005),I was able to compare Top Pop Singles (1955-2006) to it. One thing I liked in the former that was absent in the latter is the listing of the songwriters for each title. Instead the B-sides are given. Could room have been made to include the songwriters for each entry? Nevertheless, I enjoy making frequent reference to Top Pop Singles 1955-2006.

O.K. I made a mistake with this book.It is not for any one in England who is trying to compile a list of no1 hit singles or any kind of reference to the British Pop scene.Never the less i had to give 5stars just for the sheer amount of work thats gone into it.It is still very useful for cross reference and very interesting for finding out what American singers never made no1 in their own Country but made no1 in Britain, Eddie Cochran being just one example with Three Steps Two Heaven.It was interesting for me to note that Cliff Richard has never had a no1 in the U.S.A., the most he has ever been is no6 with Devil Woman.I have noticed one mistake and that is to do with the birthdate of one artist.His name Sonny Boy Williamson aka Rice Miller,according to the book his date is 1899 according to Sonny Boy himself its 1897.This date is taken from his LP track The Story of Sonny Boy Williamson which i bought in 1962/3.O.K. i said i made a mistake buying it because BillBoard is American & i am starting to compile my own life in music which is mostly from British charts,but i have no regrets & although i state its not for british chart reference i would still recomend it to anyone who wants to put their life into music compilations of their own,for that its invaluable.

I am a chart fanatic, yet I have no need for a 12 step program to get over it because I have this book, it is fantastic for folks like me. I grew up listening to Casey Kasem and compiling my own charts on notebook paper to have my own record. Having easily referable access to this reference book is a dream for me. I have this one and the one for albums, so yes I am addicted. If you have any fascination with rankings and charts--GET THIS BOOK--and this updated edition even has new things like airplay only singles, classic non Hot 100 songs, which is basically popular album cuts, and more. It's a great addition to any music fans library.

This was my first book by Derek Armstrong, but definitely not the last. To get a feel for this story, think of the biggest, baddest roller coaster and you are in the front car. Put together a horrible virus, terrorists likable protagonists and you have a wonderful book. The author writes his characters with layers of emotions, fills in their backgrounds and weaves a compelling scenario. I agree with a previous review, this would be a great movie.

Robin Cook, move over! Derek Armstrong has created a smart-mouthed, sarcastic, ego-centric protagonist capable of irritating officials as high-ranking as the President of the United States in this medical thriller. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Alban Bane...
Don't fret...in a world where over the top characters, molded from a child's Play-Dough set, dominate the thriller genre with predictable dialog and self-centered antics, Bane fades to the sidelines admirably without emasculating himself or damaging the plot. In fact, good for you Armstrong...and good for Bane. He doesn't steal the show!! Armstrong has successfully recruited an entourage of three dimensional characters churning toward the same goal...the salvation of mankind...with enough conflict and suspense to keep the reader on the edge of her seat!!
I don't want to say too much. I'll let other reviewers offer spoilers if they desire. What I will say is that character is superior to plot but you can't have one without the other. This book has both...nice job, Derek Armstrong.

...because you won't want to put this book down after just one or two chapters. Just like its opening character, Dr. Begley, MADICINE burst out of the gate like a shot and kept roaring down the road nonstop, with me hanging on for dear life. Fortunately, the book lasted longer than Begley. (That's not a spoiler -- all kinds of people kick the bucket before the story's finished, of course.)

Taking the time-honored formulas of classical crime thrillers and adding his own brand of wit and quirky irreverence, Armstrong has given us a brightly-lit, constantly moving tale of intrigue, greed, monstrosity, and evil. With prose that comes alive and some pretty damned unforgettable characters, MADICINE is one of those books I hated finishing. The good news: Considering that this is the second Alban Bane crime novel (the first was The Game), we can reasonably assume there are more in the pipeline. Which suits me just fine -- this was SERIOUS fun!

That's the World Advance Response Taskforce led by Alban Bane, a Scot who can be more than a wart on the backside of people who get in his way. He's not entirely sure why he's been called to California to save the world yet again, but he gets a taste of the virus firsthand when the pilot of his transcontinental plane goes nuts and nearly kills everyone on Flight 411.

Enter, Dr. Ada Kenner, Harvard trained CDC doc who first identified the plague and named it MADS because the primary symptoms were dementia, sociopathy, and violent psychotic breaks. She's a bit mad herself because no one was willing to listen to her until Bane stepped in.

These two, along with help from Nam Ling, kung fu champion and Panji, a Native American pop star also known as Little Coyote, will lead the forefront in the fight against the deadly virus.

There's a lot to recommend "MADicine." It's not just typical plot driven page turning suspense. Alban Bane and the other supporting cast members are all strong characters with their own beliefs and painful pasts.

In addition, while Armstrong knows how to dish the action, he can also keep you from raising your blood pressure too high with an occasional laugh. His comment, "I plan to sleep. Hopefully, you don't." to an obnoxious pilot had me rolling and that was just within the first few pages.

Finally, the mystery comes in with just the right amount of clues to keep me reading and guessing almost until the last of the book. The imagery here was so vivid, I'm casting the movie in my head while I'm heading off to order Derek Armstrong's first book in this series, The Game.

Rebecca Kyle, June 2008

Posted on Amazon.ca by Joylene Butler on May 4, 2008:
"Prepare to give up everything to finish this book!, May 4 2008"
By Joylene Nowell Butler (Cluculz Lake, B.C.)
If you were lucky enough to discover Mr. Armstrong's debut novel THE GAME, the story of a murderer stalking a TV reality show, & you've been waiting for the sequel ... prepare to be gratified. MADicine not only delivers on Mr. Armstrong's promise of a great read, his skill at bending suspense, comedy, tenderness, & ever ready tongue-lashing is unparalleled.

THE GAME'S hero, Detective Bane, head of the World Advance Response Team (yep W.A.R.T) is back, more adorable & sarcastic than ever. He & his new partner Dr. Ada Kenner of the Center for Disease Control, are in a mad race to find a virus that leaves otherwise gentle victims explosive with rage.

What makes MADicine worthy is not just that it's a perfect story for the likes of Bruce Willis or Hugh Laurie, (& it's true MADicine will keep you rooted to your seat) it'll tug at your heartstrings. Alban Bane is a charismatic hero, but he's also a widower & a father. His tongue may be deadly, but his convictions are scrupulous. What kept me wanting more were scenes like the one where the plane's in a deadly descent to earth & all Bane's can think of, while he clutches with both hands to the ankle of a dangling mother & her child, is that he's going to die with his daughter hating him.

MADicine is a complete package. What a relief to finally read something gut-wrenching, funny, exciting, & with a tender & satisfying ending. Thank you, Mr. Armstrong!

The book presents a lot of novel methods, in particular those related to biophysical nanotechnology and microwave technologies, that cannot be found in other textbooks.

This is an outstanding overview of the entire field of biophysics methods. The textbook presents the most important biophysics topics including fascinating biophysical nanotechnology and proteomics methods. The author uses lots of figures and does a marvelous job describing complex issues in fairly easy to comprehend terms. It is fun to read this book.

This is a fantastic textbook on biophysics methods and techniques. I found it particularly useful for those who are theoreticians and computer modelers. As a theoretical biophysicist, I work on protein folding, protein structure prediction and ligand-receptor binding studies, and I was constantly looking for a book which contains all important and up-to-date experimental methods and techniques to better understand our experimental colleagues' work. Now I found it! If you are also looking for a book for introductory as well as advanced topics in biophysics methods, this book might be the one you are looking for. It essentially covers all the new and important subjects of this field. I found the chapters about proteomics, ion mobility spectrometry, and mass spectrometry, particularly interesting. I will try to include some of the material in the course "Biophysical Chemistry"(a graduate level course) that I am co-teaching, and I will strongly recommend this book to those who are interested in biophysics.

This book presents a review of various biophysical methods, most of them developed or significantly revised in recent years, for the use of studying biomolecules. The author illustrates each technique with lots of figures (makes me to remember the old phrase "one figure is worth more than thousand words") and also provides a good bibliography for each technique. The book also assembles the information that is hard to find from a single source. I enjoyed reading the book and recommend it for beginners as well as advanced users.

I highly evaluate this book as an important contribution to biophysics. There are many students interested in this book.

Shipping was very quick and item was just as described. A pleasure doing business with.

This book is a great source for all cognitive behavioral therapists. One of the main things I got from this book is that we can see how the architecture of the brain is set up for us to manage things from the top down--that is, to manage our emotions from the seat of our cognitive faculties. There are almost 10 times more nerve fibers carrying sensory information from the top down rather than from the bottom up; TO the subcortex FROM the neocortex rather than the other way around. This gives us some idea of the amount of power available to us, once we learn how to access it, to get the cognitive part of our brain to manage the emotional part. The other important part of the book is how our thinking and behavior continue to make physical changes in our brain as long as we live. The book certainly supports the idea of "brainswitching" to the neocortex when the subcortex is agitated with anxiety or depression, which is what all cognitive behavorial therapists try to teach people to do. As the book shows, you can do that by thinking particular thoughts that stimulate neural activity in the part of the brain from which you wish to function. Then, thanks to the neuroplasticity of the brain, if you do this often enough you can actually re-wire your brain to get out of depression and anxiety at will. A. B. Curtiss, author of BRAINSWITCH OUT OF DEPRESSION

An excellent book combining the fields of neuroscience and psychotherapy and explaining the effects of emotional trauma on brain development.

The author explains how what we think programs our brain and how learning to think differently changes our brain: he explains the psyiology that underlies psychotherapy. He tells us what happens in the brain as we change our thoughts and feelings. (His thesis even explains why prayer and meditation work.)

Cozolino's text presents a very complicated topic in an extremely accessible manner, owing to a straightforward writing style and a penchant for perfectly applicable example case studies. He breaks down the functioning of the brain into "digestible" chunks and builds throughout the text on earlier learning. If you work in the field of counseling or psychotherapy, you simply cannot go wrong by reading this book and supplementing your knowledge of neuroscience-psychotherapy connection.

This book is vastly superior to any other I have read on the subject of measurements. One gets the impression that Will Kaydos definitely knows whereof he speaks. Early in the book, Kaydos provides a measurement model that is applicable to any kind of process and at any level - organisational, process, functional or individual. Several realistic examples permeate the book and two detailed case studies in the appendices add immensely to the value the reader can derive from it.

Will Kaydos did actually a very good work. This book addresses to top management officers who wish to change to a more customer orientated approach and implement Performance Measurement in every aspect of their business. Well structured and easy to read with significant information on effective management. There are no equations or weird stuff in this book, because the author wishes to explain the core of this subject: how to implement performance measurement everywhere. This is a great book for industrial engineers, CEO's, Sales Managers, HR managers, Quality assurance officers and anyone involving with performance.

A terrific business improvement reference applicable to a wide range of business and their operations. Consultants and managers will especially value Kaydos' insights into the role of metrics in supporting culture change. The case studies are well chosen with clearly presented implementation examples and informative detail.

"Operational Performance Measurement" is a must read if you are committed to improving your business or the business of your clients.

This is one of a handful of books on performance metrics I recommend to peers and clients. The author starts with one of the most cogent set of reasons for measuring performance that I've read. These reasons are compelling, reinforced with realistic examples, and clearly articulated. He then briefly discusses the art and science of measurement, and associated standards, techniques and methods. I especially liked his "Measuring the Unmeasurable" advice, which knocks down mental barriers and shows how you can, indeed, measure indicators that you may think are unmeasurable.

The approach he sets out is systematic and encompasses performance measurement in not only manufacturing, but in services and sales. In fact, Appendix C, "Implementing a Formal Selling Process", shows just how wide the scope of this book is. I've worked in technical pre-sales support and was thoroughly impressed with his approach.

Among the aspects of this book I especially like are the techniques he explains, the way you are lead through the development of an effective measurement system by identifying what to measure, implementing the system, analysis and interpretation, and actionable use of performance measures. Moreover, the way the author knits together a system based on multiple perspectives, taking into account strategic, customer, departmental and company-wide views is insightful. I also like the chapter on ensuring measures are showing an accurate picture, and the benchmarking information in Appendix A, "What Some Leading Companies are Measuring".

In my opinion this is a "must-have" book for anyone involved in operations, process improvement, or who has P&L responsibilities and wants to manage by fact - the right facts.

The book features procedures for identifying what to measure and specific steps readers can take to determine what to measure. It's a useful guide for figuring out what to measure for a specific organizational need, but requires some knowledge of measurement terminology. While I found it a useful guide as a performance and scorecard consultant, some of my clients found it a bit daunting. Good models and examples throughout.

Product Strategy for High technology Companies by Robert Cooper. I purchased the book with the intention of getting my professional certification in product management. The is extremely helpful in the area of product planning and development. It links the technology strategy of a company to its product platform development strategy down to its product line planning strategy. I like the way the book is structured, building up from vision to techniques. His case studies / examples (though not in depth)are very good in illustrating what he was trying to say.

the Core Strategic Vision approach for determining strategy is interesting, and is a good framework to develop a realistic vision.
The boundaries test to determine whether your vision will deliver what you expect (it forces you to expect something!) is something companies can't forget.
And the vision of a set of product's as not only one offering, but as one containing a platform and its pre-planned offerings, with pricing strategy, is essential to get profits for a long time.
It is full with examples, specially from the software arena. Recommended.

This book offers a study of the strategic options for high tech firms. The coverage is wide and detailed. This is a great book.

A big number of business examples, and good explanation of concepts. A deeper vision could be found in another books about this subject, so in my oppinion this book could be a good starting point, not recomended for advanced IT product managers.

I love this book: the concept of a "vector" for product
development is a terrific way to think about competition.
IMHO, this book is a must-read for all product managers,
product marketers and people involved in strategic decisions,
i.e. all senior executives.

That said, speaking as a five-time startup engineer, the advice
and examples in this book seem geared towards the core product
lines in larger companies, where you can credibly talk about
"two years from now" as opposed to wondering if you'll even be
in business, which is also the problem for new product lines at
large companies. The experience for the book comes from the
PRTM consulting firm, which was made famous for their work with
parallel product development at Intel. We hired them in the
early days at Inktomi, and found mixed success with their
process because we were terrified of immediate failure, and
they wanted to talk about version 3. Obviously, there's a
successful middle ground because Inktomi was a huge success in
the short term, but ultimately lost its strategic direction.

"Realism"- A more fitting description of this book could not have been found. The creators have developed perhaps the best resource book and teaching aid on structural anatomy I have had the pleasure to utilize.

My school added this book to their library, and it has helped me a great deal. Very detailed and clean images. I've recommended it to all my classmates.

I've used this book as a guide to human body sculpting. This book has given me a better understanding of muscle structure as I built my clay model from the skeletton, and then adding muscles. I recommend it to any artist who strive to represent the human body with accuracy, be it in 3D or 2D.

I always found it difficult to relate to the way individual muscles act alone or in groups to shape and to move the human body. Page after page this book brings a simplicity to a complicated form and trust me on this one...you will have a greater appreciation of the functional body when you aquire this atlas.

I have used my REALISM book countless times as a student of anatomy, and as a practicing massage therapist. The outstanding images in REALISM capture the detail of each bone intricately and each muscle so clearly. As a student learning origins and insertions of muscles this book was invaluable, and as I educate my clients about their own bodies; explaining where muscles are or why somethings hurting etc. I am constantly reffering back to REALISM whether it's to show someone where a muscle is on their body or to refresh my own understanding. I would recommend this book to anyone whether you are a student of anatomy, working in a field where you need to know detailed anatomy, or someone who simply wants to understand their body structure a whole lot better!

If I were to recommend only one book on marketing for nonprofit organizations, this would be it. After reading this book by Katya Andresen, you will think differently about how to engage your target audience. Everyone doesn't think like you (or me) and Katya does a great job describing how to get the attention and actions of others.

We all have causes. These are the good things in life that make us human and happy. Most times, we want to do the right thing for the right reason. Often this involves spending our time and talent - not to mention hard earned money - for our cause. Robin Hood Marketing presents a keen look at the moments where we make the decision that a cause is just and that it deserves our attention. What I really enjoy about the book is the lessons it teaches in sharing our passions. The most important lesson I took from the book? It is the power of telling a story. The author grabs the reader from the very first chapter. Second most important? Its not about the cause itself...its about the people who find it valuable. In other words, its not about "me"...its about "you".

The author has done a great job in distilling the marketing principles of the for-profit sector and applying them to the non-profit world. This is not a light over easy marketing for dummies book but is written by someone with real expertise and experience. That said, it is a not complex read and provides clear principles, compelling examples and great side-interviews with other non-profit marketers.
It is focused more often than not on social cause-related marketing which not all non-profits are involved to the depth described in this book. However the principles and practices described are applicable to all non-profit environments. An excellent read and a valuable resource.

The practical advice in this book, told so elegantly and supported with fascinating case studies and interviews, makes it a "must have" for every non-profit marketer. It's one of those books you highlight, turn down pages to come back to, and put front and center on your bookshelf. One of the takeaways that has helped me see a new way to connect with our non-profit's audiences: "the goal is to show targets new ways to get what they already want or value." In other words, make it easy to see how our cause connects with what they already value, not necessarily educate them all about our mission.

Katya Andresen has done the nonprofit sector a favor and put nonprofit and Social marketing concepts into plain English everyone can understand. Two quick helps from Andresen: 1. Move your organization beyond the big picture of your mission and focus on getting people to take specific action. 2. Stop talking to yourself in your marketing, align your communication with your audience's values and you will see greater response. This book lays out the "Robin Hood rules" for using big money marketing principles and turning them into affordable practical wisdom.

If you are interested in developing new skills in how to do the relationship dance, this is the book for you. Fearless Loving is a must read. It doesn't matter whether you're currently in relationship, whether you would like to be in a relationship, married, single, recently split up, or divorced. Rhonda has a talent for bringing together concepts and distilling them into bit size, chewable skills for taking action, which most any one of us can implement, given our commitment.

This book is a valuable tool for me, personally and for my sixteen year marriage/partnership. I'm finding new ways to really listen, communicate, to set boundaries, to clarify perceptions, to honor my feelings and to play.

Fearless Loving also offers an insightful and helpful protocol for people who are interested in a new way to date. I highly recommend this book to my friends and anyone interested in Love.

Rhonda Britten just gets it. This book is so wonderful. She can guide you along your path to loving in a way you never thought you could, but always wanted to. The most poignant truth for me is that everyone is innocent. That's so hard to think and act on, but she's so right about it. I would have everyone believe me innocent until proven guily, so it only seems fair for me to believe that about everyone else. This book will help you with understanding any type of love and how to do it best! She never coaches you to be someone you're not, and even highly discourages behaving as if you were playing a game. She teaches you how to test your prospective partner, or current partner so you can hear what they're not saying (which is more insightful than what they are saying). Rhonda will fill you full of courage and you will feel that you can love confidently without ever sacrificing who you are, or ever compromising what you need from a loving relationship.

Fearless Loving is well-written and packed full of useful tools that if followed will send you on your way to building new love relationships, enhancing the one's you already have and uncovering and discovering the ways in which we block or deny ourselves love. The author jumps into the trenches with you as she reveals her own personal experiences. This approach made it feel real and tangible. The best self-help book I've read in a long time!!

If you've ever been through divorce -- if you've ever had a failed relationship and aren't quite sure why things couldn't have worked out better -- if you're tired of playing relationship roulette -- READ THIS BOOK!! It's the guidebook for finding and keeping love that you've been looking for. And don't forget to read Fearless Living, too! It's your ticket to freedom and to the real YOU!

ok, i only first heard of Rhonda by watching the TV reality show "starting over" + then got hooked onto watching the amazing clarity with which she brought women from all walks of life to.
so my roomate bought this book to assist her from dating another jerk, and boy, is this book stellar! its not thick, not complicated, but really packs an emotional + mental punch. i have even more respect for this woman, who has been through so much + has found a way to positively help others. i've been telling all open-minded pals of mine who really do want to change any "failures" they have to read this. its really good stuff!

Sellani has chosen some very interesting organizations with which to illustrate the points she makes in her excellent book about building a strong and lasting brand. This should be on the shelf of anyone involved in marketing, sales, public relations and advertising.

I couldn't put the book down! Sandra Sellani has found a way to teach the concept of branding through easy to use checklists and interesting examples. Walking through the scoring and checklists makes it clear where the branding weaknesses are. She then proceeds to give several examples of successful brands giving idea after idea of how to enrich it. The examples are interesting, exciting and encourage plenty of thought. Whether you have a current branding strategy or not, it has something to offer at all stages. It is a must read for anyone with a product, company or idea.

As a small business owner and operator, I am often too busy working to think about branding my company, and hiring a branding agency can have a huge price tag associated with it. By reading What's Your BQ, I'm able to make smart decisions about branding my company. Also, the questions that are posed at the end of each of the 35 stories helps me to not only see what other companies are doing successfully, but helps me apply branding strategies to my own company. If you want a simple process to build a better brand, this book is it.

I love marketing books and at the same find many of them rather thin on ideas. That's not the case in this book. Sellani give you the tools to create or fix your brand and then takes you deep into the brand strategies of 35 winners. The stories are enlightening and fun and the brandstorming questions themselves are worth the price of admission.

Many business books are good at giving us endless strategies. Ms. Sellani distinguishes herself by transcending strategy and drilling into tactics. Her 35 case studies make it possible to quickly see how to apply the principles she espouses. Buy this book if you want to start working smarter instead of just harder.