Business Books

As a relationship coach, I am thrilled that Lencioni has applied his talents to the family arena. As always, the book can be read in one sitting, offers an approach that is easy to apply and makes sense. If your relationship with your spouse is basically strong this will be a welcome tool to reconnect you and create some sanity. It is also a good diagnostic. If you struggle with answering the first question, that is a good sign that your marriage may need some external support.

Running a family can be even more challenging than running a successful business. In `The Three Big Questions for a Frantic Family', Lencioni takes proven business skills and applies them to running a family.

This is another of Lencioni's fables, which tells the story of Theresa, a stay at home mom, and Jude, a freelance business consultant. Theresa borrows her husband's business know-how to organize their frantic family as well seeks to find a balance between business and family life.

Lencioni uses three big questions to target what is most important about running a family while keeping it in balance with having a successful career. These questions are useful to those of us seeking to make changes in our lives - particularly vocational changes.

When seeking a new career, it is important to consider how it will fit in with your family life, and the three big questions should be asked by every job seeker. I recommend this book as a great starting point for anyone seeking to make changes in their family and working lives.

Danny Iny
Author of the free eBook "Forget Everything You Know About Looking For a Job... And Actually Find One!"
[...]

Great book. I enjoyed it's concise style, and interesting "fable" approach.
I write more on my blog
[..]

Brian

Great book and great read. Another Lencioni hit. I would recommend it for all families. It would be great for newlyweds too, to help them start things right from the beginning.

This book is written in true Lencioni style: a fable throughout. He likens the family to any other organization that needs assistance with management, focus, and purpose. I can see where this will be a difficult pill for families to swallow, but overall, I think it is a good idea. Personally, I would like to see some additional information for how to bring older children into the fold of decision-making for the family, but that may not play into Lencioni's overall belief system. I would recommend this book if you like Lencioni's other books and would enjoy reading about how to apply management principles to the family organization.

Dr. Misner does a good job of seperating fact from myth for those who use networking as a means to grow their business. While any business can benefit from networking the application is especially helpful for small companies and entrepreneurs. No one is a greater authority than Dr. Misner on the subject of networking. Whether you are an experienced networker or are just starting to build your network this book is an excellent guide to maximizing your efforts.

The authors of this book are experts in the field of Network Marketing. This is a short read full of information that you can refer to over and over. If you are a network marketer you owe it to yourself to purchase this book for your library.

Plenty of business books unilaterally promote networking as a key to business success: but how many delve into the basics of cultivating a networking relationship for maximum gains? TRUTH OR DELUSION? BUSTING NETWORKING'S BIGGEST MYTHS is key to understanding the pros and cons of networking capabilities - and is also the key to a well-rounded business library. Its chapters different networking truths from delusions, from fallacies in the concept of the Golden Rule to developing the right kind of information networks - which can even include parents. An important key to understanding exactly how and why the networking relationship works - or doesn't.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This is a book for relationship marketing or networking for sales. However if you're looking for a broader book on networking in a professional arena then this is not the book for you. I purchased this book thinking the content would cover the later but I was sadly disappointed. Perhaps the term `networking' has other connotations in the US where many of the other reviews were written.

We all have very busy lives and to have a book that will clear up the BIGGEST MYTHS in networking in just 49 points....IT'S GREAT! Taking the quiz and scoring it before you read the book is a MUST! One thing I have learned directly from Dr. Misner is that "you don't know what you don't know!" Do any of us want to be out there networking incorrectly? NO....but what if we dont know if we are doing it right or not? This book is the solution! We can all learn something new, and this book wont let you down! Being involved in BNI and the Referral Institute, it has been great learning from Dr. Misner, Mike Macedonio, and Mike Garrison. This book is a collaboration on items that they teach all the time! It is a GOTTA HAVE IT, GOTTA LIVE IT, GOTTA GIVE IT TO MY NETWORK MEMBERS so they can do the same...type of book. Order it now, and dont forget some for your network too!

Ron "Ragen" Ross is THE MAN!
This book is packed full of useful and easy to understand information for absolutely EVERYONE! I have read many similar books by other authors and they fail in comparison. If you use MONEY, and we all do, you would be doing yourself a huge disservice by not buying this book ASAP!
Go Ron and Reno! You did it again!

This is the most eloquent, most entertaining, and most convincing attack on "beating the market" that I have ever read. The author has a PhD in economics but writes with a journalist's skill. His prose is fluent, readable. I thought the most interesting part of the book was the chart comparing the performance records of golf pros to the performance records of mutual funds -- an extremely effective presentation. Do I think any of his arguments can be refuted? Yes...a few. But on the whole this book is a balloon-bursting attack on active investing.

Very solid book, a great beginner to intermediate education on the market. Not for the novice, but for the fairly familiar person who knows how to do there own investing you would very much enjoy this. If you are a complete novice this would not be the place to start. Check out Suze Ormans book "The road to wealth" and learn the basics on stocks, mutual funds and bonds. Then read this...

This is the best book I have seen regarding investing for retirement. Don't waste your time or money trying to beat the market, just understand Dr. Ross' basic principles for dealing with a volatile market. Forget the "get rich quick" models and come down to earth and use common sense and indexing. The first 2 chapters alone are worth the price of the book.

My career as a retail stockbroker for six years, then for twenty-seven years as an institutional stockbroker selling portfolio analytics and investment research to professional asset managers (pension plan managers, mutual fund managers, and hedge fund managers) has provided me with the opportunity to explore modern portfolio theory, market efficiency, and the investment returns of active managers. I have read many of the books and academic papers Professor Ross uses as resources in this very coherent and thorough explanation of why the attempt to "beat the market" is futile, and fraught with risk.

Professor Ross uses his deep understanding of statistics, economics, and behavioral finance to explain market efficiency. He weaves a tight, coherent, and entertaining explanation of why the statistical evidence (manager performance databases) demonstrate most active managers cannot sustain above market performance for any significant time period. And he explains the risks of believing that the few active managers who have "outperformed" will continue to do so.

Professor Ross' book is the drawstring that pulls the elements of the Efficient Market Theory into a focused, concise, entertaining, and very readable format. I give Professor Ross' book my highest recommendation.

I have purchased several books on amazon.com, but I must say that this is one of the best ones I have read so far ! This is exactly the sort of book management in companies worldwide should be reading ! I live and work in Tokyo, and I think the Japanese public companies here could learn so much from this book ! Corporate reporting here is very poor, especially in the banking sector(horrendous !), and investors do not take them seriously anymore. Public companies here should improve their corporate reporting and utilize the capital markets more, and the first thing they need to do is to regain the trust of their
shareholders. In other words, they should read this book cover to cover right away ! The people who worked on this book, like Mr. Matthew Wissell, who leads the Value Reporting practice in PricewaterhouseCoopers' New York office, should be highly commended for such a fine piece of work !

I have purchased several books on amazon.com, but I must say that this is one of the best ones I have read so far ! This is exactly the sort of book management in companies worldwide should be reading ! I live and work in Tokyo, and I think the Japanese public companies here could learn so much from this book ! Corporate reporting here is very poor, especially in the banking sector(horrendous !), and investors do not take them seriously anymore. Public companies here should improve their corporate reporting and utilize the capital markets more, and the first thing they need to do is to regain the trust of their
shareholders. In other words, they should read this book cover to cover right away ! The people who worked on this book, like Mr. Matthew Wissell, who leads the Value Reporting practice in PricewaterhouseCoopers' New York office, should be highly commended for such a fine piece of work !

If you want to learn about accounting scams, you probably need Mulford and Comiskey, The Financial Numbers Game. But for a broader view of the virtues and limits of accounting, Eccles and company have a lot to offer. You can skip or skim the somewhat overhyped stuff about the "ValueRevolution" itself (note that three of the authors come from PricewaterhouseCoopers, where they seem to be having some trouble with their space bar, or spacebar). Keep your best brain cells for chapters three through eight, where you get a look at the earnings obsession -- and just as useful, a suggestion of what investors really need and want. Note that one of the co-authors (Robert H. Herz) is the new head of the Financial Accounting Standards Board).

"ValueReporting" smoothly describes many broken financial reporting processes, including "whispering", a time-consuming process that CFOs play with analysts, where CFOs "whisper" their earnings expectations to the analyst, making the analysts appear intelligent. A great deal for the analyst cause they don't have to do any real analysis. If the CFO does not play this game, they risk the wrath of Wall Street.

The problem with this is that it is in violation of the spirit (if not the law) of the yet to be enforced SEC Fair Disclosure Act which states that Sally Q. Public gets to know material information the same time that John Q. Analyst does.

"ValueReporting" does offer a practical solution through XBRL technology. As a member of XBRL.org I strongly agree with the authors that if business reporting, both financial and non-financial, is standardized, Web technologies are in place to distribute this information uniformly to all investors and in a richer format than at present. With the gentle prodding of regulatory agencies like the SEC and FDIC, this will happen sooner rather than later. Let's hope that SEC Chairman Unger reads this book, and fast.

For me as a consultant and a technologist "who can spell XBRL", The ValueReporting Revolution was a call to arms to apply my knowledge to the inequities of financial reporting. Helping clients sell their wares over the Web is nice, but to level the financial playing field for small companies as well as large, for the small investor as well as the institutional, is ennobling. And forcing Wall Street analysts to actually work for a living, would be, well, just icing on the cake.

First I should explain that I'm not a neutral reviewer: I have known one of the authors of this book (Bob Eccles) ever since he woke some of us up with his HBR article "The Performance Measurement Manifesto" almost ten years ago, and I've also met another of the authors (David Phillips) in the last year. Coupled with that, some of the work of my company (Metapraxis) on Business Driver Diagrams is mentioned in Chapter 1. I mention these points up-front in the interests of transparency, which is a core theme of the book itself.

The book's thesis is that the investors of the future will reward companies for such transparency - in other words, those companies that understand, measure and publish information about leading indicators such as growth of market share as well as lagging indicators such as profit will be better rated than their competitors, other things being equal.

This is pretty controversial stuff. After all, if you're the CEO or CFO of a major global multinational that's just announced on-target quarterly earnings, but your (currently confidential) internal leading edge indicators say that your market share is starting to fall, how exactly are your investors going to react if you decide to be brave enough to tell them all about it?

There is clearly something of a problem here and I refer to it as the Paradox of the World's Bravest Customer. You don't know who that was? I think it was the guy who bought the world's first fax machine. Think about it.

So undoubtedly there'll be some short-term pain for the pioneers, but once the markets start to see that a core group of innovative firms has the courage to disclose this kind of information (whether good or bad) then it's obvious that this disclosure will reduce the risks involved in these investments. And as John Maynard Keynes pointed out in 1910:

"What would be a risky investment for an ignorant speculator may be exceptionally safe for the well-informed expert. The amount of risk to any investor practically depends, in fact, upon the degree of his ignorance respecting the circumstances and prospects of the investment he is considering." *

The book is all about the revolutionary implications that follow through from this 90-year old observation. Whether you agree with the thesis or not, it will change the way you think about corporate information, business management and investor relations. I recommend it highly to CEOs, CFOs, IR heads, financial analysts and auditors, business school students and indeed to anyone embarking on a career in these areas.

Robert Bittlestone: Managing Director, Metapraxis - London & New York

* JM Keynes: Hopes Betrayed 1883-1920 by Robert Skidelsky (Vol 1); Ch. 9 Economic Orthodoxies. Skidelsky is quoting in turn from the "Collected Writings of JMK": xv 46-47....

A View from the Tub: An Inspiring and Practical Guide to Working from Home

This was a practical guide that really helped me to consider all the different aspects to consider about working from home. The technology portion was a little dated but still a worthwhile read.

What a wonderful, encouraging, and insightful book. I became aware of A View From The Tub as I began my first network marketing adventure. I have no business education and was introduced to a product that I knew I could sell. I previously considered a variety of multi-level marketing companies but did not have a passion for any of the products. Then I discovered Healthy Chocolate and knew I wanted to share it with as many people as possible. I was desperate for direction.
After reading A View From The Tub, I was very motivated by all the practical advice and the "real life experiences" that the book provides. I was able to tailor that advice to my own situation and am enjoying a welcome level of success in my new endeavor. For the first time, I have email and actually have my own web site [...]. I am meeting a completely new group of people and expanding my business daily. The book helped me find direction and helps me stay focused.
During all of this, my husband was already working from home. He is able to telecommute for a large company in data base administration. The book provided both of us with simple changes we could make to his work in order to diminish the impact on our home. It has given him better focus while at work and more clarity on when to leave the office behind. I cannot thank Millie enough for all that she has done for me and my family.

Millie Szerman's A View From the Tub is a practical no-nonsense How-To Guide to starting your own HBB. Millie's book answered all the questions I had that nobody else wanted to answer and then there were answers for questions I wouldn't have thought to ask, but am glad Millie thought to include! Well-organized in an easy to follow readable format with checklists and blank pages for your own notes, my copy of A View From the Tub is well-read and I have referred back to it often every step of the way in structuring my own HBB.

Like any good good teacher/mentor who is worth their weight in gold, Millie selflessly gives her student readers the tools of the trade to do with them what they may.

Make this book your First Investment in your own HBB and you are bound to get off on the right track! Thank-you Millie!

Very good book for anyone already working or wanting to work from home. Millie Szerman did a great job of covering everything you need to take into consideration. Great book.

In my recent attempt to launch a freelance writing career, I read this book and found it to be useful in two ways. First, it forced me to get organized, especially in terms of understanding my strengths and weaknesses as a future telecommuter. Second, it's been inspirational in that the many anecdotes have helped me to realize what's crucial for my business' success. My favorite element to this book is that it's short and sweet. Szerman gets right to the point and doesn't waste your time. However, she's got enough meaninful tips, exercises and information packed inside this guide to keep the serious entrepreneur very busy. Thanks for the great advice!

It has been a couple of years since I read this book, but I'm sure most of it is still relevant. It's definitely one of the first books you should get if you're interested in web analytics. It's one of those books you can go back to and use as a reference when you need valuable input.

I bought this copy and Web Analytics Demystified. This book repeats a lot of information in "demystified" plus it gives you coding tools to build your own metrics. More bang for the buck here.

Companies are looking for more and more business intelligence from their Web sites, both to improve their marketing efforts and determine ROI. This is a good thing. This is an exemplary "how-to" guide for Web Analytics. Extremely useful.

I think that the book is for differente people: programmers and marketers. But I found it quite interesting althought you have to select what hacks are appropriate for your job.

Web Site Measurement Hacks is the best book in the Web Analytics field. The book explains introductory topics as well as the most advanced ones in a chronological natural way. Subjects like what is web analytics, how to choose a vendor, how the technology works, and how to implement a web analytics program in your company are covered extensively.

Besides being well written and almost encompassing, it presents also the point of view of several of the Web Analytics' experts and vendors. Many of the Hacks are co-authored by big names, such as:

* Bob Page (Yahoo!)
* Bryan Eisenberg (Future Now)
* Jim Sterne (Target Marketing!)
* Jim Novo (Drilling Down Project)
* Jim MacIntyre (Visual Sciences)
* Jason Burby (ZAAZ)
* Brett Hurt (Coremetrics)
* Xavier Casanova (Fireclick)
* Jeff Seacrist (WebTrends)
* Akin Arikan (Sane Solutions)
* Jay McCarthy (WebSideStory)
* John Marshall (Clicktracks)
* ... and many more!

The index is very helpful and you find subjects very easily. The book is well organized and I refer back to it every time I have doubts. It works for me as a Web Analytics' Encyclopedia.

Only an absolute madman would give his wife the keys to the family finances!

Unfortunately, I had to learn this lesson the hard way. Growing up in a liberal democrat household, my parents told me all this nonsense about how men and women should co-pilot the marriage. When I did eventually get married, I carried out my parent's instructions. I told my wife she didn't have to change her last name, went to all her feminist happenings, and last but not least, I bestowed upon her the family wallet.

I was a complete rube!

Even though, being a man, I made almost twice as much as she did, she spent all the money! Whenever I would come home from a hard day's work, there would be bags from Bloomingdales, Macy's, Bath and Body Works, and every other store women frequent, all over the house! My wife spent me into the poor house.

If that wasn't bad enough, when she found out my money was gone she split! There I was alone and in debt thanks to my parents silly liberal ideals. I went to them and asked them how their marriage worked with such flawed thinking. Then they sprung it on me. "We never were married, son. We liberals have evolved past that archaic pastime." My father stated sternly.

"Then you never gave her control over the finances?" I asked naively, eyes wide with innocence.

"Me? Give your mother control over the money? You gotta be putting me on. That feminism stuff is fine on paper, but I wouldn't recommend actually trying it out." He walked away with a sadistic chuckle.

Ellie Kay does a masterful job helping families manage finances. In fact, the book should be titled, Family Guide to Finances, because she has the whole family involved! Having been raised by immigrant parents whose values helped me to become a responsible spender, saver, donator, Ellie's book still offers reasons to keep reading--from the eight money-saving/spending personalities (including, Love Ya Louie and Balanced Betty), resources for saving money online, keeping track of what we spend, to the Money Pyramid (starting with 10% FUN money). Most of all, her stories and digressions make this a real page-turner filled with valuable nuggets.

Written with light humor, this book on a serious subject is a delight to read. Ellie writes as if she is sitting across a cafe table, drinking coffee with you. What makes the book fun to read - and interesting so you keep turning those pages - is that Ellie uses experiences from her own life and turns them into lessons for readers.

The advice Ellie gives in her book is rock solid and makes perfect sense, and she doesn't just tell you what to do, she gives the reader steps on how to do it.

This book is not a "How to Get Rich" book. It does not delve into the dark mysterious sometimes boring world of the inner workings of stocks, bonds, banks or international finances. "A Woman's Guide to Family Finances" is a book that tells, step by step, what a woman can do to get herself out of debt and into the black in the most painless, easy to understand methods possible.

Chapters begin with interesting information, usually a personal experience Ellie has had. She then tells the lesson she learned from her experience. Then she lists the steps taken to correct the problem or make the success discussed.

I would recommend this book to any woman, no matter what stage of your life you are in. Young and just beginning to "I'm too old to change" (which I don't believe is ever true).

This book gives practical advice to any woman interested in getting control of family finances, whether she is married, single with kids or on her own.
It also includes help for financial recovery for the deeply in debt and for the suddenly unemployed.
Divided into two sections, Ellie Kay jumps into the hard truth with "Where Did All The Dough Go?"

Ms Kay's description of the America's normal family:
1. Married with two children
2. Modest home with a 30 year mortgage
3. $40,000 annual income
4. Savings account with less than $500 in it
5. $8,000 in credit card debt
6. Two car payments
7. No household budget
8. No long-term retirement account
9. They want their children to go to college


Where they hope to be One Fine Day
1, Paid off mortgage
2. Paid off credit cards
3. Nice savings account
4. IRAs
5. Kids sent to college
6. Retirement

And where they will actually be if they continue their financial habits shows a vast divide that hits all too close to home for many of us.

Ellie Kay asks, "What are you willing to do today in order to make your family's financial dreams cone true in the future?"

She goes on to show the different personalities and emotions that drive financial decisions. Chances are you will find yourself in one or more of these personalities as I did.
But, take heart, she gives practical ways to break free from the destructive spending cycles that accompany each of these personalities.

After facing the hard truth of who we are and how we spend, we get to take action in Section 2 "Money Management For Everyone"
In this section there are action steps such as Ten Tips to Save Ten Bucks in Ten Minutes (or less) and establishing a household budget, based on The Fifty Thousand Dollar Pyramid
This section is packed with useful information about everything from choosing a mortgage to garage sales and Ebay.

The last chapter brings home the spiritual reason for being financially secure. - So that we can give generously, in very practical ways, to those in need.
I enjoyed Ms Kay's entertaining sense of humor, which got me through even the painful areas of `self-recognition' and 'plastic (credit card) surgery'.

Do you dream of the day when . . .

. . . Your credit cards are paid off?

. . . You have a savings account and an IRA?

. . . You can take a once-in-a-lifetime family vacation?

Then A WOMAN'S GUIDE TO FAMILY FINANCES is the book for you. Written in an entertaining, easy-to-read style, Ellie Kay will teach the reader how she took her family from over forty-thousand dollars in credit card debt, to being completely debt-free in two and a half years.

Ms. Kay shows in easy to understand chapters how to budget, how to save on essentials, how to go on a debt diet, and how to weather financial set-backs, including losing your job and looking for a new place of employment.

I don't usually like to read how-to books, but this book reads like a good novel. I had to keep reading. I learned some really valuable tips and relearned others that I'd forgotten and am looking forward to putting my new budget into operation.

A WOMAN'S GUIDE TO FAMILY FINANCES is a book to read through once, but then come back to time and again as you are ready to make more financial changes. She advices you start small and build your way up so you don't go into shock and stop trying to save money. Whether you are a born spender or saver, A WOMAN'S GUIDE TO FAMILY FINANCES is a book for a keeper shelf to be read and studied over and over. I'd recommend having your teenagers read it too, especially if they are soon to be on their own.

=== reviewed by Laura V. Hilton for Christian Bookshelf

Easy to read and easy to apply. I have a whole new thought process for copy on our website and brochures. This is a can't miss book for rookies!

This book is for a non-writer who needs to write advertising or marketing for his company.

The material is comprehensive and includes many good tips. A couple things to note--

1. The focus is on style and construction of materials (e.g., how to put together a direct mail piece), not on grammar, style, and construction of words.

2. Most of the book covers B2C marketing, not B2B.

All the advice is tried-and-true. If you follow it, you can't go wrong.

Kranz opens with a brief and witty definition of copywriting: "[it] attempts to persuade you to do or believe something-usually in regard to the surrender of your cash," then he launches into an explanation of the different things copy can do-everything from direct mail to branding to sales support; an explanation of "the basics" that is exactly that; and a truly step-by-step guide to writing sales letters and brochures.

Sidebars chip in along the way, occasionally offering a true gem, like the real difference between website headlines and their printed counterparts. And Kranz tells you why you should never waste your time and effort on a MISSION STATEMENT.

Based on the number of notes in the margins of my copy, I've found the chapters on websites, collateral, problem solving and "looking for ideas" the most helpful. Kranz also gives a detailed breakdown of what goes into a direct mail package, that should be enough to get any beginning mailer off to a promising start.

There are many books written about copywriting, that are aimed at business owners or the unfortunate folks who get stuck writing copy for their company because they once correctly used "presume" in an email. The nice thing about this one-and "nice" is a good word, because Jonathan Kranz is nothing if not a nice guy-is that it's a book about copywriting that doesn't assume non-copywriters know all the copywriting jargon and secrets. It takes its "For Dummies" title seriously, and that's a good thing.

I bought this book for a good friend of mine, a skilled creative writer, but with little experience in writing professional copy. Like most creative types, he was looking for a job to support his writing and other artistic habits. With the help of Kranz's book, he was able to land a well-paying job that makes use of his talents, suitably focused by the advice in Writing Copy for Dummies. If proof of the pudding is in the paycheck, I can vouch for the effectiveness of this author's approach and suggestions for aspiring professional writers.

I've been a copywriter for 14 years, most of the time as a freelancer. I've also been a senior copywriter for an advertising agency and worked in the creative department for a major newspaper.

This is the first book on copywriting I've bought in several years, and I'm now the newest fan of Jonathan Kranz's "Writing Copy for Dummies." Mr. Kranz has written an excellent book for the novice or pro, providing a complete, common-sense guide that covers the full range of marketing communications (including PR). Whether business-to-consumer or business-to-business, direct-response or branding, print or online, for-profit or non-profit, it's all there in an engaging writing style and easy-to-digest format.

After being in the freelance trenches for many years, I know how far-flung assignments can be. It's invaluable to have an all-encompassing reference to reach for when I need knowledge in non-specialty areas. In fact, just last Friday I reviewed parts of Chapter 17 in preparation for a fundraising project with a major university.

Some of the material might be a refresher for veteran marketers. As for me, I'm glad to benefit from a fellow pro's perspective on marketing and copywriting topics. As I told Jonathan via email, "I'm glad you took the time to write this book."

When you want a great recipe, turn to Betty Crocker. But when you want a great recipe for success, turn to Bella Vlasis. Her book helped me out tremendously! And here's why:

Throughout most of my adult life I've been told that I look like a certain celebrity, so on a whim, I moved out here to Los Angeles to pursue jobs in the look-a-like business. But once I got here, I didn't know where to go or who to contact. I bumped into someone at a bookstore who suggested Ms. Vlasis' book and boy it was exactly what I needed!

After reading this step-by-step book thoroughly, I got myself some headshots and found an agent and have been well on my way to success. This book has helped me to gain confidence in what I do and the knowledge to go above and beyond what most others are doing in my line of work. From look-a-likes to agents to actors to performers - I recommend this book to anyone looking to get into the entertainment field. And as the author Ms. Vlasis writes at the end of her bio, "Break a leg!"

Just a quick note to say how pleased I am with Denise Bella Vlasis' latest book. If you produce corporate events, private events or anywhere that you use unique entertainment this is truly a wealth of information. if you think you've got the "look", then this definately is the best road map to success you can find to become a look-a-like and professional entertainer. Thank you Denise for a job well done!

As an agent booking lookalikes, I frequently get calls from people who want to get into the business. I refer them to this book. It will answer all their questions and get them started. There's also lots of excellent resource material for the seasoned performer including a list of agents who book lookalikes. A wealth of good solid information. I highly recommend this book.

this book has really helped me as a look-like-and modeling and acting- I was a student looking for a part-time job and then discovered this book- thank you!

This book covers it all! Not only is it a step by step guide, but Denise provides names, phone numbers, addresses and email addresses for all the services one would need to pursue a look a like career. Everything from photographers to agents. It's easy to read, and the fact that she let professionals write in their own words shows that Denise does not have an ego and you know what you're reading is fact, not an opinion. This is great "how to" book for anybody to read and follow!

It gives brief summary of each book, which can later be used to buy specific books that you want to read entirely.

There's a knee-jerk reaction to think of success as being defined by money and material things alone. This book encompasses that,but goes far beyond it into the realm of defining what real gratification means. The author begins by presenting a list of factors that are elemental to achieving success:
1. Optimism
2. Definite vision
3. Willingness to work
4. Discipline
5. An integrated mind
6. Prolific reading
7. Risk taking
8. Realizing the power of expectation
9. Mastery
10. Well roundedness.

"The 50 Success Classics" are divided into four categories: motivation,fulfilling your potential,prosperity,and leadership. The summaries of the classics themselves are excellent. But one of the real added benefits of the book is the author's astute commentaries, highlighting important points,and providing enhancement to the wise words of each classic. This is a terrific motivational book. I use it not just for my own stimulation, but with my management students also.

"The 50 Success Classics" provides wisdom from those whose names are immediately recognizable: Andrew Carnegie,Steven Covey,Michael Dell, Warren Buffett, Ben Franklin,Sam Walton, and many others. Any prospective purchaser can be assured that in spite of the fame of these and others mentioned in the book that there are many new facts and insights to be gained. (The summaries are far superior to the standard re-hash of the familiar that we've all seen.)

While the names above are common knowledge to most,have you heard of Robert Collier,Les Giblin,Gracian,Richard Wiseman,or in the case of men,the well known women's motivator Cheryl Richardson? All of these summaries contain sage advice and excellent guides for daily living. There are other great lessons to be learned from other "unknowns", at least to many of us.

The book also contains a summary of Sun Tzu's classic "The Art of War", arguably one of the greatest military stategy manuals of all time,which has also been recently adapted for use in management. After reading "50 Success Classics" you'll want to continue in the same vein, with Tom Butler-Bowdon's other "Success Classics" on Inspiration, and on Prosperity.They have all been a great help to me.

There are already a number of views outlining what this book is about, how it works, which books are included. I will skip doing that and try to think now of some of the 'lessons' I learned from reading the author's summaries of these works ( which so far as I can tell are done in an excellent way)
One lesson which seems to be paramount is the importance of attitude. 'Trust yourself, every heart vibrates to that iron string" says Emerson who is I believe one of the fathers of this whole yea- saying business. The 'trust yourself' also extends to having a positive attitude towards others, avoiding argument and criticism. An important lesson is to smile and be upbeat in dealings with others. It is also recommended to be honest and forthright in dealing with others.A third great lesson is the importance of 'seizing the opportunity when it is there' having the courage to do so. A fourth lesson which is repeated more than once is in finding 'opportunity in adversity' and in some transformation in life. The idea is here is that life is changing all the time and some of that change is certainly not for the better. And one has to be continually ready to change with it.
I could go on listing the different pieces of advice here, and they truly are various and interesting.
What I am thinking about is about all those like myself who will never take much of this advice, and probably never be 'successes' in the way the people who write here are.
I too am not sure that the sense of what success is here (It is as I understand it by and large- success in business )is the kind of success a considerable body of people truly long for.
I too think of a different attitude towards success,held by those who long for success, and will not attain it. And the fact that not succeeding may in some ways and in certain ways prove a more valuable experience than success itself. Perhaps this is best expressed in these lines of Emily Dickinson.

"Success is counted sweetest
by those who ne'er succeed
To comprehend a nectar
Requires Sorest Need.

Not one of all the Purple Host
who took the Flag today
can tell a Definition
so clear of Victory

as he defeated dying
on whose forbidden ear
the distant strains of triumph
burst agonized and clear. "

Butler-Bowdon is my guide through the literature of inner -development. His books have helped me grow as an individual and continue to help in my research for the books I choose to write to help humanity. His knowledge is exceptional and his choice of books is perfect. He truly is an expert in this area. I recommend his entire series and genuinely cant wait to get Psychology Classics. Thanks for helping humanity with your writing Mr. Butler-Bowdon.

10 stars

Author, Your Daily Walk with the Great Minds and Upcoming Release of Eastern Wisdom for Your Soul.

50 Self-Help Classics: 50 Inspirational Books to Transform Your Life, From Timeless Sages to Contemporary Gurus
50 Success Classics: Winning Wisdom for Life and Work from 50 Landmark Books
50 Spiritual Classics: Timeless Wisdom from 50 Great Books on Inner Discovery, Enlightenment and Purpose

In the first instance, I have bought these three books in one go because I have been fascinated by what the author had done: He has practised what is known as the highest level of reading. Mortimer Adler, in his classic book, 'How to Read a Book', written in the forties, had called it 'syntopical reading'. It's actually reading a number of books of the same genre, more or less simultaneously & then synthesising the key points.

Secondly, the author, who is a graduate of the London School of Economics, somehow impresses me with his ability to synthesise the big picture of each of the books that made up the entire collection. For apparently a left-brain thinker i.e. economist by training, this has been a very remarkable feat, as his synthesising endeavour has been essentially more of a right-brain activity. Well, I must compliment him for a job well done.

Before my final decision on buying the three books, I have been thrilled by the prospect of reading three books, which in turn will give me access to one hundred & fifty books.

For each book, the author has very artfully as well as skillfully selected fifty books to made up one collection. I may not agree with his selection, but I must admit that I can't default him at all.

Take the first book, '50 Self Help Classics', with timeless wisdom, as an example. Out of the fifty books he has selected, I have read only seventeen of them. I have those books in my personal library.

For the second book, '50 Success Classics', I have read & still own sixteen of the landmark books on winning wisdom selected by the author.

For the third & final book, '50 Spiritual Classics', covering timeless sages & contemporary gurus, I have read only & still own three of them, namely 'The Tao of Physics', 'The Way of the Peaceful Warrior' & 'Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance'.

For those books I have read previously, totaling thirty-six of them (probably stretching over three decades of my life), & upon revisiting them again in the trilogy, which actually took me one whole weekend to complete, starting on Friday evening & finishing on Sunday night, I must say that the seemingly marathon reading experience has been very refreshing & uplifting. It has also given me the opportunity to check & verify whether the author has captured the key ideas or essence of those books. I don't think I can find fault with the author in this respect.

Not only that, in the first book, I am very impressed that the author has cut through the bewildering array of choices to bring the essential ideas, insights, and techniques from the `literature of possibilities'. In works that span the world's religions, cultures, philosophies, & centuries, he summarizes each work's key ideas & finally makes clear how these legendary classics can educate, affirm, & motivate anyone searching for the inspiration to make a meaningful life change.

In the second book, the author is back with his wide-ranging collection of enduring works from pioneering thinkers, philosophers, & powerful leaders, like Napoleon Hill, Stephen Covey, Kenneth Blanchard, Baltasar Gracian & Christopher Maurer; from the inspirational rags to riches stories of such entrepreneurs, like Andrew Carnegie, Warren Buffet & Sam Walton to the leadership lessons of Sir Ernest Shackleton, Eleanor Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln & Nelson Mandela, just to name a few.

In the third book, I believe the author has captured the very best in spiritual writing: They include personal diaries & compelling biographies of such diverse figures as Gandhi, Malcolm X, & Black Elk & Eastern philosophers & gurus including Krishnamurti, Yogananda, Chögyam Trungpa & Suzuki; & Western saints & mystics such as St. Francis of Assisi, Herman Hesse & Simone Weil. For each book in this volume, the author offers insightful commentary on how these classics can help spiritual seekers everywhere bring personal beliefs, values & practices squarely into the center of their every day lives.

Reading the three foregoing books has been quite a breeze because the meaning of each work is initially captured 'in a nut shell' at the onset, coupled with a representative quote as well as cross-referencing to similar work. In each work, appropriate sectional headings in bold print make it really easy for the reader to follow the author's train of thoughts over some six pages. There is also a short biographical sketch of the author of the respective work.

I must admit that the third book in the trilogy has been the most challenging for me to read as I normally do not go for such stuff. To put it bluntly, it's not my cup of tea. On the other hand, the curiosity streak in me has been too overwhelming, since I relish the thought that I could read fifty spiritual classics in just one book!

Overall, & for all those books I have not yet read at all (some of which I have not even heard of), I really enjoyed digesting the author's bite-sized summaries (in actuality, they are only the main ideas, context & impact of each title, to give a taste of the literature, so to speak) in the three collections or volumes, even though some of the titles are relatively esoteric for me. The entire reading journey has been enlightening, inspirational & yet humbling in some areas. Best of all, there are useful tools & practical techniques to take away from each collection!

For the first & last book in the trilogy, namely, '50 Self Help Classics' & '50 Spirtual Classics', the author has respectively provide a list of additional 50 books. The titles are certainly enticing! Well, all I can say is this: I wish the author will repeat his syntopical reading exercise covering these books & add two more volumes, that will make a quintulogy, for all the readers out there, including me!

As usual, all my three books are now scribbled with my own hand-written marginal annotations as well as my fancy colour marker symbols. Additionally, there are also colourful sticky notes in between selected pages. My next personal assignment is to transfer all these notations into mindmaps with Mindmanager Pro.

To end my review, I have one last humble comment to make. Out of the one hundred & fifty bite-sized summaries, I still don't quite get it from 'The Bhagavad-Gita' as outlined in the author's '50 Self Help Classics'. I have not read this work before although I have heard about it. [J Y Pillay, former Chairman of Singapore Airlines, who is credited for building the airline to what it is today, A Great Way to Fly, has vouched for this ancient Hindu scripture as an inspiration for his leadership success during an interview.] However, in the same vein, I found that I could relate quickly to Deepak Chopra's 'The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success' but simply not this one! I may have to explore other avenue.

In site of the above minor short-coming, I strongly believe that the three books in the author's trilogy are really an intellectual treasure!