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PROFESSORS-WITH-A-PAST: I've only met a one or two former offenders who were "criminologists" and it's hard for me to say how good they were in that role. My sense is that they are too "close" to what they are studying and that it is hard for them to remain objective. But I've also met a few "criminologists" who were not ex-offenders and who were not objective in their work. I suppose one's ability at one's job is dependent many factors, not just one's personal experiences.

As I see it, this trend for hiring "Professors-With-a-Past" represents yet another travesty of post-modernism and the academy. I once participated on a panel at the American Society of Criminology where a panel member declared he would never be associated with these "academic" institutions that constitute "cop shops." His entire focus was against "Ex-Cops" and other former-law-enforcement Professor's filling their lectures with "war stories."

There is now a marked trend by many criminal justice departments to realign their designation as "Department of Criminology;" "Department of Law and Society;" or to, either return/retain embodiment within a university Department of sociology or Social Work or other department umbrellas.

I tend to see much of this "Ex-Con Professors" article as "partisan pleading" and the "endless excuse." It is ironic that at a time when we will not hire people with a professional law enforcement background in criminal justice that these individuals are being lionized. The very fact that the Northern Kentucky University's Ex-Con Professor must open his lecture with warning that he will be using profane language hints at the same specious staging of these course. I would love to see the syllabi being produced by these people.

Yes, ex-offenders, as consumer of the product, may bring keen insights into the academy, especially thru research in institutional racism, institutional violence - gang's behind bars, prison rape, extortion. Prisons, reporting to the executive branch of government at the Federal, State, and Local level represent the most politicized element of the CJS, they are constantly prey to the respective policy mandates of an administration. Solid and balanced insights from ex-offender scholars regarding the "Politics of Punishment" are wanted and needed. I agree with the closing admonishments to the Ex-Con Professors regarding "serious research."

We do not need emblazoned ex-offender "war stories"...we need viable research in solving the dilemmas of recidivism and contributing to successful reintegration strategies.

Jess Maghan
Chester, CT
April 2004

CONVICT CRIMINOLOGY IS AN EDITED BOOK THAT FEATURES SOME OF THE BEST KNOWN ACADEMIC SCHOLARS IN THE FIELD. I especially enjoyed the chapters written by the ex-convict professors. They are the real experts on crime and corrections. The reading is cutting edge, state-of-the art, a new paradigm in criminology. This book will blow the cob webs off the walls of the ivory tower. This is a new criminology!

RICHARDS AND ROSS EDIT A FASCINATING WORK ON THE LIVES AND OBSERVATIONS OF VARIOUS SCHOLARS WITH DIRECT EXPERIENCE IN THE PENAL SYSTEM. THIS EASILY DIGESTIBLE BOOK SERVES AS AN EXCELLENT REFERENCE WORK ON VARIOUS ASPECTS OF CRIMINOLGY, AND IS RECOMMENDED BOTH GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS. THE BOOK FEATURES 9 CHAPTERS BY EX-COVICTS THAT ARE NOW PROFESSORS OF SOCIOLOGY, CRIMINOLOGY, OR CRIMINAL JUSTICE.

There a lots of how to books out there but Behind Bars is something different. This book is assecessible to the general public and gives its readers, an inside perspective on prison. The language is clear and its points are made simply and directly. As an educator who has worked with "street kids," this book will be a useful tool at letting my students appreciate what it means to become ajudicated. Behind Bars is a "how to book" that you hope you will never need, or that your family or friends will ever need. But, on the other hand, maybe we do need to read this book so we get insight on this huge American industry. In order to be a well informed citizen I believe you should read this book.

As part of the Wadsworth Series on Contemporary Issues in Crime and Justice, this edited volume attempts to go beyond the coverage of typical classroom texts. The contributors, many of whom are ex-convicts-turned academics, are critical of assumptions used to justify incarceration, their central difficulty being with the way prisons dehumanise. This volume critically examines the prison institution from the perspective of the `other.'

Part 1, "What's Wrong with Corrections," sets the stage in three chapters. Austin argues that the current criminological research focus, much of which is misinterpreted, on predators, persisters or the truly dangerous, has resulted in the uncritical acceptance of incarceration as the solution. According to Ross, misrepresentations and stereotyping are the consequence of uncritically accepting of the media's take on corrections and reinforce existing crime-control practices, preventing discussions of alternative ways of doing crime control. Fisher-Giorlando reminds us that criminologists' successes, including her own, rests on the lives of men and women prisoners and that we owe it to them to devise and implement relevant policy.

Part 2, in six chapters, sets out "Convict Experience and Identity." Tromanhauser and Terry discuss the current state of conventional criminological research. Using his own life as an example, Tromanhauser reminds us that there is no simple explanation of crime causation. Terry concurs with Tromanhauser, adding that most criminological research is dominated by factor analysis and multivariate correlations' having little relevance with people's real life situations. Richards and Newbold discuss the state of social support for convicts. While Richards points out that corrections workers, more often than not, fail to interact with convicts in any meaningful or relevant fashion, Newbold argues that recidivism rates are high because many have no outside social support and reincarceration often occurs for breech of parole conditions. Thus, Newbold adds, life inside becomes easier because people learn how to adjust to life in prison. Lanier and Jones deal with adjustment to life inside and outside the prison walls. While Lanier points out that the increasing number of fathers in prison has negative psychological impacts due to their having long-term consequences for their institutional adjustment, Jones argues that adjustment back into society is subject to inmates' interpretations of past events and their current problem-solving skills. How prisoners face these challenges, Jones points out, can tell us a lot about what might be done to help them. The final chapter in Part 2 (by Mobley) argues that a fiscally responsible penology may mean better prisons may look completely different from prisons as we know them now. But Mobley, as an ex-convict, points out that suggestions made by him and his fellow convict criminologists face resistance from both convict and academic communities because the suggestions come from ex-convicts.

The final six chapters (Part 3), a somewhat eclectic collection, are about "Special Populations"-women, the physically and mentally ill, American Indians and juveniles. wen argues that we need to understand women's experiences from their point of view, conceptualising their behaviour as expressions of oppressive social contexts both outside and inside prison walls. On the issue of caring for the physically ill, Murphy suggests that overshadowing health care with security concerns poses danger to the inmate population and ultimately the community-at-large in terms of fiscal and resource burn-out. Arrigo points out that mental health offenders are effectively silenced because they are the subjects of transcarceration between mental hospitals and prisons. Thus alternative (more positive) interpretations/labels of their behaviours are effectively negated. The legal label `Indian' has social implications in terms of access to both constitutional rights and relevant institutional programming inside which has implications for preventing recidivism, according to Archambault. Tregea, a little off topic, deals with preventing recidivism, arguing for relevant programming that enhance inmates' chances for productive citizenry. In addition to vocational skills, quality educational programs that teach writing, oral, critical thinking and problem solving skills are needed. He further argues for both sentencing and recidivism guidelines to reduce the prison population in the long run. When examining how juveniles understand their carceral experience, Elrod and Brooks assert that the official version of the institution is a sanitised and at best, simplified version of realities experienced by those who live there, and that many juveniles do not see the point of much of what goes on inside.

The concluding chapter (Richards and Ross) invites readers to think about listening to the clientele of prisons so as to make relevant prison policy that may have a better chance of reducing the prison population in the long run.

Despite a few editorial errors, the no-nonsense writing style of some of the contributors may be unpalatable for some. The shifting levels of analysis among section chapters make this volume odd and eclectic in ways. However, this volume represents a significant and valuable contribution to the field of criminology making a strong argument for qualitative research in prisons. This volume offers a view of the prison institution and its effects, from the point of view of its clientele-the inmates- and is appropriate for senior undergraduates and criminal justice policy makers and administrators.

This is a great thought provoking book. It proposes a paradigm shift in the way we think about work, about how we organize ourselves, and how we can create fans out of customers. It is also a hands on manual with a practical guide to how we can make changes in our organizations and dramatically improve the way we do things. In doing our work, most of us concentrate on the issues that pre-occupy us and the organizations we work for - issues like "How much does it cost us to produce such and such?"; "How well are we organized?"; "Do our processes comply with policy/standards/established procedures, etc.?" This little book suggests that we think about our work as a matter of producing discreet products. For those who are in service and information organizations, this is not an easy concept to grasp initially. It requires a paradigm shift in thinking. However, once you see the work you do in these terms, you can then (1)identify the "customers" of such products and (2)begin applying product redesign concepts to create customer satisfaction. For anyone who is ready for a leadership challenge in their organization, this book is required reading.

These are exciting times, and these are trying times. We want to satisfy our customers! ...But, first, we need to understand their wants and needs. We as managers sometimes need to look to experts to aid us in leading our organizations toward improved customer satisfaction, and here is where Robin Lawton can help. His innovative methods outlined in the book, "Creating a Customer-Centered Culture", can help your organizations. How? Learn how to connect your PRODUCTS (What are your products, really?) with the CUSTOMER (Do you really know who your customers are, and what outcomes they want?).

While Deming concentrated his thinking mostly around re-engineering the processes we use to deliver our products, Lawton starts us out at the beginning of the product story: What are our customer's needs and what outcomes do we want to achieve. He teaches just the right questions to ask in order for us to gain the understanding, if we are even delivering the right product to meet the needs of our customers! His teachings resulted in our ability to develop just the right strategies to set us up for tremendous success in our business. His business insights are not confined to "for profit" companies. Recently, I used his principles to develop a Christian Education Plan for our Church...and guess what? Participation in adult classes doubled within 3 months! Nobody can afford NOT to read his books and attend his workshops.

Robin Lawton has shared with us a missing link! There are books that discuss how to fix problems, books about the "balanced scorecard", and books about meeting customer expectations. However, none of them seemed able to address a critical question: what objective measure will enable us to track our level of success? By answering that question, this book enahnces the value of all other volumes on six sigma, management, and problem solving. Lawton does so by guidng the reader through a straightforward process. By all means, read the other books - but only after you read this one first!

With the vast array of performance improvement and customer focus books on the market, readers need to be somewhat selective about what they read. This book should definitely be on any manager's list. The tools described in the book apply to any type of organization, public or private, and at any level of the organization. At the Missouri Department of Revenue, we've used Robin Lawton's customer-centered culture approach as a touchstone for many successful Performance Excellence Teams.

The only thing worse for a results-oriented leader than not reading this book would be to read it and not put it into action. Unlike so many performance improvement books, the clear guidance is more than matched by the clarity and simplicity of the steps to implementation.

OUTSTANDING!!!!!! Poisant's strong belief in and commitment to superior customer service is evident in every page....... BRILLIANT!!!!!! His personal insights, attitudes, and behaviors exude true and honest caring for all human beings......
TRULY UNIQUE!!!!!! Fresh, practical methods for fostering a caring work environment. Incorporating his overall philosophy into my personal management style has made me a better, more effective manager.

Finally, clear, direct words on positively transforming people and environments. Poisant's style is warm and simple; the power of his words, however, cut to the chase--either you're doing it or your not. It's that simple. This is a book that can be easily read in one sitting--and change your way of behaving forever!

A book that inspires to do things the right way from the beginning in this new world of ours. Personally I consider it a guidance to my new emerging company. Thank you for reminding us all what a business is there for, to serve our clients the best way possible.

Today's world has changed. If you want something that can help set your business apart in today's environment, this is THE Book for you. It has radically altered the way I view my employees and my customers. This guy is good.

Drawing on his real world experience, Poisant explains to managers in clear and simple language a way to gain a competitive advantage in any industry where company employees interact with the customer. His book taught me that, by management treating the people that serve as the interface to their service organization as their top priority; performance, productivity, and customer satisfaction goals will fall right into line. This serious, yet heart warming read, could serve as a quick reminder to all levels of management about the value and treatment of the front line. I place this book in arms reach beside Blanchard and Bowles' "Gung Ho".

Dr. Attig's book is an important part of a paradigm shift in our thinking about grief. He has thrown open a door to new thinking about how we can continue to be in relationship to loved ones who are no longer alive. This book is eloguently written with the ring of truth from the lives of real people. An excellent addition to our knowlege and understanding of grief.

This is such an important book that it is required reading in my Introduction to Death and Dying course. It has valuable information, yet it is verty readable. It is presented as a very human book.

Dr. Thomas Attig's book, "The Heart of Grief: Death and the Search for Lasting Love," is an exceptional follow-up to his first book about grieving, "How We Grieve: Relearning the World." Each chapter of "Heart of Grief" begins with a real life situation involving the death of a person and the consequences of that death on those who are still living. His premise is that people who have passed away can still be an important and essential part of one's life. You don't have to get on with your life without them; you can get on with your life with them. Although there is an element of `advice' giving in "Heart of Grief," the book is much more story-telling. It's like a good novel-you can read it for the dramatization of some essential human truths. I recommend it highly.

I'm willing to bet that whoever wrote the editorial review for Publisher's Weekly (above) has never known the crushing agony of losing someone to death that s/he truly loved; or suffered the kind of pain that still drops you to your knees, years, even decades later, begging for mercy. The kind of anguish where you'd gladly give your own life just to make it stop. The kind you bear when you know they are never coming back and there is nothing you can do. I'm very happy for that reviewer. I hope he or she will never know it. But Heart of Grief must be read by those who understand all too well the overwhelming tidal wave of hopelessness that accompanies the loss of a loved one. Where Publisher's Weekly found this book simplistic, I found beauty in its quiet simplicity.

Being of a metaphysical sort, I've read just about all the reincarnation / life after death / love never dies / hypnotic regression / soul mates for eternity / communicating with the dead / type books. I've been spellbound by all of them and will probably continue to read them as they are published because it's a fascinating subject. Besides helping us to understand the process of dying and what comes after, these books pledge that we will someday be reunited. They all assure us that the deceased are still very much alive and well and with us daily, so there is no need to grieve. But they also often come with the stipulation that we must let go so that our loved ones can move forward, and because we want what is best for those we love, we attempt to suppress our grief, no matter how much it hurts us. While the theory seems reasonable, by trying to ignore our suffering, we compound it. We cannot stop the hurt just because we want to. It's not an electrical switch. It's not a water faucet. And it's just not that easy. Grief is complex, binding us with ropes so twisted we cannot seem to find the end that will untangle us.

Heart of Grief shows us that we do not have to let go, and in fact, encourages us not to. With compassion and a comforting voice, Thomas Attig sets forth practical ways to keep and strengthen the bonds of love with those who have died. I found it to be a very spiritually healing and uplifting book that has made a dent in my grief and a difference in my life.

On September 11, 2001, many sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters died. I lost my own son 10 years ago and since that time I have wondered what can really be of help to parents, or other grievers in learning to live with such loss. Now, more than ever, life seems so fragile in this world and the need for understanding grief as important as ever. It is so hard when grief is so great. Our fears of our own mortality spring to the front stage of our emotins nakedly exposed to others. I recently found Tom Attig's The Heart of Grief and it met me right where I was. Using his personal experiences of grieving people, Attig describes a process of learning to love in a new way. He recounts the stories of people's losses and provides a myriad of ways that grievers have found to continue loving the ones they have lost.
Of course, we do not stop loving or forget our loved one. Death does not end our relationshipwith the deceased, but it is different. They are forever gone from this life. Attig suggests that sometimes people fear that when they accept the loss it means they have stopped loving the deceased person. Many people, who are unable to let themselves feel the full impact of their loss, find themselves stuck in wishing for the past and the return of a loved one. Consequently, there can be no real acceptance of the loss. Attig emphaasizes the need to BE SAD because what has happened IS SO SAD. Feeling intense sadness scares many people, so Attig encourages us to find someone to accompany us on this journey, a spouse, a friend, or a professional.
Most importantly, Attig writes that if we do not fully accept and greive our loss, we may have difficulty ever loving again. It is only through acceptance of our losses that we can continue to love those who have died in a new way and to love those who are still with us and love us. The use of real peoples' stories of loss are inspirational and give hope. Attig provides numerous examples and possiblities of ways to learn to love anew. Whether you are grieving a loss yourself or know someone who is, this book is very readable, relateable, informative and comforting. We all will be grievers some day. I highly recommend this book. I has a permenant place of importance on my bookshelf.

I used UpToDate before I bought this book. UpToDate costs $195 per year if you are a student. This book costs under $60. If you don't need a large amount of detail, you can get away with using this book instead of UpToDate. You will save money (especially if you are a poor student) without sacrificing much quality. Buy the book new so you can get the online access. I bought the book and went straight to the online access and gave the book to one of my friends. It's definitely worth it since you don't want to lug around a book this big. The book has excellent content and has good internal med coverage. Some of the specialties are a little weak (UpToDate has the same problem), but this book was meant for the generalist. The images in the online version are very informative.

This book provids most updated information in such area as htn dx, tumor screen and immunization recommendation. I can find 95% of materials that I need. You can not get Pap smear guidline though, which is also primary medical care.

Absolutely essential. Excellent coverage of topics. Easy to use format. A can't live without it book. I use it daily.

I am currently a second year PA student. This has been an amazing help on my rotations, all of them. I recommended it several of my classmates; they also love it. We have a test at the end of each rotation, and this is a perfect way to review. Just the facts without much fluff. It is also a handy reference in the clinic.

Reading this book makes one feel "updated and great". It stands out prominently amongst the other standard voluminous texts in Medicine and a notable feature is that it is brought out every year. A student of Medicine and a Physician ought to have this manual in their desks for day to day reference. This book also helps immensely in the last minute revision prior to examinations.Evidence based medicine, Updates and Clinical trials are part and parcel of this friendly manual.As a Professor of Medicine , I feel that topics not essential to Internal Medicine may be left out in the subsequent editions to make the book lighter.I recommend this text for all postgraduates in Internal Medicine and students wishing to undertake MD , MRCP or AB course in Internal Medicine.
Professor K.N.Viswanathan, AVMC, Pondicherry, India

Dangerous Faith: Growing in God and Service to the World written by Christian leader Joel Vestal is an excellent recounting of the many ways God is moving around the world in dangerous and tough places.

Vestal, director of ServLife International, has pulled stories from his vast experiences overseas and weaved in vital truths from the Word of God. His official bio reads:

Joel Vestal has traveled to more than seventy nations, often working to improve living conditions in some of the world's least-developed countries. He has conferred with Mother Teresa, has worked in Sudan during the height of its catastrophic civil war, began reconstruction after the devastating tsunami hit near his home in Thailand, was interrogated by secret police in Cuba, and was part of a team that started the first Christian church in northern India.



So you can imagine he has a lot of great stories, but more importantly he has had a lot of encounters with Christ throughout the world. It is from those encounters where I learned the most from this book. His hope for us the reader is that the book will "leave you ready to risk, step out in faith, and live the adventure called Christianity." (p 17) There are many great quotes and excerpts I'd like to share but that'd take a lot of time and energy that could be better spent reading the book!

One great challenging quote is found on page 35:

The central issue, as I see it, is that our missionary efforts should not be reduced solely to proclamation and evangelism; instead they should focus on whole-life transformational discipleship. After all, we are not commanded to make converts; we are commanded to make disciples. (emphasis original)

He ends each chapter - with names like The Bride is Bigger than you think and Jesus, the Singer from America? - with a set of questions to help guide your thought process or to lead a small group with.

I took several pages of notes while reading Dangerous Faith and would highly recommend that you take a few hours to challenge yourself and your faith.

Be prepared to be shaken with new perspective. Joel writes with such passion and conviction about real life experiences that the readers can't help but be pushed to examine their own experiences. This book is a great, practical tool for living the Gospel in a broken world.

This book is a must read for anyone that is considering any mission work. Whether you are want to go to the far reaches of the earth or help those in your community you will be truly inspired by Joel's words. If he is on a plane in the Sudan and meeting Mother Teresa Joel truly follows an dangerous faith!

Joel Vestal shares just small portraits of what it is like to make a difference in so many varied and needy areas of the world. What touches me most is to hear the valuable nuggets of truth he is learning from people he meets near and far - and how we can directly be involved in the response. In fact, it is Jesus' instruction to us - to BE His followers. Jesus spent time with people - asking them always what it was they were in need of. He valued people - He saw with eyes of compassion and He touched their lives with love and effective actual answers to their needs. Joel lives this - and by reading his book thereby inspires and challenges us to also partake in our destiny on earth. We only have a limited number of days.

I also appreciate the value he highlights of working with our brothers and sisters who are actually in those nations and who can best reach others in their own environment. May we have teachable hearts to learn wisdom from them wherever we go or are involved!

Having participated with Joel in a prior trip - I know first hand that what he shares is a very real actual experience he lives day to day - and a passion he cannot quiet about.

I highly recommend this book. It IS a dangerous faith - demanding our all...it is also at the same time the most fruitful, rewarding and fulfilling endeavors to live for. May you be inspired to action as I am by this book.

I appreciate Joel Vestal's approach to Christian serving and mission. He neither goes to the extreme of only social justice nor merely just sharing the verbal gospel - he shares through personal experience both sides. The chapter on justice was especially poignant and powerful detailing the journey of helping those involved in human trafficking and slavery. Not only does it give practicals on what Christians can do, put it also shows how we can prevent such grievous crimes in humanity. I highly recommend this book for Christians who want to really live out their faith.

As with any book authored by Christensen, one feels the reality and truth of the content. This book is no different, it is enlightening to all inexperienced and experienced police officers. It should be mandatory reading for all police recruits in the academy as well as veteran officers on the job.

The mind MUST be prepared for what it will go through during a lethal encounter and more importantly, what it will go through after the encounter; unless of course you lost and are DEAD. Then, your loved ones must now deal with your failure to have survived. Do not do that to them ! Read this book, train and be prepared.

"The mind must be trained and then the body will follow." Anthony M. Cataldo www.blackbeltdojo.com

This is a very important book about officer survival. The focus is not on tactics, but on mental aspects of combat, and especially the aftermath of violent encounter.

The book starts with introduction of Survival triangle: You have to survive both physically, mentally, and legally to fully survive an violent encounter. The authors keep that in mind through the book, while the stress is on mental survival. Next the authors discuss the selection process of police recruits, and the nature of violence the police are forced to encounter in their line of duty. Next they give a thorough explanation of fear and it's effects on a person, and they address the issue of training, as well.

The main portion of the second part of the book (about 100 pages) is real-life stories told by cops, and the author's comments of the events. There is not any tactical reviewing, but the incidents are discussed on a psychological point of view. At the end of the second part there is a chapter of psychological injuries, starting from physical effects right after the incident, going to post-traumatic stress disorder and difficulties with relationships with other persons.

The third part of the book covers the treatment of a traumatic event survivor. The authors cover all aspects: What the survivor himself can do, what his superiors, family members, peers and so on can and should do. The authors also stress that there are many different kinds of encounters that can cause post-traumatic stress disorder other than gunfights, and that all participants of such encounter can develop mental problems, not just the ones who pull the trigger. There is also advise to detectives who investigate officer-involved shootings.

All things considered, this book is a very complete package. It is easy to read and the text is not too "scientific" for a layman to understand. This was the first book by Loren Christensen I have read, but it sure won't be the last!

I received this book as a Christmas Gift from my brother. He's a Deputy, I'm an Executive Protection Specialist. Next to Robert Oatman's books on Executive Protection, this is the most valuable book in my Library. I can see that this is a must have book for Police Officers everywhere, but it's also obvious that anyone who may find themselves in a position requiring deadly force can benefit from this book.

I found the book to quick to read and easy to absorb. The authors make simple explanations of others experiences, and help you understand what works. In particular, the mental preparation for use of force provided by this book is excellent and concise.

It's at the center of human nature to stay alive, anyone that's put in a situation to kill or be killed will benefit greatly from this book.

An easy 5/5.

This is a fantastic book that is easy to read and makes a lot of sense. Every law enforcement officer should read this book and it should be required reading in all academies. I wish that I had read it before my deadly force encounter, but it was still very helpful in understanding what was happening to me in the aftermath. It has also been enlightening to my fellow officers that heard the incident unfold on the radio and to my family that received the phone call after the incident. It is a must read.

As a former Oakland, CA police sergeant and veteran of a number deadly force encounters, I can recommend this book to all street officers. In 1972 I was involved in an incident with an armed suspect who was killed. Today I can still relate the incident second by second. It will never leave me. This book allows you to gain from experience of deadly encounters without having to go through it yourself. This is very helpful and will certainly save lives. I recommend the book.

Wayne D. Ford, Ph.D, author of Managing Police Stress. docwifford@msn.com

Customers prefer to deal with companies whose employees demonstrate empathy, tact, humor, and eager helpfulness. To offer that kind of superior service, your employees need to willingly work with their emotions. Scripted politeness is not enough; your customers crave your employees' genuine emotional involvement, tempered by a sense of professional etiquette. This requires that your employees must perform emotional work. But how can you ensure that your employees put their hearts into this effort?

The authors suggest that you should not only ensure that your employees have the requisite people skills through careful hiring and training, but you should also foster a working environment that is conducive to performing the necessary emotional work. And they explain how.

Notable among the authors' advice is that while complaints may seem annoying, they should in many cases be considered attempts by your customers to continue doing business with your firm. Customers who do not care enough to complain will simply leave and may spread bad word-of-mouth instead. So rather than setting complaint reduction targets or brushing aside complaints, you should encourage customers to voice their concerns, and train your employees to handle complaints effectively. For example, since your customers are likely to feel emotional to some degree when making complaints, your employees should be trained to respond first with emotional words that express empathy, before handling the practical details of the complaint. Moreover, your employees should be taught to assume responsibility for educating your customers sufficiently to ensure that they are able to derive full satisfaction from the products and services you offer.

Personal interactions are what put a human face on your business. They are crucial in building the emotional bonds you want to cultivate among your customers, in order to retain their long-term loyalty. This is undeniable. Yet so many firms still squander their opportunities to build loyalty through superior customer service. One can only assume that their managers have not yet read this book.

Paul Francis Musgrave, author of Indispensable Marketing Strategies - How to Outwit Your Competition, Attract and Retain Customers, and Multiply Your Profits - Marketing Strategy Secrets for Profitable Small Business Management

Perfect, this book is a perfect tool for all the managers in a mid positions, it helps to understand emotion and their value in a business. Should be read not only by the customer service people, but also by the all rests

Janelle Barlow and Dianna Maul go a step beyond most consultants (those who write business books to drum up customers). Instead, they offer a wealth of scholarly research and sources in their in-depth, colorfully written book, which successfully tackles the enormous role that emotions play in business and customer behavior. They explain and document it, and provide practical applications. We at getAbstract recommend this important book to all business people, whether they offer a product or a service, from CEOs through every level of staff.

Reading "Emotional value" has been an excellent experience and an eye opener in many ways. The book pinpoints and explores one of the key criteria of working competitively in the "experience economy" - having a workforce that is skilled in emotional competencies.

I particularly enjoyed the debate "emotional labour" vs. "emotional competence". It is a real live debate in many service organizations with management trying to control the customer experience by stipulating that service-providers should be able to smile pleasantly (i.e. grin and bear) through all customer encounters. And yet grin & bear by the rulebook is often not what the customer wants, but rather genuine empathy and emotional competence on behalf of the service provider. It takes much more than "grin and bear" and "the customer is always right" rhetoric to satisfy today's eclectic customer.

"Emotional Value" has reminded me of personal examples where service providers have competently turned my dissatisfaction, anger or frustration into a positive feeling of gratitude. And in doing so they have won me over as a loyal customer. However creating loyal customers by adding emotional value cannot be left to chance. Here the book proves to be a gold mine of practical applications and exercises that can be used to develop emotional awareness and competencies throughout the organization.

Thus the book is a valuable blend of inspiring concepts and very practical techniques. I have recommended the book to several friends and colleagues.

Since Howard Gardner first popularized the idea of multiple intelligences, thinkers and authors have been noticing that there is a vast difference in the "emotional intelligence" that people have for noticing others and responding appropriately to them. Daniel Goleman wrote a wonderful book developing that theme. He argues that emotional intelligence can be learned. In Emotional Value, Janelle Barlow and Dianna Maul take that one step further and identify what needs to be learned and how it should be learned.

Their point is simple and profound. "Both staff and customers tend to stay with organizations that enable them to experience positive, meaningful, and personally important feelings, even if the organizations cannot always provide everything they want or solve all their problems." Few will disagree. The conclusion builds on the work of Jeffrey Pfeffer in The Human Equation.

There are many important consequences to that observation. First, it costs a lot of money to get customers. It's much more profitable to keep the ones you have than to get new ones (see The Loyalty Effect). Second, if you can deal with the same customers and employees, the results usually are better. Third, with lower staff turnover, costs of hiring and training are lower . . . and operating costs are lower, too. Fourth, bonding can be created among customers and employees that will allow them to derive more value from being involved with the company. Fifth, these improvements are critical in many industries. Most people shift from one supplier to another because dissatisfaction with service, not price or produce offerings. (See The Customer-Driven Company). Sixth, in this stock-market-driven economy, the economic advantages will translate into a higher stock price which can be used to add more and lower-cost resources for the company.

Basically, improving emotional value can be the start of creating a virtuous cycle of self-reinforcing improvement for an enterprise.

I would be remiss if I did not point out that those who emphasize the importance of values and corporate culture are dealing with some facets of emotional value. What is brilliant about this work is that it transcends this earlier excellent work to take it to a higher plane. You can have great values and a wonderful corporate culture, and still have an emotionally damaging work environment for many of your people and customers.

The authors identify five key elements for making this virtuous cycle a reality:

(1) Build an Emotion-Friendly Service Culture

(2) Choose to Develop Emotional Competence

(3) Maximize Customer Experience (see The Experience Economy -- "positive, emotional, and memorable impact") and Empathy

(4) View Complaints as Emotional Opportunities

(5) Use Emotional Communications to Increase Customer Loyalty

As you can tell from my references to many other works, this book builds on excellent studies done by others. Yet, the synthesis here is new and improved. Essentially the book is "a call for civility, empathy, and authenticity in dealing with customers." That goes well beyond the familiar concept of "The customer is always right." That concept usually is applied to mean that the employee who works with the customer must be downtrodden and suffer. Burnout is a major problem among frontline service employees, as a result.

Ms. Barlow and Ms. Maul see beyond that current stalemate. They realize that the interaction between company and customer can be uplifting for both. Mother Teresa drew great pleasure from helping poor people die with dignity. Doing our work with civility, empathy, and authenticity can add a similar sense of worth to our labors, as well as providing a wonderful, emotionally-rewarding experience for customers.

I especially liked the call to action: "It is the service providers' responsibility to manage the emotions in service exhanges." How many CEOs, executives, and managers are thinking about that? Wow! Before you leave that point, consider that 80 percent of all U.S. jobs are expected to soon be service jobs.

The appendices and notes are unusually good in this book. Be sure to take time to review them.

The primary weakness of the book is that the sections that allow you to assess where your company or organization is today could be more detailed and specific.

When you have finished the book, take some time to imagine the ideal emotional exchanges that could be occurring in your business and organization every day. Then start to design them and teach others how to make them easy, authentic, memorable, and enjoyable to provide. Have a ball!

I haven't had a chance to read the whole book however what I have read has been helpful and informative. The book itself was shipped in excellent condition and, like many of the books I've bought through Amazon, I think I purchased it used and it looks new. And, I don't plan on just using it to balance out my washing machine ;-).

I am in my mid-40s and have toyed with the idea of doing a triathlon for quite some time. Somehow, when I would begin to really get the training ramped up, I would run in to a problem. I believe that I was probably bringing on the problems with less than ideal nutrition. So, though I harbor no aspirations of being a serious athlete, I have found that nutrition is an important--and often overlooked--aspect for even recreational athletes like me. Using the information in this book is allowing me to push my training farther than I ever have before and will get me across the finish line for my first triathlon sometime this summer.

I've been running since I was in high school and continued during and after graduationg college. It wasn't until recently that I decided to run my first half marathon. I have read lots of material on training and nutrition, but none have been as complete and informative. The first eight chapters are devoted to all endurance athletes. The last few chapters are each devoted to a particular endurance sport. This book has taught me how to fully prepare and train to successfully reach my goal. I would suggest this book for anyone interested in endurance sports.

Suzanne knows her stuff. I've been an ultrarunner and endurance athlete for nearly 25 years and I find Suzanne's wisdom and advice both on target and incredibly helpful. In fact, as I get older, which I am, her advice is seemingly even more relevant. Following her advice on everything from hydration to nutrition to stretching has been vital to me being able to keep doing what I love to do. The bottom line is that proper nutrition is key to optimal performance and the information in this book can ensure you're geting both.

This is a serious sports nutrition book for serious athletes. It is packed with information for the endurance athlete or those coaching endurance/elite athletes. In addition to providing a complete nutritional overview for the elite athlete, Endurance Sports touches on other related subjects such as hydration, the effectiveness of supplements, food intolerances, eating disorders and even optimal eating for the vegetarian athlete. As a nutrition writer, this book is an integral part of my reference library.

This is the workbook to the text, Ordinary Parent's guide to teaching your child to read. It is incremental, and covers everything that the texts does in the order that the text book covers it. It really is a shame that the OPGTTYCR did not tell me that these were the workbooks for that guide. I found out on a homeschooling yahoo group and we have been happily progressing along.

I have used these products with small reading groups and with my own children. I also like the before the code and beyond the code books.

This series is amazing!!!!! My four year old has completed explode the code 1 and is sounding words out, reading and SPELLING!!!!! These books are engaging and she loves them. Where were these books when I was a child? The author has broken down phonics, reading and spelling into a very easy, very user friendly system. I use it and my best friend who also homeschools in using these books with the same results.

This product is topnotch for teaching phonics and spelling.
Explode the Code Book 1 focuses on the short vowels. For each short vowel there are eight pages of exercises consisting of matching, spelling, writing, and copying. The prerequiste to using this curriculum is to know the consonants which are taught in the primers "Get Ready for the Code, Get Set for the Code, Go for the Code."
The graphics for Explode the Code are all in black and white with the illustrations having been drawn by children. This would be a good curriculum for those children who are sensitive to color stimuli.
Theoretically this is a sound curriculum, however it is not for every child. This was the situation in our homeschool, so we switched to utilizing School Speciality Publishing (formerly McGraw Hill) products which we are very happy with.

I purchased and have used Explode the Code books 1-4 to date. I also bought and am using the Teachers Guides as well. I enjoy the Guides as they take me through the process of introducing a skill, by offering short and effective interactive presentations or exercises. These usually take only minutes each, and with only a small amount of creativity can be extended when needed. Such activities include a short review of previous skill(s), a phonemic awareness activity, fluency, comprehension, writing, and a challenge, as well as the introduction of that unit's skill. The feedback from these is just what I need to know if its time to progress or not. The exercises also allow me to teach objectives from several angles despite my limited experience. Additional exercises are also presented to appeal to various learning styles.

My student enjoys the Student pages in the Explode the Code books. Once a student learns to do each type of exercise they can be completed with a great degree of independence. Some times we spend more time on student pages one day and more time with other activities the other just to mix it up a bit.

The ETC 1/2 numbered series offers more practice on the same skills taught in the whole numbered books.

For those on a budget, or who are not ready to commit to purchasing an entire phonics system, as well as others who only need to remediate certain objectives, the fact that these books are sold separately is nice.

While I use these as part of our home schooling day, I feel these books would be well suited for parents who wish to challenge a reader who is not being challenged in early grades at school, or who wishes to help remediate a slow or struggling reader. Explode the code is actually written for use in a class setting but well designed and lends to any student to teacher ratio.