Services Books

This book has definitely provided me a solid background in H323.
In addition, it is a very useful reference, for example, I was
able to follow the call setup and media setup packet flow of an IP phone captured via a protocol analyzer(ethereal), thanks to the very clear illustrations. This is definitely a must for network administrators/managers considering a multimedia network implementation.

This book provides a highly-technical in-depth look at H.323. Aside from reading a few whitepapers on the Internet, this book was my first real introduction to H.323. The subject itself is rather complicated to a new-comer, but this book provided a high level of detail without losing the reader. While it is no "for dummies" book, it is clearly written so the person with the right background (i.e. with a firm grasp on networking and TCP/IP) can pick it up and follow along. So why 4 stars and not 5? It realy has to do with the architectural graphics. In some of the information on the Internet ... , there are some really good architectural graphics that depict H.323. I think the book could be even better if the authors included such an approach.

This is a treasure of H.323, VOIP information! Excellent protocol information. This is no paper weight, gathering dust! I use the book and I'm glad to have it on my shelf.

This is by far the most comprehensive book on the market. I agree with the previous review, IP Telephony with H.323 is for advanced uses and a great reference guide as well. I highly recommend it if you want a thorough understand H.323 and IP Telephony, however, if you wish to learn about a particular subject, for example QoS or MPLS, this book will not provide enough detailed information (check out Cisco Press).

Must buy!

We are in the middle of a project that uses H.323. Everyone in the group likes the book. We bought a couple of hardcopies.

I decided to try the electronic version, mainly because I could immediately have access to it. It was a mistake.

First, it required me to update my Acrobat Reader to 6.0 (AR6). Then, to read the book I had to register/activate AR6. Two problems right here: as far as I could tell, you can only register AR6 if you have a .Net Passport. If you don't, tough luck. Go to MSN and get one. I happen to have one (from my Hotmail account), so I thought "no big deal." It turned out to be a big deal. After you enter your Passport login/account, it asks for more personal information (name, email, etc.). I don't like to give out this information unless I have to. Reading a book is not a good reason IMHO.

After all that I decided to cancel the AR6 registration and to return the book. You cannot return the e-book (or I could not find a way to return it). I'm sure Amazon states that clearly, but I probably missed it in my rush to get the copy.

I would gladly recommend the hardcopy, but go for the e-book only if you don't mind all the hoops.

As a new small business owner, I was given this book by a friend who told me that there were valuable lessons inside that might help develop my own firm. I thanked them and put the book aside, intending to read it at a later date when the hectic days of building my business were passed. One late night, after another long day I collapsed into bed and having this on my bedside table, thought I would pick it up and read a chapter to get a feel for it.

That night I stayed up until 4 am reading, and completed the book later the next day. I realized immediately that the lessons in this book were immensely valuable to me as my start-up business grew and how fortunate I was to read the practical lessons the book offers while I was still in a position to develop the culture and methodology of my firm. Ultimately, I was able to save countless hours of wasted effort and incorporate future business planning via the lessons learned in this book.

The authors use a combination of practical knowledge and experience to bring the running of your business to the forefront of the discussion. Mr Wilk and Dr McGuire present short chapters in which advice about such basic elements as accounting, customer service, dealing with employees and keeping them happy are uniquely addressed. The result is an incredibly easy and enjoyable read. Forget the long business case studies from Harvard, what a new business owner needs is practical advice delivered in an easy-to-understand format. In this regard, the authors have excelled and the result is a book that may be read cover-to-cover or just picked up and perused.

The authors hail from Maine, where folks are known for getting to the point and not using ten works when two will suffice. Perhaps this is one the most unique and enjoyable aspects of this book is that it is devoid of pretentiousness without being overtly "folksy." The bottom line is the authors are two people like most business owners: they have begun start-ups in small town America with their own collateral, hard-work and commitment as the backbone of their ventures. If you are a small business owner like me, ask yourself this: "who is more likely to understand the lessons you must go through to turn your dream into a successful business? A Harvard Business School Student writing a book for his thesis, or a lawyer and a doctor from a regular American town who have started their own businesses, learned the lessons the hard way, and are there to share their experiences in a practical and humorous way?"

I'm not sure this book could have been written by anyone outside of Maine. Probably nowhere else in the United States will you find people who combine such a strong, practical, work ethic with such a dry sense of humor. This book was never boring, always funny, relevant and interspersed with practical examples.

This year our business will approach billings of $750,000. This is rapid growth for a firm under six months old. Along the way we have had to sort our accountancy issues, hire employees, allocate resources and develop and then re-define our business plan. I estimate that the time, lessons, and examples found within this book have contributed to a savings of over $65,000. It's little wonder that I've bought copies of this superb work and given it to friend and associates who own their own businesses.

This could be the best investment you ever make in your growing business...

As a teacher and non-profit manager, I found "It's Your Business" to be a useful resource in my work. The book reinforced the notion that attending to the needs of my "internal customers" - my students and employees - is as critical to the success of my classroom and business as attending to the needs of my "external customers" - parents, school administrators, and the recipients of my non-profit organization's services. At the core of Marty Wilk's and Peter McGuire's practical and accessible volume is genuine respect for business enterprise and heartfelt optimism about what can be achieved for the good of the business, employee, community, and environment when their common sense recommendations are applied. Readers need not hold an MBA to understand and benefit from "It's Your Business"; rather, they need only the willingness to examine their own business (or teaching) practices through the customer-service focused lens of these knowledgable authors who constructively point the way to a business's deep and lasting success.

This book is among the "Best of Breed" business books I've encountered, and I've studied many business books. As a CPA and business owner, I found the advice practical, actionable and you don't need a Harvard MBA to understand and act on it. The authors bring real life relevant business experience in a format that is easily understandable and is immediately applicable. The book can be read cover to cover, but its handbook format allows the reader to pick a topic that is of immediate interest, dive in, learn or reinforce best practices and move on.

This is a well written book replete with advice for any business wishing to create customer loyalty. The real world examples provide valuable lessons for creating a customer focused environment in businesses of any size.

A very user-friendly guide to help anyone with customers: corporate businesses, phyisician offices, academic settings, etc. The real world examples made it easy to relate to. I come from a business and academic background and I plan to put the tools to work!

Linda Atkins' account of her friendship with a young, deserted girl, abandoned by her mother and lost in the 'system', clearly illustrates the harsh realities thousands of children in this country face every day, the inadequacies of the child welfare system and the seemingly hopeless struggle to find a solution to these problems. Yet, it is also a story about hope, friendship, endurance, spirit and growth.
This book will hopefully inspire others to take action and contribute to "undoing what has been done" to these children.
One organization through which you can effectively speak up for abused and neglected children is CASA

An excellent book - I could LITERALY not put it down. A wonderful story of the relationship between a woman and a lost child. I want to read more and there's no more pages!

Once I started this book i could not put it down... it is a real and honest account of the relationship between the author and Jamaica... if you love children and are especially interested in the lives of less fortunate children or children with emotional disorders this book is a must!

I just finished reading this book and I must say it is a sad, but hopeful story. To know that there are kids out there so messed up like Jamaica is so sad. It is also good to know that there are people who care enough to help these kids out despite how difficult they can be. I read this in one night.

I first picked up "Jamaica and me" in Barnes and Noble, while searching for a book to possibly convert into a screenplay. As I read the first chapter, I was captivated by Linda's (the author) discriptive and insightful writing. "Jamaica and me" is a riveting memoir filled with hope, sorrow, and brutal realities. Currently I'm working on the screenplay and would greatly appreciate any information on how to get in contact with Linda Atkins.

I bought this book as a step in investigating fires and arson steps of investigation in writing a novel. It does have a lot of good information, but it's very generalized--not specific. Good for the amateur fire sleuth that wants to get enought information to be able to 'talk the language.'

The best fire investigation reference book on the market today. Thanks John.
Mark Howell
AIC-Fire
Denton, Texas

If you are a fire cause and origin investigator, you need this book! If you don't use it, you can bet an attorney will use it against you in civil or criminal proceedings. This book should be right next to your NFPA 921. DeHahn writes in a pragmatic and easy to understand format. I understand that the 6th ed. is getting ready for relase so you might wait a couple of weeks and get the latest. Bravo Dr. DeHaan, you've done it again!

The best book I know about fire; I like it for the strict scientific and pragmatic approach and the lot of practical hints, useful for a fire operator but also for a fire student.
Reading it, I understood a lot of things I watched in my 20 years of firefighting, and it changed my perception of fire behaviour and my understanding of a post-fire scene analysis.
A great help, and this edition is a lot better than the previous I had, the 3°.

Written in an understandable, practical manner, this book makes a difficult subject comprehensible by even the unscientifically minded.
The author writes clearly and the book is very readable. The text is accompanied by great photographs & illustrations.
What a relief to find this book after attempting to plow through some of the other texts on this subject. Highly recommended!

If you have a Basset-or just love Basset Hounds- or Opus-- this is the cutest book! get it!

I am one of those father's who truly enjoys reading to his son, but every now and then I prefer to read a story which is as entertaining for me, as for my child. If you enjoy reading, but ocassionally want to read something well written, a little on the edge, and with great moral value. This author's children stories are a great change of pace, with a rhyming gate that works for all. This story, along with "Edward Fudwupper Fibbed Big" and "A Wish for Wings that Work", will forever be fond memories of stories read many times, with my favorite little man. Happy reading!

A true classic and a rowdy read for youngsters. My children loved this rollicking tale of the mythical beastie. You don't have to be an Opus fan to love this one.

I was a big Bloom County fan [back in the day]and got to know Opus and Bill the Cat from there. I finally got this book and am very pleased with it. It is classic Opus -love the Basselope too. I find it a sweet story that my kids will enjoy while still entertaining the Bloom County fan in me.

Opus is hunting for the world's last basselope, a creature so fierce, so mean, that in olden times "the mere sight of one of them in a dinosaur neighborhood would inspire ripsnorting dinosaur pandemonium lasting for weeks." This is a story of misunderstanding and discovery. If you remember Opus and Bloom County and the basselope, Rosebud, this is for you. It will takes you back twenty years. Breathed does a fantastic job with the artwork, and the story is exquisite, too. On it's surface it is just a fun book to read together and laugh out loud. Without too much of a stretch, you can teach kids about what happens when creatures misunderstand each other.

Leading at a Higher Level is an excellent book that really "puts it all together" related to leadership and Blanchard's principles. I highly recommend it for a comprehensive book about leadership. I am using the book with our management/administrative team. Each person is reading the book and then facilitating the discussion of one chapter. The website resources are an added bonus. I am very excited about the individual and team development possibilities. Thank you!

Dramatic changes have altered the workplace over the course of the past 25 years, but many executives stick to outdated scripts even as corporate directions shift. Fortunately, The One Minute Manager guru Ken Blanchard offers insightful coaching exercises that give leaders new ways to proceed. Using straightforward language, Blanchard provides templates, examples and guidelines for employee education, performance reviews and promotions. The reader may become impatient with the repetition of key points and with Blanchard's slightly jarring habit of referring to himself in the third person, but despite these minor annoyances, this book is an excellent primer about modern leadership roles. In fact, Blanchard says that it "pulls together the thinking from the Ken Blanchard Companies for the past 25 years." We recommend this leadership overview to managers, board members, team leaders and every employee in a cubicle who aspires to reach higher levels.

I've been reading Dr. Ken Blanchard since The One Minute Manager came out. Perhaps you have been, too. While I haven't read all of his collaborations, I've usually read the books where the title seemed relevant to my interests.

More than once, I've wondered how I should fit all the pieces of his views on leadership into one finished jigsaw puzzle. Clearly, the views are humanistic, idealistic and inspiring. But how do we combine them all? My confusion was eliminated by reading Leading at a Higher Level which does an excellent job of integrating three decades worth of writing into one coherent set of ideas and directions for implementation.

If you tried to boil down this book into one idea, it's that of having the right target . . . what Dr. Blanchard and his partners and associates call the triple bottom line -- being the provider of choice for customers, the employer of choice for employees, and the investment of choice for investors. I'm not inclined to quibble, but in the rest of the book it's clear that other stakeholders are supposed to be considered (people who use the offerings, partners, the community, suppliers, and those affected by the company). I wonder if the triple bottom line doesn't need to be expanded to have more bottom lines.

Here's how the book is organized:

I. Set Your Sights on the Right Target and Vision

1. Measuring leadership performance -- the HPO SCORES model which is:

a. Shared information and open communications
b. Compelling vision
c. Ongoing learning
d. Relentless focus on customer results
e. Energizing systems and structures (ways of getting things done that fit with the vision)
f. Shared power and high involvement

As you can see, this is a highly participative concept of leadership where everyone has a role.

2. The Power of Vision

II. Treat Your Customers Right (Raving Fans created by Gung Ho people)

III. Treat Your People Right (Direct, Coach, Support, or Delegate depending on how prepared your people are for the task, and use one minute praisings and redirections and apologies)

IV. Have the Right Kind of Leadership (Servant leadership and diagnosing your own leadership perspective and style)

The bulk of the book is focused on the third topic, treat your people right, which is Dr. Blanchard's key operating philosophy.

The most interesting aspect of the book for me, however, was Dr. Blanchard's occasional revision of his philosophy. For instance, I could never understand why Dr. Johnson and he emphasized one-minute reprimands as much as one-minute praisings in The One Minute Manager. Dr. Blanchard makes a long-needed shift in that view to point out that one-minute redirections and one-minute apologies are needed much more often than one-minute reprimands.

Who will gain the most from this book? Someone who wants to see a process spelled out that can be used for being a humanistic leader and who hasn't read many books on the subject. If you've already read everything that's ever been written and feel comfortable with how Dr. Blanchard's many books fit together in application, you probably won't gain much additional knowledge from this book. But if you would like a friendly review of books you've enjoyed, you'll find the reading to be a pleasant experience. I enjoyed learning more about Dr. Blanchard's various colleagues.

If you haven't read anything by Ken Blanchard, just buy and read this book. It tells you everything you need to know about the other books. You could then expand your appreciation selectively by reading the fables that go with those books where you want to have a deeper understanding . . . by adding a story to go with the leadership lessons.

Be the leader you would like to have! That's the advice of Norman Schwarzkopf. I'm sure he would approve of this book.

Management expert Ken Blanchard has spent more than 25 years helping individuals and organizations become and stay great. Known for his co-authorship of The One Minute Manager, for the first time Blanchard combines his collective wisdom to show managers and leaders zero in on the right target and vision.

Blanchard argues that in high performing organizations everyone's energy is focused on three issues:

1. Being the provider of choice. To keep your customers, you must go beyond satisfying them, you have to turn them into raving fans.
2. Being the employer of choice. Workers seek opportunities where they feel their contributions are valued and rewarded.
3. Being the investment of choice. Money flows to organizations that provide viability, visibility and performance over time.

To achieve these goals, Blanchard argues, your organization must become a HPO - a high performing organization. The author employs the acronym SCORES to illustrate the six elements found in every HPO:

1. Shared Information and Communication.
2. Compelling Vision.
3. Ongoing Learning.
4. Relentless Focus on Customer Results.
5. Energizing Systems and Structures.
6. Shared Power and High Involvement.

In an HPO, Blanchard writes, every thing starts and ends with the customer. Each organization member is passionate about developing sophisticated knowledge of customers and sharing the information throughout the organization. This is accomplished three ways:

1. Decide. If you want raving fans, you do not announce it. You plan for it.
2. Discover. After you decide, it's critical to ask your customers' for suggestions to improve their experience with your organization.
3. Deliver + 1 per cent. Excite your people to deliver this experience, plus.

Enablement is the key to beating your competition day-after day. Allowing your people to pit their brains and allowing them to use their knowledge, experience and motivation is critical. To guide this transition to an enablement culture, leaders must use three keys:

1. Share Information.
2. Declare the Boundaries
3. Replace old Hierarchies with Self-Directed Individuals and Teams.

This requires a special leader: the servant leader. Leadership has two parts: vision and implementation. They need to find out what their people need to be successful and they make a difference in the lives of their people and in the process, their organization.

Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One Minute Manager, and his colleagues at The Ken Blanchard Companies have spent more than 25 years helping good leaders and organizations become great and stay great. In this book, they describe how leaders can empower people and unleash their incredible potential. This book must be required reading for everyone who wants to become a better leader.

A better definition of leadership, according to the author, is the capacity to influence others by unleashing the power and potential of people and organizations for the greater good. Leadership should not be done purely for personal gain or goal accomplishment: It should have a much higher purpose than that. Leadership can be defined as the process of achieving worthwhile results while acting with respect, care and fairness for the well-being of all involved. When that occurs, self-serving leadership is not possible. It's only when you realize that it's not about you that you begin to lead at a higher level.

Being a successful leader is not only about leading your organization, but your customers as well. According to the author, to keep your customers, you can't be content just to satisfy them; you have to create raving fans. Raving fans are customers who are so excited about the way you treat them that they want to tell everyone about you. A good example of how this works is Domo Gas, a full-service gasoline chain in Western Canada, cofounded by Sheldon Bowles. Back in the 1970s, when everybody was going to self-service gasoline stations, Bowles knew that if people had a choice, they would never go to a gas station. But people have to get gas, and they want to get in and out as quickly as possible. The customer service vision that Bowles and his co-founders imagined was an Indianapolis 500 pit stop. They dressed all their attendants in red jumpsuits. When a customer drove into one of Bowles' stations, two or three people ran out of the hut and raced toward the car. As quickly as possible, they looked under the hood, cleaned the windshield and pumped the gas (p. 42).

A successful leader must also have a workable vision, and be able to clearly communicate and share this vision with his organization. When Louis Gerstner Jr. took the helm of IBM in 1993-- amid turmoil and instability as the company's annual net losses reached a record $8 billion -- he was quoted as saying, "The last thing IBM needs is a vision." In an article in The New York Times two years later, Gerstner conceded that IBM had lost the war for the desktop operating system, acknowledging that the acquisition of Lotus signified that the company had failed to plan properly for its future. He admitted that he and his management team now "spent a lot of time thinking ahead." Once Gerstner understood the importance of vision, an incredible turnaround occurred. In 1995, delivering the keynote address at the computer industry trade show, Gerstner articulated IBM's new vision -- that network computing would drive the next phase of industry growth and would be the company's overarching strategy. That year, IBM began a series of acquisitions that positioned it to become the fastest-growing company in its segment, with growth at more than 20 percent per year. This extraordinary turnaround demonstrated that the most important thing IBM needed was a vision (p. 24-25).

Leaders must also know how to lead their workforce. Giving people too much or too little direction has a negative impact on people's development. Situational leadership is based on the belief that people can and want to develop, and there is no best leadership style to encourage that development. You should tailor leadership style to the situation. This is pretty much common sense. But leaders should also train their people in self leadership. For example, Bandag Manufacturing experienced the value of self leadership after a major equipment breakdown. Rather than laying off the affected work force, the company opted to train them in leadership. The company began holding their managers accountable and asking them to demonstrate their leadership capabilities. They were asking managers for direction and support and urging them to clarify goals and expectations. Suddenly, managers were studying up on rusty skills and working harder. When the plant's ramp-up time was compared to the company's other eight plants that had experienced similar breakdowns in the past, the California plant reached pre-breakdown production levels faster than any in history. The determining factor in the plant's successful rebound was primarily the proactive behavior of the workers, who were fully engaged and armed with the skill of self leadership (p. 104-105).

Leaders must also encourage team work, and be part of the team themselves. Teams provide a sense of worth, connection and meaning to the people involved in them. A study of 12,000 male Swedish workers over a 14-year period revealed that workers who felt isolated and had little influence over their jobs were 162 percent more likely to have a fatal heart attack than were those who had a lot of influence in decisions at work and who worked in teams. Data like this -- combined with the fact that teams can be far more productive than individuals functioning alone --provide a compelling argument for creating high involvement workplaces. Furthermore, according to a 2003 Gallup study, "actively disengaged" people -- workers who are fundamentally disconnected from their jobs -- are costing the U.S. economy between $292 billion and $355 billion a year. The Gallup survey found that 24.7 million workers (17 percent) are actively disengaged. These workers are absent from work 3.5 more days a year than other workers, or 86.5 million days in all. Statistics show an even less engaged work force worldwide.

When people lead at a higher level, they make the world a better place because their goals are focused on the greater good. Making the world a better place requires a special kind of leader: a servant leader. Robert Greenleaf first coined the term "servant leadership" in 1970 and published widely on the concept. Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela are examples of servant leaders. Servant leaders feel their role is to help people achieve their goals. They try to find out what their people need to be successful. They want to make a difference in the lives of their people and, in the process, impact the organization (p. 249).

Research shows that effective leaders have a clear, teachable leadership point of view and are willing to teach it to others, particularly the people they work with. If you can teach people your leadership point of view, they will not only have the benefit of understanding where you're coming from, but they'll also be clear on what you expect from them and what they can expect from you. They may also begin to solidify their own thinking about leadership so that they can teach others too. Some say that learning, teaching and leading should be inherent parts of everyone's job description.

The world needs more leaders who are leading at a higher level. Perhaps the day will come when self-serving leaders are history, and leaders serving others are the rule, not the exception.

It's nice to have this three novel continuous story to help one get thru the winter months. Great companion !!

In Bernard Samson Len Deighton created an everyman character who is smart, tough, intuitive, and is double crossed by everyone he cares about. Since I've read (and re-read) all 9 of the Bernard Samson nonology, it's hard to limit my comments just to "Game, Set, and Match". In any event, Bernard was betrayed by his wife in several different ways, by his best friend in truly horrible fashion, and by all of his cohorts at SIS. These are great and very readable spy stories, but they also provide a very real look into the dishonesty confronting all of us. That is, one never knows how the world looks to friends and colleagues, and when they are being honest and when they are lying. These are really great books that I would recommend to anyone!

I have read (and re-read) the entire Bernard Samson series and thoroughly enjoyed each book. The series, in my opinion, is simply the best of it's genre. The characters, storyline and writing are superb. Bernard Samson is one of my favorite characters in fiction ever. Read the books -- you will not be sorry you did.

Len Deighton is the perfect antidote for those sick and tired of Tom Clancy novels. In all of Deighton's works, the human is the center of the book, and the dialogue and the characters are outstanding. No thrilling machines or gadgets to get in the way of a good spy novel here. I read all of the Game, Set and Match books when they were published, and then all the following books in the series. I just can't get enough of Bernard Samson, Fiona, Bret, Dickie, Werner et al. These are the most memorable characters I've ever come across in the spy genre. They are all believable, possessing strengths and vulnerabilities that we all have. All are driven by duty, love, deceit, conceit and are capable of treachery. Too bad the Cold War had to end so soon. I sort of wish that the Berlin Wall didn't have to come down so that Mr. Deighton can continue to write about the exploits of Bernard Samson.

If you ever thought that paperback novels - even spy novels - were for airports or a quick read on the train home DO NOT READ THESE!
I became seriously adicted to Len Deighton after three chapters of 'Berlin Game' - and you could too! Poetic, ironic, cleverly plotted and evocative, these first three of the nine novel series will have you burning midnight oil and missing meals. Bernard Samson is surely the most clearly realised character from any spy story. His moral struggles to stay true to his ideals whilst everone around him sells out to power or money will have you caring about him as never before. There is never an easy get out or glib phrase. I have read all nine novels five times and still am ready for more. Can you now resist???

I had this book as a child and loved it, but lost it. I was so happy to find it at amazon. They really do have an impressive selection of books.

This is a great book for kids just learning to read. Even 2 and 3 year olds love reading along with you (it repeats so many times that they know the words by heart after reading it a time or two). This book works really well if the child reads it to you or at least pretends to read it.

I am 34 years old it was my all time favourite as a child growing up in Canada. I now live in the United States and have a child of my own. I now want to share this great story with him. He is 2 1/2 and loves fish. Thanks!!!!!!

I bought this hard to find book for my son and my grandchildren. It was my son's favorite book when he was young and now my grandchildren are now enjoying it. This book has brought many good memories in my life.

I a 39 years old with 4 children- Pre-school to high school. This was my ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOK as a child. I have searched antique stores for it, wishing for years that I had coveted my copy of this book, but I guess it just got away. Jill Reiter, Parker Colorado

Lockdown Madness written by Jim Daly has to be one of the most informative and intriguing books that I have ever read on what it is like in the jails across America. Jim Daly has written a no holds barred book about actual events that he has witness as a jailer. The stories that Jim Daly relates in Lockdown Madness are shocking, reveling and exciting. Some of the stories will make you laugh and others will make you realize just how mean and cruel some people really are. This book will enlighten you as to what happens in the life of jailer, as they have to deal with some of the most vile, rudest, and worst people that society has to offer. I have visited some on death row, in medium and minimum-security prisons and in jails across Oklahoma and I can attest to the truthfulness of the events in this book as I have witnessed some of what Jim Daly talks about. Lockdown Madness will help you realize just how fortunate we are to have people like Jim Daly who sacrifice so much to keep society safe from all kinds of offenders. Lockdown Madness is truly an eye-opener and a book that I highly recommend that you put on your must read list.

Tom Ward, author
The Enemy Within and
Outposts of Hell or Portals to Heaven.

This is an extraordinary Book! I spent years being the wife to an inmate and heard of stories from my husband like those of this author. To hear the side of the jailer is an extreme eye-opener and demands respect to those who live there lives with the sickest of all human beings! The Author is very truthful and open as he takes you threw years of his life. I found myself laughing out loud, and other times holding my breath! I read 75% of the book the first time i opened it! it's a book you will want to read till you finish. This book will be read more then once by me. Wonderful Job Author,looking forward to your next book!

Lockdown Madness is an absolute thriller. His experiences working as an Corrections Officer will surely grip any readers attention. Throughout his book he dealt with some of the most dangerous ruthless criminals incarcerated in the corrections facilities. One mistake with these folks meant certain injury or death for the corrections officer.The book is very informative on Correction policy and guidelines. Action packed and a great thriller for all readers who like Law Enforcement stories.~Dale Ford, Author,"Inconceivable Danger"; Chief of Southern Corrections Prison, Retired Narcotics Police Investigator, Vietnam Veteran

AWESOME, eye-opener. Never gave jail a thought, it was a place to lock up the bad guys. You feel you are right there and you have insight of what goes on IN THE CELL.Humorous too. Great book and I am looking forward to his NEXT book!

Jail is no fun place to be. but you have to give respect to those willing to protect us from the bad guy's being a former jail deputy i can say that this book is dead on the money. the author did a excellent job.

The authors present a very well structured concept around the discovery of customer value, followed by various strategies to capture that value potential. Great balance between theory and case examples.

Solid book on CS- long read!
Many good points-
Wish there was a cliff notes version

This book provides comprehensive material on Relationship theory and how organizations can move from a product centered setup to a customer focused one. There are lots of very interesting examples. It is definitely worth a read for anyone interested in Customer Relationship management.

The book is voluminous and covers the concepts in about 500 pages. I felt though, that the same concepts were repeated over and over again many times. It could have been more concise to fit it in about half the number of pages.

Yet, if you read through the entire book patiently, you won't forget any of the key aspects of building a successful business that is oriented arounds its customers rather than just its products or services. You will learn how to manage your customers and the building blocks of of any relationship. I perform a Relationship manager's job in an organization that is already customer centric and does most of what the book recommends, and found this book to add very useful additional insights to what I am already doing in my work life.

Also, you may find that some of the material in the book is more relevant if read a few years ago. Today, many companies are already in the type of customer oriented setup with a Customer manager assigned and empowered to make all decisions, so its likely that, like myself, you may be in an organization that is already organized in a customer centric manner. In this case, you'll have to skip or skim through the chapters that talk a lot about how existing organizations can move from a product centric setup to a customer centric setup. In other words, I felt the book is not 100% current given where Corporate America is. Further, there is a heavy dominance of recommendations more suited for a retail or product based organizations rather than services oriented type of organizations.

Regardless, a must read and offers great value to anyone buying it, especially for fundamentals on Relationship theory and management.

This book fills in the empty space of academic books in CRM. Most of the publications and articles I've read deal with research on the subject and companies selling their programs. In this book Peppers and Rogers compiled a comprehensive text with theory, research and contributions from other authors that are a valuable tool for the under and graduate level.

This very extensive text on customer relationship management leaves nothing unsaid or unexplained. Authors and editors Don Peppers and Martha Rogers tackle the subject with admirable organization, clarity and depth. They define every important term and do not lose the reader in marketing jargon - a rare virtue in a book about marketing. The text, including contributions from other well-known experts in the field, propounds a well-developed theory of customer relationship management (CRM) and sets out numerous examples to illustrate, explain and clarify the theory. Useful as a handbook, textbook or reference manual, the book covers - among many other core subjects - customer identification and differentiation, customer feedback, an analysis of retailing and basic tools for CRM. We highly recommend this book to service-oriented managers and executives. To form profitable relationships with your customers, first get friendly with Peppers and Rogers.