Professional Books

This is a good book packed full of useful information. Glad to have it in my collection.

I am a therapist for over 30 years and always wondered about the differences and similarities with therapy and coaching. Skibbins' book really explained it for me by giving very specific examples, clearly and intelligently explained. Well-organized and easy to skip around and look at the steps to coaching. Thanks!

For any therapist interested in becoming a life coach or simply adding life coaching to their list of services, this book is an easy guide to doing just that.

David Skibbins has written THE book for therapists who are interested in Life Coaching. He makes the difference between the two disciplines completely clear and helps therapists avoid the pitfalls they might easily fall into when they add coaching to their repertoire. He also includes lots of concrete, useful exercises to help make the therapist-to-coach transition smooth. A boon to therapist-coaches AND their clients!! For although it is written for therapists, this book could be as useful to the layman/client as to the therapist/practitioner. In simple, accessible language it makes clear exactly what happens in each discipline, what the differing assumptions are about the needs of the client and the methods of the practitioner in each case, and what differing goals each aims to achieve. As a layman and sometime patient and client, I can say that I have never before encountered as clear an explanation of these two related but very different enterprises. Anyone considering either therapy or coaching for themselves would learn a lot about what to expect in either one and would thereby be able to make a more informed and ultimately more productive choice between them.

If you are serious about becoming a great teacher, then you should read this book. It is not just a study prep but a great book on pedagogy, laws related to teaching, testing theories, development theories, discipline techniques....and so much more.

I just finished a Master's degree in Education and I'm still learning so much from this book. It has complete and in-depth chapters on each of the 13 competencies and also a final chapter on test taking skills for the 4-8, 8-12 PPR test.

This is the kind of reference you can use even after you pass the test!

If you are in an alternative certification program, this is a MUST have to start your career as a teacher. Wong's book is a must-have, as is this one. My first year of teaching, I used this book so frequently, it's become a bible to me.

This book is one of a very few that gives valuable information about the PPR TExES test for middle and high school teachers. It specifically deals with each of the 13 competencies and provides lots of samples and review questions. It's definitely worth the investment, something I can't say about most test-prep books. This one actually has information about good teaching, not just test info.

This book gives the most comprehensive preparatory review that I have seen. I am getting ready for TEXES, and I bought just about everything Amazon has on the subject. Most of the books provide a very brief summary of the competencies and go straight to the practice exams. Not this one! In fact, there is no practice exam anywhere in the book, but each chapter (organized based on competencies) has review questions at the end. Each competency is explained with application to middle and high school students. The book has definitions, examples, extensive bibliography at the end of each chapter and suggested activities that you can do in order to master the concepts. I can't say enough good things about this book. I have been out of school for years, and I was looking to something that would give me a nice refresher course in Pedagogy. But I also wanted to have more in-depth, detailed explanation of terms and concepts, and I got it here.

Start with this book if you are getting ready for your TEXES, and then move on to the other study guides. This is your textbook!

I bought this book knowing a good bit about regular ASP and how to communicate with databases, hoping to learn how to do the same thing with ASP.NET. I was not disappointed. The book walks you through step-by-step in creating database connections, command objects, stored procedures, etc... It doesn't dwell too long on topics that it shouldn't be covering (like database design, and web site design). The instructions within the book identify software that is free, so there are no unpleasant surprises. This book will be a great reference and has really helped me make the jump from ASP to ASP.NET.

This book does a good job explaining how to work with databases. The one thing I didn't realize is the only language used for examples is C#. It would be nice if VB examples were also included.

I really liked this book because it shows step-by-step how to do things and then has a "How does it work?" section. Great book! Well written and seems quite comprehensive.

Almost every book with ASP.NET 2.0 in the title will tell you something about the Grid View, Detail View, Form View, SQLDatasource and the SQL 'Select' statement; this one will too. While the other books provide a rudimentary overview of these topics then move on, "Begining ASP.NET 2.0 Databases: From Novice to Professional" takes you way beyond the SQLDatasource and the 'Select' statement, delving deep into ADO.NET.

Just as bread & butter go together ASP.NET and databases go together; and there is a lot more to the database side of the equation than is brought out in most ASP.NET books, which tend to limit themselves to the use of the controls, getting into databases only enough to have something to show in the controls. with this book it is the other way around; the reason for the controls is to display and maninpulate data in a database, and there are several ways to access and manipulate databases with ADO.NET besides the SQLDatasource. Along the way you will learn to use the controls with all the different data access formats and how to use the controls and their events to manipulate the data, which is what it's really all about.

If DataReader, Command Object, DataSet, OLEDBDatasource and ODBCDatasource are not familiar terms to you, and you want to develop ASP.NET web sites you need this book. If you don't know when not to use the SQLDatasource (there are some definite situations when it won't work), or don't know how to create a server side data cache and why you would want to, you need this book.

The book is easy to read and has numerous small exercises titled "Try It Out", after each exercise is a "How It Works" section where the code in the previous exercise is explained, line by line in most cases. Not only does Damien take you through DataReader, Datasets and Commands he also covers stored procedures, which you will want to use rather than queries in code shown in most of the other books.

While the book primarily uses SQL Server 2005, MYSQL 5.0 is also covered at the same time, everything from installing and configuring to using with stored procedures, parameters and transactions.

If you want to build ASP.NET web sites you will work with databases, if you are not intimately familiar with ADO.NET this book should be on your bookshelf readily available.

This is a good beginning book. Not great but good. It provides good step by step instruction for some of the most common tasks and good explainations of what you are actually accomplishing. The only complaint I have with the book is in the chapter on creating a module. When he has you accually go into the SQL database to design the tables and stored procedures, he follows a path that is not always available in every DotNetNuke hosting environment. Still, if you have some SQL knowledge, you can modify what he does to create a workable installation.

In a way, the module deficiency is not really serious. DotNetNuke is such an extensive product that most things are possible right out of the box. If you start thinking you need to write a module, you should first make sure you understand fully the ones that are already available.

This is a very good introduction to DotNetNuke. It will help you install DNN on you own machine and guide you through building a simple website.

If you know a little about programming in VB and know something about HTML and CSS, this book will show you how to write your own DNN modules and create your own DNN skins and containers. You won't learn how to write complex modules or elaborate skins but you'll learn the basics.

If you already know how to install DNN and how to create DNN modules and skins, this book is not for you.

If you know nothing about programming in VB and know nothing about HTML, then you should probably learn about them before you tackle this book.

This book will take you from absolutely no knowledge of DotnetNuke and get you well on your way. Simple to follow. Like any good intro book it will help you to understand how DNN works and gives you enough information to know where to go to learn more. For example after you are shown what a skin is and how to use it you are then shown how to make one of your own. You should then understand where you want to go from there. My experience level is 1.5 years as an ASP.net, VB and C# Developer with SQL server 2005. I have no previous knowledge of DNN. It will be very helpful if you know a bit about Visual Web developer, Light Coding, CSS, XML and some graphics program knowledge such as Fireworks or Photoshop. However, this book will get even the non programmer where he needs to be to use DNN. In short - if you are new, Start here.

It's not for the complete novice and it won't teach you how to code. But it will get you up and going with VWD and DNN. Well written with good screenshots. He also takes you through the process of creating modules. It's a good primer and was what I was looking for.

I have used this book as a text book in many Change Agent classes I have taught and have found it to be a very pragmatic and useful guide. It is a shame that it is out of print now. In fact, the last class I tought, I had to go scrounging around the office to find copies on bookshelves to use. I wish they would republish it.

The list of consequences "when bad things happen to good projects" or What-NOT-To-Do is worth the price of the book. I wish I had read this book before starting my 6+ years as a consultant helping organizations to improve. This book presents most of the lessons that I've learned during those years and gives quite a few additional ideas on organization change.

Don't let the garish cover art distract you. This is a solidly good book, which I regularly recommend to my clients. Of course, I can't vouch for the Price Waterhouse consulting group's ability to get clients to change successfully or whether they even follow their own advice. I just know that I do apply the best ideas in this book (plus some of my own) in my consulting practice.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Easy to read and it truly made sense. We are just beginning an effort to change our organization and this book has helped us plot our course. I am encouraged that this book will help us achieve positive change for our company and employees.

If you're trying to figure out why a project isn't going well, this book just may solve your problem. It takes you through the basics of change mangement, and makes you aware of just what you're dealing with. Good, practical advice that made me wear out a highlighter. When I showed it to other IS people on our Oracle software implementation project, they said "that's us"!!! We didn't realize we were in the middle of a change project - now we can try to take a step back and regroup.

While this book is purported to be a manual in how to manage young people, the advice can be applied to the management of all employees. If you are a manager, you must:

*) Not expect people to work extended overtime with little or no compensation.
*) Praise employees for work well done.
*) Not expect people to work at jobs that lack an inherent meaning.
*) Set an example by your actions and words, not just your words.
*) Allow people to have a life outside their job, not expect their job to be their life.

If you do these things, which should be part of the standard managerial playbook, then your employees will be more productive, happier and you will retain them. If you don't, you will become one of those managers who blame everything besides incompetent management style for the fundamental problems of their company.

This book is great reading for 'Baby Boomer' Managers and for those who belong to Generation X. Claire Raines describes the wants and needs of both generations; giving pratical advice to 'Boomer' managers on managing the 'X' generation. As an X generation reader, Raines' gives incite to why some'Baby Boomer'Managers are "All work, no play" and what frustrates them about Generation X employees today. Excellant source of information for both generations!

Beyond Generation X is an insightful look at how Baby Boomers and Gen Xers can peacefully coexist in the workplace. I recommend it especially for Boomers who have trouble understanding their Gen X workers (and vice-versa). Claire Raines (a Boomer herself) has some great ideas and presents them in an easy-to-follow manner. One thing to remember about this book is that it's not attempting to classify individuals. It's just helping us understand generations. It's also a quick read. I read it in an evening.

Whether we like it or not a great generation gap exists between the boomers and the gen xer's. This book helped me to understand what I, as a boomer, represented to the younger generation. These younger folks are not lazy, they just need a different motivational program. This book is a must read for those interested in surviving problems associated with the current labor shortage.

this book has given me clarity in my purpose in building a business. Not only does this book give me biblical principles, but it does so in a way that is simple to follow. If you follow what this book says, good things will happen

it takes you an a journey to finding your business identity. I appreciate this book for that. It gives it to you straight up. The author has done a fabulous job at keeping close to the title of this book. I felt the book was a bit long for my taste, but it still is a phenomenal book that will provide Christians with a biblical base to their business ventures. I was blessed by this book.

I have to say that this book did a lot for me. It helped me really see how having a business is not as scary as I thought. If you have a plan and follow the principles in this book, it'll help you.

This book has taught me valuable business principles. As I look at this book I am amazed that the principles presented can be used for every aspect of life. This book is a great read and a hands on resource that has helped me tremendously

I first read The Black Lights soon after its publication in the mid-80s. I felt then that it was as good if not better than any non-fiction examination of boxing. Rereading it recently, I was still impressed by its thoroughness, insight and candor. Sadly, the same characters who held a stranglehold on boxing then are still in charge - King, Sulaiman, Arum. The only new player is HBO, which has replaced the three networks as the major bankroller of big fights. The fighters are still used for all they are worth and then tossed aside.
Billy Costello, whose Nov. 1984 title defense is the book's focus, had a distinguished ring career. Fortunately, he also had Thomas Hauser to record his grace under pressure. You cannot help but admire Costello for his dedication and decency amid the scoundrels who flock to the sport. Readers are sure to come away from The Black Lights with the feelings of true boxing fans - a mixture of fascination, admiration and revulsion.

This is a great book by a writer I truly admire. Thomas Hauser wrote an incredible biography of The Greatest, Muhammad Ali, and in this book he really gives the reader an inside look at boxing.

Focusing in the career of former champ Billy Costello, the author provides an interesting view about promoters (Don King included, of course), managers and the terrible agony of the fighter and his fears, in and out of the ring.

Really recommended!

The Black Lights

It's no wonder that after reading this Muhammad Ali chose Thomas Hauser to write his story.

How this book got it's name is another great example of what Hauser can do with just one paragraph!

I had assumed that this would be somewhat of a dry read or just not as good as Hauser's other books on boxing and the world of boxing. I had thought that since it's Hauser's first attempt at writing about boxing that it would be just ok - maaaan was I wrong - THIS is a fantastic book!

Hauser is an amazing writer and is exceptional in all his writings about the sweet science.

This is a great example of a book successfully covering and achieving what it set out to do. You get educated on the inside story of professional boxing and get a great and personal insight into the world of Billy Costello.

I was caught up in every chapter and did not want to put this book down. I've never heard of Billy Costello before this book and found myself being nervous for him, being excited for him, cheering for him and feeling now like I was there with him.

Great book for anyone.

This is a nice quick read that gives a behind-the-scenes view of what it takes to put together a world championship fight. The book follows the career of former Superlightweight champion Billy Costello and the individuals that comprise help him reach the top. Interspersed throughout the book are anectdotes regarding the promoters, trainers, televison execs, and boxers who all want a piece of Costello.

The book really takes off when Costello's camp tries to set up a title defense for the champ. From the stuggles to find an opponent who won't pose much of a risk to Costello's crown, to the virtual soul-selling that occurs to get the fight broadcast, to the fight itself, you feel the turmoil that Costello, his trainer and manager all go through. The description of the actual fight is written so vividly you feel like you're the one in the ring.

This true story makes you sorry you never followed Costello's career as it was happenng in the early 1980's. And as an added bonus, the author gives you one more reason (as if you needed another) to despise Don King.

Isn't it wonderful how email has made our lives so much easier? NOT! Finally, and not a moment too soon comes Cherie Kerr's great book on email etiquette. If American Express tells you: "Don't leave home without it!" "Don't send another email without reading this book!" This should be required reading by anyone who must deal with piles of email. Best of all, this book is fun to read and takes the pain out of learning something very useful.
Mark Goulston

- Tribune syndicated columnist, "Solve Anything with Dr. Mark"
- "The Leading Edge" blogger - Fast Company
- "Conversation Starter" blogger - Harvard Business
- author: Get Out of Your Own Way at Work (Perigee, $14.95)
onlineGet Out of Your Own Way at Work...And Help Others Do the Same: Conquer Self-Defeating Behavior on the Job
Get Out of Your Own Way: Overcoming Self-Defeating Behavior

An insightful and thorough look at some tenents of written communication...and how to avoid the inherent traps! Some of the rules I had thought of and followed before reading the book, many others I had not. That is why it is a must have...for those traps I hadn't thought of and those techniques I should have used. In my business, we cannot afford miscommunication or to give any client or colleague the wrong impression. This book will help out tremendously. I just ordered a copy of this book for my staff... for my executives AND admins. Thanks, Cherie!

I'm glad Cherie Kerr wrote a book on such a timely and much needed topic. Somebody had to! We are an email-addicted society, but it seems that a lot of people don't know the "manual" on good email manners! This is a must read for anyone who does any type of communication via email!

Cherie's writing style is just as fun and refreshing as her speaking style. This book gives practical, easy-to-implement advice on how to be more polished, more professional and more powerful in your e-mail communications -- all in a light-hearted, easy-to-read format.

This is a great book for anyone looking to recapture the excitement of the Super Bowl Season. It is more of a picture book but also includes a short review of each game in the season - a definate must add to any Colts Collection.

Bought this for one of the kids for Christmas, they were very happy with it.

This is a wonderful keepsake, and at a very affordable price. The pictures of the team were great, and they've thrown in a picture or two of Colts' fans. Certainly our Super Bowl victory was a long-time coming, and this is a great way to remember and relive it. Would make a nice gift, as well. Mine also came in superb condition.

I am very happy with this purchase. It came in excellent condition, as promised.