Professional Books

In "Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism," the follow up to "Banker To The Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty", Muhammad Yunus describes a new economic entity he calls the "social business." In short, this is an organization that has a specific social goal as opposed to regular business, for which profit is the only goal.

Yunus is most famous for receiving the Nobel Prize in 2006 along with his Grameen Bank, which is the world's largest maker of microloans. Since then, microlending has come into vogue, and the term has become very popular, though I venture that many people who use the term do not understand the implications. The idea is exciting enough that you don't need to understand; money is given like charity, but then gotten back like an investment. It's like the mystical quarter on a string that allows you unlimited candy from the vending machine. Except, now it's real.

Yunus is not the inventor of microlending, but the first person to effectively practice it on a large scale. He says, "it was appropriate that the Nobel committee in 2006 chose to award Grameen Bank, not the Nobel Prize for Economics, but the Nobel Prize for Peace. By lifting people out of poverty, microcredit is a long-term force for peace" (105). In Bangladesh, the only country in which Grameen Bank operates "80 percent of poor families have already been reached with microcredit" (66). The evidence shows that Bangladesh has undergone many improvements in quality of life for the poor that can specifically be attributed to microlending.

The reason that this book is almost 250 pages is because Yunus is serious about proposing Social Business as an idea, and he lays out strategies for social entrepreneurs and pre-emptively tackles the naysayers. Yunus is a man who knows his audience. I will leave you with this:

"Young people all around the world, particularly in rich countries, will find the concept of social business very appealing. Many young people today feel frustrated because they cannot recognize any worthy challenge that excites them within the present capitalist system. When you have grown up with ready access to the consumer goods of the world, earning a lot of money isn't a particularly inspiring goal. Social business can fill this void" (39).

When I bought this book, my expectations were primarily to get a deeper insight into micro credit, since Prof Yunus is best known for this powerful means for empowering the poor to free themselves from the shackles of poverty. However, from the first chapter itself, it was abundantly cleat that this book is about the novel concept of Social Business, a paradigm shift in the way we look at business. We have all along assumed that Business and profits inseparable Siamese twins, and the "aim of all business is to produce a surplus" and that the surplus is always assumed to be in the form of profits for the shareholders. On the other hand when we think of social welfare, we assume that this sector that includes Health Care, Sanitation, Primary Education, Eradication of communicable diseases etc are ideal cases for Government to take care, and if it falls short, NGOs and charitable organizations step in. These activities by definition need investments with no returns at least in tangible terms. Tax collections and charities from individuals and trusts are spent with no expectation of financial returns.

Between these two extremes, and mutually exclusive zones, lies the concept of a Social Business as propounded by Prof Yunus, and I am amazed by the enormous potential that this form of Organization can unleash to transform this planet, especially for half of the world's population that lives on less than a couple of dollars a day.

The Grameen Danone venture in Bangladesh is a classic example of a Social Business as explained in most chapters of the book. The objective of this organization is to maximize distribution of nutritious yoghurt to poor children in Bangladesh, who otherwise do not receive essential nutrition from their regular diet of carbohydrates. The product "Shokti Doi" is a highly affordable, tasty and nutritious product, packaged in 80 gram units. In order to be acceptable to the children, it has to be tasty- a little sweet. It competes with all other popular branded yoghurts in the market in terms of texture and taste, yet is far superior in terms of nutritious value and vitamins and has to be very affordably priced. While the conventional producers aim at maximizing consumption of their product with the aim of maximizing revenue and profits, the Grameen Danone venture aims at maximizing the reach of this product to the target segment with the aim of improving the health of poor children through this nutritional input. While conventional manufacturers aim at economies of scale by erecting large scale plants and linking the national distribution through automation of supply chain and cold chains, the focus of the Grameen Danone venture is to set up small scale local plants, with local inputs and produce just enough to meet local needs. Surprisingly the latter approach proves to be cost effective, and with the help of local Grameen women, the product is distributed to the target segment within 48 hours of its manufacture, eliminating the need for expensive cold chains.

Investors in a social business are not giving away money as in the case of a charity, where they forget their money once it is donated. The Social Business is self sustainable financially, and gives back the original investments to the investors over a period of time, and nothing more. The investors do not receive any profits or dividends from the Social Business. The profits are retained for further growth and not distributed as dividends.

The Social business executes the laudable social objectives with the missionary zeal of a charity, with the efficiency and speed of a profit maximizing business. Hence, we have a unique business model to solve substantial social problems, as demonstrated by Grameen Danone in maximizing nutrition and health in poor children through affordable yoghurt.

The argument that social objectives and business goals are two different criteria that cannot go together (or that social welfare is at best a byproduct of a commercial business) is challenged and Prof Yunus makes out a very compelling case for a new form of business that can address global problems. It is amply demonstrated that free markets fail to address social issues that need large scale investments while government spending and initiatives of charities are inefficient and many times financially and economically unviable to achieve sustainable results.

It is time that we pay serious attention to the concept of Social Business through social MBA programs, public and private sector cooperation and necessary legislation to define this form of business so as to ensure that the governance structures, business processes and accounting standards emerge to establish the new form of organization that can play a major role the solving global problems, especially in relation to elimination of poverty from the face of his earth.

A well deserved five star rating for this classic that has the power to change this world, forever and for the better.

Poverty is a threat to peace, hence the Nobel Peace Prize.
But his arguments for social business are also a contribution to modern economic theory.

I first read the epilogue ( the lecture for the Nobel Prize), which summarizes the ideas.

Recommended for anyone interested in human development , in particular the situation of the "bottom billion".

As someone in the midst of trying to make a small business run within the lines of corporate social responsibility, I've really wrestled with the inherent problems with the whole "triple-bottom-line" movement. Primarily, I've wrestled with how one chooses which of the many bottom lines as they compete over and against each other. Yunus tackles this issue head on with his idea of the "social business" that is a single-bottom-line business: the bottom line of social transformation. I particularly like that he builds his case around the remarkable example of the Grameen-Danone social business partnership in Bangladesh. Time will tell if that experiment proves sustainable, but nonetheless, it's super helpful to have something tangible to point to rather than just a series of ideas or arguments. Because Muhammad Yunus' work with the Grameen Bank has won him the right to preach without real data, it's all the more inspiring to hear his examples from the dozens of other social businesses within the Grameen family. I should mention that the last 1/3rd of the book veers into some potentially "wishful-thinking" territory, I'd nevertheless heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in the field, and was glad to give it 5 stars.

"No one who cares about humanity," writes Muhammad Yunus, "is satisfied with a world in which a few hundred million people enjoy access to all the resources of the planet, while billions more struggle to survive." But that's our world. Yunus cites one study that concluded that in the year 2000, "the richest 1 percent owned 40 percent of the world's assets, and the richest 10 percent owned 85 percent. By contrast, the bottom half of the world's population owned barely 1 percent of the planet's assets."

This disparity of resource distribution is wrong in practice, says Yunus. With globalized capitalism devouring diminishing resources, it's unsustainable; it also threatens global security. But extreme poverty is wrong in principle, too, because it deprives billions of human beings of the most basic of all human rights, the right to live a decent life. For over thirty years, Muhammad Yunus has worked with remarkable creativity, perseverance and vision to rectify these stubborn inequities. Most people know him as the founder of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. Today the Grameen Bank gives collateral free micro-loans to 7 million of the poorest of the poor in Bangladesh (97% of whom are women). Since its inception they have made loans totaling $6 billion, with a repayment rate of 99%. Yunus tells this story in his autobiographical bestseller Banker to the Poor; Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty (1999, 2003).

His newest book continues the story of the many and latest permutations of the Grameen vision to eradicate poverty. This includes a stable of twenty-five Grameen replicants that specialize in everything from solar energy and internet kiosks to fish ponds, textiles, cell phone ladies, and livestock breeding. But all these are mere "stepping stones" in Yunus's fertile imagination. The focus of his newest book is what he calls "social business." While normal businesses must focus on profit-maximization, and can even be sued by shareholders if they don't, a "social business" is what Yunus calls a "non loss, non-dividend" business whose primary objective is some social benefit. A social business competes in the market place with every other business, it must cover its costs, and it reinvests profits back into the company. This is a far more radical idea than mere corporate social responsibility, which in his mind tends to window-dressing and has an inherent conflict of interest between the requirement to maximize profit and the intention to do good.

Sound crazy? Well, read this book and its extended case study of how Grameen partnered with Groupe Danone of France to create what Yunus calls "the world's very first consciously designed multinational social business," launched in 2006. This was followed by Grameen's eye care hospitals. He thus envisions in social businesses a "giant leap" forward for addressing poverty in a scalable, replicable way. "Social business," he argues, "is the missing piece of the capitalist system." They do what government, NGOs, charity, and multi-lateral organizations like the World Bank can never do. Yunus is the quintessential dreamer--his wish list for the world of 2050 has nineteen bullet points; but read this book and his previous one and you'll also see that he's the consummate doer.

Until Mac OS X came out this book helped me with _every_ hardware and software problem that ever turned up!
Only once one of my Macs was actually beyond repair, but ever since 1999 this book really saved the day.

The iMac I purchased in July 2001 is my first home computer. I found this book at the library, then discovered it contained so much good information, that I purchased it. It sometimes has too much info for a newbie, but still it is an excellent reference. This book is the "bible of troubleshooting", and a great way to learn how your computer works. I'd say it is a "must purchase"!

The iMac I purchased in July 2001 is my first home computer. I found this book at the library, then discovered it contained so much good information, that I purchased it. It sometimes has too much info for a newbie, but still it is an excellent reference. I use 2 other books along with this one, to trouble shoot and confirm resolutions to any computer problem. This book is like the "bible of troubleshooting". I'd say it is a "must purchase"!

One of the few technical books in my library that I feel has really paid for itself, and then some. Technical books are so expensive, and most of mine sit in the bookcase collecting dust within a month or two after purchasing them. This book had saved me more money than I spent on it within the first month, and I continue to use it on a regular basis. In addition to having real and practical advice on fixing problems, Mr Landau provides advice on preventative maintenance and must-have troublshooting aids, and background on how Macs work when thre aren't any problems. I would say that this book is the most essential of those aforementioned must-have tools.

I have a lot of respect for Landau .. and he knows what he's writing about ... but this was written pre-OS X.

It's time for another edition, since OS X has a whole NEW set of problems ... including the occasional "kernel panic" (read "crash"). There is also a whole new group of compatibility issues with peripherals: printers and scanners among them.

I've read and shared many ideas in this book with my colleagues. Worth the money.

This book helped me get referrals when I was operating my own business. As the author of Don't Wait Get in S.H.A.P.E. - Drop Fat Fast and Get Fit Quick this book allowed me to attract people to purchase my services and help me sell my book. This book is awesome.

I decided to review the library's copy before I bought it and I could not get enough info out of it! I found myself taking notes and almost writing in the library's copy! I rushed and bought the book. Now it's covered in pink and yellow highlighter. I feel like I'm back in college preparing for an exam -- except this time, my studying is going to directly contribute to my bank account! Truly valuable!

This is a wonderful book. It is very well written and an easy read. Furthermore, it is full of great content. I highly recommend you take a look at the online listing of this book's Table of Contents and see for yourself what specifically is covered.

This book reminds us to not look too far astray for customers or clients. It's easier to cultivate an existing customer for a new sale than to convince a non-customer to buy from you. And it's easier to have a satisfied customer convince a non-customer to buy from you than you doing it yourself.

Focusing on getting referrals is probably the least expensive way to build a customer-base and sales. Keep in mind that there are at least two methodologies to getting referrals. One is the do-good-work for your customers and clients and to get them to refer you to their family and friends. The other is B2B where you get other businesses that compliment yours to refer work to you. You can pay a referral fee or send them an equal amount of referrals.

Some people are not comfortable with using referrals to build their customer-base. But then some people are not comfortable being self-employed either. If you are one of those people who want to be successful at being self-employed, then take advantage of referrals as much as possible. And a good way to start is probably by getting this book and reading it cover to cover. 5 stars!

Referrals now is an excellent book that explains how to obtain more business by asking for referrals. Most friends and existing clients are more than willing to recommend your product or sevices if you just ask for it. Sales people sometimes view asking for referrals as a sign of weakness or problems in the business. This is not true.

If you want to build up a business very quickly without a lot of overhead, this is the best method. It would be adviseable to first read the book "Masters of Networking" by Ivan R. Misner. Referral business has a lot to do with networking, so you must be ready to do favors for other people who help you out. Forgetting to help somebody else who has helped you will be very detrimental to your business.

Just asking somebody for a referral is not really good enough but asking the person for a personal introduction increases your chances dramatically for closing the deal.

Don't read the book all in one go. Read a chapter, think about how you can apply it, write down what you think is best for you and experiment with it.

How could Southwest Airlines achieve 23 consecutive years of record revenues and profits while other airlines were hemorrhaging red ink? How could GE produce refrigerator compressors at a cost substantially less than its foreign competitors, despite an unfavorable cost differential of $15 an hour? This fascinating book suggests an answer.

In 1996, authors Bill Catlette and Richard Hadden noticed that every single one of the top 15 companies listed in Fortune's "Most Admired Corporations" were also widely recognized as exceptional places to work! Hmmmm.... Catlette and Hadden conducted a study of such companies over a ten year period, with interesting results: Compared to their top competitors, the "Contented Cow" companies consistently enjoyed big financial gains in every important way--productivity, revenues, and growth.

The book is not without its flaws. For example, Wal-Mart is listed as one of the "Contented Cow" companies--a designation that Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America certainly puts the lie to. Still, CONTENTED COWS makes a strong case for the connection between sound human resource management and successful financial management--a connection far more direct than many managers think. So in my opinion this book is highly relevant for today's globalized-and-outsourced Corporate America.

Doni Tamblyn is author of Laugh and Learn: 95 Ways to Use Humor for More Effective Teaching and Training and The Big Book of Humorous Training Games (Big Book of Business Games Series)

Don't be deterred by the title (initially I was) because it is appropriate to the authors' purposes in their essentially serious analysis of why only some companies sustain market supremacy and profitability...and why the others don't. Years ago, Jack Welch (then CEO of GE, one of the six companies featured in this book) explained why he admires entrepreneurial companies:

"For one, they communicate better. Without the din and prattle of bureaucracy, people listen as well as talk; and since there are fewer of them they generally know and understand each other. Second, small companies move faster. They know the penalties for hesitation in the marketplace. Third, in small companies, with fewer layers and less camouflage, the leaders show up very clearly on the screen. Their performance and its impact are clear to everyone. And, finally, smaller companies waste less. They spend less time in endless reviews and approvals and politics and paper drills. They have fewer people; therefore they can only do the important things. Their people are free to direct their energy and attention toward the marketplace rather than fighting bureaucracy."

These remarks are directly relevant to the key points which Catlette and Hadden make in this book. It is no coincidence that the most highly admired companies (i.e. those for whom employees of their competitor companies prefer to work) are also the most profitable as they dominant their respective marketplaces. They include FedEx, GE, Hewlett-Packard, Southwest Airlines, 3M, and Wal-Mart. Revealingly, each of these six was founded by entrepreneurs and each has since retained its entrepreneurial spirit. They are among the "Contented Cows" which have outgrown the "Common Cows" (e.g. Consolidated Freightways, General Motors, Texas Instruments, United Airlines, Xerox, and Sears) by a margin of roughly four to one. Catlette and Hadden explain why.

At one point in their book, they assert that "just as productive employees are not always satisfied, satisfied employees are not always productive." A "Contented Cow" company offers generous employee benefits, including those which address personal needs. For example, EDS has a car repair facility, bank, store, day care center, and dry cleaners on-site. However, a "Contented Cow" company also has leaders (at all levels) who recognize the importance to their employees of meaningful work to do, high standards to which everyone is held accountable (a "level playing field"), a clear sense of purpose and direction, feeling appreciated, and finally, meaningful opportunities for professional growth.

There is a "Summary" at the conclusion of each of the 14 chapters. These lists of key points will be invaluable to those who may wish to re-read the book (all or in part) as they attempt to formulate strategies and tactics to transform their own organization into a "Contented Cow." I hasten to add that these key points are relevant to ALL organizations regardless of their size or nature. "To become Contented Cows. companies must realize that just as they have choices, their employees (particularly the better, more skilled ones) do so. The new rules of the game have been set, and now it's only a matter of time before everyone learns how to play, and play it to their advantage." Quite true. Contented employees should never become complacent employees. I am among those who believe that great leaders inspire rather than motivate others: they activate in them what is, in fact, self-motivation. Davenport and Beck address this in The Attention Economy, correctly suggesting that there is a form of ADD in the business world which has serious, indeed profound implications for managers at the executive level.

Decision-makers in "Contented Cow" companies understand full well what will attract the attention of those for whom they are responsible. The challenge is to involve and then engage them productively and enthusiastically, indeed passionately in the given enterprise. Only if and when they are can the nature and extent of relationships with customers ensure sustainable profitability. Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out David Maister's Practice What You Preach. His key point, with which Catlette and Hadden obviously agree, is that individuals as well as organizations must have impeccable integrity. "Contented Cow" companies are nothing more and nothing less than human communities within which such values are constantly affirmed, not merely in word but in deed.

We are using this wonderful book as a tool for understanding why companies are successful. As future investors and entrepreneurs this book will always be our guide. Want to know how and why a workforce is happy, get a Contented Cow. ZM Stevenson, 7th grader

Having spent eleven years in one of the winning companies profiled in Contented Cows, I can personally vouch that the strategies and methods recommended by the authors will truly produce a world-class, highly-motivated workforce that will in turn produce exceptional customer service and financial results. Not occasionally, but every time! What is so impressive about the authors approach is that they first thouroughly researched the "people" practices of truly great companies, then show how those practices in turn naturally and inevitably lead to great bottom-line performance. Too many business authors first create a "neat" model or premise, then go out and find examples to validate what they hope will be the next management "magic pill," establishing correlations that in reality, if they exist at all, are quite tenuous. These guys have done their work the old fashioned way, and you can (and will) take their recommendations to the bank!

This is not rocket science! No matter what our managerial "level", we all have a boss somewhere. Don't we perfom our best when we are treated as some who is valued, someone who matters? That's all this book is telling us, with facts and examples of successful companies, large and small, who "walk the talk"! Read this book and them commit yourself to leading your folks based on it's simple principles (which are not new, we just just needed the authors to write them down for us!)

Corporate America is a refreshing book desperately needed in the business profession, where morals and faith often take a back-seat to success and greed. Corporate America is a must read, especially for anyone in the business world. Whether you are new in your Christian faith, been a Christian for many years or know nothing about Christianity, all can benefit from reading this enriching book. In this quick read the author breaks down each chapter into a different aspect of how the Christian faith can be lived out in a business sense. The author, although a young businessman uses many good illustrations showing the parallels and contrasts between the corporate world and the Christian faith. The author, through his genuine humble approach, does not claim to be some great scholar, but it becomes evident that his intentions in writing the book are pure: that people may grow in their faith.

This book is definitely a good read. Not only does the author discuss different aspects of the business world, but he also ties them in to Christian values and principles. This book is an excellent source for anyone who wants to attain good, moral values. The author ties in many different stories of the business world that he personally encountered to different passages of scripture and Christian teachings. Although the author is a firm believer in the Bible, he successfully teaches the principles that are taught in the Bible. The author displays a sense of humility as well by claiming that he sometimes doesn't "practice what he preaches." However, that shows that he does not claim to be a perfect individual, rather an ordinary guy who values what is good. Overall, this book is a must-read and is a good reminder of what strong, moral values are.

This book is definitely a good read. Not only does the author discuss different aspects of the business world, but he also ties them in to Christian values and principles. This book is an excellent source for anyone who wants to attain good, moral values. The author ties in many different stories of the business world that he personally encountered to different passages of scripture and Christian teachings. Although the author is a firm believer in the Bible, he successfully teaches the principles that are taught in the Bible. The author displays a sense of humility as well by claiming that he sometimes doesn't "practice what he preaches." However, that shows that he does not claim to be a perfect individual, rather an ordinary guy who values what is good. Overall, this book is a must-read and is a good reminder of what strong, moral values are.

This book is definitely a good read. Not only does the author discuss different aspects of the business world, but he also ties them in to Christian values and principles. This book is an excellent source for anyone who wants to attain good, moral values. The author ties in many different stories of the business world that he personally encountered to different passages of scripture and Christian teachings. Although the author is a firm believer in the Bible, he successfully teaches the principles that are taught in the Bible. The author displays a sense of humility as well by claiming that he sometimes doesn't "practice what he preaches." However, that shows that he does not claim to be a perfect individual, rather an ordinary guy who values what is good. Overall, this book is a must-read and is a good reminder of what strong, moral values are.

This book is definitely a good read. Not only does the author discuss different aspects of the business world, but he also ties them in to Christian values and principles. This book is an excellent source for anyone who wants to attain good, moral values. The author ties in many different stories of the business world that he personally encountered to different passages of scripture and Christian teachings. Although the author is a firm believer in the Bible, he successfully teaches the principles that are taught in the Bible. The author displays a sense of humility as well by claiming that he sometimes doesn't "practice what he preaches." However, that shows that he does not claim to be a perfect individual, rather an ordinary guy who values what is good. Overall, this book is a must-read and is a good reminder of what strong, moral values are.

I love starting the day with this, eveyone wants my old ones when I finish. I think Dilbert seems to relate to every office.

This daily comic helps to relieve the stress and tension in my office. Scott seems to have his finger firmly planted on the pulse of corporate America with Dilbert, Asok, the "pointy-haired guy", Dogbert the evil HR guy, Catbert and more. If you need a therapeutic laugh to make it through your sometimes insane days at work, this is the calendar for you.

You'd think Scott Adams would run out of material. Sadly, today's workplace seems to provide plenty of fodder. Good calendar.

i look forward to getting to the office a little early, tearing off yesterday's sheet, reading today's calendar sheet, and laughing out loud. i use the old sheets to write notes for colleagues (instead of stick-it notes), which usually are apropros to the office goings on that day. i love adams' creativity - the ironies and utter stupidity are something that we all can really relate to at work! for the amount of laughter that this calendar has given me and my colleagues, it was well worth the price and i'm destined to purchase it again next year!

I've had this on my desk the last 3 or so years. This time around I ordered the desk diary by mistake.
I tried to persuade myself that I could use that one, and do without the daily, but I caved in, and ordered this again. Makes the working day get off to a routinely funny start, always a chuckle. A great gift too.

I can't fault it.

Pharmaceutical sales can be an intimidating industry. Tom Ruff's knowledge will point you in the right direction towards success.

very good book that gives me all the tips to break into sales.
I follow all the advices and i made it.
So i highly recommend that book

I greatly enjoyed the book and have suggested it to many on my friends that are looking into entering the field of pharmaceutical sales. I thought it was extremely beneficial to read to get a flavor of what a pharmaceutical representative do on a day to day basis and how to get into the field. Read this before revising your resume and interviewing for positions it can also save you time in the end if you decide Pharm sales isn't for you.

I bought this book for a friend who wanted to get into pharmaceutical sales, but she had no outside sales experience. She read the book cover to cover, referenced it daily, and in 3 months, she had her dream job. Thank you Tom!

If you are even remotely thinking of breaking into the pharmaceutical or medical sales industry - BUY THIS BOOK!! Because of this book I just got hired with Johnson & Johnson as a pharmaceutical sales rep. I had no prior experience in this industry and I beat out 3 other qualified candidates because I followed Tom's advice to a T. I highly recommend this book if you are seeking a job in the pharma or medical sales industry. It is an extremely difficult task to get hired in this industry but once you do you will be so proud of yourself and on your way to a fulfilling life-long career.

This book is like an NFL Rocky type story. Except there are 10 different Rocky's that are the focus of this book in the form of football players. Not to say that it is a ripoff in anyway. It's a book that truly stands on it's own. The author seems to be very talented. His first? Are you kidding me? Sometimes I laughed and sometimes I felt sad for them. Especially knowing that all this really happened to real people makes the impact even stronger. Don't let it's setting of it being preseason football make you think it's boring. It's a book of hope, determination, preserverance, and the cold reality of life that we all have to face. This book was so good it's compelled me to write my first review for Amazon. Congratulations Woody F. and I'm looking for your next book!

I bought several copies of Falgoux's book for the football fans in my family and they were a huge hit. By our next family gathering, One Dream was the one and ONLY topic ofconversation. This book is extremely well-written, informative and impressive in it's ability to show the human side of what has become a mega-industry in the US.

This book is precisely what every NFL fan wants to know about what it takes to make a professional football team's roster. Woody does an excellent job at grabing your attention within the very first pages and holding it to the very end. If you are a fan of the NFL, this is a must read and Woody will have you turning each page anxiously awaiting the fates of the players struggling to make the Saints team. This book is masterfully written and you will find yourself rooting for the underdogs. Woody is a gifted story teller and makes you feel like you are sitting along side him at the Saints training camp. At times, I was rooting for Woody himself as he describes the difficulties the media encounters from the Saints organization during training camp. I highly recommend this book and only hope Woody has his second book in the works.

An amazing read! The author puts you into the mind, body
and soul of the players. It is more than a book about football, it is about having hope and chasing a dream. Even
when you know you wont win. Read it and pass it on,
quickly.

Woody had a great premise for a book, let's follow undrafted rookie free agents through training camp showing the emotional highs and lows of who makes the team. Since his favorite team is the New Orleans Saints, the story starts in a small humidity oppressed Louisiana town that is the sight of training camp. Woody does a great job getting to know the players and attempting to know management and how decisions are made. It's clear very early that the NFL and the Saints don't know what to make of this book and seem to have some concern that it will be a hatchet job.

But Woody writes like a true Saints fan who wants to know the players and what it's like to try to make a team. The deck is really stacked against these guys as they must beat out returning players and drafted rookies. Woody gives great examples of the many undrafted free agents who went on to become quality NFL players. But this year's group doesn't appear to have an immediate star and some of the players start dropping immediately. Some of the rookies have great practices followed by weak practices. Some have minor injuries that limit their already limited playing time. And some are trying to fill positions where there are no real spots.

It makes for an interesting read from the early cuts to the few that make it right to the final cut. Woody does a good job of showing the fears, insecurities and sacrifices these players make trying to fulfill their dream. Read this book if you are a fan of football.

I finally picked up this book last year and throughoughly enjoyed it. I keep referring to it because the examples build up to the point of qualified proof of concept. The examples also are different enough from the other ones that are easy to find with Google, so between the two you get a complete view of the vulnerable issue.

The book's title should be obvious enough; this is NOT a book of defenses. However, if you understand these attacks you will be better equiped to deal with them when they happen. This book is no replacement for hands-on training in person with a qualified instructor such as at the SANS Institute, but it is an excellent supplement.

Its a great place to start...and works its way through some pretty indepth concepts. The great part is that for the beginner it is step by step....and they tell you were to download everything you will need. Anyways loved it, read it twice.

I have been around the software industry now for almost 20 years and every now and then I find a book where I learn exciting things, this is one of those books. It reminds me of the early days of low level Windows programming but with very up to date information on the OS and how to apply it. The book is obviously designed to attract hackers - both black and white hats - however it does do a good job diving on the internals of the Posix and Windows subsystems. If you like low level stuff this book is for you.

Not an easy read if you're not already familiar with programming and operating system concepts, but then if you are an IT security professional you'd better be, and the book explains why.

I read Rootkits: Subverting the Windows Kernel last year, but waited until I read Joseph Kong's Designing BSD Rootkits before reviewing both books. In a head-to-head comparison, I thought Kong's book was easier to comprehend and directly covered the key techniques I wanted to see. If I could give this book 4 1/2 stars I would, but Amazon doesn't allow that luxury.

Hoglund and Butler should be commended for writing this book. It really does assemble the parts (meaning techniques and code) necessary to implement a Windows rootkit, at least prior to Windows Vista. My only concern is that, at times, the authors are not as clear as I hoped they might be. This is probably due to the fact that they are two of the best rootkit writers on the planet, so they probably do not remember what it was like to not understand "hooking" and other techniques.

In some ways Rootkits is probably a book best suited for other experts (like many who wrote reviews here). That leaves beginners (like myself) wishing for a little more foundation or direct language prior to reading about implementation tricks.

One of the greatest strengths of this book, however, is the degree to which it exposes the internal workings of Windows. For greatest effect it's probably worth reading Microsoft Windows Internals, Fourth Edition by Russinovich and Solomon first.

Note that although I found the direct approach of the BSD rootkits book better for my learning style, this book by Hoglund and Butler is deeper in several areas. In fact, those who liked the BSD rootkits book would do well to read its Windows counterpart to learn tricks from Hoglund and Butler.

This book is stellar! I highly recommend for anyone in a leadership position or anyone who will one day be.

One of the greatest books on leadership out there. A simple to the point story that teaches skills not taught in most business schools today.

Having read many leadership books, this is one of the best in teaching how to lead with your heart. It's well-written, easy to read, and paints a challenging, yet rewarding picture of leadership that requires devotion and commitment of oneself above and beyond all else.

Have bought 3 of these books for different friends and they have all enjoyed it and passed it on to others.

Based on a friend's recommendation, I began using The Way of the Shepherd as a primer for new leaders in my organization. It uses a very simple construct for teaching-through-storytelling about how to be a "leader" and not a "boss". That construct is tending sheep.

It does not imply at all (as I was concerned about) that all of the front-line employees are rudimenatary herd animals... rather, it calls the leader to a higher level of personal responsibility for the well-being, safety, and activity of the workgroup.

I've read hundreds of leadership and business books over my career - many of which are outstanding - and this is the one I always start a new leader with. It's short, it's easy to read, and it communicates all the right things.