Associations Books

The Reflective Lawyer is a brilliant and keenly insightful diary that provides a daily reminder to lawyers of the ideals we aspired to when we entered the "noble profession" of the law. Buy the book, put it on your desk, and read it every day--it will make you a better lawyer, a better counselor, and a better person. Denis Cronin, senior partner, Vinson & Elkins (New York)

"The Reflective Counselor" makes you look at your work and your life freshly and thoughtfully every day. There are precious few books about which one could say that. As wonderful as our rewarding work life and all our electronic gadgets are, they seem to lead us to do many things simultaneously, to do all of those things super-quickly, and consequently to skim the surface of the events and challenges in our lives. The daily quotations and commentary in "The Reflective Counselor" make the reader focus on things more basic and more human. My only problem was that I found that I could not limit myself to reading only one page per day. I was too thirsty for the wisdom in this book.

While reading this book, I realized that each daily reading provided a centering experience for those involved in the legal profession. For the college student trying to gain insight into the profession, the law student pouring over documents for the next day's class, the beginning attorney faced with decisions, doubts, and fatigue from hours of work, to the seasoned attorney, who perhaps has gone on "auto-pilot" and can't seem to face another day at work, this book can provide a few moments of peace and reflection each day. Building on this, the reader will be inspired to find meaning and satisfaction in their work. The implicit message in this book is that when one reads, reflects and acts in a conscientious, appropriate manner, the client, society, and yes, the lawyer, benefit.

This is a book we have long waited for -- whether or not we recognized it. In fact that may be its particular magic: it makes you realize what you were missing (by providing it). It is readable, refreshing and rewarding. For those who stop to ask why they are doing what they do, and having stopped actually care to find an answer, The Refelctive Counselor will be a great source and resource.

Lawyers spend much of their professional lives deciding what they should do about whatever legal problems have their attention at the time. They do not spend nearly as much time reflecting on who they are becoming as a result of the demands of the profession. To find deep meaning in their work, and to align their personal and professional lives, lawyers need to undertake the habitual practice of reflection. F. Gregory Coffey and Maureen C. Kessler have produced a marvelous tool to help lawyers do this in The Reflective Counselor: Daily Meditations for Lawyers. Each reading is insightful and provocative. Each provides an occasion for readers to think about how they are living and practicing, and to consider how they can be good lawyers, and good people, at the same time. That type of reflection is what lawyers too often fail to do, and this book is a rich resource that will help them do so in a meaningful way.

Who hasn't fantasized an affair with his psychiatrist? Try this one: an uproarious read about a wacky psychiatrist and his even wackier patient. Just like the characters in this novel, one loses a sense a reality quickly, struggling with what is actual or imagined. Andrea Rouda delivers confusion, fear, and pathos, and all with stage-like timing and an uplifting sense of humor. More, more, Ms. Rouda! (If indeed Ms. Rouda is a "Ms." Readers of Shrink Rapt will delight in this question after reading the book's surprise conclusion!)

This book is a laugh riot. The story is zany, with a nutty plot worthy of William Shakespeare, if he had been Jewish. Anyone who has a mother, or has been in love, or has gone to a shrink, or who is a shrink, or knows someone who has gone to a shrink or has a mother, or likes Shakespeare, will love Shrink Rapt. And I oughtta know--I wrote it. Enjoy.

This could be the best beach book of summer `04. In the tradition of Woody Allen, where neuroses rule but it's okay because they're funny, the author spins a weird love story narrated in the style of stand-up routine. You don't have to wait for laughs; they're in practically every paragraph. The plot is clever, the characters not very nuanced, but who cares? They serve their various purposes as foils or rivals or comrades of the central, engaging character of Emily Jacobsen, a neurotic personality obsessed (what else?) with her psychiatrist. Beneath Emily's neurotic surface is a just-as-neurotic core, but with a warm heart that makes you hope for the best for her. Her adventures in pursuit of normalcy are hilarious, but there's also something touching and universal about her search for answers and need to connect. Like the best comedy, this funny book has just a touch of sadness. And the ending blew me away.

Life is what you eat, as well as who you sleep with. Hysterical book I just finished reading at the beach. Between the Jell-O, bialys and chocolate syrup, it's clear that Ms. Rouda knows the ways of the world very well. The tragicomedy has a wild ending. Hope to see more by this new author.

A friend of mine turned me on to this book! Funniest thing I've read EVER. I was laughing out loud! Parts are very sad and poignant too, but mostly it is just hysterical. Great dialogue . . . very unusual voice and pacing . . . this writer is going places. Strange twist ending. Wild story about a girl who loves her shrink . . . he becomes her mother . . . you'll have to read it!

As the only counselor in a middle school of 400 students, I had been searching for a book to help me address the needs of my students. Somehow, perhaps by 'divine intervention' I happened onto Dr. Murphy's book, "Solution-Focused Counseling in Middle and High Schools". It has become my bible. It is something that works in an environment of limited time and unlimited student needs. IT WORKS! It is so rare to find information that is road-tested and really works for those of us who spend our day in the real world of middle and high schools. Thanks to Dr. Murphy for his insight and wisdom. I feel like a very competent counselor and this book is a big reason for that confidence.

Murphy gives great tips and strategies for working with students in middle and high schools. The book is clear and crisp, and it should make wonderful addition to the bookshelf of anyone who works with students in secondary schools.

Great book for school counselor training programs. It offers a realistic, practical theory to complement other teaching. It also provides good examples. I highly recommend it!!

This is an excellent book! It is easy to read, easy to understand, and easy to implement. Any counselor who is working or plans to work with middle or high school kids MUST have this book.

These days lots of schools are worried about how to work with "problem kids." The problem with that, as John Murphy explains in his great book "Solution-Focused Counseling...," is that we focus too much on what's wrong with kids and not enough on their strengths. Murphy's belief in the power of young people to solve their own problems with the right guidance shines through. A clear, entertaining read on a terribly important subject.

What a great cookbook. Truly an example of Southern living at its best.
I'll definitely give this book as a gift.

Every Southern kitchen needs a copy of "Southern Grace" to be complete. It is full of all of those recipes that make "home cooking" rise to the level of Southern cuisine. It is beautiful to display as well, equally at home on your bakers rack, your library shelf or your coffee table. If you've ever wished your family had great recipes to pass down from generation to generation, you can get the traditions started with this fantastic collection! A must have for ALL cookbook collectors!!

I was astonished when I received my book and opened the cover. The photography alone is exceptional. My guests have raved about the stories and recipes displayed in this cookbook. A MUST HAVE!!!!

THIS IS A GREAT COFFEE TABLE BOOK AND MAKES A WONDERFUL WEDDING GIFT.

This book not only has wonderful recipes but it is a great read as well. This book makes great wedding, graduation, birthday, or Christmas gifts for just anyone. You don't have to cook to enjoy this great book!!

I think this book touches peoples hearts. The author did a seriously good job of researching.

I read this book many, many years ago while in middle school (?) and I couldn't put it down. Having been from Oregon, I found the tail of the Sager family incredible, and the Oregon Trail has always intrigued me. I ended up reading the whole in book in two days because it was so great.

What I love about this book is it is historically accurate, gripping, and interesting to children. While it is not written with fantastic literary flourish, it is an engaging and amazing story. As a teacher, it fits with the fourth grade Washington curriculum perfectly and that is where I have used it. It sparks interest in readers (both young and old) about the Oregon Trail, history, and the Sager family.

The most famous book about the Sager family is probably "On to Oregon!" by Honore Morrow, on which the movie, "Seven Alone," is based. But "Stout-hearted Seven," is based on more thorough research and is more accurate. This is the one our fourth grade teachers usually read aloud as part of their curriculum on Washington State, and it's the title that most students will come into the library to check out and read again.

While there are many good fictional accounts about the Oregon Trail, this is the one I'd recommend first for upper elementary grades, simply because of its basis in actual events.

I'd also recommend visiting the Whitman Mission in Walla Walla, if for no other reason than to see the wagon wheel ruts and the Sager names on the gravestone. Our family did this a few years ago as part of a quick 5-day trip along the Oregon Trail, starting in Independence, Missouri. If we ever go again, I'd prefer to take at least two weeks.

I read this book recently and I absolutely loved it. It's the story of the Sager family, and their hardships and trials while on the Oregon Trail. I don't want to give the book away, but I must say that a tragic accident leaves the seven Sager children orphaned and in the care of the other members of their wagon train. The family now consists of 5 girls and 2 boys: John (13), Frank (11), Catherine (8), Elizabeth (6), Madeline (4), Louise (2), and Rosanna, only a newborn baby. They are adopted by the famous Dr. and Mrs. Whitman, where they live happily in their care for 3 years, until the tragic Whitman Massacre. That's where I'm going to stop, because if I tell you of the horrible things that happened there, I would ruin the entire story. Anyone who likes historical fiction, or even is just looking for a good book to read, I reccommend this book. So even if you don't buy it from Amazon or anywhere else, just get it from your local library, because this book is worth your while.

This book took me to Dr. Casey in Pgh and saved my life. It explained there were other alternatives than to live with the terrible pain. I have bought 4 copies of this book and have given it to people that are dealing with TN, as well as loaned out my copy. I feel the author knows how much help he has been as he also suffers from the condition.

Sally Murphy,
Punxsutanwey, PA

As a chiropractor I was fascinated at the wide array of treatments explored for this debilitating condition. The chapter on upper cervical chiropractic vindicated what many chiropractors have found with patients who respond to this specialty form of chiropractic. After actually meeting him in Australia, I was amazed to discover that Dr Casey is one of the most prominent neurosurgical specialists, carrying out thousands of successful surgeries on TN sufferers. A must for sufferers and supportive network members, who are looking for "whatever works" and not just what your average doctor might believe.

Patients with TN face the challenges of finding reliable information and figuring out which of many medications, surgical procedures and alternative therapies are likely to eradicate or relieve their pain. The neurosurgeon(Casey)and patient(weigel) provide up-to-date guidence for patients and their families. This book completed at the end of 2004 is twice the old edition...a totally new book filled with real life patient experiences,therapies, practical illustrations...Outstanding, Understandable, Guide to Resources.

excellent book, regularly updated on the medical and surgical therapies available for those who suffer from this horrendous pain.
For a personl perspective I recommend Carol Jay Levy's A PAINED LIFE, a chronic pain journey.

When I was first diagnosed with TN, I was confused by a deluge of information. Weigel gently guides the reader through well-presented discussion of the neurological disorder and its treatments, both medical and alternative. A good choice for anyone who has or knows someone with trigeminal neuralgia.

An excellent resource for students of Bible chronology. Showing the reader with scriptural support where we are in the stream of time. Proving that we are in the "Last Days" and that the promise return of the Lord is here.

This is the second volume in a series of six. It contains an in-depth analysis of Bible chronology that shows how the Scriptures point to the time periods of Jesus' first and second advents. It also offers an explanation of Jesus' second advent that is different than the common view of the "rapture." What is especially intriguing is a chapter on the scriptural concept of the "antichrist," also known as the "man of sin," and how it can be identified by a study of the past rather than looking for a "man" of the future.

Most historians today see the year 1914 as a huge turning point in world history and politics. Written in 1889, this book explains the significance of the year 1914 from a Biblical point of view. One should read the author's forward/preface (written several years after its first printing) included in this book. This will help the reader to gain better insight into the author's perspective and into issues addressed. I also recommend reading the first volume of the series, "The Divine Plan of the Ages," to gain an understanding of the Biblical concepts that are addressed in more detail in this volume.

You will find a finely connected Bible Chronology that allows you to place yourself in the timeline of God's plan. Most chronologies are a collection of miscellaneous calculations. This book presents one of the most interconnected datings to be found anywhere. There is an excellent chapter that clearly, and simply, places the correct date of our Lord's birth, based on the clear record of Scripture. Also many chapters dealing with aspects of our Lord's second advent.

This book calculates the exact length of time from the creation of Adam to the second advent of Jesus. I had been reading my Bible for eight years, and I had no idea this information was contained in the Bible. But this book traces the links of Bible chronology in such a logical way that it makes it impossible to dispute its conclusions.

This book expands on the outline presented in the preceding work by the same author, "The Divine Plan of the Ages". This is an excellent help for those in an honest search for Bible truth. It links Bible chronology with secular history to determine where we are on man's timeline in God's plan. A most interesting chapter entitled "Earth's Jubilee" expands on the typical Jewish old testament feature of the jubilees, and demonstrates the application to all of mankind. Of further interest is the evidence of scripture pointing to the identification of the time of Jesus' return!

I've only just started using this book, but so far I've found it a great resource. It doesn't go into a huge amount of detail about the technical tools to use when managing a project, but it does tell you what to use and when. However the sections on managing resources, communications and negotiating are a great addition and just as important as knowing what technical tools to use.

When I am asked to recommend a good book on project management I always recommend Visualizing Project Management by Forsberg, Cotterman and Mooz. That book teaches project management the right way, in my opinion, by laying a solid foundation. However, at some point you will master the material through application and experience, and you'll want to go to the next level. That is where this excellent book will take you.

As you mature as a project manager you eventually discover that the technical aspects are a great foundation, but the 'soft skills' are essential to success. The book starts with these. The author provides some excellent material on how to make effective oral and written presentations, negotiation skills and leadership.

Don't get the impression that this book does not cover technical material. It does, and it goes pretty deep into some advanced techniques. For example, the author provides a very comprehensive discussion of work breakdown structures (WBS) and how to develop them. In my opinion the biggest failure of projects is the fact that a WBS is never developed before the estimating and scheduling is performed. I really liked the network analysis chapter. It presented in clear prose how to risk-adjust a critical path, which is something I learned over a decade ago, but am met with blank stares when I mention this to most project manager. Indeed, most project managers don't know what a critical path is (they use the term often enough, they just don't know what it means), much less how to perform a critical path analysis. This book will provide this information and a few easy-to-learn techniques as well. I thought that the chapter on earned value was adequate. I was glad to see it included in the book and give the author credit for his comprehensive treatment, but I almost fell asleep here. I recommend that serious project managers augment the earned value knowledge in this book with Earned Value Project Management, 2nd Edition by Quentin Fleming and Joel Koppleman. That book was written by authors who developed the 32 earned value criteria for the Project Management Body of Knowledge (2000 version).

The part of the book that covers managing a project is filled with great advice. I thought the chapter on project selection was particularly valuable because it is objective and based on financial formulae that should be applied to these kinds of decisions. The sample reports are also good templates that should be in every project manager's tool kit.

Overall, this book will give a seasoned project manager much sound advice and provide him or her with an array of advanced techniques. It is truly a project manager's survival guide earning it a solid five stars and a place on the list of the handful of books that I always recommend.

An excellent "survey" book on project management. It will be especially useful to new-comers to project management, both individuals and companies. Unlike other books, it shows how to adapt to the realities around you, rather than jumping a rigid "analytical" approach. His emphasis on the human element is refreshing.

Excellent book that provides real life examples along with project management theory. Lots of practical application ideas. Written in a manner that is easily understood by the non-technical reader. Very informative and provides lots of good references for additional reading on project management. Brings the theory into reality. I highly recommend this book for managers looking for answers.

This book is exactly what I was looking for. I took a Project Management Course back in College, but did not remember much of it. I needed a book that would give the basics of this subject, without being too involved in particular software.

This book does exactly that, and also lists some of the most frequent pitfalls for projects, with half the book emphasizing the human side of Project Management.

This book is great. It is easy to read and counselor/kid friendly. Even if you aren't on board with the ACA outdoor living skills courses, this is a very good and adaptable resource.

This book is great. It is easy to read and counselor/kid friendly. Even if you aren't on board with the ACA outdoor living skills courses, this is a very good and adaptable resource.

This book is great. It is easy to read and counselor/kid friendly. Even if you aren't on board with the ACA outdoor living skills courses, this is a very good and adaptable resource.

This book is great. It is easy to read and counselor/kid friendly. Even if you aren't on board with the ACA outdoor living skills courses, this is a very good and adaptable resource.

This book is great. It is easy to read and counselor/kid friendly. Even if you aren't on board with the ACA outdoor living skills courses, this is a very good and adaptable resource.

Fantastic Book! Makes a revolutionary concept seem simple and obvious. As an education student, I plan to take from this book for the rest of my life.

This text was recommended reading and as a teacher myself, I find it confounding that it was not required reading during my teaching education. She certainly was ahead of her time, but Sylvia Ashton-Warner might still be distancing herself from those standard based minds determined to put children into the molds we have decided are necessary for their own good. How do we get children to see the power of language so that writing and reading have personal meaning that piques a lifelong journey into the love of learning--this book has some incredible seeds that a willing and curious mind might take, study, and find itself using to change the world, and at the very least the landscape of education as we see it today. Read this book if you want children to come alive to learning.

I am a teacher of 18 years who had to read this book in 1977 as part of my college teacher training and would like to share this book with all teachers. It is as relevant for me today with our scripted phonics and literature-rich reading programs as it was then. Sylia Ashton-Warner does more than portray a method and philosophy to teach reading to New Zealand's Maori children--she paints a vivid, dramatic picture of any classroom. The reader can see the combination of her daily, organized lesson plan superimposed with the actual unpredictable, spontaneous, and social nature of children. Sylvia writes in such a perceptive, humorous way that our sympathy goes out to the Maori children who are expected to learn reading, but are expertly led, not forced.
One of her main points was that the contemporary "Dick and Jane" method of teaching reading was too imposing, stagnant, and foreign to inspire success and a love of learning for her Maori students. She created a new system to do the job of bridging the old, illiterate civilization of the Maoris to contemporary New Zealand. Her method became famous. It is fairly simple and has been used since in a multitude of kindergarten and 1st grade classrooms. Children were allowed to give Ms. Ashton-Warner, their teacher, a new word every day. The word was traced, written, practiced, shared, and reviewed the next day. If the word was important enough to the child, it was remembered and therefore called an "organic" word since it came from an important part of the individual child. Children had word cards and every day would locate their own personal word cards amidst the class' collection.
As Ms. Ashton-Warner used this method over time, she was able to categorize important words, and thereby came across universal truths regarding words that made reading easier for her students. The two widest categories she called "sex" and "fear" words, and if a word was easily learned then it fit into one of these categories. Although I personally don't like her use of the word "sex," she explains her conception of it as referring to the human needs of love, acceptance, and survival.
As students became proficient with this first introduction to words, they were "graduated" to more advanced classes in reading and writing, using their own personal word banks, until at last the traditional school books could be used successfully. In addition, Ms. Ashton-Warner wrote and illustrated her own version of basal readers for Maoris, using their own interests and lingo, as another part of transitioning them from their own culture to the literate and modern New Zealand. It is tragic that most of her original works are gone.
In actuality, the book "Teacher" is much more than a description of a pedagogical method. It is a work of art, describing the talent needed to teach. It is a work in psychology, showing one how to cope with the enormous diversity and constant problems of the real classroom. It is a work of teaching methodology, inspiring a teacher to value and inspire the inner thoughts and feelings of a child, and to take those raw materials and create real learning experiences for that child.
I actually read this book once a year. It has become a part of me that allows me to take each day as it comes, to see special inspired moments in a child's day as being a huge, poignant step in their education.

In generally straightforward prose, Sylvia Ashton-Warner describes the success of her "organic" teaching method for five-year-old Maoris, a native people of New Zealand. The idea is as brilliant as it is simple: young children will best remember words that are nearest their hearts.

For young Maoris at the time of Ashton-Warner's writing, these words were not always positive, as many of her students were from troubled backgrounds. Words such as "fear" and "kill" were as popular among them as "kiss" and "love." Ms. Ashton-Warner's infant reading texts were hand-crafted by her for each student's particular needs and interests. After developing an "organic" vocabulary, the Maoris were better able to tackle traditional English elementary texts.

I found a sixth edition of this book in my late father's library. It was required reading for my father's Masters in Education program at Hunter College in New York City during the late 1960s and early 1970s. "Teacher" was first published in 1963.

Contemporary readers, especially Americans, may find the style somewhat dated. Towards the end of the book, Ms. Ashton-Warner changes from a conversational format to a diary-like, almost stream-of-consciousness style which is rather confusing. She also uses New Zealand terms such as "pa" and "haka" whose meanings have to be determined with some difficulty from context.

All that said, the message of "Teacher" is as vibrant today as it was when this work was first published. It is as relevant to building cross-cultural bridges as it is to enhancing learning among students of all backgrounds. My father drew upon it in getting reluctant older students to write and read about things that they were truly interested in. "Teacher" provides an important caveat to today's world of standardized testing and rigid pedagogical criteria.

Hard for me to write a short review of this book since I've written a book about Ashton-Warner's contributions to teaching young children.

The point is, Ashton-Warner was a careful observer of the young Maori children she taught. She knew that what she had been trained to do in a college teacher-training program wasn't working, so she really looked to see what the children cared about, and invented ways to teach them based upon their deep interests and respecting their culture, different from her own. She, a left-handed artist, was different from the mainstream, and wanted to be appreciated...and she carried this and other knowledge from her personal life into her teaching. Ashton-Warner wasn't a woman of perfection, but she made a contribution that lasts...This book has changed the lives of many, many teachers -- I know because they have told me.