Professional Books

I got this book for my granddaughter when she was pregnant. She has read and referred to this book so much, it's showing signs of wear and tear. She loves this book. Her husband has read it too. They find it very informative and a great guide for first-time parents.

I loved the ideas this book suggests. I've been dealing with my daughter's tantrums due to the new baby, and this book has been extremely helpful. It not only gives me ideas on how to calm my daughter down, but it also shows me how to calm myself down. I think every parent knows what I'm talking about.

"Perfect Parenting" is not about being a perfect parent. As a mom of two, I've come to realize we do the best we can with what we've got, and there's no such thing as perfect. Elizabeth Pantley's book is a solid guide that offers a nurturing hand in moments of distress or cluelessness. She's a mom of four. And she REALLY knows her stuff!

I found the book especially helpful in dealing with issues of lying or rough behavior. Kudos to Elizabeth for another job well done.

~Christine Louise Hohlbaum, author of DIARY OF A MOTHER and SAHM I AM: TALES OF A STAY-AT-HOME MOM IN EUROPE.

I bought this book after reading the rave reviews here, but I was somewhat deceived by it.

I think that some the deception stems out of the fact that I already owned a book by E. Pantley ( Kid Cooperation, which I recommend) and I found the author repeating itself in this book.

Also, I do not like the title, which I find lousy .

Moreover, unlike Kid Cooperation, this book places issues in alphabetical order so that you can browse through them, and does not dwell much into details ( psychological insights etc) . This can be great if you already know the basics of healthy parenting, but in the hands of the average parent, many of the hints could actually do more harm than good.
I don't like that much the "user's manual " style and I did like Pantley before reading this book more than I do now.

I've come to believe that before facing parenting issues and "misbehavior" most parents should work it out with THEIR own issues. Books like this may deceive into thinking that parenting is a matter of knowing the "right tricks" instead of a matter of attitude... Actually it is both, but the right attitude comes first, and without it the tools provided by this book will not work consistently.

I still give 3 stars to this book because it actually has some good hints and ideas ( although almost all of them, plus interesting insights on parental issues/behavior, can be found in Kid Cooperation). It can be useful as a reminder or a quick fix for those parents who are already "perfect" most of the time.

This is a great handy book to keep around to pick up a few tips anytime you have an issue with your kids and you don't know what to do. Once you look up your topic you get various options -- one of which is bound to work. The A to Z format makes it a snap to find what you're looking for. Includes typical stuff like sibling fights and dawdling to more unusual like won't eat vegetables or doesn't like her hair being washed and shoplifting and being a poor sport and even typical but weird things like nose picking. I keep it on the counter and use it often.

I found Resume Magic to be very helpful. I had paid a lot of money for a professsional resume that just wasn't workig. I tweaked it with tips from this book and had a new job within 2 weeks. The only negative is there is so much information it could be overwhelming if you are starting a resume from scratch and/or have never built a resume.

This book contains many examples of resumes, including before and after examples.

Information on words to use, as well as a grammar refresher, will help you polish the phrases on your resume and avoid tiresome, overused phrases.

There is also a section on cover letters and a section devoted to making your resume visually appealing so that it stands out.

I found tons of useful information in this book, not just platitudes and superficial advice like some resume books dish out.

I checked this book out of the local library, and realized it was worth buying for long-term reference. The thing I like best about the book is the way it speaks to the basic question "Why do I write a resume?" Most treatments just show you how; this one shows you what you're trying to accomplish with a resume and how best to do that. It has many specific examples, too--so that when you're finished, you have a document that can accomplish what the resume can accomplish in today's world of work.

This book is phenominal! It is simple to read and has a workable plan to constructing a simple resume that works with your cover letter.

The is quite simply the best book on resume writing I've ever read. I've worked in HR for over 20 years, and I've never seen anything like this. Well worth the money. So far, I've used this book to write four resumes for family and friends, all of which have resulted in jobs.

If I could have given this book 7 stars, I would have.

As a scientist I do not have to sell a product, but I do have to sell myself and my knowledge. Simon's book is a formative journey through successful people's biographies and it is a moment of comparison and inspiration. I really enjoyed the chapter about leadership.

This book is fantastic using easy to apply concepts and excellent examples of people who used it. Simon Vetter provides you with his book a great way to put the conceptual idea of personal branding into practice. Reap the benefits of personal branding. It worked for me.

We all have our own brand of brilliance, but like Oliver Wendell Holmes said, most of us go to the grave with our music still inside us. This book uses stories of extraordinarily successful people to illustrate many ways to bring your talent and unique contribution to the world. In a time when so many people are feeling bored, discouraged, even downright depressed about their work, STAND OUT shows how to reinvigorate a career and bring more meaning to everything you do. With lots of subheads and bullet-pointed insights at the end of each chapter, the book is put together in a way that makes it easy to read, easy to digest and easy to benefit from. I don't recommend many books, but I highly recommend this one.

I've been generally pleased with my brand, so this topic wasn't one I was actively seeking. But a trusted colleague gave it a strong endorsement, so I threw it in my briefcase before a long trip. What a pleasant surprise! Not only did I learn more about personal branding and myself in the process, but the book is also loaded with practical tips for simply being effective, personally as well as professionally. Indeed, this is the type of book that is worth re-reading, over and over... making it a "keeper" in the main bookcase, right be my desk.

In this easy-to-read guide to branding yourself in your business, Vetter provides a wealth of information and practical suggestions in creating yourself as a brand in the marketplace. It is a must-read and should occupy a central place on the bookshelf of anyone looking to start or build their business in a way that produces results!

The last book from my `vacation reading list" is Think Better: An Innovator's Guide to Productive Thinking by Tim Hurson. Some of you may remember a brief mention of this book in a post titled "Critical Thinking vs Creative Thinking".

This is a very interesting book full of great information....kudos go to the author for writing in a style that is engaging and easy to read.

The premise of the book is to stop trying to think `creatively' or `critically'....start thinking productively. The author introduces the "Productive Thinking Model" that helps to combine and balance both creative thinking and critical thinking.

This model is made up of six steps, which are outlined below.

Step 1: What's going on?

In this step, you are encouraged to answer five questions to get a feel for what issue you are trying to resolve. These questions are:

* What's the Itch? This question helps you determine what needs to be fixed or improved.
* What's the Impact? This question makes you think about how the issue is affecting you.
* What's the Information?This question forces you to examine the information that you have about the issue to determine if you have enough information to address the issue.
* Who's Involved? This question takes a look at the stakeholders and what might be at stake for each one.
* What's the Vision?This question helps you make the switch from `what is' to `what might be' by asking things like "What would the future look like if the issue is resolved?"

Step 2: What's Success?

Using the Vision developed in Step 1, begin to think about the future if the issue is resolved. Begin to imagine what life would be like with the problem solved. Once you've got a good feel for how life might change, you would then create a list specific, measurable outcomes.

Step 3: What's The Question?

In step 3, you begin to develop the questions that must be answered in order to reach the vision of success that you developed in Steps 1 & 2. During this step, you rephrase each issue/problem as a question to help your subconscious understand there is something `to work on'. An example conversion given as the Problem Statement "We don't have enough budget" can be converted to the Problem Question "How might we increase our budget?". During this step, you would try to generate as many problem questions as possible....you want a long long list. Once you've exhaustively listed your questions, you can then begin to narrow them down to the two key questions that would have the most impact on the issue.

Step 4: Generate Answers

This is where you generate the ideas to answer the questions created in step 3. You again create a very long list of answers and then sift through them looking for the most ideal and promising answers.

Step 5: Forge the Solution

This step is where you take your most promising answers from step 4 and develop them into a robust solution.

Step 6: Align Resources

This final step requires you to identify the necessary steps and resources for implementing your solution. In addition, you ensure that all implementation steps are assigned to a designated resource who will be held accountable for their implementation.

With these six steps, the author has provided a framework for thinking more productively. The key throughout all six steps is to keep an open mind at all times. Do not criticize ideas. Do not discard ideas. By keeping an open mind, you'll be amazed at how many ideas you are able to generate.

If you are the least bit interested in the topic of creative/critical thinking, go buy this book.

what a fascinating book! unfortunately it is littered with typographical errors which are REALLY irritating. examples: "The stem brain or gator brain processes and teacts to sensory input(p. 21)"..."Nothing is perfect. The word is full of things we can do better(p.7)."..."As Nicholas Negoponte, the founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab, has written...(p.43)"

such a shame. if there is ever a second printing, perhaps these and other unnecessary errors can be corrected.

Tim Hurson explains that the premise of this book "is that success in our business, professional, and personal lives is less a matter of what we know than of how we think. If we can develop the thinking skills to generate more options and then evaluate those options more effectively, we can all live richer, fuller lives - and so can the people around us." The focus of the this book is on the thinkx Productive Thinking Model (PTM), developed by Hurson and his colleagues after rigorously evaluating a number of other methodologies that include the Creative Problem Solving Process (CPS) and Integrated Definition (IDEF).

There seems to be greater emphasis on improving problem solving than on improving any other function of better thinking (e.g. generation, evaluation, and selection of innovative ideas), although the PTM process consists of six interlocking steps that can help to achieve a variety of objectives. Each step includes a variety of tools and techniques that Hurson explains, citing relevant real-world examples throughout his narrative to illustrate how various companies have used the PTM. Hurson devotes a separate chapter to each step.

For example, Step One responds to the question "What's Going On" and requires a situation analysis. Here are some issues to address at the stage of the process:

1. "What's the Itch?" (i.e. problem to be solved, question to be answered)
2. "What's the Impact?" (i.e. pay-off, benefits, improvements)
3. "What's the Information?" (i.e. what is currently known about the situation)
4. "Who's Involved?" (i.e. Who are the stakeholders? Who else will be affected?)
5. "What's the Vision [or "Target Future]?" (i.e. ultimate objective as well as its implications and consequences)

In Chapter 13, Hurson recaps the Productive Thinking Model (PTM) and offers a number of observations and suggestions to those who are considering use of this model as well as those who have made it commitment to it and are now engaged in the difficult but necessary processing of making appropriate modifications of it to accommodate the needs, resources, and objectives of their own organization. Then in Chapter 14, Hurson suggests four essential criteria for developing productive thinking skills and embedding productive thinking in organizational cultures.

In this final chapter, he also asserts that -- as practiced in much of corporate America -- training "is an astonishing waste of resources" when there is no follow-through on front-end training to embed and then strengthen even more the skills taught. In fact, the word "training" has lost its meaning because it is now more commonly used to refer to information transfer rather than skill development. "Hurson prefers the word "entraining." Why? "In chemistry, to entrain means to trap suspended particles in a solution and carry them along. This concept is an apt metaphor for skill development...Entraining results in a new and different workflow. Keeping those new skill particles suspended in your workflow requires the forging of new synaptic connections, new neural pathways."

Hurson includes an especially apt quotation that I now use also when concluding this review:

"In theory there's no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is." Yogi Berra

* * * * *

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Tom Kelley's discussion of how IDEO conducts brainstorming sessions in his two books, The Art of Innovation and The Ten Faces of Innovation. I also recommend two of Henry Chesbrough's books, Open Innovation and Open Business Models, as well as John Medina's Brain Rules, Howard Gardner's Five Minds for the Future, and Creativity in Business co-authored by Michael Ray and Rochelle Myers. Those feeling especially frisky and convinced they are up to the intellectual challenge are encouraged to consider reading Gerald Edelman's Bright Air, Brilliant Fire and Albert Borgmann's Holding On to Reality. Most of these books are available in a paperback edition.

This is basically a 'self help' sort of book. According to the author, if you buy this tome, read it, and apply the contents, something great will happen.

So I bought it. And I read it. And I applied the contents.

What this book is about is thinking more creatively, not thinking more deeply, as it were.

The core premise of the book is that typical thinking relies heavily on what we've done previously. Learning by experience is what humans do. Hurson calls this 'reproductive thinking' as it reproduces the past. This is frequently a good way to do things. But no amount of reproductive thinking will turn an adding machine into a spreadsheet. To make this leap, you need "productive thinking."

The crux of the book is how to think this way. Suppose you have some problem. You assemble your team of people (works individually too, but that isn't his focus) and write down every solution the team can think of to that problem. Analysis is not allowed - just raw ideas. Within a few minutes, people have called out the obvious solutions. The leader of the group keeps writing them down and asking for more using a number of techniques in the book. Before long, people will start giving dubious solutions. This is good. Finally, at some point, the answers become bizarre. This section is what Hurson calls the "third third" of the list. He posits that the good stuff - the truly innovative solutions - are at the bottom of the list. Most of the time, they are worthless. But if you allow these fledgling ideas to live for a while, sometimes they attain flight status.

While we had our power outage, I had 9 days to try this. I am designing some software. I started making a list of the solutions to my problems (this software has many facets which constitute many problems.) I wrote down ideas, concerns, drawings - anything. What I found was that once I ran out of ideas, I'd make some connection, and I'd get 25 more ideas. Then I'd be empty. But the next day it would happen again. It was difficult, but I finally - finally - made it to 100 ideas and thoughts, an arbitrary goal designed to make me stretch. Then I saw another connection and wrote down 30 more ideas! I stopped because the ideas, if valid, were straying from the actual problem domain and started applying more to an alternative piece of software.

I ended up with 3 really good innovations. (I'm sure others would think of these things instantly, but by God they were new to me!) One of these innovations would allow the software to perform a seeming completely different function with only trivial modifications - if it's built right.

There's a lot more to the book, as it talks about how to make the ideas to concrete solutions, walking through phases of idea-to-solution. Again, posing each step a problem then using these free-flowing lists of solutions to find the most innovative answers to problems.

So, the pros:

1. The technique seems to work for me as an individual.

2. Trying it is cheap. You need a) the book and b) office supplies. You do not need a guru, a Change Process Facilitator, pure Tibetan mountain spring water, or to sacrifice a chicken.

3. There are probably 6 phases and numerous sub-phases in the full solution process. So there are other parts of the book that I didn't mention but are worthwhile. For example, he mentions that some people in the organization may work against you. Commendably honest. Such a person is treated as a problem to be solved. You write this person's name down so you can make lists of solutions to this persons behavior. This section is short and I can't help but feel he stopped short for political correctness - and perhaps legal reasons!

The cons:

1. The book is almost certainly a sales tool for the author's consulting company which he mentions repeatedly. Perhaps the book is an answer to the problem, "How can we educate people about our system and thus make more money?" in which case it's a very practical proof of concept!

2. I can't imagine a team of people using this technique because it feels 'new age.' You'd have to have a lot of trust among coworkers.

3. The book is repetitious. Make lists! Make lists! Blah.

4. TMCBSHA. I mean, Too Many Cute Business Self Help Acronyms. The industrial strength solution he discusses has many phases and sub-phases. It seems like every one of them as some hokey acronym associated with it. examples:
IF (imagined future)
DRIVE (do, restrictions, investment, values, essential outcomes)
AIM (advantages, impediments, maybes)

Now, each of these sections may be worthwhile but my god it's killing me. This is what makes me suspicious about the technique. I feel like he's putting the sizzle before the steak. I don't need sizzle to work a problem. But Hurson might need it to sell his book!

5. The numerous steps (and their acronyms!) in the full solution need to be in a diagram so I can follow them.

Finally, if you make your living by thinking (versus, say, by chopping off ninja heads) and you're in a rut, consider _Think Better, an Innovator's guide to Productive Thinking_ by Tim Hurson. I give it a 4 of 5, where no such book can possibly score a 5 due to the built-in hokiness and cheerleading of it all.

http://tony-stormcrow.blogspot.com/2008/10/think-better-innovators-guide-to.html

Think Better: An Innovator's Guide to Productive Thinking

This book is based on the outstanding premise that how we think is more important than what we know. Tim explains why thinking skills are likely to be even more important in the rapidly changing future. The book then expands on exactly what productive thinking is and why we need to do it! Although initially based on the proven concepts of the Osborne Parnes Creative Problem Solving Model, Productive Thinking takes the ideas of divergent and convergent thinking, and together with an excellent choice of thinking tools and techniques, weaves them together in the 6 step Productive Thinking Model. Elegant in design, thoroughly researched and proven in practice. An easy to read and very informative piece of work. Well done Tim.

Ken Wall - Australia

I am part way through this book and love it. It takes you on a realistic and practical journey of change. It also explains why the techniques work and then has exercises that help you experience it. What's also key is that Jennifer White speaks from her own personal experience of applying these tools.

I've ready many books on how to get the life you want but by far this is the best yet. Easy to read, there's little exercises to do to get you thinking and she even provides ideas for making more. Brilliant. If you know you're not living your best life, then this book will really get you going in the right direction with motivation. Get it!!!

Jennifer White's book is not for wimps and losers.

A self-help book written by one of the finest success coaches in the country, "Work Less, Make More" is an innovative tool to help self-driven, highly motivated individuals who are probably already successful do more and do better - to pull themselves out of a stalled rut, perhaps; to work more effectively; to make a quantum leap to a higher level of success; and clearly, to make a substantially higher level of income while working at a physically less demanding level.

Jennifer White's focus is on results and the premise, while difficult to envision, is achievable for those who are willing to make a paradigm shift in their outlook on what constitutes success, to undergo a sea change in their relationships with their family, their friends, their customers and their constituents.

This book is NOT for those that are unwilling to subject themselves to an intense level of scrutiny and, for a significant period of time, to pull themselves a long way out of previous comfort zones and to instill in themselves new habits.

My personal opinion is that this book is most likely to be successful for those individuals that are to a significant extent self-employed, self-driven, highly motivated and worrying with the realization that their career needs a lift. For those that qualify and are willing to change, Jennifer White's perscription will help you to become more deeply fulfilled and earn substantially higher financial rewards without driving yourself to an ulcer, without insulating yourself from your family and friends and without contemplating an early grave.

And isn't that what we all want, after all!

Paul Weiss

Does it seem strange to anyone that all of the 26 reviews for this book sound exactly the same? Almost like the same person wrote all of the reviews.......or coached others on how to write them.....hmmm...

If you feel that you work to hard and earn to little, this book is for you. Jennifer White shows you how to be more effective in whatever you do. When you become more effective--you will start earning more money-because your more effective, more valuable. Jennifer is one of the top coaches in the nation and it's not for no reason. Her methods are sound. Proven. They Work. Highly recommended.

Zev Saftlas, Author of Motivation That Works: How to Get Motivated and Stay Motivated

When you read a good book, it should change your way of thinking or your way of viewing things. When I read Dream Real, it changed my life! This book made me realize some of the mistakes I was making with school. This book made me realize some of the mistakes I was making with sports. I was putting sports before my school work. Now, I realize that school is more important then sports. If I do well in school, that can take me just as far as doing well on the basketball court or the football field. My dream was to play pro basketball in the NBA. Now, I also want to be a doctor if I don't make it to the NBA. In order to become a doctor, school must come first. I never looked at it that way before I read Dream Real. Now, I know that school must come first and basketball comes second. Reading Dream Real, changed my life.

Paul Burns, 8th grade student, New York

My name is Mark Tomblum. I am in the 7th. grade. I live in a small town 5 miles outside of Dallas, Tx. I never really liked reading books and writing to much. I do like school but not reading or really writing. I go to an after school program and one of my teachers had this Dream Real book. She read a few pages to me. I wanted to read the book myself. My teacher let me take the book home. After reading this book I must say that it made me like reading. I really liked this book. I can say it changed my life. Football is big in the state of Texas. I want to be a success in life. I want to move on and play college football. Now I know that I must do good in my studies if I want to play football in high school and in college. I am using Dream Real for my book report.

Adults always say things like this or that book changed my life. I just thought it was there way of tricking us into reading because I never picked up a book "that I could not put down".

That changed when I borrowed this book. This book made me see alot of things more clear. Like how I really do not have a "game plan". I am "only" 13 but I am very very different now that I have a game plan in sports and life.

"Big L"

I love to read all kinds of books. My middle school teacher just gave me this book, Dream Real. I just completed reading it. I really loved this book. I can tell that Mr. Napoleon wrote this book from the heart. It takes a special person to share your personal experiences with the world. Mr. Napoleon is a special person, this is why his book is a great book to read. If you read it, you will learn something from it!!!

T.J. 8th. grade, The ATL

I play Pop Warner football in Newark, N.J. My coach gave this book Dream Real to my mother during the football season. I just got the chance to read it. Once I started reading it, I did not want to put the book down. I started to dream about playing football at the professional level. I really love playing football. My mother always talks about me doing well in school. After reading this book, I know how important school is to my future. Growing up in Newark is hard. I understand what Mr. Napoleon is talking about in his book. Growing up in the city is hard. Now when I think about sports, I will also think about school. I will work on doing better in school. I need to be smart to get what I want in life in the future.

Jamal grade 8 QB

Setting the Table by Danny Meyer provides lots of value for business leaders. I ranked this book five stars based on the value alone. The reader should be apprised that the book is written as a memoir of Mr. Meyer's experience in the restaurant business.

As a business leader you should study excellence in your industry and outside of your industry and there are numerous take-aways in Setting the Table that can be applied to any business. Here are ten excellent points I took away from Mr. Meyer's book.

1. The Excellence Reflex - "A natural reaction to fix something that isn't right, or to improve something that could be better." The excellent reflex is a natural reaction that some people have and cannot be taught. Meyer trains his leaders how hire those that have it.

2. Employees can be categorized as Overwhelmers, Whelmers, and Underwhelmers. It is easy to identify Underwhelmers and get rid of them. The most dangerous employees are the Whelmers because "they infuse an organization and its staff with mediocrity...and send a dangerous message to your staff and guests that "average" is acceptable."

3. Coaching is correcting with dignity.

4. You obtain valuable leadership skills while managing volunteers. It requires you to consistently motivate employees beyond their earnings.

5. Create a sense of "shared ownership" with your customers by taking an interest in them and making them feel important. They will view you as a partner instead of a provider.

6. ABCD - Always Be Collecting Dots. You should aggressively collect lots of little information about your customer (dots) as they interact with your product or service. Then make the connection between the dots as a mechanism to improve your product or service to all customers.

7. Customers may love your product or service but the relationship that they have with you or your employees is what builds loyalty. Therefore you should take every opportunity to exceed expectations to create a lasting relationship.

8. Enlightened Hospitality - "We would define our successes and our failures in terms of the degree to which we had championed, first, one another and then our guests, community, suppliers and investors." This is an extremely powerful concept and is rooted in the integrity theme Meyer has throughout the book. You can't expect employees that don't treat each other with respect, who can't be hospitable with one another to then turn around and treat the customer with respect and high levels of hospitality a customer deserves. Poor relationships internal to the organization migrate to poor relationships external to the organization. Ultimately being last on the list benefits the investor by long term organizational success.

9. Judge your staff on 51 percent emotional job performance and 49 percent technical job performance. You can always teach technical while emotional is much harder if not impossible to develop. Lack of emotional job performance skills destroys teams and alienates customers.

10. "The road to success is paved with mistakes well handled" and "the worst mistake is not to figure out some way to end up in a better place after having made a mistake."

The ten points above are obviously more powerful in the context of the book when illustrated with Mr. Meyer's stories and experiences.


Dr. James T. Brown PMP PE CSP
Author, The Handbook of Program Management

Danny Meyer is now one of my new heroes. I'm at a point where I will be opening a new restaurant in the coming year and I plan to buy a copy of Setting the Table for all of my employees and all of my investors. I can't wait to have the time to visit all his restaurants one by one. This book or cd should be required listening or reading for anyone going into the restaurant business. Thanks for stocking this amazing informative book.
All the best,
Danny Quinn

The restaurant business begins with a vision well founded on food knowledge. Having had great and many good meals helps. But the lessons of this book are many: the best is his order of priorities....first the employees, then the customers, then the suppliers and last the investors. Brilliant.

One of the best business books I've ever read. Danny really "gets it" as far as treating his employees and customers like family and VERY important people. THIS is why he is so successful with the top restaurants in NYC. A MUST read for anyone in sales or who deals with customers and employees on a daily basis

A great book that describes how to create customers for life, with "enlightened hospitality", creating an outstanding customer experience, based on a dialog with the customer. As he puts it "picking up the rocks" (to find the info) and "connecting the dots", a process that could and should be copied for every business.

His passion for food comes across the written page, its contagious.
I'm not a wine drinker but his passion made me want to give it a try.

I never been to one of his restaurants but I now see a trip to New York to visit his restaurants.

Highly recommended not only for restaurateurs, but for every business that has contact with customers.

This books covers pre 93 Korn shell.

However this actually makes learning the shell more simple. At work we have a pre-93 version so the instructions are sure to work.

The author's "93" version of the book is also good, but a bit harder to understand for a beginner.

I am programming with korn shell for 12 yr. already. And I started with this book. It is an excellent book for beginner and even intermediate programmer. It took me about 2 days to go through all book. i still looking inside once in a while. Few times i was loosing this book, bought another one and after short time i dumped it and bought this one again.
Examples and explanation in this book are so usefull, short and easy to understand, that you can't find better book. Your learning efficency really depends on it. Buy it, by all means you will be glad you did it.

This book is *the* way to begin working with the Korn shell. I needed to get up to speed with a shell scripting language in order to do Oracle DBA tasks. I bought this based on the strength of it's Amazon ratings and was completely delighted.

The author has a great style, easy to understand and very clear. I found the procession of topics to be very logical; a nice gradual build up from the simple to the more complex. There is plenty of 'depth' in each chapter and good highlighting of potential problem areas and difficult concepts. These have additional coverage to help steer clear of the hassles and come to a clear understanding of the more challenging ideas.

The examples are well thought out, they present each topic of interest clearly and in a meaningful way, without clutter. I have coded almost every single one and found only a few errors. Within a chapter the examples are presented with increasing complexity, but are never the page after page monsters that leave you lost. It is amazing how well the author illustrates the content with short (20 - 30 line) samples.

When I was puzzled with something I had read here, I turned to two of my friends who 'live' in shell scripting up to their necks. Both have learned useful techniques from this book through my questions.

My copy is literally starting to come apart from constant use for reference. It is that good.

I found this to be an excellent hands-on tutorial in KornShell. Wish there were a book-2 and book-3 with advanced training.

I love the Korn shell. This book is a fine intro to Korn Shell programming. For users who want more than just an intro, you may want to consider "Korn Shell: Essential Programs for Your Survival at Work" by Larry L. Smith. Examples in Randal K. Michael's "Mastering UNIX Shell Scripting" are also helpful.

this book covers everything about aba even bob costas said this book has it all so he wont write on about his time in the aba. 2 chapters on wackiest team ever spirits of st louis and tells of the greatest money deal ever by the silnas that will go on for ever. have read over and over and still enjoy can pick up book any chapter and start reading fun to read and very interesting

I rank this book right up there with "The Bronx Zoo" and "Thin Ice - A Season in Hell with the NY Rangers." It is a captivating book that is very difficult to put down once you begin reading it. A++++!!!!

If you were a fan of the ABA growing up this is the book for you. For some reason I just loved the ABA. To read about the beginning of the league and all the trials and tribulations the league went through is funny. Players I remember as a kid come to life. The Doctor, Lou Dampier, Dan Issel, Artis Gilmore, Laverne Tart. They are all here. The only challenge is that the book is narrated by many former participants and at times it is hard to remember who each person was. However, this is a minor criticism. This was a great book to read and brought back a lot of memories.

If Amazon was really on the ball, they would pair this book together with "Going Long," the book about the old AFL - both are entertaining, hilarious at times, and just great reads - you start to see a connection between the leagues in a way, the startup antics, the dubious franchises, and the hilarious happenings. If you are a sports fan or not, you have to get this book - it is hilarious and an absolute joy to read!

Before 24-hour sports coverage on cable TV and back in the day when a basketball fan was lucky to get one nationally-televised NBA game per week, there was an upstart league with a flashy basketball, flashier players and paychecks that oftentimes bounced higher than the ball.

Terry Pluto, a long-time sports columnist for the Akron Beacon-Journal, captures the crazy times and legendary personalities on the court and in the front offices in this oral history of the American Basketball Association.

It was a league that hit the NBA where it was most vulnerable; signing players to contracts that were unheard of at the time. For example, Mel Daniels - a number one draft pick in both leagues - opted to play in the ABA and became one of the all-time greats. There were renegades like Rick Barry and the sky-walking dunks of "Dr. J," Julius Erving, arguably the greatest player of his era.

The league went straight to the heart of the NBA for its first commissioner, hiring George Mikan as a means to gain credibility in the eyes of the stodgy national sports media. Larry Brown and Doug Moe were ABA players before becoming pro coaches. And - if nothing else - who could beat franchise names like the New Orleans Buccaneers, Minnesota Muskies, the Spirits of St. Louis and the San Diego Conquistadors (with Wilt Chamberlain as player/coach)?

Though the final few years of operation - with a merger inevitable and the league consolidating its shrinking resources - became an abrupt climax to the ABA, the teams and players that made the jump to the NBA made for a dramatic leap in the quality of the game & it can be argued set the pace for the style and grace of Magic, Michael, Dominique and LeBron.

Originally published in 1982 (revised and re-published in 1990), this book tells the story of who Marva Collins is, starting with her childhood and what contributed to her becoming the person she is. The book explains her start as a public school teacher and dealing with the negative politics of schools, then about how and why she opened her own private school where she was freer to use her own teaching methods including the ability to have full control over the curriculums and books she wanted to use.

While working in the Chicago public school system she held her students to a higher standard and taught more difficult material than the school felt was necessary. She felt that children would rise to the level of the teacher's expectations. In times of civil unrest regarding black and white relations, she felt that children from the "ghetto" are indeed teachable. Even the students who have been labeled as having numerous disorders (by school staff) or who are said to have been unteachable, indeed are teachable.

This book tells the story of what Marva Collins believed, the general philosophy is clearly explained. Why she feels a return to the classical education method is a good idea, including why rote memorization of math facts and some other information is explained. She believes a liberal arts education is right for all children of all races and income levels. Her anti-progressive education stance is explained. What specific content she taught and why is there. A good amount of information is given about why she believes that intensive phonics education is necessary and good for all children (and avoiding the look-say / sight reading method). How she taught Shakespeare to young children and her use of the classics and other, more difficult older books is covered. (This is not a curriculum guide for school teachers or homeschoolers to read and copy her method.)

What is not stated that was clear to me is that Collins is a truly brilliant person who used her own knowledge to make many connections within the classroom. Her teaching methods do not rely only on use of certain curriculums but rather depend on the teacher having certain knowledge from their own education and then using that in classroom discussions to make connections between the books and facts that the children were using and what they were learning. In order to teach in the exact way that she does, the teacher must have a foundation of education present, specifically a good liberal arts education herself. Collins realized this was an issue when she first began hiring teachers to work in her private school.

Collins also criticizes many teachers who she feels are uneducated and blames them for not only setting low standards and looking for easy ways to teach but for not being able to have the type of discussions that she has with her students. Collins comes out being quite harsh on public school teachers. Collins' blames teachers for being a main cause of the breakdown of public education. She thinks that some are products of inferior educations themselves, leaving them ignorant and uneducated without a strong foundation from which to teach from. She feels there are teachers who don't know how to teach, who are then subject to various educational fads that clearly are not working (i.e. the look-say method of teaching reading). She also condemns teachers who have low standards about children's abilities as being the issue, feeling children will rise to the level of their expectations.

This is the first book written about Marva Collins. It is a good read to get the beginning of the story and the general background of her theory. She has a second book if you are left wanting more "Ordinary Children, Extraordinary Teachers" is the title.

"Marva Collins' Way" would be of interest to educators who like to read success stories of teachers who do things differently, those who want to or like to buck the status quo or try to stand up to `the education machine' to do what they think is right and best for their students.

Teachers and others interested in charter schools or private schools who have different standards for their students would also like this book.

Anyone interested in the topic of the history of American education or education reform would enjoy this as well.

This will appeal to anyone concerned with the education of inner city, low income level minority children and their experience in public schooling.

Lastly homeschooling parents may learn a thing or two about standards in education and expecting more from students.

At the very least the book is a good read that is inspiring. At its best it may influence you, in whatever role you have with children or education, to raise the standards and to stand up to a failing system in whatever way is applicable in your life.

How I came to read this book: Two years ago a local classical method homeschool support group leader recommended the writings of Marva Collins to me to provide encouragement for having high standards in educational content for children, even young children. I was going through a time when I was being pressured by some homeschooling parents who feel that education should be dumbed down and that little should be expected of elementary grade children. Later another classical homeschooling mother/ blogger whose writing and opinion I respect credited Marva Collins' books as providing inspiration for her educational model for the very same reason. I decided to obtain a copy of Collins' books and I read her first book this month (finally).

The Marva Collins story is an inspiring story of a teacher who was passionate about teaching and excelled through the odds set against her by the school system.

marva collins is such an idol and inspiration for me. she is so full of morals and has a brilliant answer for all of life's problems. get this book if you want to hear the most intelligent things from the most intelligent human being walking the earth! she is HIGHLY underrated as an educator and everything! i really needed to find her b/c as she says, "in this slippery world we all need something to hold onto...." thank you Marva, I love you and God bless you!

I first read Marva Collins Way several years ago, and have reread it many times since, to help guide and clarify my thoughts about education. She has revolutionized public education, and people's perceptions of it. She has also effectively refuted the growing slew of people in the highest places
of academia who stubbornly cling to long-discredited theories about the intellectual inferiority of certain races in this country. I would recommend this book to anyone, and ask only that you read it at least twice, because it has too much to absorb, to just read it once. It will possibly alter your concept about education, and just who is capable of learning. If you use Marva's concepts as a teacher, I guarantee powerful results!

I read about 70 pages of the book and unfortunately lost it during my travel. I will be buying this book again. Marva is an extraordinary teacher who has taught me at my middle age that NO CHILD CAN FAIL TO SUCCEED in school. She has achieved this with such re-sounding success that one would want to have a teacher like her for all children in the world. I have no words to express how great the feeling is when you know that every child has all the potential to succeed.