Economic-Life Books

I really enjoyed this quick read that allows you to apply several techniques to any industry. Rich with examples in a common sense format. Highly recommended to Sales Managers who deal with salespeople and their customers.

"Paul LeBon has his fingers on the pulse of modern business. "VoicemailHell" goes beyond the mechanics of flow charts and phone systems to the real power of voicemail. It provides simple solutions-human impact solutions-that will help you improve communications with employees, strengthen business relationships with clients, and effectively manage your time. Not since the "One Minute Manager" has a business book packed such a punch!"

As a telecommunications manager for a large firm, voice messaging is one of my headaches. This book is a great help to people who fumble, mutter, speak in rapid fire, or just get nervous leaving voicemail messages. As the author says, all the telecomm industry has ever done is give out flow charts showing people which button to push for which function. This bok finally shows people how to communicate, not just press buttons!

Here's a book that not only offers great ideas, but sets some outstanding 'rules' to follow when getting caught up in voicemail. It's a quick read and the only book available on this topic. You'll be very glad you own this.

Bravo to Paul LeBon for this no-nonsense, easy-to-apply productivity maximizer!

I had spent the past couple of years complaining that technology is turning us all into slaves. There's so much information to keep up with. There are always so many responses and answers demanded of us to supply, that I had been feeling like I was living at the mercy of the technology that was supposed to be making my life easier.

"Escape from Voicemail Hell" is crammed with powerful ideas on how to harness the power of your voicemail to serve you, not the other way around. I have learned how to get people to leave me more concise and thought-out messages, how to approach my callbacks strategically, and how to get the information I want and need from others with a lot less effort.

I didn't even realize how much I needed this book until I picked it up. Not only do I see how much more effective I am by following its principles, but my boss and my clients have made positive comments to me, as well. I've been amazed by how simple, yet powerful it has been to turn LeBon's advice to my advantage. I highly recommend this book. I've gotten so much out of it.

This joins others in the 'Experts' Guide' series, gathering the knowledge of a range of experts to provide insights into the little challenges in life - and it's the first to meld home improvement, interior design and self-help under one cover. Six sections on improving, beautifying, and enjoying the home show how to achieve everything; from the basics of folding a sheet properly to hanging holiday lights and selecting and cleaning countertops. From installing a doggie door to decorating with flowers, enjoy all-inclusive compilation of practical tips which considers no home-related topic too small to address.

Diane C. Donovan, Editor
California Bookwatch

This joins others in the 'Experts' Guide' series, gathering the knowledge of a range of experts to provide insights into the little challenges in life - and it's the first to meld home improvement, interior design and self-help under one cover. Six sections on improving, beautifying, and enjoying the home show how to achieve everything; from the basics of folding a sheet properly to hanging holiday lights and selecting and cleaning countertops. From installing a doggie door to decorating with flowers, enjoy all-inclusive compilation of practical tips which considers no home-related topic too small to address.

Diane C. Donovan, Editor
California Bookwatch

This joins others in the 'Experts' Guide' series, gathering the knowledge of a range of experts to provide insights into the little challenges in life - and it's the first to meld home improvement, interior design and self-help under one cover. Six sections on improving, beautifying, and enjoying the home show how to achieve everything; from the basics of folding a sheet properly to hanging holiday lights and selecting and cleaning countertops. From installing a doggie door to decorating with flowers, enjoy all-inclusive compilation of practical tips which considers no home-related topic too small to address.

Diane C. Donovan, Editor
California Bookwatch

This joins others in the 'Experts' Guide' series, gathering the knowledge of a range of experts to provide insights into the little challenges in life - and it's the first to meld home improvement, interior design and self-help under one cover. Six sections on improving, beautifying, and enjoying the home show how to achieve everything; from the basics of folding a sheet properly to hanging holiday lights and selecting and cleaning countertops. From installing a doggie door to decorating with flowers, enjoy all-inclusive compilation of practical tips which considers no home-related topic too small to address.

Diane C. Donovan, Editor
California Bookwatch

Want to know how to fold a fitted sheet? This book will tell you!
Each chapter unfolds as a series of mini-essays on the home life by experts, with the COO of a pest control company teaching how to prevent household pests, a field editor for Audubon explaining how to select and use a birdfeeder, Dr. Joy Browne offering suggestions for learning how to compromise, pediatrics professor Harvey Knapp instructing on how to discipline your children, etc. The pieces are compact, and most have at least one "take-away," so it's easy to pick the book up, read for five minutes and glean some useful bit of info. On the downside, a few areas beg for a more in-depth explanation, and the vast array of advice covered means that there are some odd juxtapositions (e.g., "increase your energy" is followed by "secure a mortgage"). Still, few books can manage to instruct readers on selecting window treatments, making time for yourself and hosting a dinner party with such streamlined simplicity.

Fascinating! The book is so insightful to how people think and then, should think. The connection to magic helps pull the ideas into focus. It's a must read for anyone in business or considering a business endeavor.

I enjoy reading books that will better me as a person and a leader. This hits the spot and is extremely easy to read. I just find business books that are based around a story to be much more interesting.

The book made me appreciate the magic of business and the business of magic.

I love parables. When they are done well, they are some of the best reads you will ever have for a business topic. Andy Cohen does an outstanding job getting his message across in a very unique way.

I will remember this book (and its lessons) for a long time.

Find your magic!

This book will help you rethink everything in your life. Its an innoculation against negativism and paralysis.

Reviewed by Beverly Pechin for Reader Views (12/06)

I have to admit at first glance I was completely confused about the idea behind this book. The premise was a self-help business book but using "magic." Now, I'm as optimistic as the next gal but to actually think "magic" can make a business thrive... well, that's just plain ludicrous! Isn't it?

Believe me when I tell you, not only is this approach NOT ludicrous but the most inventive approach to business I've ever seen. And to top it all off, as crazy as it may seem, it works! Don't take my word for it, ask the executives at IBM or Nestle' or many other big name companies that have utilized his expertise. A success story himself, he took the ideas from a magician named Merlin and together created a unique method to open new doors in the business world. His approach teaches how to be a leader instead of a follower, a creator instead of a copier. Utilizing techniques, thoughts and ideas from the world of magic in ways that you would never even imagine to be something that would so easily transfer over to the world of business, Cohen creates a realistic yet phenomenal approach to making your business grow.

What do all successful businesses have in common? The answer is simple, they're leaders. Thinking outside the box is something we're all taught in the business world to be "creative," yet we're frowned upon if it's too much so out of the box. Cohen's techniques create a way of thinking outside of the box that will challenge even the most non-creative of business executives. By challenging the ideas that are always thought of as impossible this magical approach will end up making anything seem possible, hence where the "magic" comes in.

The part that seems the most fun is how Cohen literally does teach some magic tricks to get your point across to others. Actually forcing others to think about the trick you perform and come up with how it works themselves, you open up their creative juices to a full flow and began a trek down the road to success.

You will walk away from "Follow the Other Hand" not only with the incentive to become creative and make changes but with an attitude that anything is possible... even a little magic!

I first used this book at the career center of the community college I was attending. The questions and the activities, as well as the four color-coded cards (green, blue, orange, yellow), really put my goals into perspective, and helped me understand why I was having so much trouble fitting into any of my jobs. Despite the present economic downturn, I am working toward my degree in anthropology (minor in English) to pursue a career as an Archivist. For all you professional misfits out there, this book is definitely for you.

This book is terrific! I work with teenagers and helping them establish careers and making career choices. This book taught me so much about how to approach teens with this tough decision issue. Very down-to-earth and well established writing and exercises.

This book is needed to be read before anyone plans to seek employment. It will guide you to understand yourself and what career you need to lead a fulfilling life. A must read for anyone at any level of employment.

This book is really helpful in figuring out your own personality type as well as other people's. It teaches you how to interact with other personality types and gives you an accurate description on what kind work you should be doing according to your personality. It not only helped me to figure out my dream profession, but also encouraged me to go for it!

True colors will break your kids down into 4 main personalities and a combination of sub personalities. This book will teach you the weaknesses, strengths, wants, needs, etc. of each kid. After reading this book you will learn how to read kids and deal with their personality. Also, it will help you pick the right mate to date or marry and to pick the work that will make you happy. After two days of students in my class, I can tell the "orange" students in my class and my career advice to them is "Never take a job that is behind a desk or stuck in a room all day." Years later, students always tell me I was so right. So true colors does work! Buy it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Get In The Game" partly baseball, partly business and partly psychology. Author Cal Ripken, Jr. draws on his vast baseball experience, his family background and business interests to illustrate eight elements of perseverance that make a difference: Right Values, A Strong Will To Succeed, Love What You Do, Preparation, Anticipation, Trusting Relationships, and The Courage of Your Convictions.

Throughout the book, Ripken includes similarities between his career and character and that of Lou Gehrig. As one who has admired Cal from afar, I greatly enjoyed this book. You will too.

this is an awesome book - would strongly recommend - especially but not necessarily for those with any appreciation of baseball at all - think this should be required reading for all high school students - very important and helpful life lessons - baseball is a great american tradition sure but more importantly the sport produces character - knew little of cal ripkin before reading this book - now i am a BIG fan

This book helped me and it helped me help my eleven-year-old son.

One of the parents from my son's baseball team actually said to me last night at our end-of-season party that several games ago it was like a completely different boy began showing up to play. He said he could see my son now has baseball in his head. That's about when I started reading parts of this book to my son. I started taking him to the batting cages. We began really working toward his goals on the field and talking about his goals in life.

This book resounds with the values I've always carried in my heart but have not been able to live due to circumstances beyond my control. Reading it allowed me to see these values do actually work somewhere out there in this world and these values are what I want for my child.

Cal Ripken offers many of his life lessons and experiences he has learned through playing the right way his whole career. I highly recommend this book to baseball fans of all ages and backgrounds.

This book provides extremely useful guidelines in dealing with situations we all eventually run into in our lives. While alluding to baseball related examples, it does not simply dwell solely on recounting Mr. Ripken's impressive baseball accomplishments or relate amusing/interesting anecdotes. Instead it gives thought-provoking insights into two all too fast-disappearing basic axioms in our country's psyche: "practice makes perfect," and "do unto others." I highly recommend this book for everyone, especially young people still in their formative years. In fact, it presents an excellent opportunity for parents to reconnect with their child(ren) by reading it aloud and together, with discussion centering on each of the eight elements as they are completed.

I have traditionally shied away from the entire genre of self help and business "how to" books because the information they normally contained was either too ethereal or simply restating common sense that I did not need to be spending $22.00 on for what I already knew. Not so with Dave's latest effort. I found his book to be extremely readable and chock full of great insights that are really applicable to not only my business, but to every day life as well. At the risk of plagiarizing a line from a recent movie, reading this book and implementing its simple steps into your life will make you a better person. I highly recommend this book.

Powerful book from a brilliant author who knows success and how to achieve it. Dave is a master communicator that will ultimately bring out your best performance. The value of this information is intangible. The direct result of my reading this book has been increased income. His methods have enabled me to get out there and make deals happen. Buy this book, read it, and I believe Dave will bring out the best in you.

If you sell anything, or would like to sell more,
Chapter 7 "Selling and EPOD Solutions" is a MUST read. Dave's wisdom is presented with engaging wit amid relevant examples including sales mistakes. Dave's EPOD Selling method presents solutions that work in today's world.

An exceptional speaker, Dave can equally convey his high-energy message through text. As you turn the pages, you will be counting the ways in which to apply the basic elements of the EPOD Theory. Reading the case studies of individuals and organizations that have applied these elements, you will quickly see how these easy-to-follow principals can enrich both your personal life and professional career.

I've been a big Dave Yoho fan for years, and I think this is his best work yet. He devotes a fair amount of attention the power of words and the language we use with ourselves and others. The chapters on Energy and Discipline are worth 5 times the price of the book. A great read!

Steve Siebold
Boynton Beach, Florida

I have been in the banking field for 25+ years. This book provides a framework to study the corporate culture. I found it very helpful and enjoyed the book.

In March 2005, I attended the Office Depot Women's Success Strategies program. Speaker Anne Mulcahy, CEO of Xerox, was asked a question about the focus on recently-resigned HP CEO Carly Fiorina. Anne said that the key to making gender a non-issue was to get more women in the boardrooms. Amen!

Also at the conference, panelist Carol Frohlinger shared solid negotiating tips with the attendees. Impressed, I bought this book. WOW! This information levels the playing field. Get out there. Decide what you want. And, GET IT in a win-win way. Thanks, Carol, Judith and Deborah for doing your part to help women get to the top floor.

xoxo$$$ Ellen Rohr

As a young woman actively managing a corporate career, I found Her Place at the Table full of valuable advice and lessons. The authors candidly address some of the major challenges a woman will face as she navigates a competitive office environment. My favorite chapter focused on gathering essential information - a frustrating part of any big project. Better yet, the authors present their strategies with examples and reflections from real women in leadership roles - making it an interesting read even after a tough day at the office.

As a woman in corporate America, I found this book to be provide some extremely wonderful information. It was as if the authors had interviewed me directly to come up with those traps. Since completing the book, I have changed the way I approach projects, and have found the steps in the book to be extremely helpful! The format was so easy to follow, and I related to so much of the information-especially the common traps.

Women in leadership positions will thank authors Deborah M. Kolb, Judith Williams and Carol Frohlinger for their strategic advice. Their book, solidly based on the experiences of 100 women in leadership jobs, clearly identifies obstacles women face in gaining legitimacy as leaders. The authors explain how women executives' incorrect - and possibly unconscious - assumptions increase their troubles. The book teaches readers to make their assumptions explicit and to overcome obstacles with step-by-step deliberate solutions. For instance, the book counsels you to get as much information as you can before taking a new position, and then to really think about what you have learned. The main chapters enumerate five major ways to gain respect and credibility as a leader, but the authors also provide advice on negotiation and some relevant questions for job hunters to ask. Although it gets repetitive, the authors accompany the final outline of major points with specific recommendations you can implement. We recommend this book to women in business who want to move up, or who already have.

The Hip Girl's Handbook For The Working World is a guide for women who are new to the workforce, just got laid off, or who are looking to jump-start their career. Chapters offer practical tips for putting one's best foot forward when interviewing for a job, negotiating a fair deal, dealing with real-world situations of etiquette or relationships in the workplace, and how to make a graceful exit should one have to leave a job by choice or force. Though carefully researched, The Hip Girl's Handbook for the Working World focuses on practical advice rather than drowning the reader in statistics, and humorous anecdotes add an extra bit of mirth to the beginning of each chapter. Highly recommended.

This book is a must read for the working woman. It is easy and fun to read, offering great and useful advice on how to navigate the working world. I love the real stories woven throughout the book since they are so relatable. I bought a copy for my cousin who is a recent college graduate and getting ready to step into the workplace -- and she can't put it down!

This book has great tips written in a very accessible and witty way--- great for those starting out or already making their way in the working world. There's something for everyone here and it would make a great gift for new grads! Three cheers!

The Hip Girl's Handbook For The Working World is a guide for women who are new to the workforce, just got laid off, or who are looking to jump-start their career. Chapters offer practical tips for putting one's best foot forward when interviewing for a job, negotiating a fair deal, dealing with real-world situations of etiquette or relationships in the workplace, and how to make a graceful exit should one have to leave a job by choice or force. Though carefully researched, The Hip Girl's Handbook for the Working World focuses on practical advice rather than drowning the reader in statistics, and humorous anecdotes add an extra bit of mirth to the beginning of each chapter. Highly recommended.

This Hip Girls guide is a must for any working person. Not only is it fun reading, informative and easy to understand, but as a resource it is a MUST. Ever find yourself stressed about a work related issue and tried to use the internet to search out a topic? I have, and if I did find the topic, the answer wasn't very clear. This book gives you the straight facts, and if the topic requires further details, it provides you with a quick and easy source to get more information. I am going to buy more copies because I think it is the perfect gift.

G'day,

This seminal tome is a great shelf and operational ally to those works produced by Bill Mollison, David Holmgren, Masanobu Fukuoka & P.A. Yeomans etc. Allan Savory's grazing techniques are revolutionary and are a perfect antidote to rising atmospheric CO2 levels, as the regenerative development of healthy functional ecosystems, especially grassland, are the most cost-effect and potent means of reversing this trend and its associated impacts, which include runaway desertification....among many other assaults on the carbon bank...

Decision making processes are what this book is really about though and it is life changing in that respect....and simply so as the process is easy to use and as thoroughly considered as it needs to be. In the "Great Retrofit", as I like to call it, of our human effected landscapes (which is most of the biosphere), adoption of these processes together with Mollisonian & Holmgrenian Permaculture Ethics & Principles, Fukuoka's philosophy, and Yeomans' techniques would cause to make a "paradigm" shift in the state of the world, its landscapes and organisms, and indeed humanity.

Very interesting tome that is overwhelming because it changlenges all of the mindsets that one generally has concerning land management. The book has sections that are good for everyone, not just the land manager, and should be skimmed by anyone who cares about this planet and wants to make a difference.

I found the entire book very interesting, in that it talked in great detail about low-rainfall, brittle environments. These environments are hardly covered in most science books. Nevertheless, I expected to read more about the details of running livestock succesfully on these brittle environments. I am looking forward to further, more specific publications from Mr. Savory.

Don't missunderstand me. I enjoyed this book thoroughly and would highly reccomend it to anyone who lives off the land and who is in close contact with nature.

AW

This is a book could be beneficial to anyone ... from individuals, to families, to cooperations, to farmers/ranchers, to governments.

Go to his webiste *holistic management dot com* for some of the most enlightening truth about the environement and our responsibility and what ACTUALLY WORKS in saving and preserving the environment. You will many Ah-Ha moments.

A very empowering book as well as you write out your QUALITY OF LIFE statement, your forms of production and your future resource base. An empowring book because it deals with really getting at the root and working towards a solution no matter who is involved.

If you want to solve problems and live with purpose and actually make a difference towards a sustainable civilization .. This book is at the top of the list.
AND.. It is just plain interesting !! Thank you Mr. Savory.

Sustainability has become the central drama of our time, yet within the sustainability movement there is a huge conflict. It isn't the environmentalists against the dam builders this time--it is between those who see nature mainly as a domain, reserve, or area, and those who see nature as a process. Both sides largely agree that there is a serious ecological crisis, we are on the brink, and that humanity needs to change its ways. But there is an enormous disagreement on the problem, and on the prescription.

For the majority of writers on sustainability, the causes of our crisis are greed, overpopulation, consumption, development, and multinational corporations. For them, sustainability is a modern, industrial-era problem. The solutions are political: shift power from the wrong people and organizations to the right people and organizations, or quit logging, grazing, or using chemicals.

Savory's book shows, in convincing and elegant detail, that those who concentrate on shifting ideology or politics to move toward sustainability are just rearranging the deck chairs. The backlash and the revenge of unintended consequences will continue. If we are serious about this, we must change our decision framework. The way we make decisions, which is usually unconscious and habitual, is the key factor. Savory and Butterfield show us how this works, from start to finish.

I almost fell over in my chair when I found this book was still selling. I believe I purchased it over 30 years ago. It really is an amazing book and leads one to believe they really could live a relatively simple lifestyle.

My life in the intervening 30 years has not been simple. For some reason, one of the main things I remember from this book was after delivering your baby through natural childbirth, which I did in a hospital, you can either bury the placenta or cook and eat it to restore your strength. It really takes one back to another era, a time when we all thought everything was possible. Then the 80's came upon us and it was all over.

For anyone who is interested in sewing, another of my favorite books of that time is "Son Of Hassele-Free Sewing". It explains in a simple manner how to copy clothing you already own to make new clothes. It is an excellent book, which I still refer to.

Peace.

This is one of the best books EVER written. It has helped me to survive and thrive on this Earth and gives me advice on practically anything I need to know! Perfect for those who need to settle down and be more in tune with their bodies and Mother Nature. Alicia Bay Laurel is an amazing artist, activist, and author that I look up to much indeed.

After waking very early this very morning, I started to read Living on the Earth and was halfway through by breakfast. While I had considered a hand-lettered book to be more difficult to read, I could not have been more wrong.

The hand lettering brought a sense of comfort and the contents reminded me of my childhood in Africa. If you lived in a rural area during the 60s and 70s, many of the items in this book will be very familiar. If you love handwritten letters from friends, then this book will quickly find a place in your heart.

So, there I was stirring a 5-grain oatmeal mixture for breakfast and I looked down and caught a glimpse of my painted toes reflecting in the glass oven door. Suddenly I was transported to the years of my childhood where we build our own tree houses, watched carrots grow, milked cows, raised chickens, learned how to sew, experienced tick bite fever and snacked on friendship cake while walking barefoot on the warm earth.

Living on the Earth is an enchanting read filled with lyricism and whimsy. It is written in a spontaneous style and the topics range from soap making to building rocking cradles out of barrels. Alicia Bay Laurel has illustrated the entire book and it is a completely personal experience.

Some of the highlights include backpacking tips, making hammocks with macramé, making your own soaps, sewing peasant blouses, making your own moccasins, and building a kiln for making pottery.

There is also information on how to make candles, bamboo flutes, bean bags, clothing, rose petal jam, organic diet soda, vanilla extract, dried fruits, nut butters, ice cream, sunflower milk, miso, roasted soy beans, smoked fish, bread, beef jerky, sour dough starter, steamed acorns, plum pudding and herbal tinctures.

As I sit here with my lovely cozy heated blanket and fluffy slippers I can dream about living out in the wild as my washing machine swishes about with the Seventh Generation laundry soap I recently found at a health food store. This book has many ideas you can incorporate into your normal home life. You don't have to live in a commune to enjoy the information about essential oils, nature-inspired products or environmental issues. The author recommends things like hemp paper and explores the many uses of apple cider vinegar and pumpkin seeds.

To say the least, I was intrigued. This is definitely a must-read book for everyone interested in natural remedies. There are recipes for making herbal tinctures and you may find yourself looking for "myrrh." If you love to cook you may be intrigued by the recipe for Plum Pudding.

Alicia Bay Laurel is writing a modern sequel for the global family. "Still Living on the Earth" will be published in 2005. This book was updated in 1999 and is filled with useful addresses and websites. I loved the list of "more books that are still valuable 30 years later!" A helpful index completes this fun guide to living on the earth.

I loved reading this book! While reading you may find yourself becoming nostalgic, enthusiastic about hiking or even making lists to buy a variety of herbs.

~The Rebecca Review

I discovered this book in a book store about a week ago. It was $18.95 and sold out! I went home to Amazon and found them here for $5.99!! I bought 15 copies for X mas presents and a few just to have for emergency purposes. This book is not only filled with amazing ways to live a better life here its also filled with beautiful illustrations. This is one book I will use forever and pass on for generations to come. No matter if its 1969 or 2069, this hippie bible will always come in handy!

Amazing to think that she was a teenager when she began writing this "Bible" of natural living. Not only does it still hold up after 30+ years...but it makes even more sense now in the 21st century.
I would give it to my children or grandparents with equal enthusiasm.
Alicia Bay gets the ultimate hippie chick award!