Economic-Life Books

Frank Felberbaum's "The Business of Memory" is one of the most practical books on the market for providing clear and concise methods for anyone to increase their memory. I used Frank's techniques with great success when I helped coach the current high school US Memory Championship team.

I met Mr. Felberbaum on Saturday March 11, 2006 at the USA Memory Competition New York City at the Con Edison building. What a great guy! I introduced myself and expressed to him how much I enjoyed reading his excellent book. This book is a pleasure to read, informative, and includes many easy to follow strategies that can dramatically improve your ability to remember ANYTHING you want. I highly recommend this book!

The organization and superb clarity with which this book is written makes it an easy read, despite the subject matter being complex. The writer has found a way for us to want to focus on his altruistic goal for us: to enhance our memory skills so that we can be more influential in the business world, and in our social interactions. Yet, the book is useful for everyone. We are once again convinced that knowledge is power, and Mr. Felberbaum's knowledge seems to be golden power, and we want it badly. He then provides us with hundreds of tools to improve areas where many struggle, including how to give a speech without notes, absorbing the contents of a lecture, and remembering people's names. We trust him as an expert in memory as he shares his motivation for entering this field, documents his own training, his vast experience, and then describes for us the amazing ways he has applied his abilities all over the world, letting us in on his secrets.

As a small business executive I read this book and found it to be a wonderful guidebook on meditation. The author does a great job in creating a step by step process to learn the basics of Meditation. I was looking for a way to release some of the stress in my life. Calm amid Chaos is most certainly a great start.

Like another review posted here, I had tried and failed a few times to learn meditation by reading other books. None really took into account that I lead a busy, fast-paced life full of business pressure, flying off here and there, living in hotels and customers yelling for everything to be delivered yesterday. The other books on meditation that I'd read were solid works but they weren't wtitten by someone that had walked the kind of path and led the kind of life I do. This is a common sense straight from the hip great book that worked for me written by a guy that obviously knows his stuff. Terrific job.

If you keep meaning to start meditating but always find an excuse not to start, then meet your match! This book clearly outlines a progressive approach to meditation designed to give you results in a timely manner. The special "troubleshooting" section at the end of each chapter will take the wind out of any excuse that comes to mind, encouraging you to continue on with this rewarding practice. You will also find a summary of all the meditation exercises in the back of the book for quick and easy reference. So, pick up the book, drop the excuses and get going...peace of mind is just around the corner!

Helen Harkness' Capitalizing On Career Chaos: Bringing Creativity And Purpose To Your Life And Work advocates two basic steps and shows how to achieve them: looking inward to connect with real needs, then looking outward to match core instincts and talents to workplace realities. Chapters cover the basics of how to redesign a career by pinpointing important strengths and using them appropriately.

Don't waste another minute. You are thinking about buying this book because something inside of you is screaming for you to make a change, to move out of the "chaos". I was there not too long ago and after reading this book, I decided to do something about it.

"Capitalizing on Career Chaos" by Helen Harkness was the match that sparked a new reality for me. Along with prayer, I decided to utilize the things I learned from this book and start a new career. One poignant moment in the book is the "Formula of Change: C = P > F. It states that "change happens only when pain is greater than fear". After learning this, I realized that the pain of a unfulfilling career was overcoming the fear of stepping out on faith. It wasn't my limitations that were holding me back from true success; it was my fear of the unknown. I'm sure you understand what I am saying, because you're there right now, but this book is chock-full of stories and activities to spark your future life. As the book states, "Look inward, outward, forward, and beyond - and take creative control of your career!" Definitely a great read!

Dr. Harkness' wealth of experience in her field is manifest in her writing. Not only is she an educator, unlike most arm chair authors writing about what they've studied in a lab, Dr. Harkness writes about reality as she is LIVING the experiment or should one say, the adventure. Like the friend, aunt, mom or mentor you never had, she clearly shows you how to shed the preconcieved, society proclaimed notions of what success is supposed to be and learn how to become yourself in the work force. For anyone looking for a way out of a dead end job, be warned, there are no easy or quick fixes and Dr. Harkness is very clear about that. But you do have options and knowing what they are can be the key to an extraordinary new chapter in your life. "Chaos" is a great first step to getting a do over.

In Career Compass: Navigating Your Career Strategically In The New Century, Peggy Simonsen identifies six different workplace trends in the 21st Century, describing how such elements as teams and teamwork, the entrepreneurial model; "roles, not jobs", and global vision have dramatically modified the workplace of today. Building a successful career in the 21st Century job market requires flexibility, continuous learning and people skills. Career Compass offers self-tests, work sheets, descriptive charts, self management techniques and personal stories to help the reader define his or her personality type, job skills and deficits, work values, and goals, defining recommended future actions in career planning. A highly recommended resource career development reference, Career Compass will assist both employees and employers with strategic solutions in response to the many evolving needs of the marketplace.

The book has a number of exercises which would be useful to any reader who is doing self-diagnosis of his or her career strategy. Ms Simonsen has done a brilliant job of putting together in a single book a systematic approach to career planning.

Down-to-earth, practical guide for individuals to understand work marketplace, evaluate their situation, define and reach goals. Clearly written, engaging--the best book I've seen on the topic. Real life examples back up user-freindly information. I'm a career counselor myself and would recommend this to all clients and individuals seeking to steer their own course.

Tom's a straight shooter with heart. His messages are succinct and powerful. Read a short lesson each day, take the thoughts into your heart, implement the suggestions that make sense to you, and your work life will become more intergrated into your whole life. Want to live more authentically? Start today by adding this book to your life's toolbox.

Sound advice, well written, and from the heart--A Career Devotional can focus (or refocus) you on your career path.
Tom Jones has been able to condense a great deal of wisdom into readable, understandable, and most importantly applicable 'chunks.'
An author myself, I'm envious of the siimple power of this book.

I thought A Career Devotional would be another one of those "untouchable" books - great idea but not relevant to me. I was wrong. His book touched on so many aspects of my job. I choose which chapter I needed to study and needles to say I am still at the same job and tolerate the 'small stuff' better.
Thanks Tom for a wonderful book and keep up the good work. God bless

I've had many informal chats with current and retired FSOs and heard many VIPs from the State Department speak about their careers over the past four years (first in Peace Corps and then coordinating conferences on diplomacy and national security here in DC). If I were to put together all of the bits and pieces I've picked up about the interagency process and life as a diplomat along the way, it still wouldn't amount to what I learned reading this book.

The book is very well written, with humor (perhaps the kind only past, current or future public servants will appreciate), concision and breadth that covers everything from the politics of the institution to the future of the career. It's also dead honest: it avoids creating any romantic notion of the foreign service and replaces it with a straightforward account upon which aspiring diplomats can set realistic expectations (or decide to pursue other careers).

If you are considering a career in the foreign service (at the Department of State, USAID, Foreign Commercial Service or Foreign Agricultural Service), or if you are interested in demystifying the structure of the US foreign service, this is a book you must read.

I first purchased Kopp and Gillespie's book as a citizen considering a career in the Foreign Service. Although it includes plenty of testimony from frontline diplomats making a heroic difference across the world, "Career Diplomacy" is more than a peek into the day to day of Foreign Service Officers (FSOs). It is part history of the service, part employee manual, and part crystal ball.

Already familiar with the typical Fortune 500 career ladder, Kopp and Gillespie detailed for me how a career in the Foreign Service would proceed. Included is everything from how the promotion and tenure process works, to how country assignments are determined, even to the text of the oath every new FSO recites (for me, one of the more inspiring points). The authors also spend time on the future of the Foreign Service: its "transformational" path and the new skills that will be required of its newest diplomats. For a book about an organization in the midst of generational change it is strongest for its contemporary and forward looking detail.

Most importantly for me though, and perhaps for others considering a career in the Foreign Service, "Career Diplomacy" has reminded me that the Foreign Service is more than just expatriate adventures in exotic faraway places. It is, at the end of the day, about serving your country. Something that I have long felt the call to do but have never been sure of where I would best fit. To that end, "Career Diplomacy" answered the right questions that have pushed my status from "considering" to "applying."

With all of the talk in the current political campaign about rebuilding America's diplomacy, it is critical that anyone interested in foreign affairs understand one of the essential tools of diplomacy: the men and women of the diplomatic service. This comprehensive but concise book is the best description of the work and life of the Foreign Service that I have read (and I have been in the FS nearly 30 years). It is an honest and unapologetic look at the strengths and weaknesses of the foreign service, crisply written, with voices from across the service. For anyone contemplating a career in diplomacy, this book should be your first stop. For everyone else, this book provides a clear and accessible view of a part of the federal government unfamiliar to most Americans.

The main focus of this book is your attitude when it comes to coping with life's challenges. Life can be cruel but fair the only variable is your attitude on dealing with it. Dennis S. Brown leads on a journey into ourselves and how we can determine our own fate just through proper attitude. This is a real breakthrough in human developement when it comes to dealing with death,heartbreak and discouraging times in life. Not only is this book good today but it gets better with time. Because the only thing we can control is our attitude. As our attitudes change for the better so does our lives. This book is a must read for everyone of all ages. Remember the only difference between a good day and a bad day is your attitude.

The "guru" of attitude. Mr. Brown has taken a practical, sensible and humorous approach in dealing with this adventure called life. After reading and absorbing the contents of this enlightening work, one should always regard the glass as half full! I applaud Mr. Brown for sharing his views on how to cope with the rigors we face on a day to day basis. A keeper!

I absolutely loved it!! Mr Brown pulls at your heart strings! I am encouraged and motivated to change my attitude!

The author writes as though she is talking with you over a cup of coffee. This book will provide any reader the step by step directions to make any type of life change; big or small. The CORE Approach will introduce new ideas for taking ownership of your happiness. It supports the power of positive thinking. This book will be great for those that know where they are headed in life, and for those that have no idea. The author will help you uncover dreams if you don't think you have any....When finished reading this book you will feel inspired to move forward in life.

This is a great book that addresses the subject of how to make life altering, positive changes your life. It's an easy read that will hold your interest and provide you with the methods to make the changes in your career and/or personal life you've been craving, but have been afraid to make.

I know the author, but I hadn't read the book. When I read it, I was pleasantly surprised by what an impact it had on my life. It's incredible. It's new, it's not altogether different, but it provides a different look at how to make changes when it's scary to think about those changes.

It's a great book that everyone needs to read!

This is the first book I've ready by Maxwell and it's wonderful. I will buy other books by him. He is inspirational.

This book is good as a new read or as a reminder. Its sixteen chapters each focus on how different aspects of your character, emotions, actions, and attitudes are all a choice. This book is full of quotes from famous people on each topic. You will journey through Attitude, Character, Values, Self-Discipline, Commitment, Teachability, Initiative, Passion, Courage, Responsibility, Growth, Relationships, Communication, Encouragement, Servanthood and Love. You could flip to almost any page and read a quote or two and be motivated and challenged.

This book is also a primer on Maxwell's thoughts, with an excerpt in almost every chapter from others of his books, up to Winning With People which came out in December 2004. This book is a great jumping off point for personal development.

Maxwell states in The Choice is Yours "To gain `heat' for growth, we need to get close to those who are already hot. Here's how:

Spend time with great people.

Learn their great ideas through tapes, CD's, and DVD's

1. Visit Great places that will inspire you.

2. Attend great events that will prompt you to pursue change.

3. Read great books." P.90

Based on that imagery you can either be a coal in your own fire, or place yourself closer to other coals and burn brighter. I challenge you to read one or more of these books and see if you are not ignited.

The Choice is Yours is not only a great book to give to a graduate, but an excellent book for leaders. It has great insights in making the right choices. Maxwell fills this book with quotes, and stories that will make it difficult for the reader to put the book down. He is an awesome author on leadership. I have most of his books, and tapes, and this one was a must to add to the collection.

This book, and a traveling exhibit due at Yale this fall and The Smithsonian in early next year, captures the feelings and human aspect of what happens when a family owned furniture factory is closed due to a hostile takeover. The pictures and accompaning text document from an historical and extremely personal perspective the lives of workers in a small town in North Carolina, dependant on each other and the factory, and the devastation that occurs when big city, outside forces make an impersonal decision regarding people 1000 miles away.

a reasonably balanced view of a factory closing that doesn't make the owner out to be a devil (although some former workers clearly feel that way). Shows the human side of what happens when decisions are made based on the aseptic "bottom line". If anything, the book is not hard enough on the original family, the 1st generation that admirably built the company and the second generation that let it deteriorate (the book details how the 2 family members at the top didn't even talk to one another and used separate entrances to the building! Is it any wonder the financials deteriorated and they had to sell?)

The only thing missing is an interview with the capitalist that closed the plant. If they tried and he refused the book ought to say so, otherwise it seems that at least a few pages could have been devoted to his side of the story.

All in all, though, a great book to read, as a counterbalance for all of us that invest thru our 401Ks and retirement accounts expecting great returns and divorced from how those returns are obtained (and at what cost to some people).

This book does an excellent job of demonstrating the effects of a factory closing in a small southern town. As a former resident of the town (childhood home) and a former worker in the machine room and rubbing room of White's Furniture Factory, I was amazed at the depth of analysis and truthfulness in this book. This book demonstrated how the closing of a factory not only affects the workers, but prior workers, and the entire population of the town. I was surprised to see the pictures that were included that told a story all to themselves. This book is highly recommended for college professors wishing to pursue the effects of a factory closing and other downsizing efforts on a small town's population. A great story line supplemented by outstanding pictures as the authors take the reader through the last years of a 100+ year factory that the entire town centered their lives around. Highly recommended for those interested in the effects of a closing on the local population.