Participant

Trainers in Motion is full of fabulous ideas for trainers and course developers alike, regardless of experience level. For the beginning trainer, it provides many activities that are simple, approachable and effective. For the experienced trainer, there are new ways of creating the effective learning experience. As both a trainer and developer, I have used these creative participant-centered activities in training sessions and consider them a must for adult learning. Mr. Vidakovich is to be applauded for sharing his creativity with us.

Although the price may deter some buyers, if you are doing any professional training, this book is a must-have. I unconditionally recommend it. There are many other books on conducting workshops (see my other reviews) but a lot of them are either; 1. Too academic on the subject of adult learning (beware of the use of the word 'andragogy'), or 2. Too consumed with team/individual game playing.

Trainers in Motion is my "bible" for conducting professional workshops. Vidakovich goes so far as to distinguish those activities that are appropriate for small groups versus large groups, and how to adapt your approach if the group dynamics change (which they will).

The real beauty of the book is the adaptability of it to almost any subject. I have taught workshops on Leadership, Team Building, Project Management, Sales and Marketing, Creativity, and other subjects, and one standard I have followed is the approach of this book towards generating participation and excitement.

The 3-ring binding of the book is also a benefit, as I have been able to take some of the pages along with me, when needed, as opposed to the entire book.

Use it well!

Jim Vidakovich's Trainers in Motion is published in a binder with dividers, so you can add your own notes and comments. This reader participation workbook parallels Vidakovich's approach to involving participants in their own training. Vidakovich begins with an initial discussion of his approach, but the majority of the book is very hands-on, with descriptions of exercises, illustrations of room arrangements, lists of suggested approaches and questions for you to answer. This notebook is packed with good ideas from an expert on training. The caveat:...it's a little pricey. Nonetheless, we from getAbstract recommend it with confidence to trainers and workshop leaders. If hands-on is your style, you have a very well-informed friend in Jim Vidakovich.

Sufrimos una época de guerras y revolución porque el sistema actual, fundado en la avaricia individual, padece cada vez más de sus trastornos mortales. Ya que año con año se avecina la Tercera Guerra Mundial, la editorial Pathfinder nos aconseja aprender de las otras dos ocasiones en que nos llevó al borde de la barbarie.

Los libros de Cannon no son sobre el pasado, sino cómo sacar mayor ventaja de las aperturas y oportunidades que necesariamente se van a presentar en el camino para forjar partidos de los trabajadores de común acuerdo en aprender de las luchas de los explotados donde sea que surgen y unidos en la trayectoria de construir un mundo libre del capitalismo.

Cannon era miembro fundador del movimiento del Obrero Mundial (IWW), los antecedentes del Partido Comunista y el Partido mismo. En los 20 era dirigente de la Defensa Internacional del Obrero (ILD) y fue representante norteamericano en el presidio del Internacional Comunista con Lenin y Trotsky.

Dado que el estalinismo ya no trompea el camino para que los luchadores se reúnen, hoy en día el movimiento comunista no necesita valerse del nombre "trotskista" para diferenciarse de los estalinistas; con este simple cambio de nomenclatura el contenido de La historia del trotskismo estadounidense sigue en pie de lucha. Traza la continuidad ideológica y marca la pauta para que detengamos la marcha de los explotadores hacia su tercera guerra mundial, que ellos mismos no pueden parar debido a su permanente caída en la taza de ganancias.

cCannon never explains numbers here. Yet, this is the history of a group of revolutionists who went from two or three leaders of the Communist party who learned of Trotsky's critique of Stalin, to a group of a few dozens--The Generals without an Army they were call. They went from only a few ideas to merging and mixing with new currents of workers who came forward as the CIO Upsurge came forward. Their principles helped spark the organization of revolutionary workers in the great strikes in Minneapolis in 1934 and aftewrwards, then to influence workers in the sit down strikes in Flint and Dearborn and Detroit. Then to find thousands of young workers, intellectuals, and student youth in the Socialist party and battle the reformists there, to build Found the Socialist Workers party, found with thousands of members before World War II. But this is not about those numbers. Through most of history, real revolutionists real communists have been forced to fight in small organizations like the movement Cannon built. What this is about is the principles, the ideas, the lessons, the history, how to do things theoretically, how to do them practically, and how to do them right.

For those who wonder whether the American working class is capable of revolution -- read this book and be convinced by an engaging scrapper and committed working class hero who was there at the very beginning. Millions placed their hopes for a new dawn on the young Russian revolution, only to be betrayed by Stalin. Cannon tells the story of how he found his way out of the impasse, stumbling on a document by Leon Trotsky at a Moscow convention in 1928. He smuggled it out (in the days before photocopies and computer discs, no mean feat) and spent the next ten years involved in political faction fights, world-changing strikes, mobilizations against fascism...all leading up to the founding of the Socialist Workers Party in the US in 1938. Descriptions of building a fledgeling revolutionary party without funds for a telephone or office rent, are woven in with discourse on the implications of international debate on whether to defend the USSR in the looming world war. He explains the tactical manoevres, gives acerbic thumbnail sketches of various characters -- and makes hard work and fighting for what's right look like a very realistic option.

This should be a prerequisite for every person graduating college, or even high school. Guides readers through relating to one's self, and then to other people and God. Easy to read, easy to understand, and such a life-changing topic!

This is a book that everyone that is dating, planing to begin dating or will be getting back into dating, needs to read. The authors have a God given gift of writing the truth in a way that is not offensive. This book should be a requirement for any person that you want to date, and of course a requirement for you too!

If Les and Leslie were put on this Earth to teach, mentor and impart relationship truths...they have done an excellent job with this book! I honestly felt as if they had been ease dropping on every relationship that I have had. I wished that i'd read this book a lot sooner... it would have saved me a lot of heartache, money, and time I spent making a fool of my self with broken relationships. Open this book and save yourself a lot of sleepless nights while looking forward to more meaningful relationships!

With a name like Henry Steele Commanger one would expect him to be a writer of history. And boy is he!! A whole section in my library is filled with his amazing works.

This one is a two Volume Set - with Volume 1 starting with the nomination of Abraham Lincoln as President of the US and follows the events to the bloody three-day battle of Gettysburg, the highwater mark of the Confederacy. Volume 2 takes us from the aftermath of Gettysburg and follows the war to Lee's surrender at Appomattox.

The works are surprisingly slim considering what it covers, so this is not an in-depth look at the War Between the States. It does however give a gold mine of details. For someone looking to understand the war, its causes and the people that fought it, this is a wonderful place to start.

Highly recommended for the beginning or intermediate Civil War Buff.

There are over 400 articles and over two-dozen illustrations reproduced in this notable collection which is subtitled "The Story of the Civil War as Told By Participants." These words are taken from speeches, letters, editorials, diaries, memoirs, poems, articles, reports, orders, and even the sheet music of the day. Henry Steele Commager, the legendary American historian, covers every aspect of the war in his chapters: the events and issues leading up to the war, the great battles and campaigns, life on the home front as well as on the front lines and in the prisons, even the songs of the soldiers on both sides. You will find not only Lincoln and Lee in their own words, but ordinary soldiers and former slaves, along with ambassadors to foreign nations and women trying to keep the home fires burning. As a collection of excerpts of primary documents this is first-rate volume that will surely add to your knowledge about the Civil War, bringing a more personal touch than you get even with the historical narratives of Catton and Foote.

Just the notes connecting the first person peices of these volumes make for a good history of the Civil War! They're short but good. But that is not the point. The accounts themselves are by soldiers (and sometimes civilians) written as they lived the adventure and tragedy of the Civil War. Cavalry raids come to life. Battles materialize before your eyes. Even the "dull" days of waiting are filled with a vibrance. All this is done, not by "authors" but by folks like you and me. And it is true from the begining to end. The descriptions of the very first shot of the war at Fort Sumpter are absolutely paralyzing! They are from Mary Boykin Chesnut. And there is the Indiana farm boy who got the news that the war had begun while husking corn with his father. His surprise and sense of excitment riveted me almost as though I hadn't known of the war myself before I read his account. From these beginnings to Appomatox, this two volume series is a ripping good read. Buy these books! --- Scott Brundage

James Cannon reveals himself as a scrapper from the old school - equipped with a sense of humour, great finesse and lots of courage. In the pages of this book, he recounts the beginning of his political life. It's the story of thousands of men and women in the United States who were inspired by the Russian revolution in 1917, a revolution that was the creation of workers and farmers just like them, but who became disoriented by Stalin's crimes. Despite all the setbacks, a lot of these people still sought a path to victory over the injustices meted out by the bosses, the KKK and the warmongers preparing World War II. Cannon regales the reader with tales of debates and actions by communists who plunged into the huge union strike battles of the 1930s, who organized to gain a hearing from the new generation - and who exhibited incredible tactical agility and political imagination! A very readable book - a good present for a young person. Makes you want to follow in the footsteps of Cannon and his cohorts, and dare to build something better than the future offered us by Chrétien, Bush, Blair and company.

« Le trotskysme n'est pas un nouveau mouvement, une nouvelle doctrine, mais la restauration, la renaissance du marxisme véritable tel qu'il a été exposé et appliqué au cours de la révolution russe et des premiers jours de l'Internationale communiste. »

C'est avec ces mots que commence cette histoire magnifique du mouvement ouvrière révolutionnaire dans les Etats-unis entre 1920 y 1940. C'est un livre qu'on peut lire comme un romain, mais qui exige la lecture attentive pour pouvoir obtenir toutes ces richesses. Un livre qui doit être dans la bibliothèque de chaque travailleur militant.

James P. Cannon était un jeune militant des Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), membre fondateur y dirigeant de Parti Communiste aux Etats-unis dans les années 1920, dirigeant des militants que ont lutté contre la dégénération staliniste du mouvement communiste et secrétaire national du Parti Socialiste des Travailleurs. L'histoire raconté dans cette livre présent des exemples importants de direction ouvrière, questions de théorie et programme dans le développement d'un parti prolétarienne, du travail de masses, el la vie interne du parti. Il analyse les événements mondiales les plus importantes -- la victoire de la révolution russe, la crise économique y el auge de lutte ouvrière des années 1930, le fascisme, le stalinisme, la guerre civile en Espagne ... Toutes pour aider une nouvelle génération de militants de connaître su histoire et préparer mieux les luttes ouvrières aujourd'hui.

Cannon never explains numbers here. Yet, this is the history of a group of revolutionists who went from two or three leaders of the Communist party who learned of Trotsky's critique of Stalin, to a group of a few dozens--The Generals without an Army they were called. They went from only a few to merging and mixingwith new currents of workers who came forward as the CIO Upsurge came forward. Their principles helped spark the organization of revolutionary workers in the great strikes in Minneapolis in 1934 and aftewrards, and then to influence workers in the sit down strikes in Flint and Dearborn and Detroit, and to lead demonstrations of tens of thousands against American Nazis. Then to find thousands of young workers, intellectuals, and student youth in the Socialist party and battle the reformists there, to build Found the Socialist Workers party, founded with thousands of members before World War II. But this is not about those numbers. Through most of history, real revolutionists real communists have been forced to fight in small organizations like the movement Cannon built. What this is about is the principles, the ideas, the lessons, the history, how to do things theoretically, how to do them practically, and how to do them right. Like all of Cannon's writing, there is so much humor, wit, and much wisdom about not only politics but life on this planet in general.

We bought a copy for our project finance/infrastructure finance dept. at our bank. It's excellent, especially the due diligence checklist

This is the one project finance book I keep at my desk and take with me on business trips. It is invaluable. The book is filled with important information I need when working on a project finance deal (sample contract provisions; explanations of currency risks; financing sources; World Bank lending characteristics; political risk insurance; and on and on. The author manages to do the impossible--he combines legal and business aspects of project finance in an easy-to-use format, from a real life perspective. Each part of a project finance deal is addressed in separate chapters.

My only criicism is that the author uses the European-favored expansive table of contents, rather than a detailed index. Yet, the book is so well organized that the information is easy to find.

It's clearly the best legal and business book on project finance available. It gives me, as a business person, a real edge.

A well thought out treatise on project finance covering not just the legal issues, but also from a commercial perspective. One of the better books on the subject

Peter Drucker has hit the nail on the head. This is strategic planning at its best, particularly for nonprofit organizations. The process is simple and concise, based on Drucker's 5 basic questions. The approach is comprehensive and inclusive. I recommend it to the leadership of any nonprofit organization.

I am struck by its simplicity and by the depth of its value. Seeking to change the old paradigms of a beloved, yet antiquated traditional organization, while at the same time fostering the public support of long-time stakeholders, is daunting. But this no-nonsense approach perpetuates joint problem solving and ownership. DISCOVERY of the real, not assumed, answers to five essential questions helps to level the playing field. I am recommending its use and am seeking support for sponsorship of the two day seminars.

Another volume in the stellar series by the Crossroad Press, like the other volumes in this series, 'How to Read the Old Testament' by Etienne Charpentier comes from the French series by Le Editions du Cerf.

This is in some ways a guide for those who don't know how to read the Bible. It is in some ways done as a travel guide - the Bible is the destination, but like most geographic places, there are actually a variety of landmarks and stops to make in any location, and these will all vary.

This book is richly illustrated with maps, line-art drawings, side-bar boxes and pull-boxes, and other graphic-design features that make reading an adventure. One can read through each chapter as a narrative, and then return to fill in the blanks with the sidelined information.

The first twenty-five pages are a sort of preparation for the journey. It looks at the basic structure of the Bible (more of a library of books than a 'book' itself). Then, it gives general historical and cultural information to see how the people of the Bible related to and were affected by their geography, their language, their neighbours, etc. There is a basic timeline that the reader can reference as she proceeds through the rest of the text.

Following this introduction, there are seven chapters roughly following the outline of the history of ancient Israel, and talks about the books of the Bible as they were written, which is not the order in which they are arranged in any of the canons (the Hebrew arrangement and the Christian arrangements are different, but none follow the pattern of original date of authorship as the primary guiding principle). The history begins essentially at the Exodus, as the beginning of the people of Israel as a self-determining group. It proceeds from there to the settlement of Canaan/Palestine, the united kingdom of Saul, David and Solomon, the period of the two kingdoms, the Babylonian exile, the return to partial freedom under Persian domination, and finally existing under Greek and then Roman rule. There is a special chapter on the book of the Psalms, an important book that crosses many boundaries.

This guide can be used individually or as part of groups in church or school settings. It's outline would make for a good one-semester course on the Old Testament at the undergraduate or even advanced high school level, a Sunday school or Bible school series, or for an individual to use as 'traveller's friend' while going it alone.

This book assumes the reader will have a copy of the Bible to use side by side with the text - it does not replace the Bible or the necessity of reading the actual texts in the Hebrew Scriptures. The author recommends the Revised Standard Version or the Jerusalem Bible; both of which have also been updated since the original writing of this volume.

Charpentier recommends reading the last section, Journey's End, first, if there is any question as to why one should read the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures. Not just a prelude to the New Testament for Christians, the Old Testament contains so much core materials that is vital to the subconscious and underlying sensibilities of the Western world, that it is important for all people to have some familiarity with the text.

Again we return to the Journey's End, where Charpentier looks at Jewish and Christian continuations in worship and theology from these early texts, and provides a good (albeit somewhat outdated) list for further reading. There is also a section on Jewish literature outside of the Bible,

The final timeline, a rather complex and involved grid, found on pages 118-119, is a very valuable study tool, worth keeping for study in biblical and historical subjects. It combines the history of persons, places and events on the top with the history of the writing of the actual texts below.

A great study aid, interesting and useful. Fr. Etienne Charpentier dedicated much of his effort to encouraging Bible study, particularly among his fellow Catholics. He gives tribute to those who worked with him in Chartres and across France as co-workers in the production of this volume.

If you are looking for a well organized, easy to read and comprehensive introduction to the Old Testament from a faith-based, critical-historical perspective, this book is for you. The author's approach is to juxtapose the geographical and historical environments of the authors of the Old Testament books with their literary traditions, styles and intent.

While broad in it's scope, the book contains many detailed examinations of scripture. It raises enough intriguing questions and provides enough respected references and fruitful approaches to inquiry to keep a thoughtful reader engaged for quite some time.

As a novice student of Scripture, I loved it and recommend it highly. I can't wait until "How to read the New Testament" arrives!

I read this book when it first came out some time ago and wrote a very strong recommendation for the book for the publisher to use. It's an excellent book. It's well written, flowing, and well targeted at the issues that affect couples moving into the second half of life together. If you are moving into that time of life or know someone who is, I highly recommend this book.

Scott Stanley University of Denver

The Arps must have been secretly watching our home when they wrote this book. Their comments on the changes in relationships and priorities were right on the mark. My wife and I have applied several of their "challenges" and the positive difference has been very noticeable. I enjoyed the book so much, it's become the background for a popular class I teach to "empty nesters" in our church.

If your "nest" is empty now, or will be in the near future, you owe it to yourself and your marriage to read "The Second Half of Marriage". I doubt there is a better book on the subject available today.

This is a great guide for the seeker or believer who has a heart to serve and needs a process to explore their personal uniqueness. The servant profile of passion, spiritual gifts and personality is a simple yet effective framework for facilitating a person to find pertinent ministry outlets. Having experienced the process personally, I found the design and flow of the course to be especially good, from the video vignettes to the huddle groups to the gift affirmation process, in which you have others help give perspective to your gifts. I also found the immplementation and leadership materials to be quite helpful in proposing and putting to work a gift-based ministry design in the local church. The only downside to the Network gift-based approach MIGHT be the "modernist" flavor that permeates the material. If you identify more with "postmodern" perspectives you might find Rick Warren's SHAPE process a bit more resonating. Overall though, a very good book that has had a signifigant impact in how churches are designing ministries and placing volunteers for service....I heartily recommend it.

Network is an amazing system and assessment tool that assists Christians in discovering and applying their spiritual gifts and talents to building God's Kingdom. These materials are definietly the means of growing transformed disciples who will transform the world through dedicated and enthusiastic service in God's Kingdom. This tool provides a three step process: 1) Discovery of an individual's Servant Profile which includes, spiritual gifts, Passion/area of minstry and personal work style, 2) Consultation and 3) Ministry placement. This system provides training modules for Teachers and Consultants and helps a church to define its minitry opportunitues for those looking to become more involved. The Leader's guide provides easy to follow teaching plans and the consultant guide gives the ins and outs of consultations with example phrases and detailed outlines. It provides a complete means of helping an individual understand his or her calling in God's Kingdom!

I just completed the class this book accompanies. This was a milestone event for my wife and me. Both of us were saying "No wonder I'm like this and you're like that." I would recommend this for you not only to find your place in church (which it can help you with), but also to find your place in life. This book can focus you in on your Passion (where you should be), your Gifts (what you should be doing) and your Personal Style (how you will be doing it). This book will shine a light on you. Stop fighting your innate makeup and tendencies. And figure out just exactly what you are and how God made you.