This volume is filled with incredibly sweet stories and is certainly going to make you swoon. The best part of this book of romance is that the couples are real life and therefore you dont have to suspend disbelief as you do for romance novels.

While I wouldn't recommend this book if you are simply looking for romantic tips and ideas (The Romantic's Guide is a better choice) I would highly recommend it if you simply like the warm and fuzzy stories that the Chicken Soup books have continued to supply.

These are stories that reassure us the love does exist in its sweetest form. A nice thing to read about in these days of 50% divorce. Highly recommend it, especially at Valentines day - it beats candy.

The stories in this book will make you want to rush home and tell that special someone just how much you love them! They have the power to make you laugh, cry and feel inspired.

These 'planners' are a great place to start when designing a treatment plan. They are the equivalent of a 'manual' that refreshes memory, assists with language and format- and gets you past the block. Its weaknesses lie in its treatment methods and assessment paradigm.
The chapters as they delineate conditions and DSMIV categories were well chosen. Academic disorders received appropriate emphasis within the total clinical perspective.
So what's missing? The advances of neuropsychiatry for one. The Ungame and the other published materials are offered in the back for purposes of purchase and review.
The methodologies are limited to play therapy and techniques like the "ungame." The precision, as in, what and how such activities will yield is just too vague and rather dated.
A nonverbal learning disability, for example, will need a qualitatively different play activity than a child with disorder of written expression, or autistic spectrum. No more one size fits all.
The book suffers from a fixation on the psychodynamic approach which we know from research has not effectively met the needs for many disturbed kids. All patients, but more so for children, need successes to undergo change. Brain science has given us more precise tools to assess where those weaknesses lay and therefore a map to gain greater insight into the nature of the condition. Interfamilial discord, then, may be a result of poor communication or an inability to model behaviors- to treat all such dynamics similarly is generally a waste of time. Children have not got the resources to be in such confusing and often haphazard services.
The basic product then can be used for limited support and I see that as a solution in writing treatment plans. I think a good updating would do the trick.

I have found this book of tremendous help as I have worked with children in clinical practice. I higly recommend it!

Una excelente fuente para diseñar planes de tratamiento!

Add this book to your reference section. Very helpful in writing treatment reviews, treatment goals and objectives. Great bibliography. Very complete.

Latham graduated in Economics from Sydney University in 1982 and became a political adviser for Gough Whitlam, then the New South Wales branch of the Australian Labor Party and NSW Premier Bob Carr. He was a councillor on the Liverpool Council between 1987 and 1994 and mayor from 1991 to 1994. Elected to Federal Parliament for Werriwa in January 1994, he has served in Parliament ever since.

As the work of a member of what Hegel called the “political class”, born and raised to serve in the state machine, altruistically looking after the affairs of the rest of society, this book appears to express the writer’s discovery of a world outside the bureaucracy.

“Social democracy needs to give closer consideration to the relations between citizens rather than simply working from an assumption that all social issues can be resolved in the state-to-citizen relationship.” [p. xl-xli] “Other strands of political thought [as well as social democracy] have taken a strong interest in the social relations between citizens”. [p. 263]

As such, it should be welcomed. Latham has read widely and has plenty of ideas for the political class to reflect upon and we should wish him well. But there are some profound misunderstandings in his work which need to be addressed.

Latham believes that the creation of the Welfare State in the wake of the Wall Street Crash, the Great Depression, Fascism and World War Two was based on a series of “old” assumptions about stability, security and conformity. [see p. 199] In passing, it should be noted that Latham’s principal method of argument is to append adjectives like “old”, “crude”, “binary”, “simple”, “raw”, “traditional”, “mechanistic”, “dogmatic”, “linear”, “rigid”, “narrow” or “conventional” to the view he opposes and “new”, “complex”, “profound”, “radical”, “fresh” to the view he advocates. But it remains to be seen whether he is able to distinguish in the new and in the old what should be supported and what should be opposed.

His principal thesis is that the Welfare State was a product of a culture in which Fordist methods of production predominated in the economy, and the Welfare State and the associated methods of macroeconomic economic management, essentially emulated the methods of Fordist hierarchically organised, one-size-fits-all mass production.

Observing the decline of Fordist methods of production in the economy, it is hardly surprising that Fordist methods of government administration are called into question.

“Some commentators have suggested ... that the organisation of government will increasingly reflect these methods of post-Fordist production and service delivery”. [p. 211]

The economy of mass production and its workforce have been replaced by the globalised, information-age economy and its very different workforce. Latham is fully cognisant to the malaise affecting the modern world, its shallowness and individualism, the anomie, widespread insecurity, loss of community, the spread of “downwards envy”, the widening of the gap between rich and poor, the growth of an under-class, etc., etc.

Also to be observed everywhere is the decline in what Latham calls “vertical” “patron/client” relations, alongside the growth of symmetrical, “horizontal” relations. Under these modern conditions, Fordist organisations, such as the Welfare State, are altogether dysfunctional.

“organisations tending towards the vertical have declined most notably in their participation and relevance in recent decades. ... Conversely, some organisations displaying horizontal social capital and the virtues of mutual trust seem to have moved against the tide of social capital depletion.” [p. 278]

Let us agree with Latham the welfarism and Keynesianism were indeed part and parcel of the period of Fordist production and that with the decline of mass production manufacture, these methods of governance must also decline. No rational person could wish to restore them.

But when trying to account for the malaise of modern society, is it rational to ascribe the rampant and burgeoning social problems of our times to the inadequacy of the system of government and welfare distribution? Can a member of the political class be so deceived as to their own importance to believe that the vast social changes witnessed over the past several decades are the result of a failure of government to move with the times?

To put it another way, if modernism has had the effect of replacing “vertical” (hierarchical patron/client) relationships with mutual, “horizontal” relations, why is there a crisis at all? What reason do we have to believe that if the public sector emulates the private sector, the problem will not get far worse, rather than better?

To make sense of this confusion we have to look a little critically at what we could call, to borrow some of Latham’s own adjectives, the old, rigid, binary categorisation of relationships as “vertical” or “horizontal”.

What has been the transformation of person-to-person relations wrought by modernism which has transformed work and society? It has been the replacement of all forms of hierarchical relations (bureaucratic, managerial or traditional) by the commodity relation.

Now the commodity relation, the relation of buyer and seller, of customer to service provider, is a mutual, symmetrical relation based on fair exchange. It is a relation in which each party enters as a free agent with equal rights. This relation is nevertheless the very relation upon which the modern form of exploitation is based, for if two parties enter a fair exchange under conditions where there is a gross imbalance in social power, the outcome though fair is also exploitative. Furthermore, it is a relation in which, rather than collaborating, each manipulates the other for their own ends; it is a relation which isolates people and reduces them to appendages of an object.

This is a horizontal relation to be sure. But not of the same kind as that which, for example, binds together the participants in a neighbourhood project, a football team, a cooperative, a volunteer firefighting group, and so on. I call these relations “collaboration”. There is a third party in all these relationships, which I could call “we”. In the exchange of commodities there is no third, there is no “we”, only them and us.

So when Latham proposes to abolish the “old” patron/client relation in favour of the modern, mutual relation of customer/service provider, he sounds the death knell on the last surviving points of support against capital, and must thereby place enormous pressure on those relations of collaboration which are struggling to develop in opposition to both bureaucratic patronage and commercial anomie.

Mark Latham is one a few Australians who today are actually proposing substantial policy prescriptions instead of being locked into an ideologically based debate which time has now passed over. Latham's prescriptions are both analytical but highly readable in a concise manner. His major proposals are based on 'third way' politics, most successfuly articulated by Bill Clinton and Tony Blair. Latham's proposals advocate a whole new way for governments in Australia in approaching Industry Policy, Welfare Reform, Income Inequality, Economic exclusion, Employment creation, and Government financing. Latham believes that the politics of the left-right divide are no longer relevant in the 'new economy'. The cornerstone of Latham's view is the vital importance of life-long learning and the need to overcome Australia's third deficit, that is, the under-investment in the skills and inventiveness of citizens. It is argued that the future prospertity of Australians is contingent upon the growth of knowledge based resources, namely the development of human capital. In Latham's own words: "Globalisation has left parties and politicians struggling for solutions. The political Right has not been able to show, once the active role of government is withdrawn, how individual liberty alone can answer the insecurity and remorseless inequity of an open economy. The choice between market freedom, with its army of working poor, and the failings and unsustainable costs of the welfare state, is barely a choice at all. It simply points to the need for a third way". Latham's book is a captivating and highly persuasive read. Moreover it proposes solutions rather than mere ideological dogma. I recommend this book to anyone with a particular interest in the future of Australian society.

I have only just purchased this book today after hearing Mark Latham speak. He started by telling the audience that his mentor advised him on entering politics that "modern politicians these days rarely have time to think, listen, or research" ... luckily for Australia Mark Latham does THINK and his political ideas straddle the Left-Right spectrum (although he describes himself as Centre Left and belongs to a Left-leaning party). Something of an outcast in his own party, he pushes an agenda that ignores sectional interests and instead looks to the best national and international long term outcomes.

This is a very good start for Org Design consultants. The book correct addresses the key principles in designing an organization (Chap. 3) and explores the key issues that affect the key crucial design issues (Chap. 4). Don't wait for a "how to" book, this is much more a "what" one.

Competing by design is a great source for for anybody who thinks about organizational design. After having read it, you will never consider "cocktail-napkin" designs again, and you will recognize when you see a design created that way. The book doesn't only explain the basic elements of design, but also the do's and dont's of a design project. The structure of the book is very well-conceived, and the level of detail is just right: Focus on the important steps, best practices and lessons, with enough backup examples, and without boring repetitions or lenghthy explanations. I'm not sure you will sleep better after having read the book, as the size of the design project becomes clear, but you will certainly have the tools to make the process a successful one.

"Today, more and more companies are coming to realize that they can't hope to compete successfully in the twenty-first century with organizations based on nineteenth-century design. Radically different organizational architectures are emerging in much the same fashion as new schools of physical architecture...In order to perform effectively, the new architectures require new collateral technologies. In particular, they demand new leadership skills, new methods for selecting and developing key people, new human resources approaches to assessment and reward, and new techniques for enhancing the organization's capacity for collective learning...In this book, we consider a number of leading companies in the United States and around the world that are developing their own versions of the new architecture.(pp.7-10)."

Throughout this study, David A. Nadler and Michael L. Tushman present a comprehensive, balanced approach to design that recognizes the technical requirements, human dynamics, and strategic demands of successful design in any organization or business unit.

Nadler and Tushman summarize the ten basic themes that capture the essence of this book :

1. Organizational capabilities represent the last truly sustainable source of competitive advantage.

2. Organizational architecture provides a conceptual framework for employing strategic design to develop organizational capabilities.

3. At every level of the organization, design constitutes one of the most powerful tools for shaping performance.

4. Regardless of its scope or scale, there are certain fundamental concepts that apply to design at every level.

5. There is a logical sequence of actions and decisions that applies to the design process at any level of the organization.

6. There are no perfect design; the design process requires the weighing of choices and the balancing of trade-offs.

7.The best designs draw upon the knowledge, experience, and expertise of people throughout the organization.

8. Even the best designs can be derailed by ill-planned, poorly executed implementation.

9. As continual redesign becomes a fact of life, successful organizations will learn to create flexible architectures that can accommodate constant change.

10. Flexible architectures and designs that leverage competitive strengths will themselves become the ultimate competitive weapons.

I highly recommend.

The Complete Book of Bible Literacy is a good introductory level overview of key people and stories from the Bible. It is a combination Who's Who in the Bible, Bible trivia quiz booklet and Bible dictionary. Most quotations are from the King James Version. If you want to get into practical everyday advice from the Bible read THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE BOOK OF PROVERBS by Cody Jones. Many of the characters of the Bible are pointed out who illustrate King Solomon's witty observations on human nature. Many of the riddles and mysteries of Proverbs are explored with surprising new answers.

This book contains a lot of basic information on Biblical characters, themes, history, etc. Note that this is basic information and it is truly an informational style. It is not a book of dogma but a reference test that defines different ideas, thoughts and traditions. Most items are short and so it lends itself to just picking up and reading an item or two when you have just a minute or two of free time. Or read an item or two each morning or evening. You don't have to follow from beginning to end but can just pick it up and open it to any page and just start reading.
Not in depth by any means, it is just what it purports to be a basic tome on basic Biblical literacy.

Mark Taylor's book on biblical literacy is an exceptional reference to biblical people, events, weights and currencies, etc. Taylor's easy-to-read style and well laid-out organization make his book a fantastic resourse. I recommend it!

The book is very well organized and provides a 'blueprint' for providing an Internet Security professional the 'tools' to be able to mitigate controls to achieve the security objectives of 'availability, integrity and confidentiality'.

I was looking for a book to help me understand the issues surrounding security as it relates to an intranet project that I am currently working on. I found this book by accident and I was pleased with the excellent content. I thought the book did an excellent job in providing background as well as direction for my particular project. It provided me with an informative and comprehensive overview of the security issues that I need to be aware of.

I found this book well organized, concise, and clearly written. It did not get mired in strictly technical jargon so that i could not "see the forest." Instead,it presents the major issues surrounding this topic and gives me enough information to begin developing my own IS strategy. Highly recommended!

This collection of Crane's work is a poetry lover's dream. Without going into a critical analysis, (an excellent example is included in the forward of the book) I found his work engaging both intellectually and emotionally. Perhaps one of the most human and honest of poets, from his early work to his last poem, "The Broken Tower", his imagery is consistently refreshing, stimulating and, ultimately, very moving. Of particualr note are the lesser known poems of his youth. They are perhaps the most accessible to readers unaccustomed to poetry of this depth and density. "The Hive" is a wonderful expression of his own struggle as an artist. Also, the series "Voyages", written about his love affair with Emil Opffer, is a beautifully rendered poem using the power of the sea as a metaphor for their love. For readers familiar with the first edition, I found the new introduction a bit too dry and analytical. The original intro told more of Crane's life and the human struggles he went through and explained more about his suicide. I found that to be an invaluable guide to understanding much of what he expresses in the poetry. The new hardbound edition is beautifully layed out and gives justice to the sensitive work within it.

Hart Crane is unbelievable. His images are so striking and provocative; they aren't easy but once you get them it's hard to do much except shake your head and marvel at his genius. Who else would describe noon as "a riptooth of the sky's acetylene" or say of bells "oval encyclicals in canyons heaping / The impasse high with choir" ? He truly abolishes all platitudes and cliches to re-describe scenes in fresh and illuminating ways that burst upon your consciousness as in tidal waves of light. As Gertrude Stein tried to do and failed, Crane replaces the name with the thing itself; essential for all poetry lovers and otherwise elevated souls.

Beautifully written, Crane's poetic compositions, with their choice diction, dense and imaginative allegories and technical virtuosity, fall easily into the category of the poetry of "sensation", that is say, poetry characterised chiefly by the registering of impressions. It must be acknowledged that Crane's gifts were best suited to the lyric form. His accomplished style, rhetorical, incantatory, inventive and rhapsodic, steeped in Symbolism and Romanticism, places him above the entire gallery of American Modernist poets. The poetry of Crane, Whitman's proper heir, while pregnant with symbol and allusion, and broad in intellectual reference, does not grow to become forced, pedantic and overlearned as that of Pound. His protests, his struggles, his torments are no less significant than those of Jeffers, though Crane could at least avoid the latter's preaching and occasional pomposity. Above all, he was the poet of "sensation" par excellence, endowed with a capacity for disclosing the furthest and deepest reaches of emotion and feeling, by virtue of his high poetic gifts. Prodigiously talented and doom-laden, Crane, in spiritual kinship with Rimbaud and Shelley, lived as though he were tyrannised, without respite, by Furies he could not conciliate, developing into a compulsive and violent drunk, battling his homosexual urgings, braving the tide of public opinion, which regarded him as a social outcast, and finally plunging to his death in the ocean (which serves in so many of his poems as a symbol of death) at the age of thirty-two. Few martyrs in art have suffered more painfully. Few have endured more grievous torments. All the more are we compelled to admire Crane's stoicism. "Impavidum ferient ruinae".

I have found the advice of John and Paula Sandford very helpfull in the past. So I was intrested in this colaboration with his son Mark. First I liked how they directed you to take resposibility for your actions, and made it clear that we can not use Demons as an excuse for our harmful acts, we provide the furtile ground. In the end it is God who leads us to God, but it is great to have people like John and Mark, dedicated to helping us when we get stuck along the way. If you are ready to take responsibility for your life, this is a great book to help you along.

Mr. sandford does an excellent job of explaining the interrelation of deliverance and inner healing. I have witnessed an attempt to deliver a person without the necessary inner healing follow up. The results were disastrous. Many take for granted the healing power of God, omit repentance and never deal with the root of the problem. Perhaps arrogance motivates people to wield the power of the Holy Spirit without using wisdom. This book is a must for anyone interested in deliverance.

Most books are either about inner healing or about deliverance. Though there are more and more books that deal with both subjects, there is hardly any book that integrates the two ministries better than this one. It deals with both subject on a deep level ("Defeating Dark Angels" from Charles Craft was also pretty good I thought, only it took him another book "Deep Wounds, Deep Healing", to totally cover the subject of inner healing). You could see this book as an introduction to his earlier more extensive books like "The Transformation of the Inner Man" and "Healing the Wounded Spirit", but better see it as a 'complete' introduction to his earlier books, in that it covers a lot of information and also integrates the ministry of deliverance, what hasn't been done before. It is clear where the books of the Sandford's stand. Somebody who want to be merely 'introduced' with the subject should read other books first, like the three books from David A. Seamands. But to be even better informed you should definitively read "Deliverance and Inner Healing"!

.coms or .bombs is clear and accessible, even for someone who is not in the e-arena. Mark presents pursuasive material in a clear and concise manner. He certainly captured my attention, and he led me "outside of the lines." Mark convinced me that his material has important implications and benefits, even in an industry for which this material may not seem immediately relevant. As one of Mark's Pastors, I can attest that Mark is a man of vision. .coms or .bombs is a book that needs to be considered.

This book is a must for people in or looking to get in the B2C arena on the internet. Author Mark Layton defines the pitfalls of e-commerce and lays out a roadmap for profitability.

This book is a comprehensive guide explaining how to make money in e-business. It provides proven strageties from the e-soup to the e-nuts on how to win in the new game of e-business. Good Stuff.

This book has basic information of the sort you quickly find on your own. Like other _Idiot_ books, pages get filled with elaboration of the obvious. The book also has a very rah-rah cheerleading tone for the gambling industry -- a highly complimentary reviewer above is in Belize, a major host of gambling servers. There is a short, common sense section on how to avoid problems, but no mention of any of the actual URLs who've been ripping people off. For that, go to the free portals like winneronline, gamemasteronline, gambling.com. However, I think the book still would be quite useful to someone new to both gambling and the web.

mark balestra has done a wonderful job in putting together what potential players will need to know before playing offshore. it is simple to write a book that explains how the different games are played online but the big concern here is safety factors when fronting your money offshore. mark makes these things crytal clear and tells you what to avoid and where to go for advice. i highly recommend this fine book for anyone who is considering internet wagering!

brian georgia partner in bettorsworld.com

After reading this book almost cover to cover, I can easily say this is the most comprehensive book regarding online gambling written to date. From software providers to sites to avoide, Mark Balestra has included it all. I have found it to be an excellent choice for reading as well as a good reference tool. Thank you Mark Balestra.