I found the worksheets alone in this book worth the price. When you follow the step-by-step instructions, the worksheets cull out only the data you need. With all the extraneous data out of the way, it's easy to pinpoint critical problems that you might miss otherwise. And it makes developing key indicators and reports easier as well. I think any CEO who wants to keep the company's accounting and human resource managers on top of things at all times should give them this book tomorrow...if not sooner.

This book is packed with practical information and worksheets so you really get your money's worth. All points are illustrated with actual company stories and real-world experiences. The format makes it particularly easy to read and use.

I recommend this book to my coaching clients because it gives them a real system to develop strategy and then measure performance. Everyone wants a simple way to stay on track with their goals, and this book offers organizational planning advice, suggestions on how to effectively communicate the plan with employees, and then reports to make sure there is accountability for results.

This is compelling novel reflecting the experience
of being captain of a merchant ship in WW-II convoys.
The main character provides opportunities for the
author to explore the nature of command, and the
author exploits those opportunities well. The
writing itself is strong.

The novel ends with an intrusive antiwar sermon that is
not effectively integrated into the rest of the novel
and which has nothing to do with the overall story.
Good sermon, but not integrated into the story.

Engrossing story with exceptional emotional detail of the North Atlantic in WWII. A courageous mix of seafaring and philosophy about war. Seems to explain passivism to the warrior and war to the pacifist with equal empathy.

Superficially, The Captain is a very well written novel about life aboard a sea-going tugboat pressed into service as an escort vessel for convoys to Brtitain in the early days of World War II. Read at this level, The Captain is a rousing, highly-readable adventure story with interesting, well-developed characters. But there is much more than rousing adventure to this book which skillfully probes many deeply-fundamental matters, including the horrors of war and the true nature of human courage. In my opinion, this is one of the most greatest novels ever written.

Charles Ives (1874-1954)was the first, and still probably the greatest, composer of a distinctly American art ("classical") music. His relationship to American music seems to me roughly parallel to Walt Whitman's relationship to American poetry and to Charles Peirce's relationship to American philosophy. Like Peirce, Ives was little-known during his lifetime. Furthermore, while many people may be aware of Peirce and of Ives, a much smaller number have much acquaintance with their works.

Ives was born in Danbury, Connecticut and remained throughout his life attached to his vision of the post-Civil War small-town New England of his childhood. His father, George Ives, was a bandmaster and the greatest influence on Ives's life. Ives was a musical prodigy who began composing at an early age, quickly picking up experimental styles. He showed great proficiency at the piano and organ. (Through young manhood, we worked Sundays as a church organist.) He studied music at Yale where his teacher was Horatio Parker, a then famous American who was trained in the music of German Romanticism. As a college student, Ives wrote music played for the inaugaration of President William McKinley.

After graduation from Yale, Ives became a millionare in the insurance industry where he pioneered many marketing techniques. He also became increasingly Progessive and politically active and actually proposed a constitutional amendment which would increase the power of the democracy in government decision-making. At the age of 32, he married Harmony Twitchell who, after his father, was the greatest influence on his life.

Ives wrote music in the midst of an extraordinarily busy life. Most people think of Ives as a trailblazer and iconoclast. He was indeed, but may of his earlier works, such as the Second and the Third Symphonies are easily accessible and have a feel of America about them similar to the feelings Aaron Copland evoked some three decades later.

Jan Swafford's biography movingly and eloquently describes the life of Charles Ives. This is a reflective, thoughtful discussion of Ives, his America, his music, and its reception. In addition to a thorough treatment of Ives' life and works, Swafford has three chapters which he titles "Entra'acets" which consist of broad-based reflections on Ives's music and its significance. Swafford's entire book is full of ideas which are intriguing in themselves. Of Ives's work, Swafford gives his most extended treatment to the Fourth Symphony (he sees Ives as essentially a symphonist) and to the Concord piano Sonata. But many works are discussed in detail which will be accessible to the non-musician. The book has copious and highly substantive footnotes and an extensive bibliography.

Ives's Americanness, humor, romanticism, modernism, optimism, and generosity ( Ives gave large amounts of money to his family and to musicians and music publications. He also paid for the publication of several of his important works when commercial publishers showed no interest in them.) come through well. Swafford sees Ives as the last American transcendentalist in the tradition of Emerson. At the conclusion of his book, Swafford writes of Ives (p. 434)

" [I]n his music and his life he embodied a genuine pluralism, a wholeness beneath diversity, that in itself is a beacon for democracy and its art. Aesthetically he is an alternative to Modernism, an exploratory road without the darkness and despair of the twentieth century. In spirit he handed us a baton and calls on us to carry it further. He suggests a way out of despair, but leaves it to us to find the route for ourselves. If we are alone with ourselves today, Ives speaks incomparably to that condition."

This book made me want to learn more about and to hear the music of Charles Ives. In its own right, it is a joy and an inspiration to read.

Charlie Ives was a visionary, an idealist, and apparently a manic-depressive. Swafford tells his story in a compulsively readable fashion, and wins you over to the side of the irascible composer. Ives never made any money from his music, in fact he subsidized it with the fortune he made in the insurance industry. But he was generous in supporting the work of other sympathetic composers as well, including Henry Cowell. Ives was rare in that he was a genius not only in music, but in business. Ives made a fortune in developing the modern, mass-market life insurance industry. He wrote a tremendously influential pamphlet in 1910, "The Amount to Carry," which pioneered estate planning. Ives was an idealist and an altruist even as he became wealthy -- he convinced himself that insurance was socially progressive, and motivated his sales staff with his lofty vision of cooperation. Later in life, he developed this into a plan for a People's World Union!

Ives' great successes all came together, early in life, following his marriage. He composed on the side as he built his company, burning the candle at both ends. Swafford speculates that Ives was literally manic during those heroic years of the Teens, and that he subsequently crashed, enduring more depression than mania for the rest of his life. Interestingly, the Great War was such a blow to his idealism, he reacted physically, compounding his collapse. Ives retired very young, but rather than turn to composing, he found that he was unable. The rest of his life was devoted to trying to find an audience for the works of his glory years. I found the book most interesting here, in situating Ives in relation to the more well-known Modernists of his time -- Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Varese and the others. The irony is that while Ives' music came about independently, it was "popularized," only through association with the European revolutionaries, and so he was widely perceived as an imitator. The world was only ready for Charlie's music after the ground had been broken! The story of Cowell, Slonimsky, Carter, Gilman and Bernstein, who championed Ives over many years until he was finally recognized, is fascinating.

This is supremely enjoyable reading. Jan Swafford clearly loves Ives, and I found his account irresistable.

Quite recently, I had the privilege of reading a copy of this book that was the personal copy of a musician who had been involved, in a rather unique way, in the centennial observation of Charlie Ives's birthday back in 1974. For reasons of geography, then musical interest, he "got to know" Charlie quite well, even if only 20 years after Charlie's death. I immediately ordered my own copy, while continuing to read the heavily-annotated copy of my musician friend. (It was rather vicarious pleasure, "looking over the shoulder" of this musician, to see what it was about the music, life and times of Charlie that fascinated him.)

In his early years, Ives was a one-man dynamo. Learning much of his music theory and practice from his father George Ives, who had been a very young (perhaps the youngest) Civil War band leader, and then from Horatio Parker at Yale University, he had more than a "thorough grounding" in the basics. However, unlike most American composers, particularly those of his and the following generation, he did not go to Europe for a post-grad internship with any known European composer, but simply set out on his own after matriculating from Yale. He went to New York City, employed as an insurance clerk for one full-time job, wrote music constantly for another full-time job, and had yet another career, had he wanted it, as organist and choir director for the Central Presbyterian Church in New York. During this period - leading up to his marriage in 1908 - he literally burned the candle at both ends. (Swafford goes on, later in the book, to posit why Charlie had this incredible burst of energy for the first 15 or 20 years of his adult life, but it's best that his reasons for this - and for Ives's shortened composing career - be left to you, the potential reader.)

Most anyone who knows anything about Ives knows that he became comfortably wealthy in the insurance industry, that during his active composing days little of his music was played by anyone, and that he was - literally and figuratively - burned out by the time he was only 40. For the remaining half of his life, much of it was spent editing, publishing and promoting his music and the music of others, including many friends, using the proceeds from his insurance success to underwrite projects for many composers who would have gone unnoted had it not been for him. Musical success - unlike business success - came too late in life for him to truly enjoy at least its artistic, if not financial, rewards. He was in his last years when Leonard Bernstein premiered his Second Symphony, and never lived to hear his masterpiece - his Fourth Symphony - premiered by Leopold Stokowski in 1965. Despite this, he was far from an unhappy man in his later years; philosophically resigned yet optimistic that his day might yet come would be the more accurate description.

Swafford's writing is simply wonderful. It tells the story of a true American iconoclast; an "original." The narrative flows beautifully without omitting anything of significance in Ives's life or about his music. (The book contains nearly 80 pages of endnotes, in which the musical marginalia are explained in exhaustive, but emminently readable, detail, to preserve the flow of the main narrative.) In parts, it is incredibly moving. I particularly enjoyed the extended "mating dance" of his courting of Harmony Twichell, who was to become his life-long helpmate (and who did live long enough to attend the Stokowski premiere of his masterpiece, as the guest of honor). Ives, ever the Victorian man if something else as a composer, would always refer to her, to third parties, as "Mrs. Ives." Yet their fifty years together could be a model for today's dysfunctional families. A beautiful chapter; one of the best in the book.

There's a curiously cryptic endnote that suggests a "what might have been." It is a fact that very little of Ives's music saw public performance before the early 30's, when Nicholas Slonimsky championed Ives and other "moderns." Yet another two decades were to pass until Bernstein premiered the Second Symphony. Yet, in 1910, while shopping in a music store in preparation for his final return to Vienna, where he would die in less than a year's time, Gustav Mahler purchased a fair copy - one of only two or three in existence - of Ives's Third Symphony. Swafford doesn't make that big a deal about this, but I do. I've always thought that Ives and Mahler, aside from being near-contemporaries, had more in common than they did in opposition. It is just conjecture - but truly fascinating conjecture - to think what might have happened had Mahler premiered Ives's Third Symphony at a time in the life of Ives when it really might have made a difference.

Just what was Ives, as a composer? Bernstein did him no favors by calling him "a primitive; a Grandma Moses of music" while at the same time championing his music. Back in those days, there were no labels like "atonalist," "serialist," "avant-gardist," "post-modernist," what-have-you, that we tend to use today to compartmentalize a composer. To me, Ives was, well... an iconoclast, an "original," and, if a label must be applied, our first "pre-post-modern." He was never imitated, at least not successfully, not only because he didn't have his own students as did other composers, but because by the time his music enjoyed sufficient - if not plentiful - performances, composers' agendas were different.

Fortunately audiences think differently, and do enjoy Charlie's music. And you will enjoy this book.

I'm a fan of urban legends, and have read Dr. Brunvan's books, so I picked this up for my son. We had a good time reading it (its gross in some parts, but he didn't mind!) also has an chapter by Dr.Brunvan. I'd recommend it.

My students loved this book, and the two others in this series. We did a unit on folklore, and these "modern" legends really brought the topic to life for them. Thanks to the publisher for bringing these out.

I like R.L.Stine books and this book was like that but it was stories like that. I would tell you if you like R.L>stine books that you would like to read this and look at the pictures.

I thought this book would change my life. But I never thought it would also... oops... I forgot my watch.

I've always considered myself to be a pretty well organized person. My life is full of many projects, both at work and at home. However this book surprised me with many clever and innovative ideas I can directly apply to my daily life to make my many activities go even smoother. The book is very thorough, and covers almost every aspect of a person's daily life where saving Time would be a major benefit. Thank you, Dr. Jager, for writing such a down-to-earth book all of us can use!

Jan Yager's Creative Time Management doesn't talk in generalities. If you work or don't work,if you are young or old, you will find her suggestions practical and easy to apply in your daily life. The major bonus in her book is that she is willing to address the concept that our emotional state of being plays a major part in our ability to handle and manage our time appropriately. So few books include this component. I refer back to the book from time to time, (no pun intended), to specific sections to help me make changes in my own life that will benefit better use of my time. As a professional speaker and trainer, I recommend this book to my audiences and class participants as an excellent resource. We all need a guide like this to read and refer to in order to help balance our busy lives.

After sailing tens of thousands of miles in the Americas and Caribbean and using dozens of cruising guides I can honestly say this cruising guide is unsurpassed. It contains detailed information about anchorages, approaches and services available in an easy to use format. With numerous anecdotes and historical stories this book is a pleasure to just sit down and read.

One of the best cruising guides around, definitely the best for Maine. Well written, organized and easy to use. Great sketch charts and all of the info that cruisers (not tourists) really need, as well as a good bit of local color.

Please note that the authors of this book are Haft and Curtis Rindlaub

What would America be without eccentrics? Pretty dull. But thanks to Janet's unique travel guide, there's no excuse for a boring roadtrip. "Eccentric America" will make you forget about cashing in all those accumulated frequent flier miles and inspire you, instead, to take to the open road in search of the "Museum of Pez Memorabilia" or the "Cockroach Hall of Fame."

Bring the inlaws!

After reading this book you won't want to stay home. Ty and I should have bought two copies because we waste so much time passing it back and forth. We'll be using Eccentric America for the next few years when planning vactions and of course we have learned to build in extra days because the author is giving us such fun filed travel stops.

Pasaquan, a compound in Georgia filled with totems, pagodas and paintings, was designed to house Edward Martin's unique mystic religion. Martin, who proclaimed himself St. EOM, didn't cut his hair for 40 years, dressed in jeweled robes, and stiffened his beard upwards with rice paste. He is just one of many eccentric individuals who have created bizarre roadside attractions across the United States.

Or how about the Bread and Puppet Theater and Art Museum in Glover, Vermont? You can see a surreal collection of huge puppets that are used in political demonstrations, see entertaining puppet performances, and enjoy the free bread that is given out after each show.

You can find information on these and almost a thousand other wacky, out-of-the-ordinary attractions across America in "Eccentric America," a new book by Jan Friedman. The book contains an extensive listing of the weirdest and strangest events, museums, festivals, and attractions in the United States.

Imagine leaving your home in California (for example) and heading out to visit relatives in New Jersey. This doesn't have to be a boring trip. Using Eccentric America as a guidebook, you can create bizarre adventures as you travel across the U.S. Visit the Katydid Insect Museum in Arizona, and, if it happens to be July, you can move on to Roswell, New Mexico where the Roswell UFO Encounter Festival and Intergalactic Food and Fashion Extravaganza is taking place. If you think the drive across the center of the country is dull, you haven't stopped at the right places. From the Totem Pole Park in Oklahoma, to Carhenge in Nebraska, there are plenty of strange things to see on your way and all are listed in Eccentric America.

Friedman writes in an entertaining, tongue-cheek-style style. You can't help but laugh when reading some of the descriptions. When describing the Forevertron, a giant steel sculpture park in Wisconsin, she writes, "Inventive in vision and astounding in scope, the Forevertron is a gargantuan contraption designed to shoot Dr. Evermore into space using some kind of 1890's magnetic lightning beam propulsion that only he understands." The attractions are catalogued not only by state, but also by type and date (if the attraction is an event), so it is easy to find just the kind of weirdness you are looking for.

I found this book not only entertaining but inspiring as well. It's exciting to see what other eccentrics have created given enough time and a place to do it. Eccentric America makes me want to take a road trip!

This book examines the end of traditional marketing (the 4Ps) and offers proven new strategies for business growth ('marketing the other way around'). The arguments are infallible for developed markets, and they are based on an insightful understanding of human behaviour, particularly into the manufacturing side of the value chain. It is written with passion and in an accessible and extremely commonsense manner. Read this one and put it into practice.

As a marketeer i got quite frustrated over the past years about many aspects of our traditional approach. This concepting philosophy opens up a lot of rusty doors and could be the cure for consumer numbness.

Two approaches can be defined to reach your markets beyond the traditional marketing concepts. Number one is to learn to know your customer better than he/she knows him/herself and to build measurable relationships using databases. Number two is to build concepts stronger than traditional brands. This book offers a straight and simple formula to the second approach. Based on essential understanding of human values, it offers an entrance to the human brain and its preferences. "Concepting" reminds me of Ries and Trout's classical work "Positioning". A great compliment.

Cut Loose Quilts is for those who are aspiring to take their creativity and art to a new level! This book helps one to create quilts that are "out of the box," and is a great first step in using your artistic intuition. Jan Mullen clearly illustrates step by step the process of choosing fabrics, designing, and constructing a quilt. She has plenty of quilt designs as examples, and always is encouraging of you to create your own. The designs are fun and funky takes on many traditional blocks, as well as the license to stray from the conventional. This is one of my most favorite books!

Cut-Loose Quilts: Stack, Slice, Switch and Sew outlines almost twenty colorful projects which involve stacking, slicing, and sewing crooked versions of traditional quilt blocks - a method which will particularly lend to beginners. Simple cutting and piecing methods are taught in the course of these projects, with plenty of color photos throughout.

This book is a step off the beaten path. For those of you who want to do something DIFFERENT,fun & wimsical.Simple well illustrated instructions. Just can't keep from smiling when you see these quilts!

Those who consider religion/spirituality an important part of their lives would be well advised to read this book. It's short, but it says a lot, and is quite thought-provoking.

Eden In Limbo is a spiritual fantasy novel combining poetry with storytelling. God has taken a male human form; his female partner in the spirit world being silent to all but him. Like most men, he wants to learn to communicate better. As a God of the new century, he wants open communication with every person. In pursuit of this goal we are introduced an American Indian, a questioning Christian, a devout Christian and her wheelchair-bound friend, a Hindi couple, a homosexual couple, a French model, and a group of outspoken black women -- all seeking to better understand themselves in relation to God. Eden In Limbo is a recommended work of quixotic imagination and an engaging "what if" speculative fiction.,

I heard about this book from a friend and thought it sounded pretty awesome. My friend was right! I don't usually god stuff, or poetry, but this was fun reading from the start. Makes me think and I like that. It's especially appropriate for the season, too. You won't regret reading it. Promise!