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Book reviews for "Cohen,_Stephen" sorted by average review score:

Business Ethics
Published in Paperback by Oxford University Press (1900)
Authors: Damian Grace and Stephen Cohen
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Brilliant!! Go and Buy it!!!
All I have to say is that it was the best book! Cohen is a great writter


Composite Materials: Design and Applications
Published in Hardcover by CRC Press (25 November, 2002)
Authors: Daniel Gay, Y. Koby Cohen, Stephen W. Tsai, and Suong Van Hoa
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Excellent Resourch for Students and Working Engineers
This book an excellent source of information regarding composite manufacturing, design and analysis. I used it in a graduate-level composites course and have continued to use it in my daily work as an engineer at Boeing. The book was well thought out and you can't really tell it was translated from French (I was reluctant about that before I bought it). I'd highly reccommend this book for anyone wanting to learn more about composite materials. This book has something for everyone: designer, analyst, project manager, etc.


Earl and Pearl, the Christmas Squirrels
Published in Paperback by Habitat Pubns (1998)
Authors: Patrick John Rock, John P. Rock, Stephen Z. Cohen, and John Patrick Rock
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A Very Well Written and Well Illustrated Book
Earl and Pearl The Christmas Squirrels is a very well written book. The illustrations were also superb. The author reminds us that during the holiday season, while most of us are making merry, others may not be as fortunate particularly animals. In this story, the author focuses on squirrels. The author reminds us that we need to have peace and good will to men, women, children, and especially our fellow animal friends. Our animal friends may not be as fortunate as us and we need to appreciate that. I give the story "two tails up." I recommend that you all make this story a part of your holiday tradition.


Effective Behavior in Organizations with PowerWeb
Published in Hardcover by McGraw-Hill/Irwin (27 April, 2001)
Authors: Allan R. Cohen and Stephen L. Fink
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A systemic approach to teaching Organizational Behavior
The authors' approach to organizational behavior is exciting and challenging for me and my students. Although they cover the three levels of OB (individual, group, organization), they approach it from a systems perspective that I find integrative and interesting. Early in the book, the team of authors presents a framework for evaluating organizational behavior dilemmas in a systemic way.

The authors provide numerous cases in the back of the book and very good teaching notes in the instructor's manual to practice systemic thinking and to learn OB concepts. Unlike most texts, which begin at the individual level, the authors begin at the group level recognizing that most organizational behavior interactions take place in an organizational system. They then move to the individual level, two-person relationships, and conclude with leadership.

New teachers who are interested in using cases will find the instructor's manual supportive and nearly fail-safe. The well integrated design of the book and instructor's manual makes it easy to design your course. The IM appears to have actually been written by the book authors! There are logical places for lecture, classroom exercises, and case analysis. I highly recommend this book.


Rethinking the Soviet Experience
Published in Hardcover by Oxford University Press (1995)
Author: Stephen F. Cohen
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Samizdat for the 21st century
This book could be a parallel to Immanuel Goldstein's secret book in 1984. See the Soviet Union from a critical yet unbiased viewpoint for the first time and ideologically stick it to the powers that be.


The Norton Shakespeare: Based on the Oxford Edition
Published in Textbook Binding by W.W. Norton & Company (1997)
Authors: William Shakespeare, Walter Cohen, Jean E. Howard, Katharine Eisaman Maus, Stephen Greenblatt, and Andrew Gurr
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A mixed bag
I would in fact prefer to award this 3.5 stars, but the Amazon system seems to compel one to choose between 3 and 4, and I think 4 is too generous. To begin with the text, there is no doubt that this is not the best Shakespeare to buy. It is to a large extent based on the Oxford Shakespeare, which - quite rightly, in my view - has attracted a lot of criticism for some of its peculiarities. Thus, for example, Oxford prints TWO versions of *King Lear*, the quarto text and that of the folio. Norton rightly takes issue with this, and produces the kind of conflated text that most readers would want, but adds the other two AS WELL (so we are offered THREE versions!). This kind of thing is, in truth, academic self-indulgence - it shows an undue respect for academic concerns which to most readers are not of the slightest interest. There is a similar tendency to pay scant regard to what most readers really want and need in the Introduction: that tells us a good deal about Shakespeare's time, and the material is interesting, but it is not often shown to be relevant, or necessary, to an understanding of what Shakespeare writes. The explanatory annotation accompanying the texts is not bad, but often inferior to that of comparable editions, notably Bevington's. The introductions to individual plays are usually stimulating, but not necessarily convincing. Thus Greenblatt on the one hand says about Macbeth's murder of Duncan, "That he does so without adequate motivation, that he murders a man toward whom he should be grateful and protective, deepens the mystery ..." (p. 2558), yet adds a few lines later: "Macbeth and Lady Macbeth act on ambition ...". Precisely, that IS Macbeth's motivation for the murder, as Macbeth himself points out unequivocally in 1.7.25-7 - there is, therefore, absolutely nothing mysterious about his motivation. The edition does, however, offer a number of good references to other writings about Shakespeare. All in all, I do consider 3.5 stars is a fair "grade", in seeking to assess this for the benefit of the majority of readers looking for a complete Shakespeare to buy; but I consider David Bevington's by far the best edition of the complete works, then the Riverside, and only then this one - though, with its annotations, it is certainly more useful than the Oxford edition on which it is based. - Joost Daalder, Professor of English, Flinders University, South Australia

The best of the lot.
I confess that after examining 5-6 of the top-selling complete Shakespeares I tried not to like the Norton. There are less expensive editions, there are editions with glossy pages and colored photographs, there are editions that are half the weight and bulk of this leviathan, which is far more Shakespeare than the average reader--perhaps, even scholar, for that matter--would ever require. But despite its bulk and unwieldyness, its 3500 (!) thin, flimsy pages, its sheer excess, I couldn't ignore its advantages. The small print enables the publishers to squeeze in contextual materials--in the introduction and appendixes--that in themselves amount to an encyclopedic companion to Shakespeare's works; the introductions to the plays are written not in "textbook prose" but in an engaging style worthy of their subject; and perhaps, best of all, this is the only edition that places the glosses right alongside the "strange" Elizabethan word instead of in the footnotes. You can read the plays without experiencing vertigo of the eye. So this is the edition, though you may wish to go with the smaller, bound portions that Norton publishes of the same edition--especially if you can't afford the cost of a personal valet to carry this tome from home to office. On the other hand, the complete edition is excellent for doing crunches and other aerobic exercises--activities many of us who read the Bard are abt to ignore.

One bard, one book
As a fervent admirer of Shakespeare, this complete collection, comprising excellent introductions to each play and helpful textual notes as well as informative writings on the history of both England and the art of acting that shaped Shakespeare's writing, was like a dream come true. While before I had to walk around trying to find a good edition of the play I wanted to read, now I can open the Norton Shakespeare and read without being afraid of not understanding words or missing the point of the play. This book's obvious drawbacks are its heft and, as mentioned, its delicate pages, but these are easily outweighed by the abovementioned advantages! Buy it and read!


Applied Multiple Regression: Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Science
Published in Hardcover by Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc (2002)
Authors: Patricia Cohen, Jacob Cohen, Stephen G. West, and Leona S. Aiken
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MRC Analysis---good book overall
Cohen and Cohen's MRC analysis book is well versed and easy to understand for someone that is familiar with MRC terminology, however, for first year graduate students, the text is very equivocal. The book is lacking ample illustrations of complex problems, leaving students to rely on outside sources. Also, the book uses unfamiliar symbols that do not correspond with other MRC books, which intensifies the confusion level of the students even more.

Overall, the text is a great addition to a statistical library, and this reviewer recommends it, in spite of being a sub-par book for first year graduate students.

Can't beat it
...This book is the source of all you need. It's hard going at times, but so's the subject. The book's 15 years old and remains the best guide to the analysis of correlated data. It's a reference book, one I value as much as a good dictionary. To use it as a text would be misguided unless the instruction was aimed at a sophisticated audience.

Best MRC Book Ever
I agree with the previous reviewer that there are times when the exposition in the book gets a bit intense; but c'mon! We're dealing with statistics. You gotta sweat a bit. That's when learning happens. In my opinion the book is extremely clearly written. And although you may have to re-read a few sentences a few times, the basic tools for understanding most every major aspect of MRC is embedded in the text. In sum, this was a great book that I read as a 2nd-year graduate student in psychology. Unlike the first reviewer, I turned to this text when I got confused during the course lectures!


Moonlight in Duneland: The Illustrated Story of the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad
Published in Hardcover by Indiana University Press (1998)
Authors: Ronald D. Cohen, Stephen G. McShane, South Shore and South Bend Railroad Chicago, and South Shore &. South B. Chicago
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Lost Era, Welcome Reprise
We will never see these lovely posters on the hoardings in Chicagoland or Northwestern Indiana, but this wonderful book does as much as is possible to capture the glory of that long-gone, pre-Depression advertising age. The articles are interesting to railway aficianados and help to put the artworks in their proper context, but the crowning glories of the book are the full-page reproductions of all the known surviving South Shore Line posters. Yes, it was a simpler time; and No, the artists were not on the forefront and fringes of experimentation. But the posters do not pretend to be anything other than what they are--railway advertising--and they are superb examples of that, comparing favorably with the contemporaneous works of the Big Four in Britain, who were themselves experiencing a Golden Age at the time. Now if only someone would do for North Shore Line posters what this book does for the Chicago, South Shore and South Bend Railway! Buy two copies: one for the shelf, and one to cannibalize for prints to frame. (I know, I know, the thought of cutting up a book was anathema to me at first, but the results were spectacular.)

Charming poster art
"Moonlight in Duneland" is a wonderfully subtle exploration of a marriage between the golden age of advertising and twilight of passenger rail service in suburban Chicago and northwest Indiana.

The Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad has served the region for about ninety years, but in the 1920s the once floundering commuter train became a sudden success due to the advertising campaign commissioned by new owner Samuel Insull.

Intending to create a ridership for the line, the ad campaign showed sophisticated Chicagoans what wonderful scenery and activities waited for them a short ride east in Indiana. The lithographs reprinted on the pages of "Moonlight in Duneland" are wonderfully rendered in the style of such illustrators as Maxfield Parrish and the Prairie Deco artists of the day. Each poster illustrates one of the many activities in different seasons. One could see Notre Dame football in the fall; relax on the Lake Michigan beaches in the summer; or snow ski on the Dunes in winter. The pages are mainly full page reprints of the photos with just enough text in the front of the book for explanation.

This book is very well made and the prints are very well reproduced. I recommend it to anyone, but fans of Art Deco design and railroad enthusiasts will enjoy it.

Awesome!
A must-have coffee table book for anyone connected to N.W. Indiana. Living history in a medium long past.


How It All Began
Published in Hardcover by Columbia University Press (15 May, 1998)
Authors: Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin, George Shriver, and Stephen F. Cohen
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A remarkable book, written under remarkable circumstances.
This is a remarkable book. It combines three forms in a single work: 1) a detailed and evocative story of a boy growing up in late 19th century Russia, 2) an informative and moving autobiography of one of the most important Bolshevik leaders, and 3) commentary on the social and economic developments leading up to the 1905 and 1917 revolutions, including (in the tradition of Russian novels) imagined descriptions of important meetings of leaders of state. Most remarkable, though, is that the entire book was written in the nights of Bukharin's confinement in Moscow's Lubyanka Prison while he awaited almost certain execution following his notorious "show trial". The idea of a man who knows he could be shot at any moment writing such detailed, even leisurely descriptions of his childhood in Moscow and Bessarabia is almost beyond comprehension. Indeed, the novel breaks off in mid-sentence. This book should not be missed by anyone interested in 19th and 20th century Russian history, and will be enjoyed by anyone interested in a good coming-of-age novel as well.

A brilliant, beautiful work
Bukharin's autobiographical work is a lyrical, moving, story of the life of a young boy in pre-Soviet russia. Unlike Leon Trotsky's autobiography, which is a similar work in content, this is a novel. And a grand one. When you read the touching descriptions of Kolya's then idyllic, then tragic domestic life, you feel helpless, sad, for you know that this boy will eventually be dead, the New World he helped to create corrupted and turned against him. The very existence of this novel is a message of hope, that even under the most tragic and ironic circumstances there can something joyous (Bukharin wrote the novel while in Lubyanka prison). The poignancy of all this is further increased by the included letter by Bukharin, written to his wife Anna Larina and not given to her for 50+ years. This book also stands as a monument (in a medium I belief he would have perhaps preferred) to Nikolai Bukharin, a brilliant scholar, writer, and Revolutionary


Negotiating Skills for Managers
Published in Digital by McGraw-Hill ()
Authors: Stephen Cohen, Roger A. Formisano, and Steven Cohen
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I don't mean to sound extremist...
I'm sure if you take a look at the other reviewers, you'll wonder why I am such the dissenter of opinion, however, my opinion is unwaivering on this read. I am currently an MBA student and therefore read more than my share (I think I'm getting crosseyed from all of the reading!)

Anyway, my point is that there are numerous texts on negotiation skills, creating and relaying value, cross-cultural issues in negotiations and any number of personal and environmental factors involved in any given negotiation.

However, I believe the author does a very poor job in this book in providing [cost of book] worth of substance. Points that are made early on in the book are drudgingly rehashed over and over again, as if the author is trying to fill pages like I admittedly used to do with 7th grade class reports. Except that I used to paraphrase the Encyclopedia...which had some interesting points. This author has a knack for the obvious and fails to point out any valuable case studies. Most of the "grey-window box" cases presented, sparse as they may be, relate parochial stories of how a husband and wife "negotiated" the picking up of clothing on the floor by understanding the underlying wife's concern...not to trip on the pile of clothes. Again, a fairly weak example to use in business dealings. I mean, c'mon, the name of the book is "Negotiating Skills for Managers" I can understand an occasional side-bar on ways to apply these (skills?) to other aspects of your life, but the ratio of little stories to actual examples of business dealings or cross-cultural negotiations is about 100:0. The author NEVER cites a substanial business negotiating example.

One grey-box cites this scenario;

"More recently, my wife and I had dinner (without reservations) at a Japanese restaurant in our town. We patiently waited for a table. Once seated, the food came very slowly; obviously the kitchen was overburdened. Our waitress did not wait for us to ask; she brought us an extra carafe of hot sake on the house." (Page 160)

It's a nice story about a restaurant aware of their poor service and attempt to make up for it with some free sake. Good for that restaurant...that IS smart service. BUT, where was the negotiating? negotiated in this scenario?

Another grey-box:

"One of the tricks negotiators sometimes try to use is the good cop/bad routine in which one of your counterparts purposefully plays the tough guy while his teammate utilizes charm on you..." It continues, "Be careful not to accuse the other team of bad manners. Instead, say something like, 'I feel as if I am being good cop/bad copped in this negotiation and it is not bringing me any closer to agreement"

What kind of negotiations are we referring to here? Used car sales? You MUST be joking. In all of my professional business dealings either domestic or abroad, I have never run into such juvenile tactics, except for one teenager selling used Ford cars. (if you stretch to call this a professional business dealing)

To be fair, there are some real points in this book, albeit mostly common sense. (for example, keeping emotions in check when negotiating and approaching it from a win/win situation, not a war or competition to see who can come out ahead.) However, these points could be covered in a five-page document, double-spaced, minus the little grey-boxes, and turned in to the 7th-grade teacher, who would probably give it a 'B.'

Please! If you REALLY still want to read this book, save your money and send me an email. I'll be happy to send you my copy for free!

A very helpful book
Negotiating Skills for Managers is a practical book that doesn't talk down to the reader ­ or bore her with dense language.
... The organization of the book makes it easy to go back and forth to examine how concepts it presents relate to each other.
... The book's examples from real life give someone with real-world negotiating experience Œhooks' for relating their own war stories to a clearly-described philosophy and set of techniques.
... Unlike other negotiation books, this one has an index that makes it easy to review concepts after one's initial reading.
... Until I read the book, I had never understood the concept of BATNA; now this fundamental part of negotiation is much clearer to me.
... Perhaps the most valuable element Negotiating Skills for Managers presents is the Interest Map ­ a preparation tool that has already saved me considerable time in complex negotiations.

While the book contains a lot of deep philosophical ideas, it is useful for someone whose negotiating experience is limited or whose confidence needs boosting. I recommend it highly.

Eastern Philosophy, Self Actualization, & Negotiation Skills
Negotiating Skills for Managers is a down-to-earth book, written in an engaging and clear way, which brings the complex issues associated with negotiation down to a handful of commonsensical ideas. I highly recommend Negotiating Skills for Managers by Steven P. Cohen for people in all professions, and on all rungs of the corporate ladder, who seek to improve their interactions with others, thus enhancing their effectiveness and efficiency at work, and even at home!

From explaining the difference between positional and interest-based negotiations, to highlighting the benefits and detriments of human emotions in the negotiation process, to advising how to recognize and disarm "bullies" and other unreasonable colleagues, Negotiating Skills for Managers is a thorough book packed with information that is easy to comprehend and entertaining to read.

The book is chock full of antic dotes and experiences gleaned from the author's professional and personal life. This is the best part! Cohen shares situations as explained by his clients and students that helped me understand how and when to apply the clearly detailed tactics he outlines.

Courteous mannerisms, like: "don't hog the credit," "let others present their ideas first," and "best not to eat an onion sandwich before entering the negotiation room" lead into explanations of important negotiation tactics. Among the most significant insights offered in the book is that negotiating parties are not competitors but people who seek to reach an agreed upon solution to their shared problem that will be followed through to completion.

This theme of respecting others for their interests, opinions and professional and/or cultural difference runs throughout Negotiating Skills for Managers, helping readers stay focused on the importance of understanding others' needs and values before engraving their own into stone. "Listen to yourself and to others, searching all the time for seeds that can germinate into ideas that work," Cohen advises. Later in the book, he drives this point home in a more familiar way. "God gave us two ears and one mouth. Use them proportionately."

Within the first pages of Negotiating Skills for Managers I was challenged to seek self-awareness through thoughtful introspection before and during the negotiation process. I got the sense that Eastern philosophy has influenced Cohen's approach to business ethics and thus negotiation, as he urges readers to understand the emotions that drive their desires and think of their own interests in terms of the greater whole.

"Negotiation is not rocket science," Cohen concludes. Husbands and wives, parents and children, and CEOs and secretaries all negotiate with each other everyday, according to Cohen. The key is to remember tactics learned by reading this book in my daily life.


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