Business Writing Makeovers should be useful to business people, teachers of writing, and anyone who wants to write better. It is also fun to read: I enjoyed the letters in which a company official complains to a supplier that the huge ice sculpture ordered for a sales conference had been set up so it melted onto an electrical unit, causing a short circuit that ruined the conference's most important presentation. Roddick's sample letters and emails show ways to make your writing more precise, concise, correct, and graceful. They will help you choose the right tone to adopt in a letter, the right details to include, and the right structure to convey information and ideas. I found good suggestions here for writing with greater tact, better grammar, and stronger impact. Roddick's own writing is elegant and clear--an excellent example for her readers.

Business Writing Makeovers by Hawley Roddick is a tremendously useful book. It is full of excellent information and advice that would benefit both business and non-business writers. Roddick's use of before and after letters, memos, reports, etc. is a practical and effective way to make important points. The concise checklists that follow are valuable aids. And joy of joys, the examples of writing deal with varied subjects and issues that are interesting, informative, and entertaining to read about! I highly recommend Business Writing Makeovers to anyone who wants to be the best communicator he or she can be.

The book covers so many occasions for communication, in and out of what is strictly business, that it is a useful guide to writing in general. It warns of pitfalls and recommends ways around them, but what I found most engaging were the transformations from Original to Makeover, the details and stories coming into focus: the "demotion" story, for instance, or the "retirement" details. Besides its practical purposes, the book discovers the inner workings of many business activities, and it is indeed enlivened by the novelist's invention.

Fantastically inspiring book. Made me drop it and make a unique piece of correspondence!

A must have for anyone who works with paper. More than just a project book, the Jacobs have put together a complete explanation of so many aspects of working with paper that no other book covers. The photographs and directions are easily understood explaining tools, paper types, basic measuring, cutting, folding and decorating paper. All the projects are very very creative and offer variations on the ideas. From the postcards to the notecards and envelopes this book is a great source of ideas and inspiration.

These folks have actually taught workshops to real people. You can tell. The directions and photos are accurate and easy to follow. The projects are the simple, open-ended kind that should get the creative juices flowing. No one should ever again send plain-Jane boring mail. Reuse, recycle, collage! Thank you, Creative Zone!

Thank God you can't see my last name because I am embarassed to say that I laughed so much reading this book that I wet my pants! If you are thinking of buying this book, think no more. It is so funny I could not stop laughing. My husband thinks I should see a shrink because I laughed so much. Then he read it and laughed himself! Tom Sarc is a genius!

I read every humor book out there but E-Mail Letters From A WACKO has got to be the funniest book I ever read. I must have read it at least ten times and still laughed so hard I almost threw up! Thomas Sarc IS a WACKO! And I hope he continues to be one!

This book is the funniest book I have ever read in my life! My wife, who does not have a sense of humor, even laughed!!!! I hope Mr. Sarc writes more like this!!!

This is a great book for any guy who wishes to meet a female from another country! Any of your questions or concerns will probably be covered somewhere in this book. Just to mention several of the many topics discussed are: Placing & responding to international personal ads, culture differences, international introduction services, visas & marriage & making the most of your trip. The author also discusses in detail the women & environment of over a dozen countries including Thailand, Brazil, DR, Scandinavia, Cuba and others. Besides being informative, this is also an entertaining read. I mainly read this for entertainment purposes and can definately relate to it as I have travelled to a couple of the countries mentioned in the book. I recommend this book to those who are serious about starting on the path to meet an international mate or to those just enjoy international travel and meeting people in the places they travel to.

I never had troubles meeting women, but they always seemed to want to be with other men. So I bought this book so that I could meet women that maybe I wouldn't say the wrong things, or maybe because I was famous that might like that. Let me say, I really liked it. Anyone that can read it, and wants to find women that won't right away leave them, should read it. The woman that I met had to move back, but there will be many more, thanks to Fantasy Islands!

I think that Fantasy Islands is a great source for the international bridebusiness for I Agree with the book and other sources 100% that the international Marrages work out much better then our domestic Marriagesanytime.

This is the a prototype for all other historical railroad books combining a fairly comprehensive selection of high quality photographs and well written informative text. Certainly a must for anyone interested in the Great Northern Railway.

This book by Charles Wood is the authoritative history of the Great Northern Railway. As a long time GN fan and director of the GNRY Historical Society, I can tell you no other book on this subject comes close. You will enjoy the format of many photograghs, informative captions and accurate text. It is the "bible" for GN fans.

Fred W. Black, Mill Creek, WA. USA

A comprehensive history of the Great Northern Railroad. A "loving" tribute to a truly great railroad which never fell into receivership like many of the other large roads (such as the Pennsylvania and New York Central). Included are hundreds of photos and memorabilia. If you're a fan of the Great Northern, or even railroads in general, you'll love this book...if you can find it! It is currently out-of-print

Very happy with the layout and content. Also was very helpful in setting up GWIA.

This is a thorough, well-written book. The appendices are great. The "gotchas" are well documented. I used this book for an upgrade I did last weekend. The upgrade went smoothly and there were no surprises.

Since GroupWise 5.5 was released, I have looked for an updated GW Admin book and this was the first one out. Actually, that's a good thing because Zanre, Beels & Kunau did a superb job with their first book (the 5.2 version). My hopes were set high as I began reading this new edition. I must say that I am completely satisfied with the content of this book. The subject matter is well-described and the author's have a good sense of what it takes to run a real-live system. No ivory tower descriptions here. The authors definitely know what they are talking about!

This book does not focus exclusively on a single topic, but instead provides a well-rounded discussion on all things email-related. For example, it does not focus exclusively on any one messaging implementation, nor does it get bogged down on technical discussions of protocols and message boundaries, but instead it covers these topics (and more) as part of a comprehensive discussion on electronic mail in general.

Each chapter tackles a broad subject and then provides a studied discussion of several touchstone issues related to that discussion. For example, there is a chapter on sending email in an enterprise network which provides ample discussions on several subordinate topics, including an introduction to LDAP directories, a summary discussion on various gateways and integration services that are likely to be used in that kind of environment, and details for configuring popular messaging clients to take advantage of these services.

In this regard, Internet Messaging provides a well-rounded introductory discussion on the subject of Internet email at large, making it perhaps the best novice guide on the market. It is especially well-suited for people who are just stepping into messaging concepts, but advanced users and implementors will also find plenty of useful nuggets.

Having only read an excerpt, it's obvious the authors understand e-mail and the valuable role it plays in business-to-consumer communication. If you have customers online, e-mail is a critical part of your communication/marketing strategy. I'm sure this book will help you develop your winning strategy for e-mail. Like Lenny, I'm buying copies for my senior staff.

Important reading for anyone interested in the internet. REQUIRED reading for anyone involved with e-mail, the internet, or e-commerce. I have pre-ordered copies for all my senior staff !!

V\The teacher and founder of the Grayson Academy, Melissa Grayson was cursed. She had been born with a perfect figure, creamy skin, and sea-blue eyes. With this physical description her life in the primarily XY chromosome town of Silver Wind caused riots and civil unrest. Melissa is given an ultimatum by the men of the town: marry or be jailed. The latter would cause the end of the school her father started out in the mining town. And she surely did not want to marry one of the locals, including Black Bart, the town drunkard.

Enter Lucky Lawrence, a do-good gambler, escaping from an unhappy man who is out for his blood. Lucky steps off the train and into Silver Wood. Little does he know Melissa has sent for her pen pal to rescue her. She has never seen this man before but he promised to marry her thus saving Grayson Academy.

Melissa sees the tall, dark and unshaven Lucky and presumes he is her James Harold Pickney IV. Lucky sees the opportunity to help out a gorgeous woman whilst being able to hide out under a different name.

Melissa soon realizes her James is not exactly the scholar he had appeared to be through his letters. Although he could charm the scales off a snake, he knows little about 'reading, 'riting, and 'rithmatic. She finally confronts her 'husband' when she catches him teaching the younger students to add and subtract with 'Blackjack 21.' But she finds that no matter who he is, she loves this dark gambler with gun-metal gray eyes.

The only problem arises when the real James Harold Pickney IV arrives and discovers Melissa and Lucky have not been living as brother and sister in their false marriage. If that town finds out, Melissa and her school are in trouble, or worse Lucky may leave her with a broken heart.

This is my first novel by Sandra Chastain but she has included one of the funniest elements in her novel. That element would be hicks and hillbillies. I do love to read their dialogue and wonder why more authors do not center their novels around these colorful characters. The eloquent Melissa is reminiscent of Laura Ingalls from the "Little House on the Prairie"; strong, brave, and lovable. However the absolute best part of the book is the interaction of Lucky Lawrence and James Harold Pickney IV, and their learning to live with and as each other.

THE MAIL ORDER GROOM is a dead-eye hit with laughs and sighs to propel it into the readers heart.

In the mining town of Silver Wind, Colorado, Melissa Grayson's beauty is a thing of legend. Or, the subject of any and all brawls that occur any time she's around. Melissa had come to the town of Silver Wind to help at the school that her father had built, but unfortunately he died before she got there, so she's been running the school on her own, and doing a pretty good job of it. Only without a husband, many of the single men in town seem to think that she's up for grabs, and continuously resort to fisticuffs over her. When another such brawl ends up with Melissa accidentally shooting the Mayors' son, the local sheriff, and a group of concerned citizens decide they've had enough-she's to either pick a groom, or she'll be arrested. In desperation, for she can't find a man among the locals she thinks will even halfway suffice, she contacts the brother of a friend that she's been pen pals with, Harold James Pickney IV, and asks him to become her husband in name only, and in return, she'll provide him with a teaching opportunity, and help take care of him, for he's of bad health. When Harold agrees, Melissa is thrilled to report it to the town, but they wait suspiciously for him to show up. They're determined Melissa is going to be married, one way or another.

When Lucky Lawrence, a gambler sometimes savior, saves the daughter of a friend, only to wind up on the run himself from the notorious outlaw Cerqueda, he doesn't even care where he's headed when he jumps on the train heading for Silver Wind, CO. He's astounded when he gets off the train, and there, on the platform, is a horde of people-who mistake him for Harold Pickney, IV. When Lucky begins to hear the story, he realizes that he'll have to help, as he can't leave a damsel in distress. And when he sees Melissa, he's so bowled over by her beauty; it takes him a min. to realize that she also thinks he's Harold, her fiancé. This gorgeous woman had never met the man she intended to marry? Lucky begins to see this as the perfect opportunity to hide out for a while-he can play this woman's fiancé, save her and himself, and then hightail it out of town when things die down.

In a wonderfully humorous romance, Ms. Chastain entertains us to the hilt. It's almost a comedy or errors to watch the characters with one another. The romance between Lucky and Melissa is the central focus of the story, but Ms. Chastain entertains us with several romances between supporting characters, which all together made this a delightful read.
Her spark and verve for humor come across quite clearly, and her characters will have you laughing out loud, and turning the page to see what they'll be up to next.

In 1888 Silverwind, Colorado, the town's citizens are tired of males fighting over beautiful schoolteacher Melissa Grayson. The latest melee occurs as people go to church resulting in the mayor's son being shot by a ricocheting bullet that hit the church bell first. The townsfolk inform Melissa she either marry someone immediately or go to jail for attempted murder since she fired the shot that accidentally hit the lad. Desperate to continue running her deceased father's academy and to avoid jail or marriage to the locals, she sends a telegram to her telegraph pal sickly James Pickney asking if he would marry her though they never met. James accepts this chance for the adventure he always was too ill to try.

In Santa Fe, gambler Lucky Lawrence rescues Louisa Hidalgo from nasty Cerqueda, but by doing so he has made himself a deadly persistent enemy. Lucky needs to hide until his foe forgets him so when he is mistaken for James he accepts the role and marries Melissa, rationalizing his deception as assisting a damsel in distress. Soon a comedy of errors filled with love occurs even as Cerqueda plans to correct his failure.

THE MAIL ORDER GROOM is an entertaining Americana romance that wildly westernizes Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors. The characters with their distinct personalities make the story line as readers appreciate the deep cast that stars three sets of couples though much of the plot focuses on the real Lucky-Melissa. Sandra Chastain provides an engaging novel so that those lucky enough to read the novel will recognize the author's talent.

Harriet Klausner

The book does an excellent job describing how outlook works at the right level of detail. There are lots of screen shots where they provide value. The text does an excellent job talking about WHAT outlook does and HOW you can do things with outlook. It provides TIPS on how to do things and how people combine features of outlook in ways that I did not know were possible!

I set out to learn how Outlook works. I decided that Outlook is a valuable productivity aid and that the "trial and error" method of learning it was not how I wanted to learn it. I found this book recommended on a web site, bought and read the book (cover-to-cover). I now feel I know what outlook can do, and how to do it.

And no. I do not know the author or have anything to gain from this review.

This book is by far one of the best I've seen on Outlook. It is geared to intermediate to advanced users and covers all the major topics in good detail. I found the chapters on integrating Outlook and Exchange Server particularly useful. There are a lot of great tips on configuring public folders and using advanced features that aren't covered in most of the other books. There is also a nice introduction to programming Outlook applications. If you are an experienced Outlook user or want to get up to speed on managing Outlook installations for Exchange Server, this is the book to have.

Some books give you workbook like examples to do. Some times that approach works best, but for me, I just want to read about how the software works, and apply it to the work I am doing. This is not a step-by-step book where you do exercises, which for my needs is good. This book includes a CD of the whole book, plus other things. Overall, I have found this book able to address my techncial questions in depth, the CD is worth the price alone.

Outlook is a great, albeit complex, program. It is impossible for a book (especially a Dummies book) to be an authoritative text on the program. But Outlook for Dummies goes a long way to giving a user or even an administrator of a mid-sized operation essential information to get started and use Outlook effectively. For advanced features, I depended on MS Press Book "Running Outlook 2000". Dummies has a wide breadth of information which is simple, readable and applicable to practical use of MS Outlook in an office environment.

This is by far the best step-by-step reference book for those of us who are not College trained computer nerds. Mr. Dyszel presents the material in understandable terms.

If you are anything like me you have been using excell and word everyday for years never really delving into Outlook because it looked silly and confusing well i started using outlook 98 and it is AWESOME it does so much more than email I keep my entire company focused and task oriented using outlook. Get this great book and start using outlook today you will be suprized how much is there for you to use.