Ms. Provost is a gifted writer who provides a clear, concise guide to a complicated Federal program.

I studied this book last winter. I will study it again because it's worth reviewing. My 1st English Tutorial.

Good evening, Iam a neurologist in the Mexican Institute of Social security, I'm study about de epidemiological clinic diplomate. I'm searching the relationship betwen sleep disorders and epilepsy and cephalea. My intention or purpose is for my doctoral studies, to make a protocolum in this topic. Thanks for all atentions Vic Martin Peres Sur 39-429 Orizaba,Ver. México.

It's a valuable boo

I have used this book for a month and found that my vocabulary had become excellent and my score has increased from 250 to 276(computer based).The tips and tricks used in the book is far more than excellent . This book uses stratagies which can be understood by any one .so if any body is plannig to use one book for toefl I WOULD RECCOMEND THIS!!!!

I love to read, and I rarely find a book that I didn't want to stop reading, but this was one of them!! Bruce Henderson does a fantastic job bringing all of the victims, police, and suspects to life that you feel like you are watching the events happen. He walks you through the last days of the victims, throught the investigations and the trial with the greatest of ease that before you know it you've read 130 pages in one sitting. I didn't want to stop reading, and I thouroughly enjoyed the update of all the characters at the end of the book to let you know what they went on to do after this investigation was over. I highly suggest that you get this book if you are interrested in any sort of true-crime readings!! You won't be disappointed! I know I wasn't!!!

This is a good, straight-forward account of how the Sacramento sheriffs and San Joaquin County Sheriff's Deptartment worked together to hunt down a serial killer in the 1980's. The story gets very interesting when the police have identified the killer but need to gather the evidence necessary to charge him with the murders. If you want to read a fantastic book (one of the best true crime novels I ever read) by the same other try "And the Sea Will Tell." Vincent Bugliosi co-authored that book with Henderson.

I read the other comments and would like to say to the mother of one of Kibbe's victims that I am very sorry for her terrible loss... One of the elements that elevates this book above most true-crime reporting is the emphasis on the victims, who they were, who loved them, who misses them. Murder can so often seem like just numbers, incomprehensible and not close enough to home to worry about. Along with an excellent, compelling account of the development of the investigation, Henderson brings home the full tragedy.

Stone, Patton and Bruce have written a very useful and critical work on the dynamics of all conversations - the ones we've had and regret; the ones we don't have, because they seem too risky; and the ones we need to have to enhance our personal and professional relationships. They argue that there are three categories of conversations, which encompass every aspect of what transpires in our daily exchanges. They are: (1) The "what happened?" conversation (2) The feelings conversation and (3) The identity conversation. We can become more skilled and efficient in our conversations, if we begin to check our often flawed assumptions about what happened, how we're feeling and how our self-perceptions impact our understanding of what others say. Typically, we assume we are right and others are wrong, we assume the intentions of others, we don't treat feelings as facts, and we associate our identities too closely with the contexts of specific conflicts. To have productive difficult conversations, we need to change the way we talk to ourselves and how we approach our communications with others.

One can't help wondering, however, if the only people reading this book are already self-actualized or so well on their way that they are, in fact, the best communicators among us. The authors' failed to address the lingering doubt left with the critical, reflective reader: that most difficult conversations are the fruits of difficult people, who, unless they read this book, have little capacity or motivation to be anything but difficult. In any case, Difficult Conversations is mostly devoted to explaining and analyzing the three conversations and how one can use these categories to have more productive exchanges. The book has many useful graphic organizers, including a checklist and a roadmap for engaging in difficult conversations.

In effect, Stone and his colleagues argue that we must shift from a perspective of "knowing" to "learning". Meaningful conversations can take place when we don't permit our assumptions to rule the moment, rather when we take control by being curious, open, and self-aware. To find out what happened, we need to explore each other's stories, separate intent from impact, abandon the blame framework, and to consider all conflicts as a system ("the contribution system"), to which every party has contributed in some way. They argue that the blame framework is a clue that feelings are playing a significant role in a conflict. Feelings often get translated into judgements, attributions, characterizations, or solutions. The key to managing feelings is to treat them as facts by acknowledging them, and considering how they are part of the problem and exploring them fully. All too often our feelings emerge from the sense that our identity is somehow at stake. Most of us frame our identities around one or all of three core themes: competence, virtue, or worthiness. When we feel any of these is questioned, we revert to fight or flight. We can best manage the identity issue by understanding ourselves as complex, by knowing we make mistakes, by acknowledging that our intentions are not simple, and by recognizing that all parties contribute to problems. The "learning" must begin within ourselves before we can understand issues or problems with others.

We can affect our own conversational "learning" by engaging in "the third story" conversation, which requires us to consider how a third party would describe and analyze the situation. This sets up a process of internal dialogue, which is necessary to check our own perceptions, feelings, and interests. Further, the authors encourage listening from the inside out, speaking for yourself, and taking the initiative. While the book combines theory, examples, and description, it is also a very handy guide to improving one's communication style in the workplace or at home.

This is an excellent book. By dropping your ego at page one, you can gain insight into what makes conversations so difficult, especially with those closest to you.

Some amazon.com reviewers have missed the point of this book when they write that the authors suggest giving up your "side" of a difficult conversation in order to be more open to the other person. What the authors are really saying is that difficult conversations remain that way precisely because no one begins the process of dropping judgemental behavior, and truly finding the truth behind the difficulty.

This is a skillfull book that if read thoroughly and applied in life, will positively affect the results of your most difficult conversations.

Wow...what a book! I found myself in a bookstore one day--slightly depressed, and wondering if their might not be some other book that I hadn't read that might help me out of the pits I was finding myself in. I already had a cache of some dozen books on interpersonal communication but was feeling not satisfied with what I had found. I walked over to the 'self-help' section, stuck my hands in and pulled out, 'Difficult Conversations...' I found myself a comfortable chair and three hours later I knew I had my answer. No, I didn't read all of it, merely scanned it but it was enough. That was a number of weeks ago and I'm now on the sixth time through! I've high-lighted and/or underlined virtually every page in the book. Then, I purchased several copies for some family members AND today picked up a hardback edition for my ever growing library. My life has changed and I have a new lease on life. Thanks to the writers of this wonderful book. Now I want them to create a workbook so that we can start support-groups and help others. This is a book that should be taught in the schools and churches to be sure. You will not waste your money on this one folks . . . trust me!

Great reference for all aspects of this subject. Use it every week. Highly recommended for novice-expert.

Its even better than the previous edition. Check my comment in the previous edition's review. Good work Roger Jennings and Group.

Along with Robert Cowart & Kenneth Greg's book on the WindowsNT Bible which is for beginners, this book by Roger Jennings is the BEST that is available for NT.

This is by far one of the best TOEFL test-preparation guides in print. It provides a very full and clear understanding of the different question and content types found on the TOEFL exam. It also gives numerous practice exercises that reinforce skills necessary to achieving a higher score on the TOEFL. There's a great list of idiomatic expressions for the listening section and vocbulary terms for the reading section, both with fill-in exercises, too. In addition, all of the listening, grammar, and reading exercises are wonderfully written. I have the sense that Rogers really put a lot of care into the material. The book comes with a CD which contains one practice test. There are also two practice tests at the end of the book. Drawbacks: For $42.95, Complete Guide to the TOEFL does not come with the tapes for the listening material ($99.95), the transcripts or the answers ($15.00). So, you're going to have to pay around $170 to really "get" this book. In addition, the TWE section of the book is not too stellar. However, overall, I find Bruce Rogers' Complete Guide to the TOEFL to be one of the clearest, most thoughtful TOEFL test-prep books on the market. It's expensive, but it will definitely give you an outstanding preparation for the TOEFL exam.

I consider to this book, like an excellent guide in order to pass the exam of the TOEFL, thanks to him, I could have passed the exam with a punctuation of 650. Besides being a guide, it is excellent continue practicing the grammar and writing of the English

Fisher's idea of "principled negotiation" is the first real academic attempt to study the best ways to negotiate, and he delivers the material in an easy to follow manner. His main points are (1) seperate the people from the problem (2) Focus on interests and not positions (3) invent options for mutual gain, and (4) insist on objective criteria. However, you must truly think about these points to fully grasp the power of this negotiation style; the substance of those points are not as straight-forward as they seem. The most useful point for novice negotiators is "Focus on Interets, not positions. By reading this book you will learn to spot when someone is being positional and be able to disarm them quickly, but tactifully, as you move the discussion to the various parties' interests. The book is most useful in negotaiting any sort of economic transaction, but is applicable in many areas except maybe if you are negotiating with a govt. regulatory agency. Overall, a must read for any CEO or a person wanting to get the best price on a car. The main thing you should get from this book are the tools that help you to recognize value and not leave value on the table that can be distributed among the parties to maximize gain.

Overall, I like this book a lot and I found it very useful.

Actually I didn't read through the whole book. Yet I did capture the key point of the book - 'Don't bargain over positions'. Then I used this principle-based negotiation in real life. For instance, when I am facing a challenge from my partner on my proposal, I won't fight back directly. I will first seek for the mutual interest, a common ground. Then I'll explain why I think my proposal can help achieve the mutual interest. Then I ask the opposing partner what he/she think and whether he/she wants to share any better proposal to achieve this mutual interest. If my/mutual interest can be satisfied, yet my partner has a better way to do it, then why not change my own proposal? I tried this approach several times and they all worked out pretty well. Most of the times I successfully convinced my partner without damaging relationship. A few times I changed my position yet I was still happy because I still had my interest satisfied.

Net, this book is really useful and recommend to BUY for everyone.

In virtually all circumstances where people are working together, they come to agreement in ways that short-change the interests of everyone involved. This landmark book shows practical ways to find out what other people want, and to devise better alternatives that create a "win" for everyone. The authors do a great job of overcoming the preconception that many hold that working on problems means that you have to be unpleasant. The advice to be hard on the problems and easy on the people (building a relationship) is a key concept that everyone can use. I have found this book to be one of the most helpful that I have every read, and I cite its lessons in my own book. I recently had a chance to use these principles in a negotiating workshop with veteran negotiators, and I was struck by how few people apply the lessons of GETTING TO YES. You will vastly improve your life if you read and practice the ideas in GETTING TO YES.