We talk a lot about "trust" in my organization, but it's always in vague terms. You get the feeling that everyone has their own definition, which they assume everyone shares. This book breaks trust down into easily understood components, makes a bottom-line business case for improving your relationships in the workplace, and then helps you do just that. It focuses on behaviors, not motivations, and therefore gives you a framework for talking about trust without accusing or blaming. It's one of the most useful business books I've read in a long time.

Robert Bruce Shaw addresses an issue that is often either neglected or handled with bromides. To its credit, Shaw's book does not overpromise by announcing a magical ten day program to restore trust. Instead, it provides an interesting variety of examples and succinctly shows how the organizations that have succeeded in establishing high levels of trust differ from their less adept colleagues. While doing so, Shaw does not engage in preachy denunciations. The overall tone of the book emphasizes creating solutions rather than affixing blame.

In that spirit, "Trust in the Balance" contains surveys of the key factors affecting trust in the workplace; surveys that can be easily used by the reader to spot problems in his or her organization. Each chapter has meaty analysis and specific guidance on the steps that should be taken to address particular trust problems. There is also a helpful "Trust-Building Resources" section in the back of the book.

One is fortunate to glean one good idea from many business books. Shaw's book contains many excellent points and observations. Anyone seeking a no-nonsense analysis of how to handle the "trust issue" should read this book. It will be well worth your time.

I just got this book and I was so impressed with the writer's straight-forward style that I felt like an old friend was suggesting the best places to stay in Hawaii. It is honest and detailed and a must-have book for planners who want to make the most of their stay in Paradise.

Grant categorizes the many B&Bs, resorts, inns, condos etc. according different travellers' tastes and needs. Each island has her recommendations for "Best Romantic Hideaways," "Best Resorts for Wordly Elegance," "Best Family Resorts," "Best Resort Values," etc.

Based on her description and pictures we saw on the web, we are confident we have found exactly what we are looking for on the three islands that we want to visit on our honeymoon.

I can't say enough about it! If you are going to Hawaii and you don't want a cookie-cutter-travel-agent-planned vacation, but you still want value for your money, do yourself a favor and buy this book.

I got this book when planning a 20th anniversary trip to the Caribbean with my husband. I hadn't been to the Caribbean before and was overwhelmed by the choices. The book helped me narrow down my choice to two wonderful hotels on Grenada, an island I had never thought of visiting. The book's descriptions are vivid and accurate.

If you're tired of staying at Motel 6 on every trip, this book provides you with some great options throughout the Mid-Atlantic. The author really did his research, and he gives you a really detailed picture of every inn and hotel listed, from the most interesting dishes on the dinner menu to the exotic and/or amusing history behind some of the establishments.

This book would be useful if the turnover in the hotel industry were not so rampant. The information was very helpful, but I spent a great deal of time trying to match hotels referenced in the book with their current owner or management company. Of course my next concern was the relevance of a property 's review if the hotel had indeed changed its management!

Thank you, thank you! After hours of online searching, talking with travel agents and pouring over brochures, finally an objective assesment of where to stay! We found the perfect resort for our honeymoon and will return for our first anniversary!

I used this book to pick out a couple of places to stay in Vermont, and regretted it. I should have been tipped off by the fact that every single review in the book is glowingly positive; a dead giveaway that the book is not independent. It seems very likely to me that this is one of those guides where the inns and hotels pay to be included, and may even write their own reviews.

The book is divided up by types of place, so there's a "Country B&B" section, a "Romantic Getaway" section, a "Lakeside" section, and so on. We booked one of the "Gourmet Getaways" and one of the "Farms"; the former was a disaster, but the latter was OK. The gourmet place, a fancy inn in Ludlow, was described as providing "sumptuous feasts" for breakfast, with "excellently trained and most personable" staff, and the option of picking up a "sophisticated picnic lunch". It's hard to imagine the editors actually ate at this place: the staff clearly hated the management and were close-mouthed and unfriendly (and we overheard the owner loudly berating one of the waitresses); the cooking was very good, but not extraordinary, and the picnic was ridiculous--for $25 a head we each got a nice little ash bucket with a quarter bottle of very cheap champagne, a chunk of cheese, and a hunk of bread.

The farm was described a little more accurately--the views were truly incredible, and the cooking was home-cooking, wisely not praised in the guide book.

At the gourmet place, in Ludlow, we met up with a couple of friends from Britain. They'd booked on our recommendations, but had bought a guide book anyway, and we were alarmed to discover a much harsher evaluation of where we were about to stay. In the end, we enjoyed ourselves enough--good company and Vermont scenery can overcome most ills. When we shop for a vacation now, though, we always look for a guide book that seems willing to criticize.

This book has been an invaluable source for my business - New England B&B Reservation Services. What I like most is that many of the places I have called out of this book have been gracious and professional. I have to make a lot of "cold calls" in this business when I get requests for areas outside of my listings. It is nice to know that my call will be received well. We only carry those hosts who offer exceptional hospitality, so if I don't have a good conversation with the bed & breakfasts and country inns, then I cannot recommend them to my clients. The descriptions set forth in this book are generally true and honest. When I visit the places personally, I already know what to expect.

I found this hotel guide very helpful when planning our trip to southern florida. Because it is well designed, is is very easy to use and not overly suffocating, in terms of too much information. A good buy!

I am a HSC student and i found studying Dawes poetry that they are very depressing. I do realise that this review is for your book and not the poetry but i just wanted to express to someone how i feel about his depressing nature. What i wound like to know is who thought of these poems for us, who are obviously put under enough stress anyway with the HSC. The poems i have to study include 'Katrina', 'The not so good earth', 'Enter with out so much as knocking', 'Accident and Ambulance siren' and the rest of them. As much as i like these poems i do not agree with the choice in poems for the HSC Thankyou from a concerned student

OK...so I am studying "Sometimes Gladness" and I really don't get the way poetry is so confusing, continually switching mood and emotion. As a VCE student who has never studied poetry before i find this disturbing.