Related Subjects: Author Index Reviews Page 1 2 3
Book reviews for "Smoller,_Bruce_M." sorted by average review score:

The Nutrition Guarantee: A Complete Guide to Better Health, Disease Prevention, and Treatment
Published in Paperback by Summit Pub Group (01 April, 1998)
Author: Bruce B. Miller
Amazon base price: $17.99
Used price: $8.30
Buy one from zShops for: $11.95
Average review score:

take your health into your own hands
if you're interested in nutrition and how to get and stay healthy this book gives you more information than any other i've seen. it helps you to select those supplements you specifically need, which is not easy in a vitamine shop these days!

the vitamin help you have been looking for
If you are confused about all the vitamin choices, then look no further. This book will help you understand how and why vitamins are helpful and which ones are important for which ailments. Excellent book.

Probably the only natural healing source book you will need.
This book debunks the world of "snake oil" vendors promising miracle cures. It gives good down to earth practical information on a variety of ailments which can be successfully treated using the bodys natural healing processes - fueled with proper nutrition. It particularly addresses the need for QUALITY suppliments.


The Caner's Handbook
Published in Paperback by Lark Books (1992)
Authors: Bruce Miller and Jim Widess
Amazon base price: $13.27
List price: $18.95 (that's 30% off!)
Used price: $8.99
Collectible price: $18.95
Buy one from zShops for: $13.12
Average review score:

The "Bible" of the seat weaving industry!
Of all the myriad of reference books I have acquired in the 25 years working in the seat weaving business, The Caner's Handbook is by far the best and #1 on my entire list.

I was fortunate to purchase my first book (in hardcover), right after it was published in 1984. I had already done every type of seat weaving covered in this book, but through the clear, close-up pictures and accompanying text, was able to fine tune my craft even more.

At each one of my seat weaving classes, and whenever someone asks me what the best all around book on seat weaving is, I tell them to buy The Caner's Handbook. Through the information in this book, anyone can learn to weave with cane, rush, splint, rawhide, Danish Modern, Oriental seagrass, and all types of splints in a variety of designs and patterns.

Jim Widess, who besides co-authoring this book, is the owner of The Caning Shop, where he and his employees not only sell materials used in cane and basketry, but have first-hand knowledge of weaving. They have been doing this for a living for many years, so know all the problems and questions the novice as well as the consumate weaver might encounter.

I urge anyone that is contemplating beginning seatweaving as a hobby or profession to buy this wonderful book, take some time to read and digest it, then go out and conquer the world of seat weaving! There will be no doubt that you will be a professional in no time!

concise, straightforward
this book is far and away from your typical 'how-to' book. These actually want you to learn this skill. You won't be let down with this one.

The only book you need to weave seats
One book that tells you EVERYTHING is The Caners Handbook by Bruce W. Miller and Jim Widess. It is the best I have found. A great book for beginners as well as pros like me who have been in the business for 20 years.


Growing Millionaire Kids
Published in Paperback by Growing Millionaire Kids, Inc. (01 January, 2003)
Authors: Bruce; Palaniuk, Marvin Sparks, Jeff Miller, Bruce Palaniuk, and Jeffrey Miller
Amazon base price: $9.95
Used price: $7.96
Buy one from zShops for: $9.45
Average review score:

Changing tomorrow
This book could create a more secure future for us all by empowering tomorrows adults, ( today's children ) with financial freedom.
An excellent read.

Building Tomorrows Future with Todays Money
This review will be short and sweet. I my opinion the author hit the nail on the head. They simply wrote the easy true about the importance of teaching young kids how to save money today for their future goals. It show them how to save without going without today. They will notice all the things they can still have while watching their future money grow geometrically.
Most of us know how kids feel about the here and now, "I have to have it now". This book teaches them how they can have both. Great book for such a small price.

Complex Material Made Simple
This book takes a complicated subject and explains building wealth in simple terms. It is easy to understand and practical. It does not try to impress with complex theory and information. It gives specific ideas and examples of how anyone can, using a consistent and disciplined approach, build real wealth for their children and families. The best solutions are often those that seems almost too easy - but these are often the strokes of genius that change our lives. This book and its methods and ideas are in this category. What a bargain! What a program!


The Actor as Storyteller: An Introduction to Acting
Published in Hardcover by McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages (02 July, 1999)
Author: Bruce J. Miller
Amazon base price: $56.45
Used price: $34.39
Buy one from zShops for: $51.93
Average review score:

An excellent acting text for actors at any level.
As he promises Miller delivers an "articulation of craft that is simple, direct, immediate and broadly applicable." What he doesn't state is just how refreshing and relieving it is to finally have a clear and practical textbook on acting. Miller punctures the mystique surrounding actors and what they do and how they do it. He reaffirms that acting is indeed a craft with a learnable set of skills. Acting then becomes possible for anyone willing to devote the time and effort into mastering its skills. Good acting is no longer the domain of an elite few who magically possess talent. The biggest obstacle I find facing my students is not a lack of talent but a confusion about and an unwillingness to pursue mastery of the skills of craft. I find most textbooks on acting either too theoretical or confusing in their attempts to articulate craft. By clearly defining the skills and suggesting practical exercises to master them, Miller has given the student some solid footing for their journey toward mastery. Another strength of Miller's book is its enpowerment of the actor. Too often the model I see in production is the actor who comes to rehearsal and waits for the director to tell her what to do and how to do it. This totally undermines the potential strength of the collaborative process. Miller's dictum that it is the actor's responsibility to help tell the story in the most potent way possible re-establishes the potential strength of the collaborative relationship. Actors can then offer the director several choices for a moment or a scene. This enriches the production and makes the actor's job much more exciting and creative. Students will appreciate Miller's detailed guidance on audtioning and rehearsing.Again he offers very clear and practical models for these processes. His closing chapters on the "business" are honest and wise. I am using THE ACTOR AS STORYTELLER as a required text in all my acting classes. It combines good solid acting values and techniques and presents them with a simplicity and clarity that will heighten the skill of any actor who practices them. I highly recommend this text.

The Quintessence of Effective Performance
This book is a "must read" for working actors, drama teachers and students. This book explains acting's essence; all else is mere technique!

This ia an important new Acting Textbook.
This is a quite marvelous new acting text that provides a wealth of exercises meant to focus the acting task squarely on the actor's intellect. Miller defines good acting as being believable and telling the best possible story (hence the title). His focus is on the actor taking circumstances and situations into account and then rendering acting choices that will be interesting and compelling. This is a liberating approach, in that it gives beginning students a bench mark from which to evaluate thier work. As a devotee of Robert Cohen's Acting One for many years, I am impressed how this book takes that bare bones approach (Goal, Obstacle, Tactic, Expectation) and really expands upon it. Students are not just responsible for determining goal, but they must tell a story as well. This places an enormous responsiblity on the actor (some HS teachers might think too much), but it is eminantly workable and pragmatic within the context of scene and character work. To his credit, Miller is taking his technique on the road. He is currently holding workshops, sponsored by the Educational Theater Association, where he spends a weekend with interested High School acting teachers actually working on the exercises in the book. Having just attended the one in Atlanta this past September, I can say that what may seem too simple on the page, comes to vibrant life in the workshop. I highly recommend it to HS teachers. Since the workshop I have been able to meld the best of Cohen, with many of the exercises that Miller provides. My students have never been more engaged and challenged with the acting process. Even if you don't adopt the book for your classroom, this is a must read for every HS acting teacher (and college profs would do well by it, as well). It also includes valuable information about the audition process and how to succeed as a professional actor.


Strategic Selling: The Unique Sales System Proven Successful by America's Best Companies
Published in Hardcover by William Morrow (1985)
Authors: Stephen E. Heiman, Tad Tuleja, and Robert Bruce Miller
Amazon base price: $19.95
Used price: $1.95
Collectible price: $4.66
Average review score:

Don't Get Lost in the Sales Cycle
It would be great if you could develop some new technique for walking into a large corporation and closing a major sale on the first visit, but it rarely, if ever, happens. Chances are, you're in for drawn-out process with lots of players. Most corporate sales professionals meander through this process hoping to "do what it takes" to close the sale. Miller, Heiman finally offer up a way of keeping score -- of knowing where you stand in the process and what you have to do to keep it moving in the right direction. By developing a standard nomenclature to discuss buy types and their relevant position in the sales process, Miller, Heiman allow you to keep track for yourself, but discuss it with your sales management. This is likely the most important book about the strategic side of selling. I can guarantee you this: read this book -- practice the technicques within, and you will never find out you lost a sale after the fact.

A comprehensive sales methodology
_Strategic Selling_ is a valuable book, especially for those of us who are not "salesmen" in the classic sense, but have to operate in the Complex Sales environment. Consultants and Client Relationship Managers will find it especially valuable.

_Strategic Selling_ provides valuable insight into how to set up "Win/Win" situations: it begins by identifying the different kinds of "Buyers" in every sales situation, the roles they play, and what constitutes "Value" to them.

It then provides a mechanism for identifying what you do not "know" about the various Buyers, with the objective of finding out. It is an approach which helps you paint a complete picture of the dynamics at work in a selling situation, so that you can operate effectively within it.

Finally, it provides a mechanism for "keeping the sales funnel full" -- a challenge which most people operating in cyclical industries can identify with.

Following this methodology can help you ensure that you do not blunder around in ignorance in a Complex Sales environment -- you will know at least as much as the next guy, and probably much more. And you will be actively doing something about it.

Rackham's _SPIN Selling_ is a good complementary book to _Strategic Selling_, as it provides a tactical approach -- the "How To" as opposed to the "Why".

_Strategic Selling_ is an interesting -- though not uncomplementary -- contrast to Holden's _Power Base Selling_. Both approaches can provide insight into the inner workings of the Complex Sale; however, _Strategic Selling_ focuses less on manipulating the political forces at work, and may thus be more palatable for some

Excellent system for sales analysis
Strategic Selling is a long time favorite of mine because of the simplicity and structure to the method. Especially for the new salesperson, this book provides the tools to effectively handle complex sales situations.


Foundations of Powerbuilder 5.0 Programming
Published in Paperback by Hungry Minds, Inc (19 August, 1996)
Authors: Brian J. Smith, Gordon W. Schaad, Richard Castler, Jon E. Bruce, Azita Gandjei, and John Miller
Amazon base price: $9.95
Used price: $3.99
Collectible price: $3.16
Average review score:

The book which will teach you from a to Z
Throughout many books available for PowerBuilder today this one is more deeply and carefully covers all the details you will need from day to day operations. I've red over dozens of books and I think that this one the only one that is not tells you where to click, but teaches you how to build an application and logical design. I do hope that authors of the book (B. Smith and G. Schaad) will issue a newer version that will cover features implemented with PB 6.x and PB 7

Exemplary treatment of a difficult subject
This is by far the easiest-to-read and -understand book I have read on PowerBuilder. It is very well edited also, with no grammatical or spelling errors that I could discern. This is a far better book on PowerBuilder than I have read by any other author. Bravo!


Head-First Acting: A Commonsense Technique for Young Actors (Young Actors Series)
Published in Paperback by Smith & Kraus (2001)
Author: Bruce J. Miller
Amazon base price: $16.95
Used price: $11.75
Average review score:

Acting Craft that can be Taught
Here is a book on acting craft for teachers and students that both explains basic technique with clarity, specificity, and humor; and offers one of the largest, most effective step-by-step collections of sure-fire acting games and exercises available. What you will find here can make an instantaneous difference with acting students on any level. Each exercise includes the following: a set of clearly laid out objectives so both teachers and students clearly understands the purpose behind it; a step-by-step set of instructions to ensure maximum results for each; the most likely scenarios that will play out along the way for maximum preparedness; suggestions for the best ways to respond to students' questions;suggestions for building on the exercises to develop the craft behind them.

The material in this book will help young actors develop their ability to find and play given circumstances, stakes, conflict, and objectives; better use their bodies to make clear what they are thinking, feeling, and doing; help them listen and react more effectively on stage; better analyze and synthesize dramatic material; use dialogue more effectively; and most importantly, think as actors to improve their work in any acting situation.


Die Vecna Die!
Published in Paperback by Wizards of the Coast (1900)
Authors: Bruce R. Cordell and Steve Miller
Amazon base price: $24.95
Used price: $14.99
Buy one from zShops for: $36.00
Average review score:

Ah, Vecna, my canny foe, we meet again...
One could make the defeat of Vecna the focus of 2 or 3 campaigns; the 3 adventures that star Vecna (Vecna Lives!, Vecna Reborn, and Die, Vecna, Die!)are certainly not for the faint of heart or low of level. Die, Vecna, Die! is an epic adventure that falls just a bit short due to the fact it seems a bit too pre-programmed, leading the adventurers by the nose at times. It does bring the story arc for Vecna closer to a conclusion, but relies too heavily on plot contrivances that negate some of what has come before in the other Vecna adventures, such as the revelation that the Sword of Kas that we've seen in Vecna Lives! is a replica, not the original, or that, oh, by the way, there IS a way for the Sword to defeat Vecna. This module also suffers in comparison to Vecna Lives!, which managed to evoke a truly terrifying atmosphere. However, this is a fine adventure well worth checking out.

Do you Dare??
The last book of 2nd edition...Your characters determine how it will all end. Adventure that begins in Greyhawk then takes you to Ravenloft and ends up in Sigil!! In Greyhawk, the adventurers find out that the god Iuz is starting trouble. Several small scirmishes and a wonderful story. In Ravenloft, the adventurers find themselves in a strange city, and they realizenot everything is as it seems!!! I wont ruin it, but I will add this: if Vecna breaks out, Ravenloft could be destroyed! In Sigil, your characters do battle with a god and if, if they survive...They might receive a blessing from the Lady herself. The creators of this module left enough room to play with as far as tweaking this or that, but over all, there is so much information about every little room, dungeon, NPC that even a new dungeon master would have no problems. I DM'd this module with four other players (Green Dragon Mage-constructed from the council of wyrms), a psionisist (Human male-uh, until he put on a girdle of feminity-haha), Minotaur warrior and a Paladine(Yes, the Paladine and Dragon got along very well, but that's what makes the role play). Any how, the charcters were all around 7the level and the game lasted 5 fridays, each friday lasting around 8 hrs!!! It was one of the funnest games I have DM'd since....Dragon Mountain!! Die Vecna, Die is an adventure not for the faint of heart...Oh, did I mention that half of the party died? I wont say who for fear of intimidating other players (Dark Smile)

Goodbye 2nd edition, Hello 3rd
As the final module for 2nd edition D&D, I think this is a classic. It's the first Greyhawk storyline I've run in over 10 years, but well worth it. I like to have a sense of continuity and cohesiveness in my campaigns, and although Ravenloft got a little play in my games I never really liked it. This module gives me the chance to essentially blow it away but maintain it's relevance to my ongoing campaign (now at to 19 years)!

The module also served as a nice sendoff to the realms of Greyhawk, Ravenloft, and Planescape, none of which will be officially supported by WotC once 3rd Edition D&D arrives. It's a killer of a module, one that will be difficult for DMs to handle and players to survive, but the ending is extrememly satisfying. I highly recommend this module!


Successful Large Account Management
Published in Paperback by Warner Books (1992)
Authors: Tad Tuleja, Robert Bruce Miller, and Stephen E. Heiman
Amazon base price: $11.16
List price: $13.95 (that's 20% off!)
Used price: $4.49
Collectible price: $9.47
Buy one from zShops for: $4.87
Average review score:

Building Strategic Relationships
In this age of consolidation, big companies keep getting bigger. For suppliers, losing any large account can be at least dramatic or at worst devastating. Large Account Management Process (LAMP) from Miller Heiman presents a logical, team friendly method of knowing how your company is positiioned in your large accounts, and what needs to be done to maintain or improve that position. Highly recommended.

LAMP - An Usefull guide to Account Planning
LAMP is the best book I have read about Key/Large Account Planning. Most salesreps and hates the planning process and struggle with their plans. This down to earth approach helps a salesrep to organize his work in developing his account plans in a straightforward and pragmatic way. Instead of focusing on history, LAMP is targeting the future and helps you to align your resources through action plans.

This is a must have!! EXCELLENT BOOK!
The first chapter of this book was like reading an unauthorized biography of all my short comings in managing my largest accounts. Even as a top five performer, I still felt like I was flying by the seat of my pants. This book set out a course for improvement that has changed my professional career forever. If you manage large global accounts this book should be your bible. Mine is still drying out from massive highlighter use!


The Tao of Bruce Lee
Published in Paperback by Vintage Uk (2000)
Author: Davis Miller
Amazon base price: $10.40
List price: $13.00 (that's 20% off!)
Used price: $6.50
Collectible price: $21.13
Buy one from zShops for: $9.50
Average review score:

interesting, refreshing read about Hollywood and celebrity
Highly recommended. A short book with tremendous range. I'm noticing a pattern in the customer reviews: Those who can read and write enjoy this book, those who can't, and are looking for a simple-minded Bruce Lee biography, often don't, even though the story Davis Miller tells in the first half of the book, his own, is probably that of a lot of Bruce Lee fans. Davis Miller has written an ambitious book. I found it because it was an editors' recommendation at "The San Francisco Chronicle." It is not something I would have come to, otherwise. I am grateful that I read the "Chronicle" review and I'm anxious to read more from this new, original writer.

What doesn't kill you . . .
In The Tao of Bruce Lee Davis Miller attempts to strip away the layers of myth which have encased, and almost obliterated, the real story of Bruce Lee. The result of his efforts is a broader and more honest portrait of a man with an often-complex character. Miller also reappraises the frequently hidden extent of Lee's success, stating that, 'he became the first truly international film luminary'. Bruce lee's status, argues Miller, is comparable to other famous victims of ' the doomed pursuit of the (American) dream'. This roll-call includes fictional figures such as Scott Fitzgerald's Gatsby to the all too human icons of James Dean, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Muhammad Ali.

Miller charts Lee's life from his birth in San Francisco in 1940 to his untimely death thirty-three years later in Hong Kong. During the journey various myths are debunked. For example, Lee, far from being an only child brought up by an impoverished and widowed father, as portrayed in the film biography Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, came, in fact, from a show-business family, complete with a mother, and four siblings. Also, the myths surrounding Lee's early life which portray him as being the 'baddest boy in the Crown Colony' are rather questionable. The young Lee had to be 'encouraged' to finish a roof-top contest, and was in reality more interested in dancing, acting and girls than martial arts. However, Miller is perhaps at his most interesting when he attempts to unravel the events surrounding the final three years of Lee's life in Hong Kong. The picture painted is of a man living mentally and physically at full stretch.

The path Miller takes with the book is in the form of a personal journey through his own coming of age story. This path is interwoven with the impact Bruce Lee made on the self-described 'geek' from North Carolina. For fans there is perhaps a temptation to skim the first part of the book to get to the more meaty details of Lee's life and death. However, this would be a shame since Miller offers some revealing insights into the flip-side of the American dream for life's outsiders; outsiders who dream of cars and girls, and fitting in, but, never quite make it. Although Miller tried his best to fit, for example, at Mount Tabor high school, he describes his wardrobe as consisting of co-ordinating golf caps and rows of almost fetish-like shinny shoes, he remained, in spite of all his sartorial efforts, an outsider.

My only criticisms of the book are slight; a few well chosen photographs would have been a plus. Overall, Davis Miller's The Tao of Bruce Lee lives up to the blurb on the back cover. It is a unique and compelling book, just as enjoyable to re-read as it is to discover for the first time.

All quotes taken from,
The Tao of Bruce Lee, by Davis Miller. (Vintage, 2000).

title of book is subtle
My opinion about the title of this book is that it has layered meanings. Not only is it about Bruce Lee and his "tao" - way - of life, it is about the many ways that Lee influenced Davis Miller and other Bruce Lee fans.

It is also a somewhat ironical title. As the author explains in the book, it relates to the fact that Bruce Lee's early death may have been hastened by the ways he was living day to day, by his own "tao."

This is a quality book and a serious and subtle read.


Related Subjects: Author Index Reviews Page 1 2 3

Reviews are from readers at Amazon.com. To add a review, follow the Amazon buy link above.