Careers Books

One upping a man in tennis thirty five years ago has given Tennis star Billie Jean King much to think about. "Pressure is a Privilege: Lessons I've Learned from Life and the Battle of the Sexes" is her autobiography of her life as a figure for feminists and a model for gender relations. With a good dose of common sense and wisdom, "Pressure is a Privilege" is a memoir worth reading for a look into a mind of an everyday woman who did wonderful things.

Billie Jean King is one of my heroes. She is from my generation, and as an amateur tennis player, she is "the greatest" to me.

This is an advice book, full of ideas useful on and off the court. There is no greater advocate of women's sports and tennis in general than this lady.

The book relates the impact of her famous match against Bobby Riggs, her preparation for the match and realization of what it meant to all women. How proud we all were when she "beat the socks off of him."

While she has achieved equal pay for women at the major tournaments, she herself played the best of five sets against Riggs, something women still do not do in pro tennis. Some critics say that women should play the longer matches to earn equal pay.

Regardless of one's opinions about tennis tournaments, this is an excellent compendium of advice for facing all sorts of challenges in life. Those who excel at something certainly earn the higher level pressures they face, hence pressure is indeed a privilege.

It is a small, short book, well worth the time to read and expenditure of the low Amazon price.

GREAT READ! GREAT GIFT! I am going back to buy 10 more copies as gifts for my mother, father and other family and friends!

As a former college athlete - one of the millions of women who benefited from the hard work of and changes created by Billie Jean King, I was thrilled to read personal thoughts, memories, and advice - straight from Billie Jean King herself!! This is a quick, entertaining, and informative read that gave me countless tools to better deal with personal and professional life challenges. I HIGHLY recommend it! I'm giving it as a Christmas gift to everyone I know!!!

I'VE BEEN A BJK FAN FOR OVER 45 YEARS...I WATCHED HER GROW FROM A GIDDY TEENAGER INTO THE WONDERFUL WOMEN SHE IS NOW..
I HAD THE PLEASURE OF MEETING HER 4 YEARS AGO...SHE IS WHAT SHE BELIEVES..
SHE GIVES HER FANS HER FULL ATTENTION AND SINCERELY ENJOYED MEETING US AND EVEN GAVE US FOREHAND LESSONS..RIGHT THEN AND THERE..
THIS BOOK IS JUST LIKE HAVING A PERSONAL CONVERSATION WITH HER..
IT'S ALSO A LOVING TRIBUTE TO HER PARENTS WHO INSTILLED IN HER SUCH WONDERFUL LIFE VALUES...
IT'S A GREAT READ FOR ANYONE...IT TRULY PUTS LIFE INTO PERSPECTIVE.

Where is Billie Jean?

I was delighted to get an ARC for Billie Jean King's book, since I think of her as an extraordinary woman, one who has not only been a #1-ranked tennis player, but a woman of integrity, who championed the Title IX for equal disbursement of Federal funding for male and female sports in schools, World Team Tennis, the Virginia Slims Tournament, equal pay for women's tournaments, women's liberation and for non-discrimination in life style choices. I have always admired her for her willingness to take a position, albeit unpopular ones, because it was the right thing to do.

That being said, I am sorely disappointed in her book. It's not that the book isn't well written, as prose goes, it's just fine. And, actually, her subtitle does indicate that her book is about lessons she has learned and The Battle of the Sexes. I was hoping that the book was about more than the subtitle. My mistake.

She does list and discuss these lessons and her set of life principles with great enthusiasm, and I agree with them all.
The problem is that these lessons and principles are not new ones; certainly lots of champions and even everyday people live by these same principles. They are good principles to live by, and it isn't a bad thing to be reminded of how powerful they can be in your life. But she could have talked about all of these things in one chapter, as a prelude to telling us about herself. Instead this book is about stating and then restating (in large boxes at the end of each chapter) her principles and life lessons.

Secondarily, most of the rest of the book is about the tennis match for the ages - The Battle of the Sexes - with Bobby Riggs. Billie Jean would chat about other events in her life in a vague sort of way, but they always let back to some more conversation about the Bobby Riggs match. The book has 187 pages of text. She begins on Page 20 (following a preface and an intro) mentioning Bobby Riggs and the match. The story continues with him, ad nauseum, up to page 97, when Billie Jean states that she wants to make a "final observation" about Bobby Riggs. I thought - whew! - Enough already, we're going to get to the story of Billie Jean. Except, that promise of release from Bobby inanities was broken and Bobby continued to be discussed throughout the book and was last cited on page 186.

I agree that, in retrospect, that tennis match was more than just the entertainment, more than the spectacle. At the time a statement about women in sports, women as champions and equal rights was being promoted. But enough already! It was also just a tennis match. In equal retrospect, any number of other important events could be cited in that same vein - we just don't need 187 pages of it, couched in between lots of not-new lessons of life.

In reading this book, I relearned one of my own life lessons. Never let your expectations exceed a reasonable payoff -- you're bound to be disappointed. I went looking for Billie Jean and got Bobby Riggs and platitudes instead.

I think that Billie Jean is worth much more, that her life story would be profoundly more interesting that this rather trite and ultimately uninteresting account. Too bad she didn't write that book.

If your into gaming this is a book for you. It delivers what it promises in providing the key essential to gaming. I recommend it.

No complaints here, the author gives very good examples to go with each topic she's explaining. Great excerpts from industry professionals add additional insight into the reading.

Excellent book as an introduction to developing games - My students (and i) found it very hard to put down after reading through the first chapter!

One question i have is about the instructor resource on DVD mentioned in the book. As this is the first time using the book for our game development course it would be helpful to have some material - especially the powerpoint slides. Does anyone know how to get a copy of this DVD? - Thomson learning doesn't seem to have a link for this resource.

Ordered this book for my husband's class. Not only did Amazon have it in stock, it was $20 cheaper than Barnes & Noble (with member discount) and that's even after upgrading the shipping. Was a little worried at first that the book wouldn't come quickly cause the tracking was awful, but it arrived fast.
A note worth mentioning: this book comes with a CD as well even though it does not say so.

My husband has not used this book much for his class yet, so as for the material I am not sure. But we are very pleased with the product & Amazon (as usual) so far.

I picked up this book as a possible replacement for the book that is currently used in my 'Game Design' course. This book is very attractive and professionally put together. It covers the material that would be essential (hence the title) when discussing the elements of game design:
1. The history of the medium
I found some annoying factual errors in this part of the book. Which initially turned me off but I continued to read since errors seemed to be in the sidebars which may not get the same editorial review.
2. Who plays and why?
This contained very interesting material for students to discuss with respect to player motivation, personality and gender. The eye-opening part for me was the view of game playing from the perspective of generations. Baby boomers, Generation X and the Millennial Generation look for different things from the games they play. (This part made me examine my own choices for games and the characters I am most attracted to in them!)
3. The elements in a game - genres, platforms, player mode

Part II is where the real gems are for people who really want to design games:
4. The elements of storytelling
5. Creating the characters/roles
6. Creating the game experience, e.g. challenges
7. Creating the World and Atmosphere (anyone else listen to the audio CD to remember the delight in playing the game?)

The last part covers:
8. The key roles/titles in the game development process
9. The process of producing games
10. The future of gaming

The book ends with the following bonuses:
11. A list of resources for those who are serious about actually getting into the game business
12. List of books to read and learn more
13. A CD with tools

The key thing I value when spending time on a book is one - am I learning something new? This book offers many ideas central to designing video games. It is an excellent book for a course on the topic or for any budding game designer to pick up start the journey.

Absolutely inspiring. Great material for those out there who are looking to achive personal growth in life and business.

Bob Quinn explores what it takes to be in the "Fundamental State of Leadership", stressing it is more about who a leader is than what a leader does to be effective. Eight practices are introduced which illustrate the creative tensions that exist in the leadership role. This book makes you think. Where each leader will come out on each of the 8 dimensions will depend on your own style and strengths, but the book serves as a great discussion/think stimulator to aid in the growth of your leadership ability.

Many books have great ideas about how to lead change but this one is exceptional. Mr. Quinn provides great case studies / examples using Appreciative Inquiry to reframe decision making and facilitate the always difficult task of transforming organizational culture.
While the book is a bit heady it does provide some refreshing insights on how to lead change without going crazy.

Walking naked into the wilderness. Being willing to talk about the elephants filling the room. Recognizing the trunk growing on my own face. Letting yesterday's organization go, those cozy perceptions that make our own inaction seem to be the safest way. Taking the road less traveled. Questioning my supervisor in an open, warm and respectful way---rather than complaining about him or her over lunch with a friend. Realizing the more of us who believe we are responsible for the organization we are part of, the more real that organization will become. That we are co-creators of our work reality--that there is no Them doing bad things to US.
These were many of the thoughts that emerged through my exploration of Robert Quinn's book Deep Change.

It is very challenging for me to evaluate Building the Bridge as I had the great privilege of Dr. Quinn including my story and some of my experiences once I faced my own fears at work several years ago.

There is no question in my mind, however, that Robert Quinn is a man of great wisdom and great gifts which he freely shares in a warm, personal and authentic way. After finishing his books I feel as though I have had a long conversation with a man who wants me to fulfill the purpose of my life. Such unselfishness is so rare in our age of narcissism and self-aggrandizement. I found his approach helped coax me toward being a more authentic, honest, and courageous leader.

No other author has brought me such insights in such an inviting and comforting way.

Jeremy Fish, M.D.

Base on my understanding of the American society, I am not surprised that this book, like Quinn's previous book "Deep Change," doesn't get as many reviews as it deserves, but I am confident that this book, and Qinn's trilogy, will become classic down the line.

This book would seem esoteric for the society that is addicted to data and techniques, thinking that what we need is more information and skills in order to lead. It does require the reader to be more mature to understand the content at a deeper level. In my case, my understanding of Systems Theory helps a great deal. In fact, this book fills the gap that is missing in the systemic leadership books that I have read.

Edwin H. Friedman's A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix is one of the books that I like best on leadership and systems theory. However, even though it describes the sickness of the societies, organizations, families, etc. extremely well, it lacks the recommendation for the leader to develop the systemic quality to transform the society, organization, or family he or she is leading. Quinn's books fill the gap right on the spot.

As a Chinese living in America for 16 years, my concern is seeing the rampant reductionism in this society that seems to be leading America to gradually becoming like a third world nation that I escaped from. Books like this, though few, give me hope. America has a bright future if more leaders can chew this book, and its two siblings.

I know a lot of people love the title. To be honest, I was a little turned off by it - sounded manipulative. But I couldn't help falling in love with the book.

Nina shares a brazen, honest, politically incorrect look at what it was like for her moving up the ranks in the "boys club." I love that this is NOT about male bashing. There's really only one man in the whole book who she couldn't find a way to work with.

The stories are priceless, and the lessons should be mandatory for every woman in the workplace. I so wish I had read this book 15 years ago! (speaking of priceless - it was great fun to hear the origins of that famous ad campaign.)

The parts about where and when to use emotion are worth the price of the book.

I know Nina is in advertising, which isn't as stuffy as some other corporations, but I wish more women at the top shared such honest feedback about their rise to the top.

Having grown up with three brothers, recollections of living with them came back to me as I read Nina DiSesa's book, Seducing the Boys Club: Uncensored Tactics from a Woman at the Top. At the beginning, I thought I was reading humor as she relates her childhood "...my long road to uncertainty started when I was twelve years old and lasted until the end of my thirtieth year, when I metamorphosed almost overnight from a shy and insecure loser to a first-rate conceited jerk." But once I realized that this humor helped her work effectively with the men in her organization, I began to pay closer attention.

Another source of my confusion with DiSesa's premise came from her assertion that breaking the plexiglas ceiling involves women becoming more seductive and manipulative. To me, that sounded unfair. But having proven herself after progressing from writing resort ads for the Catskills to becoming chairman of McCann Erickson New York, DiSesa makes her points with these sometimes humorous, sometimes insane, but effective strategies for working with men. Using many examples, she shows how she spent her creative energies figuring out the men in her office. She writes, "It's like solving a murder mystery. Collect the clues, lay them all out, and you will solve the puzzle."

Throughout the book, DiSesa shows how she struggled to be taken seriously by twenty and thirty-year-old employees. Once she used a high-powered water rifle to quell their inappropriate behavior. She reminded me of the time when my own children were teenagers and my daughter, annoyed by her brother's antics, asked whether sisters could divorce their brothers. But along with the humor, uncensored commentary, and good advice, DiSesa shows how her lessons helped change the climate of her highly-competitive workplace by identifying her masculine side in order to accomplish creative tasks, meet impossible deadlines, and gain the trust of her co-workers. And in the process, she helped her co-workers find their feminine side making the workplace more pleasant for everyone.

Usually, DiSesa relates solving a particular situation, showing what she did and summarizing the lesson learned, but she is so eager to get to the next topic that occasionally she fails to tie up the threads of the narrative. But this is a minor flaw and may have been intended to keep the reader engaged. This book can help women who study DiSesa's techniques overcome the roadblocks to success by providing a proven path to follow.

by Susan M. Andrus
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

Nina makes a lot of good points, and in a very easy to read format! She uses her experiences aka learning lessons to explain her theories and I enjoyed her witty humor.

This book does a great job explaining the male culture to women. This culture permeates locker room jokes, jockeying for position, the constant need for hierarchy. This book is one woman's view from the inside and it is great.

Like a man who likes to go on and on with "fascinating" stories about himself, the author goes on and on with "fascinating" stories about herself that are of interest to no one but someone also in her own profession.

I use this book every morning with my spiritual readings. It helps start the day with a postive attitude and sense that there is huge force involved in my life.

Cool book!!

I loved it. very uplifting. I get the Notes from the Universe e mails
already and this was very good . I plan to purchase Mike's other books.
I have told my friends to buy it too.

Another great book from Mike Dooley. He is very effective in his writing and speaking. Really enjoyed this!!

This is a wonderful little book to have laying around. Full of "pick me up" anecdotes for life.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE READING THIS BOOK. I READ A LITTLE EVERY DAY AND SOMETIMES WHEN I'M NOT FEELING SO HAPPY I JUST PICK THE BOOK UP TO A RANDOM PAGE AND IT ALWAYS SEEMS TO APPLY TO MY CURRENT SITUATION OF HOW I'M FEELING AND ALWAYS CHEERS ME UP. IT'S A GREAT READ!!!!

This was nice to see how other women had handled their recovery, and breast reconstruction after breast cancer. So many encouraging and wonderful ways in which each person dealth with their stock, and sadden. This book was a big help to see that I am not alone, or the only one that has faced this facely enemy. Breast Cancer.
Stepaheda

My son and daughter in law purchased CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR'S SOUL for me when I was beginning my chemo treatments. The stories and the cartoons brought both laughter and tears. I recently purchased the book through Amazon.com for a dear friend of mine who is currently facing her uphill battle with breast cancer. Great insight and thought provoking chapters. A fantastic "pick me up" for those who are facing one of the biggest challenges of their lives.

In the format of the bestselling series, breast cancer survivor Mary Olsen Kelly has gathered snippets of courage, healing and hope into categories like "Love," "Challenges," "Character," "Survival" and "Gratitude." Each story is written in a different voice and, though some are far better than others, all provide an important perspective and insight into this devastating illness.

A powerful source of encouragement for survivors, family, friends and all who love them.

As the co-author of this book, I have to thank the amazing story contributors who wrote deep and moving stories about their journey through breast cancer in order to help those who have been newly diagnosed, their families and friends. This book would not have been possible without their courage, strength, and humor. Yes, there are a lot of funny stories in here too. It was an honor to work with such talented and generous women survivors (and one man) who are all surviving and thriving. This book is inspiring, it gives you a lift and lets you know that as you go through the often scary treatments for breast cancer, you are not alone.

Wonderful! Inspirational! I love all the Chicken Soup Books!

I am a consultant in the Financial Services business. I coach advisors on building profitable businesses. The first thing I do when an advisor joins my practice group is send them this book. I call it the textbook of just how to put systems in place that will build profitability with less clients and more money under management. Ron Carson has reivented all the wheels, all advisors need to do is implement his 9 steps and watch as their clients are well taken care of, the revenue stream to the business increases and their lifestyles are what they have dreamed of.

There are a lot of different books out there written by owners of different financial service firms but of all the books I've seen this book is by far the best. The advice may seem simple but it is highly effective. We have already referred to this book many times within the practice I work to help design processes that have simplified the way we do things. The advice on how to attract new clients makes so much sense yet is so simple. You don't need to spend a fortune attracting new clients, just do what Ron recommends and you too will see your practice grow. When it comes down to it, it's all about providing excellent service and earning your clients trust. The advice on finding your own true meaning has been very helpful to us when it came time to lay our marketing plan down on paper.

Covers the essence of Ron Carson's pathway to success. It is easy reading. Nicely laid out. Has summary after each chapter. Here's a practicing investment advisor who openly tells you how he does it, and still produces better numbers than any of his disciples AND ALL OTHERS in the largest independent broker/dealer in the country. If you are open to goal setting, and have strength in relationship building, this book is a powerful "how to" tool.

This book could be "A 9-Step Plan for Building and Sustaining a Million Dollar [insert name of industry here] Practice". It doesn't really talk of how to become a better financial advisor - just a financial advisor who is happy and who makes nice with clients.

This book could have been written by PT Barnum.

Where do I get the three hours of my life back that it took for me to read this?

I had already implemented much of what was suggested in this book, but to have my ideas validated has given me alot of confidence. I know it works, my business has increased revenues by 40% pa (profit 55% pa) over the last 3 years sticking to the core principles covered in this book.

I hold a BS in Business Management and thought I had been taught pretty much everything there was to know about business management... was I mistaken! This book should be required text for every business management student. Managing for Dummies is easy to read, easy to understand, and makes implimenting the methods defined in the book easy.

I'm fairly new to the business world and when the possibility of a promotion to supervisor arose, I knew I had to be ready. While I have a degree, it is not in business. I was looking for a book that would help me a)learn what issues I would have to deal with as a supervisor, b)help me prepare for the interview when they asked "what would you do in this situation" questions and c)teach me some ways to be successful (or at least not fail!).

This book did all of the above. The authors skipped the boring theory of management and delved into real world issues that managers and supervisors face. I highly recommend this book.

This is the first dummies book that actually made me feel like a dummy. They actually take the time to explain what a fax machine is! I'm sorry but anyone who does not know what a fax machine is does not have what it takes to be a manager, no matter how many books they read. The content that is there is great, but it is highly repetitive. Just when you think you understand how important it is to reward employees they bring it back towards the end of the book, several times. Ok, we get the point! I got bored reading this and started skimming it, just reading the bold phrases and/or the bullet points. I didn't miss anything. It's full of fluff. If you want a book to pass the time or make you fall asleep, this is a good book. But I just felt a little cheated. They take an intuitively obvious point like how delegation is useful and beat it to death. I also felt like I was watching a commercial for the authors' other books as they seem to mention them every few pages.

Overall the subjects they covered were good. I wish they would cut the fluff and cover more topics. The book could easily be one half the size. I guess it depends on the reader. If you've never managed anyone before, even a 2 person team then this book may be for you. But if you've led others before I think you'll find you already know most of what's in this book. Skim it over at the bookstore and you'll see what I mean..

I was just promoted to Manager, and this book has been a very useful tool.
It provides very easy to understand concepts and guides you on both basic and advanced managerial skills that you need to develop or improve in order to become a better manager.
Almost every page that I read on it can be applied to my day to day activities as a manager.
Managing for Dummies is a Manager's must have.

This book hits about every subject you need to know. I found it very informative and would recommend it to anyone starting out in management, or to anyone who would like to brush up on their management skills.

This book offers easy to understand theoretically based information on setting appropriate boundaries is most areas of everyday life. Anne Katherine has provided an excellent resource for clinicians and clients. Her clarity and relevance has been a hit with clients in my private mental health practice as well as with counselors I supervise. Kudos.

This helped me to understand what the idea of personal boundaries means and why it is important. It turned a cliche into a useful tool. I enjoyed the direct and unadorned language. Highly recommended for all, especially those who want to know how to help themselves along the journey of recovery.

I never received the book and don`t know how to deal with it. So, I never got to read it. Will not order from you again as I wasted my money.

I was very excited at the prospect of learning more about setting boundaries. However,this book was so low level and inane that I ended up just throwing the book into the trash. If anything, this book should have been titled "Intro to Boundaries if you have never heard of boundary setting."

This book is very well-written in easy-to-understand language. After reading this, I have a very clear idea of healthy boundaries and am now able to discern when boundaries are being violated. Definitely worth reading.

I used this book for my therapy group (recovery) - It's great to use with anyone who has trouble living in the moment and may be suffering from regrets and fear. It is simple to read and face it NOT everyone is a great reader, especially in early recovery. I will continue to use it and enjoy it for myself as well, it gave me goosebumps the first time I read it.

This book is a great gift, especially for young people. If they comprehend its lessons and apply them in life, they will have been gifted with real happiness. One of the greatest gifts anyone can offer, yes? Actually its for everyone. It can change lives. It did mine.

This is a very eye opening book you can live happy every day of your life.

This book is excellent. I have purchased several copies to give to friends, usually have at least 1 or 2 extras.

This is an amazingly short little book, probably takes 10 - 15 minutes to read. I had checked it out of the library, read it through twice, but decided the truth was so important that I wanted a copy in my collection to remind me occasionally of how important this is. So, yes, I am very appreciative of the message, and feel that it is very important. It calms me greatly when I am stressed or worried about the future or the past.