Careers Books

I just took a summer career class with this book and I highly recommend it. It validated the good things that I have done to be successfully, introduced me to new things and it reminded me of what I already new. Great book if you are lost and a highly recommended class if you don't know what you want to do in your career, changing careers or have come to a point in your life that it is necessary to change careers.

This Book I got for a class, and it's great, not only to follow along with in a course but also just for everyday life, it provides great questions for thought and interactive exercises to learn more about yourself and what you want in life!

I expected more from the text, based on the title. The material seems to reflect the job market of 10 years ago - little reference to what's happening in the industry today that job seekers need to know. The text places heavy emphasis on the self-concept and values which are important, but skills the person has and how they relate to positions in the workplace are of utmost importance. An individual may have interest in a career field, but it could be one that's fading not emerging. I was expecting a book that would allow the reader to insert new ideas and new strategies right into a job search. The book may suffice as a supplemental reading, but not as a tutorial on establishing a career and finding a job. It lacks vision. I felt it was analog thinking in a digital world.

This is a great book but as I have several other "text" type books it is not necessary. If I had none of the others I would have chosen this one.

I worked professionally as a baker before becoming an IT networking administrator. I have never lost the desire and passion to bake breads and pastries, whether they be croissants, danish, sourdough, etc. When you have a passion for something, you never want to give it up, so books like Advanced Bread and Pastry help to re-educate and light the brick oven of desire again for someone like me. Anyone can learn the art of baking and pastry, but you cannot be afraid to make mistakes. The formulas in this book teach the novice to professional key points of customizing their product by adjusting the percentages.

Highly recommend the book and the school where Michel Suas teaches, San Francisco Baking Institute. This is a bread dough of a winner.

Although dense and designed for the professional (experienced) baker, I learned a great deal from this book, which is as deep as Hamelman's book on Bread, and yet covers pastries and other sweet goods for the second half. A wonderfully informative and well-researched book for the price!

It has been an absolute joy to have this book!! This is probably one of the most comprehensive, yet, concise texts i have seen in a long time, and for the price, its and absolute bargain! Whilst, this book is aimed at people within the trade, the author has done a great job in the way he puts his message across, also making it easy for the serious home baker. If you are passionate about baking, then this book is a must!

This book is written mostly for "the trade", but the home-chef (like me) can get a lot out of it. Apart from Bread and Pastry, it has extensive chapters on cakes, icings, cookies, chocolate(confection), ice-cream and quick breads (banana bread, scones, muffins) amongst other things. It is very comprehensive. The science can be understood by almost everyone, and the book is well illustrated (pictures of how to shape a baguette, etc). There are no "stories" from the author about how he first made this and that, and learnt this from there - and so forth. It reads like a school book. Very informative!

I was at first worried that this book had 1000's of recipes, but it says on the back that it has just under 300, which means there is a lot of theory in it (which I think is good). I has 2 Pannetone recipes and about 4 Croissant recipes. It has sachertorte, and black forest gateu, and loads of other stuff. I'm afraid I don't think the cake section looks as tasty as the bread and pastry.

For me there is one problem: I don't have a Mixer. That makes it hard to to follow the bread formulas (recipes) 100% accurately. There is enough science in the book, that you might find a "do-it-yourself" way if you experiment (at least I hope so).

In each bread formula in the book the author will specify what type of mix method to use: Short, Improved or Intensive (which basically is the 3 diffent speeds of the mixer kneading the dough).
- "Shortmix" is almost like kneading by hand, however quite few recipes call for a short mix.
- "Improvedmix" one can almost replicate by hand (but one might need to experiment with longer fermentation times and yeast amount to compensate and get a stronger dough).
- However I am more sceptical about for instance Pannetone and Brioche which call for an "Intesivemix", which is difficult by hand. Luckily there are quite few recipes that call for this mix method. Only bread with a lot of butter/sugar/eggs. But there is a "handmix" recipe for croissants.

When it comes to Ovens there is no discussion on how to compensate for lack of steam (the book is as I say, written for the apprentice/prof. in mind).

One last thing: I've had no problems with quantities in the recipes, because he always gives a so-called "test" amount (in OZ). But you can also divide the grams and kg. by 5 to get the right "home" batch if you use the metric system (I live in Norway, so i do).

Conclusion: I would recommend this book to the home-chef, but be prepared for a challenge :)

C. Vann Woodward's "The Strange Career of Jim Crow" remains one of the most important books written about post-Reconstruction Southern America. In the space of very few pages, Woodward brings to us the proposal that the assumptions we have all been making about Jim Crow laws and the development of segregation were all wrong from the very beginning. We are taught the lie from grade school forward that "that's just the way it always has been in the South." Not so, according to Woodward.

We learn very quickly when reading this book that not only were there three or four decades following the Civil War wherein there was virtually no major segregation in the South - but the conditions with regards to segregation and equal rights in the South were actually better than in the North for several decades as well.

The lies of a racist South and a desperate North (desperate to make a moral issue of something that they too were guilty of in trying to keep blacks from having equal rights) somehow stuck in the Southern psyche, and all along we've been thinking that people were racist because "that's all they knew." Woodward blows this theory out of the water, and exposes the truth about the post-Reconstruction South.

Not only was segregation not popular in the South in much of the late 19th Century, but blacks voted often. There was very good participation - enough to put a lot of blacks and Republicans in public office in the South - for a time. It was not until the 1870s that a gradual change began in the South. That change brought about the Jim Crow laws - changes that were unwelcome to all of humanity. Booker T. Washington believed that the South could not advance and still leave the blacks behind: Woodward came about a few decades later and showed us all just how right Washington really was.

C. Vann Woodward's "The Strange Career of Jim Crow" was the first major effort to analyze the segregation system in the American South. Appearing in 1955, the author's treatment of this institution refuted contemporary statements made by several public figures who argued that racial separation was an ancient phenomenon that would last indefinitely. Not so, argued Woodward, as he proceeded to prove that the South experienced a time after the Civil War when the two races often intermingled without widespread hostility on the part of southern whites. Woodward's book expresses the heartfelt belief that since segregation was a recent development, the possibility existed for the South to reject its separatist doctrine and eventually embrace integrationist principles. The first chapters deal with the period during and after Reconstruction, what Woodward refers to as the First Reconstruction, when the South grudgingly accepted conditions forced upon it by the North. The author argues that blacks in southern urban areas often lived side by side with white citizens, as well as rode in the same streetcars and dined in many of the same restaurants. There were exceptions to these incidents, but overall monolithic, legalized segregation measures simply did not exist.

One of the reasons for this lack of overarching segregation policies concerned southern politics in the post-Civil War South. The author outlines three political philosophies during the 1880s and 1890s that worked to capitalize upon black support. Southern liberalism went nowhere with its arguments that all citizens must have equal rights in all social spheres. Conservative southerners took a position between liberals and radical racists, arguing that in every society there existed superior and inferior elements. Obviously, conservatives claimed, blacks occupied an inferior position to whites. This did not mean that blacks should be treated harshly or denied privileges. The conservatives were paternalists and used the goodwill they earned from blacks to capture elective offices from the Redeemers. The conservative political philosophy collapsed when widespread corruption swept its proponents from office. The Populists, the last southern political structure Woodward discusses, also attempted an alliance with blacks. The movement was short lived, and with external pressures of the 1880s and 1890s such as economic depression and northern indifference to blacks, southerners blamed blacks for their social ills. Moreover, southern politicians weary of the years of malicious infighting decided to seek a measure of unification, and they achieved this fusion by blaming black voters for economic and political discord. It is at this time, writes the author, when segregation laws blossomed across the South.

The second section of the book deals with the emergence and consequences of what Woodward calls the Second Reconstruction. Starting during the Second World War and emerging fully during the 1950s and 1960s, this era of race relations saw increasing waves of attacks directed against Jim Crow in the South. The first maneuvers came from the White House, with Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman launching several initiatives aimed at integrating defense jobs and the armed services. The second wave came with a series of Supreme Court actions seeking to integrate the school systems. With action came reaction as the segregationists finally launched an offensive against Brown vs. The Board of Education when lower court judges in the South upheld the higher court's ruling. The resulting attempts to undercut the judgment by southern state governments coupled with periodic outbreaks of violence led to even more civil rights initiatives from the federal government. Kennedy proposed and Johnson pushed through Congress measures aimed at accelerating integration and restoring the black vote in the South. The Second Reconstruction ended after the riots of the 1960s in northern cities caused civil rights organizations to shift from a role of non-violence to militant black nationalism. Woodward's book concludes on a rather pessimistic note when he observes that black-white relations seem to be reverting to a new form of racial separation.

It is difficult to find problems with "The Strange Career of Jim Crow." The book was the first work to sum up the civil rights movement in the United States. Moreover, the author wrote a book broad enough to give historians plenty of material for further research, something scholars always appreciate. Even the form of the book, with its lack of footnotes and energetic style, is more of a plus than a minus. By writing a friendly, accessible treatment of the issue, Woodward managed to reach beyond the walls of academia and find a wide public audience. It is not difficult to imagine that many of the young people registering black voters or going on freedom rides could cite this book as a major influence in their decision to make a stand against segregation. As the afterword shows, even Martin Luther King, Jr read and quoted Woodward on occasion. Finally, the fact that this book has never gone out of print underscores its seminal influence on the country at large.

No book is immune to criticism, however. Woodward often fails to incorporate into his narrative what actions blacks took in response to segregation. This critique is not always valid: the author does cite a black newspaperman who toured the South in the late 1800s, along with several members of the Black Panther Party. But in several places the book needs some description of black agency, especially the chapter concerning southern politics. Woodward presents the black population in the 1880s and 1890s as a passive force palmed off from one white political faction to another. Are we to assume that black voters simply bowed their heads and acted the role of dupes to savvy white politicians? Perhaps many did due to a lack of education and a lingering submissiveness from the days of slavery, but there were people who attempted to participate in the system in order to earn their rights.

The most fascinating thing about this book is not just the particular events in history, or the misconceptions and myths that Woodward discusses, but rather how truly complex the issue of race is in America. Since emancipation, there has always been a struggle between and among whites and blacks to figure out how to understand each other and themselves, and how to occupy the same place. This history is indeed strange, and to have an idea of why race is still such an issue today, it helps to know how racism, segregation, and civil rights changed over time.

Woodward's book cautions us against taking simplified views that the South was always racist, and the North was not, and he begins by describing various accounts of life in the South right after the Civil War. According to Woodward, the venomous prejudice that sustained the Jim Crow laws decades later wasn't foreseeable at that time. Much of his explanation of the racist sentiment that so desired segregation is framed in the context of politics, and he tries to analyze many of the events he discusses in terms of political and economic pressures, as well as in terms of reactions to preceding actions.

If the Civil War is to be seen as a war for racial equality (and there are many other ways of seeing it), then it can easily be argued that it continues to this day. It is often most comforting to think of the wiping out of Native Americans, and then the enslavement of Africans as hideous scars that America carries in the past, while believing that America today is a different, tolerant place. But Jim Crow laws were a product of the twentieth century, and the racial tensions still exist in a very real way. Woodward's book, first published in 1955, and last revised in 1974, is still immensely relevant today, and reading it can only enhance your sense of American history.

I have the 1957 edition of the book, and so can't comment on the new chapter.
This is a fascinating book which should be read by anyone interested in racial issues, US history, or US politics.
The major surprise to me is Woodward's description, complete with many contemporary quotes, of a time in the late 1800's post-Reconstruction South where African Americans were treated largely equally with regard to public accomodations and voting. Segregation, then, was considered to be a "lower-class white attitude."
It wasn't until approximately 1900 that a very segregationist attitude came about in the South, largely as the result of the interplay of Republican, Democratic, and Progressive politics.
This is course gives the lie to assertion through much of the 1900's that de jure racial segregation was a time-honored part of Southern life, and there was no possible alternative.
Woodward then goes on to describe the depths to which Jim Crow legislation sank, describing the effect of African American migration within the country, World War II, how our segregationist policies hurt the US image abroad, and on to the beginnings of the civil rights movement, ending shortly after _Brown v. Board of Education_, well before the major civil rights events and legislation.
Fairly quick read, and a great book!

C. Vann Woodward's The Strange Career of Jim Crow is not only a fine introduction to its topic -- the segregationist period in the South -- but one of the most significant and influential books of its time.

Originally published in 1955 (by Oxford University Press), Professor Woodward's tome kicked off the Civil Rights era with a bang, debunking the ludicrous myth (and mantra among segregationists) that separation of the races had always existed in Southern life, and generally dissecting an ugly monstrosity which had come to be accepted simply as "the way things are." Ten years later, in a second revision which came just as the legal battle against segregation was almost won, Woodward added a wealth of information which helped finish the job of winning the people's hearts and minds: in the words of Robert Penn Warren, Woodward's work was "a witty, learned, and unsettling book. The depth of the unsettling becomes more obvious day by day; which is a way of saying that it is a book of permanent significance." And ten years later still, in this -- the third and final revision -- Woodward capped off the era with an examination of the more violent, less integrationist movements which arose after Watts, with leaders like Huey Newton, Eldridge Cleaver and Bobby Seale.

Woodward is an equal-opportunity myth-exploder. On the one hand, he demonstrates at great length that segregation was not a mere expression of racism, but in fact a complex and corrupt outworking of many political and economic interests in the impoverished, post-Reconstruction South. On the other hand, he also shows conclusively that segregation took time to develop: it was not, as its supporters claimed, the way things had always been, or even the way things had come to be immediately following the war, but had actually arisen thirty and even forty years later, with the removal of Northern troops, the disintegration of Republican influence, a national "taking up of the white man's burden" with regard to "colored" peoples abroad, and increasing economic distress which allowed successive Populists and Democrats to consolidate power by limiting white exposure to the threat of competing (and competitive) blacks. These things, combined with a series of Supreme Court rulings sanctioning segregation, produced a wicked stew which more modern readers found extremely unpalatable upon Woodward's closer examination.

Beyond these things, Woodward's treatment of the Jim Crow era itself, as well its demise, were and are excellent, and were especially provocative at the time of their writing. Based on a series of lectures delivered at the University of Virginia in 1954, the book is not annotated, and even in a third edition remains quite brief; yet it is thorough and engaging, and suffers only a bit for these points. In all, it remains not only an excellent history -- produced by one of America's finest scholars -- but also a key source document of its era, and is a very good read as well. It continues to be vital to a proper understanding of the South, as well as the whole misbegotten concept of "separate but equal."

provided good examples of pitfalls and best practices in working with people from different cultures

Timely delivery and in perfect condition.

The discussion was so broad that it was almost irrelevant. It is not Peterson's fault though. Any discussion about every culture in the world is necessarily broad, but I think I would have gotten more out of the book if it focused on a specific area of the world.

Imagine a guidebook that helps you navigate the uncharted lands of strange cultures or, at least, cultures that seem strange to you. Author Brooks Peterson is less concerned with social advice than he is with explaining how to manage broad cultural differences and avoid cultural egocentrism. While he soundly reviews measures of cultural differences, such as cultural scales, he avoids delving into complex, abstract theories with little practical application. His clearly written book treats all cultures objectively, covering broad tendencies without venturing into cultural generalities. He alerts you to the nuances of other cultures and your own. We strongly recommend this book to anyone who interacts with the values of other cultures on a regular basis - and, these days, that's just about everybody.

Cultural issues are not a new topic, but this book is so well written that it quickly becomes an interesting read and valuable learning tool for almost all of us, because of the world we live in, now and in the future. The author begins by explaining the importance of cultural intelligence for many of our business and personal interactions (with people from other ethnic groups at home and around the world), then listing what to expect (how the book is organized and why), and finally presenting a wealth of information about the topic (with vivid examples of how to apply it to our daily lives). Those examples are a clear indication that the author has accumulated his knowledge through wide reading, a variety of teaching contexts, and comprehensive practical experience in the field. The book identifies common cross-cultural dilemmas and offers practical solutions by outlining primary principles as a foundation for decision-making and describing how individual differences must be considered. The use of continuums throughout the book, and in the tool The Peterson Cultural Style Indicator, ensures that the reader understands and effectively uses the concept of Gray, versus Black and White, in human relationships. A good summary is the equation presented of Cultural Intelligence: Knowledge about Cultures + Awareness (of self and others) + Specific Skills (behaviors).

This was a required text for a graduate class and I thought it was good enough to keep. It is a great introductory book that provides a good look at many of the different theories. It is true that it is not really deep, but that is what makes it a good introductory book. It goes just deep enough to help you understand.

This is a required text for my graduate class, but it does a good job of introducing student development theory

Book arrived in record time...just in time for my class so I was very pleased. It was also in great shape and very well packaged. Thanks.

I also used this book in my graduate program. This book provides an excellent overview student development theory. It is an excellent introductory text. I had the added benefit of using this text in a course taught by one of the authors.

I applaud the authors' attempt to provide an accessible, easy to understand synthesis of student development theory, but they have sacrificed depth for breadth and left the reader with a text that, like over-processed food, provides some nutrition but ultimately fails to satisfy. The book is below the level of most master's degree students and practitioners in student affairs, though it might provide a useful introduction to theory for undergraduates or a useful reference book for administrators who don't have time to read original sources.

I learned most of these lessons the hard way.... years and years of studying the wrong way. Save yourself time and a GPA and take a look.

love this book, and highly recommend it for anyone...received my order super-fast on regular delivery.

great! if you need help w/ studying this book is the way to go.

Excellent principles of study in an easy-to-read format. When I graduated from high school my GPA hovered around 72. I graduated from college witha 3.87 GPA. This book changed my way of studying forever. I thank Ron for his inspiration and guidance. I still share my book with prospective students. In fact, my younger brother had failed an LPN course with the Army; I rushed him the book and told him to follow Ron's advice. I am proud to announce that my brother graduated at the top of his class and is now employed by a top hospital in NYC. He is only 20 years of age.

Thanks, Ron!

Sincerely,

William at Headstart4@aol.com

I read this book many years ago (maybe it was the first or second edition) and it changed my style of studying forever. I was failing my pre-med courses when I found this book. I ended up getting A's in organic chemistry and applied calculus. This book should be required reading before undertaking any serious scholastic endeavor. This is the only book that doesn't disguise the effort that is required in learning - no magic tricks nor skills that only "special" students have - the ability is in all of us and Ron Fry shows you how.

I saw Dorothy Leeds at a book talk and was so impressed that I had to buy her book. I am very impressed at the breadth of occupations and life situations to which her writing applies. It is very practical information that almost anyone can use. I am in the field of education, and it will certainly help me to ask better questions as a teacher. You won't be disappointed.

I am a college senior job hunting right now and decided to get this book to improve my communication skills. I'm only through about half of this book and already love it. It has so much great information about improving communication. I have actually started using some of the information in the book...asking a lot more questions than I used to, and I have seen excellent results!

This book is easy to read and full of great examples. I've started asking better questions already and I've noticed my job performance getting better. My wife read the book, too, and I think our marriage will benefit more and more as we communicate better -- all because of asking good questions.

Great book that should be a part of every professionals library who is serious about their development. This book will prompt most to start asking more (and ultimately higher quality) questions. Many readers will make their 'questions' a new and powerful habit! For 14 bucks, what more can you ask for? Great job Dorothy!

Bill Wiersma, Author, The Big AHA

this book is all about getting people to "open up" through the use of carefully designed questions. the reader will learn how to influence other people's behavior via questioning - and, importantly, listening. the author does a good job in demonstrating the value of "leading" people, through the deliberative process, to sound judgements and opinions. this book goes well beyond what the title promises. it will teach you how to control the direction of conversations with desired outcomes achieved. being a coach myself, i would have liked a few more actual examples included in the text.

I originally borrowed this book from my local library but after reading through it a bit, I knew I had to have it! The information is good and easy to understand. I recommend it for anyone seriously looking into alternative ways of paying for college or just understanding what is going on around them.

The product arrived on time and was a great price! Would buy from them again.

Condition of book was just as they said and it arrived within the time they said it would!!

This book has a simple concept, but it made a profound affect on me. I was starting a new business that required me to step outside my comfort zone ALOT! I am very analytical and the thought of not having all the answers up front was almost paralyzing. The message this book gave me was to be tactical. If you plan indefinetly, and research to the enth degree, and never put your plans to action, how do you know what works and what doesn't. No amount of planning can predict 100% of outcome. Mistakes are lessons...learn what works and what doesn't! If you are learning from your mistakes, they are not failures! The most successful people in the world made mistake after mistake, until they figured out what works for them! Go for it! It will be okay, and it might be GREAT!

If you feel like a failure or if you have a goal in mind, but afraid to go after it. This is the book for you. I'm reading the book and also listening to it on my Ipod. It lets you know that failure is not just ok, but it helps you grow (mature). A group of us are reading it together at work, you wont believe what a different it can make in the workplace. Go get the book, just try it, what will it hurt?

I went to a series of financial problems and felt like a failure for a long time. Reading this book has helped refocus and I still have the courage to pursue my dream. It is an excellent reading.

I have some real mixed feelings about this book. On the one hands I really like how Mr. Whyte used such unconventional ways to get his point across (he uses poetry to point out the flaws in the corporate world), but on the other hand, a lot of the points in the book made me scratch my head and go 'huh?!'.
The material is very deep and even where there is supposed to be just a small, simple message, Whyte seems to make it complicated so that the meaning looks to be more profound.

How much of our corporate productivity is impeded by pettiness and posturing in the workplace? Seems a corporate healer like David Whyte is needed to stand for finding and reminding folks of a different bottom line.

Whyte has a unique capacity to make powerful connections between the inner core that fills us with emotion and caring and the places we do our work, sometimes even at the place where our job is located, though not often. His observation that we leave as much as 55% of our true self "in the car" each day when we go in our office to work is so powerfully true. I dare say there are few among us who cannot relate to that feeling. And yet, it is the 55% of ourselves that the company we work for really wants and needs but rarely gets. Unfortunately because of the patriarchal environments that many organizations (not always corporations or even private sector businesses) create we all too often find no real fulfillment in the workplace. That is sad because I never have read any mission statements that pronounce "We ABSOLUTELY are not going to have fun or like one another around here." That makes me think that the realized, oppressives outcome are not intentional. However, we often find ourselves working in and hating very dysfunctional cultures, even if not by design. Whyte introduces the concept of hope in a effort to replace the all-too-present doubt and hegemony of the workplace. We may not be able to express ourselves freely at work but Whyte allows us some freedom to dream of that possibility during our reading of this book.

Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant! If you have a soul, buy this book. If you are not sure....buy this book. This book is an excellent exploration into the meaning of life + my job the incubus = a poetic awakening. David Whyte is a wonderful philosopher.

David Whyte writes in a truly inspiring way. When I worked at the Monterey Bay Aquarium many of us read this book as we struggled to grow better as an organization. This book was the catalyst to many personal "AH HA!" moments. Not just for me, but for many of my colleagues as well. From there I found myself in love with poetry again too. David's poetry is powerful and meaningful. The heart aroused is your own, and worth coming back to.