Careers Books

I am an integral coach who does a lot of career counseling. This is hands down my absolute favorite book on this topic because it provides inspiration, practical tools and presents good information in a way that is very easy for anyone to understand.

This book is essentially about finding your vocation or your heart's deepest desire. It encourages you to align your work with your values as much as possible and it is written from a spiritual perspective that is generally Eastern, but it does not actually push a particular worldview over any others.

If you have the discipline to work through this book, you will learn a lot about yourself and the type of work that makes you most happy. It will also show you how to take what you most love doing and create opportunities to do more of it.

This book is particularly good for mid-life career changers and young people who are idealistic or torn between their head and their heart. It provides tools that will help them to cut through confusion and get clarity about what really matters to them.

This is my favorite work by this author. His other work is good, but I find this particular book a step above his other work. If you want a good career resource in a similar vein, I also recommend "The Beginner's Guide to Finding Your Perfect Job" by Rick Jarow. This is a very helpful and inexpensive tape or CD.

It would have been more honest (and less pretentious) if the author had not succumbed to the temptation to present this book as a kind of corollary of Zen. When push comes to shove, Zen Buddhism doesn't earn its living as a career-aid. Its primary purpose is to help provide an answer to the problem of suffering and impermanence (as the Buddha taught) - albeit in a form developed by Far-eastern Buddhists.

If Zen has anything to say - about getting through life in this world, almost all of it can be summed up with the axiom - don't plan on staying around, shed excess baggage, find what was there - before you were born! That isn't the message in this book. It is too long-winded. The best ideas in it could have been presented in a third of the space used.Save trees!

The book provides a well thought out methodology as to how to
determine personal philosophy, strengths and desires and marry these with career planning.

The scene is repeated at 7 a.m. every morning. Millions of people roll over and hit the buttons on their alarm clocks, dreading the fact that they will soon be heading off to jobs they consider drudgery, mere vehicles for paying their bills. The lucky ones will only dislike their jobs a little bit. If they're really fortunate, they'll find work tolerable, even though it falls short of satisfying their yearnings. A handful of blessed individuals will actually feel happy as they walk into their jobs, knowing they're heading for work that brings them fulfillment. But once you've committed 40 hours a week to something, shouldn't it give you joy? In this comprehensive, revealing - though excessively long - tome, Laurence G. Boldt proposes that everyone has the power to choose a satisfying career. By taking a spiritual approach (that's the Zen message) and embarking upon real self-examination, you can discover your true interests and free yourself to pursue your passion. Boldt offers concrete suggestions for success, such as how to write a convincing resume, weigh the pros and cons of entrepreneurship, and conduct a successful interview. He provides pages of exercises, resources and questionnaires. Plenty of books provide such tips, but this may be the only one that dishes them up along with ancient Chinese proverbs and Japanese calligraphy. So we suggest that if you're just starting out or stuck in an unsatisfying job, find a comfortable chair, light a stick of incense and take a journey within yourself. You may be surprised at what you find - your life's work.

Do you seek more than the conventional nine-to-five job.do you seek a job that can advance your spiritual life. a job that merely positions you to solve problem after problem or a job that will help you reveal life's mysteries.a job where you fill you pockets til your last day or a job that helps you contribute to the well being of others?

If you're on the quest, Boldt gives you the tools you've never received. What's the quest? When the knights of King Arthur's court had seen an apparition of the Grail through a veil, they determined to go on a quest to find it. And they thought, "We should go out together to find the Grail" But then they realized that this would be "a disgrace." No, each must go alone into the forest and enter at the point he himself would choose, "where it was darkest and there was no path." A hero is a chooser of the questions of his life and thereby, of his quest. To walk this pathless path is to take the hero's journey.

Realize that public education equips you with skills and attitudes to make you more valuable as a worker for those whose agenda you will spend your lives servicing. It hasn't been to help students discover their own purposes and construct and realize goals based on these.

This book, much life Srikumar Rao's Are You Ready To Succeed at once inspires your quest and arms you with tools to bravely chart your way.

Starting Your Career as a Freelance Writer will not teach you how to write. You need to do that yourself, with practice and feedback from people around you.

What this book will do is take you step by step through the trials of becoming a paid writer: everything from coming up with ideas to write about to structuring to the finished product, from querying editors for the first time to building a lasting relationship. The "rules" set down apply to multiple forms of writing, and not just for magazines, and references to other work are instructional and welcome.

There is also an excellent overview of how to manage your personal business as a freelancer, which for those of us "creative types," is certainly helpful.

The greatest part of this book, though, is its ability to lead the reader into types of writing for pay that many of us would never even consider. For instance, there is a chapter (written by a different author, suggesting the book's author knows her limits) on writing copy. Though I would never have thought to write copy, and almost skipped the chapter, following reading it and having been convinced that maybe this was a good way to suppliment income, I made some cold-calls as the book suggested, and a few days later, I already have a copy writing gig.

I would highly recommend this book to any competent writer that is looking to make a bit of money doing something that they love. If you can bring the work ethic, this book can bring the game plan.

Starting Your Career As A Freelance Writer by professional author Moira Anderson Allen is an extremely practical and detailed career guide for the aspiring writer seeking to become a paid professional. Starting Your Career As A Freelance Writer comprehensively and accessibly covers how to make time for writing; honing research and interview techniques; find markets for written work of all kinds; writing and marketing nonfiction books and articles, and a great deal more. A no-nonsense advice guide packed with tips, tricks, and techniques, Starting Your Career As A Freelance Writer is an absolute "must-read" for anyone seriously interested in developing a successful career as a professional freelance writing.

The first third of the book is a review of how to write, how to do research, and what you should have in your office ("a chair," "a desk," "a place to store your writing supplies"), with which I am sure the average person looking to start a freelance writing career already knows. In fact, if you don't know how to write and conduct writing-related research, or have a place to put writing supplies, a career in writing probably never crossed your mind. For this, the book received four stars instead of five.

Still, I have to recommend this book to anyone trying to start a career in writing who doesn't know quite where to begin. The second two-thirds of the book are filled with a grand assortment of helpful hints and information that are vital to a successful freelance-writing career. In particular, her advice on figuring out exactly where you should look to publish your work is extremely valuable. An entire chapter is devoted to the submission process, which includes how to deal with editors who don't reply to your submissions and how to deal with rejections.

For me, the query letters she presents helped a great deal. She presents real letters-to-the-editor so there is no confusion about exactly what it should look like and what it must include. I didn't know about "hooking" with queries; I just assumed they were written like resume cover letters. Imagine how much failure I might have encountered, otherwise. And, not to be outdated, she even includes a chapter devoted to e-mail queries.

Overall, I thought this book was an excellent resource for a budding freelancer. I felt as though it would have been better for her to leave out the first few chapters and get to the point. However, once she got to the point, I was thrilled to pieces that I found this book. I'm sure you will be, too.

I remember very vividly when I sold my first article to a major Canadian newspaper. It was in the mid 1960s, when I had just graduated from law school and I decided that the only way to fame, and perhaps jump- start my non-existent law practice, was to write articles on Quebec Civil Law. Fortunately for me, I was in the right place at the right time, and the newspaper was looking for someone to contribute articles pertaining to this subject matter. They purchased the first several of my articles, and boy was I excited!

However, unfortunately, my free-lance writing days came to an abrupt end when no one else was interested in the topic. That is when I decided to devote all of my time and energies into practicing the legal profession. Perhaps, if I had at my disposal Moira Anderson Allen's book entitled Starting Your Career As A Freelance Writer, things would have been different. Remember, it was the 1960s, and at the time there were few writing guides pointing you in the right direction to a free -lance writing career.
I did not have Allen to show me how to start my articles, find the right markets, queries and submissions, rights and contracts, and how to expand my horizons.

It is these topics and many more where Starting Your Career As A Freelance Writer excels. The book is a splendid, in-depth analysis where even the more experienced writer can reap some benefits.

Divided into six parts, there is no shortage of vital and interesting information as to what goes on in the minds of an editor to how to interview, and from exploring and evaluating markets to writing for special interest publications and markets. The reader is also exposed to such topics as queries and submissions, legal technicalities pertaining to rights and contracts, as well as setting fees and keeping records. After all, without these essential tools, we will never get to first base with our budding writing career, no matter how talented we may be.

What is noteworthy about Allen's writing is her ability to cut away the fat from the meat. Furthermore, she never presumes that the reader should know certain fundamental concepts, and consequently Allen leaves nothing unturned.

Allen's writing credentials are impeccable, as proven by the hundreds of articles she has contributed to several publications over her twenty- year writing career. In addition, she has also being called upon to speak at writers' conferences and workshops, and to act as an instructor at many of these events. Commencing a career, as a free-lance writer, is a difficult task, and one in which a great deal of perseverance and patience is required. It is Allen's vast experience and her ability to effectively convey her knowledge from these experiences that is very much in evidence throughout book, and will surely prove to be invaluable to aspiring free- lance writers.

Norm Goldman Editor of Bookpleasures and Travel Writer

This book contains all of the essential information I needed to jump start my career as a freelance writer. Having some experience in the field in the distant past, I needed a refresher course and this book provided it. (It would be even more useful for someone without previous experience in the field.) Besides providing proper form for query letters and instruction on how to go about finding and approaching markets, it gives specific guidelines on the right way to pursue a freelance writing career, reasonable expectations and how to organize your work as a business.

Although this is a fairly short book, it is very informative and it is easy to read. Most of the information in the book, I already knew about (I've done a lot of research on the band) but, If you haven't done much research yet, this is the book to read. Or if you have family members/friends that want to know more about the band, this would be a good choice for them to read. I have had the pleasure of meeting Jessie, and she knows what she is talking about! She is no nonsense and just wants to make sure everyone succeeds and that the band is the right choice for them. This is a wonderful book, and again its not complicated and anyone would be able to understand it. If you are even considering getting the Lap Band, I would read this book.

This is a very good book and people who are thinking of doing the lapband should review it. Also people who are not doing lapband should also read it as it gives a lot of information about what to expect etc. This is a very good informational tool

If you are thinking about or have recently had the lap-band surgery it is very informtive. I still pick it up and read it as a reference guide and I'm 6 weeks post-op. It has helped me alot.

I had lap-band at Northwest Weight Loss Surgery Center where Jessi Ahroni works. She is a no-nonsense person that tells it like it is. This book is a must read for ANYONE that is deciding if Lap-Band is for them, those who have made the decision AND for their family and friends. I am one of the lucky ones that has been able to work with Jesse as well as read her book. This gives the up front approach and gives you so much information that you want and need to know. I have had HUGE success with my lap band. I was banded 5/22/07 and am down over 100 lbs at my 6 month mark. It's do-able, it's a great decision for me and this book can help you decide if it's right for you. Leigh Bergman

I didn't gain any new information or tips on dealing with the lap band. This same information I have received from my doctor and off the internet. I think it would be good for someone who didn't know anything about the procedure.

Excellent book to use when describing observational skills of an artist. Which is all of us.

A child looks at the world and realizes that art is found in many forms around him, and that he himself is an artist too. Pretty pictures.

ONE OF MY TEACHERS READ THIS TO MY CLASS. IT MADE US ALL FEEL WE ARE ARTIST. IT REALLY INSPIRED ME TO CREATE. I LOVED IT SO MUCH I WANT TO BUY IT SO I MAY BE ABLE TO SHARE IT WITH MY FRIENDS. JUST IMAGE IF YOU SEE SHAPES IN THE CLOUDS YOU TOO CAN BE AN ARTIST LIKE ME!

I am using this book, I am an Artist, as part of a homeschool curriculum for my four year old son. We have enjoyed it very much. I think the best thing about it is it really teaches a child the importance of noticing and appreciating this beautiful world we live in; that is, it tells us to "take time to smell the roses". The illustrations of nature in the book are wonderful and thought provoking, too.

This book beautifully and simply expresses the philosophy of the Lincoln Center Institute for Arts in Education, where I received training (I'm an elementary teacher). Basically, it is that art is about WAYS OF LOOKING, noticing, and interacting fully with our environment........appreciating the different, the beautiful, and the meaningful, for each of us as individuals. Cultivating this aesthetic awareness helps us live more fully, and connect to humanity. This book, appropriate for about age 4 and up, gently demonstrates this, and provides a valuable reminder for us grownups. On each page of 1-2 sentences, the narrator describes how her careful noticings of simple beauty makes her an artist. Truly, we all have it in us. Also, if this type of thinking excites you, try the work of Lincoln Center Institute's philosopher-in residence, Maxine Greene. Her new book, Reflections on the Blue Guitar: The Lincoln Center Lectures, can inspire your own reflections and connections. Enjoy!

I took the USPS Electronics Technician Exam. I am not a postal worker but a Postal Employee friend suggested I study as I am currently unemployed.

I bought this book and, although it covers a lot of the test material, the book provides only answers to the questions not detailed solutions.

The book was helpful in assessing my weak spots and I THINK I tested well--will know in late July '08.. There were a lot of questions on Mechanical Operation, Pulley operation, etc. Also-- this book's section (part 1) on listening skills/following instructions was helpful since I have never taken a test such as this before-- this was helpful.

I wish the author had provided some solutions for th Electronics Questions such as he did for the Math/Algebra questions--there were some Math/Algebra/Geometry on the test also.

The book also contained a lot of Electrical Engineering Questions-- such as Imaginary Numbers, Vectors, etc.-- I experienced few if any test questions such as this on the exam.-- I would need a scientific calculator to conjure an answer anyway--LOL

Study the series and parallel circuits portion of this book-- you will a few similar questions on the test.

overall, 3 Stars-- could be better but fairly helpful--

Should have come with a CD for the section on following oral directions.

LIES that appear in this book:

-If Clinton/Obama wins the White House, we will have socialized medicine.
-There is widespread, profound disagreement in the scientific community about the causes of global warming.
-The US government is Anti-Christian and Pro-Islam.
-The US government spends a significant portion of its budget on social services for undocumented immigrants.
-Employment in the bloated government-sponsored social services sector will most likely *increase* in the near future.

You can take the time to research these incendiary claims at your own leisure. I assure you, they are false. If I'm watching Fox News, I expect this brand of misguided, reactionary, talk-radio-inspired "conservative" agenda...no surprise there. But you'd think that career guides would be free of this sort of claptrap.

I am a professional career counselor and, having read this book, I can recognize the obvious talent and expertise of Mr. Nemko in that field. That having been said, readers beware of his laughable Rush Limbaugh political agenda. That, and the writing style is pretty darn shoddy.

I came across this book when advising a friend's college-age child who was researching careers and was using this book.

On the plus side, the book does contain info on basic job search skills. I would say that most (if not all of it) is now widely available via the internet.

Very troubling was the inaccurate guidance regarding specific careers - some of it was just outdated, but some of it was inaccurate to the point of being "dangerous" for a reader with little knowledge or experience, and who would choose to spend time/effort pursuing a career based on the info in this book. I would have to recommend against using this book as a key source for making a career choice.

Cool Careers is written in a very user-friendly way, and can be applied to most career paths and considerations. There is a lot of very practical advice that can help clear up any clouds of job confusion. I enjoyed reading it as if it were a novel. I recommend it to anyone thinking about a big career shift, and also to those just entertaining the idea of finding an alternate way to pay the bills.

The book sets out an approach that considers what the job seeker truly wants in work.

I am torn about giving this book 4 stars, and here's why:
I cannot stand the whole "for Dummies" series, I think the title is so demeaning -why would I want to read a book where the publisher just assumes I'm an idiot?
However, I did pick this one up while I was in the middle of a career crisis. And guess what? It worked. I had the book lying around for a while, and finally one morning I picked it up and started flipping through and landed on something that looked really interesting. I did further research and found a school in my area focusing only on this career, and I'm now attending the school happily.
So would it work for you? Maybe. Did it work for me? Heck yes.

Overall, this is a really good book. There are some typos, as others have said, but I didn't have any trouble understanding what they were trying to get across (typos are much more dangerous when math is involved, which is why I'm recommending another book entirely for that). I worked as a retail pharm. tech for three months, moved to another state, and have had to study for certification since the new state requires it. Even with three months experience, this book taught me a LOT about being a pharmacy tech that probably would have taken me several more months to learn on the job. The chapters are detailed, but not so much that it's information overload. All the material is very "learnable" on one's own.

If you buy this book, I would highly recommend the Workbook & Certification Review, as well as APhA's Complete Math Review for the Pharmacy Technician (I fared much better using this book for math study than I did with the textbook). Math is a HUGE part of the PTCE; reading the text and learning some drugs is only half the battle. You really need to drill math to do well and the textbook (The Pharmacy Technician) doesn't emphasize it as much as perhaps it should. A book called Basic Pharmacology is also good to have around, but the first three are all you really need to pass (maybe even ace) the PTCE if you're willing to put in the time.

This new text for Pharmacy Technicians is a totally new type of book you must see and own. The approach used is the use of a visual format that makes it easier for students to identify what he/she is learning. This book is destined to be the number one classroom book in any type of teaching setting. You as a technician will easily comprehend the material presented. For Pharmacy Technician Educators, your wait is over! Try this text and watch your students excel. There is also a companion book, "Pharmacy Technician Workbook & Certification Review" offered here. Both texts are offered at an outstanding price. Get yours today!

This wonderful book combines text and visuals to provide the most complete Pharmacy Technician book ever written. The authors of this book have done an outstanding job in bringing us an easy to read, easy to understand book on this subject. Take it from me a Pharmacy Technician student if you buy only one book BUY THIS ONE !!

If you have never worked in a pharmacy before and want to pass the pharmacy technnician certification exam, then you need more than just a certification review book. You will also need a textbook that explains comprehensively pharmacy laws and the operating procedures of a typical pharmacy. Because it isn't a certification review, be aware that it doesn't have enough practice problems. Overall, it is an excellent textbook to use with a workbook.

The information presented is fairly easy to understand, interesting, and seems to be thorough. So what's the problem? I have to say, I would absolutely love the textbook and its corresponding workbook if it wasn't for one truely frustrating aspect - there are way too many errors. It's incredible! Here's an example - a question regarding roman numeral conversions (pg 38 wkbk)- what is 14 in roman numerals? well, anybody who's gone through grade school could tell you it's XIV - the answer key tells you it's CIV (104!!). How about this one (pg 85 txt) - convert 1mg to g: ok, i'm thinking - DUH - .001g - correct answer, according to the answer key is .011g -- Now, this is not quite a big deal when it's very easy to tell the book is wrong (yet, again) - but then, when you get into more difficult calculations and you can't trust the answer key, it becomes very frustrating. When you take into account the fact that you've spent over $60 for the text and workbook and you can't count on the information to be correct it becomes enraging. There are also a plethora of idiotic typos to furthur insult you for sending these people your money. Example (pg 108 txt) convert 120 mcg to mg - answer according to the key: 120 mcg = 0.12 mcg - that's 0.12 MCG not MG. Or, how about his - convert 50% to a decimal. Answer according to the key: 50/100. Now, the last time I checked that was something called a fraction - a decimal looked more like this: .50 - This isn't even the tip of the iceberg. I just have one question for Morton Publishing Co...Do you guys happen to employ anyone there called an EDITOR? I just hope to God you all don't have anything to do with the answer keys the PTCB is holding in their possession. If you do, I quit now.

I love this book. Corporate Politics is fun, no one likes to talk about it. This book hits home! The end does justify the meanness, that is why the one's who yell and scream at your office are still there and not fired.

With this book, businessman and Fortune Magazine columnist Stanley Bing began a long and continuing career of attacking outrageous bosses and managerial practices. There is no shortage of material in these categories, and this book is a good introduction to how rich the field of managerial abuse is.

This is not a book for true Machiavelli fans. Those who want to savor the finely nuanced distinctions and advices of Machiavelli's THE PRINCE will not be able to do so here. Indeed Bing delivers a classic put-down to the man he calls "the master": "the fact that it's very difficult to understand anything the master says gets in the way of our ability to walk, straight and secure, down his path."

What we have dissected here is not Machiavelli the sagacious adviser and pioneer of the field of Political Science, but Machiavelli as a cultural icon standing for the extension of personal wealth and power to the exclusion of all other considerations. "To live true to the vision of the master, we must be as selfish, narcisstic, manipulative, driven and creative in getting what we want as we can be, not just in our important business actions, but where it really counts: in our hearts. You can do it. This book will help."

A true Machiavellian, in the author's sense of the term, would always be unpredictable, and thus would gain the advantage of keeping everyone else off balance. In love with his destiny, always at war, for the most part a paranoid freak, he would think BIG, acquire his neighbor, move like a shark, eating as he goes, killing people's careers, but only if he could feel good about himself afterwards.

A true Machiavellian would fire his own mother if necessary, make a virtue out of his obnoxiousness, be way upbeat, be satisfied with nobody but himself, embrace his own madness, do what he feels like doing, say what he feels like saying, delegate all the crummy tasks except the ones that he enjoys, respond poorly to criticism, perennially carry grudges, lie when necessary, be proud of his cruelty and see it as strength, permanently cripple those who disappoint him, torture people until they were only too happy to destroy themselves, feast on other people's discord, make you fear for your life, be loyal to people who could put up with him, have no patience for anybody, never say he's sorry, have no conscience to speak of, scream at people a lot, establish and maintain a psychotic level of control, would eat to kill, and would have fun with his career and his life.

The author drifts in and out of satire and sober evaluation. His concluding paragraph summarizes much of the book: "Good may often be its own--and only--reward in this competitive, malevolent, and unfair world. This may be most true in business, where the unsympathetic aspects of human character are compensated most lavishly. But evil does have its limitations, ones that even the biggest, baddest Machiavellis around should keep in mind."

This book would be a great supplement to courses on business ethics and courses on management. Its tongue in cheek evocations of Saddam Hussein, Mao Tse Tung, Joseph Stalin, Adolph Hitler, and Caligua grab attention and serve as a warning to the those humor-deprived people who might view sections of this book as a serious guide.

Its graphs--based on no hard information whatsoever--demonstrate serious points. The "normal world view" is that the vast majority of people are friends or potential friends while the "Machiavelli world view" is that the vast majority of people are enemies or potential enemies. "The bigger you are" the "less you like" criticism.

"Performance" is greater "with ruthless competition" than without it. The Machiavelli personality is high on fear, aggression, self, and golf to the exclusion of conscience and hobbies and to the marginalization of family and friends. The greater the control a Machiavelli has, the more fun he has. The joys of retirement--golf and not being bothered by idiots--wear off after a couple of years.

This book, in short, could be retitled "How to Succeed in Business by Failing as a Human Being." In the author's words, "only individuals who are monmaniacal and driven to the exclusion of all else stand a chance of rising to the top." The price of success, the author says, "is to adjust your personality to remove as much conscience as is possible." The price of getting to the top, the author makes clear, is not worth it by the rules of the modern day Machiavellis.

This was a deliciously entertaining and thought-provoking book. When you think about all the hedge fund/private equity hawks, Russian billionaires and Mideast oil barons who are gobbling up real estate and stock exchanges left and right, you can't possibly believe they got to where they were by being 'nice'???

This book gives you a genuine insight into how ruthless and sociopathic the business world truly is.

I didn't believe that people could truly behave this way, but after toiling away in corporate america for 15 years, I can tell you that only the most amoral and cuthroat individuals get to the top. This book confirmed it for me albeit in a humorous way. Now I am happy to say that the spirit of Machievelli allowed me to get one over on Mr. Bing himself and read his book for free at the local public libary! Take that, Mr. Bing, hah, hah!

I enjoyed this short read. It's funny. While we read what, in the opinion of the author, Machiavelli would do in the course of most all business situations, he ends the book saying, "But evil does have its limitations, ones that even the biggest, baddest Machiavellis around should keep in mind. That may be the very best --- and most useful--- lesson of all."

So one is left having to decide for himself how far he wants to take his Machiavellian ways. The author leaves it to the reader to make that decision.

You get no real answers in the book. It's not really a book of instruction. But there's a lot of truth. And, I think, a few lessons. I'm a bit surprised Leona Helmsley wasn't given as an example. Surely, the Queen of Mean deserves a place in a book of this sort.

I saw one major flaw in the author's take on what Machiavelli would do, however. Yes, he may have done everything the author claims he would have done. But he would have done one more thing. He would have appeared to do the opposite. That's the key to being a true Maciavellian.

What Would Machiavelli Do? The Ends Justify the Meanness is a is full of sarcastic humor that anyone who has had a "bad" boss can identify with 100%. Stanley Bing describes the many characteristics of tyrant and/or mean bosses with humor and sarcasm. So much is true and easily identifiable. Very fun book to read. Will help relieve any work stress you may have. I recommend this book.

Save your money and just make a guide yourself. This "discussion guide" has only one title page and then four pages of large font bare basic summary with a small sprinkling of questions. If you think that this is weak, you will go on to realize that the last of the four pages is even half taken up with the publisher's logo and information. If you hold the print out close to your ear... you can hear your money being flushed down the drain!!!

I ordered this in spite of the negative reviews, because I have found so many of these short e-docs perfect when I need to have an awareness of a subject in a hurry. In this case, it also helped me decide to spend the money on the book.

I almost did not buy the Discussion Guide because of the negative reviews. And I have to say that if your looking for a masterpiece discussion guide, you have the wrong download. But for the price, I don't know what the the negative reviewers were looking for! I would agree that you still need to read the book, but if you need a good brief outline of the main concepts and some good questions to do a short presentation/discussion on Good to Great, this is it. If I had to pull this together, I would have spent several hours on it. It was well worth my money!

The book, Good to Great, is one of the best management books I've ever read. However, the discussion guide could have been put together by a high school student thumbing through the pages and picking out the highlighted sections. I was expecting something as outstanding as the book. Save your money on the guide, but take the time to read the book.

I can boil this book down to one thing: Do informational interviews with real attorneys in order to see if the law is right for you. The book has some lengthy and, in my opinion, not too useful self-assessment exercises. And just when they get you thinking that they are going to impart wisdom about what it is that real lawyers DO, they tell you to go out and schedule informational interviews with real lawyers. This is a great idea, but you don't need to read the book to get it. If you really can't think of enough questions for an informational interview, then pay the $10 to buy this book and use the appendix. Otherwise, don't waste your time.

Two years ago I attended law school for a short period before quitting, and now I am interested in going back, but I wanted to evaluate my reasons for going back to make sure I was going back for the right reasons. This book was very helpful in doing just that. Also, as many reviewers have said, I wish I would have read this book before attempting law school the first time around because I think I could have avoided the pit falls that originally led me to quit. Reading this book was a big help and I would suggest it to anyone thinking about law school.

About the greatest thing about this book is cover which is even not that great. For someone who proclaims to have gone through law school as the author claims, the book is very poor in written form. The book also does a LOT of repeating and dressing up "facts" in a way that is often used by marketers to sell their product. Although there may be one or two good points in the book, most of it is common sense. Basically, it is an expensive way of telling you to ask yourself the questions as to whether or not you know what lawyers do and whether or not you have researched the field of law enough to have the confidence to head to law school. Like I said before, she (the author) has some valid points but everything in the book can be found online for free and is basic common sense. I would'nt suggest forking out the cash for this reading.

The major problem I found in this book is the lack of editing. There are serious grammatical errors, misspellings, missing punctuation and sentences with no logical end.
If you are thinking about attending law or graduate school, this book should be one of the first books to read in the junior year. The career strategies are extremely helpful to anyone making the drastic choices near the end of undergraduate studies. I felt like most of the information is useful to any student who are considering career counseling, since it will get you thinking about what life will be like after college.
Unfortunately, I have twenty years experience after college in the work force, learning and utilizing most of the strategies in this book. If you have worked in any career after college, then I wouldn't recommend this book.

aside from the success stories of everyone who has left the legal profession? I appreciate some of the self-assesment tools, but the remainder of the book is filled with anecdotes about miserable law students and lawyers who were much happier when they made a school or career change. The subtitle should be changed to "NO! We don't think you or anyone should be a lawyer!" Ridiculous.