Careers Books

I contacted with the seller, reminding him/her to send the book, after 2-3 weeks, a few days later, I was told I would recerve it. But, until now, I am still kept waiting.

Since I have applied Ms. Kessler's innovative approach to my own resume, I have been selected to interview for each senior level position I have submitted for. Now the rest is up to me. I highly recommend both her books, they provide the most current techniques in competency-based and behavioral approaches to resume writing and the interview process. The format is clear and concise with excellent real-life examples across a variety of industries. A must resource!

I bought this book largely due to the high ratings, and I am really disappointed. The book spends three or so chapters talking about why "Competency-Based Resumes" are the greatest thing ever, showing examples of "Competency-Based Resumes," telling you why they are better than the old-fashioned kind, listing companies that use this system, and basically talking all about "Competency-Based Resumes." The actual "how-to" of creating one is largely implied. The best part of the book is a list of action verbs to use in your resume, which is probably available for free from any of a number of career websites. I think I was handed a similar list in high school, with the same advice of leaving out "I" and beginning lists of skills and experiences with action verbs.

Also, I admit I'm very picky, but this book is terribly written and organized. Chapters 1,2, and 3 are repetitive - they tell you the same information in only slightly different ways several times. I know writers of how-to books like to repeat themselves in order to get their point across, but it felt like this book was trying to cleverly hide that it didn't actually have enough content to fill its 185 pages.

The way these chapters are organized confused me. Each chapter went from why to use this resume form, to who uses it, to how to use it, and back to why again -- but not always in that order. Both chapters one and two could have been condensed and made into an introduction. And I'd like to strangle the copyeditor for the bulleted lists of incomplete sentences with periods after each item. To my knowledge, that has never been acceptable punctuation. You can use periods for complete sentences, or you can use commas for a list of items with a period after the last, but not periods after each word. Ever hear of Chicago Manual of Style?

I would give it fewer stars, but I think there is *some* value for a person who loves to learn by example and wants to basically copycat the example resumes. Also, important to note that this book is really for sales professionals, human resource managers, and people in medical fields, other than physicians. The authors highlight these types of professions and don't really talk much about any others. And it would probably only really help you if you worked for a company that actually uses the competency-based resume system.

After all my bashing, I do need to admit that I did not make it through the entire book (how could I, with grammar like "...and companies who..." throughout?), and only read about the first 4 chapters. I couldn't bear it. It's not so much "excellent" as the other reviewers said as it is "circularly logical" and "cleverly ambiguous," leaving the reader "nonplussed."

If you want a good resume book, get Resume Magic -- it gives good advice and great examples in clear, logical language. Plus, the author is encouraging, which is great when you just want to find a better job.

This is a great book! I posted my competency-based resume on Monster.com at 2AM. By morning I had two voicemails and three emails from recruiters for interviews and over the next week I was flooded with calls and emails! I wanted to change my number! I owe it all to this book. It has several examples on competency-based resumes for various stages in your career. It teaches you how to highlight your strengths and get the job YOU want! I highly recommend it!

I felt that this book gave excellent advice and guidelines in preparing resumes.

This is a serious self-help book which requires thoughtful effort on the reader's part, but promises a concomitant reward. Dick Richards urges you to find your genuine inner talents and spiritual beliefs, your "genius," and to pursue them to find your career, your purpose and true fulfillment. However, the quest for genius is difficult to execute, though many successful people may have already completed this internal search and made genius-based career decisions without even knowing it. Richards is writing for those who have not. His audience is people who hold jobs that don't give them a sense of accomplishment or meaning. Richards spends a good bit of time explaining how people can find and name their genius, and perhaps not enough time telling them what they can do with it once that "eureka" moment has happened. As a result, we find that he articulates a noble goal but may leave some of its realization up to you. Then again, that seems valid: After all, no one can activate your genius for you. This book is useful for counselors and therapists, as well as for spiritually oriented readers who are willing to undertake serious introspection to refocus on their true gifts and purpose.

The subtitle of this book is "Four key questions to ask before your next career move." Unfortunately I think the subtitle is wrong. Really, this book asks us four key questions about our life.

The book revolves around those four questions:

1. What is your genius?
2. Is your genius at work?
3. What is your purpose?
4. Is your genius on purpose?

And after the chapters devoted to each question comes some fantastic exercises to help you put the ideas in this book into action.

When I read a book I typically view it in four ways:

1. Content
2. Writing
3. Layout
4. Overall feel

By each of these criteria this book, this book is a winner. The content is fantastic. The writing style is approachable and includes stories I can relate to and that illustrate the points very well. The layout if the book is outstanding - there are helpful illustrations and plenty of room for notes - an important consideration for a book like this. Above these tangible dimensions, the feeling I get when reading is book is positive. The author cares about his readers and it shows in every part of this book.

I recommend this book highly for anyone - not just those in a career assessment or transition situation.

Before I go any further with this review, let me set something straight: the value of this book is not limited to jobseekers. This is stuff that will help you reframe the way you view your life. There are plenty of other books that help you figure out your most basic competencies (books on enneagrams, Now Discover Your Strengths, etc...). I've only done a little bit of messing around in this genre, but from my experience, Genius takes the most direct path to the heart of the discovery process. The book is an easy read but, like another reviewer said, a deep one. If you take it seriously, you'll likely struggle with naming your genius for more time than it takes to read the book.

The four questions that the book asks are, What is your genius, Is your genius at work, What is your purpose and Is your genius on purpose. About 2/3 of the book is devoted to working through these questions and the last third is filled with excercises to help you narrow down the search for the name of your genius. The excercises are awesome-nothing trivial or useless here. These are thoughtful and clearly designed to help you think in new directions and they do it well. I've been working through the excercises and they're hard for me. This kinda bums me out because there was a time, not all that long ago, that I was intently focused on self-knowledge, and I felt like I knew myself pretty well. To some degree the excercises make me feel kinda bad that I don't simply have snap answers anymore. On the other hand, it's been good to get to know myself again.

I'm still unsure of the name of my genius. The book describes several ways that you might know when you've landed on your genius' name. I experienced none of this when I wrote Exploring Service. Last week I felt like that was a servicable name for use while I kept seeking, but this week I don't think that's the case. I'm continuing to work on some of the excercises and also allowing things to just sit and simmer for a while. I think that's important. What's really different about Genius versus other books like the ones I mentioned earlier is that there aren't any easy quizzes or surveys to take which will spit out the answer. Figuring out the name of your genius takes work and time. It feels like you can't look directly at it...gotta look kinda sideways or pretend you aren't looking and wait for it to pop up. I suspect it's worth the wait.

This book has been really well received by other folks I think highly of. Check out reviews by Dave Pollard[1], Steve Pavlina[2] and Dwayne Melancon[3]. Also, Dick Richards is doing something really remarkable for an author of a book like this. He's created an online discussion group, called Genius Workshop[4], where readers of the book can get some personal insight from him and from others who are on the same journey. Very, very helpful. Also, for more good reading, check out Dick's blog[5] where he's also got a sample chapter and some exercises you can work through.

(...)

What is genius? It has nothing to do with IQ, and everyone has it. Richards describes it this way:

"...everyone's genius is unique. Your genius can be thought of in a practical way: as the exceptional power that comes most naturally to you, as the process you undertake so spontaneously and easily that you do not notice it, and as the business in which you are engaged as a person. It can also be thought of in a mystical way: as the energy of your soul and as an answer to the question of why you exist within the human community."

Finding your genius is a way to live in alignment with yourself. It is a way to tap into the power of your unique gifts. It's about paying attention to who and how you are, and then taking action that is in alignment with that.

A key step in discovering your genius is naming it (he points out that you might go through numerous names as you peel back the layers and get more clear about the nature of your genius). What do you do uniquely well? What do you do automatically, without even thinking about it? What are you doing when you shine?

Some examples of what others have identified include:

* Engaging the Heart
* Digging Deeper
* Pursuing Understanding
* and Making it Work

Once you have identified your genius, Richards encourages you to identify your purpose (so you can put that genius to work in pursuit of that purpose) and to consistently ask the question, "Is my genius on purpose?" That is to say are your beliefs, the decisions you are making, your enviernoment, etc. helping or hindering the effective application of your genius?

Richards does a great job of both outlining his ideas and illustrating them with real life examples. But an interesting read won't do much in the long run to change your life. What I really love is the extensive section Richards provides with exercises to lead you through the genius process and put it to work in your life.

My recommendation in a nutshell - read it. More importantly, do the exercises.

I just finished reading Is Your Genius At Work? by Dick Richards, and I give it my highest recommendation. The book focuses on discovering your genius, the thing that you can do better than anyone else, then finding the way you are meant to apply your genius (purpose). I found the book enjoyable and very useful for answering some key questions I had about my genius. Actually, the book and some deep soul searching helped me discover my genius. My genius is "Creating Order". And as I look back over my life, I see that this explains a lot of the things I have done. I still haven't discovered the way I'm supposed to apply my genius in my life, but I have clues to keep me aware of its discovery.

What does "Creating Order" mean to me? It basically boils down to my ability to enter chaos and turn it around into an orderly environment. This has always been my key strength. I am extremely organized and disorder creates an emotion in me that drives me to create order. In addition, I have always been technically capable, everything from repairing automobiles, all terrain vehicles, lawn mowers to installing and maintaining cutting-edge computer networks. This genius has driven me to take things that were "out of order" and restore them back into order. Discovering this genius just felt so right. I felt like I learned something about myself at a very deep level. I knew it was right, and I was filled with a deep joy and excitement. I had many hits and misses but they never gave me that deep feeling of being right. I now know where I can be most useful in providing service to others.

The book guides you through a question and explanation process of its 4 key questions:

1. What is your genius?
2. Is your genius at work?
3. What is your purpose?
4. Is your genius on purpose?

The book includes multiple explanations and stories that will provide you clarity on discovering the answers to each of the questions. This is not always an easy process, but the way this book lays it out definitely makes the journey a lot simpler. I have spent a lot of time searching for this type of information in various other books and websites, but this book was the key in me finally discovering my genius and gaining a good grasp on what my purpose (also known as mission) might be.

This book was instrumental in me discovering my genius, and also provided some valuable clues and clarification on where I can realize my purpose. My purpose currently is "to serve and contribute by utilizing my genius for the highest good of all". My aim in serving my purpose is to find a way to utilize my genius then increase the amount of contribution I can make with it. Although I don't have any tangible benefits from this discovery yet, I know there will be as I search for more concrete ways to contribute with my genius.

I really enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend it. It has definitely added positive value to my life.

I teach writing to home school kids and have been surprised by what inspires them to write-- HINT: it's not the standard ideas found in most text books. 501 Writing Prompts has a wide variety of topics for writing and includes "how to score" information for each essay category. This book would help students practice for the essay portion of the SAT or other standardized test. If you're looking for something to teach you ABOUT writing, or HOW TO write, this isn't it. It is simply a thorough collection of ideas to spark a student's writing. (Examples of good, mediocre, and poorly written essays are included for several of the topics.)

I've used this book for journal writing every day. The students like to choose the prompts and write them on the board. It's been a helpful resource.

This is a great book to get ideas for essay writing practice. It is divided into four sections with Persuasive, Expository, Narrative and Literary writing prompts. There are also graded model essays to show what is expected of students in the SAT exams. It is interesting to see what will give you a mark of 6, 4 and 1!! With 501 writing topics to choose from, you are guaranteed to get plenty of experience as a writer. I think it's a book worth having.

This not only gives you 501 writing prompts (some not all that great, but there are so many it makes up for that downfall)... it gives you samples of different student writing that fits each style - personal narrative, persuasive, etc. - and rubrics for each style also! I wasn't sure what I was going to do when I was told I was going to be teaching writing to secondary students, but this book eased a lot of my fears and helped me through!

This collection of writing prompts has some excellent features. Prompts are organized into three modes of writing: Narrative, expository, and persuasive. Sample responses at various score points are given for several prompts in each section. Many of the prompts are compelling and accessible to students across a variety of writing levels.

As one might expect from a collection of over five hundred writing prompts, there are also a great many that miss the mark for one reason or another. There's enough here, though, to complement any writing program.

have the heart of an entrepreneur. I personally believe that every young person should own their own business in their youth. From a lemonade stand to selling candy for camp to running an ebay store, there are so many life lessons to be learned when a child follows their entrepreneurial spirit. This book encourages teens to step out and act on their ideas and develop them into actual businesses. It is full of stories of young entrepreneurs that will inspire you to follow your dream as a teen or an adult. Excellent!

I personally believe every young person should own a business at some point in their youth. The lessons learned are priceless and can be applied in every aspect of their future. It was my own entrepreneurial journeys that helped shape me as a person, and in countless ways have opened doors that I could have never imagined.

This book is a tool that exposes the stories of young entrepreneurs across the country from various walks of life. These same stories are the ones that will inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs that will not only make an impact around the block, but around the world.

I am a youth & teen entrepreneur coach (18 and under) and was very happy to see a current book on the market for this target group.

The Good:
The book is resource intensive.
It has a diverse group of successful young entrepreneurs featured in the case studies from both the online and offline business world (it would have been nice to see more teens featured).


The Bad:
Basically the stories and case studies in the book might be ideal for the magazine (from which it is based) but I don't think they translate well to a book (not that they couldn't, it would just need to be reworked). Because of this the book is not a good 'read through' book. I think it is more suitable as a reference book for when you reach certain stages of your business. And with many of the businesses mentioned they may have some barriers to entry, namely financial or specialized knowledge.

It is not a blueprint in the sense that after you read it you can create a business from start to finish which is what I thought when I read the cover. There is no real starting point or step by step instructions. It is actually a lot of mini blueprints that vary from industry to industry and individual to individual. It leaves way too many unanswered questions and disconnected thoughts. So the reader is going to have to be really resourceful in figuring out some pretty advanced concepts or to figure out what happens "before or after". Even if they are technologically savvy and using the internet as a resource tool I don't know how easy it would be for them to 'connect the dots'.

Additionally, the authors don't endorse or recommend ANY of the companies they list as resources and the book is very resource intensive. I understand the importance from a liability perspective but at the same time if you are writing something especially geared towards "young people" you should probably not list it if you don't have pre existing relationship or experience. Not all companies and organizations embrace teen entrepreneurs or take them seriously. While such is life, I think the book could have been a little bit more 'warm' and 'approachable' in preparing them for this reality.

The Ugly:
I am a fast reader and tend to scan but my teen proteges (even those with less than spectacular grades ;-)) immediately pointed out major typos in the first 3 pages- bussines (business), revoluntionary (revolutionary) effect instead of affect and shool (school)... While it is understandable you can read a manuscript a million times over and still miss obvious things, you can't have 2 typos side by side in the first sentence. The reason that I put this in the 'ugly' category is because the book was written by an Editor in Chief of and a Senior Editor. And 4 of the typos are in the first 2 pages and there are subsequent typos throughout the book. So it makes me think that someone was just sloppy in the finishing details. It doesn't take away from the book but for some it may take away from their credibility. Hopefully they will fix this in subsequent printings.


If you are an aspiring or emerging young entrepreneur (or the parent of one) I would still advise that you buy the book because there is still plenty that can be learned from it when you reach certain stages of your business.

The Nika'Nator
'demolishing doubt and building dreams'
www.renegadeceos.com

Even though he died in 1998, everything in this book is still valid.
From little simple tips like allowing a little extra time to get somewhere to making sure you have gas in your car so you won't forget to put some in when you are rushed to controlling phone call interuptions this book is chock full of little tips.
Even things like putting your keys in the same spot to having your doors keyed to use the same key, he just keeps on offering ways to save time and hassle that you can avoid if you listen to him.
One of the pioneers of real estate infomercials, he speaks to you on how to enjoy your life.
Shortly before he died he was sued with frivolous lawsuits, so ignore the ignorant reviewers that talk about that. He set up his estate so they couldn't touch his wealth. Good for him. Glad to know Givens kept his money shielded from buzzard lawyers.
Learning how he overcame a hard childhood to go on to live a life most would only dream of should inspire you to do the same.
All in all, a good combination of both inspirational reflecting on his growing up to practical advice once he had made it as an adult.

This is one of the best "self-help" books I have ever read. I am
re-reading it in case I missed something.

Like his financial books, Charles Givens offers a no nonsense system for becoming your best. You will learn how to flatten your fears, generate goals and add several hours of productivity to your day with more free time for fun to boot.

The tape is an overview. The book is very thorough.

Highly recommended along with Stephen Coveys 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Interesting that some people are surprised that Charles Givens produced this audio tape program and the book of the same name--SuperSelf; interesting because this is how Givens started way back in 1975 with his first company The Success Motivation Institute which was incredibly successful. SuperSelf is a program designed to take back control. To destroy the control others or events have over our emotions and the direction of our lives. To stop waiting for our ship to come in and go out and swim to it. Not to wait for things to happen but to make thing happen. Not to find ourselves, but to design ourselves. To take the action in our lives to make our dreams into reality.SuperSelf will show you how to design the rest of your life to become the best of your life and to live your dreams.

I read a classic self-development book on my recent flight called, Super Self Doubling Your Personal Effectiveness by Charles J. Givens. Charles is one of the long-time motivational speakers and rags to riches type person that people like to read about. Often I find these people to be somewhat shallow but the basic message is right.

In the book he shares a number of success strategies. The first one is to learn from the experience of others rather than your own. In my opinion, this is true wisdom and this is something that I still seek.

Charles Givens' outline is very basic and is what you would see in almost any self-help book:

1. Have dreams and goals. (I always thought the difference between dreams and goals is that goals were dreams with action)

2. Develop strategies to achieve these.

3. Practise â" consciously and continuously apply the strategies at every opportunity.

4. Habits - as I have often said before, we become what we repeatedly do.
Results, with these new skills and abilities, you will achieve results.

I would not make it as linear as that, I would make it into a circle. As results start to happen, then new dreams and goals need to be set. I feel a need to constantly revisit goals.

Overall this is a great book and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in improving themselves and achieving goals in life.

His program takes it right from the goal setting through the time management area. It is a great refresher on what we need to do to be successful. I always seem to need this. I know what I should do but I frequently fall back into not doing it. books like this challenge me to once again play at the top of my game all the time.

Interesting and fascinating - very easy to follow - good examples and exercises. One of the best books on rapport building and the use of NLP. Lots of useful other goodies. Bravo!

Very smooth flowing. Very charming and informative. I've listened to it three times in a month. Definately a must have for wanting to network.

I am only half way through this book, but in the two days I have had it, I have not been able to put it down! It is incredibly eye opening and I find myself following Boothman's advice already in my everyday interactions. This book is well worth a read.

This book is easy to read, gives exercises that enables you to use what you have read and puts you in a position to get more out of your life. If you want to be more effective in ALL your communication, get this book.

What a wonderful little book that packs a great big wallop! If you are serious about connecting with people in business, and reaping the rewards that come with more and better relationships, then this is an absolute must-read book for you.

I had the good fortune of reading Nick Boothman's first book, "How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less," while on a flight to a conference in which I was teaching. I was inspired by the simplicity and practicality of Boothman's approach. I began using his techniques before even leaving the airplane and continued to use them in the cab, the hotel, and at the conference. It was a breakthrough moment for me. My audience paid closer attention, laughed more, and learned more than any other I had previously served. This happened because I connected with them in a much stronger and more meaningful way-Boothman's way. I've been following Nick's direction ever since.

Now, Mr. Boothman releases a pitch-perfect sequel-"How to Connect in Business in 90 Seconds or Less." While this volume is grounded in the same principles as his first book, every page is crafted with the businessperson in mind. As I have read and re-read this snappy, entertaining, profound book, I am amazed at how much more Nick Boothman has to teach me about persuasion-the craft of getting people (in this case clients and other business contacts) to want to do what I want them to do. It's all KFC: Know what you want, Find out what you're getting, and, Change what you do until you get what you want. Sounds obvious, right? Wrong. If it were many more of us would be much more successful than we are.

Some of the material in this book is good basic sense that your mother told you but somehow leaked out of your head. Boothman puts that good sense back into your brain with a greater freshness, clarity, and practicality.

"How to Connect in Business in 90 Seconds or Less" illustrates the power of connecting with businesspeople quickly and consistently. Don't let your ego get in the way of picking up this book. You'll learn a lot stuff you thought you already knew.

There were a lot of interesting facts in this book, that really make you think about two-income families. However, while the author(s) are excellent at describing tear-inducing situations that tug at the heart, they are unfortunately unable to provide very much in the way of applicable help for the families who are struggling within the 'two income trap'. The changes that they do suggest would take monumental governmental intervention and a very large dose of time to fix.

...there are some serious problems, too.

First, the good points:

-We need our usury laws back!
It is stupid and reckless to expect an eighteen year old kid to suddenly possess a JD and be a CPA to accurately wade through the ten pages of fine print attached to a credit card application. That is where the trouble starts, on college campuses, under the guise of a free Tshirt or 2 liter of Coke if you fill out an application.

-Health care is disaster.
It is diabolically stupid to connect health care to employment. Medicare For ALL!

-Colleges are out of control.
We need to price cap state schools, point blank. The authors are dead on with this one. Not every college needs to be the best in every program, and they are all trying to be. Let them prioritize and specialize- not every college needs trades and sports and culinary arts and fine arts... blah blah blah. All the schools I know are pumping money into housing, too, which is really stupid in the midwest, where off campus is usually nicer and cheaper.

-The Financial Fire Drill.
Thinking like a family at war; protecting what you value most; acknowledging that your children are more important than your credit rating or the creditor that yells the loudest; explaining that the longest financial commitments are also the riskiest- this stuff is worth reading and worth knowing.

-Car Seats: All That Safety Comes a High Price.
When my parents were kids (in families of 7 and 8), each family had two cars: a station wagon and a pick up. The station wagons didn't have seat belts, little kids were lap riders, and you could ride as many people as could squeeze in. If the wagon went on the fritz, the family piled into the bed of the truck. No more.
Car seats themselves are expensive, they expire after five years (no, I am not making this up- look it up), and God help the family with three kids. Even if the oldest is out of his/her car seat, unless you have a third row vehicle (a minivan or a big SUV), chances are you can't all legally fit. Even in the backseat of a big sedan (or larger), there is not enough room between two car seats for a five or six year old, much less a seven or eight year old to ride. Bigger cars are more expensive cars, and it is a huge burden, especially with gas at $4 a gallon.

The Cons:

- Though the title is the Two Income Trap, the authors don't explain thouroughly enough how to live within your means either on one income or two.
For example, two full time, out of home workers are going to rely much more on meals out and packaged, more expensive groceries. This is not a failing on their part, its just the reality that cooking from scratch takes lots of time (and often, lots of time to learn). This is frequently one of the means by which couples "downshift" when they move from two incomes to one. When joined by losing extra taxes, daycare, car payments, insurance, and gas, and the other expenses associated with working, a new picture emerges for most families. They could have gone into this, and they didn't. It's too bad.

-Vouchers.
Okay, I haven't made up my mind on this concept yet. I think that tying schools to a zip code is at least as stupid as tying health care to employment, but, again, the authors don't really explore the variables here. Can kids go to school anywhere in the state under their ideal voucher program? If so, do the best schools become boarding schools, the way the schools for the blind/deaf are? What are the implications there?
Also, as a homeschool advocate, I was disappointed to not even see non-institutional education get so much as a mention.

-Housing.
Yes, housing prices throughout much of the country got out of control. Yet there remained many areas where housing prices are low enough that it is possible to own a family size home on a single income. Our 3 bedroom, 150 year old house cost $31,000 in 2005. While it needs some updating, it isn't a shack, either.
(And no, low COL areas are not neccesarily low wage areas- rather, they are low COL because the cost of real estate is low relative to wages. Our mortgage is equal to about 18 months of my husband's net salary.)
My husband's coworker bought a 5 bedroom house on 2 acres last year, and while it's in need of some pretty serious remodeling, she only paid $17,000 for it. I think that's a bargain, considering you can't buy a new Honda Civic for that price.
I think there's a certain amount of choice at play here.

At the end of this book, I was left with the words of Amy Dacyzyn ringing in my ears: "If you are willing to live like a family did in 1960, you can survive and even thrive on a single income." Is this true in every area of the U.S.? No, but if you pick a place with a lower COL, it can be done. People just don't want to think about what this means- it means a more modest home; a single car payment at a time (if any at all), very few meals out; no paper towels or disposible dishrags, napkins, diapers, wipes, plates, cups, etc.; no cable or cellphone; no dishwasher or microwave. This is how people got ahead on a single income back then, and it's how people do it now.

(Oh, and for what it's worth, I am a dyed in the wool liberal.)

While this book may not be perfect - for example, perhaps it overestimates the role of the desire for quality schools and underestimates the role of the desire to have a nicer dwelling, when it discusses the rising prices of homes, and it certainly does not mention the relative tax burden on families between 1970 and today (its chosen sample) - it should be one of the main starting points for the discussion of how to make public policy more family friendly. Why? Because it draws so deeply on the economic data to show that families are in so much financial trouble because their fixed expenses are so much higher than a generation ago.

I would like to see their voucher policy adopted, and the vouchers made applicable to home-schooling. They are right that the deregulation of banking is making the banks rich and increasing the number of bankruptcies six-fold; the deregulation should be rolled back.

Is anyone doing anything to follow up on their insights?

On the positive side, this book offers some interesting interpretations regarding why people are going broke, most notable is their belief that it can all be changed by reforming the public education system. This was an intriguing idea. However, I could not get past the fact that they argue AGAINST the fact that Americans over-consume on everything. In short, they say "it's not their fault" for living way beyond their means. I have a huge fundamental problem with this attitude. I don't know where Warren lives or who her friends are, but within my middle class community and everywhere around me, almost everyone I know or see has a sense of entitlement to have the latest and greatest, biggest and best. People are duped into thinking that every luxury (cable TV, SUVs, cell phones, etc.) are a necessity. NONSENSE. Just a generation ago people were much better at living within their means, doing without if necessary, and making do with what they have. I get so disgusted with today's attitudes. Dave Ramsey's philosophy is much much better and more practical. Eat beans and rice, take on extra jobs if you have to, and LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS. This book was not for me.

Back in the mid to late 60s, average real income in the U.S., which is just economic terminology for income adjusted for inflation, started to decline for the first time. Once that trend gets started in a country, for whatever reason, it's almost impossible to reverse, as any economic historian will tell you.

Now, forty years later, the impact of that dire trend is here for all to see. The American middle class is moribund and on the verge of extinction, if it isn't already. And in the last 15 years, the middle class has suffered through the worst of it, with job flight overseas in the late 90s, and the corporate restructurings of the early 90s. What is not well known is that most of the increase in profitability that drove the great bull market of the 90s was widespread and extensive corporate downsizings, restructurings, and layoffs during that period, which made companies leaner and and meaner. It wasn't that American companies were now better managed or were producing better products, although there were a few exceptions.

That's the sad macroeconomic backstory to the current situation. In this book, Prof. Warren examines the personal toll this economic sea change has produced, and how it has affected the families themselves. And her claims are backed up with massive amounts of data. And at this point, no one, even conservatives, denies it. Liberals and conservatives just disagree on the reasons for it.

Warren provides convincing evidence that it isn't frivolous spending that is driving most Americans into debt, which is the conservative view, but needed fixed expenses such as a mortgage, medical insurance, education, and so on, all of which have climbed precipitously in recent years, much more than the level of inflation, and more importantly, of average income.

Reckoned in these terms, I can't disagree with her conclusions. My only quip is that I'm sure that the millions of people who took out piggy-back loans were only too happy to take those cash payments, without the bank twisting their arms too much. There's the old saying about when a deal sounds too good, it probably is, but apparently no one was thinking in those terms. On the other hand, it was the mortgage lenders "loan to own" strategy that backfired on them, when interest rates went up. Word to the wise--no one can predict interest rates for very long, including economists--let alone your average citizen.

Also, Prof. Warren's data notwithstanding, which is very convincing, I should add, nevertheless, we've all seen people who have come into windfalls who've just frittered it away on frivolous consumption instead of doing the wise thing and saving and investing it. In fact, at my age, I've been around a while (I'm pushing 60) and I can't count the number of people I've seen do this.

Overall, though, I agree with almost all of what Warren has to say. But the likely cure for the current situation--balancing the budget, increasing taxes, ending the war in Iraq, creating better paying jobs and not simply more low paying ones, providing affordable medical insurance, buying smaller, more economical cars, eating out less often, and spending more responsibly when necessary--is probably more than Americans can stomach. Debt has simply become a way of life here, and that isn't going to change anytime soon. Not to mention the fact that creating more and better jobs would require some real creativity and rethinking of our whole work economy. Does anyone think our current crop of leaders (whether republican or democrat) is up to this task?

This book is great. It gave me a broad overview of the mortgage industry and practical tips to get started as a mortgage broker. This book covers everything from are you the right person for this industry?, how to interpret financial indicators?, how to put all the success-proof components (knowledge, marketing, and technology) in motion?, what types of loans are available?, how to open your own shop when you are ready?, to even how to strike a work life balance? This is an easy read and I highly recommend it to anyone who might be interested in getting started in the mortgage industry.

Thanks Dan for writing such a valuable book.

I've read several Mortgage Broker books in preparation of starting my own Mortgage Broker firm. I can sincerely state that this is the most concise and informative Mortgage Broker book I've read. Daniel not only breaks the Mortgage Industry down into layman terms, but he also provides his readers access to his personal business web site.

GREAT JOB DAN!!

As a real estate sales professional for almost twenty years, I know how important it is to work with a competent mortgage broker. Dan Kahn gives great insight into what it takes to become a success in the mortgage business - he lays it out from just getting started to getting ahead. This book is also a valuable reference tool for home buyers since it explains the mortgage process and its lingo. I found it an easy read and a book to keep for future reference.

I am not much of a reader at all, but this book is clear and to the point. If you are new to the mortgage industry this book will give you a good base of knowledge to get you started. It will not teach you all of the ins and outs, but will introduce you to terms and ideas essential for understanding what the heck you are talking about to clients. Some of the contents are a little more than the beginner needs to know, but you can easily bypass those parts. Overall a good book!

Well researched. Content decently put together. Makes you want to just keep reading. Great job author! Serves as good reference material too. Good for keeps.