Cezanne: The Late Work

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Cezanne: The Late Work

Manufacturer: Museum of Modern Art
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Impressionism | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Post-Impressionism | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Cezanne, Paul | ( A-C ) | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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Cezanne (Masters of Art)

ASIN: 0870702785

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CEZANNE - THE LATE WORK - ESSAYS BY THEODORE REFF, LAWRENCE GOWING, LILIANE BRION-GUERRY, REWALD, NOVOTNY, MONNIER, DRUICK, HAMI
William Rubin
Manufacturer: Museum Modern Art
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000RAYBBM

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A Decent, Well-written Book

Education for Photographers

Photography... where it all begins

A very good book

Michael J. Langford: Best Photo Writer Ever?

Basic Photography, Seventh Edition
Michael Langford
Manufacturer: Focal Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Photo Essays | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Reference | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Equipment | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Advanced Photography, Sixth Edition

Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition)

Langford's Starting Photography, Fourth Edition: A guide to better pictures for film and digital camera users

Adobe Photoshop CS2 for Photographers: A Professional Image Editor's Guide to the Creative Use of Photoshop for the Macintosh and PC

The Basic Book of Photography, Fifth Edition

ASIN: 0240515927

Book Description

'Basic Photography' is a longstanding international bestseller and continues to be the introductory textbook for photography courses throughout the world.

Key features:
practical assignments, so you can put into practice what you've learned
chapter summaries for easy revision
a clear and concise approach to essential photographic principles, assuming no prior knowledge
comprehensive coverage of both black and white photography, processing and printing; colour photography, digital manipulation and film processing
suitability for students of all ages and all photographic courses

This new edition now includes:
extended coverage of digital imaging techniques: from capturing images digitally, to scanning and using manipulation software and the ethics involved
updated and re-structured contents to suit the new Art (Photography) A Level
hundreds of stunning full colour photographs throughout illustrating the main points from the text inspirational images from world famous photographers including: Bill Brandt; Henri Cartier-Bresson; Edward Weston and David Hockney.

The late Michael Langford formerly taught at the Royal College of Art for many years, becoming Course Director. He was intimately involved with photography courses and examination syllabuses at all levels and as a result fully understood what a student needed. His other books for Focal Press include 'Starting Photography' 2nd edition, 'Advanced Photography' 6th edition, and 'Story of Photography' 2nd edition. 'Advanced Photography' is the companion volume to 'Basic Photography', and for students wishing to progress further, will take the aspiring photographer a step forward on the ladder to a career in photography.

Practically targeted at the new A-level syllabus so you can improve your technical skills
Get up to date with what's on offer, the advantages and disadvantages of digital photography
New, practical step-by-step instruction on digital imaging

Customer Reviews:

A Decent, Well-written Book.......2007-05-09

When I bought this book I was fully aware that the latest edition (8th) was available to ship immediately while this previous 7th edition will still be ordered. Yet, I stuck to this older 7th edition as I wanted a book that was written solely by Michael Langford before he died. The 8th edition is a collaborative work based on his previous editions and written by several authors.

What I like most about this book is the more dogmatic approach to the basics of photography. That's the way I wanted it. No funny anecdotes, no jumping and bypassing guidelines. Just straighforward discussion of the fundamentals with awareness of what is possible when you intentionally disregard the rules.

For example, Langford explicitly states that the best place to learn lighting is in a studio. I can imagine some people would argue with it, but I take it at face value. This is what I mean with "dogmatic" teaching. I shall let experience teach me otherwise when I have shot thousands of pictures already. For the moment, I want to learn the rules and internalize them. This is not to say the author advocates strict complaince alone. Not at all. He emphasizes the basics. Creative licence is up to you.

Again, veterans may say, there are no "rules" in photography; only good pictures. It's easy to say that IF you knew those "rules" by heart to begin with and can make contrary decisions for your own creative purposes. But as an amateur or a novice, my belief is following guidelines is still best. Following, even copying what the teacher does is still valid. Individual creative decision will come on its own time.

This book is about basic photography yet it is generously illustrated and very revealing. The principles (equipment, techniques, lighting, etc...) were illustrated using mainly film, understandably. But the author also discussed digital cameras and digital manipulation which are outdated now owing to the technology available when the book was written. But his teaching is right on the money, including the ones on digital ethics. The author shows you the basics, shows you where you stand in relation to the big picture out there, and gives his opinion on where photography is going and where you might be depending on your options.

No doubt as you gain more experience you will drift towards more specialized photography books. But if you are totally clueless about photography and want to learn, if you want to know its very basic principles, then I highly recommend Michael Langford's 7th Edition Basic Photography as a very useful reference. All the accolades he got for this book were well deserved! I have several other photography references like John Shaw's Nature Photography and Lee Frost's A-Z of Creative Photography, for example. But I put them all aside for the time being and concentrate instead on Langford's Basic Photography.

This is a very decent, well-written book for those willing to spend the time to educate themselves on the basics of photography- whether you shoot film or digital.

Education for Photographers.......2006-11-04

Whether you are a beginner photograher or you having been taking photographs for years...there is a lot in this book that im sure you never thought of when you snapped your picture. It has a lot of great information in it.

Photography... where it all begins.......2005-03-14

Basic Photography is a book explaining the basics of photography, technically as well as creatively, in a clear and easy to understand way. If you want to know how a camera (35mm SLR, medium-format, large-format, digital) or f-stops work, this is the book for you. It is a good book for beginners just starting out in photography as well as advanced photographers who just want to fill in the gaps of technical understanding.

Although this book does contain some mathematical equations, you do not need to know mathematics or physics to understand the concepts explained in the book. Here's an excerpt from the book's introduction: "It is intended for students of all ages and, beginning at square one, assumes that you have no theoretical knowledge of photography, nor any scientific background."

It won't teach you how to shoot beautiful pictures, but rather tell and show you what it takes in terms of photo equipment, working with photo equipment, light, and technique to produce photographs from exposure to final print. This book is not specific to any type of photography, but deals with photography in general and is basically a 'how photography works' kind of book. "In short, Basic Photography is planned as a primer for professionals which will interest and inform amateur photographers too."

Basic Photography is the kind of book I should have read when I was first starting out in landscape photography; it would have definitely made my life and learning easier.

A very good book.......2004-10-10

I started photography in 1987 & this book (the older version of course) is what I started with. I quite recommend it & I think its a very useful book to add to your library.
Another real useful book I came across (& treasure) is the Photo know how.
This book was published by Sinar (www.sinar.ch) & most unfortunatly they do not have it in english any longer but I think they might still have the french & german language editions. If you ever find it, do't miss it.

Michael J. Langford: Best Photo Writer Ever?.......2003-02-19

Mr. Langford certainly deserves praise for his continued excellence in photographic writing. 'Basic Photography' is THE manual for photographers. It is clear, concise and entertaining to read. This book should be in every photographers library.

Amazon.com

Billionaire Palmer Lloyd is accustomed to getting what he wants--and what he wants for his new museum is the largest meteorite on earth. Unfortunately for Lloyd, it's buried on an inhospitable Chilean island just north of the Ice Limit in the most brutal, unforgiving seas in the world.

Fortunately for Lloyd, he knows people--people like Eli Glinn, the hyper-focused president of Effective Engineering Solutions, Inc.; Glinn's nonconformist, genius of a mathematician, Rachel Amira; and the uncannily able construction engineer, Manuel Garza. Lloyd's also tapped the brilliant but disgraced meteorite hunter, Sam McFarlane, and the exceptional supertanker captain, Sally Britton, whose career was unshipped by intemperance and a reef. Of course, such a team has a hefty price tag:

Lloyd's broad features narrowed. "And that is... "
"One hundred and fifty million dollars. Including chartering the transport vessel. FOB the Lloyd Museum."
Lloyd's face went pale. "My God. One hundred and fifty million... " His chin sank onto his hands. "For a ten-thousand-ton rock. That's... "
"Seven dollars and fifty cents a pound," said Glinn.

EES's plan is to obtain mining rights to the island, secure the allegiance of various Chilean functionaries via blinding sums of money, disguise a state-of- the-art supertanker as a decrepit ore rig, mine the rock, slip it into the ship, and zip back to New York to thunderous notoriety. Unforeseen, however, are a rogue Chilean naval captain, seas to make Sebastian Junger boot, and a blood-red meteorite of undetermined pedigree and a habit of discharging billions of volts of electricity for no apparent reason.

Like Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's earlier collaborations (Relic, Thunderhead, and others), The Ice Limit tools along swiftly, blending nicely drawn characters (excepting, regrettably, the book's true protagonist, the meteorite), a reasonably exciting narrative, and enough graspable science and plausible-seeming theories to bring readers happily up to speed and keep them climax-bound. Not the authors' best effort, certainly, but a fine diversion nonetheless. --Michael Hudson

Book Description

The largest known meteorite has been discovered, entombed in the earth for millions of years on a frigid, desolate island off the southern tip of Chile.At four thousand tons, this treasure seems impossible to move.New York billionaire Palmer Lloyd is determined to have this incredible find for his new museum.Stocking a cargo ship with the finest scientists and engineers, he builds a flawless expedition.But from the first approach to the meteorite, people begin to die.A frightening truth is about to unfold:The men and women of the Rolvaag are not taking this ancient, enigmatic object anywhere.It is taking them.

Download Description

On a desolate island off the southern coast of Chile, an incredible discovery is made: a gigantic meteorite, the largest ever found, entombed in the earth for millions of years. Half a world away, billionaire entrepreneur Palmer Lloyd decides he must have it as the centerpiece of his grandiose new museum. He is willing to pay any price--in dollars and in lives. Getting it back to New York poses a particular challenge: It will be the heaviest object ever moved by humankind. . . .Fueled by Lloyd's money, an audacious expedition takes shape. Disguising a state-of-the-art ship as a rusted freighter, the expedition secretly heads southward with a fail-safe plan to steal the meteorite from Chile. Leading the group is an inscrutable engineer hired by Lloyd, and a world-famous meteorite hunter whose career was shattered by a controversial theory. Soon, along the icy rim of Antarctica, in the grip of a frozen hell, the adventurers are confronted with a terrifying enigma about the origin--and nature--of the meteorite. It is a mystery they must solve--if they are to escape with their very lives. Combining mesmerizing science, unbearable suspense, and great storytelling, Preston and Child once again produce a first-rate thriller that will have readers turning pages as fast they can, toward a shocking conclusion as powerful as the impact of a falling meteorite.

Customer Reviews:

Don't read the back of the book..........2007-07-31

The back side of this paperback pretty much tells you everything that happens plot wise, except what happens in the last couple of chapters. Pretty boneheaded copy writing there. Totally spoiled the enjoyment of this pretty decent adventure novel. Tho, it mostly reads like a prologue for a sequel. (Not that one's been written as far as I know of... )

Great.......2007-05-08

I could easily see this book being turned into a movie-- one that I would probably go see. The storyline is dramatic, the characters motivations well-fleshed out, and the Crichton-esque science believable. Fans of Eli Glinn and Effective Engineering Solutions will appreciate his pivotal role. However, fans of Agent Pendergast-- fyi: he does not appear in this book.

Fantastic.......2007-04-10

Doug Preston & Lincoln Child are fantastic writers.
I own and have read all of their books.
Exceptional mystery and suspense with high tech information thrown in.
I recomend all of their books.

Action Packed!.......2007-04-06

I loved this book! So much action you cannot put it down! Tightly written story. Ely is a favorite character of mine. Read all the Pedergast books these guys write. Excellent stuff. Cannot recommend this enough. Great characters!

"Ice Limit"..the motion picture........2007-03-29

"The Ice Limit" reads much like a movie script..and a solid one at that. I enjoyed the story and the characters..especially Lloyd, Glinn and Britton. One major flaw could be that near the end during the chase scene chapters, Preston and Child fail to include a chapter that includes the foiling of Vallenar's plot from his perspective..this was strange since the chase scene included perspectives from both ships. Aside from this, I found "the Ice Limit" very exciting and fun to read. Deserves a possible consideration for a film adaptation.

Analytical procedures for improved trace element detection limits in polar ice from Arctic Canada using ICP-SMS [An article from: Analytica Chimica Acta]

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Analytical procedures for improved trace element detection limits in polar ice from Arctic Canada using ICP-SMS [An article from: Analytica Chimica Acta]
M. Krachler , J. Zheng , D. Fisher , and W. Shotyk
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Elsevier | By Publisher | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B000RR3GL6

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Analytica Chimica Acta, published by Elsevier in 2005. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Analytical procedures have been developed for the reliable determination of 19 trace elements (Ag, Al, Ba, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sr, Tl, U, V, Zn) in ice samples at pgg^-^1 and fgg^-^1 concentrations using ICP-sector field mass spectrometry (ICP-SMS). Concentrations of most elements in the high purity water and doubly distilled HNO"3 employed were distinctly lower than previously reported values. The accuracy of the results was carefully evaluated using the certified water reference material SLRS-4. Contributions of unwanted trace elements due to acidification of the ice samples (0.5% HNO"3) to the total element budget amounted to only 0.001pgg^-^1 for Bi, 0.34pgg^-^1 for Cr, 0.2pgg^-^1 for Fe, 0.004pgg^-^1 for Pb, 0.00015pgg^-^1 for U and 0.0025pgg^-^1 for V: compared to the concentrations of the metals in ice these are negligible. The use of a detergent (0.05%) in the rinsing solution (0.5% HNO"3), helped to reduce memory effects by 59-98%, depending on the element considered; this resulted in shorter washing times between samples (i.e. 1min) and improved analysis time. Adopting strict clean room procedures, the detection limit for Pb (0.06pgg^-^1) is a factor of ten lower than the current state-of-the-art. Compared to previous studies, the improved LODs obtained here for other trace elements amount to 2x (Ag), 4x (Sb), 5x (Ba), 6x (Cu, Mn, U), 9x (Bi), 13x (Cd), 18x (Fe) and 21x (V). The developed analytical protocols were successfully applied to the determination of selected trace elements in age-dated ice samples from the Canadian High Arctic. The toxic trace element Tl (median: 0.16pgg^-^1; range: 0.03-1.32pgg^-^1) and the lithogenic reference element Sc (0.53pgg^-^1; 0.06-2.9pgg^-^1) have been determined in a polar ice core for the first time.

Ice time a hot commodity.(Sports)(With one ice rink and plenty of local interest in hockey, Lane Event Center's Ice Center is pushed to its limits) : An article from: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR)

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Ice time a hot commodity.(Sports)(With one ice rink and plenty of local interest in hockey, Lane Event Center's Ice Center is pushed to its limits) : An article from: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR)

Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000EGD8QI
Release Date: 2006-02-04

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR), published by Thomson Gale on January 30, 2006. The length of the article is 1409 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Ice time a hot commodity.(Sports)(With one ice rink and plenty of local interest in hockey, Lane Event Center's Ice Center is pushed to its limits)
Publication: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) (Newspaper)
Date: January 30, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: D1

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Los creadores del agua de 'Ice Age 2': Ignacio Vargas y Vor Gonzz, fundadores de Next Limit: desde investigar los cauces de agua en Marte hasta la simulacin ... en 2005.(Entrevista): An article from: Epoca

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Los creadores del agua de 'Ice Age 2': Ignacio Vargas y Vor Gonzz, fundadores de Next Limit: desde investigar los cauces de agua en Marte hasta la simulacin ... en 2005.(Entrevista): An article from: Epoca
Idoia Sota
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000O1O8C6
Release Date: 2007-03-06

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Epoca, published by Thomson Gale on June 30, 2006. The length of the article is 852 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Los creadores del agua de 'Ice Age 2': Ignacio Vargas y V

5 Titles By Douglas Preston : Mount Dragon - Riptide - The Ice Limit (with Lincoln Child) - The Codex - Tyrannosaur Canyon

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5 Titles By Douglas Preston : Mount Dragon - Riptide - The Ice Limit (with Lincoln Child) - The Codex - Tyrannosaur Canyon
Douglas Preston with Lincoln Child
Manufacturer: various
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000W4YJK6

Product Description

multiple books ship as one item. save on shipping/handling charges.

Coastal caves, marine limits, and ice retreat in Lofotenvesteralen, North Norway (Tromura : Tromsø Musuems rapportserie. Naturvitenskap)

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Coastal caves, marine limits, and ice retreat in Lofotenvesteralen, North Norway (Tromura : Tromsø Musuems rapportserie. Naturvitenskap)
Jacob Møller
Manufacturer: Universitetet i Tromsø, Institutt for museumsvirksomhet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Cryosphere-cloud interactions near the snow/ice limit

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Cryosphere-cloud interactions near the snow/ice limit
Roger Graham Barry
Manufacturer: Dept. of Geography, University of Liverpool
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B00072V55U

Empirical probabilities of the ice limit and fifty percent ice concentration boundary in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas (NOAA technical memorandum NWS AR)

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Empirical probabilities of the ice limit and fifty percent ice concentration boundary in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas (NOAA technical memorandum NWS AR)
Bruce D Webster
Manufacturer: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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The Ice Limit
Douglas J.; Child, Lincoln Preston
Manufacturer: Warner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Action & Adventure | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0759544921

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Ice limits eastern Canadian seaboard
P. W Cote
Manufacturer: Ice Centre Environment Canada, Ice Climatology and Applications Division
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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I snarfed wine into my bubble bath...more than once!

Femail: A Comic Collision in Cyberspace

I Couldn't Put It Down

Laughs galore!

My sides were aching

Femail: A Comic Collision in Cyberspace
Shana McLean Moore , and Linda M Sharp
Manufacturer: iUniverse, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Love, Sex & Marriage | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Parenting & Families | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Stretchmarks On My Sanity: The Growing Pains of Raising a Family

ASIN: 0595377483

Book Description

"I dare you to find even one page of this wonderful book that doesn't make you laugh. Linda and Shana are hysterical squared! And I mean that in a good way... their musings made me smile, snort, and shout, 'Exactly right!'"—Debra Garfinkle, author of Storky: How I Lost My Nickname and Won the Girl (Putnam, 2005)

Sex may take place in The City, but there's plenty of sass in the suburbs. While Linda Sharp and Shana Moore might cop to being housewives, these gals are far from desperate. Rather than finding their thrills with a pool boy, Sharp and Moore delight in taking the head-splitting struggles all women experience, and making you laugh until your sides have busted their seams.

Linda and Shana tell it like you've experienced it...only this time around it's funny. Their flat out honest portrayals of PMS and unearned sweat; puppies and grown women who piddle; sagging breasts and husbands who often act like boobs, will leave you smiling, and feeling less alone in your leaky rowboat.

"Femail got me laughing out loud! It's a celebration of friendship that's at once irreverent, feisty and heartfelt."—Alison van Diggelen, founder & editor of Silicon Mom

“Moore and Sharp unite tongue and cheek for a hilarious, witty, sometimes frumpy, sometimes sexy romp through the daily challenges and universal nuances of motherhood in the twenty-first century.” - Kymberli Brady, author of The Sleepy Little Star and Give Them Wings and Let Them Fly

Customer Reviews:

I snarfed wine into my bubble bath...more than once!.......2006-03-02

Bottom line: it's a fantastic book. Full of funny stories and tales that make us moms not feel quite so alone in this great big world.
Keep in mind that it's more than just a collection of humor essays-- this all-too-true book of confessions tells a great story of a budding friendship, the kind that keep women from losing their minds.
Read it. And have your friends read it. Then get together over coffee and laugh all over again while celebrating motherhood and womanhood alike.

Femail: A Comic Collision in Cyberspace.......2006-01-30

Pity the poor soul who gets caught in this 21st century, electronic melee. When funny gal Linda Sharp's RABID fire observations are bounced off her pen pal Shana Moore the result is a witty repartee loaded with acerbic commentary. No subject is sacred; dieting, sex, husbands, kids - every topic is treated with the same caustic playfulness.

I Couldn't Put It Down.......2006-01-09

I got the book for Christmas and couldn't wait to
find the time to sit down and read it! Once I did I
didn't want to put it down. Finished it in 3 days!
Then I couldn't get it to a girlfriend quickly enough
so we could laugh together!

Shana and Linda are both VERY talented and funny writers! Not
only did I enjoy the banter back and forth between the authors
but it was so inspiring to see how they became such good
friends and began to rely on each other for their daily
laughter and camaraderie.

A MUST read for Mom's!!!!

Laughs galore!.......2005-12-31

I got this book for myself for Christmas after hearing about it through the online grapevine and I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed it! From cover to cover every single thing the authors discussed rang true in my own life. And I was laughing so much that my husband got curious and is reading it now. He is laughing out loud too! BUY THIS BOOK!

My sides were aching.......2005-12-22

This is a LOL (laugh out loud) read for women of all ages. It is the perfect gift for any girlfriend, sister, mother or grandma who appreciates the real humor in a woman's life. Bravo to the authors for a funny look at life's ups and downs.

Average customer rating:
Star Wars: the Empire Strikes Back: The Complete, Fully Illustrated Script
Leigh Brackett , and Lawrence Kasdan
Manufacturer: Virgin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 1852277246

Book Description

One hundred difficult defensive bridge problems teach the reader how to assess the game, picture the unseen hands, and decide if an unusual or psychological solution is needed.

Average customer rating:

The courage to gamble on an articulated strategy

The bible

Highly Recommended!

Managers can skim for value, but probably not worth the time

Statistical Ignorance

Practice What You Preach : What Managers Must Do to Create a High Achievement Culture
David H. Maister , and David Maister
Manufacturer: Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Consulting | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Entrepreneurship | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

TRUE PROFESSIONALISM : The Courage to Care About Your People, Your Clients, and Your Career

Managing The Professional Service Firm

The Trusted Advisor

The Firm of the Future: A Guide for Accountants, Lawyers, and Other Professional Services

Clients for Life: Evolving from an Expert-for-Hire to an Extraordinary Adviser

ASIN: 0743223209

Amazon.com

David H. Maister, a specialist in the management of professional service firms, surveyed 29 firms in 15 countries to determine whether positive employee attitudes really correlate to corporate success. In his consultancy and previous books, he has suggested they do, and in Practice hat You Preach he is able to show that in many companies it truly is "attitudes that drive financial results, and not (predominantly) the other way round." On a pragmatic level, this allows him to demonstrate how a energized workforce will provide top-quality client service--the key component in any service-oriented business. Overall, Maister recommends managers instill trust and respect, develop a high morale, and serve as "coaches" rather than "most valuable players." He offers detailed case studies of survey respondents, and amalgamates their replies into an explicit Path to Performance as well as four chapters with specific lessons that should be transferable to other enterprises (i.e., effective managers allow others to get deserved credit, ensure workers believe management is not only out to make a lot of money for itself, and understand employees are looking for help in growing their careers). Practical and accessible, it also includes survey specifics for those who care to analyze them on their own. --Howard Rothman

Book Description

Are employee attitudes correlated with financial success? Unequivocally yes! according to consultant and bestselling author David H. Maister. Based on a worldwide survey of 139 offices in 29 professional service firms in numerous lines of business, Maister proves that companies perceived by their employees to practice what they preach in matters of client commitment, teamwork, high standards, and employee development are more successful than their competitors. Put simply, employee dedication causes improved financial performance.

Through in-depth interviews, Maister explores the crucial role of the individual manager in promoting high morale among employees. Practice What You Preach boasts specific action recommendations from the managers of these "superstar" businesses on how to build an energized workplace, enforce standards of excellence, develop people, and have fun -- all in the name of profit. As a result, Practice What You Preach can help any manager increase profitability, and provides proof that great financial rewards come from living up to the standards that most businesses advocate, but few achieve.

Download Description

In today's highly competitive realm of professional service firms, the quest for individual stardom is at an all-time high. The temptation to rack up the most billable hours and outperform one's fellow advisors is often irresistible. But it is also shortsighted and terribly counterproductive, according to world-renowned authority and acclaimed author David H. Maister. In this groundbreaking book, Maister issues a much-needed wake-up call to today's professional service firms. Arguing that a far greater contribution to firm success can come from those who assume the role of coach instead of "most valuable player" -- and from those who find more fulfillment in seeing others succeed -- the author outlines and discusses in detail the nine key "people" issues upon which successfully managed and profitable organizations rely. Supporting his findings with a range of compelling data based on a vast survey of 6,500 individuals from fifty international companies, Maister demonstrates how and why firms that emphasize the highest standards of employee professionalism and ethics are invariably more financially successful than those that don't.

Customer Reviews:

The courage to gamble on an articulated strategy.......2006-06-14

David Maister's book "Practice what you Preach" describes the results of a statistical analysis of successful professional service firms. Maister concludes that the successful firms are those that commit to a strategy of teamwork, high standards of quality, and employee development. In summary, employee dedication leads directly to improved financial performance for the firm.

Besides the statistical arguments, Maister provides case studies of the firms to show how firms implement success on a tactical and micro-level. These case studies seem to demonstrate that the most successful managers are energizers of the workplace, able to encourage standards of excellence and develop excellence in their staff. Profit follows from this position, rather than the other way around.

The conclusion that integrity, excellence, and participation create a profitable firm seems reasonable and well argued. The question then becomes, why don't all firms appreciate this and enact policies that will energize the company in this way? The last chapter discusses this issue, and for this reason I found it the most interesting.

If the formula for success is so obvious, then why don't more firms enact it? Maister states that what these firms lack is courage, or more specifically the inability to choose long term work focused "on strategy" versus quick, short term profit. This conflict, Maister says, is inevitable. Coming up with good ideas for success is not the hard part - it is failure in execution and follow through of the strategy that dooms those plans.

The lesson Maister draws is that managers may believe that their greatest value is in creating a vision, and this is false. The greatest value of a leader is in implementing vision.

The bible.......2005-08-02

this book is so good for you that guide you to management the company to A+.

Highly Recommended!.......2004-03-02

Heavy but invaluable reading, this book presents the results of author David H. Maister's study of 139 offices of 29 professional service - more specifically, marketing and communications - firms in 15 countries. His objective was to identify the attitudes that correlate most strongly with financial success. He found what's been known all along - that financial success correlates very strongly with the perceived good character and integrity of management. When employees believe that management practices what it preaches, they seem to give extra effort and get astonishing results. The idea that character counts as much as, or perhaps more than, structure and corporate policy will be hard for many to accept. It takes courage, commitment, faith and humility to become the kind of person this study recommends. But this information shows us that, to contradict baseball player Leo Durocher, nice guys finish first.

Managers can skim for value, but probably not worth the time.......2003-12-22

While there's definitely some value in the things he says about the relationships between work environment and client respect, it was hard to say that his use of statistics matched what I remember from college. It would've been worth either eliding the high-level use of statistics entirely or just subjugating larger sections on the correlations and significance to a detailed appendix -- like papers on new type systems, people want to know that the semantics are sound in detail, but don't necessarily want to see every proof of every lemma interspersed with the text.

Additionally, it wasn't clear how to turn this into anything other than personal action items. It was easy to understand that you should change things in your company, but there wasn't a ton of advice around how to actually make the changes suggested.

Statistical Ignorance.......2003-08-20

Despite having a wide body of experience in business criticism and a credible approach towards analyzing business culture, David Maister exhibits far too many episodes of 'statistical ignorance' in his conclusions and statements to capture my attention or even allow me to finish reading the book.

Perhaps the audience was not engineers, mathmeticians, or anyone else who know their way around 'correlations' and 'significance' -- I frankly don't know. But I can assure you that David could have dealt himself a greater dose of credibility and 'statistical significance' if he'd had more experienced statisticians review his staggered conclusions.

I definitely credit him with opening my eyes to a handful of new 'culture management' techniques. But my eyes still sting from the idea that this gentleman has made a career out of mishandling simple correlational numbers and the science behind them. A simple example is the assertion on page 49 that 'positive' correlation is equivalent to 'significant'.

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