Sketchbook With Voices

Amazon.com

Dan Eldon, who was only 22 when he was chased down and killed by an angry mob in Somalia, was one of the youngest photographic stringers in Africa. But his journalistic work, which had appeared in Time and Newsweek, showed only a small part of his talent. Eldon excelled as an artist in his collages, which combined his photographs of Africa with paint, pastiche, pop culture images, advertising, and official documents. The Journey Is the Destination collects pages from the 17 scrapbooks that held his art. Chronicling his work from age 14 through his death at 22, this volume is startling not only in the intensity and thoughtfulness of the pages, but also in the fact that someone so young could have this kind of artistic depth and insight.

Book Description

By the time he was twenty-two, Dan Eldon had led a relief mission across Africa; worked as a graphic designer in New York; studied (intermittently) at four colleges; traveled through Europe, Africa, Japan, and the US; founded a charity for Mozambiquan refugees; directed a film; written a book; started up his own photography business; and become a photojournalist for Reuters news agency, covering the famine and civil war in Somalia. There, in 1993, he was killed in an eruption of mob violence while on assignment. In a world of rules and regularity, Eldon was a renegade, a risk-taker, and an adventurer. But, despite all his travels, he knew that the interior landscape is the only one truly worth exploring, and this is the journey he dedicated himself to recording. His is no ordinary journal; it is an astonishing seventeen-volume collage of photos, drawings, words, maps, clippings, paint, scraps, shards, and trash that reveals his strange and vivid life. The Journey is the Destination offers a selection of pages from these extraordinary journals, at once the vision of an artist in his prime and the unrestrained outpourings of a young man just beginning to live.

Customer Reviews:

An amazing visual record of a brief, spectacular life.......2007-09-02

This is a dense, rich book of images and words left by Dan Eldon, one of those brilliant, outsized people who burn through life like a flare and are gone. He surrounded himself with beauty and horror and tried to both record and to make some sense of his experiences and the constant, jarring disparity between the extremes of life.
If you love photography and art or are just drawn to precocious brilliance and the intense energy of people who are present in every moment of their lives, you should own this book.

It's impossible not to be profoundly moved by this book..........2006-12-05

This is an emotional book. It's simply not possible to look at this book and not be profoundly moved. I still remember picking it up several years ago and being transfixed by its beauty, it's visually stunning. And then when you read his story its hard not to feel deeply sad that he is still not in this world and at the same yet extremely grateful for this work and to know that there people who have such a passion and zest for life, that truly follow their heart and make their work a life of art and manage to fit so much in to so little time. So much richness, so much texture, such an inspiration to us all.

After purchasing it I showed this book to two friends and they immediately puchased copies for themselves. Everyone else I know that's picked up my copy has been moved by its contents.

The book is extracted from his journals, includes extensive photography, pictures, commentary, artwork, cut outs and is presented in the form of a collage. Eldon didnt prepare his journals for publication in this form so I think the criticism that it's similar to the work of others is unfair. It stands on its own as simply a stunning piece of work, an expression of his uniqueness and style and is a gift to us all, one which I am very grateful to have.

Truly Profound .......2005-02-25

I bought this book upon it's release in 1997. I can remember allowing the contents of this memoir to captivate me for hours on end. I lent my copy to a friend shortly thereafter and subsequently forgot about it. I recently ordered a replacement and I must say, this book is even more compelling than I ever remembered. Dan Eldon was a profound visionary, an articulate statesman and a devoted caretaker. As a Reuters photo-journalist, he traveled the world and served as a dipomatic embassador to many, yet his life was taken prematurely in a stoning riot in Somalia. He experienced more in his brief 21 years than most of us will over an entire lifetime. A MUST HAVE.

Awesome read, beautiful art.......2004-03-24

Eldon's story of the war-torn Somolia is as much an artwork as it is an engaging story. This "book" is a reproduction of photojournalist Dan Eldon's journal from his travels in the most impoverished regions of Africa. Part insightful reading, part artistic work, this book should be on anyone's reading list who wants to know more about the world we don't see everyday, and it truly makes one think about all we have, and all Eldon lost...5 out of 5 starts easily!

giving inspiration.......2003-12-03

After seeing this book in a Borders store, I decided to buy it. I couldn't put it down, page after page offers so much of the author, yet offered so much to the reader. It makes your own imagination soar again, and as a fellow photographer, it gave me a kick in the butt I needed to start shooting again. The vision of Dan Eldon was not only through a lens, but through his heart as well. He accomplished a great deal in a short life, and definitely contributed to the bettering of our world. His photographs of Africa, combined with the scrapbook like additions of text and objects could be considered a new form of documentary photography. I strongly urge anyone who is interested in travel or photojournalism to get this book and have it transform your outlook on life.

Journey Is the Destination the Journal S

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Journey Is the Destination the Journal S
Dan Eldon
Manufacturer: CHRONICLE BOOKS @
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000SNP3OC

Average customer rating:

Journey Is the Destination the Journal S
Dan Eldon
Manufacturer: CHRONICLE BOOKS @
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N7FFLE

Book Description

Geof Darrow was awarded an Eisner for his spectacular artwork on 1995's hit miniseries, The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot. For all the time and all the care he lavished on those pages, it's an award that was well-earned. When Geof first came into the Dark Horse offices with the finished pages for the two-issue series, we were all stunned by the detail. On these huge pages, there were minute details that we couldn't see clearly without a magnifying glass -- things that would be lost in the reduction and hidden behind word balloons and coloring. At that point we knew we would have to publish an even-more-oversized edition of the series, in black-and-white and sans dialogue, so that everyone could see a better approximation of what we saw. This 11 3/4" x 15 3/4", softcover collection is the direct result of that first viewing, an attempt to show the comics world what we were privileged to see that first day. Reproduced here as large as possible, this action-packed adventure is presented in its "natural state," somewhat akin to watching a widescreen, laserdisc version of Scorsese's Raging Bull. All 65 pages of the original story are included, as well as a gallery featuring some rarely seen art. Even if it took you by storm the first time around, you can be assured that you ain't seen nothing yet!

Customer Reviews:

Animated series.......2004-05-10

Where is the animated series? Pokemon killed this show when it came out, I think it got more run time in Spain. Oh, Goef, come out of hiding in France. I know story board work is a lot more money but comic books need you. If a maligned by the network that owns it cartoon like Invader Zim can be in the top 25 at amazon so can Big Guy.

How about a Moon Pig one shot?

Not your grandmother's Miller.......2002-11-28

The first thing you'll notice is Geoff Darrow's knotty tight sublime hyper-etched artwork, lines running like veins into the architecture and broken glass that is Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot. This is not the Miller of Sin City or DK Returns et cetera,,,,watch him rip away the Chandler influence and dive into Japanese toy culture via Godzilla gggrraaaaaauu. This won't give you a typical Milleresque vision, whatever that means, but it's a cool trip through a world owned by toys and monsters. Great book for kids. Bedtime story and such.

Better than a mouth full of honey bees!.......2001-07-11

I saw the cartoon version of this on the telly the other day, and it dawned on me that I have the originals in my basement. I though I was going to strike it rich for sure, by selling them on Ebay, but no dice. There was another guy selling them, and it looked like he was only going to get about five bucks for them. This made me real sad for the other guy, so I bid a million dollars. I hoped this would make the market catch fire, like my aunts house did when I tried to fix her toaster. Someone told me later that you should always unplug a toaster when you try to fix it with a butter knife. They also told me that the toast is supposed to come out only a little, and not shoot across the room like in the cartoons where one guy shoots toast at another guy like it was a cannon or something.

Okokok, so I found this comic book in my basement, but I don't think anyone would want it anyway, because my basement is really smelly and stuff, and nobody likes a thing that is really smelly, do they? Maybe a dog would. I don't like dogs much.

Buy my comic book, your dog will love it!

I love Frank Miller...but.......2001-04-21

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Frank Miller. I also love the illustrator Geoff Darrow. Together they produced Hard Boiled, a marveoulous, dark, confusing tale. The problems with Big Guy and Rusty...is that it's all flash and no substance. It's like that prom date you dreamed of all through high school. Pretty, shallow, and um...pretty. And it's short. It could be that this is what the artist and author were going for. It might be that it is built out of a reverence of Astro-boy, Manzinger-Z, and other popular "big-robot" old school cartoons. But for Frank Miller...I'd expect a bit more bite for my buck.

In any case. Three stars. 'Cause it's pretty.

Strictly For Artists Who Appreciate Excellent Rendering!.......2000-06-22

This book is the black and white and 'dialogue-less' version of a similar comic title released by Darkhorse which is in colour and contains dialogue. If these elements are important to you, you may want to purchase the original version. Having said that, it is interesting that the narrative runs very smoothly even without the dialogue as the Big Guy and Rusty stories are very simple 'Rescue the World from Monsters' narratives.

The reason some may want to purchase this is to drool over the very detailed inking artwork done by the artists which is lost in the smaller version and obscured by the dialogue balloons. Personally I prefer this 'King-size' version as it allows me to examine in superb detail, the careful, intricate and excellent illustrations.

Average customer rating:
Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot #1

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
ASIN: B000HJFV3K

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The World's Best Yiddish Dirty Jokes
Mr. P
Manufacturer: Citadel Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JVDDKY

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The World's Best Yiddish Dirty Jokes

Manufacturer: Book Sales
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 9998873312

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Worlds Best Yiddish Dirty Joke
Rh Value Publishing
Manufacturer: Random House Value Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0517600080
Release Date: 1985-09-24

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The World's Best Yiddish Dirty Jokes
Mr. P with drawings by Stillerman
Manufacturer: Castle
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PW97XO

Amazon.com

The good news: James Dean probably wasn't a male hustler and he didn't act in pornographic films while he was still trying to make a go of it as an actor in New York. The bad news: James Dean was pretty much of a jerk, with a penchant for urinating in public and a singular lack of personal hygiene. Donald Spoto, the biographer of, among others, Alfred Hitchcock, Marlene Dietrich, and Marilyn Monroe, takes a clear-eyed dispassionate look at the legend of James Dean and discovers that his untimely death was probably his greatest career move of all.

Book Description

This authoritative biography of film icon James Dean offers a clear-eyed look at the actor who crossed America's cinematic landscape with the brilliance and brevity of a meteor.

Customer Reviews:

Accurate, well researched, and well written.......2007-08-10

Donald Spoto writes what you would expect from the noted author; a well-researched fact-based bio of culture/pop icon James Dean. The book starts out with a somewhat scathing account of the fans who make the pilgrimage to Dean's home town of Fairmount, Indiana to "celebrate" his death. Once Spoto puts some of these sycophantic fans in their place, he moves on to the meat and potatoes. He does a great job of pointing out that Dean was still finding himself at the time that he died; Spoto avoids putting him in a category as so many other authors have attempted to do. Donald's very dry humor makes it an easy and enjoyable read.

The Best Yet.......2007-05-20

Donald Spoto's biography of James Dean surpasses all others hands down, by-the-jesus, & period. Not least of all because SPOTO NAMES HIS SOURCES, unlike most Dean biographers--notably David Dalton in his much-ballyhooed James Dean: The Mutant King.

Engaging look at a Hollywood icon.......2006-04-28

Being an Elizabeth Taylor fan, I had seen James Dean in "Giant" - his final film and knew little of his life, save for his interest in fast cars, and his tragic death. I had recently become interested in Dean and his work and picked up the recent Warner box set of his three films on DVD. On a quest to learn more on Dean's life, I picked up Donald Spoto's biography "Rebel". I chose "Rebel" because from what I'd heard, it offered a respectable look into the young actor's short life and career, and tried to dispel many rumours that surround Jimmy's legend. I felt that it indeed did that, and I learned quite a bit of who James Dean was.

Dean's life and his relationships were forever altered because of the death of his mother, the only person he was ever close to (at the time). His father was always distant in Jimmy's life, even when his mother was alive. This was heightened when Jimmy was sent to live with his Aunt and Uncle in Fairmount, ID - the state where Jimmy had lived early life. This is paramount to understanding Dean, his motives, and his relationship with others. His fears of abandonment plagued all of his relationships, and stopped him from opening up to others. As quickly as he would make friendships with certain people, he would drop them and move on, without another word.

Donald Spoto's "Rebel" was an intriguing look into the life of a mythical Hollywood figure, James Dean, who as I quickly found out was a complex and tormented young man.

He Loved Fast Cars........2005-05-27

Coming from a small town in Indiana wo which people from the South had migrated with their attitudes of bigotry -- where the KKK chose as their state in the 1920s, he chose to be a Rebel. One of his three movies, appropriately named 'Rebel Without A Cause.'

By the age of twenty-two (1953), he was or had been on sixteen television programs and appeared in a multitude of plays on and off Broadway. What was the Dean 'mystique'? Race, creed, or sexual preference had no bearing with Dean's estimation of others; he judged them on the basis os what he could learn from them. In essence, he used people. At one time, he showed scorn to the playwright Tennessee Williams.
Two of his relationships he had with women were Barbara Glenn who was Jewish and Terry Moore who was a Mormon. He also liked men; it seems that being bi-sexual was an Indiana trait.

His director in the "Rebel" movie, Nicholas Ray said, "James Dean shied away from social convention, from manners, because they suggested disguise." When Terry Moore took him home to meet her parents, they were shocked when he unzipped hispants and let out a belch after dinner. He had no manners.

Some of his female co-stars came to the opinion that he acted strangely, brooding and incoherent as an "act" to get attention. But he played that part so long, maybe he became the act." His unmistakable mannerisms, movements, and behavior were premeditated, just to be different.

The director of his other movie, 'Giant,' described him as brilliant, sensitive young actor. And yet, in high school, he appeared dorky and played sports. He had a lack of discipline which made him unreliable and temperamental.

In Hollywood, he wanted no part of the social scene which included up-and-coming actors Jeff Chandler and Tab Hunter. Both books (this one and THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF JAMES DEAN by Donald Spoto) had lots of pictures of him from the early Fifties. In them, he aged twenty years in five. He burned out and that horrific accident on September 30, 1955, while speeding in his racy Porsche was probably his destiny.

His friend and agent Clayton arranged fro Dean to buy a sleek, red 1953 MG which he loved to drive at a terrific rate of speed and squeal the tires. He died at the age of 24. The photos show that he was not much different from Montgomery Cliff and Marlon Brando. Like Princess Diana, he burned his light out early. He was really not a man at all, still just a confused boy when he died.

Good Book.......2004-03-03

I just finished reading this book about two weeks ago. I had never read any other James Dean books and I thought this was a very good book, very informative. I didn't get bored or bogged down once. I enjoyed every part of it - Jimmy's early life, life in New York, and his short, but brilliant Hollywood career. I would get totally absorbed in reading it, sometimes staying up way too late just because I couldn't put it down.

I have read other reviews that consider this book "generic" or more detached, but since I am not a James Dean expert, and have never read a book on him before, I can only give my perspective and opinions. I thought this was a very well-written and researched book. I am now reading "James Dean, little boy lost," by Joe Hyams, which I bought through an Amazon Marketplace buyer.

Average customer rating:
Rebel the Life and Legend of James Dean
Donald Spoto
Manufacturer: Harper Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Actors & Actresses | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0002556871

Average customer rating:
Rebel the Life and Legend of James Dean
Donald, b/w Illustration Spoto
Manufacturer: Harper Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O8OJK0

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Rebel: The Life and Legend of James Dean. (book reviews): An article from: Video Age International
Eliza Gallo
Manufacturer: TV Trade Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Telecommunications | Business & Investing | Subjects | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B00096OEKW
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Video Age International, published by TV Trade Media, Inc. on October 1, 1996. The length of the article is 947 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: Rebel: The Life and Legend of James Dean. (book reviews)
Author: Eliza Gallo
Publication: Video Age International (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 1996
Publisher: TV Trade Media, Inc.
Volume: v16 Issue: n6 Page: p20(1)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Rebel The Life and Legend of James Dean
Donald Spoto
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OA5HMM

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Mirror At The End of The Road
Wayne M. Hansen
Manufacturer: American Avatar
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LBD3HA

Average customer rating:
Mirror at the end of the road
Mel Lyman
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006CTN82

Average customer rating:
Mirror At the End of the Road
Lyman Mel
Manufacturer: American Avatar
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JXQDTU

Amazon.com

What's this elaborate illustration? "Horrible Hairy Hogs Hurrying Homewards on Heavily Harnessed Horses," of course. Graeme Base's astonishingly creative oeuvre begins with Animalia, the 1993 alphabet book that challenges the standard idea of how long reading a book for small kids ought to take. Animalia, like many of Base's books, is a vast puzzle, built with entrancing pictures that unfold into layers and layers of objects--all matched to each page's corresponding letter. Base leaves us stunned and amazed, painting reflections into the oddest surfaces and driving the urge to page-turn. This wonderful picture book works for 2-year-olds, 5-year-olds, and adults alike--something few other alphabet books can manage. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews:

Gorgeous and fun.......2007-09-13

I bought this book many years back for my niece and nephew. They loved it so much that when they saw a copy in the local library, they cried to their mother because they thought it was their book. We had hours of fun finding all of the objects on each page that begin with the same letter. The illustrations are gorgeous, and the limerics are fun to read. I know of some adults who have bought a copy for themselves! I just purchased a copy for my daughter.

Amazing art and very clever word-smithing.......2007-07-29

I love this book. I love figuring out all of the words in the pictures and laughed out loud when I found Doctor Who with a Dalek on the "D" page. It is enjoyable for adults to figure out all of the words, and my preschool age son really enjoys "reading" along with me and looking at the pictures. We talk through the stuff that he finds along the way. This invites dialogue about possibly disturbing or worrisome images (the kidnapping with the machine guns come to mind), and we discuss things that he finds interesting.

great present too.......2007-07-02

I really like graham base and this is one of his better- the only one better is the "water hole"

Amazing.......2007-06-12

I loved this book as a kid, and recently made a successful attempt to find it in my parents' basement. It's just as fun as it was all those years ago. The illustrations are incredibly detailed and stunning. I never really registered the machine gun, which I agree is a little disturbing, but I think the book is harmless -- it's no more likely to cause nightmares than a Disney villain. Actually, I love the slightly dark, disturbing content, and I know I did when I was a kid, too. It makes the book more compelling, and, I think, more honest -- this book is a testament to human imagination, and everyone's imagination is tinged with a slightly dark edge. Aside from this, though, the book is full of wry humor and some pure silliness. Great for everyone.

WARNING--CONTAINS IMAGES OF GUNS, GUNS, GUNS!.......2007-04-11

I have always loved this book, and considered it at the number one book I wanted to purchase for my almost four year old son.

HOWEVER, when I checked this title out from the library, I noticed the page for the letter K.
"Kid Kookaburra and Kelly Kangaroo KIDNAPPING Kitty Koala", complete with machine guns.

If you're okay with guns and lots of images of them for small children, go ahead and buy this book. It IS wonderfully illustrated. If, however, you don't want harrowing images of machine guns (and other little guns, daggers, etc. within other pages) dancing in your young one's head at night, this book is NOT for you. Perhaps an older child could handle this better; but it is certainly NOT an appropriate book (in my opinion) for the under 8 set. Why, oh why, did the author include such images? Otherwise, it would have been my favorite book of this type for children. Buy the "Where's Waldo" or "I Spy" series instead.

Average customer rating:

Animalia 2008 Coloring Calendar
Graeme Base
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Calendar

General | Calendars | Formats | Books
ASIN: 0810988690

Book Description

Finding fun in the alphabet, Abrams' popular Animalia turns every day into an activity day.

16-month activity calendar, with 6 non-toxic markers and stickers!

Average customer rating:
The 8 Best Practices of High Performing Salespeople
Norm Trainor
Manufacturer: Highrise Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VY54SS

Average customer rating:

good, practical, easy and useful read

good, practical, easy and useful read

good, practical, easy and useful read

Reveals secrets of the top salespeople of all time.

A must read for any true professional

The 8 Best Practices of High-Performing Salespeople
Norm Trainor
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Sales & Selling | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Techniques | Sales & Selling | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Accidental Salesperson: How to Take Control of Your Sales Career and Earn the Respect and Income You Deserve

Mega-Selling: Secrets of a Master Salesman

The 25 Sales Habits of Highly Successful Salespeople

Secrets of Question Based Selling: How the Most Powerful Tool in Business Can Double Your Sales Results

Building Your Multi-Million Dollar Practice: 8 Success Strategies of Top Producing Advisors

ASIN: 0471645281

Book Description

What does it take to become a high-performing salesperson?

This book reveals the eight best practices you need to master in order to become a top producer. The 8 Best Practices of High-Performing Salespeople follows the stories of real sales professionals, relating their experiences and challenges first-hand. The 8 Best Practices of High-Performing Salespeople is like a private coaching session for those who want to increase sales and build lasting value in their business. It offers practical advice and simple strategies from the best in the business, even letting you in on actual situations and conversations. No matter what business you are in, adopting the 8 Best Practices will increase your revenue and allow you to reach your full potential.

"Norm Trainor brings you concrete advice and sheer wisdom on the 'inner game' of sales. Much beyond just learning about breakthrough sales performance from the best in the business, reading this book is like getting private coaching sessions from someone who has mastered how you can constantly surpass yourself in creating client capital."
—Hubert St. Onge, Senior Vice President, Strategic Capabilities, Clarica

"Norm Trainor has proven that he's the master of relationship selling. He has shown how to achieve excellence as a salesperson and, more importantly, how to manage success to become a thriving business owner. This book has value for salespeople wherever they are on their career journey."
—Steve Stacey, Vice President and Director, Nesbitt Burns Inc.

"This book is a must-read for any sales professional who wishes to grow their practice in the future."
—A.A. (Art) Schooley, General Manager, Manulife Financial

"Norm Trainor gives the reader a fast, easy-to-understand journey to success. This book is a must-read for the ambitious salesperson-it is loaded with useful information."
—S. Ross Johnson, Retired President, Canadian Operations, The Prudential Insurance Co. of America

Customer Reviews:

good, practical, easy and useful read.......2001-03-11

I read this book on a flight and thought it was excellent. Few of these self-help sales books are anything more than just inspirational reads. This one is practical. Lays down not only common sense practices for being a better salesperson, but puts them in sequence. His language is inclusive, so no matter what "sales" group you're in, you can apply this. I'm a fundraiser for a non-profit and all tips transfered over without running it through some kind of business vs. non-profit filter ( like I often have to do). Even if you know most of the tips in here, it's great to have it all laid out for you.

good, practical, easy and useful read.......2001-03-11

Reveals secrets of the top salespeople of all time........2000-08-04

Like most salespeople I would love to know the sales secrets of the giants in our industry. I have always wanted to pick their brains to find out what I need to do to reach their level. My search for the answers ended when I found Norm Trainor's The 8 Best Practices of High-Performing Salespeople. The 8 Best Practices is co-written by the same authors who assisted David Cowper in writing Mega-Selling. Together Norm and his co-authors have recreated the story format that worked so well in Mega-Selling. In The 8 Best Practices, Norm launches the reader straight into a series of fifteen actual cases that his insurance and financial advisor clients have closed. In each story we relive the salesperson's stresses and successes as they prospect, develop cases, overcome objections and close. These salespeople are not made-up characters with dream careers, they are real people struggling with the same problems we all face. By adopting the 8 Best Practices, they find creative solutions to their problems.

As Norm says, before you adopt the 8 Best Practices you must have a clear intention to succeed. Unfortunately, many salespeople think they want to be successful but exhibit behaviours that suggest otherwise. One of the earliest chapters in the book describes Norm's own dramatic struggle to clarify his intention. I could really identify with this story, it was intensely moving and revealed the huge problems salespeople face when their behaviour is not in line with their intention to succeed. The rest of the book takes the reader through the 8 Best Practices of High-Performing Salespeople. One of the early stories is a great illustration of how Norm's client, Tony Henderson, realized the power of Best Practice Number 1 - Develop and Utilize a Marketing Plan - when he grew his business from $60,000 a year to over $7 million a year. Tony's motivational tale shows exactly how to put a marketing plan together and then put that plan into action to radically transform your business. I have begun using Norm's techniques myself and am thrilled to say it is working wonders for my practice. This best practice solves one of every salesperson's largest problems: filling your pipeline with high quality prospects.

Thanks to Norm I have also learned the power of Best Practice Number 7: Delegate. It's a simple one-word concept but its effect on my business has been profound. It has drastically increased my revenue. After following his strategies for delegating to people and technology, I now have more time to better serve my existing clients. They are happier and are talking me up to their friends and business associates. Now I routinely get calls from prospects I have never heard of - usually clients of major accounting firms or banks - who have heard all about the level of service I can provide and are anxious to become my clients. I don't mind stealing clients from the banks. I wouldn't have imagined one book could have made such an impact on my life.

I truly believe that, whether you are a rookie or hardened veteran salesperson, The 8 Best Practices of High-Performing Salespeople will help you take your business to a new level. Personally, I have committed to adopting the 8 best practices in my own career and am already seeing the results.

A must read for any true professional.......1999-07-16

The 8 Best Practices of High-Performing Salespeople will improve the results for anyone who follows the steps Norm Trainor sets out in each section of the book.
For salespeople:
If you are new to sales, this book will help you develop essential skills and competencies faster and better than any other book on sales we've reviewed. For the more experienced salesperson, 8 Best Practices will help you to move beyond any limits to higher performance, reminding you of the obvious, and introducing you to new and better ways to manage your business.
For everyone:
This book is a must read for any professional whose business depends on building a clientele. Lawyers, Doctors, Dentists, Accountants, Bankers, and business people can all benefit by following the same processes and techniques that the author so masterfully presents in true stories of sales excellence in the insurance and other industries. Buy it here and read it now, review it regularly, and buy extra copies to give to your friends and associates. The book is a winner, and so will the reader be who follows these 8 Best Practices.

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