Book Description
In the life of Precious Ramotswe–a woman duly proud of her fine traditional build–there is rarely a dull moment, and in the latest installment in the universally beloved No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series there is much happening on Zebra Drive and Tlokweng Road. Mma Ramotswe is experiencing staffing difficulties. First Mr. J.L.B. Mate-koni asks to be put in charge of a case involving an errant husband. But can a man investigate such matters as successfully as the number one lady detective can? Then she has a minor falling-out with her assistant, Mma Makutsi, who decides to leave the agency, taking the 97 percent she received on her typing final from the Botswana Secretarial College with her.
Along the way, Mma Ramotswe is asked to investigate a couple of tricky cases. Will she be able to explain an unexpected series of deaths at the hospital in Mochudi? And what about the missing office supplies at a local printing company? These are the types of questions that she is uniquely well suited to answer.
In the end, whatever happens, Mma Ramotswe knows she can count on Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, who stands for all that is solid and true in a shifting world. And there is always her love for Botswana, a country of which she is justifiably proud.
Customer Reviews:
Great series! You must read the entire collection!.......2007-10-13
Delightful series. It is good to start with the first book, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, and read in order. We have reviewed at least two, in sequence each year, in our book club. Suitable for younger readers, as well. One develops a love for a simple life and a deeper understanding of Africa. A MUST READ! If you are looking for a great gift, buy your loved one the entire set. You will treasure these stories.
Another triumph for McCall Smith.......2007-09-28
I eagerly awaited this new installment in the series, and was not disappointed, although there were a few parts in this novel that moved slowly. The situations in this novel seemed real, the types of human relationship issues we all deal with on a daily basis. Things are not always lovely, people do disagree and doubt one another, and this novel revealed this underside of humanity. I hope this series will continue, as I am anxious to find out more about Mme Makutsi and her upcoming marriage, and also about the kids, who appeared only briefly in this novel. If you have not listened to the audio, run to your public library and check it out. Lisette Lecat's wonderful voice has gotten me through many long and tedious road trips.
The Best So Far!.......2007-09-20
My husband and I listened to this on our trips to my doctor and we really enjoyed this one. It has more than one subplot, and held our attention. As always, the narrator is wonderful. This series is like comfort food - always satisfying even if it doesn't have the most substance. No profanity, no real violence--just great entertainment.
Another charmer.......2007-08-28
What can I say? This is another charming installment in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. I wish Mma Ramotswe and Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni really existed so I could meet them. At any rate, this series makes me want to visit Botswana. If you liked the other books, you will definitely like this one. If you are starting out, read them in order from the beginning.
Earthy Wisdon.......2007-08-26
Close to the earth, close to what's real and true (if there is ever a 'true'). Very personal to me as I lived in Botswana some years ago for a few years. An authentic rendition of the ways of living and the general 'feeling' of Botswana. I have all 7 of the series and re-read the previous 6 before reading the newest one. I loved the immersion. Mma Ramotswe is wise. Her character is not unique to Botswana but Botswana offers a fine ambience for developing and displaying wisdom. Over the coming years I intend to re-read the series frequently.
Amazon.com
Book Description
Got carrotphobia? Do you think that recognizing your employees will distract you and your team from more serious business, create jealousy, or make you look soft? Think again.The Carrot Principle reveals the groundbreaking results of one of the most in-depth management studies ever undertaken, showing definitively that the central characteristic of the most successful managers is that they provide their employees with frequent and effective recognition. With independent research from The Jackson Organization and analysis by bestselling leadership experts Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, this breakthrough study of 200,000 people over ten years found dramatically greater business results when managers offered constructive praise and meaningful rewards in ways that powerfully motivated employees to excel.
Drawing on case studies from leading companies including Disney, DHL, KPMG, and Pepsi Bottling Group, bestselling authors Gostick and Elton show how the transformative power of purpose-based recognition produces astonishing increases in operating results--whether measured by return on equity, return on assets, or operating margin. And they show how great managers lead with carrots, not sticks, and in doing so achieve higher
* Productivity
* Engagement
* Retention
* Customer satisfaction
The Carrot Principle illustrates that the relationship between recognition and improved business results is highly predictable--it's proven to work. But it's not the employee recognition some of us have been using for years. It is recognition done right, recognition combined with four other core traits of effective leadership.
Gostick and Elton explain the remarkably simple but powerful methods great managers use to provide their employees with effective recognition, which all managers can easily learn and begin practicing for immediate results. Great recognition doesn't take time--it can be done in a matter of moments--and it doesn't take budget-busting amounts of money. This exceptional book presents the simple steps to becoming a Carrot Principle manager and to building a recognition culture in your organization; it offers a wealth of specific examples, culled from real-life cases, of the ways to do recognition right. Following these simple steps will make you a high-performance leader and take your team to a new level of achievement.
"The Carrot Principle: How Great Managers Use Employee Recognition"
An Essay by Adam Gostick and Chester Elton
For organizations that do it right, it's a bit like discovering gold in your backyard. Employee recognition, long considered a benefit that costs money, can actually be a management tool that makes money. At first blush, the idea is counter-intuitive. As leaders, we've become accustomed to viewing recognition programs as a cost of doing business. But employee recognition is evolving. A groundbreaking research study of 200,000 employees, unveiled in our new book The Carrot Principle, presents a new paradigm: Applying employee recognition techniques within a context of goal-setting, open communication, trust and accountability, (what we have come to call the Basic Four) accelerates the impact of all of these critical management skills.
Continue reading "The Carrot Principle: How Great Managers Use Employee Recognition"
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The 24-Carrot Manager |
Managing with Carrots |
Book Description
Got carrotphobia? Do you think that recognizing your employees will distract you and your team from more serious business, create jealousy, or make you look soft?
Think again.
The Carrot Principle reveals the groundbreaking results of one of the most in-depth management studies ever undertaken, showing definitively that the central characteristic of the most successful managers is that they provide their employees with frequent and effective recognition. With independent research from The Jackson Organization and analysis by bestselling leadership experts Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, this breakthrough study of 200,000 people over ten years found dramatically greater business results when managers offered constructive praise and meaningful rewards in ways that powerfully motivated employees to excel.
Drawing on case studies from leading companies including Disney, DHL, KPMG, and Pepsi Bottling Group, bestselling authors Gostick and Elton show how the transformative power of purpose-based recognition produces astonishing increases in operating results -- whether measured by return on equity, return on assets, or operating margin. And they show how great managers lead with carrots, not sticks, and in doing so achieve higher
- Productivity
- Engagement
- Retention
- Customer satisfaction
The Carrot Principle illustrates that the relationship between recognition and improved business results is highly predictable -- it's proven to work. But it's not the employee recognition some of us have been using for years. It is recognition done right, recognition combined with four other core traits of effective leadership.
Gostick and Elton explain the remarkably simple but powerful methods great managers use to provide their employees with effective recognition, which all managers can easily learn and begin practicing for immediate results. Great recognition doesn't take time -- it can be done in a matter of moments -- and it doesn't take budget-busting amounts of money.
This exceptional book presents the simple steps to becoming a Carrot Principle manager and to building a recognition culture in your organization; it offers a wealth of specific examples, culled from real-life cases, of the ways to do recognition right. Following these simple steps will make you a high-performance leader and take your team to a new level of achievement.
Customer Reviews:
What's up Doc?.......2007-10-14
What's up is this. The authors' reference studies that point to an "undeniable correlation" between recognition and organization success. Companies with effective recognition strategies have better financial performance - 3 times higher Return on Equity, and Return on Assets, and operating margins almost 6 percentage points higher. Unfortunately this important information continues to go unheeded as companies tend to cut recognition programs precisely when they should be ratcheting them up.
The authors review the four basic characteristics of leadership: Goal setting, Communication, Trust, and Accountability. Recognition, they point out, is the accelerant that allows management effectiveness soar in each of the 4 areas. This is the Carrot Principle. "Great management is born when recognition is added to the 4 basic leadership characteristics."
The authors go into much detail on the basic 4 characteristics and how recognition is used as an accelerator. They review why certain managers recognize and others don't and debunk the many myths surrounding recognition. They explain how to build a carrot culture specifying the types of recognition and how often and when they should be given. The book finishes up with 125 recognition ideas.
The data in the studies referenced in this book are eye-opening. How about this one? A 2005 Towers Perrin Global workforce study revealed that 86 of 100 employees will not go the "extra mile" for their organizations/employers. At a time when global competition is fiercer than ever, imagine what an advantage it would be to improve upon that statistic, especially if you are currently being squeezed by the low cost of labor elsewhere. You can't afford not to. Read and heed. Doctor's orders!
Nick McCormick - Author, Lead Well and Prosper: 15 Successful Strategies for Becoming a Good Manager
More than the traditional Carrot!.......2007-08-21
While the title may sound like authors Gostick and Elton are espousing the positive half of the carrot and stick motivational model, the book actually demonstrates the performance improvement correlation when recognition of individual contribution and identity (purpose-based recognition) is applied to the four basics of leadership - goal setting, communications, trust, and accountability. Recognizing that the knowledge economy requires the harnessing of people's commitment, the authors advocate moving beyond a transactional management model into emotional-based management, using purpose-based recognition to build a Carrot Culture. Without using the "R" word, they espouse a relational management model, supported by recognition.
The authors do a good job of demonstrating the business performance benefits when employees are engaged with the goals of the organization. They then provide ample guidance for how to use recognition to enhance engagement, including an extensive list of ideas for use with each of their four basics of leadership. All in all, an easy read, recommended for managers who know they might do better at acknowledging the contribution of their people and are looking for something to help them get into action.
Enjoyable read *and* applicable.......2007-08-09
With all of the sales and managerial books out there, how to really discern which makes for a fun airplane read or which really offers applicable value? This book offers both. Both my husband and I read our library copy, and experienced it as so useful we bought our own copy.
Important Stuff in Depth, but Nothing New.......2007-08-02
Here are the big ideas from this book.
Positive consequences, such as praise and recognition, are great tools for encouraging people to try new things and to continue desired behaviors. They send a message about what managers value.
In work teams where people say they have been praised recently, productivity, morale, and measures of engagement are more likely to be high and people are more likely to stay with the organization.
In teams where people say they have not been praised recently, productivity, morale, and measures of engagement are more likely to be lower and people are more likely to want to leave.
Companies with high productivity, morale and engagement and low turnover are more profitable.
Managers rate themselves higher on giving praise and recognition than their subordinates rate them.
There are no breakthrough, thought-leader ideas here. There is nothing really new.
The jacket blurb implies that this is based on exciting new research. It's not. It's based on research by the authors' firm that reinforces other research, including Gallup, Blanchard, a boatload of academic researchers and my own study of top performing supervisors. So if you're looking for new or breakthrough stuff, you don't have to buy the book and you don't need to read any further.
That doesn't mean that you won't get value from the book. The points the authors make are worth making again and again. Praise in all its forms is the most powerful and most underused tool for growing great, engaged teams.
Because the book is devoted, essentially, to a single idea, you get lots of depth on that idea. Some of those are just small insights.
On page 84, the authors make the point that in service industries, the perceived value of the product is tied to the behavior of the person that the customer comes in contact with. I knew this at some level, but seeing it in print got me to reflect on it and what it means.
Other things are more substantive. The authors provide details on different types of recognition: Day-to-Day; Above and Beyond; Career; and Event. They offer forms and lists and charts.
If you haven't read much about the power of praise and recognition this is a good place to start. The book covers most of the basic research, puts it in context, and gives you tools for putting it to use.
Remember that the authors wrote this book to sell their services and products. Sometimes they try way too hard to stretch their single bed blanket of product over the double bed of the subject. Sometimes they struggle to name things "carrot" or paint them orange, when simple description would do just fine.
If you're looking for a tool to use with managers at our company or in your peer group to increase the amount and effectiveness of legitimate praise, this is a good book to buy and use. You may also want to investigate the authors' other products.
Good Idea - Doesn't Need an Entire Book.......2007-07-29
I found the overall message of this book good and for that I might give it 5 stars. However the book takes too long to try to prove itself, and is overly detailed. I found it boring and dry. I respect the authors for writing a book since that is hard to do, but it seems like too much writing for a simple message. I would rephrase the book here, except I'm not that good of a writer. My best attempt would be to say, money motivates senior management, but does not tend to motivate most employees. Focus on recognizing employees clearly for distinct behavior, and give personal rewards (not plaques, trophies, or candy), immediately, and publicly. Also have an altruistic attitude towards your employees. Most of the book is fairly obvious for progressive managers, and those who are not just won't get it. In the end I don't think it will have a earth shattering effect on your business. Instead I would recommend something, anything, by Seth Godin.
Book Description
Now anyone can learn a foreign language while commuting to work, running errands, or even taking a trip with the family. The new all-audio Drive Time series starts with an ingenious “On-Ramp” CD that eases language learners into Spanish, French, Italian, or Japanese with simple, practical expressions and engaging warm-up exercises. Three additional CDs contain 18 lessons that cover all of the essentials—vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, and basic conversation.
Drive Time also includes a 64-page reference guide for anyone who would like to see spellings or read dialogues as a review—from the passenger seat, of course!
Customer Reviews:
learning Italian on the go.......2007-09-19
It's very good for the real beginner; the introduction is kind of boring and repetitive but it's is effective. Then it gets better and fun. I learned quite a bit.
Fantastico!.......2007-07-26
So far so good, still on the first CD. It's easy to understand and great process for learning. The break down on how to pronounce the words makes it easy.
Bravissimo!.......2007-07-19
I bought this CD set for my mother who wants to learn Italian, but doesn't have the time to take a class. I've listened to the CD's with her and found the lessons very easy to follow, pronounce and retain. The lessons on the CD's are broken down from Beginner to Intermediate. The booklet that accompanies the set is a great guide for reviewing what you've learned and to assist with annunciations. The speakers on the tape speak very clearly and there are alot of pauses and repetitions which allow you to really grasp the words. Also, each lesson is long enough for you to pick up a few new words, but short enough so you don't become bored. I think this is a fun purchase for beginners who want to get their feet wet with a new language.
Not for Vacationers.......2007-07-18
As mentioned in another review, first CD is great, then "learning" triple speeds so, if you are lucky, you will catch only one or two words. Plus, vocabulary is not for travelers - you can learn how to ask if people are from Spain or China, but not how to find stations, menu items, etc. Very disappointed.
Drive Time: Italian (CD).......2007-06-27
Easy to understand native speakers. Lots of pause time to repeat and practice words and sentences.
Amazon.com
This is a survival guide for parents who find themselves marooned among volatile and incomprehensible aliens on Planet Teen. Area maps cover the obvious ground--there are chapters on school, sex, suicide, and so on--but it's the title of Chapter 2, "What They Do and Why," that best captures the book's spirit and technique. Anthony Wolf's modus operandi is not so much to make pronouncements about what parents should do, as to explain adolescent behavior in a way that's bound to leave parents with a changed view of the plausible options. Wolf is a clinical psychologist, and his writing is clear--even witty--and he doesn't resort to jargon. The expository text is punctuated with snatches of illustrative dialogue, which serve as concrete examples and help parents learn how to see, anticipate, and avoid "bad strategies." (One key mistake is getting dragged into no-win conflicts instead of having the wisdom to shut up at the moment when shutting up would be most effective--albeit the least satisfying--thing to do.) There are also some nicely tongue-in-cheek samples of "ideal" communication--the stuff we imagine might get said if only we were better parents. After one such rosily cooperative and considerate interchange between a father and his adolescent son, Wolf offers the following two-edged comfort: "The above conversation has never happened. Never. Not in the whole history of the world." Message: Parenting adolescents is inherently difficult. Don't judge your efforts by otherworldly standards. --Richard Farr
Book Description
A brand new edition of the bestselling guide to raising teenagers
When Anthony E. Wolf's witty and compassionate guide to raising adolescents was first published, its amusing title and fresh approach won it widespread admiration. Beleaguered parents breathed sighs of relief and gratitude. Now Dr. Wolf has revised and updated his bestseller to tackle the changes of the past decade. He points out that while the basic issues of adolescence and the relationships between parents and their children remain much the same, today's teenagers navigate a faster, less clearly anchored world. Wolf's revisions include a new chapter on the Internet, a significantly modified section on drugs and drinking, and an added piece on gay teenagers. Although the rocky and ever-changing terrain of contemporary adolescence may bewilder parents, Get Out of My Life gives them a great road map.
Customer Reviews:
Light on technique but great on insight.......2007-10-16
An entertaining and reassuring look at the mind of the teen. I agree with other reviewers that there are few practical techniques for the parent. However what we needed most was to know we were not alone and that this was a normal part of our kids development. This book was just the ticket.
Understanding Teen Girls.......2007-10-05
In reading this book, it really hits home. He takes real life situations and applies them to your concern and life. As my daughter is only 14 some of the scenarios are not as effective as I would like them to be. I do understand that he has to cover all audiences. As well, I realized last evening in reading the book, that children's minds do not mature until age 25 and I thought I was crazy. I guess this too shall pass, it is just nice to know that other people feel the same pains that you do when dealing with teen age children. I also understand the reason why we send them off to college for a while, this is to keep our sanity as well.
Review of Get Out of My Life.......2007-09-07
I have found this audio book to be a great help in trying to deal with teenage issues. Most of what is stated is common sense, however, a lot of us need a reminder now and then. In addition, there were also a number of ideas presented which were contrary to the route I would have taken, in trying to manage my teenage son.
Why "managing your teenager" doesn't work.......2007-09-05
This book is a painless method of learning to deal with today's teenagers and why saying, "...but I didn't behave that way when I was your age" is simply irrelevant. Practical advice in a book that is a real page turner. I couldn't wait to read on from the example of outrageous teenage or parental behavior to the "this might work better" solution. Being a grandparent, I gave it to my long suffering son, the father of two teenage girls.
Get Out of My Life, but First Could You Drive Me and Cheryl to the Mall?.......2007-07-05
Awesome book. It has taught me a lot with my 14 yr. old daughter. I have used the things that I had learned from this book and it works!
Amazon.com
Taking a drive in the country has been popular since horse-and-buggy days. But while the road trip itch is as strong as ever, scenic drives get scarcer year by year. The answer is a collection of the 120 loveliest drives in the U.S., providing maps and tours (with sites along the way itemized and lovingly described), trip length, when to go, nearby attractions, and local information sources. Free time is at a premium these days; rather than waste your leisure time in highway gluts, it's worth taking directions to some of the most beautiful drives the country still has to offer.
Book Description
A one-of-a-kind trip planner, a superb on-the-road reference, and an album of 400 photographs. From the Atlantic to the Pacific, here are 120 outstanding drives that show the magnificence of America-each with detailed, easy-to-follow maps.
Customer Reviews:
The Most Scenic drives in america.......2007-10-20
Very descriptive and beautiful pictures. If you need help selecting destinations this is the book!
The Most Scenic Drives in America.......2007-10-16
A wonderful book for those who enjoy driving tours of our country. Very Helpful ideas.
great book.......2007-09-26
This is a great book if you travel or planning to travel in the US. We used it all through our 6 week vacation to the South West US WOnderful routes and accurate information.
Great Coffee Table Book.......2007-09-17
This is a beautiful book with gorgeous pictures. Makes you want to hop in the car and go. I don't fly and I'm glad. You see so much more riding in the car. This is a beautiful country. I'm so thankful my husband likes to drive.
Just the road trip book I was looking for.......2007-08-07
I am a road trip ethusist. And therefore, when I came across this book, I knew I had to buy it. What I like the most about this book is the careful selected trips the author put together. I have been to about 10% of the trips outlined in this book and when I read through those sections, this book is right. Not only does it tell you where the "must see stops" are, it also tells you approximate mileage, time needed, as well as other useful information for your trip. And flipping through those spectacular trips in the rest of the book made me want to explore U.S. that much more. I highly recommend this book as a starting point, or the main source, for your road trip planning.
Book Description
The "R+ Book", Fourth Edition: More than a revision - An evolution!
The definitive text on Performance Management (PM) will always be a work in progress because science is a work in progress. Performance Management offers strategies gained through ongoing research and successful PM applications in businesses and industries around the world.
Since the 1989 publication of the third edition of this book, both scientists and practitioners have made continual advances in behavior-based performance enhancement. Dr. Aubrey C. Daniels and James E. Daniels now share those innovations and insights in a reorganized and expanded text. The upgraded material - conveniently divided into the two sections of Theory and Application - includes new chapters aimed specifically at addressing workplace performance issues:
The Science of Behavior in Business
Being a Proactive Manager
Separating Behavior from Non-Behavior
Evaluating Performance Change
Finding and Creating Reinforcers
Delivering Reinforcers
Learn to:
Recognize the observable effects of positive and negative reinforcement, punishment, and penalty in the work environment.
Optimally employ positive consequences to inspire discretionary effort™ from any member of your organization.
Design training, verbal instruction, and other antecedents to clearly communicate required and desired workplace behaviors.
Eliminate negative evaluation processes after reading "The 10 Top Reasons Why Traditional Performance Appraisals Produce Little Value to Organizations."
If you've read a previous edition of this book, here are some of the updates you can expect in this new version.
Performance Management, 4th edition;
is updated in terms of research and practice over the last twenty years.
is organized into three helpful sections; Theory, Application and Implementation.
has several new chapters. The most notable are two in the Theory Section on Behavior. There are also new chapters on evaluating performance change and planning reinforcement.
has twice as many references, reflecting the additional research included.
has more cartoons to add more R+ to your reading! is generally updated in examples and language.
The basic concepts in this book are the same as in previous editions, although some concepts have been added (i.e. Establishing Operations) and the terminology has been updated to be more consistent with current research.
Though focused on the needs of employees and employers alike, this technology also applies to parents, partners, athletes, or artists. If you want to improve performance of ANY kind with the latest proven methods, add the Fourth Edition of the R+ book to your library, today! Over 500,000 copies in print.
Customer Reviews:
Outdated.......2007-09-02
The content of this text is drastically outdated. It's based on Skinner's behaviorism theories which have been mostly overturned by recent neuroscience studies. I just finished my masters degree in neuroscience and was hoping to see the new brain studies alive and well in corporate performance management. The Harvard book is much better, but still doesn't reflect new discoveries in brain science.
Useful PM text.......2007-05-14
A good text book with some practical aspects for new employers to consider if thinking about creating a performance management system to use with staff.
Interesting read for university purposes.
PM.......2007-02-11
An update on a behavorial analysis classic. Good foundation to learn concepts behind Performance Managemnt implementation. Well written and easy to read.
Could make people feel like animals.......2006-11-04
Daniels' book provides some great examples of how not to manage, and sure, rewarding and congratulating employees for a job well done is always in order. However, this book basically propogates classical conditioning in the workplace. Sure, it probably works for bottom level employees or simple hard labor tasks, however, anyone with a high school education could very well resent the practices presented in this book.
I'm reading it for a graduate level course in workplace communication outside of the psychology department, and I think it's important to note that my industrial-organizational psychology professors have completely debunked this book. Also, the relevant professional, peer-reviewed journals for applied behavior analysis (what this book teaches) primarily deal with handicapped children, such as those with autism, and pizza delivery drivers. Makes you wonder....
THE Performance Management Authority.......2006-04-02
Daniels provides the most important explanation of performance management out there. As Director of HR for a mid-sized service-based organization, I can attest to the theories in Performance Management as being nothing but clearer, easier to apply, and more effective (simply superior) to those contained in the other seven or so books I've read on the same subject. The information presented in Performance Management will motivate your employees to set higher goals and achieve superior results; better yet, they will actually enjoy doing it. This book is truly essential for any manager or supervisor in search of improving their employees' performance, and, in turn, organizational success.
Average customer rating:
- Everything under the Maui sun
- Our precious Maui guide
- Rates Ten Big Stars
- Recreation Guide for Maui
- Go soon!
|
Maui Trailblazer: Where to Hike, Snorkel, Paddle, Surf, Drive (Hawaiian Hiking Guides)
Jerry Sprout , and
Janine Sprout
Manufacturer: Diamond Valley Company
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Maui - Mile by Mile
Accessories:
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Rayovac SPHLTLED 3-in-1 LED Head-Lite
ASIN: 0967007240 |
Book Description
A guide for families and outdoor adventurers alike, Maui Trailblazer 2006 covers all of the island, and includes day trips to the neighboring islands of Molokai, Lanai, and Molokini.
Clear directions and concise descriptions lead to all of Maui's well-known attractions, as well as to hidden discoveries that Trailblazer readers have come to expect.
137 different hikes and strolls to tropical rain forests and remote valleys, coastal bluffs and lava caves, Haleakala crater and the Hana Highway, cascading waterfalls, beaches, ridgetops, towns, whale-watching perches, historic sites, and archeological ruins.
Among the 44 snorkeling spots are hike-to coves and the secret places that tour boats go.
Kayakers can pick from about 20 put-ins.
Surfers can select from 38 beaches and decide whether to boogie, board, or body surf. Onlookers will find the best places to watch the surfers, windsurfers and kite-boarders ride the big ones.
The text is complimented by 10 maps and 240 photographs. Driving tours-nine of them-take readers to all the attractions, natural wonders, and historic sites.
A Resource Links section provides numbers for free visitor information and recreational outfitters, as well as hand-picked accommodations and local restaurants to suit every budget and taste bud.
A Best Of section lets you pick the right activity to suit your mood and the day. Appendices include free hula shows, farmer's markets, what to pack, climate, history, fauna, and a Hawaiian glossary.
This new and completely revised second edition for 2006 includes a Trailblazer Kids section for adventuring families.
Customer Reviews:
Everything under the Maui sun.......2007-10-08
All the fun stuff. My teenage boys loved it and wanted to try everything they listed. Our hikes were group affairs, waterfall destinations being first choice, Haleakala took second. This book is organized by region with all the activities linked to the highway mile markers and cross referenced on the interior maps. This saved us time and we also spent less on gas.
In six days we really covered ground. We drove the entire beautiful coast stopping here and there to snorkel where they indicated it was best for beginners. Excels when it comes to easily finding the snorkeling and hiking zones and wild beaches. We are big Trailblazer fans now.
Our precious Maui guide.......2007-05-22
Maui was new to us. This guide ranked quite highly for navigating and made driving the circle tour so interesting. We frequently used the large index. The guide is laid out with all the activities logically numbered, like a reference catalog (spiked with humor and tips). Also, they streamlined their list of hotels and only include the ones they would stay in, mostly affordable - same with restaurants. We prereserved an oceanside hotel room in Kihei and would stay there again. It had a nice beach access for winding down at sunset.
Full page maps are in each section and since this island is so small they accentuate the stops that rank highly and coincide with the beach and trails they describe. It made sense in every way and the only time we joined the tourist mill was on the Hana Coast - we should have left at dawn like they said. Another thing we liked is the all space they've given to landscape photographs which helped greatly with our everyday destination decisions.
Rates Ten Big Stars.......2007-04-13
We took our family of five to Maui for spring break. The sunny wonderful weather and this guide added up to a perfect first visit. Our Trailblazer served as a super beach guide since the kids wanted to spend most of their time in the water. On the Hana Road it directed us to fresh water pools with waterfalls that weren't far to get to. We hiked through bamboo forests. We learned what plate lunches are all about. If you're looking for adventure and a guide with all the directions, get this. It definitely has more activities than any other book we looked at.
Bonus: good organization, safety and driving tips, maps, heavy on the photos
Recreation Guide for Maui.......2007-04-10
Get the most out of your Maui vacation with this outdoor activity guide. Specific directions to each activity will save you time and frustration.
Go soon!.......2007-03-16
The advice I share with anyone I know who's going is to buy this book. My girlfriend and I took a week off from work to go adding the two weekends. At six in the morning we were in foggy cold San Jose and by late afternoon the same day were swimming in 70 degree water off the Kihei coast. What helped tremendously were the pictures and directions along the Hana Highway. It took all day to drive it but we got full value knowing the right turnoffs to Red Sand Beach and Honomanu Bay and Keanae Village. It was amazing how much we fit into one day. We did everything guided by these guys who've combed the island and packaged it all in this fun and spirited book. It's organized and for getting out on foot and seeing the sites was our best investment.
Amazon.com
The recurring metaphor in The Inmates are Running the Asylum is that of the dancing bear--the circus bear that shuffles clumsily for the amusement of the audience. Such bears, says author Alan Cooper, don't dance well, as everyone at the circus can see. What amazes the crowd is that the bear dances at all. Cooper argues that technology (videocassette recorders, car alarms, most software applications for personal computers) consists largely of dancing bears--pieces that work, but not at all well. He goes on to say that this is more often than not the fault of poorly designed user interfaces, and he makes a good argument that way too many devices (perhaps as a result of the designers' subconscious wish to bully the people who tormented them as children) ask too much of their users. Too many systems (like the famous unprogrammable VCR) make their users feel stupid when they can't get the job done.
Cooper, who designed Visual Basic (the programming environment Microsoft promotes for the purpose of creating good user interfaces), indulges in too much name-dropping and self-congratulation (Cooper attributes the quote, "How did you do that?" to Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, upon looking at one of Cooper's creations)--but this appears to be de rigueur in books about the software industry. But those asides are minor. More valuable is the discourse about software design and implementation ("[O]bject orientation divides the 1000-brick tower into 10 100-brick towers."). Read this book for an idea of what's wrong with UI design. --David Wall
Topics covered: User interfaces--good ones and bad ones--and where they come from. Also, how to improve the ones you create.
Book Description
Imagine, at a terrifyingly aggressive rate, everything you regularly use is being equipped with computer technology. Think about your phone, cameras, cars-everything-being automated and programmed by people who in their rush to accept the many benefits of the silicon chip, have abdicated their responsibility to make these products easy to use.
The Inmates Are Running the Asylum argues that the business executives who make the decisions to develop these products are not the ones in control of the technology used to create them. Insightful and entertaining,
The Inmates Are Running the Asylum uses the author's experiences in corporate America to illustrate how talented people continuously design bad software-based products and why we need technology to work the way average people think. Somewhere out there is a happy medium that makes these types of products both user and bottom-line friendly; this book discusses why we need to quickly find that medium.
Download Description
Imagine, at a terrifyingly aggressive rate, everything you regularly use is being equipped with computer technology. Think about your phone, cameras, cars - everything - being automated and programmed by people who in their rush to accept the many benefits of the silicon chip, have abdicated their responsibility to make these products easy to use. The Inmates are Running the Asylum argues that, despite appearances, business executives are simply not the ones in control of the high-tech industry. They have inadvertently put programmers and engineers in charge, leading to products and processes that waste money, squander customer loyalty, and erode competitive advantage. Business executives have let the inmates run the asylum! In his book The Inmates Are Running the Asylum Alan Cooper calls for revolution - we need technology to work in the same way average people think - we need to restore the sanity. He offers a provocative, insightful and entertaining explanation of how talented people continuously design bad software-based products. More importantly, he uses his own work with companies big and small to show how to harness those talents to create products that will both thrill their users and grow the bottom line.
Customer Reviews:
No Cognitive Friction Here.. .......2007-06-12
Alan Cooper gives the reader insight into why so many of today's technological products frustrate and confuse users. Yet he goes past this to discuss a methodology for keeping it simple and designing for the user i.e. avoiding cognitive friction. This book has changed the way I will develop products and should be a must read for product managers of application developers. Just learning Mr. Cooper's vocabulary is worth the read. The ideas such as personas, keywords, and designing for an individual push the book way above average. This is an easy read that should be done in your spare time if you want to avoid cognitive friction with your users. It has changed the way I view technology and brought a new awareness to thoughtless technology implementation which often cause failure or misuse. The only reason I gave this book a 4 out of 5 as I feel it could have been reduced a little bit more, certain points I felt like the author was rambling about personal fustrations.
an essential handbook for designing software.......2007-06-11
Cooper's argument in this book is simple: you have to know your users, and you have to understand what they're trying to accomplish with your software. The method that he puts forth for achieving this understanding is personas, richly-described archetypical users.
The book is easy to read and understand. He begins with a detailed description of the problem with software design as carried about by programmers who can only imagine themselves as the users of their software, resulting in software that makes really difficult things possible but doesn't bother to make easy or common things quick and easy.
After making the argument that programmers shouldn't design interfaces and making the case both for usability and interaction design, he lays out the personas concept. Cooper's guidelines for creating personas and using them are well-written and well-thought-out. However, his examples of applying them to some of his own customers are rather repetitive, and sometimes come across as somewhat whiny.
Now that it's time for my group at Microsoft to revisit our personas and determine what needs to be tweaked for our next version, I decided that I should revisit the book that first advanced the idea. It has stood up well to the test of time (something that not many computer books can do). I highly recommend it, both to usability and design professionals, as well as programmers.
Great writing, very illustrative examples, definitely not a detailed how-to.......2007-05-13
The strength of this book its clear and easy-to-read writing. Cooper's examples are instructive and the theory of why design-centric business approaches are the most powerful. It's supposed to be a business-case book but I'm quite sure all programmers and even designers would find the read very worthwhile.
My only wish for the book would be that Chapter 10 onwards seemed to be the really exciting stuff, detailing the how more than the why of design-centric approaches. This part feels like a rushed summary in comparison the the attention paid to the why aspect in the rest of the book. You may want to consider Cooper's newly revised "how" book although it is mainly a designer's handbook: About Face 3: The Essentials of Interaction Design
I'm not done with that About Face 3: The Essentials of Interaction Design but I'm starting to worry it's going to leave me wishing it had more specific methodologies as opposed to theories. Of course, it has much more methodological attention than The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity (2nd Edition) and there's no fault in what is written, only in what is omitted.
If you're really looking for the ultimate how-to, you might want to consider attending the four-day "Cooper U". Case in point: I had the chance to ask Alan Cooper where I could learn more about how to create the design documents he writes about in the last part of The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity (2nd Edition) and he really couldn't say what books would be able to instruct that (including his own) and that it would be covered in his course.
this book changed my life.......2007-02-22
I was a well-paid systems administrator/help desk guy until I read this book. This book really did inspire me to change careers!
The book basically outlines why engineers (and people who think like engineers) are INCAPABLE of designing effective interfaces. It delves into specifics and supplies some great examples.
I am amused by some of the reviewers here who display the same sort of arrogant contempt that the book outlines. OF COURSE programming a VCR is easy for YOU--you're a person with an "engineer mind". My mom can't program a VCR at all, and that's not because she didn't try hard enough or read the instructions. She can't use it because everything about it's interface is counter-intuitive to someone who does not understand machine/code logic.
Just because it's easy for you doesn't mean it doesn't stink. Just because it makes sense to you doesn't mean it can't be made better--to work intuitively for "regular" people. Buy this book. Read it. Demand more from your products. It's time to end the insanity.
Blown out of proportion.......2007-01-18
It's true that some products have poor interfaces, but in my experience this "problem" is blown way out of proportion with reality. The only people I know who couldn't figure out how to program their VCRs were people who did not try for more than 5 minutes. Read the instructions, both in the book and onscreen, and VCR programming is a snap, from the earliest models to today.
I think the real question should be: Why are so many users so lazy? This is more of a social problem than a technological one. Some think that if any effort is required to learn how to use a new device then it's poorly designed. Poppycock!
Book Description
Now anyone can learn a foreign language while commuting to work, running errands, or even taking a trip with the family. The new all-audio Drive Time series starts with an ingenious “On-Ramp” CD that eases language learners into Spanish, French, Italian, or Japanese with simple, practical expressions and engaging warm-up exercises. Three additional CDs contain 18 lessons that cover all of the essentials—vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, and basic conversation.
Drive Time also includes a 64-page reference guide for anyone who would like to see spellings or read dialogues as a review—from the passenger seat, of course!
Customer Reviews:
Useful if Used with Behind the Wheel Spanish/Not Alone.......2007-08-14
I have purchased virtually every Spanish course I could find on Amazon.
Some are great, like Behind the Wheel Spanish 8 CDs and text.
Others are medicore, like Drive Time Spanish.
Drive Time would be better if they cut out the horns blowing and all the other cute tricks that distract rather than teach.
Aside from this and other drawbacks, I do feel that the course is worth purchasing if used with another superior course such as Behind the Wheel Spanish.Behind the Wheel Spanish/Complete Illustrated Text/Answer Keys/8 One Hour
Impossible to follow.......2007-07-31
CD 1 starts off great! The speaker reviews words over and over, and they're used in sentences repeatedly. It moves nice and slow, which is valuable when you're trying to drive (Drive Time...)
By CD2 they quit the repetition, and they speak the words so quickly, there's absolutely no hope of keeping up.
I gave up
Not for beginners but a great tool for those with prior exposure to spanish.......2007-06-12
This audio collection is a definite tool if you have had previous exposure to learning spanish. If you are a beginner with no experience in learning the lanuguage, this series probably moves too fast for you and is a little more difficult to comprehend. I had 4 years of spanish in high school but had a 4 year lull where I didn't study the language so I lost a lot. This CD set offered a quick reintroduction to the language on the first CD and then takes off into some of the grammar and a lot of dialogue. This is a very valuable tool in learning to feel comfortable speaking the language. I listen in the car on the way to work and back and have listened to each CD several times so it sticks in my brain. I would reccomend to anyone who has taken at least a year of spanish in the past and feels comfortable with the basics such as pronouns, simple phrases and some verbs.
Drive Time Spanish (Living Language).......2007-05-31
I have a little Spanish behind me, though I never took a formal class. I also live in a place with a lot of Spanish around me. Therefore I didn't need to crawl through the basics. For my modest skills, this series of lessons moved at a suitable pace. After 10 or 12 lessons -- about an hour's worth -- I could string a few original sentences together in a pinch and I was starting to think in Spanish a little. I'm not doing it in a car so it is very noticable that the lessons build on a highway driving theme but you gotta start somewhere and highways are as good as any place. The pronunciations are academic, not like Spanish speakers really talk but isn't that always the way?
spanish.......2007-05-14
the first cd was good, the second went to major grammer and was difficult to learn from. would not recommend this for beginners.
Book Description
This introductory textbook is designed for learning and teaching electric drives in a first course on electric machines.
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