Customer Reviews:
If I could only have one book for sql server..........2007-09-13
...this would be it.
I have worked with Microsoft SQL Server day in and day out for many years now, and I have owned this book ever since it first came out. I have had some pretty funky tasks to perform with data and this book has come through with excellent solutions each and every time. I absolutely cannot tout it highly enough. It is easy to read, and full of actually useful code examples and information rather than pages of code printouts that are just filler.
If you work writing code for SQL Server, this book belongs on your bookshelf, if not on your desk.
Excellent material, just getting a bit long in the tooth.......2007-08-01
I bought this book seven years ago when doing my MCDBA in SQL Server 7.0. At the time I was focussing on getting my certifications and upon a cursory browsing, just couldn't get into this book.
Well it's now 2007, and having spent the last 7 years working with SQL Server 7.0, 2000 and 2005 I decided it was time to try this book again. I mention this to give a reference to where I'm coming from when I type the following comments.
First up, with the passage of time since publication, one would expect the material in this book to be well out of date - and as it turns out, you would not be disappointed. So before reading, I checked if any newer editions had been published since the first edition, and discovered there have been none - an assumed expectation considering the success of this book and that SQL Server has been updated and will continue to do so. As a consequence, expect some of the material and examples to be somewhat outdated (Transact-SQL syntax and methods have changed somewhat since publication). As an example, the section on error handling in stored procedures chapter has been outdated with TRY...CATCH exception handling, along with other examples of Transact-SQL syntax flagged to be retired.
All that aside, the true value in this book is the Transact-SQL samples. The author progresses through a problem using increasingly advanced SQL statements and explains each along the way. There is a sequence of chapters on "Runs and Sequences", "Arrays", "Sets" and "Hierarchies" that I thought could have been referenced elsewhere with more pages spent on practical areas of interest. Otherwise, as you can read from other reviews, the material covered is generally of a high standard.
As stated in other reviews, this is not a "Learn Transact-SQL" book, but more of a "Here is some Transact-SQL code that might help you".
The CD included contains just the Transact-SQL code samples from the book and is arranged in per chapter folder hierarchy.
Overall - a great if not somewhat terse effort. However, an updated version covering the Transact-SQL language changes in SQL 2005 would make this a 5 star book.
Great recommendation!.......2007-05-10
This book was recommended by a SQL consultant our company hired to improve the speed of our servers and it was well worth it! It covered a lot of the topics he had trained us on and gave very easy to follow examples.
Don't waste your time - buy this book.......2007-04-28
Although it's billed as a T-SQL book and it's written specifically for SQL Server 2000, I'd recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn more about SQL. Programming books are by and large a wasteland of fluff, bloat, poor writing, sloppy mistakes, and misinformation - this book is a happy exception. The writer clearly knows his stuff, he writes in a no-nonsense conversational style, and he has a knack for zeroing in on the tricky subtleties and making them clear. This is practically unheard of in the realm of programming literature. (Since writing this series of books, the author has been hired by the evil empire in Redmond, so I wouldn't expect his next book to be nearly as disarmingly frank and insightful as this one.)
Still one of the best references.......2007-03-14
I've used this book as a reference for 3 years.
Great straight forward examples. Logical presentation.
If you dream in SQL (you know who you are) this is a great book to own.
Customer Reviews:
Not as good as his first effort.......2007-04-12
I bought Ken Henderson's Guru's Guide to T-SQL a few years back and was extremely impressed with it. It was a "How-to-do-it" book with a 1001 good practical ideas that the hard-work database programmer could use immediately.
I bought this book because I am now working more with the topics that are supposed to be covered by this book, Stored Procedures, XLM, and HTML. I was impressed with how his first book had quickly and easily improved my skills and was interested in seeing what he could do for me in the new arena. Unfortunately it didn't work out.
In spite of the titles, the two books are barely related to each other. This book is a "why-you-do-it-this-way" book with a lot of philosophy and best-practice stuff and relatively few of the tips and tricks that I valued so highly in the first book. Unfortunately this information isn't that valuable now because the state of the art has kept changing and much of what he discusses either isn't relevant anymore or is now blindingly obvious.
But the problem with the book goes deeper than that. The extraordinary value of the first book was that it hit to Ken Henderson's strengths; very clear writing about very small topics with obvious and immediate payback for the reader. This book unfortunately tends to emphasize his weaknesses; poor organization, wandering off topic, and frequently saying too much that adds very little.
That's not to say that there aren't good reasons to buy this book, he's still a good clear author and there aren't enough of them in the technical writing field today. I particularly valued the essays at the end of the book and there are lots of valuable little nuggets that can be found throughout the entire book, just don't buy this book with the expectation that it will be the motherlode that his first book was.
A lot of the information relates to older release of SQL server.......2006-08-14
This book would be fantastic if I would still run an older release of the SQL server ... and the stored procedures part is still very relevant. The XML and HTML parts (where I've expected most) unfortunately do not cover the new abilities of the SQL Server 2005, so I guess we just have to wait for a new release of this book.
Best Book for Hoardcore SQL Server.......2006-03-20
This book is for experienced SQL developers. No fancy stuff. I found it very useful, since you will find lot of material you won't find anywhere else. It can be a good source for those who tries to handle SQL Server administration by not using Enterprise manager (such doing a backup, reindexing databases etc.). But in any case it's a very good addition to your library. Great job by Ken Anderson.
This is the book for SQL Developers/DBAs.......2005-03-26
I have about $2000 worth of the book on asp.net, cfml, Microsoft SQL server, Oracle DB book, and other tech related books. Most of the books I had are poorly written and the authors are trying to make "quick buck". This book is very well written and in-depth of Microsoft SQL Server. Highly recommanded!
Essential.......2005-03-18
This book is essential for those building solutions with Sql Svr. It is really a developer's take on how to create applications based on the world's best database. There are chapters on database design, source code control, design patterns, testing, and many, many others. The SqlXml info is the deepest and best of any of the SQl books I have found. I highly recommend this book.
Amazon.com
Contending that our increasingly complicated corporate universe has made it more difficult for companies to grow and prosper, noted business strategist Jack Trout and communications consultant Steve Rivkin have proposed a radical new tack: simplicity. By boiling everything down to its essential elements, they maintain, managers can ignore new fads and hot consultants and instead focus on the true business at hand. Fascinating in its own unpretentious, logical manner, The Power of Simplicity is their stripped-down guide to a future without chaos and disorder. Addressing the basics involved as well as specific management, leadership, and people issues, they hit a variety of applicable themes--including information, competitors, mission statements, goals, and motivation--using short individual chapters that quickly get to the heart of the matter with a few germane anecdotes and expert quotes followed by suggestions that are both coherent and feasible. Each begins with an inspirational epigram by the likes of Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, Malcolm Forbes, and even Mother Goose, and concludes with a Simple Summation, such as this one on strategy: "If you're not different, you'd better have a lower price." --Howard Rothman
Book Description
Renowned marketing expert and best-selling author Jack Trout has a message for managers who are struggling to keep up with today’s ever-changing business climate: “Keep It Simple.” In this paperback edition of The Power of Simplicity, Trout advocates the importance of paying attention to the basics and simplifying processes in order to stay focused on the core business at hand. Through case studies and interviews with successful executives, he shows managers how to cut through jargon, articulate their vision, and regain control of the vital elements of their business in order to make it thrive. According to Trout, the things that propose to streamline companies, like the ubiquitous “mission statements,” often end up bogging down operations by introducing unnecessary complexity where a straightforward approach may be more effective. Trout cites Southwest Airlines, Intel, and Kohl’s department stores among others as successful companies that have rejected showy trappings in favor of simplification.
Download Description
In sports, when things go wrong, the best coaches say. "go back to the basics". Renowned marketing expert Jack Trout has a similar message for managers who are struggling to keep up with today's everchanging business climate: "Keep it Simple". Trout advocates the importance of paying attention to the basics and simplifying the processes in order to stay focused on the core business issues at hand. Through case studies and interviews with successful executives, he shows managers how to cut through the jargon, articulate their vision, and regain control of the vital elements of their business in order to make it thrive.
Customer Reviews:
A counter-cultural voice of reason.......2006-06-12
Jack Trout's books on marketing and brand positioning (with Al Reis) have a deep resonance with many readers. A big reason is that they are clearly written with a simple message that is readily understood. Trout expands this concept of the importance of simplicity in this book beyond marketing and applies it to business in general. In it, he gives a refreshing, counter-cultural voice opposed to all the laborious guru-hype, endless buzzwords and MBA-babble - that too often only adds complexity without adding value. Trout quotes Jack Welch on this idea: "Insecure managers create complexity. Real leaders have the self-confidence to be clear, precise and to be sure every person in their organization understands what the business is trying to achieve."
In an entertaining and often-sarcastic tone, Trout goes after many deeply-ingrained business practices to expose their unhelpful complexity: LONG-TERM PLANNING (mere wishful thinking), GOALS (sound nice but can hinder emerging opportunities), GROWTH (those mandated 15% projections can lead to terrible long-term consequences) and those cumbersome MISSION STATEMENTS (add needless confusion). What may be most comforting for those who value a common-sense approach is how Trout stands up for the simple, obvious idea. But, in our high-tech, over-analyzed age, such simplicity can sound ... well, too simple. As such people in business often fear speaking up and being viewed as "an unsophisticated simpleton" lacking the latest analytical models. But, Trout encourages businesses not to fear that which is simple, but to embrace its wisdom and guiding light. His many relevant examples of success and failure help paint an effective picture. In all, Jack Trout is a refreshing voice of reason in a world beset by budensome complexity. Practitioners of gut instincts and old-fashioned common-sense should love this book. 4.5 stars.
I TEACH PEOPLE spiritually HOW TO LIVE YOUNG AND FLOURISH, not COMPLICATE their lives with guru worship! .......2006-05-07
Give it to them plain and simple as Trout says. They will feel comfortable with following a leader who gets on their level, but will be intimidated a speaker who speaks in tongues...
I lead people to live young and flourish through simple strategies, not kill them with complicated terms and alien metaphors like a wizard guru.
Dr. Garner
Should a part of management and engineering training.......2005-09-18
Most young Engineers and MBAs are more into hype and complexity than into solving engineering/business problems in a simplistic manner.
How many of us in our universities have been influenced, inspired by complexities of business and engineering ? Many of them even took the path of making their job seem complex and continued on their career - totally deviating from the basic objectives of why their jobs existed in the first place.
After 10 years in Software and consulting, when I read this book, it feels very much like reaffirming the basics of any work and business objectives.
Positives of this book:
* Reaffirms that most problems are to be simplistically analyzed and addressed
* Simplify your communication and reduce the clutter and hype
Negatives:
* Being simple does not always take you a long way - maybe in engineering, but definitely not in management. Ever heard of a manager who speaks up simplistically and been very successful ?
* The auther talks about being simplistic in communication, but has totally ignored the fact that communication is always good when it well wrapped and well packaged.
* Is simplicity always good when you are selling stuff ? People like the mystery behind complexity. While complexity itself does not sell, the mystery behind complex words does sell. Would you buy a Washine machine which has 'Fuzzy Logic' or would you buy the one that has 'Automatic Load Detection' ? Obviously the one with Fuzzy Logic - it kind of sounds cool and complex, even though you do not know whats in it.
some new useful material.......2004-12-29
Several ideas and examples are drawn from the authors' earlier work on positioning, 22 immutable laws of marketing, and bottom-up marketing. There were a few ideas that are worth chewing on. For example, per Trout, success is often riding the right horse. Both hard work and intelligence are long shots, finding fast-growing successful companies is a long-shot; finding a successful product is a medium shot; finding a person with successful career trajectory and hitching your career to theirs is a more reliable way of duplicating success. Others such as avoiding all recent advances in technology may be a little simple-minded and perhaps, unnecessary in the end.
Good Title...poor book.......2004-12-17
I really wish this book did not have so many grammatical errors because I believe people need to simplify their life, but this book insults the reader's intelligence. If a well-respected author like Jack Trout is going to attach his name to a piece of writing he should make sure it is readable. In addition, this book seems to be choppy in its central theme. I do not remember the authors addressing the idea of simplicity throughout the whole book. The central concept was lost somewhere among Jack Trout's tirades to the business professional.
Customer Reviews:
A new Edition is Needed.......2007-09-23
The book is good but is becoming quite dated. For those using SQL Server 2005 it is a little disappointing because SQL Server architecture has changed so much. Its overall value is reduced by this.
A great book but not for everyone........2007-05-08
People who aspire to be real experts in Sql Server 2000 should read this book cover-to-cover (skipping the pompous Essay in the back and the "quotes" at the beginning of each chapter). There is a lot here and it will help remind you how you should be coding your sql and why.
If I had to pick just one Sql book this would be it.......2006-10-14
This is by far the best book available on Microsoft's Sql Server. I found it much far more informative and much deeper than Kalen Delaney's book - the only other one that comes close. It is a book unlike any other that I have read on Sql Server in that it is extremely deep - deeper than just about any technical book I think I have ever read - and extremely broad. Most books are one or the other, but this one really is both. Every chapter is a treasure chest of useful info. Several could be books unto themselves. The discussion of DTS for example is actually better than whole books on the subject. The User Mode Scheduler chapter is so deep I had to read it twice. The list could go on and on.
One thing I really appreciate about the book is that the author includes a good section (Approximately the first 300 pages) on Windows insides and fundamental concepts. His reasoning for including this type of info in a Sql Server book is sound: because most Dba's do not have the grasp of Windows fundamentals they will need to understand the indepth writing on Sql Server that he offers in the subsequent chapters and because he doesn't want readers to have to read multiple other books just to understand his. The author writes about Sql Server from the perspective of a professional developer and wants to first make sure his readers understand Windows and networking and COM and etc. at that level so that they can follow the rest of the book. It would have been easier for him to have said, "Read XML 101 chapter 8 before you read this chapter of mine," but he doesn't take the easy way out. Instead he covers everything you need to know to understand Sql insides in a single book.
The author's writing on Windows insides goes beyond merely providing info. He seems to be trying to teach basic debugging and exploring skills. He claims to want to teach Dba's and readers how to explore Sql insides on their own - the assumption being that no one book could fully cover Sql's insides given how complex it is and things continue to change. That is an admirable goal though I do not know if the average Dba is up to the task. Irregardless if you really want to understand Sql and gain the tools to continue to explore it for years to come you could not ask for a better book to launch from.
I regularly read Windows fundamentals books and can also report that the author's writing on Windows insides is more thorough than that by any other author. It is also done from the perspective of Sql Server. The exercises often feature the Sql Server.exe process for example. When an application is investigated from a Windows insides standpoint that application is Sql Server. This Windows insides part of the book is an indispensable piece and a real gem. It could (and should) be a book itself.
Another thing I really like is that the author avoids repeating what you can find in other Sql insides books and whitepapers. Somewhere at the beginning, I think in the preface, he says that he avoided covering the storage engine because it was already covered well enough elsewhere. Delaney's book has full writing on the storage engine and this book doesn't try to replace that. For that reason I think they make a nice set. The author's book gets into query processor insides, memory insides, threading insides, and many, many others, but leaves the storage engine and some other pieces to the books and whitepapers that preceded it. I see the most indepth and expansive Sql insides coverage in this book that I have seen in any Sql book, but I also see where he avoided needlessly repeating what other people have already well covered.
Like the other two Guru Guide books this book is extremely well written. I was often impressed with the author's knack for making rather complex topics easy to understand. Nowhere is this more evident than in the User Mode Scheduling chapter wherein he takes a subject that is obviously rather complex yet critical to understanding how Sql Server works and that AFAIK is not covered in any other book (certainly not in Delaney's) and reduces it down to something anyone can understand. He builds on the Windows insides discussion earlier in the book to explain very succinctly how Sql Server schedules work to be done and carries it out. For me this was worth the cost of admission alone.
If I had to pick just one book to buy on Sql Server, this would be the one. I'd follow it up with Delaney's book and the author's other Guru Guide books.
A book of leftovers.......2006-08-02
Alas, this book was a VERY disappointing reading.
Its one of the biggest sins is having a misleading title. "SQL Server Architecture and Internals" ? Forget it.
The first whole third of the book is Win32 in a nutshell. It tells you about memory, processes, I/O and everything. But I already have my Richter dog-eared all right, I wouldn't need a reminder in a book on SQL Server.
Then, about the SQL Server. Internals ? What a joke. The only internals that you would find are names of the DLLs where this or that SQL Server subsystem resides and a few hardcore debugger sessions to show you those DLLs actually get loaded. Uh-huh, thanks.
Can you imagine a book on SQL Server internals which doesn't mention pages and/or extents ? In-depth description of different execution plans ? This is the one.
What this book really is, is 20 chapters worth of overviews for more or less known SQL Server features. Average-to-good overviews of a less known features. Uhm, architecture, internals ? Nope - SQLXML, DTS, notification services, cursors, transactions. Take cursors - it says there are four types of cursors, you know, static, etc. and shows an SQL snippet for each. That's basically it. Take transactions - ACID, isolation levels and usage hints. Oh well, it could be worse...
Difficult to say without reading other books by the same author (not that I have an urge any more), but it appears he has written a whole series of them. You find sentences like "In my other book..." all over the place. Just love it:
[quote]
I must confess that I was conflicted when I sat down to write this chapter. I wrestled with whether to update the SQLXML coverage in my last book, which was more focused on the practical application of SQLXML but which I felt really needed updating, or to write something completely new on just the architectural aspects of SQLXML, with little or no discussion of how to apply them in practice. Ultimately, I decided to do both things.
[/quote]
Isn't it great ?
Oh, the chapter on Full-Text Search was hilarious. How about this:
[quote]
Communication between SQL Server and Microsoft Search occurs via a full-text provider. This provider resides in SQLFTQRY.DLL in the binn folder under your default SQL Server installation.
...
The sp_fulltext_... system procedures interact with it via the undocumented DBCC CALLFULLTEXT command
...
Table 16.1. DBCC CALLFULLTEXT Functions
[*** A TABLE OF FUNCTION IDS TAKING THE ENTIRE PAGE ***]
...
As a rule, you shouldn't call DBCC CALLFULLTEXT in your own code. The function IDs and parameters listed above could change between releases
[/quote]
What a heck did I just learn ???
I thought this book would show me how to improve the performance of the applications that I write by knowing the database server architecture deeper. Instead, I got a book of not so bad overviews of different things for which there either was no coverage in the previous books or the author thought a quick reminder would be nice.
To be fair, some of the discussions were reasonably interesting, like chapter 12 "Query Processor", but give me a break, it's like 40 pages in a 1000 pages book.
Don't.
Not at all what I expected.......2006-05-01
500 pages of Win NT/2000 fundamentals in a SQL Server Architecture book. Come on, get real Ken Henderson.
Almost zilch in the way of diagrams makes for very heavy going.
I primarily bought the book to give me a total knowledge of SQL Server Architecture. I hadn't got far before I realised that a high level description of the architecture was not going to be included because, according to the author, it had been covered in a previous book. Not good enough and I am asking the publishers for my money back.
Also, treatment of things like explanations of XML in a SQL Server Architecture book ? The author has done what no IT system should do ... not adhered to requirements which in this case are to explain SQL Server and Internals.
All in all a disappointing experience.
Book Description
Words to Live By presents a daily affirmation drawn from the insights of history’s most brilliant philosophers and poets. Framed by the simple wisdom of Eknath Easwaran, each message offers inspiration and practical guidance for meeting life’s challenges one day at a time. This lovely bedside companion can be consulted in the morning, as a touchstone for the day’s events, or in the evening, as a way to quiet the mind. Even the busiest readers can find quick encouragement in these timeless truths.
Customer Reviews:
DON'T PUT IT IN ON A SHELF- READ IT EVERY DAY.......2007-06-08
Full of inspiring and uplifting thoughts. Insightful! Covers all the bases. Draws on many of the great religions of the world as well as some of the greatest writers of the centuries.
daily readings for inspiration or education.......2006-05-15
Easwaran takes a short quotation from a wide range of sources, and unpacks the meaning in a way that is uncanny and speaks straight to the heart. The appeal is that you don't have to understand all this brilliant philosophy and wisdom in one go: Easwaran takes just one idea for today and shows how to apply it to your life today. A great way to start the day, or to use in a discussion group or a yoga lesson.
Customer Reviews:
The very best compile of information to SQL server.......2006-03-25
Guru's Guide offers the best set of information on the marked. It quickly becomes a friend you cannot live without, when approaching the boundaries of the usual coding.
The guide is directed towards the 2000 version, but its transact-SQL examples are just as easy applied to 2005.
With my full recommendations
Guldmann,Denmark
Very good collection.......2005-09-26
I was looking for some SQL Server books to get started on my work to move from Access to SQL Server and these books were just what I was looking for.
Best SQL Server Books Available.......2005-01-26
I am a database consultant with Microsoft, and would not be without these books. I strongly recommend the boxed set of three books to everyone working with SQL Server. I also personally know Ken, and his overall knowledge of SQL Server and Windows development is tops.
As the Title Says, For Guru's.......2004-12-08
If you're thinking of setting up a database to keep track of your local phone book or kitchen recipes, go get something else. (That is, if the price hasn't already told you that.) Note the title: The Guro's Guide. And he means it.
If you're a database developer or administrator using Microsoft SQL Server, get this book today. It would be nice to think that all the big databases met the ANSI standard and were therefore truly portable from database to database and it would be nice to have a Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny. Instead we are left with really having to understand deeply. And this Guru knows what's going on where.
There are three books in this series. I'm more into programming so I found the book on Transact-Sql to be the one that I pick up the most. It's got more stuff on T-SQL than any of the half dozen other books I have, some of which are much bigger. What that means is that the writing style doesn't waste a lot of time on excess verbage. It's tight and concise. And that means not for beginners looking for a lot of this is a database kind of stuff.
But the volume that I need the most is the Guide to Architecture and Internals. I don't use it often, but when I do it is likely to be the only book available that tells me what I need to know at that moment. It's also something you might keep by your bedside. Unless I'm working on a specific problem, thirty seconds and I'm out.
The third book is on Stored Procedures (just in case you want to run faster), XML and HTML.
Conclusion, if you're serious about SQL Server, you can't do any better.
Customer Reviews:
All you need to know manual.......2006-07-19
I really love this manual. It covers both Windows and Mac with step-by-step instructions. This is the latest manual in its class which covers old to latest ipods and itunes. This is the only manual you need to have for your old and latest ipods. Great buy.
Simply Amazing.......2006-05-27
This is a How-to-do-it book. A latest piece of research work on iPod at very reasonable price. You can also download its e-book version at unbelievably low price of $2.99. E-book is listed with hundreds of active links that are full of information. So you can defeat any top notch writer/researcher of iPod. Now I know what I can do with my iPod. I found following in this book:
How to share your playlists
How to add songs from a CD
How to convert WMA Files to ACC
How to copy songs between playlists
How to make your own CDs and print CD inserts
How to Watch iPod videos on Your TV
How to convert DVDs for your iPod with free third party tools
How to convert videos for your iPod from other vinyl media
How to create your own video for iPod
How to record internet Radio
How to make ebooks for your iPod
How to turn your iPod into a PDA
How to export PowerPoint presentation for iPod photo
How to use iPod as firewire drive or an external drive
Find the latest iPod accessories including iPod sex toy
How to install and run Mac OS X and Linux on your iPod
How to create invisible partition to hide your important data
How to use Windows and Mac versions of iTunes to the limits
How to troubleshoot and maximize your iPod battery life
Commonly used iTunes script editing commands
Commonly used iTunes objects
Shortcuts for iPod and iTunes
Find free legal and illegal places to get iPod videos
Take your desktop, email, Internet Explorer Favorites, and other documents along in your iPod by using shareware
Book Description
Homemade Garlic Powder is Remarkably Flavorful (And Good For You!)——
If you love garlic, but you've never experienced the fresh, unadulterated, taste of homemade garlic powder, then you're in for a pleasant surprise. No factory-processed powder can begin to compare with that which you've made yourself. In "Making Great garlic Powder" you'll discover why all those store-bought garlic powders are so second-rate. You'll learn the secrets of growing lush, wholesome, garlic bulbs without using any synthetic chemicals. And you'll see just how easy it is to make your own powdered garlic by following the author's basic four-step home process.
This little book is not just about making garlic powder that tastes great, it's also about making powder that is as healthy and good for you as it can possibly be. Homemade garlic powder makes great gifts, and it can be a profitable agricultural cottage industry too.
Book Description
"A savvy guide to the ideas driving business conversation."-Fast Company
The one book you need in your drive to succeed If you're striving to make your mark in the business world, you don't have time to read all of the business books that hit the bestseller list- but you do need the essential information they contain. You need to keep up with the latest business trends and understand emerging ideas and new terminology. You need concise, penetrating explanations of today's most advanced thinking on business management and leadership. You need The Guru Guide(TM).
In this easy-to-use primer, two internationally respected business consultants provide an executive summary of the most effective and successful management ideas put forth by the leading business thinkers and doers of our time: Warren Bennis, Stephen Covey, Peter Drucker, Michael Hammer, Peter Senge, Margaret Wheatly, and many more. They also give you:
* Clear explanations of essential business terms, concepts, and theories
* Profiles of more than 75 top management figures and their ideas
* Cross-links to issues on which these gurus agree and disagree
* Insightful commentaries and real- world case studies
* Quick-reference charts, bulleted lists, chapter summaries, and other creative quick-learning tools
To make the most of the powerful ideas that can brighten your business future, start reading The Guru Guide(TM) today.
"It's tough to keep up with the latest management thinking. This book can help . . . and stimulate you to go to original sources of the greatest value."-Joseph B. White, Dean, University of Michigan Business School
Customer Reviews:
the title explains it all.......2002-09-27
This is a great text. It lists a variety of topics that span I/O Psychology. As I began writing summaries for 360 feedback submissions, I was at a loss in suggesting methods for individuals to improve upon their weak areas in management. This text was suggested as a resource. After reading this text, I gained much insight into different areas for clients to explore. This is a great read if you want straight to the point information.
A disappointment with too many oversights.......2002-08-24
Apparently this book got rave reviews. So how come I hadn't heard of it? When I saw it on the bookshelf a couple of years ago I picked it up with great anticipation. The idea of getting the current best ideas for the top management thinkers of the last 20 years sounded great. As I skimmed through, it was well organized and the topics relevant. I decided to spend my money and buy it. You have to understand that I have been successfully cutting back on all of the professional books that I buy.
It was an easy read and some of the synthesis was very good. I can even see how I might reference the book occasionally. Never the less, this is the first time I have rated a book so low. As an individual in the field of organizational development and management change, it wasn`t as comprehensive as I would have liked. For the lay person, I am not sure that it is helpful enough. The material on high performance teams was useful. Other than this chapter, it is not clear to me what a manager would get out of this other than more theory.
I was glad to see most of my favourites: Chris Argyris, Charles Handy, Henry Mintzberg, Edgar Schein, Margaret Wheatley, Marv Weisbord. But where is Rosabeth Moss Kanter and why does Michael Porter get 15 pages - more than Warren Bennis? John Kotter is referenced a couple of times but not enough on his work regarding leadership. For that matter, the work that James Kouzes and Barry Posner have done beginning with The Leadership Challenge and followed up by Encouraging the Heart: A Leader's Guide to Rewarding and Recognizing Others isn't even alluded to in the book. This is a grave oversight.
Excellent reading for both MBA's and non-MBA's!.......2000-05-14
This is truly great reading! Top management thinkers' ideas arranged according to topic (as opposed to more "intuitive" organization by date/period or by author/thinker).
How I wish I'd come across this book during my graduate school days at the Asian Institute of Management. Truly unfortunate I think, that many MBA's will receive their degrees after having read only a handful of the great thinkers' works (depending on who's ideas are perhaps being pushed or espoused by the business school in question). "The Guru Guide" is essential reading ESPECIALLY for the MBA/MBA wannabe since it not only presents and summarizes lead management gurus' ideas but provides an excellent and convenient forum for juxtaposition and critique as well. For instance, how Michael Porter's ideas (highlighted by masteral degree programs at AIM) on competitive strategy were later disputed by Mintzberg, then by Hamel and Prahalad, who later received the same from Treacy and Wearsema, and so forth.
I recommend this book for MBA's and non-MBA's alike, anyone interested in management concepts. Key insight? With every idea, there's always a counter idea ... with every "best way", there's always an equally valid "other way"...
A collection of nuggets!.......1999-10-26
A better alternative to flipping through hundreds of pages each book trying to find the big idea. Theories and ideas are categorized fittingly, making it very easy to look at the big picture of new management theories and ideas. A time saver for the busy managers yearning to learn.
Very good reference.......1999-10-08
The Guru Guide is a very comprehensive reference for the desk of any worker, manager, and reader. For those who want to read more from other business gurus, stop here first before buying other books and wasting your time.
Book Description
Essays and dialogues laced with wit and humor introduce seekers to Siddha Yoga meditation, the awakening of the kundalini energy, the recognition of the inner self, the function of the master, and the practices of Mantra repetition and meditation.
Customer Reviews:
One book which will lead you through your life's journey.......2006-09-20
If you are looking for one book that will take you through the ups and downs of life this is it. Baba Muktananda the Master Guide will show you where EXACTLY you are going . This book has been my guide ever since I laid eyes upon it.
good place to start for the beginner.......2005-09-30
This is a great book for the beginner starting out on the path to self-realization. It is written in a style that is very easy to understand and contains some simple and yet profound truths towards enlightenment. I particularly liked the chapter on the mantra - om namah shivayah - and how the author recommends chanting it on the commute to work or when you have idle time. It's certainly been working for me and this little book is now a permanent fixture, dipped into regularly, on the bookshelf.
Buy it and do your Self a favour
Om Namah Swami Muktananda.......2005-03-12
Back in 1996 when I was 40 years old somebody gave me a copy of this book for a Christmas present. It stopped me in my tracks. Where WAS I going? What most impressed me initially with Swami Muktananda's writing was how clearly he seemed to understand my existential quandry, as if, without even knowing me, he understood everything about my spiritual predicament, as well as having knowledge of subjects far beyond my grasp. Well, I was hooked. I now have a collection of two big boxes full of Muktananda books and Muktananda-related books. What can I say, Muktananda is one of those rare beings with the ability to impart Shakti to his readers, just with his word.
"WE ARE ALL GOD" is... "The True Religion".......2003-01-14
"We are all God" is the KEY message of this book and getting ourselves to REALLY REALIZE it is the most difficult part. It is our own disbelief in ourselves being GOD that is stopping us from attaining true, ultimate BLISS and HAPPINESS. Muktananda explains to us how to get rid of our negativity and doubt. He gives us the secrets of sounds (the mantra), breathing technique (our natural mantra that we do every time we take a breath)! Just as "The One Minute Guide to Prosperity and Enlightenment" gives us further, detailed SECRET TECHNIQUES that will SAVE US VALUABLE TIME & ENERGY so we can attain HAPPINESS & BLISS immediately! This book was TERRIFIC, it explains the Eastern Traditions in simple, easily understood and VERY ATTAINABLE terms. It is an awsome look at how we complicate everything ourselves and gives us the solutions to make changes in our life right now!
Thank you Muktananda for revealing these sacred techiques to us!!!
An invaluable guide........1999-08-10
My daily meditations have greatly improved through the knowledge revealed by this great yogic master on meditation, the mind, the Self, the mantra, Shakti, the Guru, and much, much more. This book is an invaluable guide for anyone on the long and often arduous spiritual journey to God-realization and liberation.
Books:
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- The New Trader's Tax Solution: Money-Saving Strategies for the Serious Investor, 2nd Edition, Updated
- The Only Three Questions That Count: Investing by Knowing What Others Don't
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- The Real Life Investing Guide: How to Buy Whatever You Want, Save for Retirement, and Take the Vacation of Your Dreams While You're Still Young
- The Science of Success: How to Attract Prosperity and Create Harmonic Wealth Through Proven Principles
Books Index
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Client-Server Systems
| Data in the Enterprise
| Networking
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
The Guru's Guide to SQL Server Stored Procedures, XML, and HTML (With CD-ROM)
Professional SQL Server 2000 Programming (Programmer to Programmer)
Transact-SQL Desk Reference: For Microsoft SQL Server
The Guru's Guide to SQL Server Architecture and Internals
Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2005: T-SQL Querying (Solid Quality Learning)
