Amazon.com
In What Clients Love, marketing maven Harry Beckwith offers valuable lessons about capturing and keeping clients. (As Beckwith puts it, "Competence gets firms into the game that relationships win.") Using snappy examples from Absolut Vodka, Kinko's, Starbucks, and Ian Schrager's boutique hotels, he organizes his advice by describing four significant social trends that shape client needs and loyalty. Beckwith's strategies for coping with information overload focus on getting to the point--using a shorter sell and fewer superlatives. He makes a clever and convincing case for giving both testimonials and blurbs the death penalty. He details the decline of client trust with a plan to eliminate cold calls, dress for success, and a spot-on critique of PowerPoint ("Lincoln had no slides at Gettysburg.") Other chapters explore the limits of the Internet and offer nongimmicky ideas about creating a brand, including 20 questions for choosing a name for your business.
Beckwith's advice is fresh, funny, and strategic. He is a master of anecdote and metaphor whose examples range from television's Sex and the City to nihilistic philosopher Nietzsche. Yet the book's clarity is sometimes undermined by its too clever formatting. It's best to enjoy its wisdom one chapter at a time, over coffee. Consider it the caffeine in your cup. --Barbara Mackoff
Book Description
In What Clients Love, marketing maven Harry Beckwith offers valuable lessons about capturing and keeping clients. (As Beckwith puts it, "Competence gets firms into the game that relationships win.") Using snappy examples from Absolut Vodka, Kinko's, Starbucks, and Ian Schrager's boutique hotels, he organizes his advice by describing four significant social trends that shape client needs and loyalty. Beckwith's strategies for coping with information overload focus on getting to the point--using a shorter sell and fewer superlatives. He makes a clever and convincing case for giving both testimonials and blurbs the death penalty. He details the decline of client trust with a plan to eliminate cold calls, dress for success, and a spot-on critique of PowerPoint ("Lincoln had no slides at Gettysburg.") Other chapters explore the limits of the Internet and offer nongimmicky ideas about creating a brand, including 20 questions for choosing a name for your business. Beckwith's advice is fresh, funny, and strategic. He is a master of anecdote and metaphor whose examples range from television's Sex and the City to nihilistic philosopher Nietzsche. Yet the book's clarity is sometimes undermined by its too clever formatting. It's best to enjoy its wisdom one chapter at a time, over coffee. Consider it the caffeine in your cup. --Barbara Mackoff
Download Description
In WHAT CLIENTS LOVE, Harry Beckwith once again discusses effective business tactics with the practical, down-to-earth style that has made him a bestselling author and trusted marketing expert.Beckwith explains the sheer simplicity of a marketing plan-how to find your company's position, how to define a brand, and how to manage that brand so it has its full and overwhelming impact. With sections such as "Thinking and Planning," "Communicating," and "Serving the Client," Beckwith shows how effective marketers need to be brief, succinct and "cut to the close." WHAT CLIENTS LOVE also reveals the very nature of a service-and why the phrase "pushing the product" itself begins to suggest why this more aggressive approach fails, since you cannot ""push" a relationship, as people know from their failed attempts to do so in non-business relationships.
Customer Reviews:
Insightful.......2007-06-04
This is the most insightful and analytical book about business I have ever read. You don't need to be an MBA to understand and benefit from the well-thought-out and plainly presented message. Anyone who sells goods or services to the public will benefit greatly from this cogent take on the nuts and bolts behind pleasing clients.
A real joy on multiple levels.......2007-04-26
I first read this book shortly after it was published. I just finished my third reading. Each time it gets better.
The book follows the typical Beckwith format. Short, one or two page lessons. You can jump in anywhere in the book ... read for very short periods of time or read for long pleasurable periods. It is well written and contains some of the most succinct lessons on branding, marketing, selling, client attraction and retention that you will find anywhere.
It is not a book to be read once and put on the shelf. You will gain the most value if you revisit it periodically. The lessons are so short and to the point, there is no way you could retain all the information in one reading. You need repeated exposure to the information in this book.
Some of the more valuable lessons are:
A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention. The more there is to hear, the less we listen.
We are drowning in information and screaming for knowledge.
Growing complexity makes us covet the simple.
Say little - a simple point penetrates.
Clarity is expertise.
We are generally more persuaded by the reasons we discover ourselves than those given to us.
Four rules for choosing clients.
Trust your instincts. If something feels wrong, it will be. Bad clients don't produce minimal results, they produce losses. If a prospect is more interested in cost, you will never be happy and always be vulnerable. You cannot cut a bad deal with a good person or a good deal with a bad person.
Throughout the book, Beckwith cites many books that are well worth reading. At the end of the book is a great appendix that in itself is worth the price of the book.
Well worth reading.
Extremely helpful.......2007-01-18
I'm new to sales, so I'm no expert; but this book seemed perfect. I've listened to it twice and intend to do so a few more times. It's all about putting yourself in your client's place and acting with passion based on belief and purpose. There are also lots of good practical suggestions from how to dress to naming your business.
Well Worth the Money.......2006-12-04
As with most of my reviews, I try to balance the content being provided with the money being invested. This book is a good investment. Lot's of great ideas on how to deal with your customers. Includes good ideas on structuring and operating your business so people will want to be your customers. It also scrutinizes and criticizes many cherished concepts about marketing and tells why these concepts are no longer working. If you are a business owner, manager, or employee, you need to read this book.
Every sales person should read this book.......2006-08-15
Another great book by Harry Beckwith. Three of my favorite pages: "What the best salespeople sell (in order)" and "What ordinary sales people sell (in order)" and "Why hard selling has gotten harder." This is an easy-to-read book with short chapters. A great writing style.
Ann Barr, author of How to Win the Sale and Keep the Customer
Book Description
Instead of "binding" symptoms of sickness, we can attack the sixteen strongmen or demonic spirits mentioned by name in the Bible. God names them, they are real, and He has given us dominion over them through the name of Jesus! Here is a scriptural, balanced, uplifting approach to present-day spiritual warfare.
Customer Reviews:
Strongman's his Name, What's his Game?.......2007-09-14
For those who don't believe scripture, "For we fight not againt flesh & blood but against principalities', this book is a key to help you unlock Satan's hold on aread of your life that he has held you bondage & strapped with his stronghold.
Great Opportunity to learn more about spiritual warfare.......2007-05-13
This is an excellent study of the differing spirits that we fight daily in our culture. This book has been out for years, but is timeless. I taught from it in the early 1990's and here I am again, teaching it to a whole new group. Highly recommended for those who truly believe there is a spirit world we don't see, but is active in our daily lives.
Well Done!.......2007-01-10
This is the best comprehensive book I've seen on this topic and I should know-I worked in a Christian bookstore! Well organized, easy to follow. You won't regret having this book as a reference on your shelf.
Strongman's His Name -- What's His Game.......2007-01-10
The book is a must have if you pray and desire results. I found the book to be an easy read, interactive and very informative.
ANOTHER MUST READ BOOK.......2006-10-07
I loved it. It does wonders in explaining how demons work on a person's life & how you can deal with them & get rid of them once & for all. This book holds so much information. My husband & I both read it many times & even bought the sequal to it.
Book Description
What's Your BQ? It could be the most important question you can ask and answer if you are running a business in today's competitive landscape. Consider the fact that that 80% of new brands fail upon introduction and another 10% fail within five years. With the heightened competition and consumer savvy of the 21st century, it is imperative that every business owner knows how to build a competitive advantage into their brand. The book will give you a customized snapshot of your company's brand strengths and weaknesses through a 40-question test. The author will then take you through a step by step process of brand assessment, improvement and planning. The results can have a profound impact on the longevity of your business, large or small.
Customer Reviews:
Required reading for Business owners looking to grow........2007-09-19
As a small business owner and operator, I am often too busy working to think about branding my company, and hiring a branding agency can have a huge price tag associated with it. By reading What's Your BQ, I'm able to make smart decisions about branding my company. Also, the questions that are posed at the end of each of the 35 stories helps me to not only see what other companies are doing successfully, but helps me apply branding strategies to my own company. If you want a simple process to build a better brand, this book is it.
This Book Really Delivers.......2007-08-19
I love marketing books and at the same find many of them rather thin on ideas. That's not the case in this book. Sellani give you the tools to create or fix your brand and then takes you deep into the brand strategies of 35 winners. The stories are enlightening and fun and the brandstorming questions themselves are worth the price of admission.
Putting Theory into Practice.......2007-06-25
Many business books are good at giving us endless strategies. Ms. Sellani distinguishes herself by transcending strategy and drilling into tactics. Her 35 case studies make it possible to quickly see how to apply the principles she espouses. Buy this book if you want to start working smarter instead of just harder.
The book I was always waiting for..........2007-06-12
FINALLY, a book that doesn't spend 100 pages expounding on theories! Sellani sifts through the hype that surrounds branding and gives the reader the necessary tools to build a brand's long-term success. This is the book I was always waiting for that delivers a fundamentally solid nuts-and-bolts approach to branding. Although the book can also apply to large corporations, it is filled with thought-provoking case studies from small-to-medium-size companies that I can relate to. If you've got branding on your brain, this is a MUST-READ!
A Must Read!.......2007-06-04
I just finished reading What's Your BQ? and can't wait to develop my own "brand strategy". Sandra Sellani's writing captivates the reader. Her clear and concise explanation of what brand strategy and differentiation can do for anyone, anywhere, is so easy to follow. It's one thing to explain what a concept is but it's another to give you the tools to actually carry the concept out. This book is a must read and sure to be on the best-seller list!
Book Description
"Zirin is America's best sportswriter."-Lee Ballinger, Rock and Rap Confidential
"Zirin is one of the brightest, most audacious voices I can remember on the sportswriting scene, and my memory goes back to the 1920s."-Lester Rodney, N.Y. Daily Worker sports editor, 1936–1958
"Zirin has an amazing talent for covering the sports and politics beat. Ranging like a great shortstop, he scoops up everything! He profiles the courageous and inspiring athletes who are standing up for peace and civil liberties in this repressive age. A must read!"-Matthew Rothschild, The Progressive
"This is cutting-edge analysis delivered with wit and compassion."-Mike Marqusee, author, Redemption Song: Muhammad Ali and the Spirit of the Sixties
Here Edgeofsports.com sportswriter Dave Zirin shows how sports express the worst, as well as the most creative and exciting, features of American society.
Zirin explores how Janet Jackson's Super Bowl flash-time show exposed more than a breast, why the labor movement has everything to learn from sports unions and why a new generation of athletes is no longer content to "play one game at a time" and is starting to get political.
What's My Name, Fool! draws on original interviews with former heavyweight champ George Foreman, Olympian and black power saluter John Carlos, NBA basketball player and anti-death penalty activist Etan Thomas, antiwar women's college hoopster Toni Smith, Olympic Project for Human Rights leader Lee Evans and many others.
Popular sportswriter and commentator
Dave Zirin is editor of The Prince George's Post (Maryland) and writes the weekly column "Edge of Sports" (edgeofsports.com). He is a senior writer at basketball.com. Zirin's writing has also appeared in The Source, Common Dreams, College Sporting News, CounterPunch, Alternet, International Socialist Review, Black Sports Network, War Times, San Francisco Bay View and Z Magazine.
Customer Reviews:
AMAZING.......2007-10-04
"What's My Name, Fool?" shatters the image that many on the left think of athletes. Citing both historical and present day acts of resistance by athletes in national spot-light sports, DC area socialist Dave Zirin challenges this sometimes elitist with clear and crisp writing. The title comes from Muhammad Ali challenging white reporters, who made it a point to call him Cassius Clay, his former name, after a dominating victory. From football to baseball to soccer to tennis to boxing to the Olympics, Zirin digs into the history and shines a light into the dark corners that the major leagues would prefer remain unexplored. Zirin discusses racism, classism, sexism and homophobia, and also profiles uplifting examples of athletes fighting the power and speaking the truth.
Such glaring examples include the domination of a nazi boxer by Joe Lewis, the smashing of the color barrier in baseball with years of organizing by members of the Negro leagues and communist sports writers, the Black Power salute given after winning the gold and bronze medals by the American Olympic Track Team to protest apartheid and segregation, and current day examples of antiwar women's college hoopster Toni Smith or all-star slugger Barry Bonds criticizing racism and the war in Iraq and then being targeted by the Bush adminstration as anti-american or pro-bowl Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams refusing to be used anymore to sell tickets.
As an rabid sports fan, I loved this book and saw it as the connect between my two major interests, political action and sports. Zirin criticizes the sports industry by taking solid aim at the ownership who make it their goal to exploit athletes who are mainly working class people of color, sacrificing their bodies in order to bring their families out of poverty. He does a good job at pointing out that athletes are not the dumb idiots that society encourages them to be, but instead many use their fame for good causes. For every Michael Jordan being silent on the issues like sweatshops, there is a Kareem Abu Jabar who the right wishes would just shut up and go away. I also believe it is a huge mistkae to dismiss all sports fans, possibly because of classism, and some of the best organizing can be done amongst sporting events.
Read the transcripts or Listen to Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! interviewing the author David Zirin about this book.
Hard Serve and Volley in your Face.......2007-09-04
What's My Name, Fool!
Reviewed by Richard Arlin (Dick) Stull, Professor, Department of Health and Physical Education, Humboldt State University, Arcata, California
AUGUST 9, 2006 archive of Arete - Sport Literataure Association
[What's My Name, Fool!]
Hard Serve and Volley in your Face
Unless you listen to Amy Goodman or are an inveterate Noam Chomsky reader, Dave Zirin's What's My Name, Fool! Sports and Resistance in the United States will be uncomfortable reading for those who get their sports commentary from local stations or conventional media. Zirin serves a hard look at "class" as the fundamental prism through which to view sport. He also charges the net, and volleys the themes of sport as mass entertainment for profit, the "success myth," the myth of meritocracy and the historical and still-present racism, sexism and homophobia in American sport in your face.
Zirin details the struggles of those "rebel" athletes like Jackie Robinson, Billie Jean King, Muhammad Ali, Dave Meggysey and others who spoke out about economic and political injustices and were discriminated against by wealthy corporate interests on the basis of race, sex, or objectionable political views. He also writes critically on the history and significance of unions be it in interviews with Marvin Miller, Executive Director of the Major League Baseball Players Association from 1966 to 1982, Dave Meggysey, recently retired Director of the West Coast chapter of the NFL Players Association, or ex-boxer Eddie Mustafa Muhammad who founded JAB, the Joint Association of Boxers, a union for professional boxers, who have been historically exploited arguably more than any other class of professionals. "You guys would have the most imposing picket line," Zirin quips. "No doubt," replied Muhammad. If this sounds like Marxist 60's radical rhetoric rehashed, Zirin also writes about contemporary "rebel" athletes like Eton Thomas, Carlos Delgado, and Adonal Foyle, all of whom are rarities in that they have taken open political stances in society that wraps sport in the American flag as if all athletes should support the current Administration's foreign and national policies or, in the words of ESPN's radio sport feature, "just shut up." Zirin also writes about the government's and media's shameless promotion of ex-professional football star turned army ranger Pat Tillman as well as the even more shameful circumstances behind the cover-up of the circumstances behind his untimely death. There are also prickly features on logo issues, Tile IX, women in sport, and athletes as diverse as Barry Bonds, Allen Iverson and Rasheed Wallace, Green Bay's Reggie White, Mia Hamm, Martina Navratilova, Lacey O'Neal, and many, many more. Zirin doesn't hide the fact that he likes Barry Bonds' defiance toward what Zirin believes to be a self-righteous, hypocritical and partially closet-racist media and public despite Bonds' general unlikeability and accusations of his steroid use. Indeed, the latter half of Zirin's book deals with the state of contemporary sport in America, and anyone who wants a wholly different take from the conventional media treatment of sport issues could get a primer starting on page 100. And yet, the most valuable insights come from Zirin's discussions and synopses of sport before the 1990's. Zirin's mining of the history of groundbreaking notables in the crusade for economic and social justice gives even the lover of sport history fresh new insights. His opening chapter on Lester "Red" Rodney, the editor for the Daily Worker's sport section from 1934 to 1958, is a workers/class perspective on sport history rarely highlighted. Jackie Robinson's audacity in stealing home as "an emblem of possibility for social change" in chapter two also yields interesting insights about the man who broke the color barrier in professional baseball in 1947. Though much has been written about Robinson, Zirin's focus on Robinson's relationship to other black athletes and leaders like Joe Louis, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Paul Robeson give thoughtful insights into the argument that Robinson, though a courageous figure, was not militant enough later in his life.
The title of the book "What's My Name, Fool!" is taken up in chapter three, and was Muhammad Ali's taunt to Floyd Patterson during their heavyweight title fight. Patterson, who dubbed himself a "patriotic Catholic," challenged not only Ali's title but also called into question his conversion to the Nation of Islam. Zirin uses the boxing ring as an effective vehicle for rope-a-doping the reader into understanding the history of racism in American sport. He discusses America's first black heavyweight champion, Jack Johnson, and his open defiance of racial "convention" in the first part of the twentieth century, the carefully conceived comportment of Joe Louis in the 1930's and 1940's as a reaction to Johnson, and Ali's reassertion of defiance and dissent in the 1960's where he was stripped of his heavyweight championship title in 1967 for refusing induction into the military on religious grounds. Ali was eventually vindicated, winning an unanimous Supreme Court decision in his favor in 1970. Zirin writes of Ali's later co-option by the establishment that had formerly reviled him and quotes Hall of Fame football superstar and social activist Jim Brown's lament that what he (Brown) admired most about Ali was his "warrior spirit," clearly preferring the Ali of the 60's to the new acceptable, safe and "harmless" Ali.
Zirin's volume is an excellent addition to older works such as James Michener's "Sports in America" and Christopher Lasch's "The Culture of Narcissism," which had interesting analyses of the role of sport in American society. Stanley Eitzen and Jay Coakley, George Sage and Dick Crepeau have also done excellent work in the economics of sport, the stadium rip-offs, the astronomical odds against "making it" in the pros versus the wildly unrealistic expectation by high school and college athletes of achieving this, abetted of course, by peers, parents, owners, coaches, campus administrators, and fans. All of the above parties are wont to perpetuate this success myth in the face of a reality that simply has never nor presently supports this belief. Zirin touches on all of these themes, though with a more anecdotal approach as opposed to bringing sociological methodologies or writing as a cultural historian. Finally, Zirin's book deals with the power of symbol. A scene in the movie Remember the Titans shows one of the black football players putting up a picture of the infamous 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games black-gloved salute of Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the wall in his dorm room. The white player says something to the effect of, "Take that down, I ain't lookin' at that." The symbolism behind the famous picture is explained in fascinating interviews by Zirin with John Carlos himself and teammate Lee Evans in chapter four. The actions of Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the medal stand earned them the opprobrium of many in the United States. The two were banned from the Olympic Village and their medals removed. And yet each gesture (the raised fist in the black glove, beads, bare feet, head downcast) was a specifically thought out symbol indicating solidarity with one of the principles of The Olympic Program for Human Rights which they believed in. Standing shoeless, for example, represented the athlete's identification with poverty and economic injustice, the beads were worn in memory of those who were lynched or who died in the Middle Passage, and the raised fist in the black glove was a protest against shaking the hand of the "notorious white-supremacist" and then head of the US Olympic Committee, Avery Brundage. Paid little attention to by most was silver medalist Chris Norman, white and from Australia, who sprinted in to the stands to grab a ribbon to show solidarity with Smith and Carlos, though he zipped up his sweatshirt. The fascinating and poignant interviews with Evans and Carlos are by themselves worth the price of the book.
Zirin is clearly contemptuous of those who wrap sport in patriotic rhetoric to serve their agendas but who then cast stones at those individual athletes whose thoughts and actions take issue with economic and social injustice - in other words those who truly believe and act in accordance with the principles of democracy and who reflect the most sacred principle of all - the right to dissent. What's My Name, Fool? Sports and Resistance in the United States is a thought-provoking read for any sports fan, American history buff, or even newshound, not to mention a resource for history, sociology, cultural or American Studies courses. These are not simply "feel good" sports stories. They are stories of athletes whose moral courage invariably took great tolls on their careers and livelihoods, but made it better for the rest of us, athletes and fans alike who stood on their shoulders. Zirin serves hard. Try returning his serve if you can, but he'll be at the net waiting to volley right back in your face.
Zirin, Dave. What's My Name, Fool! Sports and Resistance in the United States. Haymarket Books, 2005. 304 pp. Photographs, bibliographic references, index. $15.00 (paperback) ISBN 1931859205
Copyright © 2006 by Richard Arlin Stull.
You'll love this book- even if you don't like sports........2007-07-26
I'm just not into sports. Sure, ocassionally the Olympics grab my attention- but that's only once every four years, and even then, not that intensely. I loved this book.
Suddenly, sports are exciting! I had no idea it involved so much politics and issues of racism and sexism. I had no real knowledge of the strides that Muhammed Ali and Jackie Robinson had made, and the troubles they had to walk through, to bring us to a better place. Zirin does an amazing job of tracing the world behind sports, looking at all of the politics and greed that drive those who control the machine. He does this with a real love for the game, but recognizing that many have distorted and perverted it's purity.
Zirin's writing style is journalistic, flowing, and easy to read. At times he attempts to inject humorous asides that are simply jarring, as they don't fit with the overall tone of the book. The book was also weak on looking at the issues that women face. Zirin certainly addressed them, and felt the issues were important. (Having been abroad the last few years, I had no idea that the WUSA was now disbanded, after the Americans were the best in the world for a number of years!) However, women are here relegated to only half a chapter.
However, overall a highly recommended work. If you love sports, you'll love this book. If you can't stand sports, you'll discover for the first time why they are very exciting, mythic, and central to all of modern society.
A Great Book.......2007-07-22
This book should be read whether you're a sports fan or not. Zirin explains why sports is not the "great equalizer" when it comes to race, class and ownership. Those with feeble, narrow minds call it liberal and left-wing. I would like to see Zirin debate Lush Rambo about sports. But Lush only preaches to his flock.
Much Needed analysis.......2006-12-12
By going deeper than scores and personalities, Zirin takes an unconventional approach to sports analysis by delving deeper into the role the social, political and economic environment plays in the games we all love. Easily one of the best books on sports written as it is informative, challenging and rather fun to read.
Book Description
From the secret wisdom of Kabbalah, the Runes, and Numerology--an unprecedented guide to unlocking the hidden power of your name.
Your name is not only your calling card, it also may determine how your life will unfold. Mystics have studied the energies associated with names for centuries, but The Hidden Truth of Your Name is the first book to synthesize their fascinating findings into one compelling resource--offering in-depth profiles of 750 American names. Created by a team of linguistic experts and specialists, this beguiling reference guides you through the illuminating intricacies of three ancient systems of divination--and shows you how to apply them to create a subtly nuanced portrait of any name you choose.
- KABBALAH--This ancient Hebrew system of letter-and-number analysis helps you discover what the mathematics of your name adds up to in terms of work, relationships, and spiritual energies.
- THE RUNES--The letters of this old northern European alphabet, for centuries an honored source of religious and magical values, open surprising windows to self-discovery and change.
- NUMEROLOGY--The key numbers of your name contain potent truths about the positive and negative aspects of your true nature--and your destiny.
Complete with the principle colors, gemstones, and herbs that harmonize with each name, this delightfully accessible book at last gives you the means to uncover the hidden truth and unique traits of your name.
Customer Reviews:
Ever wonder what your name says about you?.......2007-07-04
Bought this book because my friend had it and I liked it. I think it's great to just read for fun and share with friends. The book has 3 different interpretations of your name. I find the last intepretation to be the most accurate and my friends agree. Just a nice pass time.
Great gift idea - inside and out!.......2007-06-18
I have had this book for many years now, and it is frayed and ripped for all of my friends/co-workers/family making copies for themselves. For Christmas one year I framed each of the names on pretty stationary paper and gave it as gifts to my friends. Last year I made some for a few co-worker's baby rooms. I love the definitions and everyone I have spoke to says it fits them to a T! I do wish they would extend it and bring it back with a revised version with more updated names as well, but it is pretty easy to do the interpretations step-by-step in the book.
The Hidden Truth of Your Name.......2007-05-23
I did not order that book. I am positive.
Excellent Resource on Names.......2006-07-22
Most of us can probably relate to having the same experience with people of the same name - for example maybe every Kelly you've met has been very kind. Names have their own associated energy and are part of why we have certain personalities. This book does an excellent job of explaining why names have these characteristics.
The book also goes into a number of historical ways names are interpreted and gives tools to help interpret names in general. The book does not list every name, it would be impossible, but the foundation it provides is excellent. The descriptions of the names included in the book seem pretty insightful and there are a fair number of names in there. I was really impressed with the explanation of how names have meaning but I like to know how things work. If you just want a huge list of names with no background on why names have meaning then other books may be better.
I highly recommend this book for those interested in the topic. It's much better than "The Secret Meaning of Names", which I found incredibly disappointing and ended up returning.
its a fun and entertaining book...........2006-03-25
This book is a cool book. It was fun and entertaining to read. I found my name in it. And i didnt expect to since my name is soo old fashioned and not so popular. It gave me alot of insight into well...me. I enjoyed reading names of my family in it and learning things about them that i am sure they dont even know. I would reccommend this book as a form of entertainment.
Book Description
Anti-American feeling is at an all-time high. Other nations and cultures have singled out our businesses, government, and way of life for harsh scorn, widespread resentment, even violence.
Rebuilding Brand America is an exploration of anti-Americanism, from its causes and earliest manifestations to current efforts to mitigate it. Martin explains why many of these efforts failed, and reviews the many prescriptions formulated by more than a dozen task forces. He then bases his recommendations on the best practices of leading companies, and on his own 32-year career in public relations and brand management.
Rebuilding Brand America features exclusive interviews with journalists, media and PR professionals, and executives from global icons like McDonald's, Wal-Mart, and FedEx, and analyzes the groundbreaking work of thought leaders such as:
* Pollster John Zogby, whose insights into the Muslim world continue to inform policy in the Middle East
* Newsweek editor Fareed Zakaria, whose essay on the 9/11 attacks shed new light on the Islamic mind
* Keith Reinhard, president of Business for Diplomatic Action, a non-partisan business group organized to fight anti-Americanism by addressing its causes in U.S. business practice
Based on a deep understanding of anti-Americanism's roots, Rebuilding Brand America is a call to action that will help U.S.-based companies prosper in global markets.
Customer Reviews:
Perceptive, clear understanding of reality.......2007-05-24
Dick Martin's book is a very interesting, almost "prismatic" overview of the multiple issues driving anti-american sentiment in the world today. When first confronted with this type of challenge, American Business either searches for "scapegoats" or attempts to derive comfort from it's growing overseas profits, not seeing the warning signs of what's to come.
I've just seen that Dick Martin will be running a webcast on this topic with the American Management Association on June 20th. Check out their website for more information.
Best book on important topic.......2007-05-12
Several books have failed to see, or make, the points that Dick Martin develops in his clear, logical and hopeful book about the future of U.S. diplomacy and the role of American business. Martin draws from long and useful experience at AT&T for insights that make this especially valuable to people in business and business communications.
A major challenge for American business.......2007-03-30
Can there be a more daunting challenge than restoring positive perceptions of the United States abroad? With 23 decades behind it, America in the 21st century faces a new and different landscape with a mix of confidence and uncertainty not unlike that of any young adult. Yet the gulfs among America and other nations seem to grow larger, while the confidence borne of common values appears to be evaporating in an increasingly fragmented world. Even among the English-speaking peoples, today's USA frequently stands alone.
Brilliantly researched, gracefully written and compellingly argued, Dick Martin's latest book taps a lifetime of experience in communications and attitudes to present a crisp summary of what went wrong, what's under way, and what might yet work. Throughout it all, Martin underscores the central point that this is more than an issue for pollsters and pundits. American business bears a significant responsibility for today's condition and faces a largely untapped opportunity for positive action.
Coping with Anti-Americanism.......2007-03-10
Dick Martin's book clearly drives home to the reader the problems that the US faces due to the widespread anti-Americanism sentiment that currently prevails throughout the world. The book is well-balanced, thoroughly researched and timely. He offers a plan to prod government and business to begin the long, difficult process to reverse the loss of prestige and influence that haunts the US today.
This important book should be read and taken seriously by people throughout government and business. I highly recommend it as a must read.
A prescription to start healing our wounded reputation.......2007-02-25
As a fellow practitioner at a competing major telecommunications company,I witnessed firsthand Dick Martin's corporate PR skills. His latest book is must reading for anyone who understands the stakes involved in healing our nation's wounded reputation. Martin's diagnosis makes the case for why business should get involved, showing how global companies are better positioned than government to help. His holistic presciption for a new kind of American public diplomacy includes strategies for engagement as well as information. From his corporate experience, Martin understands that effective communication requires more than advertising or packaging or spinning messages. Successful companies -- and nations -- "live their brands" and do whatever is necessary to protect them.
Amazon.com
For expectant parents, it's part of the tradition to pore endlessly over baby-name books searching for the perfect moniker. Names carry stereotypes, vary in perceived attractiveness (a blond bombshell named Gertrude?), and help influence how we see ourselves. As Sigmund Freud once said, "A human being's name is a principal component in her person, perhaps a piece of his soul." In Beyond Jennifer and Jason, Madison and Montana, name experts Linda Rosenkrantz and Pamela Redmond Satran present a baby-name book that goes far beyond the usual name lists and definitions. Satran and Rosenkrantz provide a thorough history of American naming traditions, discuss the psychological and sociological impact of names, and, yes, include list after list after list of possibilities organized into categories: popular names, old-fashioned names, comfy names, yuppie names, African-American names, androgynous names, Shakespearean names, unpopular names, creative names, mythological names, effective and ineffective middle names, classical names... and so on. Annotated with humorous notes, descriptions, quotes, and name-derivation definitions, the book is a fun and fascinating read even for those not debating between Gravity and Jane or Mason and Hendrick. --Ericka Lutz
Book Description
Quoted everywhere from Parenting to The Wall Street Journal, with more than a million copies of their books in print, bestselling authors Linda Rosenkrantz and Pamela Redmond Satran are the baby-name experts. In this fresh and expanded new edition of "the best baby-naming book ever written" (The News Journal), they offer irresistible lists of names you won't find anywhere else, along with their trademark wit and insight on the most important questions---and answers---for expectant parents:Style: What's hot and what's cool---including Honest Names, Spiritual Names, Kreeatif Names, The Two-Syllable Solution, Word Names, The Exotics, and a Girl Named BoyPopularity: The most popular names in America and around the world, and whatcelebrities are naming their babiesImage: What's really in a name, and why Briyana spells troubleSex: What's it like for a girl to grow up with a traditionally feminine name like Abigail or Blossom; a no-frills name like Alice or Jane; or a unisex name like Dylan or Dakota? And are there any decidedly masculine names left for boys?Tradition: A concise history of American baby naming, plus inspired ways to reflect your own cultural heritageFamily: Whose name is it, anyway? And other vital considerations
Customer Reviews:
Not as good as others.......2007-08-31
I am an avid Amazon shopper, and I was disappointed with this book. It's just pages of a bunch of lists of names. A lot of names are repeated in different categories. I would recommend the book, Baby Name Wizard.
Okay, and has some good ideas.......2007-07-08
I liked some of the ideas that the authors presented, but overall I found the way that they broke up the book to be confusing. The names were not listed alphabetically, and in several cases I would read one section, and have some of the same names from earlier listed in another section. I will definitely be searching for another book to help me find a better variety of names with more organization.
This is the brand new edition!.......2007-01-11
This is the brand new edition of Beyond Jennifer & Jason, just published a few months ago. All the popularity lists in the books are updated and the information is guaranteed new -- and even ahead of its time! Unfortunately, it can be confusing knowing which edition is the latest one. But also know that even though styles in baby names do change, it happens gradually -- and you're choosing a name to last a lifetime, not just for a few years. Also look for our other new books Cool Names for Babies and coming in March 2007, The Baby Name Bible.
Very outdated..........2007-01-09
I am expecting a baby in June of 2007 and ordered this book to assist with picking a baby name. Unfortunately, something I didn't notice when ordering is that the book was published in 1999. The book includes all sorts of lists of names - such as most popular baby names - however, the lists are all from 1998 or before. Trends in names seem to change, and since this book had not been updated in nine years it was of very little use. I have found the internet to be a much better resource.
Do you really need to know Ronald means "counsel rule?".......2006-12-06
Books that list names in alphabetical order with their (yawn) meanings absolutely put me to sleep. I love this book because it delves into subtle, intangible issues like image. I think all the advice the authors give on choosing your baby's name is right on target. Really, how many people name their baby based on the obscure and usually unknown meaning of a name? Will you go around telling people "Trixie means 'bringer of joy!'" Ha! We gave our son the name Henry for a lot of reasons, but not because it means "ruler of the home." Buy this book--it's worth it.
Book Description
Meet Haley Miller. She’s a 15-year-old girl of average height, average weight, and an average sense of style. Installed in her first public high school, Haley faces the toughest choices of her young life. And guess what? She’s all yours.
In this interactive novel, readers lead Haley through the halls of Hillsdale High for better or for worse. Until graduation do you part. Do you guide her away from the pitfalls of peer pressure? Or into the vortex of bad boys and parties? Send her to homecoming with the captain of the soccer team . . . or have her skip the dance to go on a road trip with the hot rebel. Give Haley a makeover or teach her to love herself the way she is. Pick which crowd she’ll hang with. Tell her how often to do her homework. And decide whether she drinks or inhales.
You determine her fortune. Her grades, her friends, her love life, her future. With Haley’s many positive traits, you should have no trouble achieving success . . . or will you? It’s all in the way you work, love, and play with Haley Miller, the girl with the most potential at Hillsdale High.
Customer Reviews:
A Great Book.......2007-01-22
This was a GREAT book. Okay, so actually, you get to choose your story so i guess anyone can say it's a great book. I mean who deosn't love to choose what happens?
I guess its not that fantastic, but it's original, which I love. So many people these days have similar books. Ugh! It's a great book and it's definitely worth the money because you can read it over and over and over. It's like 4 books in one! Haven't read the next book, but I can't wait!
;)
Courtesy of Teens Read Too.......2006-12-31
WHAT IF...EVERYONE KNEW YOUR NAME is an interesting idea. It's a lot like those Choose Your Own Adventure books you read as a kid. The story is about Haley, a fairly average fifteen-year-old girl who has just moved to suburban New Jersey and is starting at her first public high school. She starts out average, so that the reader can pretty much choose everything that happens to her as the story goes on.
You make every little decision for her, even the ones that seem really minor, like riding the bus to school or getting a ride from her father. You decide who she wants to be friends with and what crowd she wants to be a part of. You decide everything about her.
While an interesting idea, and fairly well-written, this book isn't for everyone. If you're all about finding out what will happen, this book might not be for you, because you decide what happens. It's a cool concept, though, and a fun read, especially since you can read it more than once, with a different story and outcome. The characters aren't particularly three-dimensional, but I guess they have to be simple enough so that it is believable that they would make any one of the very different choices you choose from. This book is fun, but not a must-read.
Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce
What If... Everyone Knew Your Name.......2006-09-20
The book What If... Everyone Knew Your Name by Liz Ruckdescel and Sara James was a realistic fiction novel about a girl who's family takes a road trip, moving from the Golden State of California to the Garden State of New Jersey. She moves to a new school called Hillsdale High and needs to know how she can fit in.
Haley Miller, the 15 year old going into a public school for the first time is scared and ready to be friends with anyone she can. While she wishes she didn't ever move, she meets a neighbor whom she thinks is very god looking. She befriends him and others while the story takes its twists and turns.
I really liked this book because of the way it was, how you got to choose what she did. It really makes you feel as if its you living in the book, not Haley. The book takes you through the up and downs of high school and you get to control everything; her friends, her grades, her love life, her future. You don't know how it will turn out either, so that makes it suspenseful, just like real life because you never know what life will throw at you next. For all you know in the book, Haley could be invited to the next big party, and make a bad decision and drink, or you could have her not take the drink and it turns out the stud she's looking at, doesn't like alcohol either.
I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to read the other one like it called "What If... All the Boys Wanted You." It sounds just as interesting as the first one they wrote and I can't wait to see what that book throws at Haley this time.
I strongly recommend this book for any teen who likes books that will take them through the happy, and not so happy parts of high school. Some of these things in the book can really teach you some stuff you can use in real life, like many novels about teens. So if you are into real life situations, I defiantly recommend this book to you. It was a great read, and I couldn't put it down until I finished it.
A great book!!!.......2006-08-07
I loved this book! It was interesting and fun to read. I really liked the way you got to choose what the main character does. I would recommened this book to someone who is 11 years old or older and someone who is ready for an adventure. This book is worth your time and money.
-Taylor, 12
Makes reading a fun experience.......2006-07-21
In this day in age it is hard to make books as exciting and entertaining as the WB channel in the minds of a lot of teenagers, but the What If books are bringing that kind of excitement back to reading. There is so much to talk about with these books -- which choices you made, what happens, etc that it is fun to go back and re-read many times. The dialogue and character descriptions really make the whole book come alive so that I truly feel like I know what it must be like to be a teenager in Jersey -- scary thought! Truly a great new series!!!
Book Description
This exciting addition to Kay Arthur and Janna Arndt’s Discover 4 Yourself® Inductive Bible Studies for Kids series leads young believers ages 8–12 on a journey to God’s heart using the inductive study method and the wonder of an adventurous spy tale.
On this latest quest, young adventurers along with their favorite characters Max and Molly uncover who God is by exploring His many names and what they mean. Discoveries from the Bible, memorable stories, and clever mazes and activities unfold the names of God and His attributes, such as:
- Creator
- Protector
- Provider
- Healer
- Shepherd
Ideal for Sunday school classes, Bible study groups, homeschoolers, and individuals.
Customer Reviews:
Lessons for grandchildren.......2007-01-29
I bought this product to have a time of Bible Study with my grandchildren. They're too young at this time (3 years and only 9 months), but I did look over the book and I think it will be an excellent tool to talk about God with my grandchildren and to have a Godly activity at home.
Books:
- What to Expect the First Year, Second Ed
- Women, Families, and Communities, Volume II, from 1865: Readings in American History (Women, Families & Communities from 1865)
- You: On a Diet: The Owner's Manual for Waist Management
- Your Baby's First Year (Second Edition)
- A. D. 62: Pompeii
- A Dybbuk and Other Tales of the Supernatural
- A Passage to the Heart: Writings from Families with Children from China
- A Potty for Me!: A Lift-the-Flap Instruction Manual
- Adolescent Behavior: Readings & Interpretations (Textbook)
- Adult Children of Abusive Parents: A Healing Program for Those Who Have Been Physically, Sexually, or Emotionally Abused
Books Index
Books Home
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General
| Business & Investing
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Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing
The Invisible Touch: The Four Keys to Modern Marketing
You, Inc.: The Art of Selling Yourself
How to Become a Rainmaker: The Rules for Getting and Keeping Customers and Clients
Winning In The Invisible Market: A Guide To Selling Professional Services In Turbulent Times
