aphoristic and enlightening

I'm not especially interested in military history, neither am I a manager or businessman, but I still found this book very enjoyable. It has the rare appeal of being of its time but at the same time applicable to the present day. Many of the insights feel very contemporary - not simply to the business arena but to any aspect of life. The style is terse and aphoristic, which means that it doesn't really matter that the book is quite short. Even the chapters on terrain tactics are interesting from a historical point of view. I would also recommend a book called the Fall by Steve Taylor for its insights into the origins and history of warfare and social conflict The Fall:the Insanity of the Ego in Human History and the Dawning of a New Era: The Insanity of the Ego in Human History and the Dawning of a New Era <br /><br />

Stil the most influential self improvement book I've read

This is the one book I unfailingly recommend to others who want to be more successful in work or life in general. <br />I've read it several times and still find its ideas central to how I go about things in life. Hence buying it for a friend just now!<br />Covey makes a compelling (and welcome) case for the substance of real character over the cult of projected and perceived personality as the 'secret' to sustainable success in life.

Excellent resource

I am a mature student and was advised to buy this when I started my Access to HE course many years ago. I dutifully went and bought it alongside The Good Study Guide by Andrew Northedge and I have to say that this book is worth its weight in gold compared to the book by Northedge. This is not a comparison so I shall move on to say that every aspect of study - whether its organizing your time, planning backwards from deadlines, learning how you study best or even looking at personal development is covered in this excellent resource. It is designed in a user-friendly way which allows you to either read it all the way through or dip in and out of it depending on your needs.The book is designed in a clever way with charts, pictures, examples etc and it's glittered with funny anecdotes which make the main points more memorable. For this reason I feel it is much less intimidating and invites you to explore further. The chapters in the book really focus on you as an individual and how you can do your best to achieve your potential aswell which is important as when you are swamped with essays it is easy to lose sight of your goals.I think this book is marvellous and whether you are a returning adult learner or in the throes of university it has something for everyone. I dont think I will ever be able to part with mine! What a breath of fresh air for students - finally a handbook which won't make you fall asleep or intimidate you about FE/HE study! Bravo!!

An excellent book for new or experienced students.

This is an excellent book for new or experienced students in Social Sciences courses. Although it is suitable for students at traditional universities and colleges, it is particularly well suited to Open University and other distance learning students. For example, it has a chapter on"Learning from TV and Radio Broadcasts" as well as advice on taking notes in lectures. I have had mine for five years now, and the sections on essay writing and preparing for exams are particularly well-thumbed.

Not good

I know I am going against the grain to be writing a negative review of this book however, I just can't find anything positive about it.<br /><br />The author 'Pete' introduces himself by saying he changed his name from 'Peter' to 'Pete' as a teenager when he discovered via numerology!!! that 'Pete' had better star potential than 'Peter'. What place this has in an academic text, I do not know. He may as well say he believed in flying teapots!<br /><br />Futhermore, he goes onto say most psychological theories were written by white well-educated men, and that women and black people felt left out. What rubbish. Does that mean, that theories written by women exclude everyone other than women? I am tired of this lefty chant and numerology Pete does nothing to improve his lack of rigor with this kind of nonsense.<br /><br />Read it if you have to but don't bother to buy it. There are better books out there.

A Timeless Classic with Principles that still apply today!

Although originally written several decades ago, Carnegie's masterpiece about human relationships is still timeless classic with principles that still apply today. Carnegie crafts a classic on how to create strong and lasting relationships with others through listening, understanding, and emphasizing. He argues convincingly that the way to win friends and influence people is to make others feel important. Simple, but extremely powerful concepts! <br /><br />The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

An Excellent Help

I've used this book at University now for three years. It's been of invaluable help in all my projects and has allowed me to achieve a good grade in my dissertation. The book is thorough, easy to grasp because of its logical structure. I'm recommending this book to all my friends regardless of whether they're business student's or not.

childrens care learning and development level 3

i have just completed my nvq level 3 with the help of this book, it is brilliant and helped me with evrything i needed to know and is insightful into the world of childrens care and help me understand it more easily. the book is broken down into the core mandotory units you are required to coomplete and optional units. it is like the bible if you are doin the course and is well worth having.

How to Talk to Anyone is Fantastic

Hey there,
I absolutely loved this book. I still read it every so often and it has given me confidence in situations where I would be totally at loss.
The best aspect of this book is that it is very clear to understand and practical to accomplish the techniques.
It has also given me a greater understanding of how inadequate the social skills of those around me are... And how superior!!
The people that I once thought confident became social losers.
And those I thought were incapable became my role models.

5 stars goes to this book for teaching me social skills I had never been taught.
You see, as smart as I am, I never finished GCSE's and my life was very anti social before marrying my husband who is a doctor. I tried to go to university, I got in based on my SAT's in America, but never felt very comfortable around people. Obviously, after marriage, I was caught in a whirlwind of doctor cliques... and being the wife of a doctor. I had no idea how to handle the situation.
The techniques in this book gave me the confidence that I too could become a social butterfly even around the most educated of people.
Thank you very much Leil

The Last Word in Criminology Textbooks

Newburn's `Criminology' is the last word in criminology textbooks. Enjoyable to read, comprehensive and authoritative, Newburn's `Criminology' is a real subject `bible'. Newburn's highly accessible style means that complex information is explained clearly without losing depth. The plentiful, varied and original illustrations help to bring concepts, writers and the subject as a whole to life. An excellent resource throughout a criminology degree, Newburn's `Criminology' represents absolute value for money and I highly recommend it to all criminology students. <br /><br />Dr Kate Williams, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, University of Wolverhampton

Big and cumbersome

Although this is the official book, it is not the best buy. It is A4 size and therefore too big to pop into you bag so that you can read it on the bus or train. You only need to study chapters 2,3,4,5 and 6, but the book contains 9 chapters, 4 of which are not required to be read for the test. The book also contains no questions and answers. You would be far better off buying one of the smaller books. They contain the required study material and one of them even has a CD that contains Question and answer tests with hundreds of questions that you can practice to make sure that you are completely ready for the test.

A fitting account of our hero...Well done Henry. Fantastic!!!!

I just love to read these accounts of the life of a true hero that has lived through numerous decades and gives us an insight into the daily lives during each era. This book also gives us a birds eye view of life in the great war. If ever there was a book that should be read by everyone then this is it.<br />I would also recommend Harry Patch's book,"the last fighting tommy", with equal status.<br />These two fine books should sit alongside each other on every bookshelf across the country to be read time and time again.<br />Thank you Harry for giving us this account and it is a true hero that still talks with such compassion for his lost but never forgotten colleagues. Brothers in arms has never had more meaning.

Not very helpful

I ordered this book on the strength of the earlier reviews saying how good it was. I personally found the book very simplistic and unhelpful. All it seems to say is 'Just go out and do whatever worries you' and also had a very unhelpful message to people who may have low self esteem that if things worry you then basically thats your fault. If your job worries you change it, if your partner worries you... well change them... hey if your house worries you, change it... life is not as easy as that. Lets change everything shall we? A very unrealistic book....

Rock solid scientific evidence and easy-to-folllow advice

The book is great. It presents many scientific data without being boring or worse incomprehensible for lay-people and it gives plenty of good advice. I myself have a four month old son and I have greatly profited from the book. Many parents who come to visit my wife and me find my son sociable, smiling and happy. In my opinion this book is a must for parents and people who work in nurseries and in general with newborns and small children.

The best

I've almost read all the research texts so far, and this is the best book in the feild of social/business research, especially for postgraduate students.

Absolutely outstanding.

Right. I guess I should precis this review by stating quite explicitly that I'm a raging criminology geek. I was determined not to write a review until I had read the OHC cover-to-cover. And it has been well worth the experience. I went into the second year of a Criminology BSc with no criminological background, and decided to spend a couple of months before the start of term reading the third edition cover to cover. I feel that the background the OHC gave me provided a springboard for getting a first. The outstanding wealth and depth of knowledge has to be seen to be believed - I would happily be giving it away as a birthday present left, right and center if it wasn't for the sure and certain knowledge that doing so would get me a hearty slap from my non-criminological family.<br /><br />I am starting a Masters (hopefully leading into a PhD) this October; given that the 3rd edition seemed to give me a huge amount, I decided to do my best to read the 4th edition cover to cover before October. My copy is now dog-eared, much-loved, and covered liberally in pencil scrawls. I feel far, far more comfortable at the prospect of going back into academia having spent just over a year in very non-academic work.<br /><br />The one real tragedy for me is the conflation of Loraine Gelsthorpe's and Frances Heidensohn's chapters. In the third edition, they respectively covered Feminism and Criminology and Gender and Crime. In the fourth edition, they co-author a single chapter on Gender and Crime. I personally find it deeply frustrating that two beautifully written, detailed and very discrete chapters have been merged into one. Loraine Gelsthorpe's chapter on feminism and criminology was my introduction to feminist criminology - something I have every intention of carrying into my MPhil / (hopefully) PhD. I found the third edition's coverage of both gender AND feminism both highly appropriate, and absolutely fascinating. The conflation of the two chapters into one to my mind leaves something seriously lacking. And maybe the omission of a chapter on feminism and criminology says something and makes a statement in its own right. The chapter on gender and crime is very well written and contains aspects of both preceding chapters; but the idea that two discrete chapters each of forty pages can be combined into one chapter of forty pages without significant loss is ridiculous. I would recommend with all my heart that anyone with an interest in gender and crime / feminist criminology at least borrows a copy of the third edition. There is a wealth of additional colour and texture there that substantially fired up my interest in criminology.<br /><br />Aside from that, the online chapters do add something invaluable to the fourth edition. It is a self-contained, beautifully comprehensive and more-than-sufficient edition in itself; but the addition of Jock Young, Barbara Hudson, David Garland and Ken Pease's chapters online do add yet another level of depth. Jock Young and David Garland in particular were two of the chapters that stood out the most to me from the third edition, and two of the chapters that I have gone back to time and time again. The OHC is richer for having them available. At the risk of harping on, though - I wish that Dr. Gelsthorpe's and Professor Heidensohn's chapters were on the OHC website too. They really are the one substantial omission in my eyes. And that - I promise - is the last of that particular tub-thumping spree.<br /><br />In brief, I cannot recommend this book enough. To anyone, but particularly budding / current criminologists. There is such a wealth of detail in there, from the first two introductory chapters (sociological and psychological approaches) right through to the last two on community penalties and imprisonment. It is not heavygoing; it is not unduly challenging. With the possible exception of Media-Made Criminality, that is - which frankly lost me. Huge reams of statistics with remarkably little coherence to my eyes. Oddly enough, I felt the very next chapter (political economy, crime and criminal justice) is one of the best in the book, and by the self-same author. <br /><br />Jock Young pulls off something similar - the only other chapter in the book to mildly vex me was the one on Cultural Criminology (done far better - though admittedly in a rather more inaccessible way - by Jeff Ferrell in the book Criminological Perspectives). And yet Crime and Social Exclusion in the third edition remains one of the most solid and interesting chapters in either book.<br /><br />All in all, I've wittered enough. If your degree / course is worth thirty-whatever quid to you and you're willing to put in the effort, then go for it. If it isn't and / or you aren't, then don't. This book has the hallmark of quality stamped firmly right through it, and there's certainly nothing else criminological out there that can hope to compete in terms of either quality or value for money.

Useful analysis of factors affecting decision making

In this lovely, useful book, Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein examine choices, biases and the limits of human reasoning from a variety of perspectives. They often amuse by disclosing how they have fallen victim to the limitations of thought that they are describing. The fact that these educated, articulate professionals can fool themselves so often demonstrates how tough it is to think clearly, a point the authors emphasize and even repeat. Humans fall prey to systematic errors of judgment, but you can harness this problematic tendency productively, including by helping others make better decisions. Some of the authors' suggestions may not be practical, but many are and all are interesting. getAbstract recommends this book to anyone who wants to know how to shape responsible decisions.

Adds depth to the Discworld for fans

I got an advanced copy of this book at the Discworld Convention and read it straight away. It is written in an entertaining style and explains how the books of the Discworld series have been influenced by the folklore of Earth - for example, why there are 3 witches and why wizards have a university.<br /><br />The book is split into chapters covering different aspects of the Discworld, e.g. the animals of the Discworld, the country of Lancre. Unlike the"Science of the Discworld" books, there isn't also a story to follow, only the description of the use of folklore. Don't expect to find full annotations of every reference to folklore in each of the Discworld books - it is more an extended essay on the subject, with good examples from the novels chosen to illustrate interesting points.<br /><br />For fans of the Discworld familiar with the novels, it can be an illuminating experience reading this book - there were certainly times where I said to myself"I never knew that!". However, it is unlikely to be of interest to people who are not familiar with the Discworld universe, and there are even a few small spoilers which may annoy fans who haven't yet read all of the books.<br /><br />Overall, I enjoyed this book very much and was only slightly disappointed because there isn't really any new Discworld in it - however it supports the Discworld novels very well and did increase my enjoyment of them!