The book is organized into five parts:

Part I - Overview and Opportunity Identification/Selection; includes an introductory section and The New Products Process, and Opportunity Identification and Selection.

Part II - Concept Generation; includes sections on Preparation and Alternatives, Problem-Based Ideation, Analytical Attribute Approaches.

Part III - Concept/Project Evaluation; includes sections on The Concept Evaluation System, Concept Testing, Full Screen, Sales Forecasting and Financial Analysis and Product Protocol.

Part IV - Development; includes sections on Design, Development Team Management, Special Issues in Development and Product Use Testing.

Part V - Launch; includes sections on Strategic Launch Planning, Implementation of the Strategic Plan, Market Testing, Launch Management and Public Policy Issues.

The book is a thorough overview of the product planning process, and a very useful validation for someone who had already been involved in product planning. The book could have been enriched considerably by the use of more case studies and examples. The Applications section at the end of each chapter was meant to be a method of reflecting upon and putting into practice some of the ideas learned in the chapter; but the questions were oddly written and there was no "answer key" or discussion of those questions, so I didn't find that section useful at all.

Having taken the U of Mich course centered around the material in this text, I can tell you that you'll find at least a third of the material directly applicable to NPD processes at work. A great primer for anyone new to NPD.

May need to be retitled "International Vegetarian Wok Cooking," as many of the recipes are not Chinese at all. Helpful suggestions, good photographs, but the layout is a bit crowded and hard to read.

This book may more appropriately have "international" in the title, as it is definitely not traditional Chinese wok cooking. Still, it is full of good suggestions, innovative recipes, and helpful photographs.

and I bought this book three weeks ago. I have used the book as a guide for three straight weekend hikes. It was worthwhile in that it gave some good ideas for new places to go, but the trail maps were not accurate for any of the three hikes we took. The distance was off in two cases, and the trails had changed in the third. With some updates of the trail maps, I would give this book four stars. It was descriptive, and gave good directions to get to each hiking spot. Well worth the price.

Now in an updated and expanded second edition, Bob Crawford's Walking Trails Of Southern Wisconsin includes walking trails in 17 southern Wisconsin counties. This popular and practical guide offers new maps for Lafayette and Vernon counties, plus additional trail maps for Black Hawk (in the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway), Wildcat Mountain State Park, and Blackhawk Lake Recreational Area. More than 150 trails at more than sixty locations are showcased and include forest, shoreline, glacial formation, and Native American earthwork based walks. With its handy, pocket-sized format, Walking Trails Of Southern Wisconsin details routes and terrain (including geographical, biological, and historical features of interest); regulations and rules regarding hours, dogs, trail bikes, cross-country skiing, and other activities; information about restrooms, drinking water, nature centers, and other site facilities; and descriptions assessing degree of difficulty (slope, width, maintenance, etc.). Also very highly recommended is Bob Crawford's "user friendly" companion guide, Walking Trails Of Eastern And Central Wisconsin.

Pick up any writing magazine these days or any book that purports to teach one how to write and one of the basic tenets you are guaranteed to see is "write what you know." With an MA in Psychology among other certifications, Louise Crawford uses her therapeutic experience as a backdrop in her third Blaize/Zoloski mystery. The result, long in pop-psychology and various twelve-step program jargons becomes a bit heavy handed at times, but the overall story is enjoyable.

In this third installment of the series, Blaize is trying to figure out her relationship with the man she affectionately refers to as Z-man: Zoloski. The Police Detective and her lover has set an ultimatum for her concerning their future and wants her to commit to getting married. Because of her history of brutal abuse at the hands of her family, the idea of marriage is overwhelming.

At the same time, some of her extended family seems to want to reconnect, years after her father's death as well as her running away from home. Hardly before she has a chance to consider that possibility, Uncle Rich who was responsible for quite a lot of the abuse, is found murdered. Quickly, both Blaize and her brother Ian who has some shocking revelations of his own are considered suspects. With most of the clues pointing to Ian, Blaize can't leave things alone. She begins to dig and soon discovers that the abuse never stopped and the list of suspects with motive to kill is long and complex.

This novel is driven nearly entirely by discussions of abuse and therapy. Almost every character is extremely dysfunctional by anyone's standards and there are several stretches where different kinds of addiction are discussed and explained in great detail. For the average reader who is interested in such topics, the bibliography at the conclusion of the novel is a big help. However, while the novel is enjoyable, for readers who are looking for sheer escapism, this novel is not for you.

Acknowledging the fact that this novel is fairly heavy handed at times in advocating therapy for any and all problems, it must be also said that it is well written and deals with the issues it raises in a compassionate manner. With so much reliance on therapy issues, the action is limited, but what action there is serves to move the story along. Overall, it is an enjoyable read and with the brief explanations of events in the first two novels, it works as a stand alone novel from the series.

Jerry Crawford's ACTING IN PERSON AND IN STYLE is an excellent acting text for students attempting to re-create roles from classical plays that are vital, relevant to the historical period in which they were written, and relevant to audiences viewing them in the 21st Century. The lessons are based on sound acting theories gleaned from a wide range of acting traditions.

Part One covers a personalized approach to acting that encourages the actor to use one's own qualities in order to "personalize" a role. The basic acting topics covered include Relaxation, Concentration, Movement Dynamics, Sensory Awareness, Roots of Feeling: The Body and Emotion,Imagination and Improvisation, and the Voice in Action. Each area includes a discussion of basic acting principles supported by acting exercises. Elements of effective scene study, auditioning, rehearsal techniques, role analysis, and performance considerations are also treated.

Part Two treats the development of a performance style that is appropriate for effectively performing in classical plays. Classical periods covered include Classical Greek, Commedia Dell' Arte, Elizabethan/Jacobean/Shakespearean, Seventeenth Century French Neoclassicism, Restoration Comedy, Nineteenth Century Realism and Naturalism, Early Twentieth Century Nonrealism, Brecht/Epic, Absurdism, and Eclectic Intermingling. Each style is discussed in terms of its historical context and how basic stylistic elements can be effectively "translated" into a performance style that can be effective for an audience in the twenty-first century.

Taken in total, Crawford successfully demonstrates that although all effective acting shares some common elements, the actor who must perform roles written in various historical periods faces some special performance problems in terms of voice, language, movement, theatrical conventions, and various historical/social/cultural contexts. He is able to demonstrate ways in which these performance problems may be successfully addressed in a modern context.

I highly recommend this text as an important resource in developing a workable approach to creating classical roles with an effective sense of style and clarity.

Excellent intro for novice sewers as a text, or experienced sewers wanting to learn draping skills. Covers tools/equipment, terms/elements of draping, the basic bodice/skirt/shift/sleeve, princess bodice/dress, skirt variations, pants, sleeve and armhole variations, collars, cowl necks, yoke variations, knits, and a few intermediate fashion features like sculptured pleats, bias, boned bustier, ruffles/flounces/gathering, and peplums. To follow the exercises, you must have a dress form (preferrably professional) to work with. But with numbered steps giving a very simplified process, and the very clear and numerous b/w diagrams, you should be able to teach yourself the rudiments of draping unless you are also a beginner at sewing. As a veteran sewer and novice draper, I received this as a textbook for my first draping class and appreciated it as a reference. But it's no substitute for a beginning sewing class. I would strongly recommend this for home sewers ready to move beyond commercial patterns or for first year fashion students.

Bill Crawford has used all his experiences in life to craft a first class read. It doesn't seem possible that this is a first effort.

Everything from weapons to the mindset of the muslim is accurate and thoroughly researched and understood. I recommend this to anyone who loves aircraft..suspense...political intrigue or just a "good read."

I'm waiting for book number 2!!!!!!

Clifford Cox Edinboro, Pa. and Duck NC

This was the book I learned backgammon with in the 1970s. It doesn't have modern 1990s theory but still provides solid all-around advice on a variety of topics. The book's strengths are its discussions of probabilities, back games, late positions, and unusual plays. There is also a long history of the game and a lot of discussion of chouettes and other variations. The modern expert might not agree with the opening moves or the doubling theory, but all in all there's plenty there for newcomers to learn.

Andrea "Blaize" McCue, former PI and now a counselor with a PhD, got her name from running away from relationships in a "blaze of glory". She is asked by a friend to help find her missing daughter, who turns up floating in the Sacramento River. Then a high school friend is murdered in the same way. Blaize meets Detective Zoloski (attractive but also afraid of relationships), and works with him on these murders which Blaize thinks are committed by someone from her past. There are some unexpected twists and well-defined characters as well as funny dialog in this entertaining book. The city of Sacramento and its environs are well-represented, too. I'm hoping that Ms. Crawford continues with this series, because there is a lot of potential for Blaize & the Z-man in both their personal & working relationships.

Are you one of a kind? Are you a twin? Are you a CLONE? This book, a translation from German,is loosely set in the next thousand years is about a German concert pianist and composer, Iris Sellin, who finds herself at the age of thirty with MS. She has no family to speak of. She reads about cloning and sets things in motion to convince a Canadian doctor to allow her to be his human experiment in cloning. Here begins the practice of creating ego-clones. The book is written in diary form from the perspective of the cloned daughter, or is she a twin? It is a terrifying journey into the possibilities. What if we could do this? Would you really want to be a clone? Do you have an identity? Whose identity is it then? Government control? The questions that are raies are endless. "The book Blueprint is an argument." confides the author, and so it is.