With the plethora of books currently available on cigars in general and on Habanos in particular, this is (still) the one item no cigar aficionado dare be without.

The only thing that will make this book better is an updated version with the new vitolas now in production. A great referance and a must for serious havana smokers and collectors

I have an extensive collection of cigar books but this is the only one I cannot part with . The author has successfully catalouged Cuban cigars and provided extensive and interesting information not available in other contemporary publications . A must for any serious aficionado.

We have added a copy of this to our science museum library. If you had to pick just one book to figure things out with and you cuold take only one book to a mythical desert island.... this would have to be it for general medicine!

I wish I would have had this book when I was going to school. This book not only defines virtually every medical term but elaborates on essential areas. The beginning of the book is a color atlas of all body systems. eg. Skeletal,GI, Cranial Nerves, Muscles ect. It is then organized as a Dictionary from A-Z. There are clear pictures to help elaborate on definitions and explanations. An example is in the area of Intercranial Pressure. Not only is it defined, it is also explained in detail including ICP monitoring devices and pictures for easy understanding. I have been a nurse for a long time and found this book to be a wonderful reference.... in all areas of nursing.... Everyone on the unit wants to borrow this book and many have already purchased it themselves.

Having used many nursing dictionaries, this one is by far the best. It is very clear and amazingly comprehensive. At the front there is a short anatomy guide followed by a colour atlas. The bulk of the text is fantastic; good diagrams and flow charts throughout reinforce learning and an invaluble pronunciation guide for those of us that haven't studied Latin. To complete, a large Appendix section is included which provides a wealth of useful information for the reader. Although US and Canada focused, this book is a must for any nurse, doctor or allied health worker. At this price, buy it.

This book is the result of Sills' consuming photographic affair with a rural family in Georgia. After thousands of photographs we see this basic American Southern family grow and develop before our eyes. Sills' eyes and camera allow us to discover beauty where others may see ... trash and dirt. Tina Toole develops into a Frida Kahloesque sort of chameleon-like woman, often pretty, sometimes tough, but always mesmerizing. This is one of those books that every photographic aficionado should buy.

This book won the 2000 Southern Books Competition Award of Excellence in Book Design from the Southeastern Library Association. This award is given in recognition of the book's aesthetic appeal and design and for fine craftsmanship in its printing and binding. Congratulations to author Vaughn Sills, designer Kyong Choe, printer C & C Offset, and the University of Georgia Press.

Vaughn Sills' One Family has done something, but done it very sublty; by focusing for twenty years on photographing the Toole family from Georgia, Sills has managed to photograph many families, represented by this proud and tenacious family whose corner of world happens to be the American South. You could easily call this a book "a photgraphy book looking at the rural south"; and it is, the dialogue and writings in the book sometimes show that Southern vernacular; the scenery sometimes seems typically "Southern"; but to stop there at "Southern" as a despricition is missing the larger picture. To stop there would be to miss the wonderful, wide, world of people in every day life, engaged in just simply living. The writing included in the book is revealing, personal and touching, Some of it is dialogue with family members and some is poetry by Tina Toole Truelove. These words and feelings are what help tie the book to the world at large because we see that, even in the South, people feel a certain way, have certain experiences. Yes, this book would be a great source for a vew on a part of the American South,but don't stop there on your journey with this beautifully photographed book. I treasure mine and treasure the truths I see in their faces.

A Time for Heroes let's you learn the history of WWII but tells the tale of a young girls worries, family and overall life.

Katie O'Toole really tells all about what it was like during WWII in a form that will make you want to read it again and again. O'Toole really writes this book in a form where you get so wrapped up in it that you can imagine every little detail.

This is a terrific book for adults, young and old. It follows the growing and maturing of Patsy Kelly, whose 13th birthday coincides with the attack on Pearl Harbor. Her world suddenly is filled with the horrors of war, ethnic and racial prejudices, and the fears and uncertainties of wartime. She learns that people and things aren't always what they seem to be. It is a time for wars to be fought and heroes to come forward.

Patsy lives in a rural Pennsylvania town. Her father is Pine Glen's postmaster, her mother is a homemaker, and her 17-year old brother has major league baseball potential, before the War puts an end to that. The story weaves the coming of age of Patsy with the beginning and progression of the War. Heroes are not only found on the warfront, but also in everyday life. And Patsy is a hero.

Kathleen O'Toole crafts a powerful tale that the reader will find difficult to put down. This book is a winner!

This book started out as required reading for me, but I ended up reading it from cover to cover in three days! I was impressed with it because it thoroughly covered all issues ever raised in women's issues, and offered many references for those of us interested in researching further. I especially liked the fact that it is a compilation of writings put together in a logical, dynamic way, each section feeding off the other. This book is a must-read for women, but also instrumental for men in their understanding of womens' experiences.

This book is a must have for students of womyn's studies or anyone interested in gender violence. This compilation of articles is an excellent balanced look at gender violence through an interdisciplinary perspective. Violence against womyn is a extensive topic studied, but as the title indicates, gender violence is the theme of the book, therefore, violence targeted at men and womyn is discussed. Also the list of sources is quite extensive for further research. This is definitely one of the best books on gender violence out there!!  

The book entitled "Teamwork is an Individual Skill" is quite interesting. I work at a large semi-conductor manufacturer as a non-exempt fab technician on a self managed team on night shift.

I am the most experienced and capable person on my team, yet with all of my background I have come to realize how relatively little influence I often have on team performance, and on my ability to push the team in the direction I think it should go. The very first sentence in your book on page 1, "Do you share responsibility with others to get work done but don't have authority over them (and they don't have authority over you)?" absolutely floored me, 'cause that is me to the tee.

I had only gotten to page 8 of your book when I was thoroughly blown away by the directness with which the differences between flat and hierarchical structures were addressed. At my company there is no mention of this approach; even once when I mentioned the term "semi-autonomous team" to the most qualified tech (who happened to be on day shift--arguably a more hierarchical environment due to the presence of many exempt employees) he did not know what the term meant. The company has this structure in place almost as an unwritten agenda.

Your comment on page 5, "Many individuals--especially smart, high achievers--can experience great angst if asked to serve in teams." is in retrospect a great source of comfort to help me understand my angst during my three years with this company. In all of the areas I have worked in during that time I am sure that I had (at least on paper) more qualifications than any one other person (B.S. deg, two A.A.S. degs, 12+ prior years of technical experience, and a whole host of other skills that my teammates do not exhibit.) Plus add to that, that my experience has almost exclusively come from a strongly tilted hierarchical background in retrospect is why I struggled with teams, as you describe them.

Every page of your book is quite thought-provoking, causing me to pause and reflect on how your observations compare to my situation.

For years, I have resisted the popular notion of "there is no 'I' in "teamwork" because teams are a collection of individuals working toward a common goal. Each of us brings our own values and skill sets to the table. It is our choice to work together (or not) as a team.
Christopher M. Avery has captured this idea and more in his latest book, Teamwork is an Individual Skill: Getting Work Done When Sharing Responsibility. Chris suggests that individuals take responsibility for team success versus blame others He challenges the reader to be proactive and work through team issues rather than avoid or accommodate others.
This is a perfect book for team members who have been on teams before. It will validate good team behaviors and point out areas to upgrade...in a gentle and non-threatening way. The book is easy to read with lots of stories and examples to highlight the key points.

I have assigned this book as required reading for my MBA level course in managing individuals an teams. It has been a big hit. I have used other books in the past, but this is the first that really addresses the concerns that students have. I, and they, like the emphasis on the "individual" skills involved in
teamwork.

This book offers the reader a factual, non-biased compilation of available complementary therapies. As a cancer survivor, she teaches us that when facing a cancer diagnosis and standard allopathic therapies, we can, no we must, be an active participant in assessing all the possible treatment paths as we make our decisions and choices in our path to healing. Not only do we hope to understand what is happening to us, we must take an active role in regaining our good health.

Ms. O'Toole teaches us that we must trust our selves and our abilities in this process. For when we do, we make the best possible decisions for our lives. This book is a wonderful guide for those facing treatment as well as their loved ones.

This book is such a gift, written with authority, clarity, and empathy. For anyone who wonders what to expect from different complementary therapies, this book is invaluable. For those facing decisions about maintaining health while fighting cancer, this book is a blessing. The author transforms her struggle to stay alive and maintain well-being into a resource for the rest of us.

As a bodywork practitioner presented with the dilemma of offering help and services to clients confronted with the trial of their lives, I had high expectations of this book. I wasn't disappointed. This book is solid, well researched, and substantive. I will recommend it without reservation to my clients. Not just clients facing cancer, but any client troubled by a chronic or acute physical condition or discomfort who seeks resources to improve their health and well-being. This takes effort, education, information, and resources. What this book offers is a structure and framework to evaluate "what's out there", and help a person to decide "Is this for me?" "Is this for me now, or later?"

What I especially appreciate is the author's emphasis on trusting your own intuition---and backing that up with succinct, well-organized information to facilitate rational decision-making in support of one's intuition. This book isn't just another nice book about a cancer experience; it's a well thought out resource to think through and make decisions on developing your complementary health care. Thank you, Carole O'Toole!

By all means, I recommend you to read this book. However, since this book came out in 1995, a NEW VERSION is available in paperback. The new version includes an extra preface and some revisions to chapter 2 and chapter 8.

This is one of those rare books that truly challenges us to think about our approach to leadership and its consequences. With numerous historical and contemporary examples, O'Toole contrasts tough, situational leadership with democratic, values-based leadership.

By using tough leadership examples like Lee Kuan Yew who led Singapore from a Third World country to the First World and Jack Welch who probably has the best performance record of any modern CEO, he makes his task of showing the superiority of values-based leadership all the more difficult. In addition to the Rushmoreans - Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and T. Roosevelt - he uses contemporary examples like Nelson Mandela and Max De Pree to illustrate the lasting impact of values-based leaders.

He makes us question whether the short-term gains of tough leadership are worth the long-term consequences, even for Singapore and General Electric. His message is all the more relevant now that we have seen the damage caused by the Enrons of this world. His is a critical message and, if heeded, could make this a better world.

If you are a liberal arts major who found yourself ending up in the business world, you will eat up this book. Starting with an analysis of leadership thru the meaning of Christ Comes to Brussells, an 19th century early expressionist work, the author leads you thru Plato to Evans-Pitchard in an analysis on leadership. It also provides a great rebuttal for moral relativism

How wonderful to listen to the voice of Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) as she guides the listener through the events that created the enigma that is Janeway. The story begins somewhere in season two of Voyagers quest to return home from the delta quadrant and then leaps backward in time to provide insight and great back story into Janeways life. For Voyager fans, this is a must hear / read experience, it explains why Janeway acts and reacts the way she does, her isolation, her loneliness and her almost maniacal desire to save her crew, begin to make sense. Jeri Taylor wrote it with recommendations from Kate Mulgrew so its authority is beyond reproach. This book delivers a completely believable and moving story which, when read by Kate, at times had me misty eyed. Great stuff.

This is a must for any Voyagaer fan. This explains many of the unknown events in Capt. Janeway's past. It shows us why she is the most "human" of the Star Trek Captains yet.

I am an all out Kathryn Janeway fan, and was disappointed when she did not share her story in Pathways, but this almost makes up for it. Jeri Taylor is an amazing author, and I have nothing but praise for her Voyager books. She had a very little ammount of info to work with, and she created a masterpiece with it. But, I said almost because there were somethings that I would have liked to have seen in Mosaic that weren't there. I think that if she had done a complete work on Kathryn's childhood it would have been wonderful; but also about 1,000 pages long. It is a must for every Voyager and Janeway fan.

This simple but effective book is written for a general audience with interest in managerial, supervisory and leadership concepts. The book is structured as a dictionary of terms relating to leadership. While some readers may like the A-B-C division of information, others may find the book somewhat disjointed, as the format forces you to skip around from idea to idea. But then, as author James O'Toole points out, readers are invited to seek the nuggets that appeal to them, letter by letter. The connective tissue that O'Toole lays between the entries is ambition, which he says is the single pre-requisite to leadership and the one common characteristic that all great leaders share. We [...] recommend this accessible summary of basic leadership principles, although hardcore readers of leadership literature might be better off elsewhere.

The subtitle to this book explains the its purpose: "A Guide to the Appropriately Ambitious." The author lays out twenty-four aspects of leadership that he has gleaned from other authors and his own experience. The author's focus is not on leadership theory, but on what leaders actually do. It is a compelling read.

I liked it. This book is a compelling read. Since the author focuses on the pragmatic aspects of leadership, he gives the reader the necessary tools to hone his or her leadership skills. The format of the book, although difficult to follow at first, lends itself to quick review. Successful leaders will find this book helpful as a review of the principles which brought them success. For those who wish to become leaders, this is the best resource I have found. It clearly states what leadership is all about in a format that is easy to read and digest. The "no holes barred" approach to illustrations helps the reader see and understand the principles elucidated as O'toole names the names and tells the stories of corporate and non-profit leaders whose successes and failures he demonstrates.

Aside from a good review of the principles that I am trying to instill into my life, it has helped me in three ways. First, the discussion between strategic change and change management was very helpful. The author points out that every organization is faced with constant change, and change cannot be managed. Change management is short sighted and issue orientated, whereas strategic change looks for the long term and seeks to make change a part of the culture of the organization. Second, I appreciated the author's repeated emphasis on the courage of leadership. Being a leader puts one at risk, and as O'Toole succinctly demonstrates, most "leaders" would rather play it safe. Unless the leader is willing to risk failure and humiliation, he or she will never taste the fruits of leadership. Third, I will be using this book as a primer for my staff to teach them leadership principles. There are few books with such broad scope as this one.

How does this book help a pastor of a small church? Some church leaders would balk at this book because the author is looking for the "appropriately ambitious" and deals with secular business. Yet, leadership is leadership. If we as pastors do not have the engine of ambition beating in our hearts for the gospel of Christ, what in the world are we doing in the pulpit? And as long as our Bible Colleges and seminaries ignore the leadership issue and keep training in the "pastoral model", the church in the USA will continue its decline. Leadership is the key to turning the seeming inevitable decline in church attendance around. Until our seminaries and Bible colleges teach leadership, pastors will have to turn to the business community for help.

How to describe a book with this title? It is not a dictionary. It is not a sequential narrative. It is not an anthology of aphorisms or portions of previous publications. It is not a manual. (However, its title does make much more sense than would those of other books such as Chicken Soup for Dummies or Stan Laurel on Management.) What Leadership A to Z provides is "a guide for the appropriately ambitious." O'Toole believes that more can be learned from what effective leaders do (and how they do it) than from their personality and character. What do all effective leaders seem to have in common? What O'Toole characterizes as "appropriate ambition." Note the modifier. All of us have ambitions. (The most effective leaders assuredly do.) Within effective organizations, most of those involved seem to have both personal and organizational ambitions which nourish and sustain each other. At least these ambitions are not mutually-exclusive or even incompatible. Within the most effective organizations, these ambitions are almost (not quite) identical. Moreover, most of the time -- day to day -- most of those involved are leaders of leaders. That is, sharing ambitions which are appropriate to them as well as to their organization, together functioning as what Noel Tichy has described as a well-designed, carefully-maintained "leadership engine."

How should this book be read? One option is to read it sequentially from A to Z. That will work. However, my personal preference (and suggestion) is to re-visit the Contents (pages ix-xi) whenever there is a question to be answered, a problem to be solved, or a new perspective needed. You may find that the answer will reveal itself after you read (let's say) some/all of B, H, J, and T; perhaps reading some/all of A, M, R, and W will suggest a solution; as for gaining a new perspective, I often hop around, in and out, back and forth. Sometimes I locate or formulate one...sometimes I don't.

The book's content is rock-solid. The writing style (vintage O'Toole) has snap, crackle, and pop. The selection of individual items was, of course, arbitrary but the material seems cohesive...perhaps because, directly or indirectly, all of the items help to demonstrate "appropriate ambition" in action. Another way to approach the book is to pretend that you have just entered O'Toole's General Store. Perhaps you have a specific item in mind. Or perhaps you are just "looking around." Fine. Take your time. Check out the merchandise. No obligation to buy anything today. Come back again another time. You are always welcome. Next visit, perhaps, you'll need what you saw last time in Aisle 5. It's nice to know it's there. It's nice to know that some much else is also there, waiting to be of help to you.