As an IT consultant I do a lot of writing and create a lot of graphics to reinforce my words. Before discovering this gem my primary graphics reference was Information Graphics by Robert L. Harris, which is a comprehensive encyclopedia of technical graphics. Thinking Visually will not replace that book, but will augment it because this book is more of a how-to and is focused on 14 basic diagrams that I find myself using in one variation or another in nearly every project. The book is divided into three parts: (1) Introduction to Diagramming, which is among the best descriptions of diagramming and how to approach it that I've had the pleasure of reading; (2) APplying the Core Diagrams, and (3) Introduction to Diagramming, which is an extension of Part 1 that wraps up the book with excellent advice.

Part 2 is the heart of the book. The core Diagrams are divided into six groups: (1) MAPPING THE BUSINESS (System Maps, Mind Maps), (2) RELATIONSHIP AND INFLUENCE (Relationship, Tree, Influence), (3) CONTROL IN BUSINESS (Input/Output, Control), (4) CAUSATION (Multiple Cause, Fishbone [also called Ishikawa], Sign), (5) CHANGE (Force-field, Window), (6) FLOW (Flow, Ring).

Many of the diagrams have multiple instances. For example, flow diagrams can take the form of flow process, blocks, algorithms (flow charts) or network diagrams. Likewise, window diagrams take on many different forms, including strength/weakness/opportunity/threat (SWOT), quad matrices (such as the "Boston Matrix"). This extends the 14 core diagrams into many more because of the variations, with all of the major ones discussed in this book.

What I especially like is the way the author presents each diagram: overview of the diagram, business application, business purpose and summary and conventions. When variations are discussed, such as a critical path network diagram derived from a flow, the same treatment is given.

As I read through this book familiarizing myself with these basic tools I discovered that my primary software tool, Visio, contained stencil sets for many of these diagrams, including Mind Mapping, SWOT Fishbone and many more. I also liked the final part of the book because it contains valuable advice on managing information with the core diagrams - especially developing diagrams that convey information instead of resulting in information overload. The chapter on diagramming theory and some of its pitfalls was also excellent. Finally, Appendices A and B, only two pages, are incredibly useful because they map the core diagrams to themes (Appendix A) and to management activity (Appendix B). These make selecting the right tool for the right job easy, and their inclusion is a nice touch of added value.

I cannot praise this book highly enough. It has quickly become one of my most valuable tools and has also enlightened me on a number of issues and factors related to effectively selecting and using diagrams. It merits 5 stars!

This is an excellent book of templates for graphical visulization of complex information. I think that this book belongs right on the bookshelf of anyone who uses line graphics for research and business...right next to Tufte's classics. Highly recommended.

This is a strong introduction to the people who compose the blues world and to the importance of blues music in the United States.

This is a terrific book for young and old alike. I admire Awmiller's moxy and soul.

I am a personal friend of the author, so when I ordered the book, I was looking forward to reading and testing myself. Was I in luck!! I loved it!! My b/f and I tested one another all night, and it brought back a whole flood of memories!!

Thank you, Michael!!

I had fun with this little book. Being a child of the 80s, I spent a great deal of time in front of the television as a kid. I did pretty well, even though there were quite a few stumpers in ths book. I've just ordered the author's other title, and can't wait to read it.

"What else would I need than this book when learning about Bonsai? I recommend it fully and suggest that it should be on everyone's bookshelf, or at least in his or her hands"

When you start growing Bonsai, it is hard to work your way through all the titles available. I first bought a book called Bonsai for Beginners by the same author and while this was a very nice book, it was not only geared to beginners but also to more advanced growers. This new book is a revelation. Beautifully laid out, the practical guide to Growing Bonsai is the first book I have read that truly spells it out. It is lavishly illustrated and very well written that it is more than a reference book. It has become a 'read'.
The Practical Guide is just that. It covers all the basic information that you, as a Bonsai Grower in the early stages of this wonderful hobby, need to learn to understand what is to be done. A real beginners book but written by someone who understands what a real teacher needs to speak about when speaking to a newcomer. Craig Coussins writes in a very one to one style and I really felt that he was with me every step of 'his' way. This is a great book!
Clear instructions filled with some gorgeous photographs looks at all the techniques that I need to know. Charts explain the right times of the year to do the work and completed by a species list of all the most popular Bonsai that beginners should try.
Therefore, what else would I need than this book when learning about Bonsai? I recommend it fully and suggest that it should be on everyone's bookshelf, or at least in his or her hands.

What is vastly different about this book and most other Bonsai books is one simple premise. It is this. When you start Bonsai you are afraid that growing such a plant will take many years. Most folk can be put off by the fact that they believe they will need 30 years to produce a Bonsai that looks old. Craig Coussins new book explodes that myth.

In his first book, Bonsai for Beginners, Craig Coussins covered a vast range of subjects up to intermediate but in Totally Bonsai, the title used in North America, ('Growing Bonsai' elsewhere)he uses Bonsai throughout the book that are rarely over five years old. But what Bonsai. Some of these trees are wonderful and extremely beautiful. Gone are the seedlings in a plastic pot, Craig Coussins really shows you what you are capable of. This shows the newcomer exactly how much they can achieve in a short period of time. Many of the trees are also shown in winter so that you can really see the branch structure and shape under the leaves. Most of the trees are easily available as shrubs or garden centre material which makes life a lot simpler for the complete novice.

The unique section written by his friend Salvatore Liporace and his student Luigi Maggione, highly respected Bonsai Masters from Italy, also shows how you can, within Craig's five year period, take basic raw material and turn it into a masterpiece when you have understood the basics and focussed on the techniques.

This well liked Bonsai International Teacher has kept to his remit in writing a book that is truly for the beginner and it is recommended as a very good read. A great present for a friend just starting out.

One interesting thing is also his sensitive dedication to his mentor, John Yoshio Naka, the respected American Bonsai Master and one of the top five Bonsai Masters in the world.

When I look for a book on networking I want a book that will help not only for Microsoft but Novell. The Complete Reference lives up to its name and gives you a wealth of information to make the job of network technician a whole lot easier.

Packed into this 900 page-networking world of information is information from soup to nuts. Starting off with the OSI model, you move on the hardware, protocols, operating systems, connection and directory services and administration...

With figures, pictures, tables, diagrams and notes to help you understand even the most complex of issues, the author presents the information in a clear and detailed way that will help the beginner to the expert. The author presents the information in an organized fashion from beginning to end.

The book should have included a cd-rom with utilizes for Novell, Microsoft and Unix. The book seems to be as up to date as any book I have read and the information seems to very accurate. Overall this is one book I will have in my technical reference library.

When I look for a book on networking I want a book that will help not only for Microsoft but Novell. The Complete Reference lives up to its name and gives you a wealth of information to make the job of network technician a whole lot easier.

Packed into this 900 page-networking world of information is information from soup to nuts. Starting off with the OSI model, you move on the hardware, protocols, operating systems, connection and directory services and administration.

With figures, pictures, tables, diagrams and notes to help you understand even the most complex of issues, the author presents the information in a clear and detailed way that will help the beginner to the expert. The author presents the information in an organized fashion from beginning to end.

The book should have included a cd-rom with utilizes for Novell, Microsoft and Unix. The book seems to be as up to date as any book I have read and the information seems to very accurate. Overall this is one book I will have in my technical reference library.

I bought a copy of this book from the author about 6 years ago and have found it to be the most useful investment manual I have yet discovered. It played an important role in planning for an early retirement, and I continue to use it in maintaing my retirement portfolio. Two chapters will appeal to an investor at almost any level of sophistication--one dealing with a program of dollar cost averaging adjusted for growth in market values, and one outling a system of "value averaging." The first helps investors to keep their contributions on track to meet their investment goals, and the second provides a rational basis for investors to sell shares, if they are so inclined, when the market departs significantly from a projected "value path." Both programs can be adjusted periodically to reflect changed assumptions about probable market returns.

I hardly know how to praise this book highly enough. My own mathematical skills are so poor that I periodically re-read the central chapters to remind myself of the logic I am following. But Edleson helpfully supplies some step-by-step examples of spreadsheet programs that will fully deploy the formulas he explains. This is a first rate book that deserves to be back in print at a reasonable price. But even at [the price], it's worth it.

If you're looking for a get-rich-quick scheme, this is not it. Dr. Edelson is currently Chief Economist for the NASD and was a Harvard finance professor when he published this book. In it he presents a variation of the well-regarded dollar cost averaging method and provides statistical evidence to suggest a 1% annual return advantage over DCA. A key difference is that it will, when valuations are high, employ sales. I think the hidden jewel in this book, though, is his technique for answering the crucial and reoccurring question, "Am I investing enough to meet my goals?" As the cornerstone of all my investments (401K, IRA, and brokerage accts) for several years, these methods have given me peace of mind and solid results. Requires no more than high school math skills, access to a spreadsheet, and as little as 30 minutes every 3-4 months. The noted finance analyst William Bernstein is also a big fan and provides additional perspective on his web site, Efficient Frontier.

Craig Gay has penned one of the most penetrating analyses of the mutual reciprocity involved in the interplay between faith and culture. He is especially astute in delineating the subtle effects popular culture has on faith and practice. Even though he analyzes the faith-culture milieu through the lens of Christianity, many of the conclusions he makes are valid whenever faith clashes with the tidal wave of culture, such as we have in the West. This book is the total package, as the author makes suggestions concerning what correctives are needed in order to draw people of faith back from the shores of practical atheism. Of course, these suggestions are consistent with the Christian suppositions he employs throughout. Gay is very thorough in his examination of the instruments-sociology, psychology, theology, anthropology, epistemology, and others- which pop culture has co-opted so deftly in the process of trivializing faith's role in our lives. If you liked Richard Weaver's "Ideas Have Consequences" or Kenneth Myers' "All God's Children and Blue Suede Shoes", you will like this book. Tolle Lege.

Wide ranging and delightfully erudite but enlivened with a deft and engaging style, Gay gives fresh insight and thoughtful nuggets on every page as to "why it's tempting to live as if God doesn't matter" For so very long after C. S. Lewis, Christian scholars couldn't seem to put pen to paper without sounding like Jeremiah. Gay--and a few others in recent years--show that there need not be anything scandalous about the "evangelical mind."

Who's That Girl? If you don't have a clue, buy this book and you'll never wonder again! Michael D. Craig knows his stuff, and the facts in this book are top-notch. Whether you're a casual Madonna fan or a rabid completist (like myself), you will gain boat loads of knowledge about the Queen of Pop, and you will NOT be dissapointed. You have my personal guaruntee! And I have to plug Michael's other book of 80's trivia: The Totally Awesome 80s TV Trivia Book. Another GREAT book full of GREAT info!

Being an ardent fan of Madonna, I had to purchase this book. I'm not disappointed. It's a fun book full of facts that any and all die hard Madonna fans SHOULD know. I would recommend this book to anyone that loves and respects Madonna. Buy this book along with Matthew Rettenmund's ENCYCLOPEDIA MADONNICA and you will know truly everything there is to know about Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone.

Windows CE Clear and Simple is just what the title claims it is -- a simple, clear introduction to Windows CE. Covering both Handheld PCs (including H/PC Pro's) and Palm-size PCs, this book covers the most commonly-used Windows CE features and functions, and will answer all of the questions a new Windows CE user will have. While this book does not contain information about the new Windows-Powered Pocket PCs, it is a very useful introduction to new users of both Palm-size and Handheld PCs. It's easy to read, with pictures, tips and notes to really help new users find the information they need.

GREAT book! Easy/quick reading. Very nicely laid out and easy to follow. The title is very appropriate--"Clear & Simple". Step by step explanations and examples are given on how to use all of the features (plus many I wasn't even aware of) for both the H/PC and the P/PC. Neither of the two manuals I have for my H/PC gave me 1/10th the information that this book did! Put your Microsoft manuals in a drawer and use this book!

Brian Craig distinguishes himself by exploring the deeper aspects of the Warhammer worlds. While there is battle and bloodshed the theme and overall significance of the story does not revolve and get overwhelmed by it. This is not like the other Black Library tales: here are your characters and traits-this is their goal-they fight while trying to reach goal-final battle-end. The Wine of Dreams is all about character development and what happens to these characters n throughout a series of trials and tribulations. The nature of evil and corruption are explored in great detail and provide a great amount of contrast to the typical Warhammer sense of good and evil. I also could'nt help but compare the Wine of Dreams to the soul liquer in The Eye of Terror novel. And I see this book as a Warhammer fantasy version of the Eye of Terror.

I loved Craig's (Brian Craig is a pen name, btw) Orfeo trilogy, which he wrote for Games Workshop around 10 years ago. Set in the Warhammer Fantasy world, which is the basis for Games Workshop's popular Warhammer miniatures game, those books brought the world of Warhammer alive.

The Wine of Dreams carries on Craig's tradition of excellence. The main character is a young wine merchant, named Reinmar, who is bored with life in his sleepy river town and craves adventure. Adventure arrives on his doorstep in the form of a relative he didn't know he had, a relative who is being chased by an influential witch hunter. It turns out that his family had once been the main distributor of a banned wine, known as dark wine, or wine of dreams. The witch hunter is trying to stamp out the trade in this illicit substance once and for all, while some of Reinmar's relatives and other shadowy figures are trying to revive it.

Craig plays up the usual Warhammer themes of intrigue, conspiracy and horror. Reinmar never knows for certain who is on his side -- he isn't even sure whose side he himself is on! As he learns the secrets behind the wine of dreams, he is faced with having to make hard choices, while being tempted by the power promised by the dark gods of Chaos. In the Warhammer world, the good guys aren't always nice people, and the witch hunter is no exception to this rule. If Reinmar saves his soul by turning his back on Chaos, he may lose his life as a pawn of the witch hunter.

If you like the Warhammer setting, or you are looking for a novel which blends fantasy with horror, and adds a touch of conspiracy and intrigue, then I cannot recommend this book highly enough!

(I also reviewed this book for rpg.net, and a longer review can be found there.)