The Big Bing: Black Holes of Time Management, Gaseous Executive Bodies, Exploding Careers, and Other Theories on the Origins of the Business Universe

Amazon.com

With twenty years of experience as a self-described "mole in the heart of corporate capitalism," CBS executive Gil Schwartz a.k.a. columnist Stanley Bing, is a man of many words. The Big Bing, recycles two decades of artful and acid Fortune and Esquire columns into a coherent view of business as usual.

The pieces are sectioned into themes readers will recognize--office politics, technology, life on the road, men being men, job angst. A number of columns snap and sting. For example, in "You Da Man," Bing details six species of bad bosses including "Don King without the Hair" and "the last days of Dick Nixon." He spins tales from the political crypt, asking readers to join his amusement at "the range of goofy people who are thrown together in the pursuit of political advantage."

Bing is at his best in giving amusing advice (how to give good phone, win turf wars and get a room with a view) and in business travelogues about places like Las Vegas where he sees "several apparently dead people playing slots." The writing bristles with attitude. Only a moving essay on "the mourning after" September 11 interrupts the relentless cynicism of Bing's observations. Some readers will be able stay in on the jokes. Others may find his voice tiring or unkind and may note the difference between insight and wisdom. --Barbara Mackoff

Book Description

A mandatory addition to the library of everyone who
works for a living (or would like to).

For twenty years, Stanley Bing has offered insight, wisdom, and advice from inside the belly of one of the great corporate beasts. In one essential volume, here is all you need to know to master your career, your life, and, when necessary, other weaker life forms.

Bing knows whereof he speaks. He has lived the last two decades working inside a gigantic multinational corporation, kicking and screaming all the way up the ladder. During that time, he has seen it all -- mergers, acquisitions, layoffs, the death of the three-martini lunch -- and has himself been painfully reengineered a number of times. He has made a million friends and seen many of them prosper and grow, and sadly seen others sink into consultancy. He has eaten and drunk way too much, stayed in hotels far too good for him, waited for limousines in the pouring rain, and enjoyed it all. Sort of. Most important, Bing has seen management at its best and worst, and he has practiced both as he made the transition from an inexperienced player who hated pompous senior management to a polished strategist who kind of sees its point of view now and then.

Bing's many fans from his days at Esquire and those who enjoy his current column in Fortune know that his take on the workplace is pure storytelling at its best -- sophisticated, amusing, and driven by the kind of insight that only a true insider can possess.

The Big Bing provides a corporate mole's-eye view of the society in which we all live and toil, creating one of the most entertaining, thought-provoking, and just plain funny bodies of work in contemporary letters.

Customer Reviews:

The Big Bling...etc, etc............2007-06-27

SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING FOR TODAY'S COLLEGE JUNIORS AND UP. THANKS, STANLEY....KEEP 'EM COMING!!!!

A Bing collection.......2007-06-09

A compilation of pieces from Esquire and Fortune over the past twenty years or so is what we have here. Kind of a mixed bag, at times very funny, others not so. I found myself wanting some of the articles to go on longer.

Really Entertaining.......2006-01-07

Stanley Bing tells some great stories. This audio CD was great listen on the commutte to/from the office ... and it gave a nice way of viewing what goes on in ones office.

Bing is the thinking man's Dilbert.......2003-12-03

This book was hysterical. Anyone who has ever worked in an office or a giant corporation will identify with the situations and the characters he so vividly brings to life. Plus, he has the best made up last names I've ever come across, but the funny thing is you know exactly who he's talking about. I may not fly with the chairman on the corporate jet, but I relate to most everything he writes about, and I laughed the entire time reading. Bing is the thinking man's Dilbert.

There Is Nobody Like Bing.......2003-12-03

For anyone who has ever worked for a living; for anyone who has ever had a boss or been a boss; THE BIG BING is a must read! The collection is a quick and humerous study of human behavior in corporate America. Nobody tells this story better than Stanley Bing!

The Big Bing: Theories on the Origins of the Business Universe

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The Big Bing: Theories on the Origins of the Business Universe
Stanley Bing
Manufacturer: audible.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Download
ASIN: B0001GDR0S

The Big Bing : Black Holes of Time Management, Gaseous Executive Bodies, Exploding Careers, and Other Theories on the Origins of the Business Universe

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The Big Bing : Black Holes of Time Management, Gaseous Executive Bodies, Exploding Careers, and Other Theories on the Origins of the Business Universe
Stanley Bing
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OEO7VU

The Big Bing CD: Black Holes of Time Management, Gaseous Executive Bodies, Exploding Careers , and Other Theories on the Origins of the Business Universe

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The Big Bing CD: Black Holes of Time Management, Gaseous Executive Bodies, Exploding Careers , and Other Theories on the Origins of the Business Universe
Stanley; Stanley, Bing Bing
Manufacturer: HarperAudio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OEM10O

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The Big Bing: Black Holes of Time Management, Gaseous Executive Bodies, Exploding Careers, and Other Theories on the Origins of the Business Universe
Stanley Bing
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OEM3LG

Book Description

"Process Think" is a managerial orientation to act proactively in identification of process opportunities, a capability to apply process concepts in problem solving, and a demonstrated willingness to transfer process thinking to fellow employees, customers and partners. Process thinking managers have the capability to intuitively see the implications of their actions across the company and project themselves into the situations of their customers.

Business process change today must be more personal, dynamic and seamlessly supported by new IT. New and far more sophisticated IT will test a company's ability to quickly modify the business models and corresponding processes, and in doing so, place renewed importance on process thinking.

Process Think: Winning Perspectives for Business Change in the Information Age reflects a diversity of perspectives pertaining to change management in the information age.

Customer Reviews:

Mature Organizational Change Ideas and Practices.......2002-06-19

This book is one of the best repositories of ideas and practical information about organizational change management that I've come across. While I've been heavily influenced by many of Thomas H. Davenport's books, I've found a wealth of fresh ideas in this book because each chapter is a paper written by one or more experts in a specific aspect of organizational change. I also like the way the book is organized into four sections that examine change and process.

Part I is among my favorites because each of the five chapters build upon each other to provide a clearly defined map for defining and implementing change strategies. Part II's three chapters drill down into the mechanics of processes and how they fit within the context of a change management strategy. I especially like chapter 7, which covers gap analysis and a framework with which to identify, define and understand business processes at a level that allows you to see the dependencies and impacts of proposed changes. I also like chapter 8, which links IT strategic planning to enterprise processes. This is a major gap that I find in one consulting engagement after another and the information in this chapter will provide a clear--if briefly described--approach to closing that gap.

More advanced process management topics are covered in Part III, are each of the five chapters can be read as standalone papers. My favorite was "The New Waves of Business Process Redesign and IT in Demand/Supply Chain Management", which reflects professional interests. Other chapters that are equally valuable cover process innovation, reengineering effectiveness and business process impact case studies.

The final four chapters that comprise Part IV are predictions about the nature of IT and services in this century. Each are interesting and will contain ideas that can be incorporated into current projects or future plans.

Overall this book is invaluable because it provides the points of view of a large number of academic and industry experts, and all of the material can be put into practice.

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Process Think: Winning Perspectives for Business Change in the Information Age
Varun Grover
Manufacturer: Idea Group Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MUYI88

Book Description

Saponins are glycosides of triterpenes, steroids or steroidal alkaloids. They can be found in plants and marine organisms. Very diverse biological activities are ascribed to saponins and they play important roles in food, animal feedstuffs, and pharmaceutical properties. This volume provides a selection of recent work on saponins presented at a symposium in Pulawy, Poland, in 1999. Many different aspects are treated: analysis, separation, biological activities, relevant use in human and animal nutrition, and ecological significance. This book will be of use to researchers both in universities and industry.

Book Description

These essays on the brain leap from the philosophical to the comical, from the scientific theory to mundane events of everyday life. The Throwing Madonna provides a window through which the average person can peer into the elusive world of neurobiology and find greater understanding of the human race.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting, informative, and enjoyable.......2004-10-05

William Calvin is one of my favorite writers and thinkers on the brain. I don't always agree with his ideas, but he's creative in a way I enjoy and his ideas are always provocative and even pathbreaking in the way he integrates diverse areas--from linguistics to climatology--with the evolution and development of the brain.

This books brings together some of his best essays, covering a diverse array of topics. For those of you who aren't familiar with Calvin, this is an excellent introduction to his thought, which I can highly recommend.

Since we're on the subject, I thought I'd make a few comments on one of Calvin's interesting ideas--which is the proposition that spear-throwing was specifically the motor action that provided the stimulus for the subsequent evolution of the cerebral cortex and greater encephalization of the human brain. While I like this idea, and also am excited by the possbility of pinpointing such an important causative agent in our evolution, I also feel it's very difficult to isolate or pinpoint a specific action that could be responsible, but I'd like to consider it nevertheless in the light of what we do know about the development and nature of motor control in the human brain.

If you look at the pyramidal cortex, which has the most complex motor capabilities, we see that it's mainly specialized for fine hand movements and coordination. For example, typing or playing the piano or a musical instrument gets mediated by this area--or the fine control required by a surgeon's hand.

Rhythmic movements, even very fast ones, oddly enough, are not necessarily a highly evolved capability and in fact, if I remember right, are mediated by the cerebellar vermis, a structure in the cerebellum, or at least some portion of the cerebellum. We know from brain damage studies that people lose this ability from damage to the cerebellum. It has the tongue-twisting name of dysdiadocochinesia.

But getting back to the spear throwing capability, much of the eye-hand coordination for this sort of thing is in fact still mediated by the cerebellum. For example, it is known that scale transformation of muscle movements and velocity prediction occurs in the cerebellum in hard-wired circuits that are basically using tensor matrix multiplication to handle the scaling issues and mapping issues between sensory and motor control functions.

Speaking of "hard-wired" capabilities, I recall from my own studies of synaptic connectivity that the pyramidal cortex neurons have an average of about 3000 synapses with other neurons. Contrast this with those of the cerebellum, which are thought to have 100,000 connections, a truly staggering number. But this makes sense when you consider that it controls so many functions that have to be very quick and essentially automatic with very low time latencies and time constants.

And if you've ever seen the mathematical studies in the area of occulomotor control theory, which mostly looks at the optic tectum and superior colliculus areas, you know how complex that can get even though it's technically not a cortical area. Mathematically, it is using Voltera-kernel based integro-differential equations for predictive target tracking and so on.

So if you consider how advanced even the more primitive motor areas of the brain are, you have to find something pretty complex to require the intervention of the cerebral cortex.

And we haven't even talked about the last major motor area, the basal ganglia yet, which are just below the cortex, the putamen, caudate nucleus, and the globus pallidus. These structures are mainly responsible for the dynamic regulation of muscle tension through various neural pathways and feedback systems, mainly the gamma motor efferent system to the golgi tendon organs in the muscle fibers and the alpha motor pathways going to the intrafusal fibers of the annulospiral endings of the neuromuscular spindles.

Well, I didn't mean to wax so nerdy but anyway, that's about all the motor physiology I remember. :-) That wasn't my strongest area, exactly, being basically a sensory neurophysiologist and limbic system guy.

But anyway, to sum up, from what I recall, much of the coordination in throwing a spear would still be mediated by many of these more primitive areas below the cortex. It was the fine hand and finger manipulation movements and requirements that seem to me to have been responsible for the evolution of the more advanced pyramidal motor cortex.

However, all that having been said, Calvin could be right if the spear-throwing thing first got the evolution of the cortex going, and the pyramidal area then evolved later--which is basically what he's saying. My only problem with that is whether that ability requires the sort of control required by increasing encephalization. My understanding is that chimps don't have a pyramidal area, or at least a very highly developed one, and they can throw things just fine, but they couldn't play the piano, so that's another thing that sets us apart in addition to the language areas like Broca's and Wernicke's areas and so on, which they don't have to the same extent either.

I had one other topic I thought I'd comment on, which is a little off topic, but it pertains to the present sorry state of humanity and to the relationship between our current lifestyle and what we are basically evolved for, which, especially in the case of advanced western countries, with our sedentary jobs and lifestyle, is very different our evolution.

If you consider that chimps survive quite well with a brain of about 400-500 cubic centimeters, and the human average is almost four times that, all that extra brain power has just enabled us to get into more trouble. It seems clear to me that homo sapiens has evolved a brain much bigger than he needs and that accounts for his current sorry and unhappy state. :-)

To elaborate a bit, consider the difference between a typical Homo sapiens and a typical Neanderthal. Homo sapiens is a more "gracile" species, with longer, slighter, straighter bones, lighter musculature, but faster, more agile, and more active. The difference is much like that between a runner and a wrestler. Of course, there are groups that are somewhat more naturally heavier boned and heavily muscled, such as certain northern European groups, but they're the exception to the rule.

Basically, we're supposed to be chasing woolly rhinos and mammoths through the brush with fire-hardened and flint tipped spears rather than sitting at a computer screen all day totally sedentary, eating Pringles and drinking Cokes and not geting any exercise and getting fat. We're clearly evolved for a more active lifestyle and yet most of us, at least in the west, have jobs and lifestyles that are sendentary and relatively inactive.

All this leads to lifestyle-related diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes, atherosclerosis, and so on, notwithstanding the fact that psychologically we're not suited to just being that sendentary either and I think that contributes to a lot of individual and social malaise and unhappiness, especially if you consider that, according to health statistics, 50% of Americans over the age of 40 are overweight.

Anyway, just a few thoughts on one of Calvin's interesting recent ideas.

The Throwing Madonna. Essays on the Brain.

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The Throwing Madonna. Essays on the Brain.

Manufacturer: McGraw Hill Book Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000I371XI

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The Throwing Madonna: Essays on the Brain
William H. Clavin
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OFA1PA

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The Throwing Madonna: Essays on the Brain
William H. Calvin
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OFA236

Book Description

This monograph provides for the first time a comprehensive review of anatomical, physiological, biophysical, and psychophysiological aspects of electrodermal activity. The origins of this crucial biosignal, measurement techniques, and applicability to related disciplines are all explored to provide the researcher with an invaluable handbook.

Electrodermal Activity in Psychological Research

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Electrodermal Activity in Psychological Research

Manufacturer: Academic Press Inc.,U.S.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Physiology | Basic Science | Medicine | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0125659504

Diurnal autonomic variations and emotional reactivity [An article from: Biological Psychology]

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Diurnal autonomic variations and emotional reactivity [An article from: Biological Psychology]
P. Hot , P. Leconte , and H. Sequeira
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Elsevier | By Publisher | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B000RR41K6

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Biological Psychology, published by Elsevier in 2005. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Diurnal temporal variations of emotional reactivity were investigated in relationship with fluctuations of psychophysiological state, evaluated by tonic autonomic activity. Neutral and unpleasant pictures, selected to constitute seven matched sets, were evaluated by 12 participants during seven sessions in the course of daytime. Skin conductance level (SCL) was recorded at the beginning of each session, whereas skin conductance responses (SCRs), affective evaluation and emotional experience were measured during or after each session. Data show significant temporal variations for SCL, SCRs and emotional experience which follow similar patterns during the daytime. Discussion highlights the role of temporal patterns of autonomic activity as an interesting basis to better understand the emotional regulation and affective disorders.

Memory enhancement by a semantically unrelated emotional arousal source induced after learning [An article from: Neurobiology of Learning and Memory]

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Memory enhancement by a semantically unrelated emotional arousal source induced after learning [An article from: Neurobiology of Learning and Memory]
K.A. Nielson , D. Yee , and K.I. Erickson
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000RR877O

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
It has been well established that moderate physiological or emotional arousal modulates memory. However, there is some controversy about whether the source of arousal must be semantically related to the information to be remembered. To test this idea, 35 healthy young adult participants learned a list of common nouns and afterward viewed a semantically unrelated, neutral or emotionally arousing videotape. The tape was shown after learning to prevent arousal effects on encoding or attention, instead influencing memory consolidation. Heart rate increase was significantly greater in the arousal group, and negative affect was significantly less reported in the non-arousal group after the video. The arousal group remembered significantly more words than the non-arousal group at both 30min and 24h delays, despite comparable group memory performance prior to the arousal manipulation. These results demonstrate that emotional arousal, even from an unrelated source, is capable of modulating memory consolidation. Potential reasons for contradictory findings in some previous studies, such as the timing of ''delayed'' memory tests, are discussed.

Poor insight in traumatic brain injury mediated by impaired error processing? [An article from: Cognitive Brain Research]

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Poor insight in traumatic brain injury mediated by impaired error processing? [An article from: Cognitive Brain Research]
F.M. O'Keeffe , P.M. Dockree , and I.H. Robertson
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000RR2JIM

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Cognitive Brain Research, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Impaired deficit awareness is common following traumatic brain injury (TBI) and is a major obstacle to rehabilitation. We have previously confirmed the presence of impaired error awareness in TBI using a highly discriminating go/no-go procedure. In the present study, we extend this work to try to identify more closely the nature of the error awareness deficit using measures of electrodermal activity (EDA). Sixteen participants with TBI and sixteen age-, sex-, and education-matched controls performed the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART), while EDA was recorded. TBI detected significantly fewer errors compared to controls. EDA was significantly attenuated for TBI participants even to errors of which they were aware; error detection rates and EDA amplitude were also correlated. These findings suggest that poor insight following TBI may result, in part, from impaired error processing abilities.

Stroop color-word test, arousal, electrodermal activity and performance in a critical driving situation [An article from: Biological Psychology]

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Stroop color-word test, arousal, electrodermal activity and performance in a critical driving situation [An article from: Biological Psychology]
C. Collet , C. Petit , A. Priez , and A. Dittmar
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000RR41W4

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Biological Psychology, published by Elsevier in 2005. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
The aim of this experiment was to study drivers' performance when confronted with a critical crash avoidance situation. Subjects were asked to cover three laps of a private circuit (4min per lap), respecting speed limits. During the last lap, an inflated dummy car, placed at an intersection, was pulled onto the traffic lane. The synchronization signal releasing the obstacle was triggered to make the braking distance too short, thus requiring subjects to brake and turn the driving wheel simultaneously. Before driving, subjects completed the Stroop color-word test. Skin conductance (SC) was recorded continuously, before and during driving. Subjects who performed the least well also performed the least well to Stroop test. The SC level showed that subjects avoiding the obstacle were more aroused than those who crashed into the dummy car. Performance to Stroop test and physiological arousal were thus shown to be determining factors in management of a critical driving situation.

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ELECTRODERMAL ACTIVITY
Wolfram Boucsein
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N6C9QY

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Electrodermal Activity
Wolfram Boucsein
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OSL2NM

Relation between the visual orienting response (VOB) and phasic and tonic aspects of electrodermal activity (University of Utrecht. Psychological Laboratory. Report 14)

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Relation between the visual orienting response (VOB) and phasic and tonic aspects of electrodermal activity (University of Utrecht. Psychological Laboratory. Report 14)
M. N Verbaten
Manufacturer: University of Utrecht
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007AL156

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The perfect baseball book

Far too basic....

Good survey of the game...

Got it used...

The Thinking Fan's Guide to Baseball, Revised Edition (Hall of Fame Edition, No. 3)
Leonard Koppett
Manufacturer: SportClassic Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Baseball | Sports | Subjects | Books
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Koppett's Concise History of Major League Baseball

Pure Baseball

Tim McCarver's Baseball for Brain Surgeons and Other Fans: Understanding and Interpreting the Game So You Can Watch It Like a Pro

The Joy of Keeping Score: How Scoring the Game Has Influenced and Enhanced the History of Baseball

The Hidden Language of Baseball

ASIN: 189496330X

Book Description

Despite the changes in the game of baseball, Koppett's book remains a must read for anyone interested in the national pasttime's game beyond the game.

Customer Reviews:

The perfect baseball book.......2007-10-07

I've been a baseball fan and observer for nearly fifty years. What Leonard Koppett has accomplished in The Thinking Fan's Guide to Baseball is nothing less than the encapsulation of baseball history, politics, strategy and behind-the-scenes activities into 385 extremely readable pages. I have the 2001 edition and it is completely up-to-date to that point. Highly recommended.

Far too basic...........2006-05-29

Far too basic for even the average fan - i found myself skipping around too much when i started reading things that anyone who has any knowledge of baseball should know. This book may be a good beginner's book for younger fans.

Good survey of the game..........2005-11-01

This is a good overall book for the casual baseball fan who is looking to improve his or her overall understanding of the game of baseball.

The book is broken into into three parts, each building on the previous one. The first part, "The Game on the Field" explains pretty much everything that goes on during an actual game. Everyone's roles are explained fully, from the starting pitcher, to the umpires. Each major part (pitching, for example) has its own chapter dedicated to it, and usually includes interesting historical anecdotes

The next section, Behind the Scenes, explains all the "other stuff" that is part of baseball, if not necessarily the actual "game". Things like the media, agents, the commissioner, owners, etc.

The book concludes with some classic baseball discussions/arguments that that will sound familiar to most fans: Who Deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, Who was the better player: Mantle or Mays?

There are also three very brief and basic appendices, which seemed a little tacked-on.

Overall, the book is very well done, but I was a tad disappointed. The title of the book led me to believe that there would be a lot more in-depth analysis of particular strategies, similar to what one might find in a book by Bill James or John Thorn. Instead, what I got was a good, if rather basic book on the game of baseball and all that is a part of it.

This isn't a big deal, really. The book is well-written, and Koppett includes a lot of interesting anecdotes about famous players. The book is also an excellent primer for the budding baseball afficionado who wants to understand the game at its deepest level. It is almost impossible not to find something in this book that interests you, which is a very good thing also as it leads you to read and learn more about the game, no matter where your particular interests may take you.

Got it used..........2005-04-02

For a serious baseball fan, this is a pretty darn good book. I enjoyed it tattered covers and all.

Product Description

This is the first grammar of the Albanian language, written expressly for the American student. This is the third edition of the grammar. This new edition includes an appendix and CD as a guide to pronunciation

Customer Reviews:

Excellent, easy to follow.......2007-09-06

I was a foreigner living in Albania for some time before buying this book. This is an excellent study tool and guide. For each chapter, there is a conversation or article, that is then translated (very helpful), a grammar section and a list of vocab. Interspersed throughout the chapter are exercises (an answer key is included at the end of the book). After ten or so lessons, there is a review lesson full of exercises to cement what has been learned.

It is a beginning book into Albanian grammar, by no means comprehensive, but useful for anyone desiring to learn this language used widely in the Balkans. I have used it in combination with daily conversation and found it very beneficial.

Albanian Grammer.......2007-03-25

I found the book to be a great help in learning Albanian. It is very well laid out and easily absorbed. The author deserves high praise for publishing such a helpful book.

The book is useful, but has very few texts on the CD.......2007-03-17

I learn languages fast and by myself, and I greatly depend on audio. Unfortunately the author decided to record the text of only 9 of the 40 chapters (and those partly). The CD has long tracks on how to pronounce single words and phonemes, but these are out of context. The remaining CD consists of poetry recitations, including Shakespear. Also, the sound of the CD has a background noice that interferes with the need to listen closely to new sounds.
The book is ok with explanations, but it does not list or explain much of the vocabulary it uses, either in the text or in the index. One must use it with a dictionary.
I realize the choices for Albanian are few; the Isa Zymberi book has pretty comprehensive audio but apparently focuses on the Kosovo dialect. The best may be the $90 book by Leonard Newmark with its 6 cassettes.

complete course in Albanian.......2007-02-14

It is a very complete course in Albanian language with a very constructed basic grammar and substantive vocabulary.

Aspiring Albanian Speaker's View!!!!.......2005-12-21

I must admit that even though I have probably bought over $1000 of stuff over the years on amazon.com, this will be my first ever review of anything on Amazon. I feel compelled to do so because there seems to be very few books of this nature to learn albanian as an English speaker. First I would like to give you a little bit of a background so that you have a better understanding where I am coming from. I hate reviews where people give long winded explanations of why a product sucked or was good, but in the end the review was not a good one beacuse it wasn't relevant to you.

First off, I am an Italian-American living in Italy. I am fluent in both languages. I also have a decent linguistical background in Vietnamese, German and Greek. Though I wouldn't claim anything but elementary speaker at this point in the latter two. My fiance is Albanian and we speak almost exclusively in Italian (99%) even though she is fluent in English as well. Being that we live in Italy, that has a large part in why we speak exclusively in Italian.

Anyways, I have been wanting to learn Albanian for a couple of reasons. First, that is a huge part of my fiance's life. She is Albanian and out of respect to her, her family, and all Albanians I feel that it is only fair. Second, we already speak two languages in common so why not make it three. Third, Albanian is a very cool language. It has a very unique sound and at first glance it has a slavic tone to it. But if you have a well trained ear, you will notice right away that it is not a slavic language. It does however borrow some words here or there (even from italian) but in the end it is a truly unique and thriving language that should bring you much enjoyment. There. That is my background. Now on with the review.

I am going to do a mixed review. I am adding Isa Zymberi's Colloquial Albanian (book only) to the mix as well because these are almost exclusively the only two good books out there that will teach you Albanian with an emphasis on grammar as well as vocabulary. Both of these books are a must for anyone wanting to learn Albanian. And I would recommend using both at the same time. For example: At the same time you have completed the first 10 chapters of this book, you should have completed roughly 4 or 5 chapters of Isa Zymberi's book. And after doing so, go back through those chapters once again before moving on.

This book has 40 chapters and seems to be a little lighter or slower on the grammar side. You still get all the grammar that you need, it just seems to go about it a little bit slower. Isa Zymberi's book has only 26 or so chapters and the grammar and self-tests seem to be a bit better or more indepth. Probably due to the concentration of matter being split into a smaller abount of chapters. Either way, I have found that using both books are way better than limiting yourself to only one.

All that is missing now is a really good dictionary!!!

If I had to rate each book seperately I would give them 4 stars or 4.5 stars a piece but together they get a collective 5. In the end, if you only have the loot to get one book, either book is fine. But since these are pretty much the only two books out there, I would still get both.

I hope this review will help you in your decision.

Lamtumirë!

UÇITESJ ALBANSKOMU JAZYKU - MESONI SHQIP: Learn Albanian

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UÇITESJ ALBANSKOMU JAZYKU - MESONI SHQIP: Learn Albanian
×åçàð Êóðòè
Manufacturer: BookSurge Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1419630083
Release Date: 2006-04-18

Book Description

"Learn Albanian" for Russian speaking people.

Customer Reviews:

Immanently useful..........2002-11-12

As someone who's hobby is re/creating illuminated manuscripts, I found this book to be a great help in getting me past the hurdle of attempting to do gilding on some of my own work. Ms. Whitley's no-nonsense approach, step-by-step instructions, examples and photographs of her gilding her own pieces helped me overcome my nervousness in dealing with gold leaf.

This book is a must for anyone wanting to 'leap the hurdle' and utilize gold leaf in their own manuscript illuminations. This book goes onto my 'working reference' shelf...it's not going to be collecting dust for quite some time.

Antiquarian & modern techniques of manuscript gilding.......2001-02-13

For centuries artists and illuminators have applied gold to paper in order to decorate and adorn manuscripts. Professional manuscript restorer Kathleen Whitley's The Gilded Page: The History & Technique Of Manuscript Gilding explains in detail both the antiquarian and modern techniques of manuscript gilding including the tools, methods, and materials employed in flat, raised, and patterned gilding used on manuscripts and paintings. Impressively researched and written, we are authoritatively offered the step-by-step techniques of applying and burnishing gold in an immanently sensible and easy-to-understand text that is enhanced with dozens of rare illustrations drawn from The British Library, the British Museum, and other institutions, along with Whitley's own photographs and drawings. The Gilded Page is an enthusiastically recommended addition to any bibliophile reading list and reference collection.

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A mandatory addition to the library of everyone who works for a living (or would like to).

A mandatory addition to the library of everyone who
works for a living (or would like to).