MyBookReview

The Mammoth Book of Heroes: True Stories from 1000 BC to the Present

disney — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:11:22 +0000

I’m sure many have watched the movie 300, the story of 300 Spartans defending their homeland at a narrow gorge called Thermopylae or Hell’s Gate. The story of the 300 brave spartans is just one many heroic stories featured in this book. There are even stories from the bible such as the fight between David and Goliath, a classic example of how the underdog won. True courage is one of the most highly attributes of humanity. Throughout history we have heard and read about the accounts of extraordinary people conquering overwhelming odds. There over 70 accounts of heroism in this book, men, women showed real courage with most the time with their lives on the line.

About the book:

The Mammoth Book of Heroes: True Stories from 1000 BC to the Present

By Jon E. Lewis

Compiled by Jon E. Lewis

Published by Robinson, 2002

ISBN 1841195944

496 pages

The Joy of Pissing

disney — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:36:20 +0000

You are probably wondering how much more you need to know about pissing beyond pointing and flushing. Yes this book is all about pissing or urinating. The science, the art and everything you can imagine that’s connected to pissing. It was written by Prof. Jimmy Riddle who has a Phd in Pissology. I enjoy reading this book because it is about a simple basic idea conveyed in a witty and humorous way with some academic aspects. There are also funny illustrations to stress the points.

The chapters include:

Toilet Training
Advanced Pissing Skills
the Finer Piss Arts
Tales of Urination
Damn the Dick or Take the Stick
Urine and Sex
Jimmy Riddle’s Inventions
Pissing Problems
Urine, the Elixir of Life
Motion Piss Tours
Laws Regarding Pissing in Public

About the book:

The Joy of Pissing
By Jimmy Riddle
Published by Crombie Jardine Publishing Limited, 2006
ISBN 1905102879, 9781905102877
192 pages

Build a Great Team

disney — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 00:22:01 +0000

I’m sure any one who had the experience of leading a team, wished that he or she could do everything? Normally team members give you more headache than the task itself. In this book, it shows you how to build a team. Building a great team means that together, you can accomplish the task.

The book provides you with the skills to choose the right people for the right roles, complementing each other and combining skills to create a winning team spirit. The book will tell you how to identify and therefore avoid problematic people to be in the team. Problem people such as the daydreamer, the loner, the sulker, the secretive person, the uncommunicative person and many more. You will learn to inspire and to motivate members with the appropriate rewards.

Building team spirit includes the following techniques:

Enourage team members to support each other.
Train the team together.
Put different people in charge of different projects.
Give your team confidential information.
Treat everyone as part of the team.

This is a great book to have if you are managing project teams.

About the book:

Build a Great Team!

By Ros Jay

Published by Prentice Hall, 2000

ISBN 0273644823, 9780273644828

The Cult of the Amateur: How Today’s Internet is Killing Our Culture and Assaulting Our Economy

disney — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:43:37 +0000

This is a book I bought to prepare myself for a talk I delivered on web 2.0. It is interesting and thought provoking. To some aspect I do agree with the book. The book talks about how amateurism is taking over conventional and professionals content providers. Take for example YouTube. Yes it has taken the world by storm by providing a community driven video clip database. But it also spurned amateurs to put up non-quality content that are not relevant to the masses. What the internet is driving at is more quantity rather than quality.

Another example is blogs. According to the book, blogs has taken over mainstream writing ie newspapers for news. Yes that’s true. Also the book contends that majority of the writings may not be factually validated. That is a problem.

How does the internet affect the economy? In recent years, we see sites the likes of Napster, which provided free MP3 downloads. Of course, the music industry was not happy, resulting in legal action taken agains Napster.

However in my opinion, although the book talks about the darker side of the internet and how it spurs the cult of amateur, but it cannot deny the fact that through the internet, millions have benefitted and affected. It’s digital democracy, the conventional and the mainstream needs to adapt themselves to this revolution.

About the book:

The Cult of the Amateur: How Today’s Internet is Killing Our Culture and Assaulting Our Economy
By Andrew Keen
Published by Nicholas Brealey, 2007
ISBN 1857883934, 9781857883930
228 pages

The Rules of Work: A Definitive Code for Personal Success

disney — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:08:51 +0000

Consider this book the “ten commandments” of work. In this book you will encounter ten rules. Each rule is futher subdivided into ten explanation or sections. The ten rules are:

Walk your talk
Know that you’re being judged at all times
Have a plan
If you can’t say anything nice - shut up
Look after yourself
Blend in
Act one step ahead
Cultivate diplomacy
Know the system - and milk it
Handle the opposition

Rule 4 is an easy rule to understand but a tough one to follow. We all like to gossip, to bitch, to talk about our boss behind their back. The rule, however is - don’t do it. Learn to say only positive things, nice things, complimentary things. In reality, this rule is broken all time. Even at my organisation, we all talked about our boss….not necessarily in positive tone. Nevertheless…our boss is still our boss and we still need tor respect him or her.

I would recommend this book for those who want to know about the principles of work. It will give lots of insights in dealing with the realities of your job.

About the book:

The Rules of Work: A Definitive Code for Personal Success

By Richard Templar

Published by Prentice Hall Business, 2002

ISBN 0273662716, 9780273662716

224 pages

The Naked Leader

disney — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 00:08:21 +0000

This is a book about leadership not literary naked in a sense. This books aims to strip away the myth and mystery, the jargon and the hype to make personal and professional success a matter of choice. At the end of each chapter, you are given choices. You may follow the choice you made or you can read this book in a conventional way. But I can tell this book is non-conventional.

I’ve been to many meetings, all sorts of meetings. The kinds of meetings that I dread most is the long-winded and boring ones. A heated one is interesting and dramatic as long as you’re not the one in the firing line. In one section of the book, it tells about influence in company meetings (boring or otherwise). No matter how it is conducted, one should always utilise meetings to build rapport and to get to know your peers better. Seating is important too. If you want to provide some influence to the chairman, seat either to right or to the left of the chairman because the chairman tends to confide in the persons seat next to him/her. If you are seated in the opposite side, you may risk getting into conflict. This is just one of tips in the book. There are many more.

I recommend this book if you’re management level or in a position of influence.

About the book:

Paperback
The Naked Leader
Authored by David Taylor
Published by Bantam Books, 2003
ISBN 0553815652
351 pages

Taking Pictures for Profit: The complete guide to selling your work

disney — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 00:45:45 +0000

Photography is one of those activities that you can indulge as a hobby and also for livelihood. The best way is to turn your hobby into a profit-oriented activity. That’s what this book is all about. This book is quite old by today’s standards because at the of print, Digital Photography was still unheard. Nevertheless the concepts of photography is still valid with this book.

The book takes you from the basics of business sense in photography, finding your market and shooting stock. Of course these days with digital photography and the Internet, one can just do it easily. The downside of it is the competition are stiffer now because digital cameras are more affordable and also there are lots of quality photos available for free.

In section two of the book talks extensively about finding your niche. There are a few local photographers who specialize in wedding photography. They are good. But there are many others out there…so competition is tough. So they set up their blog and publish some of their best shots. The power of the Internet helps them get noticed.

About the book:

Taking Pictures for Profit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your Work
By Lee Frost
Published by David & Charles Publishers, 1998
ISBN 0715307878, 9780715307878
160 pages

Victory: 100 Great Military Commanders

disney — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:47:13 +0000

Hannibal, regarded as the father of military strategy was able to shake the Roman’s military might to its core and almost conquered Rome. He lived from 247 to 183 BC, son of Hamilcar Barca the Carthaginian general. After his father’s death he vowed eternal hostility towards Rome and made that promise to his father. Hannibal’s greatest military feat was marching to the Italian Peninsula by land. On the way his army had to overcome not only physical environment but also hostile tribes. His army crossed the Alps on to Rome’s doorstep. What remains of his army, with 20,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry and few war elephants, Hannibal took on the might of Rome by decimating Gaius Flaminius’s army on the shores of Lake Trasimene. His army also destroyed a calvary counterattack lead by Gaius Centenius. By then his army was too weary from battle to take on the undefended Rome capital. He was just three miles away. And at Cannae, southern Italy, the Carthaginian army left 60,000 Roman soldiers dead.

He was finally defeated by Scipio Africanus at Zama, and went on the run eversince. He committed suicide in 183 rather than submit himself to the Romans. The Romans regarded Hannibal as a worthy adversary and recorded his exploits.

Hannibal is only one of 100 greatest military commanders feature in this book. The commanders featured in this book, from the Spartan Leonidas of 300 fame to General Colin Powell during the first Gulf War.

For military buffs this is a good book to read and to have as reference.

About the book:

Victory: 100 Great Military Commanders

By Nigel Cawthorne

Published by Arcturus, 2004

ISBN 0572029365, 9780572029364

208 pages

The Magic of Making Training Fun!!!

disney — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:00:25 +0000

Who says training needs to be boring? Training should be fun to be effective. This is a good book for trainers who wants to make training as interactive and pleasantly fun as possible. I believe one of the success factors for any training lies not only in the methods and techniques but also the personality of the trainer. A fun and witty trainer will surely be more engaging and more successful in training.The book contains not only methods and techniques but also activities to include into your training.

Why I did I buy this book in the first place? Training has been one of passion in the workplace as it allows me to share my knowledge to others. By doing that I get a sense of fulfillment that I have done something good. However, I was not trained as a trainer. I learned it through experience and by reading. This is one of the books that is useful.

Good book to have if you are into training.

About the book:

More details

The Magic of Making Training Fun!!!

By R Palan

Published by SMR Learning Technologies Division, 1999

ISBN 983992883X, 9789839928839

Dogbert’s Top Secret Management Handbook

disney — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:23:32 +0000

One of my favourite comic is Dilbert a character created by Scott Adams. Dilbert has a dog called Dogbert, whom I believe is Dilbert’s alter ego. Anyways this book is basically a satire on management techniques. I like this book because it is funny and witty but yet plausible sometimes. Although I wouldn’t recommend one to take this book seriously and literally because you might end up in trouble if you’re management level.

The book provides illustrations in classic Scott Adams way. Dogbert reveals the many vital skills needed by managers in their daily lives, including:

Pretending to care - learn how to hear without listening!
Competition - experience the joy of setting your people agains on another!
Making decisions - be a leader without making any decisions!
Incentives - inspire employees by giving them worthless knicknacks!

About the book:

Dogbert’s Top Secret Management Handbook

By Scott Adams

Illustrated by Scott Adams

Published by HARPER COLLINS, 1997

ISBN 0887308813, 9780887308819

192 pages