Book Description
In this must-have resource, "two teachers from Minnesota" share their successful use of the simple concept of 5-point scales to help students understand and control their emotional reactions to everyday events that might otherwise set in emotion escalating reactions. Whether it is inappropriate touching, obsessions, yelling, hitting or making hurtful statements to classmates, this clearly illustrated book shows how to break down a given behavior and, with the student's active participation, develop a unique scale that identifies the problem and, just as important, suggests alternative, positive behaviors at each level of the scale.
Customer Reviews:
A must buy for any adult working with a special needs child.......2007-02-11
You can make this work for just about any problem. I now just hold up a finger and my child knows what I am trying to say even my younger child is getting it.
Finally.......2007-02-06
Finally, a basic book listing basic skills for people who do not understand "thinking outside the box." I'm so happy to see something that can help educators and families find hands-on techniques for those who are clueless, hopeless, and helpless.
What a great idea!!.......2007-01-07
This book has been very helpful with my Asperger son and my non-Asperger son. As a teachers aide, I have used it the the kids at school and some teachers have borrowed my book and are using it themselves. It has pages to copy so that you can make your own 5-point scale. Just wonderful!!!
Save your Money.......2006-07-16
This is a great concept, but not worth buying a book over.
It is a simple strategy that can be applied in any context -
Rate the behavior; rate the desired behavior.
It gets a mediocre smile or 3 stars.
Helpful and easy to implement.......2006-06-25
It was very easy to implement the program, and my student got it right away.
Book Description
Now you can have take-out tonight and every night and still lose weight!
Craving Chinese, Mexican, Thai, or even Japanese for dinner? No problem and no need to worry about the fat and calories thanks to Take-Out Tonight! Based on the Weight Watchers
Winning Points® weight loss plan, Take-Out Tonight! serves up more than 150 mouthwatering recipes that reinvent all of America's most-loved take-out dishes -- all 8 POINTS or less! Few people consider, before they stop in for take-out or pick up the phone to call for delivery, how these made-to-order meals fit into their lives if they're trying to lose weight. Truth is, they don't. So let Take-Out Tonight! help you prepare healthy, delicious meals for you and your family using the smart cooking hints people have come to expect from Weight Watchers cookbooks. Take-Out Tonight! includes:
CHINESE CLASSICS, like Shrimp-and-Pork Wontons, Chinese Barbecued Pork, and Szechuan Chicken with Peanuts • MEXICAN MUST-HAVES, like Family-Style Chicken Enchiladas, Chimichurri Steak with Jicama Salsa, and Nachos Supreme • DELI SPECIALS, like Crunchy Chicken Salad Wraps, Reuben Sandwiches, and Crumb-Topped Jumbo Bran Muffins • TOTALLY THAI, like Shrimp Pad Thai and Coconut Rice Pudding • ITALIAN DELIGHTS, like Pizza with the Works, Spaghetti and Meatballs, and Cannoli
Each recipe offers easy how-tos, tips, and complete nutritional information, as well as
POINTS per serving. With Take-Out Tonight! there's really no reason to order out -- so get cooking!
Customer Reviews:
Great Recipes.......2007-09-04
I have had this book for a while and must say it is excellant. I have found recipes for dishes that I couldn't find anywhere and I have over 1000 cookbooks of every kind just about out there. It is definitely a cook book I keep close at hand.
Great Book.......2007-08-23
I love the cookbook. I have a few of them, the dinners in here are great!!! Thank you
very handy to have around the house.......2007-07-18
good service rec'd book in excellent condition and very fast!! Good recipes for the health conscious consumer who may be trying to lose weight too! I love the book! and so does my family!
Portions are skimpy.......2007-05-19
The recipes in this cookbook are quite tasty, but the portions are skimpy!! There's no way I would be satisfied with one portion of these recipes.
If you get this cookbook, prepare to eat tiny portions of the meals you fix and a huge bowl of salad to stay within a reasonable amount of calories but also get full. And I am not a big eater - I usually eat about 350-400 calories for dinner, but I make my calories go far by preparing healthy food that is low-cal.
This cookbook is beautiful, but misleading once you realize how small the portions are. Bummer.
Great cookbook for those that like to eat out!!.......2007-05-16
I love this cookbook. There are lots of delicious recipes, and they taste so great that even those who are not watching their weight will love them. There are lots of very different options, and none of the recipes I have made so far are too difficult or too time-consuming.
Book Description
he U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 11 million households contain teenagers who engage in acts of violence, truancy, promiscuity, and substance abuse.Dr. Sells gives parents the power to make lasting changes with seven proven, practical steps:1. Learn the real reasons for teen misbehavior2. Make an ironclad contract to stop that behavior3. Troubleshoot future problems4. End button-pushing5. Stop the seven acesfrom disrespect to threats of violence6. Mobilize outside help7. Reclaim lost love within the family.Dr. Sellss compassionate guide offers a lifeline to parents who want to help their children but dont know how.
Customer Reviews:
Horrid !.......2007-09-04
This book was recommended by a therapist while we were struggling with our soon to be 15 year old at the time. It was devasting. The concepts and suggestions are embarressing, insulting and degrading to teenagers and show no respect for their individualism, personal struggles or pain. Neither does it truly take into account how many of these teenagers have special needs that need to be considered with patience, humility and self restraint on the part of Authoritarian parents. It is rough having an out of control child. It hurts the entire family and many tears are shed but to further alienate these children is offensive. I know. I did it. I read the book and threw it out. After too much money spent on therapy and programs and taking advice from too many school counselors I found
"Positive Discipline For Teenagers" by Jane Nelson and Lynn Lott. What a concept! Respect these Teenagers! A year ago I was worried my son might end up in jail. Today I'm worried if he is getting enough protein! He is a conscientious cheerfull young man who respects life, is a Vegan and spends time on his own learning to control his anger and disabilities and discusses openly with his Father and I.Thanks to Jane and Lynn for their wonderful book.
Get "Positive Discipline for Teenagers" before your child hits puberty and stay clear of "Parenting Your Out of Control Teenager". Learn to respect and love each other now.
A great Buy!.......2007-08-09
A must buy for beneficial strategic parenting info! Good information to help recognize various behavioral patterns.
This book is a must have.......2007-05-31
I would recommend this book to any parent having trouble with their teenager or even preteen. I had bought a couple of other books that were recommended by my son's couselor, but I saw this one and it is by far the best book out there.
Fabulous!!!!!.......2007-05-08
I have learned so much from this book! I would recomend it to any one with kids. (they will be teens one day!) Kids don't have to be out of control before you look for advice. We all could use a little know how before we get to the out of control point. Thank you Scott P. Sells!!!!
Tools for Your Parenting Tool Kit.......2007-04-18
My suggestion to all parents I work with is always to read as wide a variety of books as possible - and this is one I reccommend. Scott Sells works from the premise that teens are happier when they know the boundaries. This is true however I would like to suggest that this is balanced with a parenting approach based on unconditional love Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reasonand that when this is the basis you are working from your teen is less likely to become uncontrollable.
One of the most important details relating to Sells' book is that it generally relates to teens that have no underlying causes to their behaviors.
Most Teens I work with have suffered abondonment, neglect, adverse effects of broken families, a lack of responsible adult role models of both sexes. When an adolescent is suffering in some way or has experienced trauma the way the tend to communicate is via acting out. It is important at these times to distinguish this behavior as a plea for help! It is often preferable to involve a professional as you are not just dealing with behaviors but underlying problems which must be resolved.
Remember your teen is not their behavior. Love them unconditionally and use the whole range of resources: books, family, counsellors, doctors, community to assist them to grow up to be happy, healthy, responsible adults!
Book Description
Encourages and equips those in authority to master self-leadership principles and realize their full leadership potential.
Amazon.com
In Organizing from the Inside Out, author Julie Morgenstern used three main strategies to whip a living space or office into shape: "analyze, strategize, attack." Using the same system, Morgenstern now shows readers how to get rid of chaotic schedules in order to live more comfortable and productive lives. Morgenstern likens a cluttered schedule to a cluttered closet. For example, a closet is typically "crammed with more stuff than storage," and a schedule is typically "crammed with more tasks than time."
Those who fear "time management" because they worry about living uncreative or overly scheduled lives will find themselves reassured by Morgenstern's ability to customize her system. The most important thing readers must do, she emphasizes, is to create a time management system that fits one's personal style--whether it be spontaneous and easily distracted or highly regimented and efficient. "Just as everyone's living room looks different, reflecting the individual's or family's values and priorities, everyone's time management system will look different, reflecting what's important to him or her," she explains. Fortunately, readers can easily customize her excellent advice while learning how to create a personal time map, streamline routine tasks, conquer procrastination and chronic lateness, and manage all the inevitable crises and distractions of daily life. Speaking of procrastination, what better time than now to try this book out--ridding yourself of all that draining clutter so you can get on with living the life you want? --Gail Hudson
Book Description
A thoroughly updated and expanded edition of the definitive guide to managing and freeing up time Applying the groundbreaking from-the-inside-out approach that made Organizing from the Inside Out a New York Times bestseller, Julie Morgenstern set a new standard for the time- management category. Her system has helped countless readers uncover their psychological stumbling blocks and strengths, and develop a time-management system that suits their individual needs. By applying her proven three-step program-Analyze, Strategize, Attack-and following her effective guidelines, readers will find more time for work, family, self-improvement, or whatever is most important to them. Time management is a learnable skill, and in this completely revised edition, Morgenstern provides the ultimate tools to combine, delegate, and eliminate unnecessary tasks; put technology to work; and stop procrastinating once and for all.This revised edition delivers- a new chapter about the WADE formula for getting started- new time maps for people with irregular schedules- new four-, eight-, and twelve-week program guides for improving time-management skills - a fully updated resource guide
Customer Reviews:
Worth Reading.......2007-07-04
I really loved this book. I got so much out of it, that I have started to read all her other books too. She is really different in her approach to time management and it really works for me. The book is very well written, easy to follow and is a book you can keep to use as a resource for many years to come.
My Clients Love this Book.......2007-03-24
I just got this book because my business coaching clients often have issues with running a business, often by themselves, and finding enought time to have a life. Julie offers great, easy to implement strategies that help the really busy person get control. I love that she looks at the hidden reasons behind our time management difficulties and styles. I keep recommending it and will continue!
Joseph.......2007-01-10
Perfect. I use this text in my teaching of a college level course.
For everyone who has been trying to be organized...this is the book to start with !
Time Management.......2006-07-10
I have to be honest and say that Time Management from the Inside Out is the first "time management" book I have read; therefore, I have nothing else to compare it to. However, during my first year in college, I was forced to take a time management course and I must say Time Management from the Inside Out was a far out better course than the one I took in college. Not only does Julie Morgenstern walks us step by step on how to schedule our time, but she helps us define our "Big-Picture Goals". Chapter 9: defining your goals and activities was my favorite chapter because she made us dream BIG and made me believe our goals were manageable. I also liked that she offered real life examples so people can relate to them and follow the solution that was given. This book is easy reading but it took me a while to finish because she makes us reflect on many issues such as the current behavior one carries in which prevents us to move forward. She offers several exercises that can help one pin point a problem. This was really helpful. I am a 21- year old transfer student about to continue my studies at UCLA and I cannot wait to put into practice the advice Julie Morgenstern offered.
Truly Effective.......2006-07-06
I can't help but express my disapproval at how a review from 2000, which rated this book one star, is a spotlight review.
This reader failed to realize that this book wasn't written for people who are already organized or know the "common sense" things for organization. If organization was that "common sense," more people would be able to get their lives together instantaneously.
Morgenstern builds upon her previous best-seller hit, "Organizing from the Inside Out." For people who have read that book, I would agree that "Time Management" does not offer much else in addition to it. However, "Time Management" stands on its own on the reader from 2000 who gave it one star failed to recognize that this book stands on its own apart from her debut.
A few choice tips that I have found to have helped me:
- Estimate time for big projects: Most people underestimate the time it takes them to do things. It's better to overestimate or get as accurate a time frame as possible. If you overestimate, at least you'll have time to do other things; if you underestimate, you'll feel rushed and like you never have time for anything.
- The WADE formula: Readers of "Organizing from the Inside Out" know this formula well.
WRITE IT DOWN: Record your tasks in a planner or one area.
ADD IT UP: Estimate how long your projects will take.
DECIDE what you will do: delay, delegate, delete or diminish tasks.
EXECUTE YOUR PLAN: Put your plan into action.
- Doing things faster: Pages 69-75 offer great tips for getting things done faster to save YOU time:
- Order groceries online
- Hire someone to clean if you don't have time to do it yourself
- Pay bills online and do it once or twice a month
- Lay out clothes the night before
- Send virtual greeting cards
(While many of the above tips are common sense, many people are disorganized need a gentle reminder - or a swift kick in the you know where - to do many of the easy-to-overlook things.)
- Ten Questions to decide on whether to keep a document or paper
- Set aside daily time to process paperworl
- Compartmentalize your life into six main categories that focus on your "big picture goals" (main things you want to achieve in life). Now, break your life up into smaller pieces to work your way toward those goals.
If you found the sampling above helpful, I'd recommend that you purchase this book. "Do not stop, do not collect $200!" If the above was not (somewhat) helpful to you at all, you'd probably be best skipping this book - or you're already organized and don't need it.
Book Description
For many of us, perfectionism can bring life's most desired rewards. But when the obsessive need for perfection and control gets in the way of our professional and emotional lives, the cost becomes too high. Although many of us appear cool and confident on the outside, inside we are in emotional turmoil, trying to satisfy everyone, attempting to direct the future, and feeling that we are failing.
In TOO PERFECT, Dr. Allan Mallinger draws on twenty years of research and observations from his private practice to show how perfectionism can sap energy, complicate even the simplest decisions, and take the enjoyment out of life. For workaholics or neat freaks, for anyone who fears change or making mistakes, needs rigid rules, is excessively frugal or obstinate, TOO PERFECT offers revealing self-tests, fascinating case histories, and practical strategies to help us overcome obsessiveness and reclaim our right to happiness.
Customer Reviews:
Life Changing.......2006-09-13
Normally I would not be writing a review for an item. I always thought it was because I was lazy, or that I didn't care. After reading this book, I have come to realize that it was in large part because subconsciously, I could not meet my own perfectionist expectations. There are a lot of low-risk undertakings in life that I have not attempted for the same reason.
This book, for me, has brought to my conscious awareness all of the subconscious obsessive thoughts that were creating immense frustration and anxiety in my life. Of course, I realize that changing perfectionistic thoughts is not a quick fix. It takes time and effort, in both cognitive and behavioral aspects.
Of all the books I've read on CBT, NLP, perfectionism and the like, this book has meant the most to me personally than any other book I have ever read.
If you have perfectionistic tendencies, in ANY area of your life, then I hope this book will bring you waves of insight and comfort, like it did me.
Fabulous Book.......2006-03-10
I had trouble finding a good book about obsessive compulsive personality type (most were about obssessive compulsive disorder) until I found this one. It was so fascinating that I flew through it in one night! I had many "ah-ha" moments while reading the book, and recognized certain traits in my spouse, my mother, and myself. I found the book to be well written, easy to read and understand, and amazingly informative. It had many positive things to say to balance the negative and included constructive suggestions for changing behavior patterns. I highly recommend reading this book.
Wow.......2005-04-19
I tend to be rather obsessive and perfecitionist about many things, and have often suffered from this (though I'm not a typical obsessive-compulsive). This book has given me great insights into my own destructive ways of thinking and behaving. It was a lot of fun to read and very encouraging and comforting. Insight is one thing of course, changing your behavior (for which the book gives several tipps) is another. But this book is a great start.
Best book yet.......2004-07-03
I think I have now read all of the book on perfectionism and OCPD. This was the best yet as it was the first time that they were not just focusing on perfectionism but being obsessive. It was the only one that mentioned Obsessive Compulsive Personallity Disorder instead of perfectionism. Perfectionism is one form of OCPD and this book covers it all with great recommendations on how to get over each form of it. This should be the only lay persons book you will need from a secular stand point.
Loved it and use it all the time.......2004-06-22
I think this book is outstanding and touches on a topic that so many people can relate to. A valuable resource to say the least!
Amazon.com
In many ways, the 20th century has been the Age of Physics.
Out of Control is an accessible and entertaining explanation of why the coming years will probably be the Age of Biology -- particularly evolution and ethology -- and what this will mean to most every aspect of our society. Kelly is an enthusiastic and well-informed guide who explains the promises and implications of this rapidly evolving revolution very well.
Customer Reviews:
This Book Is Out of Control.......2007-03-19
I must admit that I'm a little ticked at spending a considerable amount of time reading a 500 page book with too many ideas and lack of focus. The editing left a lot to be desired. Throughout the book, the author asserts that if dumb, simple things (e.g. a swarm of bees) continuously communicate with each other they will eventually become capable of performing highly complex tasks not feasible by the will of intelligent beings. Yet, this point is expressed in such a complex manner that it makes one wonder why the author didn't follow his philosophy by dumbing down his arguments and letting the plentiful explain the more difficult concepts.
The main premise of the book is the idea of intelligent beings, in this case humans, giving up control of their creations, which are machines, and letting them "adapt on their own, evolve in their own direction, and grow without human oversight."
There are some intriguing ideas such as: No sustaining ecosystem is in equilibrium or completely "in control". Some chaotic or "out of control" events are required for complex systems to function. For example, the earth's atmosphere is made up of 20% oxygen. This oxygen content is just enough to maintain viable ecosystems without burning up the earth from fires.
"Out of Control" was written in 1994, and 14 years later global warming is a hot button. What happened to the Kelly's grand ideas of recycling (see example of Danish companies recycling each others' waste somewhere in the book)? How much closer are we to eco-friendly intelligent homes and personal belongings? Instead of moving to cheap renewable energy sources, we are experiencing the use of fossil fuels like never before with the fast growing economies of China and India. Crucial counteracting forces seemed to have been completely ignored by the author in projecting a sea of changes in how humans behave. Solar energy will never succeed as a viable energy source unless Big Oil has a monopoly over the sun. Digital cash has been a failure because its success would've destroyed the profits of Visa/Mastercard.
The author is a proponent of the idea of passing down learned behavior innately to offsprings, i.e. through genes. For example, experiments cited from one scientist proved evolution with learned behavior passed down to offsprings is superior to natural evolution. In this instance the author ignored the prospect of passing down negative and undesirable learned behavior that is criminal in nature for example. It's best that all offsprings are created much like computers, and most behavior is learned much like software. It is precisely individuality that facilitates variability, the hallmark of evolution. The author himself even argues for systems thriving at the edge of chaos; systems flexible enough to adapt to the changing environment, yet not rigid enough to become unadaptable. Passing down learned behavior to offsprings would undoubtedly create a more rigid system. Besides, most people already harbor the ill effects of bad parenting. The last thing they need is to acquire this cr*p at conception.
At the end of the book, Mr. Kelly mentions "The Nine Laws of God". One law in particular stood out: "Grow by chunking" which states "The only way to make a complex system that works is to begin with a simple system that works. Attempts to instantly install highly complex organization-such as intelligence or a market economy-without growing it, inevitably lead to failure..... Time is needed to let each part test itself against all the others...." The failure to observe this law has been aptly demonstrated in the U.S. effort to build democracy in Iraq, and to a lesser degree the pressure exerted on Russia by the west to quickly move to a market economy following the collapse of communism.
Inspite of all the criticism, I'm glad I read this book. The ideas could have been expressed in 200 pages fewer and more coherently. Pick up a copy and fasten your seat belt. You will be riding this one for a while.
Perhaps the most important book of the 90s.......2006-08-24
Why are the three most powerful forces in our world--evolution, democracy and capitalism--so controversial? Hundreds (in the case of democracy, thousands) of years after they were first understood, we still can't quite believe these three phenomena work. Socialist Europe resists capitalism, the religious right in America questions evolution and the Middle East makes a mockery of democracy. When you think about it, it's easy to understand why: all three are radically counterintuitive. "One person, one vote?" What if they vote wrong?
But that's the problem--we're thinking about it. Our brains aren't wired to understand the wisdom of the crowd. Evolution, democracy and capitalism don't work at the anecdotal level of personal experience, the level at which our story-driven synapses are built to engage. Instead, they're statistical, operating in the realm of collective probability. They're not right--they're "righter". They're not predictable and controllable--they're inherently out of control. That's scary and unsettling, but also hugely important to understand in a world of increasing complexity and diminishing institutional power (mainstream media: meet blogs; military: meet insurgency).
Fortunately, this book that makes sense of all of this. Out of Control was first published in 1994, well before its time, but it's one of those rare books that sells better each year it gets older. That's because Kelly recognized that the messy markets of natural selection, enlightened self-interest and invisible hands all anticipated the Internet and the delights of watching peer-to-peer cacophony create the greatest oracle the world has ever seen. Some of the examples may be a bit dated a dozen years later, but the message has only become more true: "There is no central keeper of knowledge in a network, only curators of particular views," he writes. The emergent mob wisdom of the blogosphere and Wikipedia were unimaginable then, but somehow Kelly imagined them all the same. This may be the smartest book of the past decade.
Cyberpunk Fact.......2006-08-05
The first half of the book is simply as good as it gets. Each Kelly pronouncement reads like a mantra from on high. The second half of the book is merely brilliant, but Mr. Kelly gives you a pretty good run for your money at 500 pages. There's only a couple of people even close to Kevin Kelly in the futuristic field, Ray Kurzweil, Howard Bloom, and Thomas L. Friedman. Alvin Toffler may have pioneered in a field that H.G. Wells started, but the new mavens like Robert D. Kaplan, Mike Davis, and Kevin Kelly, achieve levels of literacy as beautiful as a Dali. There are about ten must-read human futures, "Out of Control" is one of them.
Review for Out of Control.......2006-05-23
Kevin Kelly was the executive editor at Wired, and his own magazine had a negative review. It describes distributed computing systems and concommitant communication problems in a new light, vastly expanding the scope of otherwise mundane academic articles on the topic. Kelly defines the rules of complex system behavior that simultaneously apply to traditional distributed computing, to markets, to a flock of birds or a bee hive. This book is tedious but worth a read.
Original thinking the value of which I really do not have the tools to judge .......2006-05-14
This is Kevin Kelly's own summary of his bottom- line conclusions.
" As we make our machines and institutions more complex, we have to make them more biological in order to manage them.
The most potent force in technology will be artificial evolution. We are already evolving software and drugs instead of engineering them.
Organic life is the ultimate technology, and all technology will improve towards biology.
The main thing computers are good for is creating little worlds so that we can try out the Great Questions. Online communities let us ask the question "what is a democracy; what do you need for it?" by trying to wire a democracy up, and re-wire it if it doesn't work. Virtual reality lets us ask "what is reality?" by trying to synthesize it. And computers give us room to ask "what is life?" by providing a universe in which to create computer viruses and artificial creatures of increasing complexity. Philosophers sitting in academies used to ask the Great Questions; now they are asked by experimentalists creating worlds.
As we shape technology, it shapes us. We are connecting everything to everything, and so our entire culture is migrating to a "network culture" and a new network economics.
In order to harvest the power of organic machines, we have to instill in them guidelines and self-governance, and relinquish some of our total control."
This is the kind of book I find extremely difficult to know how to read. I just do not have the proper scientific- technical background to evaluate the kinds of claims which are being made here. And this when I am naturally skeptical about books which claim to have a sure general understanding of the shape of the human future.
My skepticism also relates to the meaning of this kind of 'evolution' for the lives of individual human beings, and for society as a whole. Is the suggestion that we are on the verge of some vast transcending or de- humanizing of humanity, some creation of an 'organic collective mechanical consciousness' which will somehow 'direct' or guides society as a whole.?
If so , once again, what does this say about our own individual freedom and identity?
Book Description
This text is designed as a "late objects" introduction to programming using the Java programming language.
This text first introduces the reader to the fundamentals of data types, input and output, control structures, methods, and objects created from standard library classes. After this the reader learns to write her own classes, and develop simple GUI applications. Then the reader learns to use arrays. The book also includes coverage of more advanced topics such as inheritance, polymorphism, the creation and management of packages, advanced GUI applications, and recursion. From early in the book, applications are documented with javadoc comments.
Although it is written for readers with no prior programming background, even experienced programmers will benefit from its depth of detail.
Customer Reviews:
Good for Comp. Sci. class.......2007-02-12
I bought this book for my introductory computer science class. It's a great book, because it gives nice programming examples and makes the material very easy to understand. Upon reading a couple chapters I began to understand more programming than I have with previous books. I would recommend this book for anybody who is beginning out with programming in the java computer language, or anybody who just wants to learn how to program.
Fantastic book.......2005-10-28
I've been thinking about improvements for Starting Out With Java after teaching out it, and, to be honest, have come up with very little.
We're in our third term using the book and the experience has been overwhelmingly positive for me and for the students. I'm looking forward to the new "kitchen sink" edition in the hope we'll be able to use it for both our first and second Java courses. This book has (and will continue to be, I'm sure) a great help to us is getting the students started "right". Our thanks to you guys and to Tony for making it available!
-Peter H.Van Der Goes Rose State College
I have taught Java for about eight years and have probably used a different textbook each term that I've taught the course. I have to say that the Gaddis book is the best one that I've used.
The first chapter on GUI applications is well done. By this time the students are ready for something besides a console application. Most of my students come directly out of Visual Basic so the GUI app is for many of them their only perspective on a computer program. Getting into a GUI sooner than later seems like a good choice to me. By the time my students have finished the decision structure chapter, they have had at least three assignments in which they must create their own class. By introducing GUI apps next, I can have them code a windows-type program that makes use of a class that they have created in a previous assignment. There is s one nice synergy in that type of relationship.
-Merrill Parker Chattaonooga State Technical Community College
After teaching out of Gaddis' Java book, I recommend not changing much. By the first test, we had covered the first 5 chapters. It is the first time I can recall that everyone in my class passed the first test! Do not change the order of topics in the first 6 chapters. These work beautifully.
-Diane Christie University of Wisconsin Stout
Gaddis' Java book is well written for the average student and with good examples for a student interested to get command on language. The chapter exercises, multiple choices, review questions are impressive.
-Dr. Y. B. Reddy, Grambling State University
Teaching out of Gaddis' Java text, I have generally taken the topics in the order they are given in the book, and let the students use the book to refresh their memory or look at the material stated in a different fashion from the way I did. I took a quick snap poll, and most of the students also feel very positively about the book.
A number of features that have impressed me with Gaddis:
-The general organization of topics. It follows a logical order, easy to work through, one subject leading to the next.
-The general layout is good, with the chapter introduction and list of topics at the beginning of each chapter. The colored thumb guides at the side of the book can be useful, although I haven't used them much myself- probably mostly due to my not being used to having them there.
-The code listings are clear and easy to read. I also appreciate the use of javadoc comments from early on. It makes it easy for me to bring that to the students' attention.
-The tables and figures are clear, and well-placed in the text. It's easy to correlate them with thematerial they refer to.
To summarize--I and my students both enjoyed using Gaddis' Java book. It was well laid out, easy to use, and up-to-date.
-Sander Eller California Polytechnic University-Pomona
I am using this book for the first time at Cal Poly Pomona (my part-time job). I really like the book and I am considering this book at Mt. San Antonio College as well (my home institution).
-Tuan A Vo Mt. San Antonio College
The students have found your book to be easy to read and understand-a great accomplishment.
-Al Cawns, Webster University, MO
Dear Professor Gaddis: I'm a Tufts University student. I have to say that your book is a great resource. I (and many others) like the short examples that quickly get to the point they're trying to make.
-Jonathan King, student
I listen to what students say about the books I select. Their response to Gaddis is unusually positive. They really like the book.
-Jeffrey A. Kent, Los Angeles Valley College, CA
...just wanted to tell you that your book has made a lot of difference in my life. Your book is absolutely "Awesome". You have a lot of examples in the book which help a lot. Thanks again!
-Saud Faisal, student
Gaddis is an extraordinary writer. Gaddis' text is working much better than I expected. The ancillary materials especially the test bank and Power Point presentations add greatly to our ability to do some solid, diverse, and effective teaching.
--George Harrison, Norfolk State University, VA
Dear Mr.Gaddis:
I use your book at the University of Texas at Dallas. Your book is GREAT!! . Good presentation, takes care that we know the details. Thanks!
-Jim Burke, student
I have adopted this book for courses at both Inver Hills Community College and Century College in Minnesota this semester. I have not been disappointed. It works for-me."
-Ray Larson, Century College, MN
For me, the most important feature of the text is the exercises, and there Gaddis
seems to be strong.
-Michael Fry, Lebanon Valley College
I like Gaddis better than either the Horstmann or Lewis & Loftus books.
-Bryson Payne, North Georgia College and State University
As regards completeness, this author displayed a good knack for catching all the loose ends without Deiteling the book.
Nice job with flowcharts. Usual easy to understand prose. Good job introducing indentation exactly where it should be
The lengthy examples are absolutely appropriate. This is again in contrast to the Deitels, who, while being thorough, make their texts very tiring to read. Gaddis doesn't allow this to happen.
Gaddis is an excellent writer. He writes thorough, yet un-Deitelish texts that are fully understandable.
-Daniel S. Spiegel, Kutztown University
Some texts do too much too quickly and that is easy to do when classes are introduced early. Gaddis does another very good job of spiraling classes and keeping them going through several chapters adding on more depth as he goes. Some other texts introduce classes early, but I fear that students would be intimidated.
Our programming I course has a wide range of student backgrounds and abilities and I think that objects early is good and I prefer it, but that few texts do it well. I can't think of a way to improve the Gaddis approach to early classes. It is really good - one of the best I've seen. The pedagogy is sound. The writing style is clear and the topics are explained at the right level. The examples are appropriate for the topic.
-Jeanne M. Douglas, University of Vermont
(Gaddis) does a particularly good job of explaining the development of classes.
Arrays are discussed in detail-good job of noting how invalid subscripts occur-also, good illustration of how to create a variable size array.
-Good practical examples applicable to any programming language-good "transferability" of skills...
-Overall, very strong-a refreshing book that teaches Java plus does an excellent job of teaching general programming skills applicable to any language. Very sound theoretically and practically implemented with sound programming exercises.
-Brad Chilton, Tarleton State University
The writing is very clear, Gaddis did an excellent job on making the material easy to be understood. I think the majority of the students would find this book is easy to digest even if they never had programming experience before. Starting Out with Java is definitely one of the textbooks that I have seen so far that made lots of efforts on making it easy for the students to understand the material.
I would definitely recommend this book as the non-major first semester programming textbook, because it is very easy to understand even for someone who have never had any programming experience, I am sure the students will like that.
For an entry level programming course, the material covered in this book is more than sufficient.
-Xiaoying Wang, University of Mississippi
I love this book - Dietel & Dietel just about killed my students."
-Frank Lucent, Westmorland County Community College
For 2 years previous to this one, I was a full-time instructor at St. Petersburg College in St. Pete and used your books. I love them !
-Amy Patterson, Computer Science Teacher, Shorecrest Prep. School
I especially like the use of flowcharts! I have found that often students have a much more difficult time understanding control structures than I expect. Flow charts seem to work well in explaining how if-else works, but few texts that I have looked at make much use of them........ The exercises and examples are great! I also like the programming problems. Some are quick and easy and some a little more involved which is exactly what we need!
I find the common errors feature and error finding very helpful! We have often provided our students with code to be debugged in labs. Coming up with this code is not easy and takes a great deal of time. I like the idea of having lots of this kind of stuff in the text for students to explore on their own.
-Shirley White, Illinois State U university
"Gaddis's book is a good, solid book and teachers should be successful using it. Students in our Bachelors program find the book clear, easy to follow and therefore, they like it very much."
-Miriam Plonczak, Touro College
"My students say Gaddis is the best thing they've seen since sliced bread."
-Tom Gilman, College of the Desert,
This book is very, very exhaustive in its coverage. I didn't even go through a part of it. But aside from its bulk, it was a very good introduction to programming. Gaddis does an excellent job of showing how to program step-by-step, and makes it easy to teach yourself.
The book also contains a quick reference section where you can look up frequently used commands without having to find them in the text. This book is highly recommended for beginning (and even continuing) programmers.
-Reviewer: from Utah, USA Easy reading -Best technical book I've read,
I used this text in a lecture driven course taken at a university. This text is by far the best technical book I've read and I've read my fair share of technical resources in route to receiving my MCSE, MCDBA, CCSA, and CCA certifications. The subject matters were clearly stated and the examples were informative and useful. The authors did a fantastic job covering the material. -Reviewer: Kelsey Stidham from Chicago, IL
As an instructor in the community-college system, I have students with wide-ranging abilities-from remedial to advanced. Though I haven't had time to study the whole book (yet), it has many good features, all of which I can't list.
The most important to me is how the book proceeds. Though this book is exhaustive (i.e., covers each of its topics very thoroughly), it goes step-by-step to teach the basics of the programming process in an organized fashion. Such a progressive approach is MUCH better than a "here's EVERYTHING on one topic" approach (see any book by the Deitels); beginning students don't NEED to know the details. Any programming instructor who thinks about how he/she learned will recognize that he/she learned broad, general basics and only picked up the details through practice
-Reviewer from Wake Technical Community College, Raleigh, NC
I have read quite a few text books. Tony's books are the best by far. Does he ever do speaking engagements? If so, could you send me a schedule. FYI, I have saved quite a few dollars ordering directly from your web site.
Roy Winters, Student
"I have found the Gaddis book to be a wonderful textbook for our students. It is highly readable, and I am pleased that most students are actually reading the text."
-Reviewer: Brenda Boyce from United States
Book Description
Ever been on the verge of buying your own engagement ring?
Ashley Stockingdale, the charming but always-in-over-her-head patent attorney from What a Girl Wants, has finally found the man she wants to marry. But after nine months of dating, it seems her commitment-phobe boyfriend will never use the "M" word. And just when she thinks she's got it all together, Ashley is having trouble knowing where to put it.
A massive remodeling project, a hyperactive puppy, and an ex-boyfriend who wants to be part of her life again all keep Ashley's world spinning. As the mayhem escalates, Ashley's life quickly goes from What a Girl Wants to out of control.
Customer Reviews:
Christian Chick Lit is the BEST!.......2007-07-21
This Ashley Stockingdale novel was the beginning of my new found love with Christian Chick Lit. Be forewarned that if you begin this book you will not only not be able to put this particular book down, but you will forever be addicted to Christian Chick Lit. Kristin Billerbeck is such a wonderful author and I absolutely can not wait for her to write another book. It seems as if her pen doesn't move as fast as I wish it did! :) I am a college student and these books were such an encouragement in my dating and even personal relationship with God. This is a must read, as well as the rest of Billerbeck's books.
Unreadable Christian Chick Lit.......2007-04-25
Let me preface by saying I bought this book cheap in a bookstore. I am a fan of "chick lit" and this seemed to fit the bill. I had no idea from the cover or liner notes that this book was going to mention God and Christianity in every paragraph, along with the implication that if you're not "in" on both, you're just a bad person.
Don't get me wrong... I have no issue with Christians, but I do have issues with self-obsessed, self-righteous characters thinking God has absolutely nothing better to do than answer their inane prayers about nothing. There is no message in this book apart from God seems to sit around all day, letting the third world starve, while He grants the wishes of girls pining over boys. Ridiculous. Badly written, whiny and plain stupid. Some Christians need to re-prioritize, and this author definitely needs to have a good think about what life is really all about.
A wonderful read!.......2007-04-10
This little jewel of a book is the follow-up to "What A Girl Wants", the continuing adventures of Ashley Stockingdale as she deals with the men in her life, a new job, and her best friend's growing family. You'll love the characters and will appreciate the storyline which really shows Ashley's growth through this new stage in her life. The spiritual side of the book is skillfully woven through the book and is in no way heavey-handed; it's simply a part of Ashley's life and the reason for her growth and the ultimate happiness as she seeks to find steady ground and her place in the world. This book is a keeper!
RANTS and more rants!.......2007-03-31
I have no idea what the other people reviewing this book have been drinking, but I am shocked that they all had praises and none of them share my opinion on this book.
I read the first book of this series "What a Girl Wants" and laughed out loud with it's cute/funny situations. It was also my first Christian book ever, and being tolerant of all beliefs but not particularly religious, I was pleasantly surprised that I liked the style.
Anyway, then I got "She's Out of Control" and was SO disappointed!
About midway through the book I was so sick of all the rants, the whining and the ungrateful attitude that I felt like throwing it out the window.
Being a little bit of a masochist, I endured it all through the end and was not happy at all to see that Ashley gets her way even though she did NOTHING to deserve her luck.
And there are other parallel stories that get dropped like a sack of potatoes and leave us wondering 'whatever happened to so and so'?
The only improvement from the 1st book of this series was that in this book Billerbeck didn't preach as much or rubbed her penchant for righteousness on our noses as much.
So I like Christian stories purely because the characters don't jump into bed every other page, but I could do without the profusion of religious words in every single paragraph. There's gotta be a better way to be religious, write a book and don't alienate the rest of your readers that don't share your religion.
Oh, and next time K.B. should really make her secondary characters more tolerant. What kind of Christian enjoys reading about someone being belittled like that???
"Out of Control" Novel- Worth the Price.......2006-05-25
Ashley Stockindale is back in a whole new novel. This time, she is no longer the desparate woman we left her as. She now has a boyfriend! Seth Greenwood, a.k.a. bald computer nerd is dating her. But, when her boss Hans gives some advice, will Ashley stick with commitment-shy Seth, or see what other types of men there are out there?
Like every business-woman, she is incredibley occupied with her job and flying back and forth from Taiwan to realize love is brewing between Seth and his old-crush, returning "missionary" Arin.
Ashley fears the worst until Seth decides to throw her a party. Now, myself and Ashley were sure that this was the time to bring out the ring, but Kristin threw another curveball. No ring, just a slobbery dog. Rhett.
You are invited to an adventure worth the 13.99 you paid for the book
. Enjoy!
P.S. A surprise ending is worth millions as well!
Books:
- J. K. Rowling A Biography
- Just Gus: A Rescued Dog and the Woman He Loved
- Kabbalah for Beginners
- Light Years--The Zumtobel Story 2000-1950
- Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live
- Mafalda 2
- Magnificat (Galactic Milieu Trilogy/Julian May, Bk 3)
- Making Master Guitars
- Mixed Nuts: America's Love Affair with Comedy Teams from Burns and Allen to Belushi and Aykroyd
- Mondo Lucha A Go-Go: The Bizarre and Honorable World of Wild Mexican Wrestling
Books Index
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General
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| Books
Power Cards: Using Special Interests to Motivate Children and Youth with Asperger Syndrome and Autism
The Hidden Curriculum: Practical Solutions for Understanding Unstated Rules in Social Situations
The Social Skills Picture Book Teaching play, emotion, and communication to children with autism
Social Skills Training for Children and Adolescents with Asperger Syndrome and Social-Communications Problems
The New Social Story Book : Illustrated Edition
