The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns (Little Book Big Profits)

The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns (Little Book Big Profits)
Average customer rating:

Valuable Investment Advice

An aptly titled book

Index investing is good but not perfect

The Best Advice Ever

Greatest Investing Book Ever!

The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns (Little Book Big Profits)
John C. Bogle
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0470102101

Book Description

Investing is all about common sense. Owning a diversified portfolio of stocks and holding it for the long term is a winner’s game. Trying to beat the stock market is theoretically a zero-sum game (for every winner, there must be a loser), but after the substantial costs of investing are deducted, it becomes a loser’s game. Common sense tells us—and history confirms—that the simplest and most efficient investment strategy is to buy and hold all of the nation’s publicly held businesses at very low cost. The classic index fund that owns this market portfolio is the only investment that guarantees you with your fair share of stock market returns.

To learn how to make index investing work for you, there’s no better mentor than legendary mutual fund industry veteran John C. Bogle. Over the course of his long career, Bogle—founder of the Vanguard Group and creator of the world’s first index mutual fund—has relied primarily on index investing to help Vanguard’s clients build substantial wealth. Now, with The Little Book of Common Sense Investing, he wants to help you do the same.

Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, The Little Book of Common Sense Investing will show you how to incorporate this proven investment strategy into your portfolio. It will also change the very way you think about investing. Successful investing is not easy. (It requires discipline and patience.) But it is simple. For it’s all about common sense.

With The Little Book of Common Sense Investing as your guide, you’ll discover how to make investing a winner’s game:

Why business reality—dividend yields and earnings growth—is more important than market expectations
How to overcome the powerful impact of investment costs, taxes, and inflation
How the magic of compounding returns is overwhelmed by the tyranny of compounding costs
What expert investors and brilliant academics—from Warren Buffett and Benjamin Graham to Paul Samuelson and Burton Malkiel—have to say about index investing
And much more

You’ll also find warnings about investment fads and fashions, including the recent stampede into exchange traded funds and the rise of indexing gimmickry. The real formula for investment success is to own the entire market, while significantly minimizing the costs of financial intermediation. That’s what index investing is all about. And that’s what this book is all about.

JOHN C. BOGLE is founder of the Vanguard Group, Inc., and President of its Bogle Financial Markets Research Center. He created Vanguard in 1974 and served as chairman and chief executive officer until 1996 and senior chairman until 2000. In 1999, Fortune magazine named Mr. Bogle as one of the four "Investment Giants" of the twentieth century; in 2004, Time named him one of the world’s 100 most powerful and influential people, and Institutional Investor presented him with its Lifetime Achievement Award.

Customer Reviews:

Valuable Investment Advice.......2007-10-02

I have been "investing" for years without a sustainable strategy. The information provided in this book is educational, reassuring and eye-opening. Mr. Bogle showed that Investing need not be complicated and provided many examples and facts to support his assertions. If you need good, sound proven financial advice from an industry giant, this is invaluable and a must-read book. I bought 5 copies (one is audio CD) and gave them to my friends and sister.

An aptly titled book.......2007-08-14

As a professional portfolio manager since the 1960's [now retired] I most highly recommend this book. I have purchased copies for my adult children, as well as for some for-profit and non-profit boards on which I serve. I am telling all that this easy, one-day read has the potential to be a financial life-enhancing event, if they agree with the basic premise. And that there is no reason not to agree with the premise. I very much like that Bogle includes supporting data at the end of every section. A true five-star book.

Index investing is good but not perfect.......2007-08-08

I don't disagree with the doyen of Index investing.

There is no doubt that Index investing is the best way to maximize returns using a passive "buy and hold" strategy
and in many ways superior to most actively managed funds.

However, what the book fails to explain is the fact that Index investing is not immune to systematic risks. The index will crash if there is a bubble similar to what we witnessed in 2000. Index funds are based on efficient market hypothesis- if all known information is already factored into the price, there is no room for arbitrage.
But,if all investing were to become index based, EFT and electronic, who will actively seek information other than what is disclosed as per law by publicly traded companies? We should not forget that dot coms and Enron were also part of the index at some point. The duration of holding is also relevant, as investors close to retirement still need to follow the good old rule of thumb, your age is the %age of bond/money market holdings in your portfolio,which probably explains why even Vanguard is offering life cycle funds.

If not for John Bogle and Vanguard, we would not even had an alternative to complacent, fee-hungry fund managers.

The Best Advice Ever.......2007-08-06

The Facts Are In The Numbers

There is a repetitive theme in this book, not redundance. And it's supported by expert analysis, portfolio comparisons, and the numbers: "humble arithmetic." Over time Index Funds out-perform most managed mutual funds. The longer the amount of time, the more detrimental the damage - if - you own managed funds. "Where returns are concerned, time is your friend. But where costs are concerned, time is your enemy."

Bogle notes (like so many others) how fund advertisements mislead and outright lie by stating that "X fund has an annual average return of 12% per yer," but omits the costs: portfolio transaction costs, Load charges, 12-1bs, and taxes accrued on realized gains. (And inflation must always be factored.) The S&P 500 rose by an average of 12 percent for twenty years, but most managed mutual funds got far, far, lower returns than that.

The 4 E's: Enemies of Equity investors are Expenses and Emotions, according to Warren Buffet.

Financial Intermediation has created enormous fortunes for those n the fields of managing other people's money.

One example:
Merrill Lynch is the largest brokerage firm in the world. One of its biggest marketing and profitable successes also created one of the biggest losses for investors. At the height of the bubble in 2000, Lynch launched two new funds: the "Focus Twenty" and the "Internet Strategies" Fund. Like clockwork, at the height of the bubble frenzy the consumers were drawn in. The best time to sell a fund is the worst time for consumers to buy it. $2 billion dollars poured into Merrill Lynch. "Internet Strategies" sank almost immediately and lost 86 percent, while the "Focus Twenty" (which comprised the top 20 favorite stock picks of Merrill Lynch managers) lost 28% in 2000, 70% in 2001, and 39% in 2002 (p. 106). Ouch. A lot of funds declined in this three-year period, but not nearly as much. Funds chosen by managers earn 40 percent less than index funds, in general (source, NY TIMES).

But it's not just John Bogle that states this. Bogle hits home with his "Don't take it from me" passages throughout the book, quoting and sourcing what other financial minds say about managed vs. index funds, and organizational and individual investment psychology. There are tons of exhibits and tables with comparisons. Sources are provided throughout.

Relation to 401K and IRAs:
IMO, regular non-IRA (non tax deferred) index funds can be a vehicle that supersedes endangered Defined Pension Benefit Plans for those wanting to add more than the limits, or simply supplement the IRA and 401K limits to retirement accounts. Or, add more diversification and control over one's portfolio. Indexing can also be useful for those that don't have the two tax-deferred options available to them and is another choice because of low taxation and low expense costs.

Including indexing another but related topic, company pensions can inhibit and limit the worker. They often anchor employees into a company or industry. Many want to change, but stay and wait to cash out. The pension fund makes the rules. They tell you how long to stay to receive X amount.

This the best investment book I've ever read. It's also been the most honest.

Greatest Investing Book Ever!.......2007-07-28

What an incredible, straight forward book about investing! It should be required reading for every high school class in the country. Another great job Mr. Bogle!

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

Average customer rating:

Interesting, but...
Rigo's TEST REVIEW.
A Paradigm Shift For Business and Life
Development of Trends!
The book in itself may be described as a tipping point

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
Malcolm Gladwell
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0316346624

Amazon.com

For example, Paul Revere was able to galvanize the forces of resistance so effectively in part because he was what Gladwell calls a "Connector": he knew just about everybody, particularly the revolutionary leaders in each of the towns that he rode through. But Revere "wasn't just the man with the biggest Rolodex in colonial Boston," he was also a "Maven" who gathered extensive information about the British. He knew what was going on and he knew exactly whom to tell. The phenomenon continues to this day--think of how often you've received information in an e-mail message that had been forwarded at least half a dozen times before reaching you.

Gladwell develops these and other concepts (such as the "stickiness" of ideas or the effect of population size on information dispersal) through simple, clear explanations and entertainingly illustrative anecdotes, such as comparing the pedagogical methods of Sesame Street and Blue's Clues, or explaining why it would be even easier to play Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon with the actor Rod Steiger. Although some readers may find the transitional passages between chapters hold their hands a little too tightly, and Gladwell's closing invocation of the possibilities of social engineering sketchy, even chilling, The Tipping Point is one of the most effective books on science for a general audience in ages. It seems inevitable that "tipping point," like "future shock" or "chaos theory," will soon become one of those ideas that everybody knows--or at least knows by name. --Ron Hogan

Book Description

"The best way to understand the dramatic transformation of unknown books into bestsellers, or the rise of teenage smoking, or the phenomena of word of mouth or any number of the other mysterious changes that mark everyday life," writes Malcolm Gladwell, "is to think of them as epidemics. Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do." Although anyone familiar with the theory of memetics will recognize this concept, Gladwell's The Tipping Point has quite a few interesting twists on the subject.For example, Paul Revere was able to galvanize the forces of resistance so effectively in part because he was what Gladwell calls a "Connector": he knew just about everybody, particularly the revolutionary leaders in each of the towns that he rode through. But Revere "wasn't just the man with the biggest Rolodex in colonial Boston," he was also a "Maven" who gathered extensive information about the British. He knew what was going on and he knew exactly whom to tell. The phenomenon continues to this day--think of how often you've received information in an e-mail message that had been forwarded at least half a dozen times before reaching you.Gladwell develops these and other concepts (such as the "stickiness" of ideas or the effect of population size on information dispersal) through simple, clear explanations and entertainingly illustrative anecdotes, such as comparing the pedagogical methods of Sesame Street and Blue's Clues, or explaining why it would be even easier to play Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon with the actor Rod Steiger. Although some readers may find the transitional passages between chapters hold their hands a little too tightly, and Gladwell's closing invocation of the possibilities of social engineering sketchy, even chilling, The Tipping Point is one of the most effective books on science for a general audience in ages. It seems inevitable that "tipping point," like "future shock" or "chaos theory," will soon become one of those ideas that everybody knows--or at least knows by name. --Ron Hogan

Customer Reviews:

Interesting, but..........2007-10-10

I read this while traveling, and was able to absorb Gladwell's viewpoint despite airports and hotels and the general on-the-road melee. However, while the theories and case studies Gladwell presents are fascinating, he fails to demonstrate the practical applications of his assertions. His Afterword makes clear that some of his readers have gone on to apply his approach in various ways, but it is their ingenuity and not any "on the ground" practical insight from Gladwell that is the cause. It will be interesting to note if his positions notably influence any policymakers, of if the world in general, despite his bestseller status, continues with its status quo mindset. No doubt if that is the case, Gladwell will enlighten us with a book about the reasons for that phenomenon too. It will be interesting reading.

Rigo's TEST REVIEW........2007-10-09

Test review. It looks like a good book to analyse how modes start and get spread.

A Paradigm Shift For Business and Life.......2007-10-05

This is one of the books that "skates to where the puck is going" instead of where the puck is at. A must for business and anyone studying the sociology of man.

Timothy KendrickPTSD: Pathways Through the Secret Door

Development of Trends!.......2007-10-02

This book presents an interesting thesis for the parameters under which a new trend is construed. The flu, for example, can be held in check for a long time without being an epidemic. But suddenly, once some threshold is crossed in terms of number of people infected, things get much worse very quickly. Gladwell's premise is that in addition to applying to viruses, this type of pattern is observed in many other situations. The book is filled with far-reaching examples, from the resurgence of Hush Puppies shoes to the popularity of Sesame Street to an epidemic of teen suicides in Micronesia.
Perhaps the most well-known example described is the rapid fall in crime levels in New York City in the mid-1990s. Murder rates fell by 64.3% in a five year period, with other types of violent crimes dropping by 50%. This happened after years of steady increase. Gladwell argues that the factors conventionally cited as causing the improvement (improved policing, declining crack use, and aging of the population) are not sufficient to explain the suddenness of the change. All three factors included gradual shifts in behavior, and yet the drop in crime occurred very rapidly. Gladwell makes a convincing argument that the police in New York put into place certain conditions that suddenly "tipped" the crime epidemic, sending crime rates into a decline.
So, what are the parameters of dramatic change?
Gladwell quotes the following three laws: -
1. The law of the few
2. The stickiness factor and;
3. The power of context
The law of the few says that there are exceptional people out there who are capable of starting `epidemics'. All you have to do is find them. The lesson of stickiness is the same. There is a simple way to package information that, under the right circumstances, can make it irresistible. All you have to do is find it. The lesson of the power of context is that we are more than just sensitive to changes in context; we are exquisitely sensitive to them - what really matters is the little things.
The book includes a collection of case studies. These include Paul Revere's ride, which alerted American colonists to activities of the British garrison and led to the War of Indepence and the success of New York in reducing crime by cleaning the subway cars.
He then explains the significance of the number 150. "The figure of 150 seems to represent the maximum number of individuals with whom we can have a genuinely social relationship, the kind of relationship that goes with knowing who they are and how they relate to you. At a bigger size you have to impose complicated hierarchies and rules and regulations and formal measures to try to command loyalty and cohesions. Below 150 it is possible to achieve the same goals informally. In smaller groups people are a lot closer. They're knit together, which is very important if you want to be effective and successful in community life. If you get too large, you don't have enough work in common."
The conclusion is that when groups or organizations reach 150 they should split and operate in smaller numbers, and he gives examples of organizations that have done this.
Although not intended as a management book, The Tipping Point
has many lessons for managers and organization development consultants.

The book in itself may be described as a tipping point.......2007-09-28

Why does a product suddenly become successful, whereas another does not? This is a good empirical question, and for me, one that is so original that I had not considered it hitherto. This book had been `on my reading list' for some time, having heard several recommendations for it. The ideas about what defines a `tipping point' are clearly defined and well explained, with products or examples that many can identify with.

The examples are the key. In essence, Gladwell describes a `tipping point' as the moment a good sales campaign becomes a phenomenon, and takes examples to illustrate the three salient items; it is contagious, little changes have big effects, and it is not something gradual, but extremely dynamic.

Gladwell takes these, and analyses them further, in his three laws. These concern the individuals involved, how `sticky' or contagious the idea / product is, and the context in which it is presented. Each is described in detail, with real people introduced (not `Bob' or `Sarah' but Mark Alpert and Tom Gau, being but individuals to illustrate the types of individuals).

The book is very readable, and it makes good common sense. Gradwell brings together lots of strands of research, and introduces some very appealable people. The people and situations are selective, but they had to be. They back up the basic premise of the author (no surprise there, then). But in total, the book has a roundness and totality about it.

Examples used are exclusively American, but so is Gradwell! He has also helped to bring rather dusty research into the mainstream of business life and collective consciousness. People now use the language of the research Gladwell describes to define when a product is becoming part of the mainstream of life. After the `Innovators' come, in order, `Early Adopters', the `Early Majority', the `Late Majority' and finally ` Laggards'.

The material is not new; the research in many cases was available before, and the market-place examples were there for all to see. Gladwell has distilled this into a little gem. I should have read it before. Reading it in 2007 will make a difference to the way that I see change. I may even be able to influence how change affects those in the circle around me, thinking back to the central core of `The Tipping Point'.

Peter Morgan (morganp@supanet.com)

The Golden Egg Book (Big Little Golden Book)

Average customer rating:

Golden Egg Book
You won the golden egg
Must have!
My son loves it as much as I did
A true picturebook classic

The Golden Egg Book (Big Little Golden Book)
Margaret Wise Brown
Manufacturer: Golden Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Release Date: 2004-01-13

Book Description

Once there was a little bunny. He was all alone. One day he found an egg. He could hear something moving inside the egg. What was it?

So begins the Golden Easter classic about a bunny—and a little duck that is about to hatch!

Customer Reviews:

Golden Egg Book.......2007-04-02

I purchased this book for my grandson age 2. The book arrived promptly and brought back fond memories. It is still a classic!!

You won the golden egg.......2006-04-16

My children, Josh and Amy, loved this book. Congratulations on finding this.

Must have! .......2006-03-21

My mother used to read it to me and now I am reading it to my daugther (she's 2 1/2). It is a family favorite. The story is beautiful, touching, sweet, etc. I love the language/word choice used by the author. I could read it to my daughter every day and not get tired of it. And, the illustrations are exquisite. They are so detailed and beautiful. If you do not own this book, go and buy it. It's worth every penny. You will not be disappointed. They don't make them like this anymore! This is a classic.

My son loves it as much as I did.......2006-02-22

This was one of my favorite books growing up. We got it for my 3 year-old son, and he loves it as much as I do. The question of, "What is inside the egg?" is exciting, even though he now knows the answer. We have fun coming up with new possibilities, though.

Bottom line: this is a great, fun book for a toddler. I highly recommend it. It also is useful for parents trying to encourage a child's imagination.

A true picturebook classic.......2004-07-09

Charmingly written by Margaret Wise Brown and superbly illustrated by Leonard Weisgard, The Gold Egg Book is a true picturebook classic telling the story of the rambling imagination of one little bunny as he tries to figure out just what is inside a beautiful blue egg. A whole new generation of children ages 2 to 5 will delight in this lively story as the bunny tries to shake, push, and even jump on the egg in his attempts to break it. But the egg won't hatch until it is ready! The Golden Egg Book will prove to be an enthusiastically popular addition to family, preschool, and community library collections.

Home for a Bunny (Big Little Golden Book)

Average customer rating:

Great Book!
What a great, sweet book!
home for a bunny review
Touching & Memorable
Life-long favorite

Home for a Bunny (Big Little Golden Book)
Margaret Wise Brown
Manufacturer: Golden Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Blue Sea

ASIN: 0307105466
Release Date: 2003-02-11

Book Description

Generations of children have followed this furry, lovable bunny on his journey to find a home. A family favorite since 1956, Margaret Wise Brown’s simple yet playful tale is beautifully complemented by Garth Williams’s exquisite artwork.

From the Hardcover Library Binding edition.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book!.......2007-09-16

This book is such a sweet, cute book. I am 24 years old and still read it to my nieces every once in a while. I have grown up making my parents read me this book over and over again every night and day. My copy is worn out but it also shows how much I enjoyed it. I hope you decide to buy it and read it to your children they will love it!

What a great, sweet book!.......2006-09-09

This is such a sweet little book! Probably not much past age 5, but the story has a bunny looking for a place to stay or a home of his own. He proceeds to ask everyone he meets if he can live with them and they all say no. However, when he meets a little white bunny, the bunny takes him in and they then live together. The last picture is just so sweet with the two bunnies snuggling together. The illustrations make you touch the page because the bunny looks so fuzzy! It is very much loved in our house and we highly recommend it!

home for a bunny review.......2006-03-30

I read this book 20+ years ago to my two children and it was their favorite and most requested Little Golden book. It is such a sweet and well illustrated book. My only regret is that I didn't keep it over the years because I now had to go on a search for another copy for my brand new grandchild. My new copy of "Home for a Bunny" will be extremely well used, I'm sure!

Touching & Memorable.......2005-05-22

My mother used to read this book to me when I was very small, and even twenty years later, I remember the story of the little bunny trying to find a home so vividly! This is such a sweet story, it ends happily, and it has beautiful illustrations as well. A wonderful exploration of the concept of "home." I'm looking forward to reading it to my own children one day.

Life-long favorite.......2005-04-19

My papa used to read this to me when I was a child, and then I apparently grew out of it for a while. I remember coming home from high school during finals week, exhausted. Dad saw me sigh and said, "Well, you're home for a bunny. You can relax now." Memories flooded me and we scrambled to find the book. Now, I've made it a tradition that when a family member or friend is expecting their first child, I give them a copy of this book. It's all about a little bunny(baby)coming home, isn't it? And when I was looking to buy my own first home...well, that's another story.

The writing is sweet and the illustrations charming. Highly recommended. It's a keeper, for sure.

Building Wealth One House at a Time: Making it Big on Little Deals

Average customer rating:

Great Value
Building Wealth One House at a Time Describes the Big Picture
Great Read for All RE Investors
If you 're flipper or interested in flipping
Entry level info

Building Wealth One House at a Time: Making it Big on Little Deals
John W. Schaub
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Strategies for creating real estate wealth by star ting small--and always making the right moves

Nationally known real estate expert John Schaub learned his craft in the best way possible--on the job, and through every kind of market. Over three decades, he learned to bank consistent profits as he built an impressive real estate mini-empire. Building Wealth One House at a Time reveals how virtually anyone can accumulate one million dollars worth of houses debtfree and earn a steady cash flow for life.

Unique in that it focuses on buying houses in good-quality neighborhoods, Schaub's nine-step program includes:

Renting to long-term tenants, with financial incentives to pay on time
Avoiding the temptation of bigger deals, which invariably include bigger problems
A 10-year plan to pay off debt and own houses free and clear

Customer Reviews:

Great Value.......2007-09-11

This is just great basic but very valuable information, and a keeper for a long term reference for anyone investing in houses. I've been a student of John's (and also Peter Fortunato, who has also commented here), for years and always continue to learn from his good quality advise.

I've bought several and give them away to folks that ask about how to invest in real estate and has been a great start for several and a good reference for experienced investors that often find themselves venturing into high risk, marginal properties instead of staying with a good old house.

Building Wealth One House at a Time Describes the Big Picture.......2007-07-31

This is one of the outstanding real estates investment books on the market. John Schuab writes as one who has years of experience and knows the ropes.

The advice in this book is rock solid: buy good houses in good neighborhoods, learn to buy at wholesale prices, and attract long-term low-maintenance tenants who will pay off your loans and improve your property value.

One thing I really like about this book is that John Schuab sees the big picture. He may act in the short-term, but he always has a view of the long-term consequences. So, he doesn't' buy a house because it is priced well, or near a school or a shopping mall. He's thinking 20-30 years ahead to what that house's value and rental desirability will be way down the line.

You have to admire that kind of thinking. That's the kind of thinking that invests in houses that will pay big dividends. Good investments and patience pay off in John Schuab's world. Patience is more than a virtue with John Schuab, it's a commandment. The guy still has the first house that he bought 30 years ago, and its one of his best rentals.

Lincoln said, "I will study and get ready, and perhaps my chance will come." "Building Wealth One House at a Time" is one book worth studying.

Terry Sprouse -- author of the forthcoming book "Fix 'em Up, Rent 'em Out: How to Start Your Own House Fix-up and Rental Busines in Your Spare Time"

Great Read for All RE Investors.......2007-07-24

John Schaub's book is a must read for all Real Estate Invesotrs. From the beginner to the experienced investor, all will gain some very useful insight from this book.
It is not a get rich quick book hyping up Real Estate, but rather a very
low no nonsense way to wealth build through Real Estate one house at a time. John Schaub is not just a promoter, he still buys and sells houses for his own portfolio today.
It's great to learn from such a pro. He also does a couple of seminars a year on Real Estate. They are also a must for any one wanting to get into the Business (I've been to several of them-they are great!).
Bottom line-Great Book, a must read.
Reggie Lal, Be The Smart Investor . com

If you 're flipper or interested in flipping.......2007-03-31

I didn't expect to learn much from this book, and I wasn't disappointed. I only read the book because it was available from the local libarry. This book is for those interested in acquiring rental houses and accumulating over a lifetime. That aside, I didn't find any value to the book. You could learn more on finding, negotiating, inspections are several flipper books, even if you interested accumulating rental properties. The author pays too much for his houses. He should be more selective, even if he intends to hold onto the houses.

Entry level info.......2007-03-10

I was hoping for a text with more than the very basic, very repeated information in most books of this subject. If it's your first book on real estate investing, it will be great. If you're seeking more advanced subject matter, look elsewhere.

How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships

Average customer rating:

ONLY BOOK YOU NEED!!!
Good read
It really works!
Insightful & Fun
from shy to charismatic

How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships
Leil Lowndes
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less
How to Make Anyone Fall in Love with You
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Goodbye to Shy
Conversationally Speaking : Tested New Ways to Increase Your Personal and Social Effectiveness

ASIN: 007141858X

Book Description

"You'll not only break the ice, you'll melt it away with your new skills." -- Larry King

"The lost art of verbal communication may be revitalized by Leil Lowndes." -- Harvey McKay, author of “How to Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive”

What is that magic quality makes some people instantly loved and respected? Everyone wants to be their friend (or, if single, their lover!) In business, they rise swiftly to the top of the corporate ladder. What is their "Midas touch?"

What it boils down to is a more skillful way of dealing with people.

The author has spent her career teaching people how to communicate for success. In her book How to Talk to Anyone (Contemporary Books, October 2003) Lowndes offers 92 easy and effective sure-fire success techniques-- she takes the reader from first meeting all the way up to sophisticated techniques used by the big winners in life. In this information-packed book you’ll find:

9 ways to make a dynamite first impression
14 ways to master small talk, "big talk," and body language
14 ways to walk and talk like a VIP or celebrity
6 ways to sound like an insider in any crowd
7 ways to establish deep subliminal rapport with anyone
9 ways to feed someone's ego (and know when NOT to!)
11 ways to make your phone a powerful communications tool
15 ways to work a party like a politician works a room
7 ways to talk with tigers and not get eaten alive

In her trademark entertaining and straight-shooting style, Leil gives the techniques catchy names so you'll remember them when you really need them, including: "Rubberneck the Room," "Be a Copyclass," "Come Hither Hands," “Bare Their Hot Button,” “The Great Scorecard in the Sky," and "Play the Tombstone Game,” for big success in your social life, romance, and business.

How to Talk to Anyone, which is an update of her popular book, Talking the Winner's Way (see the 5-star reviews of the latter)is based on solid research about techniques that work!

By the way, don't confuse How to Talk to Anyone with one of Leil's previous books, How to Talk to Anybody About Anything. This one is completely different!

Customer Reviews:

ONLY BOOK YOU NEED!!!.......2007-10-03

If you only read one book on communication, make this the one. It's easy, concise, accurate, gives the "why" behind the tricks. Great examples, but not so many that you want her to get on with it. We're busy people and this is a great book that only takes 2 days-1 week to read. So concise!!!

9 Sections: each helps you master a different type of communication.
A gray box at the end of each "tip" with a 2-3 sentence summary with a catchy phrase for the tip to help you remember it (great if you just want the tips and don't care to read the whole book).

The author's witty, pleasant, and brilliant. High-brow tips that take no time at all to learn with her book!!! Just invest less than a week to read this and it will change all of your relationships (and maybe will help you score better financial deals, get you that job, etc.)!

Good read.......2007-09-13

It's worth noting the information and seeing that in using her suggestions, you will break the habit of isolation.

It really works!.......2007-09-04

Another new bestseller which I highly recommend - The Exclusive Layguide: When Dating and Having Sex with Incredibly Hot Women is No Longer Mirage Even If You Don't Look Like a Model or Don't Make a Fortune

Insightful & Fun.......2007-08-17

A very easy book to read. I found the beginning half very insightful, fun, and useful and will be the portion that I take notes on the most. Some points made me realize I've been doing that already and now I can continue that with purpose. I've caught others doing certain points to me recently as well, in retrospect, as I was reading the book, the sticky/epoxy eyes in particular.

The latter half of the book felt too "business" like to me, speaking of how Politicians work the room etc, is something that I really can't relate too, but the points of what to do are good. A lot of examples and stories are centred around business and sales stuff, which from time to time was a turn off for me, and schmoozing with big wigs at elite parties which really isn't my thing either. One just has to apply their own scenarios when visualizing the techniques in your world.

The book ended well despite my ever slight disappointment through the half way mark. It's my first self help book and I'm glad to have read it.

I may have given it 4 stars, but unfortunately I'm in the 4th chapter of an eye opening book Feel the Fear and Do It Anyways, and with that I would have to give this book, How to Talk to Anyone, a solid 3.

from shy to charismatic.......2007-07-30

Wonderful read. this book really details how to converse and mingle. I am a self proclaimed shy guy and this has done wonders. keep it Mrs. lowndes

Average customer rating:

Not Just for Kids
it's our job
About time...
Not really for parents
More what to teach -- less how to teach

Little Big Minds
Marietta McCarty
Manufacturer: Tarcher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

School-Age Children | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
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The Children of Now: Crystalline Children, Indigo Children, Star Kids, Angels on Earth, and the Phenomenon of Transitional Children
Philosophy for Kids : 40 Fun Questions That Help You Wonder ... About Everything!
Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire: The Methods and Madness Inside Room 56

ASIN: 158542515X
Release Date: 2006-12-28

Book Description

A guide for parents and educators to sharing the enduring ideas of the biggest minds throughout the centuries-from Plato to bell hooks-with the "littlest" minds.

Children are no strangers to cruelty and courage, to love and to loss, and in this unique book teacher and educational consultant Marietta McCarty reveals that they are, in fact, natural philosophers. Drawing on a program she has honed in schools around the country over the last fifteen years, Little Big Minds guides parents and educators in introducing philosophy to K-8 children in order to develop their critical thinking, deepen their appreciation for others, and brace them for the philosophical quandaries that lurk in all of our lives, young or old.

Arranged according to themes-including prejudice, compassion, and death-and featuring the work of philosophers from Plato and Socrates to the Dalai Lama and Martin Luther King Jr., this step-by-step guide to teaching kids how to think philosophically is full of excellent discussion questions, teaching tips, and group exercises.

Customer Reviews:

Not Just for Kids.......2007-09-08

Little Big Minds is not just for kids. Although it is a gift to parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and anyone working with children, the concepts, discussion questions and exercises are relevant to any age.

The author writes clearly about each concept -- from friendship and freedom to responsibility and death. She skillfully integrates philosophy with music, poetry and literature, film and art. From Camus and Kant to Aretha Franklin, Jane Addams, Beethoven, Seamus Heany, Maya Angelou and the Dalai Lama, the author draws from many disciplines to make philosophical thought accessible and meaningful to little minds and big.

Little Big Minds will be the book I give most often this holiday season.

it's our job.......2007-09-08

Of course, like all great teachers, McCarty leaves the job of learning to us. In her book, she lays out the lesson plan, she cites the books she's read, then she relies on her readers to put it together in ways that make sense to us. So, not only is the book a master plan, it's a path. And all we have to do is walk upon it.

About time..........2007-09-06

It's finally here. A book which celebrates and embraces - in plain, uncluttered language - the greatest thinkers of all time; our children. A wonderfully thoughtful guide (rife with teaching tips for those who may wonder, "how?") this book goes to the heart of philosophy and gives us the gift of possibility by illuminating that which can be a little daunting - examining the Big Ideas with our kids. Little Big Minds is an invaluable resource on more levels than can be enumerated here, but as a teacher and a parent I can say without reserve that if what we're after is a tolerant and peaceful world, Little Big Minds is a must-read. So read it, then teach it.

Not really for parents.......2007-07-29

This book is appropriate for someone who works at a preschool or day care with small groups of children. It's not really helpful for parents who are looking to develop thinking skills with their children.

More what to teach -- less how to teach.......2007-07-10

I bought this book to learn more about what my 8-year-old grandson was capable of learning about philosophy. What I found was something typical of so many works on teaching/learning -- much concern about "how to teach/learn," and little concern about "what to teach/learn." I'm sure others will find more merit than I did; frankly, I was disappointed .

The Big Little Book of Jewish Wit & Wisdom

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The Big Little Book of Jewish Wit & Wisdom

Manufacturer: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Religion | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Jewish Life | Judaism | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

All Deals | Blowout Books | Stores | Books

Entertainment | Blowout Books | Stores | Books

Religion & Spirituality | Blowout Books | Stores | Books
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Jewish Wisdom
Born to Kvetch: Yiddish Language and Culture in All of Its Moods (P.S.)
The Yiddish Policemen's Union: A Novel

ASIN: 1579121462

Book Description

This small, chunky volume presents the witty, wonderful, deadpan and droll insight of the Jewish culture. Chapters on Wisdom, Mitzvahs, Dybbuks, Proverbs, Jokes, Curses, Conventions, Mores (ethics), Love & Marriage, Men & Women, Children & Family provide reflections gleaned from a wealth of ancient, traditional and modern sources. The range of wise observations on the ways of the world, snappy one-liners, stories and expressions captures the spirit of the Jews throughout the centuries. Illustrated with sixty watercolor paintings, The Big Little Book of Jewish Wit & Wisdom will delight and engage even the toughest Jewish mother.

Some examples:

When we hear a baby laugh, it is the loveliest thing that can happen to us.--Sigmund Freud

A child's wisdom is also wisdom.--Yiddish proverb

I don't believe in the afterlife, although I am bringing a change of underwear.--Woody Allen

May you lose all your teeth but one, and may that one have a cavity.--Anonymous (Yiddish curse)

The Monster at the End of this Book (Big Little Golden Book)

Average customer rating:

One of the all time best kids' books!
Exactly what I was looking for
Loved it!
GREAT BOOK
Cute!

The Monster at the End of this Book (Big Little Golden Book)
Jon Stone
Manufacturer: Golden Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Humorous | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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Picture Books | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Monsters | Obsessions | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Baby-3 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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Goodnight Moon

ASIN: 037582913X
Release Date: 2004-05-11

Book Description

Many, many adults name this book as their favorite Little Golden Book. Generations of kids have interacted with lovable, furry old Grover as he begs the reader not to turn the page—for fear of a monster at the end of the book. “Oh, I am so embarrassed,” he says on the last page . . . for, of course, the monster is Grover himself! This all-time favorite is now available as a Big Little Golden Book—perfect for lap-time reading.

Customer Reviews:

One of the all time best kids' books!.......2007-09-28

Both my husband and I loved this book as children, and now our son does too! It drags the child into the action of the story, and they love doing what Grover asks them not to. I have not yet met the child who didn't enjoy it.

Exactly what I was looking for.......2007-09-16

I was very pleased with my purchase. It was exactly what I wanted and in the condition I expected.

Loved it!.......2007-09-10

Just like I remember! A classic, adorable story. I was so glad to find it so that my son can read it.

GREAT BOOK.......2007-09-04

This is such a cute little story - such a fun book to read as it has many opportunities to add character in your voice fluctuation. It is smaller in size so it travels easily. This was one of my favorites as a child.

Cute!.......2007-09-03

I have loved this book ever since I read it to my oldest son (who's now 16) and I recently re-purchased it for my one year old and one of my nephews. They both love this book as much as I do. It's an adorable little story!

Little Old Big Beard And Big Young Little Beard: A Short And Tall Tale

Average customer rating:

Great to read to kids, fun for adults too
our favorite book of all time

Little Old Big Beard And Big Young Little Beard: A Short And Tall Tale

Manufacturer: Marshall Cavendish Children's Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Humorous | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0761452885

Customer Reviews:

Great to read to kids, fun for adults too.......2005-05-08

After I heard about this book on NPR, I had to get it. It was just as good as promised. The story is heartwarming and humorous, taking the reader on a journey with two cowboys who lost their favorite cow. It is also wonderfully paced so that after a few readings, children can chime in to say the cowboys' favorite meal ("Guess what?" "Beans!"). There is just enough text on each page so that children with short attention spans don't lose interest, and for children with longer attention spans, the beautiful and kid-friendly illustrations contain many fun details to discuss as you are reading. It's also typeset in big block letters that are easier to recognize for kids who are still learning the alphabet.

I bought this for my favorite nephew, but before giving it to him I ended up reading it through many times just to enjoy the story and pictures. I only managed to read it to him once, but in the thank you letter my sister wrote, "No one here reads the story quite like you do," and that makes me think he might have asked to have it read to him again.

our favorite book of all time.......2005-03-08

this story is wonderful and so are remy charlip's warm illustrations. it's nice to read a book about cowboys where the cowboys are really nice guys and good friends and cry when they lose their beloved cow, grace. so sweet, especially the very last page where charlip has re-worded the song amazing grace to sing about grace the cow.

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