Book Description
Explores cinema from a social and cultural perspective, discussing film as a cultural industry and examining how issues of gender, class and ethnicity impact upon representation and spectatorship. This third edition of the best-selling work has been updated to include: analysis of recent films such as Scream 2, Lethal Weapon 4, and The Wedding Singer; an expanded section on feminist approaches to film; new material on narrative approaches, spectatorship, and psychoanalytic approaches; and increased focus on the industry in Hollywood and the rise of multiplexes.
Customer Reviews:
An overview of the impact of film on society........1997-10-30
This book makes a good text for beginning film students who need an understanding of film history as well as a picture of the ways media affect our lives. It presents film as interactive, not only in terms of the immediate experience, but in the ways audiences affect the daily decisions made in the business and in the ways today's educated film goers affect the uses directors and writers can make of the medium. Readers gain insight into the mysterious ways movies are born, into the major film theories, and into the way film-makers see their movies as part of a larger social context.
The lay reader with a general interest in film will find the chapter on Westerns interesting because it explores a genre in depth and reveals how the movies see genre as a symbolic language. Although the word "genre" itself appears frequently in film reviews, readers generally do not seem to fully understand its importance to the movie business.
The book summarizes creative, economic, and historical issues regarding film as a pervasive influence in our lives as more and more movies extend themselves into markets beyond the entity of the celluloid itself. All the peripherals such as action toys, books, music, videos, cereal, clothing, etc. are explored to help us realize the global impact movies have throughout our daily existence.
If you like the movies and want to understand more about them as a world wide phenomenon, this is a good overview.
Book Description
Combinations are the central element in chess; they make the game so magical and captivating. The beautiful point of sacrificing a queen, the strongest piece, in order to checkmate with a lowly pawn brings a smile of joy to all chess lovers. Virtually all chess games possess a combination, either one hidden in the shadows of analysis carefully avoided or one that provides a decisive blow.
Winning Chess Combinations is a unique work that doesn't merely repeat the wonderfully rich and vast numbers of combinations, asking readers to solve a particular diagrammed position; it is a work that is far more realistic. A combination involves a sacrifice upsetting the balance of forces, but will it work or tragically boomerang? The reader is invited to solve this critical question by identifying the advantages that a specific position holds which might make the combination successful.
Winning Chess Combinations is the seventh in Yasser Seirawan's highly acclaimed Winning Chess series - PROBABLY THE BEST-SELLING SERIES OF CHESS BOOKS EVER PUBLISHED.
Customer Reviews:
Best Chess Series ever written!.......2007-03-11
Wow; many chess players have voted this series by Yasser Seirawan as the best single series on Chess! You could spend many productive hours studying this entire series of books. The final book in the series is out this year. Seirawan's writing is designed for us "laymen" and this easy to understand book will improve your game.
Unexpected disappointment.......2007-01-11
After a series of informative, stimulating, and gratifying works on everything from openings to endgames, tactics to strategy, Seirawan blunders with this move. The text details a number of interesting games and examines the rationale and philosophy of play with each but the book provides a disappointing treatise on the topic of combinations, the ordained reason for the book's existence. The title and preface would lead the reader to expect an in-depth review of combinational ideas, examples of unique and inventive combinations, and the challenging puzzles and tests that have consistently garnished the author's prior works. This one, sadly, seems to be a hodgepodge of material thrown together as an afterthought in the endgame of what has otherwise been a brilliant match.
Part of a good series.......2006-07-08
The "Winning Chess Series" by Seirawan is one of the best series of books on chess. The "Winning Chess Combinations" book is more advanced than "Winning Chess Tactics" and "Winning Chess Traps for Juniors" so you should read these first and I personally liked them better. When you have advanced then getting this book is a good idea.
Yaz's new book is golden!.......2006-06-29
In his seventh, and final, book in his Winning Chess series GM Yasser Seirawan delivers one of his best in this very good series. In many ways this book is a follow up to his book on tactics, but taking it to a higher level. The focus is on pattern recognition and attacking ideas with many examples from recent GM games. I believe it works well as a bridge between his (or another basic) tactics book and a more advanced book like Vukovic's Art of Attack. I used his Tactics and Strategy books as the foundation for my chess study and am very pleased to add his new book to that list.
Yasser does it again!.......2006-02-20
Yasser Seirawan dazzles his Winning Chess readers for the seventh time by bringing us his latest and greatest work, Winning Chess Combinations. If you do not already own this book, rush out to the neareast bookstore, purchase it, and read it as you grasp all of the information necessary for mastering Combinations in this fantastic work.
Customer Reviews:
Take the book for what it is.......2007-09-27
You've got to accept this book for what it is -- a very large set of chess puzzles to solve. No, it's not a comprehensive manual of the game. No, it doesn't teach openings. No, it's got nothing on strategic conceptions of middle-game play. There could be a whole long list of what it is not.
But take it for what it is. One, it's fun to try to solve these puzzles. If you like that kind of thing, you can throw this inexpensive book in a briefcase, purse, or pocket. (Or keep it in the john.) The puzzles are nice diversion. Two, I believe it can really help play to go over and over the puzzles. Doing that will, I think, imprint the repeating patterns that allow these kinds of combinations. It will become easier feel when a position offers combinational opportunities - for you or your opponent - and smoke the combinations out.
A word about the descriptive notation. The publishers have kept this book in print by some photoprocess from the original of it, which is now a half century old. A half century ago, descriptive notation was the standard in the English-speaking world. It's now all but died out. The publisher could find a wider audience by having someone translate the notations to algebraic. I assume they've thought of it but decided it's not a profitable move. I don't know; maybe they're right. Hate them for that decision if you will, but anyone still can enjoy and profit from this book as is. Descriptive notation is very easy to master, even if you think it stinks, and the the book includes a clear explanation of how it works.
LOW QUALITY BINDING, DO NOT BUY.......2007-06-07
This book has the worst quality binding. Every page you turn will drop out. And the puzzles are categorized, making it too easy and pointless. When you're in a game, someone doesn't say to you, find the pin or find the x-ray attack. No, the themes must be jumbled for it to be of any use.
Fun. .......2007-06-02
What I like about this book, is that it doesn't have anything like stars according to how "difficult" it is to solve each problem. What really matters is how beautiful it is, how it makes one surprised. If you agree with me, get this.
A great tool for working on the calculation of variations.......2007-02-24
Of course, this is not a revolutionary work or somesuch, but it is a great tool for working on and improving a player's calculating power. The exercises are not terribly difficult, but for intermediate players, the tough part will be doing them in your head. However, this must be learned!
The genius of the book lies in its size--convenient to carry around in one's pocket. If that's the "genius" of the book, then why the five stars? Well, someone had to actually write the book! I have not yet seen anything that compares to Laszlo Polgar's chapter on 600 king's field attacks in "5,334" but c'mon, do you really want to carry that thing around? Sometimes I do carry it around for that one chapter, but still...
And for those of you out there who are screaming that Alburt's "Chess Training Pocket Book: 300 Most Important Positions and Ideas" accomplishes the same, I would say that "1001" is just as good, has more examples, and in general involves tougher calculating tasks. "300" is overrated and overpriced (for its purpose). I no longer buy into all this garbage about "secret Soviet training methods."
But I digress. I recommend this book not so much because the examples are brilliant, but because you have to practice doing the calculations in your head. This is what intermediate players need to advance to the next level.
Tatics is 99% of chess and 99% of the fun too!.......2007-01-09
This book on Chess Tatics has proved extermely good for my chess improvement. It is a must for whoever that wants to become a serious chess player.
Customer Reviews:
wow. it will take a lifetime to go through these!.......2005-08-11
Positives:
1. 1001 of them!
2. difficulty levels are pretty high (90%) . Thats good and bad.
3. Inexpensive
Negatives:
1. It would have been nice to have some tutorial kind
of pages.
2. Most of them are so difficult that 1600+ player
like me miss 80% of them. Depressing.
Average customer rating:
- The Best Chess Book Ever
- Learning tactics
- five stars learning book
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Tal's Winning Chess Combinations
Mikhail Tal
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
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General
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Similar Items:
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Attack with Mikhail Tal
ASIN: 0671242628 |
Customer Reviews:
The Best Chess Book Ever.......2006-04-04
I have been playing chess for over 20 years with a USCF rating of 1900+ and ICC 5-minute rating of 2000+. I have never seen a chess book as good as this one. Reading this book will raise your chess rating by at least 200-300 points.
Secrets of winning chess mating combinations are revealed by M. Tal, one of the greatest combinational geniuses of all time. The combination (the heart of chess) is broken down to its basic elements. Each piece is studied individually and in combination with the other pieces. The book is designed to be read without the need for a board.
Learning tactics.......2000-03-20
The best book I have ever read to learn tactics. Each piece is studied with a great care and a great number of typical position. After reading it you will find computers stupid!
five stars learning book.......2000-03-20
The best book I have ever read to learn about tactics
Average customer rating:
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101 Winning Combinations
Ali Mortazavi
Manufacturer: B.T. Batsford Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Chess
| Board Games
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General
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ASIN: 0713486902 |
Book Description
The One Minute Manager, published in 1982, took the world by storm. More than 13 million copies have been sold in this country and it has been translated into more than 25 languages, making it one of the most influential books about business management ever written. The second book in this record-breaking series, Putting the One Minute Manager to Work, turns the three secrets of One Minute Management into day-to-day skills and shows how they work in real-life situations. By going straight to boardrooms and assembly lines for their examples, the authors put the One Minute concepts into working systems that directly affect a company's bottom line. Here is the next step in the revolutionary, simple, and uniquely effective system that is changing how the world runs business.
Customer Reviews:
Good re-read. Always a good refresher course........2007-07-16
This book keeps management principles in its simplist form. I have given these books to many managers over the years to help them understand and learn the basic principles of management. A great read!!!!
The orginal book changed my life.......2007-05-08
This book is about so much more than management. I applied the principles to all areas of my life years ago and what a difference it made.
I highly recommend this as a wonderful addition to your must read list. This book gave me easy ways to apply the concepts to my life.
Better than the first, but still little meat.......2007-01-12
I read this book in an MBA course taught by one author. Both are "executive coaches", meaning they counsel well-paid CEO's. Nice shtick if you can burrow in. They cannot be mentors since neither has real work experience and they aren't real academics. Lorber spends less than 1 day/wk at UCD, mostly lending his Organization Behavior aura.
The methods discussed are necessary, but hardly sufficient. A competent manager should walk the floor, pat people on the back, discuss short-term goals, and give regular performance reviews. However, managers must also be very competent, which usually requires rising through the ranks. They should do more than shuffle papers and put on a show, although that can work in large bureaucracies. Psychology tricks may work in the short time to get employees to shoulder more of the company's obligations and risks, but over the long-term employees wise up. Managers must provide proper incentives, both financial and for professional/career advancement, otherwise their best people walk.
Still Managing to get it right.......2007-01-05
The One Minute Manager series is still managing to get it done right even after all these years. I highly recommend it to middle managers evrey where in every field.
A book for everybody........2006-03-07
This book is pitched at managers who are either new to the position or managers who feel they might have people problems they need to resolve - in other words: everybody. A lot of the philosophy is common sense to me, and I say this to emphasize that I agree with it wholeheartedly.
The core of the book revolves around closing the loop - if you'll pardon the pun - on training, monitoring and giving feedback when managing employees. The authors follow the style of management that delineates goals, performance and how the employee's performance matches the targets: activators, behaviors and consequences, that is, the ABC's of people management.
The manager should make sure he ("he" is she or he) sets appropriate goals for each employee and for each task. Goals must be concrete and observable and targets must be measurable. When giving feedback, make sure it is constructive. If the results are positive, give lots of praise. If the results aren't up to par, review the reasons with the employee, get agreement, and end the discussion on a positive note, praising the employee about one angle of the task he or she did well. The authors therefore, advocate encouraging learning by reassessing goals, and never reprimanding a learner.
Another part of the philosophy is PRICE, which stands for P-inpoint, R-ecord, I-nvolve, C-oach, E-valuate - all revolving around identification and recording of planned measurable output, help or coaching along the way and checking performance against the specific targets originally set. This identification and planning of the measurable output must be arrived at together with the employee to ensure that the employee has a sense of ownership of the targets to achieve.
Another example worth noting from this book is about the character Hank. If the manager expects his people will do nothing right, he shouldn't be surprised if they aren't motivated to do better. This is basic human psychology: expect the best, treat people in that way and that's what you will get.
Near the end of the book, one last nugget of wisdom is given. Do implement this philosophy in everything you do, and you will start to see improvements. Don't overly worry if you can't get everything right at first. Incremental improvements to this process will also bring results.
One main consequence of this people management style, is better motivated people, basically because it implies management does care not only about what employees do, and how well they do it, but also that management follows up. In the process management earns trust, and the employees will reach to achieve any goals they believe is even slightly within their grasp. In the end, contrary to the common belief that one cannot motivate others and that one can only enable people to feel motivated, I believe this management method is one way to motivate people.
Customer Reviews:
GREAT BOOK FOR HELPING DEVELOP BETTER MANAGEMENT SKILLS.......2000-06-12
This book is great for developing better management skills. It can be applied to any kind of management fields. I would definately recommend this book for anybody looking to enhance the skills they already have.
Average customer rating:
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Putting Excellence to Work (American Express Audio Cassette Collection "Putting Excellence to Work", an 8-audio cassette album from Listen USA!)
Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson ,
Thomas Peters ,
Robert Allen ,
Denis Waitley ,
Thomas Kirby ,
George Sheehan M.D. ,
Rosabeth Moss Kanter , and
David Merrill and Roger Reid
Manufacturer: Listen USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
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ASIN: B000NK2LFY |
Product Description
8 Tapes, 8 topics: 1. In Search Of Excellence , 2. Communicate With Confidence, 3.How to feel Great 24 hours a day, 4.How to motivate people, 5.Talking with the one minute manager, 6. Seeds of Greatness, 7. The Change Masters and 8. Creating Wealth
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