Books about Resilient from Amazon.com

Child psychologists Robert Brooks and Sam Goldstein are too humble to promise a "sure bet" method for fostering resilience in all children, but their book Raising Resilient Children certainly does an impressive job of upping the ante. The authors open their comprehensive study with two bold questions: Why do many parents insist on pointing out their child's weaknesses and try--in vain--to mend these, when harnessing the child's strengths bolsters self-esteem? And how can parents change their erring ways to help these kids become thoughtful, confident adults? Their answer is a wisely crafted set of 10 essential parenting behaviors ("guideposts")--a prescription of sorts, for nurturing resilience in kids. Ironically, it's the parents who may reap the greatest rewards from putting these guideposts to work.

Drawing heavily from 50 years of combined clinical practice, Brooks and Goldstein conclude that a child's resilience grows its deepest roots in the home, nurtured by parents who incorporate healthy doses of empathy, practical optimism, respect, unconditional love, keen listening skills, and the patience to administer these values every day. Sounds logical, but the gap between knowledge and action is deceptively wide. The authors knowingly share a caseload of tales from their own clients' histories--familiar scenarios of well-meaning parents who say and do counterproductive things. But they also present a treasury of suggestions for righting the wrongs, including detailed steps for rewriting negative parenting scripts, teaching and modeling empathy, and creating opportunities for kids to act responsibly and compassionately. This timely, insightful book will prove an effective tool for parents who are willing to scrutinize--and improve upon--their own resilience. --Liane Thomas.
Price: $4.75 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Since the first edition of Managing the Unexpected was published in 2001, the unexpected has become a growing part of our everyday lives. The unexpected is often dramatic, as with hurricanes or terrorist attacks. But the unexpected can also come in more subtle forms, such as a small organizational lapse that leads to a major blunder, or an unexamined assumption that costs lives in a crisis. Why are some organizations better able than others to maintain function and structure in the face of unanticipated change?

Authors Karl Weick and Kathleen Sutcliffe answer this question by pointing to high reliability organizations (HROs), such as emergency rooms in hospitals, flight operations of aircraft carriers, and firefighting units, as models to follow. These organizations have developed ways of acting and styles of learning that enable them to manage the unexpected better than other organizations. Thoroughly revised and updated, the second edition of the groundbreaking book Managing the Unexpected uses HROs as a template for any institution that wants to better organize for high reliability..
Price: $14.61 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Why do we remain unprepared for the next terrorist attack or natural disaster?
Where are we most vulnerable?
How have we allowed our government to be so negligent?
Who will keep you and your family safe?
Is America living on borrowed time?
How can we become a more resilient nation?

Americans are in denial when it comes to facing up to how vulnerable our nation is to disaster, be it terrorist attack or act of God. We have learned little from the cataclysms of September 11 and Hurricane Katrina. When it comes to catastrophe, America is living on borrowed time–and squandering it. In this new book, leading security expert Stephen Flynn issues a call to action, demanding that we wake up and prepare immediately for a safer future.

The truth is acts of terror cannot always be prevented, and nature continues to show its fury in frighteningly unpredictable ways. Resiliency, argues Flynn, must now become our national motto. With chilling frankness and clarity, Flynn paints an all too real scenario of the threats we face within our own borders. A terrorist attack on a tanker carrying liquefied natural gas into Boston Harbor could kill thousands and leave millions more of New Englanders without power or heat. The destruction of a ship with a cargo of oil in Long Beach, California, could bring the West Coast economy to its knees and endanger the surrounding population. But even these all-too-plausible terrorist scenarios pale in comparison to the potential destruction wrought by a major earthquake or hurricane.

Our growing exposure to man-made and natural perils is largely rooted in our own negligence, as we take for granted the infrastructure handed down to us by earlier generations. Once the envy of the world, this infrastructure is now crumbling. After decades of neglect, our public health system leaves us at the mercy of microbes that could kill millions in the next flu pandemic. Flash flooding could wipe out a fifty-year-old dam north of Phoenix, placing thousands of homes and lives at risk. The next San Francisco earthquake could destroy century-old levees, contaminating the freshwater supply that most of California relies on for survival.

It doesn’t have to be this way. The Edge of Disaster tells us what we can do about it, as individuals and as a society. We can–and, Flynn argues, we must–construct a more resilient nation. With the wounds of recent national tragedies still unhealed, the time to act is now.

Flynn argues that by tackling head-on, eyes open the perils that lie before us, we can remain true to our most important and endearing national trait: our sense of optimism about the future and our conviction that we can change it for the better for ourselves–and our children.

“Steve Flynn offers the answer not only to protecting America from terrorist attacks and natural disaster but also to revitalizing our democracy. This book is a must-read for all members of Congress, 2008 presidential candidates, and ordinary citizens who want to build a better and safer future.”
–Anne-Marie Slaughter, dean, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University

Advance praise for The Edge of Disaster

“Steve Flynn has done it again. Like America the Vulnerable before it, The Edge of Disaster is the must-read book for every American, elected official, and presidential candidate who is committed to ensuring that our nation continue to thrive in perilous times.”
–Mark Warner, former governor of Virginia

“Since 9/11, protecting our nation against a terrorist attack has consumed policy makers in Washington. What Stephen Flynn points out in The Edge of Disaster is that much of this effort has been directed overseas, often at the expense of our homeland and its much more likely areas of vulnerability. Laying out a series of potential disasters both manmade and natural, Flynn calls for a greater emphasis on preparedness and the ability of communities and the nation to recover. Painting an often frustrating and infuriating picture of missed opportunities, The Edge of Disaster is a call to action. The time to act is now. We can only hope that policy makers are listening.”
–Christine Todd Whitman, former governor of New Jersey and
former administrator, Environmental Protection Agency (2001-03)

“Steve Flynn’s book makes the very persuasive argument that national security preparedness is linked to natural disaster preparedness. By investing significantly in our critical infrastructure, in citizen preparedness, and most importantly in leadership, we can be better prepared for all hazards. A great book that I highly recommend.”
–James Lee Witt, former director, Federal Emergency Management Agency

“Steve Flynn has become a relentless contributor to the dialogue on prioritizing the work of the post-9/11 security environment. The Edge of Disaster calls into question the neglect of domestic preparedness in favor of the Department of Defense-driven offensive in the global war on terrorism. The book offers provocative challenges to both our elected and our private-sector leaders, and both should read it thoroughly.”
–Admiral James M. Loy, former commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, and former deputy secretary of homeland security.
Price: $10.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

B> This title focuses on the work of practitioners in counseling, therapy, teaching, and the health professions These are all "high-touch" practitioner fields where the quality of the interaction with the client/student/patient is the key to success. To do the work well requires an optimal balance between "other-care" and "self-care." How does one acquire this balance? This book explores elements of this question by describing the joys and hazards of the work, the long road from novice to senior practitioner, the essence of burnout, ways to maintain the professional and personal self, methods experts use to maintain vitality, and, finally, a self-care action plan. Written for counselors, therapists or those in the health professions..
Price: $28.17 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Why do so many of our kids--raised in the most affluent nation on earth--fail to thrive and strive and enter adulthood lacking appropriate and effective coping skills? Drs. Swihart and Cotter have come up with a revolutionary theory on why our kids are having such a tough time of it today: It is because we allow our children to manipulate us, and the world around them, rather than teaching them how to respond to life and life's tough situations. The result is that manipulative behavior is directly tied to low self-esteem, which only heightens its negative impact on kids, families, and the larger communities we live in. The good news is that Drs. Swihart and Cotter have created a radical and clinically proven program for breaking manipulative behavior and getting our kids back on track. The program teaches parents to say no without feeling guilt; to resist the urge to feel responsible for their child's happiness; to view their children as emotionally competent and resilient; and most importantly, to realize that effective parenting means allowing your child to make mistakes and develop a sense of competence, which leads to enhanced self-esteem and an ability to live independently and successfully in the real world.



Drawing on their twenty-five years in private practice, the authors illustrate their program with examples of successful kids, as well as case studies of how parents have regained control and effectively blocked their children's manipulative behavior. The positive results will enlighten, and even astound you, and give you the tools needed to become a better parent..
Price: $8.51 [Notify me when price goes down.]

At a young age, Gordon MacDonald recognized that he had inherited a "quitter's gene," and because of this-and an influential track coach-he began a lifelong quest for answers. "Why," he had to ask, "do some people finish what they start, persevere in moments of adversity, push themselves in the direction of their potential, and often make their greatest contributions in the latter half of life? Why do others expect to retire from life when they reach their senior years?" The key element in those who don't quit is resilience. Those who have it, MacDonald insists, have gathered all the lessons from life-successes and failures-to build a foundation of strength and character, preparing them to face anything.

Using examples from the Bible, from his own life, and from the lives of contemporary people, MacDonald identifies the characteristics of resilience, leading readers through the self-assessment needed to develop them. The journey is demanding and humbling, he reminds us, but the rewards of living well are immeasurable.

.
Price: $5.98 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Gold Award Winner for Business and Economics in the 2005 ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards

What happens when fire strikes the manufacturing plant of the sole supplier for the brake pressure valve used in every Toyota? When a hurricane shuts down production at a Unilever plant? When Dell and Apple chip manufacturers in Taiwan take weeks to recover from an earthquake? When the U.S. Pacific ports are shut down during the Christmas rush? When terrorists strike? In The Resilient Enterprise, Yossi Sheffi shows that companies' fortunes in the face of such business shocks depend more on choices made before the disruption than they do on actions taken in the midst of it--and that resilience benefits firms every day, disaster or no disaster. He shows how companies can build in flexibility throughout their supply chains, based on proven design principles and the right culture--balancing security, redundancy, and short-term profits. And he shows how investments in resilience and flexibility not only reduce risk but create a competitive advantage in the increasingly volatile marketplace.

Sheffi describes the way companies can increase security--reducing the likelihood of a disruption--with layered defenses, the tracking and analysis of “near-misses,” fast detection, and close collaboration with government agencies, trading partners, and even competitors. But the focus of the book is on resilience--the ability to bounce back from disruptions and disasters--by building in redundancy and flexibility. For example, standardization, modular design, and collaborative relationships with suppliers (and other stakeholders) can help create a robust supply chain. And a corporate culture of flexibility--with distributed decision making and communications at all levels--can create a resilient enterprise.

Sheffi provides tools for companies to reduce the vulnerability of the supply chain they live in. And along the way he tells the stories of dozens of enterprises, large and small, including Toyota, Nokia, General Motors, Zara, Land Rover, Chiquita, Aisin Seiki, Southwest Airlines, UPS, Johnson and Johnson, Intel, Amazon.com, the U.S. Navy, and others, from across the globe. Their successes, failures, preparations, and methods provide a rich set of lessons in preparing for and managing disruptions.
Additional material available at www.TheResilientEnterprise.com.
Price: $9.96 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Author of several acclaimed books and expert in the field of secondary stress, psychologist Robert Wicks addresses the experience of the mental health professional and raises awareness of the insidious, almost silent psychological defenses of denial and avoidance in the life of the clinician.
A concise guide to preventing and limiting acute and chronic secondary stress, The Resilient Clinician offers an overview of mindfulness and meditation as it applies to the clinician's own life rather than that of the client or patient, and describes how to develop a personally designed self-care
protocol. This immensely readable book also includes one of the most current selective bibliographies of relevant research and clinical and theoretical publications in the subject area, from common stressors and vicarious post-traumatic stress disorders to burnout and compassion fatigue. Informed by
positive psychology and infused with compassion and wisdom, this book will help clinicians remain challenged, maintain perspective, and be inspired both professionally and personally..
Price: $22.53 [Notify me when price goes down.]

"Transform the act of cooking into a dance worthy of both Nijinsky and the Buddha." This is the essence of Will Johnson's handbook for living in your body. Aligned, Relaxed, Resilient combines the body awareness of yoga, the life force, as Johnson puts it, of Taiji, and the mindfulness of Thich Nhat Hanh into a single and simple practice of attentive movement. Too often meditators and spiritual practitioners from all religions retreat into the head or heart, neglecting not only the health but the spiritual potential of the body. Through carefully constructed exercises, Johnson reintegrates body and mind, bringing the senses of vision, hearing, and tactile sensation into what he calls a unified field of shimmering awareness. After alignment and relaxation, the capstone of Johnson's practice is resilience, a harnessing of life force in every natural movement. Free of tension and buoyed by the earth's gravity, the body, a mass of coordinated activity, moves like a flock of starlings. When resilient movement is combined with unified sensation, the ground of being opens up to every moment's joyful apprehension. Learn and indulge. --Brian Bruya.
Price: $6.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]