Books about Discusses from Amazon.com

We've all been there: We know we must confront a coworker, store clerk, or friend about some especially sticky situation--and we know the encounter will be uncomfortable So we repeatedly mull it over until we can no longer put it off, and then finally stumble through the confrontation. Difficult Conversations, by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen, offers advice for handling these unpleasant exchanges in a manner that accomplishes their objective and diminishes the possibility that anyone will be needlessly hurt. The authors, associated with Harvard Law School and the Harvard Project on Negotiation, show how such dialogues actually comprise three separate components: the "what happened" conversation (verbalizing what we believe really was said and done), the "feelings" conversation (communicating and acknowledging each party's emotional impact), and the "identity" conversation (expressing the situation's underlying personal meaning). The explanations and suggested improvements are, admittedly, somewhat complicated. And they certainly don't guarantee positive results. But if you honestly are interested in elevating your communication skills, this book will walk you through both mistakes and remedies in a way that will boost your confidence when such unavoidable clashes arise. --Howard Rothman.
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If you’re enrolled in an executive education or MBA program, you’ve probably encountered a powerful learning tool: the business case. But if you’re like many people, you may find interpreting and writing about cases mystifying, challenging, or downright frustrating.

In The Case Study Handbook, William Ellet presents a potent new approach for analyzing, discussing, and writing about cases. Early chapters show how to classify cases according to the analytical task they require (solving a problem, making a decision, or forming an evaluation) and quickly establish a base of knowledge about a case. Strategies and templates, in addition to several sample Harvard Business School cases, help you apply the author’s framework.

Later in the book, Ellet shows how to write persuasive case-analytical essays based on the process laid out earlier. Extensive examples of effective and ineffective writing further reinforce your learning. The book also includes a chapter on how to talk about cases more effectively in class.

Any current or prospective MBA or executive education student needs to read this book..
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The Monk and the Philosopher is a collection of father-son dialogues between Jean-François Revel, a French philosopher and journalist famous for his leadership in protests of both Christianity and Communism, and Matthieu Ricard, his son, who gave up a promising career as a scientist to become a Buddhist monk in the Himalayas. The conversations recorded in this book took place during 10 days at an inn in Katmandu. The range of their subjects is immense: What is Buddhism? Why does it have such appeal to many in the West? Why do Buddhists believe in reincarnation? What are the differences between Buddhist and Christian monastic life? How do science and individualism make authentic Buddhist practice difficult for Westerners to achieve? Despite the simplicity of many of these questions, Revel and Ricard never give simplistic answers. Their discussions are rich without being dense, and, even more notably, they take every question very personally. The result is a book perfectly suited as an introduction to the elements of Buddhist religion (with a good bit of Tibetan history thrown in) that is also an excellent description of what it has been like for one man (Ricard) to practice Buddhist faith. However, as Ricard wisely notes at the end of this book, "No dialogue, however enlightening it might be, could ever be a substitute for the silence of personal experience, so indispensable for an understanding of how things really are." The greatest strength of The Monk and the Philosopher may be its power to return readers to careful attention to the way we pass our days. --Michael Joseph Gross.
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A Likewise book.Greg Graffin is frontman, singer and songwriter for the punk band Bad Religion He also happens to have a Ph.D. in zoology and wrote his dissertation on evolution, atheism and naturalism. Preston Jones is a history professor at a Christian college and a fan of Bad Religion's music. One day, on a whim, Preston sent Greg an appreciative e-mail. That was the start of an extraordinary correspondence.For several months, Preston and Greg sent e-mails back and forth on big topics like God, religion, knowledge, evil, evolution, biology, destiny and the nature of reality. Preston believes in God; Greg sees insufficient evidence for God's existence. Over the course of their friendly debate, they tackle such cosmic questions as: Is religion rational or irrational? Does morality require belief in God? Do people only believe in God because they are genetically predisposed toward religion? How do we make sense of suffering in the world? Is this universe all there is? And what does it all matter?In this engaging book, Preston and Greg's actual e-mail correspondence is reproduced, along with bonus materials that provide additional background and context. Each makes his case for why he thinks his worldview is more compelling and explanatory. While they find some places to agree, neither one convinces the other. They can't both be right. So which worldview is more plausible? You decide..
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"If Sculpting in Time could be distilled to a single message, it would be this: Content and conscience must come before technique—for any artist in any art form."

—Los Angeles Times Book Review

Andrey Tarkovsky, the genius of modern Russian cinema—hailed by Ingmar Bergman as "the most important director of our time"—died an exile in Paris in December 1986. In Sculpting in Time, he has left his artistic testament, a remarkable revelation of both his life and work. Since Ivan's Childhood won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1962, the visionary quality and totally original and haunting imagery of Tarkovsky's films have captivated serious movie audiences all over the world, who see in his work a continuation of the great literary traditions of nineteenth-century Russia. Many critics have tried to interpret his intensely personal vision, but he himself always remained inaccessible.

In Sculpting in Time, Tarkovsky sets down his thoughts and his memories, revealing for the first time the original inspirations for his extraordinary films—Ivan's Childhood, Andrey Rublyov, Solaris, The Mirror, Stalker, Nostalgia, and The Sacrifice. He discusses their history and his methods of work, he explores the many problems of visual creativity, and he sets forth the deeply autobiographical content of part of his oeuvre—most fascinatingly in The Mirror and Nostalgia. The closing chapter on The Sacrifice, dictated in the last weeks of Tarkovsky's life, makes the book essential reading for those who already know or who are just discovering his magnificent work.

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The Kite Runner has the distinction of being the first English-language fiction written about Afghanistan, by Hosseini, a former Afghan doctor who fled his native country in 1980 as it became immersed in civil war. Bookclub-in-a-Box offers insight into the world so movingly described by Hosseini in his first novel. The novel tells of relationship of two boys who are born, live and play side by side, Yet there is no equality in their connection. Hosseini takes his story through three decades which includes Communism and Soviet occupation, as well as the arrival of the Mujahideen and the reign of terror that followed. Bookclub-in-a-Box reviews the following topics: An examination of the complex relationship of Amir and Hassan, especially juxtaposed against the political and cultural backdrop of their times. Through the relationship of the two boys with each other and with others, the reader will reflect on how those personal and political realities can be intertwined. There will be references to the concepts of master and bully . The images of the kite and the kite-runner are appropriate symbols for Afghanistan and will be considered in that light. Readers will be inspired to seek out other metaphors in this rich novel. Afghanistan has been forever changed by its different masters, for example, the Russians, the Taliban. Bookclub-in-a-Box will encourage the reader to examine the devastation of Afghanistan, as portrayed in the lives of the novel s characters, and to see and understand the kind of human suffering that occurred behind the newspaper headlines. Every Bookclub-in-a-Box discussion guide includes complete coverage of themes, symbols, writing style, as well as interesting and little known background information on the novel and the author..
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A Thousand Splendid Suns, the spectacular new novel by Khaled Hosseini, follows on the heels of The Kite Runner, Hosseini's best-selling first novel. This book tells the dramatic story of an unlikely friendship between two women, Mariam and Laila, who are married to the same man. The story takes us through each of their lives before the Russians enter Afghanistan, into the horrible years of Taliban rule, and beyond. Watching these women grow in their relationship, we are given a picture of what it has meant to be a woman in Afghanistan during the last four decades. The novel lifts the veil of these women and shows the reader the female face of Afghanistan's population. A portrait of the male side was presented in The Kite Runner. Use Bookclub-in-a-Box to unravel and be sensitive to the exceptionally difficult situation in Afghanistan today, to appreciate the intricate nature of human endurance, faith, hope and resilience, to explore the complex relationships of Afghanistan's sons and daughters to each other and to the world at large, and to find out what Hosseini and others envision for Afghanistan's future. Every Bookclub-in-a-Box discussion guide includes complete coverage of the themes and symbols, writing style and interesting background information on the novel and the author..
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