Guerrilla Travel Tactics: Hundreds of Simple Strategies Guaranteed to Save Road Warriors Time and Money Review

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(More customer reviews)If there is one lesson I have discovered over my umpteen years of travelling is that you need to be very creative when coordinating your jaunts in order to glean the most advantageous deals.
Regrettably, up to recently, I did not have at my disposal the Internet or travel guides such as Guerrilla Travel Tactics authored by Jay Conrad Levinson and Theo Brandt-Sarif.
This book aspires to be the bible for the cost conscious business or leisure traveler, and it definitely has reached its objectives. Particularly, when you take into consideration that within the pages of one book you have practical replies to the how's, when's, where's, and why's of the travel industry pertaining to travel costs and more.
The authors advocate, "that guerrilla travelers achieve conventional goals using unconventional means," or as I mentioned earlier, creativity.
No matter if it be airline reservations, hotel accommodations, car rentals, frequent flyer points, or anything else related to travel, it is you alone that has to seek out the bargains and not a travel agent, who for the most part does not have your interest at heart.
A good portion of Guerrilla Travel Tactics is allotted to airlines such as: airfare savings, lounge membership, alliances, navigating the Internet to weed out great deals, getting the most out of frequent flyer points, and seating.
Are you cognizant that when it comes to flying, not all air miles are created equal? Some airlines may give fewer miles when flying at discounted rate.
Would you give up a first class seat that you may have been upgraded to for an aisle coach seat next to a vacant seat and how do you go about securing this seat?
These and many more are some of the "treats" that are delivered to the reader.
The remaining sections are devoted to hotels, car rentals, affinity cards, and even how to effectively lodge a complaint.

Of special interest are the informative sidebars of tips and alerts, as well as the appendixes.
Are you mindful that booking a deeply discounted hotel room online many sometimes be non-refundable; be sure to check over the fine print. If you are concerned about your hotel room, it is a good idea to tip the bellman before checking in and inquiring which rooms he would choose for himself, if he were with his spouse.
Here is one tip I found quite interesting- one of the biggest cons around in travel is paying $495 to become a travel agent without IATA certification. Hotels and airlines are not stupid and they will not provide discounted rooms or airfare for these "so-called" travel agents.
A helpful appendix lists the major airlines, hotels chains, car rentals companies, and hotel consolidators, indicating their web sites and telephone numbers. You also have information pertaining to the frequent flyer plans of each U.S. and International airline, as well as the credit card information pertaining to them.
The authors' breezy and enlightening style of writing make this frequently dry topic as appealing as it can ever hope to get, while at the same time imparting some super useful information.

Norm Goldman

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The Secret To Getting First Class Upgrades: Enjoy The Pleasures Of Low-Cost Luxury Business Class Travel Every Time Review

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(More customer reviews)Too much filler about common sense info on booking a flight which is not directly related to getting an upgrade. The main point seems to be to ask on the ground for an upgrade using various obvious techniques in my opinion, ask once flying if a business seat is available (don't want to give away the big secret for possible reasons)using some obvious reasons. This book was written in 2009 if not earlier and the some of these strategies assume once in flight there are actually empty business or first class seats and is not very realistic since they are almost always filled, given to valued customers before the flight even is fully seated. This is not 1999 post 911. One other advice is to pay for an upgrade. As flights are cut this strategy will make even less sense IMO. In summary just not worth the price...similar save on first or business class are sold on other online sites. Use common sense or ask other frequent flyers and save the money you would pay for the cost of this book. My advice if you are not a frequent flyer is to pick an airline that doesn't give away all it's empty seats to ff but sale empty business seats. I flew from Amsterdam to NYC on the great new business seats (really a bed) for $200 I paid when I checked in. Find an airlines that allow you to do those upgrades. You don't need a book to tell you that...even go to Trip Advisor or like sites for such advice.

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Time Off From Work: Using Sabbaticals To Enhance Your Life While Keeping Your Career On Track Review

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(More customer reviews)Curious about taking time off from work? This book provides great advice and inspiration on doing it. It's very similar to the book Six Months Off (see my review of that one), and you'll need to make the decision between them or decide to read both. I found that Six Months Off provides more ideas on what to do during your time off, especially terrific programs that would enhance both your life and professional resumes. Time Off From Work provides better coverage of the before and after concerns. Both do a great job of providing real-life case studies of people who've done it. In fact, the author of this book even covers one of the co-authors of Six Months Off as an example. In short, if you're stuck on the how's and why's then read this book; if you're convinced you want and can manage to take a sabbatical but don't have a clear idea of how to make the most of it, then read Six Months Off instead.

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A sabbatical may be just the change you need. More and more men and women are successfully taking an extended break from their jobs--a sabbatical. Once the exclusive preserve of academics, sabbaticals are revitalizing today's business world. Recognizing that the decision to take a sabbatical is a major step, Lisa Rogak mixes a wealth of practical how-to facts and advice with the real-life stories of over forty professionals detailing every aspect of the process. Whether you want the time off to travel, explore other careers, discover new interests, go back to school, stay with your family, do volunteer work, or simply slow down and recharge your batteries, you'll find information on:* Approaching your boss and negotiating the leave you want* Turning your sabbatical into a career asset* Determining your eligibility for the Family Medical Leave Act* Financing a sabbatical creatively* Preparing and planning to get the most out of your time off* Troubleshooting a sabbatical that's not working out* Adjusting to the workplace once your sabbatical is over

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A Time of Silence: Civil War and the Culture of Repression in Franco's Spain, 1936-1945 (Studies in the Social and Cultural History of Modern Warfare) Review

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(More customer reviews)A reader may be a bit disconcerted on first reading this book. There is much talk about "discourses" and "symbolism" and "ideology" and one might conclude that we are about to read a book of cultural studies on Francoist Spain. It is not so much that cultural studies are bad as that before we talk about perceptions of an event it might be a better idea to have a clear idea of what actually happened. As it happens such fears are groundless. What we have here is a brilliant portrait of the cruelty of Franco's regime. It is amazingly well documnted, with 95 pages of notes to 174 of text.
Richards argues that the ideology of the New State had two basic components. On the one hand the state had to purge Spain of the half of it who were secular, liberal, socialist, or regionalist. In a sense Franco's Spain would have to wage a permanent civil war against half of its own population. The other prong of the ideology was that Spain would follow a firm and ruthless policy of self-sufficiency. It has long been a cliche of much conservative and centrist discourse that notwithstanding the aid Franco got from the Axis, he should not be viewed as a fascist, but more as a classically "authoritarian" ruler, and therefore setting the stage for the properly pro-Western democracy that was to follow. Franco's goal were fundamentally traditional, as opposed to the radical ideology of the world's totalitarian regimes. Indeed, one could say the Nationalists were preferable to the Loyalists, who were now little more than Communist puppets. Such a thesis will soon appear next year when a book on that subject will be published by professional anti-communist Ronald Radosh. After reading this book, such complacent views will be placed firmly on the defensive.
For Richards starts with a chapter on the Francoist eliminiation of dissent. On the Loyalist side much of the violence was spontaneous in the aftermath of the breakdown of establish order in the wake of the coup. Juan Negrin, so often and so falsely dismissed as a Communist puppet, actually went of his way to patrol with militias in order to prevent political assasinations. On the nationalist side, by contrast, there was constant talk of extermination, liquidation, of an utterly uncompromising crusade from politicians who were proud of and not ashamed of the Spanish Inquisition. The Nazi press praised the Nationalists for their vigor: "The Marxist parties are being destroyed and exterminated down the very last cell far more dramatically even than here in Germany." Perhaps 6,000 were summarily executed in Seville alone before February 1937. (Richards adds "This was not violence which was `necessary' in any military sense: there was no organized armed resistance to speak of." ) In Granada perhaps 8,000 were killed, and perhaps 4,000 were killed in the first week at Malaga. A thousand were killed in the conquest of San Sebastian in the Basque Country, and another thousand at Bilbao. There were fourteen concentration camps in the area of Valencia alone, while Mussolini's son in law, Count Ciano, believed that there were 200 executions daily in conquered Madrid in the summer of 1939.
This cruelty was encouraged by an ideology that had a misogynist contempt for independent woman, and had a morbid support for "chastity" and "purity." But should also read Richard's chapters on autarky. Much of Franco's support came from smallholders, and Franco spoke of freeing Spain from the noxious influence of the cities. But in fact the peasants would be rendered powerless by Franco. Wheat production was lower in 1949 than at the end of the war, and what wheat did exist was guaranteed at high prices for rich producers, and subjected to speculation and the Black Market. Consumption of wheat fell by more than a quarter in the first decade of Falangist rule, as officials refused to upset their autarkic dreams by importing wheat to a country that could not feed itself. Indeed scarce food was shipped to Germany and Italy. While overcrowding and poverty increased, profits boomed and industrialists strengthened their privileges. All in all the first two decades to the New State were a total loss. A 1991 article by Giovanni Arrighi in the New Left Review demonstrates this. In the thirties Spain per capita wealth was about 40% of the European core. By 1959, Spain's wealth was less than 20%. Only after the economic boom did it rise again to pre civil war levels. In other words, a total waste.

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Learning Paths: Increase Profits by Reducing the Time It Takes Employees to Get Up-to-Speed Review

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(More customer reviews)"Learning Paths" by Rosenbaum and Williams takes an innovative look at training and how people develop beyond "graduation day" to "independence day". This book is chuck full of great ideas that anyone with basic training and curriculum development ability should be able to implement within 30 days. My three favorite ideas: shorten the training cycle time to get people productive quicker, proficient at what they need to do, not just trained with skills/competencies. Secondly, the 30/30 jump start CD Kit helps you actually do what they suggest .. I love it. And finally, this book will help those who want to make the transition from trainer to performance consultant, helping get real business results. I can't wait for the follow-up "field book" on learning paths.

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Time Out Tokyo (Time Out Guides) Review

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(More customer reviews)This guide is not only useful, but really readable. I have lived in Japan for a number of years, but I learned a lot from the introductory articles. I also really liked the boxes giving background on interesting aspects of Japanese culture throughout the text. They changed the pace of the book, offered some fascinating information, and made the book a pleasure to refer to.

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Time Out Tokyo is the definitive guide to this fast-moving metropolis. With cultural briefings and comprehensive practical tips, this guide leads visitors through the marvels and mysteries of the world's most undiscovered capital. From futuristic skyscrapers to ancient temples, sex clubs to sushi bars, it's all here - how to navigate the city with no street names and make the most of the numerous shopping options, from must-have souvenirs to electronics bargains. The guide also explores sights beyond Tokyo, including Yokohama, the hot springs of Hakone, and the slopes of Mount Fuji. Also included are over 150 personally vetted restaurant reviews (plus a guide to reading the menu), and etiquette tips: do's and don'ts, using a bath house, sleeping in a ryokan, and more.

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