The whole idea for Jack’s Notebook was intriguing to me.This was not the first book of fiction that I have read that the plot was written to illustrate business points or ideas.But this one was very different in my opinion.
The first part of the book is similar to my expectation of the book – the “judging the book by its cover” expectation.Before you even read the story, if you have read the cover, then you know that the book was written to explain CPS, creative problem solving.And in the beginning scenes we meet Jack Huber, yes, the owner of the famous notebook, who finds himself working two part-time jobs to barely make ends meet, his car is broken down and he is walking hopelessly through the rain in order to get a train for his long commute home.But on this night a stranger, Manny Gilbran, gives him a lift.After beginning his conversation with Manny his life is never the same…
The book at this point is still fairly cookie cutter for its genre.Manny gets Jack thinking about what he’d rather be doing.He becomes Jack’s mentor.Jack starts learning the importance of creative problem solving and decides he’d be better suited to a career path in photography.Along the way Jack meets Molly Dunne, who also knows a bit about CPS.
But then the fun begins…
Jack and Molly have fallen in love but they’d barely declared their love for one another and Molly’s past catches up with her.She mysteriously disappears and the pace picks up from there.Jack has to find her but is left with very few clues so he and Manny turn to…Creative problem solving!
Actually I would really like to commend Gregg Fraley the way he picked up the pace with this book.He has really set it apart from other business narratives and made the plot quite interesting and all the while never failing to lose sight of the book’s main purpose:To teach the reader the important facets of creative problem solving through an entertaining format.I believe that I will retain much of the lessons that emanate from this book simply because I will be able to remember the examples set by Fraley’s fictional characters.Gregg Fraley is a very capable writer and story teller as well as teacher.I think if Fraley continues to turn out such work he could legitimately be considered a master of business fiction.
The above review was contributed by: Gary Dale Cearley: Gary Dale is an expatriate American who chooses to write about controversial material. His subject matter tends to run the gamut from historical subjects to biography and even humor. Originally from Arkansas, he has spent several years in Korea as well as Vietnam and is now living in Thailand. Click Here to read an interview with Gary. Click Here to read Gary's reviews.
The Best Secrets of Great Small Businesses: Creative, Innovative and Cost-Saving Ideas from Great Business Minds
Click Here To Purchase From Amazon The Best Secrets of Great Small BusinessesAuthor: Ray SilversteinPublisher: Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, Inc.ISBN-13: 978-1-4022-1766-2ISBN-10: 1-4022-0766-2 The Best Secrets of Great Small Businesses is a softbound, 242 page book. Comprised of ten chapters, an epilogue, index, and a brief biography of the author, this book is the product of discussions among member of PRO (President’s Resource Organization), founded by the author, Ray Silverstein, in 1993.
(No rating)
12-14-2006
Views: 9340
Post Mortem – Solving History’s Great Medical Mysteries
Author: Philip A. Mackowiak, M.D.ISBN: 978-1930513891You Can Purchase This Book From Amazon There are twelve cases described in Post Mortem. However, how the book came about is just as interesting. Dr. Mackowiak is professor and vice chairman of the Department of Medicine of the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Chief of the Medical Care Clinical Center of the VA Maryland Health Care System. For the past fourteen years, Dr. Mackowiak has presented a series of...
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7-24-2007
Views: 4440
How To Be A Creative Genius (in five minutes or less)
Author: Gary UngerISBN: 0-9795676-2-9Publisher: Sherian Publishing “Genius Fun” Don’t skip the introduction to this little book or you will likely miss the perspective you’ll need to appreciate it. The unusual format of bullet lists, no more than three or four per page, and a couple of short summary paragraphs scattered throughout each chapter, make for quick reading and easy remembering. Unger takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to stating the obvious; at least what is obvious to geniuses. He...
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1-29-2008
Views: 5692
Kaizen and the Art of Creative Thinking
Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Kaizen and the Art of Creative Thinking Author: Shigeo ShingoISBN: 1897363591
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12-28-2007
Views: 5053
Kaizen and the art of creative thinking
Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Kaizen and the art of creative thinkingAuthor:Shigeo ShingoISBN: 1897363591Publisher: PCS Inc. and Enna Products CorporationShigeo Shingo was a leading contributor to the field of Industrial Engineering and was credited with some of the major developments in the field including The Toyota Production System and the Single Minute Die Exchange. In his book Kaizen and the Art of Creative Thinking (KACT), Mr. Shingo explores improvement in both production and...
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3-15-2008
Views: 4644
Creative Recycling in Embroidery
Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Creative Recycling in EmbroideryAuthor: Val HomesPublisher: Sterling Publishing Co.ISBN: 0-7134-8986-3 When I saw the title to this book I found myself intrigued by it and I have to say I was not disappointed when I got it in hand and finally got to look through it. Val Homes’ book is a great how-to/jumping off point for creating your own textile fine art piece. This is another example of the “green” art books that I have found in the recent months. Holmes...
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2-22-2008
Views: 4863
Creative Quilts: Inspiration, Texture, & Stitch
Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Creative Quilts: Inspiration, Texture, & Stitch Author: Sandra MeechPublisher: Batsford, an imprint of Anova Books Co. Ltd.; distributed in the U.S. and Canada by Sterling PublishingISBN: 978-0-7134-9006-0 Knowing where you want to go but not having a map to get there is a frustrating predicament. Fortunately, Sandra Meech has provided a detailed map for the new quilt artist stri
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3-15-2007
Views: 5089
3d Toons Creative 3D Design For Cartoonists and Animators
Click Here To Purchase From Amazon 3d Toons Creative 3D Design For Cartoonists and Animators Authors: Steve & Raf AnzovinISBN: 0764129511The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW Norm Goldman's Reviews 3d Toons Creative 3D Design For Cartoonists and Animators is a powerhouse of information that focuses on artistic choices in explaining to its readers how 3D cartoonists reach their goals. As mentioned in the inside flap
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3-28-2006
Views: 18246
Self-Promotion For The Creative Person by Lee Silber
The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN EDITOR OF BOOKPLEASURES One of the major difficulties that creative persons as artists and musicians have is promoting themselves. In fact, I would have to go so far as to say that many of these individuals are clueless when it comes to marketing, networking, creating a niche image, selling, gaining publicity and the benefits of the Internet. They may even be bogged down by stringent guidelines or the “what will people think and say”...
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3-21-2007
Views: 5339
Writing Creative Nonfiction by Carolyn Forché and Philip Gerard- Editors
Over the past several years there has been quite a controversy as to what exactly is creative nonfiction. In fact, there are some who even go so far as denying its existence and claim there is no such animal! If we are from the school that accepts that it is alive and kicking, we must then be able to describe what exactly is creative nonfiction. Carolyn Fauché and Philip Gerard, editors of Writing Creative Nonficton, perhaps best sum up what it is all about when they state: “creative...
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3-21-2007
Views: 7369
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