Victor B Male, Married. Madison, WI, USA

Super Crunchers is a fascinating look at how statistical methods can be applied to problems in business, medicine, education, and more. The author, Ian Ayres, is to be commended on his presentation of technical concepts in an easy-to-understand manner. For teachers, the book is a virtual treasure trove, with example after example of individuals and organizations harnessing statistical methods to make superior decisions. The only drawback is the tone: the first half of the book borders on sensationalism. If, like me, you find this off-putting, try to stay the course—the second half is more subdued.

Writing for Social Scientists by Howard Becker is much more than a guide to writing; it is a guide to becoming a prolific (and thus successful) academic. Whereas many books on writing focus on style and grammar, Becker takes a broader view, covering everything from the writing process ("writing is a form of thinking") to common pitfalls (the "One Right Way") to writing's place in research (think "working draft"). Becker illustrates his ideas with examples from his career as a professor of sociology, and his sociological perspective is refreshing, even liberating. If you're an academic looking for ways to put off writing that next paper, I highly recommend this book

If you're in retail, you owe it to yourself to read this book. In fact, anyone involved in the marketing of consumer products or services would benefit from the insights presented here. As a side benefit, the book also serves as a rudimentary introduction to ethnography for those without prior exposure to this method of marketing research.

Based on his research on scholarly writing and his experience counseling authors, Robert Boice devised a four-stage approach to writing consistently and productively: (1) establish momentum, (2) develop external controls, (3) foster intrinsic motivation, and (4) leverage sociality. In this book, Boice introduces techniques for mastering each of these stages and offers insightful advice to keep the words flowing. Whether you're currently experiencing a block or are simply looking for preventive measures, this book is a worthwhile read.

Ekman leverages his research on facial expressions to explore human emotion in Emotions Revealed. At the most basic level, the book serves as a guide to perceiving and understanding emotions in oneself and others. More thought-provoking, though, are Ekman's insights into emotion as a driver of behavior and his conjectures as to the evolutionary bases for emotion. For the motivated reader, references to academic research are provided.