Project Manager's Portable Handbook ^{3rd Ed.}

Fully updated throughout, this hands-on guide gives you quick access to current information on project management concepts and practices. Project Manager's Portable Handbook, Third Edition, offers concise, practical details on the fundamental knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to manage projects. Written by world-renowned project management experts, this compact reference summarizes best practices for defining, designing, developing, and producing project results. Handy tables, charts, models, and callout boxes illustrate pertinent information in this essential on-the-job tool.

1. Preface
2. Acknowledgments
3. Introduction

1. The Discipline of Project Management
1. Project Success or Failure
2. Project Management: A Distinct and Changing Discipline
3. Project Management Competence
4. A Project Management Philosophy
5. Benefits of Project Management
6. Ethics in Project Management
7. Project Life Cycle
8. Project Management Bodies of Knowledge and PM Certification
9. Project Management Process
10. Program Management
2. Project Organizational Design
1. Organizing for Project Management
2. Project Organization Charting
3. Authority-Responsibility-Accountability
4. Project Management Training
5. Working in Projects
6. Project Office
3. Alternative Project Applications
1. Alternative Project Teams
2. Reengineering Through Project Teams
3. The Management of Small Projects
4. Self-Managed Production Teams
5. Benchmarking Teams
6. Managing Change by Project Management
4. The Strategic Context of Projects
1. Selling Project Management to Senior Managers
2. Project Partnering
3. Project Strategic Issue Management
4. Project Stakeholder Management
5. The Strategic Management of Teams
6. Senior Management and Projects
7. The Board of Directors and Major Projects
8. International Projects
9. Portfolio Management for Projects
10. Managing Multiple Projects
5. Project Leadership
1. Overview of Project Leadership
2. Leadership in Projects — A Further Perspective
3. Coaching Project Team Members
4. Managing Conflict in Projects
5. Team Leadership
6. Developing the Project Manager's Competence
7. Motivating the Project Team
8. Decision Making in Projects
6. Project Initiation and Execution
1. Project Selection Considerations
2. Project Feasibility Study
3. Legal Considerations in Project Management
4. Project Start-up
5. Developing Winning Proposals
6. Project Statement of Work
7. Selecting PM Software
8. Project Contract Negotiations and Administration
9. Quality in Projects
10. Project Termination
7. Project Planning and Control
1. Project Planning
2. Establishing Project Priorities
3. Project Scheduling
4. Project Monitoring, Evaluation, and Control
5. Project Risk Management
6. Project Auditing
7. Scheduling Standards
8. Outsourcing Project Management
9. Establishing a Project Management System
10. Managing Costs in Projects
11. Project Work Breakdown Structure
12. Earned Value Management
8. The Project Culture
1. Understanding the Team Culture
2. Positive and Negative Aspects of Teams
3. Project Team Building and Development
4. Role and Responsibilities of the Project Team
5. Project Manager Competence
6. The Political Process in Project Management
9. Project Communications
1. The Project Management Information System
2. Project Communications
3. Communication in Project Meetings
4. Negotiations
10. Improving Project Management
1. Project Management Organizational Competence
2. Project Recovery for the Project Team
3. Project Recovery for the Challenged Project
4. Project Stability
5. Assessing Organizational Project Competence

First, be warned: this is not an easy read! Some may be put off by the brevity of the book that tries to cover a lot of stuff.

With that said, if you manage to read it, it is very good reading and covers most of the reality of project management, including traps and tricks. In fact, I would go so far as calling it recommended reading if you want to work as a project manager.

But beware, it is not a 101 type of a book, more of a book for the advanced student.