Independent Books

A Present Of Things Past is a careful selection of ten essays about the military and political aspects of American and world history, ranging from Second World War and the Dwight Eisenhower administration through Ronald Reagan's presidency, and the former Soviet Union's reformers from Lenin to Gorbachev. Written acerbically and persuasively by noted critic and historian Theodore Draper, A Present Of Things Past is especially recommended for students of political science, the Cold War era, and twentieth century American history as a powerful, thought-provoking view of the people and events that shaped nations, and through nations the world. Includes such attention-grabbing essays as "American Hubris", "Reagan's Junta", and "Neoconservative History".

This confirms what I thought was going on in the Novus Ordo Church. These priests see the Liberal-Modernist overtones of the New Mass and reject it. They literally go through HELL to get back to the sacrificing priest concept who offers up Jesus Christ for our sins, like in the Old Testament, not a Good Time "Happy Meal" as the Novus Ordo has it. I didn't want to put it down. These men are REAL HEROES, bucking the Catholic establishment, giving up EVERYTHING, (pension, medical insurance, housing, etc.) for their beliefs. Some are even "suspended", and/or without faculties, and literally cast aside by their Liberal Bishops. Yet they persevere giving the True Mass to the faithful. Many are 25-40 years into their priesthood. They are sure of their actions to a man. INSPIRING! HOPEFUL! The future of the Catholic Church as the sex scandals blow up on all sides!! A MUST READ for all Catholics who know somethings' wrong, but just couldn't put their finger on it. THIS puts the finger ON IT!!! IN SPADES!!

Are you exploring the option of a private school for your child or are you a student looking into independent education for yourself? Whether you are seeking a day or boarding school, the 2002 revised version of PRIVATE SECONDARY SCHOOLS by Peterson's is the most comprehensive guide written about private and independent secondary schools to date.(Some K-12 and junior boarding schools are included but the main focus of this guide is secondary education.) As an education professional who works both in the field of Private Secondary Schools and College Admissions, I can without hesitation give this Peterson's publication the highest recommendation possible.

Peterson's has created an informative and easy to use guide with website references and contact information. While not all schools are presented in the format of a detailed one to two page article, you will be able to find the vital statistics on most 9-12 private day or boarding schools in the United States even if they have not been featured in the aforemention in depth profile. You will always be able to find the following information for each school: Academics, Athletics, Endowment, Number of Faculty members (a breakdown of how many hold Bachelors, Masters or Ph.Ds), Physical Plant, Amount of Financial Aid given last year, Applied vs. Accepted Statistics and of course Admissions contact information.

I have worked with many families who were exploring the idea of sending their child to private school. Whether you or your family are familiar with independent education or are just being introduced to the idea, I promise that this guide will be your best reference throughout both the exploration and application process.

Do keep in mind however that a campus visit (including a tour and interview) and a school's own literature are always the best sources of information about a particular school. Nevertheless, the Peterson's guide will help a family to determine which schools are a good match and will best meet their needs, thus making the best of each campus visit.

PROJECTIONS 11, portraying filmmaking in New York's diverse talent pool, acts not only as a cross section of filmmakers in the city, but as a preservation of moviemakers and their processes less hindered by the random guessing of the Hollywood studio agent complex. Working through well executed interviews that allow filmmakers to divulge information via vibrant personalities, from a very humorous Frances McDormand, to the enterprising team of James Schamus and Ted Hope, to an uninhibited Harmony Korine, editor Tod Lippy has captured articulately the energy of these players to portray them as part of the city's `human sea' and its conduciveness to creative thought. Devourable read that also functions well as an important historical and educational text for aspiring filmmakers, PROJECTIONS 11 dissects many aspects of filmmaking, from screenwriting to production design to scoring, giving witness to war stories and career progressions. Delightfully, thoroughly researched, PROJECTIONS 11 is a subtle ballad to New York City and it's invigorating creation dynamic.

This collection of essays, edited by the distinguished historian of education Richard Aldrich, examines past, present and future relationships between the private and public dimensions of knowledge and education.

I enjoyed reading Jerry Gold's lively book of interviews. It is hard to understand how anybody could be so silly as to start a small press. What impressed me however was to see the range and depth and the money that can be made by publishing cook books, especially. You get a good cross-section of the intellectual and non-intellectual milieu of the northwest -- with all its paranoia, its utopianism, its peculiar optimism. I especially liked the interviews with Jean-Louis Brindamour, David Brewster, Dan Levant, and some of the older figures, whose interviews span decades, and give a sense of whole lives. Some of the younger people interviewed, especially if they grew up exclusively in the northwest, don't have as much to say. The book seems especially good from the viewpoint of understanding what makes publishers tick, psychologically. I liked the book and I'd personally rate it a ten, but I think the average book buyer might be a bit baffled by the reason for its existence. I see it as a very good oral history of a very interesting profession.

This book is part of the Level one SSR&W curriculum. I've done this with my daughter and the entire program is excellent. It retails for $14.95 and is still currently available. It is well worth the money.

I teach 5th grade and use this all the time. The pages easily work with any genre you are teaching, whether it is biography, fiction, nonfiction, whatever. Another thing I like is the fact that there are some pages that integrate grammar into whatever story you are reading (like searching for verbs in the story.) This book is one that I use constantly.

Regulating Business by Independent Commission appeared in 1955, and lays the groundwork for the study of industry regulation. The thrust of Bernstein's book is that, contrary to at the time current economic theory, regulators do not necessarily work to correct market failure (in the form of monopoly or high prices). Bernstein rejects this functional or teleological approach to regulation, putting forward a realistic approach based on the realities of the political process, and the execution of power and the existence of interests in that process. In Bernstein's interpretation, regulators can be 'captured' by the industry they are supposed to regulate, which corrupts the process of correcting market failure, and results in regulatory decisions and practices that favor the industry. This view was the inspiration for later research at the University of Chicago, where the communis opinio for a while declared that it was not only possible for regulators to be captured, but that the existence of regulation was the result of the wish of the industry that hoped, by accepting mild regulation, to prevent worse measures like the breaking up of industries. The original idea of Bernstein, that regulation is not only a noble activity to protect the consumer but that it can be dominated by corporate interest is still an important idea in regulation research.

Evangelical families are committed to the authority of the Bible. As such, there are two dominant marriage models, both of which are based on the book of Ephesians. These are the wife submissive model and the mutual submission model.

The author does an excellent job of first examining the historical writings on the subject. Then, he presents the leading writers on the scene today. Dobson, LaHaye, Dillow, etc. on the wife submissive model and Littauer, Smalley, Bilezikian, Groothuis, etc. for the mutual submission model.

Following this, he examines Parkview Evangelical Church in Texas, which is a representative large church that emphasizes family ministry, to see what they are teaching, both from the pulpit and in small groups, about which model to follow. Finally, he interviews 4 couples in the congregation to see how gender responsibilites are negotiated in their specific situations.

I found the book extremely well written with enough detail that I was eager to get to the next chapter, but not so many minor points that I became bored with any particular situation. If you enjoy seeing how well the actions of families match their stated beliefs, then you will be delighted by this book. I highly recommend Remaking The Godly Marriage.