Educators Books

As the mother of three boys I've read a lot of books to gain a better insight into their minds and hearts. This is by far the best book I've read on the subject. I understand some feminist types are offended by the notion that a father is an important (if not the most important figure) in a boy's life and cannot be replaced by the mother and they have attacked this author. To them I say, Get a life.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is not a wild-eyed, angry feminist.

A friend lent my husband and I this book. She has two boys as do we. She won't be getting the book back, I'm online now to buy her a new one. Very inciteful, particulary for me growing up with the theory, women and men can be the same in everything. The idea that through nurture we were teaching women a different role. This book changed my perspective.
One negative:
The book is preachy in regards to religion and male bonding groups. My husband decided to skip some of that. I read it, found it interesting, but like all books, I'm taking the parts that apply to my situation. The rest I'll leave out.
A true must read if you have or care for boys.

I am so glad a psychologist recommended this book to me. I understand better both my husband and my son and they have responded with more respect and appreciation of me. My love for them has become more unconditional. I don't get offended by some things as I used to because understanding where it comes from makes me more patient.

Try applying his ideas with your kids for a week or two...Let's accept our kids as they are and not by what's politically correct.

When I started reading this book, I had some serious concerns about some of the language used to explain male behavior. He often alludes to the fact that if we don't learn how to accept and deal with innate "maleness" that is entirely driven by biology that boys will not only act out, but that they will also resent us, make us (parents, other adults, society as a whole) targets and even seek revenge on us. Yes, he does use some of those words. This just sounded extreme to me and also much of the "data" and "facts" about supposed male/female brain differences seemed to conflict with what I had learned in college psy classes--but I am no expert on this, so I consulted my dear friend, a Ph.D. in psychology who is teaching college courses on gender studies and who has access to the most current research. She says most of the main biological facts Gurian bases this book on are wrong and those that are correct are being incorrectly interpreted.

But I really wanted to think this guy did have some valuable insights and answers to what I do agree is a crisis in today's boy culture. So I visited the website for his Institute and only found myself wondering WHERE are his credentials? What makes him qualified to synthesize all this research and data that he supposedly has used to build his arguments? He name drops a lot of psychologists in the book, but if you look into their work, many of them actually conflict with Gurian. It doesn't add up.

The book is also repetitious and includes anecdotes from parents that couldn't possibly be anything but the most extreme situations--like the mother who gives her son dolls thinking that's all she has to do to make him a "sensitive" boy only to find that he rips them apart.

Furthermore, once you distill it down to the main points (which he really likes to do--without citing sources or providing much other information to support the points), what he concludes boys need is all just common sense and it's no different from what girls need--because it's basically what all CHILDREN need to become emotionally whole and healthy. I am sorry I spent money on this book and wasted time that I could have spent with my son instead of reading misguided advice about how to relate to him.

When my son was about to be born, I panicked, because I thought I would not know how to give a good upbringing to a boy. I have only a sister and my husband is an only child. We discussed the issue a lot and we sometimes had different views on how to deal with boys, to do everything to make our son happy and fulfilled. So - we decided to buy a book and chose "The Wonder of Boys".

The book is not bad, but it is not very good. First of all, there is nothing new in the notion that boys are different from girls and that testosterone is physiologically responsible for these obvious differences, boys being more competitive and aggressive etc. Many things described by the author are obvious and instinctive. I would be happy to see more scientific dissection of the differences, something similar to "Brain Sex" by Anne Moir and David Jessel (a really valuable book, by the way), but with the focus on children and the education of boys.
The "old-new" rules of the boys' education and need for the male presence in their lives, the importance of the group, sports and discipline, are nicely presented at the beginning, but later on the book gets very repetitive, full of redundant information and artificially blown out of proportion. Maybe the purpose was to make the reader memorize the rules subconsciously (after all, it is one of the therapy principles, I think). For me, it just made the book boring and I could not help thinking it would be much more useful in a form of an article or essay. It seems to me more like an introduction to Gurian's guidelines, more developed in his later books on various aspects of the boys' character and education.

There is some advice I found good there, though: the rules for disciplining the boys at different stages of life, the details of the father's role, the discussion on spanking, the teaching of morals and spirituality. I could do without superficial examples from the world cultures.

I did not find this book particularly challenging for feminism, on the contrary, I think it presents reasonably the roles of both parents and the methods for building the family life beneficial for the offspring, which happens to be male.

Altogether, I rate "The Wonder of Boys" at three stars, it is neither outstanding, nor hopeless, but the useful advice needs to be extracted from a lot of meaningless words and the book could only benefit from being more concise and to the point.

This book is incredibly helpful in learning japanese. However, the reader must be aware that it is written for an english speaking audience. As such, some words aren't written as you would spell them.

Having no prior background, I used this text through two years at Cornell University, where Jorden-sensei is an emeritus. Our courses carried double the credit hours of a normal lecture course, we met six times per week and averaged ten to fifteen hours beyond that of personal work in the language lab. Our class enjoyed/endured the vigorous ministrations of two head lecturers (one anglo, one japanese) and half a dozen expert native speakers. The first semester's initial enrollment of 120 hopefuls saw a 50% washout rate and was down under 60 students before Thanksgiving.

Needless to say, this text is designed for a VERY intense environment. In such a setting, it is a masterpiece. If you're on your own or are just looking for a phrase book to take on your next trip, this is not the book for you.

I strongly disagree with other reviewers' criticism of Jorden's romanization. The title makes it clear: You are learning the SPOKEN language. (JWL is a separate text) The chief aim is fluency, accent and pronounciation, things our teachers pursued with vigor and (boasting a little) qualities in my own speaking that dazzled people when I finally got over there. Jumping straight into kana and, God forbid, kanji would have distracted from this push.

Jorden's unique system of romanization is excellent in that it is conceived to ease the later transition to kana. She uses an exact representation of the Japanese letters, rather than a phonetic transliteration. i.e. The topic marker is rendered as "ha", even though is is pronounced "wa". is rendered as the slightly obtuse "sya" and not "sha". Again, this is trouble for the casual student, but essential for someone committed to going all the way.

do not buy this book unless you absolutely have to for class. if you are learning japanese on your own, i highly recommend using the genki series for a beginner. i have studied japanese for 6 years and started using this book at my university (OSU) and it is beyond frustrating. any book that uses romaji beyond the first chapter is horrible. i understand that this is to be used with the written language book which i also use for class. even both books when used together with the language tapes come nowhere near the genki series, which combines written japanese with spoken japanese.
you will learn very little vocabulary with this book, the grammar explanations are overly complicated (one need not be a linguist to learn a language) and there is an intense emphasis on rote memorization of drills.
bad book. if you go to hell and there are japanese classes there, this is the text satan will use.

I've found this book to be extremely helpful to learn the spoken part of the Japanese language, but only because I've been using it as a textbook in college. The book provides good explanations and everything in the book is taught in a very logical order, but you do need to use it with the supplemental audio tapes in order to really learn. Another important thing is that you should be trying to learn the written part of Japanese using other resources (such as the "Japanese, The Written Language" book) since this book is all printed in romanization and doesn't use any Japanese characters.

The layout of each unit is the same. Each book of the series has 12 Lessons, and each lesson is divided in two parts that include core conversations, vocabulary breakdowns, and practice drills. To really master each lesson you need to memorize the 'core conversations', which are short conversations that can easily occur between two people in Japan. After the core conversations in each part there is a breakdown of all the new vocabulary used (assuming you've learned all the vocabulary from all the previous lessons, including book 1) and the translations to English. The books then includes drills for you to practice answering and speaking Japanese out loud. The audio tapes are very important for this part. At the end of each lesson, there's an eavesdropping section, a utilization section, and a check-up section. These are the three sections you'll use to determine if you really mastered the lesson.

In eavesdropping you'll listen to conversations in Japanese and answer a few questions about what was said. In the utilization section you'll be asked to say certain things in Japanese given a specific circumstance. The check-up section is the one that helps you see if you've really learned the material in-depth and can talk about the Japanese language in general, and not just do the drills.

This book series is the one being used as textbooks for the Japanese classes at MIT, and usually lessons are taught at a rate of one part per week (i.e. one full lesson in two weeks) and, to ensure students are learning, the classes are very interactive and students speak only Japanese in three out of 4 weekly classes.

If you're studying Japanese on you're own I suggest you only use this book in a similar way, making yourself practice constantly and memorize the core conversations and vocabulary. It's the only way you'll really learn things the right way. And definitely buy a kana/kanji book so you can also learn the Japanese writing system while learning to speak it. The vocabulary you learn in each book might be a bit limited, but after serious studying with these books for a few years you should be able to understand fairly well. MIT students with 4 semesters of Japanese classes (which use the first two books of this series) are able to work internships in Japan and spend an entire summer there interacting mostly in Japanese.

There are a lot of good reviews here and a lot of bad ones, but mainly there are a lot that are far too long to be helpful. If you're discovering JSL for the first time, here is the real story:

PEOPLE WHO SHOULD USE JSL: Linguists, smart people, adults, people in intensive language programs with good teachers

PEOPLE WHO SHOULD AVOID JSL: 13 year-olds, stupid people, anyone doing self-study, non-native speakers of English (unless you are very nerdy)

GOOD POINTS ABOUT JSL: good grammar explanations, pronunciation guides, written in formal academic English

BAD POINTS ABOUT JSL: limited vocabulary, no writing component, written in formal academic English

Faculty at my campus are reading this for a monthly discussion group. It is very enlightening and helps us understand our current college students. School is soooo much different now! If you want to engage students more, read the book. Good info for those working on campuses with lots of international students.

This book is inceribly informative - if you've never met, been, heard of or seen a college student. I suppose if you've spent 20 years living in a remote village on another continent you might find some of this interesting.

"Nathan" violates professional standards and common decency to discover such shocking things as: students relish independence and like to have fun, foreign students find Americans individualistic and parochial, and college campuses have many different activities.

In other words, "Nathan" (hopefully) wrecked her career to produce a devastatingly useless book.

I came across this book by accident - I am glad I did. It fit with various themes that had been bouncing around in my head since I read a report on student intellectual life at the school where I work. "Prof. Nathan" does a good job in documenting the enormous gap between the experience of college for faculty, administrators and students. Put quite simply, we inhabit different worlds. I think many college professors and administrators already know this, but "Nathan" puts some meat on the speculative bones. (Note on a pet peeve of mine: for "Nathan," as for many of the professoriate, staff - the non-student, non-faculty denizens of AnyU - never register on her radar.)

"Nathan," in her student guise, learns some interesting lessons. For example, "building community" - in the sense of trying to create spaces and opportunities for large groups of students to interact - is much more important to "Student Affairs" types than it is for the students for whom they are trying to build that community. In fact the students are very content with the community they already have, usually consisting of small homogeneous groups of friends that they met early on in their college life. The frenetic work of RA's to create opportunities for broader civic engagement usually come to naught - few students register interest, even fewer actually participate.

I don't know enough to say that "Nathan's" experiences at a large southwestern public school are representative of the experiences of today's college students in general. I am guessing that there probably are significant differences from college to college (e.g. by size of institution), and from student to student (e.g. their economic circumstances, or the degree to which they have a major or a professional destination in mind). But I think the perplexing refusal of students to "buy in" to the experience that well-intentioned faculty and SA administrators have crafted for them will resonate with many campus "adults."

I think that most students, as "Nathan's" experience demonstrates, do not experience college as the linear experience of intellectual and moral development that most faculty and administrators would want it to be. The four years of undergraduate study are less a progressive dinner than a smorgasbord of varied offerings, in which some items are eaten - as "Nathan" relates - only because they are available in a convenient time-slot. Should we be surprised? If nothing else, isn't it arguably a preview of what most graduates can expect after college? Do most college faculty and staff experience their college work - or their lives in general - as a mapped-out journey towards a defined end?

Overall assessment: a stimulating read. Recommended.

Rebekah Nathan is a professor at North Arizona University and she is the author of "My Freshman Year". In her book, she talks about her experiences working on her undercover project while attending a college as an undergraduate. Not only did she enroll in classes and join organizations, but she also signed up to live in the dorms, because thorough her book you can clearly see that Mrs. Nathan is doing her best to find out what is happening with the young generations. The main objective of the experiment was to infiltrate the minds of freshman teenagers to find out what has changed over the last 20 years of college and to learn about their interests.

Nathan calls the university she enrolled in "AnyU" where she was a faculty member. One of Nathan`s main targets was to learn about how young people get along, and most importantly what motivates them to keep going. Even though it sounds exiting to go back to college after graduating, can you imagine moving from your house to a small dorm? Mrs. Nathan tells us in the book what she is feeling throughout her experience, so you can sense when she is depressed or having a difficult time.

Another important issue that she touched on is that there is an outstanding cultural separation. She describes the relations between white people and other ethnicities as marginal and vague because white kids mostly related to other white kids. As a consequence, foreign students that come from different parts of the world to learn about the culture and relate to the people are not given the chance to do so as they hoped. So finally they end up hanging out with people from their same or common roots.

Rebekah Nathan describes her experience at AnyU as unique and special. She remarks that it is an outstanding experience that few people, especially at her age, have the opportunity to share. The book intends to relay a message to the readers, and it is that college education is indeed highly important for personal success, but the college experience, as she describes, is most important since young students develop character and discipline. This is a great book, which is not only intended for college students but also for adults who are curious about what is going on nowadays at universities.

In the published ethnography My Freshman Year, author Rebekah Nathan describes her findings about the practices, priorities, and attitudes of the new generation college freshmen. Her detailed observations are fascinating, although they may be quite obvious to college students that have been freshman in the recent past. Her study offers insight for all those who are unaware about the behavior of college freshman: why they don't seem to take their classes as seriously as before, what freshman girls talk about in their intimate conversations, who eats with whom in the dining center, and the honest answers and opinions she receives from her one-on-one interviews. Nathan's primary research method was observation, but she also interviewed a wide range of students, and posted questions in the girls' bathroom for them to respond to anonymously. Living in the dormitories, Nathan found that the cultural norm of students was one of sociability, individualism, fun, craziness, freethinking spontaneity, and rebellion against authority. This observation contrasted starkly with the formal culture of the college, which stressed advice, academics, and warnings. In regards to student academic life, she noticed that students planned and organized their class schedules and extracurricular activities around what was most important to them. Nathan goes behind the scenes by taking classes and living in the dorms. She educates the reader in depth, and finds information that current freshman students find fascinating. Particularly interesting is what the international/foreign exchange students think of American students. It points out that current American college students should take another look at themselves and also their society. For anyone who wants to learn more about today's college freshmen, I recommend My Freshman Year.
-F.T., N.O., M.C.

I really like learning about Japan through the eyes of an American, and this American speaks fluent Japanese and has a pretty good sence of humor. I really enjoyed his year in this little "city".

Things have changed (read Westernized) so much in Japan and in their educational system that this book needs to read for what it is: a glorified diary of what Japan was to him in the 1990's. I went to Japan in 2005 to observe their educational system (paid for by the Japanese government) and they showed me their best... it was wonderful, the dedication, the beauty, and the sad statistics.....they admitted that they were revamping their system to be more like ours in order to embrace all types of learners. I returned to Japan on my own in 2008 and it is VERY different from what I saw in 2005. I saw little of his Japan in 2005, I saw almost none of it in 2008. In his defense, Gail Benjamin was in Japan during the 90's and wrote some similar things. Although things have changed, I would suggest you read hers if you read his.

"I came to Japan at the invitation of the Japanese Ministry of Education . . ." indeed! Feiler has a very high opinion of himself. And isn't it a bit inappropriate for a teacher to kiss the hand of a junior high girl, let alone a junior high girl of another culture? I've been reading a lot of Japanese non-fiction and travel essays since a recent visit to Japan and so far this book ranks low in terms of enjoyment, educational value and insight because of its pretentious tone.

As I made my way through Feiler's account, I was primarily amused by his humorous initial encounters with Japanese culture: the often awkward questions frequently posited him by his friends, coworkers, and students; the stark dissimilarities between the Japanese and the American-style classroom; the extent to which Feiler's foreign appearance and personality caused him to stand out amid an otherwise fairly uniform populace. In nearly every chapter, I found myself laughing out loud. As the book progressed, however, I became disturbed by the author's general exclusion of personal reflections on his experiences. For example, it remains ambiguous whether the author is interested in trying "nanpa"--a procedure in which strangers "pick up" on women in bars, discos, or similar environments, mostly popular among young Japanese men--out of a genuine desire to procure a Japanese girlfriend, or merely in demonstration of a detached cultural curiosity. He interjects almost no explicit discussions of his feelings or emotional reactions toward the many shocking, challenging, and even tragic events that he encounters throughout the narrative. As someone interested in going to Japan to teach English, and curious about the types of experiences had by Americans who have done so in the past, this particular quality of Feiler's narrative was a bit disappointing.

By the end of the book, however, I came to the realization that the very inclusion of certain information in Feiler's memoir speaks volumes on the nature of the clash between Western and Japanese culture. The details that Feiler includes on the overbearingly autocratic leadership style of his school principle, the structure of a seventh-grade fieldtrip to Disneyland Tokyo, and the reaction of Japanese students toward his unorthodoxly American pedagogical style all attest to the impression that Feiler was deeply moved and challenged by his interactions with Eastern culture. And the laughter and tears that several of his anecdotes drew forth compel me to conclude that these passages were not written without emotional affectation.

In my preparation to move overseas to teach and live among an unfamiliar society, I found this book deeply enlightening and encouraging. As previous experiences abroad have taught me, being a foreigner in a new country can be a direly lonely and often stressful experience. Feiler has given us an insightful and meaningful account of what Americans moving to Japan ought to expect from the culture clash, as well as detailed many interesting aspects of Japanese society that outsiders interested in the country might not otherwise consider. I highly recommend it.

Many of the previous reviews have pointed out Mr Feller's haughty condescension but what really makes his book a drag is how breathtakingly boring it is. Naked with other men in a hot spring bath? Good gracious me! As another reviewer pointed out, anybody who comes to Japan will experience virtually everything in this book in the first week; what that other reviewer failed to mention is that nobody else will decide to write a tedious book about it all. Filled with shallow 'insights' and yawn-inducing 'adventures', Feller's book is a soporific account of a dull year as lived by a dull individual who managed, somehow, to con a publisher into releasing this dull book. The fact that it's still in print boggles the mind.

If you're interested in a good read on Japan look for either of Alan Booth's books (Looking For The Lost & The Roads To Sata), John Morley's Pictures From The Water Trade, Will Ferguson's Hokkaido Highway Blues, or anything by Lafcadio Hearn. All of those authors deliver. Mr Feller's book might be useful for chronic insomniacs but everybody else should steer well clear.

This book is amazing for anyone who is thinking of teaching, or being in the field of education. The climate of the classroom has changed because of No Child Left Behind, and this book shows how much better that climate can be. Students are not inspired when they are taught at, and this book demonstrates how great a teacher can be.

Mark Edmundson's book has received mixed reviews, but I found it to be refreshing, enlightening, and inspiring. He relates his high school self in an open, forthright way, revealing his ignorance, his oppositional, immature (even for a 17-year-old) behavior, and his preoccupation with shallow, insignificant pastimes. I think that aptly describes most high school seniors. He and his classmates conspired together to undermine any teacher who attempted to do interfere with the intellectual malaise of the school. The few students who were actually interested in education were ridiculed and despised. This was to change as a small class met day after day with an amazing teacher who changed the classroom dynamic and in doing so, successfully altered the way his students listened, thought, reacted, interacted, learned, and even the way they lived.

This change was not an accidental happenstance. It was a well-planned strategy. As the students persistently refused to read the literature for their homework, the Teacher read it aloud in class. He used Socrates' example, posing questions for them to answer, or at least to think about. Unfortunately, his initial efforts produced little fruit. As a result, he changed the seating in the classroom to allow for open exchange of ideas. He raised the question of an important experiment by a man named Milgram, which involved testing the willingness of people of different nationalities to use electrical shocks on people in order to produce desired results on a memory task. This exercise interested the students and opened up the first real discussion. A few weeks later, the Teacher led the class in a similar experiment involving one of their own. Using these unusual but brilliant methods, he showed his students "the pleasure and pain of sticking to your way, of seeing things as truly as a human being can". To quote a familiar adage, he dared them to be different.

His next ploy was to throw out the curriculum and introduce a collection of books that would teach them to question authority, to recognize herd behavior, and empower them to make educated choices. He encouraged them to examine themselves, to explore their deepest thoughts and beliefs and allow themselves to be free from illusions. The Teacher then invited a group of representatives from Students for a Democratic Society to visit the class, and as a result had students actually skipping other classes so they could sit in on his class. The visitors were against the Vietnam conflict, and vociferously against the unnamed perpetrators who had oppressed native Americans, enslaved African Americans, and continued to exploit Filipinos, the Vietnamese, and other "poor, inconvenient people who lay between the arrogant republic and its hunger for more". The author reveals that the Teacher was "nearly gleeful" the day his class was visited by "commies", because people who usually did not think were thinking, and people who did not usually talk were actively discussing issues. He wasn't interested in swaying the students to any particular viewpoint, he just wanted to stimulate them to have a viewpoint.

When the students came to his next class, the Teacher found them drowsy and again unmovable, so he invited them outside into the snow, where he began a spirited snowball fight. The upshot was what author Mary Pipher calls "a moment", with everyone panting, laughing, drenched with cold, wet, snow, but filled with life. The Teacher was again triumphant, because from this time forward the class began to change.

The students began to be interested in the Teacher as a person, even as they realized that he was aware of them as individuals. He introduced a variety of music, including current rock and roll compositions, as another format for stimulating analytical thought and intelligent discussions. Students who never asked or answered questions in any classes began to interact. They were still working their way through his series of books by reading aloud in class, so the Teacher used diverse means to pry open the cobwebbed minds of his group. He believed that if you impelled people to be boldly imaginative, and rigorously discerning, they could affect positive change in their lives. A turning point came when the questions were not related to the meaning of a book, but moved forward to inquire about the truth of that meaning, and whether there were life-changing truths to be found like gold nuggets and used to guide, to refine, to transform.

I admire the way the Teacher showed his students by his example that it was not just okay but important and necessary to be unique, an individual, to be aware of which matters are weighty, and which are shallow, to be knowledgeable and affect change with words rather than your fists, to be unfailingly honest, to be accepting of others' opinions, feelings, and thoughts, to really listen, to challenge your students with large words and larger questions, concepts, and ideals, to teach them to create their own path to freedom and their own particular culture that is true to who they are. The author acknowledged that by being a student of this Teacher, his life was made infinitely richer. By writing this book, he has passed the torch on to countless others.

The author encourages the reader not just to emulate the Teacher, which is a given, but also to recognize the pitfalls inherent in the educational system ("The content of these exercises mattered not at all. All that mattered was form - repetition and form. You filled in the blanks, conjugated, declined, diagrammed, defined, outlined, summarized, recapitulated, positioned, graphed."), which result in teaching loads of information, perhaps producing higher SAT scores, but achieving very little in the way of impact on the future. Masses of students graduate year after year, but how many are able to think freely for themselves, read to analyze their beliefs, and avidly seek to find their true North? Edmundson reminds us that in order to be a great teacher, it is necessary to have kindness, but also to have an edge, in the spirit of Socrates, Confucius, and Jesus Christ. Teachers must be willing to lead by example, to be antagonistic if necessary, and above all, to tell the truth.

Although the chapters about football and beer-drinking and chasing after girls were, I suppose, necessary to demonstrate the "before" and "after", those portions were geared to the masculine mind and therefore were rather difficult for me to digest. I also thought it was a shame that he and his father did not maintain a good relationship when it was obvious how much his father loved him. It took many years and the author becoming a father himself before he understood the irony of their relationship, with his father taking the back seat as the author's life became more vital; and also of his father realizing what he might have been when he visited Yale, where Edmundson was pursuing a graduate degree. In reporting all of this openly and honestly, Edmundson teaches us yet another lesson. All in all, this author has produced a winner.

Before reading this book, I assumed it was about an excellent teacher in whom the children connected with. After completing the book, I realized it told of the struggles of a high school senior and his reform with the help of his teacher, Mr. Lears. Told from the first point of view, Mark Edmundson shows how no child has to fail. I do not reccomend this book to college level students, though I do reccomend it to the younger audience. Teachers having difficulty in their own classes may find this book inspirational and helpful.

The book that I just finished reading "Teacher The One Who Made The Difference" by Mark Edmundson was an average book. At first when I bought the book I thought that it would be interesting and enjoyable to read but it was not really interesting at all.There were so many ideas that were hard to follow, and it did not talk particulary about the teacher and how he changed his life.I would not recommned it to anyone, but if you like to read for pleasure and you have time you certainly can. There were some chapters that keep you interested but there were some that you just do not want to read. Overall it had a nice ending.

I think that this book was fairly interesting. It didn't have enough rivetting thoughts to keep the reader interested. Even though I was unhappy about the book, it's still a good read. I think that this book would be appropriate for a much younger audience, an age group of ten to sixteen.

This book is interesting, and the author actually spoke at my school (Temple University) which was awesome. She goes into detail within the book and leaves you guessing.

This book is horrible. The writing is badly done, and it is so drawn out and boring. It felt like one hour to read one chapter it was so bad.

This review is for the students. The title of the book is Black Ice and the author of the book is Lorene Cary. To me I say this book was very interesting. The reason why was interesting, because it talked about how blacks and whites used to be segregated. They were both segregated and both races were treated differently. For example, the whites had better facilities then the blacks. That is why I thought the novel was interesting, but others who might have read this book over the summer maybe they did not think this book was as interesting. Therefore, I say this book is not made for everyone to read the masterpiece, just because one person may like the book does not mean that everyone likes the story. If someone who has not yet read the novel but would like to it would be better if they asked someone who has already read the book if the text would be a good novel for them to read or not to read. The student who has not yet read the publication would need to know what the text is about so they can determine if they would like to read the novel or not read it.
The students who may like to read about how people different races are treated differently. They might like to read this novel to learn more about all of their backgrounds.

The author of Black Ice is Lorene Cary. This book is mostly about racism, and a young girl named Lorene being highly educated] and working with whites in a restaurant. I think anybody older than twelve and up will enjoy this text; Black Ice was mostly talking about Lorene's childhood.
This book was quiet interesting. In order to see if a book is going to be good, read the reference page. If its interesting then read the first page. If you not, ask for assistance.
This novel will be a good book for fifth graders. It will help them know more about the past between blacks, and whites. It will help increase your vocabulary, and give you more history out of the story. By a chance, you will probably enjoy reading Lorene Cary's autobiography of her childhood life.

Dear peer,
The first thing that you need to know about Black Ice is the author which is Lorene Gary. I liked this book because I learned that you can make mistakes of doing drugs, but you can quit just in time to have a better future.
This book is about a girl named Libby; she went to a boarding school at St. Paul's High
School. She once went to a forest to smoke weed and pot with a group of friends. Also in this text Libby was forced to have relationship with this boy. He gave Libby a necklace of engagement, because he really liked her a lot. But Libby did not like him, so she threw the necklace away and Libby's mom picked it up and she wore it on her neck.
This story is short in length, but difficult to read. It was difficult because, a lot of event happens in every chapter and you have to read it carefully so that you could know what is happening.
My opinion about this text is that it is very interesting and it kept me entertained while I was reading the story. That is my opinion and the reason I think this book is very interesting because, I like reading Auto-Biographies. I really enjoyed reading this publication about Libby life.
Thank you peer for taking your time and reading this essay. I hope you make your decision and read this book. So that you could know everything that happens in this master pieace.

This is an incredible story of one woman's struggle against a male-dominated good old-boy culture. Her honesty about herself and the unfolding events is almost too painful to read. What I think is a shame is that the book ended too early and she did not incorporate her legal victories over the Navy which protected the right to privacy for all military members.

Anyone who has read Brenda Maddox's book about Rosalind Franklin, the Dark Lady of DNA, will see the all-too-familiar parallels to Cummings's Hornet's Nest - those of a competent, strong, and courageous woman trying to make her way in all male field. The two stories in many ways seem to be the same story, just set in a different time and place. A must-read for women in both the military and sciences.

The real truth to Missy Cummings is she was a terrible pilot that couldn't hack the program. She was dangerous and was rightfully washed out. Now here is the interesting part...when most people get washed out they go away. Not Missy, she goes to her senators and congressmen and accuse sexual harassment. She gets reinstated due to her senators and washes out again due to her utter incompetence. Her response??? This time she goes out and writes a book on how everyone was unfair to just her. Interesting that there are plenty of other females that made it through just fine and are very good pilots. It must be the conspiracy of the Navy that wanted poor Missy out. Don't waste your time with this book, it's full of nothing but lies.

Thank you Missy for telling the world your story. As a women aviator in the Air Force I feel like you took the words right out of my mouth. Wow! All women interested in military aviation need to read your book to better prepare them for what they are up against. I only hope it doesn't discourage future women from trying to obtain their goals. Go Hokies!

Wow- how to start this...I don't want everyone to stop reading as soon as I point out that I am a woman in a traditionally male-dominated field myself, and know what it can be like. However, this is a case of a woman being as qualified, or, as is frequently the case, more qualified. Missy Cummings was a danger to herself and others. The strings pilled to keep her flying as some sort of proof that women can do it are astonishing and disgusting. There are women pilots out there who don't have to be babysat to keep them form flying into the ground. Missy just isn't one of them.

The timing of my reading this book was fortuitous. I finished the book within a few days of my very moving experience of being at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government for the tribute to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

[...]

That event, in my opinion, represented Harvard at its best. Ross Gregory Douthat's moving memoir of his four years as an undergraduate student at the Ivy League's flagship institution paints a more complex and ambivalent picture of the university. There can be no doubt that Douthat loves his alma mater, but it clearly has been a tempestuous affair. I view this book as a love letter written by Douthat to a paramour who has not always been faithful, but to whom the author will nevertheless remain in lifelong thrall, despite his keen awareness of her failings.

As I read this very balanced and insightful glimpse inside the kimono of Dame Harvard, I was reminded of Senator James Webb and of Winston Churchill! After he graduated from the United States Naval Academy, Jim Webb wrote "A Sense of Honor," a novel that was a thinly-veiled rendering of his four years as a midshipman - revealing the good, the bad and the ugly about life at Annapolis. The book was, in a phrase that Webb used in explaining to me his view of his controversial book, "A Valentine to a flawed lover."

Churchill, in a 1947 reflection on the post-war state of the world and of the institution of democracy, made this memorable quotation: "No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."

Churchill's sardonic observation seems to capture perfectly Douthat's ultimate message: Harvard is the worst possible liberal arts environment - except for all the rest!

I found his writing style to be compelling and vividly descriptive. I almost felt as if he had mounted a literary Web cam on his shoulder and allowed me to see the nooks and crannies of Harvard through his eyes. He is unblinking in his self-criticism and self-observation. I felt his ambivalence when he was simultaneously repulsed by the notion of auditioning to join of the prestige "final clubs" and disappointed when he did not make the final cut. These anachronistic societies continue to exert a strong gravitational pull on what passes for social life on campus. His personal anecdotes of the dating scene among the students at Harvard were revealing and fascinating - the sexual revolution demythologized and deconstructed.

The saga of Winston, the homeless man who squatted in Douthat's dormitory for most of the school year, serves as a wonderful microcosm for taking a fresh look at the traditional "town vs. gown" tensions that are part of the fabric of most university towns. The juxtaposition of the disenfranchised camping out with the ruling class is rife with irony and pathos.

The author makes a strong case for the need for reform of the Harvard Core Curriculum and grading system. He points out with wonderful specificity the folly of focusing on arcane minutia within an academic discipline, while failing to give students a broad grounding in the basics of that discipline.

The struggle by students to help the university's custodial staff earn a living wage serves as a center of Douthat's consideration of the perennial tensions between the street liberals and the armchair liberals. As a conservative - a rare breed in the People's Republic of Cambridge - Douthat casts an outsider's bemused eye at his left-leaning compatriots and their internecine warfare.

As one who has walked most of Harvard's vast campus and who spends time with many friends who are Harvard alumni, I found this book to be a valuable read. I recommend enthusiastically. Douthat currently works as an editor at the Atlantic Monthly.

Enjoy!

Al

However, the rampant liberal ideolougues who run the institution are now creating a culture that promotes radical thinking to the nth degree and justification for any actions, be they good or bad. This school needs an accountability renaissance if at all possible. This book is good, however it is the author telling his own tale. It should be taken as nothing more than that.

havard's book privilege is a great book it experses facts that are evenly supported throught the book. Yes Havard is a tought school to get or be in ( I should know i go to Havard :) ) But this book is a good book for anyone who wishes to learn about Havard.

Ross Gregory Douthat often tells a good story, but ultimately runs into trouble when his assertions, which are nearly never supported with data, turn out to be wrong, as shown by the course of history. Especially noteworthy is the apparent bottom line for the book in which he claims that the gulf between George W. Bush and Bill Clinton was, "far less significant than the angry voices at either end of the spectrum would have one believe." With the murder of at least 200,000 Iraqi citizens, the rejection of Clinton's participation in the Kyoto environmental accords, his focus on intelligent design, his attempts to privatize social security, his corruption in the awarding of no-bid war contracts and Katrina cleanup contracts, and his desire to have the government intrude on all aspects of our personal lives, Bush has proven himself to be as far apart from Clinton as possible, with deadly results. Clinton was a compromiser who worked with people., Bush never compromises, and listens to no one. Douthat further cuts on the "liberal" Harvardians who protested for a living wage for janitors on the campus, then after poking fun at their hair and presumed bathing habits, admits that they were correct to fight the good fight. He goes through college largely consumed with partying, booze, girls, frats (Harvard equivalent), and avoiding classwork, then rails against those who go to college to party, drink, chase girls (or boys) and join frats. IN SUMMARY, Douthat gets angry with the world that he eagerly embraces, blaming everyone but himself for the world condition and the condition at Harvard. He can dish it out, but he takes no personal responsibility for helping anyone else. "Me First" should have been the title of the book. In that sense, the book is a perfect reflection of his stated political views. Funny thing is, he writes wonderful articles in The Atlantic, to which I have subscribed for many years.

Douthat tells us that the real business of Harvard is the pursuit of success, and personal connections from which such success flows - professors, summer internships, pundits and politicians who flock there to speak, and fellow classmates.

"Privilege" tells us that Harvard (like everywhere else) suffers from grade inflation (limited to the humanities and social societies) and a Great Society urge to broaden and integrate its campus. (The latter ultimately ended up with Afro-American Studies Professor Cornell West walking out on President Summer's request for more scholarly output. The point of a broadened student body is to expand one's understanding of life - however, at Harvard it was undermined by subsequent self-segregation. Regardless, most of the students were liberals, usually from blue states, moneyed, and predominantly from a few top private schools.)

Douthat then takes us through the world of joining (or not) an exclusive male club (a substitute for fraternities), the pursuit of young love and sex, "working smarter" - splitting up reading assignments and sharing notes, skipping class while relying on the professor's notes being on-line, ways to submit late papers, and campus protests of anything and everything.

It was disappointing to learn that much of a Harvard education consists of hair-splitting and academic trivia, not the solid lessons one would hopefully learn from generalizing major points and trends in history, etc.

"Privilege" makes one wonder whether getting into and paying for Harvard (and probably any other high-cost private school) is worthwhile. President Summer's efforts to reform Harvard probably would help, but then he got the boot for not being politically correct - even more reason to wonder. Regardless, the "good news" is that Douthat is now Associate Editor at the Atlantic Monthly - a position he probably would not have attained without Harvard, but most likely would perform just as well anyway if he had gone to a state school.

Brill is my hero. He hiked the Appalachian Trail (which I should have done after college--now a dream of retirement), dreamt of and built his get-a-way of seclusion, and wrote excellent books of both experiences. My dreams exactly! This is a very nice book detailing the problems and joys of fulfilling a dream. Who hasn't dreamt of a simpler life? We can all relate. Indifferent to another reviewer of this book, there are echoes of Thoreau's Walden Pond. Brill quit his high-stress job. He knew there was more to life. Thoreau, too, disagreed with the "modern" life style. He worked only enough to sustain life, and therefore had more time to enjoy the rest of life's experiences. Just thinking about a cabin in the woods brings a feeling of relaxation to me. Just thinking about hiking the A.T. (Brill's other book), with no deadlines, no clocks, carrying only what you need for shelter and food, soaking in the scenery, gives me something to look forward to. Sure there are problems to both; building a house creates many problems, hikers deal with many blisters, bad weather and aching muscles. However, it is these minor problems that make the good experiences even better. If you want to escape a little and live Brill's dreams, read his books. Also along the same lines, and very much recommended are: Jon Katz's book on finding his retreat in the woods, Running to the Mountain; Elizabeth Gilbert's, The Last American; and, Mark Phillips', My Father's Cabin. If you can think of any more, please inform me at john@delbridge.net.

David Brill's book manages to beautifully capture a sense of place with his vivid descriptions of the landscape and people of modern-day southern Appalachia. The natural world serves as a lush backdrop to Brill's painful, yet ultimately affirming story of the end days of his eighteen year marriage.

Too many books about divorce offer only a laundry list of practical advice. David Brill lets us in on the truth of the matter, which is that each divorce is as unique as the marriage that precedes it. With a stark honesty that is never maudlin or exploitative, Brill offers readers a deeply personal glimpse into his own divorce journey.

If the story were not compelling enough, Brill's deft and engaging writing is a pleasure to read in an age when a well-done literary memoir is a rare find.

Highly recommended.

Katie Allison Granju - Author of "Attachment Parenting" (Pocket Books/1999)

David Brill's portrayal of his own divorce is why the divorce rate is 50% in America today. He is obviously a very self-centered and selfish man who is trying to trick the reader into believing that he has done everything imaginable to keep his 17 year marriage from ending. Was this book published to use as toilet tissue?

This book needs a sequel written by Susan Brill. One-sided divorce stories need to be categorized either as fiction or self-help which this author obviously needs.

David Brill portrays himself as THE MARTYR in an unhappy marriage. I seriously question this author's motives for having this book published. Any man who would abandon his wife (and 2 daughters) after 17 years by leaving a handwritten note needs his head examined!

This is a book for CEO's who want to win in their industry; most books that try to give insight to winning positional techniques get lost in mundane detail. This author concentrated on the essence of what is important.

Read this first then read: Blue Ocean Strategy by Kim & Mauborgne

I seriously question the intelligence of the reviewers who trashed this book. With the exception of the first several chapters which are somewhat choppy, it's a great book. Weber's approach to business in a service driven economy is hard to argue with -- let alone disagree with. I found his thoughts about relationship building on an institutional level very helpful and would recommend this book to anyone in a managerial position.

The quality of this book is truly sub-par. There are virtually no areas of the book that stand out. It is a poorly structured, hashed-together book with little insight. There is a lot of fluff. Do not read this book.

Anyone who doesn't believe that marketing and emotional connections aren't the basis of modern business, probally still believes that Britney Spears has talent. It isn't about what you got anymore, it's about who you can inspire to believe you got something. And, if you want to call this shallow, be a cynic and dismiss the hype, go Vote for Ike. Times have changed, and while Larry isn't saying anything we haven't heard before, obviously the bellows of corporate spirituals still haven't hit the right notes (E-N-R-O-N). Our livespan has grown into one endless strip mall, and at the end is the only time when we turn around as see open plains. Until then, Larry is speaking truth and one cannot dismiss it and attempt to be successful, without understanding the importance of helping people believe that they have a welcoming place in this world, amist its mighty size and scope.

Ever hate an overbearing, autocratic boss because he made your life a living hell with his monomaniacal demands? Apparently so has Larry Weber, because he advocates a management philosophy that elevates cooperation over tyranny, results over ego gratification. People who categorically reject his philosophy cling to organizational principles that were obsolete in the 1960's. He should be commended for his courage to tell the truth.