ABC Books

Any collection strong in African history and ethnicity will want to make SOUTH AFRICA'S DIVERSE PEOPLES: A REFERENCE SOURCEBOOK a primary acquisition. It will appeal to both high school and college-level holdings with its history, which moves from pre-segregation to post-segregation and which considers the evolving, changing roles of many different peoples and cultures under the South African umbrella. From the hardening of ethnic divisions within the country to apartheid's policies and rules, SOUTH AFRICA'S DIVERSE PEOPLES is a 'must' for any with more than a passing interest in the country.

Diane C. Donovan, Editor
California Bookwatch

Christopher V. Hill's book is an excellent example of how high level ideas can be portrayed in a completely readable and enjoyable format without sacrificing the content at all. His talent as a writer is clear, as is his high level of expertise on the subject. He does not hide behind overly postmodern or scientific jargon and he presents a very nuanced and cogent account of the environmental history of South Asia. His case studies are phenomenal, and he makes very complex material understandable and clear. I find this book useful for those interested in environmental history (he provides plenty of context and explanation for those who are not experts in this part of the world) and those interested in South Asian history (this presents a perspective not often provided in historical analyses). Thus, this would make an interesting text for an environmental history course or a South Asia course. It is also perfectly accessible for the casual reader.

This is encyclopedia is unparralleled in the fifty four essays it brings together regarding the debate over the viability and direction of educational standards and testing in the United States. With essays from notable authors such as Joe Kincheloe, Danny Weil, Bill Bigelow and Bob Peterson of Rethinking Schools, Monty Neill of FAIRTEST and a host of academicians and teachers laboring with the lives of students, parents, and commmunities, this book is by far the most comprehensive and unique book of its kind. With media-driven soundbites commanding the debate Americans are exposed to regarding standards and education, this book promises to shed both heat and light on the issue of how we test children and why by including topics of social justice, racism, social class, gender discrimination, culture, lingustics, community movements and organizational attempts at shifting assessment paradigms, authentic assessment and authentic teaching, psycholgocial critiques of antiquated notions of knowing and what it means to be intelligent, as well as re-defining the role of education as that of a "journey to become human". By tying the issues to changes in neo-liberalism, the encyclopedia achieves its goal of seating the issue of education and standards within history and shows the relationship of the current standards debate to the particular phase of capitalism we are witnessing today. A masterpiece and an important addition to all-too often shallow journalistic coverages of educational purpose and assessment. This book is a must read for anyone interested in public policy, educational psychology, cultural discrimination in testing, racism and high stakes testing, efforts at organizing resistance to current standards and proposals for more comprehensive human efforts at educational reform, and especially for teachers of all grades laboring with the lives of our future citizens in an atmosphere of commodification and de-skilling of the teaching profession. Thank you for this book and continue your efforts.

This book is a great resource for early childhood educators! I had the great opportunity to take a reading comprehension class from one of the authors, Ruth Shagoury. This book came in handy while planning for my own kindergarten class in how to implement comprehension strategies. I recommend this book to all pre-K and Kindergarten teachers!

Sub-Saharan Africa: An Environmental History joins others in the 'Nature and Human Societies' series to survey both positive and negative environmental effects of human activities from colonialism to modern urban pressures. Chapters link historic events to environmental impact and consequences, providing a running blend of details on history, culture, and lasting results. A fine pick for any college-level collection strong in either environmental history or African history.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

In an attempt to change the corrupt police culture of New South Wales, the state government in 1994 set up the Royal Commission into Corruption in the NSW Police Service. A large number of current and former police officers testifed, and the depth, nature and extent of the corruption they revealed were both astounding and appalling.

The first officer to declare himself was Trevor Haken, Sergeant at King's Cross, who, in the course of giving evidence spectacularly exposed many other corrupt police officers.In telling Haken's story, the author, Sean Padraic, reveals how a police sergeant in inner city Sydney was able to get away with what he did. He also describes the real nature and extent of the relationship between crime, policing and - to a lesser extent - the justice system in New South Wales. The story of Trevor Haken reveals that he, and the worst of his colleagues, have a long tradition of corruption behind them.

ISBN 0733313078
Format Paperback
Category Reference
Publisher ABC Books
Imprint
Pages 256

Working more on sound identification than letter recognition, this is a good alphabet book for the slightly older crowd. With each page or spread featuring a letter sound, the book outlines the fun activities that a boy and girl have when visiting grandparents, from a bubbly bath to a perfect friend for playing pretend and ending with zithers and guitars under zillions of stars. Simple colorful illustrations are a plus with lots of geometric shapes - round smiling faces, triangular bodies, and rain falling in straight lines. A good read-aloud for preschool-1st grade.

The text consists of verbs in the present participle.
This is an easy pattern for students of English as a second language to follow.
Furthermore, it offers welcome help in a difficult topic: verbs.

THIS BOOK IS A FIRST OF ITS KIND. INSTEAD OF A TYPICAL CHILDREN'S BOOK ABOUT JACK AND JILL GOING UP THE HILL, THIS BOOK ACTUALLY ENRICHES THE CHILD'S WORLD WITH THE BEAUTIFUL WORKS OF THE GREAT ARTISTS WHILE TEACHING CHILDREN TO BECOME MORE OBSERVANT AND ENGAGED IN THEIR SURROUNDINGS. PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS WILL ENJOY READING THIS BOOK TO THEIR LITTLE ONES AS MUCH AS THE CHILDREN WILL ENJOY EXPERIENCING IT AND LEARNING FROM IT. WHAT AN IDEAL FOUNDATION FOR A LIFELONG APPRECIATION OF THE ARTS AND WHAT MAKES LIFE TRULY BEAUTIFUL. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS, TEACHERS, AND CHILDREN OF ALL AGES.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I learned a lot about how white artists viewed Black female subjects.

My only criticism is that I wish that they had more recent art work in the book. The artwork primarily shown and covered in this book is from the later half of the nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth century. There are absolutely no paintings from the 50's, 60's, or 70's. However, there are three painting from the 80's and 90's. It's almost like after 1948 white artists stopped painting pictures of black women. Overall, I have to say that the book was very educational.