Educational Books

Dr. Caffrey's book is a real gem! I heard her give a powerful, insightful speech on parenting and education. This book is a MUST READ for any parent. I now understand things about motivating and encouraging my daughter that I'd never even considered before. We all want our children to succeed, to be self-motivated, to care about their futures and their education. "Drive" helps you parent in a way that turns on your child's inner motivation - no more pushing them. Imagine that! Best of all, although my daughter is in high school already, it's apparently never too late to start. I recommend this book highly to anyone who works with children, has children or even wants to have children. And Barack Obama, if you're reading this, you need to make this woman Secretary of Education.

DRIVE is more than just a parenting book; it is an outstanding resource for teachers, coaches, guidance counselors, or any adult who works with adolescents. Anyone who has ever longed for a How-To manual for motivating young people will shout "Hallelujah!" after reading DRIVE. Good advice, insightful examples, amusing anecdotes, handy quizzes, sound philosophies, and easy to follow applications all in one well organized resource that will clearly show you how to get kids off the sofa and moving toward success in all they do. A gem of a book!

I have experienced Dr. Caffrey's expertise first hand, as my son is a student at her school, Renaissance Academy, Port Richey, Florida. This will be his fourth year at her school, and he and I could not be happier. He is now a teenager, and I was thrilled to read her book. It gives tons of "common sense" advice that lots of parents seem to have forgotten about. The book is full of things that our parents did that have been forgotten by this generation, and techniques and strategies that I had not thought of. It seems children today have everything done for them, and it works for them, because they still get the reward. I have seen first hand Dr. Caffrey's way of thinking, parenting, and teaching, at her school, and IT WORKS! The students at her school are highly driven, motivated, and HAPPY! If you are a parent of any child, you owe it to your child to read this book.

Finally, a resource that gets to the point! Parents will love it- kids will wonder what hit them. In a world of excess and overindulgence, Caffrey shows us how to become parents again. In a world lacking common sense, she demonstrates an abundance of it. It is refreshing to be reminded that we have a responsibility to raise independent young men and women who will feel the need to make contributions to the world because they have a sense of pride, not entitlement!

I am new to the Early Intervention world and there are so many medical diagnosis and medical conditions out there I am very thankful that this book was available to me. It is simple to find what you are looking for and gives you the definition in layman's terms. It also gives definitions for acronyms used in the medical field. I would recommend it to anyone in the Early Intervention field!

Written by Jeanine G. Coleman, M. Ed., The Early Intervention Dictionary: A Multidisciplinary Guide to Terminology is the updated third edition of a straightforward, practical definitive reference for medical professionals and parents alike. Each entry consists of a brief (from one sentence to one full paragraph) definition of a medical or scientific term concerning medical and development issues, features, and abnormalities present in infants and children. The Early Intervention Dictionary is accessible to readers of all backgrounds, and covers everything from "abrachia" (congenital absence of arms) to "Zero Reject" (The principle that no child with a disability should be refused a free, appropriate education if other children the same age are being served). Highly recommended as a user-friendly reference.

This book was our trusted guide and friend through the first years of our child's life. We took this book with us to every new medical and therapeutic appointment, and it enabled us to quickly become knowledgable about our son's condition. I give this book as a special gift to welcome new "exceptional" families to our circle.

Highly recommended.

This book is an excellent reference tool. As a student seeking certification in early intervention, I find this book to be extremely helpful. This book will guide you through termonology and provide you with a wealth of information.

This is a great textbook and I saved money by getting it here instead of my college bookstore!

If you are looking for a book that is broken down into plain English, is very readable, and is organized in a logical way...you've found it! For someone taking a basic level economics course, I can't recommend a better book. Everything is explained in language that is easy to read and understand. The text is organized in a logical, flowing manner, to include side notes and other helpful bits of information. Also, this book relates the information it is presenting to "real life", making it easier to visualize how economics affects our daily lives. I HIGHLY recommend this book!

As an econ major and teacher of economics this book was the one I wished I had in Micro and macro. Clear, concise, interesting and well-organized, this book is perfect for the aspiring AP Econ student as well as the Micro/macro intro class.

As an instructor who has used this textbook, it is easy to understand and follow. It is written in plain English. It is logical in its organization. Lots of real world examples. The students enjoy studying a difficult subject using this textbook.

I first came across Thomas Troward through working with Bob Proctor on a coaching program. Although I looked at all the great authors Bob mentioned, Thomas Troward very quickly became my favourite..

These lectures, on what became known as 'New Thought', kind of metaphysical also, are nothing short of profound - if you study them and work them, not just read them.

The principles contained in them are truly the secret to all this modern day talk about the 'Law of Attraction' and 'The Secret Movie' etc..

I came across them a few years ago, and now they form a solid piece of my personal growth - in fact most Sundays I use these as my spiritual lessons[..]

Yes, you need to study them, think about them, and shift your thinking into a more contemporary context - but the principles are timeless, and beautiful..

Thoroughly recommended.

Trying to explain magic in rational terms has rather fallen out of fashion, and sometimes you have to turn to the classics.

Half philosophy, half science, Troward's little volume builds a rational and plausible basis for controlling events in what most people would deem "supernatural" ways. His premise, condensed down to three words, is "faith changes reality" -- it's what comes up in exploring that hypothesis that makes the book interesting. The book is as well-organized and well-presented as you would expect any college textbook to be, although the flowery 100-year-old language might be a turn-off to some.

While "Edinburgh" is of use to people trying to understand (or accept) magic, its greatest value is by far for those who are already exploring the subject. I wish that this book came in clue bat form, so I could hit a number of would-be "mages" over the head with it, and have them absorb it instantly. While one may not necessarily agree with everything Troward says (I found the insistence on a Christian perspective rather extreneous, for example), his ability to build a rich and cohesive system is an inspiration -- and a solid foundation. Ultimately, those who wish to change the world must understand it, and this book can be a great first step on that path. It's one of the must-read books on my bookshelf.

I have been a student of quantum theory as it applies to our ability to create form from thougtht. "The Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science" by Thomas Troward were published in 1909. They contain all of the same principles being set forth by today's gurus of quantam theory such as Deepak Chopra and Wayne Dyer. Very interesting book. Also recommend, "Your Invisible Power" by Genevieve Behrend. Ms. Behrend was the only student of Thomas Troward. Her book is a more basic way to apply the same principles.

A classic by one of the pioneers of New Thought; these lectures deal with the questions of spirit and matter, the nature of intelligence, the unity of spirit, and the relationship between the conscious and subconscious mind. Troward had a knack for conveying profound philosophical matters in a most understandable way and for formulating ancient truths so that a child could understand. He explains the difference between form (matter) and being - that the one is the mode of the relative and the mark of subjection to conditions, while the other is the truth of the absolute and that which controls conditions. Because spirit is infinite, it is everywhere and must be present at every point in space at the same moment. This is a fundamental fact of all being. The relation between spirit and being as idea (from which the elements of time and space are absent) and form (the relative which is dependent on those elements) leads to the fact that pure spirit continually subsists in the absolute and from it all the phenomena of being flow. In proportion to our level of recognition of this fact, our power for producing visible outward results by the action of our thought will grow. The book concludes with the practical application of this knowledge in our lives and affairs. I highly recommend the Edinburgh lectures as well as the Dore Lectures and Troward's masterpiece "The Creative Process in the Individual."

My daughter needed this book for a college class. We were very impressed when it came because it looked like it had never been opened or used. It was a great deal for us.

Book was beneficial for class. Emphasizes on different issues within the schools system.

This is a great book about current education policy that everyone should read.

Current educational significant issues for 2007 are listed within this book including such issues as social experience, standardizing curriculum, producing good citizens, charter schools, bilingual education, school violence, homework, and merit pay. Two major sides are looked at for each issue listed, and one of the issues, redefining of "public school" in question, lists 4 people on the "no" side of the issue and 1 person on the "yes" side. The table of contents does not show that there are 4 different excerpts, but lists it as only "et. al" for three people when it really should be written out for clarity and easier reference.

The bonus issues, changing science curriculum on evolution (known as Intelligent Design (ID) ) and boys' education are extra issues they decided to tack on. They really don't fit into any of the categories from the issues originally listed, and are much more theoretical and directly less significant than the issues originally in the text. The bonus issues are not a necessary read unless you intend on reading everything or something on those particular topics, but it's nice addition for the book.

Considering that this is a 14th edition, there are still way to many places where they forgot to place a space between words and I think a couple of misspellings too.

Besides all the tidbits, the issues are worth reading and understanding, as they capture many nuances that you may or may not have thought of. Even if the points are already obvious to you, it's very arguably a handy well written reference if nothing more than that.

A good resource for faculty. Well written with nice integrated examples. I always recommend this book to faculty looking to develop rubrics for their teaching.

While it may not seem like it to students, grading is a very complex exercise for teachers and instructors. Anyone hoping to go into that line of work will have to learn about how complex and uncertain the art of grading can be, and this book is a strong compendium of current theory on such matters. An especially valuable aspect of this book is its coverage of the different schools of thought on whether grading is really an accurate assessment tool at all, and how all parties in the education process (students, teachers, administrators, parents, employers) have different conceptions of the usefulness and value of grades. But while this book is hugely informative at the practical level, beware of a few larger theoretical weaknesses. Frequently, certain practices that are currently held in high esteem become overused examples of larger concepts. The most glaring example is the inaccurately-titled chapter "Establishing Criteria and Standards for Grading" which is entirely about just one method, Primary Trait Analysis. At a higher level, this book assumes that all instructors will have the privilege of smaller class sizes, or welcoming administrative environments, in which experimenting with grading methods is possible or practical at all. Meanwhile this book (and many others like it) fails to distinguish between future advancements in theory and the real world in which such theories and practices have yet to be implemented on any appreciable scale. [~doomsdayer520~]

Do you love to teach but hate the grading process? That's where I was when I picked up this book. Very practically written, "Effective Grading" shows you how to choose the proper grading model for a class, how to motivate students through properly communicating your grading system, and how to structure your assignments to increase student learning. All this while drastically reducing the amount of time you need to spend on grading papers. Within a week of reading this book, I've made some drastic changes in my courses which will benefit both my students and myself.

I admit I was skeptical when I started this book--so many pedagogically oriented texts seem to sacrifice content and standards for "feel-good" solutions to education. However, I have found this book to offer excellent suggestions for every aspect of structuring classes to teach and evaluate what you most want your students to learn. In my college English classes, I've used variations of Primary Trait Analyses and Gateway Criteria and they have made a big difference in the levels of thinking and writing in my own students. Giving students specific guidelines allows them to focus on what's important about the assignment, set their priorities appropriately, and makes things much easier for me when the time comes for grading. I highly recommend this book.

If you are the parent of a gifted child, you MUST READ this book! Author Barbara Gilman gently guides the reader through the maze that is educational advocacy. With anecdotes from actual students and teachers, Empowering Gifted Minds is the how-to manual for ensuring that gifted children receive an education appropriate for their special needs.

Parents of gifted or gifted & LD, and teachers of gifted, now have an up to date and authoritative treatment of
- testing that brings out the best in the child and what makes it so,
- teaching that works for fast learners,
- advocating effectively to the school for effective programming for your child,
- and clearing the way for learning to occur,
in a gifted or twice exceptional child, or one who the parents believe may be gifted or gifted & LD.

Author, Barbara [Bobbie] Jackson Gilman, is first and foremost a testing expert and a long time member of Denver's Gifted Development Center under educational psychologist and world authority on giftedness and learning differences, Dr. Linda Silverman.

We were fortunate to have Bobbie do the testing on our son because the results led to extraordinary, one-of, accommodations being granted at the superintendent level of our school board; and for our daughter, which led to a perfect placement for her as a gifted & LD child who now thrives in a gifted program with a long list of essential accommodations developed through the assessment process.

For the parents, the next best thing to Bobbie doing the testing is Bobbie's book to guide your decisions on assessment and advocacy issues. What you get is her insider's view of the practical nitty-gritty of which assessment and what to advocate for.

The writing is often gripping: her personal experience of raising a gifted child who gave up on school, at least temporarily; the penetrating insights of gifted youth, Quinn O'Leary; the haunting excerpts from the writings of other affected children, to name three narrative threads that run through the text.

Bobbie also pays special attention to the twice exceptional child - gifted & LD -- and this child's story is powerfully represented in the children's excerpts as well. One girl's story of her struggles with dyslexia and CAPD, despite abstract reasoning ability at the 99.6% level, and learning to compensate if not overcome it, and getting rejected by all the goody girls schools but then getting into a good high school gifted program with the GDC assessment, ends on the hopeful note that infuses this book:

"Even though have I have been very successful, not every academic institutes understands my learning style. I live in ... [a large city] and all the high-end privet high schools didn't accept me. I can guarantee you that I got the politest rejection letters there are in this world, but for the first time in my life I felt almost ashamed of my dyslexia even though it was only for a day or so. I thought that know with spell check and extra time I was not that hard to handle. I thought for days why I didn't get in with an 80+ average in every thing I have done since grade five it would be dead certain entry. Instead I will go to a very good public high school that has a gifted program.

"Through out it all I have had a very optimistic look at life. I guess it's was in my genes to be happy and to make every thing look as good as possible. All through my life I have been challenge, with out that challenge I would have nothing to work for, so life would be boring. My advice for any one dyslexia is that no matter what don't give up because there is always the computer, calulator, and the good old agenda to solve all the problems. With these tools we are equals or supers to those with out dyslexia, and with time like red wine we only get better."

Ken Arenson, parent of gifted learners, lawyer, wood-worker etc.

Empowering Gifted Minds is the best and most comprehensive book on the gifted that I have read. Barbara Gilman gives the reader all the tools to identify, educate and advocate for the gifted. Quinn O'Leary writing was brilliant and a very poignant glimpse into the mind of a gifted student. The wisdom in this book is so important to know when planning for success for your child or student. This is a must read for every parent or educator of gifted children. If there were only one book to read on the gifted, this is the one!

This is the book every parent-of-the-gifted needs to read.

It starts with understanding. What is "gifted?" What does it mean, to my child, and to me? Identification through testing and assessment are detailed. What questions should I ask in selecting a tester? And then... How gifted is my child? What does this mean to her development and education? And how can this one child seem to be so many different ages at once? Asynchronous development...

Academic and social / emotional development are discussed next; both must be considered. Which schools? What programs? Why? Family always plays an important role.

Underachievers: are they under-challanged in school, or are there hidden learning disabilities at play? What is auditory processing deficit? Verbal expression? Dyslexia? Sensory integration? Perhaps someone has suggested attention deficit... could that be? How can I find out? What considerations should be made in educating this child?

Planning my child's program year by year. What to look for in a teacher, with recommendations from a long-time elementary school teacher. What about middle school? High school? What about homeschooling, grade acceleration, and concurrent college enrollment? Advocacy...

Empowering Gifted Minds discusses the many questions parents ask (or should ask!) in the years after learning their child is gifted, offering answers, ideas, and sometimes, more questions to ask.

Brief case studies bring Gilman's descriptions to life. After each chapter, find print resources and websites with more information, along with the references. Throughout the book "Observations on the Inner Experience of Giftedness" by Quinn O'Leary, a very gifted young man, help illiminate the subject from an insider's perspective.

Empowering Gifted Minds should be one of the very first books every parent-of-the-gifted reads!

Essential Ultimate is written by 2 of the best coaches in the Junior scene. It is targeted at beginner and intermediate coaches of high school and college/university clubs, yet is very applicable to most senior clubs.

I compared Essential Ultimate to Parinella and Zazslow's "Ultimate Techniques and Tactics" as they have a similar audience, and you may know that text.

Essential Ultimate:
- has a better format as a teaching resource (examples of drills with diagrams, trouble shooting tips, as opposed to large chunks of prose, though it could improve even more)
- includes a better introduction for those new to ultimate: 10 simple rules, the field dimensions, and notes on self-refereeing
- has more on non-ultimate coaching elements such as warm ups, cool downs, the mental game and starting a team.

The difference between the 2 texts is encapsulated by the section on throwing. Baccarini and Booth talk about the key mechanics and how to coach them: correct grip (photos shown), wrist snap and follow through, troubleshooting tips for backhand, forehand and the hammer, how to throw in the wind, and a simple drill for teaching beginners to throw. In comparison, Parinella and Zazslow start with 4 principles of throwing that assume decent throwing skills, then discuss handling tactics, how to break the mark and more.

Essential Ultimate is aimed at coaches, while Ultimate Techniques and Tactics is aimed at experienced players (who probably lead and are player-coaches on their team).

My only significant gripe with Essential Ultimate is that it still has a bit of the flaw that Ultimate Techniques and Tactics had: parts of the book are large slabs of text. It is mostly a reference book, but at times tries to be more of an essay.

The text can explain some good general philosophies that may open you to new ideas, such as "Rather than just react, defenders should pre-act... so that an offensive player's explosive movement is preempted by an equally explosive anticipatory action on the part of the defender."

Unfortunately there are a number of self-evident observations that are unlikely to impact on how a coach coaches, if they have played more than a little ultimate, e.g. on man-on-man defense "What you hope will result is that covered receivers are scattered and clogging the passing lanes and thrower's choices are limited throwing into coverage, punting a Hail Mary pass downfield, or being stalled... And no-one ever wants to be stalled". Or the details on how a disc doesn't fly like a ball in the first paragraph. Truisms like these are clear once you have played even a little ultimate, where they are better learnt, and they feel superfluous to the book.

In comparison, pretty much all the diagrams, drill explanations, breakout boxes with tips, and troubleshooting lists are gold. They are very clear and very applicable. If a coach has a need for a certain type or drill, or issues with teaching a specific skill, they can easily refer to these tools. I've played at numerous World Championships, and coached for 8 years, and found quite a few concepts and drills I am now keen to use.

My wishes for the second edition are:
- communicate some ideas and tools through tables, case studies or acronyms as well, with more concise text.
- examples of session plans and season plans
- an index of the drills for quick reference

Lastly the sections on fitness, psychology and starting a program are brilliant. Any quality coach should consider these aspects and they give a good basic coverage of how they apply to an ultimate team. An experienced ultimate player who is a coach, will learn the most from these 3 chapters. A coach or teacher coming in from another sport will likely learn more from the rich chapters on ultimate specific skills.

Essential Ultimate has set the bar for all coaching resources in Ultimate.

As a player-coach for several years, I was very impressed by the supplemental information provided in this book. The text has helped me articulate the mechanics involved in fundamental ultimate techniques such as throwing, catching, etc. as well as supplying important information about defensive and offensive strategy.

I heartily recommend Jim Parinella's book as well, and have found it particularly useful for my own individual development. However, in terms of coaching and teaching your team and the players on it, I think this is the best ultimate book on the market today.
-Ben
PS
In my opinion, the three most useful sections: throwing, offensive strategy, and fitness for ultimate players.

"Wow" was my first reaction when Essential Ultimate arrived in the mail. With the rapid growth of juniors, high school, college, and club ultimate, finally, there is a textbook to teach skills correctly. For those who learn through pictures, this book rocks.

--Erik Sebesta
The Ultimate Showcase Series (USS)

Whether you are an experienced coach or an aspiring ultimate player this book will help you improve every facet of you game. I had the pleasure of meeting Michael at a coaching clinic and I must say he is the cream of the crop in terms of coaching. This book covers everything from core fitness, learning ultimate and some tips to even help the advanced players. As a fairly new coach myself I really enjoyed the way different drills and skills are explained this book. It has become my Ultimate Bible very quickly.

I love this book. I use this with my children and the children I work with in my day care. It really grabs their attention and they all want to move the flaps. As a parent I found it to be a wonderful tool to not only interact with my children while reading the book but to use it on a daily basis. This is a very easy book to use. Children do not all develop spoken language at the same time and this is a wonderful and easy way for your child to communicate his/her needs to you. Sign language is essentially another language, but, easy and fun to learn and use with your children, even after they are speaking.

This book has a place on the front cover where you can insert your own childs picture (over the woman holding the baby). The illustrations portray people of various nationalities/color which is fitting for the culturally diverse world in which we live. And lastly has a beautiful index in the back with all of the words used in the book and a description of each. It also has the American Manual Alphabet.

I have also purchased one as a gift for a friend who just had a baby, and she loved it.

I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a fun sign lanugage book in story book format.

This book isn't just for teaching the newborn - my toddlers like learning the signs too. I really like the idea of the flaps. It is great way for my older child to learn the signs and the words as well. Plus my kids like to lift them up, it keeps them interested.

This is a wonderful book for parents to read to children of all ages. As a psychologist I know the value of parents reading to their children and this book gives them the opportunity to learn sign language together. They not only have the opportunity to read together but to share in the joy of learning and speaking together in sign. The book is interactive and allows the child to engage while flipping the inserts and discovering and learning different signs. The story and illustrations are entertaining and inviting.

I have read this book to toddlers, preschoolers and an eight year old and they all found it interesting and entertaining. As parent and child learns to sign together they share a special bond that they developed while reading the book.

I highly recommend this book for parents of not just newborns but all preschool and early school age children.

Tanya Kuza, the mother of three young sons, I began teaching ASL when my first son was born in 2002. I have a bachelor's degree in language arts and a social sciences degree in elementary education from the University of Michigan. I founded In Motion Books in October 2006 to promote early childhood communication and family bonding by teaching basic ASL signs in an entertaining storybook format. I know you will enjoy this open the flap book to read to your child while also enabling them to learn a few key ASL signs along the way. This is fun for children to explore while making the signs easy for adults to imitate and use in their everyday routines.

Rarely does an author cover an area of knowledge so comprehensively that there is little more to say about it. But that is what Thomas Lombardo has done with his two recently published books about humanity's relationship to the future. THE EVOLUTION OF FUTURE CONSCIOUSNESS focuses on the psychology of the phenomenon he calls future consciousness and the history of its development in many cultures, from ancient times through the 19th century. CONTEMPORARY FUTURIST THOUGHT focuses on the various expressions of future consciousness in the 20th and early 21st centuries.

THE EVOLUTION OF FUTURE CONSCIOUSNESS is devoted to giving the reader a sense of what Lombardo means by future consciousness. His short definition is that future consciousness is "the total integrative set of psychological abilities, processes, and experiences humans use in understanding and dealing with the future." Among these are

* the perceptual awareness of time;

* emotional feelings about the future and ingrained attitudes coming out of them such as hope, fear, despair, goals, purposes, motivations, etc.;

* thoughts about the future; and

* higher cognitive skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, planning, decision making, ethical thinking, and (ideally) wisdom.

The remainder of the book is devoted to outlining the evolution and complexification of future consciousness. Lombardo begins by discussing its origins in prehistoric times. He then discusses the effect on future consciousness of the many mythic, religious, and philosophical developments that occurred in East and West from about 3000 BCE to roughly 1000 AD. He concludes with a discussion of modernism, the scientific revolution, the Enlightenment, the theory of secular progress, and important 19th-century theories such as those of Marx and Darwin.

If you are interested in our complex relationship to the future and would like to know more about it, you will find this book and its companion volume to be highly informative and satisfying reads.

While Lombardo's other recent book, Contemporary Futurist Thought, includes the realm of science fiction under its umbrella, this realm and the futures practitioners and scholars considered by Lombardo are relatively familiar to those involved in the foresight universe. In The Evolution of Future Consciousness, the author moves to consider those collateral fields which may have an influence on futures thinking (and vice versa), including psychology, anthropology, theology, sociology, political science and philosophy. While this creative undertaking illustrates the truly `Renaissance' nature of Dr. Lombardo's thinking, it is not clear that every reader, including this reviewer, can match his understanding of so many disparate fields. Accordingly, some may find themselves unable to fairly assess the accuracy of all of his conclusions about the role of `future consciousness' in the evolution of the human condition over the entire history of humanity (such is the breadth of his vision).

Given that caveat, it is easy admire the undertaking and to offer comment in the more familiar areas. The uniting of future awareness to the fundamental `temporal awareness' of humans is a bold move, as it places the future at the very center of most human activity. Hope, motivation, memory, language, ethics, self-consciousness and even basic cognition now seemed shaped by a questing after the future. This bold supposition thus explains the depth of the discussion that follows and why of the two volumes, this is the longer book.

This is not a complaint, but more a statement of awe. The ensuing discussion is cogent, enlightening, entertaining, and at points transformational in its insights. One of the influences on this volume is the work of Leonard Shlain, a leading neurosurgeon who has also found time to write extensively on human cultural evolution and Shlain's breadth of vision clearly matches Lombardo's own, which challenges the reader at each turn in the discussion. Moving from the author's assertion that, "Acting on the future proactively alters one's self identity" to "Changes in human psychology and mental health affect economics and vice versa. Biological and medical advances affect society and social growth" gives just a small sense of the width of the author's reach in this volume.

At points, the benefits of future consciousness begin to approach the feel of a patent medicine show, as it is undoubtedly "improves imagination, creativity and flexibility...facilitates the development of courage and wisdom (and) energizes, enriches and benefits the total human mind." The most impressive aspect of this potential overdose of admiration for the study of the future is that the author then proceeds to systematically illustrate and convincingly support these points. For example, he convincingly aligns future thinking with adaptive learning and anticipatory behavior, a strong ingredient in species and individual success.

Dr. Lombardo then proceeds to weave in the `discovery of death,' the evolution of family and human love, the development of agriculture, etc., weaving each into a context with future consciousness. The conflicting impulses toward conquest and cooperation and other central dualistic concepts are well explored, as is the power of myth and story and the development of human religions. The author argues that reciprocity is one of the central concepts of cultural development and that foresight is a central element as well. The continuing conflicts between the doctrines of destiny and free will are traced and explicated, setting the stage for the modern world and the struggle between authoritarianism and individuality (with future consciousness displaying a strong affinity for the latter).

Lombardo closes the book with a review of modernist scientific and philosophical thought. Darwinism, pragmatism, and even psychotherapy have been productive partners in the more recent and ongoing development of future consciousness and this is certain to continue. The term `holistic' is used in the book to describe the connection between futures thinking and the rest of human experience and it is a testament to the author that by the end of the book, the reader is likely to be sympathetic to his closing assertion that "Clearly, future consciousness has been of pivotal importance in defining the meaning and purpose of human existence for people around the world."

THE EVOLUTION OF FUTURE CONSCIOUSNESS is an engaging, readable and informative tour through major themes of human evolution, from myth and early religions through several schools of psychology and fields of science. To me it represents a maturing of future studies, placing it solidly within the larger frameworks of human thought, and I would recommend it to anyone practicing or teaching in that field.

Being able to be "conscious" of the future is perhaps, as Dr. Lombardo suggests, the most unique and adaptable feature of the human mind. Here, in "The Evolution of Future Consciousness", Lombardo takes on one of the most pressing yet heretofore unarticulated matters of our time: how individuals adapt to change of unprecedented speed and scale.

Lombardo's grasp on philosophy, psychology, and the study of time is simply incredible - making this book quite a tour de force. This would be an excellent companion to Thomas Friedman's "The World is Flat" - as this book outlines the underpinnings of strategies for dealing with the monumental global changes rearranging social, economic, and technological interactions that Friedman explores.

The pursuit of Future Consciousness is a cornerstone of our species and of our planet's survival.

Read This Book.