Projects Books

Great Book! I grew up with it and wanted it for my collection so I can use it when I have kids!

As a home schooling family, we have found this book to provide the basics for a hands on science curriculum. The experiennts have been easy to perform and the materials needed easy to gather from home or the local hardware store. Our children ages preschool to fourth grade look forward to science due to the wide range of activities and "fun" educational projects. The directions and safety concerns are adaquate when the reader keeps in mind the title of the book is "How Parents AND Children....", and the book is enjoyed together. Group this book with a well stocked library for more indepth reading on the topics the book introduces and you have enough science for a year at least!

I bought this books years ago because I was attracted to its beautiful photographs. Now I am using it with my 11 year old daughter as part of her science curriculum at home. It can be used in many ways, but even if you don't ever do the experiments, just seeing the photos makes the complex easy to understand. Even after getting a master's degree, I find I am really understanding things that I supposedly learned years ago. I highly recommend this book.

A very entertaining read. Wonderful writing style. Chapters tend to be short and begin with a short quiz. The author interjects humor into what is often a boring subject. The final portion of the chapters consist of templates for use in your own work.

Very useful from a practical point of view as well. The focus of this book is on the big picture ideas. The author lays out the important conceptual steps which are vital for success. The more technical details (such as using software) are well covered in other books and this one does not go into those in detail.

Some of the great take aways from this book include; estimating the probability of success of a project, practical strategies for saving projects gone awry, how to review proposed projects before the expensive work begins.

I am glad I bought this book.

Really it is a great book to read. All High-tech Project managers should read it. Easy to read, well organized, direct to the point approach, makes it an useful book.

After working for various consulting companies I have discovered that the best have established processes that are based on project management and customer satisfaction, and the worst have no processes at all. This book provides a recipe from going from worst to best.

This is the second of Mr. O'Connell's books that I have read. The first was Running Successful Projects, in which he provides excellent advice on how to effectively and skillfully manage projects. In How to Run Successful High-Tech Project-Based Organizations he extends these practices to organizations, and does so by providing a step-by-step approach and a performance model that is the basis for company-wide processes.

He gives ten steps that every consulting or service company needs to incorporate, and does so in a clear and methodical manner. The steps themselves are easy, the barrier is leadership and management from the top. Unfortunately, Mr. O'Connell doesn't address how to get management on board, but that is outside of the scope of this book. My personal view is Mr. O'Connell advises and the wise will abide.

I thought that the two strongest chapters in this book were the organization-wide status report, which is sorely missing in too many companies, and the program for project-based organization. The organization-wide status report is the key to achieving teamwork because it communicates to the entire company and makes everyone a stakeholder in the company's success instead of relegating them to a cog in an impersonal machine. This, by the way, is one of the most basic tenets of good leadership, and the lack of leadership is why too many consulting companies are in chaos, have abysmal records for execution, and poor client satisfaction.

Part three of this book offers the real roadmap to success: treating your organization as a project. This is a unique approach and is really an excellent foundation for strategic and tactical planning. I saw how this aspect of Mr. O'Connell's approach provides the essence of a vision, mission statement and values.

This book, if read and taken to heart at the right level in a consulting company (or any other kind of company that delivers services), can make the difference between achieving world-class status and extinction. There would be less material for Dilbert cartoons if everyone read this book and applied the information.

I find optical illusions a fascinating subject, and this book plays right into my curiosity! In this book, there are examples of all types of visual illusions - impossible objects, distortion illusions, ambiguous illusions, and the like. What makes this book so great is the way the illusions are explained and the invitation to play with them to see how they work. Even when I demonstrated for myself how these illusions work using the easy hands-on projects in the book, I found it impossible to convince my eyes that they were being tricked! I found project after project in the book to be captivating and intriguing. This book is both informative and lots of fun! If you're interested in optical illusions, how your mind can be tricked, or just like to see how some puzzles work, this book will give you hours of satisfaction.

As a published digital photo artist specializing in "Illusion Fusion", I am a big fan of optical illusions and have been purchasing books and calendars on the subject for many years from authors like Block, Seckel and now Ausbourne. Because optical illusions are compelling and entertaining in their own rite, most books on the subject (and there are a lot) tend to fall into two categories - creative picture/story books, or scientific explanations of how the mind's eye works. Ausbourne, a graphic artist himself, and publisher of arguably the first and longest running science web site on optical illusions, has taken a more unique approach with his first book. As the title suggests, this book shows how to understand and draw illusions from someone who has been creating illusion art for almost two decades. The book's illusions are beautifully rendered and printed in full color throughout the thirty-seven enlightening and easy to follow workshop projects. By dissecting the world's most popular illusions into their basic forms, Ausbourne was able to definitely explain the steps for creating my own illusions using a variety of media. I see these projects being a valuable source of inspiration for my own illusion creations for years to come. I give this book my highest illusion rating: Three thumbs up.

Over the last decade or so there have been dozens and dozens of books and games which focus on optical illusions. I should know. I have written two books on the subject; produced two board games which are based on illusions; and, published six decks of playing cards each containing 55 different illusion images. Virtually all of the existing materials using illusions are basically collections of images. The text which accompanies them is usually descriptive intending to make the illusory effect more readily available to the reader assuming it is not readily apparent. They help the reader "see" the illusion. This book is "different." The author takes us into each image using a step by step easy to follow conversational tone which not only makes the illusory aspect of the image clear, but importantly and differently, makes us not only "see" the effect but understand "how" it was achieved! He then encourages the reader to go ahead and create his or her own special images. It is very well done.

J.R. Block, PhD

I have worked in the Identity and Access Management space since 1999 and have seen so many books focused on technology. This is the first book I have read takes a different approach that is based on a more practical angle focusing first on the business process, people, and requirements. I like how the book has been put together because it is practical, makes sense, and to the point without a lot of fluff. The book is not bogged down with technical jargon and specific technologies. It is focused on real world practical experience and being in the field of IAM I can certainly agree with all the information and am going to be leveraging it for my own engagements with clients. Well worth the big price!!!

We had just run through an identity project and it tanked - badly. Our company was given all sorts of advice by "Industry Analyst" firms and inbound consultants from several large service delivery companies. In the end, none of it made a difference in our politically charged environment. If our stakeholders could have taken a more measured approach, such as outlined in "IAM Success Tips: Volume1", the results could have been so much better.

Having read "Digital Identity" and other well-known books in the space, here is what I can say about "IAM Success Tips: Volume 1"

--It is not designed as the standard techie or business book. If you're looking for detailed, bit-level discussion of Federation standards, Kerberos, configuring connectors, agents, integration issues, adapters and the like, this book is not for you. On the other hand, if you're interested in getting everyone on the same page and designing a long-lasting successful program that has a good chance of staying on budget and on target with manageability, this book *is* for you

--The book seems to be designed to follow in a course of subsequent volumes, and this is referenced in the book as well. Project Management, Implementation Details, and other facets of the "Six Stages" discussed in this book, will be covered in later volumes

--The book is clearly written, and contains useful examples. Moreover, it attempts to reduce the mystery surrounding identity management acronyms. I shared this book with a couple of non-technical managers, and they were able to follow along easily

--The book starts with a detailed introduction, then gets right into the tips. The tips in this book are written in mostly consecutive order, with a strong emphasis on how to start the right way before even beginning. In some ways, it reminded me of Sun Tsu's statement of "every battle is won, before it is ever fought." So true with large IT projects!!

--Following the tips, is an appendix section which covers a plethora of issues, from identity-related regulations, to role modeling. I found this section to be especially useful for additional background information I had not seen covered elsewhere on the web

Favorite parts of the book:

--The Appendix - as noted above. Provides some useful background from someone who has obviously done this in the real world, instead of philosophizing about "best practices"

-- Tip #10: "Identifying the Stakeholders With the Most to Win or Lose"

This is one of the many valuable ways in which the book tackles tough political topics. Few seem to understand, my company included, that politics and culture make or break projects, not technology. (Though technology can cause its own set of issues.) The stakeholder tips were well worth the read and will be useful in my next project.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book. It is concise, well-written, useful, not too long and not too short, and easy to follow.

I bought this book from another site but am now buying it for a colleague of mine as a gift. I can't say enough about this book. I had a project with a Fortune 100 company with a limited budget and time line so I needed all the advantages I could get to complete the project successfully. I used tips and advice from this book which literally saved me countless hours, headaches and meetings with demanding project managers on just how to successfully complete my project. This book helped me understand the crucial "preplanning" steps required for a program of that size, and with the advice in this book, I was finally able to convince management to send us offsite for a few days to come up with the right program concept to understand the real business value and goals. A great tool with an easy to understand format. I'm looking forward to the next book.

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This is one of the best Mallory books, trust me! Mallory's best friend is going to buy a perfect purse. Now I want you to know, Mallory and Mary Ann almost want the EXACT same things. So when Mallory hears that Mary Ann is getting the perfect purse, Mallory wants it too! Mallory's brother, Max has his birthday soon and that's when she whips up a plan. You will have to see what the plan is and the great end when you buy the book! SO BUY IT RIGHT NOW!

I absolutely love this fictional book and highly recommend it to everyone out there. Not only does it teach about how to earn money but most importantly how to spend it. The two siblings have different perspectives when it comes to spending money and how to weigh options when shopping.

In Business with Mallory: This is one of my favorite fiction books to teach children about money. Children will be able to relate to the characters. They will know they have the same trait or maybe they have seen some of the attributes in a friend.

~ The story teaches about the feeling of desperation. Even adults sometimes become obsessed with a single purchase.
~The book teaches independence, the ability to help yourself (when Mallory becomes an entrepreneur).
~The book teaches about peer pressure when a friend pressures Mallory into making the purse purchase instead of a sibling birthday gift.
~The story teaches a sense of "value" as in, "What is a worthy purchase?" when Mallory wonders if the purse is so great after all.
~The book teaches about sibling conflict. I especially like that despite the sibling conflict there is a deeper caring feeling that overrules in the end when Mallory feels guilty and completes chores and more for her brother.
~The book teaches expressing self-confidence. It is ok to tell your friend that you have different preferences and you can still be best friends.

This is an exceptional introduction to emotions surrounding money.

The wisdom so beautifully presented in this book is all the knowledge a person needs to answer all of the many questions that have so long pondered humanity; what is the purpose of life? Are we here by chance? Does life have meaning? Why we are here at all? Where did we come from? Where we are going? I would recommend this book to absolutely anyone. It will give you a whole new perspective about life here on the Earth. Before I found this material I had so many questions, but no more- it all makes sense now. I know that reincarnation is a fact, that life is eternal, and we are all Children of a Loving God. What more could anyone want?
I'm not kidding! This book, and the information it is based on, is the REAL THING! If you belong to a particular religion, or you don't; if you believe in God, or you don't; it doesn't make any difference. Please, do yourself a favor, order this book! I could always use some more good Karma.

There have been a ton of books written on the subject of what it is like after we die...but this is by far the most unique, most informative and thought provoking...I will re-read this book many times to glean the subtleties that I missed simply because I wanted to know what happened next...In my heart of hearts I know that for anyone who is a student, you will appreciate this perspective in your repetoire. I hope he writes more.

I have re-read In Realms Beyond three times and I find new aspects of awakening each time. I have purchased copies for friends and they relate the same inner feelings of hopefulness and joy. In Realms Beyond is more than a retelling of one man's journey beyond death. It is a book of lessons to live by. But perhaps more importantly, it is a vivid picture of the promise of oneness that awaits us, now. This book is a must read for serious students who seek to realize their full potential as co-creative partners in healing self and bringing blessings to others.

About the Book
In Search Of... The Origin Of Nations is the first work ever published providing major proofs for the modern identity of nations and peoples whose roots may be carefully tracked back to the ancient Middle East.

Reviewers have claimed that the subject of this book may one day be acknowledged as the most amazing work on the origin of nations and peoples ever written.

The author has spent many years of painstaking in-depth research investigating and pulling together the many complex threads and strands of tradition, linguistic, anthropological and historical fact and detail to assemble the most overpowering anthropological detective work of this age!

With precision, incredible detail and analysis, the author assembles an awesome array of proofs for the true identity of the three major races and the modern nations (the bibliography alone contains over 700 items).

The interrelationships of the peoples of the earth and their destiny based on stunning ancient prophecies are discussed in a pacy but logical style.

These and many more questions are researched and answered in an easy-to-understand style - be prepared for a few surprises.

A MUST read for all ages and interest groups.

History Research Projects

Following in the footsteps of such Genesis 10 and origin of nations researchers such as Rawlinson, Sayce and Custance, the author has spent many years of in depth research and analysis to track the migrations of peoples from the ancient Middle East to modern locations.

He has lived in several countries and has come to appreciate the enormous human and cultural diversity found all over our wonderful planet. He is driven by a respect for all peoples and races and a hope that they will all survive the onslaught of globalization and homogenization

His qualifications include a BA, Graduate Diploma in Education and MA from universities in addition to numerous other studies.

Preview

Many years have been spent researching the origin of the world's tribes, peoples and races - the family of nations - based on the mysterious Table of Nations found in Genesis chapter ten. Piecing together and tediously assembling the many parts of the puzzle, the strands of information and the bits of data required for an exercise such as this has not been easy for this writer/researcher.

Using a data-gathering and deductive reasoning formula, I have pored through hundreds of books, journals and articles to assemble a work, which is moderate in size but huge in scope. Basing the book on the requirement for biology, genetics and physical anthropology as the chief criteria to ascertain which nations may be identified with the peoples mentioned throughout the Bible, I found that modern racial taxonomy and classification was very close to the Biblical model found in Genesis 10.

Genesis 10 has often been overlooked by modern scholars. Many Bible scholars from previous centuries, have had a fascination with it, but gradually with the advent of humanism and the anti-literal interpretation of scripture, interest in this chapter as the basis for the origin of nations has receded to become almost a taboo subject.

In the 18th century Sir William Jones and J. Bryant wrote on the subject. But the interest in this chapter of God's Word peaking late 19th century with academics such as Rawlinson famous for his Origin of Nations (1878) and Sayce in such books as Races of the Old Testament (1891; 1925). Both showed an intense interest in this key topic. Famous Seventh-day Adventist scholar, Alonzo T. Jones also authored two works on the subject: The Peopling of the Earth (1887) and The Empires of the Bible (vol. 1, 1904). He was obviously inspired by contemporary writers; in turn, others in the twentieth century were inspired by his writings.

Authors such as Dr. Herman L. Hoeh, Arthur C. Custance, Dr. D.J. Wiseman, Dr. John Pilkey, Bill Cooper, J. Simon, and, of course, Ross Marshall of Project Genesis Ten, have continued the research and study of this fascinating science. Dr. Hoeh in particular has demonstrated that history, ancient tradition and authenticised lists of kings assist in tracing various peoples around the world.

Much of the corpus of Genesis 10 research in literature which has been extant for a considerable period of time generally, in my estimation, remained inadequate while large chunks of information had never been written up or explored in much detail.

My focus is primarily historical and anthropological, attempting to find all scraps of evidence, digest them, and then produce a synthesis of all the major finds (while omitting many other minor proofs so as not to overwhelm the reader or clutter up the book).

Since my spiritual awakening in late 1972, I have developed a powerful curiosity about the national origins of all peoples. It became apparent to me that, while some have included the identity of Israel in their theology and literature, almost nothing was said or published about the other peoples and races. It was a pity that this area of identity was not included in overall teachings about God's plan for humanity. In Search of... the Origin of Nations aims to correct this imbalance.

BOOK OUTLINE

Each chapter has a section at the front advising the reader of a list of points they will know and understand by the time they complete the chapter. At the rear of the chapters a recommended reading list is added followed by the endnotes.

Contents

List of Charts
List of Maps
Acknowledgements
Foreword
Introduction

An introduction to the subject matter; discusses researchers and writers on the subject of Genesis 10, the need to keep the flame of this truth alive and how to approach the subject.

1. The Incredible Bio-Diversity of Mankind

The chapter discusses the concept of race, nations and tribes and their taxonomy. Physical characteristics are delved into: skull types, hair, eyes, skin, blood groups.

2. The Mysterious Table of Nations

Bible origins of the races, the concept of the baptism of the earth by floods; how all nations descend from Adam and later through Noah. The structure and meaning of the Table of Nations and the typology of bulls researched. How Noah's three sons fore-type prophecies for the nations. What ethnographers have to say about this intriguing chapter.

PART ONE: HAM
3. The Roots of the Turkic and Arab Peoples
The Turkish peoples shown to be descendants of Edom/Esau with primary reference to Teman. Gog, a descendant of Edom is discussed and his modern location identified. Ishmael's descendants, Arabs, Jordanians etc researched.

4. Mediterranean, North African and Black African identity
The Phoenicians, various nations of Africa including the Africoids, pygmies, bushmen, Hottentots origins documented.

5. The Descendants of Cush
Cush proven to have two branches: eastern and western. Cush's various sons such as Seba, Sabteca, Raamah etc traced primarily to exotic locations.

6. The Other Descendants of Cush
Nimrod identified with Lugalzaggisi; the scattering of his empire; the mysterious Sukkim; land and peoples of the Colchis (adjacent to the Black Sea); Australian Aboriginals; Egyptian connection to Australia anciently?

PART TWO: JAPHETH
7. Dodanim and Tarshish
The people descended from the Dodanim traced and located. Their anthropology discussed. This chapter demonstrates that Tarshish had western and eastern branches. Hebrew contact with ancient Japan is proven.

8. The Russians and Finno-Ugric Peoples
Where are the modern-day descendants of Madai, Meschech, Tubal today? Who are the Finno-Ugric peoples scattered in north-west Russia, eastern Finland, Estonia and Hungary?

9. The Peoples of China and South-east Asia
Magog, Kittim, Gomer etc all proven to be east Asian peoples.

10. What Happened to the Descendants of Elishah and Tiras?
These people are not easy to trace, but trace them I did. You will be surprised at who they are today on our planet.

PART THREE: SHEM
11. The Peoples of Northern Europe
A thorough discussion of Arphaxad and Aram. The descendants, including Joktan, mysterious Ophir.

12. The Origin of the White Russians and Balts
Abraham had a concubine, Keturah. The Mitanni, Medans, Brahmins, Balts are traced back to Abraham.

13. Modern Identities of the descendants of Elam and Lud
Ancient Elam compared to modern nations, place-names, tribes etc. Who could his descendants be today?

14. The Assyrians in the Modern World!
A lot of space has been spent discussing the Assyrians in this book. Why? one may ask. This will become self-evident, but they were a very important and dominant people in the ancient Middle East and impact upon Israel to such a degree, that they must be traced and their descendants identified today.

14.1. Mysterious Origin of the Assyrians
14.2. The Fearsome Assyrians and their Migrations Into Central Europe
14.3. The Hittite Empire and the Modern Assyro-Hittites
14.4. What is Germany's Destiny?
The identity of Assur is identified; his exploits in the years after Babel; his character, empire and descendants all discussed. After his empire fell, his descendants were driven out of the Middle East and I trace them on their journey to where they reside today.

15. Israel - Successors of Arphaxad
After going into captivity, most of the peoples of Israel disappear from view - what became of them and what is their future? Why is Israel so important to God and why are they so emphasised in the Bible?

Concluding Remarks
Glossary
Abbreviations
Bibliography

LIST OF CHARTS
1. Noah's Descendants
2. Noah's Sons and Grandsons
3. Table of Nations
4. A List of the Names of Genesis Ten and their Meanings
5. List of different nations with similar names
6. List of Nations whose names have changed in the Bible
7. Descendants of Ham
8. The Black-Brown Races
9. Modern-day Descendants of Edom and Ishmael
10. Modern Location of the Hamites
11. Descendants of Japheth
12. The Yellow-Brown Races
13. Modern Location of the Japhethites
14. Descendants of Shem
15. The White Races
16. The Descendants of Nahor and Haran
17. Abraham's Ancestry and Descendants
18. Modern Locations of Abraham's Descendants
19. Assur's Ancestry
20. The Royal House of Akkad
21. Kings of Nineveh
22. List of the Early Kings of Assyria
23. List of the Latter Kings of Assyria
24. Early Kings of Germany
25. The Hittite Kings
26. Modern Location of the Shemites
27. Chronology of Genesis and Generations of the Patriarchs
28. The Generations of Adam - the Pre-Flood Patriarchs
29. The Generations of Noah - the Post-Flood Patriarchs
LIST OF MAPS
1. The Original Location of the Nations after Babel
2. The Location of the Nations in Old Testament Times
3. Locations of the Hamitic Race
4. Migrations of the Hamitic Race
5. Locations of the Japhetic Race
6. Migrations of the Japhetic Race
7. Locations of the Shemitic Race
8. Migrations of the Shemitic Race
9. Ancient Peoples of the Near East
10. Locations of the Nations in the Modern World

This book is good for starters looking to get indepth with the origins of the nations. For the most part I found the book to be helpful in my research, but their is problems with the book with some of the nations I don't agree with. But, it still dosen't take away from the fact that book is still very good, and helpful. I recommend this book to anyone who is intrested. Also check out Steven M. Collins, and Yair Davidiy for further details concering the tribes of Israel if intrested. Once again 5 stars for a very good book:)

It was an interesting book. The differences in races was some waht a suprise. As a believer in the tracing of the tribes of old Isreal, I liked the clarity that is given in the tracing of these peoples. This added to the " Tribes" by Yari Davidiy. I thought is was easy to understand and very educational.

A must for any police officer! Great resource and who knew that even time of year could affect the outcome of your interview? But this book explains why and how to avoid those pitfalls!

After carefully shopping around online, I purchased this college book brand new from Amazon and not only did I get it in 2 weeks, I also saved money. My college offers the book (used) only dollars less so why not purchase a new one from here!

The book was what I needed for class. I found it to be cheaper at Amazon than any of the other places I looked, and it arrived right away.

Many of the techniques used in this book's hardware/software waterfall project to make it succeed, are also used in agile software development to help them succeed. People skills, frequent feedback, keeping in touch with reality. I loved the humor and compassion exhibited by the authors. I recommend this to practitioners of Scrum, Extreme Programming, and other agile methods to provide a perspective on a real-life waterfall project and problems common to all development projects.

Excellent material, well written and cogently organized. Reads like a Steve McConnell book, but at a more general "Project Management" level instead of "Software Project Management". Loaded with funny (in hind sight *grin*) stories that make the major points very memorable.

I related to many of the stories (they read very much like AntiPatterns), and I gained important insights into a current critical project -- which is having immediate positive impact on my current planning and actions.

Very glad I read this book in time.

Strongly recommend this book for current and future project/program leaders!

"It Sounded Good When I Started" sounded equally good when I finished reading it.

This is a book about project management, not as it should be, but as it is: confused, satisfying, creative, mundane, exciting, demanding and chaotic. Built around the authors' adventures with a real, large scale project named Delphi, one feels as if she/he is working with the them and their very human cohorts as they cope with problems of enormous complexity.

The chapter titles themselves should give a flavor of the book:
"Digging Yourself into a Hole,""Going Where Angels Fear to Tread: There Is No Right Way to Do the Wrong Thing," and "A Charlatan in Expert's Clothing: Writing a Lie - The Proposal..."
being typical examples.

Each chapter concludes with "clinical" phrases such as, "The Dog Ate My Plan" or "I Wasn't Involved," that serve as warnings, in everyday language, that something is amiss. The warnings are then followed by very useful "bullets" that suggest ways for coping with the "dog" or the excuses one gives for his/her participation in a phase of the project that ended in failure.

A highly readable book, it should be of interest to all people who are engaged in project management, whether the project involves creating a piece of multi-million dollar electronic equipment or planning a extended family reunion of relatives who are ambivalent about getting together.

If only every parent, teacher, school administrator and government official would read this most insightful book! Our children would be smarter and happier - period. Project CHILD, the program described in Joyful Classrooms, is the most timely and promising tool for TRUE educational reform that I've ever seen. Just check out the testimonials in the book!

This remarkable book is a "how to" guide for fixing all the ills of elementary and middle schools (with extrapolatons for secondary education as well).


It provides a specific method of engaged and engaging education with proven results. Whether Title One (impovershed) public schools, afluent private schools, children wth special needs, gifted programs, charter schools or simply "typical" kids, this book proves that "all children are above average", if we just provide a rich learning environment where they can shine.


The book shows how re-arranging classrooms so that three teachers, working as specialists in the three subject areas of math, reading and writing, teach the same children over a three year period. Dr. Butzin calls this "triangulated learning", and results in schools across the country, but especially in Florida, where her non-profit Institute for School Innovation is based, prove its outstanding success. Test scores are significantly higher, yet without "teaching to the test". The children are measurably more "on task" and motivated. Disciplinary referrals are almost non-existent. The book describes how teachers who were on the brink of burning out, owe their careers to the ideas in this very readable book.


But wait, there's more. Dr. Butzin, who developed Project CHILD when she was at Florida State University, provides specific, practical suggestions for how children can have fun while learning. Consequently, it's a great tool for parents.


Last, the book provides a saga of Dr. Butzin's own frustrating experiences as a teacher, champion of children and opponent to the "be quiet, sit straight, desks in a row" education that typifies schools that haven't changed very much in 150 years. She makes a compelling case that unless we turn around this failed system, America will produce a population ill-prepared to face a competitive world.

This book describes Project CHILD, the most successful elementary school curriculum project ever. Based on depth research and subjected to many objective evaluations, this plan for reorganizing the elementary school should be considered by every educator in the world. Yes, it's that important!

This innovative plan uses team teaching, multi-year groupings, and multiple learning formats, including "appropriate" use of technology. It adds up to a package that is both educationally powerful for students and cost-efficient for administrators. And teachers love it because it produces, as it says in the title, joyful classrooms.

As someone who has been following school reform for over 40 years, this is the real thing! It is do-able and it is sustainable.