Resources Books

The information in this book is concise, clearly stated, and applicable to anyone teaching, although meant for those teaching adults. It supports the basic principles of cognitive load with research, presented in a way that is easily understandable.

This book shows you how to make complex things easy to understand, and it is based on solid research. If you are involved in communicating or teaching anything that is complex (to the audience), you need this book. The authors practice what they teach; a fairly complex set of well-researched recommendations is presented in a clear and easily digestible format. Nothing is "dumbed down," just presented clearly.
I have been following the research into "cognitive load" (difficulty in learning) on the Internet for some years now, but I yearned for single, coherent book to tie it all together. One day I typed that phrase into the search box on Amazon, and up came this book. It has more than met my expectations.
The book supplies research to support its assertions, but focuses on concrete recommendations that any teacher or communicator can apply right away.
It should be placed in the hands of anybody teaching a complex topic at any grade level, such as
-mathematics
-statistics
-economics
-engineering
-physics
-chemistry
-etc.
I initially ordered this book on interlibrary loan. Although I could easily read it in the three week loan period, I decided to buy it within a few days.
Efficiency in Learning teaching for the 21st century. The sooner the world catches on to this, the better.

This is a great step-by-step overview of how to increase the efficiency of learning materials through research-based design practices. It's rare that I find a book on instructional design practices that is so complete in terms of citing research and data.

I've been a big fan of Ruth Clark since I attended one of her workshops in 2002, and especially since buying her book, e-Learning and the Science of Instruction, in 2004. There are at least a few reasons. One, Ruth's guidance for instructional designers is based in research - not fad and not personal belief. Two, she bridges the gap between educational research and training for adults. Three, she always makes sure to build specific, useful guidelines from the research and theory she cites.

This time out, Ruth, along with Frank Nguyen of Intel and John Sweller of the University of New South Wales, lay down a host of design recommendations based on cognitive load theory. The theory centers around the reality of working memory - the in-the-now processing capacity of the brain, limited to 7 bits, plus or minus two. Learning is limited by the capacity of working memory, and there are a number of strategies instructional designers can use to manage the cognitive load placed on it so that learning is made more effective, more efficient or both. I'll point out just two important ideas from the book and trust that you will be sufficiently tempted to take possession of this important book.

The theory has evolved three types of cognitive load: intrinsic, extrinsic and germane. Intrinsic load is the demand placed on working memory by the nature of the task, more specifically the interactivity between content elements that must be learned. The amount of intrinsic load can be seen in the difference between learning the alphabet and learning to read. Reading involves understanding grouped letters as words, attaching meaning to them and understanding them when placed with other words that create complete thoughts. Extraneous load is that imposed on working memory that does not add to learning. Poor writing increases extraneous load, the kind that needs to be minimized or eliminated. Germane load places demand on working memory that contributes to learning - practice exercises, varied examples and the like. Ruth and friends cite plenty of research to support the theory and then provide many practical guidelines flowing from it.

The other big idea, at least for me, is the realization that managing cognitive load for experts is very different than for novices. Most of the guidelines used for designing instruction for novices must be faded and eventually eliminated as learners gain expertise. Again, research and practical guidelines follow from this insight.

My single - and small - criticism for Ruth Clark is the continued inclusion of material from her previous works. For example, I keep seeing the same little guy and his memory looking at the computer screen and listening to his computer speakers in every one of her books. She also continues to treat the reader as a novice, supplying all those supports for novices that frustrate me a little. The obvious answer is to ignore those supports and move on the the more meaty content. Problem is, from a value perspective, I'd be skipping over about a third of the book!

In sum, I find this book to be essential for instructional designers and those who manage or purchase learning programs. Just as the practice of medicine is improved by evidence-based procedures and guidelines, so too is instructional design.

If you are looking for a comprehensive and well-structured guide to mentoring - this is perfect choice. Presented concepts are intuitive and have practical application. What is also important, the book is fun to read. I recommend it both to new adepts of mentoring as well to those more experienced.

As the Chief Operating Officer for a large medical technology company, I have mentored many junior professionals for years. But until now, I've never found a guide on the art of mentoring that lays out the specific details and skills mentors should master. Imagine my delight at discovering a short but comprehensive resource for everything a new mentor should learn and a seasoned mentor should reconsider. The authors promise a "nuts and bolts" guide to doing mentoring based on the writing style of the classic "Elements of Style" guide to grammar. The authors do not disappoint on this score. Amazingly, they manage to cover all of the key ingredients to outstanding mentoring without resorting to stories or wordy narrative. In reading the "Elements of Mentoring," one gets the sense that he or she is gleaning the distilled wisdom of two master mentors. The book is brief but jam-packed with the crucial details of starting a good mentorship, managing it successfully, and even bringing it through difficult transitions. I was impressed that the authors (both college profs) used lots of research in putting the book together (see the references) without cluttering the pages with it. I am not a frequent Amazon reviewer, but after reading this thorough but brief resource, recommending it to several colleagues, and pulling it down from my shelf already to re-read a section relevant to one of my current subordinates, I felt compelled to recommend it to other managers and leaders. One of the few books on developing junior talent I've been glad I paid for.

i skimmed through this book and was very impressed. it pointed out to me how i should mentor as well as pointing out how i should be mentored. i learned what has been missing in the mentoring that i receive. i am hoping that it will help me ask for the type of mentoring that i want and need.

This is a valuable book. These authors have managed to distill a very broad topic into easily applied principles. As both a mentor and protege I am grateful for this book. I am now ordering this book as a gift for all my favorite mentors in my Harvard post-doctoral program. I recommend you do the same for those menotors in your life.

If you are looking for a comprehensive and well-structured guide to mentoring - this is perfect choice. Presented concepts are intuitive and have practical application. What is also important, the book is fun to read. I recommend it both to new adepts of mentoring as well to those more experienced.

As the Chief Operating Officer for a large medical technology company, I have mentored many junior professionals for years. But until now, I've never found a guide on the art of mentoring that lays out the specific details and skills mentors should master. Imagine my delight at discovering a short but comprehensive resource for everything a new mentor should learn and a seasoned mentor should reconsider. The authors promise a "nuts and bolts" guide to doing mentoring based on the writing style of the classic "Elements of Style" guide to grammar. The authors do not disappoint on this score. Amazingly, they manage to cover all of the key ingredients to outstanding mentoring without resorting to stories or wordy narrative. In reading the "Elements of Mentoring," one gets the sense that he or she is gleaning the distilled wisdom of two master mentors. The book is brief but jam-packed with the crucial details of starting a good mentorship, managing it successfully, and even bringing it through difficult transitions. I was impressed that the authors (both college profs) used lots of research in putting the book together (see the references) without cluttering the pages with it. I am not a frequent Amazon reviewer, but after reading this thorough but brief resource, recommending it to several colleagues, and pulling it down from my shelf already to re-read a section relevant to one of my current subordinates, I felt compelled to recommend it to other managers and leaders. One of the few books on developing junior talent I've been glad I paid for.

i skimmed through this book and was very impressed. it pointed out to me how i should mentor as well as pointing out how i should be mentored. i learned what has been missing in the mentoring that i receive. i am hoping that it will help me ask for the type of mentoring that i want and need.

This is a valuable book. These authors have managed to distill a very broad topic into easily applied principles. As both a mentor and protege I am grateful for this book. I am now ordering this book as a gift for all my favorite mentors in my Harvard post-doctoral program. I recommend you do the same for those menotors in your life.

I just finished a class on English Structure using this as our textbook. The authors bring you through reasoning about grammar principles/rules/nuances via examples and short exercises. I found it to be an extremely useful review of basic to advanced grammar points, with helpful hints on activities and common gotchas for ESL/EFL students. I give this 5 stars for the native english speaking teacher (However, I would give 4 stars as a resource for teachers who have english as a second language themselves, as much of the book's exercises assume you inductively learned many of the rules, and I could see this being lost on the non native speaker. However, they do explain the subtle nuances in most cases, so it is still a good guide).

This book should not only be used by ESL/ESOL/VESOL teachers, but by anyone who teaches grammar. Every detail is explained, the exercises and are easy to follow.

Teachers will never use another book once they see how complex material is made easy to explain.

First of all, do not be put off by the title. This is not a traditional, dry grammar book, filled with every rule of correct English usage. Those of you who know Richard Firsten's publications, such as "Troublesome English" and the "Real Life Grammar" series, will not be surprised that "The ELT Grammar Book" is really a teacher's guide to the most common, and most difficult to explain, points of English grammar.
The book devotes a chapter to 20 of the most common areas of grammatical difficulty, such as word order, articles, subjunctives, and direct object companions. Each area is dealt with in the following three ways:
The Socratic Approach - whereby readers are encouraged to observe, think about, and make conclusions about the point. This technique enables exploration of the grammar in a way which is much more meaningful in the long run. Instead of committing rules to memory without really understanding why they exist, this method helps you understand the point so that you can more easily explain it to your students.
"Troubleshooters" - These are helpful insights that occur in most chapters, which focus on the points which are likely to cause problems for students because of language interference or other reasons.
"Teaching Tips" - These are activities, exercises, and games designed to help teachers make the teaching of grammar more enjoyable.
Towards the end of the book there are a couple of interesting chapters which you would not expect to find in a grammar book. The first of these deals with "ELT Waifs," words or phrases or phenomena which occur in casual language usage, but are not usually explained or codified, such as the use of words like "over," "that," and "quite." Even more surprising is the final chapter, which attempts to predict how we might expect English grammar to develop in the future based on its past development. I may not happen to agree with some of the predictions, but their inclusion displays the Mr. Firsten's obvious interest in the life of languages.
In addition to the chapters, there are very useful appendices that explain points in more depth and even cover helpful rules for spelling and pronunciation.
Although I have been teaching English for over 15 years, I discovered a new way of understanding complex grammatical points in nearly every chapter, and more importantly, I found ways of explaining these points in simple terms without having to resort to academic language. If, like me, you dread being asked why English grammar adheres to its own peculiarities, and have been searching for simple explanations, you will love this book.

The ELT Grammar Book is a reference guide for
teachers of English to speakers of other languages.
Readers may recognize the author's name as the
columnist of "Grammatically Speaking" in TESOL
Matters and "The Grammar Guy" in ESL Magazine.
Richard Firsten has taken his grammatical expertise
and produced a reference tool that focuses on topics
both difficult to understand and explain. The style is
casual and relaxed, which is a pleasant deviation
from typical pedantic grammar reference materials.
Though extensive and in-depth (22 chapters
and 8 appendices totaling over 550 pages), the text is
not intended to be exhaustive. Topics were restricted
to include only high frequency areas typically most
troublesome to teachers and L2 learners alike.
Eighteen of the chapters focus on grammar-exclusive
themes that include such topics as adjectives, articles,
modal auxiliaries, passives, prepositions,
subjunctives, verb tenses, and word order. Three
chapters are primarily discourse related.
Autosegmentals are analyzed in chapters 15 and 18;
the former chapter covers word and phrase stress
while the latter focuses on sentence-level intonation.
Chapter 21 is entitled "ELT 'Waifs'" and deals with
relaxed pronunciation, intensifiers, and common
phrases seldom included in instructional texts.
Phrases that add so much to the flow of conversational
English such as "a great deal of" or the frequent use
of the suffix "-ish" (childish, pinkish, late-ish, around
eight-ish) can assist the L2 student in understanding
common discourse. In the final chapter, the author
notes the changing nature of the English language
and predicts upcoming transformations that are likely
to occur.
Each of the 21 instructional chapters
concludes with "Teaching Tips," which supply
instructors with resources that allow students to
flesh out the content material through numerous
activities designed for pairwork and/or small groups.

These activities alone make the text a valuable
resource. Scattered throughout many of the chapters
is an aside called "Troubleshooter." This
informational box interrupts instructional sections
with pertinent explanations in anticipation of
students' questions. Another strength of the text is
the salient feature of the inductive method of
instruction. For example, situations are often
presented in the form of dialogs so that readers can
observe the grammar point contextually. By

highlighting selected portions of the dialog and
through provocative questioning, the writer models
a lesson requiring the reader to elicit a rule or to
figure out why a certain construction is used.
Employing this critical thinking strategy leads to
discovery, and ideally, to student ownership of that
specific grammar point. At a minimum, adding this
method to one's teaching repertoire will supply
diversity to classroom instruction.
Finally, the eight appendices cover a range
of subject matter that includes strategies, games,
pronunciation, spelling, and further elaboration on
previously covered material. For instance, the author
has provided an excellent outline in the second
appendix that uses the mechanical, meaningful/
manipulative, and communication approach in
relaying content material. Examples abound using
cloze procedures, slot substitutions, and incomplete
dialogs.
Many ESL professionals rely upon college
composition reference manuals for consultation.
Often these tools provide ESL-specific material only
in the form of an appendix or sub-section. The
detailed instruction found in The ELT Grammar Book,
however, is designed exclusively with the L2 learner
in mind. Its primary limitation is found in the
authors' intentionally selective subject matter which
may leave instructors searching elsewhere for
particular topics not addressed. Regardless, whether
an instructor's method of infusing grammar is
comprised primarily of explicit discrete-point
instruction or incidentally through a more
communicative approach, the information, activities,
and strategies offered in this text will provide a
handy reference tool for teachers of L2 students in
various levels and contexts.

Tom Bellomo taught EFL in Spain for five years,
ESOL in New York for five years, and has been
teaching EAP coursework in Florida since 1997. He
presently teaches at the English Language Institute,
Daytona Beach Community

Our medical practice wanted to implement a comprehensive employee survey, and previous surveys done by practice management consultants seemed to create more bad than good. The survey book and guidebook by Connolly and Connolly provided good advice and a ton of sample questions. I was able to prepare a 100 question survey from scratch in about six hours. The Connollys' advice about pre-screening the survey with employees was also helpful; it helped me weed out some poor questions, add some better ones, and created a starting point for employee support of the survey. We will launch the survey in a few weeks to our 110 employees. If you don't have thousands of dollars to spend on a survey firm and want to make a first try in-house, this seems like the resource you need to have.

The guidebook is written in user friendly language and is very comprehensive. It gives you all the tools you need to conduct an employee opinion survey.

PPI's employee survey package is excellent! Period. First and foremost, it provided what was most important to us.. a reliable and valid instrument. The rest is pure gravy. It's easy to use, easy to follow, and has useful real-life examples. Our team confidently put together a 24 question survey,in a relatively short period of time, and used the feedback method recommended to deliver results. We'll use it again for our follow-up survey. I highly recommend it.

The guidebook is written in user friendly language and is very comprehensive. It gives you all the tools you need to conduct an employee opinion survey.

Before reading this book I didn't realize how much technology is emerging for renewable energy. The book is a bit repetitive and I find myself suspicious of Mr. Hanson's claims about the possibilities of renewable energy. However, spot checking with a few Google searches I'm finding articles that appear to substantiate the information in this book.

I would almost say it is mandatory reading for anyone seriously seeking to develop a reasoned opinion on renewable energy issues. And it is surprisingly easy to read in spite of the technical subject matter.

The scope of the book includes not only a discussion of basic energy concepts and breakthrough technologies (stay tuned for future updates), but also discussions about how energy is acquired, how much is wasted, how much do we really need, how much do we have, and the economic strategies necessary to get there.

What I particularly like about the book:
* The simple graphic presentation of quantified data.
* The extensive footnoting and bibliography.
* The segmented URL listing of internet resources.
* The glossary of terms.

What is missing is a discussion of ethanol and ethanol production processes. He talks in depth about Thermal Conversion Process (TCP) as developed by Changing World Technologies, Inc. and "fast pyrolysis". But he gives no mention to syngas fermentation, enzymatic hydrolysis, or even sugar fermentation - for which there are over 85 production plants in the country producing 2% of U.S. liquid fuel requirements.

This book addresses the issue..."Can we really get off of fossil fuels or nuclear energy?". The author says...Yes! Since 9-11 I've been reading everything I could find on renewable energy and have begun to lecture about renewable fuels (biodiesel in particular). I'm also on the board of directors of our state's renewable energy association. This book gives a great overview of renewable energy technologies. Much of what I have learned in 3 years of research is covered in this book and quite a lot more.

If you are interested in renewable energy at all, you owe it to yourself to read this book. If you are not interested in renewable energy... you should look into how our economic and national security is gravely at risk because of our dependence on imported fuels. Remember the how the recessions of the 70's and 80's were preceeded by energy shortages? It can happen again. It will happen again.

In this recently published book, the author gives a complete, concise overview of alternative energy resources. What I like most about the book is that most of the technology presented in the book is currently available and economically realistic. I think that this book will serve as a resource to all those who would like to increase their knowledge base about non-fossil fuel technologies. Furthermore, I hope that it serves as a platform to evoke dialogue... our current economy is dependent on fossil fuel consumption, but it does not need to be. "Energy Power Shift" demonstrates how we can make changes today that will be better for the environment AND the economy. I highly recommend this book.

The book arrived ahead of schedule and it was in mint condition. I am satisfied with the service and the product.

I am happy with the purchase that I Made. It was delivered on time and was in great shape.

I was asked to evaluate ths for the textbook selection committee at a local high school for possible use as the text book for an environmental science class next year. Since my degree is in Environmental Science, and I have done a lot of work with environmental education, I have read a large number of environmental science books and have seen the good, bad and worst of books on the market.

At first I just planned to skim the book, but after reading a few pages I decided to look at the book more closely, and I was impressed with what I saw. The book is well written in clear, easy to understand language, using a good amount of well done graphs, charts and photos. The layout, in addition, was good, making the book flow in an orderly manner.

The information in the book was excellent, and covered the entire range, as much as is possible in one book, of environmental science. The biology and chemistry were integrated nicely and flowed smoothly.

I have rated this book as four stars only because I feel the authors didn't cover the section on renewable energy as well as I would have liked. The book tended to move through the subject rather quickly, offering only a limited view of what can be done to eliminate the use of fossil fuels. In all other ways this book was superior to many I have read.

I would highly recommend this for an introduction course in college, and also think it would bean excellent choice for a text at the AP or regular high school level, provided the students had enough science background to be able to understand the science. I even believe that a motivated home schooled student could study from this book and do quite well in the subject. Overall, one of the best introductory text books I've had the pleasure of reading.

The thing that I like the most about this book is the way chemistry is incorporated into the sciences that relate to environment. It has all the basic chemistry skills required for one to be able to relate to environment at the introductory level.

The Appendix on Environmental Chemistry is very well presented. It has most of the concepts that one require in this course. It is written in short and to the point to avoid confusion, but with high clarity. That is what students appreciate. Students do not need to refer to other textbooks. The material includes all that a student need to understand the basic concepts of chemsitry as applied to environmental science.

The format is outstanding. It is best suited for students taking Environmental Science. It just delivers materials of basic interest with excellent problems and things to ponder sections. The illustrations are superb.

Students are often frustrated with voluminous information. They usually buy a book and are turned off and do not read it. They need concise and just the right stuff in it. This book has that quality. Students would love it and I am glad it is on the market.

It was a delight reading this study guide. Excellent job! It just does a good service to students.

Little more than a year after he published the opus Agriculture and Modern Technology: a Defense,* Thomas R. DeGregori has returned with another work of similar scope and perhaps even greater depth: The Environment, Our Natural Resources, and Modern Technology.** The book examines in detail many preconceptions and cultural myths about the environment, natural resources and technology, and shows that many are so badly distorted that they contribute to the commission of countless wrongs.

DeGregori's deft handling of these preconceptions and cultural myths invites a comparison to Dawkins' work with memes, or Campbell's syncretistic work with folklore, but as an economist of strikingly pragmatic bent, DeGregori prefers to deal with historical fact.

Those who cherish any illusions about the environment, natural resources or technology will find this a painful book to read. In chapter 1, we learn that "green consumerism" is still consumerism, barely green, and sometimes outright dangerous. In chapter 2, we learn how wildlife conservation efforts in Africa have destroyed cultures, forcing natives from their lands and depriving them of traditional foods. These natives are then denied access to modern technologies, with a view to ensure that they somehow remain "authentic" after such irreversible intrusions, enduring an enforced primitivism at the hands of their conquerors.

The theme repeats itself in chapter 5, where the notion of the American Indian as the "original ecologist" is exposed as the typical aftermath of subjugation. Primitive peoples in their wild, "natural" state (notions of what is "natural" are scathingly debunked as well) are viewed as savages, akin to animals and therefore not landowners, justifying their subjugation and the theft of their land. Once subjugated, nostalgia usurps memory and they are viewed as having lived "sustainably" in a pristine pre-technological utopia and an elaborate parody of their past is concocted to mesh with other mythical views we wish to entertain in the present. If these peoples rebel by refusing to act as expected, they are once again referred to as savages and often treated accordingly.

Much of the book deals with skewed notions of what is "natural," and they are mainly exposed in chapter 6. There, we learn that life "in harmony with the environment" for most of human history has had little in common with its idyllic portrayals, being instead nasty, brutish and short. As it turns out, the only thing able to protect us from the uncaring ravages of nature is, and always has been, technology.

"Here [in this book] the focus is on the consumption practices that reflect the phobias and beliefs that deny and/or reject the technological and scientific transformations that have given us longer, healthier lives," DeGregori states in his introduction. The book achieves this ambition, and a good deal more.
--------------------
* Iowa State University Press, Ames, 2001. 268 pp., [money]. Reviewed in AgBiotech Reporter, July 2001.
** Iowa State Press, Ames, 2002. 224 pp., [money]

This is a book that will challenge much conventional wisdom about the impact of modern technology on our environment. No matter how much you think you know about the topic, you will learn something new by reading it.

The author, an economist of the old-fashion institutionalist school (unlike the current institutionalist crowd, he believes in material progress) begins the book with a simple question: If modern science and technology are killing us, why are we so healthy and living so long? In short, his answer is that human beings have evolved into problem-solving (i.e. technological) creatures, and that no one should deny that this is a good thing in light of the available historical record.

The topics discussed in the book go much beyond what its title suggests and range from the living conditions of early Pacific Islanders to the Nazis' love of all things natural - with the exception, of course, of other human beings who didn't fit their idea of the master race. Indeed, the book is as much a study of the cultural divide between technological optimists and pessimists as it is a study of the impact of technology on humans and the environment.

One warning, though. The author is an academic and writes like one. The titles listed in his 45 page bibliography are thus methodically referenced in the main text in a way that will probably distract some readers unfamiliar with this writing style. In the end, though, the book is well worth the effort.

The Environment, Our Natural Resources, and Modern Technology is a holistic expose of the hypocrisy of the major planks of the stereotypical leftist agenda: namely the three mentioned in the title.

Dr. DeGregori contrasts "green consumerism" with another plank of the leftist agenda: income disparity, and shows, through a variety of examples, what the results of such national policies would be: increased prices and scarcity for all. In short, the green movement is for guilt-ridden rich folk, and not for the masses.

Addressing natural resources, DeGregori shows that the best way to preserve them would be to allow free trade and property rights. I particularly enjoyed the applications to developing economies around the world, although I found it painful to learn of the way in which developed economic powers (U.S. and Britain in particular) egotistically deprive indigenous cultures of even the chance to utilize their natural resources to increase their income (thereby increasing education, access to life-saving consumer products, and increasing general standards of living). Cases from India, Africa, and Southeast Asia are used to vividly illustrate the consequences of leftist, socialist moves to keep indigenous cultures in developing countries at a stunted level of economic and cultural development.

DeGregori's examination of modern technology is superb, as well. He exposes the fanatacism of anti-technology individuals-e.g. those who decry "cold pasteurization" as harmful, even though empirical evidence shows that there has not been a single incident of an individual consumer becoming ill as a result. His evaluation of techno-phobes' concerns is invaluable, and reaches beyond contemporary quibbles to address the fundamental philosophy driving their zeal. He addresses some of the most important issues of today, such as debates surrounding genetically modified food vs. organic and those regarding the use of DDT and fertilizers.

DeGregori also addresses the demand for technological improvements by cultures in developing countries, and the benefits to be gained: increased income, increased competitiveness in the global economy, increased life-expectancies, and decreased environmental degredation.

I was surprised to find that such a scholarly book was such an easy read; the information was logically presented, and easily digestible. DeGregori's information is heavily footnoted, but since the footnotes aren't the crux of the book, you can simply read around them. If you are looking for more information, the footnotes may well prove invaluable, as DeGregori cites pro and con sources to many of his arguments.

This book was required for a university course that I am taking from DeGregori. In person, and not just on books, DeGregori is a professor with a firm grasp on the latest economic information from developing and developed economies around the world. Degregori encourages you to look on the positive side of things-all the progress we've made, and potential solutions to some of the problems.

The Environment, Our Natural Resources, And Modern Technology by Thomas R. Degregori (Professor of Economics, University of Houston, Texas), is a 256-page, scholarly volume whose reasoning and language is accessible enough to make it appropriate for any non-specialist general reader concerned about the environmental degradation and human overpopulation problems that are significantly effecting planet Earth. The intent of The Environment, Our Natural Resources, And Modern Technology is not to flatly denounce conservation efforts, but rather to closely scrutinize them (including the myths surrounding them), and to take a cold, hard look at whether such things as "ecotourism" are truly beneficial to the ecologies or the people who live in them. From revealing how some African game wardens are empowered to legally shoot to kill anyone suspected of poaching; to debunking the myth of the "untamed West" which ignored the profound impact Native American cultures and settlements had on the land, The Environment, Our Natural Resources, And Modern Technology is a thoughtful and thought-provoking extended essay that strives to uncover facts beneath layers of propaganda on all sides of thorny environmental and technology issues. No academic library's Environmental Studies collection can be considered comprehensive without the inclusion of Professor Degregori's The Environment, Our Natural Resources And Modern Technology.

This is an excellent book for churches who want to improve their ability to develop a volunteer (servant) program. But, it will take work, commitment and time. Sue Mallory offers many perceptive Bible based concepts - not a quick fix.

The Equipping Church is one of the best books I have ever read on what it means to use our God given gifts as members of the body of Christ. Sue Mallory doesn't sugar coat the time, effort and faith that is involved in building the kind of community many churches long for, but are unsure how to create. Ms. Mallory lays out the path her church followed in the process of moving toward and becoming a faithful place in which they could be God's people. The stories she shares are personal, sometimes heart wrenching, but always authentically filled with grace. Ms. Mallory makes me want to dig in and do the work to which I am called.

Sue Mallory, one of the nation's leading experts on lay ministries has written the definitive text. This book, along with the companion guidebook, show churches how to recruit, train, and support volunteers. She gives the vision for an alive, involved church and tells you how to get there. I could not recommend it more highly.

Sue Mallory, one of the nation's leading experts on lay ministry has written the definitive text on the subject. This book along with the companion guidebook, give a step by step process for empowering and enabling a church's members to engage in meaningful ministry.Topics include how to recruit volunteers, how to discern people's talents and gifts, how to train people to serve in ministry and how to support and nurture those people.Up until now most of this material has been available only in workshops or on tapes. It is great to have the complete plans for a lay ministries program in one book. (Actually, two with the guidebook).

I'm an associate pastor in our church. When I started to disciple a small group of guys who were not very spiritually grounded, I wasn't sure what to use as our "study." None of them enjoyed reading much so too much would turn them off - reading something small and whimpy would defeat the purpose. Every Day with Jesus is absolutely perfect! The sizes of the chapters are manageable for a days' reading and there is fantastic, easy to understand substance in every reading. Thank you Pastor Greg for helping my friends in the faith! I would recommend this to nearly ever Believer because God is using it in my life to speak great spiritual truth!

Greg Laurie's devotions help you to invision Christ as your close friend. The devotion is an excellent tool to share with new believers.

Laurie does an excellent job of applying the scriptures to our every day life. Easy to understand and analogies you can relate to. Good reading material for everyone.

Greg Laurie has written a daily devotional that is both easy to read and relevant to our every day lives. This devotional uses the life of Jesus as the basis of each entry. At the end of the book, readers would have gained greater insight into the life of Jesus while developing a deeper devotion to Him.