Missouri Books

I am a Kindergarten teacher, and I use this book each year to teach my students about the history of September 11th. It is a way for them to be aware of the events, without it being scary to them. Since first graders are the authors, the text is suitable for children. My students love the fact that first graders drew the pictures and wrote the story. It sends the message that no matter how bad things get, everything will be all right in the end.

This book does two things...it allows the young child to know what happened on September 11, 2001 and it gives that child comfort in knowing that everything will be all right. This book, is a book worthy of reading aloud to children who question what September 11 is aboutor asks the question of why is there so much news coverage on this particular day...if you are a parent or teacher looking for the right words, then let this book speak for you...it was written by a group of first graders and I appauld them for doing a great job. Although I don't like to bring up the day to young children and wouldn't but when they turn 10 and start asking questions about this day and the events surrounding it then; I think this book is great to answer those questions without too many gory details.

I am currently in the process of becoming a teacher... I will be student teaching in the Spring. The week of September 11th this year, one of my teachers read this book to all of us in one of my education classes. All 26 people in my class fell in love with this book, and we were all greatly disappointed to find out that the book is no longer being published. And I was horrified at the prices that the used books are being sold at. This is a wonderful book with a great message, and it too bad that you cannot get it at a reasonable price anymore.

It is my sincere hope that no one will read this book to their child or to their class since it is such an affront to the idea of America as one country. I am glad that those children were safe on September 12, but in reality, in New York, people were still looking for their loved ones, rubble was still smoldering and many families had not even begun to know how to continue. The lesson of "because it didn't happen to me the world is okay" is not the lesson I want my child to learn. Would the publisher even dream of selling a post-Katrina book called "August 31 - Our House Didn't Get Flooded So We Knew We Would Be All Right"? Of course not.

I have to offer a rebuttal for the last review I saw entitled "Teaching Self-centeredness". Obviously, our lives did not magically become ok on September 12, 2001. I don't believe that it was this book's intention to imply that. This book provided a much needed message of hope and healing for both children and adults. The book can be used to guide a discussion about the events of September 11th, the loss that was felt, and how our country pulled together for healing and recovery. All Americans were affected in some way that day. This is a wonderful book to use with children. My first graders had very thoughtful, heartfelt responses to this book.

This book was as truthful as one could get without all parties together in one room being interviewed. It shows that a crime of passion does not always go the way the villians wants it to. I wonder if JoAnn Williams, even though shes not in jail anymore, has a good life knowing she was involved in the murder.
I read this book when it first came out in the mid 1990s. Since it happened in my own neighborhood, while I was living there in the subdivision, I have read it again in 2007.

I liked this book for the fact that the author didn't try to portray the victim as perfect, as so many true crime authors tend to do.

I can't understand why a prior poster called the book "one sided." Just the opposite!

Even Walter Scott's parents didn't come off as completely blameless. His mother, after all, did spoil her son shamelessly. No wonder he thought he could do anything he wanted to any woman he wanted whenever he wanted.

JoAnn Williams helped to break up a marriage. She got a man who cheated on his first wife. Did she expect him to magically change? And why didn't she just go ahead and get a divorce from Walter? This is still America - a wife doesn't need permission from her husband to divorce him, particularly if he is committing adultery. Jim Williams should have done the same: gone the divorce route instead of murdering his wife, Sharon.

All in all, Scottie Priesmeyer does a good job of story-telling.

I enjoyed this book very much. It combines celebrity biography with murder mystery. It was very well written and captured the characters well. Walter Scott as lead singer with the band Bob Kuban and the In Men had a big hit in the 1960's with a song called "The Cheater". It is ironic that his hit was about a no good cheating man who ends up alone and broken hearted, because in real life Walter Scott had affairs that not only ruined his marriages but cost him his life. Its a good read for most baby boomers.

This was my first true crime book and it took place in my own backyard. This book was well researched and the photos helped to connect to the story line. From cover to cover, Priesmeyer unfolds the story with gripping after gripping chapter. This book was hard to put down. A definite must read for any true crime aficionado.

Priesmeyer's careful rendering of the tale that ultimately ended Scott's life and career is an engaging read, even for those of us who do not regularly choose true-crime books. If it is true that there are really only ten stories and that we tell them over and over again--then this is the story of crime not paying, and it is told well.
Reading Priesmeyer's detailed depictions of those she interviewed, one has the suspicion that she'd rather be writing poems, but that this story came her way and she was compelled to tell it. And tell it she does.
Dick Clark has said that music is the soundtrack of our lives, and for those of us who came of age during Scott's heyday, it is impossible to read this book without the song playing, haunting the pages.

While there are some interesting elements in the book and it is a unique lookat the supposed childhood of Jesse James, I do not recommend it for children. There is a lot of swearing in it. I know most folks are exposed to swearing all the time, but I do not want that for my children. It is possible to write wonderful fiction and get the point across without having to resort to using swearing. As I read old time fiction I notice this!

Secondly I do not like Matt's attitude toward his mother. He is not respectful, he hides things from her. I do not like my chidren being exposed to things like that.

In Guerilla Season, written by Pat Hughes, I saw that family was an important part of the novel. He chose to stay with his family instead of in Missouri, the place his father died and where he felt he belonged. He had to choose between his friend and his family, and through his decisions he managed to sustain good relationships with both despite his encounters and decisions. He tried to remain neutral, but the more they pressured him, the more he became a staunch secessionist. He didn't quite realize how much he depended on his family until he was sent off to the federal work camp. He soon became aggravated and heartbroken over not seeing his family for a whole week. It was then that he decided to stay intact with the family instead of staying in Missouri to see his crop grow into a harvest. It is in this decision that Hughes us that our personal goals are not more important than family. He is conveying to us that when we look back upon our lives, family is the closest form of friendship we have. They will be the ones that listen to us, that understand us for who we are, not who we should be. Jesse tried to make Matt into a guerrilla, but Ma was persistent on Matt choosing to be neutral, which basically meant to stay alive. Matt also thought that leaving his homeland meant he would leave it forever and betray his father, who spent his whole life tilling the land. Towards the end of the book he realized that he would be betraying his father more if he stayed behind without his family. His family needs him to continue the family tradition. Family is the last institution and the only institution that has held up since the creation of man, and Hughes proves why.

Guerilla Warfare, by Pat Hughes, is about the choices an adolescent, Matt, has to make during the Civil War. After his father died he became the man of the house and feels responsibility for his father's possession such as farming the land. Matt lives in Missouri with his 'Ma' and five other brothers and sisters. Throughout the novel he struggles in deciding whether he should engage in Guerilla Warfare with his best friend Jesse or if he should try to remain neutral for the safety of his family. Another decision he struggles to make is whether he should move north with his family or he should stay with the land that has belonged to his father. Nearing the end of the novel Matt moves up north with his family deserting pretty much everything he knew.
Historically, this novel seems pretty accurate. This story really could have happened given the time and the setting. It showed me a part of Kansas/Missouri History that I never knew. Living in Kansas, I have learned the history of 'Bleeding Kansas' and the fighting that went on in the area. However, I never knew that Jayhawkers terrorized Missouri in order to try to scare people into making it a free state. This book is fictional, so that part might not be true, but the way Hughes writes the novel makes it seem completely logical and accurate. This is a great book I encourage you to read, especially if you enjoy action-packed novels.

If your son or daughter ever asks, how can neighbors and friends start fearing, hating and even killing each other over politics, hand them a copy of Guerrilla Season. Not only will they find themselves totally immersed in the story of 15-year-old Matt and his friend Jesse, who are struggling in their own ways to cope with the war that is infiltrating and ripping apart their patch of "neutral" Missouri in 1863, but they will find themselves understanding just what guerrilla warfare does to a community. It *can* happen here, and already has. For a teenage boy, the idea of staying neutral in the midst of civil war is an illusion. Hughes does an amazing job of bringing her characters (and their families) to life, as well as the forces and events that compel them to take sides. This middle-aged man found Guerrilla Season thoroughly compelling, and appreciated the rich attention to detail, the careful interweaving of character and historical plot, and the absence of 21st-century value judgments.

I have to wonder what sort of books "Book Worm Mama" (below) reads beyond the Bible and fairy tales. Where is the swearing she refers to? I noticed about three very tame cuss words, hardly out of line for a book set in the middle of a war. And I had to laugh at her description of Matt as "disrespectful." She clearly just doesn't get it. This is a book about real, flesh-and-blood people in a terribly difficult situation, and the choices they have to make. The triumph of Guerrilla Season is that perceptive readers still care about them.

My 14 year-old son came home from school with this book, because of our family interest in the WBTS when our ancestors fought for the South. The book is nominated for the Children's Book Award in Georgia. When I saw on the back that it was written by a northerner I got suspicious. But I assure you the book is not just one more Yankeefied version of the war. If you have kids in school you know that most books about the war put Southerners in a bad light but this one is different. For one thing it shows Southerners who didn't own slaves. (Like my ancestors didn't.) Also the people in the book who do have slaves, don't beat or mistreat them.

Guerrilla Season is about a boy named Matt who lives in Missouri, where they had heavy guerrilla activity through out the war. Matt is 15 and he to decide, will he go to fight for the South with Quantrill, or will he leave his home and stay safe with his family? (Fighting for the Union, NOT an option for this proud Southron boy!) The story is about everything that happens to Matt and his family, his neighbors and his friend Jesse through that summer, 1863. North and south, both do terrible things and the author is very fair in showing it. I won't say how it ends because until the last minute you can't be sure if Matt will change his mind.

I can't say enough good things about this book. All the characters are so real, and for boys, there is alot of action. This is a great story for parents to read, along with their kids.

If you want to take a trip down animated cartoon memory lane as well as look behind the scenes to find out how they were created, Watts' mistitled "The Magic Kingdom" is definitely NOT the book for you. For that trip I highly recommend Leonard Maltin's delightful and highly informative "Of Mice and Magic" (Revised and Updated edition). "The Magic Kingdom" is about Walt Disney the man and is of real interest only to those who are researching his life -- which I am not. So, I'll leave the critiquing of this book as a biography per se to those reviewers who have read similar books about him.

However, when I was a child, I lived through many of the events that are mentioned in this book and watched many of the cartoons and the animated feature-length movies discussed by Watts, including those that were made before my time as reruns on television cartoon shows or in the movie theaters. Based solely on the material Watts presents in this book, you would think that Walt Disney Productions (Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, et al) was the only company making animated cartoons during its Golden age of the late 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. The only other animated cartoon studio that Watts mentions anywhere is Terrytoons -- and even then merely as a company that some of his employees came from or went to and nothing about the creations that came from it. And what about the equally creative Loney Tunes (Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, et al)? Not a word. Not a single word!

As to what Disney did, I find Watts' presentation quite frustrating. As a small child, I remember the craze for Davy Crocket paraphernalia. But that was AFTER I saw the premiere of the revolutionary weekly television program "Disneyland" that changed the eating habits of so many families back then. Watts presents the section about Fess Parker as Davy Crocket and all the sales of coonskin caps, etc. it led to BEFORE he discusses the original broadcast of the "Disneyland" that launched it.

But Watts' greatest failure is his total lack of illustrations. Cartoons are VISUAL! How can you explain the birth and evolution of Mickey Mouse or the creation of the feature-length "Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs" WITHOUT illustrations? And not merely those of the finished product, but also the many sketches, etc. that led to its creation. Animated cartoon are essentially a series of (until very recently) mostly hand-drawn illustrations. What makes Maltin's "Of Mice and Magic" so delightfully informative is he does not merely give a dry, textual, explanation of the storyboard for a particular cartoon, but also shows the actual illustrations on that storyboard with the written comments of the directors, writers, etc. about certain characters.

This book does give much information about Walt Disney that books such as "Of Mice and Magic" do not; for example, his development of Disneyland in Anaheim, and the already mentioned "Disneyland" television program which was not an animated cartoon. But with the very confusing presentation of his facts and total lack of illustrations, this book is a long, tiring, and frustrating read for the amount of information in it. Alas, Watts might give us some of Disney's kingdom, but absolutely none of his magic. .

As I am doing research into the American Dream and the lifestyle in the mid century, I found this book usefull for citations in my thesis. It is also an enjoyable read for fans of Walt Disney and the effect that he and his products have had on our cultural society.

I've read the Gabler, Thomas, and Manheim (Quest for Community) books, and about 3 other books on Walt, and this was the best. Fantastic!

I have read 4 biographies about this man ("An American Original," "The Disney Version," Mosley's "Disney's World: A biography," Eliot's "Hollywood's Dark Prince") and now I realize that I should have acquired this book before, so I wouldn't need to read all of the above stated books.
This book provides Walt's personal story, studio development, good and bad critics, Disney's place in history and his shaping of American culture. It is not biased, but gives a balanced view on a man and his company. It made me believe in this book, since I was very sceptical towards "truths" written in other Walt Disney biographies. In those, Walt was portrayed as either a perfect person, or a villain of the 20th century.
The Magic Kingdom is the balanced truth and the best biography of a man that shaped American culture without a doubt.

Easily the best biography out there on Walt Disney hands down. It will never be topped. It neither kisses his hiney as Bob Thomas' studio sanctioned biography does, nor does it discount him as merely a low brow populist (as Richard Schickel did), nor lies about him as some sort of communist spy in order to sell books. Not only is this biography even handed, but Mr. Watts makes brilliant connections between Walt and his time that no other biographer had the insight to do. This is a fair, balanced, well organized, incredibly entertaining biography that really brings the real Walt Disney to life. Steven Watts is a genius biographer.

The authors appear to have done their research, and present the story in mixed third person objectivity and first person period prose. For the casual reader who has an interest in Civil Warfare, or more specifically, the Kansas-Missouri Border War, this is an entertaining book. For the scholar, it must be taken with a grain of salt. The authors have taken literary license to the extreme in their description of scenery, battlefield and camp site conditions, personal conversations, et cetera. Although the essence of news-worthy situations are, more often than not, accurately portrayed in historic newspapers, the use of quotes and eye-witness accounts are often biased and stretch the truth. The authors appear to continue in this vein of sensationalistic reporting. There is no way the authors could know of the detailed conversations that took place between officers, combatants, and/or farmers, and thus, their factual portrayal of these more intimate situations must be questioned. If they had told the story entirely in the third person, this book would be good and much needed reference. As presented, with interjections in the first person literary style, the book lacks a degree of credibility. This is unfortunate, as it is a great story of guerrilla warfare and otherwise well-written. 170 pp., Stackpole Books (1998).

Great biography of a Western Civil War barbarian. When it came to being ruthless during The American Civil War, Bloody Bill broke all bounderies. Not for the weak of heart!!

Thomas Goodrich did an outstanding job of researching his subject. I've read many other accounts of Anderson, but this is the most complete and revealing. It's unfortunate that Stackpole insisted on bringing Castel into the mix, as the two men's writing styles are so different. The end product, though the best work so far on a fascinating man, doesn't equal Goodrich's original work.

This book reads like a romantic western novel. A description of Anderson: "Dressed entirely in black- hat, velvet shirt, pants, boots- he was lean and sinewy and looked taller sitting in the saddle of his large black horse than his actual height of five ten." (p. 11, hardback edition) It continues like that for another 150 pages or so. The only thing missing is voluptuous maidens.
Castel's biography of Quantrill doesn't read like this, and Goodrich's "Black Flag" doesn't really have much style at all, as it is mostly quotes from primary sources. I don't know why they felt the need to write this the way they did, but it ruins the story. Both authors have done their work in researching, but the writing leaves much to be desired. A definitive account of Anderson still needs to be written.

Bloody Bill Anderson was a product of savagery in the early days of the Civil War's influence on Kansas and Missouri. The border war there was bloody and brutal. An eye for an eye conflict that escalated beyond anyone's imagination. The region was devastated. The atrocities that men were willing to commit against each other on both sides of the fratricide in that area are horrendous. Rocketing out of that soup came Bloody Bill. He is the prototype of a deadly psychopath. He was sadistic, ruthless and devoid of conscience.

Castel and Goodrich have outdone themselves in taking what little historical data is available to present as thorough an accounting of Bill Anderson's life as you're likely to find. They hone in on two of his most infamous rampages around Centralia, Missouri. You'll believe you were an eyewitness. However, they don't fabricate the stories or engage in fiction. The book is thoroughly researched and very credible in every detail. They could only have exceeded in this endeavor if there were more firsthand historical data to draw from.

Fact is Bloody Bill was a real individual and these events really did transpire. You will be transfixed even as you are horrified.

Grooming to win is for any discipline, and any breed. I used it as a reference for getting back into the show ring. It's like having your own trainer with you all the time. I show Morgan and Quarterhorses and it covers everything from conditioning to getting those braids in right!
DONT SHOW WITHOUT IT!

This is one of the best books that I've found that explains grooming your horse step by step - not only for the show ring, but for everyday maintenance. Ms. Harris details breed protocols for the show ring (good news for the novice showman!). Did you know that it is considered bad form to braid the hunter on the left side of the neck, and vice versa for western pleasure horses? From achieving that showring bloom to step by step braiding guides, this book is a must for any competetive horseman's book collection!

From body clipping to everyday grooming, Ms. Harris has provided an excellent reference for everyone from the first-time exhibitor to seasoned professionals. She covers nearly every riding discipline imaginable, going over grooming procedures for each in a thorough yet consice manner. Her explanations are easy to translate into technique and the book offers many illustrations. This book makes for excellent reading for the novice and a wonderful referrence for the more experienced horse groom.

A great book that I often reccommend for anyone who asks a lot of questions about grooming, at shows or at home. I Love grooming my horses, and this book gives you many new ideas and 'tricks' to try to make your horse have good and healty coat. I doesn't matter what breed or disciplne you show, this book has it all. I show hunter-jumpers and eventing, but I also have two miniature horses that I show and this book helped me with all of them!

This is one of those books you don't use every day, but when you're thoroughly confused or completely forgetting something it comes in handy. It has alot of great pictures and illustrations that make it great for kids as well as adults. I learned alot about alternative grooming methods that I had never even heard of before!

I feel in love with this seris when I was about 7 years old. My Aunt gave me the first book in this seris and I was hooked. Thias book is one of my favorites. It has some sad parts, but it talks about a young girls journey into womanhood. I think that every young girl should read this book.

Rose and her family are still living in the little town of Mansfield. There, they are doing the best they can to get back on their feet and return to Rocky Ridge Farm. It's a big year for Rose and filled with many changes. For example, she witnesses the dawn of a new era as she celebrates the turn of the new century. Besides all the hard work, there's still love in the air for Rose! "New Dawn on Rocky Ridge continues the story that Laura Ingalls Wilder told of her own childhood, a story that has charmed generations of readers, including me."

Continues the story of Rose Wilder Lane, Laura Ingalls' daughter, at the turn of the century. Interestingto hear what all the 'new' inventions were at the time and to see what Laura was like as an adult. Rose, however, sounded as if she could be quite a brat!

This book is tied with On the Banks of the Bayou for worst in a series.
As for New Dawn, far too much was devoted to the saga of Miss Sarah; Elsa Beaumount/traveling man; and Paul stringing Rose along.
On the Banks of the Bayou, Rose doesn't even appear to be the same person. Which I can understand someone maturing but Rose was always wishing for a large beautiful house to live in(like her friend Blanche Coday) and complaining about being poor. She travels to Louisiana to live with Eliza Jane who has a huge house with an electric light in the kitchen, beautiful, expensive furniture and a hired girl, but suddenly Rose is ashamed of wealth.
Which is confusing because three months earlier she is grumbling because her parents are too poor to send her to Mountain Grove Academy where her rich friend Blanche is attending school.
In Louisiana she has nothing for her classmates, her uncle Perley and his family or her Grandmother Wilder. Rose seems to be even more self-centered while in Louisiana than she was in Missouri.

Special thanks to Roger Lea McBride and family for the "trip" to DeSmet and giving us Laura's voice once more, even though it was heartbreaking for all involved. Equally impressive was Rose's saga while living in town. The girl was quite a firecracker. Again, just as charming as Little House, but the storytelling is a bit more complex and more reflective of who Rose was. This series truly equals the charm and storytelling of Laura's story. Kudos to those who thought to bring this series to print.

I recieved the book in a timely manner and it was in very good condition. I would recommend the book. I enjoyed it.

I think this book was easy to fallow and anyone who enjoys a love story that is almost real. Will like this one. You almost feel like you are apart of the story.

This page-turning story is filled with heart-warming romance and the pain of reality. I found myself giving Nora advice and hating Neal for his selfishness. You tend to see a lot of yourself in Nora when she has these major decisions to make about her life and the life of her daughter in coping with the death of her son. This story makes you look at your life and wonder if you could have the same strength as Nora. This book was written elequently.

I felt that this book was beautifully written, and says a lot about human nature. I think that this book would appeal more to a female audience because of the focus on a woman who has to deal with the death of a child and the realization of the fact that her marriage is falling apart. I like that fact that each chapter is told from a different character's point-of-view giving you insight into each of them. I also liked the fact that it was a romance novel but not a sappy one. This was true to life and easy to relate to making the novel more appealing to an audience. I personally would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys romance and happy endings.

I loved this book and was very disappointed in the Hallmark presentation. They took a book about a verbally abused woman who, after a tragedy, gets a second chance to fulfill herself and changed it into a movie about a man finally becoming the head of his household. They totally turned it around and made the husband into the good guy and the wife a selfish, self-centered person. The husband doesn't shoot the horse but the wife almost does!! This was not the book I read. I wish they had just used some other book and not ruined one with a totally different message and story.

This book arrived in very nice condition, no writing on it or torn pages.
I was very happy to add this to my book collection!

on the other side of the hill. its really good. once i read this i had to read all the others. we need more books like this one.

This book provided good reading and there are parts I enjoy such as the mean teacher, the feast they had during the hog butching and Blanche's birthday party.
I've read it several times but each time there is one point that really bugs me. Since I have been reading the Little House series plus Ingalls family biographies since I was in the fifth grade, I am very familiar with the life of Laura and her family.
It is always a source of annoyance when someone(sited as an expert) writes about a particular subject but makes glaring errors and mistakes about situations and the characters.
This book offers a prime example. I noted an error that should have been caught by either the author or an editor.
To wit: Almanzo brings home a Sears & Roebuck catalog in which people can mail order merchandise from the catalog. Wow! A new discovery in shopping! Laura nor Almanzo remembers living in South Dakota and looking through a Montegomery Ward catalog(mail-order) and purchasing a set of glassware or Laura purchasing a saddle for her pony from the Montegomery Ward catalog. This information was provided in the book The First Four Years also carrying Roger Lea MacBride's name. One of the pieces from the glassware set was the bread platter etched with the words 'Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread'.
Of course MacBride died and his daughter had taken over the writing at this point. But still, I think it is shameful when a fan knows the subjects and details better than the "experts".

I like this book!! It is a great book!! It talks about Rose when she is growing up and she is with her mother and father which are Laura Ingalls and Almanzo Wilder. I think out of all the Little House Girls, Rose is my favorite but sometimes she can be a brat and spolied espically on New Dawn on Rocky Ridge.

I found this entire series of books to be disappointing because it was more cynical than the original series. On doing some research I discovered that chapters in least one of the final books were actually taken (almost verbatim) from Rose's writings for an adult audience. The story is totally out of character with the series. Rose and her friend sneak out for several nights to meet a traveling salesman. He eventually makes a pass at her...
The listed author for this book (MacBride) died before the last few books were published and whether he had anything to do with the books is questionable.
This series is okay as light reading for adolescents but if you are looking for a piece of americana, and/or a wholesome book for your child this is not the best choice. It grossly fails to live up to the original series of books. The Caroline series is a better choice.

I really wanted to like this book. As a debate coach for an inner city school, I looked forward to having my own problems and complaints validated. To some extent they were. However, the book as a whole left me with more questions than answers, more anger than acceptance, and more frustration than appreciation. Let's start with the obvious: the author is a reporter and the book was an to be an unbiased look at the debate culture and how it affected an inner city school. That the author not only became a part of the story but actually directed the actions of the story is an appalling breach of jounalistic ethics. While I did not expect the writer to remain entirely neutral, and I do give him credit for portraying the debaters honestly, his own leap from neutral observer to debate judge to coach while still writing this book crosses a line.
Secondly, we are introduced to the major characters and confronted with an injustice: these students are prohibited from attending a major national tournament by a set of archaic state rules. Forgive me for being confused, then, when the team attends national tournaments in Washington, DC and Atlanta. The writer never clarifies this point, perhaps because it minimizes the conflict. The book gives short shrift to a comment by James Copeland of the National Forensic League that Central attends major tournaments throughout the year that the majority of competitive teams cannot afford to go to.
It bothered me as well to read about debaters who come to practice late--if at all, work that does not get done, late night partying and yet, and yet, debaters that rise to the top of each tournament. How? Was it too much to ask how the debaters got from point A to point B? I was troubled throughout the book by Mr. Miller's attempt to minimize the role of coach Jane Rinehart. Other than a few exercises she leads new debaters through, her only role in the success of her team appears to be as driver, observer and censor of language. One can't help but wonder if this is deliberately done to make his own debut as an assistant coach who literally takes over more impressive.
That leaves me to deal with the issues of debate style and content. I have, in the past, been a big fan of the Urban Debate League and its quest to bring minorities into what is largely a "white" activity. I am not a fan of programs that tell debaters they cannot succeed in the event as it currently exists because of their skin color or their poverty. Originally debate centered on analysis and persuasion, something that cannot occur in 300 word per minute speeches designed to cram in as many cards of evidence as possible. While both the book and Rinehart reject local tournaments that condemn speed and require debaters to talk to "Suzi's Mom", these tournaments teach students to really understand what they are saying and to be able to explain it coherently to someone who is not an expert in philosophy, who does not understand how simply passing one piece of legislation will lead to nuclear war. Rinehart elects instead to compete on the National level but condemns those tournaments for not rewarding the very things local tournaments would: analysis and persuasion. I find it insulting that the author makes the gigantic assumption that having his debaters turn to hip hop and a rejection of the structure of debate would have magically saved a young man from being a gun shot victim. The message he sends by the end of the book is that he is one of the few visionaries of debate; that the only honorable style of debate is one that rejects debate as currently played. I am not an apologist for many of the abuses in the activity today. I am, however, a firm believer that debate can change lives, regardless of skin color and family income. I am a firm believer that debate teaches students skills that will serve them throughout a lifetime--organization, the ability to structure their arguments and presentations, the composure in unfamiliar situations. If we accept Miller's assertions that the entire activity has to change to accommodate a few, that without these changes minorities can never succeed in this activity, then we are buying into a even more racist mindset and it disturbs me that Miller's book perpetuates this myth.

This book works on many levels. It has a great narrative, which drives one to keep reading. The fast-paced story is also one of underdogs who succeed against all odds.

The exciting narrative is a vehicle the author uses to effectively share with the reader how truly awful some inner-city schools are and how uneven the playing field really is. This information is contained in the story and is not preachy.

The author also uses the narrative to teach readers about debate and the on-going controversies within the debate world. I highly recommend this book for both teenagers and adults.

The premise of Cross-X is very similar to 'The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists' by Neil Strauss; a journalist decides to write a book. Joe Miller wrote it about a debater; Neil Strauss wrote it about himself. There are actually a few parallels in debate and pickup; there are rules and guidelines, some people obsess and know every little detail, it's considered a game by those who play it, etc.

So if you liked The Game for its writing, you'll like Cross-X. If you liked The Game for its subject matter, you'll probably be disapointed; Joe Miller is a cool dude, but he doesn't know NEAR as much about social dynamics as Neil Strauss.

Aside from the questions of the politics of liberation in education and the difficulties of racial balance in urban schools, there are two inner conflicts at work in the context of this piece of reportage. The first has to do with the shift in practice in academic/policy debate from what could be called persuasive oratory - as the book presents it speeches designed to convince "Suzie's Mom" to a high speed delivery, multiple flow theoretical presentation designed for experts in the subject and style. The difference is a rate of delivery more than one and a half times that of most casual speech, laden with acronyms and jargon. And then there is the challenge to this. The second conlictis the competing areas:small schools vs. large consolidations, urban vs rural, public vs private. At the college and university level the regional organizations have almost disappeared. Debate is an endowed activity or a speciality ( sometimes for ideological reasons, one finds schools with agendas also tend to have debate programs). To really understand what goes on in this book, this inside knowledge is helpful.

So I warn, if you are not going to misread events, "What do you know about academic debate?" It is a complex world, the shifting forms of which are at work in this book: NFL (the original one), NCFL, TOC, CEDA, NDT as well as city, state and regional leagues and tournaments. At first blush it seems there are obvious nasties and obvious good guys, aspiring inner city youth and dedicated teachers, dullard administrators and power mad bureacrats. But you really need to know a bit more if you are going to truly understand this nationwide, multi linked and important activity. And it is important- the precentage of public figures with high school/college debate experience is not much less than the number of NFL (football one that is) players with highschool/college football experience. Miller portrays some empathetic individuals and some he can't stand, but it is vital that any reader be aware that this is advocacy journalism, much like the advocacy debate he is pushing for in the book. Many of the "enemies" are there because of principle not laziness or self interest. The history of debate, changing from the persuasive oratory of the sixties to the speed delivered ethos of the seventies, to the pedagogy of liberation theory influenced rhetoric in the eighties has morphed to performance activity and has filtered from colleges down to high school. Those presented as standing in the way, may in many cases be standing against the educational ideas of Pauolo Freire and Jonathon Kozol and in favor of rather traditional, non deconstructive rhetorical theory.

Mr Miller's book is told from the experience of African-American students in an inner city high school. One must consider why a student is involved in what is admittedly a highly competetive activity. His advocacy reminds me of the alternative of being highly successful in the "game" chosen by one of my outstanding students who said concerning Ebonics, "This little brown girl knows if she is going to take care of herself in this world she better know when to write 'I am' and when 'I Be.'" This is the problem of privliging of a discourse. Mr. Miller( and the performance school) do not acknowledge that within a context or ethos certain discourse is privleged and to act differently is to invite retribution. We are educated to do and not to do a number of acts. And here is the rub, what is truly discriminatory, and is the debilitating effect of any discrimination best fought on a personal or organizational basis. The argument goes on and on.

Cross-X by Joe Miller covers about a year in the lives of several students from Central High School in Kansas City, Missouri as they travel on the debate team. They face racism, infighting from the state activities board, and the choices made by their own family. Miller does an amazing job taking this story and making it accessible to all readers. The stories of Ebony, Marcus, Antoine, and Brandon are poignant stories of survival. These black teenagers compete against white kids from private schools and win because of their quick wit and determination to win. Miller completely changed my ideas about debate: what it is and what it stands for. He includes a history of Central High School, a flashpoint in the controversy over Brown vs. Board of Education and also the site of an astronomically expensive renovation to encourage white families to move to the district. Instead these teens have to face ambivalent teachers, tough home lives, and peer pressure in an environment that expects them to fail. The story ultimately becomes about racism and the right to be different. The only disappointment in the book is when Miller inserts himself into the story by becoming a coach to two of the boys. As an objective observer, Miller was able to narrate a tale showing all of the different sides to these young men. As an active participant, he becomes strident as he attempts to be their savior. As such, the ending is a bit of a let-down. The book exposes the deep differences between black and white education and points out that we need to make a change so that all children have the same opportunities for education so they can succeed. It opened my eyes to the incipient racism in schools today.