Education Books

"Killing for Culture" is a fascinating look at the subject of death in film and other media. Of particular note is the history behind the "Snuff" film, an urban legend that has persisted for years of movies where someone on-camera is murdered, for real. Of course, not one single frame of a snuff film has ever been uncovered, but that hasn't stopped the legend from appearing, and re-appearing, over time.

In addition to the sections on snuff, other areas of the death genre are explored, from the "Mondo" films of the 1960s, to the present-day "Faces of Death" style gore feasts. It makes for a fascinating, if gruesome, study of the various death genres of film and video.

CREATION books has taken over the world of publishing books about cinema and this is the best one the have released. A very thourough, well researched and fascinating journey into the subterrainian world of the Mondo movie. David and David approach the subject with abject skill and make every word count even when describing films that would send the average person into a coma for years to come.

This book breaks the barriers and dispells the myths makig it an essential purchase for anyone interested in the darker regions of cinema.

Autopsies. Car crashes. Suicides. Executions. Horrible accidents. Human remains. Assassinations. Welcome to the horrifying and disturbing yet often weirdly fascinating world of death in film. Face it, most people are strangely attracted by images of violence and death - just like stopping and watching when an accident has happened.
KILLING FOR CULTURE concerns death in films. The book starts with the story of an obscure movie named SNUFF in 1976. Originally titled SLAUGHTER, this 1971 ultracheapo horror flick about a MANSON - style murder spree was considered unwatchable and remained unreleased for several years until movie producer Allan SHACKLETON got an idea: He shot a new ending, where an actress was seemingly "killed" on camera for real (though the basement special effects clearly proofed otherwise). Cleverly promoted with the slogan "shot in South America, where life is cheap" SNUFF turned out to be a huge success. This was how the concept of snuff movies (where people are killed for real) was introduced. Other feature films like EMMANUELLE IN AMERICA or LAST HOUSE ON DEAD END STREET further elaborated on this concept. The authors review the above mentioned films and many more in great detail and with much knowledge.
Further chapters revolve around the socalled "mondo" (shockumentary) film and how this genre evolved, starting with MONDO CANE in 1962. Writers KEREKES and SLATER show in a very detailed way, how mondo directors faked and re-enacted death footage, which was allegedly "real". I found this making - of approach particularly interesting. Many of the horrifying mondo films (like THE KILLING OF AMERICA and the infamous FACES OF DEATH series) are dealt with in lengthy reviews. Considering the subject matter one might expect that the book is written in an exploitative way. This clearly is not the case.
Further chapters concern films where real atrocity footage was used - like the US porn movie FORCED ENTRY about a posttraumatic stress disorder suffering Vietnam veteran rapist, whose "activities" are interspersed with actual combat newsreel footage. The last chapter details how tabloid papers and feminists are propagating the urban legend of snuff films.
The sheer amount of facts concerning real reel death the authors have crammed in the relatively small book is amazing:
Hospital documentaries like the 6 hour long NEAR DEATH. Nauseating underground films. The famous ZAPRUDER amateur film of the assassination of president John F. KENNEDY. Autopsy films like THE ACT OF SEEING WITH ONE'S OWN EYES. Driver education films depicting the daily carnage on the streets. Incidents where people committed suicide live in front a camera - like Pennsylvania state treasurer Budd R. DWYER, who blew his brains out with a .357 revolver during a press conference after being convicted of bribery. The GIMME SHELTER concert film, where a camera by accident caught some Hell's Angels stabbing a man. (Please note that these are only a few examples of what to find in this excellent book.)
The book is illustrated with dozens of highly interesting pictures (video covers, stills, posters, ad material, newspaper clips).
And, yes, the infamous Japanese GUINEA PIG series is covered as well. On a lighter note, the authors also review a hoax autopsy film of a Roswell alien (!)
As you can image this book is disturbing, sometimes revolting and could be offensive to some. Clearly it is only for the most devoted fan of extreme and obscure cinema/film and the most hardened horror buff. But for these groups it is absolutely indispensable. I can't praise it high enough.

A much-needed, carefully researched book that looks into the darkest of cinematic shadows. I especially like that they debunk the snuff film industry. Also commendable are the copious footnotes and the exhaustive index that lists movies by their alternate titles, directors, and years of production--very helpful when scouring the video stores for "Guinea Pig 2," "Man Behind the Sun," or even "Gimme Shelter." Certainly it gets into some stomach-churning descriptions, but I appreciate the dispassionate approach to a topic usually dealt with by pandering, slavering idiots. These Creation books, man I love 'em.

Killing for Culture is the first and most sought after of the Creation Cinema series. It covers all types of death in film looking at how it is portrayed and why. Nothing is left out from the real death seen in the Faces of Death video series to the elaborately staged "real" killings in fictional films to the wanton slaughtering of animals in the Mondo series. Yes, even "snuff" films are discussed in various sections first looking at their depiction in Hollywood films such as Hardcore (1979) and then speculating on their existence.

The chapters on snuff films is definitely the most interesting if for no other reason than this is probably one of the only available filmic studies of it. Kerekes and Slater share the opinion that while there probably ARE a small number of snuff films in existence, it's highly unlikely that there was ever any sort of underground market for that sort of thing. They define snuff not as a film of someone simply dying, but as a film made for the sadistic pleasure of the viewer. In that sense, TV news clips of plane crashes and such do not constitute snuff. Along the way, they examine some films rumored to have actual deaths onscreen. Films like Last House on Dead End Street (1977) and Snuff (1974) were made with the entire cast and crew using assumed names. Thus, they are sometimes seen as obscure films made by a bunch of psycho killers. Kerekes and Slater do a great job of finding out who actually made them and how they staged what many thought to be real murders.

There is a nice history of Mondo film and it looks at various cultural implications of Italian and, later, American film crews invading other countries, exploiting and terrorizing natives, and slaughtering animals senselessly. It will make you think twice before buying the new-to-DVD Mondo Caine series.

For anyone who has read a Creation Cinema book, this is not much different. There are many black and white stills of varying degrees of quality. The writing style is fairly sloppy. Kerekes and Slater are not cunning linguists in any respect. They are, however, good researchers and excellent film buffs. Their enthusiasm for these films are evident on every page. Their descriptions of the terrible plots, acting, and directing are quite funny, but it's always clear that as technically lacking as the films are, they still love them. As a fan of "bad" movies, I understand where they're coming from.

If you like films such as Thriller: A Cruel Picture, I Spit on Your Grave, Toolbox Murders, Nail Gun Massacre, etc., you'll find this book is an amazing resource. It's great that somebody is looking at these films in a somewhat academic way without forgetting that they are, above all, entertainment. This book has been out of print for a while now and as a result the price is fairly high (and getting higher). I recommend picking up a copy at any price before it's too late. Enjoy.

I just completed Laugh and Learn and found it to be a helpful resource.

I have used humor in my training programs for a long time, but with some inconsistent results. The author's advice to focus on having fun (instead of trying to be funny) was a breakthrough for me and has resulted in improved instruction.

We teach a graduate class at Western Michigan University entitled "Humor and Fun: The Brain's Best Learning Strategy." After much deliberation, we made LAUGH AND LEARN the required text for the course. We love the sound and accurate science on humor and brain function, and meanwhile it is a genuinely funny read. In short, the book both proves AND demonstrates the central point of the course: that fun really is the best learning strategy.

Our students include pre-school, middle school, high school, and college teachers, and even administrators. In spite of the fact that LAUGH AND LEARN was written primarily from a trainer's point of view, we find that it offers good stuff for all. We're delighted to report that the response to the book (and the class) has been excellent. We highly recommend this book for virtually any teaching professional.

As a corporate consultant and trainer, I'm always looking for ways to increase my effectiveness in helping clients really learn the material at hand. Like many, I don't consider myself particularly funny, and worry that I could do more harm than good by trying too hard to incorporate humor into workshops.

Doni Tamblyn does a terrific job not only showing the reader how to easily and safely insert humor, she also references fascinating research that clearly supports why humor is so critical to the learning process. The book is written in a friendly, approachable style that makes it a fun read, and I appreciate the handy index to the "95 Ways" listed at the beginning of the book for quick reference.

I highly recommend this book not only to other professional trainers, but to speakers and presenters of all types. Personally, after trying some of Tamblyn's strategies, I not only feel more confident in front of a room, but hey, I'm having more fun too. You can't beat that!

As a corporate consultant and trainer, I'm always looking for ways to increase my effectiveness in helping clients really learn the material at hand. Like many, I don't consider myself particularly funny, and worry that I could do more harm than good by trying too hard to incorporate humor into workshops.

Doni Tamblyn does a terrific job not only showing the reader how to easily and safely insert humor, she also references fascinating research that clearly supports why humor is so critical to the learning process. The book is written in a friendly, approachable style that makes it a fun read, and I appreciate the handy index to the "95 Ways" listed at the beginning of the book for quick reference.

I highly recommend this book not only to other professional trainers, but to speakers and presenters of all types. Personally, after trying some of Tamblyn's strategies, I not only feel more confident in front of a room, but hey, I'm having more fun too. You can't beat that!

"Laughter and Learning"

I'm reading this book, and I sense it is what I have been waiting for. I believe Doni Tamblyn has really nailed it. She's given structure to what seems to be the very complex art of effective teaching. I'll start giving her methods a try by using the "smooth" vs "crunchy" approach for initiating group/team work, and by finally using some of those cartoons I've been accumulating for years.

I'm also thinking about how I could apply some of her ideas to my online distance learning courses, where teaching and learning are not in a traditional classroom. This environment lacks the needed spontaneity, but I could see what would happen if I divided my online class into small discussion teams competing for bonus points for "fabulous prizes" to be awarded at our once-per-week lab meetings.

I appreciate that Ms. Tamblyn has combined her comedic experience with Dewey's ideas, theories of motivation, accelerated learning, and optimal/compatible brain learning, the
Koran, the Talmud, famous quotes, tips on psychology and comedic delivery, and has taken the time to share her synthesis of them in a book. Her Laugh and Learn is not only a great how-to book, but also a scholarly piece of work. I don't usually find how-to books with an index, references, endnotes, so many examples, and a case study! (Her "anatomy of a creative learning module" is precious.) Thank you, Ms. Tamblyn!"

First: Balzac, even in translation, is a literary giant. He paints vivid, often dark pictures of 'society' and adds no detail in jest. There is meaning everywhere.

You can read Colonel Chabert in a couple hours, dwell on it for several days after, and be done. This is a wonderful translation from the French; with it, you can mine most of Balzac's intentions without having to consult a companion piece or Balzac guru.

The story is all about life, death, and "social" identity. Others have summarized the story well, but I will refrain. For this one, all you need is a solid literary mind and a few hours. In this edition, Balzac is direct and beautiful; from the dead rising to gateways between worlds to the lamentable futility of morality for its own sake, there is no want for vivid description.

"Colonel Chabert" is one of Honore de Balzac's volumes from his omnibus work, "The Human Comedy." The Colonel is a comic figure in and old military great coat and a wig who is ridiculed by young legal workers at the beginning of the novel. But, the joke is on the clerks, because Chabert is a war hero of the Napoleonic era who was given up for dead on a battlefield at Eylau. This translation from the French by Carol Grosman tells the story of the old soldier's resurrection in contemporary jargon. The novel is relevant today considering the service of soldiers in many wars continuing in our world. What happens to these heroes when wars end, or more accurately, shift to new fronts? Balzac paints the portrait of one old colonel who remains honorable and as a consequence seals his fate. The translation is very readable and the short novel is brief "scene from private life." The work will stimulate further interest in the monumental work of Balzac who had a relatively short life (1799-1850).

...of a great Balzac novella. Ms. Cosman captures the rigorous, logical quality of Balzac's prose - most translators get lost in unidiomatic wordiness. This 100 page novella showcases the Master's comfort with legal matters, his profound understanding of "the fang and the claw" and features at its center the incomparable Derville, Balzac's great, recurring lawyer character. I usually recommend Pere Goriot for first-time Balzac readers because of the rich connections between that novel and many other Balzac works - but I am hard pressed to imagine a better one-course meal than this rendering of Colonel Chabert by Ms. Cosman. I certainly plan to read her version of The Girl with the Golden Eyes.

One of the greatest novelists of all time, Balzac was most at home in the Paris of Post-Napoleonic Paris. In a time when the middle class was showing its strength and starting to reach towards the aristocracy, Balzac shows just how selfish and grubby and greedy humans can be in attaining and how treacherous they can be in keeping their all important upward mobility.

Colonel Chabert is a man disfigured in the Napoleonic Wars who was left for dead on a battlefield. After digging his way out of a mass grave, he finds that he has no legal right to his title or his massive estate. Nobody will believe his true identity. For ten longe years he goes about trying to communicate his plight to anyone who will listen. They only see a crazy bum, and his wife rebuffs his letters. She already has a new husband and kids. Finally Chabert is able to convince a lawyer named Dervilles to accept his case, namely that of reclaiming his title, lands, and wife. The problem is that noone is really interested in his life being resurrected. Most people would rather that he remained dead. So begins the ludicrous battle of a man against the law to prove his own existence.

This short but great novel, or novella, is a tragic take on the world's thirst for social status and the judgement by visuals that our society is only too guilty of to this day. If it walks like a bum, talks like a bum, it must be a bum. Colonel Chabert has such a hard time convincing people of his identity because of how they perceive him. It sounds echoes of Frankenstein in that a good man is reduced to a monster when all he really needs is love. The fact that even his wife wishes he were dead just drives home the isolated suffering of the book. As in all Balzac novels, you feel a world moving under the mantle of the book. The Human Comedy of Balzac is one of the crowning achievements of literature and ranks right up there with Shakespeare and Thomas Hardy.

Balzac, one of the greatest writers who ever lived, did not trip up with this one. I read it with great pleasure and conclude, as people so often say, that the movie based on the story did not equal the original. Ever the cynic (some might say 'the realist') Balzac portrays here the efforts of a noble-minded soldier, who rose from an orphanage to serve his country under Napoleon in Egypt and eastern Europe, only to reap the all-too-common fate of dedicated and true warriors---to be forgotten and ignored. Death (which he accepted) might have seized him, but he found a living death, a denial of his sanity and identity, as the reward of his service. Reported killed at the battle of Eylau, against the Russians, after a heroic action, the soldier literally crawls from his grave to a kind of shadowy survival. In his earlier life, Colonel Chabert had raised a woman to his own status, but now finds that she is unwilling to let others learn of her origins and does not want to recognize that he is, in fact, her long lost husband. Honestly thinking she was widowed, she married a highborn aristocrat who knew nothing of her humble beginnings.

The tale is one of greed, intrigue, loyalty and disloyalty. As usual, Balzac manages to cast a light, pitiless and bright, on every rotten corner of the human condition, while offering a few inspiring examples in contrast. Every detail of a lawyer's life in 19th century Paris is scrutinized, every glimpse of urban dairyman or elite country squirehood rings true. No wonder I admire him so much, no wonder I have no hesitation in urging you to read COLONEL CHABERT and any other volume of Balzac you can lay your hands on.

The huge scandal involving Enron in the past decade led to a huge concern involving the integrity of America's corporate leadership. "The Leadership Integrity Challenge: Assessing and Facilitating Emotional Maturity" is an outline to measure the integrity and corporate maturity of potential big wigs of huge corporations using concepts such as psychology, organizational theory, religion, chaos theory, among other numerous factors in this through researched, informed and informative guide. "The Leadership Integrity Challenge: Assessing and Facilitating Emotional Maturity" is highly recommended for business shelves focusing on ethics and for anyone in charge of promoting employees to positions of power.

Something for everyone and especially those in business. Practical information and skills that support the growth and understanding of how to become a better leader in life!
Exceptionally presented with a way of identifying the levels of emotional maturity at any time, and how to impact self and others. A core book for our times! Highly recommended!

Ed Morler's Leadership Integrity Challenge not only is a fine integration of spirit and integrity and how these can be applied in the organizational setting, it is also a brilliant synthesis of the archetypal and developmental psychologies of maturity. Particularity impressive is his developmental schema of the stages of maturity, and an understanding of how this schema can be applied to facilitate the growth of true leaders. The Leadership Integrity Challenge challenges us and leads us forward. The book is simple, elegant and wise. I highly recommend this book.

"Ed Morler digs into the underbelly of the true Leader and articulately defines the bottom line impact of presence, confidence and courage born of emotional maturity, not image. Leaders who are serious about making a positive, lasting impact in the world will find his book an essential resource for their own growth and that of their organization. Ed models the true Leader here in bringing to light what is so often un-named, and left to chance."

Kathy Eckles - Author of Yes! to the Journey of a Lifetime

Ed Morler's remarkable book should be given to every executive, manager and employee. It should be studied as a condition of employment. The Leadership Integrity Challenge offers THE way to end corporate malfeasance, greed and any number of bone headed decisions that take place in business. Mr. Morler has hit upon the secret to a life of integrity and purpose. With this book as your guide you will have a long and successful career--and a higher quality life. But it now.

pete english, you spelled facet wrong. hehe. sometimes when i am home alone, i google myself (copyrighted).

I borrowed this book from the library and then I'm here now to buy it for my own. This book goes through each type of disability, how they are identified and will guide you through the maze of school testing, IEP's, and how to be your child's advocate to make sure they are getting everything they should be getting from their education! Great detail on emotional growth, planning for the future and assessment measures!

I recommended this book to the LD Specialist at my childs school who couldn't thank me enough for finding this book so she has a sound resource to suggest to parents of LD children. This book not only helps you learn to identify your childs learning disabilities or learning difficulties, but also to understand them. Also, it provides the information you need to talk with the school knowledgeably about testing and LD services. It helps you understand what your part of this process should be and tells you what you need to know to successfully participate in the process. It gives you strategies your child can use in everyday life situations that will help him/her learn. And it helps you with information about the social and emotional needs of your growing child. I no longer feel helpless in dealing with this issue. This book has given me the knowledge, but also very importantly, concrete ways to help my child be as successful as can be.

For any parent facing the possibility or reality that their child has learning problems this is the book I would recommend. I cannot think of a question it did not answer or a facit of the topic it did not cover. It helped me enormously - I am on my second read and this time I am taking notes.

When my daughter was diagnosed with a learning disability I was lost at how to deal with the school system. The first time we did her IEP I did not know what to expect. There weren't any parent advocates for us at the time of her IEP. This book prepared me on how to be an advocate for my child. I educated myself about her needs from the book and had alot of confidence when meeting with the school system to plan her education for the following year. Actually I went to the meeting knowing what to ask for and how to ask for it. It worked out that the items I asked for she received. Now we constantly use the book as a reference guide when we are unsure of something. This book is good right up into adulthood when your child is choosing higher education or out in the workforce. It was a lifesaver for us and a great learning tool!

Bravo! a well written memoir. Thank you for taking the time to write about your life. I enjoyed the progressive chapters ---Lauralee's unique dance of life. I am sure it wasn't easy. You held my interest and my heart, Bravo to your mom--cause she was the backbone to your success.
A very interesting novel, especially if you have a teeenager involved in wrestling. Imagine! the only female on the wrestling team at Harvard. Again, thank you for writing your story.
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Seeing is believing, or in this case---reading, as the adage goes that relates to the remarkable story of one such lady who in my opinion beats Frank McCourt's 'Angela's Ashes.' Don't get me wrong about McCourt's memoir of the Irish poor, but Lauralee Summer's oddly titled 'Learning Joy from Dogs Without Collars' has an extraordinary flair all it's own. When Lauralee Summer was at the age to enter college she never knew her life would make the newpapers and make radio airwaves nationwide. The headlines would read "Homeless to Harvard" and she even got interviews with the Boston Globe and other prestigious newspapers. When she was asked to make a network TV appearance, during the interview she was pressed for time, the host gave her only less than a minute to reply to the question: What was it like to be homeless? The short-moment media experience of her life in a nutshell prompted her to write the memoir.

Summer's reveals in her memoir of a fatherless, nomadic-type life who lived with her mother who was known very little of being employed, eccentric---but loving and protective of her daughter. Summer and her mom were always on the move to one state or another. Life was far from easy of living in dreary, and even dangerous homeless shelters and delapidated welfare houses. They didn't own a car or a bank account and what little money they had wasn't enough for food or clothing. The sort of schooling Summer had she obtained here and there. And her joy came from learning to read and her love of books when she was a small child. It wasn't until she reached high school when she found the mentors she needed and a love for wrestling where she was accepted on the competitive all-male team! This was the time in life, Summer was able to move into her own acceptance. This would later build her foundation into the priviledged walls of Harvard. It was when Summer won a wrestling scholarship to Harvard, she was in the limelight of the press media of her unique story. Summer had come a long way from poverty and neglect, but everything paid off in the end. For everyone it always does in some way. Summer found her place in the world and made her own home. By constructing her life from the life of the streets and her Harvard education she is a mentor who paints a window of the dark, isolated and discriminating world of women and children in poverty. The house that Summer built was the one of a honest, courageous and compassionate heart who has found joy from dogs without collars.

I thought this book was enjoyable to read. Say, a decent book to read in the park on a nice afternoon. Nothing too intense. It was a little slow in the middle, but still had enough interesting stories to keep the reader going and find out what happened to this young woman. It picked up the pace toward the end, almost putting off too much for the end; the intense reunion with her father, graduating Harvard, and plenty of wrestling team metaphors for her growing self-realizations -- all within the last few chapters. Compared to other books I've read, it wouldn't be a 5-star because it wasn't particularly life-altering, funny, witty or original. A well-rounded 1st novel for Summer though.

This is one of those books that was hard for me to put down. I think I read it over a period of 1 1/2 days. However, I felt that Lauralee skipped over a lot of things. I hope that she writes more about her life. I can't help but wonder what life has in store for her!?!

Lauralee Summer's memoir moved me beyond words. It is so uplifting to read stories like hers that show the resilience of the human spirit.

Despite her very unconventional childhood, Lauralee's mother was very loving and supportive within her capacity to provide for her brilliant daughter.

An earlier reviewer mentioned her father. This chapter moved me more than almost any other. If there was ever a person who regretted his earlier behavior and genuinely tried to make it up, then her father would get my vote.

Inspiring, moving, beautifully written in the same vein as ANGELA'S ASHES and FINDING FISH

Mr. Baldwin presents us with a picture of the world the way it could be better . . . if we are authentically interested in and considerate of one another. His vision is powerful, his examples are challenging, his plot is one you haven't read before, and you won't soon forget what he has to say.

I was attracted to this book because I was interested in learning about the lessons it contains about how to teach youngsters who aren't doing so well in school. In seeking out that material, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the book contains a lot more than just lessons for teaching: It's a handbook for living the right kind of life.

If you know an aspiring teacher, a copy of Learnt is a perfect gift.

I discovered two drawbacks to the book that I would like to alert you to:

1. The beginning takes a long time to establish the characters. The first 150 pages could have been cut by about 85 pages, and the book would have worked better for me.

2. A lot of dialog is written to be partially representative of African-American language in Florida. The writing is done in a way that simulates for readers of standard English the difficulties that some African-Americans have with understanding standard American English. For example, "own" stands for "on." To decode that, you have to figure out that "own" means "on," but then it's hard to avoid reading "own" and thinking of standard English meaning for "own" when you see it. This book is not a quick read.

I think this approach would have worked better in a recorded reading of the book than as written dialog. I found it refreshing to get that perspective of how language divides us (as I did when a literacy teacher simulated for me what a dyslexic person sees), but so much material done this way wore me down and reduced my ability to enjoy the book. I grew up in southern California, and the African-American language I learned there was different . . . so reading this book was like learning a foreign language in places.

I thought the humor in the book was outstanding. Most people who are working on such a serious subject are humorless.

Teachers and parents who advocate that children read great books will have their eyes opened especially by the descriptions of what conclusions one of the characters draws from his unsupervised reading.

I predict a great future for Mr. Baldwin as a writer, especially if he edits his future books to make them a little more accessible.

Reviewed by Carol Hoyer for Reader Views (4/08)

With the use of cultural dialect, Edward Baldwin creates an intriguing story about children who come from an environment where no one wants to bother with them, much less educators. With the typical stereotypes these children are branded as "bad," "no ambition," and "will not amount to anything."

The inspiring story revolves around Kenny Houston who lives with his single mother who cares nothing about him. Her life revolves around drinking, partying and many men. Kenny has been left to fend for himself, as well as his little sister, after their father dies suddenly. No one talks about this and Kenny keeps his pain and anger inside which leads him to become a problem child in school and in his little area of the world.

The second character to come into play is Tony Avery, a black man who is a first-year teacher in a school that is for those who cannot adapt to regular school, Lincoln High. It is full of misfits for students and the teachers could care less as long as they collect a paycheck. Mr. Avery tries to make a difference in the school by showing the students he does care and has made enemies as an English instructor because he talks "their talk."

As a former teacher, I really enjoyed the theme of "Learnt." I know how we can forget those that really need our help and yet we don't give it because of how they dress, where they come from and most of all because of "the attitude." No wonder we have such a high dropout rate in schools from kids who are in the lower income bracket and have no family to support them. One of the aspects I really liked was the way it was written, in "chocklish," a combination of cultural dialect and Standard English. As many major reviewers have said "This is a must for all those who work in the school systems."

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from cover to cover. Although I could have easily finished it in a couple of days, I stretched it out to make it last longer, as I knew I would be missing the characters when the book was over. The characters are what make the story so powerful; they are very realistic and given that the book deals with education and race, it is also quite timely. This author truly knows how to communicate with his readers...

I won't go into the details of the plot of "Learnt", since I see other reviewers have already covered it and the book synopsis also serves that purpose. As a reader, I always like to know what's in it for me, as selfish as that may sound; but it's the truth. That's what I'll try to deliver here.
While the pace of the story is a tad slow at first, it picks up to the point that I stayed up late to finish the book because I simply HAD to know how it all ended.
"Learnt" is an ambitious first novel and it succeeds in entertaining the reader while offering powerful insights concerning the failure of the school system to motivate underachieving students, the importance of preserving one's cultural roots while embracing a good education, and how racism and prejudice can feel from both sides of the fence.
The use of dialect in print is not new: think Frank McCourt and "Angela's Ashes", to name a bestseller. It may be awkward for some to read, but it certainly helps to set the atmosphere. Once I got used to it, I forgot I was reading something other than Standard English.
Being bi-cultural myself, I find many people pick up on this because my use of English in conversation tends to be "too formal". The book gave me food for thought concerning what proper and standard English really stand for and how the use of dialect unites certain cultures and groups.
Students, parents, teachers and people of any race, ethnicity or social background will all find something in this book.
Why don't I give it a 5? What book is perfect?
Enjoy!

Lincoln High School is where behaviorally challenged students are sent. They don't earn a diploma for completing their courses, so there is really no motivation for them to learn. Tony Avery, an English teacher who is black, accepts a job there in order to get some experience before seeking a position at a better school. He faces the challenges of trying to motivate and educate the unruly students, while also trying to earn their respect. Avery ends up learning many things from his students, especially Kenny, a white student who was sent to Lincoln for fighting at his other school.

Author Baldwin has an excellent way of making the characters come to life. Mr. Avery was not depicted as the idealistic new teacher who thought he was going to fix everything that was wrong with the school system. His doubts and frustrations were clearly demonstrated. However, his efforts to fight for all of his students to be eligible to try to return to a "regular" school showed that he believed in them and their futures.

Kenny's struggles were also portrayed well, told in first person, making it very moving. His difficulties with his alcoholic mother and his weight issues were sources of constant embarrassment.

An important part of Learnt deals with racial issues. Baldwin does a fine job of showing that different races can get along as well as learn from each other. Tony has a white fiancée-and they seem so perfect for each other. When Kenny finally makes a friend for the first time in his life, it is with a black male, even though Kenny hates black people because of an incident when he was younger.

At first it was a little difficult to decipher some of the African-American dialect that was written, but I caught on fairly quickly. Using the dialect made the characters and the situations portrayed seem more real. It also helped demonstrate the point that just because someone does not speak what is considered standard English, his or her thoughts and opinions are not less valuable.

This book will touch the reader's heart from the beginning to the unexpected incident at the end.

Armchair Interviews says: Highly recommended for teenagers and adults-for the lessons to be learned.

I am a 6 grader at Our Lady of The Cape School on the Port -au-port Peninsula, NL.
Jesse Aarons has 4 sisters and he is the only boy. His 2 older sisters are very snobby and he has 2 younger sisters. Jesse does all the work and his older sisters have all the fun.
One day while he was running around the cow field he noticed a tomboy on the fence . They became best friends even though she won all the races at school and is the fastest .They made up an imaginary kingdom called Terabithia. One day Miss Edmunds his music teacher took him to Washington to look at a museum. When he got back home he was all the way into the kitchen before he realized that something was wrong. I would recommend this book to all ages just because someone is different doesn't mean that you can't be best friends.

I am a sixth grade Language teacher and have been using Bridge to Terabithia as a major part of my curriculum for many years. Each year that I read this book it gets better. Each class gets a little something different from the book. The way my students engross themselves with the characters Jesse and Leslie always seems to amaze me!

I am not the greatest book lover. But sometimes I enjoy reading books, and usually if I find a book I like I can't put it down. Well this book I couldn't put down. It shows how Jesse and Leslie overcame differences and became bestfriends. They have a secret place. I think this is kind of how kids are today. This book ends sad though whaen leslie dies so don't read this if you don't want to be sad. I give tis book 4 stars because it is not the best book I have ever read but it's right up there.

It was a rich entertaining book it kept me in Suspence the whole way through it, it is about 2 friends and the decide that they will build a magical country in the forest. The two of them are the rulers of this magical place.

I am not the greatest book lover. But sometimes I enjoy reading books, and usually if I find a book I like I can't put it down. Well this book I couldn't put down. It shows how Jesse and Leslie overcame differences and became bestfriends. They have a secret place. I think this is kind of how kids are today. This book ends sad though whaen leslie dies so don't read this if you don't want to be sad. I give tis book 4 stars because it is not the best book I have ever read but it's right up there.

I read this to my class. They loved it. It is filled with humor and elicited many laughs from my students. They also reread the book on their own which always makes a teacher smile. I will put this book on my list to read every year.

My 6th grade students loved this book and I must admit, I loved it, too! Fabulous!!

My first-grader begged us for this book after having read it repeatedly at school. It's still one of her very favorites. The poems are silly and witty and fun to read aloud, and the illustrations are funny as well. Books like this really help young children develop a love for words and for reading.

This is a great rhyming book for students. It seems really relateable for children because of the content that it is written about. I was able to relate to it by remembering my school days and I found the poems to be somewhat funny.

If you want to feel less alone in the real world of honest feelings, if you want to get in touch with true feelings, if you want to understand your emotions and explore your guilt and really dig deeper than sentiment--Carol Diggery Shields is the poet for you. Her voice is more original and her psychological depth deeper than most contemporary poets. She makes you feel less alone with your inner life. There is no sentimental frosting here. This is accessible and original poetry with a crafty use of language, a flowing free verse. I've spent my life reading poetry, and I find this poet thoroughly satisfying. Spend an evening or a morning or both with her LUNCH MONEY AND OTHER POEMS ABOUT SCHOOL and you will be moved and amazed at the original angles she takes on truth and human feelings and relationships. This is a poet of psychological, philosphical realization--a thinker who really probes the inner life with grace of expression.

If you want to understand how the world around you is functioning, you only need to read this book. It will provide you foundation/concepts which are universal i.e. apply to everything.

This is a wonderful book, essential in the complex world we live in. It explains how to apply insight from one of the newest branches of science, complexity, to every day problems. Very illuminating.

Nevertheless, its final part on ethnic violence, terrorism and global conflicts is nothing but disappointing. Bar-Yam fails to look at one of the world's most complex and urgent problems with the same cold intelligence he applies to engineering design. Maybe still under the 9/11 trauma, he seems to see it as a problem of Muslims against Christians and only suggests that maybe we should maintain frontiers between "them" and "us". The solution has to be transparency and replicating the best traits of every culture. For instance, community values from Islam, for instance, respect to human rights from Western culture. But, if in a "war against terrorism" we agree to forget about human rights, what is left?

"Making Things Work" provides a great background into the study of complex systems (something that I knew very little about beforehand) and then continues on to apply those concepts and models to real world examples. The examples are easy to follow and all make perfect sense. This book certainly provides many useful problem-solving lifestyle changes

In "Making Things Work" Yaneer provides the reader with an excellent, non-technical discussion of some of the more important concepts in Complexity science. Like other successful popularizers of science such as Carl Sagan, Yaneer has a gift for explaining difficult subjects in a way that everyone can understand. He then shows how these concepts can (and should) be used to address real-world problems such as the health-care crisis and education. It should be required reading for policy-makers and business leaders.
For a more technical treatment, I'd recommend Yaneer's earlier book or better yet, take a course at NECSI.

This book is bound to please anyone who wants to grapple with the complexity of today's world and organizations, and is interested in the truly big picture and issues.

Part I explains concepts central to complex systems, such as: parts, wholes and relationships; patterns; networks and collective memory; possibilities; and evolution. The second and major part of the book focuses on how we can apply complex systems ideas to help solve such major real-world challenges as: military warfare and conflict; health care (the system and errors); learning and the educational system; international development; enlightened evolutionary engineering; and global control, ethnic violence and terrorism. The first hurdle is to comprehend these problems using our knowledge of complex systems and then begin to address them using a complex systems framework.

The book is intellectually refreshing and bold. Its content is expansive, enlightening, and mind-stimulating.