Resources Books

If I could only put one multimedia learning book on my bookshelf, this would be it. The "General Principles" section provides one of the best overviews I've read of Behavioral, Cognitive, and Constructivist approaches to learning (although I do think they misrepresent the Instructional Systems Design process and treat it as a purely Behavioralist approach). This section also presents an excellent overview of the learning process. The book moves on to discuss methodologies and learning sequences at an unparalleled level, including a brilliant discussion of simulations and educational games. The book closes with an overview of an approach to Design and Development that's worth reading, but far less valuable than the previous sections. Of all my design books, this one has the most dog-eared pages and underlined text; the chapter-level bibliographies alone are worth the book's price! Anyone looking to delve deep into multimedia design for learning should have this book on his or her shelf.

This is an excellent text in terms of coverage and pacing. If you are interested in human-computer interaction, this is a 'must have' text. What astonished me about this book is that it covered more issues in HCI than many dedicated user interface design books. The text admirably blends practical considerations with theoretical concerns and trends. It strongly focuses on motivational issues surrounding users of learning packages(an area largely ignored in the bulk of standard HCI texts). Don't pass over this book.

I just find it very well put together.. It takes you through the various facets of designing a course/presentation that will actually be used and useful.

Had to buy it for a class; execellent resource for it's target audience. Make sure you're a memeber of that target audience (instructional technologists) before you buy :)

The first clue as to the value of a book is the number of editions. Generally, the true standards in a field will continue to live and be revised. This book is the standard for multimedia design and production. The foundations and theory that are explored in the beginning are as valuable as the detail in the production process that is explained. The most significant aspect of this book has to be the detail concerning methods, especially instructional simulations. Simply a must have for anyone in the field of multimedia who is looking to develop products that go beyond the traditional page turner.

Nine Keys is a very practical step-by-step process in how to implement successful, healthy small groups into the local church.

I am a small-groups person. I have been in one small group or another, often as a leader, almost continually, for the past 30 years. I believe small groups are just about the most important aspect of a church's life.

I have read many books on this, gone to many seminars. There is a lot of good material on this topic.

But in my present role as a church consultant, this is the book on small groups that I hand to pastors who are wanting to know how to grow a small group ministry or how to better equip their small group leaders.

Why? As George explains in this book, most church small groups do a good job of promoting nurture and fellowship, but most stop there. George believes an effective small group should perform three basic functions, not just nurture. In addition to nurture, he believes small groups should be effectively engaged in small-group-based evangelism (George says that in any given year, only one small group in four does any evangelism), and he thinks that small groups should constantly be training small group leaders through apprenticeship. I agree that a small group needs all three functions. And so I use this book as the entry point for someone who is new to these ideas about small group life.

After this introduction, I point churches to further training or more in-depth printed materials about various aspects of this approach to small groups, but in my opinion, there's not a better starting point than this one.

We have used this tool since it came out. I've found that this tool is best for easily organizing the 'how to' stuff of small group leadership. It does not cover the ministerial philosophy issues. A good book for that is 'Master Plan of Evangelism' by Robert Coleman.

As the title for this book says, it covers nine keys for effective small group leadership. Each key really has four or five sub points...so in reality it is nine times about five...or forty five keys if you will. But George has organized them into nine groups...or keys.

We've found that leaders who study this material are easier to work with and easier to build a vision with for a local church ministry. There are a lot of books on Small Group Leadership that will help you. This one is very practical. It's so well written you can use it even if all you do is read the paragraph headers. Everything is well explained and easy to find or follow.

So even for leaders who don't like to read or who you suspect will not read everything you ask them to read, this book still might get through to them. I recommend it as a curriculum text for a course in a local church/ministry for leading small groups.

Enjoy it!

The best two things about this book are: 1) it helps the small group leader coordinate with the pastor, and 2) it includes shepherding, building community, discipleship and evangelism as part of the small group experience. It is the best balanced book available today!

Carl George effectively communicates the essential basics. This book does a good job of highlighting the difference between being a facilitator of small group time and being a leader (someone who is a disciple-maker). I have used this book as the main text for training small group leaders. It provides great material for interactive discussion and presenting a wholistic picture of all that small groups can be.

This fantastic workbook is a labor of love and full of great solutions to complex business problems using the arts to facilitate collaboration at work. I bought this book to learn how to begin to facilitate corporate workshops using the arts for The Bite-Size Arts Ensemble, an organization I have created devoted to entrepreneurial growth for artists. Not only will it provide a platform to build on, but it will serve as the model for using arts based learning as a change agent in organizational development. Don't let the price of this book stop you! Buy it.

This is a great resource. It's a great collection of exercises that draw upon a wide variety of arts modalities. Each exercise is described in enough detail to be able to easily implement them.

This book was one of the first and best to explore using arts-based techniques and processes to address organizational issues. The introduction is a superb distillation of some of the reasons why the arts work in the business context and the exercises themselves are generally well thought-out and easy to use - they should be, as they come from some of the leading practitioners in this ever-growing field. The book may be expensive, but it is worth every cent for any trainer or facilitator who wants to take a more creative approach to their work.

I have discovered the power and the simplicity in finding/applying a wide variety of experiencial excercises that spark creativity and imagination in groups. The beauty of this valuable workbook is that it unleashes our hidden potentialities. I have successfully used these activities in private business and in non profit organizations and in every ocassion the results have been the creation of high energy and relevant discoveries among participants.
Thank you Arthur and Linda for your valuable contribution.

Arthur VanGundy has already given us just about every conceivable aid to creative work--from "Brain Boosters" to "101 Games" and "101 Activities." Now with Linda Naiman he delivers the most comprehensive and accessible creativity and innovation resource for groups I've ever seen.

And it's about time someone got business people to start thinking like artists. Anyone in business creativity, ideation, and new-product development will find the VanGundy-Naiman approach not only inspiring and fun but incredibly effective.

This binderful of brilliance would be a bargain at $900.

Ani Hurwitz, NYC PR pro and another grammar brat, recommended this book with glee in her voice. Professional writers enjoy having a few of these things around, for instant rulings on commonly encountered knots such as "which vs. that." Bryan Garner's American usage rule book is an uncommon delight. It does its basic job with panache, but there's so much added linguistic pleasure between these covers. When you find yourself (as I did) reading random entries for their wit, precision, and style, you have a winner. A distinguished, modern addition to your "how should I properly put this?" reference shelf. Excellent casual reading material for the guest bathroom, too.

If you're ever afraid that you've mistaken "it's" and "its," or if the sight of everyone reading "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" makes you terrified to write a note, you'll want a copy of this book on your desk. Although a good usage manual depends on the reader having some sense of style (enough to look up uncertain techniques or phrases), too many treat you either like a child or an English teacher, scolding you or explaining their advice in impenetrable jargon. (Many such books don't seem to have taken their own advice about simplicity and clarity.) "The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage" is the exception, a book about language that's well-written and inviting, one that doesn't make you feel like you're back in your grandmother's parlor having every sentence corrected. As one of the other reviewers notes, the range of sources and examples is phenomenal--one way you can double-check your phrasing is to see if you'd want to sound like the writers in Garner's citations. But I'm even more impressed with the simple organization and headings. I sometimes have trouble finding advice in a writer's reference because I can't recall the technical term for what I'm trying to do, but entries in Garner's book are easy to find and richly cross-referenced. Most important, Garner's ear for English is impeccable, and you'll want it listening (as it were) over your shoulder. He acknowledges long-held rules but--where applicable--demonstrates their obsolescence; he also recognizes new usages and gives fair warning of the connotations you risk if you use them before they've become standard.

Concise, clear, well-developed, and engrossing entries show Bryan A. Garner employs the annotations he presents in The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style. Not only is this abridged version of Garner's Modern American Usage fun and interesting to read (and shorter than the original, obviously), it covers the fundamental (all 360 pages worth) details of American English that anyone truly serious about the language should pay attention to.

Garner writes in the preface, "Although there are good, clarifying forces at work on the language, there are also bad, obscuring forces. And these bad forces tend to work most perniciously on people who are heedless of their language. It's hard to know such a thing, but this segment of society may well be on the rise.
"This book could never reach those people."

This dictionary makes one aware of those bad, obscuring forces and their effects. But it also effectively explains those misconceptions, misused forms, mispronunciations, needless variants, useless words, and, in many cases, how the "mistakes" evolved. Garner also gives longer essay entries confronting usage and style questions based on topic rather than word.

The over 2,000 quotations from publications (usually newspapers and books), serving as both good and bad examples, paint the objects of Garner's entries into a vibrant mural embodying effective American English. This visualization, combined with Garner's strewn-about humor, takes dry topics and makes them flow more easily for the average reader.

I find myself constantly going back and looking up things in this dictionary, because while few are going to remember everything in it, there's at least the chance of remembering there is a question on the word or subject. If you want answers, keeping The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style handy will likely help you find what you're looking for. (And yes, "Perfectly natural-sounding sentences end with prepositions, particularly when a verb with a preposition-particle appears at the end.")

I have found this not only to be very useful, but also it is ver readable. This book consists of enteries of common style, grammar, and word choice mistakes. It's ver easy to find what you are looking for because the enteries are in alphabetical order.

The enteries are quite fascinating to read. For example, is "data" plural or singular? What's the difference between "flaunt" and "flout"? Can you end a sentence with a preposition? Is the plural for octopus "octopi" or "octopuses?" The list goes on and on. This book is not dry at all. If you have any interest in language and writing, this is a necessity to have.

Fowler's guide is too British. Merriam-Webster's guide is much too descriptive and seeks the low ground too often. Garner strikes just the right balance between descriptive (what most people actually say in common practice) and prescriptive (what good usage should be). The result is that his guidance is high toned without being stuffy. He also gives excellent counsel on proper pronunciation of words that confuse many. This is also fun to read!

Having a close family member recently diagnosed with Panic Anxiety Disorder, I found the book extremely useful in both understanding the illness and knowing how to support this person. The author provides easy-to-understand details about the illness and solid ways of supporting loved-ones. Now, I feel like I can talk to my family member and no longer have to side-step the discussion. A must-read for anyone who has loved ones with this condition.

Having personal experience with an anxiety disorder, I found Linda's book to have practical, reassuring information that I have been searching for for a long time. No one can really understand an anxiety disorder unless they have first-hand knowledge of it. The author speaks from her heart. Many of the mental-health professionals I have spoken to do not have this level of insight.

I'd heard about Linda's upcoming tips book on Panic and Anxiety Disorder, but wasn't really interested in reading it, mainly because it was a "tips" book; I've seen those booklets in the check-out line, and always considered them vague and rather gimmicky. So, when I first picked up "Panic and Anxiety Disorder, 121 Tips, Real-life Advice, Resources & More", not only was I surprised by its book-like appearance, I was also drawn to its calm, down-to-earth approach to self-help. Yes, there are numbered tips, but as I read, I realized this wasn't implicitly for someone coping with anxiety disorders; Linda has written to everybody. Her tips, while pinpointing individual aspects of anxiety, actually address the very simple, basic, moment-by-moment steps to follow in order to successfully survive just about any stressful inner conflict. From digging in the earth to truly relearning the art of breathing, Linda's guidance is straightforward and simultaneously profound. Not leaving any stone unturned, Linda has dedicated an entire chapter to folks who've found themselves in the challenging role of support, and included numerous sources of additional literature and information.

Linda Manassee Buell has written this book with the compassion and personal landscape of someone who's lived in the cave of fear, and who's triumphantly emerged into the sunshine.

'This is a little book.......filled with
amazing tips....in order to overcome anxiety
and panic attacks....I am majoring in Clinical
Psychology at the University.....and I am too
suffered from panic attacks since 17 years old..
so the advices she give us in her book....are so
simple and practical..coming from a wonderful
woman who also knows how to experiment a full
panic attack...I recommend this book to all
people who is feeling alone.......who feels that
nobody understands.......you will connect with
the compassive Linda...who shares with us....all
the tips available to handle this uneasy condition...
Buy this book....you will not regret.......the message
there is.....THAT YOU CAN LIVE A FULL LIFE EVEN
WITH THIS CONDITION...like everyone else!!!

This book is a valuable addition to the others on the subject. Written in a direct and compassionate voice, it provides great insight and assistance to anyone connected to this disorder. I myself do not suffer from it; however, I'm close to a number of people who do. This book is a tremendous help to those of us who must learn to cope with a loved one who has a panic/anxiety disorder. And it provides an excellent tool to begin safely discussing the topic with that loved one. Lastly, I've had the privilege to meet the author on a couple occasions and talk about the issue -- she is truly knowledgeable, sensitive, and passionate about it.

When you climb a mountain, your goal is clear. You can see the summit, you can picture yourself standing way up there on top--exhausted maybe, but exhilarated, proud and awestruck.

In business, the goal frequently isn't so clear. Owners, employees, bankers, advisers and investors can find themselves climbing toward what they assume is a business's summit... but instead end up scaling different peaks.

Now this insightful book by John McQuaig---CMC, CPA--entrepreneur, consultant, banker, organic farmer and veteran mountaineer----reveals secrets to building a successful business, secrets based on unique insights that came to the author while working his way upwards toward many of the world's loftiest natural summits.

Through hair-raising, inspirational, and sometimes humorous stories drawn from his own mountaineering adventures, John applies mountaineering principles to building a successful business or managing a successful department and staff. He explains, "I have come to appreciate the relevance of preparing for a major mountain climb to the preparations required to succeed in business. There are many parallels between climbing to the summit of both and tackling the peaks, chasms, glaciers and slippery slopes of figurative and literal mountaintops."

To get to the top in either field, you need that clear goal (envisioned summit) and a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis of your team members. And you need an experienced guide, too. Think Sir Edmund Hillary could have scaled Mount Everest without Tenzig Norgay? Unlikely.

Author John McQuaig has lived what he preaches, both on the world's highest peaks and as an entrepreneur since the day he began mowing lawns back in grade school. He followed that by starting and running a painting business as a high-schooler. At 23, he founded his own CPA and consulting firm, McQuaig & Welk, PLLC (www.mcqw.com), which still thrives.

"Owning a business has inherent dangers that most of the workforce prefers to avoid, but that just gets the adrenaline pumping in the true entrepreneur," he says.

The founder of North Cascades National Bank, a $300 million institution with more than 120 employees, and its Chairman of the Board, he's also an organic farmer who grows apples and nectarines on 25 acres in Washington state. This Certified Management Consultant also consults with companies on how to establish their "vision paths" and advance their strategic plans toward high peaks of achievement.

As for his actual mountaineering feats, John has made it to the summits of many mountains including Mount Rainier, Kala Pattar, Mount St. Helens, Orizaba and Kilimanjaro. Now his thoughts and lessons-learned during such formidable treks can be yours for the asking. Buy this book!

NOTE: This review also appears on my website www.thoughtleading.com

For anyone that has started a small business, a new venture or acted on a great idea knows that the process is an adventure. It can also be terrifying, humbling and risky. Thankfully we now have a book that helps us reconcile our desire for the adventure with the reality of the risk.

Parallel Peaks is a quick and entertaining read - perfect for that 2 1/2 hour plane ride. It's written in a clear, concise way that even an entrepreneur with little business savvy will be able to understand.

I have referred back to it many times during my first year in business and feel more educated and prepared with McQuaig's 8 keys to the summit. I highly recommend this book for anyone that is ready to start climbing toward their goal.

John McQuaig sat down for a well-deserved rest at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, "the roof of Africa," on the morning of January 31, 2005. After five days of climbing more than 19,000 feet, he had finally fulfilled one of his dreams. He celebrated his accomplishment with his fellow climbers, and then began to think about ... business. After all, running a business is a lot like climbing a mountain. McQuaig had found success in both venues. He could share his experience in both fields by outlining this analogy to others. Hence the inspiration for this book.

PARALLEL PEAKS is organized around eight keys, the common elements that McQuaig identifies as being crucial considerations for both endeavors. These include: creating a vision; doing a SWOT (strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats) analysis; assembling a supportive team; engaging the expertise of a knowledgeable guide; and making progress, one step at a time. Each chapter begins with inspirational quotes and b&w snow-capped photos, then launches into explanations and examples. The author could have taken a trite and flippant approach, using various metaphors and making endless analogies between launching a business and scaling a mountain. But thankfully, he doesn't choose that route. He bases his observations on his own solid achievements in various companies in the Northwest and in summiting various mountains around the world. To that advice he adds real-life examples as well as best practices and research done by other notable business authors (Jim Horan, Michael Gerber). The result is a volume that is slim but hardly superficial. Above all, the text is easy to read, and the process as a whole makes perfect sense.

PARALLEL PEAKS is highly recommended for anyone who has entrepreneurial or high altitude aspirations. Even a small-business owner, a middle manager, or someone embarking on a large project will find helpful and logical suggestions here. McQuaig makes it even easier by including several summary pages at the end, complete with simple questions to answer. The only ingredients missing are you and your dreams / goals.

Over the years I have probably read a couple of dozen "how to" management books by a wide range of authors, and thisis one of the best I have read.
Two reasons why it is good: first of all, it is short...which means it is not verbose, but in fact is quite tight and well edited (and well written). Second, it is based on the author's personal "been there, done that" experience. A lot better than some academic theorizing.

John D. McQuaig, business consultant and mountaineer, draws for the reader a set of parallels between his two pursuits. He tells us that all the vision, planning and focus that go into a successful climb are likewise the keys to building a successful business.

While there are many books on business ownership, I have never read one that so happily blended business with action and adventure. Parallel Peaks: Business Insights While Climbing the World's Highest Mountains is short (116 pages) and highly readable, and makes a good starting point for anyone planning a business venture--or wanting to reclaim the joy and enthusiasm of a pursuit gone stale.

McQuaig's eight keys to success are enumerated elsewhere so I won't list them here. All of them, however, are well within the control of a committed entrepreneur. Even his eighth key, luck, can be managed to a certain extent: prepare to capitalize on good luck and mitigate the bad effects when circumstances go awry.

The linkage between climbing and business came to McQuaig at the summit of Africa's Mt. Kilimanjaro. Throughout the book he entertains with stories from this and other climbs, and there are numerous highly apt examples and anecdotes. It may be "business lite," but on the other hand "fourteeners" (mountains exceeding 14,000 feet in elevation) are risky to life and limb, so a climber's technique has to be sound if he's going to come back to his desk and write about it.

John D McQuaig, like Douglas Adams, delightfully exploits "the fundamental interconnectedness of all things." (Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency)

Thanks to J. Kaye Oldner, on whose Book Blog I won this book. I recommend it to you as a quick and inspiring read.

Linda Bulger, 2008

Finally! A simple, informative perspective on the complex office dynamics that so many of us face. The scenarios are well laid out and the examples easy to relate to. While other discussions of office dynamics tend to over-analyze situations, this book provided me with a straightforward roadmap to recognize and deal with daily personnel issues.

In an easy-reading format the authors have pointed out many office situations that relate to family situations. They give practical and useful suggestions for handling these problems. Worthwhile reading for anyone who works in an office setting.

This book is a must for anyone who has to manage people in an office, organization, and even on a committee. It is easy and interesting reading and a MUST to understand why the people you manage behave as they do.

Many of the issues raised in the workplace are also common to family life, from the desire of the youngest to rival the oldest child to bullying and rivalry. Parenting The Office equates these lessons learned from children to business and family life alike, using case histories to discuss applications and clarify problems.

I thought the book was a very fun and informative read!! I thought the best thing about the book was that it gave a model to understand and apply real-life management techniques in my office. The book caused me to think about the myriad of situations that happen in my office and how I can handle them better. My wife read the book as well. She was fond of it as well.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who deals with people in a business situation!!

I received this book through Amazon way before my class started. I saved quite a few bucks and it came in mint condition.

My wife needed this book for an Astronomy class. She wanted a book with a two cds and not all marked up. I got it for a good price and it looks like a new book with no extra marks. I am very impressed with the quick delivery time, the ease of ordering and the condition of the book. I was also kept posted on the sent date and anticipated delivery date and it was accurate. This was very much appreciated, especially during the holiday season. Good Job!

This book is very thorough and not too grotesquely boring. Accounting textbooks can seem to drag on and on but the information in this book seems to all be relevant and pertinent. There are plenty of review questions and problems at the end of each chapter and the chapters do build on each other well, so the further into the book, the more questions from previous chapters. Some other nice things about this book are the continuation problems that utilize the posting of payroll accounts and ledger pages to further help the student grasp the content.
The CDs included are wonderfully useful, too. There doesn't seem to be a relevance issue with this text as I have experienced with textbooks in the past.

Good book, but the problems in the chapter reviews could be more discriptive as to what answer the want.

I have found this book to be very helpful in gaining a practical understanding in the workings of a Payroll function. This book has helped the entire department which has recently started performing the US payrolls for our organisation. I hope that a listing of courses that currently use this book as a recomemded text is included in its next edition.

Wally Bock's Performance Talk is a must-have for managers of all levels, in all industries. I currently am in management at one of the largest financial institutions in the world, and have truly valued Bock's down-to-earth, story telling approach to management. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about, as well as striving to improve, his/her own management style.

10 May 2006:

Performance Talk is, in my view, a minor masterpiece, maybe even
a future classic.

For years I trained supervisors and first line managers all over the USA. So, I know whereof I speak.

Wally Bock capture, engage, and reveal every possible point of friction a new manager faces.

He clarify the challenges all new managers endure.

He delineates principles, postures, and practices that yield more effective performance. Performance by the manager and performance
by subordinates.

Burt Dubin, president,
Personal Achievement Institute

____________________________________________________

Managing people is difficult. Through story dialogue Bock's book introduces the reader to topics which strengthen management skills. Key points are absorbed without having to take notes or study the material. Reminders and resources highlight concepts and are located throughout this concise book. For in depth study, workbooks and learning aids are conveniently available on the web site. Performance Talk supplements other courses on management and self-development with a painless and easy to read format.

I normally stay away from (a) books on leadership and (b) business books written in story form. But Wally is one of the smartest guys I know, and this little book is surprisingly entertaining and useful. Unlike other books on leadership which are ponderous and dull, this book is fun and motivating.

If you are in the business of managing people then this book is a must read. "Performance Talk" is easy reading, a little over a 100 pages, and a book you will not want to put down. This book needs to be in every Manager's tool box and should be required reading for ALL Supervisors regardless of the industry or profession they work in. "This stuff really works!"

Chelsea Hall
October 13, 2005


This year I read The Pit and the Pendulum, by Edgar Allen Poe. It's about a guy who is captured and tortured by a pendulum, but shortly after is thrown into an abyss. My favorite artist, Griss Grimly makes drawings from Poe's stories. So since I love Griss so much I decided to check Poe out. I'd recommend this story to any one who likes Griss Grimly's art who is over the age of thirteen. If you don't like guar, crazy, magical, scary, mystery books you wouldn't like this story, but if you do like everything I said you like this book.
This book was wonderful because of all the torture. The guy in this book was hearing people that really weren't there. For example he said "I saw the lips of the black robed judges. They appeared white whiter then this sheet upon which I write these words and thin even grotesquely. Also another scary moment in this story is when the pendulum gets closer and closer to his rob, it was very suspenseful. It said "down steadily down it crept. Down certainly, relentlessly down". The only thing wrong was it was a little hard to understand. Like "it enveloped my limbs and body close in all directions, save in the path of the destroying crescent".
My over all opinion was a wonderful experience. It was fun and not boring, unlike all the other books I've read. Anyone looking for horror stories, which love terror scary and fun you will like this book.

Edgar Allen Poe (1809-49) is one of the most famous of American authors of mysterious and macabre stories, certainly the most famous 19th century one. The Pit and the Pendulum was first published in 1843, and is one of his best known works. The early part of the story has a diffuse, dreamlike quality, but before you know it, the story quickens and sharpens as it descends into hair-raising horror. The hero must strain and struggle to stay alive, but will the Inquisition let him live, can nothing save him?

OK, it sure is easy to see why this story is recognized as a classic work of American literature! It is scary, in the older way, without recourse to blood and severed limbs, and keeps you glued to your chair reading it. I am now quite sorry that it took me so long to get around to reading this story, it's great, and I highly recommend it.

SPOILER BELOW:

By the way, is it true that this story is a Christian allegory? It is inevitable that, regardless of what the hero does, he will end up in the pit (Hell). When he avoids it early on, you see the figure of time with its pendulum slowly moving towards taking his life away, and afterward the pit is still inevitable. And then, when all hope is lost, and his efforts won't save him, it is the hand of God that reaches out to save him. Read this story and decide for yourself!

I think that this was a very exciting book. It's one of those books where you need to keep reading to find out what happns next and it's like you can't stop. The narrator is stuck in the Spanish inquisition and he discovers a pit--no one knows whats down there, but you can guess by context clues. Then he awakens to a pendulum swinging over him, that comes down so slow. Will he be cunning enough to escape? Read and find out!

I really enjoy very much Poe's short stories, mainly those where he gives us only a glimpse in some part of his main character's life.

"The pit and the pendulum" has almost no begginig and no end. It's the story of a man condemned to death by the Inquisiton. This death is not a simple one, since he is thrown in a dungeon with no light and lots of dangers.

This short story is full of anguish and told in an almost hysterical way. The reader discovers the horrors of the dungeon together with the main character. We don't know his name, we don't know what he did to be condemned, we don't know where he came from, we don't know nothing at all about him. And yet we keep turning the pages to see whet's going to happen next.

Poe had a dark style of writing; he could toy with his reader's minds as well as with his character's minds, and that's what makes him a master of romantic-gothic storytelling.

Read with the lights on.

Grade 9.6/10

I thought this short story was very good! It is about a man(with an unknown name) that is sent to the spanish inquisistion and is stuck there for many nights. One night he later awakes and is awoken by a swinging pendulum coming down to slice him. The only way out is through a never ending pit or to be killed by a spiked pendulum...which way will he choose...read it and you will find out!