Bates Books

I thoroughly enjoyed this book in which Jillanne, a beauty-queen/news reporter teams up with handsome "tracker" Clay to find a missing child in the Arizona desert, testing their faith and survival skills in the process.
Suspenseful, with a touch of Kerry's special humor. Great book!

This is my first Kerry Blair experience, and I loved every minute of it. I love the fast paced nature of the book, and the wonderful sense of humor that makes it such a pleasant read! Great for teens on up.

Another good book by Kerry Blair. The story keeps your interest, the characters are great, and the beauty tips add a different angle to the book. I just know that if I pick up a book by Kerry, I'll like it.

You know how some books go beyond interesting to become real charmers? Well, here's one! Buy several: Add one to the gift certificate you give to a great teacher at the end of the year, give one to the college student you know who is dithering over courses and majors, or just take one with on an afternoon at the beach.

In his little volume (6 x 4.5 inches, and 80 pages), Graber tackles a big question: Why do we treasure knowledge for its own sake? He starts, tongue in cheek, by defining liberal arts as "essentially those areas of knowledge in which practical-minded parents hope their children will not major." From this light beginning, Graber takes us on a historical journey to understand why we place such a high value on learning. We visit John Henry Cardinal Newman, who tells us that knowledge is "not only an instrument, but an end." In stark contrast, we encounter the eclectic and disagreeable Thorstein Veblen, who argued that "useless knowledge" was a form of "conspicuous consumption" (a phrase he coined) whose only value was to display the wealth required to waste such amounts of time.

Taking us even further back, all the way to ancient Greece, Graber tells us of the very, very serious conceptual split of "mind" and "matter", and why this understanding is of profound importance in understanding such issues as the persistence of slavery, the nature of the charges against Galileo, and the importance of the human hand in the reactions to Darwin.

Graber concludes with a view of how modern science re-integrates mind and matter, and establishes learning for its own sake as firmly in the realm of the most human of undertakings.

Enjoy this little treasure!

What do Aristotle, Charles Darwin, opposable thumbs, and sacred cows have in common? They each appear as important elements in Professor Graber's delightful and engaging essay on why liberal education solidly retains its mystique and value into the present era. By keeping the prose lively and brief, Graber has produced what may be the most approachable book on the topic. In fewer than eighty pages, this book provides a thorough introduction to the basic shape of the centuries-long debate regarding the relative value of humanistic education and places the question in the larger context of evolutionary anthropology.

The argument that ultimately emerges is appealingly simple, and goes well beyond the oft-repeated cliché that the value of a liberal arts education is that it teaches students to think clearly and independently. In fact, the book begins with a general admission that "it is difficult to see any way in which the study of logic or mathematics would be superior to that of electrical wiring or television repair." What parent does not inwardly groan (at some level, admit it) when their son or daughter declares a major in Art History or some such "humanity"? Graber finds the ultimate value in "useless knowledge" precisely in its definition as useless, and hence set apart for protection from our ancient evolutionary impulses to select and reproduce only that knowledge which has obvious, immediate, and practical application.

Whether or not Graber's readers come away agreeing with the thesis, Valuing Useless Knowledge is a gem of practicality. It should be required reading for students, faculty, and parents involved in any way with institutions of liberal learning. The argument is never heavy-handed and always stimulating. As Freshman Week begins to introduce students to the array of expectations and complexities in college life, a reading and discussion of this book might provide the best orientation of all: a common starting point on which to begin a rigorous reflection on all human endeavors, sacred and profane.

On a personal note, I first encountered this book while studying the liberal arts as an undergraduate. I recently reapproached it as I have been considering a return to the university for graduate study in law and social work. Each reading triggered a different but significant response, and revealed for me a lasting relevance in this compact book.

This book begins with a provacative thought: "The liberal arts may be defined -- impishly, but accurately nonetheless -- as essentially those areas of knowledge in which practical-minded parents hope their children will not major. 'But what are you going to do," they cry, "with a major in ______?'"In this well reasoned, eighty page treatise, Graber sets forth an argument for valuing a Liberal Arts and Sciences education in a material world of "get it all, get it now." For those who have read the Carnegie Foundation's Boyer Report you'll nod your head as Graber takes you to the importance of an education based on a broad appreciation of many disciplines and the ability to create, reason and communicate. He concludes that it is acqusition of the "tools" and their use more than the ever changing facts and knowledge that builds a strong foundation for life and work. This book made a significant impression on my son as he opted for a smaller, lessor known college focused on quality undergraduate education in the arts and sciences (Truman State University) rather than a half-dozen larger, comprehensive universities with huge reputations, impressive athletic teams, but invisible faculty and undergraduate indifference.

2007 Update - The premise of the book is supported by a recent poll conducted by the Association of American Colleges and Universities. 305 business executives and 510 recent graduates were surveyed. The San Antonio Express-News summarized the findings, including: "What employers want from college graduates... is the ability to work in teams, write and communicate, think on the spot and solve real-world puzzles. ...every student should get a liberal education - one that fosters a broad worldview and teaches critical thinking skills that cut across disciplines."

A Rare book of acting in white satin
Acting that never reach the end.
Book that will tell you Where others try to tell you but they cannot defend...
But this book makes you feel that what you want to be , you'll be in the end...
feel acting , dream acting, taste acting & smell acting
The real passion ....
Very deep & dream,

This is a valuable book for all the interviews and observations made by people who have worked and are working in the theatre. Their perspectives on the meaning and significance of acting as well as insights into their methodology are challenging and enlightening. Although not a "how to" book, the applications to one's art as well as "craft" are there for those who are already immersed in the theatrical process and open to "new" perspectives or even validation of one's existing views. For those not working in the theatre but fulfilling the necessary role of audience, and thus co-creators of the theatrical moment, the author gives a valuable insight into exactly what is happening in that space of time.

Dr. Bates paints a fascinating picture of actors as modern day shamans, and interviewed many actors, including Sir Lawrence Olivier, in the process. This is a must read for all serious actors, and for anyone interested in shamanic practices, it will also be very interesting.

Read it slowly. Re-read it. Wendell Berry is a national treasure and should be honored as such.

Just holding this book makes me feel good. It is a new edition of early Wendell Berry poems beautifully presented with a foreword full of praise and appreciation. "...the author is throwing the dice, the stakes are high: his long wrists are loose, he's on a roll".

Verse 15

" The sycamore gathers
out of the sky, white
in the glance that looks up to it
through the black crisscross
of the window. But it is not a glance
that it offers itself to.
It is no lightning stroke
caught in the eye. It stays,
an old holding in place.
And its white is not so pure
as a glance would have it,
but emerges partially,
the tree's renewal of itself,
among the mottled browns
and olives of the old bark.
Its dazzling comes into the sun
a little at a time
as though a god in it
is slowly revealing himself.
How often the man of the window
has studied its motley trunk,
the out-starting of its branches,
its smooth crotches,
its revelations of whiteness,
hoping to see beyond his glances,
the distorting geometry
of preconceptions and habit,
to know it beyond words.
All he has learned of it
does not add up to it.
There is a bird who nests in it
in the summer and seems to sing of it-
the quick lights among its leaves
-better than he can.
It is not by him imagining
its whiteness comes.
The world is greater than its words.
To speak of it the mind must bend.

Connected. Perhaps that is the operative descriptor of American poet Wendell Berry. Now in his 70s Berry's influence on contemporary poetry is not unlike that of William Carlos Williams or Robert Frost, among others of an earlier time, who found beauty in the quiet of nature and the honesty of tilling the land. This collection WINDOW POEMS dates back to the fifties and sixties when Berry lived in minimalist cabin on the Kentucky River, a cabin later transformed into a 'house', the feature of which was a large, paned window through which Berry gazed, pondered and wrote these 27 interconnected poems. They are simple observations with profound meanings and readily identify Berry's concerns with agrarian values, connection to nature and man's place in that order, a work ethic and commitment to fidelity that enhances our joy of the earth's bounty, a bounty that most assuredly includes the mystery of approaching and receding seasons, along with his disdain for environmental abuse, violence (both against fellow man and against nature), and ignorance of the secrets of the universal order.

This book is a work of art, in content to be sure, but also in design and presentation. The highly regarded poet James Baker Hall has provided a Foreword titled 'Wendell's Window & The Wind's Eye', and in this simple yet eloquent essay Hall describes Berry's history and the significance of this particular collection of poems. Enhancing the beauty of the book are wood engravings by Wesley Bates whose craftsmanship captures the natural wonders of Berry's poems.

But in the end it is the transcendent splendor of these poems that takes the readers breath, holds it for a moment and then allows it to form a sigh of appreciation. 'In the Heron's eye/ is one of the dies of change./ Another/ is in the sun./ Each thing is carried/ beyond itself./ The man of the window/ lives at the edge,/ knowing the approach/ of what must be, joy/ and dread.' And the last fragment '..The window has an edge/ that is celestial,/ where the eyes are surpassed.' This volume, so perfectly designed, contains many moments for the reader's keeping. Welcome to Wendell Berry. Grady Harp, November 07

Samuel Johnson is arguably the greatest prose stylist the English language has produced, and contained within the two hundred or so Rambler essays written by Johnson (a few of the essays were written by others by invitation from Johnson) are perhaps Johnson's greatest work. Not every essay is a classic, but many of them are and bear reading and rereading.

Samuel Johnson was a brilliant but undisciplined scholar. Although he was prolific as a writer, this was due more to how effortless it was for him rather than to a well-regimented schedule. One of the reasons he undertook the projects of writing these essays--which were published every few days in pamphlet form--was to force him to concentrate on writing down his ideas on morals, art, literature, or whatever struck him at the time. Even so, he was frequently employed in writing even at the last minute. We are told that some of the essays were still in the process of being written even as they were being set at the printer; a printer's devil would sprint from Johnson's rooms to the press with each page. What is astonishing is how perfect the essays are in their raw form. Johnson surely was the greatest first-draft writer in the history of the language. All of his contemporaries attest to the fact that he spoke precisely as he wrote.

Even if Johnson had been given the opportunity to edit and improve his writing, what would that have accomplished? How can one improve on a passage like this?

"A frequent and attentive prospect of that moment, which must put a period to all our schemes, and deprive us of all our acquisitions, is, indeed, of the utmost efficacy to the just and rational regulation of our lives; nor would ever any thing wicked, or often any thing absurd, be undertaken or prosecuted by him who should begin every day with a serious reflection, that he is born to die." (Rambler 17)

There is unfortunately no good one-volume edition of the Rambler essays. The Bate anthology regretfully neglects the moral essays for those more aesthetic and literary in nature, which is tragic because Johnson is a religious moralist as much as he is a literary critic, and even the critical side cannot be understood without an appreciation of Johnson's religious and moral convictions and sensibilities. As a side note, I could add that this is typical of Bate, and is especially in evidence in his otherwise marvelous biography of Johnson, where he tends to treat Johnson's very powerful religious beliefs as an odd sort of psychological aberration.

It is impossible to recommend a purchase this expensive for the casual reader, but as owner of the three-volume set, I can attest that any lover of Johnson will find him or herself going to these volumes and especially particular essays, again and again and again.

Samuel Johnson's essays contain more wisdom per square inch than any other writer I've encountered. Like any period, the eighteenth century had its flaws, but Johnson's prose rises above all of them. His respect for common sense and his deep faith keep him safe from the delusions of perfectability that infected many of his contemporaries.

Samuel Johnson wrote in many genres, and the essay is one for which he is well-known. Of the three series of his essays, the Rambler is usaully hailed as being his best. This is the only complete edition in print.

Johnson was a great critic, a moralist, and a sharp observer of human behavior. The Rambler essays cover all three aspects of his opinions.

In literary criticism, we have discussions of pastoral poetry, of Milton's blank verse (long before his biography of Milton in "The Lives of the Poets"), and a stunning essay on the superiority of biography as a literary form.

We have his moralist perspective, and his human observations, combined in essays on the foolishness of telling secrets, procrastination, self-consciousness, anger, regret, perseverance, etc.

Admittedly, Johnson's syntax can be difficult, and occasionally he will send you to your dictionary. But your efforts will be rewarded, because Johnson's views are written from the perspective of someone who is all too familiar with his own flaws, and knows the difference between the ideals he proposes and our/his own performance in attempting to achieve those goals.

I picked up this book because I was tired of never knowing for sure what the rules are when it comes to writing and grammer. I was surprised at how easy a read this book was. Mr. Bates has a true knack (or skill) of making a somewhat boring subject quite interesting indeed. The more I read, the more I wished I could just sit down and talk to this man in person. A very interesting read by a very interesting author. If you are a new writer looking for some guidence, or an old hack who has forgotten some of the basics, then this is a great place to start.

Although english is a second language for me, I was looking for a book to improve my writing. I found that in this book and more: tips to be understood, to communicate effectively and to write with correct grammar. This author, a man with years of experience, has written a great book to enjoy and learn.

Excellent writing guide for the professional who is not necessarily a professional writer, but must write on the job frequently to occasionally. The material, which could have been a little dry and boring, is kept lively by the author's personal anecdotes and witty asides. This writing guide is more complicated than Strunk and White's "Elements of Style", and I don't recommend it for the beginner. Consider adding "Writing with Precision" as the next level of enhancement after reading "Elements of Style" and William Zinsser's "On Writing Well".

This book is a really spectacular take on the ABC's format! The illustrations are just beautiful, and hook adults and children immediately with their vibrant colors and intersting details.

More importantly, the text of this book is superior - the author somehow manages to combine wonderfully flowing rhymes with new and interesting vocabulary to teach the basics of the alphabet. My son and I particularly enjoyed being able to use the helpful glossary to learn the meanings and pronunciations of some of the more unusual words. We also love reading this book year-round: in the summer in makes us look forward to trips to the beach and lake, and in the winter, it gives us a sunny break from dreary days.

Overall, this is truly one of the best books in this genre I've ever seen as a parent, and one of my son's absolute favorites.

We highly recommend it to any parent, and particulary think it would be a great book to read to multiple children of various ages - there is a something of interest for everyone, no matter their reading level.

ABC's of the Sea is not a run-of-the-mill picture book. It works on many levels and for multiple age groups.

Each page features a letter of the alphabet along with an appropriate sea creature or sea subject. For example: "Ff is for fish."

Nothing different here, is there?

Well, yes, there is. One page starts with the featured letter and the next page begins with a beginning word. "Gull begins with Gg." The pages alternate that way throughout the book.

Along the bottoms of the pages are sentences like: "Fantastic fish float with fins" or "Sea gulls glide in gusty gales."

These sentences, as with all the others, allow an older child to read to a younger one, allow any child to build his vocabulary, and keep this book from getting stale.

The alphabetic glossary in the back contains the pronunciation of selected words and their definitions.

Another feature is the page borders. Pictures surround the pages with sea horses, turtles, life preservers, canoes, and lobsters, to name a few. If you'd like, you can use the edge pictures to count. You can count total items in some pictures or pick out items that are the same or different.

The other thing I noticed is that each page has some action. Dolphins play with balls and rings, gulls fly in the sky, a ship heads for harbor in a stormy sea. The pictures aren't static.

As I've said, this book works on many levels and is one your child won't outgrow too soon.

Walter Jackson Bate shows in this work a deep understanding and appreciation of both the life and the work of Samuel Johnson. Though on the biographical side the work is prelude to the great biography of Johnson by Bate which will appear twenty years later, in evaluating the work itself this book is supreme. I especially appreciated Bate's long last chapter on Johnson as critic in which he outlines fully Johnson's understanding of the meaning and function of Literature.
Bate in this shows how Johnson takes the neo-classical conception of rules and decorum and expands it so as to include within the realm of the highest literature, the work of Shakespeare. Bate focuses on the tremendous love of variety and multitudiousness which Johnson was moved by. He sees Johnson as one who though in some ways paradoxical in his relation to Literature nonetheless always affirmed that the worst thing a book could be is ' tedious' . Bate shows how Johnson in writing ' Lives of the Poets' could not confine himself to the biographical only and read the Literature deep into the Life.
Bate writes that for Johnson the principal function of literature is to 'instruct by pleasing'. The growth in awareness, the process of enlightentment, is not apart from the process of 'pleasing' but rather by reason of it. So the generality that we want in literature- any meaning, order, or point-is not apart from the details that appeal to both 'familiarity' and 'novelty' but rather a deepening and clarification that proceeds by both of them'.

.
Walter Jackson Bate is famous for his biography of Johnson, but 20 years earlier he wrote this gem, which collects the major themes in Johnson's essays, and ties together the points Johnson made on them. It is not a quotation collection, it is Bate's analysis of the themes. There is a biographical chapter, but then about 150 pages of analysis. Those chapters are called:

1. The hunger of imagination
2. The treachery of the human heart and the strategems of defense
3. The stability of truth
4. Johnson as a critic: the form and function of literature

This is a great companion volume for readers of Johnson's essays and criticism.

This picture book is nicely illustrated and has a nice message for children. (Nice messages in picture books seem harder to find these days.) It is a story of a young elephant who wants to pick leaves for breakfast all by herself. The message to children is that it is good to try new things and be a little independent. However, while they are young they can still use a little help from their parents. A parents help in conjunction with a child's determination makes for a good combination.

This picture book is nicely illustrated and has a nice message for children. (Nice messages in picture books seem harder to find these days.) It is a story of a young elephant who wants to pick leaves for breakfast all by herself. The message to children is that it is good to try new things and be a little independent. However, while they are young they can still use a little help from their parents. A parents help in conjunction with a child's determination makes for a good combination.

This was a great read one of the best in long time. This new Author I think we better watch out for, cause I see alot of great stories to come if anything like this one.

Intense, unpredictable, and instantly engaging...
Recounted in visceral, kinetic prose, and crafted with a forthrightness that rejects piety, cynicism, and self-pity, it brings us face-to-face with a provocative new understanding of the nature of love, sex, betrayal, and the great unknown.
an uncommonly genuine account of a life destroyed and a life reconstructed. It is also the introduction of a bold and talented literary voice.

Starkly honest and mincing no words,

Our acerbic narrator conveys urgency and youthful spirit with an angry, clinical tone and some initially off-putting prose tics--irregular paragraph breaks, unpunctuated dialogue, scattered capitalization, few commas--that ultimately create striking accruals of verisimilitude and plausible human portraits. Startling, at times pretentious in its self-regard, but ultimately breathtaking.