Moore Books

This is a great book and goes right along with the Four Blocks Literacy Program. It really explains how to implement the program in a sequential manner. After teaching Four Blocks this year I am excited to read this book. It really makes sense and I know will be a big help next year.

What a great idea: to write the story of one imaginary class as it moves from grades K through 5 encountering different (but always reflective and hard working) teachers. It's a practical look at powerful literacy instruction in action. The teachers' "monthly logs" give the reader a peek inside their heads as they plan and evaluate their programs. This is a good read for brand new teachers (they will surely identify with "Miss Nouveau" in second grade!) and all those who strive to improve their instructional practice.

What better to start with than the title of this book? Teaching From the Heart is the object of educators in the world, not only to teach what is in the text book but to teach with certain conviction of unique and genuine love for the student and the subject at hand. This, as you can tell, is not just for the "Christian" educator but for all those that teach in whatever capacity that you may do so.

I drew the most from the chapter about the Gestalt method. We are often bound to think that "a chain is only as strong as its weakest link". Well this is not the proper way of thinking! We should be proclaiming that a chain is only as strong as the whole chain is together, for what good is a chain if all the links are not together working for a common purpose? The Gestalt method is the "pattern of that forms the unity from the parts." As a classroom hold many unique individuals (if that isn't redundant!), so does this hold the true learning of the classroom...with individual needs and ways of learning and teaching and bringing the class together.

This is a great book for the educator, pastor, lay person or ANYONE!

Teaching from the Heart by Mary Elizabeth Moore

Moore's book speaks to the heart, offering the piece that seems to be missing, particularly in Christian Education but perhaps from education in general. As with the work of Parker Palmer, Moore proposes that for true education and understanding to take place, the teaching and the "knowing" must come from the heart as well as the mind. Recognizing that real knowledge is more than just mind knowledge is vital.
In her own words, Moore works to build "a bridge" between theology and educational theory. She argues seriously and effectively that theology and education must work in relationship to each other.
Moore presents five accepted educational methods (case study, Gestalt, phenomenological, narrative and conscientizing) and looks at each of them in light of process theology. She competently discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each, offering practical ideas as to how each of these might be re-thought AND used in ways that allow for "teaching from the heart" and for standing in relationship WITH theology.
Wonderfully thorough and yet readable for the "average" educator, this book is highly recommended, a must read for any Christian Educator, if not all educators.

This booklet seems to have some really good, well-thought out steps to teaching your cat to perform useful behaviors on command. It has been very helpful as a supplement to clicker-training books for that very reason. When I couldn't come up with steps towards a desired behavior, this book supplied them.

This book came in perfect condition very quickly. I've already started to teach my cats how to "sit". Thanks!

the book was just what i needed and came just when i needed it, i wouldn't have made it through class without it

A great book! It is written at the 1st year graduate student level. The authors think you are smart, are willing to work to understand, but feel they need to cover it all from ground zero. A great proposition if that is your state. Heavily diagrammed but unafraid to get down to some of the (simple) physics. (What really moves those plates anyway?) Just scanning and focusing down on what interests will teach you something new every time. The result is giving you a new set of eyes. Nevada (the great basin) never looked so interesting.

I believe that this is a great book for those who want to learn about the private and public life of Senator Ted Kennedy. The book explores why he was able to get where he is today and why he did not go any further. I believe that because of the facts that are presented in the book it gives a clear picture why Ted did not get the Presidential Nomination by the Democrats in 1980. This book does not just state facts about the man it also gives us a picture of his character and dignity.
In this book the author likes to give matter of fact statements and then elaborate on them with his own opinion. Since this book gives opinions that come from author, I believe that it makes the biography more interesting. This book is written in third person, since the author did not know Ted Kennedy on a personal level. Also the author sometimes says what some of the other Kennedy's are thinking which I believe is very effective to help the flow of the novel.
In addition, I believe that the author is trying to get us to be able to understand Ted and his family history better. I also think that he wants us to be able to come up with our own ideas of why things happened in Ted Kennedy's life that led to either positive or negative effects on his political career. Another effective tool that the author uses is that he never really allows for politics to come into the way he writes his opinions. This book is a good book for those who want to learn more about the legacy of Ted Kennedy.

I believe that this is a great book for those who want to learn about the private and public life of Senator Ted Kennedy. The book explores why he was able to get where he is today and why he did not go any further. I believe that because of the facts that are presented in the book it gives a clear picture why Ted did not get the Presidential Nomination by the Democrats in 1980. This book does not just state facts about the man it also gives us a picture of his character and dignity.
In this book the author likes to give matter of fact statements and then elaborate on them with his own opinion. Since this book gives opinions that come from author, I believe that it makes the biography more interesting. This book is written in third person, since the author did not know Ted Kennedy on a personal level. Also the author sometimes says what some of the other Kennedy's are thinking which I believe is very effective to help the flow of the novel.
In addition, I believe that the author is trying to get us to be able to understand Ted and his family history better. I also think that he wants us to be able to come up with our own ideas of why things happened in Ted Kennedy's life that led to either positive or negative effects on his political career. Another effective tool that the author uses is that he never really allows for politics to come into the way he writes his opinions. This book is a good book for those who want to learn more about the legacy of Ted Kennedy.

During the Great Depression, FDR and the Works Project Administration provided employment for artists by having them decorate public spaces in big cities and small towns. The "Texas Post Office Murals" project brought art to people who otherwise would never have seen it. The project also provided work and income to artists who otherwise would have been idle. This book is an interesting look at an interesting project.

You know the old saying, "One Man's Meat Is Another Man's Poison." Well, one man's art, in the case of surrealism, abstractionism, and a number of other forms, may be another man's anathema. However, it's a good bet to say that this collection of post office murals found in Texas holds every man's art.

These murals began during FDR's New Deal program that mandated a public relief program to provide jobs for unemployed artists. These artists were hired to create and paint murals in federal buildings throughout our country. This mandate was two fold - to provide the artist's with an income and to provide Depression weary Americans with objects offering hope and inspiration.

In this collection by Philip Parisi one finds 100 full-color paintings discovered in 69 Texas post offices. Subjects of the paintings are varied, ranging from Sam Houston to Quanah Parker, from cowboys to Longhorns, from pioneers to industry. Artist represented included such well known names as Tom Lea, Jerry Bywaters and Alexandre Hogue.

More than works of art these murals represent our history.

- Gail Cooke

Growing up, I always heeded the advice of my father's mentor, duck hunting and flounder fishing guru Mike Sebastian. After absorbing Chester Moore's advice, I abandoned Sebastian's principals. My hunting life has never been the same - improved exponentially. Buy Chester Moore's work - not just the waterfowl, but all of it. It will make you a better outdoorsman.

This is a very informative book that details all of the basics of waterfowl hunting. It goes into exhaustive detail to give information on how and where to hunt on public lands in Texas, including how to apply for permits on some areas. The best part of the book however is the conservation aspect which deals with a detailed plan the author suggests to get duck numbers even higher than they are now. I for one did not know the conservation reserve program meant so much to duck populations but this book explains that as well as dealing with controversies like predator control, prairie problems in Canada and even rice trade to Cuba. This book is an easy read with fun anecdotes but gives you enough data to make valid arguments for increased waterfowl conservation. I reccommend it highly.

The theological science fiction novel Things Unseen by Don Moore is quite an extraordinary read. The novel kept me guessing the whole time, and it was one of those few books that I could hardly put down. Perhaps my favorite aspect of the book is how it deals with the lives of ordinary people. Most apocalyptic stories tell of presidents, dictators, the U.N. etc. In Things Unseen, you can relate to the everday men and women trying to survive and cope when history's climactic events unfold around them. This book is very well written and has the capability of keeping your attention. I highly recommend it!~

Most apocalyptic novels that deal with the end times, the Second Coming, or Armageddon are told through the activities of stereotypical characters who are better described as symbols of good or evil than as living, breathing human beings.

In Don Moore's Things Unseen, however, most of the "bad guys" are really more misled and confused than flat out evil. Even the protagonist is losing his faith--that is, his faith in the skeptical point of view.

This is a book about real people, struggling to survive in a strange, violent world, not the usual abstract good and evil, black and white robots usually found in this genre.

The late Adrienne Bond was a champion of poetry, particularly Southern poetry. Her own poems show why the poetry from her native region continues to be a vital part of our national literary heritage. Bond brings to her own sense of place all the love, passion, and verbal music that she can muster, giving us lyrical passage into the inescapable subjects of memory, time, and mortality. There is no heaviness in these poems, though, no brooding nostalgia; Adrienne Bond has a sense of humor: whether writing about a huge holiday meal (complete with item after delectable item on the table) or a poetry workshop infiltrated by one rebellious Agnes who keeps insisting on bringing roses into the author's poem, she charms us with her eye for the humorous, yet compassionate. detail. Her poems live in my mind, in my ear, on my tongue. What more could one ask of a book of poems?

"Time was, she declares" and "hard Times" are two of the best poems to come out of the south in years. The poems in this collection are quite diverse in style and content but all capture "the original of it, the real immediate thing." As Judson Mitcham writes in the preface: "her voices are authentic, her characters convincing, her landscapes vividly realized..."

This is a well-researched book that gives a glimpse into the world of modern Russia. Told as a series of letters, emails and other documents, the book recounts the story of a family's struggle to adapt to a modern way of life in an vastly-changing environment.
A must-read for any student of modern day Russia. I found it particularly interesting as I am an American of Russian heritage. The book made me want to visit and look for my roots.

In late 1991, the USSR is falling apart, Gorbachev and perestroika is on the way out and Yeltsin is coming to power. These are tough times in Russia, inflation is rampant, consumer goods are in short supply, but there are economic opportunities for the people with the means and imagination. Boris Titov meets an old classmate of his, Grigory Albat. Albat, the owner of a bank in Kazan, has started a joint stock company. This company leases three ships that ship Larch lumber to Finland and return goods that are needed in Russia. Grigory hires Boris to help him run the company. This is the beginning of years of development, avoiding thiefs-in-law, unscrupulous Russian officials, moving accounts to Barbados and Florida, in order to keep their property and their rapidly growing profits. Much intrigue follows including assault and enslavement and Russian prostitution.

All of this is told through a series of letters and e-mails between members of the Titov family, G. Albat and other principals of the story. A sub-plot concerns Nina Titova, her boyfriend Vitaly, his close friend Stas, and Nina's close friend Olga. The reader follows the young people through their school years, marriage, and into the work world. Through the letters between members of the Titov family and friends that the reader becomes very attached to the characters.

As the story draws to a close, this reader could not turn the pages fast enough, wanting to know how the story ends. This is an unfamiliar format, but held the reader's interest and is easy to read.

Donald Purcell