Reed Books

I don't write many reviews anymore; it seems a tedious, unrewarding exercise. But this book is so beautifully written and so inspirational to the reader, that I just had to write this review. Don't miss the deep pleasure of reading this book. It is a treasure. Most writers would give an essential body part to be able to write this well. I also want to record my deep thanks to the author for the experience of perusing his work.

By the bottom of the first page, I was clearly on for the ride of "If Men Were Angels." I believe Karaim has achieved something truly important: a near-thriller, highly plausible, which makes us readers question our own ethical hierarchies. I also admire this writer's capacity for both indelible images and that "sense of a room" which I recognized repeatedly but could not have put into words myself.

This is an especially instructive book as we head into another major election. Reed Karaim, who has done his time as a journalist on the presidential campaign trail, takes a step back from the action here and offers a literate, important novel that is far greater than the sum of the daily, discordant parts that go into a campaign. This is the world of sound bites, wire dispatches, canned stump speeches and cynical journalists, elevated to the emotional and intellectual level of Greek tragedy. Cliff O'Connell, the reporter-narrator, pursues a potentially career making story, but one that could destroy a worthy candidate and a worthy man. It's a fascinating exploration of ambition, truth, and ethics in the maelstrom, but the real appeal is in Karaim's deft prose. When the idiocies of the daily campaign and its coverage start to get you down, pick up this volume to remember why the process is a noble one, after all.

Did George W. Bush do cocaine? Whether you care or not, a presidential campaign once again is becoming a frenzy of speculation and possible scandal over something that may have happened decades earlier in a candidate's personal life. Decisions are made about how much to tell, how much to reveal, how much to hold back. By the candidates, by the reporters who cover them. Their lives can be changed by what they choose, and the nation's life can be affected as well. Want to know what it feels like inside? Read Reed Karaim's book. A compelling and often suspenseful tale, it takes you inside a fictional campaign to watch how these characters of politics and the press dance with one another and around one another and how their histories and values guide their decisions about truth and deceit. One revelation of my own: I am a friend of Karaim's. I am also a political writer, and I know a terrific book when I see one.

I highly recommend Reed Karaim's suspenseful, complex first novel. While on the most basic level it presents itself as a political thriller, it also offers the careful reader a myriad of subtle riches. Karaim has a poet's ear for language (the audio cassette must be a delight), and a keen eye for pop culture in today's America. His experience in the 1992 presidential campaign helps render the all-too-believable clash between a reporter's implacable search for facts and an ambitious Senator's spin machine. With his easy command of small, yet startling insights that suggest Updike, Karaim has fashioned a densely populated story set on the grand stage that is America. Like a Montana landscape in winter, it gives us the terrible beauty of truth -- and its consequences. It's a winner.

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Ever since I saw the movie "It's a wonderful life" 9 years ago, I have been captivated by this truly amazing woman! Since then I have purchase many items about Donna Reed Mullenger, her biography (In seach of Donna Reed, which was truly a work of art, and I sure can relate to the feeling Mr.Fultz has for her!) also many movies staring this wonderful creature. I only wish I would have known her personnally...
Anyway, I sure would like to see more DVD movies available to the public, staring the beautiful Miss Reed.

Not a typical Hollywood "tell all", this book is really geared towards fans of Donna Reed. Though very informational, the writing lacks professional polish that perhaps a more experienced biographer would've been able to use to spark it up a little.

I rediscovered Donna Reed less than a month ago. I had forgotten just how good she was in It's a Wonderful Life. The more I saw, the more I looked. The more I looked, the more I realized just how far the public perception of her is from reality. I found a copy of Jay Fultz's "In Search Of Donna Reed" online and ordered it. By the time it arrived I had become immersed in IAWL facts and all I could find out about this woman who had seemed to appear and shine so brilliantly for a moment and then disappear. My only memory of her show was that it seemed loved and hated-I never saw it, so you can guess where my dad stood. Soon I would learn that, for some strange reason she was, and still is, the undeserving victim of a very determined slander campaign. I picked up the book and met Miss Mullenger. She was the sweetest little girl who just seemed to get better with age. Her performance in It's a Wonderful Life is so much like the Donnabelle Mullenger I met in this book-bringing the sense of quality that, I think is one of the reasons it endures. She is the reason Mr. Stewart's anguish is real, because I can see it reflected on the very real face of Donna's Mary. The hurt she felt at his hands two years later was one answer I was seeking, they had such perfect "chemistry" in IAWL, why is this the only film they both star in? According to Jay, she would say to "ask Miss Allyson."

Two days after I met her, I felt as if a near and dear relative was at death's door. Even though I KNEW that twenty years had passed, reading (at work) Mr. Fultz's account of the death of this remarkable woman awakened in me a sense of loss so powerful that I had to finish reading it in my car...

While looking for a way to contact Mr. Fultz, I came across what was called a review of this book in a popular magazine (I won't say it's name, but it covers the movie and TV industry) . The hate in it for Donna and for anyone who would praise her was simply appalling. They didn't even try to discredit the research, but rather selected biased facts from her life and even lied in a subtle way to attempt to trivialize her contributions. I now realize that those who don't like Donna Reed are almost always those who don't know her. They mock her TV show as "bland" but never say how many thousands of troubled children must have found refuge in her "home" each week, as evident by the letters she received from a tiny fraction of the 35 million plus viewers at her peak. We see a Donna Reed who fought studio and sponsor desires to maintain the stereotype she fought against in the movie industry, and that her fight for women's rights cost her more than many who have gotten better press at far less personal cost. In Search of Donna Reed is backed by over twenty five pages of detailed notes of sources: interviews, documents, letters, an amazing amount of material that show Mr. Fultz to be a dedicated researcher fully capable of producing an honest account that is worthy of the memory of Donna Reed, even if it is a labor of love-or perhaps because it is.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading along as Jay Fultz sought out Donna Reed. Did it answer all my questions about her? No. But that was part of the guilty-pleasure appeal of this book. I learned things about Donna herself and her life and career than I previously knew, and it was a pleasing experience to just sit back and enjoy the ride without becoming a backseat driver. Fultz's respectful excitement in the process of "discovery" comes across in every chapter. A charming, intelligent retrospective worthy of Miss Reed's memory.

A biography of a truly beautiful woman! Some celebrities went trough life with everything handed to them on a silver plate, not Donna Reed, she realy had to work for everything she stood for back then and today, not only has a superstar but also as a human being. From her early years in Denison Iowa to her movie and televison career to her activist days to being a devoted mother and wife, get to know about some of her life struggules and pleasures in Jay Fultz's A-1 bio of a wonderfully private person that didn't let fame get the best of her. Under that star image is a down-to-earth extremely intoxicating person with a very charitable heart and giving nature.

In my heart she definataly was one of the greatest woman that ever walked God's green earth and is the closest thing to human perfection!.....Rob J.

I just wanted to let readers know that there are several other books and resources out there with much better content and organization for less money

Having been involved with my own kids in different facets of kids baseball I am always on the lookout for new or original material. Unfortunately this very pricey book does not fill the bill.

I knew that this was going to be a good one as soon as I saw the authors' name on the cover (check out John T. Reed's *football* coaching books, excellent!). Based on my personal journey of 10 years coaching youth baseball, and associated 100+ books read & scores of clinics attended over that time - *this* is the best take on what constitutes effective 12 & under baseball coaching that I have seen to-date. Finally, a reasoned and thoughtful delineation of the differences between "real" baseball and "youth" baseball - and how to effectively coach to those differences. John T. Reed does it again!

My plug for the best companion coaching book out there - Positive Coaching, by John Thompson (a fuller exploration of the emotional side of effective youth coaching, IMHO). Utilizing these 2 books, you have all of the tools that you need to be an effective youth coach. Go get 'em!

After coaching youth baseball for sixteen years, after reading numerous books on the subject, I can now say that it's refreshing to read a book that tells it like it is! Mr. Reed identifies the coaching incompetence in us all and tells us how to correct it. I personally can accept this, many other youth coaches may not. If you are a youth coach and have a high opinion of your coaching talent, I do not recommend this book. However, if you are opened minded and seek to greatly improve not only your coaching abilities but also overall enjoyment of the game, I strongly suggest this literature.

I found this book recommended in the Amazon review of ANOTHER BOOK! I'm so glad I did. I've had kids in youth baseball for 6 years, and have had my various complaints regarding coaching and league rules. Everything Reed writes is extremely logical, reasonable, and practical. All well-organized, well-written, and with just the right amount of wry humor. He suggests ways to bring out the best in players. He outlines exactly how to prepare players for each position. He explains why it doesn't make sense to spend a great deal of time practicing things you aren't likely to improve (like batting) but to spend a lot of time working with players on things they can improve, such as intelligent baserunning and correct understanding of rules. His emphasis on safety is terrific. I bought this book for my husband, but I read it cover-to-cover myself. It makes me want to coach a team next spring. But even if you weren't interested in coaching, the information in this book could help you be a better "baseball parent," too.

This is a very helpful book and I will be a better coach for reading it. The most valuable points concern the limited time for practice and what to focus on. There are many interesting concepts in the book that are full explained.

However, the book was tarnished on several accounts. It was filled with details of Mr Reed's dubious adult baseball career that I really didn't need. His constant negativity and bitterness towards the players, fellow coaches, league administration, volunteer umpires,etc.... got to be too much by the end. All of this complaining done while reminding the reader it is for the kids. I ended up questioning why Mr. Reed spent so much of his time doing something that caused him so much unhappiness.

Read this book it is worth it. But, be very careful of adopting the attitudes and feelings conveyed in it.

If you are a fan of WW II VMF-214, "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and "Once They Were Eagles", this is a must read. Two stories in one. That of "Bandanna Maggie" before, during and after WW II. Also, a determined author's quest about a Marine hero he did not know until too long. Follow the trail of a Marine I'm sure Gregory Boyington admired as a great fellow warrior after the "big one" and his attepts to find himself in war and peace. (Success, or failure? Yes? No? You decide.) A remarkable book for those who are interested in the men of 214. As I said, if you liked the two first books mentioned, you will love this one written by the one man who would have done it.

Chris Magee, the enigmatic "Wildman" of Pappy Boyington's Marine "Blacksheep" fighter squadron of World War II, disappeared in the late 1950's after serving as a fighter pilot in Israel's fledgling Air Force and also after serving several years in an American penitentiary for robbing two banks in one day. Then journalist Robert T. Reed discovered that the "Wildman" was his biological father. And through an astute process of "investigative reporting," Mr. Reed has pieced together a thoroughly fascinating portrait of a gifted pilot, talented and sensitive human being and quintessential "free spirit." Mr. Reed's book constitutes a fine addition to the annals of those whom Tom Brokaw has designated America's "Greatest Generation." It's indisputable that the efforts of extraordinary men like Chris Magee were crucial in bringing victory to the Allied Powers in history's greatest conflict.

I received my copy of Bob's book two weeks after I had scheduled a trip to Waterbury Connecticut to the 56th reunion of my own father's WWII military group. My father passed away last year after a long battle with alzheimers, and I too was on a quest of sorts. I was never able to get my father to open up about his war experiences on the beaches of Normandy and beyond, and know now that their generation was truly the "great generation" of our time. This book really hit home. The content was interesting enough that I read the book at one sitting, and it provoked questions of a very personal nature to me. For those of us who are members of the "baby boom" generation I hope we all start asking our Fathers, Mothers, Uncles, Aunts - anyone with personal experiences about this remarkable time in our history to share their stories with us while they are able. We should also give them a sincere Thank You for their sacrifices.

If, like me, you read Baa Baa Blacksheep and Once They Were Eagles, this is for you. The mysterious life and whereabouts of Chris Magee almost haunted me after reading Frank Walton's Once They Were Eagles. The information about Chris Magee in Walton's book and the fascinating letter it contains left many questions about Magee that begged for answers. I knew this would be an interesting book before I read it and I was not let down. I did not know it would be emotionally provocative. I won't spoil the surprises. Don't read too many reviews lest you not get the full effect. Pick it up soon.

In Lost Black Sheep: The Search For WWII Ace Chris Magee, Robert Reed reveals saga of an extraordinary man in a real-life story of war and peace, crime and punishment. Chris Magee was one of the legendary Black Sheep Squadron under "Pappy" Boyington's command. He grew up with stories of World War I aviation heroes and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Chris transferred to the U.S. Marine Corps and went to the South Pacific where his personal bravery and skills as a combat flier earned him the Navy Cross and the respect of his peers. After the war ended Chris spent the next twelve years as a black marketeer, bootlegger, volunteer fighter pilot for Israel, courier for a covert American group involved in Latin American politics, and finally a bank robber. In his middle years he turned his life around and became a respected journalist. By age 70 he was living in retirement in a rustic apartment on Chicago's North Side. Then Chris found an envelope slipped under his front door with a note that compelled him to revisit parts of his past he thought long buried. Several of Magee's letters, poetry, and other writings are woven into the text (including a short story titled "Keep Moving". Lost Black Sheep is a fascinating, superbly written biography of a very unusual American unusal life.

Moe Prager is a hard-boiled ex-cop with a nose for trouble and a nose for the guilty. This is an excellent read from beginning to end and Reed Farrell Coleman kept me on the edge of my seat from the first page. This is loaded with suspense, culminating in an unspeakable terror that happened long ago. The murderer is revealed at just the right time. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes Edgar Award winning novels.

I'm really hooked on Coleman's writing. Rich characters and suspense all wrapped into one.

Coleman is an excellent writer and Moe is a wonderful, fully-dimensional character who, while a tough ex-cop, is human with a family he loves and secrets he carries. His descriptions are well done and his style has a wonderful flow, but a poignancy that leaves you knowing you'll be waiting for his next book. There is good suspense and twists along the way. Highly recommended.

I read the Moe Prager books out of order--third one first, then back to the first and second--but it didn't hurt a bit. The writing here is so good--Moe's such an appealing character--and the stories are so interwoven from book to book that it was almost MORE fun to experience them backwards, as it were. I can't wait for the next one!

As this sequel to "Walking The Perfect Square" where Moses "Moe" Prager was first introduced opens, it has been three years since the events depicted in that book. Moe is married and has a baby girl as well as a ton of guilt over not telling his wife everything about her father and the truth about her brother's disappearance. His knee still aches and while he may be the only Jewish licensed P.I. in New York City, he hasn't used his license once since that case. Instead, the wine shop in which he is a partner with his brother has opened and he spends his days advising customers and trying to reconcile his past.

That is until, by all appearances, a homeless man appears in the shop. He carries with him some of Moe Prager's press clippings as a result of a missing child case covered in the first book as well as the missing person case of three years ago. Moe repeatedly tells the man that he can't help him and the man begs for help anyway. The man explains he is Arthur Rosen, and he wants help for his sister, Karen Rosen, who Moe allegedly went to school with years ago.

The name doesn't ring any bells and still doesn't when R. B. Carter shows up in his limo and tries to convince Moe to stay uninvolved. She, along with many others, allegedly died in a famous fire at a resort up in the Catskills years ago and R. B. Carter doesn't want the case looked into by Moe for any reason. He paints a picture of Arthur being insane with grief and delusional and then gets out his checkbook and tries to buy Moe off. Insulted and bored with his working life, Moe begins to dig into the case. Before long, he is further motivated to keep digging by guilt over the sudden suicide of her brother as well as the fact that he finally remembers how he loved her from afar those years ago. Getting free from his wine shop obligations as Christmas approaches in 1981, he makes a pilgrimage deep into the Catskill Mountains to see for himself where she died. Once there, guilt won't let him leave and he begin to realize the sheer depravity of some outcasts from society. As Moe works the case and realizes who the killer was, he finds new evidence that makes him wonder if Karen Rosen is really dead or just living a lie as he is?

As in the first book, the theme of guilt and religious atonement waves heavily on the work. But unlike the first book, in this case, the read is almost crushed from it. Both themes are dealt with all the subtly of a sledgehammer and as such comes across as extremely heavy handed. This is a very slow moving book and much of it has a feel of cathartic release of some type.

At the same time, the author continues to develop the Moe Prager character and the actual case and its ramifications are well worth the read and interesting. While the probable killer is obvious fairly early on, not everything is apparent and there are several twists and turns and turns to keep the reader involved in this slow moving book. Those who are interested could read this book as a stand alone, as virtually everything that happened in the first book is covered heavily in this book as well.


Book Facts:

Redemption Street (A Moe Prager Mystery)
By Reed Farrel Coleman
Viking
2004
ISBN # 0-670-03291-3
Hardback

What a refreshing character Mr. Clarkson has created with Reed. Most authors instill their character with some type of personality flaw but this author has taken a new approach and given Reed not an ordinary personal problem to overcome but a serious disabilty. Reed is a tough force to be reckoned with in spite of being a recent amputee. I would love to read more intrigue involving this character.

After reading And Justice For One, I read every book I could get my hands by J.C. I would rate them all 5 stars. I mean the books are page turning, can't put it down. I have shared them with friends who also agree. I am always on the look out for the next one. The only problem is that J.C's books are few and far between. I would love to know if anything is in the works for the near future. Again bravo for this author.

Diane Brown

Active man loses leg in motorcycle accident. During his convalescence, (and while he is feeling sorry for himself), he recieves a troubling communication from his cousin. Retarded, forty, and institutionalized, the cousin has worse problems than the pain of prosthesis. Thrilling, insightful, a newly handicapped man's struggle to overcome the evil in a closed world that has no compassion or respect for differences.

Bill Reed, a recent leg amputee, has to abandon the self-indulgent life he has fashioned to accommodate his disability and try to unravel the reason his cousin, a Down's syndrome victim is being mistreated in the private institution where he has resided for a number of years. In so doing, Reed learns to triumph over his disability in order to save his cousin's life. This is a fast-paced and engaging yarn, although the skulduggery seems based on a rather doubtful premise. The writing is good, and action outweighs introspection by a good deal.

I'm giving 4 stars instead of 5 because of too much profanity, otherwise, it's a good thriller till the end. Bad guys were giving Bill Reed a lot of run around. Bad guys were bully around Reed's cousin, Johnny Boy (with Down's Syndrome) for no reason and it will make you feel like Johnny Boy is one of your own and wanting to protect him from bad people.

definitely worth it's placement as a nominee for the Edgar. i love thrillers and mysteries, my husband - not so much. I recommended this one to him and even he loved it as much as i did.

...you're going to love Reed Coleman's Moe Praeger series. Perhaps more than any other contemporary author, Coleman's believes as did Faulkner that "The past is never dead. It isn't even past."

Praeger once again in this fourth in the acclaimed series gets involved with the case of an old friend that tosses up more confusion than a House of Mirrors. In this case, the death of an old friend and how this ties back to a long forgotten murder case on Coney Island in the 1970's.

Coleman is at a disadvantage here in that he has to follow his excellent The James Deans, which really raised the performance bar. I enjoyed this book almost as much , but the repetition of some of the Praeger family tensions for a fourth time is getting old. Coleman needs to find some new things to push Praeger forward.

As usual, the sense of place is well drawn and his characters (mostly) deserve our sympathy. However, the series is getting a bit long in the tooth.

A book that comes with near perfect reviews and major award nominations raises expectations, and perhaps in this case, raises those expectations too high. I would rate this book at 3 and 1/2 stars out of 5. I found the characterization of the protagonist a little uneven, but that wasn't really as much a problem for me as the characterization of the dead Chief of Detectives -- dead, his character outlined and emphasized over and over, and yet at the end of the book the reader is expected to buy into a major swing in that characterization. That was tough for me to buy. Also there is a ponderous quality to the prose, to the way in which the author describes every venue, that though it may lend atmosphere it also bogs down the pacing. And yet with all that description -- maybe there were just too many places with too much history related -- New York still did not fascinate me in the same way that Crais manages to do for LA or Sandford for Minneapolis.

My biggest grievance -- and I am shocked that no one has mentioned this so far -- is with the complete lack of proofreading for this manuscript. I know some people like to blame the occasional error on the printer, but the number of misspellings, typos, duplicated words, missing words -- I all but lost patience trying to keep my head in the story and not let those things distract. It was clear that not even an electronic spell-checker was used. For years I have complained about John Sandford's books in this regard, but not all of his books together contain as many mistakes as this book holds. Bleak House Publishing has had some good press lately, but apparently not from people who've had to read their shoddily produced books.

In summary, I thought this was a pretty good book, not a great one. I'll read books by this author again.

Not to diminish Coleman's earlier work -- they've all been great all the way back to his first, Dylan Klein novel, 'Life Goes Sleeping' from 1991 -- but he's really hit his stride with 'Soul Patch'. The plotting and twists are creative and non-stop, and his characters are completely alive and ones you care about -- though not always favorably. Moe Prager's empathy with some of the biggest losers is offset by his disdain for many of the other respectable and powerful. Moe himself is one the reader really comes to care about, and I can't wait for his next appearance. This fourth entry in the Moe Prager series is outstanding, dark and gritty and everything one could hope for from a crime novel. There are numerous references to plots of the previous three in the series, but that shouldn't deter you from reading this as a starting point. I'll be surprised if there's a better crime novel this year. Reed Farrel Coleman is as good as it gets! We'll be hearing a lot more from him.

This mystery starts slow because it's incredibly complicated with multiple plotlines stretching 25 years or more into the past - but the worldweary, self-mocking tone of the narrator helps keep it together. Moe Prager helps run a chain of wine shops with his brother, but he's always dreamed of being a detective on the NYPD. He's probably pushing fifty now, but in his 20s, he served as a uniform cop with the NYPD, even though he as a wise-cracking Jewish intellectual was a bit of an outsider among all those Irish cops. Then his knee got wrecked, and life had its way of moving on without him. Now he's in a failing marriage, and bored with his life. He dabbles in being a private investigator. A old crime from the past resurfaces involving possible police corruption and the murder of a drug lord from the 1970s. Moe has one last chance to get on the case. This novel is remarkable for its movie-clarity perfection in bringing New York City to life. Plus Moe is a complicated and fascinating person.

This is an interesting and important document from a group who have had considerable influence on education policy. My largest disagreement is the emphasis on external testing rather than classroom assessment. Good art and music teachers both teach and assess creativty. There is no external test for this ability; whose importance is emphasized in the report.

The proposals of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce are an insidious seduction to the implementation of Marxism, both in theory and in practice. The report, entitled TOUGH CHOICE OR TOUGH TIMES throws only two possibilities our way: Either we resign ourselves to "continued decline in wages with very long working hours," or we completely revamp or entire educational system by adopting "internationally benchmarked standards for educating [our] students and [our] workers."

At one time, the purpose of education was to accumulate knowledge, and to gain an understanding of the world around us. Not anymore. Now the purpose of education in the United States is exactly the same as the purpose of education in Marxist regimes: to supply a government-orchestrated workforce that is designed by the State and for the State. Our children are no longer our children; they are now designated by the State as "global citizens." The goal of education is to ensure that each citizen lives his life in total submission to the State. Here are some excerpts from the report:

"Our first step is creating a set of Board Examinations... ...Students who score well enough will be guaranteed the right to go to their community college to begin a program leading to a two-year technical degree or a two-year program designed to enable the student to transfer later into a four-year state college... ...assuming they do well enough on their second set of Board exams, they can go off to a selective college or university..."

"Many of our teachers are superb. But we have for a long time gotten better teachers than we deserved because of the limited opportunities for women and minorities in our workforce. Those opportunities are far wider now, and we are left with the reality that we are now recruiting more and more of our teachers from the bottom third of the high school students going to college than is wise. To succeed, we must recruit many more from the top third."

Do you see the racism and gender bias here? Now we have to revamp the system. (This will also ensure that the elite of our new Marxist society will be socially engineered by those presently in power.) Read on:

"We would have teachers employed by the state, not the local districts, on a statewide salary schedule... ...The current policies regarding teacher education would be scrapped. The state would create a new Teacher Development Agency charged with recruiting, training, and certifying teachers. The state would launch national recruiting campaigns, allocate slots for training the needed number of teachers... ...then the task will be to create instructional materials fashioned in the same spirit and train our teachers to use the standards, assessments, syllabi, and materials as well as possible..."

The State will decide what jobs will be available and then train only a select number of people to fill those jobs. Freedom of choice is a thing of the past. The State is self-serving and has a conflict of interest when it comes to education. Here is a perfect example: Have you ever wondered why our literacy rates are so low in the U.S.? Here is the reason according to this report:

"The governance, organizational, and management scheme of American schools was created in the early years of the 20th century to match the industrial organization of the time. It was no doubt appropriate for an era when most work required relatively low literacy levels...and efficiency of a rather mechanical sort was the highest value of the system."

So the "dumbing down" of American students was part of a management scheme. Now we are supposed to trust these same managers with a new management scheme. Schools would no longer be owned by the local school district. Instead, the local districts would be responsible for connecting the schools to "a wide range of social services," like psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, etc. Our kids are all sick, you know. And guess what is in store for disadvantaged kids:

"The additional funds for serving schools with high concentrations of disadvantaged students will make it possible for those schools to stay open from early in the morning until late at night, offering a wide range of supportive services to the students and their families. They will have the funds needed to screen and diagnose their students.... ...and the state Teacher Development Agencies will be charged with making a special effort to recruit first-rate teachers for our minority children who look like them and can connect with these children."

The report previously implied that minority teachers were inferior. Now we will assign these "first-rate" teachers to minority kids. And what about the option of private education? It looks like that will be abolished at the first opportunity:

"A system that pursues the wrong goals more efficiently is not a system this country needs. ...No organization could operate a school that was not affiliated with a helping organization of the state, unless the school was itself such an organization."

This report also proposes that the State invest in high-quality education for three and four year olds. Let's get these kids away from from the influence of their parents at the earliest possible time.

Whenever we hear the words "educational reform," this is what the educators are talking about. It is reform that envisions a peaceful overthrow of our present way of life by educational means, in favor of a Marxist regime run by the ruling elite--the high priests of education. Education today is all about training the workforce that will serve the elite of tomorrow.

One of the best, if not the best book I have seen on the state of education in the USA. It should be a wake-up call to educators and parents, grandparents, and anyone who is interested in the continued growth of our country. Clear, concise, and well written by well respected people in the field of education and commerce. If you want to know the real reason the job market is in such a state, and where our schools are headed, read this. I do research on these issues and this is the best so far.

Citing Winston Churchill, who said America always did the right thing after it had exhausted all the alternatives, the New Commission on Skills of the American Workforce calls for a complete overhaul of American education.

Unlike the Commission Report in 1990, which recommended that we improve our high technology skills and accept as inevitable the movement of low-skill jobs to global competitors, the current Commission draws our attention to the fact that we are losing high-skill jobs to global competitors as well. Such losses are projected to grow geometrically if we fail to act with an integrated whole system response.

The Commission recommends a major overhaul of American education to include how we define needs, develop curriculum, attract and retain world class teachers, focus scarce resources, assess stakeholders, and finance public education. All familiar words, I know, but the devil or angel, if you will, is in the details. Let's look at some of the most important.

Noting the poor scores made by U.S. students on international tests and the prospect that we will lose our leadership position in fields that require exemplary abilities in mathematical reasoning; scientific concepts; writing; creativity and innovation; self-discipline and organization; and teamwork, the Commission calls for regional economic development authorities. These authorities would be responsible for coordinating with existing institutions to develop goals and strategies that would serve as guides for local decisions and channel resources where initiatives contributed to the achievement of such goals and strategies.

The Commission calls for significant changes in school governance. School boards and districts would find their role focused on policy making, facilitation of educational networks, operation of support service centers, reporting, and writing performance contracts with those who operate the schools. Schools would be operated by independent contractors and would have complete discretion to determine spending, staffing, calendar, organization and management ---- all subject to the same safety, curriculum, and testing standards as other schools. States would recruit and train teachers; build standard curriculum and assessment agencies; investigate, review and approve networks; contract for special services; and develop statewide schools to serve gifted children.

Teachers would be employed and licensed by the state. Their compensation would shift from current practices, which are back-loaded to emphasize pensions and defined health care benefits, to one which is front-loaded to emphasize cash compensation. Under a front-loaded approach, pay for beginning teachers would be $45,000. Competent academic-year teachers could receive $95,000 and competent calendar-year teachers as high as $110,000. In addition, incentive pay would be paid to teachers willing to teach in remote areas, tough urban areas, and in fields with labor shortages like math, science, language, and special education. The objective of all these changes is to recruit, develop, and retain individuals who had graduated from the top third of their high school graduation classes.

To discover where much of the money is coming from to pay for these changes, you have to examine their recommendation in the area of assessment. Essentially, the Commission wants to shift American education from a system that is time-based to one that is based on merit, using Board Examinations to control progression. They would allow high school students to sit for the initial board examinations at the end of their sophomore year. If they score well enough, they will be allowed to begin a two-year technical training program or to enter a four-year degree program. Those who scored less well would remain to prepare for the second board examination which, when passed, would allow them to attend a state college or university. Neither progression would permit remediation at the next highest level. In short, no one would be allowed to progress unless they are ready and no one would be held back based on a scheme that honors time more than it does competence. The Commission expects this progression scheme to save $67 billion.

In addition to teacher compensation, the Commission would spend part of the savings on high-quality, universal early childhood education for three and four year olds. Supplemental funding would be made available to help schools with high concentrations of disadvantaged students, e.g. screening and diagnosis, tutoring; community involvement, etc. School financing would be a state, rather than a local matter. And the state would use a uniform funding formula that emphasizes equity over equality. New Federal money would be sought to fund interest-bearing Personal Competitiveness Accounts. These accounts would be funded by the Federal government with a $500 deposit at birth and annual contributions made to age 16. The fund would accept tax-free contributions from employers, states, and individuals. From these funds, individuals could draw to improve their education and skills as adults.

Reactions from the educational establishment have been mixed. Predictably, all favor high-quality universal education for three and four year olds and for injections of more money into the educational system. No one, however, wants to support recommendations that would require substantial changes for their membership. The National Education Association (NEA) doesn't want to support the shift in compensation because their current membership favors back-loaded systems. Neither the NEA nor the National School Boards Association wants to give up local funding and operation of schools. Finally, the National Association for College Admission Counseling cautions against using Board Examinations if they are built on the foundation of European models.

All stakeholders need to realize that the situation has deteriorated to such a point that anything less than a major transformation of American education risks being characterized as rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. As the Commission emphasizes, this is not a set of recommendations to be cherry-picked. Instead, they require a thoughtful, soul searching reflection and authentic dialogue to meet the challenges that are quickly coming into view.

This book by the Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce is well written in clear terms with summaries and simple graphics. It is a must read for anyone interested in the future of the US economy. The Commission points out the risks of our poor pre-university education to the US economy. India and China are now competing with the US in the high skilled labor market (not just low skilled) and at lower wages. With the Internet, many jobs can be done anywhere, and companies will hire the best at the lowest cost (Indian engineers make $7500 annually with the same qualifications as US engineers who make $45,000).

The Commission describes how US universities continue to be the best in the world, but grade schools and high schools have fallen behind. In the 20th century the US pioneered universal education, and received an influx of talent, from scientists fleeing Germany before World War II to a more recent influx of Asian students, who stayed and worked here. But now, other countries have passed us in pre-university education and many foreign students are going back to their own countries after graduating.

"A Nation at Risk" came out in 1983, saying "If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre education performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war." The Tough Choices Commission points out that since then we've had a more than doubling of spending on education (inflation adjusted) with only modest improvement. The Commission concludes that the main improvement, standards testing, turns out to be misguided because it is multiple choice, not essay, and thus doesn't teach the creative, out of the box thinking needed for the US to maintain its lead. Multiple choice tests are by definition "in the box" tests.

"A Nation at Risk" proposals in 1983 for merit pay for teachers were resisted, and teachers continue to come from the bottom 1/3 of University graduates. The Commission proposes merit pay for new teachers, with an opt-in choice for existing teachers, combined with higher salaries made possible by eliminating pensions and using 401Ks instead, like other professions. Other proposals include universal pre-school, school choice with funding following students, less bureaucracy and more independence for individual schools, adult education coordinated with the business community, and inter-city schools and supporting social services being coordinated under one person, such as the mayor. Finally, partial funding can be found by reducing the number of students in the last 2 years of high school by allowing board testing at the 10th grade, with those passing going to community college then a university, directly to trade school, or directly to work.

I have separately read that having funding follow the student to encourage competition among schools has been implemented successfully at the city level in San Francisco. The Commission shows that if pensions and vacation time are included, current teacher salaries are actually somewhat competitive. But talented young people prefer money now, and don't know that they would stay in teaching long enough to earn a pension. Thus, pension money could be moved to up front salary and portable 401Ks, with existing teachers having the option of opting in or staying with their pensions.

The proposal to coordinate social services with schooling to help the disadvantaged, such as by putting all under a mayor has been done in New York recently, with great success. By providing programs for kids until 5 PM, and help to their families, the disadvantages of a poor home situation can be addressed. The US economy is healthy because of the waves of immigration it has had over the past 15 years, and we can't afford not to train those immigrants so our business have a talented labor pool to draw on.

The board exams proposed at the end of the 10th grade will provide badly needed motivation to students, since they can get out of school earlier if they work harder, rather than marking time.

To cut bureaucracy, the commission proposed principals be given free reign on how to spend the money they get (which is based on the number of students). Also, school boards would not run schools, but would contract with others (such as private companies, groups of teachers, etc.). The school boards would then become performance contract managers.

Finally, the report proposes training of people in the workforce, since these people will be the largest part of our workforce for some time, and will need more advanced and creative skills.

This was a fun read. Quick too. I found some new drink recipes, and some nostalgia for a time I am too young to remember. If anything, the book was too short as I could have done with a few more drinks, and some more nostalgia. At least some Cole Porter or Noel Coward. Rick, Nora. Somebody. Still, it was fun while it lasted, and clearly understood and conveyed the romance, grace, and promise of a Martini.

This was a fun read. Quick too. I found some new drink recipes, and some nostalgia for a time I am too young to remember. If anything, the book was too short as I could have done with a few more drinks, and some more nostalgia. At least some Cole Porter or Noel Coward. Rick, Nora. Somebody. Still, it was fun while it lasted, and clearly understood and conveyed the romance, grace, and promise of a Martini.

A fun and tasty look at the kitschy side of cocktails pleasantly put together and easy to look at. I bought this book and Hollywood Cocktails which looks at cocktails through the silver screen. Why have just one cocktail when you can have more?

Remember when swing was king, '57 Chevies ate up the road, and I Love Lucy premiered on the tube?? Why just remember the 50's, when you can relive them? Reading Atomic Cocktails: Mixed Drinks for Modern Times, is like peeking through a looking glass into the Atomic age. With drinks like Neon Watermelon Margarita and Rocket Man surrounded by vintage ads and paraphernalia, you can't help but go retro. So cue up Old Blue Eyes, and turn up the night with this collection of classic cocktails.

Atomic Cocktails is a great book if you are interested in mixing up some potent potables, but you can find a thousand other books that give you the same information. What separates this book from the pack is the retro-packaging. Done up in a kitschy, campy style, the book harkens back to the lounge lizard days of the 50's & 60's. The book honors the time when drinking a martini was the height of cool and does the fine art of mixing drinks proud.

Have you ever had anything to make you get a hold yourself or to make you wake up and smell the coffee? This book will shake you and make you say and do a lot of positive things. It will make you say thanks for all the good in your life. It will make you jump up and make improvements in your life.

Many of those mentioned in this book overcame adversities and became world renown leaders and atheletes. Some became inventors and we are reaping the rewards of those who were told that they were limited. Thomas Edison was told that he was not able to learn. Because of him we can flip a switch and the lights come on. He created an invention that was the forerunner of the victrola, record play, stereo/high fi. And because of these former things we have cds that give us music to listen to. But yet his teachers could not teach him. And they let him know that he was never going to amount to anything.

Franklin D. Roosevelt led the country out of the Great Depression and through World War 2. Yet he could not stand alone without the support of a leg brace, crutches or a cane. Born to win is most inspirational and I am glad I read it. I reccomend it to everyone. It has a message for winners and for those who think they are losers. There are no losers. Read this book and you will find out why.

This book is great for anyone who needs a little direction in their life. "If you aim at nothing, you'll hit it everytime." This book has rescued many a person from the pit of despair and hopelessness. For me, it gave me the ability to set clear cut,written, specific, definable, and acheivable goals for my life, in every area. This is one of my all time favorite books, right up there with MORE THAN A CARPENTER and HOW NOW SHALL WE LIVE by chuck colson.

I first read this book in 1987 and it turned my life around. It gave me an awareness of who God made me to be and what He made me capable of achieving. Second to my Bible, I have never read such eye-opening, encouraging truths. Mr. Lewis relates to his reader's through his use of real-life stories that are both, fascinating and motivational. I loaned my copy to someone several years ago and never got it back and I have missed having it to refer to or loan to other's who need what I needed so many years ago, so I bought another one.

Just when you think that you have no great purpose in life you find out that you do. You are here for a reason and you can do anything against all odds in life. Rise up and start and you will see that you can get there!

This book is amazing. It has helped me so much! I will honestly say, this is the best motivational book out there, if not one of the best books I've ever read. My father had this book in his study...curious to what it was, I picked it up and read it. I had no idea that that one little book of 203 pages, would change my life so much. I'm one of those people that felt like their life was a mess and that there was no hope...after reading this book I felt worthy to have my dreams come true. It talks about how important goal setting is (and shows you how to set them), and that alone has made me more successful and motivated in my life. It talks about self-motivation and self-talk...fascinating details about human behavior. As a 17-year old female...I must say this book is a must-read for all ages! I absolutely love this book! It will change your life and perspective of every complication that may come your way, and if you don't already love yourself...this book will show you how.

"A winner is a person who becomes all that God intends for him to become. He's given us all talents and abilities to use, not to abuse. He hasn't given you dreams to dream so he can taunt you. He's placed those dreams in your heart." Lewis Timberlake "Born To Win"