Stuart Books

This is a very captivating book for young readers. It has lovely sparkles and the words are rhythmic. It is engaging and a fun experience to read this with a kid. My parrot Snoopy Phoenix Mulberry loves to read this book along with me and he has most of it memorised!

I came here looking for this book after reading one of the poems inside. It's called The Victims by Michael Burgess, and it is brilliant. It's not pretty and it's not flowery, but it's about as real as you can get and it's a wonderful read. If the editors did as well choosing the other contributors, then this book is a true find. And if they aren't as brilliant, it's still going to be worth every dime.

It's a tape with calm, relaxing music, and it is specialy good to hear before sleep. Also, I felt that just the music enhances criativity. It's a joy to hear. Wonderful.

This creepy book full of great horror stories is extremely entertaining. My all time terrifying favorite is "The Dead Valley." This is where two children get lost in a very dangerous part of the woods. If you read a story or two out of this book before bedtime, you may get a few less hours of sleep that night! The rest of the stories are pretty scary and have adventurous and unusual events happen in them. If you want to have dreams of ghost automobiles pulling in your driveway at midnight, or howling near the mountains in the dreams, read this book by a lot of the great macabre writers!!

I read this book for a graduate Mill seminar in Philosophy. Recommended reading for anyone interested in education, philosophy, political science, and history.

John Stuart Mill, 1806-73, worked for the East India Co. helped run Colonial India from England. Minister of Parliament 1865-68 he served one term.

In John Stuart Mill's autobiography, he tells readers how he benefited and suffered from having one of the most unique educational experiences known to humankind. His father, James Mill, was personally involved in the education of John and his other siblings John was a brilliant student who read Greek by the age of three and Latin at eight years old. By the time he matured to adulthood, he was extremely well read. Thus, John received an academically rigorous education at home; however, it was devoid of any interaction and social contact with other children his own age. In adulthood, he developed very strong views about the advantages that universal education would have on improving people's characters, which would lead to fostering social change for the better. In addition, he held very strong beliefs on reforming university curriculum to improve Britain's intellectual class. Mill summarized many of his ideas on education in 1867 after accepting the position as Rector of the University of St. Andrews. In his Inaugural Address Delivered to the University of St. Andrews, one of the points that he made in his speech was the responsibility that universities had in building their student's characters. In large measure, the type of curriculum the university taught to its students would in part shape one's character. More importantly, the proper university curriculum would ultimately provide student's with the tools necessary to continue to learn throughout their lives, critically analyze, and if necessary become agents for change in society. He thought that this goal was best served in two ways. First, he believed immersing students in Western civilization's classical works especially the great works of the Greeks and Romans was an important foundation of knowledge. Secondly, he also believed that reading contemporary works of literature was of paramount importance to develop the human character.

As an intellectual himself, Mill was especially interested in the development of the character of gifted people who had the ability to develop a higher intellect than most of their peers. Mill's writings are replete with advice as to what knowledge he thought was most worth attaining to develop one's character and intellect. Looking at what Mill wrote regarding the proper kind of education the intellectually gifted should receive in a university, is where one can then start to ascertain what side he would support in the canon vs. multicultural debate. Although I will use key passages from his writings to illuminate why Mill would ultimately champion the supporters of an increased multicultural curriculum for universities, I also find there is evidence in his writings that he would insist that student's posses a knowledge base in the canon. As an example, in his essay titled Civilization in 1836, which was written when he was 30 years old, one finds Mill's early and life long penchant for studying the classics of ancient Greece and Rome. "Such is the principle of all academical instruction which aims at forming great minds. Ancient literature would fill a large place in such a course of instruction; because it brings before us the thoughts and actions of many great minds."

I find the influence that the classic Greek cultural had on Mill is most illuminating. Williams found that Mill's experience with the Greeks was largely comprised of his reviews he wrote for his friend, George Grote; on his multi-volume work, Grote's History of Greece, as well as Mill's own translations of several of Plato's dialogues. To say that Mill was enamored with the classical Greeks would be a gross understatement. In a review of Grote's work Mill penned the following about the Greeks. "They were the most remarkable people ever to have existed: in historical literature, oratory, poetry, sculpture, architecture, mathematics, physics, politics, and philosophy they made the indispensable first steps, originating speculation and freedom of thought." Mill's interest in the Greeks was in primarily what they had to contribute to present society in the study of politics and philosophy. He thought the Greeks in these two areas had the most influence both on Western civilization as a whole, and was very useful in character formation in educating both the masses and the intelligentsia. In his review of Grote's works, Mill wrote that, in essence, the Athenian democratic model "afforded the mental tranquility which is also one of the conditions of high intellectual or imaginative achievement." Thus, the Athenian society based on liberty would become the historical foundation that Mill would use to defend his own political as well as philosophical views for the improvement of society.

Some 31 years after writing his essay Civilization, Mill's theories for properly educating citizens and the proper makeup of a university curriculum were brilliantly articulated in his Inaugural Address Delivered to the University of St. Andrews in 1867. In this speech, he decried the idea of what universities had become. "Universities are not intended to teach the knowledge required to fit men for some special mode of gaining their livelihood. Their object is not to make skilful lawyers, or physicians, or engineers, but capable and cultivated human beings." He understood that only people with a well grounded education in liberal arts could become the intellectual nucleus that was ultimately necessary to lead and improve society.

Mill's book On Liberty makes his most passionate argument for fostering a pluralistic society. In essence, he articulated the argument that people needed to have more freedom than they had to develop their characters. Mill's concern was that if a majority of people in society were invested with unlimited power they could tyrannize the minority. Although On Liberty is a major treatise of political philosophy, it is also recognized more generally as a work of social philosophy--more so than any other work by Mill. It is not just about what kind of government we should have and how it should behave, but also more importantly, it is about what kind of society we should have and how we aught to live together.

Mill makes a cogent argument in chapter two of On Liberty that really gets to the essence of his arguments. In the chapter, he questions whether society should censor new doctrines simply because they do not conform to its current norms or beliefs. He says that essentially there are three things that may be true of new doctrines when they are proposed. 1) The doctrine might be true; 2) it might be false; and 3) it might be partially true. Mill provides a variety of reasons why the censorship of new doctrines is a bad idea. He believed that most doctrines contain only partial truths but not the whole truth. As an example, when he examined the history of religion he found this to be the case. Although he saw most laudable teachings in Christianity he thought that Judaism and the Koran also had laudable teachings for humankind that were not found in the New Testament. Thus, for the betterment of humankind he believed the best teachings of all three religions should be combined. I believe Mill's real genius as an intellectual was depicted by his impressive ability to find the little kernels of truth in other people's doctrines and synthesize them. Mill postulated that there were few original thinkers in history, and that most ideas that members of society adopt are really the best bits and pieces of a larger doctrine.

This book was given to my by my son while I was undergoing chemotherapy for Leukemia. It is a wonderful read, comforting, reassuring and helpful.

This is a great book for kids who are interested in the history of the Green Bay Packers. Additionally, any teacher who wants to spark students' interest in a sports hero while giving them a great piece of literature should purchase this book.

"Dan Stuart's Fistic Carnival" appears to be a slight history of a long-forgotten boxing match at first glance, but Leo N. Miletich has undercovered the real significance of this event. The heavyweight Championship fight that gambler and "sport" Dan Stuart tried to bring about set off reactions that reverberated from state capitols to the Capitol Hill. These events occurred in 1894, at the height of the Gilded Age and the beginning of a great progressive movement in America. Dan Stuart of Dallas, TX promised he would set up a series of boxing matches which would bring revenue to Dallas and the chance for some serious wagering. Stuart unwittingly stirred up a political and religious hornet's nest as his attempts to stage the match were thwarted in Dallas, El Paso, California, Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico. In fact state and national political leaders took unprecedented action and haste in drafting and passing legislation to prevent the "fistic carnival" from taking place. Then, as now, many people considered prize fighting immoral, and judged the crowds that such a spectacle attracted as the dregs of society. However, Stuart was just as determined as his opponents and he was going to keep his word at all costs. The story that follows mirrors today's events: some people still protest boxing and deride its followers; boxers still do their best fighting in the press with their mouths and demand hugh sums of money; and it's still foolish to try to draft moral legislation for a vocal minority. The actions taken by the governor of Texas left many contemporary observors shaking their heads and wondering if that's all the governor of the largest state at that time had to worry about. Unfortunately, the same things still occur today. Stuart, the self-professed sport and gambler, comes out of all this as a decent guy who promised a big fight, and who means to keep his promise without ending up in jail or dead. How he does it is the basis of some of the most fun reading I've had in years. In the long run, this story isn't really about boxing, but about how fruitless it is to try to legislate an issue that's morally unpopular with some, but treated favorably, at worst indifferently, by the majority. Miletich deserves special praise for his abiltiy to tell this story in a fresh manner, liberally using contemporary newspaper accounts and editorials. Highly recommended.

"SWIFT AND ENJOYABLE ... Wartime Hollywood comes effortlessly alive."
---Los Angeles Times

"GEORGE GUIDALL'S NARRATION IS IMPECCABLE---as textured and facinating as the material he reads..."
---Library Journal
[from the back cover of case]

Most books on Elizabeth spend little time putting her reign into historical context, which is why Alison Plowden's books on that time period are a must-read for those interested in Elizabeth. In Danger to Elizabeth, Plowden describes the plans and plots of the Catholics who were determined to overthrow Elizabeth and rescue England from heresy. Plowden's research is thorough and her writing style is interesting and engaging.