Organizations Books

During the middle ages the Christian church increased in political power and cultural authority. "The Christian East & The Rise of the Papacy: The Church AD 1071-1453" is the fourth volume of the acclaimed 'The Church in History' series, and covers such topics as the reformation of the papacy, the crusades, scholasticism and its impacts on the Eastern Orthodox church. Also exploring theological and spiritual trends that helped the Byzantine Commonwealth maintain its identity even as the empire itself crumbled. An informed and informative work, "The Christian East & The Rise of the Papacy: The Church AD 1071-1453" is very highly recommended to any Religious Studies shelf, as well as the non-specialist general interest reader who wishes to learn more about the history of the Christian Church.

SVS Press has publishes another invaluable volume for the church historian in "The Christian East and the Rise of the Papacy" by Aresteides Papadakis, since it focuses on the much-neglected area of Byzantium. Papadakis' essential thesis is that the final split between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches did not come about in 1054, with the mutual anathemas, but in 1204, when crusaders sacked Constantinople. The factors that led to this were a stronger papal control over the church, and an imperialism during the crusades, wherein Eastern Christians were the victims more than Muslims were.

In the 11th century, the clergy were appointed by feudal lords in Western Europe, which resulted in all kinds of simony and corruption. "It was undoubtedly lay control of ecclesiastical structure that made possible the purchase or sale of virtually every clerical grade the general rule by the tenth century. Simony became in fact unavoidable once clerical offices began to be treated like secular appointments." (p. 23) Most priests were married, and the church property simply went to their children. Further, the papacy itself was a puppet of the German emperor. A reform movement emerged in response to these abuses, led by Peter Damian and Leo IX. First, they wanted to enforce mandatory celibacy to prevent church property to pass into the hands of the priests' children. Second, they wanted to make the papacy independent of secular political control by electing the popes through conclaves made of cardinals. The College of Cardinals, which survives to this day, was Peter Damian's idea. "Significantly, the belief frequently expressed by medieval authors that the college of cardinals was the pope's supreme advisory body and, as such, was an imitation of the ancient Roman senate, was first articulated by one of the most uncompromising of the early Gregorians, Peter Damian." (p. 35-36) Finally, they wanted to end lay investiture.

In the context of the newly-powerful papacy and a suspicion towards Islam, the crusades were launched. The ostensible purpose of the first crusade was to re-capture Jerusalem from the Muslims and help the Christians of the east. Unfortunately, this is not exactly what happened. The papacy wanted to bring the Eastern Christians under its control, evoking the Donation of Constantine and historically specious arguments. Many in the western church saw the easterners as traitors. After the first crusade, parallel Latin jurisdictions were set up in areas where there were no Latin Christians before. This continued through the crusades in the Middle East (to say nothing of the Northern Crusades). Papadakis does not neglect to note that the idea of violence in the Western church had deep roots. "The theoretical justification for just war or even holy war outlined above- expressed for the first time by Augustine- was to have a lasting influence on the ethic of warfare in Western Christendom...Later papal reformers, insofar as they viewed their opposition to feudal power as a struggle against heretics and schismatics, or even excommunicates, were to find in these ideas a number of useful weapons...The belief that the Church had the power to authorize violence against heretics was in fact expanded to include pagans, as pope Gregory I's encouragement of such activity for the purpose of evangelization in the sixth century illustrates. This principle of forcible conversion may have inspired Charlemagne's later campaigns against the pagan Saxons." (p. 80) Many on both sides, however, still thought that some form of reconciliation was possible.

With the sack of Constantinople in 1204, any hope for re-union was effectively destroyed along with the city. The purpose of Fourth Crusade was to conquer Muslim Jerusalem via an invasion of Egypt. Instead, the crusaders diverted to Constantinople and took the city. The sacking was brutal, even by medieval standards. It did not happen in a vacuum or in a fit of mob rage, however. The constant rhetoric that people were hearing in the west was that the Byzantines were heretics, schismatics, and traitors. "Such observations came to be viewed as Gospel truth by the end of the century. They had become so popular by then that the diversionary assault on Constantinople, when it finally did come, was accepted with little hesitation. The fatal attack was rationalized by everyone involved by the belief that the Byzantines were already heretics. For the fourth crusade apparently the schism had been in existence for some time." (p. 103) Although there were attempts at reconciliation after 1204, in the Councils of Lyons and Florence, they ultimately failed. In addition, though Constantinople was eventually returned to the Byzantine Empire, the sacking of the city so weakened the Empire that they were unable to withstand the Turkish assaults in the 15th century. "Conceivably, the systematic Ottoman occupation of Asia Minor and the Balkans would not have been so effortless had the empire been able to maintain its territorial unity and strength after the fourth crusade." (p. 410) Although the Christians in the Ottoman Empire were allowed to exist and practice their religion, theological/cultural development would come to a halt, and they would be cut off from communication with their Western brethren until the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Highly recommended for students of church history.

The period covered in this book is 1071-1453, the final "decline and fall of the Roman Empire". In 1071, both of the Byzantine Empire's deadliest enemies launched their initial attacks - the Turks at Manzikert and the Italian Normans in Greece. The Norman onslaught was intimately connected with the relationship between eastern and western Christianity and caused such a decline that the Empire could not resist the Turks.
In the West, the Saxon kings of Germany had demanded that the Pope restore Charlemagne's title as "Roman Emperor" and grant it to them. Consequently, these "Holy Roman Emperors" (the title actually originates later) interfered in the papacy in order to maintain their claim to be Roman Emperors, forcing their choice of German prelates on the church. Eventually the German Popes asserted themselves and claimed universal authority over all of Christianity and all Christians. They also established the rule that the Cardinal-Bishops, previously a less powerful set of advisers, would be the sole electors of successive popes.
In the middle of the eleventh century, a papal legation attempted to force the Patriarch of Constantinople to be subject to the Pope. The Eastern Church's position is that the Pope was one of five patriarchs, equal in power and independent, differing only in that the Pope was owed a higher degree of respect since his city was the founding city of the Roman Empire. Further, the government of the Church was instituted by the human race for human needs by the Church Councils and the Pope was not an infallible king. The legate (Cardinal Humbert) excommunicated the Patriarch and several other high officials.
This schism was not recognized as being irreparable at the time, but every attempt at reconciliation ran into Papal demands for submission.
Indeed, a friend of mine who is in the Roman Catholic clergy stated that the Catholic Church would welcome the Orthodox back into union and would only impose the "magisterium" of the Pope "lightly" - the very sticking point of the past millennium.
The Normans used these differences to arouse hatred toward the Empire during the course of the Crusades, eventually resulting in the diversion of the Fourth Crusade into the conquest of Constantinople, a catastrophe from with the Empire never fully recovered. The Fourth Crusade and the treatment of the Eastern Church by its western overlords solidified the schism.
The Crusades were devastating for not only the Orthodox, but also for the Copts (Egypt) and Nestorians (Syria, Persia and farther east) who had been quite numerous and had thrived under Muslim rule. The Crusades established the idea that Christians were the enemy of Islam and so these communities were subjected to severe persecution and were vastly reduced in size and influence.
The one permanent success of the Papacy in the East was the union with the Marionites of Lebanon, who are henceforth loyal Catholics.
The supposedly all powerful Papacy suffered itself from schism, first moving to Avignon, then splitting into two (Avignon and Rome) when the return to Rome was attempted and, finally three (Pisa, whose second and last Pope was John XXIII, whose Papacy was so controversial that the Catholic Church avoided this once popular Papal name for 500 years until a Pope decided to ignore him as an anti-pope and take the name and number for himself) before the split was finally healed. This split and the conciliar movement (Ecumenical Councils as a church "Parliament" to balance the Papal monarch), which was spawned then, were part of the background of the Reformation. Ironically, the theory of Papal absolutism resulted in, first, a separation from the non Latin Church and, second, in a substantial civil war and separation in the Latin Church itself.
The Eastern Church turned more metaphysical during this period. St. Gregory Palamas championed the idea that experience of the divine was possible for human beings. For an excellent discussion see The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church.
The West went in the opposite direction - Scholasticism, the idea that Theology could be derived from Axioms in the manner of geometry, prevailed.
In addition to the comprehensive coverage of the Greek and Latin Churches, there is fairly good coverage of the Slavic and Armenian Orthodox Churches.
The people at St. Vladimir's Press informed me that this book and Imperial Unity and Christian Divisions: The Church, 450-680 Ad (Church History ; 2) will be reprinted in the winter of 2007-8 and volume 1, part 1 of this series Formation And Struggles and volume 3 Greek East And Latin West: The Church AD 681-1071 (The Church in History) have appeared in the fall of 2007 with the rest of the series to follow.

A clear and well-written history of the major interaction of East and West at the height of the largest and most divisive split in the Church.

Excellently written. Provides a wealth of information on the events surrounding schism of the Papacy and the East.

Aristeides Papadakis' "The Christian East and the Rise of the Papacy" is a fantastic work that deals with the subject of the Roman papacy trying to assert itself and its authority over the whole of Christendom.

The book is exhaustive in detail and meticulously notated. It took me quite some time to read because of the complexities of the subject. However, it is one of the best church history books I've ever read and an absolutely essential read. It tells the story of church history from the Eastern perspective and shows why the Eastern Orthodox Church resisted (and continues to resist) the papal claims of universal authority.

The Eastern Orthodox Church has always been conciliar in nature and refutes the "infallibility" claims of the papacy. He draws on Nicholas Cabasilas' view about the idea of papal infallibity as being a flawed concept. He asserts that the College of Cardinals can't give to the pope that which they don't possess (infallibility) and draws on the eastern view that a group of bishops ordains a bishop and can only invest that person with authority that they themselves possess.

It is an idea that is discussed at length. The book also shows a lot of the internal workings within the Byzantine empire and the Slavic kingdoms and how they dealt individually as well as collectively with the papacy. A truly amazing book that should be read by anyone wanting to see the view of the papacy from an Eastern perspective.

I have just finished reading THE CHURCH CONFRONTS MODERNITY - Catholic Intellectuals & the Progressive Era by Thomas E. Woods Jr., taking the time to highlight in detail this excellent work for future reference in the fight for the heart and soul of the Church being waged by Catholics who know their faith, as opposed to those who are having it subtly stolen from them. Before I was even a third of the way through the book I had gone through a highlighter, which gives an indication of the importance of what Dr. Woods is saying to what is left of the Catholic world, post the ambiguities of Vatican II, in particular, post the efforts of those who would destroy the Church from within.

To be technically correct, in THE CHURCH CONFRONTS MODERNITY, hereafter referred to as CCM, Woods not only tells it like it is, but how it used to be, and, if the Church is going to survive as a viable institution in serving as the world's repository of Perfect Truth, Who is a Someone, not a something for salvations sake, which is the only reason for the Church's existence, how it must be again. Woods is right to persuasively insist that looking back to how Catholic giants in America confronted the modernists in the progressive era in combating the work of the devil is our only hope of escaping the modern catacombs in order to convert the world to the one true faith, per Christ's admonition to His disciples in the last paragraph of the Gospel of Matthew. THE problem, as Woods so clearly points out, is that "how it used to be," in reference to the Church in America, was orders-of-magnitude better than "how it is now" with the prospects for "how it will be" no better, if the lessons from the past are not learned.

The focus for Woods is on the Catholic intellectual critique of modernity during the period immediately before and after the turn of the twentieth century where defenders of the faith were plentiful because they understood what it meant to be Catholic in more than name only. This is to be contrasted with an institutional Catholic Church today that, for all practical purposes, is unrecognizable as Catholic, as a direct result of the dissenters being given carte blanche to destroy it from within with impunity. Woods is talking about a Progressive Era where Catholics knew their faith well enough to use what good they could find in Progressivism for the greater Glory of God, in particular, the Church that He founded upon the Rock that is Peter. Catholics at the beginning of the twentieth century understood that discipline is one of the highest, if not the highest forms of love, which is something parents must come immediately to grips with; else, they cease to be responsible parents. Similarly, the Church under Pius IX, Leo XIII, and Saint Pius X, understood this seminal Catholic Truth, which is a Someone, not a something. This was directly reflected in orthodox catechesis which helped formed the consciences of a generation of Catholic leaders like Thomas Shields, William Kirby, and Edward Pace, who fought the good fight against the likes of James Dewey, and other representatives of Pragmatism as it played out in ethics, education, and nationalism. These were not the unencumbered autonomous consciences of Kant but rather those of an economic and political philosophy rooted in the natural law as articulated by Catholic giants like Thomas Aquinas, consciences which were informed in accord with the infallible teaching Magisterium of Holy Mother Church on faith and morals, consciences which understood that faith and reason are married, not divorced, with faith enabling a reason, which, in turn, reinforced faith.

Woods in The Church Confronts Modernity describes how decidedly nonpluralistic Catholicism responded to the modernist assault on faith and reason, and, moreover, must continue to respond, to an increasingly hostile pluralistic intellectual environment. Catholicism insisted on the uniqueness of the Church and the need for making value judgments based on what it considered a sound philosophy of humanity.

Woods recognizes that the reason Catholics no longer know their faith is that the prime catechetical tool for teaching it to them, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, has been watered down such that many of the immutable truths of the faith are no longer a part of that sacred liturgy. Woods concurs in his Epilogue that Lex credendi, lex orandi, is more than just a pithy phrase. It is a foundational axiom for survival of the faith.

I highly recommend THE CHURCH CONFRONTS MODERNITY- Catholic Intellectuals & the Progressive Era, by Thomas E. Woods Jr. as a necessary addition to any Catholic library. - Gary L. Morella

It's a shame Columbia University Press, like most university presses, charges so much for its books. But don't let that dissuade you here. This is a brilliant and important book.

In this book, Professor Woods looks at the Catholic Church in America during the first 20 years of the twentieth century, which roughly coincide with the pontificate of St. Pius X. The book gives you an idea of what it was like to be a Catholic before the deluge of dissent and disaster that afflicted us in the '60s. That in itself is something worth doing.

But Woods does much more here. He shows that the pictures people often paint of the pre-conciliar Church are not accurate. It was not opposed to all new ideas, etc. Catholics engaged with the culture, but unlike today they did not permit themselves to be overwhelmed by it. They even said that America needed to be converted to Catholicism - and other forbidden statements no one will ever hear from an American bishop today.

Now bear in mind, this is a demanding book. If you've read Professor Woods' delightful Politically Incorrect Guide to American History and are expecting something similar, think again. This is a serious scholarly work, as its many endorsements in respected historical journals attest.

At the same time, it is intended not only for academics but also for the educated general public. It shows us a Catholic Church in America in which Catholics actually spoke and acted like Catholics - shocking! Professor Woods is to be commended for this brilliant study.

This precisely written, well researched book compares and contrasts Catholic and Progressive intellectual thought during the early 1900's. On some issues, such as organized labor, Catholics and Progressives reached similar conclusions. On others, such as education, they could not have been further apart. On all issues, a great fundamental difference applied: does man exist to serve man, or to serve God? So, although both sides might settle on similar remedies for social problems, their underlying principles were so different that conflict was inevitable. Progressives viewed dogma of any kind as a social nuisance or something to be dispensed with entirely. Catholics naturally held dogma to be fundamental to a well-ordered society. Progressives (generally) viewed man as a servant of the state; Catholics viewed society as the servant of man. Progressives were primarily concerned with the advancement of the state; Catholics with the salvation of the soul. Woods does a thoroughly excellent job of articulating these and other philosophical differences. In doing so, he gives us a remarkably clear picture of that time in America, as well as allowing us to judge how things have progressed--or regressed--on issues like education over this last century.

Prof. Thomas Woods wrote an informative book on the steadfastness of the Catholic Church in these United States during the Progressive Era (c. 1880s-1919). The book demonstrates that the Catholic Church authorities confidently faced challenges from such concepts such as Pragmatism, the New Sociology, the New Economics, vague calls for "pluralism", etc.

Prof. Woods examined the "isms" Catholic authorities confronted in the latter part of the 19th. century and during the first half of the 20th. century. The first chapter informs readers of the Catholic confrontation vs. Pragmatism. The Catholic critism of Pragmatism was that this "philosophy" ",,, has no doctrines, save its methods." Prof. Woods did not overstate his case re Pragmatism in that the Pragmatists including William James were not nihilists. The disagreement was with the notion that one ideas or concept was as as good as another except for Catholocism. An unidefined view of life without clarity and moral absolutes was an obvious anathema to Catholicism. Yet, as Prof. Woods carefully explained, Catholic authorities used their long standing traditions, reason, and Scholastic Philosophy to effectively answer the challenge of Pragmatism.

The Catholic authorites also answered the challenge of sociology. Auguste Comte (1798-1857)who is considered the originator of sociology argued that religious creeds were of no avail. Yet, he stated that since religion could not be eradicated, there should be a worship of Humanity with rituals and practises that would be familar. The Catholic authorities did not reject sociology per se. Their arguement was with the inductive method and the collection of data. The Catholic Churchmen always argued against such inductive reasoning and favored deductive reasoning a la Scholastic Philosophy via St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1249). The Catholic authorities also argued that the major problem with modern sociology was that such studies reduced men and women to statistics to be be manipulated by technocrats.

The Catholic authorites had similar criticisms of the New Economics. The Canon Law established limits on economic aquisition and wealth. The basic premises of the Canon Law re contracts and economic activity were based on what the Catholics considered Natural Law or God's law. Again, Catholic authorities did not reject all of the newer economic theorizing. What was rejected, again, was the inductive method as opposed to deductive reasoning. Again, the Catholic intellectuals opposed the use of data and the reduction of people to statistics and factors of production. In fact, the Catholic authorities argued that economic calamities were due to what may be considered to two Cardinal Sins (Greed and Gluntony). Prof. Woods did use these terms which can be inferred from the sources in the book. Mention of Father Jaurez (1544-1618)could have helped explain the Catholic position. Brief mention of the Medieval Canon Law re economic relations could have made a very good book a little better.

The Catholic response to modern "education" (the word education is used very charatibly)was interesting. Prof. Woods made the point that Catholics again per se did not reject new teaching methods. What was condemned was the attempt to eliminate the Classics and Scholastic Philosophy. The emphasis on science, including false concepts of science such as physical exercise, sports subjects, etc. was rejected. Notice how any new college curricula is called a science to get acceptence. Again, the Catholic authorities saw men reduced to usefullness and robots rather than created in God's Image. The new education substituted utility for moral codes, philosophy, and proper living.

The chapter titled "Syncretism" is interesting. The idea that all religions should be reduced to one religion or combined in the name of religous freedom was contradictory. The idea of one religion without moral codes, concepts, liturgy. etc. was opposed by Catholics. The idea of a vague religion was perhaps the most restrictive religion in that it would tolerate no creeds, liturgy, theology,etc. The Catholics wished all men good will and mercy, but they would not abandon their Catholic Faith that had a 2,000 history.

The final chapter titled "Epilogue" dealt where the Catholic Church had been and where it was going. The Catholic authorities and lay people held to their Faith with a sense of confidence and self assurance. Yet, Prof. Woods stated that after Vatican II (1963), the Catholic authorities and laity lost their confidence and their nerve. Prof. Woods states that the Vatican II documents were badly written and vague. This is in contrast to pre-Vatican II councils whereby the Popes and Catholic authorties were clear, concise, and logical in their terse pronouncements. The apparent contradcitions in the Vatican II sources created internal strife in the Catholic Church and showed a loss of clarity and self confidence. Yet, this book was published in 2003 prior to the election of Pope Benedict XVI(2005) who has actively worked to restore the Latin Mass. The Gregorian Chant, to use Prof. Woods' phrase had the pride of place in the Catholic Mass and is now almost forgotten. Yet, within the last few years, the Latin Mass and Gregorian Chant have been restored in some parishes. In other words, there is the possibiltity of the confidence of Progressive Era Catholicism may be return which could not be forseen when Prof. Woods' book was published in 2003.

This book is useful for Catholics for obvious reasons. Furthermore the book is good for those not familar with the philosophical concepts mentioned in this review. Prof. Woods gave readers a fair and clear explanation of these terms. This book again shows Prof. Woods' clear writing style which makes it more accessible. This book is suggested for devout Catholics and students of the Progressive Era History.

Woods' book is an amazing display of erudition and insight in less than 200 pages. For too long, postconciliar Catholics have been led to believe that the pre-Vatican II Catholic Church in America was intellectually barren, reactively hostile to new ideas, and fully deserving of being labelled a "ghetto." Some scholars, such as historian James Hitchcock, had previously revealed problems with that view. But Woods has gone even further in exploring our not-so-distant past. He has systematically and thoroughly examined the American Catholic response to "Progressivism" and philosophical pragmatism in the early 20th Century and found that the response was cogent, coherent, intellectually sound, and orthodox. Not all Progressivist ideas were bad, and some of its "forms" could readily be assimilated, but the essential "matter" was rejected. The Catholic intellectuals of the time (to include the Jesuits at the magazine America) could tell the difference.

After reading this, one may feel that if the Church as a whole had taken a similar approach during the Second Vatican Council, and not simply kowtowed to modernity so much, the Church would not be in such a mess as it is now.

Put simply, this book is gracefully written, thoroughly researched, sober, and balanced--reminiscent of the great Catholic historian Christopher Dawson. Any American Catholic, seeing the disarray of a Church mired in scandal, dissent, and heterodoxy, and interested in the "old days" should pick this book up and read it. If he does, he may find himself asking at the end: "What happened to make it all go so wrong?"

This thoughtful collection of essays from college administrators is well worth reading. Despite a few clunkily written contributions, it offers real insights into the productizing and marketing of the college experience. In addition, I highy recommend the book, GETTING IN WITHOUT FREAKING OUT -- which, on a very practical, user-friendly level, helps families turn the tables and become wise education consumers.

Mr. Thacker does everyone a service with his well orgainzed and written treatise on the often confusing admission process. Job well done Mr. Thacker, keep up the good work! A must read for anyone who is applying to college or whose kids are applying for college. Do yourself a huge favor and pick up a copy of this book now.

"Nobody likes what's going on in college admissions---not students, not parents, not college presidents and not deans."
- Lee Pelton, President of Willamette University (quoted in College Unranked)

So, what has happened to college admission? Have the ranksters, the testers, the branders, the marketers, the dot.coms, etc. taken over? How did we let it happen? And what, if anything, can we do about it? Well folks, there is hope, and hope has come in the form of a book and an organization.

College Unranked is more than a book; it is a call to action to all who care about education. The book is the first tangible contribution of the Education Conservancy (educationconservancy.org), a non-profit organization that is "committed to helping students, counselors, and colleges overcome commercial interference in college admissions." All proceeds from the book support the work of the Education Conservancy.

College Unranked is a collection of 20 essays all by college presidents, deans, directors, and others in admissions and higher education. The editor, Lloyd Thacker, wrote the introduction, four sets of "Editor's Stories," and the summary and recommendations. The theme of the book, which runs through the essays, is that "Commercialism's intrusion into college admission has transformed a uniquely American educational experience into a problematic American commercial exercise." This is not, however, a nostalgic look at the "good ol' days," it is full of practical wisdom that can affect what we do today.

Thacker and his essayists are doing more than just asking us to think outside the box; they are asking us to throw out the box completely; the box in which colleges are branded and students are packaged, where colleges are ranked and students are measured. A frequent and deserving target in the essays is the U.S.News rankings---"Complicity [with U.S.News] is a disservice to our students and prospective students, and it helps distort various public policy issues affecting higher education (Adams in College Unranked)." It is important to note that while essayists criticize industry icons, they also put responsibility on those who are compliant as well. While some of the stakeholders are more to blame than others, we are all feeding the problem at some level or, at the very least, our complacency is allowing it to continue.

It is difficult to present a book that can be read with equal interest by admissions personnel, secondary school counselors, parents, and students; but College Unranked has done it. While some outside the profession might not care about or grasp some of the "trade talk" in the essays, there is not enough of it to turn off these readers. This is not a "how to get in" book, it's a book about how to do it right. Parents and students are challenged to take responsibility as well and are given the tools and the advice to help them do so.

Those of us who agree that "Something is wrong with college admissions---something wrong enough to care about, to discuss, and to change (Thacker in College Unranked)" now have a flag to rally around.

"Let us all---counselors, students and parents---reclaim the college selection and admission processes a form of education rather than a form of commercialism (Ballinger, p. 175)." Quixotic? Maybe. But also visionary, optimistic, and crucial. Individual lament can become collective action. We won't know if it will work unless we give it a try. Let's give it a try.

If you are the parent of a college-bound high school student, you owe it to yourself to read this collection of essays before you enter the fray of college admissions. Too many rankings. Too much marketing. Too much pressure. Too many tests. There's alot of blame to go around, and this book is a beginning at reforming the schools, students, parents and media who drive the system.

Given the moment we are in, Lloyd Thacker's book is not just good for, but vital to the admissions profession. With wisdom and disarming candor, College Unranked's contributors identify the commercial influence in our profession and describe its manifest forms: from the "ranksters" to the overgrown role of standardized testing in the admissions process; from the marketing of educational products to the reallocation of aid from those who need it to those whose numbers are in demand. Rather than just criticize, however, as so many volumes do, the essayists in College Unranked proffer bountiful and sage advice to virtually everyone involved in the college admissions process: students, parents, colleges, the media, for-profit educational companies and the College Board. Anchored by many years of experience, and fortified by their very unity in this volume, the essayists' insight is at once sound, challenging and reassuring. I join Thacker's endorsers who proclaim on the book's back cover that College Unranked is required reading for anyone who is planning to apply to college. As a college counselor who will soon welcome a class of undoubtedly anxious but hopeful high school juniors and their parents to the process, I am grateful to have this book on my shelf. Echoing College Unranked's already published praise, the advice it gives is more powerful, more heartening and more inspiring than that spun by any guidebook or magazine. For that, Thacker deserves abundant commendation.

Effective execution takes coordinated effort. Why is this seemingly obvious fact so difficult to experience? The authors do an excellent job of illustrating how effective listening provides the starting point for a level of interaction that allows disparate views to be heard and valued.

This book allows me to be more aware of and intentional about, creating converations that search for a meaningful launching pad for strategic and tactical execution.


Jim Canfield
President/COO
Renaissance Executive Forums
San Diego, CA

I was introduced to this book by a colleague at a former employer. If you feel like you are building consensus, driving decisions or winning arguments - only to learn later that nothing is sticking "because of the other guy" - then you owe it to yourself to read this book.

The authors do an excellent job covering the theory of creating an authentic dialog where truth is spoken, beliefs are shared, perspectives understood and alignment and consensus are built. One of the key points is that communicating at this level is not always easy or comfortable, but it is essential to constructive communication.

In terms of format, the authors combine theory with a running fictitious story that is more colorful and detailed than a typical case study. Some may think the story is hokey, but I found it useful and entertaining. It also makes the book a hybrid between the cutesy (and somewhat useless - IMHO) parable format that is raging across business publishing, and pure theory, which can become dry and pedantic.

This is a very helpful book if you need to facilitate meetings to produce business results. It has helped me immensely.

The authors have offered a refreshing and effective model for communicating. The search for an intersection of facts, views, and intent makes incredible sense. I am using this model in all of my work and making progress in creating more value and less waste. I love their vocabulary. Buy this book if you want to make a positive and significant difference in the manner in which you communicate to those you want to influence, inspire and transform.

Connolly and Rianoshek take the view that any issue, no matter how seemingly intractable, can be resolved through effective communication. The ideas and tools in this book back up that view. The writing is clear and the organization will make it available to a variety of learning styles. Excellent book!

This is an excellent book that gives a way for individuals to take difficult problems/situations involving people and use communication to resolve the problem. It is well written with good illustrations.

This book goes beyond a must read to a must do. It provides clear, compelling guidance for growing stronger, better performing companies from within. It challenges organizations that compete in the knowledge economy to move beyond "people are our only assets" to "We, the people". But it is not mere smarmy and naive trash that extols empowerment without responsibility. If people are to seize the moment and become companies of citizens -- become contemporary equivalents of "Athenians" -- then they must take responsibility individually and together. They must risk their futures on learning from the distant past so well described in this excellent book.

Whether you are looking for a model of a democratic yet decisive organization or for an example of the timeless lessons of ancient history, you will love A Company of Citizens. The authors, a businessman and a classics professor, deserve a victory wreath for this short, sparkling, and inspiring guide that takes us from the Acropolis to the organization of the future.

History was never my favorite subject so I was a little leery of how much I might appreciate from a book about ancient Athens. How wonderful to find refreshing insights and practical teachings page after page! The authors use Athens as more of an illuminating example or clever case-study than a mantra for what modern managers should do now. They address both historical challenges and modern day dilemmas to get at the heart of how to build community while supporting individuality at the same time. Through stories that could almost seem ripped from today's headlines, they show refreshing ways of working together, learning from one another, and networking for the good of a geographic or business community. I was especially impressed with chapter 5, Practicing Citizenship, because it offered a series of Athenian practices that (as the authors said) "embody the combination of 'doing' and 'learning'--things that modern managers still tend to keep in separate jars." In my work, helping people and organizations discovery alternative ways to learn and work together, I'm sure to surprise people with some fresh approaches that are anything but new.

A Company of Citizens is concerned with two themes. First, "workers in today's Knowledge Age," mindful of their contributions and responsibilities, increasingly expect to become full citizens of their organizations with rights to self-govern and to develop practices of cooperation. Secondly, the Greek city-state of Athens in the fourth and fifth century B.C. is presented as the most significant example of a large organization/society that operated as a thoroughgoing democracy, and, as such, is suggested by the authors as the best practical model for modern firms desirous of a transformation to democracy. But the connection between the democracy of Athens which existed primarily at the level of the state and participatory democracy in modern, private enterprises is hardly straightforward. The authors contend that reality for today's employees is one of being forced to "check their values and sense of purpose" at the door to their firms, much to the detriment of the firms.

A large portion of the book consists of a discussion and breakdown of what the authors term the core elements of the Athenian democratic system: "democratic values, governance structures, and participatory practices." The basis of the widespread participation by Athenian citizens in the affairs of state was an unprecedented freedom and equality. There was not a layer of elites that trumped the various citizen assemblies, and any leaders chosen remained accountable to those assemblies. There was frequent rotation of citizens among the various bodies performing legislative, executive, and judicial functions. The art and responsibility of governing was widely distributed among Athenian citizens.

The authors focus on the Athenian concerns for defense and the domination of neighboring city-states as evidence of the positive workings of the Athenian democracy. But the authors make little mention of the economy of Athens, which is surprising since this book attempts to address the relevance of the Athens model to modern private enterprises. They make the claim that redistribution of private assets was not part of Athenian policies. But the redistribution of power or economic goods in the name of fairness and the wellbeing of communities is invariably part of democracies. That is a fundamental principle of modern social-democratic states, and, one guesses, of the Athens city-state.

For both communities and organizations, issues of "who can be members" and "the permanency of membership" are primary. An oddity by today's standards, citizenship in the Athens city-state was limited to native-born males. Unfortunately, the authors seem to have been unduly swayed by that restriction by pondering whether levels of membership will need to be established in firms employing workers with varying degrees of importance to their firms' success. However, a caste system is a dubious proposition for a modern democratic community. As a further consideration, in most genuine communities, members are protected by the group and not cast aside in difficult times. Yet the authors see "downsizing" as a possible action by democratic communities, though perhaps distasteful. The damage to an organization's fabric is not discussed.

The oft-repeated, hollow slogan of modern companies, "the people are the company," certainly had validity in Athens. There can be no state without citizens. But modern companies have legal, independent standing and are generally owned by outside shareholders, not workers. The reality is that workers are more like "wage slaves," not citizens of their companies with long-term, essential standing, legal or otherwise. The authors briefly touch on the necessity of redefining and reprioritizing the concept of "stakeholder" in modern companies. Obviously, a company of citizens cannot be trumped by absentee owners and still be a democratic community.

Closely tied to the issue of ownership of a firm is the role of management. The difficulties in transforming a company being operated by a managerial elite backed by a board of directors to one governed by employee-citizens cannot be exaggerated. A company of citizens cannot simply be mandated with power being retained by some overriding authority, no matter how enlightened. The authors point out that a democracy evolves through experimentation and mistakes by citizens. It is difficult to envision a modern CEO permitting his authority to be eliminated, let alone diminished, or allowing himself to be rotated out of the job. In addition, a huge issue is whether modern workers can really embrace and accept the responsibilities of democracy.

The emphasis on the Athens city-state is instructive from the standpoint of describing a "strong" democracy, despite some of its shortcomings. But one could ask whether it is even necessary to turn to ancient history to shed light on employees trying to find empowerment within their workplaces. The labor movement has struggled since the beginnings of industrialization to gain a voice for workers within enterprises. The authors do not present in the main text any examples of companies where employees are full citizens. It would have been interesting for the authors to comment on the well known example of the Saturn Corporation as to its fit as a company of citizens. Or perhaps the works council systems found in Europe could have been mentioned.

The authors repeatedly make the point that a company of citizens must be concerned with a "steep performance challenge," but why the condition? One would think that those advocating for democracy would do so on the fundamental basis of citizens controlling their destiny and not on the existence of some unusual circumstance. The book is thought provoking. But far too much space is devoted to the Athens city-state and the attempt to capture its workings in a set of textbook-like generalizations. There is little in this book that leads one to believe that the U.S. will be establishing companies of citizens any time soon. Nor is the book much in the way of a blueprint of how to do so. In some respects this book can be added to a large list of management books that talk employee empowerment, but don't quite get it.

Ancient Greeks bear gifts to management.
By RICHARD DONKIN.
1,073 words
27 February 2003
Financial Times
16
English
(c) 2003 Financial Times Limited. All Rights Reserved

The authors of a new book argue that the ordered society of Pericles' Athens offers transferable models of organisation for the modern company.

There is a memorable scene in the Monty Python film The Life of Brian, where a group of Jewish resistance fighters asks: "What did the Romans do for us?" before producing an ever-growing list of achievements. It is just as well that the Python team did not include the Greeks or the scene would have run and run.

Ancient Greece has so much to offer that it is perhaps surprising that the management book-publishing industry has taken its time to evaluate the Greek city state for ideas that may be applied in the modern company. It is not as if business publishers have been coy about historical studies. We need only look at the exhaustive examinations of the methods of Sun Tzu, the fourth-century BC Chinese general, and Niccolo` Machiavelli, the Florentine Renaissance politician.

The interest in both is understandable, since they had much to say about the dark arts of manipulation and strategy, perceived for so long to be instructive for bosses who wanted to be sure of their power base.

But what could the city state of ancient Athens with its democratic traditions have to offer the autocratically run company?

The authors of a new book* believe the time has come for greater democracy and citizenship in the workplace. They argue that the ordered society of ancient Athens - what they describe as the world's first "company of citizens" - offers transferable models of organisation for the modern company.

It is tempting to dismiss this collaboration between Josiah Ober, a classics professor at Princeton University, and Brook Manville, a chief learning officer in Saba Software, a human resources and management consultancy, as a flight into faddism. But their comparisons provide an intriguing reflection on the modern company.

They do not, for example, explicitly compare today's companies with another Greek model, Spartan society - but there do seem to be similarities. The Spartans were reared as warriors and trained in military systems from childhood. Society was controlled from the centre. What the authors describe as a "grim and joyless military camp" sounds like the pared-down efficiency expected of lean manufacturing or the no-frills office.

There is a big difference, however, between tightly controlled Spartan society and the various degrees of semi-autonomous decision-making work teams in more progressive manufacturing businesses today. Some companies, flush with the ideas of empowerment, do appear to be heading towards more consensual models of organisation. But they have yet to achieve the devolution enjoyed some 2,400 years ago by the citizens of Athens.

As the authors point out, the decision to build the Parthenon, still one of the world's most potent symbols of democracy, emanated from accountable leaders who proposed it in an open forum and had the work plan approved by a citizens' assembly. "It did not spring from the head of an egotistical tyrant," they write. How many corporate decisions today can boast such participative involvement of employees?

The Parthenon remains, say the authors, "a product of tens of thousands of people working together to create something of lasting value and excellence, a reminder to us that similar excellence can be achieved today."

The achievement of such excellence was founded on a strong emphasis on the involvement of citizens in decision-making, the system of poletia that embodied a sense of civic duty, common purpose, learning, governance and community values. If the same spirit could be replicated in a company's workforce, say the authors, it could produce the same kind of sustained dynamic performance that characterised the success of Athenian society.

But, as they point out, the Athenian poletia was not socially engineered from above. "(It) did not start with a strategy, then devise a structure then finally plug the people into the framework. It began with the people themselves, and let values and structure and design emerge through the aligning practices of citizenship." But it relied on the direct involvement of citizens in the direction of society. "We do not say that a man who takes no interest in politics minds his own business; we say that he has no business here at all," said Pericles, the Athenian statesman.

There is a big difference between this view and that of the typical board-run company. It is one thing to communicate decisions to staff. It is quite another to involve those staff in the decision-making process. As the authors acknowledge, most experiments in workplace democracy to date have taken place in village-sized enterprises, such as the St Luke's advertising agency, the Oticon strategic management group and a jet engine plant run by General Electric in Durham, North Carolina.

They argue, however, that the Athenian model of organisation, consisting of "networks of networks" of citizens based primarily on neighbourhood groups called demes, could be scaled up to cover communities of tens of thousands of people.

The authors are not completely starry-eyed about the Athenian model. Ultimately, after 200 years, it was replaced by hierarchical rule after the city's conquest by Macedon. Athenian citizenship was never inclusive. It did not grant citizenship to women and it exploited the practice of slavery, although a small minority of slaves did manage to prosper and some even won their freedom.

But there is no doubting the power of involved citizens in democracy or that of involved employees in a genuinely democratic enterprise. Even so, can we really expect the chief executives of traditional businesses to become more accountable to employees? Recent developments in corporate governance are forcing boards to become more accountable to shareholders. Moreover, increasing numbers of organisations appear to be acquainting themselves with the stakeholder concept of the organisation. But this has yet to extend to any sophisticated understanding or practice of corporate citizenship.

Greek civilisation emerged in a turbulent world of warring nation states. Athens discovered that the organisational power unleashed by its system of governance endowed it with a real competitive advantage. That alone is enough to justify a more active experimentation in corporate citizenship today.

I teach a class in fundraising and I use this book as my text. Great book, good examples. It's a comprehensive introduction to development for non-profits.

Even though I have not been able to read the Guide in full or use the CD Rom, all the special topics I have checked out thus far have been highly informative. I especially like the detailed charts and exhibits which provide an "at-a-glance" guide.

Having been a management consultant for 15 years, although not in the Arts Funding Area where I now toil as a volunteer, I have a good eye for serious data. And, having read several other books on the subject of nonprofit organizations, I can honestly say this book by Stanley Weinstein provides the kind of nuts and bolts data that is essential to fundraising.

Finally, since I had to pay for this Guide out of pocket, I can honestly say that I feel I got my money's worth even at this early stage of the fundraising process. It's a winner.

Please give me an opportunity in the future to provide another review...after our fledgling group...The Westlake Arts Center in Westlake, OH...implements some of the suggestions.

Weinstein does a good job representing the many facets of fundraising development today. The CD-ROM is a helpful addition. Highly recommended.

I loved this book. It covers so much about nonprofit fundraising in such detail that I'm so glad I came across it a few years back when I was learning about the subject. I was working as an associate capital campaign consultant and found it kind of hard to find fundraising books that covered much of anything about capital campaigns. Then I found this book.

Most of the hardcover books I buy and read I don't bother to make notations using a pencil. I used this book so much to learn the basics of nonprofit fundraising that I broke tradition and used a pencil on it quite extensively. As a result, I have a few recommendations as to how the next edition could be improved. First, and foremost, I think the chapters should be reordered as follows:

PART 1. Fundraising Basics
1. (1.) The five major fundraising principles
2. (2.) Your organization and the nonprofit world
3. (3.) Managing the resource development function
4. (5.) Managing information
5. (15.) Human resources
6. (6A.) Prospect ID, research, and segmentation
7. (9.) Direct and select mail fundraising
8. (10.) Telephone solicitations
9. (7.) Nurturing relationships
Part II. Major Gift Fundraising
10. (4.) The Case for Support and fundraising materials
11. (6B.) Prospect ID, research, and segmentation
12. (8.) Major gift programs
13. (13.) Planned giving
14. (14.) Capital and endowment campaigns
Part III. Add-on ways to generate funds
15. (11.) Special event fundraisers
16. (12.) Grantsmanship
Part IV. An appendix
17. (16.) Evaluation

The numbers above in parenthesis are the actual chapter numbers. I would have liked the book much more if Chapter 6 had been split into two chapters. As far as I know, prospect identification differs significantly when working an annual campaign and soliciting funds using direct mail and the telephone. This topic could and should have had its own chapter. There is also the prospect identification, research and segmentation I am initimately used to that relates to major gift solicitation and capital campaigns. That topic should have had its own chapter (maybe even two chapters?).

I would have liked the book better if the content at pages 247 and 248 were reworked. I would reword the text as follows:

"Resource development professionals who have had years of capital and endowment campaign experience have come to recognize FIVE fundamental prerequisites indicating institutional readiness:

1. Does the nonprofit have a sound Case for Support?
2. Is there a good database of donor prospects with many high in CCCC, i.e., capacity, capability, connection, & commitment?
3. Are there sufficient volunteers who can provide strong leadership?
4. Is now a good time to initiate a campaign considering the current obligations of the nonprofit, the attitude and composition of its Board, and fundraising activities in the community from other nonprofits that share this nonprofit's constituents?
5. Can the nonprofit pay for and orchestrate the campaign effort?"

I would have liked to see some coverage of the Internet, Web sites, and email. There didn't have to be lots of this subject - just enough so the reader would know these topics are important to the fundraisers.

I loved the last chapter of the book. I thought it did a wonderful job of providing the reader with a checklist to effectively evalutate a fundraising department at a nonprofit. 5 stars!

I'm new to the fundraising/development field. I found this book very readable and informative. The subject is presented in a style that is intelligent and no-nonsense, unlike a lot of the "XXX for Dummies" and "Idiots Guide to XXX" series.

There is a nice little CD-ROM in the back with sample Word doc files on it. I wish there had been a few Excel spreadsheets too. I come from a sales background and found some of the advice for what to say to potential donors to be a bit ham-handed.

But, overall a great intro to fundraising with a lot of good advice that nonprofits should follow.

I bought this as a Christmas gift for my brother. I checked the dust jacket, casing and book itself and they were all in perfect condition.
Thank you.

I just got my copy and have not had time to try any of the recipes, but the text listed on each contributor is worth the price, along with the pictures of the veterans. The Sons of the Confederate Veterans and the publisher are to be commended for this work. It is time we all took a look back and honored our ancestors who fought for a cause they dearly believed in. To honor them and to preserve our heritage and history as it really happened. In the light of the attacks on their memory and the effort to destroy and/or change history as it really happened, this book should be in the library of every buff of the War of the Rebellion. I can't wait to dig into Great Granny's Confederate Sweet Potato Souffle.

Members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, a patriotic and hereditary organization, have submitted a variety of scrumptious handed down Southern family recipes compiled and edited by Lynda Moreau. A guaranteed taste of the Old South. Be sure to try the Tea Cakes.
The members have also included interesting anecdotes of their Confederate ancestors including photographs and illustrations as well as information about the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

The Confederate Cookbook is the star of my cookbook collection. The recipes, family favorites of Sons of Confederate Veterans and their ancestors, are the best. Photos of those ancestors and chronicles of their service to the south make this a must have book, not only for cooks, but for anyone interested in preserving Southern heritage. I gave one as a gift and treasure my own copy.

In The Confederate Cookbook: Family Favorites From The Sons Of Confederate Veterans, Lynda Moreau has gathered up 340 diverse and delicious recipes from contemporary Confederate kitchens that range throughout every region of country but evoke the flavor of the Old South as past down to the descendants of the Confederacy through the more than 27,000 member "The Sons of Confederate Veterans", an hereditary organization. From Lynchburg Layered Salad, Southern Meat Loaf, and Skillet Chicken and Gravy, to Great Granny's Confederate Sweet Potato Souffle, Copper Carrot Pennies, and Fried Apple Pies, The Confederate Cookbook is a grand compendium of highly recommended dishes which are further enhanced for the family cook with historic anecdotes and images of identified Confederate soldiers.

Excellent book with valuable exercises for classroom experiences. I recommend this book to help design communication and leadership curriculums.

I looked at a lot of books before I ordered this one from Amazon, and I'm glad I did. The training exercises are great and exactly what I needed to complement my planned training. The exercises are well explained, interesting, and provocative. The only thing I'd add is that as an HR professional, I'd make some slight changes to one or two exercises to not focus on physical characteristics.

Worth the investment and a great source even if you're just looking for icebreakers for other types of training.

The "Conflict and Communication Activity Book" is an excellent resource for trainers and facilitators in any organization. I particularly liked how Withers and Lewis formatted the book, defining up front the purpose as well as the equipment, prep and time needed for each specific exercise. The clear instructions and helpful advice provided for each activity make them a breeze for any professional to use. Well done!! As I read through it the first time, I found myself book-marking several of the activities to make a point of trying in the near future. I long ago arrived at the conclusion that no organization will EVER stop dealing with conflict and communication issues. They're universal. Thanks for giving me thirty more creative exercises to include in my bag of tricks!!

I have bought many books with hundreds of business games. Unlike the rest of the books I have read, it goes beyond the games, it gives you not only the materials and explanation on how it works but tells you what you may say and the theory behind the game. It also has different options for putting your own agenda depending on the time you have available and give you external resources.

If you want something practical and useful, this is the one

I recommend this book to people using experiential exercises to teach. I used one of the exercises from this book in a workshop and the students both had fun and got the insights. I have read many of the exercises and plan to use them as I develop workshops that center around conflict. In any case, the exercises are well designed. You'll get the purpose of the exercise and what it's intended to teach, equipment needed (e.g. handout or flipchart), precise directions for the students, what to expect, and insights to share for group learning. The book errs on giving you more information that you probably need to carry out the exercise.

Lots of great ideas for a student/new teacher. Ideas to get ready for that classroom!

I absolutely love this book! I have been teaching for 18 years and have never quite mastered the art of classroom organization. I found out about this book on the author's website when looking for classroom organization tips. This author is clear and exact. I only hope that she teaches middle school at some point and adds a chapter or two that would target organization problems more specific to secondary education teachers. Otherwise, I carry this book around and read it all of the time.

This is one of the, if not the, best books I have ever read on classroom management. All of the ideas are very user friendly and easy to implement. A couple of weeks ago I went to visit a fellow teacher at her lake house for the weekend. Of course I took my book to show her. Well, about an hour after I left I realized I left it there. As soon as I got home I ordered another one because I wasn't going to be able to get my book back until after school started, and I wanted to finish reading it now. My friend was very excited to find out she has a great new book!

I have personally used many of the ideas that Angela Powell describes in her book. Last year I taught a very challenging 4th grade class. I tried everything with no success and finally came across the Token System. It was easy to use and very effective. I am planning on using it again this year when school starts, instead of waiting until problems arise later in the year. In addition, Angela has managed to cover any and all questions a new teacher might have - from setting up their classroom to handling students who want to go to the water fountain all day long. But let me assure you - this book is definitely not just for new teachers. There are lots of great ideas for all teachers - newbies and seasoned veterans alike.

I feel very confident that you will not be disappointed if you order this book. It would be the best investment you could make in your classroom this year.

P.S. Angela also has an awesome website. Visit www.thecornerstoneforteachers.com.

I was an avid fan of her website. For years I've used her ideas and enjoyed the fabulous pictures and easy explanations that accompany room set-up to management and organizational ideas. This book is the best resource you can have. The book is a foundation for any teacher of any subject. Powell doesn't say there is one way to do something. She'll give you some ideas she'd tried years ago, and tell you what's working for her now. We all know that often our classroom students dictate how our systems need to be set up. This book will be as valuable in 25 years as it is now. The documentation chapter is especially important in today's world. Thanks Thanks Thanks to Mrs. Powell.

I have used Ms. Powell's website for years, as a newer teacher, to get ideas and information for making my classroom run as smoothly as possible. The book reads much like her website: she is speaking to you as if you were sitting in the same room having a conversation about management. The tone is friendly and conducive to passing along information about managing a classroom to make the most out of every second you have with your students. The ONLY thing I don't like is that there are no "reproducibles" included in the book -- you have to visit the site to get those. The upside of that, however, is that the downloads are word documents that you can customize which makes it easy to adapt the resources to your specific needs. I will definitely be recommending this book to my colleagues who are just entering the field.

Singleton and Linton impart guided wisdom for the courageous captains who navigate the waters of racism in the sea of school reform. They aid school leaders in the quest for achieving the goals of narrowing the racial divide of achievement, heightening racial consciousness, and ensuring equity. School leaders will find this to be an indispensable handbook for discussing race, dealing with racial issues, and establishing a common language in a professional and productive atmosphere.
The authors' diverse backgrounds provide the reader and practitioner with six conditions that form the basis for antiracist leadership: getting personal; keeping the focus on race; engaging multiple racial perspectives; fostering interracial dialogue in a safe environment; establishing a common language around race; and discussing aspects of whiteness.
Singleton and Linton provide samples of racial histories and provide school leaders with the tools to realize their visions of equity and closing the achievement gap.
Self-examination, personalized racial histories, and the intentional acts of persistence, practice, and passion will lead school leaders on a journey towards engaging in Courageous Conversations About Race. This has been the "pink elephant" that many avoid acknowledging in numerous staff lounges, school board meetings, and classrooms for so long. The authors guide us towards opening our collective eyes, touching, and unpacking the "pink elephant.

Singleton has managed to present an incendiary topic in such a way that is palatable and astounding. "Courageous Conversations" creates a great outlet for discussion, and provides great opportunities for educators to actually be the student. It was a pleasure to read.

This is an outstanding book that every educator should read. It sheds light on one of the most serious problems in our society and in our schools and provides the impetus for action.

This is truly a courageous book! Richard Hernstein first broke Political Correctness's stranglehold on the discussion of race and educational achievement with his book The Bell Curve, and though that groundbreaking book was meticulously researched, the author suffered a hail of mindless political-inspired assaults. Now, the authors of this book have built on Hernstein's work, calling for meaningful dialogue on what changes need to be made to the American educational establishment to provide meaningful results for non-whites.

If you care about the future of America, then read The Bell Curve and Courageous Conversations about Race!

WOW! I was fortunate to work with Glenn Singleton as he brought "Courageous Conversations" to my school district. His method of getting all of us to reflect on what we bring to the table is invaluable. When we are able to look at what race means to us and learn to 'listen" to other peoples stories we are able to grow. Get this book, it's life changing and life affirming.