Columbia College Books

While Sir Martin Gilbert is known mostly for his detailed histories of Winston Churchill, WWI, WWII, the Holocaust and so on, his book, "Holocaust Journey," which documents his two-week trip with graduate students to major sites of the Holocaust (starting in Berlin) is gripping and wrenching. He provides both historical commentary for many of the stops, while his colleagues bring first-person stories that add detail. I would recommend it for students of the Holocaust -- and for those considering following his itinerary.

This moving and fascinating book describes the fourteen day journey of historian Sir Martin Gilbert and a group of his students of the holocaust , exploring sites associated with Jewish history both before and during the Second World War.

The group moves through France and Belgium and then on through Germany , onto Berlin , where at Wannsee plans where made , in 1942 , for the anihilation of Euope's 11 million Jews.
Moving south and then east the group moves on to the sites where the diabolical 'Final Solution' was actually put into practise - the death camps themselves - Auschwitz , Chelmno , Belzec , Majadanek , Sobibor and Teblinkla.

Gilbert fills this volume with both horrifying eyewitness accounts and details with his own phenomenal knowledge of Jewish and holocaust history , in this geographic pilgrimage and historical excavation.

We learn about the ancient and mediaeval roots of Jewish communities in Europe and about the rich Jewish life and culture that flourished in thousands of cities , towns and villages before the Nazi inferno destroyed European Jewry. Gilbert details the attacks on Jewish communities in Germany and elsewhere during the crusades and the pogroms , and blood libels through the ages. Gilbert details the specific horrors of the holocaust associated with each location.

We learn interesting and little known historical facts , such as that Spanish leader Francisco Franco protected the Jews , refusing Hitler's demmands to deport the Jews of Spain , who had been marked out for mass murder at the Wannsee conference , and how Franco also gave shelter to thousands of Jews from France who had managed to cross the Pyrenees.

We learn of the plans Stalin devised before his death to mass murder the Jews of Russia and deport the remainder to Siberia.

The horrors in the book which are recounted are inumerable and at times very graphic-sensitive readers should be careful. These are horrific and bloodchilling accounts of demonic inhumanity and cruelty , of unbelievable suffering.
We also read of heroism and survival against the odds.

It is difficult to believe that such a rich Jewish life existed in places where today there are no or very few Jews.
Holocaust survivor Rachael Fraenkel speaks of what for her was the most 'painful reminder' of the Holocaust "was an exhibition in the building in Prague. Burial Society of paintings by children in Terezin. In the majority of cases the only reminder of the child's life seems to be the paintings they had produced. The mixture of subjects from beautiful countryside scenes wretched and and tormented faces was painful to see. To see such horrific scenes from the minds of such young people , must surely reflect their mental anguish. All that went through my mind was "so young , so innocent , so dead."

The origins where in a village in Poland of the Israeli National Anthem-Hatikvah-The Hope.
Israel is the country that arose out of the ashes of the holocaust - the reborn life of the Jewish people.
The international fury against the collective Jewish presence in Israel certainly mirrors the rise of Nazism.
If we can learn anything from the holocaust it is to defend Israel and her people from the hatred that inievitably leads to mass murder.

Until reading this book, I really didn't understand the true scope of the Holocaust. As a kid, I learned about Anne Frank and the Jews who were required to wear yellow stars; later on, in high school, when we were deemed able to handle such things, we watched "Night and Fog" with its graphic images of those murdered by the Nazis. These experiences were all somewhat clinical, really. The true human cost of the Shoah takes a while for one to fathom.

Gilbert's book does that through his readings of eyewitness accounts, usually on the scenes of their occurrences, of the unspeakable horrors which the Nazis committed. (Readers who are easily shocked should be warned that many of the stories are indescribably gruesome and will haunt one's dreams, as they did mine.)

But apart from the toll in human flesh which the Shoah exacted, the spiritual cost becomes clear through this book. Gilbert, through his readings and observations, paints a portrait of a country which was literally raped of its vitality and life by the Nazis through the indiscriminate murder of Jews and Gentiles alike. Especially poignant are the descriptions of the pre-war Jewish neighborhoods, alive with activity, commerce, and religion, all completely decimated.

It's fashionable for one to claim they are against anti-Semitism and radical nationalism; it's a much more complicated affair for one to understand why these are bad things. This book goes a long way towards reaching that understanding.

I took this book with me on the same trip thoughout Eastern Europe in November. This was the second visit to Eastern Europe with American Jewish Congress. This is the book to read before the trip, and then to take with you when you visit these horrible places. Nothing can prepare one to see what was once full of Jewish life, and is now empty of Jewish life. However the personal comments and views of Martin Gilbert explain what was once full of a Jewish life, and is now no more.

This is a book that one must read to understand the Holocaust.

Although reading Martin Gilbert's book will do no harm if you are just beginning to study the Holocaust, it will certainly be more difficult to appreciate. What you are buying in this book is a detailed travel journal, not meat-and-potatoes Holocaust history. It is a rich vitamin supplement of insights and prepared readings delivered during a 1996 excursion which Gilbert and his students took to former sites of Jewish deportation, genocide, and Nazi occupation. Roughly outlined, the journey starts in London and passes through Brussels, Berlin, Theresienstadt, Prague, Auschwitz, Krakow, Belzec, Sobibor, Lublin, Majdanek, Treblinka, Warsaw, and Chelmno. The travel entries, while thoughtful and considered, do not lack spontaneity and can even be startlingly raw.

While this book has much to offer, how to most benefit from it is something of a conundrum. It is likely best to refer to "Holocaust Journey" after having read about or visited a particular site mentioned in the travelogue. Basic background and history should be gotten elsewhere, as what Gilbert largely documents here are impressions, feelings, and observations. Reading Gilbert prior to confronting these geographic locales ourselves, either in person or via the printed word, may well taint our own first impressions and rob us of a more pristine emotional state from which to experience our own responses. My now-dilapidated hardcover copy of "Holocaust Journey" traveled with me to the Jewish quarters of Warsaw, Lublin, and Krakow, and to the concentration camps and memorials of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Majdanek, and Treblinka in early 2002. When I read Gilbert's book prior to my arrival at a site, I found myself wanting to experience what Gilbert experienced, as impossible as that clearly is. Our responses to the Holocaust are as different as the individual stories which comprise it. On the other hand, having traveled alone much of the way, I found this book a comforting companion and empathetic sounding board after I had visited a site, sometimes even expressing my own feelings, thoughts, questions, or fears.

The readings and brief background notes which Gilbert supplies at each location are extremely well researched, relevant, and poignant. While there are too many to mention in a review, I will remark that those providing insight into the mind and heart of educator and orphanage director Janusz Korczack proved particularly moving. Rather than allow them to meet their fate alone, Korczack chose to be deported along with his orphans to the extermination camp at Treblinka. "Holocaust Journey" directed me to Korczack's memorial stone at Treblinka and the courtyard of the still-present orphanage in Warsaw. For me, a handful of words in Korzac's diary aptly captured the grotesquely distorted existence under Nazi rule. For Korzac daily life had become "a stock exchange quoting the weight of conscience."

They were not lying when they said this is the best book out there about the IVY LEAGUE. I bought it specfically for one college, but I learned alot (and I mean a lot) about this league of prestigious schools. It sure got me untangled.

Wow-- this is this honestly the best book about college ever... EVER. I am graduating high school next month and I read this book as soon as it came out, and it helped me get into my top choice! There is so much information in here, I even made my older brother read it, and even though he graduated from college already he said it was a really great book, very interesting and lots of facts you never would have known.

College Prowler puts out some great guidebooks, they're all written by current students so readers are given a real insider's look at these schools. The guidebooks typically retail for $14.95 each. For those who are looking at one or all eight Ivy League schools, this book is a great value. You're basically getting eight guides in one, not to mention bonus chapters on admissions, athletics, secret societies and more. I've been flipping through this book since buying it from Amazon and have to say I'm quite pleased with my purchase. I'd recommend it to those currently in the midst of the college admissions process!

This book is just packed with great information. As a Cornell junior I can confidently assert that this book is definitely not just for prospective Ivy-League applicants.

This book is incredible! There are so many facts, figures, anecdotes, statistics etc. about The Ivy League (PAST, PRESENT, and FUTURE) in this book that I was not aware of until now--and I am a Junior at Dartmouth--I attended Yale for a year, and I have visted four other Ivy schools on several occasions. After looking over College Prowler's grading criteria for each of the eight school sections, I determined that their grades and analysis on each aspect of each individual school (including: Academics, Local Atmosphere, Nightlife/Social Scene, Campus Strictness, Athletics, Drug Scene, Overall Experience, and even Parking) are actually very accurate and on-point. College Prowler has seemingly gained credibility over other Ivy League college resources, because they utilize actual Ivy students to author their individual guidebooks--which is why "Untangling" is a steal for under $20, because it includes content from each of the eight individual guides within.

This story was expecially fun for me to read because this woman lived in a time and near a place of my own grandmother. She took hold of her life after the death of her husband and shared wonderful adventures with her children each summer in the waters and byways of the Canadian BC inland waterways. She did this in an era where her family said she should sell everything and "move home where it was safer" A real joy to read. Carol Hage Wall, Oak Harbor, WashingtonThe Curve of Time: The Classic Memoir of a Woman and Her Children Who Explored the Coastal Waters of the Pacific Northwest (Adventura Books)

I got out all the maps of the Inland Passage along the British Columbia coast to follow each adventure this articulate widow with five imaginative and curious children and one dog discovered. Her tales of their explorations in a small boat and descriptions of wonderful scenery climaxes in the longest selection near the end of the book: "A Whale...Named Henry [18 pages], the just pleads to be translated into a Newberry Award children's book!

A amazing woman. As good as any cruising book written. And a shame that this woman wrote only one book. A very good picture of cruising, the Pacific NorthWest and, a simpler time.

This book was highly recommended to me by a friend who has cruised the Inside Passage and explored the islets of British Columbia and Alaska for the past 15 years. Many beautiful places are vividly described by Ms.'Capi' Blanchet. The lasting impression is the feeling of having spent time as a companion to the author and her children as they experience the adventure of travel and exploration as they cruise far from home in their small boat, in the 1930's. I enjoyed meeting unique people like 'Mike' - the knowledgeable recluse who expresses much of what must be the authors own philosopy of life. Altogether this little book is a bit of history, a bit of philosophy, and a bit of adventure. I didn't want it to end.

I read M. Wylie Blanchet's book,THE CURVE OF TIME, for the first time last summer and decided to re-read it again this year, as it was so utterly delightful. Ms. Blanchet's love of nature, the ocean, her wonderful children and people--from the hermits who lived in splendid isolation on the BC Coast in the '30's and '40's to the Coast Indians, who left lonely villages behind--is one of the best books ever. This collection of essays, in no particular chronological order, left me amazed at this remarkably self-assured widow who made sure her children learned about people, literature and the beautiful world that surrounded them in British Columbia. It was easy to imagine my own children in that environment and I could almost see my children swimming with hers in those great sun-warmed coves in BC. The book ended with the "sense of place" they all felt upon returning to their "Little House" on Vancouver Island, surrounded by sea and forest. I wish I could somehow learn more about their lives. Thank you, Timothy Egan for making sure we all knew about this obscure author.

I think everyone should read this book especially every teenager. The wrighter of this journal went through just about everything. I could only imagine how it felt. Some of my peers at school read some short segments of Go Ask Alice and they couldn't believe how true and explictedly described it was. I also think this book could wake up some teens in this world and it could let them know that no matter what some of their peers may say drugs are not cool and they can ruin everything you want and everthing you have going for yourself just like it did for the writer of Go Ask Alice.

This book fills a definite need for adolescents. It presents the facts, not fallacy, to all of the questions they have that parents and other caregivers may be too embarrassed to talk about. It is from an extremely reputable source (Columbia University), and is readable and accessible to the average teen. Kudos to the people who put together "The Go Ask Alice Book of Answers".

The review dated May 9, 1999 is not germain to this book, having a similar title to an earlier fictional book simply titled Go Ask Alice.

This book illustrates and discusses issues regarding healthy practices on many levels.

At www.goaskalice.columbia.edu, there is one of the best sources for advice on sex, relationships, and health for people ages 14 and up. This book is the print version.

It has nothing to do with the adolescent potboiler written by Beatrice Sparks; its information on drugs and sex is technical, explicit, and meant to give answers, not scare people. The gamut of advice given runs from flirting to penis size to the effects of various drugs on the body to urinary tract infections, and it's delivered with humor and understanding, without the judgementalism that seems to be the case in many more traditional books.

While I wouldn't recommend it for anyone who hasn't hit their 13th birthday yet, this book is an antidote for prudishness and the information vacuum far too many young people live in, and in a world where basic information on sex and life can often be hard to find or heavily polluted by unnecessary moralism, this book can help ease fears and educate the uneducated in a way that scare stories and sermons can't.

I recently bought a copy of BC Wild, the interactive CD-ROM, and I am very impressed with the level of professionalism that Dr. Chestnut has produced.

This CD is a must for any BC wildlife lover like myself. There are some outstanding photos that include labels which really help with identification purposes when I am out in the field. I must admit though, that I failed the quiz, that thing is a killer!

What a great value!

The BC Wildlife CD-ROM is excellent! It is easy to load, great features and has an endless supply of LABELLED photos. The price is reasonable too! I couldn't recommend a better wildlife CD-ROM, great job Malaspina!

The BC Wildlife CD-ROM by C.W. Chestnut is the definitive multi-media product covering selected BC Mammals. It features over 40 species and subspecies. There are over 450 excellent labeled photographs and some short video clips. I found it easy to load and use. The price is a steal and you can print out any photo you want. My favorite feature was the distribution maps. They are Incredibly detailed and must have taken forever to compile. This CD-ROM gets top marks from me and it deserves a place in the library of any student of wildlife.

JoBeth Allen has created an exceptional resource and guide book in this text. She uses the voices of teachers and others in the schools, as well as her own mother/grandmother experiences to expose the reader to what a welcoming school looks like, feels like, and does. I would encourage anyone who is interested in their school or school district being sincerely open and welcoming to families to read this book. If you really want partnerships with parents, this is a wonderful place to start or extend on what you've already begun.

This book is a pleasure to read on so many different levels. For starters, Allen doesn't fall into the trap of pitting teachers against parents. She writes frankly from the perspective of a parent and an educator, building on her own experiences and those of others to illustrate the challenges in creating productive partnerships between families and schools in diverse communities. She does an exceptional job of suggesting ways to create meaningful family-school relationships that move beyond bake sales; in doing so, she gets readers to think about the kind of partnerships that are shown to really improve student learning. She does this in a way that is open, engaging, even friendly, while not being afraid to ask us as parents and educators to take a hard look at our practices and assumptions. In sections that are worth the price of admission, she discusses real-life examples of ways to create genuine dialogue between families and schools that deepen understanding and communication while also providing opportunities for increased student learning. But the book doesn't stop there. Instead, it moves into the arena of educational transformation, pushing readers to imagine ways of building community-school-home alliances that speak to living in a democratic society. In that sense, it is an optimistic, hopeful and inspiring book, chocked full of practical ideas, hands-on activities, thought-provoking stories, and opportunities for action. And did I mention that, on top of all that, it's a good read?

JoBeth Allen (Professor of Language and Literacy Education, University of Georgie) presents Creating Welcoming Schools: A Practical Guide to Home-School Partnerships with Diverse Families, a useful resource that explains how schools and diverse families across America have entered into constructive partnerships to improve student learning. Intended for teachers, parents, and school administrators, Creating Welcoming Schools covers such options as writing cultural memoirs, inviting dialogue at the conference table, engaging families in classroom projects, collaborating for more democratic schools and a more democratic society, and much more. "Evidence of learning may come from other teachers or adults who know the learner. If the child has a gift in art or music or physical education, or is working as an assistant in the library, invite that teacher for the conference. These teachers cannot go to every conference of every child, but they are rarely invited to any. What does that say about what we value?" Highly recommended.

This is a book written in easy to understand terms, that takes away much of the fear-out-of-ignorance associated with mental illness. It has the potential of taking the reader from a state of ignorance to the level of being able to take a first crack at diagnosis.

These doctors do the general public a great service by sharing their thoughts on mental health issues. Columbia University is one of the premier colleges to participate in the revolution going on in the field of psychiatry. This book is recommended for any public or private library.

This book can be a dry read a t times, there is a lot of information in parts but it helps focus your observing of young children.

If for research or documentation you have the need to observe children, this book will serve as a detailed guide to that process. It includes recording routines, a children's use of materials, peer interaction, child-adult interaction, play, adult-directed behavior, language, and finding patterns.

This is a solid resource for anyone beginning or stuck in the middle of a dissertation. I wish I had this one from the start. There are several chapters spent on narrowing the thesis, focus, organization, writing, editing, and defending the dissertation.

This book has served as an invaluable guide as I write my qualitative dissertation. Qualitative research is not the "norm" in my university program, and my professors (much as I love them) were providing little guidance on how to approach writing up my research. Recommended books on completing the quantitative dissertation did not seem useful, and I was feeling lost and confused. Biklen and Casella's book is a road map that provides both the big picture and specific signposts. Examples of the authors' suggestions that I have found useful include writing the data analysis chapters first and separating the methods chapter into methodology and procedures. This powerful little book has served as my Bible or perhaps my Strunk & White as I plan and write the chapters of my qualitative dissertation. Thank you!

This is a good book to have in your theater library (especially for black actors/thespians). There are some great contemporary pieces and monologues (especially for Black men). I have always been supportive of The Theodore Award winning plays. The characters are real and the language is rich. The writing is great. Most of the plays are short, so these plays would be good for a burgeoning African American theater company or ensemble to produce.

Since the early part of the 20th century, Chicago has been a national leader in the production of black theater. There are currently six black companies, and black productions are regularly featured at the three Tony Award-winning regional theater companies.

Theodore Ward (1902 - 1983) mentored and encouraged many aspiring dramatists in Chicago from 1968 until his death. To honor Ward, and to aid black playwrights in the development and production of scripts, Columbia College Chicago established the Theodore Ward Prize for African American Playwriting in 1985. Only full-length plays addressing the African American are considered, and the playwright must be of African American descent. Since one of the goals is to uncover and identify new works, scripts which have received professional production are not eligible.

This anthology of prize-winning plays is the first in a series to be published every three years. Compiled and edited by Chuck Smith (currently Resident Director at Chicago's Goodman Theater, and affiliated with the prize for fifteen years) it presents seven plays spanning nearly two decades, with diverse subject matter and treatments. Christopher Moore's "The Last Season" (First Prize 1987-88) immerses us in the final days of the Negro Leagues. The most recent offering, Shepsu Aakhu's "Kiwi Black" ( First Prize 2001-02) tells the story of adolescent son coming of age under the watchful eye of a tough-love father.

But my synopses can't possibly do these scripts justice. Highly recommended for any theater library!