Columbia College Books

John Vaillant's "The Golden Spruce," is a strangely uneven read. Like many other readers, some of whom are Amazon reviewers, I purchased it because of the connection to Jon Krakauer's work.

I do recommend this book. But it comes with a warning: the story line is choppy. There are a number of tangents that Vaillant goes off on. Some are relevant, some not. Some are interesting, some not.

The central theme is of course, "why did forester Grant Hadwin do it?" Vaillant's tale of sleuthing and detective work drives this, the story line. This will be the force that motivates most readers.

Some readers will be disappointed because Vaillant's tale ends without clarity or resolution. Above all, there is much sadness and pain, for Hadwin has committed a deliberate and evil act, designed to hurt. His crime is an act of eco-terrorism inflicted upon native people, for whom the Golden Spruce is not only a "cash-cow," but more importantly a symbol of pride and heritage. Hadwin's crime is a crime against nature and a people, although Vaillant does his best to salvage and explain the twisted logic that may have motivated him.

"The Golden Spruce" is not an easy read. But it is tale you will not soon forget.

The story is set in the Northern Pacific coast where in 1997 a crumpled kayak is found beached. The story tries to center itself around a 300 year old rare Sitca Spruce and an individualist named Grant Hadwin bent on fighting the establishment. Hadwin is a fascinating figure and just as questionable: for one night he just goes off into the woods to cut down that 300 year old tree of worship; the golden spruce.

There is a lengthy lead-up covering the long history through which the golden spruce survived. The geography, the natives and their culture, the early settlers, the loggers and the dangers they faced, the tough individuals that settled the Northwest, and the technical information is all very interesting; this is the stories strength. The main theme that Vaillant portrays is the destruction of natures oldest living giants by the greedy lumber barons.

Grant Hadwin was a logger and a natural woodsman, with an almost inhuman toughness. But the world failed to see the forest for the trees; the fuse was lit. After the felling of the spruce, Hadwin made a run for the remote wilderness in a kayak. In the neighborhoods and surrounding native villages the downing of that tree was tantamount to murder. Hadwin was never found----he is presumed dead. There were two freaks of nature to this story. Later, there were attempts to take grafts from the fallen spruce.

The reader can find numerous messages; although subtle, the authors' environmentalism, anti-capitalism, and anti-religion agenda are all too evident. I wish that he would have just told the story. He puts strength in words, but he tends to lose the reader, is disorganized, goes off on tangents, and wanders; the story is overloaded with too many distractions.

There is more to these words besides the obvious, the obvious: the myth was what surrounded the golden spruce, the madness was Hadwin, and the greed was the lumber companies.

I believe Hadwin wanted to divert attention away from the aggressive clear cutting, and in a way, kill a god. I actually don't have a problem with what he did, unlike so many others. And at the same time do not have a problem with our capitalistic system. Being in the lumber business in the late seventies to the mid eighties there was a noticeable decrease in quality of lumber. But I see the forest as a blessing, a gift from God----given to us to build our homes, give us shelter, and improve our lives. Conservation will keep our forests and build our economy, but environmentalism will destroy our economy and eventually doom or forests.

Wish you well
Scott

The Golden Spruce is good for anyone who likes well-written, John McPhee-esque detailed descriptions of nature, cultures, history, personalities. The actual story could probably be written in under 30 pages. The rest is amazing descriptions of the Northwest of Canada. I loved it. I bought three copies to give away, one for my husband's birthday. He loved it. I was fascinated by the stories that allowed the author to showcase the stunning nature. It was fabulous from beginning to end. "Sad" also....

The Pacific Northwest is one of history and beauty, as told here it is also one of violence and savagry. The brilliant narrative tells the story of a mythis tree in the Canadian Galapagos. John Vaillant explains in true outdoorsmen style(Into the Wild) how Grant Hadwin came to cut down the Golden Spruce, a semi-mythic survivor, a massive tree.

But this is not just a murder, this is an act of protest by a man who loves the forest and hates what man has done to it, the coprorations, the government, everyone. He is a latter-day Edward Abbey, in the spirit of Crazy Horse and the Monkey Wrench Gang.The Monkey Wrench Gang (P.S.).

The history is as brilliant as the story. The author also describes the rich evology of the Northwest Coastal forest of British Columbis. The Queen Charlotte Islands are also home to the Haida Gwaii, a native people. For them the Spruce was K'iid K'iyaas, as Everest is Sagarmatha to the Sherpas.
Hadwin was a woodcutter and road builder, a man who also loved nature. But as in 'Into the Wild' he left his family and went mad, and committed a great crime.

A brilliant read.

Seth J. Frantzman

I checked this book out of local public library because I am interested
in the subject. Never did I expect such fine, concise, and insightful--
not to mention lucid and expressive --writing! Mister Vaillant is
a joy to read... even though the subject is so depressing. He somehow
managed to bring the great American Northwest and the great Canadian
Southwest into vivid, living perspective for me! Thanks, John.

This is one of those important texts that I have always wanted to read, but have never gotten around to reading. To be honest, the length daunted me (1.8 million words), and I never know which abridged version to buy or which is worth reading.

This abridged translation weighs in at 216 pages, and the translator prepared this book with the purpose of providing only the main story of the epic. In his own words: "I have selected only those verses which relate to the main theme, and which help provide a more or less continuous narrative. This process of selection reduced the total number of verses translated to some 4,000." (The 4,000 is out of the possible 74,000.)

Although the nature of an abridgment like this nearly guarantees that the poetry in an epic poem will be lost, I still found it worthwhile to read. The nested story-in-a-story was great, and the rivalry between the Pandavas and the Kauravas was interesting. I have read enough references in Indian literature to be aware of the story without ever really understanding the subject. This gave me enough base to connect the dots.

I am sure that there are scholars out there who can point out the positives and negatives of this particular translation. I am uniquely unqualified to say anything at all about its respective qualities. It does seem to be generally well-respected.

What I can say is that for someone who wants to get a bare-bones understanding of the narrative, then this appears to be a good choice. It is clearly and cleanly written.

From page 193: "Bhisma...addressing his grandson in a sweet voice..." After all the fuss about Bhisma being celebate, where did this grandson come from? If you know the answer, please let me know.

The translation is very easy to read, but you should watch the DVD first -- it helps greatly in keeping the characters straight. And you will want a separate edition of the Gita, which is here condensed into just a couple of pages!

Rick Norwood

Relationships in Indian Culture are somewhat different than in Western Culture...First Cousins are often times regarded as brothers and sisters. Similarly, Yudhistra looked to his own grandfather's half brother (Bishma), as his own grandfather.

Narasimhan's translation has condensed India's most famous religious poem down to about one-tenth of its original length but from what I've seen in comparison with the larger work, the author has managed to do so and yet leave very little out.

This is a wandering, unhurried epic of unknown origins, whose impact on Indian society is immeasurable. It is sometimes compared to the later Homerian works of ancient Greece, but the importance of those pieces to westerners does not come close to matching the significance of this poem to Hindus.

The Mahabharata is many things: morality fable, history, inspirational tall tale, religious discourse, literary masterpiece and national epic. It tells of the lives of members of two feuding, inter-related families, whose fortunes rise and fall over the course of many years. In its verses, gods come to earth to speak with men, heroes and villains share center stage, and in the end the largest battle ever fought on the subcontient is waged. (60,000 war elephants along with several million other assorted troops.)

I personally found this poem dismaying to my western mind but also interesting. It does have long boring stretches, especially in the Krishna sermons (in which the great battle is suspended so the blue-skinned warrior-god may speak to a single man) but its soap opera-like tales of the wavering fortunes of the characters at its heart should be sufficiently vibrant to hold the interest of dedicated readers.

Although Narasimhan has done a proficient enough job in this translation - his English is certainly much better than most full length translations currently available -- it is nevertheless a rather dry version of the great epic. If you are new to the text this will be heavy going, IMO, and you will probably soon find yourself lost in the morass of characters and their complicated relationships. He has not done much to help the reader make sense of the whole thing, unlike some other introductory versions, such as that by Krishna Dharma. It is a page turner only in the sense that you will be constantly turning backwards to remind yourself what is going on. But three stars anyway, as it is after all a faithful version of this wonderful work.

This is an excellent book for educators, whether classroom teachers or professors such as myself. I use it constantly as a reference and include it in online learning environments as well.

This book was not quite what I expected. Silly me, I had expected something about how protocols would lead directly to school or academic improvement. Instead, this is a book about how to run reflective teachers' meetings in schools. The book presents about four dozen "starting points" for teacher in-service trainers, and ways to "run" the conversation(s). It really was not bad, but I had a hard time seeing why the authors used the word "power" in the title.

I suppose this sort of thinking has some place in American education. I had a hard time seeing exactly how this would lead to "better practice," however, or why a teacher in-service educator would pick a particular protocol over another, because most of the protocols seemed roughly similar.

Using the protocols in this volume do lead to better practice.

Several years ago, I attended a series of training sessions conducted by the authors on using protocols in professional development situations and experienced the "power of protocols" first-hand. Since then, I have used them or variations in several ways that have lead to powerful insights for all involved. Most recently, in a graduate education course in technology use, my students (prospective or practicing teachers earning a Master's degree) used a modified version of the Tuning Protocol to give and receive feedback on their final projects. All the students commented on the contrast to typical final presentation sessions, and how this experience made them better listeners as presenters and audience members. We also used the Provocative Prompts protocol as a final class activity.

I've used these protocols in working with teachers and administrators in schools. These protocols give people structured opportunties to talk, and to listen -- especially useful in situations of inherently unequal power, such as in meetings with a principal or district-level administator and teachers.

This is an excellent addition to your library if you are a facilitator of any kind (principal, teacher educator, lead teacher, etc.) and is a good companion book to David Allen, Tina Blythe, and Barbara Schieffelin Powell's book "Looking Together At Student Work."

This should win a Pulitzer this year. The content is tremendous, full of insightful garb about the most cantankerous coach to ever pace the hardwood sideline. Plus, one writer in particular really bolsters this literary masterpiece, James D. Horne. Buy this book while supplies last.

This is a very good view of the overall career of Norm Stewart at Mizzou. It is unique in it is a compilation of articles from the Columbia Tribune starting with a game in February, 1956 through his retirement this past April, 1999. For the avid Missouri basketball fan it will bring back alot of fond memories and things long forgotten. For the newer fan, it will point out just what kind of coach Norm Stewart was and bring out a side of him alot of people don't know about. For just the rabid basketball fan, it is an interesting look at some of the great upsets by Missouri basketball teams, such as over Notre Dame in 1980 in the NCAA and Louisville in 1982, along with the battles within the Big 8. It's an easy read with alot of good pictures.

Very informative. I suffer from PVC's and try to get my hands on as much info as possible. I found this book to be very helpful in my understanding more on this condition.

{Review written June 2005}

This is a handy all-purpose home medical companion, which is useful for reading up on various problems and conditions as you, your family and friends encounter them in life.

Want to read up on the various forms of arthritis ? It's in there.

Diabetes ? Menopause ? Sprains ? Bloody Noses ? Sleep disorders ? Various surgical procedures ? Ditto.

It's a good all purpose resource. My copy cost me $1 at a yard sale, and it's been worth every penny, many times over ... even though it's slowly become a little dated since it was first published.

It's recommended, and used copies can usually be found for a pittance.

Many books on genetics only address issues of interest to scientists or ethical studies programs: Future Perfect outlines some issues and solutions for individuals making decisions based on genetic testing and facts, providing the first insights into how such results can change self-images, relationships, and families. Chapters cover all aspects of genetic issues; from business and employer concerns to family make-up and inherited traits.

I bought this book after hearing Lori speak at a forum at the University of Washington. While this is a book primarily about public policy (what our government should do about making laws covering genetic testing), it covers all aspects of genetics, from a history of genetic testing to the ways in which genetic testing information have been used and abused in our society. I came away worried about our future but hopeful that we could use the new information that genetic testing provides, without considering it the end of the line. Genetics are one piece of information that need to be considered along with ethics, other medical information, and personal beliefs.

Still the best general collection of major sources to have at your fingertips -- this after teaching over thirty years and using dozens. The CUP selections never get too old!

Not only is this book packaged in a handsome red and gold cover, the contents are rather intriguing. Well organized and informative, this book would have been a 5, except for a college student (like most books) it is pricey. A worthwhile addition to any collection.

Like others, I found the verbal sections to be near-useless. However, the science sections more than make up for that shortcoming. They're great practice; just a touch harder than the actual sections on the test in my experience. The book isn't perfect, but it's a good buy and worth using.

This book has very good practice tests for the science sections (although there are a few errors here and there. If you know your stuff, you'll be able to pick them out and they won't phase you. For example, in two places they ask you to name an organic compound, and don't name it correctly in any of the choices!!!) Despite these tiny errors, the practice tests are very good and very helpful....EXCEPT THE VERBAL SECTIONS!!! SKIP THE VERBAL SECTIONS - there are MANY questions which have more than one correct answer in the choices, some questions which have no correct answers and the occasional question which asks for your opinion!!!! you'd never see any question without ONE correct answer on the MCAT and these verbal sections will drive you nuts! I'd still get the book and substitute a different verbal for the ones here.

Excellent book, the three tests were very much like the real MCAT, although some questions are a little off-the-wall overall, the book is excellent, definitely worth getting.

A MUST HAVE book

The tests were a good challenge; however, the verbal section is not designed quite like that of the actual mcat but both test the same skills. There are few mistakes in the physical and biological sections, and some explanations for the verbal sections are confusing. Overall, these tests are a good imitation of the actual mcat.

Though this book has a few mistakes, the question formats in the science sections are just like those of the MCAT, and the explanations are great. The authors didn't cut corners by making up shoddy passages or trivial questions. These practice tests are as close to the real thing as they get.

Professor Rosenthal has done a superb job of evoking the persona of the man who built Columbia, using his 44-year tenure as university president. The author has even succeeded in evoking the reader's sympathies for Butler, a powerful leader who, viewed in today's lights, was an autocratic megalomaniac who missed many opportunities to build an even greater educational institution on Morningside Heights.

This biography will be of great interest to anyone who spent time at Columbia (or its sister institutions) during the 20th century -- the years during which Butler's influence was at its zenith. It provides, perhaps for the first time, a background for some of the University's admirable traditions, balanced, wisely, by a few rather embarassing episodes in its history.

Well written, but of interest mostly to those who went to Columbia while he was president.

Nicholas Miraculous: the Amazing Career of the Redoubtable Dr. Nicholas Michael Rosenthal's biography of Nicholas Murray Butler was fascinating reading for me because of Butler's position as my father's boss and major influence on the social, political and academic world in which he lived during the 1930's and early 1940's (my formative years). It was a world of clubby collegiality for those on the inside, formal social affairs, conservative politics, anti-Semitism, and class and cultural snobbery. Attitudes towards Franco's Spain, Mussolini's Fascism and Hitler's Nazis ranged from admiration to toleration - at least up to the time of the invasion of Poland in 1939. The issue of Negroes on the faculty or in the student body was so far from Butler's concern or concept of the way things should be that it is not even mentioned in his biography. Faculty members were free to exercise academic freedom so long as they did not publicly challenge any of the basic principles of the world of Butler and his colleagues. Those who did, were dismissed or passed over for promotion.
My father often complained about the internal politics he had to deal with at Columbia and I had assumed that this was a problem endemic to all academic institutions, but after reading this book I get the impression that it was worse at Columbia than other places because of the personality and policies of Butler himself who was not a very good administrator.

The word "literacy" in the title is meant in the broadest sense, as it is not about basic reading instruction. It provides antecdotal examples of writing and communication inquiries/exercises/lesson plans to engage students outside of the typical American cultural construct, which the author claims led to better results with measures such as standardized tests. Although the subjects were fifth graders, the pedagogy seems to apply to a wide range of ages. Reviewer's recommendation: Try a "search within" the book to see if it is relevant to your needs.