Columbia Books

DC History is one of the hardest classes to teach because of the difficulty in obtaining one of these books. In case you don't know...the DC Department of Education was behind the publishing of this book and wrote its entire set of standards based upon the contents of this book. Then...as only DCPS could do...they stopped having the book published and don't have enough for the students to use. Ohhh and they didn't rewrite the standards to reflect information that could not be found in any other single (or dozen)text.

This is a book that is designed to be used in a 12th grade Social Studies class and reads like it. It is an incredible resource and one that I could not teach the course without. It also is very detailed not very "user friendly", especially if your students do not read on a very high level.

Over the years, I have managed to buy about ten copies of the text so that I can have something approaching a "class set". I have found, unfortunately, that I have only been able to assign the book to one student as an actual "textbook". Instead, I have begun to take the book and "edit" it, rewriting much of the material, section by section, to attempt to produce a useable product. Soooo...in other words, if you need to have a resource on this topic that is without peer, I highly recommend this book for you. I do NOT recommend that you buy this book as a class set, uless you have a class that is reading on a 12th grade + level.

The works of Samir Khalaf are perhaps the most quoted in all the books that talk about or try to explain the Lebanese civil war. By reading this book, you'd know why the ideas of the sociology professor at the American University of Beirut are such widespread and respected.

Civil and Uncivil Obedience is the fruit of Khalaf's long years of research and his survival of civil war. He observes the Lebanese society and applies modern methodology of analyzing how this society broke down on the eve of the nation's civil strife in 1975 and how tribal affiliations and modes of behavior and interaction easily re-surfed and replaced the state's social contract.

The book is very specialized and might appeal to sociology experts and students more than the average reader. Khalaf's style is also wordy at times as he decorates his text with all kinds of vocabulary that sometimes make the reader lose track of the content. Still, this reference book is worth keeping at your library if you are a Middle East expert or student.

This book (a reprint, it was originally published in 1968) is a critical introduction to the "classic" Chinese novels. Specifically, it has chapters on _The Romance of the Three Kingdoms_, _The Water Margin_, _Journey to the West_, _Chin P'ing Mei_, _The Scholars_, and _Dream of the Red Chamber_. There is also an appendix on "Society and Self in the Chinese Story" and bibliographies of translations and other works about each novel.

I found this to be a very clear, informative, and insightful introduction to these great works of Chinese literature. Hsia provides the context necessary to understand the origin of each novel, as well as a discussion of some of the most important interpretive issues raised by each book. I found that I could appreciate these novels much better with some help from Hsia. Part of the reason for this, I think is that Hsia's style of writing is pleasantly "pre-postmodern" (that is, clear and unpretentious).

There are good English translations of all the novels Hsia discusses except for _The Water Margin_. Several of them are quite long, so you would not be a total wimp for reading a condensed version. Moss Roberts has both a complete and a selected translation of _Three Kingdoms_ (a heroic war story). Arthur Waley's _Monkey_ is the most widely read selected translation of _Journey to the West_ (a funny and fantastic story of a religious pilgrimage). David Roy's _The Plum in the Golden Vase_ is a partial translation of the erotic novel, _Chin P'ing Mei_. _The Story of the Stone_ is the alternative title of _Dream of the Red Chamber_ a sort of romance/Buddhist parable, that has been translated in five (gulp!) volumes by David Hawkes. _The Story of the Stone_ is supposed to be the greatest Chinese novel, and it certainly has some very great parts, but overall I found it too slow moving. My own favorite of the classic Chinese novels is _The Scholars_, a satire of hypocrisy and immorality among Confucian literati, available in a handsome translation by Hsien-I Yang and Gladys Yang.

So buy this book, along with a good translation of one of the novels that Hsia discusses, and sit down for a great read!

The steep price for this book did not make me popular with my students, at first. But as the semester rolled on, and they began to realize how utterly comprehensive CLASSIC WRITINGS ON POETRY is, they became grateful. This is true, especially, when they do the math. This book costs roughly $75. But if I were to have them buy even the paperback versions of the writings on poetry by Aristotle, Milton, Dryden, Longfellow, Whitman, Pound, etc., the cost would be staggering.

Economic reasons aside, Harmon's CLASSIC WRITINGS ON POETRY offers a great representation of the enduring essays on poetry. Ordered chronologically, each essay is preceded by an introduction by Harmon that sets the stage for the period and the writer. Although the selections are conservative and predictable, they are classics for a reason: they have all endured the tests of time and attack. Harmon's CLASSIC WRITINGS ON POETRY is a great book for people interested in the history of poetic theory, and a valuable tool for instructors of the subject.

This is the companion volume to the same author's Classical Japanese: A Grammar (2005). It includes a useful selection of excerpts from texts from the Nara to Meiji periods (eighth to nineteenth centuries), each accompanied by vocabulary notes, grammar notes, and a complete grammatical annotation. The texts include poetry (waka and haikai) and prose (zuihitsu, nikki, setsuwa, various types of monogatari, etc.), thus exposing students to a wide range of textual styles and providing an excellent introduction to the different forms of classical Japanese. The specific vocabulary items given in the notes for each text are complemented by those included in the classical Japanese-English Essential Dictionary at the back of the book. The Essential Dictionary, which also highlights the six hundred most frequently used words in classical Japanese, is a great resource for students, particularly beginners who might find a classical Japanese-modern Japanese dictionary difficult to use. The clear layout, thoughtful text selection, and comprehensive vocabulary and grammar notes make this an excellent textbook, one which should be of immense value not only to instructors and students of classical Japanese, but also to any reader looking to teach themselves the language.

Very good primer on issues related to water pollution and drinking water. After giving a very quick study of issues relating to water chemistry and microbiology, describes the causes of water pollution. He devotes an entire chapter to the issue of drinking water, but also discusses issues relating to pollution in lakes streams, and the ocean. He describes in understandable form, the effects on aquatic life of water pollution. His glossary is also most useful when you may have forgotten a term previously discussed in the book. I am not an expert and possibly a more scientific person would find fault with the book. Ditto-heads may consider him an environmental wacko, because of his recommendations for preventing water pollution. For a basic understnding of the issues of water pollution, I think it is an outstanding book.

Finally a book specifically for novice coastal gardeners! How I wish I had had this book BEFORE I planted my coastal garden--I could have saved much time, money and sweat learning the what, which, where, how and when of northwest coastal planting. This is a comprehensive yet detailed book all those gardening in zones 7-9 should keep close at hand. Carla's suggestions on site analysis and planning, soil preparation and plant choices are valuable. Being a fellow Master Gardener, I appreciate and applaud her approach to sustainable gardening practices and her emphasis on gardening with few chemicals. Her writing is clear, concise and pleasant to read.

This is a great book for the novice botanist. As a person who just recently started trying to identify wildflowers in the Monterey area, I found this book a great guide. I already have a couple of other books, including the ones from the Audubon Society and from the California Native Plant Society, but this one is so simple and covers most of the flowers you commonly see. It's easy to flip through, the pictures are clear and in color, and it certainly doesn't overwhelm you with technical jargon. I was only sorry it doesn't include some of the smaller/tinier flowers I see around. Maybe in the next edition. A great gift!

My Spanish reading group bought several of these to practice our language skills and learn more about Spanish-speaking cultures.

This book includes many terrific and easy-to-make recipes from Columbia. Some are for the gormet, some are very simple & quick. All the recipes are geared for single servings, so there are no leftovers & no waste. But are easy to adapt for small families &/or even a large group.

A very fun book, which includes lot of cultural information also.

I have been traveling for my entire life, but this is the first guide i've found that is easy to carry, easy to use, and is informative all at the same time. Consider me a convert!