News and Media Books

Someone recommended this to us when my children were 6 and 3; now they are 9 and 6 and decided to listen to it again this week . . . for at least the fifth time. A wonderful deadpan narrator for these extremely funny, extremely strange stories. Even I never tire of them. There is nothing else quite like them.

I picked this audio cassette up at the library for a long car trip last summer. At some point on the journey home it was the only cassette we had not yet listened to, and we popped it in, never having heard of it or the author. It did not take long till the reverent silence in the car confirmed that this was a fabulous collection of stories. My husband and I kept glancing at each other...how had we not heard of these short stories? I know that the children enjoyed them and the parents found them equally delightful! Each one was more wonderful than the last. I am so happy to of found a copy and plan on pressing it on all our friends and relations to borrow, it is a gem.

This is a small book and easy to read! Excellent for all those who may be new to learning about the true doctrines of God's wonderful sovereign grace and eternal Love! Faithful to the Scriptures! Learn about how all true believers in Christ were chosen by God before the foundation of the world, and are known by God as "His sheep that shall never perish"!

It's very difficult to understand how election and free will can co-exist but Scripture teaches both. (Just because something is hard to understand does not mean it's not true.) John Reisinger is the best I have come across at helping to understand this mystery.

I read this one on a flight from LA to DC, an easy read that captivates you from beginning to end. I was quite surprised when I came to this page to write my review, that only one other reviewer had anything to say about this title. The story is full of what you expect from a Christmas story. It centers around a family who has suffered the loss of a son in the Gulf War some thirteen years ago and they have not celebrated the holiday since. Their daughter is now sick with cancer and is going through a divorce. The father of the family wants to celebrate the holiday again as he is determined to end the family's pain over the loss of their son. Ultimately, the visitor who comes to the family home on Christmas Eve changes so much for this family. It is a wonderful story and I enjoyed it a great deal. Treat yourself to this one, you'll be completely glad that you did. A great book to cozy up with in front of the fireplace and near your Christmas tree.

This book was thoroughly enjoyable to read. Addressing the sentiment surrounding the loss of a loved one due to military service, the author weaves the lives of different characters that were related to the Deceased in some way into a passionate story of hope and peril, and ultimately, redemption.

We purchased this for my 11 month old son for Christmas and he loved it! The colors are extremely vivid with shiny foil on different objects. It is a cute story about buying and wrapping chrsitmas presents, decorating the tree, etc. It names each item under the flap. It is very sturdy and my son is 18 months and still constantly asks for this book. Worth the price.

Clifford is one of our toddler's favorites, and this holiday book is packed with all the surprises that Christmas brings. Clifford and Emily Elizabeth go shopping for gifts for the entire family and your little one can peek under each flap to discover the presents one by one. The pages are large and sturdy, and the colors are brilliant and eye catching. This is a definite holiday keeper!

There is no better source than the CLMP for publishing literary work. I have used it since 2001. The information is accurate and up to date, and every serious writer should own a copy, a new copy, each year.

I highly recommend this book.

---Reviewed by Dayne Sherman,
Author of a novel, Welcome to the Fallen Paradise

This Directory is a great resource for any serious creative writer - certainly it's a great addition to this poet's reference shelf. It presents listings for LITERARY publications, weeding out commercial places that prefer rhyming jingles to sestinas so my time isn't wasted pawing through pages of inappropriate nonsense. Good information including how each publication is distributed and when the reading periods are is very helpful. I also find the various indices useful for finding information quickly. The online journals also listed in the Directory are another great resource... highly recommended!

McChesney is one of America's top proponents of media reform and one of our most accomplished communications researchers. This book is a crucial consolidation for those familiar with his previous works, but is only about half-relevant for the informed layperson or active citizen concerned about media reform issues. As a budding academic in the same field as McChesney, I award this book a perfect rating because it speaks directly to my personal interests and I am familiar with the subject matter. But there is an issue with this book's introduction, in which McChesney states that his intention is to speak to both academics and concerned citizens, calling for the elimination of barriers between the two groups.

Only about the second half of the book performs this task, while the first half is all academia and will likely be a turn-off to much of the intended readership. In the first half, McChesney provides a critical review of the field of communications research, interspersed with his own academic biography, and this is probably only of interest to those working in the field and familiar with McChesney's previous works. With that being said, I fully agree with McChesney's call for communications researchers to move away from esoteric quantitative experimentation and obtuse postmodern theorizing, and to focus on applied policy research that can have a real impact on the masses outside of academia. This is the primary benefit of the first half of the book.

McChesney then finally explores how academics can support the rising media reform movement amongst the public, in which informed citizens have the greatest chance of fighting off entrenched power players, questioning the establishment's dogmatic faith in "free" markets, and calling for a media system that benefits the public before making immense profits for plutocrats and their pocketed politicians. The first half of this book will surely resonate with McChesney's fellow academics who yearn to make an impact in the real world. The more expansive second half contains his best-ever call for a coalition of thinkers and activists who understand communications issues well enough to bring reform to our currently inequitable media system. [~doomsdayer520~]

This book provides strong evidence of how and why the American media system is failing to fulfill its role as an institution of American constitutional democracy, but it goes further to argue that we are living in a uniquely opportune moment - a "critical juncture" - during which we have the chance to make changes to the system.

Robert W. McChesney is one of America's most important media scholars and thinkers, and this latest work gives a coherent picture of the present crisis as well as a vision for change and the ways to support it. I think he makes a strong case for the urgency of Americans to face up to what the corporate conglomeration of media spells for the future. I'd feel better if this book found its way onto the best-seller lists.

Can someone tell me about this book. Interested in finding information on conducting online meetings

This book is based on extensive studies of the effects of computer-based communication technology - e-mail, distribution lists, bulletin boards, and computer conferences - through field research as well as social and psychological experiments. Sproull and Kiesler, both I believe trained as experimental social psychologists, believe that computer-based communication is radically changing the ways people interact with one another, much like nineteenth century communications technologies as the telephone, typewriter, and railroad transformed social and business lifestyles. With new computer-based communications, the authors argue, organizations are becoming more flexible and fluid, people increasingly think of themselves as part of the larger organization as opposed to mere members of a single department, and managers are working more democratically with employees.

The early work of this book was basic research on groups, especially on the topics of group dynamics, communication, and decision making. When Reagan was elected president, Kiesler had just come to C.M.U. and the N.S.F. held up her grant on standards setting groups. So, for fun, she began to explore computer networks, the experiments of which "revealed many interesting phenomena, which we eventually wrote about in books and articles--on flaming, electronic group dynamics, changes in decision making and employee participation, and new kinds of teamwork." Connections: New Ways of Working in the Networked Organization, summarizes that research.

A companion book to the award-winning PBS series "Cruising American Waterways," The Erie Canal by Debbie Daino Stack (PBS Project Coordinator for the "Cruising American Waterways" television series) and Captain Ronald S. Marquisee (Producer of "Cruising America's Waterways"), is a quality travelogue showcasing the history and beauty of the famous Erie Canal, a still active waterway used for recreation, flood control, irrigation, and power generation. Lavish color photographs of this historic canal fill The Erie Canal from cover to cover, and the insightful text offers a wealth of cultural lore. A superbly gorgeous coffee-table book and enhanced with a foreword by Andrew Cuomo, The Erie Canal is a true pleasure to read and enjoy and highly recommended for armchair travelers and community library American History collections.

This book is filled with color photographs that capture the beauty and historic charm of this waterway. The text is comprehensive -- touching on everything from history to Canal utilization. It let's you see what all of New York's canals have to offer - as a boater, cruise ship tourist, or automotive traveller. The Canals are fully functional and waiting for tourists. This book let's you understand the "New York State Canal System" and all that it has to offer. As the text points out... (rough quote)...if we had not inherited this legacy resource; costs, environmental concerns, and political considerations would not allow its construction today. This is a superior book on the world's most famous canal.

On a recent trip to Mexico City, I saw an old, previous edition of this work. I was delighted by its stimulating contents. Returning to Tulsa, Oklahoma, I was even more delighted to find the latest edition in one of our very excellent Public Library branches. I am eager to buy this latest edition for myself, and as gifts for some of my friends, for a life-time of enjoyable reading.

FPK

I love to read in Spanish and I was raised in South America, where Spanish books are very easy to come by, but when I moved to the US I found it difficult to find books that could interest me. Cronica del Siglo XX not only enlightens me but it's a great guide book for me and my children, it shows them with great illustrations and simple words the history of a great century, it's a must have for all of those who appreciate a well written and fantastic book, don't miss the opportunity to own it.

I really enjoyed this book. I am an adult beginning/intermediate Spanish student and am always looking for opportunities to practice my limited skills. This books is filled with wonderful folk tales which are a joy to read, and the English translations provide me with immediate assistance.

This is a very entertaining collection of folk tales in bilingual Spanish/English format. The stories range from funny anecdotes of life, to tales that teach the wisdom of the people of the Southwest, to tales of witchcraft.

The translations are sometimes even better than the originals. No wonder because one of the translators, Rudolfo Anaya, is a best selling author and superb writer.

This book offers an opportunity for people who want to improve their Spanish. Read the original Spanish first and refer to the English translation when you get to the parts you don't understand.

The book is great campfire or bedtime reading for kids. Both you and your kids will come out wiser for it.