Education Books

This book is fantastic. Not only is the story itself great, but it is also great for bringing up a multitude of topics for discussion with your child; bullying, prejudice, intolerance, low self esteem, fairness, etc...

My children both loved this book. While the book carries a message, it is not dry or hard to read. On the contrary, the book flows beautifully and whether or not you choose to make the book a discussion piece, it is well worth reading just for the wonderful book that it is.

This book is about a bad kid and he is a bulie and a teacher whow show's him
to be a good person. This book is realy amosama it will keep you thinking
all day will that really hapen to me or someone ellsa.

Ms. Spinger's Fourth Grade Class

Mr. Lincoln is a nice and playful principal. There is a bully in the school who doesn't like the principal, children and teachers. Eugene is the bully; he likes birds. If you read this book, you won't end up like Eugene. Mr. Lincoln was helpful to Eugene by helping him be nice to other people.

Mr. Lincoln was the greatest principle ever. He dressed cool and he acted cool. He would do all sorts of things with his students. He seemed to really light up his school. Well not so much to mean gene. Gene is mean and he is not afraid to show it. He doesn't like people that are different from him. He picks on them and even calls them mean names. All the teachers felt as if they have had enough of old gene. Well Mr Lincoln thinks different of this kid. He brings him under his wing and soon Gene is a normal nice kid again. He introduces him to the atruim that needed new birds in it and it opens up a new world for Gene. He just needed to be shown that all people are different but we all share many things also.
WOW!! I have never read a book like this. Race was a big issue to this kid Gene. He went home and his father would tell him mean things about other races and he would come back to school and say them out loud to all his fellow classmates. I was so amazed at the way Mr. Lincoln handeled this situation. He slowly turned Gene onto other things that he liked and got away from the race issue. Gene was not a bad kid he just was copying what his parent told him. All kids do this everyday. I was so shocked to read this book. I have never read a book like this in elementary school. I feel left out in a way. Like my teachers tried to shield me from the bad books and give me only the good ones. I really liked this book a lot. It was GREAT!! It told the truth, made the characters come to life and had it's own twist. This book had great qualities that make up a GREAT book. There are many ways that you could use this book. If you wanted to talk about discrimination you could use this book. You could bring up many topics on discrimination with this book. If you wanted to talk about differences you could use this book also.You could have your whole class draw or paint somebody of a different race that they really admire. You could have you students come up with all the mean words that they have heard from other people and put them on a big piece of paper in front of the room. Then you could tell them that these words will no longer be used in my classroom or by any of my students. This book had it all lessons, great pictures, and a great read. Mrs. Polacco just like Eleanora Tate, and Christopher Paul Curtis, and Mildred Taylor all write books about change and people's differences. This book was great and it will help all students to see race and people in a new light.

My teacher read this book to us in class. It was the usual case of a white person disrespecting people of color and the people of color being peaceful and understanding. I'm so sick of reading books about how mean white people still can receive love and understanding. Why aren't white people nice to blacks if they're mean. It's just one more book telling people of color to continue to let whites walk all over them.

This book is amazing in its ability to both amaze and terrify a potential candidate. It's a must have for any candidate trying to get in. It makes sure to give advice on the mental preparation you must make and the physical riger that is to be endured. As a female candidate this book has helped me answer my questions, end my doubts, and showed me how to prepare. If you're looking into any of the academys get the candidate book!

I just met my Blue and Gold Officer, and I think hes cool. We talked, but my dad was in a hurry so we couldnt really get into a conversation, since we were busy. Anyways, this book told me how to act in front of him. I saw a lot of guys trying to act tough to a guy who could break them in half. A lot of them werent even showing respect. But I knew what to do, even if I am a little younger than most of the guys there. I think I made a good impression on him, and am going to try to get to know him better soon, but so far, I have'nt had time to contact him. Oh well, this is still a very good and valuble book.

I'm entering as a member of the Class of 2007. This book helped me stay on track and know what to expect from the Admissions process. My admissions counselor was extremely helpful. This book gets 2 thumbs up!

This book is amazing!!! It helped me a lot to prepare for USNA, but I didn't get an appointment due to a medical disqualification. However, I followed the advise in this book and it helped me get into THREE other federal service academies. I got into the U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and the U.S. Air Force Academy. So even if you don't plan on going to the Naval Academy, it sure helps to read the book on how the application process works esspecially with the congressional nominations.

Currently Im a PO3 in the Navy who will be attending the Naval Academy Preparatory School this year with subsequent attendance to the Naval Academy proper. While this book only had a rather small mention of how enlisted applicants gained admission, and an even smaller section on NAPS, its still THE BEST resource out there for an aspiring applicant. After all its not the NAPS or Prior candidate handbook. As an Air Force brat I lived on USAFA for 3 years and I can tell you that the atmosphere that they portrayed in this book is pretty realistic. Just remember that nothing about any academy is going to be perfect. If you aspire to be a Mid or are the parent of the fore mentioned this book is an absolute necessity.
Keep this in mind. If you REALLY REALLY want to get in there is nothing that can stop you. I almost failed out of high school my junior year and then went to a military school (NMMI) for my senior year. Even though I excelled there I still only had a 2.57 GPA. Just goes to prove that if you REALLY REALLY want to get in all you have to do is go all out and focus on that one singular goal. Success is a measure of sacrifice.

"This book is for people who are living under the tyranny of the prevailing style of management," writes Deming in the preface. Deming has strong convictions, many of which are counter to conventional management thinking.

Deming does not believe in ratings and grades. He says performance is mostly attributable to the system in which that person works. "The forces of destruction that come from the present style of reward ... squeeze out from an individual, over his lifetime, his innate intrinsic motivation.... They build into him fear, self-defense, extrinsic motivation. We have been destroying our people from toddlers on through university and on the job. We must preserve the power of intrinsic motivation, dignity, cooperation, curiosity, joy in learning, that people are born with."

Nor does Deming think highly of goals. "Only the method is important, not the goal."

"It is wrong to suppose that if you can't measure it, you can't manage it - a costly myth."

"The customer is not in the pyramid. A pyramid, as an organization chart, thus destroys the system, if ever one was intended." Instead Deming uses flow diagrams.

"With shared responsibility, no one is responsible. Joint responsibility is totally different from divided responsibility... Learning under a teacher is a joint effort between teacher and pupil."

Deming makes the distinction between common causes of variation, and special causes. He quotes Brian Joiner who said, "One necessary qualification of anyone in management is to stop asking people to explain ups and downs ... that come from random variation."

Deming is a legendary name in quality management, especially in Japan through his consulting work with Japanese industry from 1950 onward. He died at age 93 before the second edition of this book went to press.

After reading the "New Economics" by W. Edwards Deming I was very surprised. Mr. Deming's made the book very easy to read and understand. In my case it was the examples that really put things in perspective. "The Red Bead Experiment" was an example that was very good at explaining exactly what it was that, we needed to take away from the example, the difference between common cause and special cause variation. Management should be solely responsible for the well being of the production line. Personally, Deming's did a really good job in describing typical work situations that I personally am aware of. I enjoyed the way he broke everything down into its simplest form. You do not have to be an industrial engineer to understand the message he is trying to convey. The message he is trying to convey is "Team Work" because it is only when every person in the group agrees with each other that everyone can come together for one common purpose. He was very specific in the situation that he believed everything and everyone could work together. In his eyes the hierarchy had to be done away with. There was no one person that was better than the next. This one belief that I have always believed in. I appreciate his train of thought and think that if it could be applied to the small stream businesses it would be extremely effective. It sounds like Deming's was a man of the people because he described every person's job just as important as the next. It sounded like he believed in the chain of command. I enjoyed this book thoroughly and would recommend it to those trying to get a more in-depth feel to what common cause variation and special cause variation really means.

Wow. After 25 years in the quality business I am still not ready to claim I completely 'understand' Deming. He was of course, a brilliant statistician and business optimization theorist . . . but he was also a physicist. His famous quip, "Water turns to ice . . . same molecules. . . what happened?" I finally realize, was his way of speaking to the state change that occurs in a phase transition, the same phenonmeon that occurs when organizations cross over to quality. Deming was the real Superman.

also read Superperformance

I really liked the book , it was easy to read although I don't like the way that he writs , the good thing about the book is that consist of real cases and this make it much easier to relate to the book, another good thing about the book is that it doesn't repeat the same thing over and over again, what I don't like about the book is the way that he jumps back and forth and mention different books without any brief explanation about those books; this was sometime confusing for me, but other than that I would recommend everybody who is interested in management read this book and refers it to others. It was amazing that lots of thing in this book beside the last 4 chapter is commonsense.

Dr Deming has some magnificent ideas.
Unfortunately this is Deming's Last book before he passed away. Deming is a major proponent of the PDSA Cycle (Plan, Do, Study, Act). His 14 points are very viable from a business situation. If managers were to read this book, they would be better for it. Actually this book is recommended to everyone, as it can be applied loosely to all walks of life. I've never been good at picking apart a book, so if there are any weaknesses, they aren't apparent to me. 5 Stars....also pick up "Out of The Crisis". Great Book for anyone to read!

What can I say? Max Lucado is a gifted writer who takes spiritual concepts and puts them into understandable and easy-to-grasp stories illustrations.

Max Lucado is a premier story teller. The message that Christ knows how we humans feel and that he is close enough to call on whenever we need him is uplifting and comforting.

i haven't read max lucado books in awhile and I have read quite some of them. I have to say that this is one of his best written. The chapters are short but they are meaningful, each one of them that applies to different people.

This a great book. I love the way Max writes. It's very unique and refreshing. He really brings the stories to life.

This is my first Max Lucado book and I loved it! It took me a while to read it because I don't read that often but something made me keep coming back to try and finish it. He made everything so simple and easy to understand. The real life examples were great! I would recommend it to anyone!

I got this book to help with a drama camp that I was teaching. It helped me organize and plan in a way that kept the kids focused. They had a great time and so did I. I highly recommend this book.

This book is amazing. It gives great instructions for many fun games. The instructions are brief,but fun,and give enough information to make the games easy to implement. I have used the book twice for a group of kids, ranging in age from 9-14, and they have loved the activities! I've purchased a couple other similar books that were not nearly as fun and well-put-together as this one.

I bought this book to use to teach a drama class in my homeschool co-op, and I'm so pleased with the fun games and ideas for teaching basic drama concepts. The kids are loving all the games and I think that the games and exercises really spark their creativity.

I never take the time to write reviews for books but I had to for this one! EVERY activity is great--you don't have to search through picking and choosing. I know this will be an invaluable source for me in teaching drama to both elementary and high school students. Thanks to the author for such a great resource!

I purchased this book before I started teaching creative dramatics in Recreation deprtments teaching K-8. It was wonderful. I loved it. I would reccommend it to every teacher (theatre or not) it has wonderful classroom activities.

It covers everything you need to know if you don't have time to read the book.

One Hundred Years of Solitude is one of those few novels that is magical, beautiful and can capture the very kernel of mind to wake you up from the reality of Latin American world. The writer questions the propriety of the superstructure of the governance of mankind and the whole lot of theories and principles which are supposed to deliver the mankind from the drudgeries and miseries but which do not.To read this novel is to experience darkness and the failure of mankind.

To read Gabriel Garcia Marquez's masterwork is to confront one's demons and one's devices in a monumentally singular reading experience. What does that mean? I have no idea, but I thought it sounded good when I wrote it.
Seriously though, you could do worse than to read this book. Although, it is overrated, and at times, you will think it is pretentiously boring. Still, there were enough good stretches of narrative beauty to overtake the sometimes tiresome ponderousness of the story.

This was really the best book I ever read. The non-standard use of time and space concepts is amazing. I read it in two languages (both translated) and I started to study Spanish just to read this book in original. Everytime I read this book it gives me a completely different view.

In 10,000 years, when most of the world's literature is lost and forgotten, this book will still be read. Like "A Tale of Two Cities" and "Les Miserables", I will read it again and again until my eyesite fails. Then my childen will read it aloud to me. Then I can die.

Rardin was the first book I used for OR and I keep a copy in my personal library. It offers a series of examples that are followed up throughout the book, chapter by chapter, to provide insight into the application of mathematics to real world problems. By building the level of complexity, on an ogoing basis through the use of specific examples, Rardin shows the extrmely practical side to why Operations Research is such a fundamental use of applied mathematics. The book is easy to read and should easily meet the needs of any upperlevel undergraduate course in Operations Research.

It is both useful for graduates and for undergraduates.

Explanations are easy to follow but at the same time they don't lack detail or correctness. The book is full of examples and it covers different fields of OR.

For me, the best is Rardin's approach to teach OR: he begins from the base and he builds newer contents over that base. In this way, you feel like "that works!". And for graduates, there are some sections called "primers" where Rardin explains subjects outside the scope of the book, but very useful for beginners.

The book is very well written. A good big effort.

The only bad point I found is the book's font/typeset is not very good (I'd prefer a more TeXified style).

The "Search inside this book" feature was not available for this book when this review was published. Hope it helps.

Table of Contents
1. Problem Solving with Mathematical Models
2. Deterministic Optimization Models in Operations Research
3. Improving Search
4. Linear Programming Models
5. Simplex Search for Linear Programming
6. Interior Point Methods for Linear Programming
7. Duality and Sensitivity in Linear Programming
9. Shortest Path and Discrete Dynamic Programming
10. Network Flows
11. Discrete Optimization Models
12. Discrete Optimization Methods
13. Unconstrained Nonlinear Programming
14. Constrained Nonlinear Programming

If you need more information, Professor Rardin (Purdue University) maintains a website that can be easily located using any web search tool.

Review after 2 years of using this book: AMAZING BOOK. There has never been a better book (and probably never will be) in explaining OR.

Previous Review upon purchase:
If you are taking a graduate or an undergraduate course in OR, this book is a must! I have not seen ANY book able to present OR with such simple, direct examples and WITHOUT sacrificing theory.
This is the best written textbook I have ever read. When I compare it with the hundereds of dollars I spend on badly written books, even as a PG (poor graduate) student I would gladly pay twice of what this book is priced at.

This book presents the subjects in a different and novel way which provides many new insights.

In it, there is a great concern with the practical, professional use of operations research, as can be easily seen in the modeling examples. This book could be named "Optimization theory with realistic applications". This book certainly enables the students to apply the theory learned in practical situations, while providing the necessary mathematical foundations.

Rardin exposes the subject in a very clear and non-orthodox manner, unifying all algorithms through the use of the improving-search framework. The text is also innovative, containing sections on Genetic Algorithms, Simulated Annealing, Tabu Search and Branch and Cut.

But if you want to go deeper in some subject (linear programming for example) you will need another book.

I'm coming to the end of my undergraduate studies (in PHYSICS!) and I was looking for some insight into what graduate school would be like to to try and figure out if a PhD is in the cards for me. This book is easy to read and FULL of useful tips. However the overwhelming majority of these nuggets of gold come from past PhD students in the medical/biological sciences. This began to get really annoying. I was constantly having to decide which comments to take onboard and which to leave behind (because I thought they wouldn't apply to me). As a result, I probably have in my head a very distorted picture of what grad school will really be like.
The title is very descriptive, it's just missing one word, but I suppose if they added it sales would drop significantly.

This book should be required reading for anyone applying to gradutate school in the sciences (physical or biological). A quick read of the text will give one plenty to think about before making the big decision. The earlier you read it the better off you will be. The most important reading regards selecting an advisor. I am in the process of completing my degree and in hind sight agree with the issues on which the author has choosen to focus.

The following was copied from another website's review of The Ph.D. Process, and I think it describes the book perfectly:

Graduate school in science is not an experiential extension of undergraduate education, where the passing of a sufficient number of courses usually guarantees one a degree; nor is it medical school or law school, where there is a delineated and set curriculum. Ph.D students are actually pretty much on their own--and they will sink or swim depending upon their own interpretation of how the system works.

The purpose of this book is to provide students with some insight into this unusual system. The authors--each a Ph.D. in the sciences--reveal the generally unspoken "rules" of the game. They offer the secrets of survival and success: What should you discuss in your application essay? What types of research advisors should you avoid? What kinds of research projects should you never undertake? How hard do you have to work? Are grades important? What steps should you take now to make yourself "employable" when you finish? What decisions can make or break your career? How can you network in the scientific community? What goes on at the oral defense, and how can you prepare?

Described also is the daily experience itself: research life, classes, seminars, journal clubs, lab meetings, interactions with peers and professors, qualifying exams, professional meetings, oral exams, dissertation preparation, etc. Anxiety, frustration, and joy-- all normal responses to a grad student's life--are also examined. (In quotes sprinkled throughout the text, numerous past and present grad students relate their individual experiences and emotions during their doctoral training.) A separate chapter is devoted to the special problems of foreign students, strangers to our culture and educational system.

There are many intellectual and emotional challenges inherent to becoming a scientist. This book prepares students for each stage of the experience. They will learn what to expect--socially, psychologically, and academically!

The PhD process is a great overview of graduate school in the sciences. It covers most basic topics such as choosing a type of school, applying, preliminary exams, comps, thesis work, etc. Of course each school does these things slightly differently, but the main points are there and the authors do a good job of pointing out where differences between programs are likely to turn up. This book also explains things that graduate programs aren't likely to advertise such as using students as `cheap labor' and what things to look for in an advisor other than interesting research. This is a fun to read honest book, and the anecdotes from current and past graduate students are the best part. I enjoyed reading them because so many of the same things have happened to me, and it's nice to know that I'm not alone.

I wouldn't say that I received any great insights from the book because I had some experience with academic labs before I applied to graduate school and had a pretty good idea of what I was getting into. I found it a little calming to read about others' experiences as I was waiting to get started. I think most students who apply to graduate school have already spent much time in labs with current graduate students so this might not be that useful to them as practical advise; however, I found this book to be an excellent resource for my parents. My parents had no idea what graduate school is like, and the fact that I'm at school all day and only go to class for an hour baffles them to no end. Reading this book helped them to understand the structure and goals of graduate school. Though I still don't think they understand journal club. (Why would anyone join that club? It doesn't sound like very much fun.)

I recommend this book to grad students for their parents or to undergraduates who aren't sure if graduate school is the right path for them. This book gives great insight into what graduate school is really like.

The book definitely unfold the whole map of graduate school life, especially for (biological) science students. Many aspects and stages of doing science research and how to survive in graduate school are covered. However, the lack of insightful guidence is the main drawback of the book. Pointint out possible obstacles does not necessarily makes gradute students' lives easier. The interviews from (past) graduate students do help readers build up confidence because it is comforting to know many people suffer as they do now, but at the same time few specific steps or directions are NOT distilled by the authors. It's like everyone just talks their experiences without any conclusions.

The Rag Coat


The Rag Coat is a story about a young girl with hope who has always helped others and needs the favor returned. This story will have you counting your blessings. And the young girl is full of hope, and when you are done reading you will be too.

Detailed and colorful pictures are on every page you turn. For example, the cover with the coat shows how much details are in each fragment. This is a great story to read a loud in groups or just at home on the couch. It's especially on a cold winter night! The story makes you feel like someone is actually telling you. This book proves how hard times can bring people and families together. All of the quilting moms take time to help after the death of a loved person.
The Rag Coat is a great story to read aloud; as you flip through the pages, you see detailed and colorful pictures. This book proves how hard times bring people together. The main character Minna really brings the story to life!

I bought copies of this book for my two granddaughters and one for me too. That way we can read together over the phone. This story is so very special, well written with beautiful pictures. Both girls, ages 11 and 7 loved it, and so did grandma. This one is a keeper for sure!

I bought this book for my 6 year old son. We absolutely love this book. It is such a sweet story. It teaches an important lesson as well. If you want to teach your child to be compassionate towards others, then this story is a great way to begin.

Like some other reviewers, I cried as I read this book to my children. It is a touching tale of an 8 year old girl Minna who is coping with her father's death, trying to help her mom to overcome their poverty and dealing with humiliation of poverty. My daughter (8) said it is sad story with a happy ending - and it is true. The simple message "people only need people" stays in every heart long after you have finished reading the book.

The Rag Coat is a book that young readers and their families will adore. It is also a book that teaches, beautifully, the value of family, friends and the loving support that we can give each other in times of need.

As precious as the story are the magnificent illustrations, so soft and lovely that they make you feel as though you are holding an antique in your hands. Every page of this book is an inspiration, and only the most hard-hearted oould come away without a renewal of spirit.

I heartily recommend this book, and hope that it finds a home in schools and libraries.

I love it! David Levithan does it again. This book just puts your mind in a different world. It really is the Realm of Possibility. There are gay couples and struggling souls. All of this in the form of some wonderful poems. The church choir girl can fall for the goth guy, the beautiful song writer can fall in love with a girl of her own, and sooo much more. After I read this book I was shocked at how much of an effect it had on me. If I bought it I would read dozens of times. You'll love it. This author really knows what he is doing. I hope you enjoy it!!

I've gotten recommendations for David Levithan's books before, but I'd never read any. I picked this up at the bookstore and was hooked. Although I enjoyed basically every part of this book, my favorite was Charlotte's narrative. I cannot express how much I loved it, how much I wanted to be like her and do that. "The Realm of Possibility" is definitely worth reading; it won't take you long. It is amazing.

Though this book drags in a few of the poems, it's mostly very readable, as free-verse poetry tends to be if you read it quickly. Sexuality and sentimentality - or, if you like, adolescent angst - are heavily featured, but Levithan is so good at rendering them that the book hardly ever feels trite or emotionally abusive. However, the standout entry is clearly "The Patron Saint of Stoners," which deals with a far more serious issue than most of the others, in far less dramatic terms. The narrator of the poem, Clara, is an excellent student who has trouble trying to find some pot; but the important question for the reader is not the how, but the why. "Gospel," told from the perspective of Gail, a fervently Christian and compassionate girl who befriends an outcast, and "Writing," in which a Goth girl, Charlotte, literally puts "the writing on the wall" in a surprisingly uplifting way, are also very good.

Like "Boy Meets Boy" and "Are We There Yet?" the tone of the book is - not relentlessly, but insidiously positive. No one is worse off at the end of their poem or the book than at the beginning; even the 'bitchy' character who gets her comeuppance also has a personal insight.

One thing Levithan never addresses is why the twenty characters are writing these poems, or if they even are writing them down. Interesting, because he could have written it off with a throwaway line - for example, "Mr. So-and-so is making everyone write a free-verse poem for English class" - but instead he leaves it unclear whether they are simply internal monologues or poems the characters actually write.

I love everything about this book! Even the length was just right. Every line was so insightful and we can all relate to each character in the short stories and poems. The form of all the poems was really creative and I respect the writer for putting on paper the feeling of so many different human beings. This book is simply amazing- you just have to expirience it for yourself.

I admit it: this book totally sucked me in. The characters are realistic, and I was able to find something about a number of them that I could relate to. And I found a number of them that I simply fell in love with, for all sorts of reasons. My favorite sections were the ones written by Anton, Charlotte, Lily, and Jed.

I found the book somewhat confusing at times, because I kept coming onto names I'd seen before. So i actually went back and made a little list of characters and their relationships, which I shall put up here for anyone that's intested. So *spoiler alert* for the next section of this review (just in case you want to pick up this book knowing NOTHING whatsoever about anything in it... I'm not giving away anything really important):

Daniel: is Jed's boyfriend and is neighbors with Pete
Mary: suffers from anorexia, is Pete's girlfriend
Diana: is in love with with Elizabeth, writes love songs for her
Megan: is in love with Diana, watches her loving another girl while she plays the part of a devoted friend
Tyler: rants about his girlfriend's love of Holden Caulfield
Anton: a seemingly troubled youth- sits in the back wearing black and earphones and writing poetry
Gael: relgion is important in her life, hates injustice, stands up for Anton
Jill: possibly Tyler's boyfriend, stole Cara's boyfriend, feels she doesn't deserve him and regrets the person she is
Anne: nice poetry about random things
Jamie: has just suffered from a breakup, is zack's brother and jed's friend
Pete: Mary's boyfriend
Clara: perfect student lacking a positive homelife, interacts with Jed and Toby
Charlotte: writes haunting messages ("you are foolish in your unhappiness") around school, mesages deeply affect some people, intrigue others (Daniel)
Elizabeth: lives in sister's shadow, tormented by people who disliked sister (Cara), Andy's girlfriend
Cara: loses respect after an incident involving Elizabeth, has fake friends (Jill)
Lia: friend's with Clara, korean, in love with delivery boy
Zack: Anne's boyrfriend, Megan's friend
Karen: no obvious hints as to her relationships
Lily: is close to Jed, although they don't spend much time together, her poetry style is unlike any of the others presented in this book
Jed: is celebrating his one year anniversery with Daniel (it's so sweet!), also- title of book comes from his poem