Campbell Books

It was such a relief to read this book, to know that other women have experienced and share in the frustration and outright discrimination I've experienced. I have never wanted, and do not want, children. As I get older (and as this mythical "clock" is supposed to start ticking), the idea of having children in my home seems less and less appealing.

Yet, despite the fact that my insurance covers sterilization, I have yet to find a doctor willing to do it because I don't have children and will supposedly change my mind. Let me get this straight: I could think about my future with enough surety to get a Ph.D., buy a car, manage not to go into debt by working through grad school, make life-or-death medical decisions for my father, and - if I wanted - could adopt a child from just about anywhere on earth, but I am somehow not capable of making a choice about my own sterilization? Yet, if I were merely 16 and showed up at a doctor's office wanting to have a baby, I doubt any doctor would tell me to have an abortion because I might not know my own mind and may want a different life in the future.

I cannot express how refreshing it was to read similar - and worse! - stories from other women. This is an excellent book; it is well researched and clear, and focuses not just on personal stories but on bias in medical treatment. It also debunks some myths about women who very much want to be sterilized - as in, they actually don't regret it. Terrific read. My copy is dog-eared, and has been borrowed by many friends of mine who have been in the same position, and had no idea such a book existed.

This book was written as a collection of the experiences of a group of women seeking sterilization services in the UK. One has to take into account that there may be some additional resistance to the sterilization of British women as a result of the national health service system of managed care. That said, in my experience the UK population seems to be more comfortable with the notion of voluntary nulliparity and sterilization than that of the US.

US guidelines for voluntary sterilization are based on the "rule of 120". This means that a woman's age is multiplied by a factor of 2 and then by the number of children she has. If that result equals 120 then the woman is considered an acceptable candidate for sterilization. This means that a 30 year old with 2 kids would meet less resistance to a request to be sterilized while a person with no children would never be eligible during her childbearing years.

This book was an important part of the creation of my personal statement in the defense of my decision to follow the lead of the women in this book. In fact, in the end I was required to follow the lead of the women in this book literally. At 29 I successfully visited London's Marie Stopes Clinic and encountered [very gratefully] none of the resistance or disrespect that so often surrounds this process. Such experiences are detailed in the outrage expressed by many of those who tell their stories here. "Childfree and Sterilized" was a central resource in my understanding and planning for the issues surrounding this choice.

The text is aimed at practising international marketers, although also of benefit to students of more advanced or specialised international marketing programmes. The material is developed from years of line management and international marketing consultancy, including with many blue chip multinational corporations, across many global markets. Much of the material has been used, honed and customised, on many in-company team development programmes run by the author.

The author clearly is a hands on international marketer, sharing his experience across many markets and aspects of international marketing. Whilst is is of good use for students of international marketing, particularly those of CIM and Institute of Export professional exams, I think it is particularly relevant for practisng marketers.

This is a good book and one of Ray Campbell Smiths best too that holds great loose brush work using a limited palatte. I highly recommend artists that like (fantastic) loose brush work in a low key style buy this book. Watercolor is a medium that is very easy to make complicated and over work. It's re-freshing to see an artist that can teach with ease this challenging medium watercolor.

A relatively simple and direct approach to get the most out of a modest palette. Full of valuable hints. Inspiring, makes you want to paint right away.

Oddly enough, this is book got me to read these classics just to figure out what was real and what was Richard Armour. It also is a great help in understanding the plots.

Yep it is time for me to be exposed to culture so I thought I would go see a classic (Troy "Brad Pitt".) but first I need to know a little about the story and the Author. So I turned to my trusty reference, "The Classics Reclassified" by Richard Armour.
My copy must have been written about the time of Homer as it has no ISBN number.
This volume helps one understand the classics in a way they can be appreciated. It is refreshing to read a book by someone that had made the learning experience so palatable. (No I did not eat the book.)
Richard Armour starts out with a succinct and to the point biography of the classic writer. He makes clear what other books only imply. After this he follows up with the classic it's self. Some time I am not sure if I should believe him.

The contents:
Homer
The Iliad "From the original Greek, Whoever he was"
William Shakespeare
Julius Caesar "et tu, William"
Sir Walter Scott
Ivanhoe "upright knights, tilting and toppling"
Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter "an A for effort"
Herman Melville
Moby Dick "strong men cry and whales blubber"
George Eliot
Silas Marner "a moral with a tale"
Charles Dickens
David Copperfield "or up from poverty"
The book also contains sketches at relevant or irreverent intervals.

Bonnie Campbell Hill and Cynthia Ruptik have done it once again! This book is filled with wonderful rubrics, both primary and intermediate, explanations for parents and teachers, and a wealth of authentic assessment ideas. I would highly recommend people spending the money on this valuable book and CD rom. I look forward to the next three books in the series.

Classroom Based Assessments is the first book of a four-part series that uses the image of a puzzle to conceptualize assessments and their uses. If you've bought assessment books before and always found the ideas were good but not something that you could regularly implement in the classroom, then this is a book that will pleasantly surprise you. It addresses the use of a variety of assessments for all content areas. Of special interest is its focus on using assessments that inform your instruction, are practical and manageable. Following each chapter, you'll find a section on Professional Growth and Recommended Readings. The authors recognize the many teachers who assisted in the creation of the many forms included - roughly one-third of the book has blackline masters of the various assessment forms. Lastly, the book comes with a CD-ROM that has all of the assessment forms in PC and Macintosh platforms as well as in the Acrobat Reader ".pdf" format. The other three books in the "Corner Pieces Series" are Developmental Continuums, Student Portfolios, and Reporting Student Growth. If the other three books are anything like the first, Classroom Based Assessments, then they'll definately be worth reading!

Classroom Reading Inventory is a easy way to find out what problems students have with reading so that ways to help them can be implemented. The Tenth Edition is also spiral-bound so that you can copy the graded paragraphs to make your own markings on them while the student reads.

I first became acquainted with Silvaroli's "Classroom Reading Inventory" while pursuing studies at the now named Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. My original book was the third edition. The 8th Edition is also well designed and this instrument should be easily and readily mastered by even the most novice of teachers. Identifying deficiencies in our student's reading skills through this tool allows us to provide a plan to remediate them. A must in all Teacher's Personal Libraries.

As a teacher and mother, I would recommend this book to anyone with young children. My two year old asks for it over and over. It has become a family favorite. The book has a great rhythm and quick paced text. My daughter can't resist mooing and quacking right along with the silly rooster, and I can't resist trying out funny animal voices.

I read to a group of 28 2 - 4 year olds on a weekly basis as part of a local "Grandpas read to pre-schoolers" program. I stumbled across this book in a search of new kids books at the local library and, quite frankly, thought it would just be filler in my scheduled reading program. To an adult, it is not a particularly impressive little story, no great messages or morals. Little did I know it would turn out to be the most requested book I've read to them this year, with universal appeal to all of my kids - from the brand new 2s to the jaded 4s. I've learned to pause at the appropriate points to build the suspense, then shout out the rooster's mistakes. Watching 28 kids absolutely roaring at this simple story is, well, I won't pretend to explain it, but the kids love this one. I rate it a 5-star based upon audience approval.

I believe the late Jack Olsen to be among the greatest true crime writers ever and that this book confirms that belief. COLD KILL is the story of David West and Cindy Ray and their dysfunctional and ultimately deadly relationship.
David, a lonely, insecure, needy, and basically inadequate young man, predictably is unsuccessful in relationships. His insecurity manifests itself in a passion for guns and an unconvincing macho façade. He is only comfortable with women to whom he considers himself intellectually superior and in whom he sees flaws that he can teach them, Pygmalion style, to correct. David also drinks heavily and smokes a lot of weed.

Enter Cindy Ray, a lazy overweight slob who is severely mentally ill. She will not or cannot - likely a combination of both - work. She lives like a pig refusing to do even the most minimal cleaning. She has never learned to drive. She will not even bathe, preferring - unsuccessfully - to attempt to mask her odor with perfume. She too drinks heavily and smokes a lot of weed. So of course David falls in love with her and begins to mentor Cindy with results that the self-deluding David finds encouraging. Meanwhile Cindy does not really even seem to like David, but she does have one major talent. She is a crafty and relentless manipulator, although her insanity is so obvious that it would only be successful with a naïve fool like David.

Cindy is an unbelievably and hatefully selfish person who for reasons that are unclear - probably an inheritance as well as just malicious evil - decides she wants her parents dead and plants a seed which germinates in David's mind. Her main means of persuasion is to convince David that her father forced her into an intimate relationship beginning at age 9 and that one of her children - or sometimes both when she forgets her story - are her father's. Her manipulative piece-de-resistance is moaning "Daddy, Daddy" while they are making love. She finally gets David to convince himself that justice for Cindy demands that the Campbells (Cindy's parents) die. The story continues from there.

Jack Olsen states that the dialog in COLD KILL, a book relying heavily on dialog, is not fabricated and is the result of many hours of interviews. I believe him. Other than the "voice" he gives to the Campbells' Hispanic maid, which to me felt awkward and was ultimately unsuccessful, the dialog contains no false notes. It is basically perfect. There is absolutely no filler, no repetition, no copying of transcripts.

Olsen's narrative barrels though the book like a runaway freight train, creating an excitement and a tension that does not let up. I predict fans of the genre will love COLD KILL and that those who are not already familiar with Olsen will, after reading this book, agree with my assessment of his talent.

(As a side note, I would like to address a statement made in the only other review, by "Avid Reader", of COLD KILL. "Avid" states that Cindy Ray was a victim of incest.
There is really nothing in this book stating or even hinting that this was anything but a lie told by Cindy to convince David to do her bidding.)

It is tragic that this book by Jack Olsen never received the acclaim that others of his have. Perhaps it is due to the lack of a trial but the stories are riveting. Yes, I said stories (not story) because COLD KILL is as much about the aftermath as it was the crime itself.

David West had an affinity for guns, women and fun. Cindy Ray was attracted to money, David and the world of glamour. She was the victim of incest, in effect, giving birth to her father's son and grandson. David and Cindy wanted money and the fastest way was through inheritance. The only problem was that her parents were still alive. One night they were murdered execution style.

Long story short: Cindy rises in the modeling world and drops David. Cindy started grabbing for all the money as things settled down with the police unsure how to procede. Along comes Kim, a shapely PI who went after David (using her feminine wiles) for a confession. The last third of the book is compelling reading although I'm not sure how many of the thoughts of the participants are surmised or reported. Kim begins to feel something for the guy (oh Lord) despite thinking he murdered two people in cold blood...COLD KILL.

At last, one night he confesses everything and surprise, Cindy was also involved. David maintains that it was a moral act, an execution, not murder. At the end, David avoided execution by confessing and implicating his former lover. He and Cindy were sentenced to life imprisonment proving, once again, that crime does not pay.

I like to browse the boating sections of outdoor stores and listen to the staff recommend equipment to people just getting started in kayaking. It can be a terrific learning experience and the best stores will always recommend good instructional manuals and the importance of taking lessons. The one book they always seem to suggest is Shelley Johnson's Sea Kayaker's Handbook. It covers all the basics but goes one step further. For instance; it is commonly explained that "the longer a boat is the faster it will go and the better it will track". There is a sidebar entitled "It isn't so simple" which carries the explanation a little further. Another section covers how to handle wind. Reading this section would be very helpful to a new paddler purchasing their first boat because one of the basic decisions is whether to have a rudder or skeg. A little knowledge here could save a lot of money and make the sport much more enjoyable. Read this book, ask questions of a knowledgeable salesman, buy a boat, take a lesson or two, have fun, see you on the water!!!

Prior to getting this book I had one lesson and had paddled five or six times mostly in ocean harbors and estuaries. I have paddled several times since. I have done a fair amount of small boat sailing and canoeing before taking up kayaking.

The Complete Sea Kayaker's Handbook did a great job helping to fill in my knowledge of kayaking in general and to help "remind" me of some of what I learned in my lesson. It is well put together and has a nice mix of anecdote and information, with more of the latter. The book is specific to sea kayaking which I also appreciated. I am not terribly interested in white water kayaking and didnt want a book that wasted my time with more then casual information on the subject.

Hightlights for me:
- Detailed and well presented information on kayak design and construction.
- Nice explanations of paddle technique I was actually able to apply after I read the book (as a supplement to my lesson).
- Informative chapters on navigation and logistics without belaboring the subjects.
- Interesting side-bars going into more detail on one point or another throughout the book.

I think the best thing about the book is Shelley's easy going yet informative writing style. The illustrations and photos were clear and useful. The tone of the book was that of a very well informed friend rather then some kind of uber-kayaker. This book worked for me. Good luck in your paddles!

Regards,

Chris

The Confessions Of St. Augustine: Books I-IX (Selections) is a Latin textbook and work of literature. It is not a formal instructional book, but rather a reader that presents the biographical writings of St. Augustine, which reflect his profound faith and insight into human motives, ideals, and man's need for God, in the original Latin. Although a glossary, an extensive introduction, and numerous translation footnotes aid the reader in understanding the Latin text, there is no English translation per se of Augustine's words - the advanced Latin student is left to contemplate them on his or her own. A core addition to college-level Latin students' reference shelves and reading lists.

These excerpts of the Confessions, as may not immediately be clear from the entry, stand as they were written--in Latin. It is an ideal book for practicing Latin. It contains a glossary in the back with all words used in the text. Also, it contains a fantastic introduction which seeks to equip the reader with all of the necessary syntactical developments that have occurred since the Classical period of Latin which Augustine utilizes.