College and University Books

This is a fabulous book providing essential information concerning the acquisition of a research degree. If you are an honours or PhD student, this book is a Must Read and will save you many stressful nights and cups of coffee.

This is the must have book for students preparing to enter college -- and for their parents. The entire application process is explained, as are tips and hints for taking admittance exams, writing essays, taking admittance interviews, and much more.

The book is broken down into eight separate sections:

1) And the finalists are: The brightest, the committed, and the honest.
2) You're moving out, but where are you going?
3) Oh, the tests you will take.
4) Apply, you will. Meet deadlines, you must!
5) Mastering the common application.
6) Your profile of courage: How to get the best recommendations.
7) Essay writing 101: Telling it your way.
8) How to impress, express, and dress at college interviews.

Each and every step of the application process is covered. You'll learn the correct terms and phrases for those you will meet, how to write the perfect essay on your application, and even how to dress and conduct yourself during an admittance interview. The book also includes checklists, worksheets, and guides to make the process a little easier.

The appendix includes even more list and guides you can tear out or copy. The glossary includes terms and definitions you'll need to know. There is also a section listing preparatory books for college tests, which you'll want to pick up. The easy-to-use index breaks down everything included in the book for quick access. This is the ultimate how-to guide for graduating high school students and their parents, who will want to pick up a copy before starting the college application process.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"

This book really helped my son with his college essay!
I recommend it highly.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have a couple of fan stories in the book, and I'm referenced as one of the many fans who were interviewed. The author is a friend and former roommate.

"Huskerville" asks the questions pondered by many Nebraskan fans, particularly those of us who've left the state but still call it home. Why does Husker football mean so much to Nebraskans? Why is the connection between Nebraskans and Husker football so strong? Is this connection unique?

Aden provides the answers, referencing countless Husker fans, and a fair amount of Nebraska history along the way. It's a good read. It's heavier than your average sports book, but Aden treats the subject seriously while throwing in some fun.

Robert Wolff's The Ideal of the University is a very interesting and stimulating book. He proposes an ideal model of undergraduate education from the perspective of a socialist, philosopher, and educator. The interesting thing about his book is not only his super-creative and somewhat crazy ideas, but also how he honestly presents his ideas and responds to the anticipated questions and concerns over his arguments. Several times I found myself questioning his arguments and then in the next paragraph or two he would respond to my questions. I do not necessarily agree with his points, but I found this "conversation" very thought provoking and interesting.

This speech, delivered to the Illinois Historical Society in 1908, with the American Civil War still only a few generations removed, provides specific insight into one of the most important rasons for that war, the slavery issue. It is an interesting read.

I'm a Wesleyan alum who checked this book out for the nostalgia aspect and maybe a few laughs. In the course of its wickedly sardonic (yet easily navigable) pages I not only learned many belatedly useful secrets about my alma mater, but I also had my faith reinstilled concerning the quality of a Wesleyan education. Ultimately, all I can say is "Thank you, Diego Baez, for the sophistication and wit you brought to a project that will prove an invaluable boon to any student wise enough to use it."

This is a very good book. I needed it for a class that I'm taking in college. It has a lot of helpful stuff in it.

Deborah L. Rhode, Professor of Law and Director of the Center on Ethics at Stanford University, provides a reasoned inquiry into the academic life and its discontents. By rejecting hyperbole and trying to base her contentions as much as possible on facts rather than anecdotal evidence, she avoids the partisan slant which so frequently mars popular writing on higher education. She focuses primarily on two pervasive but rather mundane problems: the jostling of scholars and institutions for status and the increasing commercialization of institutions of higher education.

Rhode devotes chapters to all of the major dimensions of academic life: scholarship, teaching, administration, and the role of the public intellectual. She makes many points worth pondering along the way. For example, she notes that scholars tend to write primarily for other scholars because popular writing does not increase their status in their respective fields, which is ultimately what leads to tenure and wider recognition within the academy. This narrowing of academic scholarship contributes to a growing gap between academics, many of whom have deep knowledge but only in very specialized fields, and "public intellectuals," some of whom opine with great authority on a wide range of subjects about which they all-too-frequently know all-too-little.

"In Pursuit of Knowledge" is written by a scholar for scholars. There is a faintly Aristotelian quality to Rhode's study; she presupposes her readers have sufficient experience of the academic existence to make informed judgments about her reflections and recommendations. This book will likely thus appeal primarily to professors and administrators, who will no doubt also appreciate her many illustrative references to comic novels about the academic life.

This book is an excellent guide to understanding many of the issues and challenges confronting those who work with students from underserved backgrounds. Although there's a great deal of statistical data, it's easy to skip it unless you're a data geek (not me) and get right to the clear and humane conclusions stemming from what appears to be excellent research. Well written and focused, the various writers have been well paired so the book appears to be one whole rather than many essays. In particular I appreciated the attention to "cultural capital" in the book and ways to evaluate programs geared to the underserved. This is a useful and I think essential guide for those working with student and counselor populations outside the highly privileged. I underlined a great deal and plan to use it as a handbook in the future.