College and University Books

This book describes and analyzes one of the most improbable stories in American education - how did it come to pass that the preeminent music school in the United States, probably in the world, came to be situated in southern Indiana - Bloomington to be exact, at Indiana University. George M. Logan, Head of the English Department at Queen's University, Canada became intrigued by this question and wrote a brilliant book to answer it. As an American living in Europe I am often surprised that musically aware people here not only have heard of Bloomington and Indiana, but react so favorably to it. Its performing faculty (like Janos Starker or Menahem Pressler, or students from Indiana like Joshua Bell) are well known here and heard in concerts or on the radio. Here is one American success story well and interestingly told. Not only is the cast of musical charaters in this history fascinating, but Logan has weaved into the narrative the issues and analyses that confronted the Indiana administration and faculty and the outcomes of their decisions. This a colorful book describing high culture, but it is also a kind of ongoing management manual on successful cultural organization, although Logan is well balanced, recording not only successes but failures as well. I loved reading this book, learned a great deal about cultural management and just plain management, and warmly recommend it.

Research on the effect of the college experience on students has often been done, but the UW SOUL study is the best and most comprehensive of these projects. What brings this project to life is the sections of interviews with students that are presented. As you read the words of these students and match that with the survey data, the reader begins to discover what really goes on during a students' university experience. We begin to see why the academic adjustment can be so difficult and, more importantly, the authors provide suggestions on how this can be remedied. As the reader examines the data and absorbs the students' responses given in interviews, it becomes possible to see what it is that students learn in college and how this learning takes place.
Inside the Undergraduate Experience is essential reading for instructors, administrators, student development personnel, and anyone who wants to better understand the college experience from the viewpoint of the student.

While most books focus solely on numbers and statistics, this book gives you a behind-the-scenes picture of what the school is really like: how hard the professors are, what the students are like, what the school looks for in an applicant, etc.

I actually only wanted to check one of the top fifteen schools in the book, but I ended reading on most of the schools. This book will likely be appreciated by those who are thinking about, are attending, or have already attended one of the institutions in this book. But some may find it quite interesting to read about Harvard Law students, and how the school is different from what many would imagine it to be -- like who knew that some third year Harvard Law students don't attend classes?

I'd recommend this book specifically for those who are planning to apply to those top law schools. For everyone else, you might want to check your local library or bookstore before you purchase this item (as you'll likely skim or read only the school you are interested in).

** Note: Although the book was published over a decade ago, I found most of the material still relevant. However, most of the details will likely be obsolete in a few years.

If you're studying for the IELTS, this book is great practice. I use it with most of my IELTS students.

Goldstone has not only made a valuable contribution to scholarship. She is a lively personality whose writing is always a delight to read. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the Civil Rights movement and recent American history.

This is one of the most comprehensive reference books on international educational qualifications available today. It is much more detailed than UNESCO's "World Guide to Higher Education". I would like to ask the publisher when the fifth edition will be published.

Written by a seminary in the field of Limnology, Ecology, and Aquatic Biology, Stanley Dodson's Limnology textbook is a complete reference of the above topics. Excellent illustrations and images, coupled with well-written text makes this text unusually accessible and useful throughout an undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate career. I've kept mine as a reference long after my Limnology course, and it has proved useful in writing a number of papers and as a professional reference.

Kuh, Schuh, Whitt, and Associates have really developed a a fantastic resource manual. I call it a resource manual in the fact that when I need something to back up my views, opinions, reasoning, etc., I can often turn to this book and find the justification that I need. Not only is it thoroughly research-based, but it provides the type of inspiring information that many of us in higher education look for from time to time.

It might have a shortcoming in that the group only used fourteen institutions in their study, but they openly admit their procedures and appreciate the fact that their scope could be considered somewhat limited. However, their conclusions and recommendations are such that they need not be institution specific. They challenge colleges and universities to not only create a mission, but to strive to meet that mission on a continuum...for it to permeate the scope of the institution from the admissions process, through campus life, and on into alumni programming.

For those truly intrigued with higher education (and especially its outcomes), this is an easy read. The picture that they paint for the "involved college" is somewhat utopian, but I argue that is what makes the book so inspiring. We should all hope to work for and/or attend an institution that can set such high goals not only for its academic curriculum, but for the community of learning that it fosters.

Anyone involved with the lives of college students can't afford to miss out on this book.

This is one monumental book, in that the author weaves together his personal experiences from notes he kept in a journal, along with a fictional novel that he constructed from those events, during his tour. He also flashes backwards and forwards with his life before Vietnam and then returning on rice business much later. In so doing, he develops the very story we all went through as young men in college in the early to mid-sixties, who did not mind a military obligation or the hardships of deployment to SE Asia, and served well. (This is three books in one.)
I was a helicopter pilot with the 175th Outlaws and know the Vi Thanh area well. IT was a very hostile province, and the VC owned it and all the territory to Rach Gia and the U Minh Forest. Tom Hargrove describes life with the MACV teams very specifically, and superbly addresses their thoughts and intentions while living so sparsely. The dangers of interactions with the local VN are so typical; it is a wonder we all survived our valiant attempts at pacification.

This necessary book covers the Advisor side of the war, which was much more commonplace than the conventional war, being waged "Up North" with the American divisions. For those of you who want to read about this realistic Vietnam conflict in the hinterlands, read this book of outpost living and agrarian assistance to these poor rice paddy farmers. Way to go, Tom!! It was always nice to climb back into our Huey and return to Vinh Long after resupplying you guys! A lot of truth here, and maybe it has taken all these years to get it out--the way we lived our war in the Delta...

This book proves again that the worth of a book is not by its weight, but by its content. This book is certainly much, much better than "Hononrs Programs and Colleges" published by Thomson and Peterson's.

This book selects the best 55 out of all the honors programs at the public universities nationwide. This guide gives an analysis for each honors program, which you will not find in any other books. Furthermore, it ranks these 55 honors programs. This gives students and parents a very good way to choose among the programs.

Indeed, some of these programs provide education as good as Ivy League's. Overall, I highly recommend this book as one of the must-have's college guides.