College and University Books

It's a great book for anyone who is in college and don't want to rack up debts.! Recommend it!

I teach at a large state school. Reading John McGowan's book renewed my commitment to teaching as an intellectual and transformative act. I especially liked the essays on teaching literature, the ABCs, pragmatism, and the overview of the "culture", as I am a teacher of the critical/cultural study of science and American studies.

Great transaction. I highly recommend this text for anyone who is in a leadership position (or wants to be) in academia.

Dr. Nichols provides a good overview of the assessment process in this book. It follows on his several others. Most important: This book has sample assessment records in it - thus it is excellent for those trying to set-up an assessment program in their department. We used it for our initial template for ABET and SACS records. Even the most confused (stubborn?) came around after reading it. For beginners and veterans alike.

It's got to be. I wrote it.

How the hell did my Thesis from 1994 undergrad get on this site?

This book presents the course design process-clarifying values, determining goals and content, structuring the course, preparing flexible learning opportunities, deciding goals and objectives for units of study, selecting teaching strategies, and assessing. The last chapter is about implementing a new course. References, index, and a page of information about The Society for Research into Higher Education are at the back of the book. This is a very scholarly, academic book. It is well documented and incorporates research findings. It focuses on strategic decisions that need to be made before a course is developed and provides realistic advice for designing courses. It is not about teaching techniques. This 6 by 9-inch book has relative small print. It has very few figures or tables. Most pages are filled with words. This is a good book for a scholar of education who likes verbiage.

This text has been selected for the Institute on the College of the Community, June 2000.

The book describes the issues, anxieties, and problems in dealing with the new U.K. credit-based modular system (CBMS) for curriculum. The debate and the issues are precisely the same as those facing U.S. curriculum designers as we look toward the needs of 21st century learners. The book frames the issues of accreditation, quality, flexibility, transferability, and equity in load across programs. It also addresses the friction between the higher education legacy approach and a new more flexible system for learners. This is a must read for curriculum designers attempting to develop global curricula.

The outcome has been written. But for those that really enjoy college football, and The Ohio State University Buckeyes, specifically, this is the book for you.

Contents:
Foreword
Introduction
Chapter 1: Hope Springs Eternal
Chapter 2: Outside the Lines
Chapter 3: Great Expectations
Chapter 4: The Journey Begins
Chapter 5: Eyes on the Prize
Chapter 6: The Game
Chapter 7: Waiting for an Opponent
Chapter 8: The Long Layoff
Chapter 9: The Heisman Trophy
Chapter 10: The BCS Championship Game
Chapter 11: Moving Forward
Appendix

Diary of an Unforgettable Season, by Steve Snapp, takes you inside big time college football. Snapp, the Associate Director of Athletics for Broadcasting for The Ohio State Buckeyes, kept a diary during the 2006 season which has been turned into this 166 page book. He brings you right inside the coaches and player meetings, the preparations for the season, the awards season, and the BCS Championship Game. It is a wonderful insiders look at big time college football told in a very personal manner.

Even if you are not a fan of the Buckeyes, the entries on the season ending awards (Lombardi, Heisman, etc.) are eye opening as to the amount of travel, meetings, dinners, and interviews that the winners and finalists go through. That they are able to play a game after all of that travel is incredible. Snapp spends time on most of the major players from that team, allowing the reader to learn more about their development and the highlights of their season. He also writes about the coaching staff, giving you another perspective of the season, one that was probably not in any media outlet.

While a good, fast read, it needed a little tighter editing. My only complaint with the book is that some of the word choices were curious, causing me to pause on some entries to try to figure out what Snapp meant. On the plus side, he adds pictures to the diary, giving a nice visual from select games and events. Even though this is a diary of a specific season, Snapp infuses some of the entries with the history of the Buckeyes to give you a look at the past and how it is used to motivate the current team. If you are fan of The Ohio State University Buckeye football team and you would like a remembrance of the 2006 season from someone that had inside access to the coaches and team, this is a great addition to your library. If the Buckeyes aren't the team for you, you will appreciate Snapp's insights of the awards ceremonies and mainstream media.

Go Bucks!

Alexander the Great, was born on or around July 20, 356 B.C.E., and is my favorite personality to read about in history. To me he is the whole package general, statesman, conqueror, and philosopher. The smartest man who ever lived, Aristotle, tutored him. Alexander conquered more of the known world than any other figure in history, accomplishing all this before he dies at the ripe old age of 33. Some people called him conqueror and violent overlord. Some other called him civilizer and even God! All of them yet, called him "The Great". He was the first man in modern history that took this name, "The Great"! Even as a young boy, he shows great promise.

Diodorus a Greek historian who lived from 80-20 BCE wrote 40 books of world history. He is an uncritical compiler who used good sources and produced them faithfully. His work is one of the oldest works available and is based on eyewitness accounts. He does a better job than most in explaining the battle scenes, and seems to be more balanced in his admiration and criticism of Alexander then any of the other early biographers. I love his Bucephalus Story, and I recount it here so you get a flavor of the promise this young Alexander shows.

The legend begins with Philoneicus, a Thessalian, bringing a wild horse to Philip for him to buy. None of the hands was able to handle it, and Philip grew upset at Philoneicus for bringing such an unstable horse to him. Alexander, however, publicly defied his father and claimed that he could handle the horse. The bet between Philip and Alexander was that if Alexander could ride the horse, Philip would buy it, if not, Alexander would have to pay the price of the horse, which was 13 talents, an enormous sum for a boy of Alexander's age to have.

Alexander apparently noticed that the horse had been shying away from its own shadow, and so he led it gently into the sun, so that its shadow was behind it, all the while stroking it gently and whispering into its ear, (Alexander seems to be the original horse whisperer). Eventually the horse let Alexander mount him, and Alexander was able to show his equestrian skill to his father and all who were watching. The incident so impressed Alexander's father, King Philip that he told the boy "Look thee out a kingdom equal to and worthy of you, for Macedonia is too little for thee". He named the horse Bucephalus, which means Ox head, and rode it across Asia, founding a city in its honor in India after its death. This story gives you an inkling about the man.

This book is a necessary read for students of Alexander, I also recommend Plutarch's and Arrian's work, and from contemporary writers, J. F. C. Fuller and Tarn. Most of Alexander's greatest military traits are in the area of military logistics and to understand his genius in this area I highly recommend reading, "Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army," by Donald W. Engels.

As a retired U. S. Army Major, I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in ancient warfare, and history.

The book named Diploma Mills by David W.Stewart & Henry A. Spille is the best book ever written on Fake Educational Institutions and their diplomas/degrees. Author has also mentioned the process and legal tactics these fake and fraud educational institutions use to work in public.Book is full of knowledge and fully recomended to know and protect oneself from these diploma mills.Authors are hereby congratulated on doing detailed research work.