Reviews (11)

The Beginning Of A Saga
John McPhee's second work is part of a dynasty that currently stands at twenty-seven works of uncannily good non-fiction.Rarely in the annals of modern literature has such a feat been approached.Stephen Jay Gould's record-breaking essay streak is the only comparable feat of what Richard Rhodes aptly terms "verity".The so-called non-fiction novel was invented during the 60's with Truman Capote's brilliant "In Cold Blood", but the book devoured Capote, leaving John McPhee with a twenty-six book lead and a magnum opus entitled "Annals Of The Former World."
A Special Person...a Special Place
I read this book when it was first published in 1966. Not long afterward, I had the privilege as well as pleasure of visiting Deerfield Academy and was given a tour of it by its headmaster, Frank Boyden. At that time, I was a Master of English at Kent School (Kent, CT). I recently re-read this book and another of John McPhee's, A Sense of Where You Are. The title of the latter work correctly describes Boyden's total understanding of his relationship with a once tiny school (founded in 1797) located in what remains a rustic village. Throughout his years as headmaster (1902-1968), he knew exactly where he was as well as where exactly he wanted Deerfield to be (and remain) under his leadership. Just as Mr. Boyden gave me a tour of Deerfield Academy during my visit so many years ago, McPhee enables his reader to take a comprehensive "tour" of the unique and compelling relationship between a remarkable educator and the school community he headed for 66 years.
A good book
Being business-oriented, I wish this book had talked more about how he had built up this school and ran it.It does do that but not to the level where this could be considered a business biography.From a business standpoint, this is a book about leadership and how great leadership can do great things for an institution.Read more

Subjects:  1. (Frank Learoyd),    2. 1879-1972    3. Biography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Boyden, Frank L.    7. Deerfield Academy    8. Educators    9. School principals    10. Secondary    11. United States    12. Biography & Autobiography / Educators   

Reviews (2)

That law of life...
that one must grow or else pay more to remain the same, paraphrased from Norman Mailer's _Deerpark_ comes into mind as I wandered/wondered through Mr. Parini's work.
The Art of Teaching
Becoming a teacher takes years of exhausting, painful trial and error.Deserving a four star rating, Jay Parini's book The Art of Teaching looks back over his years in the academic field.This beautifully written book is full of essays on everything from the first day of class, to the day of commencement.Parini looks at every issue a teacher might face in the classroom from the teacher's persona, to the teacher's relationships with the students and colleagues.He writes about trying to balance a teaching life and a life of research and writing.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. College teachers    4. College teaching    5. Education    6. Educators    7. General    8. Parini, Jay    9. Personal & Practical Guides    10. Professional Development    11. Teaching Methods & Materials - General    12. United States    13. Vocational guidance    14. Education / Teaching Methods & Materials / General    15. Teaching skills & techniques   

Reviews (8)

Inspiring
This book interested me because I love teaching writing in the workshop model.I was not disappointed one bit.Mr. Swope details both his triumphs and frustrations over the three year period.We get to know the students and to experience their progress.I bought one of Mr. Swope's books and I am going to give it with "I Am A Pencil" to my friends who share my enthusiasm for teaching writng.

4 stars, but nearly 5
First, let me say I loved this book! It's truly inspirational and provides insight into the sometimes thankless job of teaching. The children's writing interspersed throughout is fascinating and the extent to which the author went to "collaborate" with the kids and befriend them and their families is moving. I definitely recommend reading it. I could say more good things about the book, but since the rest of the reviews on here seem to cover it, I will point out the couple of things that left me wanting more:
Excellent book!
I bought this book for my daughter who is an ESL teacher, but ended up reading it myself. I enjoyed it so much and highly recommend it for everyone, but especially those who are drawn to inner city kids.
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Subjects:  1. Anecdotes    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Children of immigrants    4. Composition and exercises    5. Education    6. Education (Elementary)    7. Educators    8. English language    9. Multicultural Education    10. Philosophy & Social Aspects    11. Study and teaching (Elementary    12. Study and teaching (Elementary)    13. Teaching Methods & Materials - General    14. United States   

Reviews (6)

A Book (And Life) With Something For Everyone
Fukuzawa Yukichi's memoir is one of the most versatile tools for teaching history.It has proved its worth as a self-effacing account of one 19th-century samurai's experience of westernization and modernization.But its universal appeal derives from Fukuzawa's zeal for the pursuit of knowledge, and his development as a skilled mediator of cross-cultural encounters.The author transformed himself from a conventional warrior into a scholar of "Dutch" (i.e. western) learning, diplomat, journalist, educator and entrepreneur, achieving success in all his endeavors.His "Autobiography" has all kinds of uses; there's even a passage decribing Fukuzawa's run-in with another swordsman, where they avoid a duel of honor by fleeing---thus puncturing the samurai ethos as a particular construction of masculinity.There are some imperfections; he is less than forthcoming about backing the Tokugawa Shogunate, thus siding with the losers during the Meiji Restoration.Also, the story ends well before Fukuzawa's final decades, when he became more conservative, nationalistic and a supporter of Japanese imperialism.Still, the man portrayed here is exceptionally attractive, and an important actor in the drama of Asia's role in the modern world.Albert M. Craig is nearing completion of a comprehensive major biography, but until it appears, there is N. Tamaki, "Yukichi Fukuzawa 1835-1901," a study of his role in business.Older titles by C. Blacker, "Japanese Enlightenment," and G. Sansom, "The Western World and Japan," are still valuable.NB, Family names come before personal names in Japan, which explains the variant listings.

Open you eyes to one man's Japan
Rethink your view of Japan as steeped in tradition.Fukuzawa helped shape modern Japan by standing against feudal Japanese thought in a critical cross-road in Japanese history.This is one man's insight into why the Japanese think the way they do and why the best course of medicine is an open embrace of Western thought.
I'd like to invite him to dinner
This is the best book I ever read as assigned reading in college, and I continue to reread it every year.In fact, I try to have a few (used) copies around the house to give to friends.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Educators    5. General    6. History Of Education    7. Literary Criticism & Collections / Asian   

Reviews (2)

Vivid Character Sketches, Loving Pictures of a Unique Place
Phinn clearly loves children, schools and Yorkshire.His pictures of the countryside, of its stalwart but reserved people, and of their dialect, invite favorable comparison with James Herriott.This is a special place, largely unspoiled by McDonalds and internet chat rooms, and that alone is a reason to celebrate while reading the book. Through a teachers eyes
Having heard Gervais Phinn talk on an afternoon chat show describinghis life as a schools inspector with humour and great dedication I was anxious to read his book "The Other Side of the Dale". Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. Educators    4. General    5. History    6. Personal Memoirs    7. Biography: general    8. Cooking / Reference    9. Organization & management of education    10. Schools    11. Yorkshire   

Subjects:  1. African American philosophy    2. African Americans    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Civil rights    7. Educators    8. Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - General    9. General    10. Historical - General    11. Historiography    12. History & Theory - General    13. Philosophers    14. Study and teaching    15. Black studies    16. USA   

Reviews (24)

Initiation by Elisabeth Haich
This is an awesome book.It answered most every question I ever had about life, life after death, Biblical times, how the pyramids were built, and many many more.I could hardly put it down.

Initiation
This was my first book I read as an introduction to both Yoga & The Occult. I think this is an excellent book and a great Spiritual Journey. Buy the book you wont regret it.

INITIATION/Elisabeth Haich
INITIATION by Elisabeth Haich. The inner core of this reportedly autobiographical novel revolves around the psychic reliving of previous incarnations by the author, and their applications and relevance to her contemporary life in pre-and post-World War II Germany as a woman, wife, mother and, eventually, spiritual teacher. The central incarnation is that of an ancient Egyptian princess who was granted initiation in the Sacred School. The lessons included exercises in meditation, concentration, body and sense control and telepathy. The exercises were primarily designed to stimulate and strengthen the biopsychic centers in preparation for the infusion of elevated energy vibration.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Educators    5. New Age    6. Spirituality - General    7. Ancient Egyptian religion    8. Biography: general    9. Spirituality   

Reviews (10)

Inspiring Story, But Gets Bogged Down
ONE DAY, ALL CHILDREN is the story of how Wendy Kopp started Teach For America. For those unfamiliar with the program, Teach For America is an organization that recruits college graduates and young adults to work for two years at inner city and rural schools where there are teaching shortages.Corps members are sent through an extremely extensive three week training program during the summer before heading off to their various assignments in the fall.Teach For America has come under criticism by the professional educational teaching programs because corps members aren't forced to go through a teacher education program before being hired.Personally, I think the program is a great idea that is meeting the needs of our nation's underprivileged children; instead of throwing money at the savage inequality of education, Teach For America is attempting to fix the problem.
An Inspiring, True Story That Tackles Harsh Realities
"One Day, All Children" is a captivating story of how Wendy Kopp, the founder of Teach for America, and how she followed her dreams to DO SOMETHING about the harsh realities and failures of many of our public schools.Mind you, the book TELLS ALL, from fundraising nightmares to team member turmoil; this is not simply a book on idealistic pedagogy.The story is guaranteed to frustrate you and inspire you.That a fresh college grad, assisted by other fresh young people, established Teach for America is incredible.This is worthwhile reading for Teach for America applicants, new teachers, education students, and social justice-minded people.

An inspirational short read
In less than 200 pages, Ms. Kopp details every step she took in establishing Teach for America, the national teaching corps for recent college graduates.Chapters 1-9 are a primer for fundraising techniques, non-profit organizational set-up and strong management skills.But, Chapter 10, the most interesting by far, is a lengthy description on what makes good educators. You may be inspired enough to join in the efforts in ensuring excellent education for all children in this great nation of ours. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Education    3. Educational Policy & Reform    4. Educators    5. General    6. Organizations & Institutions    7. Biography: general    8. Social theory    9. USA   

Reviews (4)

important concepts in education
Fantastic Book!Makes a revolutionary concept seem simple and obvious.As an education student, I plan to take from this book for the rest of my life.

Teacher
This text was recommended reading and as a teacher myself, I find it confounding that it was not required reading during my teaching education.She certainly was ahead of her time, but Sylvia Ashton-Warner might still be distancing herself from those standard based minds determined to put children into the molds we have decided are necessary for their own good.How do we get children to see the power of language so that writing and reading have personal meaning that piques a lifelong journey into the love of learning--this book has some incredible seeds that a willing and curious mind might take, study, and find itself using to change the world, and at the very least the landscape of education as we see it today.Read this book if you want children to come alive to learning.

ReadThis Book Once a Year
I am a teacher of 18 years who had to read this book in 1977 as part of my college teacher training and would like to share this book with all teachers. It is as relevant for me today with our scripted phonics and literature-rich reading programs as it was then. Sylia Ashton-Warner does more than portray a method and philosophy to teach reading to New Zealand's Maori children--she paints a vivid, dramatic picture of any classroom. The reader can see the combination of her daily, organized lesson plan superimposed with the actual unpredictable, spontaneous, and social nature of children.Sylvia writes in such a perceptive, humorous way that our sympathy goes out to the Maori children who are expected to learn reading, but are expertly led, not forced. Read more

Subjects:  1. Ashton-Warner, Sylvia    2. Ashton-Warner, Sylvia - Prose & Criticism    3. Bilingual Education    4. Biography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Education    7. Educational Innovations    8. Educators    9. Experimental methods    10. General    11. Maori (New Zealand people)    12. New Zealand    13. Teachers    14. Education / General    15. Teaching skills & techniques   

Reviews (2)

Wonderful and Inspiring Story
Dean Siegman has done a masterful job of revealing the incredible life story of Charlie Morris. This book is heart warming and inspiring, but does not sugar-coat the harsh realities and struggles of someone dealing with both physical limitations and post traumatic stress disorder. Readers of this well constructed biography will almost certainly be inspired to do more with their own lives after learning of the remarkable achievements of Charlie Morris. A highly recommended read for anyone who believes the human spirit can overcome almost any oblstacle, for you will find no finer example of that notion than the life of Charlie Morris. This book is worth every minute of the time you will spend with it.

Finally, an understandable book of Vietnam vets.........
I don't usually read this genre book, but found it well written and understandable without resorting to the usual sensationalism.Mr. Siegman factually and interestingly tells the story of "just a reular guy" who overcame difficulties most people would find hard to imagine.Charlie's story tells us the behind the scenes story of injury, recovery and hope, only to be shattered by the "flashback" nightmares so many of our vets faced during that era filled with turmoil both on the front lines and at home. For the most part, protest marcherswere often mis-informed and misguided thanks to the likes of "Hanio Jane" Fonda and her kind.The old cliche of "a comeback against all odds" must be applied to this fine young man who was kind enough to share his story and to Mr. Siegman who wrote it so clearly and well.Thank you for sharing this story with us, Mr. Siegman and best wishes to Charlie! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Educators    5. Military    6. Biography & Autobiography / General    7. Biography & Autobiography / Military    8. Biography & Autobiography-Educators    9. Biography: general   

Subjects:  1. 1564-1616    2. 1789-1883    3. 19th century    4. Bibliography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Collier, John Payne,    8. Early modern, 1500-1700    9. Educators    10. English literature    11. Forgeries    12. History    13. History and criticism    14. Literary forgeries and mystifications    15. Methodology    16. Modern - 19th Century    17. Plays / Drama    18. Reference    19. Shakespeare    20. Shakespeare, William,    21. Theory, etc    22. Drama / Shakespeare   

Reviews (1)

Inspiring Curiosity
I immensely enjoyed reading "Such Silver Currents". It flows at just the right pace, and gathers interest, intrigue, and admiration in the reading. It inspires a curiosity about the era that made me turn frequently to a biographical dictionary for supplementary detail. The author makes herRead more

Subjects:  1. 1845-1879    2. 19th century    3. Authors, English    4. Biography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Clifford, W. K.,    7. Clifford, William Kingdon,    8. Educators    9. Great Britain    10. Literary Criticism    11. Married people    12. Mathematicians    13. Mrs.,    14. Philosophers    15. Scientists - Inventors    16. d. 1929    17. Biography: general    18. Clifford, W. K    19. Clifford, William Kingdon    20. Mathematics    21. Novels, other prose & writers   

Reviews (18)

this book is a gift
this book is very inspiring, it motivates the reader to be positive and get in touch with one's good self, and then share this goodness with everyone around.
Superb message and writing
The late Philip Simmons left the world a wonderful gift with this book. I pulled it off the shelf in a very low time and found it to be inspiring in many ways. Simmons was a creative writing teacher and it shows in this work, which is full of beautiful images as well as beautiful ideas.

Writers are like bears...
These short essays are gems of style and content.Phillip Simmons was not an existentialist railing against his suffering, but a Stoic/Buddhist personality that loved his family and loved to climb mountains.He died in 2002.
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Subjects:  1. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. College teachers    5. Diseases - Nervous System (incl. Brain)    6. Educators    7. Patients    8. Religion    9. Religious aspects    10. Simmons, Philip E.,    11. Specific Groups - Special Needs    12. Spirituality - General    13. Suffering    14. United States    15. Religion / Spirituality    16. Simmons, Philip E   

Editorial Review

Nineteenth-century African American businessman, activist, and educator Booker Taliaferro Washington's Read more

Reviews (54)

Up From Slavery review
This is a must read for anyone interested in early American history.

This book isn't useless, but we aren't in 1906
I read this book, here in Ceará, a state of Brazil.Even being an agronomist, I love to read books.This book is 100% available for free reading, on internet.This book was writen about 100 years ago, by an african-american , Booker T. Washington.
eloquent first-person account of life after the Emancipation
Every student of history must read this book. (ages 10-up). Booker T. Washington was a brilliant scholar and compassionate human being. His detailing of life as a young slave boy, and life during/after the Reconstruction, is heart-wrenching, but must be read in order to fully understand the era. At times, I felt that Mr. Washington was too "kind" in trying to understand and explain the motives of the white people. He was a visionary and tireless worker for the African Americans; therefore, this work is a must-read for all Americans. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. African Americans    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Educators    7. Historical - U.S.    8. People of Color    9. Slaves    10. United States    11. Fiction / Classics   

Reviews (5)

I brought this book everywhere with me this summer!
I highly recommend Last Moon Dancing, a memoir of a Peace Corps Volunteer's experience in Africa, by Monique Maria Schmidt.Schmidt's plan was to teach, sacrifice and contribute to an African village.She soon realizes, however, that she has brought more to Africa than planned.Woven into her journey are the memories of her own childhood on a farm in a Mennonite community in South Dakota. Schmidt humorously tries to make sense of it all and soon realizes she is surrounded by love.Schmidt's writing style is engaging and ranges from poetic & profound to blunt & to the point.
Enlightening!!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading "Last Moon Dancing."The author's candid descriptions about her experiences in an African village while serving in the Peace Corps keep this book interesting and fresh.I enjoyed the "Dear Angela" letters the most.My favorite letter was "Dear Angela, If you want to know what kind of day I've had, smell me."Schmidt's ability to find humor in the day-to-day stress of her African experience makes one marvel at the strength and tenacity of the human spirit.A definite Must-Read!!

OVERWHELMING EMOTION
Once I started reading Last Moon Dancing I could not put it down. I felt all emotions from desperate to amused but the most dominate thing I felt was pride. I am proud that young people have the courage and ambition to commite themselves to the aid and education of those with less. It is an awe inspiring story and one that is so fantastic it couldn't be anything but admired ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Benin    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Educators    7. Humanitarians    8. Personal Memoirs    9. Specific Groups - General    10. Volunteer workers in social service    11. Women teachers    12. Women volunteers in social service   

Reviews (2)

Incredible Memoir of the Gulag!!!
This book shocked, sickened, and inspired me. I never realized how terrible Stalin's purges were until I read Ginzburg's historically accurate and emotionally compelling memoir. Unforgettable characters, disturbing mental images, and harrowing brutality made up the Soviet Gulag and Ginzburg's book showcases them beautifully! Outstanding memoir!!

One of the most harrowing descriptions of the Stalin purges
Eugenia Ginsburg was sentenced to ten years imprisonment in 1937 on a false charge of terrorism at the height of the Stalin purges. In her first book 'Into the whirlwind' she describes her arrest, her interrogation, hermockery of a trial and two years in solitary confinement in prison.Shewas then transported to Magadan in the far East of Russia to a labour camp,and the first volume ends as she is beginning to cope with theundescribably harsh conditions in the camp.Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Educators    6. General    7. Ginzburg, Evgeniia Semenovna    8. Historical - General    9. Political    10. Political prisoners    11. Soviet Union   

Subjects:  1. (Mordecai Wyatt),    2. 1890-1976    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Educators    8. General    9. Howard University    10. Individual Institutions Of Higher Education    11. Johnson, Mordecai W    12. Johnson, Mordecai W.    13. Presidents   

Reviews (10)

superbly researched and quite interesting
Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman have put an immense effort into writing an exhaustive review of Norbert Wiener, one of the great geniuses of the last century.Wiener spoke an ungodly number of languages, got his PhD from Harvard at the age of 19, made immense contributions to mathematics, biology, computer sciences, medicine, political thought - even in McCarthy's heyday he had no qualms about speaking his mind -, etc, etc.
I was there as Prof. Weiner's Student
When I first saw the title "Dark Heroof ...." I had to chuckle with the image it engendered of Norbert, dressed in a floppy Batman constume, goutee,thick glassed over his mask which of course hid his identy waddling down the corridors of Building 2, fighting crime in Tauberian Theorems.
A Forgotten Inventor & His Contributions.
This biography is about the author of the 1948 CYBERNETICS.He was called "the father of the information age" and yet these authors call him the "dark hero who has fallen through the cracks."Norbert Wiener, born in 1895, was a child prodigy who entered college in 1906 and earned his PhD from Harvard seven years later (it took my smart son ten years to get his from University of Chicago!)In 1919 he became a teacher at MIT in Cambridge, Massachuettes but, after two years he left for Cambridge, England, on a graduate fellowship.
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Subjects:  1. 1894-1964    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Cybernetics    7. Educators    8. General    9. Mathematicians    10. Mathematics (General)    11. Scientists - General    12. United States    13. Wiener, Norbert,    14. Cybernetics & systems theory    15. History of mathematics   

Editorial Review

The second volume of Victor Klemperer's searing diary, kept in secret during the 12 years he suffered under the Nazi regime, covers the period from 1942 to 1945. The humiliations visited on even such "privileged" Jews as Klemperer (whose wife was Aryan) grew increasingly severe, with house searches, arbitrary arrests, and brutal beatings becoming virtually routine. The 60-year-old historian is forced to shovel snow despite his heart condition; hunger gnaws at him as rations are mercilessly cut. Yet he clings to an intellectual life, continuing his reading and making notes on the lies and obfuscations of official Nazi discourse that would become his postwar masterpiece, Lingua Tertii Imperii. "The Russians, who have only just been annihilated, are tremendous and quite inexhaustible opponents," he notes sardonically after reading a mendacious fascist article in 1942. His lengthy account of his escape with his wife from Dresden after the Allied bombings of 1945 unforgettably captures the chaos of World War II's final days and the mixed feelings of a Jew who could never wholeheartedly gloat over the defeat of the nation that had persecuted him. Above all, his unflinching depiction of human nature and society in extremis amply justifies his cherished belief that even the Nazis "cannot prevent language from testifying to the truth."Read more

Reviews (28)

A Courageous, One-of-a-Kind View Inside Nazi Germany
This is actually the second volume of Klemperer's diaries, published in two volumes. I highly recommend that you buy both volumes as a set and read from the beginning how a bureaucratic mindset advanced towards ultimate evil.