1 comments about The Other Side of Loneliness: A Spititual Journey.

1. This is one of the finest memoirs i ever read.
   
   This is a gifted poet
   
   acquainted with lofty environs
   
   chose to create a school, in Harlem for
   
   un fortuned infants
   
   They blossomed there.
   
   This is a great memoir .
   
   and revealing, and just plain beautiful , also

No comments about Freireian Pedagogy, Praxis, and Possibilities: Projects for the New Millennium (Garland Reference Library of Social Science).

5 comments about Hornet's Nest : The Experiences of One of the Navy's First Female Fighter Pilots.

1. Thank you Missy for telling the world your story. As a women aviator in the Air Force I feel like you took the words right out of my mouth. Wow! All women interested in military aviation need to read your book to better prepare them for what they are up against. I only hope it doesn't discourage future women from trying to obtain their goals. Go Hokies!



2. Anyone who has read Brenda Maddox's book about Rosalind Franklin, the Dark Lady of DNA, will see the all-too-familiar parallels to Cummings's Hornet's Nest - those of a competent, strong, and courageous woman trying to make her way in all male field. The two stories in many ways seem to be the same story, just set in a different time and place. A must-read for women in both the military and sciences.



3. Wow- how to start this...I don't want everyone to stop reading as soon as I point out that I am a woman in a traditionally male-dominated field myself, and know what it can be like. However, this is a case of a woman being as qualified, or, as is frequently the case, more qualified. Missy Cummings was a danger to herself and others. The strings pilled to keep her flying as some sort of proof that women can do it are astonishing and disgusting. There are women pilots out there who don't have to be babysat to keep them form flying into the ground. Missy just isn't one of them.



4. This is an incredible story of one woman's struggle against a male-dominated good old-boy culture. Her honesty about herself and the unfolding events is almost too painful to read. What I think is a shame is that the book ended too early and she did not incorporate her legal victories over the Navy which protected the right to privacy for all military members.



5. The real truth to Missy Cummings is she was a terrible pilot that couldn't hack the program. She was dangerous and was rightfully washed out. Now here is the interesting part...when most people get washed out they go away. Not Missy, she goes to her senators and congressmen and accuse sexual harassment. She gets reinstated due to her senators and washes out again due to her utter incompetence. Her response??? This time she goes out and writes a book on how everyone was unfair to just her. Interesting that there are plenty of other females that made it through just fine and are very good pilots. It must be the conspiracy of the Navy that wanted poor Missy out. Don't waste your time with this book, it's full of nothing but lies.

5 comments about Zig: The Autobiography of Zig Ziglar.

1. If you ever need an inspirational help of great success in life then I would recommend Zig Ziglar. Ziglar is author of best-seller, 'I'll See You At The Top' and many other motivational books, has helped thousands improve their lives to achieve that success in every aspect of living. As you read his auto-biography you'll learn about his remarkable story how he beat the odds and applied it to the teachings of Jesus Christ. You will learn to take the next step in your plan and keep God's plan at the center of your plans just as Zig did. His approach is a down-home, wholesome manner with the business savvy of a wise, honest salesman. Most of what he learn of being successful and the importance of networking with honest and wise mentors. The first part of the book tells of his early life and the family that shaped his destiny. In his early adult years he was hard-working and used his knowledge to make money and there were times he made financial mistakes as a result of foolish decisions. This was a time God wasn't a part of his life where his life had no meaning or purpose. The last part of the book, is about his change in life when he reflected back on the moral values in his early childhood and his mother. He then gave his life to Christ. He then found his purpose as a public speaker. From then on instead of his self-centered ambition he gave it all to God. And Zig has been successful ever since. Like Norman Vincent Peale, Zig applied biblical principles to the goals he has with the plans God manifest in the center of his life. Zig's secret is never quit, have faith in God and a whole lotta love. He's a mentor you can trust with a solution. Wish there were more like Zig.



2. Zig's life was a great testament to what he teaches. He walks the walk. His life is in balance, and even through tragedy, still reached out to make a difference for all lives he touched through his motivational seminars. His character is outstanding, and his level of integrity speaks for itself.

   This book shows the good, the bad, and the ugly. Life has not always been rosy for Zig, but he is living proof that you can overcome anything. As he always says: "you can have anything you want if you just help enough people get what they want".

   This book shows that Zig has faults just like the rest of us, and he makes that really clear in this book. He is humble and in some cases ashamed of some of his past behavior. No sugar coating in this one. The fact that he is such a strong christian is also satisfying to those of us who are believers. He makes it very clear who gets the credit for all of the blessings in his life.

   This book is a great read, and will be hard to put down if you are a fan. True to form, it's humorous with only a hint sorrow in some parts. He really is an amazing person.




3. I was exposed to Zig's philosophy some years ago and have read See You at the Top more than once. His "Check up from the Neck up" and the need to prevent "Hardening of the Attitudes" and "Stinkin Thinkin" are well ingrained. This was an interesting read and learning about his background and history was very well laid out and informative.



4. Zig is a very humble man. He tells the story of his life in stages that are inspirational in that the mundane things in life are all part of the whole that we experience. The early years in his life are full of mishaps in his opinion, yet lead to a logical place that may not have existed otherwise.
   
   His story of his older daughter's (Suzan's) illness and death, and the reaction of some of his mentors and partners in understanding, is one of the most touching renditons I have ever read and it is beatifully preserved by his younger daughter (Julie - you kind of feel the hominess of the family in the reading of this book) who edits his writing.
   
   Also, "The Wall of Gratitude", and how each person on it influenced him is another unselfish display of how he has become who he is. It is as if these mentors of his should have their pictures hung in many more dens/offices throughout the country because of their influence to him that he has passed to so many others.
   
   I met Zig and felt his sincerety in his conversation with me that I hope to duplicate in all I do - that's how good the meeting was! I can see why God called him to do what he does. In his autobiography he states all of the facts (and faults) of his personal life unashamedly. I do not think I could have shared some of the things he shared; too personal, but, his humility is seemingly endless.
   
   I first saw Zig in a sports motivational video in high school in the seventies. I got a lot of motivation out of it. It has stuck with me for all of these years: yet I was amused and amazed me to read about the experiences he had around that time and to the time at the end of this book.
   
   Obviously this review has come three years after the last one, yet it should show how timeless this story is, and, like Zig's salvation, it truly is "better late than never."



5. This was the first book I've read by Zig Ziglar. This very charming book details his childhood in America's rural South in the midst of the Depression, his early adult years, and adulthood. I'll write about the book in reverse chronological order.
   
   I especially enjoyed the part about his early adulthood, where he writes honestly about the uncertainty he went through. His adulthood part was interesting as well, although he tended to compress the 40+ years a little too much. After chronicling his childhood so meticulously, the later parts of the book seem a bit lacking in detail.
   
   His writing about his early childhood was very entertaining, a little sentimental, and excessively moralizing. Zig had a lot of mentors and learned valuable lessons, but he tends to stretch them too thin and draw almost too many morals to them. That he learned a lot about character and whatnot is unsurprising (he is a motivational speaker, after all), but it gets somewhat boring, a contrast to his humorous and vivacious "See You at the Top!
   
   For this, I give Zig an "excellent rating", which corresponds to 4 out of 5 stars in my humble book.

No comments about Student Affairs.

1 comments about Black Philosopher, White Academy: The Career of William Fontaine.

1. Kuklick is not pushing the story of a heroic, iconic individual--Fontaine is not cast as a symbol of racial improvement.
   
   Instead he's telling the story of an individual whose career in academia was unlikely, rare for its time, and was, in fact, a mentor to Kuklick at the University of Pennsylvania. Fontaine's scholarly contributions, and his broader importance are both discussed.
   
   Race in higher education is a subject that will not go away any time soon, and this book certainly pushes the discussion forward.

1 comments about A Love of Discovery: Science Education - The Second Career of Robert Karplus (Innovations in Science Education and Technology).

1. Once upon a time, science was taught in classrooms using wordy textbooks and a chalk board. There were no practical lessons and there was no room for exploration. Then a man called Bob Karplus came along and changed all that.
   "A Love of Discovery" describes the achievements of Bob Karplus in transforming American classroom science.
   Karplus initiated the Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS) in the early 1960s which aimed to find methods of teaching students of all ages scientific concepts in a way that would excite and inspire them about science. Their method was essentially, "Don't tell me, let me find out." They guided students through practical problems allowing them to make their own observations about the world.
   The editor of "A Love of Discovery", Robert G Fuller, states in his introduction that the book is "an attempt to support the claim that several of his contributions to science education are as important today as they were when he first made them." In one sense the book achieves its aim. It introduces a new generation of readers to Karplus' work. It places many of his key papers in one easy volume. However to some extent the book also fails this aim. The many contributors are eager to point out the success of Karplus' program, its translation into numerous languages, and its use in schools across the world. However all this success gives the feeling that the book is redundant: We don't need to hear about Karplus because we already know.
   The structure is a slightly awkward mix of plain-English introductory chapters written by ex-colleagues, and Karplus' own research papers. The juxtaposition of these two styles does not work particularly well. The introductions to Karplus' papers are filled with praise for the man and his work, but seem to have only a loose association with the papers they are supposed to be introducing. The resulting structure means the book loses momentum and the ideas presented do not seem to build upon the one before.
   Nonetheless, the book is a valuable one in that it is a tribute to a man who achieved so much in his work. The difference that Karplus' research made to science education is clear. Many science educators would find Karplus' methods a useful tool in their classrooms today.

5 comments about True North (First Edition).

1. Jill Conway's True North did little to answer the question as to how a talented, ambitious, learned female copes with a manic-depressive husband. Actually, I was disappointed in finding out very little about John who must have been an incredible intellect, bon vivant, and wifely challenge. Jill may want to fulfill a need of many spouses dealing with a bipolar mate by writing a sequel.



2. This "sequel" to Road From Coorain was not a disappointment. It is beautifully written, sensitive and so clearly represents what it was (and still is) like for women in academia. As a young woman in higher education, I know that I will read this book again and again. It affirms the experiences of women who are climbing the tenure ladder in an old boys network that does not welcome women and provides the mentorship that we so desperately need.



3. Since I did not read the first volume of Conway's now-three-part memoir, I have nothing to compare this to. But I liked her light and tasteful touch with personal details. Conway wasn't dealt the easiest hand in life, but here readers will find no self pity. This is not a book for the empty-headed. But as a former history student and current college instructor, I can identify with much of what Conway writes about; I'm nowhere near as intellectual as she is, however. But this is a great book if you want to explore a woman's coming of intellectual age.



4. AND I FELT REALLY CONNECTED TO THE AUTHOR

   I really can't explain my feelings in words. Look at the subject first then read on. They are all by Dr. Jill Ker Conway (shes a phd). The titles are The Road from Coorain (also a Exxon Mobil Masterpiece Theater movie as well), True North, and A Women's Education. Is she orginally from New South Wales, Australia. Came to the United States for graduate school, but stayed there after that, but was Canada as well for 6 years. Boys you will also love reading them as well. Thank you.




5. Jill Ker Conway leaves her native Australia for a doctoral program at Radcliffe College not only to further her career, but perhaps even more to break free from her co-dependent birth family's stifling ties. For the first time in her life, Jill lives among people who believe that it's not only acceptable - but mandatory - for a woman to develop her intellect to its full potential. People who find ideas exciting, and who encourage Jill to treat her own emotional well-being as an absolute priority; not as a luxury to be sacrificed for the "good" of her mentally ill mother. In this new and amazingingly nurturing environment, she thrives.
   
   When it's time for her to start instructing undergraduates, something she's already experienced in her Australian university, Jill falls under the supervision of Harvard professor John Conway. This Canadian war veteran is a generation older, witty, brilliant, and immensely attractive to a woman in love with intellect. Before Jill's stay at Harvard ends, they're married. The next year is spent in Europe, learning how to be a couple (not the easiest of lessons for either partner, since both are sufficiently mature to be set in their ways) and preparing for John's return to his native country. For he, too, is putting Harvard into the past.
   
   Jill's years as a Canadian professor of American history open up yet another new universe, as she takes leadership - by default, not choice, at first - in the 1970s rise of women's history as a topic for scholarly study. Her personal and professional growth through this period doesn't come easily, and it's fascinating reading.
   
   True North picks up where The Road from Coorain left off, and carries this remarkable woman through to her move from Canada back to the United States, to take up her duties as the newly appointed president of Smith College. For me this book is a memoir of an era I remember well because I, too, lived it. For readers younger than my generation and that of Jill Ker Conway (who is my oldest sister's contemporary), it should make a fascinating look at an era when working women still had to deal with limited expectations and blatantly limited compensation structures. A great read from first chapter to last!

1 comments about Education Of A University President.

1. The book's author is Marvin Wachman. Not James Hilty, who wrote the extremely sensitive, erudite and felicitous foreword.
   
   Wachman's life story is fascinating, particularly for those of us who shared a portion of that life. Like the man, the book is ego-less and straight-forward. That is not to suggest that he hides his achievements; he just doesn't crow about them.
   
   Of special interest to this reader is the account of his early life. His life as a child in Milwaukee built the intellectual and moral base that guided him as he made tough decisions in later life.
   
   This account of an interesting and contributing life should be especially of interest to those who are interested in academe-its substance and its structure.

1 comments about Educating Andy: The Experiences of a Foreign Family in the Japanese Elementary School System.

1. I don't understand why it's so difficult to get a copy of this book because I thought it was terrific and relevant for any non-Japanese interested in the Japanese elementary school experience. It was full of pithy, real-life accounts of the ups and downs of an Australian boy and his mother in the fifth and sixth grade in a public school in Tokyo. I couldn't give it five stars because it seemed like a lot of the details were recalled long after they had occurred and so I occasionally wanted more details. A daily diary would have been more reliable. However, the mother had a lot of different schools to compare this one to because they had traveled to several countries together and also been in a private international school in Japan. I felt her insights had true global perspective for comparing and contrasting the Japanese public school.