Nonfiction Books

Amazing book. I am 63 years old and wish I'd been interested in american history sooner. I spent most of my life blindly believing the history of school textbooks. Howard Zinn blows the lid off of most of what I had accepted as gospel. This book certainly opened my eyes to what went on behind the scenes. We may not be bad people, but we've sure had some very bad leaders over the years, who made some very selfish decisions without regard to the long term effects of their actions. Three cheers for Howard Zinn.

Well written, intensely compelling, and mind expanding. This book should be a mandatory read for every high school student in the country. Throw away The American Pageant, and hand out Zinn's book instead.

Professor Zinn definitely fills a need--a well-documented political history of the United States from the point-of-view of those who work to move this country nearer to a realization of the democratic values expressed in The Declaration of Independence--in other words to transform the beautiful rhetoric of the Declaration into political reality. This work has only begun and has a long way to go. Zinn's book does disappoint me, though, in touching so lightly on cultural history: just to pick two examples, the Index lists neither J.J. Audubon nor George Washington Carver. My impression is that Zinn elbows the unique achievements of Americans aside in his anxiety to shine a searchlight on our dirty laundry--of which there is a great heap!

People in America love the fairy tale of America being the greatest best hope of mankind, and all that blind patriotic crap that we've all had shoved down our throat our entire lives. This book is a reaction to the fairy tales that most American so blindly believe. Zinn honesty admits this book is biased, just like any work of art is. You only have to look at the title of the book to realize that this is history told from the perspective of the oppressed and violated. Does it leave out the perspective of the establishment? Yes. Does it have an anti-patriotic edge? For sure. But this does not mean it's any less accurate than the "official" version of American history taught in our schools. More than anything it shows that oppressed and marginalized parts of our population transcend race, political ideology, and even class.

I love Howard Zinn. The most amicable individual I have ever seen. Sure he is a peace activist and a scholar. That, in and of itself gets my vote.

Some people slam Howard Zinn for communist, etc... yet our "democratic" government (almost) always suppresses the truth; goes the extra mile to not provide the complete story; makes sure people can't voice their opinion (sometimes).

I found it to be a complex read and yes kind of dry and gut-wrenching at times, but overall I believe that's the way it was (and continues to be). There's plenty of evidence everywhere.
Like Howard said himself... the difference between History in middle school and graduate school, is the footnotes. The system does not want to teach how barbaric our precursors were. No other way of sugar coating it.

It is tremendously important for people (in America) to know that The United States of America is NOT America. The name America is given to a whole, entire continent. This name was given by a Italian conquistador, Amerigo Vespucci . [...]

That said... there is an incredible level of ignorance about history in this country. History of the world, and how societies have evolved, raised and fallen, etc... But all in the context of the world, not just the current empire. This is how/why current leaders raise to power, because of ignorance of the people and lack of understanding of other societies (concieved by the government, by design).

I think it is time for the USA to start looking at all the other more stable and prosperous democracies around the world. Howard Zinn can help you do that through books like his.

Believe me, there ARE prosperous and stable democracies out there...

Did you know that octopi are as smart as dogs? Or that Viperfish have 350 lights in their mouths? You'll find these and more interesting facts in SEA MONSTERS, the companion research guide to DARK DAY IN THE DEEP SEA. Discover old sea monster legends, info on squids, octopi, and other animals in the abyss. Also learn about prehistoric sea monsters, and exploration of the deep sea. I've met the Scientific Consultant for this book, Dr. Sonke Johnsen, he said that "The world will need thousands of new Marine Biologists, because we've only just begun to explore the mysteries of the deep sea." I'd highly recommend this book to all fans of the MAGIC TREE HOUSE series, especially kids ages 7-12, who are interested in Deep Sea animals.

Fiat Lux!
-Cybill

I bought this on advanced order for my grandson who upon receiving the book began reading at once. He is a huge Mary Pope Osborne follower and reported that the book was worth waiting for.

I use these CDs in my car. Therefore, I'm not always paying close strict attention. But somehow the "sound" of these lessons is so much like regular speaking Spanish, I find I understand more of the Mexican telenovelas I've become addicted to without even really studying. I've never been able to pick up a language through traditional classes, but this method (LSLC and telenovelas) is proving more effective, and painless!

In terms of content, I'd rate this product a 4. It does a good job of covering all the key grammatical points. Between LSLC 1 and 2 (total of about 35 cds), it covers about the same amount of material as LIYCS (11 cd's) and more material than BTWS 1. Key difference is that w/ the greater number of hours, it'll go into greater details through drills than LIYCS or BTWS and it seems more interactive helping u to remember stuff more. That said, for every hour of lessons, it covers much less vocab than the other two products. I've finished studying LIYCS and BTWS and this course is better. However, it provides no background on grammar so once it starts conjugating verbs, u don't really know why it was conjugated and stuff so can be confusing for total novice. The transcripts don't have any info on grammar either, unlike the other two products. The online grammar page is pretty thin and incomplete.

Though can get a great deal on publisher's site with LSLC 1 and 2 plus 5 hrs of bonus lessons and FSI 3 and 4 for about $170, the product that u'll download is kinda crippled. They'll bait u w/ mp3 samples that are 192 kbps. When you actually order, the files for LSLC1 and 2 and bonuses range from 96 kbps at 22 kHz for entire LSLC 2, to some 112 kbps and a few 128 kbps at 22 kHz for LSLC 1. People here on amazon say the audio quality sounds great. To me, audio quality in BTWS and LIYCS sounded much clearer than LSLC. LSLC sounds like clear AM radio...with that hollow hissing sound when u turn up the volume...kinda hard to explain. BTWS and LIYCSsound like professionally recorded CD's. The free FSI 3 and 4 are 128 kbps at 44 kHz. The bonus video lessons downloads look like the 1.5x2" boxes u'd see w/ video quality worse than youtube. PDF of dialogs are about 10-12 pages per lesson, making them around 350-400 pages in total. They could have easily single spaced the pdf of transcripts to save us some paper from printing.

Price wise, this product too expensive. It'd be more fair if both LSLC 1 and 2 w/ cd's were $200 total. Also, the website does itself a disservice w/ all that propoganda which makes it look like an informercial. For all the people whose pictures appears raving about it, it would seem as if their online forum would be vibrant and active. In reality, it's pretty empty with a few posters here and there. The reviews on amazing are waaay too glowing for this product, making me doubt their authenticity. However, the Free FSI 3 and 4 make LSLC worth it.

5/24 addendum:
In terms of equivalence:

For FSI Spanish series, there is the Programmatic series and the Basic series.

-FSI programmatic 1 and 2 by LSLC is a distinct course.
-FSI basic (barrons and platiquemos) are a distinct course. Platiquemous divides the Basic in half so there's a total of 8 lessons from the original 4 lessons. Barrons has the first two lessons, which equals platiquemous' first 4 lessons.

FSI Programmatic 1 + 2 = FSI Basic 1+2+3+4

LSLC's bonus FSI 3 and 4 download are different from FSI programmatic...and don't follow their programattic 1 and 2 series..

In terms of order of courses with increasing difficulty:
Barron's FSI Basic 1 = plaquetimos 1/2 --> Barron's FSI 2 = plaquetimos 3/4 --> plaquetimos 5/6 = LSLC's FSI 3--> plaquetimos 7/8 = LSLC's FSI 4

Because barron's only provides the first basic 1 and 2, that's why some posters have mentioned that u'd need to get the programattic II from LSLC to get the free FSI 3 and 4, or you could by plaquetimos.

LSLC Spoken Spanish 1 and 2 are distinct from FSI but use same approach to teaching. LSLC's SS 2 covers up to subjunctive, which is in FSI 3. I haven't personally seen the programattic series.

The LSLC CDs have been a great supplement to using Rosetta Stone's Spanish Program for learning Spanish. The pacing of the audio can be a little slow at times, but for someone who's learning Spanish for the first time it works quite well. I wouldn't recommend this as the sole Spanish program for a first time speaker, but it works well as a supplement.

As a bonus, the company who produced it regularly sends out bonus audios and videos with additional lessons. Though the CDs only contain 30 lessons in volume one, we've received almost 30 bonus lessons accessible on the web.

Learning Spanish Like Crazy uses a grammatical approach to learning Spanish. Each lesson teaches you how to conjugate the different verb forms. You learn other Spanish words in the process of each lesson. I found that this method takes a bit longer to be able to converse but I have a much better understanding of how Spanish works than if I used another method. I also like that there is a lot of information in each lesson. I found I have to listen more often to understand the lesson at first but that makes it worthwhile when reviewing and repeating the lesson is not as boring. Because of so much information, I like to think I got my money's worth when I purchased this course.

I like it that this course focuses on Latin American Spanish and they use native Spanish speakers. Pimsleur's lost me when they wanted you to use "Castellano" instead of "Espanol" when saying what language you were speaking. That might be more correct if you are going to Spain but it isn't used here in the US or Latin America.

Having an audio learning format is very useful. I find it very beneficial to be able to listen and learn Spanish. I have a hard time sitting down and trying to study something anymore so this method is great when doing something else. I also purchased the FSI Programmatic Spanish as a package on LSLC's website. I have not used the FSI Programmatic Spanish because you have to listen to audio while reading a book and that hasn't proved useful in my lifestyle.

I also liked the transcripts that they provide. I was not always able to understand how to pronounce a word they used so being able to see what they were saying helped. (How do you say "rojo"? Rojo, brojo, drojo? Rojo=red.) In the process, I was able to see how Spanish speakers are able to roll the "r"s. The benefit of using several Spanish speakers is that it allows you to hear people with different accents.

This course also teaches you how to use "informal" Spanish. This is more useful when talking to friends. They do cover the formal Spanish so you get a balanced learning experience but that isn't the main focus.

A forum is provided so you can get help and support if you desire. I also appreciate the weekly emails. They aren't afraid to promote other Spanish products if they have found them useful. I was introduced to Rocket Spanish this way. (Rocket Spanish uses "common words & phrases" and I think it is quicker to get you talking to Spanish speakers. Both programs complement each other because of their different approaches. Rocket Spanish has less information in each lesson so if you are overwhelmed with LSLC then try that product. They also use a book and a flashcard type game that help you learn.)

I have found that the different courses (Learning Spanish Like Crazy, Rocket Spanish and Pimsleur) all have their strong points and weaknesses. It depends on what you are looking for in learning Spanish. As a beginning Spanish student, I have found the most benefit from alternating between Learning Spanish Like Crazy and Rocket Spanish. Overall, I have found LSLC highly beneficial and I would purchase the product again.

I've tried several "Teach Yourself Spanish" programs (like Barron's), but this one is my hands-down favorite. Since it's entirely audio, I just pop the CDs in and listen during my drive to/from work. While the other programs I've tried are by no means poor, this set definitely is for the person who wants to be conversational. The instructors are interesting, and the pace is quick enough to keep you interested, but not so quick to get you lost. I highly recommend it!

This is a great tool to keep preschoolers occupied. Actually cutting and taping the book was lots of fun for my granddaughter. I had fun too! The book encourages imagination and not just following directions. This is now our favorite thing to do when she comes over.

I bought this for my daughter for Christmas, and it was a hit. She can play with it anywhere in the house. It has everything she needs to create with tape. No mess!!

My almost 5 year old uses tape by the roll on just about everything so when I saw this book, I thought it would be perfect for him. He had a hard time tearing the tape initially but once he got the hang of it, he has had a great time taping the book. It seems like there is plenty of tape for the book and probably beyond - we've done this several times and there is still plenty of tape. I bought this as an activity for him to do on his own but so far, I have had to be there to supervise, as he gets frustrated when the tape won't tear or gets tangled up. In general, I think this was a worthwhile purchase.

This book kept both of my girls, ages 7 and 4, completely occupied during a long football game and for the next day. It is really fun. They had to use scissors but didn't mind at all. I would highly recommend this activity book!

This is a really great idea with one main problem, the tape does not rip off easily for a 4 year old. I have no problem doing it, but it is really hard for him. I have to end up tearing the tape off for him.

This book was interesting, even fascinating.
I love reading about why people think and act the way they do, and Tannen has made some amazing discoveries about why mothers and daughters interact the way they do. She also has some helpful suggestions. I enjoyed this book and I learned some things as well.

This book most certainly made me laugh, get a bit teary eyed and also shed new light on why my relationship with my mother is the way it is. It certainly has stretched me farther than I wanted but in the end the book has given me a new perspective on the mother-daughter relationship.

This book was made for daughters so they can understand why their mothers act the way they do. I felt like there was more of an emphasis for daughters to understand where their mothers are coming from but not so much for mothers to understand their daughters. The subjects discussed in the book allow for the reader to understand what Tannen is trying to convey in very casual terms. She shows the reader how powerful words can be and how they can be easily misinterpreted which is why problems arise. Overall it was an easy read, very entertaining and very insightful, a good book for those young ladies who want to improve the quality of their relationship with their own mother.

"You're Warging That" describes the relationships between mother and daughter. Moms have always been experiencing personal conflicts with their daughters. They often just do not get the insight into the whole language barrier and Deborah Tannen does a good job in showing the readers the language barreir that often exists between generations. Wether you are a mother or a daugheter (or both) this book is for you. Get it and read it! You will be pleased you did. For more reading I also suggest
You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation

I am very glad I started to read this before I sent it to my mom. I am not going to send it to her now. I think so far that it gives mothers too much of a pass for their rude comments. It absolutely DOES contain good ideas and insights (even though many of them are common sense, I think common sense often needs to be reviewed by people), but I fear my mom would not see the stuff that tells her to knock off the rude comments and would only cite this book as proof that I am too hard on her. I agree totally with another reviewer that the author might have a rosier view of moms having lost hers during this process. No doubt that must have been hard and she has the right to feel any way she wants and write anything she wants. I guess I am just looking for a book about the darker more dysfunctional mother-daughter relationships out there.

I have had many problems with anxiety through out my life. I can honestly say that no amount of therapy helped more than this book! I would recommend this book to everyone! I loved this book and it brought me closer to who I want to be! ....Read it!

This is a wonderful book. I discovered Joyce Meyer recently. I found this book to be helpful and encouraging. Changing your thoughts is very important for anyone who is self critical, discouraged, depressed, etc...It's a choice and encouraging to know there is a choice instead of just listening to negative internal dialogue. God is the best choice. Love, Truth and Light...
JER 29:11

I got the adult edition Battlefield of the Mind and it is awesome. So I was pleased to receive this book quickly and in great shape. I am so excited to see if my teenage daughter gets out of it what I have gotten out of the adult edition!

This book helped me to get to a better place in my life, and I would reccommend it to any teenager trying to get close to God but feels conflicted about how they should conduct thier life. The language and ideas are geared for teens and there's no way that you can be a new Christian and not read this book. It's a must read! Be blessed.

I received a teaching once that basicly said that when you get right down to it the Devil really only has two methods for tempting us: 1. Pressure 2. Pleasure. The Devil has three maxims which allows him to pull this off : 1. You (your own thoughts, bad habits, exc.) 2. The environment (Government, religious oppression, the systems of the world, exc.), and 3. Other people. Joyce Meyer's "Battlefield Of The Mind" is mostly geared at the one maxim each of us have the most control over (You, yourself, your thoughts, and YOU).

Joyce masterfully explains how that old Advesary The Devil works by waiting for the right moment (he`s not only a parasite but he`s also a predator). He waits to see where your weak, when your most vulnerable moment is, and he waits for that moment to attack. The Bible says "Resist the Devil and he will flee from you." Perfect example is Luke chapter 6, The devil waits for Jesus to be 40 days and nights in the wilderness before he attacks. He didn't come the first day to attack him when our Lord was at his strongest. Oh no, our advesary doesn't play fair; he bides his time and waits for your weakest moment and attacks. Jesus resisted him and the devil fled from him (for awhile). Best thing is we have victory through our risen Lord this very day if we claim it. Joyce does a great job of illustrating this in this book(though I don't know if she used the Luke example I used above or not).

I really got a lot of insight from this book. For example, one of the concepts in the book (in my own words) was "what comes out of your mouth had to originate in your brain." Sounds simple enough , but Joyce had a masterful way of describing every thought we commonly have today and referring it to biblical passages. About half way through the book I began to realize that the grumbling, griping, complaining, and various other human emotions and thoughts I have are not uncommon to our time. The children of Israel went through these same emotions and they are all recorded in Gods Word. I used to ponder how stupid these people must have been, but now I can see myself in them. It really was a humbling experience! Many of us make the same mistake over and over again and ask God, "Why don't you do something?" Truth is God has always been willing to help us. We are the ones who get in God's way by not bringing our thoughts into the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). Read this book and find out how you can change and train your mind to shut the door on The Devil and how to allow God to do what he's always been willing to do. BLESS YOU!!!

Hebrews 13:5b "for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

P.S. This book comes in many formats. There's the traditional version, teen version, devotional version, exc. It doesn't matter which one you use. Just read one of them. You will be blessed.

This book is set in the time between the formation of the Negro League by Rube Foster in the 1920's and Jackie Robinson's cross over to the majors in 1947. This was the era of the Negro League's time of greatest activity and fame.
Black baseball had its own superstars. These included Oscar Charleston, Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, and the great Satchel Paige. This was a period when Negro players frequently couldn't find hotels that would let them stay overnight or restaurants that would serve them. Frequently, they spent nights sleeping in their buses or in tents beside the road.
Not only is this book an intriguing account of Negro League Baseball, but Kadir Nelson's illustrative paintings are outstanding works of art.
The bind black players were caught in is illustrated by baseball's great white pitcher Walter Johnson's comment about the talented catcher Josh Gibson, "He can do everything. He hits the ball a mile. And he catches so easy he might as well be in a rocking chair....too bad this Gibson is a colored fellow." Gibson was so good that some people said Babe Ruth should have been called "the white Josh Gibson."
Nelson portrays the "triumphs and defeats on and off the field," as well as adding intriguing facts. Did you know that Satchel Paige had a wonderful singing voice? That Oscar Charleston was such a mean son-of-a-gun that he once snatched the hood off a Ku Klux Klansman? Or that Louis Armstrong owned the "Secret Nine" ball club and that Bill "Bojangles" Robinson was part-owner of the New York Black Yankees?
An especially moving part of this book deals with the exhibition and barnstorming games members of the Negro League played against white major leaguers: "I guess we beat those major leaguers as often as we did because we could out-think them. Baseball is a game of intelligence. For a long time, a lot of people thought Negroes could never play major league ball because they thought we weren't smart enough. It took them a long time to realize that nothing was further from the truth. Those major leaguers learned a lot by playing us, and we learned a lot from playing them. They learned we were men just as they were, and they would shake our hands and look us in the eye after we beat them, as did we. Maybe we did help change a few minds by playing baseball, after all."

In We Are the Ship, the story of the Negro Baseball League is told through the eyes of one who lived it. It has all the facts and figures to surely be a historical baseball book. It also has all the stories and personalities to be a very personable and emotional read. The voice of "We" tells the story from the very conception of Negro League baseball through Jackie Robinson's joining the Braves. The author takes care to describe all the important characters - building their legends with vivid language.
If this book were its story alone, it would be fascinating. But it is also filled - and I do mean filled - with paintings of the league and its players, owners, umps, and bus trips. The paintings are GORGEOUS. I don't remember any children's book that had illustrations that made me stop to study them for so long. The portraits are so intense - Nelson has most of the subjects looking right at you - THROUGH you - and I felt drawn in to look at them as hard as they were looking at me.
As a book club book, I think Negro League Baseball would be a wonderful subject to study and discuss as a club. There are many situations in this book that would be wonderful discussion - even debate - material. It would be interesting to figure out how to read it together, due to its length and the fact that it is so gripping it demands to be read straight through. It is so good I will absolutely HAVE to share it with my students.
This is sure to be at the top of the list of Newbery contenders for 2008!

Although I am far beyond young, I initially purchased this book because of striking Kadir Nelson artwork I have on a jazz cd cover, "The Heavy Hitter," by Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, an excellent, underrated 50s sax player. The cover features a Negro League slugger belting a long one, and that was what caught my eye. The music is fine, too.
Then, last spring, Sports Illustrated featured several more examples of Nelson's artistry, and I decided I had to have this work of art. The copy, though secondary and somewhat elementary for adults, still contains solid information on the leagues and players. Most baseball fans will still learn much they did not know about these unappreciated players and their times. For younger readers, it will be an impressive introduction to a part of baseball history they should know.
The art is superb, and the large pages make it even more impressive. I highly recommended this collection for all baseball fans and art lovers. This is one I will pick up frequently just to page through, and use as a reference for Negro League information. The price is right, too.
Overall, this is a labor of love, and the love shows clearly.

Mr. Nelson's illustrations/paintings are breathtaking. This book is absolutely gorgeous and a place I go when I need some inspiration.

I heard an interview with the author on the radio a few months ago and kind of tucked this book into the back of my mind as possibly interesting. Then when I ran across it in the bookstore I had to buy it. Kadir Nelson tells the story of Negro League baseball in a wonderful way that highlights both the joys the players had in playing as well as the challenges they faced - everything from lumpy ballparks and crowded team buses to the difficulties imposed by segregation and prejudice. He tells it from the "we" perspective that gives it an atmosphere of a voice speaking from the past but also makes it sound personal. He introduces us to many of the greats, men who would have been stars in any league, like Satchel Paige, "Cool Papa" Bell, "Judy" Johnson, Josh Gibson - the "black Babe Ruth" (or was Babe the "white Josh Gibson?") - and many, many others. He includes information on those who made the Negro League possible, like Rube Foster, and some of the team owners. I also thought numbering the chapters as Innings (with "Extra Innings" for the final chapter) was a clever touch.

But the text alone isn't what makes this book so great. The artwork is stunning in this oversize book, and hardly a page goes by that doesn't have a full page painting (including one fold-out). Some are simple poses of the men on the field and a few show them getting off trains or riding on the bus, but my favorites are the ones that show the action of the game. Several would be good enough to hang on the wall (as reprints, of course, not cut from the book). It has a look and style of the old depression-era artwork that was used in murals and public places.

My little-league son and I have been reading the book and have both learned a lot. Of course, segregation is a recurrent theme, and it's embarrassing to me that this is how things used to be, but I think it's important that my children understand how it affected real people. But we both enjoy reading not only of the challenges faced, but also the joys they had in playing the game we both love and their triumphs. The forward by Hank Aaron and the part about Jackie Robinson are nice in that regard. This is a beautiful book that baseball fans of any color will enjoy.

Ok, so i got this from barnes and nobles a few months a ago and so far it has been really great to use. It offers great tips for beginners and its layed out in an easy to understand kind of format which i really enjoyed. though i really like the colors and pictures in the book, the step by step how to's weren't all that great as they are really detailed and might not be great for someone who is new to drawing really intricate and detailed pictures. but all in all its a great book and well worth the 20$ i paid for it and it would make a great gift for someone really into dragons,mythical creatures, and drawing! :)

Was swayed to buy this book by the reviews... Amazon offers several! Well done ~ does a fairly good job of explaining the basics, and the step-by-step was helpful to me. Not geared for the very young, though... would suggest from the 10-12yr. range & up.

I got this for my nephew 2006. He likes it and has been drawing pictures of Dragons. He is thirteen.

I love this book, I took art lessons and could never draw a good picture
but I got this book out of the library and my first picture was amazing!
after a week I bought it and now I can easely draw most things in this book although this book is fun, after your done with it it seems like it was a little short,
well anyway its a great book for all ages, buy it and you'll love it!

Wow! This book is such a value for the quality and content. Gave this to my 12 year old son for Christmas and he loved it. He couldn't stop reading it or drawing from it for the rest of the day!