Social Sciences Books

A while back, I had used this text for a course in Logic. The best thing about it was that the material was explained and illustrated so well that one can learn from this book without going to the classroom!

This doesn't mean that someone should just read and move on; the problems given in this text are still critical to understanding and applying Logic. There's even an answer key for some of the problems, so one can check their own work!

In addition, the skills that one can develop using this text are also transferrable - especially for those that are learning Programming.

All in all, I'd recommend this text for anybody who needs an understanding of Logic, whether it be for a class or a profession. If one has an interest in more advanced concepts of Logic (e.g. - Counterfactuals), however, this book is not for you.

I absolutely hated this book. It was the textbook for a "symbolic logic" class - although it was extremely subjective and not logical at all. The book is full of errors and is faulty in its reasoning in some of the problems. I hated this book as well as the class - I expected a logic class to be logical and not subjective. If you have knowledge about a topic, it is frustrating when the authors are narrow minded and think they have the answer when you know their reasoning is faulty and incorrect.

If you have a choice between a math class and a logic class (especially using this book) - choose the math class. I did get an very good grade in spite of the book - a 3.9 --- although the class average was 1.85 (on a 4.0 scale) and it was the lowest grade I received while working on the degree I just finished.

To the authors: It can be raining and the ground can be dry. It is called virga - where rain evaporates before it reaches the ground. Your saying the ground must be wet if it is raining and using that for a example sentence throughout the book is a major error.

Let me start by saying I received an A in the class. I wasn't too dim to understand the material, so this isn't whining from a bruised ego. Logic sounds cool. It isn't! I don't know if it's possible to make logic logical or not, but this book is a collection of poorly explained utter nonsense. Logic seems to combine the worst aspects of algebra and philosophy into one poorly organized discipline. This book doesn't help. It introduces ill conceived and vague concepts in a manner that seems to revel in their obscurity. It's like reading a review of the unix programming language from the guy that created unix. There are probably 8 people on Earth that would dig it, the rest... not so much.

This is *such* a good book. When I reviewed the MS for the publisher, the copy I had included a chapter on modal logic which did not make it into the First Edition. I hope it makes it into later additions. Being a thoroughgoing probablist, I especially appreciated the chapter on probability theory. Given the widespread use of probability theory in contemporary analytic philosophy, there's almost no excuse for a philosophy program to use any other book for philosophy majors (except, of course, _Socratic Logic_).

I took an intro philosophy class at Texas A&M University and this was the book that I was required to buy. I thought this book was great. I really like that it had the problems online (if not all of them a majority of them). It was nice to be able to work out the problems from the book and then go online and type them in to see what you were doing right or what was wrong with you answer. It gave clear examples and was easy to understand.

The book was classified as used but did not specifically say on the condition of the book being torn. The book was in really bad condition.

I used this book for my crimnal justice ethics course and I did not find it to be very useful. The only purpose this book served was for my quizes I took through the course, otherwise the rest of the material was from my professor. Even my professor didn't care for this book very much either.

Professors Joan Granucci Lesser and Marlene Cooper have shown themselves to be the newest dynamic duo of clinical social work. This text, one of the most refreshing and comprehensive in the field, will surely become a standard read for all social work students in the years to come.

Refreshing, consice, yet exceptionally detailed and well presented, "Clinical Social Work Practice" may very well define an entire generation of Social Work students. A must read for any student interested in the clinical social work field. Drs. Lesser and Cooper have shown themselves to be masters in the art of therapy, and their genius is apparent in their first textbook.

Namaste John. Kasto Cha??

You have made all Nepalese indebted with your incomparable deeds. You are true hero in our hearts. Yes, we salute you from the core of our heart.

This is one of the best books I have ever read. John Wood does what all of us dreamers out there imagine we could do: quits his excellent job at Microsoft to do his part in saving the world. Wood's style of writing is so smooth and easy to read, he never bores you. If you're at all familiar with the inside workings of the Microsoft company (my boyfriend interned there, so I am), you'll get a good laugh here and there when he talks about someone like Steve Ballmer and some other inside jokes. I highly recommend you read this book if you have any interests at all in poverty alleviation and humanitarian aid.

There aren't too many people who can mock Steve Ballmer, and Bill Gates. John Wood certainly did that with humour and fairness. Besides gaining insights on life at Microsoft's top tier and life in China as an expat, you will gain the most important perspective ever. That is life as a child in a less fortunate country.

This is a gripping book about a Social Entrepreneur and his work. Share in Wood's experiences, triumphs and setbacks as you read through chapters worth its weight in gold. At the end, I took to heart his message. And that is testament to the content and writing.

Thank you John for your work, and your work at RoomToRead.org.

I read John Wood's "Leaving Microsoft to Change the World", shortly after reading "Three Cups of Tea" and hearing Greg Mortenson speak. I found each book fascinating in its own way, but John Wood's tale was so instructive. His expertise in setting goals and finding solutions and funding sources spoke to me. I head up a small charitable agency that works with refugees and Woods' insights and suggestions are invaluable.
What a way to go if you bring business skills like Woods, or if you are an amateur like me. Read, enjoy, learn and apply your new knowledge/
John McLevie

great read about taking chances, following your heart and making a difference. if this story doesn't inspire you to reach out and help your community, you probably are too self absorbed. better written than three cups of tea.

A solid book that focuses on the basic fundamentals of advertising by one of the most respected "admen" around. It's spattered with interesting stories and some history of advertising, however it is a bit dated since it was published before the Internet age.

Although it may not be the most contemporary book, it still provides great insight and retrospect into how Ogilvy became the advertising master of his time. Anyone in the ad/creative/pr industry should find this interesting. Just keep in mind that things have evolved since this was first written.

In my first year in marketing, chapter two of this book "how to produce advertising that sells" helped me immensely. I cannot say enough about this chapter. Ogilvy details his copy success, and a few of his failures, and provides invaluable insight into the mind of one of the greatest ad men of all time.

Overall the book goes on to some more specific topics, like how to run an ad agency, which is also a good primer into what it is like in the boiler room environment that an agency career can be.

This book is truly a classic, but chapter two has been invaluable to my thinking and learning about advertising.

Despite some of the reviewers comments that Ogilvy's "On Adversting" is irrelevant because his work predates the Internet, this book is a 'must read' for anyone venturing into the world of advertising.

I prefer that you not read it, as I do not need any more knowledgeable competition. I would disregard is basic advice only grudgingly, and probably to my, my agency's and my client's detriment.

I would be surprised if 2% of his comments are truly outdated. He knows more about how to sell via ads than almost anyone in the business. He clearly and simply makes point after point about how to get and keep the attention of the audience... not to entertain...but to sell. Although many would like you to think that human nature suddenly changed with the web, it hasn't. His comments and the vast majority of his techniques remain today, highly valuable. His general business advice is invaluable.

For those expecting to get information based on current times, make sure you read the date this book was written. Ogilvy was considered an advertising genius "of his time" - with good reason. The book is entertaining and interesting. Most of the advertising information could be used today (in principal). A lot of the copy writing information he shares was very inspirational and right-on (again for the time). For those of you giving this book a low rating solely based on outdated content...SHAME ON YOU. Do your homework! Who doesn't know who Ogilvy is and when he made his mark.

Some of his designs may seem old fashioned looking (hey! these are from the 60s thru the 80s)... but the elements of design still hold. A lot of his basic advertising and customer relations advice are solid. Obviously some of it may or may not hold as strong in today's mobile media market but again the basic tenets still ring true. I really enjoy his humor and his "tell it like is" tone- I recommend this book to everyone- from fellow graphic designers to anyone looking for a smart read. Enjoy it!

I recommend this book for anyone interested in sociology. It is an easy read, interesting, and easy to follow.

This text book is very basic, but it is good at covering the basic principles of Sociology. Reading this text book would pretty much have you covered for a Soc 101 course. Anything beyond that you would need extra reading material.

Not sure how I ordered this book. I remember looking up the info on this book but not ordering it. It didn't cost but a few dollars, but it was useless to my daughter. It didn't include what was to be InfoTrac.

This is a great book to learn about cultures and the way society runs. I have learned so much from this book, it's unbelieveable. It has a non-objective view point on every topic, and contains quotes and sources for everything Ferrante writes. It's very easy to read and very well written! A WONDERFUL book!

This was a great book with a perfect lesson about bullying. I read it with my daughters aged 5, 7 and 9. They really got the lesson.

Estes, Eleanor, author. Slobodkin, Louis, illustrator. (1972). The Hundred Dresses
A Realistic Fiction story. Small chapter book. It is a Newberry Honor book.

Ending somewhat sadly with no real resolution, this story tells the problems faced by many young school girls. Wanda and Peggy are worlds apart. Wanda is a poor girl with no mother and Peggy is a rich girl with everything she wants. In between is Maggie, a girl who wants to relate with Peggy, but sees her life more like Wanda's.
The realistic characterization is recognized in the story's language. "Goodby, Wanda," said Peggy. "Your hundred dresses sound bee-yoo-tiful" (pg. 32), gives readers an immediate connection with the honest message portrayed in the story. At first, Wanda does appear strange to Maggie. In the end, however, Maggie finds she knows more about Wanda than first thought. It is this connection from author to reader that creates the realism in this story.
The illustrations are designed in colored pencils. There is unique shading to the illustrations that gives a touching effect. While the illustrations are not "to date" they are simple and provide readers with a portrait of another time. They help to support the story's realistic theme. The drawings of the dresses revealed on pages 42 and 43, create the needed picture for students to see the story come to life.
For early to middle elementary students, a personal and social discussion on the relationships we have with others, the affect we have on others, and our responsibility to think of others in regard to ourselves might me utilized. The theme of the story is central to teaching how this book can cause us to think and grow as a person.

When she was young --- this was almost a century ago --- Eleanor Estes went to school with a Polish girl who was so poor that she wore the same dress every day. Kids are cruel; the girl got teased. And then she moved away.

In 1944, Eleanor Estes took that memory and turned it into The Hundred Dresses, a short novel --- 80 big-print pages, with many illustrations --- for children. It was named a Newberry Honor Book. It has never gone out of print.

Unlike children's book authors who get cute or write down to kids, Eleanor Estes is blunt as a police reporter. As the book begins, Wanda Petronski --- poor, motherless, foreign --- is not in school, and that means Peggy and Madeline have no one to tease.

It's not that Peggy and Madeline are witches-in-training. Peggy's the most popular girl in school. "She protected small children from bullies. And she cried for hours if she saw an animal mistreated." And Madeline, her best friend, really had no reason to be mean. She was just going along.

And yet, in the schoolyard, they'd corner Wanda: "How many dresses did you say you had hanging up in your closet?"

"A hundred," Wanda would say. And she'd describe them. Silk. Velvet. In all colors.

"A hundred dresses?" the girls would repeat. "Nobody could have a hundred dresses."

But Wanda would hold her ground: "I have."

There's an art competition. Long before the winners are announced, Wanda's father decides he's had enough and moves his kids away from the town where his daughter is tormented. And so the announcement of the winner --- the never-to-be-seen-again Wanda, for her beautiful sketches of a hundred dresses --- has a double wallop. Because the teacher goes right on to read a note from Wanda's father: "No more holler Polack. No more ask why funny name. Plenty of funny names in the big city."

A long silence follows.

Just before Christmas, their teacher gets a nice note from Wanda, giving Peggy and Maddie each a sketch.

Maddie takes her drawing home. That night, she looks hard at it and sees something she hadn't noticed --- the face is hers. Wanda had drawn it just for her. And it turned out that Peggy's sketch is also a portrait of Peggy.

The book ends with Maddie and Peggy admiring their pictures:

"What did I say!" said Peggy. "She must have really liked us anyway."

"Yes, she must have," agreed Maddie, and she blinked away the tears that came every time she thought of Wanda standing alone in that sunny spot in the school yard close to the wall, looking stolidly over at the group of laughing girls after she had walked off, after she had said, "Sure, a hundred of them --- all lined up..."

Our daughter goes to a school where the very first thing kindergarteners are taught is the power of words. She's lucky. At many schools, I'm sure, that lesson isn't taught --- and the small, the sensitive and the different do get teased, and pushed around, and hurt.

"The Hundred Dresses" can teach young readers that bullies aren't just mean boys who threaten their targets physically. A racial or ethnic slur will do just as well. And the kid who watches it happen and says nothing is just as guilty as the kid who talked that trash.

Dress styles change, but this book is endlessly fresh and accessible. Thank racism, prejudice and human nature for that. And then bless the little girl who inspired Eleanor Estes to write such a smart, simple antidote.

Every child at one time or another has been teased or mocked by other children, particularly in public schools. Those of us who have witnessed it, suffered it, or may have even done it, will remember the experience as painful, humiliating, and regrettable. The Hundred Dresses helps children see from another child's perspective this damaging behavior. Even thought this story was written over six decades ago, the materialistic theme of judging others by their clothing is still prevalent today. Throughout the story, the author has a cunning way of developing the theme so that the reader can relate to each of the characters: Wanda and how it feels to be the outcaste, Peggy and it feels to be the bully, and finally Maddie and how it feels to be guilty for letting the mistreatment go so far.

This book has a lot of build up surrounding the dresses... are they real, imaginary, did she make them, buy them, or inherit them? Teasing from the main character's peers made me as the reader wait in suspense to find out what the dresses really were and to look forward to the girl standing up for herself. When we finally find out about the dresses, however, I found it to be a bit anticlimactic with very little resolution to the issues of bullying, teasing, gossiping, and stereotyping. Not impressed by this apparent "classic."

I think this book was an amazing example of telling history from a certaim viewpoint without forcing an opinion upon someone. It is an excellent choice for anyone with the desire to learn more on the history of race and culture. I found it to be educational, yet interesting at the same time.