Book-value

My courseload every semester invariably includes an introductory logic course. When I prepare discussion material and examinations in the "informal logic" portion of the course, I like to discuss my ideas with other colleagues. A colleague, an ethicist, asked me if I had read Alican's "Mill's Principle of Utility," as we were discussing examples of logical fallacies committed by prominent philosophers in texts that have come to be regarded as classics. After reading Alican's book, I started to use its relevant chapters as a guide to the topic of fallacies. The response of students was much better to this approach than to the standard practice of identifying fallacies in dozens of short passages. I believe that the book would be useful supplementary/recommended reading material in any introductory logic course.

I came across Alican's "Mill's Principle of Utility" in the library during my preliminary research toward a master's thesis on utilitarianism. The topic I chose covered more than John Stuart Mill's "Utilitarianism," but I found Alican's book immensely useful in developing my understanding of Mill's brand of utilitarianism. Despite its exclusive focus on a narrow albeit important issue, the book also shed light on more general and still controversial topics with respect to utilitarianism. I strongly recommend it to every academician and student interested in ethical theory.

At the beginning of "My Big Lie," one of comedian and educator Billy Cosby's "Little Bill Books for Beginning Readers," Little Bill is in his room being punished for telling a big fib by having to copy a story called "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." Most young readers will already be familiar with that ancient story, but if they are not Young Bill retells the story and then goes into why he is being punished. Young Bill tells his parents that he is going to ride his bike to the pool to practice with a friend for the swim meet. His mother warns that they are having an early dinner at 4:30 and Little Bill says he will be back by then. But on his way to the pool he sees the guys playing basketball and ends up playing with them. The next thing he knows it is 7:00. Big Bill knows he is in BIG trouble and his friend tells him he had better think of something fast.

Well, Little Bill apparently thinks too fast because when he gets home and everybody wants to know what happened he makes up a story. Now, every young reader of this book should be shocked at Little Bill's story because if anything what he says happens with his lie is even worse than what really happened. Without being told, they will know that what Little Bill is doing is really, really wrong. What they might need pointed out to them is the way that Little Bill's parents deal with their son, because although his parents are too made to actually praise him for admitting his mistake, they do not yell at him.

In his introductory letter to parents Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint, the child psychiatry specialist who was an advisor to "The Cosby Show," emphasizes how the punishment given to Little Bill by his parents was educational. Poussaint points out that since his parents did not yell at him when he finally told them the truth that Little Bill would be less likely to tell another lie the next time he got into trouble. In that regard "My Big Lie" is as instructive for parents as it is for beginning readers.

I also appreciated the key difference between what happens with Little Bill in "My Big Lie" and the story of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." In the latter story the young boy tells two lies and, ironically, when he tells the truth the third time no one believes him. But in this story it is a single lie that threatens Little Bill's reputation with his family. His parents do not wait for their son to make the same mistake a second time, or to make an even worse mistake. It is that level of attention to the meaning of the story that makes these Little Bill books one of the best educational series available for beginning readers (and their parental units).

Every year my students have a choice of choosing a book from the stack of 'Little Bill' books, and this one is always the first one they pick. The moral of this story is one that not only teachers wish to inflict, but parents, as well. It has a great way of introducing THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLF story into the classroom. I also enjoyed how it introduced a way to discuss the definition of a "fib". This book was great for my students because we were able to explore in more detail the meaning of true "trust". I recommend this book to every teacher and every parent of elementary aged children.

Any real fan of the NBA and its history should own this book. Wonderful pictures on each page with interesting quotes and stories throughout. Does a good job of showing the evolution of the league. The forward by Halberstam gives a unique and thought provoking view of basketball and its impact on our world.

This book celebrates a league where greed now dominates, but where players once played for the fun of it. This book gives a nice summary of each of the NBA's fifty greatest players, and vividly describes the league throughout its first fifty years of exsistance.

In the book called "Oh, bother! Someone's fibbing!" Pooh was hungry so Piglet went to go get Pooh's favorite honey pot. On the way back Piglet broke Pooh's honey pot accidentally. Piglet decided to tell Pooh that a heffalump broke into his house and stole it so Pooh wouldn't be mad at him. They called a meeting and there rabbit planned a round-the-clock heffalump alert. Well, Piglet decided that he could dig up the pieces of the honey pot and glue them back together. On the way home Piglet got caught in the heffalump trap and pooh found out it was him. This book teaches kids never to lie, no matter how hard it is to tell the truth, its much worse to tell a fib.
The age level for this book is from 7-9.
This book is very good.

I thought this book was fun,enjoyable,and right to the point. It lets children know that once you tell one lie it leads to another and so on and so on.

My three-year-old daughter and I love this book. Recently after reading it, she was wiggling around while I brushed her hair. I asked if she would be patient like Rosie was while her mother brushed her fur, and she sat still!

Patient Rosie is a warm and wise book for very young children that celebrates patience without being preachy. Rosie the mouse shows us in wonderfully child-appropriate ways just how patient she is... she waits for her turn; she sits very still while Mama combs her fur; she lets the cookies cool before eating one. A very sweet book -- my preschooler loves it!

If someone tells you that a regulation will cost $100 million but produce only $50 million in benefits, you'd probably think it was a good example of government bureaucrats running amok. But what if you then found out that what the regulation would really do was force polluters to cut emissions in order to prevent thousands of cases of life-threatening illness over the next three decades? And that the $50 million benefits "pricetag" was developed by a bunch of green-eyeshade types who regard each life as worth about $3 million, and who then use a statistical trick to make 87% of that value disappear?
Ackerman and Heinzerling have written a brilliant and scary book that lays out in chilling detail just how widely such techniques are now being used in making decisions about when to adopt health and environmental safeguards - and when NOT to. They also reveal that many of the horror stories repeatedly trotted out by critics of environmental and health standards NEVER ACTUALLY HAPPENED.
The authors' prose is engaging and their arguments are compelling. Essential reading for anyone who cares about health and the environment - and who thinks that industry shouldn't be blindly trusted to do the right thing in safeguarding them.

This book will truly open your eyes. This book presents a rare chance to peak behind the curtain and see how our government goes about making life and death decisions.

I purchased this book for my mother who is a quiltmaker and she now includes a copy with every quilt she gives away! This story is fabulous for both children and adults who always need to be reminded of the true gift of loving and sharing. I also recommend Quilts from the Quiltmaker's Gift! It gives simple instructions on how to make many of the quilts displayed throughout the story!

This is one of the best books I have found for kids in years. We bought it at a book fair last year and have since recommended it to everyone we know. The illustrations are glorious, with tremendous detail and color, they really capture the reader. Then the story line reminds you of the fairy tales of old, with wonderful characters and whimsical animals. The icing on the cake is that the story teaches kids about the power of giving, how it feels wonderful to give instead of always receiving. If you are looking for a great gift, this one certainly delivers! I am giving it to my Aunts and my Mother-in-Law so they can read it to all the children in their lives!

Everything you ever wanted to know about collecting this fine pottery is in here. Very impressed about the history and how complete it is. Pam did an EXCELLENT job in researching. Easy to follow with great pictures. You will never regret getting a copy of this book. It is WONDERFUL.

This book is a must for any Shawnee collector. The information and pictures are extensive and laid out in easy to read chapters. She covers all Shawnee, from cookie jars to ashtrays. I take this with me on all Shawnee excursions. It is large and somewhat heavy, definitely not a "pocket guide".

This book is amazing. Every story brought tears to my eyes. Every single young adult (some are probabally adults by now) is amazing in their own way. I can't wait to see more of Mrs. Waldman's work! You have to read this book to realize that not every teen in America is on their way down, to a life on the streets. Many people think all teens are bad news...read this it will change your mind. I wish all kids in america were like these amazing kids

The stories of the 30 teens who contributed to this book by Jackie Waldman truly inspired and moved me. Their courage to reach beyond their own personal pain and give to others is nothing short of heroic.Our country is in good hands with young people like these contributing and getting involved. If you have children, teens or pre-teens, this book should be required reading. Thank you Jackie for sharing their stories with us. I would also recommend Jackie's first book "The Courage to Give" and look forward to any follow-up books that she may have in the works.

I like this comic book because we Christian kids need something to read besides that other stuff. I am 10 years old and I have all of the comic books about Sarah. I tell my friends about Sarah to. That's all.

Sarah is an interesting character that makes me anxious to see the next issue. In this issue I felt Sarah is the good guy. I felt sorry for her dad.