EH Books

This book is amazing. I got by in high school without studying, but that doesn't work in college. This book really helped learn how to use my time productively so that I still had time to hang out with my friends. Highly recommend this book to anyone needing to study. I would even recommend this book to high school students.

i'm very happy with the fast customer service that i receive from cliff, he was amazing at sending my book right away, and it was in great condition, THANK YOU CLIFF!

This book was for a required class for me but the book is so helpful and awakening. Anyone going to school or wants more focus in life should read it.

This was an easy to read and encouraging book. I high believe this book should be required for all returning or just going to college student. It gives you tips on note taking and doing your very best in school.

I had to purchase this book for a basic college study course. This book teaches you a lot about yourself and how you study, learn, etc. Lots of good tips for studying better, time management, job skills, etc. A LOT of busy work though. I think the skills could be better learned through practical applications.

It would be helpful for historians to write something of their own philosophies and belief systems and values at the beginning of their writings, to aid us evaluating where they are coming from.

What I see is that Parker tries to evaluate El Prudente based upon Parker's apparently modern, non-catholic, and generally unspiritual worldview.

If I were to try to find Philip's grand strategy, I would look at these as starters:

He attempted to introduce mathematics training in towns throughout Spain, and supporting all manner of scientific thrusts. This was part of his strategy to enlighten his realms and people.

He supported Saint Teresa of Avila and such movements as hers for intense spiritual virtue in the monasteries. This was part of his strategy to spiritualize and enlighten his realms and people, and combat mindless materialism.

He worked to bring justice and end crime throughout his realm, with great effectiveness.

He worked to keep the Calvinist legions out of Spain and thwarted their inroads, which would have led to civil war and the deaths of thousands.

He supported all manner of artists including Titian in fostering beauty and philosophical perspectives in his realms.

He worked to bring Christianity to the new world and just treatment to the people's there. He did well, or at least as best he could considering his resources and limited influence in New Spain, though not without some unfortunate errors. [If he had take some actions there would have been serious general rebellions in New Spain, and he could well have lost all influence.]

He worked successfully to keep the Muslim's from over-running Europe. This was part of his strategy to guard his people and civilization against those who would destroy it.

Part of his grand strategy of life was to be a good father, and he did well in that regard. No man is a failure who does such.

His striving to conquer his personal weakness, to make his life conform to a Christ-like pattern and spiritual principles as he saw them, this is also an important aspect of evaluating a person.

Thus, Philip strategized in other ways and fostered many positive cultural/religious. The fact that they did not take hold was not remotely in his control.




I see it as a modern, Calvinistic influenced world-view that judges things disproportianately by the "geo-political" and economic viewpoint, and devalues other aspects of life. It also devalues the motives and love which a person puts into their work, all in obeisance to "the bottom line."


Regarding his management work, there are many cases where Philip's micro-management and waiting as long as possible ['until an elephant steps on your foot'] led to excellent decisions.

Further, one might ask what would have been the result if Philip had NOT micro-managed things like Lepanto? Walsh shows how it would not have gone well.

It is fine to blithely say "delegate" but who was he to delegate to? Alba? He was not balanced to make such decisions? Margaret? Too weak and influenceable. Parma turned down the offer to go the Netherlands before it went to Alba.


I would say that in the things that Philip actually could control he did very well. He was not at his best when dealing with dishonest rulers such as Elizabeth and her pirates, nor with duplicitous characters generally. And sometimes his fervor for good led to impractical policies.

I would give Philip an A- overall.

An A++ for effort and motive.

The author weaves this chapter in Spanish history with ease. The result is very impressive. Comparisons to other periods in history prove very enlightening, especially those related to the follies of micromanagement.

Geoffrey Parker's study of Philip II is a landmark. In this penetrating analysis, Parker has successfully distilled and tied together four decades of modern scholarship on strategy, decision making, and organization theory with an original evaluation of Philip of Spain's motivations, priorities, and execution. Gone are the nationalistic generalizations and the structural excuses. Structural and institutional factors get coverage, but the real story is in the man at the top, who had to make the decisions, good and bad.

Parker starts with a discussion on the strategic culture surrounding Philip, to include his "strategic inheritence" from his father, Charles V, the massive information network over which Philip presided (and the irresistable temptation to micro-manage), and the 'messianic imperialism' context that was of Philip's own making.

Messianic imperialism is the backbone for the rest of the book, which deals with the formation and the execution of grand strategy. Parker clearly evaluates Philip's strategy v. the Dutch and the English. For reasons that he explained early in his preface, the Mediterranean theater gets shorter coverage, but it is clear that the Med. concerns were never far from Philip's mind. The French Huguenots also don't get as detailed treatment as they could have gotten, but Parker's summation of the results of Philip's policy towards France is still satisfying.

Parker makes many allusions to strategic and policy issues of the recent past, and it is clear that Philip's problems were not all the different in scope, if not in scale, than those faced by political and military leaders today. Philip's inability to discipline himself to focus on one event to see it through to completion, his inabiltiy to keep himself from micromanaging decisions from over 600 miles away, and his inability to see past his divine mission to perceive reality will all strike familiar chords.

Bottom line: Great history, great interpretation, great analysis. It has got to be a classic in the field.

"The Grand Strategy of Philip II" is a rare book. On the one hand, it is a convincing scholarly reassessment of Spanish imperial policy during the pivotal late 16th century. In that sense, the book is written to the high standards of the academy: exhaustive primary research - much of it in the original Spanish, Latin, Italian and French - and close consideration of competing theories from previous, notable works on the period. On the other hand, the book is an exemplary work of modern strategic studies, with a dash of business school case study analysis. This is a piece of academic history that cites such distinguished and diverse authorities as Peter Drucker, Carl von Clausewitz and John Lewis Gaddis and uses a broad range of historical analogies - from the Vietnam War, the Second World War and the US Civil War - to illuminate and contrast critical points. The end result is one of the more compelling works on strategy written in the past few decades.

Geoffrey Parker very much wrote this book in response to Paul Kennedy's poor treatment of Philip II and the decline of the Spanish empire in Kennedy's enormously popular and influential 1987 book "The rise and fall of the Great Powers." On the surface, Parker seeks to refute the conventional academic wisdom that Philip II had no grand strategy in any sense of the term. While the issue of "grand strategy" is discussed throughout, the book really revolves around Philip's planned 1588 invasion of England, which featured the legendary Spanish Armada and ended in utter catastrophe before it really began.

The book is broken into three more-or-less equal components. The first section offers a fascinating overview of the world Philip lived in and the unmanageable world of paperwork and decision-making that he created for himself. Parker is none too kind to Philip in this book. Most of the challenges and failures of Philip's half-century reign Parker attributes to Philip's insistence on the centralization and compartmentalization of all information and decision-making (Parker openly compares his style and system to that of Hitler). Parker suggests that if Philip had been born 500 years later in similarly privileged circumstances, he might have been an awful CEO of a family-owned business. One of his great faults, in Parker's estimation, was his "zero-defects mentality" - the fear of failure that so dominated his actions that it paralyzed his ability to act on anything but certain knowledge.

Parker describes stunning scenes of Philip working 18-hours-a-day like some Wall Street attorney, hunched over a mountain of papers and embroiled in the most arcane details of imperial appointments and financial management (of which he had little understanding).

Much has been made of the long time it took for messages to travel from place to place in the 16th century. Parker argues that it was more the uncertainty of communications that presented the truly vexing problem of the age, not necessarily the long time it took for information to travel. For instance, a message from Venice to Paris could take anywhere from one to six weeks to arrive. It was the unknown margin that led leaders to fits of despair and uncertainty. Finally, Parker raises an issue in this first section that forms a central part of his indictment against Philip II - his profound and unshakeable conviction that the mission of Spain and that of God were one in the same, and thus any obstacle or shortfall could be overcome by the miraculous intervention of the Lord himself, a phenomenon that Parker calls "messianic imperialism." The issue of religion - Catholic vs. Protestant - trumped all other considerations and Philip consistently and confidently undertook any effort that involved upholding or reclaiming the faith with the sincere expectation of a Moses-parting-the-Red-Sea style miracle to carry him to victory.

The second section is a review of the situation in the Netherlands and foreign relations with England's Elizabeth Tudor. As background, these chapters are necessary and highly informative, but they aren't nearly as absorbing and exciting to the layman as the first and final sections.

The third and final section offers a focused treatment of the question: "Why did the Armada fail?" For contemporary strategists, this section is by far the most compelling. He addresses in turn the three topics most often cited as the reasons for the failure of the Armada to link with the ground forces under the duke of Parma in the Netherlands and then to launch the cross channel conquest of England.

First, Parker addresses the fact that the planned invasion of England was "the worst kept secret in Europe." Parker likens the intelligence situation facing Elizabeth to that of the US government before Pearl Harbor. Yes, much of the enemy's plan was compromised, but the high noise-to-signals ratio and the repeated false warnings of impending invasion meant that strategic surprise, especially the well-concealed intended landing site of Kent, was still achieved. Like the FDR administration in 1941, Elizabeth knew everything, and yet knew nothing.

Second, and perhaps most dramatically given the generally sober and academic tone of the rest of the book, Parker vigorously defends the actions and preparations of the invasion forces commander in the Netherlands, the duke of Parma. He argues that Parma achieved unparalleled logistical feats to get his 27,000-man invasion force in place and ready to embark within a day-and-a-half, so any notion that the plan failed because Parma either intentionally sabotaged the invasion or was incompetent must be rejected, if one accepts Parker's reasoning.

Finally, Parked concludes that the superior English naval capabilities - better ships, bigger guns, more effective leadership, better tactics, more experience in general - ultimately doomed the Armada and thus the invasion plans to failure. Everything hinged on the ability of the Spanish to establish sea control in the Channel to get Parma's forces to England, and the British naval superiority made that basic objective nearly impossible. The British advantage is very much described in terms that we today would refer to a "revolution in military affairs " (RMA). Indeed, Max Boot used the defeat of the Armada as one of his case studies in his recent, excellent review of the RMA argument in "War Made New." Parker writes that the Spanish fully anticipated English tactics and appreciated their advantages in long-range gunnery and maneuverability, and were simply unable to overcome them.

Parker sums up the Armada's failure and Philip's direct role in causing the disaster this way: "Philip's flawed 'management style' frustrated the Armada's success far more than the loss of secrecy, the lack of communication between the two theater commanders, and the technical differences between the two fleets. His refusal to delegate, his 'zero-defects mentality', his self-generated information overload and his messianic outlook produced grave strategic errors that rendered operational success almost impossible."

This very good book is an examination of Philip II's methods of foreign policy formulation and execution. As such, this is a detailed look at the governance methods of the most powerful monarch of the early modern period and is illuminating on how states and monarchs functioned during this period. This detailed examination is possible because of the extensive documentation surviving from much of Philip's reign including a huge amount of his personal correspondence and own state papers. Parker is a leading expert on Philip and early modern Europe and a good writer.
Philip emerges as a man with many admirable features, in some respects, a model King. Clearly intelligent and well educated, he was remarkably diligent, spending many hours per day engaged in state business and was very conscientious about his responsibilities. While his work capacity and attention waned in his later years, he was able to sustain a prodigious work load over a period of decades. If there can be said to be a heroic bureaucrat, it was Philip. Given the huge extent of the world wide empire he inherited and the wide array of challenges he faced with a relatively primitive supporting bureacracy and poor communications technologies, Philip did surprisingly well. There were, however, significant limitations, some structural, some a function of Philip's personality. The enormous diversity of the empire creates a huge variety of problems, and policies useful for on part of the empire could be destructive for other parts of the empire. The relatively primitive administrative apparatus made these conflicts difficult to reconcile. This system demanded an active and hard working autocrat at the center and while Philip did well in this role, it was simply not humanly possible for one man to shoulder the burdens he assumed. As Parker makes clear, many of Philip's problems were inherent in the nature of monarchy in early modern Europe, though of greater magnitude because of the scope of the empire. Philip's personality added additional significant problems. Philip, like many autocrats, was a micromanager who had difficulty in discriminating when to delegate and when to be personally involved. This often led to inefficient formulation and execution of policy. He was also intensely pious. His dedication to orthodox Catholicism led him to policies that were sometimes counter to the pragmatic interests of the empire. This is certainly true of his failure to deal successfully with Protestantism in the Netherlands and the Dutch Revolt. His faith also led him to the conclusion that when things were uncertain, divine providence would somehow provide. This religous assurance was probably personally comforting but didn't help the Armada overcome key tactical obstacles during the attempted conquest of England.
Parker provides some comparative perspective by comparing Philip to other contemporary monarchs, particularly Elizabeth I of England. He also tries to develop a more general perspective by extracting broad lessons about executive performance. This effort has mixed success. His resort to Business school literature about efficient executives is not very informative. His broad historical comparisons are more fruitful though his attempts to differentiate his analyses from those of Paul Kennedy in The Rise and Fall of Great Powers are not entirely successful. In a couple of respects, however, I found Parker's analyses surprisingly apposite. Writing about the use of intelligence information, Parker makes the good point that decision makers under pressure, like Philip in 1587-1588, tend to interpret intelligence in a way that confirms their preconceptions, often willfully distorting potentially contradictory information. Sound familiar? Parker has a telling discussion of how Philip used diplomacy (we would now say soft power) in Italy as the most resource effective method of obtaining objectives and quotes one of Philip's administrative officials as pointing out that once you lose your diplomatic credibility, it is difficult and expensive to recover. Another familiar problem.

I loved the book. I couldn't put the book down. In my opinion it was not a thriller. When I read a thriller I want to feel the chills myself. Not one time did I feel frightened for Corina or any other character in the book. If you like a suspenseful mystery this for you. If you want a thriller, look somewhere else.

IF IT BLEEDS turned a day on packed flights between three airports into a pleasure. Bonnie Hearn Hill has another great read. After enjoying CUTLINE, DOUBLE EXPOSURE and INTERN I thought I'd be able to figure this one out, but again the bad guys snuck up on me-- just like the time to put those seatbacks in the "upright and locked position" for landing.

This thriller has a suspenseful plot, but is marred by the one-dimensional characters. Even the heroine suffers from a lack of depth which prevents the reader from fully sympathizing with her. Some background would be helpful; as it is, what we know about any of the characters could be summed up in a sentence or two. It's too bad, because one of my criteria for enjoying a fiction book is that I care about principal characters and what happens to them.

I didn't want it to end. That's a silly thing to say about a thriller. Naturally, I was glad everything was resolved, but I had fallen in love with Corina and wanted to walk along with her a while longer--hoping she would stay out of harms way, of course, and find the happiness she deserves.

I had read other books by this author, but I was surprised by the depth of this one. International intrigue and more (I don't want to give away everything). I was also surprised to learn who the bad guys were. Great suspense...right up to the end. Not a dull sentence in the book.

Bonnie Hearn Hill has produced another riveting thriller in IF IT BLEEDS. Ms. Hill has a clean, no frills style of writing that gives enough detail to keep it interesting without distracting from the plot and characters with excessive description and needless items. I'm impressed with the way she blends empathetic characters with excellent scene development along with a healthy dollop of action to keep you engrossed in the book. I completed it in three readings because it was so difficult to put down. I'm going to move on to CUTLINE next to see what else Geri LaRue gets involved in. Buy it - you won't be disappointed!

I had to write a short review on this book. Seeing as I am a current (and lifelong) gay resident of Mississippi, I was delighted to find a history of the places that I frequented during my youth. The book is titled after a line in the movie "Ode to Billie Joe," which was based on the song of the same name by Bobbie Gentry. I of course, remember this song and how all of us speculated on exactly what was thrown off the Tallahatchie bridge. I have a really special(?) memory of the movie, because it was the first time I ever took a girl on a date, and lo and behold, it was a movie about a gay man in Mississippi. (Did anyone ever ever think that the song or the movie might be about being gay in Mississippi?) Talk about irony. I may be somewhat prejudiced about it but I really believe that this book was written not just as a history of the gay experience in the South, but as a pointed evaluation of what has actually changed regarding homosexual life in Mississippi. There have been a number of books detailing the gay experience in Mississippi lately (Mississippi Sissy is the first one that comes to mind), but this one is a real history of what has happened to gay Mississipians in the last 40-50 years. I especially loved the detailed investigations into the experiences of Jon Hinson and Bill Allain. And I want to thank John Howard for bringing to the fore the modern institutions and expressions of gay life in Mississippi. The majority may hate us, but we're here and we're still queer.

Having spent a portion of my youth in Mississippi, I was certainly
interested in the notion of a study devoted entirely to the state's
gay 20th century history. Unfortunately, I felt that the book lacked
focus and organization in the presentation of material. Sub-headings
of the book began focused but digressed into unrelated topics. The
shifting of person was bothersome as well. In first person, the book
was intimate. In third, it was analytical. Swinging both ways jarred
the flow terribly. Howard seemed bound by awkward ... All told, the
subject material was fascinating but lacking in a cohesive and
professional layout.

This is, to my knowledge, the first widely-available book of its kind, and it's good. The aspects of it with which the reader may disagree or take issue simply underline the need for further work in this area, and when it's published the writer will have Howard to thank.

Men Like That is a wonderful book about Mississippi gay history. It is written by Dr. John Howard, whom himself is a gay Mississippian. Dr. Howard delves into history of gay Mississippi, something even gays in Mississippi have no idea exists, providing a sense of pride in our own community that no other person, author or otherwise, has been able to do, or tried to do. Often is the case, the Southern states are overlooked in their roles in gay history. It took a gay man from Mississippi, to bring to light Mississippi gay history. Thank you Dr. Howard.

"Men Like That" takes us on journeys to places that have rarely been written about before--to sites of queer culture, to places in the heart and mind, to relationships that defy categorizing. Anyone--gay, straight, or otherwise--who has felt isolated because of their sexuality, and whose isolation was lessened by an unpredictable connection with someone else, will benefit from this well-written, well-researched, and fascinating book. Perhaps Howard's most important contribution to the history of queer life is the fact that he questions identity as the primary category for queer folk to attach to, and he makes that challenge with historical evidence, not ideological platitudes or post-modern LitSpeak. The deeply humane premise--that desire links us, one and all, to create connections with others and so to make communities that may not be mappable--asks readers to consider desire at once on its own terms, and as embedded in the curious and mundane stuff of daily life. The book aims most of all to contribute to a better understanding of the human condition, which is, in my view, a relief.

Upon opening this book, and seeing my grandfather's name in the opening line, I knew it would be an interesting read. He was descibed perfectly, even though some could say that is not a good thing. Anyways, great job.

Personal stories for readers who enjoyed Betty Smith's Brooklyn or Joseph Mitchell's character monologues. We see that America has always been built by English-as-a-second-language immigrants. It's not just Manhattan as much as it is the human experience.

This is sentimental tripe -- a yuppie's nostalgia for a pre-gentrified city. As for the Amazon.com reviewer who prefers this rubbish to the amazing Ric Burns series or to anything by Studs Turkel -- all I can say is, buddy, you're not a real New Yorker.

one of the best written books on these subject thati have ever read, and i have read many.bits of history from those who lived it. no long boring pages, just short very useful and amusing stories. absolutely love this book. sorry it took me so long to order it.

If that slow, plodding Ric Burns series on PBS was the official history of New York City, "You Must Remember This" is the indispensible people's history: actual voices from the turn of the century (the last century) telling what it was really like to live in the immigrant Lower East Side, the Hell's Kitchen waterfront, Jazz-era Harlem, the last stretches of rural Inwood. With this and "The Box," Kisseloff is hands-down the most perceptive and consistently fascinating oral historian I've read, and yes, that's counting Studs Terkel. Buy one for yourself, and one for a history-lovin' friend.

Who was Abe Ruef? What affect, indirectly or otherwise, did he have on Hetch Hetchy? Robert Righter's thoughtful history of the valley identifies Ruef among notable others and the roles they played in determining Yosemite's fate as part reservoir. Righter provides a rich story of a booming and brash San Francisco (which is reason enough to read the book), followed by an informative account of the building of O'Shaughnessy Dam, as well as the environmental legacy of Hetch Hetchy and the cause of restoration. Ultimately, Righter reveals myths surrounding the damming of John Muir's beloved valley and even myths surrounding Muir. The story is captivating and despite knowing the outcome, one cannot help but follow along with the hope that things would have turned out differently.

I have noticed that a lot of books written about the historical facts of Hetch Hetchy seldom include the original Indians of Hetch Hetchy.
The early owners of Hetch Hetchy Valley were Paiutes. The leader of those Paiute Indians was Captain Jim, who was a sub-chief of the Mono Lake Paiutes. Why is that never written in the story of the Native Americans of Hetch Hetchy. There is proof out there and the Yosemite National Park Service is not mentioning this fact.
When writers are doing books about Hetch Hetchy they should remember the Indians of Hetch Hetchy. The early Native American people who owned Hetch Hetchy before white settlers entered the Valley. The Mono Paiutes.

Robert W. Righter has extended his reputation as a leading American environmental historian by this informative and well written account of the building of the Hetch Hetchy dam in Yosemite National Park in the early 1900's. He is candid and even handed in admitting that there were and are no easy answers in this complex history of building a dam in a national park. This book follows his earlier and acclaimed book (Crucible for Conservation, The Struggle for Grand Teton National Park) which contains the compelling story of the establishment of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming in which the issue was whether the Park as a contiguous and viable entity would ever be established over the objections of local and regional political and other interests.

This is the only book I have ever read on the Hetch Hetchy matter and I don't think I would have to read another one. Although the author reveals himself as more of an environmentalist in the sense that he would have like to have seen the valley preserved, I felt he was very, very fair in describing the motivations, merits and flaws of both sides and debunking the myth that this was solely enviromentalism vs progress. His research led him to the conclusion that even John Muir was not looking to keep the valley in a pristine state. He and his followers thought that such beauty should be experienced and shared by everyone and they wanted to develop the valley for tourism, probably of the kind we see today in the Yosemite Valley. Other themes were public power vs. privately owned utilities and municipal water systems vs. private water companies that were supplying the city prior to the HH dam being built. All these debates were also taking place in the backdrop of Teddy Roosevelt's progressivism, the recent birth of the National Forest and National Park systems and the devastation of the 1906 SF earthquake and fire (for which there wasn't enough water to successfully fight).

The author manages to tell his even story in a relatively short 244 pages, including interesting chapters on the legacy of the HH controversy and the talk of restoring the valley someday, a notion which I consider very far-fetched given the costs of replacing the dam's water as well as the hydroelectric power it produces. Pleasant as the sight of the valley would be, in today's world of fighting for every public dollar and the pressure to build more electric generation, I can't imagine we would agree to this. The author admits as much, but applauds the fact that it is at least talked about.

Note/question: Are a certain breed of modern environmentalists giving my review "unhelpful" ratings because of the "myth-free" comment (which is true), or what?

The biggest myth, and one that I'll admit was in my head, was that John Muir and the early Sierra Club wanted to preserve Hetch Hetchy as wilderness, with all the ideas of wilderness that we have today, whether post-Aldo Leopold or post-Wilderness Act.

Not true.

They envisioned development of the whole area, just somewhat less intensely than Yosemite Valley. In fact, a number of Sierrans openly favored building a road **up the Tuolumne Valley to the Meadows!** (Others favored building the Yosemite Valley road further up the Merced, then turning it left toward the Tuolumne Meadows as well.)

In short, to some fair degree, the battle over whether or not to damn Hetch Hetchy was a split between the "conversationist" and "preservationist" wings of early 20th century environmentalists. A minority of Sierrans supported damning Hetch Hetchy, in fact.

Meanwhile, the whole battle moved beyond environmental issues and definitions to pushing for public utilities, and San Francisco was served by both private water and private electricity at this time.

One can see the makings of an epic conflict that crossed the desks of multiple Interior secretaries before being hammered out in Congress.

And Robert Righter tells this story in detail, giving full play to San Francisco's side, including today, ever since Interior Secretary Donald Hodel first broached the idea of dam removal and brought Hetch Hetchy's history back to daylight.

This is a great resource for any teacher who wants to inform his/her writing instruction in their classroom. I feel that this book helped me plan purposeful and authentic writing experiences for my students. A must have!

I found this to be one of the most useful books for teaching writing skills. It is loaded with ideas that can be used in the classroom and can be used with teaching teachers how to teach writing skills. This book has some of the most creative and effective ideas I have seen in a long time. In fact I loaned it to someone about a year ago and have not seen it since. This demonstrates its quality. It is an easy read with samples that one can use in class forever. I recommend it highly.

This book provides numerous ideas and suggestions for creative and purposeful writing activities for upper elementary level students. The activities are easy to intergrate in a busy classroom, can be adapted for different grade and ability levels, and the kids love them!

This book helps teachers explore the art of teaching with children. It has many teacher friendly lesson plans that coordinate well with 6 Traits teaching.

This is not an in-depth, philosophical treatment of writing (though some may say the author accomplishes it indirectly), but an example after example fun activity tool for teachers--sprinkled with nuggets of wisdom throughout. For those who find such things useful (I don't necessarily) this latest edition includes rubrics, portfolio assessment, and writing across the curriculum. Even if you find only a small portion helpful, the purchase is worth the price. Suitable for primary through middle school.

A Non-Workbook, Non-Textbook Approach to Teaching Language Arts: Grades 4 Through 8 and Up

In Claude McKay's Selected Poems, one sees the transformation of this West Indian poet's life manifested in his varied styles. McKay was born in the Jamaican countryside to an elite class, educated and given every opportunity. Then, as a young man, he came to America and felt the sting of pervasive racism and the numbness of being labeled second-class. His work shows that at times he looks down with pity at his people, only to look up with scorn at his oppressors. This duality drives many of his poems, especially those in the book's first section: Songs of Jamaica.
In "Hard Times" McKay exhibits the range of his poetic voice by ventriloquizing a Jamaican peasant. The effective use of this device brings an undeniably intimate feel to the poem and is remarkably capable of relating the sorrow of the poor farmer depicted. The modification of Jamaican vernacular on the English language is also a portrayal of the West Indian's captivity and adaptation to a strange culture.
Not to be overlooked are poems from McKay's Harlem Shadows collection. "If We Must Die" reflect his anger at an oppressive white menace that threatens to devour his culture. Interestingly enough, Winston Churchill read the same poem to British troops during WWII in a defiant call to arms. This cross-cultural application surely reflects the broader themes of McKay's work buried in the bowels of racial conflict.
All together, McKay's nation language echoes through the entire collection and relates a stirring narrative of the struggle of a West Indian exile. Each poem uses language, whether the voice of an island peasant, or an American immigrant, to engage the reader in the poet's struggle; a compelling read.

I enjoyed the selected poems of Claude Mckay. Although in the beginning the dialouge was hard to follow, it became easier as I imagined myself as the writer...Good poetry

I first read "If We Must Die" in a Literature class in college. Not knowing anything about Claude McKay, I saw this asan almost "athletic" speech from a coach to his team. It had that kind of a feel to it. In doing some research, I found that McKay was speaking of the injustice African Americans felt in America in the early 1900s.

This collection is not just the selections about racial injustice. There are also poems about his home in Jamaica, his job in the constabulary force there, and love. Through these diverse poems, you will get a better picture of McKay and his time. There is not a lot of biographical information listed in this book.

I would recommend the book. The first few poems are written in a Jamaican dialect which may make it difficult to read the first time. I found that reading it out loud opened the meaning and pronunciation for me. It is a good read.

"Selected Poems," by Claude McKay, is a wonderful volume by this noteworthy writer. This Dover edition, which is edited by Joan R. Sherman, includes a bibliography of work by McKay as well as an index of the poems in the book.

Sherman's introduction discusses the life and career of McKay, who was born in Jamaica and came to live in the U.S. A novelist and essayist as well, he died in Chicago in 1948.

Many of the poems are written in Jamaican dialect. These dialect pieces have an energetic color and musicality. Many poems also show McKay's command of standard literary English; he writes some particularly fine sonnets.

Overall, this is a rich, diverse, and technically adept collection. There are many pointedly political poems that condemn racism and economic injustice, as well as sensuous love poems. There are poems that invoke both the rural tropics and the urban north.

These poems show McKay to be a master of meter, rhyme, and other aspects of poetry; he uses considerable variety throughout the collection. His best pieces combine a burning passion with his impressive technical prowess. Consider "A Capitalist at Dinner," a cutting political sonnet with a devastating final couplet; or "Song of the New Soldier and Worker," another political piece that uses stunning imagery and masterful audio effects.

McKay uses words as both lethal weapons against the forces of injustice and as tender instruments of passionate love. He is a poet of tremendous talent, and this collection is a real treasure.

McKay's poetry is brilliant. Sadly, this thrift edition does not do justice to the poet or his work. I look forward to finding a definitive edition of all his poems. Many of his poems, such as "If we must die", are revolutionary. This poem uses a traditional form subversively, conveying a powerful and radical meaning. McKay, in a time when the ultimate taboo is a black man's use of violence against the white institution or individual, contemplates the use of black violent power to obtain what the African-American does not have in America -- equality, justice, etc. The fight may lead to death, but it is a death with dignity.

This is just one example of McKay's great poetry. Read it, whether in this edition or another. His poems add great texture, not only to the Harlem Renaissance, but to African-American culture on a whole.

I cracked open this book and dove into the rich collection of poems by Robert Frost and after a few moments, I literally felt the title hit me over the head.

"You Come Too" - an invitation.

That's what this book is like - both an invitation and a centerpiece. A collection of poems for all ages to use when they gather around for a Robert Frose read-along. You could gatehr your entire family, friends, neighbors, associates from work or clubs.... everyone of any age would enjoy these selections... from

"Fireflies in the Garden" to "The Rose Family" to the well beloved Frost classic, "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening."

My only wish is that there were more poems in it. Not bad, just wish it was a teensy bit more dense.

If you're looking to expand your horizons into the world of poetry, this is an excellent place to start. A wonderful collection.

"You Come Too: Favorite Poems for Readers of All Ages" is a wonderful collection of Robert Frost's work. An interesting foreword by Noel Perrin discusses Frost's life and career. The book contains some poems which will surely be familiar to many readers--"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," "Mending Wall," etc. But that's just part of the treasures in this collection.

Overall, this collection shows Frost's concern with nature and rural life. Many different animals and plants are celebrated: ants, cows, birch trees, etc. Many of the poems have a beautiful musical quality, and the collection as a whole shows an interesting variety of meter and rhyme schemes.

I'll just mention a few of my favorite poems. "Acquainted with the Night" is a hauntingly melancholy sonnet. "A Patch of Old Snow" well demonstrates Frost's keen observing eye and way with figurative language. "The Rose Family" has a comic playfulness that I found quite Seussian. "Fireflies in the Garden" is a humorous short poem with an interesting AAA BBB rhyme scheme. Overall, an enjoyable and rewarding collection by an essential American poet.

If you're looking for an easy access poetry collection for the YA audience, this is an excellent choice. Nice and short & beautifully written.

I couldn't let April go without digging out this old favorite. This particular edition of Robert Frost's poetry--I mean, this particular one, with illustrations by Thomas W. Nason and in this particular format--is five years old, and you may have already come across it. If you haven't, I can't recommend it highly enough. Designed especially for young readers, the collection includes the most accessible of Frost's poetry, including the "You Come Too" of the title--which, as a phrase, seems one of the most magical and evocative in the language of childhood. Like Frost's work in general, many of the included poems nod knowingly at nature, and Thomas W. Nason's illustrations have a botanist's eye in their design and execution. This is perhaps my favorite book of poetry for older children.

The book says that you try to fight with your anger rationally. When you are angry, try to convince yourself that it's not "logical" to be angry over this issue. When something goes wrong, you should feel disappointment, not anger. The technique worked for me. But the book is written in a very boring manner. The same ideas are repeated 3-4 times throughout the book. So if you've read 2 chapters, there is no need to read more.

This is one of the best strategies I've found for dealing with anger. Ellis points out that our response to a given event is conditioned by our irrational beliefs (e.g., "She should not...!" "I can't stand it that....!" "How awful that...!"). You can monitor your level of anger (mildly disappointed? enraged? something in between?), seek out your irrational belief, and counter it with a rational statement. This brings your implicit beliefs to the surface and makes them available for examination. It also levels out your emotional response to one that's more appropriate to the actual situation.

Although this book can get a little ponderous, it flipped a switch in me. I was one of those guys who got pissed at everything. By page 60 I was able to recognize the things that were making me angry, and not let them set me off. If you find that you are frequently irrationally angry, get this book. I can't begin to tell you the difference it made for me.

Dr. Ellis, as in all of his books, provides a method to handle life's disturbances, in this case the problem of anger. He believes and demonstrates that through the power of precise thinking we can nuetralize the worst consequences of anger on ourselves and loved ones. Try using his techniques and you will find that life can be changed for the better.