I have to admit I was surprised there was a volume in the Cornerstones of Freedom series devoted to the Vietnam Women's Memorial, but in reading Deborah Kent's account of the monument and the women it honors, it becomes clear that there was as much controversy behind this memorial as there was for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. I certainly remember how the winning design of the black wall with the names of those who died inscribed on them was roundly dismissed and it only turned out to be the genesis of more cathartic responses by people touched by the Vietnam War than everything else combined. More recently there was the controversy over the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial, which shows FDR in his wheelchair. So it is clear from both those examples and the story related in this volume that the government never could appreciate a good idea.

The first part of "The Vietnam Women's Memorial" tells about the service of American women during the war. We are then introduced to Diane Carlson, who arrived in Vietnam in 1968. Readers might think that she is a representative of all those women who served in Vietnam, but it turns out Carlson was one of the prime movers behind the efforts to get the Vietnam Women's Memorial built. The second part of the book tells of that effort including the various bureaucratic hoops that had to be jumped through and the efforts to come up with an acceptable statue for the memorial. The section when artist Glenna Goodacre explains about the final design, which emphasizes compassion, anxiety, fatigue, and dedication, is fascinating. Kent does an admirable job on both parts of the book and I found myself engrossed from start to finish. It is also nice to know there is something more to honor the women who served in Vietnam than reruns of "China Beach," great as those were.

If you are just getting into programming, or VB.NET programming, this is a great book to pick up.

This book starts with the absolute basics in programming and builds on it. It hits all of the fundamentals of programming, such as variables, their scope, if..then...else statements, loops, arrays, variable comparisons, etc.

This book doesn't get too advanced, though I did wish it would have touched on object oriented programming a little bit more. The earlier a beginner gets into OOP the better.

If you have programming experience, or experience with VB in general, pass this book up. You probably won't get so much (or anything) out of this book and there are better books to go to. As the title says, this is a beginner's guide.

Who knew there was such a surge in asian americans joining and changing the mainstream labor movement? I mean, this is the movement of Sam Gompers and the Chinese Exclusion Act. But the organizers in this book show that it's also a movement where activists are moving institutional barriers and organizing Asian working class communities on a LARGE scale.

My favorite part is the very diverse personal stories. so much diversity in 10 people! some of the interviewees are young college-educated activists who chose worker organizing as a calling rather than the comfortable corporate route (including the daughter of Silme Domingo famously murdered in 1981 Seattle for union organizing). Others were workers who were probably fighters before they saw unions as an outlet (including a Vietnamese refugee from a midwestern slaughterhouse). Several come from 60's movements such as anti-Marcos, and have actually risen to leadership positions in unions.

They also talk about their visions of social justice, what it's like to be Asian American in a modern changing labor movement, and the amazing day to day work they do organizing workers.

Very inspiring & easy to read. Highly recommended for activists!

Armchair adventurers who love sailing, roughing it through forests, bogs and mountains in strange lands, and meeting new people in brief encounters will love "Voyaging," by Rockwell Kent. The book begins with a shocking confession in the Introduction, and carries the reader through 184 pages of high excitement and magnificent descriptions of one of the most desolate and forsaken places in the world -- the area about Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America.

The book's main characters are (1) Kent, about 50; (2) his mate, a Norwegian of 26 years who started his life by shipping to sea under his father when 14, who after a few months of beatings jumped ship, cursing as he went, apparently never to see his father again; (3) a lifeboat, which Kent bought for $20 and named Kathleen, and with a group of tradesmen modified to include cabin, mast and rigging for sails; (4) the West Wind, which whistled ceaselessly and tossed the little boat about dangerously, and (5) a menagerie of people along the way who extended hospitality, most with loving kindness, a few with malice.

A touching moment came on Bailey Island when Kent asked 20-year-old Margarita García, the name of her three-month-old suckling daughter. The baby has no name because she has not been baptized, Margarita replied. There in that inhospitable land Kent converted a dirty hovel into a cathedral and "baptized" the child, giving her his wife's name Kathleen Kent García. Kent writes that Father García, a murderer who earlier was released from a nearby prison after serving time, said "the ceremony had pleased him particularly as it was in truth the baptism of his child."

Characteristically, Kent illustrates the book well with black-and-white drawings of the stark landscape, and a few portraits of his new acquaintances. He also includes several maps by which the reader may follow the men's attempt to sail around Cape Horn -- an adventure that did not always go according to plan, as the reader will discover. -- Allen Long, Arlington, VA.

For anyone who is in charge of ward activities, stake activities, singles wards activities, family home evening activities, institute activities or any other similar activities for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this book is worth its weight in gold. Having been on committees for most of these types of activities and struggling to come up with ideas to please everyone, this is a great resource not only for the exact activity described but also to use to get ideas for other types of activities, custom tailored to your group. This book is definately a must have for anyone involved planning group activities.

Information from the scientific research community usually takes about ten years to find its way into medical practice. This delay, combined with the fact that doctors are not adequately trained in nutritional science, creates a serious lack of knowledge in the medical community. William Kent disseminates the latest scientific findings on health, nutrition, and especially disease prevention. It is an excellent guide for anyone suffering from asthma and other auto-immune disorders.

This is a must buy for
- the college kid moving away from home,
- the single person that gets its first own apartment, and
- a newly wed young couple.

This one in combination with WHERE's MOM NOW THAT I NEED HER is the ultimate tool. I bought mine while I was already married and knew how to cook because it has great QUICK recipes in it and clean up hints as well as help on measuring etc.

A definit MUST BUY for every child that leaves home. and the hardcover version is great because of the ring binder. It lays flat while cooking and you can add pages.

This juvenile history of the White House begins with John and Abigail Adams moving into the unfinished building in 1800, with the President's wife hanging laundry in the empty East Room. Deborah Kent tells how the grand plans created by French surveyor and architect Charles Pierre L'Enfant for the Presidential Palace and the glorious federal city he envisioned was toned down considerably. Instead, it was young James Hoban who won the $500 commission for designing the three-story house fronted by a graceful columned portico.

This volume tells not only the famous story of Dolly Madison rescuing Gilbert Stuart's painting of George Washington from the British army that burned the White House, but the rowdy party that greeted Andrew Jackson when he moved in, the funeral of Abraham Lincoln, and the television tour hosted by Jacqueline Kennedy (which is, I think, the oldest thing I remember seeing on television). Kent pays particular attention to the changes and renovations of the building, such as the West Wing added under Theodore Roosevelt (which is when it officially was renamed the White House) and the swimming pool built for Franklin Roosevelt. Certainly there is little in American History textbooks about the executive mansion and Kent provides young readers with a fascinating story. This Cornerstones of Freedom volume is illustrated with early drawings of the White House, black & white photography from various restoration projects, and some color shots of several rooms in their full glory. "The White House" is an excellent first place for students to look for a research assignment.

The question in the title is very intriguing. The authors did a very good job at looking at expectations and reality. They continued with the discussion of the historical context, what is currently going on, and then looking towards the future of Educational Technology. The authors of the book continue to be free-thinking in the use of technology in the educational field.

This book focuses on the influence of higher education on technology and learning. Many references to standards and accredited organizations were referenced in the book. The references help put in context the ideas of change in perspective with reasons that they are needed. One sentence in the whole book struck me as an area of intrigue, "Good ideas, not necessarily new technological developments, guide the way." All educators need to model the integration of technology and not as a standalone activity. Teacher Education departments were especially emphasized in creating change in the modeling if infused, transparent technology. The intent is to allow the technology to be secondary to the primary function of education.

Patterns of change in technology were emphasized in the book. The acceptance of technology appears to depend on the degree in which it demonstrates pedagogical flexibility, supports teacher control, and is accessible. The authors mentioned film, radio, and television and compared them with the technologies in education today.

As the book looks into the future, it referenced how educators must be able to make informed decisions in choosing the appropriate media for the given instructional tasks. Kent and McNergney infuse the book with excellent real-world examples as well as how future technologies will help change the classroom setting.

I would highly suggest this book to others who are looking for suggestions as to how educators can best proceed to take advantage of technology in the future.

Douglas Kent Hall has a way of capturing the work and the manner of real cowboys that makes this book both a terrific photo album and a well-written description of these men and the world they work in. Hall snaps many shots of branding, roping, bronc riding, and working cattle, but the best photos are the full-length portrait shots of cowboys standing or leaning against a door frame or fence, having their pictures taken. They look into the camera, with a serious expression, portraying visually the stoic-romantic, cowboy-up way they are recorded in the words of Hall's text.

Hall sees them and describes them in the way they see themselves. Hard-working, often silent, resigned to the conditions of an occupation that pays little but gives them pride, self-reliance, and a belief that they stand for a way of life superior to any other. They are both fiercely independent individuals and members of a fraternity with a strict code of behavior and values. Given the opportunity, they may complain about less-than-perfect conditions of employment, and they're ambivalent about the modernization of ranching, yearning for the good old days before attempts to mechanize the business of raising and working cattle changed the nature of the work they love.

Hall has a great eye for detail both in his images and in his text. He wants you to see the way cowboys individualize and put their own stamp on the universal uniform of hat, boots, jeans, and shirt. By putting photos of young and old cowboys together on the page, he also wants you to see the toll that this kind of work takes on their bodies and physical features. His descriptions in prose are also rich with details as he describes the predawn rituals of saddling up, or the ambiance of sitting in front of a fire in a camp house without electricity, or a long ride over rough rangeland in a pickup, which eventually gets stuck. He also seems to have recorded and transcribed his interviews with cowboys, because the text is realistically rich with their turns of phrase and their long ramblings on various subjects.

The author has considerable credits, including the scripting of "The Great American Cowboy," a documentary which won an Academy Award in 1974. As of this writing, this wonderful book is out of print. If you can find a copy, get one and hang onto it. It's a gem. For a similar, though less handsome book of photography and interviews, there's Darrell Arnold's "The Cowboy Kind."