In summarizing over a decade of academic research into high school student achievement, Laurence Steinberg, in Beyond the Classroom-Why School Reformed has Failed and What Parents Need to Do, poses an alternative hypothesis. He argues that poor student achievement and low student commitment are determined outside the school and therefore, attempts to solve the problem of American education through school reform are ineffective. Steinberg offers that a lack of engagement on the part of students has pervaded American teenagers across all socio-economic layers and is the root cause of school failure.

The author effectively develops his argument by defining and comparing engaged and disengaged students. He then cites research into ethnicity, parenting, extra-curricula activities, and peer grouping as the contributors and distracters to academic engagement. His analysis of the significance of peer group influences provides validation of what many parents would argue as common sense findings. Throughout the text Steinberg masterfully presents traditional arguments from both sides of the political spectrum and answers them with findings supported by research data.

Beyond the Classroom closes with ten recommendations for parents, educators, and government officials. Unfortunately, Steinberg's recommendations suggest that improvement in student performance requires societal structural changes that at best assume active acceptance and participation of a majority of citizens engaged in social reform. However, to believe that a society disengaged from it's educational system - a system responsible in large part for proliferating the attributes of citizenship - can develop the will to make such systematic change is unrealistic.

Perhaps Steinberg's most significant contribution in offering Beyond the Classroom is in dispelling the concept that school reform in the existing school system can in fact solve the problem of low academic performance. This purpose alone makes this book a worthwhile read for those engaged in the welfare of our children.

Steinberg's book is a splash of cold water making readers face the real state of student achievement in America by focusing on what is influencing our high school students. Through this 10 year longitudinal study, interviewing more than 20,000 students and their parents, and comparing these findings with other prominent studies, Steinberg uncovers the root causes for low student achievement in America as compared to students in other countries and therefore why school reform initiatives have failed.

With an emphasis on student engagement in learning, the study looks at factors such as parenting strategies, the influence of peers and extracurricular activities. Steinberg looks primarily at issues beyond the school walls as the data shows these influences (large scale) are greater indicators of student success or failure than teacher's classroom practice or organization of the school system. Each factor is analyzed through the lens of socio-economic status, ethnicity, peer relationships and length of time since immigration to this country. As a result, the reader is forced to question the American culture; the attitudes, beliefs and values we perpetuate.

The good news is working hard in school is a strong predictor of academic achievement. Friends and group identity at school make a difference as do parenting techniques. The issues that we need to face are the rampant disengagement of parents in their children's lives, a peer culture that demeans academic success and scorns students who work hard and the negative impact on excessive extracurricular activity on student's achievement.

Steinberg makes 10 recommendations to begin refocusing the country's efforts. Each requires our society to take a good hard look at how we 'do business'. To increase academic success for all students will require compromises and change on the part of students, parents, schools, businesses, government and mass media.

In a sobering thought, Steinberg asserts that "no curricular overhaul, no instructional innovation, no change in school organization, no toughening of standards, no rethinking of teacher training or compensation will succeed if students do not come to school interested in, and committed to, learning. In order to understand how this commitment develops, why it has waned over the past three decades, and, more importantly, how we can reengage students in the business of learning, we need to look, not at what goes on inside the classroom, but at students' lives outside the school's walls. Until we do just this, school reform will continue to be a disappointment, and our students' achievement will fail to improve."

I finished the book out of breath. We're in a race to save our children. Will our country pull together in time?

From his carefully designed, three-year study on American teenagers, Laurence Steinberg has concluded that our kids do badly in school because of the attitudes they hold toward education, the way they are parented, the peer groups they join, and the way they spend their time after school. As a parent, I learned plenty of good, specific ideas for steering my daughter toward academic success. Clearly thought out and written, this book is a fascinating read for anyone who cares about education, children, or the future of our country.

This book was highly recommended by our school's faculty. Great for reviewing and practicing for the ASCP. However, the disk tends to ask the same questions for every session.

It is a great study guide, considering it was written by the same people who write the BOR exam. You can't beat their insight. ...

This book is very helpful to students who are studying medical technology or clinical laboratory science. Offers excellent review for the ASCP Board Exam. It has review questions and answers in all the core subjects (Microbiology, Immunology, Hematology, Blood Banking, etc.) The book also contains software that tests your knowledge on these subjects at random. Definitely, a great exam study guide!!!

Everything about this book is beautiful. The cover is beautiful. The interior design, layout, and color photography is stunningly beautiful. The content is beautifully organized, and it overflows with practical and fun ideas. The recipes and little-known facts of trivia are beautiful. And most importantly, Barbara Taylor Bradford hersef is beautiful.

Bradford is to romance what Martha Stewart is to homemaking. She effortlessly elevates romantic living to a doable, exciting, and artful lifestyle. Even the most hard core, cynical, and disillusioned woman will find something useful and appealing here.

This is definitely not a spiritual approach to love, but women are truly empowered by Bradford's advice because she puts them squarely in charge of getting what they want. Bradford gives practical, positive, powerful directions for creating a romantic ambiance with a significant other. If you are determined to have a "special love relationship," then it is well worth you while to read from a woman who has a 35-year track record of success.

The Spiritual Reviewer gives this book a score of 6.750 on a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high).

I just adore the artwork and pictures throughout this book! Ms Bradford would make even the most cynical person believe in romance again! A great gift for holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, anytime!

I bought a copy of this book for my wife and find myself enjoying it as much as she does.

This book is loaded with great ideas about how to plan a romantic evening, vacation or dining experience.

It's amazing how creative an author like Barbara Taylor Bradford can be, even when not writing novels. I am certain that this book will become a holiday bestseller. It's really attractive and makes a great gift.

After the exhiliration generated by Washburn's classic book on Denali, this one left me slightly disappointed. There are many exquisite photographs and a few truly great ones, such as the famous picture of climbers on the Doldenhorn (in the Bernese Alps). But on the whole there are just a little bit too many pictures of abstract geological features. These reveal a more scholarly side of Washburn's art: interesting to round out our view on this great artist, but less captivating than the epic mountain pictures. Also, there is an appendix with a detailed account of Washburn's career, with many little inset pictures of people he worked with (Barbara Washburn being the most prominent amongst them). I would have liked to see many more of these pictures and at a size more amenable to detailed study. A final point of criticism on this book concerns the interview with Washburn by the editor: it is very revealing but way too short! I would have guessed that Decaneas would have been able to extract much more material from all the conversations he has had with Washburn in the final years of his life. So, it's a nice book to have in the library, but Decaneas missed an opportunity to put together an absolute classic. Pity.

This book is a marvelous record of mountain exploration and photography with photos that span a period of almost 70 years. This small collection representing much less than 1% of Washburn's photographs is a remarkable record of photography rivaling Ansel Adams or Vittorio Sella. Although the photos were originally taken to support his geological or surveying research or to provide guide shots for climbers, Washburn soon realized that he had a knack for taking photographs as art that were as good as any being produced by other photographers.

This book may be a disappointment for those who want expedition photographs as few of the photographs include people. Indeed, having a few more pictures of people would have warranted five stars. Yet, many of the pictures are aerial photographs so the lack of people in many is not surprising. What makes it ultimately worthwhile is the crispness of the pictures, the attention to details on the ridges and valleys of the mountains, the patterns revealed in the flow of glaciers, and so on.

One other point of interest is that this book was the Grand Prize Winner of the 2000 Banff Mountain Book Festival -- the only pure photography book to win that award.

Bradford Washburn roamed the globe for eighty years as a mountaineer, explorer, cartographer, and aerial photographer. In Bradford Washington: Mountain Photography, Tony Decaneas as assembled one hundred full-size landscape mountain photographs from the more than ten thousand images that Bradford made during his lifetime of photographic accomplishments. From the Grand Canyon to the Alps, from Mount McKinley to Mount Everest, these black and white landscape photos of mountain peaks and picture portraits of team members and colorful characters that are each of them museum quality visual images showcasing Bradford's photography as having risen to the level of fine art.

My wife and I knew how to sail a Sunfish, and when we went shopping for a boat, we bought a Prindle catamaran. It quickly became apparent that we didn't know how to handle it in heavy weather. Catamaran sailing really is a bit different.

This book was exactly what we needed. It starts at the very beginning, and the early chapters were a bit *too* basic, but the later chapters fill in the level of detail we needed. It is written by someone who clearly knows how to teach and how to write. I don't know a better book to start with.

I do wish this book had an index, but that's my main complaint.

This is an excellent book for the beginner and the intermediate catamaran sailor. It covers all aspect of the subject well -- catamaran sailing, equipment, maintenance, and even trailering. Some previous knowledge on the subject helps, but it is not necessary. It even contains special chapters on racing and heavy-weather sailing conditions. The illustrations are helpful, but somewhat mediocre, but the photos are good. Anyone interested in the subject should buy this book, because it's worth much more money than the paperback price. It was created by experts. Good catamaran sailing!

We really enjoy this book. We have referred to it over and over again. Each day after sailing we find new things in the book we didn't understand from the time before. I highly recommend this book for new cat sailors who want a great reference book.

After taking an art history class, I found this book to be very handy in many ways, although if preparing for an AP test, it does leave some major works of art out. I found using The Annotated Mona Lisa, and Janson's Art History also helped majorly in preparing for the AP test.

Marilyn Stokstad has put together a real masterpiece of art history with her book, Art History. In collaboration with Bradford Collins, and with contributed chapters from Stephen Addiss, Chu-tsing Li, Marylin Rhie and Christopher Roy, this large volume published by noted art publishers Henry N. Abrams, Inc. is deserving of pride of place on any art bookshelf.

The scope of this work is as broad as is the expanse of human history. Indeed, the first chapter begins with a survey of prehistoric art and prehistory. Spanning all the ancient cultures, there are chapters devoted to the art of the ancient Near East, Egypt, the Aegean, Etruscan and Roman art, Christian, Jewish and Byzantine art, Islamic art, the art of India, China, Japan, the Americas and Africa. And from there, it gets complicated!

This book tackles all the issues of art: philosophical considerations (the relationship between art and reality, and the meaning and importance of beauty in art), focus on artists in general and in particular, society's relationship to art, including the role of the patron, the importance of museums, and an investigation that goes behind the phrase, 'I know what I like.'

'Art history, in contrast to art criticism, combines the formal analysis of works of art--concentrating mainly on the visual elements in the work of art--with the study of the works' broad historical context. Art historians draw on biography to learn about artists' lives, social history to understand the economic and political forces shaping artists, their patrons, and their public, and the history of ideas to gain an understanding of the intellectual currents influencing artists' work.'

In addition to presenting a history of art, Stokstad and her contributors also present an introduction to various aspects of art appreciation, without with art history loses much meaning. Each chapter has an explanation of the techniques that were developed and important during the time under examination (for instance, lost wax casting, glassamking and Egyptian faience, Japanese woodblock technique, and Islamic carpet making, among many others, are illustrated in detail to enhance the knowledge and appreciation of the finished art works). Each chapter and time period also has a section entitled Elements of Architecture, which include discussion on elements from pyramids to skyscrapers and much in between.

The text is clear and concise, carefully explaining technical terms when they are used, and then using them sparingly. Every page is a visual feast, with full colour plates of photographs of paintings, sculpture, artists, locations, or architectural examples in great form, as Henry N. Abrams, Inc. publishers are famous for doing. There are literally thousands of illustrations, as there are often many per page; almost no page is without one, and the book is nearly 1200 pages long.

As an aid for those who will use this book for more scholarly purposes, there is an extensive bibliography in the back, in three classifications of listings -- general surveys and art history references, a selected list of art history journals, and then a chapter-specific directory of further reading for each art topic/period. Additionally, it has after the bibliography as Website Directory of Museums, which includes museums in every state in the United States and most major museums around the world. The index includes listings by artist, period, topic, and particular works of art.

This book has been intended to be useful as a text for a course in art appreciation, but also designed to be a joy to read for the casual reader who might not want an academically rigourous presentation. As Stokstad says in her preface, the intention was make this book itself a work of art, and in that task she has succeeded admirably.

This book is simply wonderful. It is indeed physically ponderous (this 2nd edition is one very, very large book, not two slipcased books as shown in some illustrations). However, its content easily compensates for its considerable bulk. All historical periods of art history are chronicled, with copious illustrations well-produced and nearly all in color. The text is incisive and easy to follow, yet never boring.

I recommend this book to any and all art lovers, whether beginners, advanced students, or just those who desire a comprehensive reference for library or home use. I personally consider this publication a better choice than the otherwise excellent Janson "History of Art" for most readers-- the writing is just more user-friendly, in my opinion (and the content is more inclusive, especially regarding non-Western art).

I found Ariel's Crossing difficult to put down. In fact, I skipped Morrow's reading in New York for fear of something being revealed that I had not yet learned. Not only does Morrow tell a fascinating, multi-layered story, he creates wonderful characters. I was struck with the realization mid-way through the book that I really LIKED all the characters (except David, but that is his own fault), not so common an experience. Which is not to say that they are some kind of exemplars, they are ordinary, flawed human beings who make mistakes, but grow; people who I could care about.

I found Ariel's Crossing difficult to put down. In fact, I skipped Morrow's reading in New York for fear of something being revealed that I had not yet learned. Not only does Morrow tell a fascinating, multi-layered story, he creates wonderful characters. I was struck with the realization mid-way through the book that I really LIKED all the characters (except David, but that is his own fault), not so common an experience. Which is not to say that they are some kind of exemplars, they are ordinary, flawed human beings who make mistakes, but grow; people who I could care about.

I have been waiting for this book for five years, and it is so worth the wait! I fell in love with Morrow's "Giovanni's Gift" and went on to read everything I could get my hands on, and my favorite was "Trinity Fields", which is the sister book to "Ariel's Crossing". But now that I've read "Ariel's Crossing", it tops my list. Ariel is a wonderful, inspiring young woman whose journey to self-discovery, through some amazing yet completely believable twists of fate, so often resonates for me personally. I also love Franny (aka Mary), who discovers herself by simply re-inventing herself as someone else, and Sarah Montoya, the wise mother who guides her whole family (adopted and otherwise) with wry intelligence. (Not to mention Francisca, the ghost whose very presence seems to make a place home.) Also, Morrow's use of language is sublime---so rich and lush---and yet, unlike so many writers, it enhances his storytelling rather than interfering with it. You really *live* with these characters, you feel like you're walking through the landscapes with them---you're right there on horseback with Ariel when she---but I won't blow it for you--you've got to read this book!

I have two corp fin books by Ross and company. This book was purchased while studing for the Level I of the CFA exam. The other book was used in graduate school. Both books are sub par in quality and were not cheap either. Save your money. Don't use this text.

I have a master degree in finance and I believe this is the best work from Stepehen Ross. The book can be utilized for graduate students as well as undergraduate. If you are looking for a book which is extensively comprehensive and at the same time friendly you are looking for this book. It also contains diverse examples involving the use of financial calculators and software. It furnishes a preview on mergers and acquisitions and constantly tends to go beyond corporate to multinational

I have used this text in two corporate finance courses that I have taken at university and it was very helpful in allowing me to understand the concepts that were being presented in class.

Bradford's "Thermopylae" is actually a history of the second invasion of Greece by the Persian Empire. It is more the story of the Athenian fleet and the major Greek proponent of a combined sea and land strategy, Themistocles, than it is of the Spartan and Thespian hoplites who sacrificed themselves at the Hot Gates. The text is engaging, and I was surprised at hopw quickly I went through this book. However, I found myself bothered by several things. First, the author continually warns about drawing modern parallels with the way ancients thought, but constantly uses modern parallels (including the worn-out and inaccurate comparison of Sparta to Nazi Germany). Second, his sources are all secondary (including translations as secondary sources), so the auuthority of the book is questionable. Third, he is decidedly pro-Athenian despite the title of the book and continuous warnings about his major source's (Herodotus) biases. What all this leads to is a story of how Athens defeated the Persians. One might just get the feeling that the Spartans and Thermopylae were quite unnecessary to the Athenian victory. I'm not an expert on ancient Greece, but somehow I don't think that Leonidas and the 300 Spartans (and their Thespian allies) would have been memorialized and remembered for 2500 years if their sacrifice was irrelevant. Bottom line...read this if you want a good, quick read on the second Greco-Persian War. If you want a good read about Thermopylae alone, read the novel "Gates of Fire."

Thermopylae is a great source of information about the Persian invasion of Greece by Xerxes after the battle at Marathon. It ranges from an in-depth view of the intriguing and alien Spartan culture, to Greek terrain and armor, to a background of Persian-Greek relations.

This book discusses the important Battle of Salamis, which, if lost to the Persians, could have completely altered the course of history. Could you imagine the world today without an ancient Greece to refer to? I thought this book would bore me to death, but instead I kept reading it and didn't want to give it back to the owner. I may go buy it, though I work at the library. It seems like it would be a good investment.

I enjoyed Thermopylae, and I believe others would as well. This is the sort of book we should read in school! My high school classes have given me no depth, taught me nothing about the history of the classic world. This book has taken me closer to understanding the current world. I can only look forward to college and hope it does as good a job as Ernle Bradford and his book has.

The battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C.E. has usually been relegated by modern historians to being nothing more than a "symbolic gesture" of Greek resolve during the Persian war. Although it WAS that, it was also much, much more.

The importance of this present book is that it sets the matter straight. The sub-title of the work is in no way an exaggeration. The 300 Spartans + the allies who held the pass @ Thermopylae protected the Greek fleet at Artemesium and bought time for the armada to mobilize at Salamis. The importance of this cannot be over-stated.

In this treatise, Ernle Bradford takes us back to that long-ago period of world history. Much more than being simply an extrapolation of Book VII of Herodotus' HISTORIES, here is a study that offers a superb look at the weapons, armor, ships, tactics and logistical difficulties of both the Greeks and Persians. The attention Bradford pays to the minutest details of the classical historians allows him to reason out conclusions that may not have been evident upon a first-reading.

Beyond Thermopylae, Bradford also has brief discussions of both Salamis and Platea. The over-all thrust of the book, however, is to put into context just how pivotal Thermopylae actually was in reference to these other, more well known battles.

While the parallels that he draws between the Persian war and World War II are occasionally a bit strained, it must be remembered that it is a typical method employed by military historians to draw comparisons and contrasts between ancient conflicts and those of his own day. As Bradford fought in WWII himself, it is natural that he should use it as a frame-of-reference for how he perceives warfare throughout the ages.

This book is HIGHLY recommended as standard-reading for all War-colleges, persons interested in classical history and (most of all) those who have more than a passing-curiousity about the Spartans.

As your head hits the pillow tonight, remember that some 2,500 years ago 300 Spartans stood on a wall & fought to the last man in a battle that they knew they could not win. They left their beloved Sparta KNOWING that they would never see it again. They were aware that their life only had a few sunrises left in it, yet this did not slow their march to Thermopylae for even a moment. It is because of their sacrifice that you are where you are today; defenders of the pass. Guardians of history.

My younger brother (age 19) picked out this book because he liked the cover. After reading it, I find the cover far more endearing than the book's contents.

I thought I might enjoy this collection of stories as light reading: I love dogs as well as off-beat humor, and the description on the back cover promised both. Sadly, there was simply not enough substance to these stories to make reading them worthwhile. It's not that everything I read has to have a point, but I would have like to have felt I gained something by reading this...be it an insight or two about the human condition, laughter, or an idea that sparked my imagination. All I got from this book was the occupation of my mind for an hour or so.

Bradford's writing is good enough to avoid being distracting, which is more than can be said for many popular fiction writers today. On the other hand, I didn't find his style distinctive or particularly engaging; in fact, it sounded at times like he was doing a bad impression of J.D. Salinger. I found this irritating, although he's definitely not the first writer to do this... Although Bradford's ideas here are insipid and only mildly entertaining, this book might be suitable to read during your next flight or lazy day at home.

For its literary merits, I should have probably awarded this book two stars; early reviews are right to point out that much of the book's prose is flat and unspired, that many of the book's non-sequiturs are forced, that some stories seem like abandoned fragments, that the characters and situations are willfully eccentric. And much of this is pretty much true, yet Dogwalker is an enjoyable book nonetheless. How? I perceive Bradford as a kind of David Lynch of short fiction--love him or hate him, you're certainly going to receive a strange bolt of the weird when reading his stories. Often, these pieces have a unique and grotesque humor; I loved "Chainsaw Apple" and "Bill McQuill." Years ago, I read "Catface" when a sophmore in college and ever since sought out Bradford's works; "Catface" rightfully begins the collection--since it defines the tone and is the most interestly constructed of the pieces. Bradford owes an obvious debt to Denis Johnson's Jesus' Son--nothing wrong with that, really--and here is some of the oddness of Johnson's stories, but little of the poetry and compassion. After waiting for this collection to come out, I have to say I'm a little disappointed, but that there are a few strong pieces that make the reading worthwhile.

DOGWALKER is a gently surreal book that is refreshingly different from anything other fiction being written right now. Bradford brings back some welcome influences -- Denis Johnson of course, but also Richard Brautigan, fanciful Pynchon, sedated Palahniuk -- and, like these writers, allows himself to be goofy in a rare, un-self-conscious way. It's too bad he's been lumped in with the Eggers & Co -- makes for some good blurbs on the back of the book (from some great & appropriate writers, i.e. Zadie Smith & DFW), but obscures the fact that something going on in these stories that's much more original and affecting than anyone else contributing to McSweeney's (Eggers included). Bradford has a distinct, original voice with a perfect, carefully cultivated flatness. Occasionally it begins to sound like it might be coming from a narrator a few bong hits past, um, sharp, and that in turn sometimes comes off as laziness on Bradford's part, but I think a word like lopiness is more appropriate -- it's not in a hurry and it's not showing off, but eventually this writing's going to take you somewhere you've never been in fiction. And if you have a chance to see Bradford read in person, take it.