History Just Ahead: A Guide To Wisconsin's Historical Markers is an impressively presented guide to Wisconsin's numerous historical markers, identifying and designated key people, places, and events in the Badger State's history. Profusely illustrated throughout, History Just Ahead is divided regionally into Southeast, South Central, Southwest, Northwest, and Northeast sections. Each section is preceded with a regional map, the villages, towns, and cities within each region are presented alphabetically. Very highly recommended for personal as well as Wisconsin school and community library collections, this authoritative, "user friendly" guide is enhanced with an informative introduction, a "How to Use the Guidebook" section, a Map of Wisconsin, a Photo of State Historical Marker, a numerical list of official Wisconsin historical markers, and a comprehensive index.

Despite this book being written just shortly after the American Revolution, it is surprisingly modern in thought and attitude. It is also the very best book I've ever read on the American Revolution and really helped me to understand it much more clearly. Here is why I liked it: 1) Ramsay gives you a very clear and understandable situation of the colonies prior to the Revolution; it all now becomes crystal clear in the reader's ming; 2) he also gives you a very easy understanding of the events that led up to war and why they occurred; 3) he provides a good account of what our political leaders were doing during the war, and he provides an equally clear picture of the English king and politicians, especially the British Parliament; 4) he never says Benjamin Franklin but always Dr. Franklin, and makes you realize the power and respect that, may I say it, Ben Franklin had at the time both here and in England, making you wonder why he wasn't elected the first president; 5) he shows you the power of lawyers (no lawyer jokes here) and how, without them, we would never have gotten our independence; 6) he wonders about the same environmental problems we worry about today, causing the reader to feel he is ahead of his time, and, 7) most importantly, the accounts of battles, big and small, and especially how the civil population tolerated all this goings-on or opposed it... Despite some of his contemporaries saying Ramsay plagerized [sp] parts of the book, I really didn't care since it flows so well, presenting so clear a picture of events and an understanding of those events.

As a future teacher in an ethnically diverse society, I am very concerned about presenting positive views of other cultures. I stress "positive" because too many books present a negative, stereotyped view of others who fill our world. My search for the perfect "good" book to present a positive message about a black child who did not speak English incorrectly was not easy. I finally did find a book which turned out to be better than I expected.

Hold Fast to Dreams, by Andrea Pinkney, is about a 12-year-old black girl and her family; her sister, mother and father. The family moves from an all black neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland, to an all white neighborhood in Wexford, Connecticut. Deirdre, the main character, is very nervous about going to a school where she will be the only black person in the entire school. She is a very smart girl and loves photography and the poetry of Langston Hughes, a poet whom no white student knows anything about. The book focuses on the dreams of each character and how those dreams were affected by changes in life's situations. The book touches on racism, blind prejudices, and stereotyping while teaching acceptance, friendship, trust, and recognition.

Here is a brief synopsis of the book, Hold Fast to Dreams. Deirdre Willis, the main character, seems to want to remain resistant to the strangeness of her new situation. Her sister, Lindsay, chooses to force her acceptance by the white students by "acting white." She is a good athlete and so tries to prove herself the best at the new game of lacrosse, which neither of the girls knew how to play; in fact, they had never heard of lacrosse. The girls' father's dream was to provide the very best for his family. His promotion to vice president of the new company was the beginning of his dream. Their mother actually gave up her dream of being a second grade teacher in support of her husband's dream. Deirdre, Lindsay and their father all come up against some serious racism issues. Everyone at Deirdre's school is afraid of Deirdre because she is black. One very popular girl, Stacy Sneed, is especially afraid of her. One girl, whose nickname is Web, however, sought out Deirdre's friendship. Web always felt different from the other girls in her school because she is a redhead. Lindsay, because of trying to "act white," came up against a group of girls who challenged her in an unfriendly manner. This challenge, in which Lindsay was completely embarrassed, forced her to lie to her mother. She did not want to go back to school and she lied and pretended to be "sick." Mr. Willis had to deal with a racist guard at his company who forced Mr. Willis into a corner and demanded to see his company id. The guard knew that Mr. Willis worked for the company. He was simply showing his racism. Mr. Willis told his daughters that it felt like that guard had taken a piece of his integrity. (This is an obvious deep rupture of emotion that a thoughtless act of prejudice can cause.) I liked the book because it presented these very serious issues and then worked each issue out in a realistic manner. In the end, Deirdre won second place in a school contest and she realized that she only needed to please herself. Her sister, Lindsay, also realized that she did not have to change her behavior in order to be accepted. Mr. Willis was no longer challenged by the guard. Mrs. Willis relaxed a little each day knowing her family would be okay.

The language of the book is beautiful. The author uses a plethora of figurative language which clearly paints a picture in your mind of the scene. She spoke of "the half-circle moon glowing into the kitchen, casting a creamy haze over the room" (1). "The rickety noise was part of my room's rhythm, along with the steady ticking of my alarm clock" (27). "The sun's glare lighted the dew on the leaves, making the trees in the distance twinkle like a forest of crystal-drop chandeliers" (63). "The moon hung high and full in the blue-black sky. Its pearly, glistening light followed us along the road" (106). Simply exquisite language from the beginning of the book until the very end!

Debbie Reynolds brings the Hollywood scene to life as she imitates Davis, West, and others of a bygone era in Hollywood......Boller has done a super job telling the story of directors, stars, studio heads...... Time will pass quickly as you listen to this entertaining history of the golden years.

These essays were collected and published posthumously, by Winnicott's widow, Clare, and colleagues. British pediatrician, humanitarian, and ground-breaking psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott died in 1971, having made a nearly immeasurable contribution to the fields of psychoanalysis and child psychology. In this volume, as with his other writings, his ideas are deep, reverential and respectful, and often somewhat complex, and at the same time, his presentation is utterly simple and straightforward. The reader is fully engaged, as a result of Winnicott's incredible knack for connecting with his audience.

The lively and interesting papers comprising this utterly accessible collection were written over a wide span of time - three decades or more. The selections are varied, and have been separated for readerly convenience into several sections: "Health and Illness," "The Family," and, finally, "Reflections on Society." Some were written in order to be presented at meetings of the medical and/or psychoanalytic community; others, to various civic, political, and other groups (The Progressive League, The Liberal Magazine, The Borstal Assistant Governors' Conference, etc.)

The collection is various and interesting for its content but also for - not in spite of - its grab-bag feel. Winnicott was comfortable with his listeners, and never afraid to speak simply, clearly, and with his trademark empathy intact. In fact, that empathy was at the core of his work. There's a great variety in it, too. "The Price of Disregarding Psychoanalytic Research," a talk given in 1965, details the importance of his philosophy. ("The link between poetic truth and scientific truth is surely in the person, in you and me.") Essays such as the 1963 "The Value of Depression" ("Always, depression implies ego strength...") and the 1967 "Delinquency as a Sign of Hope" ("the antisocial tendency is linked inherently with deprivation" ) show Winnicott at his very best. And the playful and kind 1969 "The Pill and the Moon" - written for an address to the Progressive League in the 1960's - is wonderful.

Some of these hopeful and kindhearted essays show their age, but in a welcome and lovely way, and therefore each is well worth reading and thinking about.

For those who love paper piecing and house blocks, this is a must-have. It has houses of all kinds that depict all lifestyles, skyscrapers, a gazebo, a churchand a light house. You can even add fences!

This book was impossible to put down. It is an absorbing novel set in (apparently) early 1900s Oregon. It is well researched as to the history and conditions prevailing in a country always hard to live in. And it is a rollicking good story.

exciting alternate london murder mystery with a punk background

Author shows deep, personal knowledge of quilting and the Hopi people. Enjoyed the historic photographs, accurate presentation of the culture of the Hopi people, and the information about specific women and their work. Especially liked story of use of quilts in naming ceremony! I know many Hopi, and they like this book, too.

Information on retirement planning can be difficult to understand. Davis's book thoroughly covers the 401K and IRA options. It is a positive, straightforward analysis beginning with why we should plan for retirement then moving on to the advantages of IRA's and 401K's over saving after tax dollars. Tables illustrate how the value of early saving multiplies over time. As you get farther into to book the author's financial expertise shows positively with his clear, but detailed explanations of sometimes difficult financial concepts. He writes clearly and builds the explanations step by step. We were bombarded with information on the Roth IRA a couple of years ago, but have found the clearest explanations in this little book. It is a worthwhile book, well-organized and well-written and covers the subject matter clearly. Our 401K provider at work should have their salespeople read it!