This is a great book for anyone planning to teach, especially in a urban classroom where you are most likely to have diversity.

Crossing Over to Canaan is an excellent book for anyone planning to be or thinking about becoming a teacher. It tells a lot of real life situations that student teachers have been placed in while working in the classroom. It also gives lots of information about what is really necessary in order to effectively teach in the diverse multi-cultural world that we live in today. It's a must read for anyone who wants to be the best teacher they can be no matter if you have been teaching for years or just thinking about it. It has something for everyone to learn or think about.

This book has useful information for any person wanting to persue teaching, especially in a urban classroom. Diversity in the classroom is more prevalent now and teachers are not prepared.

This is an excellent book for young and old readers alike. I enjoyed it because it showed what people lived like in this century, but left out any inappropriate material. It read like a fiction book, but in reality was a non-fiction written about the authors experiences while living in this remote area. It includes a gun fight, general hardships endured, and facts about everyday life.

This book is a good example of how people really lived in this century. I enjoyed this book because it doesn't contain anything offensive to young readers but does include the excitement of a gun battle, true hardships these people endured, and information on their everyday life. It is told as a non- fiction work, but does carry you along like a fiction book. Excellent for anyone interested in pioneer life or as a compasison to how our life could be. ***I read the original book published in the 1940's not this updated one.

Billing was an author who was always said to be promising in New Zealand circles. He became somewhat distracted by other issues after the promise of such earlier titles as Forbush and the Penguins. This may have the doubtful honour of one of the few Antarctic novels. In The Chambered Natilus Billing demonstrates a new maturity and confidence as a writer. Like the eponymous shell the story is in parts with each contributing. Over the whole novel there is a salt smell as if the animal has contributed more than the protective cover and the description of small boat sailing is almost reminiscent of writes such as CS Forester but with a realism that transcens such populist list fodder. His treatment of an interracial marriage is sensitive but does occasionaly err into the noble savage stereotype. Although out of print this should be reprinted.

If you are at interested in the contexts of genetics and its place in society -- I recommend this book

Very funny, the versus match the lives of my own children as well as many of my own experiences growing up. Very much along the lines of Shell Silverstien. Highly recommended for all ages not just children.

I didn't think this was a bad book. It just wasn't very in depth. Captain Schirra lightly hits on the areas that most readers would be most interested in . I would reccommend this book to those interested in the early space programs but only after you read such books as "Moonshot" by Alan Sheppard and Deke Slayton, et al. I know that test pilots, fighter pilots, and astronauts have to have a big enough ego to handle all the challenges they face, but sometimes Capt Schirra's ego gets in the way while reading "Schirra's Space".

I long have been a huge fan of Wally Schirra. I have always adored his keen sense of humor and wit. Furthermore, his impeccable aviator and astronaut careers always made me feel awe struck. Therefore, I greatly looked forward to reading Mr. Schirra's account of his career. My main interest was to get a real insiders look into the space program - which I believe the book did successfully on some major points. Mr. Schirra's wit pleasantly shined throughout the book - this made the reading more pallatable. Regretfully, the reason for my three star rating is the fact that the book would ramble. Without a moments notice, it would jump ahead in time and backward in time. I found this fact to be very irritating as I tried to stay focused and gain as much information as I could from my reading. I thought that maybe I was being too critical, but this sore spot was evident throughout the book. By the time that I had finished the book, I felt exaspirated from the time warps. Do not get me wrong, Mr. Wally Schirra is still a brilliant man in my eyes - I just found that the book was not a good representation of the the true great man that he is. All in all, for the average reader, I feel that this book has many good bits of information - as long as you are willing to sift through the minutia of time jumps.

It seems bewildering to me that so few books written by or about the great space pioneers display anything resembling spirit. Wally Schirra's, on the contrary, is a triumph. For starters, he delivers (with the help of Richard Billings) the pace and flair of a thriller, and tops it off with a humanness you can touch. Above all there is brilliant wit and the blend of admirable self-possession and panache that got those heroes out beyond the frontiers in the first place. Schirra is solid role model stuff. He did it (Mercury's Sigma 7, then Gemini and Apollo) - inspired by the daring individualists like Lindbergh who went before him - and implores all independent-thinking readers to take the torch. Our future hopes, the hopes for humanity, he contends, rest not with politicans but with the drive of free spirits. A pilot and a pirate, God bless his socks!

It beggars belief that an unrepentant home-grown terrorist--a man who dedicated himself to the violent overthrow of a free society (imperfect, yes, but far preferable to anything else in the real world)should be presented as some kind of model for the young. Ayers has never apologized for the ugly murderous counsel he offered the young in his previous incarnation--and now he presumes to tell us something about teaching? What kind of idiocy is it that leads anyone to take him seriously? His book, like his life, is an embarrassment and, after the horrors of September 11, a disgrace. Reason and decency should prevail over the kind of Utopian ideology that leads terrorists to believe their vision should be enforced by violence.

I am taking teacher certification classes and this book was assigned reading in a class which discussed what it means to be a teacher. On the positive side, there are a few helpful, practical ideas for the classroom teacher, and a few insights that any teacher should ponder (i.e. how should we as teachers view our students). That being said, however, it really galls me that I had to buy this book and contribute to the wealth of a cynical, unrepentant terrorist and then read page after page on how caring he is, how insightful, how gentle. It makes me tired and irritated. Surely there must be better books out there on teaching.

Ayers takes us on a journey unlike any other yet, with glimpses of ourselves as students and as teachers. Concepts, ideas and rememberances encapsulated in this book reveal the heart of a teacher who recognizes his own imperfections and shares his lessons learned. This book is insightful, intellectual reading that I would recommend to parents of school-aged children, prospective teachers, new teachers, veteran teachers and teacher-educators. This is a book I believe will become a teaching classic. Reading this book and Crossing Over Canaan will give readers some real-life insights of what it means to be a teachers in public schools. This is an excellent book!

I felt this book was not meant for a beginner who is looking into starting out in a medical insurance billing career. It did not contain enough information on how to get started and was too far indepth for one just starting out. It was very vaugh in telling you how to set up a home-based business and had too many questions for you to ask a client. It should have told more about how to set up a business and what type of softwear one should obtain to get started. I feel this title is for a person who is already seasoned and knows what to do. For instance it is for a person who has worked as a biller prior to setting up their own home based business. It did not tell where to actually begin and what was needed to start a business as far as machines to buy and forms to use. I disliked the book because it did not give me enough information on setting up a business as a beginner.

In this book, the author magically simplifies the art of marketing so that even a novice in the marketing area can grasp complex marketing concepts and put them into action. He reviews all facets of the business in a straightforward, no holds-barred manner. The booklet covers all aspects of the business--the good and the bad; what to do and what not to do; companion areas of the business; followed by detailed scenarios to acomplish the final result. "Success in Marketing and Consulting," is an inspirational and positive "how to" guide.

The review below from bookjunkies encapsulates the very mixed feelings I have about this book. It's very readable, and I enjoyed it while I was reading; I liked Kate Billings and the troupe of actors very much. Hal Hampton, aka the Marquess of Graydon (not Everdon) was in some respects amusing, and even solicitous. But I am in complete agreement with the other reviewer: his reason for not helping Kate and the troupe out of their mess was not at all convincing. It seemed like a very convenient plot device for dragging out the story, and no more than that. I'm not at all surprised that Kate gave Hal a black eye when she discovered that he'd lied about the threat to his life!

Other aspects of the plot, such as the marriage certificate, were extremely predictable; it was simply a matter of counting the pages until they happened.

All in all, if you want to read a *really* good Carla Kelly, find Reforming Lord Ragsdale or Mrs Drew Plays Her Hand!

I have mixed feelings about any Carla Kelly book that I do not quite like. While the heroine Miss Katherine Billings and her predicament are delightfully and sympathetically portrayed, and the acting troupe and family that Miss Billings falls in with are believable and all-too-human secondary characters, the hero a Marquess is a real disappointment.

Warning - spoilers ahead.

The problem I have with this book is that the hero acts selfishly throughout the book, and justifies his actions late into the story by claiming that he wants to test her mettle before marrying her. At that point, I could have slapped him cheerfully, and wished that Katherine Billings had up-ended him (again) for another suitor. Alas, unlike in LIBBY'S LONDON MERCHANT there was no other suitor in the offing, not for Miss Billings anyway.

The book starts out with a bored and overweight Marquess escaping town to avoid criticism by his sister and others (including his valet who irritates him, and me as the reader). Ah yes, the Marquess also has his sister's son as the heir [note to author: Dear Miss Kelly, this rather spoils your plot, even worse than in MISS MILTON SPEAKS HER MIND]. Since his journey up North and the exact route he takes is supposedly a secret, it is a shock to him (and to me) when he is attacked by pretend-highwaymen who are in reality his disinherited sister's son (aforesaid nephew who is heir to the Marquessate and the fortune) and his dismissed valet. Now you would think that the reasons for this attack are quite reasonable, wouldn't you? But no, the nephew and the valet want the Marquess to be grateful to them and by staging a mock-attack, they hope to win back his favor. Duh! And they leave said Marquess bleeding to death (or nearly so) in a country lane, while they get hopelessly lost looking for a doctor.

The Marquess then staggers into a barn, where it turns out that the lady he is looking for, Miss Katherine Billings has been pressed into service with an acting troupe. [To cut a long story short, she got off at the wrong stop and mistook the waiting carriage for that of her lecherous would-be employer; the actor waiting at that stop mistook her for an actress. She prefers to remain with the troupe temporarily rather than go to her employers, since she has been warned on the stagecoach trip that the husband is a notorious lecher. Miss Billings, you see, is penniless and homeless]. I won't tell you why the Marquess would be looking for Miss Billings, but that is clear from the first chapter.

Ah well. The Marquess's identity is revealed to the troupe, although he will go by the name of Hal Hampton. He pretends to be in fear of his life, from his villainous nephew and ex-valet; they undertake to care for him and to restore him to health, and carry him off up North. In the meantime, a hue-and-cry has been raised for the missing Marquess. The Marquess, now Hal Hampton, is pretending to be the husband of Miss Billings (now temporarily Miss Hampton) and having a fine time getting into shape with the troupe. Enter a Bow Street Runner, who is not deceived by the act, and whose purposes are uncertain to the troupe. Has he been employed by the Marquess's solicitors and the estate trustees? Or has he been employed by the Marquess's would-be killers? They take no chances and protect Hal Hampton from discovery, even when offered a magnificent reward.

The theatrical scenes are well-done, showing the progress of a small-time troupe with genuine talent through the North and their disastrous ending in town. Until they are saved by their own hard work, coupled with Miss Billings's own decision to help out. [How? Read the book]. Everything, or almost everything, ends happily for the actors, with the arrival of two great Regency names - Kemble and Kean.

But I digress from the love story, such as it is, between Hal Hampton (aka Henry Tewkesbury-Hampton, Marquess of Everdon) and his mock-wife Miss Katherine Billings. Is it really love when the hero acts selfishly almost through the entire novel? It is true that he helps out nobly with the troupe in staging their brilliant production, but he does so because it will be "fun" (and incidentally, help him get into shape). Not because he really wants to help out. His argument at the end of the book is that he wanted to see the troupe and Miss Billings win their way out of disaster through their own efforts. Not bad - except that his own example has hardly been one to inspire anyone.

My summary at the end of the book was that this story had a great heroine, a memorable set of secondary characters (with two romances among troup members thrown in) - and an unlikeable hero with some appalling friends and relatives. Even the valet comes across as rather more decent. The plot lines involving the Marquess's disappearance from society and his attackers make little or no sense. It might make more sense to someone less critical than me.

Rating = 3.7 [upgraded to a 4]
P.S. This is so far the lowest rating I have assigned to any Kelly book.

This book is targeted towards Catholics and is based on research from the 1950's. It does not include the basal temperature method, one of the most important methods for tracking fertility patterns. Unless you are Catholic, I recommend getting another book on this topic, such as "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler.

I learned the Billings Method from this book by Dr. John Billings and "The Billings Method" by his wife, Dr. Evelyn Billings, so that is why I like this book. The information changed my life because I can now know which act of intercourse can lead to pregnancy probably and which one cannot possibly do so in a natural way. The book has chapters on every stage of reproductive life e.g. breastfeeding, irregular cycles, regular or annovular cycles, when achieving pregnancy and when avoiding pregnancy. I want to share the information as it is ESSENTIAL for all women that has been hidden by special interest groups promoting contraception, probably...Women teaching women will change this.

I am impressed with the information about Dr. Evelyn Billings and her husband, Dr. John Billings. Together they travel the world teaching women how their cycles work in a simple, natural, effective, harmless way. Something sruck a chord in the basic core of my womanhood when I read that when the Billings were in Africa some of the older women in the tribes, such as the Luo tribe, had guessed the significance of the mucus secretion and used to tell the younger women, as they entered their reproductive age, in a special fertility ritual.

I enjoyed learning how scientific the method is. It is 98.5% effective according to the World Health Organization in 1978. Since then trials of the method have shown consistently low method related pregnancy rates..approaching zero in China and India while experiencing high continuation rates as couples are happy using the method!

The method fosters communication and harmony between a husband and wife, strengthens the family, the basic unit of society. It is becoming more and more popular as women realise the side effects of contraception and are returning to nature to look for the answers!