Although our copy was missing a page, we gained much insight into the world of sexual abuse. The illustrations were both colorful and informative. The artist perfectly captured the look of horror on the face of the recently assaulted young lad running from the barn. Having been the member of a "secret club" as a youngster I learned the ins and outs of being the secretary. My only wish is that I had read this book before my first assault, or at least before my fifth. I would recommend this book to any that have either been assaulted or done the assaulting. It should be ubiquitous in the public school system.

Frederick Faust, Max Brand and Evan Evans--and an assortment of other names--were one fantastic feast of American "Westerns" for me. Only Faust was a "real" person but Harrison Destry and a stageful of others became personal heroes to this then-young reader and I recall the paperback SONG OF THE WHIP as the cream of the cream--the best western I ever read!

Romulus Linney exploded into the theatre world with this historical drama, his first major play, on the life of Frederick the Great of Prussia. A decade and a half later he was the recipient of his first OBIE award. This work is a clear example of the justification for such high honors.

It is not enough for a playwright to do extensive research into his subject, as Linney had clearly done before composing this piece; he must also have a basic understanding of human nature and human frailty. Linney's portrayal of this young, famous, dynamic, and even legendary ruler is not focused on the mere history of his life and exploits - nor does it explore only the contacts Frederick had with such luminaries as Voltaire (a sometimes comic character in the play), whose friendship was apparently important to the King. It focuses on the human qualities of the legendary figure -- on his struggle to overcome his personal sense of inadequacy, his preference for music over rulership, and on the role he is forced to play by fate.

Linney uses the stage with clear confidence and imagination. The style in which the play is presented seems almost dreamlike, flowing through time shifts almost effortlessly. The stage can be as simply or as elaborately dressed as a given theatre can afford, without the play losing any of its beauty, power, or fascination. This is a play worth reading and worth staging.

Frederick Nolan tells the story of Rodgers and Hammerstein both as a team and as separate people. Indeed there is a good deal of space allotted to their careers BEFORE they ever worked together. But after they team up the narrative becomes more lively and a real page turner, at least partly because Nolan's style is graceful and charming in itself. He seems to have read everything written about them, even going so far as to watch TV kinescopes of them from the 1950s, and he talked to many people who knew them, worked with them.

It's the backstage stories that make the book sing. Practically every page has a at least one fascinating anecdote. And he doesn't sugar-coat their personalities--Rodgers's curtness, even cruelty, and Hammerstein's insecurity, tendency to swallow his pride.

It's hard to read the book without singing to yourself. My God, what songs these two wrote! But more than that, what dramatists they were; they broke convention again and again and mostly successfully.

Pull out your recordings of Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific and start reading!

I recently got this book out of the library in order to teach a poem on Gerard Manley Hopkins, one of the writers Buechner discusses in the text. I was astonished at Buechner's incredible diction, phrasing, and word pictures. I had not read anything else of his before, but now I want to buy this book! His writing has an incredibly mysitcal quality, which he uses to broaden our knowledge of ability to enjoy four notable authors, while showcasing his own unique vision and humility. The book is moving and gritty - it put me in tears on several occasions, and I do not cry easily. If you are at all a fan of Hopkins, Twain, Chesterton, or Shakeapeare you must read this book!

The book Spinning Wheels represents a series of books that have outlined the breakdown of the traditional adminstrative model of education. The book does an outstanding job investigating the inherent paradoxes of urban education. The traditional model has collapsed and a new model for the 21st Century is critical to the future K-12 education in America. It is amazing that the restructuring of the Adminstrative cadre has not taken place in 1999. The tragedy of the traditional model is that it does not reflect the massive changes of the quality management movement instituted by Juran. The mistaken notion that today's adminstrative cadre needs no essential training in modern management theory and practice is very similar to the Communist Chinese cadre who believe that a modern capitalistic economy can be created without a fundamental understanding of modern economic theory and practice. Spinning Wheels captures the triumph of political rhetoric over real managerial changes that need to be implemented in adminstration. The modern urban superintendent is trapped by a demographic paradox between the X generation and the Achievement generation that has created a "policy churn" in the killing fields of modern urban education.

William Wolf's book explores the diversity of theological development in the Anglican Communion by bringing together descriptions and analyses of three major Anglican thinkers'Hooker, Maurice, and Temple'to illustrate both historical development and breadth of range of what can be classified as 'Anglican' theology. Wolf concedes that there are many other theologians who might have been included; the Anglican Communion doesn't have a definitive person (apart from Jesus Christ)''the Anglican Communion sets aside no special authoritative place for a great reforming figure such as Luther or Calvin'' (p. 137) Wolf also states that 'the Communion has unfortunately produced no systematic theologians of the first rank.' (p. 137). That being said, the theological thoughts and development presented for Hooker, Maurice, and Temple illustrate the branching streams that feed Anglicanism today, a stream that continues to branch forward.

Richard Hooker
Hooker was alive and active as a theologian during a tumultuous period in the development of the Church of England as a distinct body. Politics entered into church affairs on a grand scale; the idea that church and state issues were one in the same was as strong in England in the sixteenth century as it ever was in any continental kingdom or empire. Religious tolerance was a new concept, imperfectly conceived; the idea that each kingdom must be united in religious practice was strong. Hooker was an active apologist for the Church of England, his main opponent being the Puritan factions. 'Hooker's magnum opus was addressed to Puritans who attacked the church of England in the name of a purer, more scriptural ecclesiastical settlement.' (p. 9)

F.D. Maurice
Maurice would agree with Hooker that prayer is social action. Working in the nineteenth century, Maurice was exposed to the social ills that befell England as an imperial power in simultaneous growth and decay. The situation in society was deteriorating. 'Maurice saw that this social breakdown was rooted in a theological breakdown.' (p. 50) Maurice was unique in that he lived a prophetic life (and, like many prophetic persons, was often disliked for his prophecy). He made 'Christology the starting point of all Christian theology and ethics' and made Christ the central focus of all he said and did. (p. 49) Maurice made the Gospel the centrepoint of his educational philosophy, as well as the call not for revolution, but for regeneration of English society upon a truly Christian foundation. (pp. 64-67)

Maurice's view of theology is, like Hooker and Temple, rooted firmly in the communal action of the Book of Common Prayer. 'The Prayer Book becomes the key for understanding the views of the Church of England on the six signs of the Catholic Church,' these six signs being baptism, creeds, forms of worship, eucharist, ordained ministry, and the Bible. (p. 61) This practical and tradition approach was in keeping with the general spirit of the English society. 'Maurice expressed both English empiricism against the conceptualism of continental thinkers and the Anglican's respect for historical institutions as points of departure for theological analysis.' (p. 72)

William Temple
Temple was, in the words of G.B. Shaw, 'a realised impossibility.' A man born and raised in the church, he rose to the position of Archbishop of Canterbury and made the broad church appeal for Anglicanism that renewed its spirit for the mid-twentieth century. 'The general tendency of his faith and theology was toward a more catholic or orthodox position. But this was always balanced by his concern for freedom in doctrine and by his generally liberal attitude of mind.' (p. 104) Temple saw an intimate connection with God through Jesus Christ, perhaps thinking in proto-process theological terms by believing that 'because of Jesus' perfect union and communion with God, it can be asserted that in him God has a real experience of human life, suffering and death.' (p. 112) For Temple, this communion and experience is worked out both individually and communally''the inner unity of complete personality and the outer unity of a perfected fellowship as wide as humanity.' (p. 117)

Temple felt it important to be open to new ideas and developments modernity (perhaps a reaction to having been raised in an era with the expectation of long-term stability and subsequently living in a world turned upside-down by warfare and other social change). Temple felt that freedom of churches and freedom of individuals for inquiry and development, with the guidance of the Spirit, was more important than a rigid adherence to tradition. 'Temple was quite open to the new truth and insights of the modern world and to the critical and constructive use of reason in Christian faith and life. this can be seen clearly in his commitment to philosophic truth.' (p. 133) This, coupled with his call to social action by the church and the working out of Christian faith in everyday life and action, made Temple a major ecumenical figure.

The Current Spirit of Anglicanism
A key word for the current spirit of Anglicanism is comprehensiveness. Anglicanism incorporates catholics and protestants, literalists and agnostics, high church, low church, broad church, in all ways these terms can be defined. 'The Anglican synthesis is the affirmation of a paradoxical unity, a prophetic intuition that Catholicism and Protestantism'are not ultimately irreconcilable.' (p. 143)

The current spirit of Anglicanism is largely based upon Scripture, tradition and reason, with definitions of these three varying a great deal. The authority of Scripture is important, but this does not mean a literalist view. The authority of tradition, best summed up by adherence to the Book of Common Prayer's liturgical forms, is locally adaptable. Reason is used to interpret both the authority of Scripture and of tradition, but must be held in restraint by these as well. 'The spirit of Anglicanism ought in its rich resources to find the wisdom to retain its identity and yet to develop through constructive change to meet the demands of the fast-approaching world of the twenty-first century.' (p. 187)

In 1943, British and American amphibian and airborne forces began landing in Sicily, culminating in the invasion of Sicily which took 39 days. The plan (code named Operation Husky) fixed Malta as the launching site for the fighter and fighter-bomber offensive. Spitfires Over Sicily provides a day-by-day historical account of Malta Spitfire operations during the battle of Sicily from January through August, 1943. Illustrated with 100 photographs, including the pilots, their adversaries, and the Spitfires of many of the squadrons involved, Spitfires Over Sicily is a remarkable and engaging history that is a welcome and informative contribution to the growing body of World War II literature and a "must" for military buffs.

"Stand Up To The IRS" (SUIRS) is an absolute, no-question, don't even think twice, must-have for any taxpayer's household financal tool drawer. Clearly written and presented in short, bite-sized chunks by a successful longtime tax attorney who has been through it all many times, SUIRS is an impressively inclusive text that can go a long way toward leveling the audit playing field for taxpayers -- if not outright tipping it in their favor. Loaded with sample forms, letters and where-to-find-it tables, this book earns its cover price in the Index alone. If the location of the answer to your question isn't in there, you're probably not asking it correctly. And if you ever do get audited, Chapter 16 ("The 25 Most Frequently Asked Questions") will probably do more to calm your nerves and help you rest than any sleeping pill will. Mom and dad never taught you this stuff when you were growing up, because they didn't know it. So be a good son or daughter and give them their own copy. Besides, it just might come in handy some day, as described in chapter 9 ("Family, Friends, Heirs and the IRS").

Fienberg, Hoaglin, Kruskal and Tanur have done an excellent job of putting together a collection of essays describing the life and work of Fred Mosteller. It is not a biography and it is not a collection of technical papers. Instead the authors review technical work they did with or related to Mosteller's work and convey information on their interaction with Fred. It is a pleasant way to learn about the life and varied statistical contributions of Fred Mosteller. There is technical information for the researcher and biographical information for the statistical historians but not too much of one at the expense of the other. At the end of Chapter 7, "Fred at Harvard" there are many nice pictures showing Mosteller over the course of his long and distinguished career.

Fred's long time collaborator John Tukey wrote a brief biography of Mosteller as the first chapter.