Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time

Book Description

The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his humanitarian campaign to use education to combat terrorism in the Taliban's backyard

Anyone who despairs of the individual's power to change lives has to read the story of Greg Mortenson, a homeless mountaineer who, following a 1993 climb of Pakistan's treacherous K2, was inspired by a chance encounter with impoverished mountain villagers and promised to build them a school. Over the next decade he built fifty-five schools—especially for girls—that offer a balanced education in one of the most isolated and dangerous regions on earth. As it chronicles Mortenson's quest, which has brought him into conflict with both enraged Islamists and uncomprehending Americans, Three Cups of Tea combines adventure with a celebration of the humanitarian spirit.

Customer Reviews:

Three Cups of Tea.......2007-10-19

The book was very timely & well written. I was a pleasure to read about the good that was done for the children.

Couldn't put it down.......2007-10-18

This amazing story will capture your heart and keep you glued to your chair turing page after page. Hats off to Dr. Greg and all who help allieviate the worlds problems one person at a time.

Great Book.......2007-10-18

This is a great novel, I also recommend "Detained Differences" by J. Robert Rowe. That is also a great Afghanistan novel as well.

Three Cups of Tea.......2007-10-17

It was a book required to read in an English class. The book has a good message.

Admire the Commitment and Accomplishments, but..........2007-10-15

What Mortensen accomplished with commitment and perseverance is undoubtly a great humanitarin effort. However, the book is irritating to read. Mortensen's name is used so many times over and over it is distracting. "Mortensen this" and "Mortensen that"! It reads like Mortiensen is a demi-god and it really presents like this when you realize he is a coauthor. Why not write this inspiring story in "first person"?

The humanitarian effort is inspiring if you can get through the book!

Chemistry: The Central Science, Ninth Edition

Average customer rating:

Fantastic textbook
The best.
Excellent textbook
Excellent Text
Helpful

Chemistry: The Central Science, Ninth Edition
Theodore L. Brown , Jr. H. Eugene LeMay , Bruce Edward Bursten , and Julia R. Burdge
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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SOLUTIONS TO EXERCISES CHEMISRTY THE CENTRAL SCIENCE
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Organic Chemistry and CW+ GradeTracker Access Card Package (6th Edition)

ASIN: 0130669970

Book Description

The acknowledged leader and standard in general chemistry, this book maintains its effective and proven features—clarity of writing, scientific integrity, currency, strong exercises, visual emphasis and consistency in presentation. It offers readers an integrated educational solution to the challenges of the learning with an expanded media program that works in concert with the book, helping them to approach problem solving, visualization, and applications with greater success. Chapter topics cover: Matter and Measurement; Atoms, Molecules, and Ions; Stoichiometry: Calculations with Chemical Formulas and Equations; Aqueous Reactions and Solution Stoichiometry; Thermochemistry; Electronic Structure of Atoms; Periodic Properties of the Elements; Basic Concepts of Chemical Bonding; Molecular Geometry and Bonding Theories; Gases; Intermolecular Forces, Liquids, and Solids; Modern Materials; Properties of Solutions; Chemical Kinetics; Chemical Equilibrium; Acid-Base Equilibria; Additional Aspects of Equilibria; Chemistry of the Environment; Chemical Thermodynamics; Electrochemistry; Nuclear Chemistry; Chemistry of the Nonmetals; Metals and Metallurgy; Chemistry of Coordination Compounds; and The Chemistry of Life: Organic and Biological Chemistry. For individuals interested in the study of general chemistry.

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic textbook.......2007-09-01

I used this textbook for my AP (high school but college-level) Chemistry course, and found it to be delightfully clear and simple reading. Everything is explained to be perfectly understandable, and after simply reading the book through and doing the exercise problems (as assigned by my teacher), I found the actual AP exam to be literally one of the easiest tests I have ever taken in my life.

Actually, in fact, I barely paid any attention in class; I simply read this book and paid half-attention in class, and simply by reading this book throughly, I was one of the best students in the class.

It is clear why my teacher said she selected this book as the best she had seen.

The best........2007-05-23

I definitely love to learn, but it's always a pain when the book is poorly written, this is not the case with The Central Science by Theodore Brown. I thank you and your team for writing an awesome book that students can understand. I will definitely recommend this book, and I actually want to convince the chemistry dept. at my school to change their textbook ;) Simply the best, thanks!

edit: I have been reading many of the comments left by other users saying this book is not for beginners ... and it's true. I suggest you take the class seriously and read this book thoroughly and do all the red exercises, especially the additional and integrative exercises. If you can do these exercises, I promise you'll do fine.

Excellent textbook.......2007-01-17

I am currently taking an AP chemistry course in high school and this book is really great. It explains the topics in good detail, but sticks to the point and doesn't start talking about some other topic. The explanations are really thorough and they have some really good 3-D images that help you visualize molecules better (this is useful especially for molecular bonding). Another great feature of this book is the summary they give at the end of each chapter and the numerous sample problems with FULL EXPLANATIONS for each step you take. Unlike other chemistry books that are vague and confusing, this textbook is able to thoroughly explain subjects without all the confusing terms that you'll find in other chemistry books.

Excellent Text.......2006-07-06

I used this book in my General Chem I class a couple of years back and have since used it as a resource for my organic, biochem classes and MCAT review. The book was very easy to read compared to others and the examples were straight forward and easy to follow. The authors also attempted to include scientific/medical relevance to some of the issues covered. The most difficult chapter in the book to read is quantum theory; however, this topic is typically difficult for anyone to understand at first.

This book will be going to medical school with me this fall for sure.

Helpful.......2006-03-01

This book has been a big help to me as a reference source to fall back on. especially the CD that came with it. This book covers everything from thermo chemistry to organic chemistry. The website is somewhat insightful as well.

Left To Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust

Average customer rating:

Left to Tell: Discovering God amidst the Rwandan Holocaust
Everyone needs to read this book. Wonderful
Left to Tell
Powerful, gripping
Left to Tell: Disvovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust

Left To Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust
Immaculee Ilibagiza
Manufacturer: Hay House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Inspiration: Your Ultimate Calling
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The Diary of Immaculee
Ask and It Is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires
Meditations for Manifesting : Morning and Evening Meditations to Literally Create Your Heart's Desire

ASIN: 1401908969

Book Description

Immaculee Ilibagiza grew up in a country she loved, surrounded by a family she cherished. But in 1994 her idyllic world was ripped apart as Rwanda descended into a bloody genocide. Immaculee’s family was brutally murdered during a killing spree that lasted three months and claimed the lives of nearly a million Rwandans.

Incredibly, Immaculee survived the slaughter. For 91 days, she and seven other women huddled silently together in the cramped bathroom of a local pastor while hundreds of machete-wielding killers hunted for them.

It was during those endless hours of unspeakable terror that Immaculee discovered the power of prayer, eventually shedding her fear of death and forging a profound and lasting relationship with God. She emerged from her bathroom hideout having discovered the meaning of truly unconditional love—a love so strong she was able seek out and forgive her family’s killers.

The triumphant story of this remarkable young woman’s journey through the darkness of genocide will inspire anyone whose life has been touched by fear, suffering, and loss.

This is Immaculee’s first book.

Customer Reviews:

Left to Tell: Discovering God amidst the Rwandan Holocaust.......2007-10-18

This book really reaches down into your very core. Immaculee tells her remarkable story about survival in a time of darkness and death. She finds her inner strength and communes freely with the world deep inside of her...her soul. She finds a way to bring the reader into her world and allows you to experience her deep sorrows and triumphant joys. Her courage through such adversity is remarkable! She is a living example of what true strength and courage are all about.Thank you, Immaculee, for sharing your beautiful soul. It is truly a gift of love and compassion.

Everyone needs to read this book. Wonderful.......2007-10-17

Aside from making you realize what you have to be thankful for if you are having a bad day, week, or year, this book will open your eyes, to the harshness of other country struggles, but more important how hope, determination, and faith can make miracles. This lady had to learn the English language while in a small bathroom cell in hiding with a few other women. How lazy have people who use our system today gotten? Life is easy when things are handed to you. Read this wonderful book to see how this woman conquered fear, and had strong faith, now just in God, but herself. She came out on the other side with pride,confidence and most important, her life. By right herself and those with her would have been dead. More than a good read.

Left to Tell.......2007-10-16

This is the most powerful, inspirational book I have read this decade. Her faith and love of God radiate from cover to cover. This book will make a believer out of everyone who reads it.

Powerful, gripping.......2007-10-16

I don't think there's any way I could possibly identify with what Immaculee Ilibagiza experienced in Rwanda. But her story has gone a long way towards helping me see the devastating effects of civil war in her country.

I am just beginning to learn what has happened in Rwanda, and stories like Immaculee's in turns horrify me, and give me hope. If someone who has experienced what she has can find room in her heart to forgive her aggressors and move on, then I can overcome some of the petty angers and trials I experience in my own life.

Left to Tell: Disvovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust.......2007-10-13

Left to Tell should be translated into every possible language, for adolescents in school read with discerning, sensitive teachers and discussed, required with discussion for all secondary and higher education students, and indispensible for everyone else.

The author's prompt response when asked the cause of genocide in an EWTN interview was simply: government leaders; her definition of her culture's respect for and obedience to parents, Rwandans devotion to Mary the Mother of Jesus because of her appearance to children in a Rwandan school forwarning the holocaust ten years previous to the genocide--her story represents the epitome of what can happen to every human being who chooses to be directed to Love in spite of overwhelming fear, anger, personal loss and torment.

Average customer rating:

Attempts At Understanding Rural Afghanistan
Interesting but not what I thought it would be
Left in limbo by The Places in Between
The Places In Between
Highly recommend - a Bold look at a slice of Afghanistan

The Places In Between
Rory Stewart
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Prince of the Marshes: And Other Occupational Hazards of a Year in Iraq
Suite Francaise
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The Emperor's Children (Vintage)
Absurdistan: A Novel

ASIN: 0156031566

Book Description

In January 2002 Rory Stewart walked across Afghanistan-surviving by his wits, his knowledge of Persian dialects and Muslim customs, and the kindness of strangers. By day he passed through mountains covered in nine feet of snow, hamlets burned and emptied by the Taliban, and communities thriving amid the remains of medieval civilizations. By night he slept on villagers' floors, shared their meals, and listened to their stories of the recent and ancient past. Along the way Stewart met heroes and rogues, tribal elders and teenage soldiers, Taliban commanders and foreign-aid workers. He was also adopted by an unexpected companion-a retired fighting mastiff he named Babur in honor of Afghanistan's first Mughal emperor, in whose footsteps the pair was following.

Through these encounters-by turns touching, con-founding, surprising, and funny-Stewart makes tangible the forces of tradition, ideology, and allegiance that shape life in the map's countless places in between.

Customer Reviews:

Attempts At Understanding Rural Afghanistan.......2007-10-11

When I picked this book off the bookstore table, I really only had a vague idea that it was one man's story about traveling through Afghanistan. Beyond that, I didn't know what to expect.

The book tells the story of Rory Stewarts walk across Afghanistan, from Herat to Kabul, and some of the people, villages, and feelings he had along the way. He states he wanted to walk across Asia, and this part helped to complete this quest. He managed to do this shortly after the Taliban were defeated in 2002, which is a bit interesting.

I can't say that I was fascinated by this book, yet I can't say that I was disappointed, either. I am glad I read it. I've a few books about Afghanistan that were centered in Kabul, and it was interesting to find out more information regarding the rural parts of Afghanistan and to find out just how drastic the difference between the two are. We here in the US always hear about how difficult it is fighting a war in rural Afghanistan because of the geography and because of tribalism. This book really helped to bring an understanding of those concepts to me. In that, I found the book fascinating.

The book does seem to drag, however. And the villages do seem to be strikingly similar until they all seem to fade together. Chapter after chapter of villages one cannot find on a map filled with nothing but mud huts gets a bit tedious to read about. Yet, for me, anyway, when Mr. Stewart speaks to the historical parts of Afghanistan, I found it be very interesting. And when he spoke of the people he met along the way, I was fascinated. He did seem to dwell on those individual who were less than savory, though. It would have been refreshing to read more about people he'd met who had been nice, helpful, and thoughtful. I'm sure there must have more than just 3 or 4?

I did enjoy reading about the various customs within some of the different tribes. I thought that to be very interesting. Some of the items Mr. Steward writes about were amusing, some were shocking to my Western mindset, and some were just outright disturbing (the Afghan Islamic view on the treatment towards dogs was especially difficult for this dog lover!). In all it was an interersting book, but there were some flaws.

Interesting but not what I thought it would be.......2007-10-11

Kind of interesting to learn what life is currently like in rural Afghanistan. But I was expecting more of a "World's Most Dangerous Places" type of travelogue which this book isn't. Very meditative with interesting "smaller" observations.

Left in limbo by The Places in Between.......2007-10-01

If you are into a lot of facts about history and culture, then this might be the book for you. As for myself, I felt like I was reading college history and sociology textbooks. So many facts, with little or no human connection to Rory Stewart, or the people who accompany him on his trek across Afghanistan. Stewart writes early on in the book, "I feel like I have been preparing for this all my life". To me that is a powerful statement, which in my opinion Stewart never really expounded on, and in the end could have made this book a little more interesting.

The Places In Between.......2007-09-28

Well written and exciting journey that a brave man wrote about. Very good reference to the differences between villiages and provinces encompassed by the overarching history of the country.

Highly recommend - a Bold look at a slice of Afghanistan.......2007-09-08

This book is a fascinating and easy read for anyone looking to learn about Afghanistan.

The audacity of what Rory Stewart does in this book is amazing. Walking from Herat to Kabul across central Afghanistan relying on the hospitality of the local in each village he passes through. It is not a comprehensive look at Afghanistan but a first hand micro level look at life in a select few Afghan villages. At the same time, he throws in larger historical and research perspectives. Like all books that I've read about the country, there is a pointient sadness to what these people have been through.

Health Economics and Policy w/ Economic Applications On Line

Average customer rating:

EXCELLENT

Health Economics and Policy w/ Economic Applications On Line
James W. Henderson
Manufacturer: South-Western
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:

Principles of Microeconomics: Study Guide, Third Edition
Principles of Microeconomics with Xtra! Card
Family Health Care Nursing: Theory, Practice and Research (Hanson, Family Health Care Nursing)
Legal Aspects of Health Care Administration
The Case Manager's Survival Guide: Winning Strategies for Clinical Practice

ASIN: 0324260008

Book Description

Health Economics and Policy is a basic introduction to the microeconomics of health, health care, and health policy. This edition demonstrates how economic principles apply to health-related issues. It explains the social, political, and economic contexts of health care delivery and explores the changing nature of health care. Students learn to analyze public policy from an economic perspective. While the text was written for non-economics majors, it includes enough economic content to challenge majors.

Customer Reviews:

EXCELLENT.......2005-03-22

I had the pleasure of taking this class from the author of this class. Dr. Henderson is not only absolutely excellent teacher, he is an equally good writer. I was not an economics major, and was somewhat fearful about taking "Economics of Medicine" as a class, but this book is thorough, organized, and easy to understand. It is an excellent book for economics majors as well as those majoring in other health care related professions who have an interest in learning more about the current health care system and related policies.

I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala

Average customer rating:

Redundant Rambling Fiction
I,Roberta Menchú
Amazing book of survival
Memorable
Just 2 or so hours South of Miami!

I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala
Rigoberta Menchu
Manufacturer: Verso
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Popol Vuh: The Definitive Edition Of The Mayan Book Of The Dawn Of Life And The Glories Of

ASIN: 0860917886

Customer Reviews:

Redundant Rambling Fiction.......2007-06-02

It is common knowledge that this book is really a pile of lies. It isn't much of an autobiography and leaves the reader wondering which, if any, parts of it to really consider seriously.

It is truly painful to read due to the unending redundant rambling nature of Menchu's storytelling.

I cannot believe that this garbage is still being assigned as required reading. Worthless.

I,Roberta Menchú.......2007-01-24

We give I, Rigoberta Menchú four stars because it was a good book but at the same time it was complicated to understand. For instead, it was a good book because she explains her life very well with details. Rigoberta also never gave up she kept going no matter as hard situation she'll face in her life. This book is complicated because Rigoberta just keeps repeating her self, is like we want to know more, something different. What we learn from this book, if we really truly want something we should never give up and when you feel like falling down for a moment, pick your self up and accomplish your dream.

Amazing book of survival.......2006-12-30

I read this book years ago and re-read it again recently. It is still one of my favorite books. Rigoberta Menchu suffered unbelievable atrocities and incredible losses and still lived to tell her courageous story through an interpreter. I think the book is phenomenal and I recommend it to anyone with a heart. It helps explain a lot about the Guatamalen people and their strife. It also is a timely book since the illegal immigration debate rages on in this country on a daily basis. It paints a vivid picture of the suffering of indigenous peoples and helps us to relate to their need to escape their countries in search of a better life. I dont know what David Stoll had to gain by writing a book that contradicted Menchu's powerful account. She states at the beginning of her book that her perspective is hers alone and that her memories may have been clouded by the trauma. It makes me crazy when people pick apart one tiny aspect of a book and then, throw the entire thing out as a sham. The same thing happened with the James Frey book, A million little pieces. People tended to ignore the overall strengths of the book and his basic message of surviving drug addiction over a few little insignificant details. This book is the same situation. The overall message and story of rigoberta menchu is so powerful and moving, it must be read, even if there is a fact or two that someone wants to contradict.

Memorable.......2006-06-16

I read this book shortly before visiting Guatemala, and I have to say it made my travel experience alot richer. I felt more sensitized to the currents of racism and political struggle still present in the country, as well as to the pain of a people recovering from a horror in the not so distant past. Nearly every Guatemalan that I met had some powerful story of the genocide, and this book gave me a good background on the facts and politics behind the peasant struggle.

Though it has been criticized as being imbellished and realistically inaccurate, I think that it can still be used as a tool to learn about the native Quiche culture in past and present times. Their spiritual and political beliefs and their connections to the natural world are interwoven throughout the memoir. And most importantly, the horror of a major Latin American genocide that still scars the memories of peasants in the region today. Rigoberta was very matter of fact in sharing information about the torture and killing of her people in gruesome detail... so detailed that it was difficult to read at times, but nevertheless, essential in understanding the extent of the what happened to her people.

Whether you read this book as fact or historical fiction, I think it is a good read for anyone interested in Latin American history, politcal science, peasant cultures, or human rights. It is a story that will stick in your mind... and your heart.

Just 2 or so hours South of Miami! .......2006-01-11

It is incredible that such human suffering went on, and in many ways is still going on, just a couple of hours (by pane) away from where I live. Rigoberta Menchu's book, written as dictated by her, is sad and tells of horrible situations.

Guatemala is a beautiful country, the indigenous sill dress in their local garb, each unique to a particular village. Guatemala has been referred to as the most exotic country in the Western hemisphere.

A good friend of mine, a Guatemala Indian, told me about the efforts of the Indians to get help from the United States. They sought out various Native American tribes in the U.S., that to them was seeking help from America. From what he told, it never occured to the elders of the Guatemalan groups to approach anyone other than Native Americans. And they did not receive help, because help was not available. But had they approached the U.S. government, they most likely wouldn't have been helped either.

I have been in Guatemala so many times, I started to call it my second home. There is still a lot of oppression, and the indigenous still feel fearful of the police and the military. I have not been there in a couple of years and am yearning to return.

The last time, the police/military made great efforts to change their image. Instead of stopping trucks and harrassing the passengers, they handed out white carnations!

Menchu does not deal with the greatest problem that is keeping the indigenous in danger, that of language barrier. The Guatemala Indians speak over 20 local languages. The languages are so totally different, that communication is impossible. Though some books are written in the local languages, they cannot be read by the indigenous because they are illiterate. Division is a "great" tool to keep populations from binding together to fight a common evil. Spanish is the country's political language, but over 80% of the indigenous do not speak Spanish.

I have traveled into the villages, into the hills and mountains where customs as ancient as the peoples themselves still reign. All of them have experienced evil. Their story did not end with Menchu's book. It continues, and who knows how much longer it will continue.

The Teaching Gap: Best Ideas from the World's Teachers for Improving Education in the Classroom

Average customer rating:

This is how it should be done.
Do The Easy Things First!
It may not be correct, but...
Interesting for a Education Student
Inaccurate

The Teaching Gap: Best Ideas from the World's Teachers for Improving Education in the Classroom
James W. Stigler , and James Hiebert
Manufacturer: Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Breakthrough
Results: The Key to Continuous School Improvement, Second Edition

ASIN: 0684852748

Amazon.com

In a time when educators and politicians in the United States are fumbling for a fix--from vouchers to smaller class sizes--for ailing public schools, it's refreshing to read the more sophisticated take on what can be done to improve American education found in The Teaching Gap, a straightforward analysis of approaches towards teaching around the world. James W. Stigler, a UCLA psychology professor, and James Hiebert, an education professor at the University of Delaware, argue that America's culture of teaching needs to be changed before we see any real change in student achievement--and they're not simply talking about higher pay and more respect.

The bulk of The Teaching Gap examines the cultural differences among teaching methods, with detailed accounts of video observations of eighth-grade math teachers that were part of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study, or TIMSS (which Stigler directed). American teachers in the videos tend to emphasize terms and procedures, thinking of math as a set of tedious skills. They try to interest students with praise and real-life problems. In contrast, Japanese teachers are more likely to emphasize ideas, expecting the concepts alone to stir students' natural curiosity. They weave together lessons that have a distinct beginning, middle, and end. Teachers in the other countries are more likely to share lessons on what works in the classroom and receive more sophisticated training, the authors found. Only seven out of 41 nations scored lower than the U.S. in TIMSS, placing American eighth-graders with those from Cyprus, Portugal, South Africa, Kuwait, Iran, and Colombia. Without falling into teacher-bashing mode, Stigler and Hiebert insist that reform efforts need to originate with teachers, not university researchers. They call for overhauling the teaching profession with stricter requirements, better peer review, and more demanding academic standards, as well as improved interaction between teachers. Their detailed examination of the study's video observations gets to the heart of the matter and should be worthwhile reading for educators, policymakers, and anyone interested in the condition of today's education system. --Jodi Mailander Farrell

Book Description

Comparing math teaching practices in Japan and Germany with those in the United States, two leading researchers offer a surprising new view of teaching and a bold action plan for improving education inside the American classroom.

For years our schools and children have lagged behind international standards in reading, arithmetic, and most other areas of academic achievement. It is no secret that American schools are in dire need of improvement, and that education has become our nation's number-one priority. But even though almost every state in the country is working to develop higher standards for what students should be learning, along with the means for assessing their progress, the quick-fix solutions implemented so far haven't had a noticeable impact.

The problem, as James Stigler and James Hiebert explain, is that most efforts to improve education fail because they simply don't have any impact on the quality of teaching inside classrooms. Teaching, they argue, is cultural. American teachers aren't incompetent, but the methods they use are severely limited, and American teaching has no system in place for getting better. It is teaching, not teachers, that must be changed.

In The Teaching Gap, the authors draw on the conclusions of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) -- an innovative new study of teaching in several cultures -- to refocus educational reform efforts. Using videotaped lessons from dozens of randomly selected eighth-grade classrooms in the United States, Japan, and Germany, the authors reveal the rich, yet unfulfilled promise of American teaching and document exactly how other countries have consistently stayed ahead of us in the rate their children learn. Our schools can be restructured as places where teachers can engage in career-long learning and classrooms can become laboratories for developing new, teaching-centered ideas. If provided the time they need during the school day for collaborative lesson study and plan building, teachers will change the way our students learn.

James Stigler and James Hiebert have given us nothing less than a "best practices" for teachers -- one that offers proof that how teachers teach is far more important than increased spending, state-of-the-art facilities, mandatory homework, or special education -- and a plan for change that educators, teachers, and parents can implement together.

Customer Reviews:

This is how it should be done. .......2007-06-08

Why is American Schools being out performed by schools in other countries? It couldn't be the teaching methods taught in today's Teacher Prep colleges, could it? It is not a thick book. Read it and think. then read related materials.
Can it be done? It is being done, just not hear. This is a research book worth reading in an easy reading format.

Do The Easy Things First!.......2006-09-12

American middle-school and high-school pupils continually lag their peers in other developed countries - especially in mathematics - despite years of decreasing class size, building ornate new structures, "new" math, etc. However, these efforts are bound to fail if what goes on inside the classrooms is poorly structured.

The "bad news" is that we are often blind to the most familiar aspects of our everyday environment; the "good news" is that looking across cultures is one of the best ways to sharpen our view of ourselves. In "The Teaching Gap" the German and Japanese 8th-grade classes studied were comparable to the American classes - yet, substantive differences were noted.

Content in the U.S. was less advanced and presented in a more piecemeal and prescriptive way - there were twice the number of definitions presented in the U.S., and more concepts were simply given/stated vs. developed/derived. There was also more topic switching in the U.S., more interruptions (0% in Japan, 13% in Germany, and 31% in the U.S.), less coherence of U.S. lessons, less student involvement in doing the work (9% in the U.S., 19% in Germany, 40% in Japan).

Another difference is that Japanese teachers do not use overhead projectors - instead, they work their way around the room on chalkboards, leaving a record of the entire lesson for the pupils. Still another is that Japanese teachers focus on joint efforts at continuous improvement - a concept probably taken from Toyota's much vaunted "Toyota Production System."

"The Teaching Gap" concludes that most popular U.S. reform efforts have avoided a direct focus on teaching. The evidence presented within the book indicates that it is time we did.

It may not be correct, but..........2005-12-29

After reading the book and the previous posters, even if the Japanese mathematics classes were not representative of the education system as a whole, the implications of this study and the ideas that the authors came up with are what we should be focusing on.

The question "why?" is asked far too little in all mathematics classes. If only we would take some time to teach the methods and reasons of mathematics, rather than just the process, I am sure that all students will benefit and be able to truly understand the concepts that are currently being taught with a "learn it for the test" attitude.

The book brings up these vital points, so that teachers may question their styles, regardless of the authenticity of some of their claims.

Interesting for a Education Student.......2004-02-17

I am in a program to become a High School math teacher. Our professor recommended this book. I found it to be pretty interesting. The authors do a detailed analysis of a video study from the TIMSS study. Their analysis compares how math is taught in the US, Germany and Japan. Their conclusion is that the US approach focuses on teaching terms and procedures where as the other countries emphasize understanding concepts. They go onto to propose a system of "lesson planning" to improve teaching in the US. Lesson planning calls for teachers to work in teams and develop a single lesson plan (maybe one per semester). The process of developing the lesson plan and refining it imparts to the teachers involved a kind of "best practices" that they can then use in their everyday planning. I am not sure if this is practical, but it sure sounds reasonable to me.

Inaccurate.......2002-06-30

I read the part of this book regarding Japan. I've taught in a Japanese public junior high school and found lots of inaccuracies in the text. The conclusions they came to are outdated and in places in accurate.

For example, the authors state that there is no widespread reforms in Japanese education, that teachers constantly strive for improvement. This year the Ministry of Education has instituted widespread reform and there has been a lot in the Japanese media about the preparations for this. Japanese people are very dissatisfied with the schools and some wish they'd adopt a few Western style practices.

However, there is little or no accountability in Japanese instruction. Teachers can blythely ignore any required changes and a few have told me that they've been teaching their way for years and don't want to change. None of this is in the book.

While there are a lot of teachers' meetings in Japan, improving one's performance is optional. Often the teachers who do strive for excellence are ostrasized.The book didn't mention this.

Book Description

The Sixth Edition of Dr. Haines's best-selling neuroanatomy atlas features a stronger clinical emphasis, with significantly expanded clinical information and correlations. More than 110 new images--including MRI, CT, MR angiography, color line drawings, and brain specimens--highlight anatomical-clinical correlations.

Internal spinal cord and brainstem morphology are presented in a new format that shows images in both anatomical and clinical orientations, correlating this anatomy exactly with how the brain and its functional systems are viewed in the clinical setting. A new chapter contains over 235 USMLE-style questions, with explained answers.

This edition is packaged with Interactive Neuroanatomy, Version 2, an interactive CD-ROM containing all the book's images.

Customer Reviews:

Great for a review for a person with established knowledge.......2007-09-01

This is a great book if you already have had teaching and review in neuroscience (usually 1st year of medical school). Use this book only for review and ongoing learning. If you don't have a basis in neuroscience, this text is a little thin on basic information

Good, but could be better.......2007-06-03

This atlas served its purpose during our neuro block in medical school. The pics were good, but the illustrations of the different tracks could be better. The design of the atlas made it easy to use; however, the comparisons of the hand drawn tracks and nuclei made it difficult to get a feel for the real locations on real pictures.

Unfortunately, we were held to much higher standards when exam times came around, but I guess that is med school.

I would recommend the purchase of this book as I didnt see any other alternatives that provided the info in a better manner.

Good atlas, could be better........2006-09-28

I agree with the other review in that the actual real pictures were extremely helpful yet the depiction of tracts were difficult for me to follow at times. This is a required text for my neuroanatomy course, and it served a vital purpose. I like this text and would recommend it to anyone in the field.

Beautiful pics.......2004-05-09

I gave it four stars because I don't think I could recommend this atlas as a stand-alone sole reference for someone trying to master neuro-anatomy, but I do recommend it as part of your arsenal.

I don't know if you have had the experience of moving to a new city. Have you? You study street maps, and you have to get lost several times. But somewhere along the line you start having moments where things are snapping into focus. You start to see how things fit together in your head. Soon you are imagining short-cuts, anticipating the traffic jams, and debating the best routes with the natives.

I had to struggle with this atlas a little. I'm more a psych guy than a neuro guy but I love the circuitry and appreciate the importance of understanding it. I liked this initially because of the great illustrations of brain sections, but soon I found that things were clicking into place in my mind.

I recommend this for anyone struggling to understand all the tracts and nuclei in the spinal cord and brain stem. There is a sequence of slices in the middle section of this atlas that creeps up slowly, from lumbar spine through the thalamus, with a picture of an actual stained section next to a labelled illustration. I went through this slowly and carefully, copying the pictures as I went. And then, BOOM, I had that moment. I could see it all, motor tracts, sensory tracts, cerebellar circuits, ventricles, even the friggin' reticular activating system. It was quite an expansive feeling.

Again, not a flawless book. I still like to go back to Netter's to see the limbic structures and basal ganglia dissections as well as to review the vasculature. But Haines' Atlas does have some unique strengths if you are willing to work through it very patiently. Enjoy.

Peace, I'm out.

ok but it lacks some stuff.......2002-03-12

This is an ok atlas for neuro anatomy but I found it lacked some pathways. However, what it does have in pathways is fairly clear and concise. Still, the slides lack clarity so some stuff is hard to understand.

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus

Average customer rating:

More readable than Guns, Germs & Steel!
a great overview
Unputdownable
Excellent insight into the latest research
Fascinating but flawed

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
Charles C. Mann
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books
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1421: The Year China Discovered America
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ASIN: 1400032059
Release Date: 2006-10-10

Amazon.com

1491 is not so much the story of a year, as of what that year stands for: the long-debated (and often-dismissed) question of what human civilization in the Americas was like before the Europeans crashed the party. The history books most Americans were (and still are) raised on describe the continents before Columbus as a vast, underused territory, sparsely populated by primitives whose cultures would inevitably bow before the advanced technologies of the Europeans. For decades, though, among the archaeologists, anthropologists, paleolinguists, and others whose discoveries Charles C. Mann brings together in 1491, different stories have been emerging. Among the revelations: the first Americans may not have come over the Bering land bridge around 12,000 B.C. but by boat along the Pacific coast 10 or even 20 thousand years earlier; the Americas were a far more urban, more populated, and more technologically advanced region than generally assumed; and the Indians, rather than living in static harmony with nature, radically engineered the landscape across the continents, to the point that even "timeless" natural features like the Amazon rainforest can be seen as products of human intervention.

Mann is well aware that much of the history he relates is necessarily speculative, the product of pot-shard interpretation and precise scientific measurements that often end up being radically revised in later decades. But the most compelling of his eye-opening revisionist stories are among the best-founded: the stories of early American-European contact. To many of those who were there, the earliest encounters felt more like a meeting of equals than one of natural domination. And those who came later and found an emptied landscape that seemed ripe for the taking, Mann argues convincingly, encountered not the natural and unchanging state of the native American, but the evidence of a sudden calamity: the ravages of what was likely the greatest epidemic in human history, the smallpox and other diseases introduced inadvertently by Europeans to a population without immunity, which swept through the Americas faster than the explorers who brought it, and left behind for their discovery a land that held only a shadow of the thriving cultures that it had sustained for centuries before. --Tom Nissley

A 1491 Timeline

Europe and Asia

Dates

The Americas

25000-35000 B.C.

Time of paleo-Indian migration to Americas from Siberia, according to genetic evidence. Groups likely traveled across the Pacific in boats.

Wheat and barley grown from wild ancestors in Sumer.

6000

5000

In what many scientists regard as humankind's first and greatest feat of genetic engineering, Indians in southern Mexico systematically breed maize (corn) from dissimilar ancestor species.

First cities established in Sumer.

4000

3000

The Americas' first urban complex, in coastal Peru, of at least 30 closely packed cities, each centered around large pyramid-like structures

Great Pyramid at Giza

2650

First clear evidence of Olmec use of zero--an invention, widely described as the most important mathematical discovery ever made, which did not occur in Eurasia until about 600 A.D., in India (zero was not introduced to Europe until the 1200s and not widely used until the 1700s)

800-840 A.D.

Sudden collapse of most central Maya cities in the face of severe drought and lengthy war

Vikings briefly establish first European settlements in North America.

1000

Reconstruction of Cahokia, c. 1250 A.D.*

Abrupt rise of Cahokia, near modern St. Louis, the largest city north of the Rio Grande. Population estimates vary from at least 15,000 to 100,000.

Black Death devastates Europe.

1347-1351

1398

Birth of Tlacaélel, the brilliant Mexican strategist behind the Triple Alliance (also known as the Aztec empire), which within decades controls central Mexico, then the most densely settled place on Earth.

The Encounter: Columbus sails from Europe to the Caribbean.

1492

The Encounter: Columbus sails from Europe to the Caribbean.

Syphilis apparently brought to Europe by Columbus's returning crew.

1493

Ferdinand Magellan departs from Spain on around-the-world voyage.

1519

Sixteenth-century Mexica drawing of the effects of smallpox**

Cortes driven from Tenochtitlán, capital of the Triple Alliance, and then gains victory as smallpox, a European disease never before seen in the Americas, kills at least one of three in the empire.

1525-1533

The smallpox epidemic sweeps into Peru, killing as much as half the population of the Inka empire and opening the door to conquest by Spanish forces led by Pizarro.

1617

Huge areas of New England nearly depopulated by epidemic brought by shipwrecked French sailors.

English Pilgrims arrive at Patuxet, an Indian village emptied by disease, and survive on stored Indian food, renaming the village Plymouth.

1620

*Courtesy Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, Collinsville, Ill., painting by Michael Hampshire. **Courtesy Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Santa Fe, N.M. (Bernardino de Sahagún, Historia General de las Cosas de Nueva España, 1547-77).

Book Description

In this groundbreaking work of science, history, and archaeology, Charles C. Mann radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492.

Contrary to what so many Americans learn in school, the pre-Columbian Indians were not sparsely settled in a pristine wilderness; rather, there were huge numbers of Indians who actively molded and influenced the land around them. From the astonishing Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán, which had running water, immaculately clean streets, and was larger than any contemporary European city, to the Mexican corn that was so carefully created in a specialized breeding process that it has been called man’s first feat of genetic engineering, Indians were not living lightly on the land but were landscaping and manipulating their world in ways that we are only now beginning to understand. Challenging and surprising, this a transformative new look at a rich and fascinating world we only thought we knew.

Customer Reviews:

More readable than Guns, Germs & Steel!.......2007-10-19

Though there are a few slow parts in the the first third of the book, overall, it's more readable and memorable than Guns, Germs & Steel. I find myself quoting and remembering more of the content than any book I have read recently. The author does a great job -- it's definitely a good overview that will pique a reader's interest to dive into original materials.

a great overview.......2007-10-13

This is a great overview of early American cultures, and the various ways in which they shaped their environments. It is not an encyclopedia of Native American cultures, but uses specific examples to support the notion that the original inhabitants of our country have been misunderstood as lacking in initiative and expertise in manipulating the North American landscape... i.e. it debunks the "Eden" myth. Very well written and entertaining as well as informative.

Highly recommended for anyone looking for a more clear view of America before the arrival of Europeans.

Unputdownable.......2007-09-26

I found this book extremely enjoyable. It contains a wealth of knowledge about Native American cultures in N. and S. America; findings that are apparently well-known in academic circles, but which have remained largely unreported and unknown to mainstream audiences. Mr. Mann clearly admires much about the achievements of these pre-Columbus civilizations, and seeks to redress "common" misconceptions that most Westerners have about "primitive, savage" Indian life. I am glad I read this book. I learned a great deal from this book, and was fascinated by the subject matter.

This book is also beautifully written, and makes the subject matter accessible to laypeople. I was expecting it to be readable buy dry, but it was instead a book that just compelled me to keep turning pages. It helps to bring these ancient civilizations to life, talks frankly about the impact of European colonization on these civilizations, and challenges the reader to set aside his/her textbook knowledge and consider seeing Native Americans in an all new light.

Every now and then a book comes out that makes science "sexy." For example, "Guns, Germs and Steel" by Jared Diamond, or "Krakatoa" by Simon Winchester. To me, this is one of those books. It's both revealing and entertaining. "1491" was just a terrific read - thought provoking, compelling, entertaining, well researched. I even read all the appendices, and that's saying something.

I highly recommend this book.

Excellent insight into the latest research.......2007-09-25

Please don't confuse this excellent book with the poorly researched fantasy "1421: The Year China Discovered America." 1491 is an extremely well researched and documented look into the latest archaelogical findings and theories pertaining to life in North and South America prior to Columbus's landing.

Mann does an excellent job explaining the accuracies and flaws of the multitude of theories surrounding this topic. As he simply exposes the debates and doesn't attempt to resolve them himself, he provides an illustrative lesson that one should not become too entrenched with any particular theory on the pre-history of man as each theory is eventually overturned or modified by new findings.

His writing style seems similar to Jared Diamond. Mann, however, makes his points without getting bogged down in the excruciating details which makes this book much more readable than Guns, Germs, and Steel or Collapse (both of which were excellent books as well). With over 100 pages of notes and references he provides the reader with the necessary information for them to conduct their own level of research based upon their desires.

Fascinating but flawed.......2007-09-23

Henry Ford said that all history was bunk, and he had not even read 1491! What a shock to find that the population of the new world in 1491 was greater than that of the old world! That the natives, said to be long-term farmers, had shaped the landscape to suit themselves, that buffalo roamed in small numbers until old world diseases killed off most (90%) of the native tribes and thus allowed the huge herds to form. What a shock to find that many north American tribes considered themselves libertarian compared with the hierarchy bound Europeans. Yet more than enough evidence is given from old writings long ignored, and new archeological finds.

This is all fast and entertaining reading. There are many maps to help explanations, citations by page number, and an index. Mann traveled to several of the archeological sites.

On the downside, Mann talked of the "balanced diet" as though its desirability has been proven, and does not say how maize provided this "balance" (p18). The battle between Hernán Cortés's men and the Mexica was said to have been described as the costliest battle in history with 100,000 casualties (not deaths), (p129). Why no mention of Verdun in WWI with a million deaths and Stalingrad in WWII with a million deaths? Is a mammoth's molar really the size of a bowling ball? (p152) Mann wrote of winter on the Amazon river. I thought equatorial areas had wet and dry seasons, not the 4 seasons observed far from the equator (pp301,305).

But there is another, bigger fly in the ointment. Mann accepts the carbon dioxide from combustion hypothesis of global warming (pp300,308). Solar cycles of changing heat output and the sun's influence on cosmic ray effects on the Earth's clouds determine climate, not CO2 levels. [Jaworowski Z, Solar cycles, not CO2, determine climate, 21st Century Science and Technology, Winter 2003-2004, pp52-65. Accessed as a PDF on 5 Jul 07 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zbigniew_Jaworowski or at: http://www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/] According to Laurence Hecht, Editor of 21st Century Science & Technology: "Of all the hypotheses [on Earth climate], that of human-produced carbon dioxide as the forcing mechanism for warming is the most deeply and extensively studied, and by far the most discredited. No other hypothesis rests on such flagrant and lying disrepect for data as...on the falsification of the historical CO2 record." [Hecht L, What Really Causes Climate Change? EIR Science, 2 Mar 07, pp6-9. Accessed as a PDF on 5 Jul 07 at: http://www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/] The other big falsification in this hypothesis, skyrocketing temperatures in the last 50 years to levels not seen in 1300 years, is exemplified by the temperature graph of Michael Mann, which was shown to be a fraud, not just a mistake [McIntyre, S., McKitrick, R. (2005). Hockey sticks, principal components, and spurious significance. Geophysical Research Letters, 32, L03710; doi:10.1029/2004GL021750], [Soon, W., Baliunas, S. (2003). Proxy climatic and environmental changes of the past 1000 years. Climate Research, 23, 89-110].

So for historical controversies Charles C. Mann appeared to do balanced work, with opposing ideas neatly cited. But by failing to look up the "other side" on global warming, he missed effects of giant volcanic eruptions and solar output changes on temperature. The Roman era warming and Medieval Climate Optimum, both with temperatures higher than now and the Little Ice Age (1500-1800) were ignored, thus their effects on migration and population sizes was missed. Now it seems that the crop failures of the Little Ice Age were a main reason for northern Europeans to try to move to a warmer climate.

As always with with non-fiction, some errors make the entire work suspicious. Still a worthwhile book with its limitations in mind.

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (Official Guides to the Appalachian Trail)

Average customer rating:

How NOT to walk the Appalachian Trail
Could not put it down
How not to discover the Appalachian Trail
A Walk in the Woods
Super read for anyone who wants to hike those miles

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (Official Guides to the Appalachian Trail)
Bill Bryson
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Notes from a Small Island

ASIN: 0767902521
Release Date: 1999-05-04

Amazon.com

Bill Bryson has made a living out of traveling and then writing about it. In The Lost Continent he re-created the road trips of his childhood; in Neither Here nor There he retraced the route he followed as a young backpacker traversing Europe. When this American transplant to Britain decided to return home, he made a farewell walking tour of the British countryside and produced Notes from a Small Island. Once back on American soil and safely settled in New Hampshire, Bryson once again hears the siren call of the open road--only this time it's a trail. The Appalachian Trail, to be exact. In A Walk in the Woods Bill Bryson tackles what is, for him, an entirely new subject: the American wilderness. Accompanied only by his old college buddy Stephen Katz, Bryson starts out one March morning in north Georgia, intending to walk the entire 2,100 miles to trail's end atop Maine's Mount Katahdin.

If nothing else, A Walk in the Woods is proof positive that the journey is the destination. As Bryson and Katz haul their out-of-shape, middle-aged butts over hill and dale, the reader is treated to both a very funny personal memoir and a delightful chronicle of the trail, the people who created it, and the places it passes through. Whether you plan to make a trip like this one yourself one day or only care to read about it, A Walk in the Woods is a great way to spend an afternoon. --Alix Wilber

Book Description

Back in America after twenty years in Britain, Bill Bryson decided to reacquaint himself with his native country by walking the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail, which stretches from Georgia to Maine. The AT offers an astonishing landscape of silent forests and sparkling lakes--and to a writer with the comic genius of Bill Bryson, it also provides endless opportunities to witness the majestic silliness of his fellow human beings.

For a start there's the gloriously out-of-shape Stephen Katz, a buddy from Iowa along for the walk. Despite Katz's overwhelming desire to find cozy restaurants, he and Bryson eventually settle into their stride, and while on the trail they meet a bizarre assortment of hilarious characters. But A Walk in the Woods is more than just a laugh-out-loud hike. Bryson's acute eye is a wise witness to this beautiful but fragile trail, and as he tells its fascinating history, he makes a moving plea for the conservation of America's last great wilderness. An adventure, a comedy, and a celebration, A Walk in the Woods is destined to become a modern classic of travel literature.

Customer Reviews:

How NOT to walk the Appalachian Trail.......2007-10-19

I've been a Bryson fan since a British friend gave me a copy of "The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America" years ago -- what, I wonder, was his point??

"A Walk in the Woods" is more entertaining if you've read "Notes from a Small Island" (1997). In that book, Bryson takes a walking trip around Britain, his home of nearly 20 years, before returning to live in the States. When you walk around Britain, you can take the train on the hard bits and have a pub meal and bed every night if you like.

The irony, then, of Bryson comparing the Appalachian Trail to that experience!

"A Walk in the Woods" is a laughing-out-loud book but as usual with Bryson, his writing is well researched and the informative parts are presented in an offbeat and personal way -- without detracting from their clarity. His reconnection with American social and environmental history is well presented

This book is an object lesson on how NOT to undertake a project like the AT -- yet it almost makes you believe you could do it! Or at least that you owe it to yourself to try.

Could not put it down.......2007-10-15

I have just recently started hiking and camping myself only really having any experience in the woods for no more than a few years. I found this book to read out like a fantasy of mine. Hiking in the middle of nowhere, No modern tools or advantages available to you. But it brought some realism to the dream. I felt I was there enjoying and suffering right with them. I want to thank Bill Bryson for writing this book and living the adventure.
If you enjoy the outdoors but cannot bare to take on the AT. Then get this book take a small hike to the top of of a cliff where the view is abundant, Lay out in some shade with a cool summer breeze and began your journey on the AT with Bill Bryson.

How not to discover the Appalachian Trail.......2007-10-13

This book has obviously appealed to many readers. Some seem to be attracted by the humour, others by the subject matter and many by the writing skills of the author himself. There are some interesting factoids buried in this book, and some descriptive passages were terrific.

This is the first of Mr Bryson's books that I have not enjoyed. The antics of Messrs Bryson and Katz, two middle-aged, ego-centric and totally underprepared hikers, irritated me enormously.

I am glad that this is not the first of Mr Bryson's books I have read. If it was, it would almost certainly be the last.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

A Walk in the Woods.......2007-10-08

This is a book about a treacherous hike through a treacherous trail. When the author decides to take a hike on the Appalachian Trail, 2,200 miles of wilderness, who's a better choice to take with him than trusty old Katz... who was completely out of shape, had gone to rehab, and he hadn't seen in 25 years. From Bryson's adventure getting the equipment, to Katz's desperateness while trying to find a female, this is a great book cover to cover, and all the pages in between.

Several people, including me, have gone camping. So, if you have, imagine it, except for 6 months, without good campsites, and nonstop hiking all day long with massive packs on. Doesn't sound to fun, does it? I think Bryson did a great job making his torture seem comical. It's a hilarious book, the only funny nonfiction book I've ever read, which also causes it to be the only nonfiction I've ever enjoyed. But, as good as it is, while reading it I began to think it was sad. Here's why- it's nonfiction.

Super read for anyone who wants to hike those miles.......2007-10-06

A excellent read for any person just might have the thought buried deep in the back of their mind..walking that long long trail..bring tissue and laugh until you cry.

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