The Wit and Wisdom of Robert E. Lee

Customer Reviews:

Needs TENstars.......2003-07-25

This great book, not only has great quotes, but gives you the primary source for each one. Some are from his letters to his daughters, Wife, or his Generals. The primary sources also include the day, month and year. ( Talk about historical accuracy!)

Just this short book of quotes, shows Lee as an intelligent person, father, husband, Leader and Gentleman.

Every Civil War buff, and every Southerner should have a copy.
I keep a copy at my desk for inspiration.

Excellent compendium from one who knows the subject.......2001-07-08

Devereaux Cannon, Son of Confederate Veterans, expert historian, and true believer in the "cause" and its great leader Robert E. Lee, has chosen a wonderful selection of quotes that reveal the multi-faceted General Lee. He has captured Lee the leader, Lee the strategist, Lee the man, Lee the parent, Lee the commander and the many other Robert Lee's that we know and recognize as the greatest loved of American military commanders. One quote truly stands out, as General Lee speaks across the generations to us today: "The consolidation of the states into one vast republic, sure to be aggressive abroad and despotic at home, will be the certain precursor of that ruin which has overwhelmed all those that have preceded it...I grieve for posterity, for American principles and American liberty."

Excellent book.

Lacking in quality and content.......2000-05-24

It was with great disappointment that I read in 15 minutes a book whose title had promised so much. A small, thin book to begin with, "Wit and Wisdom" is heavy on white space between too few quotes. The quotes that are collected herein appear to have been collected carelessly with little concern for their merit. The truly memorable sayings contained in this book can be counted on one hand and can be had for free with a good search engine on the internet. This is one of the few books that ever saddedned this Librarian.

Book Description

Some deep alternative current has begun flowing out of the spiritual adventures and identity struggles of recent generations. Of course, we didn't create the conditions or questions of this new age; we got caught in them. The ground shifted, the old gods departed, the economic and political utopias crumbled, and the traditional answers were washed away. We didn't leave home; home left us.

How did a nice Jewish boy from Nebraska become a Buddhist in California?

Join Wes "Scoop" Nisker as he takes us on a hilarious, wild ride from West to East and back again in his quest for true self and enlight-enment. Combining the best elements of memoir and social commentary, Nisker uses his own story to illuminate the Baby Boomers' roots of spiritual hunger in postwar America. His journey begins in middle America (Nebraska to be exact) in the middle of the twentieth century, travels through the heyday of the Beats and the Hippies, the birth of the modern environmental movement, and winds up in the current epi-center of Buddhism in the West -- California.

Full of colorful and immediately recognizable figures of art, religion, and popular culture -- from Alfred E. Newman to Allen Ginsberg -- The Big Bang, the Buddha, and the Baby Boom is a guided tour of both the outer and inner move-ments that have culminated in the growing culture of Western Buddhism -- a lasting, vivid picture of how the Baby Boom generation came to be identified with spiritual seeking, how they went about the search, what they have found and created, and what their true legacy is.

Customer Reviews:

A Personal Story of Spiritual Journey.......2004-05-29

Wes Nisker has here presented a rather light-hearted account of his own spiritual journey into Buddhism. He takes us through the Beat, Hippie, and New Age movements to the present, more mature, spiritual association with Eastern philosophy and Buddhism in particular. While not a deep book, it does give some insight into the history of the Buddhist movement in the United States and why Buddhism is as popular as it is now. To a large degree this popularity is due to the common sense approach of Buddhism to every day life and the unspectacular claims it makes. It also does not require exact literal belief and is thus quite open to science. In essence we are told that there is nothing to be gained because we have the ability for enlightenment within each of us. We need only connect to that awareness within. Despite this apparent simplicity, the practice of Buddhist meditation is far from easy. It requires commitment that takes time to develop, yet is open to everyone.

I do not agree with Nisker on every detail (it would be unusual if I did). For example, I'm not sure that I would quite give the blank check he gives to the evolutionary psychologists. This is, however, a minor quibble. I don't expect him to be one with all of the scientific arguments of the day.

All in all this book is a very enjoyable read and I very much recommend it to be read if you are on an airplane as I was when I read it.

As It Is.......2004-01-07

This book endeavours to discuss about Buddha-nature with humour and using the author's life experiences. The author's life could be considered as colourful as he travelled to the East various times seeking for the truth, a DJ-journalist-activist, an ex-hippie who embraced the peace & loving messages. He talked candidly about science & spirituality, of how they intertwine with one another & how prophetic the Eastern philosophies are as they mentioned what's been proven or suggested by contemporary scientists thousands of years before; he questioned about the benefits of knowing the absolute truths & if they do bring any betterments to our well-beings; pondering the question of why do we feel so empty even when our standard of living is far superior than five decades ago; consumerism; George W. Bush & the world that we are living now after 9-11; suggesting USA to resign from its post as the world's superpower & back to its origin & perhaps, this world would become a better place; how the world is becoming smaller & assimmilations of various religions & beliefs; relevancy of spirituality towards saving our precious environment, & so forth. Wes writes differently from Jack Kornfield (another established author upon spirituality), who happens to be his friend as well. Overall, this is quite a enchanting book to read. As Buddha-nature, we have to sense "the" moment. Whilst this book doesn't fully convey the Buddha-nature, it does give us some insight about the ups & downs of keeping up with the practice in order to embrace this world fully. Highly recommended

A Fine Spiritual History of the Baby Boomer Generation.......2003-10-05

Wes "Scoop" Nisker, a self-professed Buddhist traces the spiritual history of a generation from the questioning of our parents values to living under the current George W. Bush conservative climate.

He cover the beatniks, hippies, drugs, the importance of music, the disillusionment with the sixties, the turn towards introspection and fascination with eastern philosophies, the "me" decade of the eighties and the subsequent current apathy.

This is a fine documentation of a unique generation that grew up during a time of unprecedented prosperity and had trouble figuring out what to do with it. The author is not only a witness to this process but is also a participant and shares many personal stories from each many eras. As a former disk jockey from the once very progressive San Francisco KSAN radio station, he met and interacted with key players who influenced this generation like Allen Watts. He is also honest enough to write about his own doubts, misgivings and personal confusion, which is symbolic of this generation.

In many ways this generation path, in this reviewer's opinion, was predicted by the psychology of Abraham H. Maslow who postulated a hierarchy of needs (this used to be taught in Psych. 101 courses, I wonder if it still is?). A human being is always in dynamic interaction with its environment and once basic needs such as air, water, food and shelter have been met, then new needs emerge; belonging, relationships, the need for self expression and the need to understand our relationship to the rest of the universe. It's easy to understand when your hungry and you need food, however it is not as easy to understand what you need when you seemingly have everything and yet have an underlying feeling of restlessness and dissatisfaction. Indeed, there is no universal agreement about the meaning of one of Maslow's most famous postulation, the need for "self actualization".

Scoop's book does a nice job of capturing the essence of a generation faced with dealing with questions that were mostly unprecedented, at least on a mass scale, by any previous generation. Unfortunately, it seems like the beginning of the new century is more about dwindling resources and back to the concerns of basic survival needs. The subtitle of this book could also have been, in the words of rock star-philosopher David Crosby, (It Was) " A Long Time coming, Gonna Be A Long Time Gone".

A great book!.......2003-05-15

I found this book to be hilarious, insightful, fun and informative. The sheer scope of Mr. Nisker's life experiences is mind-boggling and his retelling of these adventures and explorations makes for a very entertaining experience for the reader.

I'm at the tail end of the Boomer generation but I found plenty to relate to. Music, politics, religion, mysticism, culture...it's all there. And Mr. Nisker's wonderful sense of humor shines through every page. At times laugh-out-loud-funny, I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in popular culture and world events.

Book Description

The problems of medical care confront us daily: a bureaucracy that makes a trip to the doctor worse than a trip to the dentist, doctors who can't practice medicine the way they choose, more than 40 million people without health insurance. "Medical care is in crisis," we are repeatedly told, and so it is. Barely one in five Americans thinks the medical system works well. Enter David M. Cutler, a Harvard economist who served on President Clinton's health care task force and later advised presidential candidate Bill Bradley. One of the nation's leading experts on the subject, Cutler argues in Your Money or Your Life that health care has in fact improved exponentially over the last fifty years, and that the successes of our system suggest ways in which we might improve care, make the system easier to deal with, and extend coverage to all Americans. Cutler applies an economic analysis to show that our spending on medicine is well worth it--and that we could do even better by spending more. Further, millions of people with easily manageable diseases, from hypertension to depression to diabetes, receive either too much or too little care because of inefficiencies in the way we reimburse care, resulting in poor health and in some cases premature death. The key to improving the system, Cutler argues, is to change the way we organize health care. Everyone must be insured for the medical system to perform well, and payments should be based on the quality of services provided not just on the amount of cutting and poking performed. Lively and compelling, Your Money or Your Life offers a realistic yet rigorous economic approach to reforming health care--one that promises to break through the stalemate of failed reform.

Customer Reviews:

useful book on current healthcare economics.......2004-08-25

This book is probably an important addition to the literature on healthcare economics. It offers a good corrective to the politics out there. It reminds us that healthcare spending is not wasted spending, in the sense that it almost always adds value. It also points out that in many ways the costs of healthcare are FALLING.

The real question is how can we continue to improve the value of our healthcare dollar? Cutler concurs with many conservative healthcare analysts that the real problem is that the incentives in the American healthcare system are wrong. The incentives are aligned in favor of healthcare interventions rather than health. He proposes to address this incentive problem by having the government intervene in the market by providing the right incentives. In essence, the government would post-hoc realign the incentives by rewarding quality after-the-fact and beyond fees for services. In addition, he would subsidize insurance to create universal coverage.

This is an interesting idea. At the very least, it makes the important observations that the current system is rife with market failures due to the government-imposed structure of the market.

He does not seriously investigate other options. Both single-payer and conservative proposals are rejected with a single paragraph each. This probably misses some significant arguments from each. My sense is that he only sees one kind of market failure when there are at least two. The first problem has to do with incentives, which he sees.

The second problem has to do with information that is not efficiently used. Many of the conservative thinkers on this have argued that IT ought to provide significant cost-savings. In essence, 13% of our economy is still operating without the information processing that has revolutionalized the information economy.

Tort Reform Ignored.......2004-08-03

While I found Dr Cutler's analysis penetrating, I was disappointed that he did not discuss in any detail the large impact on medical costs of medical malpractice lawsuits. Not only do these lawsuits increase malpractice insurance premiums of physicians and health insurance premiums of patients, they lead to wasteful defensive medicine, as physicians do unnecessary tests and procedures in order to reduce the risk of malpractice suits. Tort reform is essential to control rising medical costs.

compelling approach to fix the broken American health system.......2004-01-29

Forty million Americans lack health care insurance and costs leap three and four times the inflation rate yet few Americans feel the system provides adequate care. Harvard economics professor and health-care expert Dr. David M. Cutler believes that the problem lies with the inability for most people to understand opportunity costs based on choices that may not lead to an improved life quality. The government and medical leadership exacerbate the problem with saving money as their solution, ignoring effectiveness. He makes a strong case on how much health care has dramatically improved over the past five decades as dramatized by longer productive life spans. Dr. Cutler believes that more money should be spent on further medical advances and that universal coverage for all needs should be implemented so that the present day uninsured can afford care rather than drain at a more costly rate the system. The key is to change from a system that economically encourages doctors to choose techniques that are not always the best for the patient factoring in cost and life quality to a system that reimburses doctors for quality service (not as hard as it first sounds).

Though at times the medical supply and demand is difficult to grasp, YOUR MONEY OR YOUR LIFE makes a powerful well written argument to reengineer a system in which political band aids fail everyone. The case for quality and the explanation of choices are well done and surprisingly easy to follow while offering a seemingly radical but compellingly logical approach to fixing the broken American health system.

Harriet Klausner

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Your Money or Your Life: Strong Medicine for America's Health Care System
David M. Cutler
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKSAFI

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Recipe History and Family Favorites

EXCELLENT cookbook!!!

Good Housekeeping Great American Classics Cookbook
Beth Allen
Manufacturer: Hearst
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Bargain Books | Stores | Books
General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | U.S. Regional | Regional & International | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Test Kitchen Favorites: 75 Years of Recipes Too Good To Be Forgotten (Better Homes & Gardens)

It's All American Food : The Best Recipes for More than 400 New American Classics

30-Minute Meals 2

ASIN: 158816280X

Book Description

From Good Housekeeping, the most trusted home source in America, comes the very best in American cooking. Each of the 300-plus recipes is a classic, delicious, and perfect for the home cook.

From Southern Fried Chicken to New England Clam Chowder, Good Housekeeping presents the best of traditional, time-tested American cooking, all in one big, beautiful book. Every cook needs these favorites—with delectable photos and fascinating history tracing the recipes’ evolution—at her fingertips. All the recipes were triple-tested in the Good Housekeeping kitchens, where the magazine’s experts created the perfect rendition of every classic dish. And what a delicious portrait of American cuisine they paint! Who could resist Maryland Crab dip, Oysters Rockefeller, Bear Mountain Butternut Soup, Barbecued Pulled Pork or Boston Creme Pie? The recipes also reflect the American “melting pot,” with dishes ranging from Egg Foo Yong to Huevos Rancheros.

Ever wonder how certain popular recipes were invented? This cookbook has delightful historical sidebars providing background on the American culinary scene over time—Friday Night Fish Fries, Cakewalks at County Fairs, and more.

• Major National Publicity
• Reviews and Features in Food Publications as well as Newspapers Nationwide
• National Radio Campaign
• 5-City Author Tour
• On-line Good Housekeeping Readers Poll to tie in with Great American Classics Cookbook
• Excerpt/Editorial in October and November Good Housekeeping Magazine
• Full-page advertising in Good Housekeeping November, December (2004), and January (2005)

Customer Reviews:

Recipe History and Family Favorites.......2007-07-27

I had checked this book out from the library and after thumbing through it, I knew I HAD to have it. I love the overall history of American cooking and the many recipes (old and new) that are familiar to us all. The pictures are great and the recipes are easy to read. I have so many pages flagged for the recipes I want to try ... can't wait to get started!

EXCELLENT cookbook!!!.......2006-01-10

This book includes all the hard to find recipes Americans love and grew up on. Some of the regional and country wide recipes included are: Salisbury Steak, Fried Green Tomatoes, Muffuletta, Chicken-Fried Steak with Milk Gravy, Creole Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, Meat Loaf Surprise, Mom's Pot Roast, Yankee Popovers, and so many more. Brings back memories of your childhood. Each recipe has a story to tell and there is a lot of other information related to recipes. It's fun reading and even better eating. This is a must in every American kitchen and so reader friendly - good for the learning cook to an experienced one.

Customer Reviews:

Okay.......2000-02-12

This book has beautiful and entertaining pictures, but I found there to be many problems with the information given. If you are looking for a book with good pictures and fair information this is your book, but otherwise I don't recommend it.

This book tells you EVERYTHING about hamsters!.......1998-07-20

This book told me everything I needed to know about hamsters. It includes how to select a hamster, how to handle a hamster, what to feed and buy them, how to breed them, and much more! It even includes the history of hamsters, like when and where they were first found! I definitely recommend this book to whoever is planning to buy one of these cute companions.

Hamsters How to Take Care of Them and Understand Them

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Hamsters How to Take Care of Them and Understand Them
Vriends Matthew M
Manufacturer: Barron's
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LC5GZ6

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not my cup of tea

Great, practical projects

A practical book for weekend hobbies

Easy Wood Furniture Projects: 32 Step-by-Step Projects for the Home (Black & Decker Home Improvement Library)
Creative Publishing international
Manufacturer: Creative Publishing international
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Reference | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Furniture & Carpentry | Woodworking | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Industrial, Manufacturing & Operational Systems | Engineering | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Furniture Projects (Better Homes and Gardens Wood Shop Library)

Quick and Easy Weekend Woodworking Projects (Quick & Easy Weekend)

The Big Book of Weekend Woodworking: 150 Easy Projects (Big Book of ... Series)

The Complete Guide to Easy Woodworking Projects (Black & Decker)

Getting Started in Woodworking: Skill-Building Projects that Teach the Basics

ASIN: 0865736308

Book Description

-An easy-to-use manual with projects tested by experienced carpenters.

Customer Reviews:

not my cup of tea.......2007-01-12

It is a well written book with good instructions but I really did not see any of the project that I would want to build. I think a bit more imagination as well as some ways to dress up the projects would have made the book a bit more useful.

Great, practical projects.......2002-12-11

I bought this book for my boyfriend and it is well worth the money. There are many many projects - very practical ones like a night stand, table, bench, etc. But there are also projects like a wine cart and an island. ...

A practical book for weekend hobbies.......2000-05-06

I brought the first book of the Home improvement library series about a year ago. The book is very informative and the photo illustration is excellent. Therefore when I need some wood working DIY this book is my first choice. This book is a step to step guide to build projects, each project list with material list and require tools. Not many word on the wood basic and technique. If you want to have some weekend work, this is the book. Here is the list of projects and you can check it out. Easy-Umbrella stand, Mirrored coat rack, Mitten chest, Entry Valet, Mission windows seat. Living room - bookshelf, two-tier bookshelf, liquor locker, humidor cabinet, tile-top coffee table, plant stand. Family room - bookcase, library table, card table, game table, table/chair, sideboard. Home office - drafting stool, writing desk, secretary topper, nesting office, wastebasket. Bedroom - room divider, cedar chest, nightstand, armoire, mission lamp base. Kitchen - pine pantry, wine & stemware cart, utility cart, recycling center, gateleg table.

Book Description

Gardens and their related architecture have always been designed in Japan, China, and Korea as a single, cohesive environment. The particular forms that these environments took over the centuries naturally reflect each country's differing aesthetic principles, but were also governed by other concerns--from religious beliefs and social structure to simple spatial or climatic constraints. In his exploration of the history of garden design in the Far East, Toshiro Inaji offers a fascinating study of changing cultural and aesthetic values.

The Garden as Architecture is the first book published in English to focus on the strikingly different interpretations made by these three countries--in their gardens and architecture--of the Buddhist, Confucianist, Taoist, and geomantic principles that have informed their cultures since ancient times. This pioneering study makes clear just how and why the approaches taken by neighboring countries were so different.

Inaji begins by looking at extant gardens in Japan, China, and Korea, and then traces back over the broad social, philosophical, and cultural circumstances that gave rise to period forms, in an effort to uncover what residential gardens and architecture were understood to mean at significant turning points in their development. He defines the prototype of garden-and-residential environments in each country, and considers the ways in which specific design solutions express the prototype while also meeting the functional criteria of a site. This approach gives readers the deep background they need to view gardens of the Far East with a more informed eye. It reveals--and demystifies--the genius of these garden-and-architectural environments.

This heavily illustrated, comprehensive volume contains more than 150 photographs of the most significant gardens and related architecture in the Far East. Additional information is provided by nearly 200 schematic line drawings. The Garden as Architecture is a milestone in Western access to the traditions of Far Eastern garden design, architecture, and thought.

Features
More than 150 photographs
Nearly 200 schematic line drawings

Book Description

Keep the desire alive forever....in just two minutes a day.Nothing is more important than the love in your life-- and isn't it time you made it better? It takes just a few minutes a day to avoid the troubles that sabotage relationships, to dramatically improve communication with your loved one, and to turn intimate encounters into intensely satisfying, passionate experiences.Using the easy-to-do techniques developed by Dr. Amen during twelve years of day-to-day clinical work with couples, you can achieve astonishing results-- whether you're beginning an exciting new relationship or want to rekindle the fire in the marriage you cherish. So don't miss any of Dr. Amen's powerful prescription for a life of romance, including:* Unlocking the power of your imagination to enchant a lover* The chemistry of desire: how you can send out signals to turn your partner on....or off* Secrets of working through the conflicts that can kill a relationship* Effective ways to handle work, family, and financial demands to leave quality hours for loveTwo Minutes a Day to a Lifetime of Love is the fabulous program that can turn every day into a time for the joys of love and more!

Customer Reviews:

Buy his more recent books.......2004-06-21

This book is a predecessor to his more recent books, "Change Your Brain, Change Your Life," and "Healing ADD.

He has gathered much more experience and writing ability since he wrote this book.

Book Description

This book provides a comprehensive presentation of the power and promise of collaboration and system coordination -- connecting students, professionals, parents, schools and community agencies in new ways. Placing students with special needs and families in the center, collaboration and system coordination are viewed from a developmental framework from early childhood through post-high school. The book perspective helps individuals understand the complex interplay between the needs of students and collaborative skill needs of professionals along the developmental path. Key topi cs: How school collaboration and system coordination work, current laws that promote it with emphasis on IDEA 2004 and NCLB 2001, research that links collaboration with student and family outcomes, skills for effective collaboration between general and special educators, the role of families in school collaboration, effects of cultural and linguistic diversity, and strategies for effective collaboration and coordination from early childhood through post-secondary education, including alternative educational settings. Case examples are threaded throughout as the book urges change in how professionals think about the way education and human services agencies should respond to students who are special learners.

The Essential A to Z Guide to Special Needs (Special Needs in the Early Years)

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The Essential A to Z Guide to Special Needs (Special Needs in the Early Years)
Hannah Mortimer
Manufacturer: Scholastic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Communication Counts: Speech and Language Difficulties in the Early Years

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Communication Counts: Speech and Language Difficulties in the Early Years
Fleur Griffiths
Manufacturer: David Fulton Publish
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Preschool & Kindergarten | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Communication | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books

Audiology & Speech Pathology | Allied Health Professions | Medicine | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 1853467979

Book Description

Professionals in early years settings can use this book to focus on ways in which they can work collaboratively with colleagues, in order to help children with communication difficulties to understand and express themselves more fully. It brings together the most useful examples of good practice and draws on the work of reflective practitioners. There are many illustrative case studies provided and it discusses how to observe children's daily interactions, ways in which such observations can be used to improve communication skills; how play can be an important part of improvement; behavior management and support; and literacy development.

The practical applications are highlighted throughout the book and the advice given comes directly from those working in early years settings. It should be of great interest to all nursery teachers, teaching assistants, speech and language therapists and parents wishing to play an active part in their children's development of language and communication skills.

The Bread of Those Early Years (European Classics)

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I felt as if I had never seen anything but that door.
Bread and Love

The Bread of Those Early Years (European Classics)
Heinrich Boll
Manufacturer: Northwestern University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0810111632

Customer Reviews:

I felt as if I had never seen anything but that door........2004-01-25

My favorite novel is _The Stranger_ by Albert Camus. _The Bread of Those Early Years_ reminds me of some of the brilliance of _The Stranger_. This novel is absurdist and existential. Walter Fendrich, the narrator, states: "I did not pull the covers over my head... for whether I amounted to anything or not, it was all the same to me. I didn't care," (p. 13). Yet Fendrich cares. Boll navigates through a day in Fendrich's life, a day wrought with obsession, greed, cynicism, and irresponsibility. Fendrich's words present this day in a manner often akin to the nihilistic philosopher Freidrich (Nietzsche). The real genius of this text shines through Boll's dense, dark, and, at times, brilliant prose. Two snippets of Boll's brilliant prose follows.

"This is what it must be like, I thought, to be drowning: gray water runs into you, a lot of water; you see nothing more, hear nothing more, only a muffled roar, and the gray, stale tasting water seems sweet to you," (p. 52).

"And I thought again of the woman on Kurbel Street who had wept into the phone as only women weep who can't cope with machines, and all at once I knew there was no further point in avoiding Ulla in my thoughts, so I thought about her: I did it the way you suddenly decide to turn the light on in a room where someone has died: in the half-light, it was possible to believe he was asleep, possible to persuade yourself that you could still hear him breathe, see him move; but now the light falls harshly on the scene, and you can see that preparations for the funeral have already been made: the candelabra are in place, the potted palms -- and somewhere to the left below the dead person's feet there is a hump where the black cloth bulges incongrously: that's where the undertaker has placed the hammer in readiness to nail down the coffin lid tomorrow, and you can already hear what won't be heard till tomorrow: that finals, naked hammering that has no tune," (p. 60-61).

This text is ripe for considerable literary study. Here are some topics I have analyzed through close reading of this text: names, shadows, light, bread, theft, obsession, darkrooms, machines, dust, death, colors (yellow, gray, white, scarlet, red, golden, blue, black, green), and symbolic interactionism (especially with yourself).

Bread and Love.......2002-01-14

Hunger is not an experience the modern West has much experience of. In this short and very intense novella, written in 1955, Heinrich Boll describes the desperate circumstances of post-war German society in appalling detail: the father who sells his prized first editions to send money to his son to buy bread; the widowed husband who arrives in hospital to retrieve his wife's belongings only to go berserk when he can't find a tin of corned beef he is convinced she couldn't have eaten. In a final, mean act, she has.
Walter, the narrator, is a young apprentice in a ruined German city, most likely Boll's home city of Cologne. With the fierce moral gaze typical of Boll, Walter judges everyone he comes into contact with in terms of their willingness to give up some of their bread, a universally prized commodity in a country on the edge of starvation. Meanness is the norm, especially among those who are already beginning to thrive, such as Walter's employer, Wickweber.
Into this life of increasing opportunities and base motivations comes Hedwig, a girl from Walter's home town who has travelled to the city to train as a teacher. Walter's father has asked him to meet her at the station and find her a room. She is nothing like his childhood memory of her. In prose which powerfully conveys his sense of being thunderstruck, Walter describes falling suddenly in love as something fateful and terrifying, which makes him see clearly the counterfeit life he would otherwise have gone on leading. Like bread, love is the mark of a person's humanity, and for Boll, those few who are willing to give it are at least still redeemable.
In a mere 80 pages, a portrait of extraordinary detail is drawn of a desperate society already giving way to a complacency that will become perhaps the overriding civic emotion in the contemporary West. As a love story, this novella's lack of sentimentality, its emotional urgency, suggests that, for all the verbiage that is printed about modern relationships, our public discourse is able to shed about as much light on love as it can on hunger.

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A Manual for the Early Years SENCO
Collette Drifte
Manufacturer: Paul Chapman Educational Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Education | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 1412910269

Book Description

Are you a new SENCO?
Are you a busy SENCO juggling your SEN role with your existing job?
Could you use some time-saving ideas and practical advice?

Starting with the role and responsibilities of a SENCO, this book covers all areas of the job from supporting children and colleagues to working with parents and outside agencies. An entire section on planning will help you timetable your year and break your workload down into manageable chunks.

Packed with real-life examples and photocopiable material, this book has everything you need to help you keep on top of your workload.

Photocopiables include:

- INSET evaluation sheets
- professional planning, evaluation and development forms
- Individual Education Plans (IEPs)
- Child and Parents' Review Contribution forms
- observation sheets and checklists
- play plans, daily activity reports and letters of invitation for parents

For the SENCO who has to deliver INSET, there is a whole chapter to help you plan your presentation including ideas for suitable activities.

New and busy SENCOs working in a reception classes, nursery schools, playgroups or any other pre-school setting will find the practical guidance in this book invaluable.

Collette Drifte is a freelance writer and educational consultant, with 22 years of teaching experience in mainstream and special education.

Autistic Spectrum Disorders in the Early Years (Education in the Early Years)

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Autistic Spectrum Disorders in the Early Years (Education in the Early Years)
Rita Jordan
Manufacturer: QEd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

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The Bread of Those Early Years
Heinrich Boll
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GLX3KM

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Bread of Those Early Years
Heinrich Boll
Manufacturer: Heinemann Educational Secondary Division
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Co-ordinating Special Educational Needs: A Guide for the Early Years (Sen in the Early Years)

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Co-ordinating Special Educational Needs: A Guide for the Early Years (Sen in the Early Years)
Damien Fitzgerald
Manufacturer: Continuum International Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Preschool & Kindergarten | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Disaffection from School?: The Early Years (Education and Alienation Series)

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Disaffection from School?: The Early Years (Education and Alienation Series)

Manufacturer: Falmer Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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An Edition of the Cavendish Irish Parliamentary Diary, 1776-1778, Set
Anthony Black
Manufacturer: Hallberg Publishing Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Irish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0873190319

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