No comments about Arndt's Story: The Life of an Australian Economist.

No comments about Gow: a Father, a Son, a School.

1 comments about Public Teaching: One Kid at a Time.

1. Mrs. Kittle is a teacher at my high school. I've never had her as a teacher but she always has a "Hi!" when you pass in the hall. I knew she was a great writer. (My essay writing teacher, Mr. Fayle, talks about her writing all the time) I just didn't know how good she really was. Until now...
   Her stories are filled with passion and advice for new teachers. I want to absorb every word she writes and use it to its fullest extent. I plan on becoming an elementary school teacher and wish I could carry Penny Kittle around in my pocket so I could pull her out whenever I have a question. Although, with this book, I can almost do that.
   Mostly written for teachers by a teacher, this book deserves ten stars and will inspire everyone that reads it to be an outstanding teacher.

1 comments about The Triumph of Wounded Souls: Seven Holocaust Survivors' Lives.

1. This book presents an inspiring look at the success of seven holocaust survivors, against overwhelming odds. Although many holocaust books have been written, this book presents a different, timely and necessary slant. Well researched, annotated and written. A book definitely worth reading!

3 comments about The Red Blackboard: An American Teacher in China.

1. Ruth Koenig's book "The Red Blackboard" is a real first person account of what it is like for a Westerner to live in China. Many of us travel in China and live in their Western Hotels; we do not see the real China. Having worked for the Internatioal Execuitive Service Corps in several countries, I understand that only after living in China for nearly one year the Koenig's were able to get their students to fully relate their exeriences and feelings. After reading this book a traveler has a better understanding of the things they see in China.



2. The Red Blackboard provides an authentic view of modern China from the point of view of a visiting American teacher who struggles as she adjusts to a lower standard of living, a closed educational system, and a repressive political system. Ruth Koenig describes how she made all these adjustments while developing lasting respect for her Chinese students, all the time maintaing her sense of humor.



3. In the early 1990s, I left a small community college in Illinois, along with my husband, a retired industrial maintenance manager, and went to the interior of the People's Republic of China to teach conversational English. It was a sometimes difficult, frustrating, even maddening, but ultimately enjoyable and satisfying year.

   In The Red Blackboard: An American Teacher in China, I tell about our year living, teaching, and traveling in China. It was an exciting teaching experience and and a fascinating look at a society and a culture that is unfamiliar to most Westerners. Dealing with the everyday events that presented themselves gave insight into the politics and values of China and left me with great affection and respect for its people. You will learn and even, I hope, laugh when you read about our experiences. It was the first time in my life I'd ever had to write on my syllabus, "Spitting in the classroom will not be tolerated;" the only time my husband was my hair colorist; and the greatest number of hours I'd spent without going to the bathroom.

   Nevertheless, I hope that just as we came to a better appreciation of China, that the Chinese whom we came in contact with have a better understanding and an affection for Americans.

5 comments about Following Mateo.

1. An odyssey: into the jungles and wetlands of Belize, into the hearts and lives of a few native Belizians, and into the process of self knowledge and maturity, best describes, for me, Tom Molanphy's well crafted adventure/pilgrimage book: Following Mateo! Tom writes with grace and great self deprecating humor and enthusiasm about his journey to Belize as a volunteer teacher, his evolving friendship with an older tribal wise man and leader, Mateo, and their adventures.

   Through an invitation to personally tutor Mateo's young daughter, Tom experiences the hospitality of Mateo's family and a growing knowledge of their way of life. Tom's desire to get Mateo to take him "into the bush," i.e., the deep jungle territory where (in his perception) ancient ritual hunting and gathering rites of the Ke'kechi take place. His subsequent hiking adventures to "prove" his capabilities to Mateo provide hilarious incidents of gradual self awareness for this young American "gringo," Tom.

   As a veteran Jr. High/High School humanities teacher, I feel that this is a book that would appeal to this age range of student. It is a very "good read" for the adult reader as well.




2. Tom Molanphy has a good story to tell about a search for self in a country of different cultures, languages, races,etc. While reading "Following Mateo" I was transported back from the hazzles of everyday life and never-ending city activity to Southern Belize where, through Tom's creative descriptions, I found myself engulfed by nature. Peppered with humor Tom lets us experience father nature in a unique fashion. He tells of how it demands respect,of how we have to adjust to accommodate it and of how rough it can be and yet how soothing her gentle embrace. The book took me through trails under the towering canopies and over mountains that lead to discoveries of people living from the land. People who have learned to coexist and respect the land.
   The book was and excellent read. It thought me about the journey of life and the little journeys within. It also thought me to, every now and then, "stop and smell the flowers, but to be careful not to get stung by a bee that may have beat me to those flowers".



3. Following Mateo is definitely a down to earth book. My friend Tom definitely put it right about life in the southern villages of Toledo and also as a missionary. I've known Tom for the two years that he spent here in Belize. I loved the book and will definitely read it again.



4. Following Mateo is a personal memoir of Tom Molanphy's two year stint as a volunteer educator in Belize. Mateo is a Mayan Indian whom the author becomes very close to in the course of his internship. Following Mateo, the title, refers to the author's attempts to get Mateo to take him to the bush country of Belize. The author has successfully integrated history, anthropology, cross cultural studies and religion into this highly readable memoir.
   I am a college professor teaching English l02 - a writing course using argument from social science topics and also literature, particulary memoir. My students - all l05 of them - absolutely loved the book. They liked the author's descriptive writing style which made them feel they were right there in Belize.They liked the many lively characters that the author presents. They liked the way the author integrated his personal journey with the daily events. They liked reading about a young man on an adventure who had questions about life, about religion, about risktaking. They liked the crosscultural atmosphere of the book and the way the author showed these differences. They liked the light hearted and humorous aspects of the book. They liked the various insights the author gained during his journey, especially about friendship. In writing their essays they were able to center on diverse messages and were often able to interract with the memoir from their own experiences. One student said she liked the book because the author opened himself up and was not "preachy". I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the essays my students were able to write due to the many insights the author offered. It was indeed a journey of joy. I recommend this book to college professors of freshman writing and senior high school teachers as well as volunteer coordinators in various non-profit groups.



5. I really enjoyed this book. Without even noticing, I learned about the country of Belize and the Mayan culture as the author creatively wove historical details into a humorous, touching account of his own journey. I found myself both sympathizing and laughing with him as he tries to learn, and keep up, with the ins and outs of an unfamiliar culture. I became quickly invested in the main character and eager for him to come out on top!

1 comments about Against the Tide: An Autobiographical Account of a Professional Outsider.

1. Woods gives us an engaging narrative of his life. From what is undoubtedly a vanished lifestyle in a fishing family in New Zealand before World War 2, to air combat over the Pacific during that war, and then the decades afterwards in academia.

   Many readers may find his descriptions of the war to be the most interesting sections. Not your typical autobiography of an academic!

   He became quite an expect on plasma research. But in this field, funding at Oxford, or indeed anywhere in Britain, was sparse, compared to the Americans and Russians. Early plasma research was small scale. But as efforts grew to scale up the densities and temperatures, so too did the funding requirements rise. It must have been a continual source of frustration to him.

1 comments about Pilgrimage into Pentecost: The Pneumatological Legacy of Howard M. Ervin.

1. Daniel D. Isgrigg has done an amazing job of not only telling the story of Dr. Ervin's life but also captured the essense of his teachings. As Pentecostals, we must have sound exegesis and know why we believe what we do. I look forward to Mr. Isgrigg's new book which I have linked below.
   
   Why I Want to Be Left Behind: Exposing the Fiction in Today's End-Times Prophecy Teaching

No comments about Booker T. Washington and the Art of Self-Representation (History of Schools and Schooling).

No comments about The Great Adventure: The University of California Southern Africa Expedition of 1947-1948.