5 comments about Teacher: The One Who Made the Difference.

1. Mark Edmundson's book has received mixed reviews, but I found it to be refreshing, enlightening, and inspiring. He relates his high school self in an open, forthright way, revealing his ignorance, his oppositional, immature (even for a 17-year-old) behavior, and his preoccupation with shallow, insignificant pastimes. I think that aptly describes most high school seniors. He and his classmates conspired together to undermine any teacher who attempted to do interfere with the intellectual malaise of the school. The few students who were actually interested in education were ridiculed and despised. This was to change as a small class met day after day with an amazing teacher who changed the classroom dynamic and in doing so, successfully altered the way his students listened, thought, reacted, interacted, learned, and even the way they lived.
   
   This change was not an accidental happenstance. It was a well-planned strategy. As the students persistently refused to read the literature for their homework, the Teacher read it aloud in class. He used Socrates' example, posing questions for them to answer, or at least to think about. Unfortunately, his initial efforts produced little fruit. As a result, he changed the seating in the classroom to allow for open exchange of ideas. He raised the question of an important experiment by a man named Milgram, which involved testing the willingness of people of different nationalities to use electrical shocks on people in order to produce desired results on a memory task. This exercise interested the students and opened up the first real discussion. A few weeks later, the Teacher led the class in a similar experiment involving one of their own. Using these unusual but brilliant methods, he showed his students "the pleasure and pain of sticking to your way, of seeing things as truly as a human being can". To quote a familiar adage, he dared them to be different.
   
   His next ploy was to throw out the curriculum and introduce a collection of books that would teach them to question authority, to recognize herd behavior, and empower them to make educated choices. He encouraged them to examine themselves, to explore their deepest thoughts and beliefs and allow themselves to be free from illusions. The Teacher then invited a group of representatives from Students for a Democratic Society to visit the class, and as a result had students actually skipping other classes so they could sit in on his class. The visitors were against the Vietnam conflict, and vociferously against the unnamed perpetrators who had oppressed native Americans, enslaved African Americans, and continued to exploit Filipinos, the Vietnamese, and other "poor, inconvenient people who lay between the arrogant republic and its hunger for more". The author reveals that the Teacher was "nearly gleeful" the day his class was visited by "commies", because people who usually did not think were thinking, and people who did not usually talk were actively discussing issues. He wasn't interested in swaying the students to any particular viewpoint, he just wanted to stimulate them to have a viewpoint.
   
   When the students came to his next class, the Teacher found them drowsy and again unmovable, so he invited them outside into the snow, where he began a spirited snowball fight. The upshot was what author Mary Pipher calls "a moment", with everyone panting, laughing, drenched with cold, wet, snow, but filled with life. The Teacher was again triumphant, because from this time forward the class began to change.
   
   The students began to be interested in the Teacher as a person, even as they realized that he was aware of them as individuals. He introduced a variety of music, including current rock and roll compositions, as another format for stimulating analytical thought and intelligent discussions. Students who never asked or answered questions in any classes began to interact. They were still working their way through his series of books by reading aloud in class, so the Teacher used diverse means to pry open the cobwebbed minds of his group. He believed that if you impelled people to be boldly imaginative, and rigorously discerning, they could affect positive change in their lives. A turning point came when the questions were not related to the meaning of a book, but moved forward to inquire about the truth of that meaning, and whether there were life-changing truths to be found like gold nuggets and used to guide, to refine, to transform.
   
   I admire the way the Teacher showed his students by his example that it was not just okay but important and necessary to be unique, an individual, to be aware of which matters are weighty, and which are shallow, to be knowledgeable and affect change with words rather than your fists, to be unfailingly honest, to be accepting of others' opinions, feelings, and thoughts, to really listen, to challenge your students with large words and larger questions, concepts, and ideals, to teach them to create their own path to freedom and their own particular culture that is true to who they are. The author acknowledged that by being a student of this Teacher, his life was made infinitely richer. By writing this book, he has passed the torch on to countless others.
   
   The author encourages the reader not just to emulate the Teacher, which is a given, but also to recognize the pitfalls inherent in the educational system ("The content of these exercises mattered not at all. All that mattered was form - repetition and form. You filled in the blanks, conjugated, declined, diagrammed, defined, outlined, summarized, recapitulated, positioned, graphed."), which result in teaching loads of information, perhaps producing higher SAT scores, but achieving very little in the way of impact on the future. Masses of students graduate year after year, but how many are able to think freely for themselves, read to analyze their beliefs, and avidly seek to find their true North? Edmundson reminds us that in order to be a great teacher, it is necessary to have kindness, but also to have an edge, in the spirit of Socrates, Confucius, and Jesus Christ. Teachers must be willing to lead by example, to be antagonistic if necessary, and above all, to tell the truth.
   
   Although the chapters about football and beer-drinking and chasing after girls were, I suppose, necessary to demonstrate the "before" and "after", those portions were geared to the masculine mind and therefore were rather difficult for me to digest. I also thought it was a shame that he and his father did not maintain a good relationship when it was obvious how much his father loved him. It took many years and the author becoming a father himself before he understood the irony of their relationship, with his father taking the back seat as the author's life became more vital; and also of his father realizing what he might have been when he visited Yale, where Edmundson was pursuing a graduate degree. In reporting all of this openly and honestly, Edmundson teaches us yet another lesson. All in all, this author has produced a winner.



2. Before reading this book, I assumed it was about an excellent teacher in whom the children connected with. After completing the book, I realized it told of the struggles of a high school senior and his reform with the help of his teacher, Mr. Lears. Told from the first point of view, Mark Edmundson shows how no child has to fail. I do not reccomend this book to college level students, though I do reccomend it to the younger audience. Teachers having difficulty in their own classes may find this book inspirational and helpful.



3. The book that I just finished reading "Teacher The One Who Made The Difference" by Mark Edmundson was an average book. At first when I bought the book I thought that it would be interesting and enjoyable to read but it was not really interesting at all.There were so many ideas that were hard to follow, and it did not talk particulary about the teacher and how he changed his life.I would not recommned it to anyone, but if you like to read for pleasure and you have time you certainly can. There were some chapters that keep you interested but there were some that you just do not want to read. Overall it had a nice ending.



4. This book was an enjoyable story, but it had many points that did not hold my attention. I also could not find much interest in the book due to the fact that it was a tedious story. Many points got boring and I would have trouble concentrating. This is just an average book. I would only reccomend it to a middle-school reader.



5. I think that this book was fairly interesting. It didn't have enough rivetting thoughts to keep the reader interested. Even though I was unhappy about the book, it's still a good read. I think that this book would be appropriate for a much younger audience, an age group of ten to sixteen.

2 comments about Zigzag: A Life of Reading and Writing, Teaching and Learning.

1. AS I've come to expect with Tom Romano's work, Zigzag is rich with voice, humor, beautiful language, and real life experiences. What a great memoir for teachers! It will encourage you to write your own and has chapters on growing up that can be used as mentor text and will appeal to our students.



2. I found this book, written in an engaging and informal style, hard to put down, and since it's only a bit over 200 pages, I finished it in just a couple days--with regret. Its subtitle, A Life of Reading and Writing, Teaching and Learning, sums it up nicely for me. Romano comfortably and casually follows the zigzag path of his life, from his earliest memories of growing up in Malvern, Ohio to his present position as a professor of English at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. While it's only 260 miles from Malvern to Oxford, the route Romano followed getting from one place to the other took many detours, including a noteworthy one to the University of New Hampshire, so he traveled many more miles over many years. The last time I remember a book inspiring me the way this one has was when, many years ago, a fellow teacher handed me a copy of Ken Macrorie's Uptaught. But Macrorie's viewpoint is that of a college teacher of writing; Romano has had the advantage of working in classrooms at all levels from early elementary through graduate level in college. Partly because I was looking for a book to re-energize my teaching and partly because I liked his earlier book, Clearing the Way, so much, I bought a copy of Zigzag as soon as I first received a notice from the publisher about it. I feel it was money well spent. My teaching has been re-energized and now I have a deeper, more personal understanding of all the challenges conscientious teachers of writing face in their struggles to connect with and inspire their students. Romano's journey was indeed a zigzag one, a road "less traveled," but one I found gutsy, and--when he makes that wonderful connection with students knowing he has really helped them learn and develop as readers and writers--an inspiring and exhilarating one.

5 comments about Taught by America: A Story of Struggle and Hope in Compton.

1. First Yale, then a little Peace Corps work in the jungles of America, and back to school. She left Compton in 1995 and has been in graduate school ever since. This emphasis on "White" troubles me. I doubt that the TFA teachers' problems stem from their being white. The biggest gap I ever witnessed between a teacher and her students was between a haughty middle-class black woman and her ill-behaved charges. She wasn't a guilt-ridden white, full of caring, but a proud black woman who was righteously appalled that the ghetto kids were being enabled by a slack administration looking to make excuses for the lazy kids. The White Ivy League snots who work in the ghetto were never in the school; they were visitors, giving teaching a shot. Why in the world would parents send their kids to Yale to see them become teachers? You can get a teaching credential at the local state college. No. TFA is designed to add sainthood to one's resume, so one will forever be described not only as sexy, rich and smart, but also as caring, compassionate and, above all else, not racist. This is the only reason mom and dad, after paying $40,000 per year for four years, would tolerate seeing their child waste two or three years fooling around with blacks and browns in America's urban jungles. M & D can dine out with stories from their son or daughter's acts of heroism for years and years. Ms Sentilles doesn't let a day go by, I'm sure, that she doesn't tell someone about her work in Compton, a town amusingly described as poor (think Biafra) when in fact the houses there, on palm tree-lined streets, sell for $400,000. The kids come to school with their pockets filled with pickles, potato chips, and candy because they won't eat the "cafeteria food" which they consider too "nasty" for their delicate palates. Each and every one a Zsa Zsa Gabor, the kids have never done a chore in their lives. Their parents demand to see a counselor of their child's race, insisting that one of another race would be prejudiced. Hence, the "understaffed" schools, according to Ms Sentilles, in fact, have entire offices filled with bi-lingual aides, counselors, vice-principals, coordinators, and translators. The kids are trained in this system of victim-hood and privilege, so they stay home in droves on rainy days so as not to get wet, demand to see their counselor when told to turn off their phones, and walk out of the classroom when refused. I worked in LAUSD for over ten years. The sad tale of desperate kids trying to make do in under-funded schools is an insult to the California tax-payers who are taxed to death to pay for well-staffed schools, with huge federal bonus funds which are squandered on text book orders made at mid-year and end-of-year due to damage and waste. Where I taught, kids would throw so much food away, on to the floor, mind you, that staff used snow shovels to scoop up the waste. This on a daily basis. Feeling sorry for these lower-middle-class "poor" is itself an industry, one which the author exploits, despite her sincerity and integrity.



2. I enjoyed this book. The author is very realistic and authentic in her discussions. I found it to be very thought-provoking.



3. This is a beginning teacher in the "Teach for America" program that starts her career in the Compton, CA area better known as the Watts area in LA. Since I have been a teacher for 36 years and live in LA, I relate to this book and her many disappointments and joys. Read it--you'll love it, especially if you are or have been a teacher.



4. We used this book for a women's book club study. It was very interesting and yet startling information. well written and a good read for anyone.



5. The book is excellent and appears to be new and arrived promptly

2 comments about Aldo Leopold: His Life and Work.

1. Aldo Leopold is widely admired for his contribution to the modern conservation movement and his seminal work, "A Sand County Almanac." In my own profession (wildlife ecology and management), it seems like a Leopold quotation carries the ultimate weight of authority (and they're much more common, since Meine and Knight's collection, "The Essential Aldo Leopold," came out).

   For many years I admired the wise, kind-hearted old man who wrote The Almanac. Aldo Leopold became the most exalted member of my personal pantheon of saints. Aldo Leopold became inspiration incarnate, but lost his humanity in the process. He could do no wrong.

   Then I read Curt Meine's biography. Leopold's famous essay, "Thinking Like a Mountain," chronicles only one of the many lessons learned in a life filled with equal parts reckless bravado and deep introspection. Leopold launched his career as a fortunate son, cocksure and itching to change the world, only to learn that real change takes patience, commitment, hard work, compassion, and an open mind willing to learn. Sound familiar?

   I read Curt Meine's biography before I read Marybeth Lorbiecki's "Fierce Green Fire." To be honest, I enjoyed both, but found Meine's biography to be more fulfilling. If you want to understand where the Land Ethic really came from, pick up "His Life and Work."




2. If "Sand County Almanac" was your first taste of Leopold, you'll want to read Curt Meine's book. It's one of those books that you can't put down (if you are a true Leopold fan - if you're not - don't bother, you wouldn't appreciate it!

5 comments about Richard Hofstadter: An Intellectual Biography.

1. Richard Hofstader is one of the foremost US Historians of this century even though his career was less than half as long as Arthur Schlesinger's and included no service to an incumbent President. His work is especially noted for interpretations reflecting a multiethnic more urban America and also lessons from social theory. Immense prestige within the scholarly community was complemented by books that are readable and more `popular' than most histories. Almost all College Graduates, at least through the 70's will have read one or more of his books. Continually historians and others have been stimulated by discussions of "social Darwinism," "anti-Intellectualism" and a "paranoid style" in American politics as well as his `take' on American Political thought and the Progressive era.
   
   Interests in American intellectual history and in American historiography are central to this study. Insights on regionalism and politics in the academe add to the book. The Morningside and general New York intellectual environment are also evident. There is even some insight into the student rebellion of 1968 and its consequences.
   
   My own enthusiasm is partly personal; I attended Columbia as a History major starting in the same class as Hofstader's son Danny (although I graduated a year early). Many of the personalities mentioned, as well as guest speakers at the Graduate History Lounge like Hannah Arendt and Phillip Curtin were part of my experience and some of Hofstader's books enlightened History and Government courses. However, any historian and especially students of the US should find much of interest.
   
   David Brown does an excellent job in this "intellectual biography". There is probably no way it could be authored with the more exciting style of Hofstader himself. Nor will it find so broad a readership as books like "The American Political Tradition". It is a shame hat so many of Hofstader's works are out of print although this does reflect some further evolution in interpretation as well as new themes and approaches. Times have changed and the numbers of PhD's has boomed with ever more narrow studies and perhaps fewer stimulating interpretive books for the `educated reader'. As education has become increasingly more like job training and history as well as language and other substantial general education and critical thinking courses have reduced places in education intellectual and public discourse have eroded.
   
   Brown reinforces awareness that history is not dates and facts, that it is not neutral, and that it is an evolving effort to understand our own day and its origins. Intellectual history and analysis of historiography, together with the better comparative histories, are the source of more realistic and better understanding - a more than welcome and mature improvement over ideologues and shallow discourse prevalent today. Education in general and the study of history in particular, is no absolute assurance against stupidity of leaders and public discourse. Yet without the study of history such foolishness is common.



2. A very good primer on progressivism, liberalism and conservatism. Not a light read.



3. I have read an except of this book, and a few reviews of it including all those heretofore posted on 'Amazon'. Thus what I have is an 'impression' of the book, and not an in-depth understanding.
   My impression is simply that it is a very good book. One reviewer Ronald Clark says that David S. Brown meets the challenge well of narrating both the story of the life, and the content of the books, or the intellectual development.
   This seems to me the key thing in a book of this kind. I recently read an excellent detailed biography of an important intellectual figure which went into every possible aspect of the daily life without confronting the ideas and the intellectual development. It simply did not do the job.
   Brown sees Hofstader as not simply a committed liberal, but as a political thinker who was able to react to the changing challenges he met throughout his life. He was an intellectual whose thought involved reacting to events, and not simply fitting them into a predisposed pattern.
   He has been faulted for misunderstanding and not doing real justice to ' conservative thought'. This may well be the case. But then again his major years of working and writing were years of such great Liberal predominance that this is in some way not surprising.
   Hoftstader is credited with being the most savvy and moderate of the 'New York Intellectuals' especially in regard to his relation to and support of the Democratic Party.
   In telling of the life Brown tells of Hoftstader's tragic loss of his first- wife, his successful second marriage. The father of two children, a son Dan from his first marriage, and Sarah from his second he seems to have been an excellent and responsive father. His son Dan speaks highly of him and of his irrevent sense of humor, a quality not especially felt in the books.
   My sense is that this is a responsible and respectable work from which one can learn much about an important American intellectual.



4. Richard Hofstadter obeyed the unwritten rule: tenured liberal arts academics who teach at an "elite" university should make sure they are of great value to the Democratic Party. It is wise to place one's wet finger in the air to see which way the prevailing ideological winds are blowing. Was the admittedly great scholar a raving Left-winger? Nope, the reality is that Hofstadter may have been the most conservative member of the Columbia University faculty. Alfred Kazin even referred to him as "a secret conservative." There is little doubt, it must be added, that Hofstadter would have never had such a prominent and rewarding career had he been even slightly more right-wing. I suspect had that been the case, he would have been doomed to barely earning a living at a third tier school. The famous historian was a indeed a proverbial knee jerk liberal. He admittedly was no longer a Communist, but his secular faith in "New Deal" liberalism was near dogmatic. Furthermore, communism was possibly less dangerous that anti-Communism. Hofstadter was at best an anti-anti Communist. Republicans were deemed to be paranoid and reactionary. Left-wingers may occasionally get a little goofy, but they are essentially well meaning. It is those right-wing buffoons who are supposedly crazier than jay birds and warrant intense scrutiny. Thankfully, Hofstadter's commitment to rational thinking was sufficient to reject the radical left's attempt in the 1960s to take over Columbia's campus. The enemy was not always to the right. Sometimes it does reside on the left. These leftist students were nihilists, although perhaps unwittingly so, and not true reformers. If nothing else, Hofstadter deserves credit for realizing that a nonnegotiable line had been crossed. Biographer David S. Brown hits the nail on the head: "Hofstadter's selective use of the paranoid style brings to mind David Potter's earlier criticism of the status thesis. Like status, paranoia is a slippery concept that belies strict categorization and can be used indiscriminately to pathologize political opposition." "Always looking for the enemy on the right," continues the author, "Hofstadter never suspected liberalism's vulnerability to self-destruction."
   
   Richard Hofstadter also inadvertently harmed the American Jewish community. His unrelenting focus on anti-Semitism in some conservative circles blinded him to the far more dangerous threat posed by leftist extremism. One wonders what Hofstadter would say regarding Columbia University's current pervasive Jew bashing. David S. Brown's book is well worth reading. Conservatives should make sure to obtain a copy. It will almost certainly help them to better understand the inevitable collapse of our once great universities.
   
   David Thomson
   Flares into Darkness



5. If you went to college and/or graduate school in the late 1950's or 1960's, chances are very good you read at least one of Richard Hofstadter's (1916-1970) books. Particularly "The American Political Tradition," "The Age of Reform," "Anti-Intellectualism in American Life," and "Paranoid Style in American Politics" were ubiquitous on college reading lists. And this was for good reason: Hofstadter many believe was the most incisive and insightful American historians of the first two-thirds of the 20th century. Coupled with his perceptive and innovative analytical abilities were writing talents that made his books fascinating to read.
   
   Until now, there has not really been a full-scale biography of Hofstadter. This book, by David S. Brown, fills that gap very nicely. Brown has well handled the central challenge of writing about Hofstadter--how much attention should be devoted to the books and how much to the man? Someone who was born in the 1960's, as was the author, might well wonder what all the excitement was about. Brown's excellent discussions of the various Hofstadter volumes will clue such readers into his approach, prejudices, accomplishments, and contributions to the writing of American history. One also gets a pretty solid feel for Hofstadter the man as well. Brown has interviewed many who knew Hofstadter: his students (such as Dorothy Ross) and his colleagues at Columbia. He scoured oral history collections and published recollections as well. One of the most effective dimensions of the book is that Brown incorporates discussions of some leading historical interpretations that appeared at the same time as Hofstadter's books--some agreed with Hofstadter, others took issue with various of his positions, and an interesting dialogue resulted.
   
   The research is solid; the writing flows very well, and the narrative is quite interesting. A helpful bibliographic essay, "The Search for Richard Hofstadter," concludes the volume and is quite useful. For anyone interested in the development of 20th century American historiography, or who is just curious about what was going on in this country's political history, Brown's book is a valuable and stimulating introduction.

5 comments about Reiki: The Legacy of Dr. Usui (Shangri-La (Twin Lakes, Wis.).).

1. This book explains the beginnings and history of Reiki and gives examples of how to use the energy not only for healing the body, but getting rid of old guilts and fears, helping your plants grow, and much more. Such dramatic results have been seen with this method that more and more hospitals in the U.S. are having a Reiki Master on call to help in aiding the healing process of their patients. Even though the symbols are not shown, this book gives the author's tested examples of the results achieved using this universal energy that is available to all of us. I highly recommend this book.



2. I give this to my first level Reiki Students to help take away the mystery of how Reiki got started in the United States and it's source.



3. This is an excellent book. I highly recommend it for my students and for other Reiki Practitioners.



4. I have studied Reiki and am a Reiki Master. I give this book to all of my Reiki students because it explains Reiki so simply and well. I especially like that it is informative without giving the impression that only the author's opinion of Reiki is important, and also that it sites Reiki's founder, Dr. Mikao Usui. It is clearly a tool to help one further one's understanding of Reiki.



5. Thank you Frank Arjava Petter for being daring and brave to bring the 'real' version of Dr. Usui's Reiki to the west. I had from the beginning a little difficulty to accept everything which was said about the 'grand-masters' and their likes. And in the past very little facts were given about Dr. Usui and mainly in a kind of fairy story tale. Now I can accept Reiki as I believe Reiki should be: free from major money making and available for all people who truly wish to heal themselves, others and the world. God and Reiki bless us all. B. Müller, Reiki Master, South Africa

5 comments about Mirror to America: The Autobiography of John Hope Franklin.

1. I purchased this for another person. As far as I know she is satified with the book according to what she was looking for.



2. I really enjoyed the written format and getting to know this man, his family history as well the impact of Black History over all. I've met him and to see this man at 90+ is amazing. A worthy book to include in your personal library.



3. Dr. Franklin shares his experience as a student, intern, volunteer, and educator in this poignant autobiography. The book is an excellent educational piece; it provides a view of a little-known segment of educational history as related to some of the top universities in America and abroad. Dr. Franklin's prose brings the reader to a point of understanding, of sitting in his place, feeling what he felt. It is a primer for all persons, regardless of race or ethnicity, who were not alive prior to the desegregation movement; it reminds us of how far we have come and how far we have to go.



4. I have heard two great lecturers in my life: Jean-Paul Sartre and John Hope Franklin. Franklin's autobiography reads the way he lectures - brilliantly. This is the book for those interested not only in the history of African Americans in the 20th century but also in the manner America dealt with race relations during the century when the issue of the color line was the decisive factor in the social and political life of the United States.



5. Dr. Franklin is an excellent story teller as he describe the very minute details of his life. As one reads, you feel as if you are actually there as hen describes his life experiences. This is an important read because it teaches that although society has come so far in many ways, we still have a long way to go in the way of civility and kindness to others.

5 comments about Gerald Durrell: The Authorized Biography.

1. Douglas Botting's new biography of Gerald Durrell, a charming man whose unique Zoo, Wild Life Preservation Trust and deeply touching , hilarious stories have saved many an animal from extinction and moved people around the world to join the conservation effort, is an "xtrordenry" tale of one man's dream come true. Botting's obvious fascination with Durrell's personality and mission, good grasp of the world of nature and travel, as well as his humorous streak, are an ideal mix of credentials for someone attempting to recount a story of this supreme "raconteur."
   
   After a vivid depiction of Durrell's colorful early childhood in colonial India, Botting perceptively discerns and fits together all the pieces of Gerald's adolescent years that made him into a shy but passionate and original man with a unique vision. It was in the enchanted atmosphere of pre-war Corfu, with its unspoilt fauna and picturesque dwellers, that Durrell's free spirit and sense of wonder first blossomed, enhanced by the lack of stiflingly uniform influence of formal schooling. His widowed mother's warm devotion and faith in Gerald's endeavors, creative encouragement from his older brother and budding writer Lawrence, coupled with his tutors' idiosyncratic influences and the island's offer of the freedom to explore the natural world, all combined to account for the very unconventionality of Durrell's upbringing and personality that would later make people yield to his charisma and daring.
   
   Botting manages to stay true to the spirit of Gerald Durrell, as if the magic firefly of the epilogue lights up his way throughout the book. I also liked Botting's impartiality in dealing with such complicated emotional roller-coasters as Gerald's relationship with his first wife Jacquie and his alcohol problem, which he never downplays, at the same time managing to convey Durrell's intrinsic honesty and charm. The only regret that will forever haunt this biography is that Durrell unfortunately didn't have time to pen it himself.



2. A mammoth book for an equally large individual, in bulk and spirit. Having read Durrell's first books, was equally curious about the author and was not disappointed..looked forward to each page, particularly his expeditions if not his highly personal life with his two wives. His alcohol consumption was simply sad, and even though the author states it may not have affected his work, I wonder what he would have achieved if he had not been looking forward to each drink, beginning in the morning. But he is a hero to me, and has opened up the wonders of Madagascar, and hopefully to the continuing need to perserve its fauna and flora.



3. Douglas Botting makes a fairly good job of Durrell's biography. Lavishly illustrated with rare photographs, with numerous quotations from Durrell's personal notebooks thrown in for good measure,this book sheds a new light on the life of one of the most amazing men of the 20th century. However, this book is recommended for Durrell fans, and not for the plain inquisitive who want to bone up on the life and times of Gerald Durrell.They would do better to stick to the Gerald Durrell accounts .The author has a tendency of repeating parts of the Durrell accounts in his own words,and relying too much on the Durrell works as his guide( but then again it is difficult to pick up the thread of people and events as many as 50 years later, with a world war inbetween ). All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable 600-pager that Durrell fans will devour in no time at all. Judging by this one,the Gavin Maxwell biography should be well worth reading ..



4. This must be one of the best biographies I have read about anyone. Douglas Botting is to be congratulated on his meticulous research and unbiased approach. He gives us a wonderful insight into this complex man's extraordinary life. All 607 pages are highly readable and I found it hard to put the book down. I particularly enjoyed the account of Durrell's happy go lucky, unconventional childhood in Greece surrounded by his mad mad family. As Gerald Durrell would have wanted, there is a lively quality about the telling of his story. There were so many facets to this man's character and Botting has been at pains to dig deep to bring these to the fore. Having read Durrell's books many years ago I found myself enjoying the adventures of his life all over again, but in a different way, now that I understand more about the man and his background. I feel this is a 'must' read for anyone who has enjoyed Gerald Durrell's books



5. I always thought of Gerry Durrell as my own secret discovery, and gave copies of his books to all my friends. Also visited the Jersey Trust twice....well worth it. This book reads like the diary of an old and dear friend, sharing much and explaining a lot. He was ahead of us all in his love for the endangered earth and its living creatures.

5 comments about Crossing the Water: Eighteen Months on an Island Working with Troubled Boys-a Teacher's Memoir.

1. As I read this wonderful book by Robb, I mused that I wish I had been able to teach it at the University where I taught Young Adult literature teachers of young adults. So much of the YA literature offers "insider" stories, but never seems to give the idea that there is a way out, often leaving readers feeling hopeless and helpless in our modern world. This remarkable book offers us a true glimpse into a modern young person's problematic life, and yet shows us that there are always choices, always people like Dan to offer a better way.
   One thing that truly impressed me was the subtle, never over-wrought literary allusions to such writers as Henry David Thoreau and Mark Twain. Daniel Robb went to the Island to live deliberately, to simplify, to get in touch with himself, the core of his being, and to reach out to some of the troubled young men of our current world. Furthermore, the entire story is built on a the extended metaphor of the story of Beowulf. Robb informs his readers at the end of his book just how the ancient story of Beowulf is anything but dead literature--it still resonates in our modern world. The readers of this excellent memoir will be given as much as the subjects of the story, and this reader is indeed grateful to Daniel Robb for his insight and his fine writing. Dr. Janice E. Patten



2. As my title states, I just couldn't get into this book, even though I work with kids. I didn't finish it. I thought it was sad that the school's success rate with the kids wasn't much better than the prison system's success rate. It seemed that the school administration was proud of the fact that they didn't have any professional counselling for the kids, and I'm not so sure that's something to be proud of.



3. Dan Robb's memoir criss-crosses the worlds of the Pennikese bad boys--his students; of his own memories of a sometimes tempest-tossed adolescence; of his adult role of teacher in uncharted territory; and of an island--sere and beautiful, immutably changing with the seasons and with the boys who come and go--a place isolated yet self-contained, severe and yet secure, once "home" to lepers, now a prison-home for boys perched on the brink of social leprosy.
   Robb's beautifully descriptive book carries the reader back and forth among these intersecting worlds while limning sharp yet fleshy portraits of the boys, each of whose stories grabs and engrosses. This is a book--yes, for teachers who know, or are learning, that the best kind of pedagogy is through memory, storytelling and the imaging of new worlds; for those concerned about how to treat and heal our outcast and abandoned children; and for those who, along with their interest in a critical and wrenching problem, also take pleasure in the work of a gifted teacher/writer/artist.



4. Dan Robb's memoir criss-crosses the worlds of the Pennikese bad boys--his students; of his own memories of a sometimes tempest-tossed adolescence; of his adult role of teacher in uncharted territory; and of an island--sere and beautiful, immutably changing with the seasons and with the boys who come and go--a place isolated yet self-contained, severe and yet secure, once "home" to lepers, now a prison-home for boys perched on the brink of social leprosy.
   Robb's beautifully descriptive book carries the reader back and forth among these intersecting worlds while limning sharp yet fleshy portraits of the boys, each of whose stories grabs and engrosses. This is a book--yes, for teachers who know, or are learning, that the best kind of pedagogy is through memory, storytelling and the imaging of new worlds; for those concerned about how to treat and heal our outcast and abandoned children; and for those who, along with their interest in a critical and wrenching problem, can also take pleasure in the work of a gifted teacher/writer/artist.



5. In this wonderful book, Dan Robb has managed to write about his experience teaching troubled boys with soul and without sentimentality. The rawness of his experience teaching on an isolated island off of Cape Cod, and the soul searching it prompted, makes for compelling reading no matter how much time you spend thinking about or working with kids. As the mother of a small boy, I also felt that reading this book was a way of learning about how to be a good parent to my child. I recommend this book with all my heart, and hope that it touches you as deeply as it did me.

5 comments about Naked in the Promised Land: A Memoir.

1. Lillian Faderman writes an autobiography with an engaging and compelling style that easily pulls in the reader. She is technically the child of a Holocaust survivor, although her mother and aunt arrived before WWII, sent ahead to America (one presumes this is the Promised Land in Faderman's book title) by the family, to find work in America, sending money home, preparing the way for the rest of the family to eventually settle in America.
   
   Only that reunion never happened: all of Faderman's relatives perished in the Holocaust, and the rest of her mother's life was defined by survivor's guilt, a legacy of conflicting emotions that were inevitably passed on to the first generation of children born after the Holocaust. Lillian Faderman and others of her generation carried the burdens of the ghosts of the slaughtered, the relatives and loved ones who were killed before they were even born.
   
   Faderman's story goes beyond being Jewish: as the first-generation American child born to an immigrant, her experience is one that will speak to many, Jewish or otherwise, and it really is a classic story. The child of an immigrant garment worker, she grew up to live the American dream, getting a college education, eventually becoming a noted historian, textbook author and researcher. True life stories don't get any better than this one.



2. I savored every bit of this memoir. There are, sadly, so few really well-written lesbian memoirs. "Naked" is a terrific book and an engaging reading experience. I highly recommend it.



3. I wonder if other men love this book like I do. I loaned this book to someone then forgot whom I loaned it to. Doesn't matter. I've thought about this story a thousand times.
   
   I love my own mother deeply, tenderly, but if I could have chosen my own mother, notwithstanding some very tempting candidates out there, Lillian Faderman would have been numero uno. I'll say it. I'm a softie for strong character; people who have been dragged through the muck and not only survived, but emerged from the pure hell of life to bring honor to themselves and to those who have struggled for the right to their own dignity.
   
   I bought this book the first day it hit the shelf and read it from cover to cover and wished it would not end. I wanted to read it and I didn't want to read it because I've spent maybe two decades sculpting and perfecting this pedastal I've had Lillian Faderman on and I was worried that she would demolish it by turning out to be a prep school and legacy brat from the suburbs. No danger here.
   
   Everything I know about the real lives of lesbians I learned from Dr. Faderman and, I'll be honest, I didn't think I'd enjoy anything else after Maya Angelou's "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings." I read Radclyffe Hall's "The Well of Lonliness" and was sickened by it's twisted logic and it stamp of approval from kook psychologist Havelock Ellis. I thought Gertude Stein's "The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas" merited points for chutzpah. But Stein, Hall and Angelou are no Lillian Faderman.
   
   This book is rich with terror, heartbreak, despair, grief and finally - triumph. It's what "Brokeback Mountain" should have been rather than another story about how a homosexual dies or gets murdered in the end.
   
   I've changed my mind. It does matter. Whoever has my copy of this book - GIVE IT BACK !



4. By far, Lillian's best yet. Her previous writings were way too heady for me, but this one held my attention. For those looking for the juicy tidbits of Faderman's personal life, this book pretty much hits the spot. I am looking forward to the sequel -- this woman has much more to tell.



5. Ms. Faderman has always been an outstanding scholar, giving the academic and Lesbian worlds her well researched, and highly informative books about Lesbians and Lesbianism. She has also written other scholarly works that are highly recommended, if not a little heavy for most readers. In her latest venture, her memoir " Naked in the Promise Land", Ms. Faderman shows her readers another side of her makeup, her personal side. The Memoir is as interesting for what it reveled about Ms. Faderman's past life as well as what has been carefully left out. Readers may well have to wait for a bioghapher to tell the complete story of Lillian Faderman's life for it appears that she is willing to go only so far in its telling.
   What is also a point to note is the muse that Ms. Faderman has chosen to use. It defiantly is not the carefully structured formal English she used for her academic books, nor should it be. However, as a memoir it reads more like an Ann Bannon or Clair Morgan novel, and this, perhaps, is part of its charm as well as its draw.
   Finally, in the telling of part of her life story the reader is made aware that Ms. Faderman is a consummate actress. After all she studied hard to learn the techiques. As such, one has to wonder if what she has presented to the world after her "Sunset Strip" life, is nothing more than another act in one more carefully constructed costume.