I first read Talking to the Moon when living in Oklahoma's Osage County, only a few miles from where it was written. John Joseph Mathews, the author, was a native of that beautiful, rugged, still sparsely populated country. The scion of a locally prominent part-Osage family, he attended the University of Oklahoma and Oxford University, fought in WWI, and then came home to live alone for 10 years in a house he had built on his father's ranch. This book is the fruit of that time; it recounts his experiences and observations of the people, wildlife, and flora of that unique place. I found most of his observations to be accurate and pertinent 45 years later, except that if anything there are fewer people and better environmental conditions than there were in the 1930s and 40s, when Oklahoma's oil fever was still in full swing, and the Osage country was a hotbed of petroleum exploration and exploitation.

The book's structure is based on the Osage's concept of the moon's cycles as the basis of their year. The opening sentence of the third chapter, "Just-Doing-That Moon", says: "The Osage say that the moon is a woman and that she makes her appearance twelve times a year." Each of the moon's appearances has a name and, in the book, a corresponding chapter.

Mathews was deeply involved in Osage tribal politics, attempting to safeguard their lands and mineral rights from encroachment by state and federal government, and also attempting to preserve tribal history. He founded the Osage Tribal Museum in Pawhuska, and one chapter of the book is mostly devoted to his successful effort to have portraits painted for the museum of the leading elders of the tribe. This was in the summer of 1936, which still stands as the hottest on record in this area. His tales of dealing with the proud, recalcitrant elders and the somewhat clueless portraitist are both humorous and moving.

Mathews was a sophisticated, cosmopolitan intellectual, but he loved his people and his land, was always concerned with their welfare, and in writing this book, gave us an affectionate and clear-eyed account of the beauties and terrors to be found among the blackjacks and canyons of the land that Woody Guthrie called "the great Osage."

Student's and the misconceptions they manage to achieve on the way to science literacy is an extremely popular topic among science education researchers. Unfortunately, like most other topics by these researchers information on how to correct those misconceptions rarely makes it down to the teachers level. This is a book which is intended to help teachers at all grades help to correct any misunderstandings they may have encountered. Since learning is for a life-time and not just for children, this book is actually good for adult education and inclusive education of those with disabilities. It makes things that teachers may not have had an opportunity in college to study extremely clear, and gives exercises which will clear up misunderstandings totally for most students. It is a valuable addition to my bookshelves and I recommend it to students who will be teachers in the future. Karen Sadler, Science education, University of Pittsburgh

I always wante dto learn this beautiful language but I couldnt find the way as in my country there are no courses. When I saw in amazon that they had such an interesting book, I didnt doubt it. I recommend it because it has everything you could expect for. It has vocabulary, excercises, etc. Sometimes I thought "perhaps its not complete or its not understandable", but I was only being wrong. Its really complete and it helped me lots. Thanks amazon!!!

A great book to have if you have kids or spend time with kids. Has great activities for children of all ages (and even adults). Not only have I gotten great ideas for things to do with my young son from this book, I have also learned alot myself. Every parent and teacher on my shopping list is going to get a copy of this book for Christmas this year.

Joseph Tsujimoto's book is the best resource I've find in my 18 years of teaching to help teenagers write poetry. It's a favorite on my bookshelf

An excellent book laying out the authors'view of teaching and learning - The Human Constructivist view. If you are a science teacher and feel that there is something missing in your classrooms, read this book. If you are disenchanted with a prescriptive curriculum that bores you and your students, read this book. If you want to find out how to get into your students' minds (using tools such as concept maps), read this book. I have found this book to be full of interesting and useful ideas that can act as a spark to ignite a period of critical reflection. If science teaching is to drag itself away from a 19th Century perspective that bores the pants off our students, it is thinkers such as Mintzes, Wandersee and Novak that will light the path.

I found Tell Me A Story an intriguing tale, with all kinds of suspense elements working to create a thriller from start to finish, with an ending that is not only surprising, but also gratifying. The trial of Loren Oakers has a gasping conclusion that no one could ever expect. But most of all, the characters are real flesh-and-blood people. I also liked the way the story continues beyond the mystery itself.

Working in the Diocesan Vocation Office, I keep my eyes open for books about discernment. So when I saw the Institute of Carmelite Studies advertising a book entitled, Temptation and Discernment, I ordered it. What I found was both a disappointment and a joy. It was a disappointment insofar as the book offered nothing in terms of vocational discernment. It was a joy insofar as it proved to be some of the most captivating spiritual writing I have ever read.

Segundo Galilea is a priest of the Archdiocese of Santiago, Chile. He has served as a pastor in Santiago and worked for many years in the area of pastoral renewal. Galilea has authored several books on evangelization and spirituality.

Grounding himself in the thought of Ignatius of Loyola and John of the Cross, Galilea offers brief, even pithy chapters, seldom more than two pages, that are sharp, practical and insightful. Acknowledging that temptation is part of any human as well as Christian life, Galilea observes that those with a mature spirituality generally resist temptation to intentional evil but instead face the temptations of mediocrity, tepidity and stagnation. Often these evils can appear as good and hence the need for greater discernment. After initially reflecting on discernment as a type of salve applied to the eyes so that we might see, Galilea divides the book up into two sections regarding ministry and prayer. Each concise chapter concerns itself with a "demon" of ministry or of prayer.

Galilea first describes sixteen demons of prayer that include activism, sectarianism, entrenchment, pastoral envy and losing a sense of humor. In his analysis Galilea shares some succinct but sharp wisdom.

Commenting on the demon of messianism and setting oneself up as the center of all pastoral activity, he simply states, "Distrust of collaborators in ministry...reflects a distrust in God." Warning against the discouragement that accompanies activism, he notes, "Impatience and discouragement are twins." Concerning ministers who have given into the demon of entrenchment he observes, "Tacitly they have made a pact with their imperfections and mediocrity".

The second section lists twenty-one demons of prayer ranging from discouragement and neglecting one's lifestyle to putting quantity above quality and not putting sensations and feelings in their proper place. He warns against secularizing Christian prayer insisting that this demon, "...concludes by putting all prayer under suspicion." Another chapter is entitled, "Neglecting the Humanity of Christ. Here he maintains that "...spiritual decadence and devotion coincide with different forms of false `mysticism' which minimize the relationship with the historical Jesus and as a consequence with church's mediation." Yet another chapter concerns separating prayer from concern for others. Galilea distinguishes between personal prayer and individualistic prayer insisting that the latter is incompatible with Christianity. Prayer, he argues, "...always has a dimension of apostolic solidarity." Galilea's foundational notion of image of prayer is being clothed in Christ and participating in his life.

The chapters on discernment and ministry would be helpful to all involved in church work and even those involved in any type of ongoing service. The reflections on prayer would well serve all those seeking any type of intentional spiritual life. Though small, this book carries a lot of punch and is excellent not only for personal reading but for book clubs and group discussions. The brevity of this book both as a whole and in its chapters makes it ideal for the busy and those unable to give much time to spiritual reading. It is well written, well translated and deserves a place on the shelf with the great spiritual authors.

Joe Meigs's first novel is a wonderful satire about one man's quest for tenure in the English department of a small, Southern college. I suspect that the book is more than a little autobiographical.

Reminds me of this quote from Joseph Romm: "He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it."

Overall, well worth reading, especially if you've spent any amount of time at a university (either attending or teaching).

This text was commonly used as a graduate text in mathematical statistics in the 1970s when I was a graduate student at Stanford University. It was the best and most detailed text on the theory of hypothesis testing. Over the years it remained so and twenty years after publication, when it was outdated by research advances it was revised by Professor Lehmann. The second edition originally published by Wiley went out of print but has now been reprinted by Springer-Verlag. This is a great book for any statistician to have on his bookshelf, a must have reference!