Collaboratively compiled and edited by Gwen Solomon (TechLearning.com), Nancy J. Allen (Texas A&M University), and Paul Resta (University of Texas at Austin), Toward Digital Equity: Bridging The Divide In Education brings together writings from twenty-three experts in educational technology, who offer practical and affordable ideas for teachers, administrators, and education policy-makers charged with preparing the next generation for the digital age. Emphasizing ways to enhance the learning environment for optimum potential, Toward Digital Equity is a superbly presented and highly recommended resource for educators at local, district, state, and/or federal levels of responsibility.

Nancy's first book was excellent and a hard act to follow. This one is still a fun read, but it doesn't quite measure up to the first one. But I think Nancy's doing a great job and should definitely keep it up.

I am not an avid reader, but this book somehow caught my eye when I read what it was about. I read the whole book in two days, and I was enthralled from beginning to end. The love story that unfolded between the two main characters was fantastic, and the action was outragous. Nancy Allen Campbell is a fantastic author, and I cannot wait to read the rest of the books that she has to offer.

I picked up this book because I saw Big Ben and Parliament on the cover. I had no idea what I was going to read, but was pleasently surprised when I began to turn the pages. Espinoge,adventure, spy, and love. I could read myself into the characters, they are very realistic. I couldn't put the book down! When I finished the book I learned that it was second in a series and now I have to go and read the first and third books! Overall, great book that will keep you turning the pages to find out what happens!

This was a smashing book. In effect, the authors simply applied the "social scientific method", as it were, to Ravenwood Coven, the most notorious coven in Atlanta, Georgia. But at the same time, it also reads as a history of the coven, as part of their mythology. A lovely read, even if you're not a Witch yourself.

I found Living Witchcraft a fascinating study of the human element that is represented in a modern witch group. The witches portrayed in the book are real down to earth people with real jobs, real lives, and a real religion. Kudos to Professors Scarboro, Campbell and Stave. Well done.

I read The Secret Gerden when I was in the fifth grade. The book was a combination of realistic fiction and mystery. I was always looking for clues to explain the next chapter.I was so engrossed in the book that I read 30 pages every half an hour!
The whole plot of The Secret Garden was about a girl named Mary Lennox, an orphaned, disagreable looking, girl, who needed some action in her life. And she reached her goal. She was ten when she moved to her Uncle's house on a moor in Yorkshire. One of the housemaids, Martha, showed her around, and told Mary stories about her family that Mary enjoyed. On of Martha's brothers, Dickon, was an animal charmer and a nice, perfect boy who Mary fancyed that Mary finally met. He helped her uncover and bring to life a huge secret.This secret can not be shared with you, you'll have to find out yourself.Mean while, when Mary was sleeping at night, a childs cry woke her up. On day she investigated the noise. She found another secret on her way, a secret corrider. Will Mary find out who is screaming? If so, what should she do about it? Will Dickon and Mary succeed in bringing the secret alive?
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading exciting adventures. My opinion on The Secret Garden is that out of five stars I would give it 5 stars, because it was so fun to read, and I didn't want to stop!

Once upon a time, a little girl found a book on a library shelf with an interesting title. She took it home and discovered a world where gardens are locked, a boy can talk to animals, and mysteries abound in every corner of Misselthwaite Manor. And friendship is forever. Okay, you guessed it. The little girl was me. The story of Mary quite Contrary, a little girl with no one to love and no one who loved her, Colin the invalid who has spent his entire life inside the manor, and Dickon the simple boy from the moors well deserves the title "classic". There is simply no other story like it. Frances Hodgson Burnett has written a wonderful story about love and friendship between three very different children, and the secret garden that brings them together.

The Secret Garden, written by Frances Hodgson Burnett, is a charming book about a girl named Mary Lennox. She is a spoiled and sickly child who lives in India. When her parents die because of a cholera epidemic, she moves to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her rich uncle in England. Things are a definite change for her. Slowly she becomes stronger and starts to take an interest in the outdoors. She meets all sorts of people like Martha, Dickon, and Colin. Martha is a maid on the grounds who has taken a fancy to Mary, and Dickon is her brother. Dickon is quite an unusual fellow. He possesses the ability to talk to animals and is able to grow anything with a little bit of soil. Colin, who you will meet later in the story, is a child who has basically given up the will to live, believing he is doomed to be a hunchback like his father. Strong-willed Mary reprimands him and takes matters into her own hands. Mary has all kinds of adventures with strange sounds at night, funny accents, and a locked garden. The Secret Garden is a wonderful book about friendship, determination, and perseverence. I would recommend this book to someone of any age. It is beautifully written and full of life.

This book is fine if you are looking only for a very brief look at American Architecture. It does not organize architectural styles to give a comprehensive overview of them. It does, however, present example photos of various styles with easy-to-read text briefly describing the styles. If you want a book that is handy and comprehensive, no other book can compare to A Field Guide to American Houses, by Virginia and Lee McAlester (ISBN 0-394-73969-8). This book will give you a comprehensive framework of the development of American Architecture so that you can build your understanding as you become exposed examples in the field. Everything from windows and doors to contruction techniques are covered. The book is organized in such a way that you can find what you need quickly. It is the cornerstone in the study of American Architecture.

I'm not that into architecture but this book was pretty good. I had to use it for my local history course. The images were good and helpful in the explanations on each of the pages.

This is a very handy, pocket sized book which can be easily used in the field! Different historic architectural styles are divided into small chapters with helpful photos for identification. I particularly love the user-friendly "Glossary" which identifies architectural features in a short and to the point manner. Since this is published by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a person can feel assured that this is accurate information! Makes a great gift too!

In "A Rock Garden in the South" Ms. Lawrence returns to her greatest strength. I don't think anyone has ever understood rock gardens as well as Ms. Lawrence. And if you're concerned about water scarcity and drought, knowing about rock gardening is quite pragmatic.

Although the book was written some time ago, and released after her death, it was edited by Nancy Goodwin and Allen Lacy, so the contents are solid and up to date. The contents read somewhat like an annotated plant list, but Ms. Lawrence writes beautiful prose so it's not at all dry and boring. In fact, her writing is useful and entertaining.

Ms. Lawrence believed you could make a rock garden almost anywhere--even if you didn't have rocks. The key is to plant things that will grow in your area. Most of her writing in this book is useful for the middle South -- Zones 6-8 -- but if you look at a garden book showing the USDA growing zones you'll see they extend clear across the country.

The book contains a great deal of information about plants and their likes and dislikes. There are no photographs, this is solid text, however, if I want to know what something looks like I find a catalog from Wayside Gardens and poke around. Some of the more esoteric items may not be pictured in any garden catalog with photos, but sometimes it's worth the gamble to just try something on faith.

Several pages showing plant requirements (will it work in dry shade?), as well as sources for seed exchanges and nurseries are located in the back of the book.

A YEAR IN OUR GARDENS by Nancy Goodwin and Allen Lacy is a chatty exchange of letters and faxes between two old friends, both of whom have many years of gardening experience to their credit. Ms Goodwin ran Montrose Nursery for many years and is very informed and informing about plants -- native, cultivated, imported, and home-grown.

Dr. Lacy has written many books about gardening and garden design -- centered on his garden in New Jersey and other gardens futher afield. My personal favorite of Lacy's books is THE GARDEN IN AUTUMN, although THE INVITING GARDEN is probably his best selling book. I wouldn't recommend A YEAR IN OUR GARDENS to the novice gardener since it has no colorful photographs and a plethora of Latin named flowers and plants. Even the intermediate gardener searching for tips might find THE INVITING GARDEN a better read.

If you've been gardening awhile and like to read about green adventures from the comfort of your easy chair or need a good book for bedtime reading, you'll probably enjoy A YEAR IN OUR GARDENS. To me it's something of a cross between the books by Elizabeth Lawrence and Beverly Nichols. In fact, if Lawrence and Nichols had written to each other their conversations might have been a bit like the conversations of Goodwin and Lacey.

Goodwin and Lacey both had an affilitation with Duke University as did Elizabeth Lawrence though neither Goodwin nor Lacey is a botonist like Lawrence. Lacey wrote garden columns for the Wall Street Journal and New York Times and until recently taught philosopy and horitculture at Richard Stockton College in New Jersey where he lives and gardens. Lawrence's father was Lacey's professor of English at Duke University, and Lawrence lives and gardens near Hillsborough NC.

Both Goodwin and Lacey have gardens in growing zone 7. As they relate their experiences over the course of the year, it becomes obvious this counts for little. Lacey lives near the Atlantic, has sandy soil he must amend with humus, and experiences milder summers and colder winters. Goodwin lives in the NC piedmont, gardens in clay, and has hot-hot summers. Both have green houses that allow them to cultivate a variety of plants more suited to tropical climates. Lacey tends to grow many plants in pots on a large extended deck, while Goodwin has a much larger property with room for numerous shubs and trees and a woodland garden. Lacey says he prefers summer months for gardening, and Goodwin says she prefers anything but summer.

In addition to the exchange about plants, garden design and the various wildlife sightings, both correspondents share the ups and downs of daily living. Over the course of a year, Lacey undergoes major surgery and Goodwin's husband has eye surgery and her father dies. Both Godwin and Lacey travel to various locations to give lectures and undergo interviews on television and radio. Martha Stewart drops by for a fifteen minute tour of Montrose, and Lacey goes to Disneyland.

All in all this book is mildly entertaining, and a peek into the lives of two relatively well educated gardeners.

I found this book strangely unfocused: part romance, part travelogue, part history, part sociology, and several other things as well. Nancy Allen is a skilled writer and observer, but it didn't seem to me that the various parts of this book always knitted together well.

For a 'honeymoon,' I came away knowing some of the other crew members of the M/V Sea-Land Endurance better than I knew Nancy's new husband Bob, the Chief Mate. For the rest of the 'adventure,' the author relates what she saw, in her role as 'supernumerary, ' with style and immediacy. But the picture of the life of the modern merchant mariner still felt somewhat incomplete.

High points of the book were Nancy's descriptions of foreign ports; her enlightening discussions with female crew members and with Keith, the radio operator; her visits to the stern of the ship (in the midst of a storm) and the engine room; and her discussion of issues of foreign flagging, unions, and the impact of regulation. The typographic decision to print excerpts from Nancy's journal in italics was somewhat annoying: page after page of italicized type can get hard on the eyes.

Personally, I thought the foreword by former Maritime Administrator Albert J. Herberger was pretty much useless -- though it could have been his kiss-up to Bill Clinton that turned me off. But then, who expects much from forewords anyway?

Despite its weaknesses, this was not a bad read, and I recommend it for anyone interested in true-life sea stories and the American merchant marine. At its best, it's highly personal and told with great style. Despite the hyperbolic dust jacket copy, it's not quite 'a saga of the sea and the modern mariners who sail it.' It's more like a conversation with a friend than a latter-day Melville. And there's nothing wrong with that.

I thank Nancy Allen for writing her story about life on an American Flag cargo vessel. Her husband, Bob Allen is stuck in the same position my father was in during the 60's - that is - sailing as a Chief Mate with a Masters license. It must have been difficult for Nancy to see the time and dedication her husband puts in while on-board ship and the frustration he must feel being responsible for almost everything and not being in charge. Bob Allen is in love with the sea and Ms. Allen followed the man she loves and wrote a great story about the places and people that make up the world of a disappearing US Flag Merchant Fleet.

I have been involved with the sea for almost thirty years. I read Fair Seafarer and learned quite a thing of two about life on an American flagged efficient cargo vessel.Nancy, the author, told the tale of her voyage and a voyage through the Merchant Marine service with great style. It is a book that you might even read wothout putting it down. Believe me, she is right on target with the problems that plague American crews. Shares with us the joys of the voyage from her unique perspective as the Chief Mates wife, along for quite a ride.

*spoilers*
This 1996 third book in the Joanna Blalock/ Jake Sinclair series was in the running for Most Outlandish Plot of the Year, and may have won. Try this: large HMO is keeping an eye on profits, so it plants devices in its patients which can release fatal poison by remote control, in case their care gets too expensive. The bodies pile up -- average of one every 35 pages -- as the HMO's military/ CIA-trained assassin now targets Joanna. Will this assassin, who has no trouble at all killing others, manage to do Joanna in?
We are CONSTANTLY reminded of how beautiful Joanna is, and most characters are described by how well they're aging. As a preview of Jake's police brutality seen in future books, Jake pulls his handgun on two of Joanna's neighbors who are making too much noise late at night.
It's more of an "action" book than one where the characters, especially the "good guys," face any moral choices or tests of character. The good guys do their jobs, squabble with coworkers, and -- if they're male -- try to date Joanna.
For an author who lives in California, Goldberg is unfamiliar with California law: death by gas chamber was outlawed in 1994, and the handgun wait period is 10 days, not 14.

In "Deadly Care," Leonard Goldberg dusts off a number of cliches: 1) the spunky female forensic pathologist who endangers her life to get at the truth 2) the tough but sensitive cop who has had an on-again off-again affair with the aforementioned pathologist 3) the big bad HMO that will do anything for profit. Been there, done that. Yet, in spite of this, Goldberg manages to keep the reader's interest throughout. How? He writes crisp, no-nonsense dialogue. The action is fast-paced and the bodies pile up. Goldberg knows how to write a gripping thriller and the medical details add a needed touch of realism. "Deadly Care" is an entertaining medical whodunit.

This is the first book written by Dr. Goldberg I have read. I really cannot wait to get the other books written by Dr. Goldberg. I could not put the book down and found my self reading it all the time. There really was not a point in the book that I could not wait for what would happen next. I can hardly wait to read other books by Dr Goldberg.

What a terrible book - not only is it difficult to read - but missing much of common Ecology viewpoints and basics. Worthless, absolutely worthless - anyone want to by mine - cost of postage. If not, I'll just burn it.