The Case Against College is an amazing book that was written over 25 years ago. the author, Caroline Bird, confronts many difficult questions about the real value of a college education, gathering vast amounts of research from her lectures at many universities across the u.s. and the courses she also taught.

what makes this book an eye-opener, is that many of the tough questions she tackles in her book, like "is college worth it?", "are colleges losing credibility?", "are students, parents, and taxpayers, getting what they paid for?", and "are there alternatives?", are tough questions that many today are still asking.

Ms. Bird has discovered a huge gap between college expectations and what colleges actually can deliver. it is even stated that going to college could be the dumbest investment a person can make. in that, not all students end up making more money, or even being more successful.

although this book was written over 25 years ago, it is still full of ideas and questions that every student should consider before heading off to college. many do not weight the pro's and con's of college, and just head off to college. for some, college can become a personal disaster.

this book has made a huge difference in my personal academic life, and has led to the founding of selfcollege.com a college dedicated to new ways of thinking. it is the #1 recommended book for all of our students.

i urge any student, parent, or faculty member to get their hands on a copy of this book. ironically, this book, The Case Against College, can be found on the shelves of many college libraries.

the book will give you something to think, and re-think about.

jason hanken
founder, self college

I love this book! In a lovely tale, the book describes how the seaside village of Sconset on Nantucket began. My son loves the illustrations and enjoys trying to find the seagull character on every page. True Nantucket!

The ending of this book has such a twist, that most children I've read this book to don't seem to get it. Actually, only a handful of parents seem to realize what just happened. But that doesn't detract from the fact the story of one incredibly hungry hen and one slowly starving fox is one of the more entertaining children's books to come out in 2001. The illustrations fit the story well, as does the use of repetition throughout the hungry hen's story. While I'm sure the fun twist can be seen coming a mile away, I won't ruin it here for people who don't read reviews. Needless to say, whether you're reading this to one child, or an entire classroom full of chilren, this simply told story entertains them all.

I've owned this book for a couple of years or so. It's a guide I'll refer to when I'm at home, but I don't like using it out in the field. It's a guide that I've never felt very comfortable using. There are better ones out there than this. I can't quite point my finger at what I don't like about this book. The information and maps are fine. I guess it would have to be the fact that the book's drawings don't seem as good as other guides illustrations. The book is quite large also, and not really pocket sized. My favorite illustrated guides are Roger Tory Peterson's Eastern Birds and All the Birds of North America (the drawings are more reliable in these I believe).

I can't say how disappointed I am with this book. I used the earlier edition for years. The problem is with the maps. NGS of all people shouldn't have this problem. The color for winter is no longer a blue streak but a series of single blue dots that you need a photographer's loupe to see. Also the text states they changed year round color to pink but my color is a burnt rust. There are new species and some birds renamed but they don't tell you what they are. The text advises to look in the index and that "see" will point out the differences but in the index "see" is also used for cross references not just a change. The paper is poorer stock and the printing of colors is way off. This looks like a slap dash project just to be able to resell the title.

I've been birding for about 5 years, and this is the book I always have with me on birding expeditions - it's small enough to portable (though not small enough for a pocket,) and the illustrations are excellent in quality. Has very nice comparison pages, showing several similar-looking species, such as ducks, hawks, gulls, and warblers. The descriptions are generally very good, and contain useful distinguishing information.

Generally, I prefer drawings/paintings to actual photographs when using birding books - I've found that often times, the photographs in birding books are less than good examples of several species, especially when there are one or more variations. Also, with illustrations, the artist controls the lighting, the angle, et cetera. Since this book uses illustrations, so perhaps I'm biased toward it in that way.

I have about a dozen birding field guides, and the only one I like better than this one is the Sibley; however, the extremely large size of that book prevents me from taking it on any but short trips. The NGS book here is more than sufficient for most birders, I would imagine. Another plus is that it's all the birds of the continent, period; no need to buy an Eastern/Western edition when you travel to other areas of the country.

An excellent book, all around.