Barbara Willard's If All the Swords in England, first published in 1961, makes a happy comeback in this quality paperback edition by Bethlehem Books.

The drama unfolds during the turbulent years of the argument between King Henry II Plantagenet and Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, concerning juridical authority in church matters.

After the tragic deaths of their parents, brothers Simon and Edmund Audemer are separated. Edmund becomes a page in the court of King Henry II, while Simon becomes a scribe in the household of Thomas Becket.

Willard's use of the literary device of the two brothers allows the reader a "first-hand" glimpse into both the characters of Thomas Becket and Henry II as well as into the climate of the times.

The book is full of exciting episodes (including a miracle), and interesting characters. Barbara Willard's If All the Swords in England presents a timeless story of courage and conscience. It is also an excellent introduction to the heavier Becket by Anouilh and T.S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral. Grades 5-7.

If you read this book in conjunction with Kent Bowen's Harvard Business Review article 'Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System (Sept. Oct. 1999) you will get more out of both. The language and case studies are a little different, but the purpose is the same: to develop a system to utilize the scientific method in problem solving at every level of the organization. This book can take you through this complex world and tie together all the fragments we've been studying for years. Whether it's called lean manufacturing or operating systems or TQM, they are all systems that tie tools together in a common purpose. Understand: (1) how to tie it together, (2) how to teach and learn about it, and (3) how to implement it. This isn't a book with just one idea rehashed over and over; the devil is in the details, and this is filled with useful details that have been tested and proven effective. Before you set about trying to change or design your organization, read this book first. The only thing that I would have liked to see to make it better is a chapter on Toyota, the most benchmarked Integrated Management System in the world.

This is an excellent book both for those who need to learn the basics of pre-algebra concepts and for those well into algebra functions.

This book offers a 1-2-3, a-b-c step-by-step approach to learning complex algebraic problems. Excellent for self-study or to assist you in understanding most text book jargon.

Highly recommend.

Robert Healy's "Jefferson on Religion in Public Education" is a great read. Healy traces Jefferson's philosophy regarding education from his early days as a member of the Virginia Legislature to his creation of the University of Virginia near the end of his life. Healy relates Jefferson's thought on the importance of education to a free society and how only an educated populace can live free.

Healy tackles the divisive world of religion and public education by deliniating Jefferson's views. Jefferson did believe religion was compatable with education, but he did not believe education should be dominated by sectarian bigots. Jefferson eliminated religious teaching from the elementary school curriculum thinking children too young for such complex issues as religious dogma and tenets.

Jefferson was hostile not to religious belief, he himself believed in God, but was hostile to fanatical religious views which had inflicted hatred and fanaticism on the world. He believed school was for teaching the "illuminating" of the human mind, not indoctrinating with sectarian belief.

Mr Healy's book is a comprehensive study and worth the purchase.

"Oct. 22nd, 1837. 'What are you doing now?' he asked, 'Do you keep a journal?'-- So I make my first entry today." Thus begins Thoreau's Journal, made up of more then two million words and covering about twenty-five years of his life. No other work of Thoreau's better exhibits his discipline as a writer and his devotion to the natural world. In the Journal can be found the fragmented foundations of masterpieces such as Walden, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, The Maine Woods, and Cape Cod. But what is perhaps more interesting to a reader of Thoreau's Journal are his thoughts and insights on topics such as friendship, love, religion, nature, bravery, heroism, war, slavery, the art of writing, and, most important to Thoreau, the art of living. Anyone with any interest in Thoreau will find his Journal to be an invaluable aid in understanding and following the life of one of America's most profound prose writers

This was one of my favorite Her Story books. It is about Julie, a young girl who travels west with her family by covered wagon on the Oregon Trail in the 1840s. If you liked the other Her Story books you will like this one.

After 5 years on the Planning Commission, I got hooked on land use policies and controls. This book has given me an authoritative overview that would have helped me in so many ways as a Planning Commissioner.

What more can I say. Nothing else is adequate

Though considerably biased as one of the authors, I have asked countless students (leadership course at the graduate level), professors and industry leaders to review this book and provide feedback. The vast majority have indicated a strong consensus that it is an excellent basic guide to entry level and mid-level managers who are in search of tools and techniques to enhance their skills in leading people.

These same tools and techniques that are defined in the book, plus many others, are part of the curriculum in the Project Management Master of Science Program at the University of Texas at Dallas. The evaluations have been particularly good and for that, I thank my co-authors, Tom Berliner and Rob Van Til...two of the brightest minds and down-to-earth approaches to leading people that I've ever encountered.

Thanks for your time...

Can't wait to see this one. Lilla and Dworkin is like a collaboration between Ken Vandermark and Wynton Marsalis.