Loved the book, MARVA COLLINS' WAY by Marva Collins and
Civia Tamarkin . . . this is the inspirational story of a woman who started her own school in Chicago and made a difference in the lives of her students . . . it is a MUST READ for anybody interested in education--or, in general, having children succeed in life.

Her thinking makes so much sense . . . for instance, she tells
teachers to not mark papers with wrong answers; instead, tell
students how many they got right.

There were many memorable passages; among them:
[talking to a student] "Very good, James. You're so clever,
but I don't want to see you put your head on the desk. If you are leepy, you should be home. This is a classroom, not a hospital or a hotel. I don't ever want to see any of you napping in your seats or just sitting with your hands folded, doing nothing. This is not a prayer meeting. If I see your hands folded, I'm going to put a Bible in them."

When Tracy rummaged through her lunch sack a half hour before noon, arva reminded, "Don't worry so much about feeding your stomach. Feed your brain first and you'll always find a way to get food for your stomach."

[to a student who was erasing her wrong answer] "No, darling.
Remember, we draw a circle around the error and put the
correct answer above it. We proofread mistakes, we don't
erase them. When you erase a mistake from the paper,
you erase it from your mind, too, and you will make
the same mistake over again."

I am a college student majoring in education. The book Marva Collin's Way was the book I chose to read from my class list. I am so glad that I chose this particular book. I will use this book as a daily guide for my life experiences. Marva Collins is a phenomenal woman. She has inspired me to be a better parent and teacher. I want to be able to teach and influence children and adults on a daily basis. We all have the power to educate; therefore I must obtain as much wisdom and knowledge as possible. Marva Collins has given me a method that's unlike any I have ever seen. I enjoyed the book tremendously and I recommend everyone to purchase the book and refer to it as often as possible. This book is not only about children, it also encourages you to get more out of life not only for yourself, but for those you come in contact with. I am encouraged to live my life the way Marva Collins has implied along with the way the Lord has implied. Let's be encouraged to save our children and adults from low self-esteem.

I am a student majoring in Education at Macon State College. Several students (including myself) chose to read Marva Collins' Way and present our information to the class. We thought it best to actually do a skit from the first chapter to show our fellow students just how Marva's methods of teaching got through to her students. Needless to say, we received rave reviews from our fellow students! In a nut shell, Marva's methods on teaching stem from SELF-ESTEEM. Marva builds on that and the skies the limit! Marva's teaching methods reflect so much of Emerson's Self-Reliance - it's all about the student's perception of the teacher and how that teacher views the student. If you have a chance, go online and read Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson and compare it to Marva's methods. This will give you a better idea just how Marva can take negativities in students and change them into positive aspirations. Marva Collins' Way was very easy to read and had a fantastic preface. I was "sold" on the book as much as Marva's students were "sold" on learning. I thought the book put a bit too much emphasis on this being a way to teach African American children and not enough emphasis on "Returning to Excellence in Education" which is something I fell breaks through all racial barriers, yet keeps diversity intact. I would suggest this book to anyone, not just teachers, who would like to reinforce positive attitudes in children both in and out of school. With all the reference material provided at the back of the book, it is a must have!!! With positive self-esteem, anything is possible! After all, "Man is his own star" - Emerson.

This 54-page 5-chapter book tells the story of Joe Browder's successful 1969 effort to defeat the planned construction of a major airport 50 miles from Miami in the Big Cypress Swamp. As head of the Miami chapter of the U.S. National Audubon Society, Browder felt that his only chance to stop the destructive development in the swamp would be to gain support from others. He convinced both old-time alligator hunter Gator Bill and Miccosukee chief Buffalo Tiger to join his fight.

Next Browder drafted Marjory Stoneman Douglas. Douglas had written her legendary book, River of Grass, in 1947. He drove her to the site of the jetport, where some trees had already been cut and the swamp drained. She decided then and there to help. The people of Florida could have a jetport or the Everglades, but they couldn't have both. The former, if constructed, would destroy the latter.

Douglas formed the Friends of the Everglades and took the fight to Washington D.C. and then Interior Secretary Walter Hickel and Secretary of Transportation John Volpe. They ordered an environmental study, which found that the jetport would so pollute the Glades' water, its lifeblood, that all wildlife there would be threatened.

At last, Joe Browder too made it to Washington, where he met with President Richard Nixon. Transportation Secretary Volpe supported the jetport, while Interior Secretary Hickel opposed it. Nixon sent his daughter Julie to Florida to see the Everglades. When she returned to Washington, she told her the President that the Everglades were a national treasure. Nixon called a press conference and opposed the jetport.

This is a great book for children, which shows what can one person can accomplish if only he tries. And of course, it extols the virtues of one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Alyssa A. Lappen

While written as a social studies textbook for young children, Save the Everglades is the most accurate account ever published about the time so many years ago when environmentalists, Native Americans and the people who lived and hunted in the Everglades joined together to protect America's most endangered National Park.

Save the Everglades is part of a series of 28 books edited by the late historian Alex Haley (of Roots fame), written to help children understand how change in America is made by real people. Haley placed this book about a conflict between protecting nature and building an aiport in the same category with the series' book about the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott -- books about people working together, making choices about what kind of communities they want to have.

Save the Everglades tells how very different people who all shared a love of nature fought to stop political leaders and real estate developers in Miami, Florida from building what would have been the world's largest airport, just a few miles from Everglades National Park and within the Big Cypress Swamp, the wildest and richest part of the Everglades. Hunters, alligator poachers, Miccosukee Indians, school children and environmental leaders started a national campaign that convinced the President of the United States to withdraw federal money and permits for the airport project, and then to buy the Big Cypress and make it part of the Everglades protected by the National Parks System.

This book is about one of the campaigns that helped bring together the national environmental movement of the 1960s, but the book is also important for people who care about today's environmental issues, because Everglades National Park is, in the year 2000, once more threatened by another airport project sponsored by Miami political leaders and real estate developers. So people in Florida and across America are once more appealing to the President of the United States to Save the Everglades.

To make the publisher's first draft more suitable for children, the author added some false drama (fear of flying) and eliminated some true drama (death plots by real estate promoters, oddly enough referenced inaccurately in a more recent book about Florida, Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief). The writer of this review is also the principal subject of Save the Everglades, and so can personally confirm that with those exceptions, the story is accurate.

Alex Haley is rather unappreciated these days, as his reputation is unjustly tarnished by issues surrounding the veracity of "Roots." But this collection of his pioneering interviews for Playboy should leave no doubt that this was a fine journalist.

The interviews with individuals then prominent on the African-American scene -- Miles Davis, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Sammy Davis Jr., Jim Brown -- are very insightful. For anyone who happens to be a journalist, or aspires to be one, the book serves as a textbook of a kind. With Miles Davis and Brown -- the ultimate "hip" individuals -- Haley comes off as something of a square, but nonetheless asks questions that elicit thoughtful and candid responses.

His interview with Johnny Carson is another highlight. Carson, then in only his fifth season as host of "The Tonight Show," already appears, thanks to Haley's prodding, to be an embittered showbiz veteran, an intelligent man who fully realizes the relative unimportance of what he does for a living.

The conversation with neo-Nazi leader George Lincoln Rockwell is a masterpiece. Without losing his own cool, Haley is able to allow Rockwell to expose himself as a complete buffoon, if a dangerous one.

Toward the end of the book, you'll find Haley's account of the pros and cons of being the author of "Roots." He doesn't ask for sympathy, but he is realistic about the experience.

I'm sorry to see that it's out of print, but if you have any interest in the U.S. during the 1960s, you should make the effort to find this book. You won't regret it.

Kids are invited to become sleuths into family history with Climbing Your Family Tree: Online And Off-Line Genealogy For Kids, a lively title, packed with tips on how to become an ancestor detective. From conducting interviews with family members to tracking down naturalization records, birth certificates, and regional history, Climbing Your Family Tree will appeal to all young readers who become fascinated with the fine art of genealogy.

Roots is a very good book.I gave it five stars.I gave it five stars because I learn about how life was awhile back.People where working hard hours,treated like dirt,and being called a "N" word.But one man took a big risk to make things right and change history,making everything right.If you haven't read this book you had better cause' this is one of the best books I've ever read

Alex Haley & Dave Stevens' QUEEN is a rare gem---the story of an american family that touches many lives. Queen is the main focus of the book but her story spans past & future generations from Ireland to America. Some of the characters are tragic but all have hope for a better tomorrow. The heartbreak of Easter's love for her "master", Queen being taught to read by her grandpa and the Haley family's quest to get a better education for their youngest son are just some of the heartbreaking stories in this novel. I enjoyed the book very much and I now hope to finally read ROOTS.

Alex Hailey is one of the greatest writers known to man. He truely displayed his writing ability in his book Queen. By reading Roots, I was able to follow along as if I was there. The book was truely heartfelt and encourages me to read all the rest of his books.

I absolutely loved this book and have read it many times. It starts with Ireland and goes through the slavery struggle and family life inbetween. The characters are amazing portrayed and presented. Not only does it inspire thought emotion and passion, it makes you wish you could express life so creatively on paper. BRAVO Mr. Haley! I can't wait to read Roots!

This novel is one of the best I have read. Alex Haley and Stevens express a kind of compassion from a grandmother/mother that no one could do better. It's a very emotional book, and touches everyone that has ever experienced a good book. Once you start it, you can't put it down!

Reading this book is like cozying up with a warm blanket. The authors provide so much detail that you feel like YOUR grandmother is sitting in front of you, recounting the tales. The book spans the decades, from the early 1900s to the late 1970s and throws in a bit of history/current events to place the family's hostory in context. Great book!

This book made you feel apart of it. I loved it! I loved the history, the story, the emotions and how it wove a story of a loving family working their way through life. This is a must read.

Roots is an important novel. It was a part of the process of African-Americans coming to understand themselves. This process started with the "black is beauty" movement and its most recent development is the growing popularity of the holiday Kwanzaa. This book dispelled the notion, taught by western society, that blacks should be ashamed of the African origins and enslavement of their ancestors.

Root is an important American novel but that is not the reason why you should read it. It should be read because it is an excellent example of the historical novel. Fact and fiction are mixed together to bring alive the rich history of America.

As you read this novel you will marvel at the bravery and dignity of the African named Kunta Kinte and his decedents. You will witness the brutality of the past and see historical events through a new perspective. You will feel pride as you see the human spirit triumph.

Mr. Haley's writing style is not very artistic but it is clear and precise. He truly recreates the past in a manner that will keep you turning the pages.

If you saw the television adaptation, you will also see the changes that were made to the tale to avoid alienating the majority of the audience.

I highly recommend this book to all that are eager to gain knowledge and enrich their souls.

One of my college friends who studied comparative literature in China wrote to me a few years ago, about how she was longing to visit Georgia one day, "The plantation, and the oak trees...". Gone with the wind is a classic and was well translated in many languages. The movie also brought countless publicity and I remembered that I read an article once how the book "corrected" the public perception of the south and the slavery.

Well, that was my impression too, until I read Roots. Gone With The Wind is a story from Whites perspective with a focus on romance. I feel now it carried a heavy make up on the real south and the slavery. It eulogized the relationship between white masters and black slaves. Roots, on the other hand, describes the same south and the slavery, from Blacks perspective.

Roots started from Kunta Kinte's life back in Africa, to stories of several generations in the South. I feel the African part was hard to read, maybe due to lack of interests personally. Once I got past that part, I was fascinated by the story and I was saddened many times by their struggles. I believe the book displayed a much more accurate picture on the slavery and on relationships between whites and blacks. It is more than a family's tale, it is history!

I strongly recommend this book to everybody, especially to those who are interested into American History, to non-blacks, and to foreigners like myself. With Gone With The Wind overshadowed Roots in many other countries, this book offers a great education on American Slavery and on Black History. It shreds new lights on the origins of many current issues in the U.S. such as racism, racial profiling, and affirmative action. I rank this book the best book I've ever read, well, at least in English.

I finally read this book after wanting to tackle its 1500+ pages for many years. I read this book in one week. It is an incredibly moving, exciting and insightful story that traces one American family from the African village of Juffure near the Gambian river, through the civil war and finally to its author Alex Haley. Haley did painstaking research to document an accurate history of his family which can be a typical history of all AFrican Americans. Being a very dramatic, and well paced story with surprises and plot twist; it could be the best source of learning of Black history that exists. I encourage everyone to read it.

The disturbing, thought-provoking autobiography of one of the most influential American black leaders of the 1960s. The book essentially comprises four sections -

1. Alex Haley's long introduction, describing the events leading up to Malcolm X's death;

2. Malcolm X's description of his childhood and youth, which were marred by social deprivation, racial intolerance, the violent death of his father, and his descent into the criminal underworld;

3. Malcolm X's account of how he built his Muslim faith via Elijah Muhammad, and his consequent work with and split from the Nation of Islam;

4. Malcolm X's Hajj to Mecca and the effect that had on his views.

Being white, non-American and non-Muslim, of course this book was difficult for me to appreciate in full. Nonetheless, I found it to be at times a very unsettling read, as no doubt it was meant to be. The descriptions of Malcolm X's childhood and youth give an insight into small-town intolerance and the shady nether-world of the big cities (especially of the hypocritical "respectable" whites who sought black people for sexual favors, yet wouldn't be seen anywhere near a black person in a "normal" social context).

The account of Malcolm X's conversion to Islam and the growth of the Nation of Islam was the most difficult part for me. Notwithstanding Malcolm X's arguments to the contrary, I consider that his view that "all whites are devils" was pure reverse-racism. To state that he was referring to whites as a whole, not as individuals, was disingenuous, and directly contradicted by both his own constant referral to individual whites in those terms, and by the shift in his views after the Hajj. Trotting out a cocktail of genetic/racist/religious intolerance is symptomatic of the worst and most destructive parts of human history in the twentieth century - it should be challenged from whathever source it comes, as it offers no positive future. Added to which, I find the "my-God-is-bigger-and-better-than-your-God" argument utterly demeaning.

To be fair, Malcolm X ends the book on a hopeful note. He did pause to reflect upon his experiences in Saudi Arabia and challenged his own beliefs. His view that we should all work for non-racist societies, unfortunately, still remains a vision rather than a reality. Surely Malcolm X was right in his consistent point that there must be a re-learning and re-contextualisation of world history, and of the need for a greater awareness that the socio-economic power of the West also brings with it great obligations to use that power fairly and contructively.

When I was first told by my Ethics teacher (I'm a high school Junior) that our syllabus would include The Autobiography of Malcolm X, I questioned why. Why in a course of ethics, would we study Malcolm X? As we delved into the book, I realized that it was an integral part of our studies. Malcolm's plight was a slap in the face, especially from my point of view. My first reaction to his "rants" on white america, was pure anger, I felt his vast generalizations to be demeaning and insulting, and if it had not be required reading, I would have probably put the book down. I am thankful that I didn't, because it has opened my eyes, and I believe that every person, regardless of religion, race, or creed, needs to experience this book, and examine Malcolm's life as a hustler to a martyr. My views will forever be changed by the words of Alex Haley, and the amazing story of Malcolm X.

Growing up in a home where Martin Luther King, Jr. was considered the closest thing to a saint, I was not aware of much about Malcolm X. He was the ONE who was too radical, too opinionated, and too controversial for my parents to accept.

However, when I saw Spike Lee's masterful motion picture autobiography, I had to find out more about this man. I was led to read the life story in his own words and am I glad that I did.

Malcolm X was an individual who encompassed the rage and the determination of the black man of the 1960's. He began, as have so many struggling to survive in the inner city, as a hustler involved in the numbers game. This led to an incareration which brought him into the "light" of Islam.

His views changed and he spearheaded much of that movement designed to faciliate black economic survival and pride. He was misquoted, misunderstood, and underappreciated by the very people that he sought to uplift.

The book will bring the reader greater insight into this most complex human being. Previous biases about him should be placed aside and take him for what he was: a Black man with a mission, a mission to instill integrity and self-sufficiency in a people long denied many of America's basic principles.

I never read Haley until now and I am sorry it has taken so long.The story starts off like an after school special but, suddenly picks up speed and turns into an amazing novel.Haley has a way of just giving enough to spark your imagination. I thought about this book for a long time. I guess what I got out of it was how each of us can over come our percieved ideas and become better people.

"A Different Kind of Christmas" is the tale of a white southern born and bred college student (Fletcher) during the mid 1800's. Fletcher is the only son of a wealthy slave owning senator who believes a northern education is excellent preparation for his son's eventual ownership of the plantation. After being befriended by Quaker classmates, Fletcher's education is broadened to include the abolitionist doctrines upheld by the Quakers. As Fletcher integrates this new knowledge into his worldview, he is moved to join the Underground Rail Road system and is assigned the task of freeing slaves from his hometown in North Carolina.

Fletcher is joined by a slave from his hometown, Harpin' John, who is also a part of the UGRR. Together they plan the escape of twelve slaves. The story takes a turn when the escape plans are discovered. Suddenly, Fletcher and Harpin' John are fleeing from sure execution at the hands of the slave patrol.

This little tale is filled with information on the abolitionist movement while at the same time delivers a fable like story that appeals to children and adults. This is an excellent read for children. As an ongoing bedtime story or independent read the novel portrays an integral part of American history in an easily readable format. This will make a nice addition to children's libraries.

When Fletcher Randall returned home to Ashe County, North Carolina from the College of New Jersey (Princeton) and suggested that the family have a "truly different Christmas celebration," his parents, wealthy plantation owners and slaveholders, had no idea how different it would be.

They know of his "stormy relationship with the Yankee students" and his "incompatibility with his Southern classmates." However, Fletcher had not told them that he had become "friends" with "Friends" - better known as "Quakers whom his father deplored for their strong anti- slavery views." That friendship was the beginning of a transformation in the thinking of the heir to the plantation and his father's political position. He learned that the best and most important education does not come from books, lectures, library, nor the family. Instead, it comes from the ability to think for oneself and the courage to follow one's conscience - even if it means risking everything.

Alex Haley skillfully tells a story of a young man and his struggle between doing what his parents, background, and culture instilled in him and what he came to realize was right. It is also the story of the Underground Railroad - its history, how it operated, the dangers faced by escaping slaves and "conductors" alike, and how a simple woodland noise or an innocent question from a stranger could mean the difference between life and death.

This is a simple story, and the reader knows from the beginning the choices Fletcher will make. However, wanting to know how and when they will be made and who will be involved makes you read on and on.

This book joins the list of others, which I will read at Christmas time year after year. It should become a Christmas classic.