Deutsche Sprache und Landeskunde is a well-developed text for a first-year German course. In the preface, the authors specifically state that the book was designed after extensive research to avoid the shortcomings of other texts; in particular, they highlight features such as simple grammar explanations, thematically-controlled vocabulary introduction, balanced skill development, cultural relevance in readings and dialogues, and ample activities and "engaging exercises." The book consistently lives up to those promises. Although the book was clearly written for the undergraduate level, it might also be appropriate for mature or advanced high-school level students.

One of the first features of the book that appears particularly attractive is its well-planned layout. Each chapter is organized around a theme, and the themes are ordered in a natural sequence, presenting the experiences of an American exchange student in Germany (Rick) and a German exchange student in America (Renate). For example, the first chapter, Gruß und Abschied, presents greetings and introductory phrases; following chapters include Ankunft in Europa, Erste Eindrücke von Deutschland, and Eine Reise durch Deutschland. These are followed by chapters about national customs, shopping, home life, free-time activities and sport, University studies, and so on. The themes seem quite natural, not artificial, and they would likely be appealing to many students, who would naturally consider learning a language as a means to using it in the land(s) where it is spoken.

Each chapter is divided into six units, each of which has a consistent style across the book: 1) Vorschau ("Preview") - a "cognitive overview" of the chapter's theme and core vocabulary. Most have drawings with vocabulary labeled, or occasionally photographs. These are followed by exercises to practice the vocabulary: fill-in-the-blank, word matching, sentence creation, free-style question answering.

2) Phonologie ("Phonology") - a short one or two page unit on a particular sound in German. (The book itself is prefaced by a two-page introduction to the letters and sounds of the language). While this section is an obvious attempt to make sure that phonological topics are spread throughout the text and not just lumped (and overlooked) at the start, the effect is that material that would be useful near the start of the course - the critical German ch sounds [ç] and [X], for example, - are found nearly at the end of the book. This is definitely material beginners would need early-on.

3) Sequenzen ("Sequences") - These form the heart of each chapter, presenting concise grammatical lessons in well-organized units. Each starts with a short dialog that demonstrates the structure or concept for that particular sequence. The dialogues are quite natural - they follow the 'theme' of the chapter, usually having to do with one of the two exchange students - and they employ short but meaningful sentences that students could quite easily learn and also put to use. They are followed by content-based questions in German, both objective and subjective, designed to check students' understanding of the passage and to provide practice in using its forms. An English translation of the dialog, using every-day colloquial forms, appears at the bottom of the page. Next come the grammatical units - first, a brief description, never more than a few paragraphs, followed by a series of examples, often in table format and almost always using real German sentences. Here, the book lives up to its promise of making grammatical explanations simple - even topics late in the text are never given the appearance of being ponderous. Exceptions or finer points are often noted at the bottom of the page. A generous number of exercises in German follow each grammatical topic, enough to provide even those students feeling challenged by the material with plenty of practice. The exercises usually start with pattern-practice drills, followed by simple substitution and transformation drills, then sentence completion drills and open-ended exercises for freer student expression.

Taken together, this combination of an inductive introduction to material, followed by a deductive explanation with examples in natural, useable German, capped with a variety of exercises, provides an excellent and highly useable coverage of the grammar of the language.

4) Sammeltext ("Collected Text") - Following the grammar units is a one- or two-page text in German designed to review and reinforce the grammar structures and the vocabulary encountered in the chapter. Designed as reading practice, they usually take the form of a letter, dialogue, or short monologue. Incidental vocabulary is glossed in the side margins of the page. No exercises follow.

5) Kulturecke ("Culture Corner") - Next in each chapter is a short cultural unit related to the current topic: forms for writing letters, the media, public transport, the Kaffee und Kuche tradition (German "tea time"), the school and university systems, etc. This cultural information is the gem of the book -- avoiding glib stereotypes, it introduces students to the commonalities and differences between American and German life. (Unfortunately, the inclusion of Switzerland and Austria as the final two chapters makes them seem almost like an afterthought).

6) Wortschatz ("Vocabulary") - At the end of each chapter, new vocabulary is summarized by part of speech, with lists in German and English side-by-side.

Every chapter also starts with a page describing the language and cultural objectives for the unit, along with a brief outline of material. The objectives are well written - not only describing what will be discussed, but also why a student might use such material in real-world situations.

Following each chapter is a mini-unit on blue pages called a Zwischenspiel ("in-between game") presenting excellent additional material for communication practice - oral situations and dialogues to be acted out, short readings, and writing exercises. An Endspiel unit at the end of the book presents a brief excerpt from the Dürrenmatt play, "Das Unternehmen der Wega." Unlike the exercises within the chapters, which stay quite close to the ongoing themes of the two exchange students, these exercises are based around situations in average German life, and provide excellent material to create opportunities for individual and group student practice in using all four language skills from the start.

The book includes an Appendix that summarizes the key information about German verbs - both regular and irregular ("weak" and "strong") verbs - in a tabular format in under eight pages. This can serve as a handy reference for students and as a learning aid for those whose learning style makes them inclined to prefer a more structured, rather than descriptive, approach. The addition of tables summarizing pronoun cases and adjective declensions would have been useful.

One criticism with the layout of the text is that, in trying to present such a wealth of material for a year's course in German language and culture in 600 pages, the text itself appears simply too dense. The book could benefit from more white space, and perhaps differing type styles to differentiate types of material - explanations, exercises, dialogues. It could be daunting for some students to approach, and certainly could not be covered in its entirety by any typical class.

Quarter-Acre Of Heartache is a history of the survival of the Golden Hill Tribe in Trumbull Connecticut told in the words of Chief Big Eagle, spokesman for the oldest and smallest Indian reservation in America. In order to survive, Big Eagle and the tribe have endured many daunting legal, social and physical challenges. A history of injustice unfolds in the words of Big Eagle. Will it continue or will it be reconciled? The victory of building a traditional log cabin on the site of the Golden Hill reservation only comes after incredible legal and personal challenges and delays and more delays. Many black and white photos enrich the biographical text taken by Claude Clayton Smith. In the afterword by the author, it is stated that the entire " question of jurisdiction has been reopened with a new intensity, and the Indian tribes of Connecticut continue to squabble among themselves, as they did over three hundred years ago, while trying to unite in the face of the white man's rule (p. 168)." For varied audiences.

This 100 page book from the McGraw-Hill "Horizons" science series is a translation from the French Hachette "Questions of Science" science series originally published in 1991. This makes the book 12 years old, but having just completed an upper division cell biology course a few weeks ago I can tell you the content of this little book is still fairly Fresh. Kordon does a good job of rattling off the latest in cell and molecular biology in a very qualitative, linguistic style that nevertheless manages to retain the essence of what actually occurs within and outside of the cell. It ends with an odd segue about disciplinary conscilience and politics, but this takes up only about 10% or less of the book. Mostly the book is about cell surface and intracellular signaling, immunology, developmental biology, evolutionary molecular genetics, with various proteins and hormones thrown in. I read this book once before I took cell biology and once after. It was a little confusing in the former case and a little simplistic in the latter, but each time it still conveyed a vast amount of information in a very short span; making the book, I think, a brisk, rewarding read for both the scientist and lay reader alike. Kordon makes a couple of credible stabs at correlating neuroendocrinology with social behavior and describing putative molecular evolutionary possibilities in terms of highly conserved cellular signaling pathways; and all with that certain French flair. In attempting to explain his own clumsy explanations Kordon says,

"No metaphor is really explanatory; rather, it reflects the cultural references through which we have been conditioned to decipher reality. But these cultural references play an important role in the way we look at the world. We have not yet really learned how to teach biology through the cultural references of our time, which perhaps explains why for many of our contemporaries its picture is still somewhat blurred."

How can you complain about a cellular biologist who is also a structural literary critic.