Who hasn't dreamed of taking a year off from work to explore one's inner self? A View From The Rooftops allows the reader to share vicariously in the author's spiritual pilgrimage. Whether she is discussing Zen or Merton or the Dali Lama, Renee Garfinkel approaches the subject from her Jewish soul. But her roots are only her starting point. The reader doesn't have to start with the author's passions for food or exercise to share her joys. But by the time one finishes this thoughtful and engaging book, one is sure to be questioning the boring absolutes of everyday life and at least thinking of new places and thoughts to explore.

The Talmud says 50 is the age at which one should give advice, and Garfinkel celebrates her 50th by taking a sabbatical year off from a BoBo lifestyle as shrink, wife, mom, academic, activist, and volunteer, and reflecting each day on one aspect of that spiritually busy year. In 365 pithy, poignant, wise, and funny entries, she covers ground from Nassau to Jerusalem, from a difficult but intellectually rich childhood to the bittersweet joys of interacting with adult children. Blessedly free of jargon and cliches, "A View From My Rooftop" is a portrait of a woman who does too much--and does it brilliantly and refreshingly well. An inspiration.

As interested in diversity management as I am, I find much of the written material a bit dry and academic. Perhaps writers compensate for the strong feelings that this work brings up by trying to create some sense of distance. In any case, there is a real lack of simple, down to earth texts that are both effective and easy to assimilate. "Voices of Diversity" is the exception to all of this. As the subtitle indicates, the material in the book is based on the content of interviews and discussions with many individuals, and the vitality of their expression permeates the entire work.

The book starts out with some generic introductory material and then starts to go through the interview findings in a straightforward, group by group fashion. There are seperate chapters on African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Latinos, recent immigrants, workers with disabilities, younger and older workers, gays and lesbians, women, and white men. Two groups that were left out, which I feel should have been included are Jewish and Arab-American which are often, mistakenly lumped together with white male. Nor is much attention paid to religious or socio-economic diversity.

The chapters themselves start out with general discussion. They then go on to introduce the statements made by interviewees and discuss the stories behind them. Then several scenarios of workplace situations are introduced. After each scenario sections discuss what went wrong and what might have been done differently. I found this material very useful. Getting some insight into how the affected people felt and what they thought is tremendously useful in getting to the source of the real problem. The material on what should have been done provides good examples of simple, considerate and respectful behavior which could be the basis for finding common ground and resolving issues.

The book dates from 1994, but is still quite timely in 2001. Renee Blank and Sandra Slipp have a crisp, clear writing style that makes for easy reading. Not only is the book good reference material, but it would be a fine teaching tool for a discussion group. I would recommend "Voices of Diversity" for everyone's diversity reading list.

I am reading this book for a leadership program and have found a jewel. I am thoroughly enjoying the real-life examples of discrimination experienced by the various demographic groups. The book is written in layman's language, and without being blunt, its examples and how-to instructions are clear to the reader. I strongly suggest this to managers or staff members willing to learn more about diversity and how it fits into the workplace.

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection, which was seamless, smooth, yet intense. Finishing in two days (on a Sunday afternoon at the beach) with such a good feeling, but still wanting to read more of her work.

Renee Manfredi uses well-chosen specific, definite, and particular details that bring her stories to life. I believe the characters and the events in all the stories. Any passionate reader will rage through the stories as I did, because the proses draw you in and hold you until the end. I recommend all short stories' fans to read them. Renee Manfredi has a powerful writing style; I would read any of her stories any day.

This books answers every question teachers need answered. No boring theory.. just great suggestions! There are so many ideas that were not taught in teacher training programs. What I liked most was that she has a good sense of humor too. SHe even gives you her email address for help. She is my cyber-mentor!(Prejteach@aolcom)

This book was given to me as a gift and has helped me in the classroom. The book isn't about theory and is easy and fun to read. There are hundreds of strategies and you can read it in a day. Every teacher should own a book like this to make his/her job easier. The book answers all the questions we have and helps us have the discipline in the classroom that we all need in order to teach our students.

I think Accidental Fiancee was kind of slow but sweet and that Renee Roszel could'vhave made the story a little bit longer because I get the feeling that she rushed through it. I am not giving away the ending or anything but I think it ended too fast and it could'vhave been a little bit more developed. But anywayz the hero is Zachary Merit and the heroine is Olivia Nordstrom.

Zack is a daredevil, he jumps out of planes and does stunts for fun. He met Olivia when he saved her from death. (Olivia's's parachute wouldn't open when she jumped out of the plane) After he saved her, a few days later he reads in the newspaper and finds out that he was engaged to Olivia. And then it was kind of predictable about the paparazzi hounding him. And because of that he escapes to his family's home, Merit Island, which has a security like Fort Knox.

Olivia is the daughter of a senator that wants to run for presidency. But besides that she is like a goody two shoes person. She arrives to Merit Island to apologize to Zack about their so called engagement. She then faints because of overwork. (I did say she was the daughter of a senator that was running for presidency) Olivia stays there for a week to rest up and while she was there she begs Zack to teach her how to be wild. Because all her life she had to follow her daddy's rules and couldnt be the person she wanted to be. So Zack is teaching her to be wild.

But the funny thing is that Zack is having naughty thoughts about little Ms. Olivia and is trying to restrain himself, because of their differences. Some of the stuff that he says to Olivia, comes out all wrong and that was one of their problems. But read the book to find out! I recommend this to people who enjoy light romances and not the totally in depth stuff. And could somebody please tell me what are the other 2 Merit books? Because there are 3 in this whole set (Merits of Marriage) and "AAccidental Fiancee is the last one and I didnt read the previous 2.

^_^ ~ Izzy

This is a short story in the American Girls Short Stories series about Addy Walker, a ten-year-old African-American girl living in the America of 1865. After the joy of celebrating the end of the Civil War, Addy's world is thrown into confusion when she receives the news the President Abraham Lincoln was shot. All her hopes for a better future seem gone. However, just when things look their darkest, Addy finds reason to hope.

The final chapter is a historical look at Lincoln's death and its aftermath, and then a nice quiz on Mr. Lincoln. (My eleven-year-old daughter got 8 out of 8!) Once again, Connie Porter has produced a great Addy book, one that shows what life was really like, and teaches a lesson. We highly recommend this book!

This is another in the American Girls Short Stories series about Addy Walker, a ten-year-old African-American girl living in the America of 1865. Addy gets a surprise when the railway company her father works for gives her family passes so that they can visit him in Cape Island, New Jersey. The experience begins to sour, though, as Addy finds herself confronted on every side by racism. When a little white girl pours abuse on Addy, she wishes her ill from the bottom of her heart, but later she sees the other girl's impoverished life, and begins to feel different.

The final chapter of this book has an interesting look at Cape Island (later Cape May), New Jersey, and some fun and easy directions for making your own vanilla ice cream! As with all of Connie Porter's Addy books, this one is great! The author successful shows the pain and hurt of racism, but succeeds in turning it into an upbeat and hopeful story. My twelve-year-old daughter loves her Addy doll, and loves this book. We both recommend the book to you very highly!

This book is very, very interesting. My seven year old daughter loved this book. The book is about the dfferent homesteads that Laura and her family had lived and the adventures of not only Laura's, but Jack, her bulldog, as well. This book is bound to keep any child on the edge of their sits with the dangerous experiences that Laura and Jack and her family face. The reader of this book with experience many different emotions from being happy to tears of sadness. I recommend this book to all children.

This book was really great. I think that all Laura Ingall Wilder books are fantastic. I own 6 of my own and I truly love them, but out of all of them I think that this was the best one. Everyone is wonderful and I would suggest this book to anyone.

These are great stories for early chapter book readers. (There's another earlier title in the series). Annabel reminds me a lot of the Junie B. Jones books, only she's not so smart-alecky. I admire her becasue she wants to be an actress, not a movie star, and she's willing to do the work to achieve her goal. She's a girl with a lot of fortitude and ingenuity. Great role model. Lots of humor.

I'd highly recommend this for second grade readers.