Writing with some of the clarity of her father and a perhaps a bit more emotional realism, Katharine Tait gives readers a nuanced and intimate look into the personal life of the great philosopher. Despite her anger, ambivalence, and frustrations, she clearly loved her father immensely. Anyone interested in Russell the man will find this book utterly absorbing.

Native American Legends Of The Great Lakes And The Mississippi Valley is an outstanding collection of legends, tales and myths drawn from the Native American peoples of the Great Lakes area, the Midwest, and the Mississippi River valley. This rich and diverse collection reveals the central beliefs and reflects the guiding principles of Winnebago, Ojibwa, Menominee, and other native tribes, providing the reader with insights into their outlook and aspirations. Native American Legends Of The Great Lakes And The Mississippi Valley is a welcome addition to personal, academic, and community library Native American Studies reading lists and reference collections.

I saw this book on a conference table at a writer's conference, and was struck by the illustrations. I bought it, and found the lyrical text so charming that, after struggling with myself, I donated it to my nearby library. The librarians have read-aloud choices for children's book groups, and report that its a favorite of theirs and of the children. I hadn't known about Gullah before, but the vocabulary is rich and gets the meaning through without any translation problem. It's a glimpse into one way of life that is unusual--but universal too. I loved it.

Daisy and Dan are twins who live near the High Forest. When they go walking in the woods one day, they meet some very strange people. These people turn out to be trees! As the two become friendly with the trees, they learn about the traditions from when there was more respect for the forest. Through each season they come to understand who is really a danger to whom, and become wrapped in the secret world of the tree kingdom. The story is enthralling and well written. You will never look at trees in quite the same way again.

The first two decades of the 20th century were marked by military conflicts, civil wars, genocide and famine. During these hard times a dozen of individuals from both sides of the Atlantic became extremely wealthy by founding oil companies. Among them was Calouste Gulbekian who had generated tremendous wealth from his oil dealings in the Middle East and Russia. Along with his knowledge of the petroleum industry Gulbenkian's passion for art led to a collection of masterpieces that is only rivalled by major museums. Islamic Art, Armenian manuscripts, French Sculpture, jewelry by Lalique, paintings by Rubens, Manet, Gainsborough and others - all reflect Calouste Gulbenkian's different facets of life. Gulbenkian was born in Constantinople to an Armenian family. He studied and lived in London, Paris and Lisbon. Along with his oil dealings in Russia in the 1920s he had also acquired art from Hermitage. In his letter to John Walker, curator of the National Gallery of Art, in Washington, D.C., in February 1953, Gulbenkian wrote: I fully realize that it is high time that I should come to a decision with regard to the future of my collections. You know also how deeply attached I am to them all, in fact, it is without slightest exaggeration that I consider them as "my children" and their future welfare is one of my dominant anxieties. They represent fifty or sixty years of my life and I have collected them, at times with immense difficulties, and always and exclusively guided by my own taste and judgement! Of course, as all collectors do, I have sought advice, but I do feel they are mine, after my own heart and soul!! On October 3, 1965 the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum and the headquarters of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation opened in Santa Gertrudes Park in Lisbon, Portugal.

Did you ever wonder where Charlotte the spider lived? I can visualize Mrs. White working away in one of her gardens, E.B. reclining on a lawn chair. He dozes off, and when he wakes finds a lovely garden spider has spun it's web exactly over his head. "Charlotte" he exclaims!

Mrs. White's articles were written several decades ago, and they reflect an era many cannot recall. (The median age of the U.S. population is about 30 so most residents were born after she wrote many of these articles.)

This was an era of elegance, white gloves, hats, and ladies luncheons--though Mrs White also worked fulltime for the New Yorker Magazine. Mr. White muses in the forward to this book that when they lived at their Maine home, every day before noon Mrs. White would arrive from the cutting garden with mud-ringed Ferragamos and arrange flowers for the dining room table. Well, I would never abuse my Ferragamos, but it's lovely to bring fresh flowers from the garden into the house.

Mrs. White had many uses for flowers. "Goldenrod...can be made into a crown of gold for a Harvest Queen or a necklace for a child." Her words evoke the more carfree days of a childhood when there were many fields about, and most children rich or poor could fashion a necklace of golden flowers. Riches indeed.

In an age when many gardeners are overly concerned with design, Katherine White reminds us Nature creates much more visually beautiful spaces than mere mortals can, and perhaps we better work to save the remaining space. I've enjoyed the pieces Mrs. White wrote, and I am glad Mr. White took the time to compile them into one book.

This great, classic history of Outward Bound in the United States has been updated to include the newer parts of Outward Bound including Expeditionary Learning, the highly successful school reform initiative.

One of the authors, Josh Miner, was responsible for bringing Outward Bound to the United States. He was there when it all started and his stories are so real and down to earth. This book is a must read for any one who has interest in Outward Bound or outdoor adventure in general.

I use this book as an introduction to learning theory for a masters class in educational computing technology. Many of my students have never had a learning theory class and this affords them an excellent overview of the subject area. In addition to well-written, concise overviews of many of the more popular theories, the authors provide exercises designed to stimulate classroom instruction. An excellent choice!

A refreshingly broad examination of world thought. Phillips does a fine job of tending both to the needs and dispositions of the Western reader without diluting any of the non-Western material. A nice break away from the normally Western-dominated bias found in texbooks of this sort.

This is a good, concise bio that is a good intro to any study of Henry VIII's messy marital history. It tells the sad story of Katharine of Aragon, a Spanish princess who was initially married to Henry's older brother Arthur, a sickly boy who died only four months after the wedding. During the years between 1502-1509, Katharine lived in near abject poverty, since neither her father-in-law, Henry VII, nor her father, Ferdinand of Spain, would give her any money to pay her staff, buy new clothes (Katharine was constantly altering and patching her gowns; for years she wore the same old dresses she'd brought from Spain in 1501 to marry Arthur), or even good food. Both Ferdinand and Henry VII thought it the other's job to provide for her. Then in 1509 her life changed forever, if not for the better. Henry VIII was now King, and he wanted to marry Katharine. And he did. At the time, Katharine saw him as her knight in shining armour, rescuing her from the poverty she'd been forced to live in for so long. They loved each other, and had waited years to get married. The fact that Katharine was five years older than Henry wasn't an issue then; Henry loved her just the same. Katharine thought all her problems were over, that she woul;d never be sad or lonely again. Truth is, the problems were just beginning...
This book keeps the action centered around Katharine, which is good because bios of people who really aren't all that well-known tend to wander from the subject. This is one of the best books on Katharine of Aragon for anyone to read.