We read this book in our homeschool history class. It's great for colonial unit study. Even mom learned a few new things about Ben Franklin! How cool is that!

These picture book biographies are great for lower elementary students. Big colorful pictures and packed with information. Great for colonial unit study.

When I was very small, I was terrified every time I got onto an airplane: how could something so large possibly lift off the ground? Like most of the rest of us, though, I have gradually lost that fear- I simply look forward to the peanuts and trust in the engineeers, who are capable of designing things I could never possibly understand.
Reading John Hulls' book recaptured for me a sense of that wonder in the awesome feat of flying. Cody and the Wright brothers became more than just clever engineers, they were ingenious and daring pioneers who put their own lives on the line, rising hundreds of feet in the air supported by nothing more than bamboo and canvas. Cody's madcap adventures (cow hand, gold miner, variety show creator, Royal Aeronotical Society member, etc..) would make a wild story in any age, but are particularly resonant on the brink of the centennial of flight.
Hulls' book, though aimed at children, is informative and interesting for anyone fascinated by flying and the art of invention. Here is a simple story well told: the writing is clear and evocative, the characters come alive on the page, and once again history is a story worth telling.

Herding cattle up the Chisholm Trail from Texas to the Kansas railheads for shipment, young Samuel Cody became fascinated with the kites built by the chuck wagon's Chinese cook. The cook taught Cody kite building, starting the young cowhand on an odyssey that would take him to the Klondyke gold rush, then to the London stage with his KLONDYKE NUGGET, to full fellowship in the Royal Aeronatical Society and simultaneous birthing of the British aircraft industry.
The show's success, with roles for all his family, enabled Cody to indulge his kite habit on a grand scale, shown in the book's many fine photos. In 1901 they built the first practical man-carrying kite (woman-carrying, too--Lela shown in a photo aloft in formal hat and long dress, the first woman to fly in a heavier-than-air craft). The Royal Navy and then the Army bought Cody's kites, leading Cody to friendship with Colonel Capper, a British army officer ostensibly developing balloons for artillery observation but actually harboring visions of flight.
Cody and Capper collaborated in leading England into the age of flight. They buzzed Buckingham Palace and the War Office with their powered airship, then developed a hang-glider kite, finally "Army Airplane #1." Capper, who knew the Wrights, risked his career in supporting Cody but Cody went on to repeated triumphs, winning the first British military aircraft trials in 1912. The very next year Cody died tragically in an aircraft accident. The British army buried him with full military honours after a procession attended by 50,000 mourners representing every British army regiment.
Pilots who write about flying often evoke magic. Hulls writes with the clarity and humour of St. Exupery, Gann, Bach and the handful of pilots whose love of flight becomes literature. The chapter "Flyers and Liars" captures the risk of early flight and the achievements of the Wrights and Cody, quoting the 1906 NEW YORK HERALD: "Despite extravagant claims, history would show that by 1908 only five humans had acquired significant time flying heavier-than-air machines. Two were dead--Otto Lilienthal and Percy Pilcher, a Scots engineer who had studied with him, died in flying accidents." Cody and the Wrights were the only ones with more than brief seconds in heavier-than-air flight. In all the other claims, no one knew enough to ask the key question: "How did you learn to fly?"
Coupled with illustrator David Weitzman's illustrations of what it took to learn even to make a simple turn, Hulls depicts the Wrights' and Cody's bravery and brilliance as they risked death to master flight. Among Cody's inventions: the variable-pitch propeller, whose efficiency Cody tested by tethering his airplane to a tree at Farnborough (a flight-test locale that became, decades earlier, the British equivalent of Edwards AFB). When the tree died recently, the RAE honored Cody by recreating the tree in aluminium on its original site.
While directed at younger readers, "Rider" is a wonderful book for anyone of any age interested in great American characters such as Cody and the Wrights, a must for pilots or indeed anyone with a love of flight or who today flies safely in a modern airliner.

While reading B. FRANKLIN, PRINTER I felt I was immersed in the 18th century with Franklin. I felt I really knew him. I loved the escerpts from colonial newspapers, especially the ones from 1775, the first-hand reports from the firing at Lexington and Concord. I was never bored!

This history of the House of David is objective, informative, and very well documented. The author conducted interviews with members, ex-members, and people who were in one way or another had interactions with the group and has many first hand stories included in the book. I enjoyed reading about all the things the group was involved in, made, invented, and the impact they had on the surrounding area and America as a whole.

The pictures included in the book enhance the text by giving faces to associate with some of the people involved in the group.

A fascenating history of one prophet, two cities, and the many good people who lived the religion. Well done, Mr. Adkin!

This book is written by leading psychiatrists who were among the first to identify the powerful danger of addiction to this form of cocaine. Crack was introduced into the Bahamas before it began to have its devastating effects in other countries including the U.S. Drs. Allen and Jekel have studied the crack problem from its inception. Containing much information based on extensive professional involvment with crack addiction and the large-scale social damage it causes, this volume is necessary reading for all serious students of the crack problem

First let me say that I rarely read non-fiction and even when I do, I rarely manage to finish an entire book of it. Democracy Betrayed is an exception. The writing was clear, precise, right-on, and interesting. And, perhaps most importantly, educational. I was born and raised in North Carolina and knew nothing--absolutely nothing--about the Wilmington Race Riots or the subject of Cecelski's essay Abraham Galloway. I am female and was a victim of gender based racial violence myself so I was aware of the issues raised in Gilmore's essay and White's essay, but I have never seen the issues written about so well. What I most like about this book is that it destroys stereotypes about class and race. After all isn't it the most well-to-do who most benefit from race violence so why should we be surprised to learn that it was not the so-called "white trash" who began the racial massacre in 1898, but the rich, the ones who were most likely to benefit from forcing the elected fusionist party officials out of office and placing themselves in their offices. I never knew--it certainly wasn't taught in my public school--that in 1896 every office in North Carolina was held by a progressive fusionist party member, elected by the fusion of lower class whites and blacks. Imagine how different this state would be, how advanced in talent and intelligence, if the massacre hadn't occurred, if black doctors, lawyers, real estate agents, newspaper editors and writers, etc, hadn't been forced from the state and if the elected officials had been allowed to remain in office. Perhaps what is most important is the book succeeds in "drawing public attention to the tragedy", a tragedy that is apparantly very much in the consciousness of Black Wilmington citizens and very much needs to be in the consciousness of all humans.

My boys...were immediately inspired by the fascinating
projects in this book! However, they are not able to make
the projects independently. I would highly recommend this
book for parents of kids who are willing to get their hands
dirty and for parent of kids who like multi-day projects.
We had a blast building a full model Stegasarous and T-rex,
but we spent many hours building them.

You will need to go to other resources for full details
about how/when/where the dinos lived. This is mostly a project
book and less of a reference book. But the projects are so
fun and interesting, it will make you want to learn more.

Who is the narrator? By the end of the tale i was confused if Chaucer, The Franklin or one of his characters was speaking to me! Chaucer, the author of Canterbury Tales introdues the Franlin who now has to tell his tale to the rest of a pilgrimage on their way to Canterbury. The franklin who is just below the nobility in rank spells out an exquisite teale in which Arveragus marries Dorigen and promises never to be her master or force her to do anything unwillfully. Arveragus soon departs the scene as he goes to fight abroad and along comes Aurelius who declares his true love for Dorigen. Dorigen is upset and is in two minds what to do so she casts Aureilus away by setting him an impossible task of removing all the rocks in the sea to win her love. Aurelius nearly dies but with help from his brother and a magician an illusion is created whereby all the rocks disappear. Dorigen is now in trouble as Arveragus returns and she cannot possibly confess to love both men at the same time. She tells Arveragus of the situation who forces her to live with Aurelius. Dorigen thinks about committing suicide but then decides to approach Aurelius who forgives her and tells her to live with her husband. Aurelius now has no money to pay the magician for his illusion but all ends well as the magician lets him off. Who is the most kindes of them all? It is difficult to suggest who but this tale is so enthralling that you have to read it to believe it!

This book is an inexpensive and very useful tool to help you understand the municipal market jargon. It's light and slim, making it extremely portable, and, in this world of speaking in acronymns, a good translator. One improvement I would make is including more acronyms or cross-referencing acronyms.

Preparing A Nation's Teachers: Models For English And Foreign Language Programs is a collection of twelve reports offering educators and administrators insightful perspectives on making departmental colleagues aware of current concerns in undergraduate preparation in language and literature, establish relations with specialists in education, develop ties with local and state secondary school systems, respond to academia's diverse student population, and work for change within the financial constraints of an educational institution's budget. Preparing A Nation's Teachers also provides models for English and foreign language majors, study-aborad programs, collaborative projects with local secondary schools, and introductory courses and capstone courses for majors. Highly recommended for college and university faculty and departmental administrators, Preparing A Nation's Teachers is replete with practical, effective, invaluable advice for examining educational programs and initiating successful reforms.