David Orr is a hero in my mind. He is making a true diffence. In this amazing piece he explains how and why we must integrate ecology into every aspect of our educational system. He not only writes about this, he also practices what he preaches. This is evident at Oberlin college where he has built, with the help of Bill McDonough, John Todd and others, a building that acts like a tree. Great work David, keep it up.

Dr. Orr's analysis of the root causes of our environmental problems is powerful and pesuasive. Rather than trying to address the corrective actions for the symptoms (ozone holes and global warming, for example) he identifies their fundamental sources and focuses his proposed corrective actions on them. The lack of any meaningful educational content on what it means to be a citizen in a closed ecology on a planet with finite resources is at the center of why the environment continues to deteriorate. If you are serious about being part of the solution and not part of the problem, read this book! --and get others to do the same. I've bought twenty copies that I plan to send to the most influential people I know. If they will read it, they will be "hooked" as I was.

David Orr's book is powerful. I hope that this would become a best seller because it opened me up to a whole new way of thinking about what we can do with the environmental mess we have gotten into. Essentially we need to be educating people how to think from a system perspective and give people the experience to appreciate the environment. I hope you buy this book and be part of the solution.

This book gives a concise and impressive insight into all major concepts relating to Information Tehchnology. It is ideal for those who like to grasp the Information Technology concepts in the shortest possible time, which will enable them to be equipped with knowledge that would have taken much much longer time, if not for the distilled facts and coverage done by this book.

Orr expands on some of the themes brought to the forefront in his last two books (Ecological Literacy and Earth in Mind). However, he highlights aspects critical to a sustaining culture that lie outside the boundaries of convential educational thought, and even outside the previous bounds of Orr's comprehensive vision of education.
He explains and argues for a continually expanded vision of 'education' again, and embeds this process in the larger processes of life; tirelessy showing that there are no boundaries between the two - and what this means for our place in the living world.
Chapters such as "Architecture as Pedagogy" represent some of his past work refined.
It is in the first half dozen chapters, however, that I feel he gets closest to the heart of the matter. In chapters such as "Slow Knowledge" and "Verbicide" he brings forth such elements as time, information, the speed at which we unite (or disjoint) them, and our relationship between such daily elements. I have been on a constant search for commentary on the implications of our relationship with time as it concerns sustainability. (Some of the best writing on it, that I've found is in The Sabbath by A.J Heschel and Spell of the Sensuous by David Abram). There is little written directly about this in the general literature, much of it not embedded in the concept of sustainability. The majority of it is also somewhat hidden in studies of religion, symbolism, and philosophy. Orr brings these relationships into the open and connects our perception and the design of our use of time directly to the ground. He never loses sight of the how such processes impact our prospects for a livable future.
He also contextualizes this relationship in the ever widening definition (largely thanks to Orr himself) of DESIGN - specifically ecological design.
These aspects are only part of this commentary however; other areas focus on the idea of wilderness, political economy, vocation, technology and human development.
David Orr's ability to connect such topics and contextualize them within the qualities of 'usefulness' is needed fundamentally.
He uncompromisingly subjects dominant current (and lesser-discussed, but possible) beliefs, paradigms, technologies and techniques, to the questions:
"What good is it, are they? How does it/do they influence us? How does it/do they inform our actions? Does this further our best intentions? How does this influence the prospects of life now and in the future?"

Never before has such scrutiny been so necessary, and I have found no more enlightening and pragmatic commentary than that offered by David Orr. This book should raise the bar for others in the many fields of sustainability to broaden, deepen and connect these concepts further, and soon.

A look at both growing up and getting old. Growing up inAlabama with a message for everyone. Humor, tragedy, the dramatic andthe mundane. In short, the shape of life.

This book takes you back in time when it was the type of world we love to remember. It's a sentamental journey in time to a place that was special to all those who grew up there. It warms the heart with each page. I enjoyed the nostalgic stroll down the byways of a wonderful small Alabama town.

Robert David Ward brought together a diverse mix of people whose lives were linked by time and place, revealing both the uniqueness of this small southern college town and a common culture familiar to those who remember World War II, danced to the music of a young Frank Sinatra and big bands, and listened to The Lone Ranger on the radio. It was a time when children created their own entertainment and adventure, limited only by imagination and invention. Although the setting was unique to those who lived it, many of the experiences brought me back to my own childhood in a small southern town. Their stories pulled me right into their lives as they shared the experiences that shaped their futures. I felt as if Montevallo was my town and its young people were my best friends. Not since I read the stories of Rebeccah Wells and Pat Conroy have I felt such a kindred spirit with the lives of those portrayed in TIME HAS MADE A CHANGE IN ME.

The broad mix of voices who shared their recollections and images convey a history more authentic than any history book of deadly dull facts and dates. This book will make a perfect gift for my children and grandchildren!

The book is a very precice book. there are many chapters covering many of the major subjects of art. My skill have improved a great deal from reviewing this book. The book is a very long piece but its worth the time if you need too, or want to improve your artistic skill in every which way.

It's very clear and the best is that the examples are based on large recognized artist's draws not on author's draws.

I have two older versions of this book which was a required college text for a course a friend of mine taught. This is a thorough and up-to-date volume on the elements of drawing: line, shape, texture, value, gesture, shape, form, etc. What I like best about it is that it is illustrated with a wide array excellent contemporary and historical master drawings that make great examples when teaching a particular concept. I only wish it came with a companion volume of large prints or slides for teaching.
I have many books on drawing but this has the best visuals. Much better than many other drawing books are illustrated with only the author's drawings or perhaps a few Renaissance sketches and focus on only one small expect of good art: rendering representationally. This book brings gets to the heart of what makes good drawing is designed for professionals teaching at the college level but would probably make a good home study course for those without access to college courses.

I also liked the sequential exercises given and have used or adapted some for my own students. Covers a wide array of media from charcoal to pencil to pen and ink and colored pencil.

Orr has plenty to say about how the educational system can play a key role in ensuring that future generations better understand how to live in harmony with the earth. For example, on pp. 85-86, he writes, "The failure to develop ecological literacy is a sin of omission and of commission. Not only are we failing to teach the basics about the earth and how it works, but we are in fact teaching a large amount of stuff that is simply wrong. By failing to include ecological perspectives in any number of subjects, students are taught that ecology is unimportant for history, politics, economics, society and so forth. And through television, they learn that the earth is theirs for the taking. The result is a generation of ecological yahoos without a clue why the color of the water in their rivers is related to their food supply, or why storms are becoming more severe as the planet warms. The same persons as adults will create businesses, vote, have families, and above all, consume. Orr's book is a wake-up call to educators worldwide. It is a lesson on the value of integrative teaching strategies. His underlying message: Don't be an ecological yahoo.