I've just started to read this book for one of my education classes. I love the insights that it shares with its readers. I am only beginning my career in education but am so fasinated with the many viewpoints and lessons to be learned. I feel it has been a very handy tool in assisting me with my classes. That is why I'd like to purchase this book.

Increasingly, movement towards interdisciplinary study and the cross-over of knowledge across disciplines is allowing for a rise in viewing 'theory' or 'theories' as a whole. A look at the various theories that Ryan deals with in his introduction illustrates this point: Marxism, Feminism, Postmodernism, Deconstruction - these are not merely 'literary' theories, but offer insights into (and critiques of) broader areas: language, society, history, knowledge and reality, the human condition and meaning. This means that the student of literary criticism gains knowledge that not only relates to how to read books and interpret texts, but on general theories that pertain to human action and social interaction.

Keeping this in mind, Ryan's book can be an introduction into different ways of looking at the world, one that might open up new avenues for thinkers in many different areas, even if literary criticism is not your primary interest. Actually, this work was highly recommended to me by an esteemed historian friend, and my own background is in history and theology, not literature.

I have searched high and low for a wonderful Hanukkah story and have always felt something was missing from each one of them...they never seemed to quite hit on what I, as a Jew in Texas, feel at Hanukkah. I am sure many Jewish parents like myself have been waiting for this book....it touches all the bases: the history of Hanukkah, the foods, the presents, but also the conflict with Christmas (which has been treated in a sensitive, positive and even uplifting way in this story). Through the description of one family's eight-day holiday, the book suggests ways to celebrate and treasure each day of this holiday that makes a Jew "proud of your religion." This book also explores tzedakah, sharing, and world community and acceptance. It is truly a celebration of Hanukkah, but even more, it is a celebration of being Jewish. I know my kids--and even myself--needed to hear this as we head into the Christmas season with all it's inherent conflicts and mixed emotions (especially in Texas!!)

Ryan's poetry sparkles in the dead of a mid-life crisis. He juxtaposoes both the empathetic and the sarcastic. These poems are testaments for those who ponder through depression in search of inspiration. His prosaic imagery transcends the commplace, and rolls with the back-beats of route 66. Filled with references that range from Leadbelly to William Butler Yeats, these poems prove to be works of vision. Even in the face of despair, they are full of humor and passion. This is poetry for both the intellectual and the dreamer. This is because these poems are alive--feel them branch out into rythms, melody lines filled with chants that break and refrain. Ryan states, "What wakes with music, wakes the muse." And, I agree. Like Dylan Thomas and TS Eliot before him, Ryan writes poetry that goes beyond the page and into the hearts of generations.

This book is definitely a must have. I can honestly say my interest was held from beginning to end. At first, I wasn't to quick to buy this book because I don't enjoy short stories. By the time I finished this book, I was eating my words.

This book is a collection of 3 stories (2 taking place in present day time and 1 taking place in 18th century England)by 3 great authors. They introduce you to the Colton family of California. The book also is the beginning of a 12 Book series that begins in June 2001. I can't wait until June.

i just finished colton's bride-molly and william

favorite scene with molly-
being asked what her dream is which is going to america.

favorite scene with william-
the wedding with his father.

favorite scene with molly and william together-
when they come together after the fire.

I am always astounded by sheer brazen courage of men under fire. This book takes you there from start to finish you are in the heat of the battle. You can almost sense the horror the Marines felt wadding ashore, weapons held high, while enemy machine guns ripped them to pieces! That they endured such horrendous cost and ultimately triumphed over a deeply entrenched enemy is nothing short of miraculous. If you seek the truth about the awful battle for Taraww this is the book for you. I highly recommend it.

This work takes you from an outline of the Pacific war so far, through the crucial planning stages, detailing the lack of imformation about the objective that was to prove fatal to so many good men and culminates in a blow by blow account of the action itself. Many eye witness testimonies bring the action to life and you find yourself along side them, sheltering behind the bullet raked log sea wall, out of water, with no way forward and no way back. But you are one of the lucky ones. All around you is the chaos of an assault from the sea. LVT's wrecked and burning, riddled with bullet holes, dead floating in the lagoon by the hundred, but the tiny island had to be taken at any cost.

Gripping stuff from cover to cover, many black and white photos, useful maps and informative, orders of battle and other appendices. I highly recommend it to any historian or enthusiast of World War Two in the Pacific.

The Wishbone series,I thought ,was one of those nice, quick reads.I am captivated by his elegant and lively writing.
The story is about a little white-with-brown-and-black-spots dog,Wishbone and his friend,Joe,Sam and David help to save the missing history of Oakdale together .The saving action Starts after they found out the card of LINDSAY GROVES(the relief pitcher for the Oakdale Oaks baseball team),and discovered the records of 1933 Oakdale Oaks baseball team has hidden ,even being erase.As a result,the 3 kids and Wishbone try their best to cover up the truth of the Oakdale's history.Eventually,the 1933 National Champion,the Oakdale Oaks gets their right to keep record on their victorious pass ,so the Oakdale's heroes will never been forgotten!!It is a nice work,I loved the lovely Wishbone,the enthusiastic,funny dogs which always think of pepper onion chesse Italian pizza!
It is a worthy piece of work to read.Don't miss the chance to enter the adventurous world with WISHBONE!!!Read the book!

"sitting on the back of the car,waving to the crowd, was Lindsay Groves.....in his original Oakdale Oaks baseball uniform....... On the sign of the car,a sign read LINDSAY GROVES----RELIEF PITCHER FOR THE OAKDALE OAKS, NEGRO LEAGUE NATIONAL CHAMPS,1933......"The truth of Oakdale's past will never be hidden again,because of the little dogs,Wishbone and his friend.It is really a worth book to read. If you want to know more about the secret from Oakdale's past,read this book, you will have great fun by this....

I loved this book because I was always wondering what was going to happen next. Wishbone, Joe, Sam, and David want to find out more about the Oakdale baseball team, the Oakdale Oaks. But the books, newspaper articles, and everything else about the Oaks has mysteriously dissapeared. They try to figure out why someone would do that. Then they learn that years and years ago, something really bad happened in Oakdale. I thought this book was very exciting. Some people who wrote reviews about this book, I won't say who, said it was confusing, and not mysterious, YA RIGHT! They're WRONG! It's not confusing, and it is mysterious so HA! It's not confusing, because I read it, and it's a really great book!

I settled into "Pay it Forward" one night, and two later I was finished. The book takes the reader on a sweet journey of possibility. Of course, if one is inclined 'not' to believe in such things as a Field of Dreams, Miracles on 34th Street, or even in large rabbits that are life changing, then I can recommend a good book about the Subversion of American Democracy. Me, I like to get away from that sometimes. I guess Kevin, Helen, and the rest of the cast that wanted to be in "Pay it Forward," believe in miracles, too. Good for them.

The book flows from beginning to end, without a hiccup that stops the reader. The concept is touching, and the book has inspired me to pass on a kindness or two. Now, when I let a person go ahead of me in the grocery line, or lend a quarter, I silently hope that they will do the same for someone else. At these moments I realize "Pay it Forward," has started in me. Good job, Ms. Hyde. May the next falling star grant your "forward" wish.

I couldn't put this little book down, it has the best of everything: tragedy & humor, frustration & wisdom. Yes, it's a simple idea, Pay It Forward, while similar to Random Acts of Kindness, succeeds because of the numbers. When a scarred teacher & a special student meet in a classroom, everyone's life changes. Trevor's just 12 years old & still can't see over the tops of the corn, however, a reporter can & ten years after the assignment that started it all, he is searching for the beginnings of a phenomenon that changed the world as we know it! I could have had much, much more of the changes yet that's the miracle waiting to be revealed. This delicious read is all about giving, doing good for others with just one little string attached. Lovely, lively read for all ages. A fabulous gift idea! Do check out my full review at [my website]

A Review by Kelly

When Trevor got a simple Social Studies assignment to come up with a plan to change the world, he never would of guessed how far 1 favor to 3 people would go if each Paid It Forward. Who would have thought a twelve year-old boy with a dimple idea would really touch so many people and truly change the world.

This book was amazing, and inspiring. It showed so much about the Human Race, and that people do care what goes on in their world. This book is sort of hard to follow, and it's quite lengthy, but once you start reading it, you can't put it down. Everything does come together in the end. I also liked the characters, they were very well thought out, and each was very dynamic.

I would highly recommend this book to people who are looking for an inspirational book with a lot of emotion. This book was an amazing true story that I would read over and over.

The book was very interesting and used the concept of Time very well. Although the novel is based on a TV script, the way he explains and emphasizes Picard being in the past, present, and future all at the same time is excellent. By far the best Star Trek novel I have ever read!

Star Trek: The Next Generation; All Good Things... novelization by Michael Jan Friedman based on All Good Things... Written By Ronald D. Moore & Brannon Braga is base on the television episode by the same name.

What you found in the television episode is covered in this book, but the leaps in logic and continuity are better covered in this novel. What I found very inteesting was the author's way of coveying time... past, present, and future. It was smooth and integrated in the storyline making for a logical progression.

The book is about Captain Jean-Luc Picard's fight to save the human race from the ravages of the "Q." The verdict is in, and humanity must be destroyed. As Picard makes his case for humanity, "Q" takes Picard on trips to the past and future making for an interesting read.

As Picard looks "Q" in the eye and stoically asks "Q" having reached a verdict... have you decided upon a sentence? "Q" replies that he has... It's time to end your trek through the stars... and make room for a more worthy species. "Q" has wrapped up humanity's fate... You're to be denied existence... you will be destroyed.

Knowing this, Picard makes a valent attempt to save all humanity. This is a Picard/"Q" book and it is very well-written, intriguing and is the novelization of the classic final episode of The Next Generation's television journey. A very fast read as Picard in his effort to save humanity, must sacrifice himself and all those he holds dear... perhaps more than once as this has a time travel theme to it... and if Picard fails... Mankind is doomed.

This book is an excellent read. I love MJF and have followed his work for a while now. This novel is well witten and much better than the tv version. An excellent read for any Star Trek fan.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Blanchard and O'Connor tell a great story about significant change in the life of the main character and his company. Some may criticize this as "pop" business theory or fluff but I sensed they were writing from personal experience. I especially love that they stress the fact it'll take 2-3 years to begin to see results.

If you're interested in organizing your life around shared values, check this book out. The book won't cost you much in money or reading time but you will probably glean some very helpful insights into the change process.

Finally... a book that gives more detail on how the values integration process works. Reading this book 6 months into our own values integration process is very reassuring because it really hits home on a lot of points. This book outlines the same process that we used and its working! The interpersonal relationships seem to me to be the first notable change. The buy-in part is crucial. This book is also realistic about internal opposition to the values integration and the length of time that it takes to truly become a values- based company. Another key topic in this book is that being a values-based company is about being a group of values-based people. You need to work on yourself too; it's not just that you have values when you come to work. I think an important feature of any values integration process is promoting the importance of living each day with integrity in ALL things that we do, not just at work. The amazing thing is that once you start to see and feel that your company is living your values, you will try harder to keep moving forward. Another good book to get people inspired is Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive by Patrick Lencioni.

In Managing by Values, Ken Blanchard and Michael O'Connor suggest that many companies create lofty vision and mission statements that they distribute throughout their organization for all to see, yet they rarely if ever "walk the talk." This book challenges organizations to transform the way they conduct business from managing by intimidation to managing by values.

Gut Reactions: When I initially read the jacket of this book, I thought it would be more of the same old total quality management jargon. I expected to read a lot about statistical process control, just-in-time management and leadership from the bottom up. While several of these topics were mentioned in the book, they were by no means the major thrust of what the authors wanted us to learn. The focus was on leading, managing and working in an environment that focuses on the C-E-O-S of an organization. According to the text, these key constituency groups provide the structure within any successful organization. The foundation on which these organizations conduct business is one of commitment, not only to profit but also to business values like honesty, integrity, fairness, and cooperation, in other words, "managing by values." Written in a story format, the authors easily draw you into the life and problems of a CEO ((Tom Yeomans) who has finally realized that his way of managing may not be the best thing for himself, his family or his organization. Faced with this revelation, Tom makes a commitment to change his own way of managing and ultimately create a more ethical way of doing business within his organization.

Big Ideas: ·There are Three Acts of Life: Act I: Achieve (being-by-doing) Act II: Connect (being-by-being-with) Act III: Integrate (being-by-becoming) ·Fortune 500 Organizations depend on four pillars: C - Customers E - Employees O - Owners (stockholders) S - Significant others (community, creditors, suppliers,

vendors, etc.) ·Managing by Values Process Phase 1: Clarifying the mission/purpose and values - Owners - Top Management - Unit Leaders - Employees - Customers - Other Key Stakeholders Phase 2: Communicating the mission and values - Organization and Unit Events (meetings, celebrations, etc.) - Communication Materials (posters, brochures, etc.) - Formal Communications Mechanisms (newsletters, etc,) - Informal Communications Mechanisms (memos, voicemail, e- mail, etc.)

Phase 3: Aligning the daily practices with the mission and values - Individual practices (self management, problem solving, decision making and leadership practices) - Team practices (effective member practices, group dynamics and processes, stages of building high-performance teams) - Organizational practices (strategic management and development, organizational systems and processes, resource- barrier management, rewards and recognition practices) Continuous Improvement

Implications: - This story has implications beyond the corporate world. It challenges each of us to live our personal lives and conduct our business affairs within the same ethical framework. I now understand why in the past I've found myself at odds with the cultures and practices within an organization and why I ultimately chose to leave those organizations. This book could easily have been written about an elementary school, a college or university, a hospital or an insurance company. - The text also challenges us to integrate our need to achieve with our need to connect with others. It reminds us to keep the humanistic perspective in all that we do.

Questions: After reading Managing by Values, I had the following questions: - Why has it taken so long for us to recognize that ethical behavior is synonymous with customer service? - Can this type of management philosophy truly be successful in the business world? - Are there any organizations that have successfully implemented this philosophy? - Is this type of management philosophy being taught in business schools in the year 2000?