Any compilation that purports to cover something as broad as "contemporary rhetorical theory" is bound to miss the mark on an essay or two, but this anthology scores a double-bullseye. The three authors, all respected theorists in their own right, have assembled the key essays around which rhetorical scholarship revolves today.

The book is organized in topical sections. Each section of the opens with introductory remarks that help students frame the topic at hand.

This is an excellent book for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses.

Our toddler loves this book. Particuarly the confusion between "flamingo" and "flamenco". Now when he sees flamingos in real life he says no and vigorously shakes his head. "Not the flamingo, the flamenco Dorothy" ;-)

Deutsche Sprache und Landeskunde is a well-developed text for a first-year German course. In the preface, the authors specifically state that the book was designed after extensive research to avoid the shortcomings of other texts; in particular, they highlight features such as simple grammar explanations, thematically-controlled vocabulary introduction, balanced skill development, cultural relevance in readings and dialogues, and ample activities and "engaging exercises." The book consistently lives up to those promises. Although the book was clearly written for the undergraduate level, it might also be appropriate for mature or advanced high-school level students.

One of the first features of the book that appears particularly attractive is its well-planned layout. Each chapter is organized around a theme, and the themes are ordered in a natural sequence, presenting the experiences of an American exchange student in Germany (Rick) and a German exchange student in America (Renate). For example, the first chapter, Gruß und Abschied, presents greetings and introductory phrases; following chapters include Ankunft in Europa, Erste Eindrücke von Deutschland, and Eine Reise durch Deutschland. These are followed by chapters about national customs, shopping, home life, free-time activities and sport, University studies, and so on. The themes seem quite natural, not artificial, and they would likely be appealing to many students, who would naturally consider learning a language as a means to using it in the land(s) where it is spoken.

Each chapter is divided into six units, each of which has a consistent style across the book: 1) Vorschau ("Preview") - a "cognitive overview" of the chapter's theme and core vocabulary. Most have drawings with vocabulary labeled, or occasionally photographs. These are followed by exercises to practice the vocabulary: fill-in-the-blank, word matching, sentence creation, free-style question answering.

2) Phonologie ("Phonology") - a short one or two page unit on a particular sound in German. (The book itself is prefaced by a two-page introduction to the letters and sounds of the language). While this section is an obvious attempt to make sure that phonological topics are spread throughout the text and not just lumped (and overlooked) at the start, the effect is that material that would be useful near the start of the course - the critical German ch sounds [ç] and [X], for example, - are found nearly at the end of the book. This is definitely material beginners would need early-on.

3) Sequenzen ("Sequences") - These form the heart of each chapter, presenting concise grammatical lessons in well-organized units. Each starts with a short dialog that demonstrates the structure or concept for that particular sequence. The dialogues are quite natural - they follow the 'theme' of the chapter, usually having to do with one of the two exchange students - and they employ short but meaningful sentences that students could quite easily learn and also put to use. They are followed by content-based questions in German, both objective and subjective, designed to check students' understanding of the passage and to provide practice in using its forms. An English translation of the dialog, using every-day colloquial forms, appears at the bottom of the page. Next come the grammatical units - first, a brief description, never more than a few paragraphs, followed by a series of examples, often in table format and almost always using real German sentences. Here, the book lives up to its promise of making grammatical explanations simple - even topics late in the text are never given the appearance of being ponderous. Exceptions or finer points are often noted at the bottom of the page. A generous number of exercises in German follow each grammatical topic, enough to provide even those students feeling challenged by the material with plenty of practice. The exercises usually start with pattern-practice drills, followed by simple substitution and transformation drills, then sentence completion drills and open-ended exercises for freer student expression.

Taken together, this combination of an inductive introduction to material, followed by a deductive explanation with examples in natural, useable German, capped with a variety of exercises, provides an excellent and highly useable coverage of the grammar of the language.

4) Sammeltext ("Collected Text") - Following the grammar units is a one- or two-page text in German designed to review and reinforce the grammar structures and the vocabulary encountered in the chapter. Designed as reading practice, they usually take the form of a letter, dialogue, or short monologue. Incidental vocabulary is glossed in the side margins of the page. No exercises follow.

5) Kulturecke ("Culture Corner") - Next in each chapter is a short cultural unit related to the current topic: forms for writing letters, the media, public transport, the Kaffee und Kuche tradition (German "tea time"), the school and university systems, etc. This cultural information is the gem of the book -- avoiding glib stereotypes, it introduces students to the commonalities and differences between American and German life. (Unfortunately, the inclusion of Switzerland and Austria as the final two chapters makes them seem almost like an afterthought).

6) Wortschatz ("Vocabulary") - At the end of each chapter, new vocabulary is summarized by part of speech, with lists in German and English side-by-side.

Every chapter also starts with a page describing the language and cultural objectives for the unit, along with a brief outline of material. The objectives are well written - not only describing what will be discussed, but also why a student might use such material in real-world situations.

Following each chapter is a mini-unit on blue pages called a Zwischenspiel ("in-between game") presenting excellent additional material for communication practice - oral situations and dialogues to be acted out, short readings, and writing exercises. An Endspiel unit at the end of the book presents a brief excerpt from the Dürrenmatt play, "Das Unternehmen der Wega." Unlike the exercises within the chapters, which stay quite close to the ongoing themes of the two exchange students, these exercises are based around situations in average German life, and provide excellent material to create opportunities for individual and group student practice in using all four language skills from the start.

The book includes an Appendix that summarizes the key information about German verbs - both regular and irregular ("weak" and "strong") verbs - in a tabular format in under eight pages. This can serve as a handy reference for students and as a learning aid for those whose learning style makes them inclined to prefer a more structured, rather than descriptive, approach. The addition of tables summarizing pronoun cases and adjective declensions would have been useful.

One criticism with the layout of the text is that, in trying to present such a wealth of material for a year's course in German language and culture in 600 pages, the text itself appears simply too dense. The book could benefit from more white space, and perhaps differing type styles to differentiate types of material - explanations, exercises, dialogues. It could be daunting for some students to approach, and certainly could not be covered in its entirety by any typical class.

Jane,Ben,and Annie are trying to make a tree house but they can't consintrait when a car that looks like a hearsh stops right in front of Hautly Manor Inn.Is there a mad scintest visiting Hilda Hauntly?Are they going to clone monters?Ben,Annie,and Jane have to find out or they might be in trouble....double trouble!

Four kids go to a concert, need I say more? Well, there is fun, adventure and surprises. Is Dracula a part of the band? The kids think so. Now that he decides to visit their class they will find out. My daughter read it in one day. Excellent book wonderful series.

With a great ending this book will help to teach kids about weight and entertain them too. Vivid, colorful illustrations and a well-paced story make this a must for primary elementary classrooms! Another great Step into Reading PLUS MATH!

Hello! I am a Spanish Major at the University of California at Santa Barbara and El Cuento by John A. Crow and Edward Dudley was required for an advanced grammar course. I found the content very useful as it not only introduces the reader to prevalent authors and themes in Spanish literature, but familiarizes the reader with how to read the literature and what to look for.

The first ElfQuest story to be set in the far future, "Jink", a 12-issue series first published between 1994 and 1996, follows the adventures of the title character, an exotic woman of strange powers and questionable parentage, and her lover, Ensign Kullyn Kenn. The first half of the series, covered in this book, describes the couple's effort to stave off a catastrophic space-war between the humans of their world and a mysterious, warlike race called the Neverending. (The second half of the series will be published as the book "Mindcoil" in September.)

First, let it be known that Jink is the most charismatic new ElfQuest character in many years. She is a study in opposites - godlike foresight and amusing improvidence; hard street wisdom and a soft heart; sophistication and innocence - that make her seem at once both most adult and most childlike. The contrasts between she and Kullyn Kenn - hapless and too laid-back by half, yet uncommonly brave and clearheaded - is continually fascinating.

As vividly as the protagonists are presented, the real masterstroke is the portrayal of the "enemies", the Neverending aliens. Wendy Pini, who conceived and co-wrote the story, hints in the Afterword that the culture of the aliens is heavily based on that of the Japanese Empire of the 1930s, a regime then openly committed to world domination. Ingeniously, she presents the aliens as a symbol of the perils of nationalism, and especially of the futility of conquest as a way of life; the plot turns on Jink's revelation to the Neverending warriors that their campaign of space-conquest has not empowered their people, but has instead virtually destroyed it. This leads to a climax as sobering as the early chapters are lighthearted.

Married to this ingenious story is high-quality artwork; though the original color illustrations are presented here in black-and-white, the clarity and precision of the line-art come through. In all, _Jink_, a tale far more than skin deep, points to a fascinating new direction for the ElfQuest saga.

I recently purchased this book, the sequal to Jink. Jink is one of the last survivng members of the race known as elves, along with her mentor, the elf known only as Egg. Together, with Jink's human lover, and his girlfriend, the four must stop the greedy attempts by human telepaths from accidently releasing an ancient force, left by the elves of the past, from destroying all in the solar system. I really love the story, though the lack of color is a bit strange (especially for those who usually read Marvel or DC) it doesn't really inhibit your enjoyment of this series.

This book is great if you can get your hands on it.
It uses a variety of topics to stress it's point;
such as science, math and cooking.
The resource books that go along with it have hands
on approaches to learning as well and worksheets and
the normal busy work. I have only found these in amazon
zshops...they are titled Enjoy Literacy Activity Book and
there is also Integrated Theme Tests. These are editions
3.1. There is also 3.2 which is titled Celebrate Literacy
Activity Book and Integrated Theme Tests. If you haven't
decided on a series to use definatly try these books.