As a first year English teacher, the thought of teaching Shakespeare intimidated me. Thankfully, a more experienced teacher loaned me a copy of this book. It was a lifesaver. It gave me a place from which to start. The helpful vocabulary lists and exercises, as well as the pre and post reading activities gave me terrific ideas to use in the classroom. I immediately ordered my own copy of this book. I will not hesitate to loan it to the newest English teacher down the hall.

If you are reasonably new to teaching Shakespeare this book has some good ideas to liven up your class.

It breaks down the activities into different acts, and it uses approaches that will appeal to different learning styles. There are a number of useful activities, worksheets, and practices quizzes that will get you up and rolling. When a new teacher is stuck, this is one of the books that I loan them.

For the experienced teacher, or someone who considers themself well-versed in Shakespeare, this book is a little elementary. It functions great in support, but lacks a little all on its own. I do however find it useful in conjunction with books like Shakespeare Set Free.

Excellent book, I recommend this to anyone. I use this book for canoe trip planning with my family. Detailed information is given here. As usual it is another fine book by AMC.

I am currently using this book for AP US Government Politcal Systems, and it has been a great help. It goes into great deal about the constitutional underpinnings, and even discusses todays most powerful lobbys. It is surprising current. I reccomend this to any student, or anyone who has a passion about learning about American Goverment.

It's a great and easy book for the experienced in 2D who want to make more of their autocad with 3D; the commands are easily explained and are accompanied by many exercises to get to know the command's better.

It's difficult to review an anthology-type book like this because the quality (or, more precisely, the usefulness) of the articles vary greatly. The great majority of the essays included, although interesting, cannot be considered life-changing. But one essay, in my opinion, is worth the price of the book. "Jesus the Logician" by Dallas Willard could change (and enhance) the way one looks at the central figure of Christianity. Expounding on a theme introduced in his brilliant book "The Divine Conspiracy", namely, that Jesus is the most intelligent person who ever lived, Willard explores Jesus' use of rigorous logic, especially when answering the queries of his opponents. Indeed, a logical analysis of Jesus' sayings can be the key to their proper interpretation. To me, this article stands head and shoulders above the others.

Other worthwhile essays by other authors include "Wise Teachers, Sound Teaching", "Surprised by Death" and "The Market as God". Other entries, of which "The Recovery of Moral Agency?" is a good example, seem dry and difficult. Everyone will have their favorites in this collection, and normally such a mixed bag would earn this book three stars. But the Dallas Willard article gives this anthology a boost to the next level.

I took this book with me on a spiritual retreat hoping for fresh perspectives, inspiring insights and good, to great, writing. I was not disappointed. The book delivered essays that I would not have otherwise read. Many essays gave me pensive perspectives and prompted me to consider worlds that hithertofore did not exist.

Some of the selections are provocative; they shun being "politically correct" (Read Gilbert Meilaender's essay: After Sept. 11th.). John Wilson's, the editor, selections are broad and cover subjects that probably would have escaped your attention (Paul Elie's 'The Last Catholic Writer in America' for example).

The title of this book pressed me to ask two provocative questions: "What constitutes 'BEST' , and what constitutes 'CHRISTIAN'?.

Editors strive, one would think, for clarity among multiplicity. However, John Wilson says nothing about his criteria for selecting the 'Best' 'Christian' essays. He chooses, and the reader is to accept, in a "fundamentalist" way (without questioning) his discernment.

I wanted to know how Wilson determines what is 'best'? The very word, 'best', by itself, implies a critical comparative judgement. Did Wilson, in his selections, hold these writers to the stellar scale of such 'Christian' writers as: Origin, Augustine, Luther, Bunyan, Kierkegarrd, Schweitzer, Bart, C.S. Lewis, Tolkien or Brueggemann (to name just a few)? Nothing is said.

Then there is the significance of the heavy laden word 'Christian'. I consider myself one (though others would contest this assertion). The word 'Christian' has substantial implications. To most in North America, 'Christian' implies, at the very least, a moral and spiritual value system. However, every 'Christian' tradition has a different take on this. Which tradition does Wilson tap for his guiding standards? Maybe Greek Orthodox? Catholic? Primitive Baptist? Pentecostal? Presbyterian? Lutheran? Episcopalian? Congregational? Unitarian Universalist? Or the Metropolitan Church? Nothing is said.

Also you read the various essays with no specific destination in focus. Normally, "Christian" writing exists to cause one to reflect, or consider, moral or spiritual issues. Most "Christian" writing has an agenda and often presses the question, "How shall we live" as 'Christian'? In this book, with its diverse subjects, you finish the book as you would a good bowl of vegetable soup, satisfied but without a sense of any distinct flavor.

Maybe a more accurate title for this book, maybe: 'Outstanding Writings by Various Christians 2002' I strongly recommend the twenty two essays in this for those who want a devotional that will take them outside of their norm. 4.5 stars

Axson does a fine job communicating why he cared for and respected Woodrow Wilson. His opinion of the President is favorable, but he also mentions the areas where Wilson stumbled. Most touching in the narrative is the section on the death of Wilson's first wife. Axson tells of Wilson's long hours by her side and quiet despair at her passing as only a first hand source could relate. I recommend this book, not only to the scholar, but to all interested in this fascinating, and influential President.

A rich and facinating account of how China made the decision to build the bomb. The origins of the Chinese nuclear program were made during the Eisenhower administration desion to reduce American troops in Korea. During this period, Eisenhower decided to increase American strategic forces (nuclear), thus adding to Chinese insecurity. According to the book, Mao wanted a paper tiger and the nuclear bomb was the answer.

The book also details how Soviet advisors provided the Chinese with baseline technical information for theroretical experimentation and fabrication of the first bomb. The book makes clear that the Sino-Soviet alliance was a shakey mutual military agreement at best. Moscow wanted total control of Soviet/Chinese military operations and how Chinese military leaders resisted these attempts by Moscow and decided to expel Soviet advisors. The book also explains how the CIA blew the call: They predicated a pultonium core and in fact the Chinese built a uranium-235 core.

A must for anyone interested in understanding American/Chinese Foreign policy in present day Chinese-Amercian relations

elizabeth bowen's stories are well crafted. reading them (for me... i was born in 1974) is like peeking into the drawing room of a time long gone and now crystallised on the page. i gave the book 4 stars instead of five, because while some of the stories are real gems, others fell flat to me. this was my first experience with her work, and 760 odd pages of short stories was a lot of stories!

i would recommend, unless you just want to read a few stories at a time, (the book is broken up into decades and then pre and post war sections)or you are already a huge fan, to start out with a smaller collection of her work. then again, why not pay a few extra dollars and get them all at once?

i escpecially recommend the stories of the twenties and thirties, they really are delightful... the ghosts and murderessess inhabiting some of them are intriguing, there's a flavour to her work you simply don't find in newer fiction. reading her work was like entering another time zone, quite interesting stuff!

For anyone fascinated by the urban landscape--and who seeks explanation for what they see--this book will probably hold your interest through to the end. It is unquestionably an excellent summation of most research on urban dereliction. I recommend it to anyone who, like me, is fascinated by the decay of American cities and who seeks explanation. However, there are three things that may bother you about the book: 1) the authors state it is a structurationist approach to the topic, but that turns out to be only posturing--it seems more structuralist, in fact, as it presents a world that seems the result of unseen forces acting themselves out through passive marionettes, not people capable of independent action; 2) the author's language is a little thick and somewhat ideosyncratic and, may I add, the tone leaves little doubt that this is the fact of the matter and further discussion of causes and meanings is unnecessary; 3) it does not reflect any of the more interesting possibilities recently evolving on the topic of cities in change--no discussions of narratives, memory, or the reader. Still, it's a great place to start, an excellent background read, and it's packed full of scholarship (even if it's a little dated). And it gives you the story the way most people understand it--if you want to develop a new interpretation, do it--but make sure you read this first!