books tagged “education”

Sun Tzu's Art of War is the most famous, and the most thought-provoking, work of strategy ever written. The profound insights of this book have endured for over two thousand years, and they continue to reward careful study. The Military Methods of Sun Pin, the great-grandson of Sun Tzu, is a brilliant elaboration on his ancestor's work, which has been lost for nearly two millennia. Presented here together for the first time are the greatest of the ancient Chinese classics of strategic thought: The Complete Art of War.The Sun family writings on strategy represent a unique contribution to our understanding of human affairs. By unveiling the complex, often unexpected, interrelationships of armies locked in battle, their wisdom reveals the enduring principles of success in the struggle of life itself.With a unique index to the essential principles of strategy, and Sawyer's thoughtful chapter-by-chapter commentaries, The Complete Art of War is designed to guide the reader to new insights into the nature of human conflict and a greater understanding of every field of human activity, from playing the game of politics to building a successful marriage, from closing a deal to managing a large organization, and even from making war to making peace. [via]

"Widely acclaimed for its originality and penetration, this award-winning study of American thought in the twentieth century examines the ways in which the spread of pragmatism and scientific naturalism affected developments in philosophy, social science, and law, and traces the effects of these developments on traditional assumptions of democratic theory."

Books are like puzzles, write Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone. The authors ideas are hidden, and it is up to all of us to figure them out. In this indispensable reading companion, the Goldstonesnoted parent-child book club expertsencourage grownups and young readers alike to adopt an approach that will unlock the magic and power of reading.

With the Goldstones help, parents can inspire kids lifelong love of reading by teaching them how to unlock a books hidden meaning. Featuring fun and incisive discussions of numerous childrens classics, this dynamic guide highlights key elementstheme, setting, character, point of view, climax, and conflictand paves the way for meaningful conversations between parents and children.

Best of all, the Goldstones note, you dont need an advanced degree in English literature or forty hours a week of free time to effectively discuss a book with your child. This isnt Crime and Punishment, its Charlottes Web. [via]

This funny and tender book combines three of Alice Steinbachs greatest passions: learning, traveling, and writing. After chronicling her European journey of self-discovery in Without Reservations, this Pulitzer Prizewinning columnist for the Baltimore Sun quit her job and left home again. This time she roamed the world, taking lessons and courses in such things as French cooking in Paris, Border collie training in Scotland, traditional Japanese arts in Kyoto, and architecture and art in Havana. With warmth and wit, Steinbach guides us through the pleasures and perils of discovering how to be a student again. She also learns the true value of this second chance at educating herself: the opportunity to connect with and learn from the people she meets along the way.
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Intended for use by students who are beginning French, this worktext attempts to stimulate the student's interest in both the language and in the French culture. It includes humorous stories, skits and dialogues, as well as exercises that are imaginative and challenging, words and music of French songs, word puzzles, riddles, French proverbs, menus and recipes, art reproductions and more. Suitable for both the classroom and self instruction. [via]

This new, improved updating of a popular teach-yourself book introduces the basics of French grammar and vocabulary. Learning is kept interesting with use of colorful dialogues, concise explanations, and challenging exercises and puzzles. [via]

For thousands of art lovers both amateur and professional, aesthetic life began with Janson, as H.W. Janson's History of Art is often called. In the first edition, published in 1962, Janson spoke to that perennial reader he gently called "the troubled layman." His opening paragraph revealed his sympathy: "Why is this supposed to be art?" he quoted rhetorically. "How often have we heard this question asked--or asked it ourselves, perhaps--in front of one of the strange, disquieting works that we are likely to find nowadays in the museum or art exhibition." Keeping that curious, questioning perspective in mind, he wrote a history of art from cave painting to Picasso that was singularly welcoming, illuminating, and exciting.

After H.W. Janson died, in 1982, his son, Anthony F. Janson, took over the daunting task of revising his father's book. Janson the elder would be thrilled with the beauty of this fifth edition, which tips the scales at more than seven pounds. Thanks to advances in printing, it teems with reproductions--736 in color and 500 black-and-white--that would have been far too costly 35 years ago. At an even 1,000 pages, it is an inch thicker than its 572-page progenitor.

Sojourning through this book, a reader is offered every amenity for a comfortable trip. Because Janson never assumes knowledge on the part of the reader, a recent immigrant from Mars could comprehend Western art from this text. The only assumption the Jansons have made is that with a little guidance everyone can come to understand the artifacts that centuries of architecture, sculpture, design, and painting have deposited in our paths. Countless readers have proven the Jansons right--and found their lives enriched in the process. [via]

Dust jacket missing. Linen boards are perfect. Exterior pages slightly soiled from shelving. Same day shipping. [via]

For thousands of art lovers both amateur and professional, aesthetic life began with Janson, as H.W. Janson's History of Art is often called. In the first edition, published in 1962, Janson spoke to that perennial reader he gently called "the troubled layman." His opening paragraph revealed his sympathy: "Why is this supposed to be art?" he quoted rhetorically. "How often have we heard this question asked--or asked it ourselves, perhaps--in front of one of the strange, disquieting works that we are likely to find nowadays in the museum or art exhibition." Keeping that curious, questioning perspective in mind, he wrote a history of art from cave painting to Picasso that was singularly welcoming, illuminating, and exciting.

After H.W. Janson died, in 1982, his son, Anthony F. Janson, took over the daunting task of revising his father's book. Janson the elder would be thrilled with the beauty of this fifth edition, which tips the scales at more than seven pounds. Thanks to advances in printing, it teems with reproductions--736 in color and 500 black-and-white--that would have been far too costly 35 years ago. At an even 1,000 pages, it is an inch thicker than its 572-page progenitor.

Sojourning through this book, a reader is offered every amenity for a comfortable trip. Because Janson never assumes knowledge on the part of the reader, a recent immigrant from Mars could comprehend Western art from this text. The only assumption the Jansons have made is that with a little guidance everyone can come to understand the artifacts that centuries of architecture, sculpture, design, and painting have deposited in our paths. Countless readers have proven the Jansons right--and found their lives enriched in the process. [via]

This edition includes a new foreword by James V. Schall, S.J.

Sertillanges asks in the preface of the 1934 edition of The Intellectual Life: "Do you want to do intellectual work?" He follows with the prescription: "Begin by creating within you a zone of silence, a habit of recollection, a will of renunciation and detachment which puts you entirely at the disposal of work; acquire that state of soul unburdened by desire and self-will which is the state of grace of the intellectual worker. Without that you will do nothing, at least nothing worth while."

First published in 1920, this classic has been repeatedly reprinted and continues to inspire and instruct young scholars. [via]

Here are the books that help teach Shakespeare plays without the teacher constantly needing to explain and define Elizabethan terms, slang, and other ways of expression that are different from our own. Each play is presented with Shakespeare's original lines on each left-hand page, and a modern, easy-to-understand "translation" on the facing right-hand page. All dramas are complete, with every original Shakespearian line, and a full-length modern rendition of the text. [via]

Beginning with the fundamental and essential question, How do we improve schools? prominent education theorists and practitioners examine the imperative of education reform. Analyzing the pressing need for effective, systematic ways to improve education, contributors to the volume address key issues such as enrichment versus remedial strategies for at-risk students; educators responses to extra-education demands; creative leadership among practitioners; and the crucial role of educator awards. Included are numerous innovative ideas and models for reform. Practitioners, policymakers, and anyone wanting to stay current with the debates over American education will find this book to be valuable reading. Beginning with the fundamental and essential question, How do we improve schools? prominent education theorists and practitioners examine the imperative of education reform. They confront and analyze the pressing need for effective, systematic ways to improve education in order to ensure competent students and graduates, and they offer numerous innovative ideas and models for reform.The discussions in this book are the fruits of the 1993 Milken Family Foundation National Educator Awards Retreat. Committed to recognizing the contributions of educators, the annual conference advances professional development and celebratespubliclyprofessional achievement. Addressed in this volume are such urgent and far-reaching issues as enrichment versus remedial strategies for at-risk students; educators responses to extra-education demands; creative leadership among practitioners; and the crucial role of educator awards. Practitioners, policymakers, and anyone wanting to stay current with the state of American education will find this useful and valuable reading. [via]

When constructing an educational program, the children's media producer's primary task is determining exactly how to motivate her audience. Even the youngest children are now media savvy enough to make these programs a tough sell. This resource offers a unique model for the incorporation of motivational strategy that draws on the 'ARCS' theory of John Keller and the paradigm created by the Children's Television Workshop (fleshed out in Sesame Street). Arnone's Motivation Overlay for Children's Media Producers provides a systematic approach that will ensure that media materials for children will meet both motivational and educational goals. Providing essential tools as well as anecdotal wisdom, this guide will aid media producers, educators, students learning the ropes of video production and Web development, or anyone who is attempting to motivate children to watch...and learn. [via]

Hes one of Americas most recognizable and acclaimed actorsa star on Broadway, an Oscar nominee for The Aviator, and the only person to ever win Emmys for acting, writing, and directing, during his eleven years on M*A*S*H. Now Alan Alda has written a memoir as elegant, funny, and affecting as his greatest performances.

My mother didnt try to stab my father until I was six, begins Aldas irresistible story. The son of a popular actor and a loving but mentally ill mother, he spent his early childhood backstage in the erotic and comic world of burlesque and went on, after early struggles, to achieve extraordinary success in his profession.

Yet Never Have Your Dog Stuffed is not a memoir of show-business ups and downs. It is a moving and funny story of a boy growing into a man who then realizes he has only just begun to grow.

It is the story of turning points in Aldas life, events that would make him what he isif only he could survive them.

From the moment as a boy when his dead dog is returned from the taxidermists shop with a hideous expression on his face, and he learns that death cant be undone, to the decades-long effort to find compassion for the mother he lived with but never knew, to his acceptance of his father, both personally and professionally, Alda learns the hard way that change, uncertainty, and transformation are what life is made of, and true happiness is found in embracing them.

Never Have Your Dog Stuffed, filled with curiosity about nature, good humor, and honesty, is the crowning achievement of an actor, author, and director, but surprisingly, it is the story of a life more filled with turbulence and laughter than any Alda has ever played on the stage or screen.



From the Hardcover edition. [via]

People with disabilities forging the newest and last human rights movement of the century. [via]

Curtis Sittenfeld's debut novel, Prep, is an insightful, achingly funny coming-of-age story as well as a brilliant dissection of class, race, and gender in a hothouse of adolescent angst and ambition. Lee Fiora is an intelligent, observant fourteen-year-old when her father drops her off in front of her dorm at the prestigious Ault School in Massachusetts. She leaves her animated, affectionate family in South Bend, Indiana, at least in part because of the boarding school's glossy brochure, in which boys in sweaters chat in front of old brick buildings, girls in kilts hold lacrosse sticks on pristinely mown athletic fields, and everyone sings hymns in chapel. As Lee soon learns, Ault is a cloistered world of jaded, attractive teenagers who spend summers on Nantucket and speak in their own clever shorthand. Both intimidated and fascinated by her classmates, Lee becomes a shrewd observer of-and, ultimately, a participant in-their rituals and mores. As a scholarship student, she constantly feels like an outsider and is both drawn to and repelled by other loners. By the time she's a senior, Lee has created a hard-won place for herself at Ault. But when her behavior takes a self-destructive and highly public turn, her carefully crafted identity within the community is shattered. Ultimately, Lee's experiences-complicated relationships with teachers; intense friendships with other girls; an all-consuming preoccupation with a classmate who is less than a boyfriend and more than a crush; conflicts with her parents, from whom Lee feels increasingly distant, coalesce into a singular portrait of the painful and thrilling adolescence universal to us all. From the Hardcover edition. [via]

A guide to reading "Invisible Man" with a critical and appreciative mind encouraging analysis of plot, style, form, and structure. Also includes background on the author's life and times, sample tests, term paper suggestions, and a reading list. [via]

Though not the first novel she wrote, Sense and Sensibility was the first Jane Austen published. Though she initially called it Elinor and Marianne, Austen jettisoned both the title and the epistolary mode in which it was originally written, but kept the essential theme: the necessity of finding a workable middle ground between passion and reason. The story revolves around the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne. Whereas the former is a sensible, rational creature, her younger sister is wildly romantic--a characteristic that offers Austen plenty of scope for both satire and compassion. Commenting on Edward Ferrars, a potential suitor for Elinor's hand, Marianne admits that while she "loves him tenderly," she finds him disappointing as a possible lover for her sister:

Oh! Mama, how spiritless, how tame was Edward's manner in reading to us last night! I felt for my sister most severely. Yet she bore it with so much composure, she seemed scarcely to notice it. I could hardly keep my seat. To hear those beautiful lines which have frequently almost driven me wild, pronounced with such impenetrable calmness, such dreadful indifference!

THE 100th YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION

The Story of My Life, a remarkable account of overcoming the debilitating challenges of being both deaf and blind, has become an international classic, making Helen Keller one of the most well-known, inspirational figures in history. Originally published in 1903, Kellers fascinating memoir narrates the events of her life up to her third year at Radcliffe College.

Helen Kellers story of struggle and achievement is one of unquenchable hope. From tales of her difficult early days, to details of her relationship with her beloved teacher Anne Sullivan, to her impressions of academic life, Kellers honest, straightforward writing lends insight into an amazing mind. Like the original, this centenary edition of The Story of My Life includes letters Keller wrote to friends throughout her childhood and adolescence that chronicle her intellectual and sensory progression, as well as assistant John Macys commentary on her interpretations of her surroundings.

In addition to reprinting Kellers long-lost original work, this edition contains excerpts from her little-known, deeply personal memoir The World We Live In, which give readers a detailed look into an otherwise unimaginable existence, as well as an excerpt from Out of the Dark, a political commentary Keller wrote during her years as a socialist.

Deftly edited and prefaced by scholar James Berger, this comprehensive anniversary edition celebrates a century of readers enthrallment with one of the most powerful figures in history. [via]

A modern retelling of an ancient Scottish fairy tale sets the story of a girl whose lover is stolen by the Queen of Faeries against the backdrop of a midwestern college campus in the late sixties. Reprint. [via]

Karen Elizabeth Gordon is no ordinary grammarian, and her works (including The New Well-Tempered Sentence, Torn Wings and Faux Pas, and The Disheveled Dictionary)--are no ordinary books of grammar. A special edition of the 1984 classic, The Deluxe Transitive Vampire is populated by a wickedly decadent cast of gargoyles, mastodons, murderous debutantes, and, yes, vampires (both transitive and otherwise), who cavort and consort in order to illustrate basic principles of grammar. The sentences are intoxicating--"How he loved to dangle his participles, brush his forelock off his forehead with his foreleg, and gaze into the aqueous depths"--but the rules and their explanations are as sound as any you might find in Strunk and White. Outlining the building blocks of the English language, from parts of speech to phrases and clauses, The Deluxe Transitive Vampire goes on to exorcise such grammatical demons as passive voice, fragments, comma splices, and run-on sentences. At last, a handbook of grammar you will actually want to read. In the words of Gordon's preface, "Howling, exploding, crackling, flickering with new life-forms, and drunk on fresh blood (some of mine is certainly missing), this deluxe edition reminds us on every page that words, too, have hoofs and wings to transport us far and deep." [via]

Plot synopsis of this classic is made meaningful with analysis and quotes by noted literary critics, summaries of the work's main themes and characters, a sketch of the author's life and times, a bibliography, suggested test questions, and ideas for essays and term papers. [via]

Steve Mariotti, a former New York City high-school teacher, founded the nonprofit National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship after he discovered that students who launched commercial ventures tended to eventually blossom in numerous areas. In this updated edition of The Young Entrepreneur's Guide to Starting and Running a Business, he lays out the critically relevant basics on everything from recognizing opportunities and researching markets to handling finances and protecting ideas--all organized and written specifically for the younger reader. Brief case studies and inspiring tales of notables who started young, including Russell Simmons of Def Jam, Tom Monaghan of Domino's Pizza, and Steve Perlman of WebTV, offer encouragement. New chapters on technology (explaining, for instance, ways that computers and the Net provide competitive advantages) and philanthropy ("ethical business behavior is not only morally right, it's good for business") bring Mariotti's advice into the 21st century. No single volume can provide all the details necessary to get an idea up and running, but this one contains enough information and stimulation to move practically anyone off the couch and into the beginning stages of entrepreneurship. --Howard Rothman [via]