Book Description
A sought-after “packager” of high school students shares highly coveted strategies to help parents get their kids into the country's most competitive colleges
Did you know? A child's guidance counselor can help reverse a deferral. A parent can help get a child off a waiting list. And there is a way for students to back out of Early Decision once they've been accepted.
Based on the controversial insider information Elizabeth Wissner-Gross has gleaned from working for years as a successful packager of high school students and from interviews with heads of admission at some of the nation's most competitive colleges, this book helps parents answer questions such as: Can an application be sabotaged by a competing student or parent? How do colleges really know if a student applies to two or more schools for Early Decision? Is it possible to prescreen a teacher's recommendation? As well as the biggest question of all: Of the tens of thousands of highly qualified students that graduate each year, why should a college choose yours?
Targeting the college-educated parents of today's college-bound teenagers who seek to gain a proven edge in the highly secretive and seemingly arbitrary college admissions process, What Colleges Don't Tell You (and Other Parents Don't Want You to Know) reveals 272 little- known, unconventional, tried-and-true secrets to help parents get their children into the most competitive schools of their dreams.
Customer Reviews:
Indispensable Consumer-Oriented Reference.......2007-09-15
Having recently gone through the college admissions process with two children, we've looked at most of the books in this category. What sets this book apart from the others is the fact that the author is unquestionably on the side of you, the consumer. Ms. Wisner-Gross lends transparency to the business of college admissions, and offers many suggestions reflecting her ability to think outside of the box. This book was extremely helpful to us, and a clear favorite.
Getting Your Child Into a Top School.......2007-09-02
The presentation emphasizes the importance of monitoring grades from the
9th grade onward because this provides a good predictor of future performance. In addition, parents should track grading rubrics. Student
practice is important to solidify knowledge of the technical subject areas. i.e. math, science and foreign language
Sometimes, group study can make tedious work more palatable and manageable. The author provides a list of excellent colleges that do not require an SAT score. i.e. Bates, Bowdoin, and Harvey Mudd engineering school. Olin College provides a free engineering school. The author recommends that students provide a resume, chart and no picture.
Essays should provide a sincere recitation of your accomplishments and what you plan to contribute to the college. Applicants should demonstrate a passion for the area of study in the application. In addition, areas of strength should be emphasized.
The authors really do not explain the pitfalls of selecting a top school.
First of all, what is a top school? Is it a place with a 100% job
placement rate or a place where only PhDs are hired or a place where
top SAT scorers are highly sought out? In my own experience, it is
important to visit the institution of choice and talk to current and
former students. Do students seem to be happy? Are they overworked?
Do teachers teach or do student teachers take up most of the teaching
load because professors are too busy publishing and doing research?
These are all areas to be investigated because college is a multi-year
commitment in time and money.
The author doesn't say so; however, a top school consists of the following:
o excellent job placement/prospects in your major area of study
o good preparation for graduate school work, if ever contemplated
o comprehensive teaching by academic types or working professionals
o a current curriculum (although professional licensure courses of study
are mandated by state or federal law)
o a reasonable cost for the value of the education provided
o a roster of accomplishment by the alumni
i.e. Professional licensure, PhD or graduate education, publishing,
inventorship, identification by the print media
There are things you do not want in a top school. i.e.
o professors or teachers who delegate too much teaching to assistants
o instruction that is too esoteric or theoretical
o an institution that doesn't link the education to professional placement
o too much adherence to bell curves and rigid grading rubrics
o teaching that assumes too much prior background in the subject matter
o an environment which is not conducive to learning
o an unaffordable cost for the education
A great help!.......2007-08-31
I, like some of the others was a bit put off by the title, however, I bought the book after browsing through the chapters because of the practical and pragmatic advice given.
I did not know that the information that you give for your child's interests in one part of the college application would have a direct bearing on how he/she should write their essays - that one should support the other.
I also did not know how important the essays are on a college application until my son came home with his guidance counselor's form and ALL the questions were in the form of an essay directly taken from the college application.
If my son comes in with well-thought-out essays that showcase him and what he can offer a school, is he to be considered "packaged" because his parents bought a book that helped him?
The negative comments (which are in the minority and really should not have the prominent position they do on this website) really do not reflect the majority of us that have found it invaluable.
For smart parents who want to even out the playing fields.......2007-08-06
Parenting of teenagers has become very polarized in America, as the reviews for What Colleges Don't Tell You seem to demonstrate: There are the involved parents who maintain close relationships with their teenage children, and there are parents who prefer to let their teenagers bring themselves up with minimal input or guidance--independence at all costs--who are outraged by high-achieving families that work together.
Parents who value the art of parenting right into the teenage years can gain a lot from What Colleges Don't Tell You. The book is very respectful of teenagers and tells parents how they can guide and remain close during their children's high school years. But for those who think that parenting ends when their kids become teenagers--or for kids who resent any parental involvement--the book will probably seem foreign and even threatening.
Parents of high achievers will be especially impressed with the insights that this book provides. Admission to the prestige colleges is made more accessible and more logical for hard working, dedicated students. Wissner-Gross helps the reader to understand the current admissions system, which apparently is no longer based solely on GPAs and SATs; she helps the reader understand the many subjective credentials--and how a dedicated student can earn them--in a world where the "haves" prefer to keep these factors secret.
Adults who believe in blind obedience--the high school is always right--may find this approach to college admissions daunting. But more educated parents who prefer to have the playing fields evened out will particularly appreciate the book's in-depth discussions of grades, college essays, and studying.
I don't recommend this book for conventional thinkers who have stereotypical teenage children and prom queens who lack focus and academic commitment. Benefiting from this book probably requires child-centered families with lots of rapport. It seems targeted more toward today's involved parents, rather than 70s style do-your-own-thing parents. I strongly recommend this book to families where parents and their teenagers work as a team. Other people won't get it. I wish it had been available back when I was in high school.
Like Having a Personal College Advisor!.......2007-08-04
This book was released as my daughter was entering 12th grade...I wish Eliabeth Wissner-Gross had written it sooner! In "secret" #14, she discusses some academic competitions and programs which are highly regarded by colleges and are less well-known than Intel and Westinghouse. We had never heard about them, even though we're in a highly academic school district and this is my second child to pass through it! Her unique perspective on how to approach and prepare for standardized testing is detailed, extremely informative and may actually improve your relationship with your college-bound kid! Every section of this book provided valuable information that made us feel like we had a personal college advisor!
Book Description
Designed with the absolute beginner in mind, this project collection explores all the major feltmaking techniques, from knit-and-shrink to wet felting, needlefelting, and "recycled felting," as well as ways to combine techniques for creative and unique results. With 26 projects and photographs of more than 50 before-and-after felted yarn combinations, crafters can easily customize patterns with substitutions of their choice. Instructions are given for felted bags, flowers, hats, jackets, scarves, wool sneakers, and even a nuno felted skirt; while fiber types, tools for getting started, and the four major techniques needed to create these projects are also all covered. Armed with plenty of information and the authors' can-do spirit, crafters will find it easy to add felting to their repertoires.
Customer Reviews:
Great designs that you actually want to make........2007-10-07
I own several felting books and other than Nicky Epsteins for reference, this book is the best I have found for actual projects and techniques. It is very well written, the projects are accesible such that you want to make them and can see the finished project being used by youself and friends. This book covers many felting types and gives great directions for knitting and wet felting and nuno felt. They also give lots of tips and ideas throughout the book to change a pattern or make decoration to personalize your project. Great book!!!
Love this book.......2007-06-02
i just love this book. i have bought many, many books on this subject and this is by far the best. it covers 4 kinds of felting; felting knitted and crocheted items, wet felting, needle felting and recycled felting. i've been felting for a while - mainly knit/crochet felting and needle felting. but i am now going to try the other two methods after reading this book. one thing that i really liked is a full color page of swatches showing non-wool 'fancy yarns' felted with wool yarns. wow! what a time saver to be able to see what they look like w/o doing the swatches myself. also, the yarns used are not the obscure yarns you sometimes see in books like this. they are mainly Knit Picks (my personal fav), Crystal Palace, Cascade and Lion Brand. many of them are yarns that i wouldn't have thought of using as a 'drag-a-long' for felting. there are 40 swatch images in all. there are also some tips about knitted felting vs crocheted felting that i didn't know and that will be very helpful in my future projects. there is a bag in there that i am going to get to work on right away. it's called The Bag of Many Pockets and it's genius. can't wait to see how it comes out. i would recommend this to those whe are brand new to felting and also those with experience. i have bought at least 10 books on felting and this immediately became my favorite. oh, it is also beautifully photographed - all color photos for every item and for the instructions. did i say that i love this book?
If you've ever FELT like making FELT, try this book.......2007-04-09
This is a really fun book on making felt--which is a shrunken woven or non-woven fabric. Felt Frenzy contains a number of techniques to make felt; not only knitting and shrinking, but also recycling, needlepunch felt and raw fiber felting.
Some of the projects are handbags from recycled felt. If you find an attractive Fair Isle or patterned sweater at the Goodwill, you can felt it, and cut it up and add handles. Now you have a stylish knitting bag or even a purse.
Footies and socks can be made from felt--felt slippers are standard "save the floor wear" in many places.
By far, my favorite "I haven't seen THIS before" project is a pincushion of rolled wool that gives the effect of sushi rolls. How CUTE is that?!! A crafter could knock off these and give friends an adorable housegift.
This book has 26 projects with not only bags, but also flowers (felt makes good ornaments for other knitting and for bags,) pincushions (as I mentioned) and more. There are ideas other than the projects for the beginning felt maker. A really PRETTY book--very nicely done. I'd love to make a number of these attractive projects.
Average customer rating:
- LOVE IT!
- My kids teacher suggested this one!
- Fun to read
- The Great Fuzz Frenzy
- a wonderful gift for any age "kid"
|
The Great Fuzz Frenzy
Janet Stevens , and
Susan Stevens Crummel
Manufacturer: Harcourt Children's Books
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ASIN: 0152046267 |
Book Description
Deep, deep down in their underground town, the prairie dogs live in harmony--until a mysterious, fluorescent, very fuzzy thing (otherwise known as a tennis ball) rolls down their hole. When the prairie dogs discover that they can pluck and pull the fuzz into fabulous fashions, their fear quickly turns to curiosity, then delight, then pure greed.
The frenzy that erupts threatens to tear apart the prairie-dog town forever. But when mean ol' Big Bark is kidnapped after taking all the fuzz for himself, the prairie dogs come to the rescue and remember the true meaning of community.
Customer Reviews:
LOVE IT!.......2007-09-16
I first read this book at a teacher workshop and fell in love with the story and the varied page formats. (Some pages unfold vertically to show the underground tunnels!) This is not only a fun book to look at, the kids giggled all the way through it as the plot unfolded. This could be used in reader's workshop to teach point of view, predicting, inferring, sound effects, or it could also be used to spur a discussion on friendship and cooperation. We did an author study on this sister authir/illustrator pair and the students love how they have a sense of humor and are a bit silly in their stories. I LOVE IT TOO! :O)
My kids teacher suggested this one!.......2007-05-02
This was a fun book! A dog drops a tennis ball down a hole which turns out to be the entrance to a prairie dog community. It surprises and scares them. They gather around chattering about to do; that is until Big Bark appears. He is a rather large prairie dog who has a bottle cap for a hat. Before he can do anything little pip squeak jumps forward and picks off some fuzz and starts playing with it. Pretty soon the whole colony starts playing with the fuzz and things get crazy. Soon more and more prairie dogs show up wanting fuzz and it runs out. Then they start fighting over it!
We liked this book and it's been a bedtime book every night since we bought it. The artwork is good and I think the author gave a funny presentation to the personalities of Prairie dogs. I particularly liked Big Bart's run in with an Eagle. "No more Big Bark! The crowd cheered "Yaaaaay!" "Don't yaaaaaay! He's one of us!" yelled Pip.
Again a great story and I can see the book will be well loved by my girl.
Fun to read.......2007-03-14
This is such a cute and clever story. It's great to see how all of the prairie dogs come together at the end. We have had this for awhile and both of my girls (4 and 7) still consider it a favorite.
The Great Fuzz Frenzy.......2006-11-06
This book was a joy to read. The illustrations were priceless. I never knew that prairie dogs were so much like humans!
a wonderful gift for any age "kid".......2006-10-12
This is a perfectly wonderful concept with super illustrations just waiting for a touch from the reader. It is impossible to read this book without laughing. Underlying lessons are as easy to take as a spoonful of sugar making the medicine go down!
Book Description
Ms. Frizzle is the weirdest teacher around, and Arnold is her most reluctant student. A field trip on the Magic School Bus can be torture for Arnold, and there is just one thing that can make it worse: his cousin Janet. With his know-it-all relative's visit combined with an all-wheel learning adventure, it is sure to be a school day Arnold won't soon forget. The Friz is always hungry for adventure, and that's just what the class gets. With so much to learn about ecosystems, even Arnold finds himself eating up all the food-chain facts.
Book Description
In this now-classic study, Linda Williams moves beyond the impasse of the anti-porn/anti-censorship debate to analyze what hard-core film pornography is and does--as a genre with a history, as a specific cinematic form, and as part of contemporary discourse on sexuality. For the 1999 edition, Williams has written a new preface and a new epilogue, "On/scenities," illustrated with 25 photographs. She has also added a supplementary bibliography.
Customer Reviews:
an ok read.......2007-03-19
Hardcores author like to use big words and confusing dialog to get her point across. This is a good book if you can get through all the muddle and crap to get to her point. The book definetly reads like a college textbook and it does get tediouse at times. A good book if you have patience
It's not a monolith, it's a muddle.......2005-11-17
Williams' claim is that all porn is not the same, but her book title is very specific which would lead one to believe she will make claims about only hard core and not about the attendant debates over all of porn's place in society.
You have to be suspicious when the majority of reviewers of an academic book have not graduated high school. I can barely get my university students to read academic writing.
blah blah blah.......2005-04-06
The writing is jagged, superfluous and constantly filled with statements on what the author is intending to say in the book without actually saying it. This book is boring, hard to get through and organized in a questionable fashion. Unless you need to read it for a college course I strongly recommend against it. Frankly I don't understand the other reviews on this page praising the book.
Interesting.......2004-05-08
This is an easy to read, comprehensive analysis of visual pornography. Williams is thorough and openminded, and clearly shows that this isn't a homogenous and stereotypical genre. On the contrary, she maintains that all trends visible in other types of movies exist in pornography as well. An interesting read.
eXXXtremely provocative.......2001-07-20
I should probably look more closely at the covers of the books that I am ordering online. Any reasonable individual might naturally assume a book entitled "Hard Core" would contain information regarding the apple harvesting industry; however, such is most clearly not the case with Doctor William's book.
Despite the initial mix-up, I found this work to be quite titilating. Prior to reading Hard Core, I was only familiar with pornographic films (or "pornos") as an avid viewer. Hubby Rick and I now devote a significant amount of money and time on pornos in the hopes that we might one day fully appreciate, as does Linda Williams, the pornographic film. And our marriage has never been better!
Book Description
Asking the old questions, according to authors Dick Whitney and Melissa Giovagnoli, means getting the same old answers. And that can be deadly for any group or company that wants to move ahead. Instead, they offer 75 outrageous, thought-provoking questions that clean out the corporate cobwebs and get workers’ minds working in new and productive directions. Drawing from their own experiences as top international business consultants, Whitney and Giovagnoli provide field-tested "cage-rattlers" that can help improve leadership, resolve on-the-job conflicts, stimulate innovation, facilitate better communication, and much more. Additionally, the guide benefits individuals as much as it does teams, small groups, small businesses, and larger corporations.
Customer Reviews:
Well worth the price.......2006-11-03
I'm the author of "Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative Thinking Techniques" and pretty much read everything that is published in the creativity field. I find this book useful, entertaining and enlightening. Buy it. It's well worth the price.
Makes you fully aware of the pitfalls of patterning in our minds & to encourage you to constantly challenge your assumptions!.......2006-10-21
75 Cage Rattling Questions to Change the Way You Work: Shake-Em-Up Questions to Open Meetings, Ignite Discussion, and Spark Creativity
by Dick Whitney, Melissa Giovagnoli
This book has been around for almost a decade. I have found it to be a very good book as it teaches readers how to break the normal thinking patterns in the mind. To use a popular neuro-linguistic term, how to do a 'pattern interrupt'!
Patterning is one of three principal operating principles of the human mind. (The other two: selective recognition & self-organising.)
The good thing about patterning is that you don't have to relearn the same pattern if you are comfortable with it or it works for you, e.g. riding a bike or driving a car or using a piece of software. The bad thing about it is that you may get stuck with it, especially when the old pattern doesn't work any more. In the same vein, the patterning makes it hard for a new idea to get fair treatment in your mind.
Edward de Bono, the father of lateral thinking puts it very beautifully: "The mind is habitually uncreative - it is usually preoccupied with organising masses of incoming data into convenient patterns. Once the pattern is established, then the mind tends to rely upon that pattern in future situations, in order to facilitate decision making & action in an otherwise complex world."
Dr David Perkins, author of 'Outsmarting IQ: The Emerging Science of Learnable Intelligence', explains further: "...As we go through life, puzzle out problems, & gain experience, we store up patterns that work well for us. In meeting new situations, we automatically try to make a match to what we know & select a pattern from our storehouse that might apply. This matching process gets influenced not only by what patterns we have stored up, but also by our goals, prejudices & passions."
So, how does one break old patterns or get out of complacency? On workable method is to pose to ourselves challenging, thought-provoking questions. Better still, wild & crazy ones!
Why such questions?
Well, for one thing, they set off processional effects that have great impacts beyond your imagination. Questioning your limitations is what tears down the walls in life - in business, in relationships. I believe growth & progress are often preceded by new & challenging questions.
This book offers 75 outrageous, thought-provoking questions that can clean out the cobwebs in your minds & get you working in new & productive directions.
The essence of the book is not so much using the 75 field-tested "cage rattlers" to shatter the complacency. I feel that the primary objective of the two authors is to make you fully aware of the pitfalls & dangers of patterning in our minds & to encourage you to constantly challenge your assumptions!
This book has 75 short chapters, fully corresponding to the self-described 'cage rattling' questions. Each chapter opens with the question, provides you with some ways to use the question, shares a war story & gives you further tips for using the particular question.
Frankly, I would encourage readers to formulate your own list of 'cage rattling' questions to be used in your own different situation. Certainly, you can make use of the book's questions as a springboard.
Sometimes, the questions to be asked don't even have to be 'cage rattling'. All you need to do is to reframe the question. For example, in problem solving, I always like to ask myself, 'what else can I do?' instead of 'what can I do?'; 'what has not yet happened here?' instead of 'what has happend here?'...
Questions and More!.......2006-05-06
This book has 75 short chapters, one for each of the self-described "cage rattling questions." Each chapter opens with the question, provides you 3-5 ways to use the question, shares a "war story" and gives you some tips for using this particular question.
I have long been a proponent of, and encouraged people to build lists of questions they could use in different situations. This book would be a good place to start your list if you are a trainer, consultant, facilitator, or team leader. You will find many of these questions useful to spark conversations, trigger new ideas and build synergy.
Look at it this way... if you got only one great question that you use to great advantage it would be worth the cost of the book. I'm sure you will get at least several more than that
You can come up with these.......2000-12-19
I wouldn't disagree with any of the other reviews, but it's a matter of personal preference where I spend my money. I wouldn't spend it on this book. Once you focus on what you want to accomplish (ie., "shake-em-up"), you could come up with a lot of these challenges. "If your company were a car...If your company were a footbal team.." and so on. In a word, analogy. I've found in workshops I've conducted, whether they're on Creativity, Problem-Solving, Leadership, or other topics, I'll use this "provocative" technique maybe once or twice in a full day. Beyond that the novelty has worn off.
Much of the text that accompanies each question is also a little repetitious - the "war stories" all start to sound alike.
Actually useful.......2000-09-09
I was surprised at how useful this book is. When I first looked at it, I thought the questions looked obvious and simplistic, but they work very well to start off team meeting sessions. The authors provide lots of good ideas about how to use them, and little anecdotes to inspire you to believe that the questions can actually change the way you do business. I've used them for meeting kick-offs and to jump-start moribund discussions.
Book Description
Stressed and sleepless, today's high school students race from school to activities in their most competitive game of all: admission to a top-ranked, prestigious university. But is relying on magazine rankings and a vague sense of "prestige" really the best way to choose a college? Is hiring test prep teachers and consultants really the best way to shape your own education?
In this book, edited by a veteran admissions counselor, a passionate advocate for students, the presidents and admission deans of leading colleges and universities--like Dartmouth, Vanderbilt, Harvard--remind readers that college choice and admission are a matter of fit, not of winning a prize, and that many colleges are "good" in different ways. They call for bold changes in admissions policies and application strategies, to help both colleges and applicants to rediscover what college is really for. It's not just a ticket to financial success, but a once-in-a-lifetime chance to explore new worlds of knowledge.
Customer Reviews:
Surfdogtom.......2006-09-28
Mr. Thacker does everyone a service with his well orgainzed and written treatise on the often confusing admission process. Job well done Mr. Thacker, keep up the good work! A must read for anyone who is applying to college or whose kids are applying for college. Do yourself a huge favor and pick up a copy of this book now.
An eye opener.......2006-05-29
This thoughtful collection of essays from college administrators is well worth reading. Despite a few clunkily written contributions, it offers real insights into the productizing and marketing of the college experience. In addition, I highy recommend the book, GETTING IN WITHOUT FREAKING OUT -- which, on a very practical, user-friendly level, helps families turn the tables and become wise education consumers.
Students, parents, and colleagues, College Unranked is a must-read.......2006-02-02
Given the moment we are in, Lloyd Thacker's book is not just good for, but vital to the admissions profession. With wisdom and disarming candor, College Unranked's contributors identify the commercial influence in our profession and describe its manifest forms: from the "ranksters" to the overgrown role of standardized testing in the admissions process; from the marketing of educational products to the reallocation of aid from those who need it to those whose numbers are in demand. Rather than just criticize, however, as so many volumes do, the essayists in College Unranked proffer bountiful and sage advice to virtually everyone involved in the college admissions process: students, parents, colleges, the media, for-profit educational companies and the College Board. Anchored by many years of experience, and fortified by their very unity in this volume, the essayists' insight is at once sound, challenging and reassuring. I join Thacker's endorsers who proclaim on the book's back cover that College Unranked is required reading for anyone who is planning to apply to college. As a college counselor who will soon welcome a class of undoubtedly anxious but hopeful high school juniors and their parents to the process, I am grateful to have this book on my shelf. Echoing College Unranked's already published praise, the advice it gives is more powerful, more heartening and more inspiring than that spun by any guidebook or magazine. For that, Thacker deserves abundant commendation.
Must read for the college-bound.......2005-12-22
If you are the parent of a college-bound high school student, you owe it to yourself to read this collection of essays before you enter the fray of college admissions. Too many rankings. Too much marketing. Too much pressure. Too many tests. There's alot of blame to go around, and this book is a beginning at reforming the schools, students, parents and media who drive the system.
Something is wrong with college admissions.......2005-10-01
"Nobody likes what's going on in college admissions---not students, not parents, not college presidents and not deans."
- Lee Pelton, President of Willamette University (quoted in College Unranked)
So, what has happened to college admission? Have the ranksters, the testers, the branders, the marketers, the dot.coms, etc. taken over? How did we let it happen? And what, if anything, can we do about it? Well folks, there is hope, and hope has come in the form of a book and an organization.
College Unranked is more than a book; it is a call to action to all who care about education. The book is the first tangible contribution of the Education Conservancy (educationconservancy.org), a non-profit organization that is "committed to helping students, counselors, and colleges overcome commercial interference in college admissions." All proceeds from the book support the work of the Education Conservancy.
College Unranked is a collection of 20 essays all by college presidents, deans, directors, and others in admissions and higher education. The editor, Lloyd Thacker, wrote the introduction, four sets of "Editor's Stories," and the summary and recommendations. The theme of the book, which runs through the essays, is that "Commercialism's intrusion into college admission has transformed a uniquely American educational experience into a problematic American commercial exercise." This is not, however, a nostalgic look at the "good ol' days," it is full of practical wisdom that can affect what we do today.
Thacker and his essayists are doing more than just asking us to think outside the box; they are asking us to throw out the box completely; the box in which colleges are branded and students are packaged, where colleges are ranked and students are measured. A frequent and deserving target in the essays is the U.S.News rankings---"Complicity [with U.S.News] is a disservice to our students and prospective students, and it helps distort various public policy issues affecting higher education (Adams in College Unranked)." It is important to note that while essayists criticize industry icons, they also put responsibility on those who are compliant as well. While some of the stakeholders are more to blame than others, we are all feeding the problem at some level or, at the very least, our complacency is allowing it to continue.
It is difficult to present a book that can be read with equal interest by admissions personnel, secondary school counselors, parents, and students; but College Unranked has done it. While some outside the profession might not care about or grasp some of the "trade talk" in the essays, there is not enough of it to turn off these readers. This is not a "how to get in" book, it's a book about how to do it right. Parents and students are challenged to take responsibility as well and are given the tools and the advice to help them do so.
Those of us who agree that "Something is wrong with college admissions---something wrong enough to care about, to discuss, and to change (Thacker in College Unranked)" now have a flag to rally around.
"Let us all---counselors, students and parents---reclaim the college selection and admission processes a form of education rather than a form of commercialism (Ballinger, p. 175)." Quixotic? Maybe. But also visionary, optimistic, and crucial. Individual lament can become collective action. We won't know if it will work unless we give it a try. Let's give it a try.
Book Description
"Remarkably ambitious . . . an impressive tour de force."
--Washington Post Book World
For Alexander the Great, fame meant accomplishing what no mortal had ever accomplished before. For Julius Caesar, personal glory was indistinguishable from that of Rome. The early Christians devalued public recognition, believing that the only true audience was God. And Marilyn Monroe owed much of her fame to the fragility that led to self-destruction. These are only some of the dozens of figures that populate Leo Braudy's panoramic history of fame, a book that tells us as much about vast cultural changes as it does about the men and women who at different times captured their societies' regard.
Spanning thousands of years and fields ranging from politics to literature and mass media, The Frenzy of Renown explores the unfolding relationship between the famous and their audiences, between fame and the representations that make it possible. Hailed as a landmark at its original publication and now reissued with a new Afterword covering the last tumultuous decade, here is a major work that provides our celebrity-obsessed, post-historical society with a usable past.
"Expansive . . . Braudy excels at rocketing a general point into the air with the fuel of drama. "
--Harper's
Customer Reviews:
WONDERFUL.......2000-05-19
What an incredible book! I had to remind myself that this was not a work of fiction. I was thoroughly impressed by the style , soul and intellect of this beautifully written work.
The history of fame, writ large.......1999-12-08
Can you name the ten most famous people in western European history? After reading this book, you will. A monumental study of the human craving for attention, and the ways that people (mostly men) have sought it. I recommend this book for anyone who has wondered what all the fuss is about regarding celebrities today. This book was originally published in 1987, and Braudy has written an afterward for the 1997 edition -- it's very interesting to read what happens when you write "the book" on fame in the era of O.J.Simpson, Monika Lewinsky, et al.
awesome piece of work.......1997-12-17
In charting the course of fame, Braudy written a compelling and original history of Western culture. This is an amazing piece of work, clearly the product of insight, devotion, and many years of study. I've recently been seeing references to it in various mainstream publications, so I'm glad it's finally getting some of the attention it deserves, and it's nice to see that it went to paperback. It's ambitious, and I believe successful as well. It's fun to read, and it'll help refresh all that western history you forgot from school. If you don't completely love this book, you're a moron. (OK, that last statement's probably a bit much...) Anyway, note that I have no connection to the author, publisher, author's department (USC Literature), their families, or anything like that, other than having read this book.
Product Description
Katani & Maeve head to New York City to experience a teen fashion show. Meanwhile, back in Boston, the seventh-grade class heads to the Museum of Fine Arts to explore that Egyptian mummies. Katani and Maeve learn that hard way that fashion is all about self-expression and being true to one's self.
Customer Reviews:
Fashion Frenzy.......2006-11-11
I can totaly relate to these girls, Katani and Maeve go to a New York fashion show, on the way bad things happen, like, Maeve gets lost and a famous fasion designer is having problems with her designs. At the same time Isabel, Charlotte and Avery are back home dealing with a boy obbsesed with Isabel.
I can relate to all five of these girls, and it shows my NYC dreams
Book Description
Stitch a Scrap Quilt in a Snap
Let popular scrap-quilt designer Sally Schneider teach you her savvy methods for collecting, coordinating, and stitching your scraps into gorgeous quilts! Sally has spent over a decade simplifying her scrappy technique. She'll show you how to blend those wonderful bits of fabric into rich, color-filled quilts and do what every quilter loves best--play with fabric.
· Make scrap quilts that sing with 13 beautiful quilt plans, plus tips for using value, variety, and pattern to create eye-catching designs
· Find inspiring ideas for using your special collections of fabrics--such as plaids, florals, batiks, and period fabrics--in scrappy quilts
· Get a head start on your next "scrap frenzy" with a simple system for cutting and storing scrap fabrics ahead of time
Turn your growing stash of scraps into gorgeous quilts for future generations to enjoy!
From the author of ScrapMania (ISBN 1-56477-050-8)
Customer Reviews:
Another must-have book for quilters.......2003-04-04
I love this book! I was having a hard time figuring out what to do with all of the fat quarters of fabric that I collect and this book gave me the answer. All of the quilts are beautiful. She gives great directions - from cutting up your scraps to making the actual quilt. I can't wait to start making one of these quilts. She also shows the each quilt using a different color theme. It is a great book - I highly recommend it if you are a fabric collector like me!
Extremely Helpful Book with Great Designs!.......2002-04-04
I really liked this book for several reasons. It gives extremely concise and clear cutting charts for the size quilt you wish to make. The examples shown in the book are extremely colorful and show good use of using mulitple fabrics and scraps.
One of the designs in the book titled 'Skyrocket' shows an alternative to the traditional 'Ohio Star' which is one of my favorite blocks and I can't wait to start working on this one!
I personally do a lot of 'Strip Quilting' which saves me a lot of time and I can get more done. I know short cuts for sewing and piecing on some of the examples and instructions in the book. But for even a novice or beginning quilter the instructions the book has are quite suitable.
For the advanced quilters out there, this might be a handy reference guide with beautiful examples of color and fabric use.
Books:
- What Is the World Made Of? All About Solids, Liquids, and Gases (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 2)
- 15 Books in 1: L. Frank Baum's Original "Oz" Series. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Marvelous Land of Oz, Ozma of Oz, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, The Road to Oz, The Emerald City of Oz, The Patchwork Girl Of Oz, Little Wizard Stories of Oz, Tik-Tok of Oz, The Scarecrow Of Oz, Rinkitink In Oz, The Lost Princess Of Oz, The Tin Woodman Of Oz, The Magic of Oz, and Glinda Of Oz.
- 212: The Extra Degree
- 90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death & Life
- A Friend of the Earth
- A Season of Joy (Work and the Glory, Vol 5)
- Against a Crimson Sky: A Novel
- An Introduction to Thermal Physics
- Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000
- Black Wind (Dirk Pitt Adventures)
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