Child Care Design Guide

Book Description

A-Z's for designing superior day care facilities

Virtually unknown 30 years ago, daycare has become a growth industry. Child Care Design Guide helps architects and designers plan, design, and renovate functional, developmentally rich, pleasing centers. Author Anita Rui Olds brings to this work over 25 years of design experience with children's facilities. She gives you step-by-step explanations of interior and exterior layout and design principles fleshed out in clarifying case studies. You learn about licensing and code requirements, operational standards and strategies, and get helpful checklists, charts and graphs for optimum facility design within time, space, and budgetary constraints. This highly visual work features over 300 floor plans for infant and toddler, preschool, and afterschool spaces, plus areas for outdoor play and more.

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding Resource!!.......2003-08-01

Worth every dime!!! Anita Rui Olds has incredible insight into creating environments that are reflective of children and their interests. She believes that a child care setting should have "spirit." Included are Reggio-type environmental solutions that create a sense of wonder with an architecturally aesthetic sensibility. Lots of great ideas packed into this book. Only regret is that the pictures are too small and not in color. Would have been worth extra [$$] to have an expanded edition.

Essential Resource.......2002-02-18

This is a terrific and necessary resource for anyone involved with the design or renovation of a child care setting. The author has clearly and concisely poured into the book her considerable knowledge and understanding of child care facilities, her passionate beliefs, and her attention to the details of good design. Her knowledge of child development is evident in all of her ideas.

The best.......2002-01-05

This must be the best book that exist about designing Child Care Center. It covers everything, but the most important is the focus the autor made on the children. This book is a must for every architect or people interested in design of this kind of buildings, specially if he/she is really interested in children well being.
The only but is that for the quality of its content, this book deserves a better paper and color pictures. (a 0 star here for MacGrow-Hill).
Probably this book is call to change the way a day care is seen today.

Long awaited, exceeds expectations.......2000-12-25

Preeminent authority on design for child care, Anita Rui Olds consummated a lifetime of deep concern and research into the needs of children with the publication of this magnum opus. Lavish use of illustrations--photos, sketches, floor plans, and examples--and attractive layout support Ms. Olds's incisive text to create a remarkably accessible book. Many hundreds of child care professionals and architects who have studied under Ms. Olds will recognize and welcome this work as the summation of the concepts that placed the author at the forefront of her field.

More and more children are in institutional care and, "in search of a model," day care typically happens in society's "leftover" spaces, church basements, warehouses, and places intended for adults. This book will help anyone committed to doing better for our children to "see that young children are raised in nurturing, spirited settings that honor their precious young souls." (from the introduction)

The book's only drawback is technical as the reproduction of photographs is of disappointing quality.

Tragically, Anita Olds did not live to see this book published. We can be thankful that she left it for us, full of her passion for children. In its use we will honor her spirit as we effect her designs.

Average customer rating:

Peace Child

Amazing!

Leaves you Feeling Enlightened

Best Reason for Missions Ever Book

The Power of God's word

Peace Child
Don Richardson
Manufacturer: Regal Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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Eternity in Their Hearts

Lords of the Earth (International Adventures)

From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya: A Biographical History of Christian Missions

Ministering Cross-Culturally,: An Incarnational Model for Personal Relationships

Bruchko Bruchko

ASIN: 0830737847

Book Description

In 1962, Don and Carol Richardson risked their lives to share the gospel with the Sawi people of New Guinea. Peace Child tells their unforgettable story of living among these headhunters and cannibals who valued treachery through "fattening" victims with friendship before the slaughter. God gave Don and Carol the key to the Sawi hearts via a redemptive analogy from their own mythology. The "peace child" became the secret to unlocking a value system that existed through generations over centuries, possibly millenniums, of time. This analogy became a stepping-stone by which the gospel came into the Sawi culture and started both a spiritual and a social revolution from within. With an epilogue updating how the gospel has impacted the Sawi people, Peace Child will inspire a new generation of readers who need to hear this unforgettable story and the lessons it teaches us about communicating Christ in a meaningful way to those around us.

Customer Reviews:

Peace Child.......2007-07-22

A true story of how the Gospel of Jesus Christ can cross cultures and change the lives of violent people. A great message for the world today, especially for people who believe that the answer to violence is more violence. Also, an interesting cultural study of indigenous people.

Amazing!.......2007-04-02

Gives a much deeper understanding of mission work and how to reach cultures in a new way. How to package the Gospel in ways that different culutres can identify with. Really inspirational! A must-read for all Christians.

Leaves you Feeling Enlightened.......2006-08-01

Peace Child was my summer reading book this past year and though there are many tough issues regarding cannibalism and violence. The people of New Guinea have never known anything different. They have need for a Savior who continues to prevail all throughout the book. As Don Richardson (the missionary) tries to find a spiritual parrallel with the gruesome Sawi culture, he finds much much more. Though at times your stomach may feel unneasy while reading it. It's a gripping and enlightening story. Without a doubt, a must-read for anyone regardless of their religion.

For it is by the grace of God that we have been saved through faith, not through ourselves, it is the gift of God.
(Ephesians 2:8)

Best Reason for Missions Ever Book.......2006-07-26

This is an outstanding book. It will give you a vision of this mission field but also the unique way God will draw a person to Himself, in this case, an entire village. I recommend this book. I am blessed to have read it.

The Power of God's word.......2006-07-04

A powerful story of how a missionary was able to find the deep structure of primitive tribe and translate God's words into their language and culture so they could understand.

What The Bible Says About Parenting Biblical Principle For Raising Godly Children

Average customer rating:

THE BEST!
Psychology is Good, Bible is Better
Very Very Good Book
Excellent
Sickening, unchristian and altogether barbaric

What The Bible Says About Parenting Biblical Principle For Raising Godly Children
John MacArthur
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0849937752

Book Description

More than ever, Christians need to know what the Bible actually teaches about parenting, and put it into practice. In What the Bible Says About Parenting, pastor/teacher John MacArthure presents time-proven principles of biblical parenting clearly and carefully to help parents make sense of their duties before God and to bring up their children in the ways of the Lord. In addition to this new trade paper edition (previously titled Successful Christian Parenting), there is also a resource kit and two workbooks available to help Christian parents instruct their children in a godly manner.

Customer Reviews:

THE BEST!.......2005-11-25

THE BEST. Excellent. I highly recommend.
As with all of Dr. John Macarthur's works, this is
packed with life changing Biblical TRUTHS, wisdom and sound doctrine.

Psychology is Good, Bible is Better.......2004-02-27

In our culture, there are many concepts and theories, assumptions and views on how to raise children. Often, studies in the areas of Psychology and Human Development, Sociology, Medicine, and so forth, come to different conclusions, sometimes even contradictory. Studies in other cultures again have different views. Then there is the Christian sub-culture, with all its very helpful seminars, books, audio tapes, magazines, etc. But these usually draw their ideas from one or more of those same studies, and end up contradicting each other.

I don't want to discredit Christian educators, child psychologists, and so forth. They are playing an incredibly important part in helping parents understand their role; for instance, I believe that Focus on the Family, and James Dobson, THE contemporary parenting "guru", had and still has a huge influence on how families raise their children, and I am thankful for that.

If you are parents, or getting there :-), I encourage you to get your hands on some good books from Focus. However, when the theories of the books we read, Christian or not, contradict each other, then we're stuck. How can we really KNOW the best way to raise our children? The answer is quite obvious: Read the Bible!

You might argue that many things in the Bible are either old-fashioned, from another culture, and simply not applicable in our time. You're right, not everything applies to us. But everything can serve to teach us something, to educate us.

When the Apostle Paul wrote his letters, no one had a degree in Child Psychology; no one had heard about ADHD or other such "problems". But when Paul wrote, his thoughts were guided by the Holy Spirit, and He transcends time and culture. We still have to use our brains :-) when we read Scripture, to find out what things meant to the original writers and readers, and what it means for us today. But, if you want to know how to raise your children, then DO read the Bible, MORE than any other book.
John MacArthur has done a study on parenting, from the Bible. This book is the result of this study.

If you want to get the BASICS of parenting right, I strongly encourage you to get a copy. It is filled with quotes from Scripture and excellent advice. If, after reading it, you think it was not worth your time or money, then read it again, you must have missed something! This book is not written to give you the latest tips and ideas on parenting, but to give you a foundation on which to build your family and home.

Put it this way: if I were teaching Parenting 101 at a Bible College, this would be the required textbook (for Parenting 201, I'd require many different ones, most of them probably from Focus on the Family).

Please remember: I believe MacArthur does a good job explaining the Scriptures, focusing on what God wants us to know and do in our families. However, don't read the book like you read the Bible. John MacArthur is not God :-) You might find that some of his interpretations and views clash with yours. That's ok. You might be right. You might not be. For instance, he supports spanking (based on Scripture; Proverbs 13:24). I agree with that, but I'm not saying that spanking is a must. Regardless of your view on different things and issues, read this book with an open mind and see how God might use this tool to challenge and equip you to be(come) better parents.

Very Very Good Book.......2004-01-12

This book is perfect for anyone who takes Scripture seriously, and is either thinking of having or currently has children. John MacArthur is very true to God's Word, is very open and honest, and provides wonderful direction for raising children in the love and admonition of the Lord. Some of the truths he presents are not popular, especially today, but they are very biblical.

Not a pseudo-Christian "self-help" book, this book provides a wonderful blueprint for raising children, teaching them about salvation, and encouraging them to serve the Lord all from a firmly biblical standpoint.

Excellent.......2003-06-18

This is an excellent book full of practical and biblical instruction on parenting. As are most of MacArthur's books, Successful Christian Parenting is full of biblical exposition. MacArthur focuses on general principles of parenting, rather than getting entangled in specific lists of dos and donts. He rightly understands parenting to be a simple, yet weighty task: that of teaching our children to know God, obey His Word, and trust in Christ. This is a very gospel centered book, with clear direction on how to share the gospel with children. There is a strong emphasis on instilling into our children biblical wisdom for life. I also like MacArthur's balanced teaching on child discipline. The final two chapters focus on the father's and mother's roles, and beautifully unfold God's pattern for marriage which is based on mutual submission and love. This book is not encumbered with psychology or legalism, which makes it quite refreshing. MacArthur's comments on psychological disorders, referenced in another review, comprise a very small portion of this book. While I am not trained in medicine or psychology, my own exposure to psychology in college left me thinking that it was a far less exact science than psychologists want to let on. I don't think MacArthur is far off the mark.

Sickening, unchristian and altogether barbaric.......2002-08-05

It greatly disturbs me that there are modern Christians who still believe that Serious and Severe Brain disorders such as bipolar disorder are the result of sin. John MacArther attempts to drag christians back into the dark ages where demons, spells, and witchcraft exists. Considering that there is more scientific support for Brain disorders than there is for A.I.D.S. I wonder where he gets off by saying that there is no biological support for Bipolar Disorder. P.E.T. scans now reconfirm to the average person what Doctors have believed for years; Bipolar Disorder is the result of a Chemical imbalance involving at least three Nurotransmitters. Considering that John MacArthur has ZERO experience in the medicine field, I find it odd that he claims to know more than doctors who have trained all of their life. I think that it is a shame that Christians like John have found sadistic pleasure in tormenting the seriously ill. "What you do unto the least of my servants you do even unto me"----Jesus Christ.

The Journey of the Lost Boys: A Story of Courage, Faith and the Sheer Determination to Survive by a Group of Young Boys Called "The Lost Boys of Sudan"

Average customer rating:

The tragedy of the children of Sudan
Learning about Sudan? START HERE
OUTSTANDING BOOK
A good term paper
An accurate, heartfelt and well-written account

The Journey of the Lost Boys: A Story of Courage, Faith and the Sheer Determination to Survive by a Group of Young Boys Called "The Lost Boys of Sudan"
Joan Hecht
Manufacturer: Allswell Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Sudan | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

North Africa | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0976387506
Release Date: 2005-05-30

Book Description

Imagine you're a young boy—maybe as young as three or four—separated from your family by civil war, traversing deserts and mountains with little food or water, no medical care, and no protection from wild animals. Imagine watching hundreds of boys perish around you from hunger, disease, or attacks by enemy soldiers and wild animals. To most of us, it is unimaginable, but this was reality for "The Lost Boys of Sudan," thousands of young boys who were separated from their families and forced to walk approximately 1,000 miles to reach safe refuge from war and certain death.

For the first time, this award winning book offers readers a chronological timeline of the epic journey taken by these children, beginning in their rural villages of Southern Sudan and ending with their arrival as young men to the United States. Narrated through the voice of Joan Hecht, one of their American mentors, whom they lovingly call "mom" or "Mama Joan;" "The Journey of the Lost Boys" is a compelling story of courage, faith and the sheer determination to survive by a group of young orphaned boys. Because of Joan Hecht's personal relationship with them, she is able to portray their story in a way that most famous reporters and authors cannot. In addition to her extensive research of the political and historical events surrounding the long lasting civil war in Sudan, are the heart-rending personal stories and original drawings of the boys themselves. A must read for anyone interested in the the true story of the Lost Boys of Sudan!

Customer Reviews:

The tragedy of the children of Sudan.......2007-03-31

I can only summarize my comment about this book in a few words. The author Joan Hecht did a wonderful task in narrating the frightening and heartbreaking experience of the thousands of lost boys of the Sudan,Africa's largest country. Their dangerous journey involving thousands of miles in a very hostile landscape is incredible. The author's very kind heart,sincere consideration and admiration for these children is worth more than all the gold of the world. Very highly recommended for young and old.

Learning about Sudan? START HERE.......2006-10-15

This is the book you need to read if you are unfamiliar with the background of the issues in Sudan, the Lost Boys, and the issues faced by refugees who come to America. Ms. Hecht might not be an " academic", but she is the person with an enormous amount of first hand information on these subjects, and she breaks it down into managable pieces. Even if you are knowledgable on these subjects, this book is still useful as a clarifying tool. Ms. Hecht is also very committed, and that comes through on every page.

OUTSTANDING BOOK .......2006-08-11

Readers of this book will be touched by the stories of these incredible young men, who, at an early age, were separated from their parents and families. The atrocities witnessed by the boys are unspeakable. The author has provided the readers with stories that make those who have lived a life without fear take a new appreciation for the freedoms we enjoy in the United States.

A good term paper.......2006-07-26

The endless conflict in Sudan is another calamity that the press should have been bombarding us with daily for years. A tragedy of such dimensions should torment our collective conscience. This is exactly why it deserves a better telling than Ms. Hecht is able to offer us. The writing is amateurish and the text cries out for the editing it appears not to have been subjected to. Easy streamlining and the correction of some grammatical errors would make the book more readable and more powerful. Ms. Hecht's devotion to the cause of the Lost Boys is clearly sincere and praiseworthy, however, and she does deserve thanks for contributing to making us aware of the atrocities that go on in the world while we turn the other way.

An accurate, heartfelt and well-written account.......2006-06-28

Joan Hecht's "Journey" is in this reviewer's opinion the most interesting and accurate book available on the topic of the Lost Boys. As a former foster father to one of the lost boys and a fellow author and researcher, I recommend the book without hesitation. It presents an extraordinarily complicated situation in a manner that is comprehensible, fascinating and accurate. It gives the reader a true sense of the horror, courage and hope that has gripped a generation of young Sudanese men.

For its rare photos, clear and organized presentation and sincere prose, I highly recommend this informative and inspiring book and thank the author for her outstanding efforts.

The Mission of Motherhood: Touching Your Child's Heart for Eternity

Average customer rating:

Inspirational
Great insight on the true role of a mother
It was great!
A great book.
Mission of Motherhood

The Mission of Motherhood: Touching Your Child's Heart for Eternity
Sally Clarkson
Manufacturer: WaterBrook Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Motherhood | Family Relationships | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

General | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1578565812
Release Date: 2003-01-21

Book Description

There is no greater, nobler, or more fulfilling calling than that of motherhood. Every day, as they nurture their children, mothers influence eternal destiny as no one else can. Yet often women are drawn to seek fulfillment outside of God’s design, despite their inherent desire to embrace motherhood with their whole hearts.

Today’s culture minimizes the vital importance of a mother’s role. By catching a vision of God’s original design and allowing it to shape their lives, mothers can rediscover the joy and fulfillment to be found in the strategic role to which God has called them–for a purpose far greater than they can imagine.

In The Mission of Motherhood, author, speaker, and mother Sally Clarkson closely examines this God-ordained plan for mothers, introduced in the book of Genesis and upheld throughout his Word. Using practical examples, her own personal anecdotes, a challenging vision, and sound scriptural support, Clarkson upholds the traditional, biblical view of God’s plan for motherhood–giving mothers exactly the support they need to persevere in cultivating and sharing their hearts for God, for their children, and for their homes.

Customer Reviews:

Inspirational .......2007-09-10

I can honestly say that no book has ever inspired and motivated me more in the area of parenting. I could not put this book down and highlighted the whole thing. It is one of those books I recommend to mothers and will read again.

Great insight on the true role of a mother.......2007-04-10

Reading this book inspires me to try harder to be a better mother and to give my kids the best of me in the few short years that I have to mold their hearts. In this generation where so many mothers would much rather work than stay home and sacrifice their time and energy for the sake of their children, Sally Clarkson inspires those of us who have chosen full-time motherhood to hold up our heads and realize that we have chosen the most demanding and rewarding job on this earth. Sally reminds us that being a parent is a challenging job and full of opportunities for us to grow as well as our children. Through her personal tales of motherhood, she inspires us to look for the little opportunities to encourage our children and be an example for them. We do not all find ourselves with the same opportunities, but we can use our own environment and circumstances to create a home for our families that will nurture them and help them grow into responsible, caring and thoughtful Christians.

It was great!.......2007-04-01

I thought this was a wonderful book. If you are a stay-at-home mom trying to raise your kids the Christian way, then this is a good book for you.

A great book........2007-03-19

I wish I had read this book when my kids were younger. There are some great ideas in here. It offers some different ways of looking at your family and your relationship with your children. This is one I will be including in every baby gift I give from now on. I liked it so much we are doing the Our 24 Family Ways ~ Family Devotional Guide together too.
Enjoy.

Mission of Motherhood.......2007-01-12

This book has been such an encouragement to me. Sally Clarkson does a wonderful job bringing to life God's Word and how we can relate it to our everyday lives as mothers. She gives great advice and creative ideas on training up our children. I highly recommend this book.

Average customer rating:

Uninteresting Character and Plot
Great writer who can involve readers in any scene
A science fiction odyssey
A true survivor
Not for lovers of plot

Mission Child
Maureen F. McHugh
Manufacturer: Eos
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Adventure | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0380974568

Amazon.com

Mission Child is an expansion of Maureen McHugh's "The Cost to Be Wise," a fascinating novella from the original anthology Starlight 1.

Janna's world was colonized long ago by Earth and then left on its own for centuries. When "offworlders" return, their superior technology upsets the balance of a developing civilization. Mission Child follows the journeys of Janna after she and her young partner escape marauders who attack their hometown. The girl, fast becoming mature beyond her years, sets off across the planet on an odyssey of adventure, poverty, hard work, war, famine, and rebirth. Janna uses her meager skills to eke out a living in a changing world; she gains and loses a husband, a child, friends, jobs, and more.

McHugh weaves together anthropology, sociology, psychology, and gender relations in this wondrous journey. Janna assumes the guise of a boy for protection, but eventually becomes "Jan" to herself as well as others. Reminiscent of Ursula K. Le Guin's insightful works set in the Hainish universe, Mission Child will doubtless be nominated for a Tiptree Award for its exploration of Janna's gender identity. --Bonnie Bouman

Book Description

Young Janna has lived her fourteen years on the icy northern plains of a world that has forgotten its history. Now the arrival of Earthers--descendants of the humans who first settled the planet many centuries before--has violently upset the fragile balance of a developing civilization. The offworlders' advanced technologies and cruel indifference to local life have brought despair and destruction to janna's home, robbing her of family, husband, child, and self. Haunted by a dead past--mysteriously altered by the gift of three alien artifacts--Janna must now redefine herself on a devastated planet she no longer recognizes, as she embarks upon a remarkable, transcendant journey into an uncertain future; moving steadily through this strange new world toward a startling realization about her role in the great cosmic order.

Customer Reviews:

Uninteresting Character and Plot.......2006-05-17

I think very highly of Maureen F. McHugh as a short story writer: i liked almost all the stories in "Mothers and Other Monsters" and particularly admired her writing style: a bit like Ursula K. LeGuin in that respect. However, the plot of this novel - the first I've read by her - was so uninvolving I couldn't finish it. Mainly this is the fault of the main character: it took me a long time to realize that she never figures anything out. In particular, she was brought up in a primitive religion on an alien planet and will never decide there's nothing to the religion, even though she sees the benefits of modern science in frequent meetings with Earth people (or off-worlders, as they are called). She has been given three implants by her original teacher from Earth, one a distress signal to call the off-worlders, a second that allows her to hibernate if caught outside on the cold world she inhabits, and a third that will supposedly allow her to move very quickly in an emergency. I never saw the third implant used in the 60% of the book I read -- odd, that, since she was in danger of loss of life early in the plot. As for the hibernation implant, it twice saves her life, but she reacts to that by saying death vomited her out, like some food on the planet that people will vomit if they eat. The idea that someone can have their life saved by something and still think of it as a bad thing is typical. I never understood why she was doing anything. (For example, she seems to have fallen into a habit of passing as a man early in the book, and while never able to explain it, she wants to stick to it, except that she also wants to have sex as a woman. What?) For full disclosure, I should point out that I never could read past about page 100 in Rabbit Run (I tried to read it twice because I thought Updike's writing was supurb). My problem was that Rabbit didn't know what he wanted and all of the plot, as far as I got, revolved around Rabbit - a relatively young man - deciding to run away from home, driving a long distance, then without actually making any decision, returning home again. Mission Child was like that: I couldn't figure out where she was going next, but it seemed random and she seemed stupid in many ways. I just can't get interested in that kind of character involved in a plot made up of random events.

Great writer who can involve readers in any scene.......2004-08-16

A colonized world develops a unique identity and culture. Years later, one of its citizens develops a unique identity as well, adapting to her culture by taking on the identity of a man. Soon, she finds that her gender-blurring actually appeals to her in ways beyond what her situation demands of her.

I love Mission Child as much as McHugh's more popular novel China Mountain Zhang, which received the James Tiptree, Jr. Memorial Award, the Lambda Literary Award, and the Locus Award for Best First Novel.

McHugh is a great writer who can involve readers in any scene, regardless of how much or how little action that scene contains. The language seems descriptive to an extreme, but she still manages to tie those descriptions into the thoughts and feelings of the characters.

Before reading her work, I read reviews that included complaints about her supposedly not focusing on plot. Readers can find countless formulaic, plot-driven science fiction and fantasy novels, but they won't find many original and evocative writers of McHugh's caliber.

McHugh's other novels include Nekropolis and Half the Day Is Night.

A science fiction odyssey.......2002-02-24

Maureen McHugh has outdone her previous two novels (Half the Day is Night, China Mountain Zhang) by a quantum leap with Mission Child.

Mission Child tells the futuristic odyssey of Janna, a young woman who undergoes many changes in her search for a role in life. From her begining as a child of the Hamra Mission, a low-tech culture on a world long-ago colonized by Earth, Janna sets forth on a journey across the planet when her clan is murdered by invaders. It is the first time Janna must come to grips with death, but certainly not the last.

As Janna travels from city to city, we see the colonization of the planet through her eyes. She encounters several different cultures, all vaguely familiar to the reader, yet altered by their adaptation to their new world. McHugh does an incredible job of presenting these cultures through Janna's eyes in a believeable way. McHugh's grasp of the narrative is amazing.

I rank this book up there with SF classics like Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness. Definitely a must-read book.

A true survivor.......2001-07-31

I was completely fascinated by this book. I very much respect how it raises important questions without feeling the need to provide easy answers. Here are a few: What does it mean to be transgendered without the benefit of transgender theory? Would Jan have been transgendered without the implant? What does it mean to live in a colonial world without benefit of post-colonial theory? Is it possible to maintain the purity of a culture? Do the missionaries help or hinder Jan/Janna by the imposition of their technology? Did they have the right to impose their technology in order to "help" Janna? Should survival be the ultimate, over-riding goal?

Initially, Jan survives in spite of him/herself. Ultimately, Jan decides not only to survive but to live. I highly recommend this book.

Not for lovers of plot.......2000-05-13

In Mission Child, Ms. McHugh does an excellent job of creating a new and interesting view of the future of life on a distant planet. Her protagonist, Jaana, is convincingly written as a woman born in a primitive society trying to manage contact with advanced technology from earth and the people who bring it.

The problem is that the entire book is little more than a description of life on a planet without a lot of native technology. The story, such as it is, is told in the first person from the perspective of Janna, a woman who is not really prone to introspection and has a tendancy to flee anyplace that might give her more insight into her own nature.

Near the end of the book, Jaana starts to make a kind of connection to the wold around her, but she never really does. The book ends with the same kind of "when's the sequel coming?" ending as China Mountain Zhang, but unlike that oustanding book, I can't see any evidence that a sequel would have much more of interest to say.

Reading this book reminded me in some ways of reading the first book in the Thomas Covenant series. The main character was an idiot at the start, and made it through the whole book without quite ceasing to be an idiot. Unlike Lord Foul's Bane, however, Mission Child doesn't have a lot of cool secondary characters that make it worth reading.

In short, the plot is relevant only as an opportunity for character development, but the main character steadfastly refuses to change. As a result, the book is weak both on plot and on character development. The reason it gets two stars from me is that McHugh has created an excellent backdrop for a character who has some interesting attributes. I only wish there had been some coherent plot to the whole thing, or some real development of the main character.

Average customer rating:

One of the worst wrtten books I have ever suffered through

FRAUD

Read the investigation before the book

This book is an unfortunate lie that uses child abuse as a sales technique

Duped the best

Race Against Evil: The Secret Missions of the Interpol Agent Who Tracked the World's Most Sinister Criminals - A Real-life Drama
David Race Bannon
Manufacturer: New Horizon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Espionage | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
True Crime | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Intelligence | Freedom & Security | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0882822314

Book Description

David Race Bannon's missions take him from investigating the bombing of KAL flight 858 and infiltrating prisons in Korea to the disappearance of London's most notorious child pornographer to searching out terrorists and criminals in the United States.

Customer Reviews:

One of the worst wrtten books I have ever suffered through.......2006-08-17

This book is so badly written it is unbelievable that it was even published. I would expect more from a high school creative writing class. Corny beyond pale. This is listed as non fiction but I don't believe much of this book is anything but fiction. There are statements that I know for a fact are completely false and inaccurate. For expample the author states that child prostitution is legal in certain countries like Thailand, and there are brothels openly specializing in children. This is complete bull. "Regular" prostitution by adult men and women is not even legal in Thailand. No the police don't enforce the prostitution law in Thailand for the sake of tourism, but they DO strictly enforce child prostitution laws. This book besmudges the reputation of Thailand and the Thai people with such drivel. This is also true for other asian countries as well and is bore out by the recently reported case about the washed up British rock star (I forget his name) that was arrested in Vietnam for engaging in sex with underage girls, after being thrown out of Cambodia for the same thing. This book is written by a nerd dreaming of being James Bond. Don't waste your money. I got the book after some moron on here recommended it in a reveiw they were wrote on another book. Save your money and buy comic books instead.

FRAUD.......2006-07-01

Readers should be aware that this author was convicted in NC this week on charges of impersonating a law officer. He has not done the things he wrote about in the book, and took the name "Race Bannon" from a cartoon charcter.

It may be a gripping story... but it's all fiction.

Read the investigation before the book.......2006-03-07

This entire book, which is supposedly "non-fiction" is a fabrication by David Wayne Dilley.

Before reading this book, one should read the following investigation, http://www.bullshido.net/forums/showthread.php?t=30325 , which outlines in great details the claims made by mister "Bannon". The article shows, with the exhaustive investigation and research of more than a dozen individuals, how all the claims made by mister Bannon are completely false and were merely created in order to write this book. Interpol has denied having any record of him working for them, and he has recently been indicted in Colorado for theft in relation to this book and seminars that he has taught concerning child pornography in Law Enforcement.

The article is free to the public and the author does not have any monetary connection to the book or the investigation.

This book is an unfortunate lie that uses child abuse as a sales technique.......2006-02-21

David Wayne Dilley, who now goes by David Race Bannon, has callously used the genuine issue of child sex trafficking to make himself some cash, both in the form of this book and in speaking engagements. He has recently been arrested for criminal impersonation, as reported here: http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2006/January/06_usncb_049.html

Interpol is an information-sharing service for worldwide law enforcement that does, indeed, help fight child sex rings. It is unfortunate that so many people have been duped by Dilley into believing that Interpol has some assassination wing that violates member-nation laws and goes around killing child pornographers. While it may be viscerally satisfying to imagine that this easy solution exists, it's untrue.

Dilley's story is fantasy from the very first murder, which happens in the fictional tenth story of the (in reality) five-story Byron Hotel in London. The fact that he has mislead so many people into giving him money by abusing the issue of child pornography is just sad.

I recommend strongly against purchasing this book. Better, perhaps, to donate money to one of the many charities that help fight the problem this book pretends to address.

Duped the best.......2006-02-08

Give Dilley aka Bannon the credit he deserves. He duped many. His name should stand next to that of Victor Lustig, the man who sold the Eiffel Tower - twice!

How to Develop A Family Mission Statement

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Mission Possible

How to Develop A Family Mission Statement
Stephen R. Covey
Manufacturer: Covey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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ASIN: 1883219280

Book Description

This program will help you and your family to:

* Develop a family mission statement that will help you strengthen family bonds in your own family, your extended family, or as a single parent.
* Develop more patience, the capacity to solve problems proactively, and the ability to have fun.
* Strengthen your children and family members in a turbulent world.
* Develop self-discipline in your children rather than use punishment.
* Unite around a common sense of purpose and mission.
* Eliminate ineffective family habits and develop a nurturing home environment.
* Transform family life from a desperate day-to-day miserable grind to a family life rich with meaningful relationships.

Customer Reviews:

Mission Possible.......1999-11-28

Mission Statements are very hard to write in business. Until this cassette, I felt it impossible to do with my exceedingly diverse and strong-willed family of five. As a Father, I felt it important to do so in order to provide the foundation for success so important in today's rapidly changing, yet fascinating society.

Book Description

In a book now marked by both critical acclaim and cross-cultural controversy, Jeffrey J. Kripal explores the life and teachings of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, a nineteenth-century Bengali saint who played a major role in the creation of modern Hinduism. Through extended textual and symbolic analyses of Ramakrishna's censored "secret talk," Kripal demonstrates that the saint's famous ecstatic and visionary experiences were driven by mystico-erotic energies that he neither fully accepted nor understood. The result is a striking new vision of Ramakrishna as a conflicted, homoerotic Tantric mystic that is as complex as it is clear and as sympathetic to the historical Ramakrishna as it is critical of his traditional portraits.

In a substantial new preface to this second edition, Kripal answers his critics, addresses the controversy the book has generated in India, and traces the genealogy of his work in the history of psychoanalytic discourse on mysticism, Hinduism, and Ramakrishna himself. Kali's Child has already proven to be provocative, groundbreaking, and immensely enjoyable.

"Only a few books make such a major contribution to their field that from the moment of publication things are never quite the same again. Kali's Child is such a book."—John Stratton Hawley, History of Religions

Winner of the American Academy of Religion's History of Religions Prize for the Best First Book of 1995

Customer Reviews:

Evidence for Ramakrishna's true mysticism.......2006-03-11

[...] which ask for evidence of Ramakrishna's true mysticism. I tell them that the evidence is the devotees themselves who follow His teachings. You cannot create wise people like Vivekananda and his brother disicples just by following a "mad" man. What about the visions of Ramakrishna devotees and saints? Yeah you can rubbish ALL of them as hallucinations. Well that is not your evidence anyway, right? I saw thousands and thousands of saints and devotees who cite Ramakrishna as their guru and these people are the best among men - you feel it when you are in their midst and their life is an example (again an unscientific mind trashes ALL of them). Are all of these men getting inspired by a "mad" man then? Are ALL their visions, wisdom and experience false then? How far can you go and say ALL are cheating without even provideing evidence and deluding yourself? Now, why talk of others. I can best talk about myself as evidence. I have seen perceptible change in myself for better after reading and following His teachings. If you really need evidence against Kali's Child - I tell you to first read His life and teachings and IMPLEMENT in your life. You can see yourself who He is and everything will be self-evident. There cannot be a best subject of study than yourself (your mind). And I am sure you cannot/wont do that becasue as yours is a weak mind that cannot experiment anything, but likes to see what it wants to! By the way, what is in one's mind, thats what one sees. Even the kissing of Jesus feet by adultress woman can be seen in a perverted way if the person's mind is heaped in lust. As Jesus Himself said, "Blessed are those who are pure, for they shall see God." Kali's Child is a fit testimony to that teaching! You yourself can experience how you see "things" in others that dont exist (in other person) just because your mind "sees" and "thinks" so. If you have not learnt these simple lessons yet, well only prayer to God will help that your mind might grow.

Scholarship or fraud?.......2006-01-20

Just because Kali's Child won AAR award some people seem to believe it passed the test of academic vigor. This is akin to saying since Enron hired third party accountants their accounting books are not cooked. We now know better. Atleast Enron hired third party, no such pretense is made in case of Indology. Jeffrey Kripal's Knowledge of Bengali is suspect, so is his scholarship. He is yet to accept a debate in Bengali language in an open forum speaks reams about his proficiency.
There has been a scholarly rebuttal to Kripal at http://www.infinityfoundation.com/mandala/s_rv/s_rv_tyaga_kali1_frameset.htm. However Kripal declined to include Tyagananda's rebuttal in newer versions of the book. All this says more about state of Indology studies & Kripal than the later has to say about Ramakrishna.

Wonder how many births the author will need.......2005-01-08

I really wonder how many births the author will need to wash off the sin of writing this book. Ramakrishna will surely forgive him as he was Lord himself. But what about the wrath of so many devotees.
Dont even attempt to look at this book. Its blasphemy. As somebody said rightly that the author is like a vulture soaring high, but is looking at filth (also one of Ramakrishna's saying).

Different slant.......2004-11-29

I just reread Yoganada's "Autobiography" along with this work. M., who seems to be the most referenced biographer of Ramakrishna, had a boys school in Y's old house after his family moved out. M. also brought Y to the Kali Temple at Dashineswar N of Calcutta for the first time.

This biography may have been closer to the biography that Christopher Isherwood might had written if he was not working directly for the Ramakrishna Organization.

A Controversial Project, but Well Worth the Effort.......2004-09-02

Jeffrey Kripal's "Kali's Child" is bound to elicit strong responses from those who know Ramakrishna through the accepted textual and institutional lenses. His project, moreover, involves the use of Western hermeneutics in dialogue with indigenous (in this case, Indian) interpretations. This can and does often lead to a great deal of cultural tension if the conclusions reached are not identical with the orthodox perspectives present in the indigenous tradition. However, to suggest that Kripal does this out of spite or from some illicit purpose is to ignore the experimental nature of his enterprise, which he admits in the Introduction. He knew this would engender rejection, but he also was interested, as a Historian of Religion (trained by Wendy Doniger at the University of Chicago), in examining comparativism and psychoanalysis as a way to approach religion. It is interesting to note that similar controversies were waged over the publication of Paul B. Courtright's "Ganesa: Lord of Obstacles, Lord of Beginnings," and that the reader reviews here on Amazon reflect largely the same dichotomies as those for Kripal's book. In both instances, conclusions that are not stricly laudatory, and analyses that include what some view as "scandalous" or "pornographic" elements, are castigated as biased and unfair. The fact that Kripal's book, like Courtright's, was refereed by academically vetted readers before publication, and that the arguments against it largely consist of personal denunciation, suggest that the difficulty lies not in authorial fabrication but in the nature of the examination. However, just because an inquiry is unsettling does not mean that it is slanderous or factually incorrect. Kripal does a masterful job of integrating different perspectives to give a new way of thinking about the incorrigible human individuality of Ramakrishna, and in so doing also interrogates the social dynamics that have come into play in the bowlderization of this seminal figure in the development of modern Hinduism. While many may not agree with him, it would be useful for them to argue on the level of method, or present contrary evidence, rather than simply resort to polemic and ad hominem attacks.

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Street Children
Andy Butcher
Manufacturer: Authentic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1860242863

Book Description

bull; An estimated 100 million children spend their days on city streets around the world.bull; 10 million of these are totally on their own uncared for and unprotected.bull; 4611 children and adolescents were executed in Brazil between 1988 and 1990.These frightening statistics are just a snapshot of the plight of street children in the world today. The result of extensive research this book combines hard statistics with individual stories to challenge our indifference and awaken our conscience. Andy Butcher compares the situation facing Street Children today with that epitomized in the Dickens novel Oliver Twist. Frighteningly he concludes that if we look at a global perspective little progress has been made.

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