Book Description
"It was a pleasure reading
Getting Excited About Data
. I found it precise and on target for enabling school personnel to effectively use their schools' data to plan improvement."
—Theodore Creighton, Executive Director
National Council of Professors of Educational Leadership
"The book is written in friendly language and is a quick read with many examples. The diagrams and sample questions throughout are invaluable!"
—Jill Hudson, Middle School Principal
Madison Middle School, Seattle, WA
How can we ensure that every student is making adequate progress in an era of school and district goals, state standards, and federal ESEA legislation?
Getting Excited About Data, Second Edition builds upon the best-selling first edition to provide additional guidance and support for educators who are "ready, willing, and able" to explore more sophisticated uses of data. New tools and activities facilitate active engagement with data and a collaborative culture of collective responsibility for the learning of all students.
Precise and on target, this excellent new resource enables educators to effectively use their schools’ data to respond to the challenges of the No Child Left Behind Act, and provides:
- A knowledge base emphasizing the role of data in school effectiveness and successful change
- A focus on tapping the professional passion of dedicated educators who want to work for the benefit of students from an intrinsic motivation perspective
- Group activities that energize people in collaborative efforts
- Key questions to identify sources of the proof of success necessary to stimulate confidence and further action
- A clear understanding of the need for "up close, in real time" assessment to balance high-stakes, external tests
- Information on how to utilize data to establish priorities and integrate accountability requirements with goals that are data-based and grounded in school values
Customer Reviews:
Easy to read and understand.......2006-02-25
This text is actually written in language that educators can understand, even if they aren't especially data-savy. The guidelines for incorporating data for school improvement are actually practical and easy to replicate. A great guide for joining the data-driven school improvement movement!
Book Description
How do I decide what to do with my life when there are so many things I want to do?
It is conventional wisdom that there is one true path in life for each of us. But what about those with a wide array of interests, a dynamic curiosity about the world, and an ever-renewing wellspring of passions? Margaret Lobenstine calls these people “Renaissance Souls,” and in this groundbreaking book, she offers a life-planning strategy in tune with their dynamic, change-loving personalities. Renaissance Souls often get stuck, moving from entry-level job to entry-level job, degree to degree, or hobby to hobby, unwilling to settle on just one thing to do “for the rest of my life.” Or, after achieving success in one field, they yearn for new challenges and begin looking around for something different. Yet they are also afraid that if they pursue their changing interests, they will have to give up on financial security, becoming “a jack of all trades and master of none.”
The Renaissance Soul, the first book devoted to this personality type, not only shows that it’s possible to design a successful, vibrant life built on multiple passions, but also gives readers the practical advice to do so. Lobenstine arms the reader with powerful life-design strategies, including how to:
*Understand the exciting and powerful difference between choice and focus
*Transform your day job so that it carries your dreams forward
*Manage your time the Renaissance Soul way
*Thrive on many interests without feeling scattered
*Get paid for your passions
*Learn a new field without going back to school
*Get inspired by Renaissance Souls from ancient times to the present, from Leonardo da Vinci to Ben Franklin to Oprah Winfrey
Stocked with creative exercises, relevant resources, and interviews with successful Renaissance Souls, this profoundly inspiring guide will show readers the way to a richer, more fulfilling life—big enough to embrace all their dreams.
Customer Reviews:
Very validating and helpful, too!.......2007-03-23
I consider myself the very model of a Renaissance Soul: I love to read about lots of subjects; I used to garden quite fanatically; I'm in a knitting/crocheting phase right now; music is a big part of my life; and I've been doing agility and other training with our dog. Oh, and I have a day job, too! My answer to "what do you want to be when you grow up" changed so often when I was younger that it made my head spin! So I was hoping this book would help me sort out how to feel fulfilled and yet not too diluted pursuing my many interests.
And indeed it did. Here are just a few helpful tidbits I took from the book: You do have to choose a few interests at any given time, based on the things you value most, but those choices don't have to be forever. You should quit doing things that don't fit with the values you hold most dear. You can combine interests (for example, I like to write and cook -- maybe I should write about food?). You need to block time for your interests, but not be inflexible about which interest you pursue at a given time. There are lots of creative ways to get where you want to go, even if you pursue many different careers over time, without starting at Square One each time.
And so much of what the author said validated the way I approach life, even toward the end helping me understand why I sometimes feel unmotivated to do anything at all.
My only complaint is that the book starts to sound branded or jargony, with its Renaissance Soul Way and Focus Points Notebook -- kind of like the Chicken Soup series or the Finish Rich series. This Renaissance Soul finds that stuff kind of annoying. But the content was so rich and sensible that the annoyance was minor. This book has really gotten me thinking about what I need to do to more fully enjoy my many interests.
Wow! .......2007-01-09
This book helped me to understand myself so much better. Some parts of me that others and even myself had considered negative attributes, turn out to be good things. The Focal Points part was especially helpful, helping me to take the 3 zillion things I'm interested in down to 5 to concentrate on. I have have had a little sign on my refrigerator for years that says, " Not all who wander are lost." This book helped me feel very validated and feel better about myself. I'm very thankful to the author, Margaret Lobenstine. Thank you so much.
Great book.......2006-11-09
Finally seeing in writing what has been spinning around in my head for years has been wonderful. It has helped me realize there is nothing "wrong" with me - I just think and do things differently than other people. I love the fact that I am constantly looking for new and different things to do and think about. This book has helped me realize that I do need to learn how to focus my energy on a few things and not get overwhelmed by all the opportunities around me.
Perfect!!!! Just what I needed!.......2006-10-18
I have spent quite some time trying to decide on one "forever" career and pick between my numerous intrests and hobbies becasue I just didn't have time for them all. I have read several standard time management books, and set up SMART goals and five year plans, only to change my mind or be unable to follow through till the end, mostly because I either lost interest or couldn't imagine doing this thing or that "forever." The last few months I have been unable to do much of anything; I have finally earned my Master's and have tons of new-found spare time, but couldn't decide what to fill it with, mostly because there were so many interesting things to fill it with! So I had been stuck in indecision and been extremely "unproductive." Then I found this book!!! This book has been helpful in so many ways, none the least because I finally know there isn't anything wrong with me! There are plenty of others like me who have so many interests that we just don't know where to begin. If this sounds like you, I would highly reccommend this book. Everything else I have to say has been covered by other reviewers, but I do want to add that after figuring out my focal points, I have been able to come up with much more creative and enjoyable ways of meeting my goals then I ever did trying to make everything a SMART goal. Enjoy- I did!
Like looking in a mirror.......2006-09-24
Anyone who has three books going at the same time, who hates the thought of constraining him- or herself to just one "thing," or who gets swallowed up for hours in a bookstore will find themselves in this book.
Lobenstine does an excellent job of describing the "renaissance" personality and helping people who fall in this category to accept and embrace their "diagnosis." She offers concrete ways of working with -- instead of against -- our personality traits.
I love feeling like I'm not alone, and I appreciated some of the concrete suggestions, but I finished this book feeling a little lost as to what my next steps should be. How do I select my four (or five) focal areas when it's nearly impossible for me to choose ANYTHING? I would have appreciated a more structured approach to winnowing -- rather than narrowing -- my choices.
Overall, though, full of tons of great inspiration, if a little light on the practical side.
Book Description
The Pentium Chronicles describes the architecture and key decisions that shaped the P6, Intel's most successful chip to date. As author Robert Colwell recognizes, success is about learning from others, and Chronicles is filled with stories of ordinary, exceptional people as well as frank assessments of "oops" moments, leaving you with a better understanding of what it takes to create and grow a winning product.
Customer Reviews:
Good advice and inside view..........2007-07-16
I thought of this book as a tome of helpful advice for any project manage that has to work on a project that veers far into the unknown. The author was the Chief Architect for the P6 (Pentium Pro) microprocessor. This was a radically new type of processor that broke from previous chip architectures. The team was required to explore untested ideas but at the same time bring them to an operable design. This required considerable balancing and deft handling of various stumbling blocks. The author presents a lot of observations on how to accomplish this. It was also very interesting, for a person who is interested in microprocessors, to see where exactly time is spent in these massive projects. The author gives lots of technical details, but I would have like a bit more. Of course, the intention of this book was as a project management guide, so that isn't necessarily bad.
thin.......2007-04-10
I was looking forward to a history of the depth of, say "Into the Black" about JPL by Peter Westwick, a professional historian. The Pentium Chronicles is thin. I think it's trying mostly to be a project management book. The context is poorly drawn, the technical issues are nearly completely unexplained, and the stories are told without zest. The sidebars make the book feel like it is meant to be bought at an airport and discarded to the next passenger. Colwell is undoubtedly a fine computer architect but his writing leaves a lot to be desired, at least in this book.
Project Management Education.......2007-03-06
This is an excellent case study about Intel's P6 project -- that became the Pentium Pro and part of the lineage for a number of other processors. The author provides the story of compromises made while the project proceded and the corporate politics endured at Intel. He also discusses the Pentium flaw episode and provides a technical rationale that thay may have led to that unrelated debacle. It is fun to read about some of the technical aspects of this project. One flaw to the story is the lack of additional information on why Intel settled out of court and paid millions of dollars for alleged patent infringement accusations relating to the P6 project. The book is surprisingly upbeat considering the author no longer works at Intel. If you like this book, Brian Bagnall's "On the Edge" about the rise and fall of Commodore computer is an excellent follow-up.
How a big project comes together........2006-03-20
On the first page of this book Dr. Colwell gets his marching orders from his boss: 'Your job is to beat the P5 chip by a factor of two on the same process technology. Any Questions.'
'Three,' he replied. 'What's a P5?' What's the process technology plans? Where's the bathroom.'
The P5 became the Pentium chip. The process technology doesn't matter in this book as it was the same. And he found the bathroom.
Dr. Colwell's new chip, the P6 came to the market first as the Pentium Pro, the same basic design was subsequently modified as the basic core for the Pentium II, Pentium III, Celeron, Xeon, and the current Centrino products.
But the details of the chip aren't the strong point of the book. It's the organization and structure of a how a big development team works. From the little details like finding an unused storage room to use as a conference room where the blackboards wouldn't get erased, to hiring, firing and getting the product out.
I can't help but compare this with Tracy Kidders book 'The Soul of a New Machine' written twenty or so years ago. Kidder was a better writer, but Colwell was the one in charge, making the whole thing happen. I would have liked to see a little more technical detail, but I've been in this business a long time and have more interests along these lines than the average reader. As it is, it is an excellent book on project management and I enjoyed it very much.
Solid, practical perspective.......2006-03-05
As may be likely with many readers, I first heard of Mr. Colwell from his IEEE Computer columns, of which I was big fan. Several times I was tempted to send him comments about the insights and occasional humor, but I never did. The same kind of writing and attitude is clearly on display in "Chronicles".
Because other reviewers mentioned "Soul of a New Machine," I agree that it is hard to escape, even though the two books are much different. When I was a young engineer in the early 80s, "Soul" was (and is) a great book. I did not have the experience to grasp some lessons to be learned from the story, and a 1980s version of "Chronicles" would not have hit home, either.
However, Mr. Colwell is completely believable in his anecdotes and in the presentation of the big picture, the project, and countless details both technical and personal. Experienced engineers will no doubt see themselves, their colleagues, and their projects in one form or another. I don't mean just the "Dilbert" moments and inevitable personal clashes, but also the serious business and technical challenges that any complex project must face. I found myself nodding in agreement again and again with his conclusions and advice.
Two reasons I liked Mr. Colwell's columns are that he is not just a techno-geek and that an interesting feisty personality showed through. You see that feistiness at times in the book with stories of taking on the powers that be, for better or worse, without feeling like you are listening to someone covering his tracks to make himself look good. The true engineer comes through, with enough polish to be around executives and to be allowed with customers.
Amazon.com
First published in 1915, Ford Madox Ford's The Good Soldier begins, famously and ominously, "This is the saddest story I have ever heard." The book then proceeds to confute this pronouncement at every turn, exposing a world less sad than pathetic, and more shot through with hypocrisy and deceit than its incredulous narrator, John Dowell, cares to imagine. Somewhat forgotten as a classic, The Good Soldier has been called everything from the consummate novelist's novel to one of the greatest English works of the century. And although its narrative hook--the philandering of an otherwise noble man--no longer shocks, its unerring cadences and doleful inevitabilities proclaim an enduring appeal.
Ford's novel revolves around two couples: Edward Ashburnham--the title's soldier--and his capable if off-putting wife, Leonora; and long-transplanted Americans John and Florence Dowell. The foursome's ostensible amiability, on display as they pass parts of a dozen pre-World War I summers together in Germany, conceals the fissures in each marriage. John is miserably mismatched with the garrulous, cuckolding Florence; and Edward, dashing and sentimental, can't refrain from falling in love with women whose charms exceed Leonora's. Predictably, Edward and Florence conduct their affair, an indiscretion only John seems not to notice. After the deaths of the two lovers, and after Leonora explains much of the truth to John, he recounts the events of their four lives with an extended inflection of outrage. From his retrospective perch, his recollections simmer with a bitter skepticism even as he expresses amazement at how much he overlooked.
Dowell's resigned narration is flawlessly conversational--haphazard, sprawling, lusting for sympathy. He exudes self-preservation even as he alternately condemns and lionizes Edward: "If I had had the courage and the virility and possibly also the physique of Edward Ashburnham I should, I fancy, have done much what he did." Stunningly, Edward's adultery comes to seem not merely excusable, but almost sublime. "Perhaps he could not bear to see a woman and not give her the comfort of his physical attractions," John surmises. Ford's novel deserves its reputation if for no other reason than the elegance with which it divulges hidden lives. --Ben Guterson
Book Description
"A Tale of Passion," as its subtitle declares, The Good Soldier relates the complex social and sexual relationships between two couples, one English, one American, and the growing awareness by the American narrator John Dowell of the intrigues and passions behind their orderly Edwardian
facade. It is the attitude of Dowell, his puzzlement, uncertainty, and the seemingly haphazard manner of his narration that make the book so powerful and mysterious. Despite its catalogue of death, insanity, and despair, the novel has many comic moments, and has inspired the work of several
distinguished writers, including Graham Greene. This is the only annotated edition available.
Customer Reviews:
An Ironic Tale.......2007-07-25
Although this is a classic, I found it to be a hard read. I did not like any of the characters. I found the style intriguing, though convoluted. The narrator admits to telling the story in "a very rambling way." He explains, "One remembers points that one has forgotten and one explains them all the more minutely since one recognizes that one has forgotten to mention them in their proper places . . . ." It is a tale of irony, in which nobody gets what they want: "The things were all there to content everybody; yet everybody has the wrong thing. Perhaps you can make head or tail of it; it is beyond me." It is beyond me, too. Nevertheless, I am glad that I read it.
Narrative Extradonaire [30].......2007-06-26
Although formulaic in concept for early 20th century literature, this book's style separates itself from its peers.
During pre World War I, we meet the British Edward and Leonora Ashburnham and American Florence and John Dowell. As though it was a Fitzgerald novel -- the American couple resides in luxury, in Europe, the woman is talkative but fragile, and there is something brewing among the comrades -- it is definately somethin different. Although the same plot could be used and written by Waugh, Forster or maybe Woolf, it definitely is not their novel.
Unlike Waugh, unlike Fitzgerald or unlike all of the others, this book is light, very light, on dialogue. Instead, it is mostly a narrative by Mr. Dowell about the descent of his wife, of his best friend Edward and his love of life, Nancy Rufford.
Because it is a recantation of events, there are passages which repeat what was just previously read, but somehow the style (disjointed in a manner which narrative story telling would have to be) works. Oh, and how it works majestically as it passes in and out of time and through and around events so that the picture is delivered to you like a focus of a camera lens. This is not a temporal chronological recitation of what happened. The author circles us in and out of what he calls "the Saddest Story. . . because there was no current to draw things along to a swift and inevitable end." And in this sad story, "There is not even a villain in the story . . ." Reeling in and out of the sadness, it is an abstract-like collage, much like what his contemporary artists would depict with paint. This story surreally depicts Ashburnham's demise. And, the demise of those about him.
True to its form, it starts sad and ends sadder. Split into four parts, three parts end with tragic deaths (two in suicide and one perceived to be a suicide) and one ends with the acknowledgment of a failed marriage. Do not expect even one laugh from this novel.
I have not read anything by a living author which mirrors the style of this book. For that reason alone, I would recommend this novel. And, it is a classic - through and through.
I would also recommend getting a copy of Knopf's Everyman's Library edition with the edifying and insightful introduction by Alan Judd and Max Saunders. Much of Ford's life resembles one of the characters. If you get the Knopf edition, you will know why, and a lot more.
Lame........2007-03-12
This book is written by an annoying, weak man. The formal innovations are vaguley interesting, but in any case do not rescue the work from its primary deficit: you must sit there for several hours with the voice of a neurotic chatty little wimp who reminds one of a certain kind of homosexual man streaming through your mind, mostly in the form of digressions and non-sequitors. This is neither entertaining nor enlightening, and since it's the product of design it is actually a little infuriating. I too listen with good faith to the academic hierarchy present and past for recommendations, and I had in my version the hitherto utterly reliable Frank Kermode as Introducer; but damn, this book - its characters, its plots, its language, its taxing convolusions - is just annoying. Its only virtue is that reading it might raise awareness that vaguely condescending moralistic little works like this about unheroic, petty, neurotic, sordid, idle, superficially cosmopolitan people are a mistake to begin with, and - since we all have only 70 or 80 years on earth and aren't all compulsive aesthetes - time would be better spent elsewhere. There is nothing of the hard Sophoclean light here.
The good soldier.......2007-02-20
I know that I will outrage alot of people with this review but here goes... This is one of only 2 books that I have ever read that I truly REGRET devoting the time to , but once I start a book I always finish.I don't know what else to say except that it was painful for me to finish this. I just don't get it. The main character was quite annoying to me and the story was SO SLOW and predictable I really just wanted it to end. I would not recommend this book for fun and if it is required reading for you I am sorry.
The Saddest Story.......2006-12-13
I think this is the first novel I've ever read twice. It's an odd choice for that, as it's not my favorite. I read it in college at the recommendation of my creative writing professor, who thought it might be helpful in structuring a story on which I was working. And the structure, more than anything, is the most innovative part of the book. An example of literary impressionism, the narrator paints the story with small brush strokes, a scene here and there, out of order, from different perspectives. He examines each character individually, because it is more about the characters and their motivations than it is about the plot. It is left to the reader to put the pieces together--the narrator gives more of an impression than a complete picture.
But THE GOOD SOLDIER is #30 on The Modern Library's top novels of the 20th century, which means that it must have more than just structure. I have to admit that, until I got to the very end, both times I read the book, I wondered what the allure was. The book's first sentence is "This is the saddest story I have ever heard." But throughout, I kept getting the feeling that it was little more than a jumbled romantic melodrama. The characters are all flawed in ways that makes them real but not particularly likable. They are all extremely well off, which makes their dismal state even more frustrating--these people have everything--Why aren't they happy? But then in the end, somehow--and maybe it's just the last few pages that do it--I realize that these characters are great. Particularly Edward Ashburnham, the soldier of the book's title, is a very likable character. And we're almost willing to overlook his one vice--his womanizing--partly because he's such a sentimentalist but mostly because his wife is such a wretch, the only truly wicked character in the book.
As for the plot, it's almost not worth detailing. As I said, it's more about the characters and how the plot is structured than the plot itself. There are five principle characters: Edward and Leonora Ashburnham, John and Florence Dowell, and Nancy Rufford. Two commit suicide, one goes crazy, and the other two suffer perhaps the worse fate of living completely plain, boring, lonely lives. In the end, it is a very sad story, if for no other reason than that most of it is so unnecessary--with the exception of Leornora, any of these people could have lived happy lives if it weren't for each other.
Book Description
Whether we are nearing the end of oil or merely nearing the end of inexpensive oil, it is becoming increasingly clear that we need to find alternative ways to meet our energy needs. Biodiesel is one such alternative -- and is one of the fastest growing sectors of the US economy.
Biodiesel in North America is in its infancy. As air quality deteriorates in major centers, governments are scrambling for ways to reduce emissions and are embracing biodiesel in their fleets. Conferences on biodiesel are often "inaugural," as society begins discussing this fuel in earnest.
Biodiesel Power is a chronicle of this emerging industry. Lightly touching on the technical aspects of the fuel, its qualities and specifications, the book is largely about the people and stories of the biodiesel movement. It explores the tensions between
- grassroots activists and their altruistic co-ops
- the profit minded commercial producers and the voices of agribusiness, and
- the current administration - or "the coalition of the drilling."
Far from a third party account, Biodiesel Power comes from one who has experienced it from the grease dumpster to the boardroom. Lyle Estill has made the journey from back yard brewing, to being part of a producer and distributor cooperative, to commercial production.
Compelling and timely, Biodiesel Power is the history of biodiesel in the making. It will appeal to a wide audience including farmers, truckers, backyarders and commercial producers, investors, politicians and all those concerned about the end of oil.
Customer Reviews:
An ongoing primer documenting the importance of this next renewable fuel.......2006-07-23
Renewable energy is becoming even more important an issue as time goes by and oil reserves become less certain: Lyle Estill's BIODIESEL POWER: THE PASSION, THE PEOPLE, AND THE POLITICS OF THE NEXT RENEWABLE FUEL thus holds value beyond its 2005 publication date as an ongoing primer documenting the importance of this next renewable fuel. It follows the people, influences and history of the biodiesel movement and examines pros, cons, commercial interests and organizations alike in an outstanding coverage promising ongoing relevance.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Biodeisel - the story.......2006-04-30
Lyle is a great writer. I found the book to be an easy read. Funny, well written and environmentally inspriational. This is more of a story than an text book. Although it talks about how to make Biodeisel, it is more about the process and story of Lyle and his trials in figuring out how to do it.
Of course Lyle is my brother so I may be biased.
What a whinner.......2006-04-15
OK, yes, this book did have its moments and the author's "passion" seems to be there - in kind of a self-important sort of way. However, the "people" is very limited - I wanted to know about who, what, when, where, and why biodiesel is being made and used. That was largely lacking unless you want to know about the author and his little band of followers. And the "politics" is just a bunch on whinning. The author's seems to have a "big companies making biodiesel are the enemy and the only true religion is small, make it in your back yard, or you'll go to hell" perspective on biodiesel. However, if you really want to see biodiesel used in any quatity the big companies are the path to making it happen. No, I do not work for a big biodiesel company and yes, I make it myself - for personal satisfaction. Probably half 1/3 of this book is taken right from his web log so why spend your hard earned money?
Overall this book was very disapointing.
New biodiesel book rings true for a homebrewer!.......2005-12-07
I just finished reading Lyle Estill's book "Biodiesel Power, The passion, the people, and the politics of the next renewable fuel". I enjoyed the book so much that I feel compelled to write this breif, amatuer, 2 cent review:
Biodiesel Power is a book about the progression of one small scale producer from back yard tinkerer up to large scale commercial producer. Lyle Estill, of Piedmont Biofuels Co-op in Pittsboro, NC, writes of his adventures and misadventures in pursuit of a renewable, clean burning fuel.
Together with cohorts Rachel, Leif, Oneas, and many others, Lyle started Piedmont Biofuels co-op a few years ago to produce fuel, advocate for small scale production across the state, and teach the techniques of sustainable fuelmaking to the eager North Carolina public. They have grown as many homebrewers aspire to from blender batch, to larger and more efficient reactors, up to their eventual goal of a small refinery. They are also buying commercial biodiesel to resell to members of the Co-op.
Reading this book was extremely entertaining for me as an amatuer small scale producer of biodiesel/ educator/ advocate. Much of the time I was either shaking my head in recognition of the funny mishaps in Lyle's accounts, or else glued to the page to learn some new bit of pertinent information. Lyle and Piedmont Biofuels have done a great deal to advance the cause of the small producer in North Carolina, and many of us may hope to follow in their footsteps. This book, referring in a personal way to many of the pioneers in the small-scale biodiesel movement, left me feeling like a part of the B100 family, both heartened and newly inspired to keep plugging away.
This book is well written and an easy read (with nice big print, but sorry no pictures). Here is a brief exerpt from the last chapter, entitled "The Road Ahead": "Biodiesel is great fun. It's empowering. Nothing feels better than tooling down the highway with the knowledge that you are free. Free of Chevron. Free of Mobil. Free of George Bush. Free of the Saudis. Free of the whole sorry lot. I realize full well that hydrogen is the place to be, but I'm stuck on vegetable oil. It's here now. It works. It's renewable. It's sustainable. It smells good. It creates jobs in the United States. And there is no war required to get it."
Well, after typing all of that let me say that Lyle does write in long sentences and does convey plenty of info that you may not already know. This was kind of a summary paragraph in a summary chapter, for effect.
If you make biodiesel, want to make biodiesel, or are interested in advocating for biodiesel, check out this book. (If you have a spouse who gets frustrated with your biodiesel project this will be particularly humorous for you as well). It's affordable and the proceeds support Piedmont Biofuels coop, check it out!
Note: This book is not a How-to manual on biodiesel production. For that information I suggest The Biodiesel Homebrew Guide by Girl Mark, available at http://www.localb100.com/book.html (Girl Mark and the homebrew guide are mentioned favorably in Biodiesel Power as well. Another option is to visit the biodiesel discussion board at [...] where you will find plenty of information on the subject.
Biodiesel Power, Copyright 2005 by Lyle Estill, printed on recycled paper by New Society Publishers
A classic story of a biodiesel homebrewer.......2005-12-07
For the biodiesel homebrewer, Lyle's book is great. I'm not sure if it would mean as much to non-biodiesel folks, but I found it to be very inspirational (I'm a homebrewer myself). Lyle's book isn't about how-to-make-biodiesel. There are lots of others that fill that need. Lyle's is about the personal interactions, the social and societal aspect of this alternative fuel, told in story fashion. As the cover says: "The passion, the people, and the politics of the next renewable fuel." Lyle is the "Everyman" in this story of the trials and tribulations homebrewers all seem to have gone through. As such it tells "our" story with humor and truth.
Chapter titles like "Stinky Kitchen", "Birth of a Coop", "The lure of the Producer", "The policy layer", and "The road ahead" bring my own memories to mind. I think of it as more of a philosophical journey than anything else. It's also fun, because I can remember running into the same problems, and coming up with similar solutions, using the same thought processes. That might be where the story will lose a more general audience though - will someone unfamiliar with biodiesel feel any sympathy when reading about making 40 gallons of soap? To most people that probably doesn't sound like anything bad, but to a homebrewer it's a nightmare needing no further explanation.
There have only been a few books in my life that I've read in a single day, and this was one. I picked it up from the post office about 3:30pm, read a couple pages in the car, then could hardly wait to finish my chores to read what happened next. I finished it about 2am, 5 hours after my normal bedtime.
Lyle's done a good thing, writing this book. I'm ordering more copies to give away as gifts.
Amazon.com
Instead of working on solving problems in your relationship, minister/relationship coach Susan Page teaches “Spiritual Partnership,” allowing you to outgrow these problems. Focus on behaving in a spiritual way yourself, rather than fixing your relationship or your partner, and you and your partner will be happier and your relationship will be stronger.
Communication and negotiation don't solve conflicts in love relationships, Page asserts. Rather, make an inner shift yourself--independent of your partner--and learn to "love openly and freely." Her process involves "the Five Sacred Acts of Love":
- Practice Restraint: refrain from negative, critical, and demanding comments.
- Act As If: act loving, even if you don't feel like it.
- Act on Your Own: take care of your own needs.
- Practice Acceptance: stop trying to change your partner.
- Cultivate Compassion: understand that your partner's attitudes and behavior are the way they are for good reasons.
The book offers compelling arguments for abandoning the "marketplace" communication style in favor of goodwill, self-care, and a spiritual, harmonious, loving response to your partner. Page takes you step by step through the Spiritual Partnership process, interspersing it with anecdotes and exercises.
"Marriage and loving partnerships are ... for learning how to give and receive love. That's all," writes Page. If We're So in Love, Why Aren't We Happy is highly recommended for anyone who wants to improve a love relationship--from the inside out. --Joan Price
Book Description
Susan Page, a Protestant minister, popular teacher, and bestselling writer on relationships, now turns her hand to a crucial question so many couples face: If we know we love each other, why do we spend so much of our time together arguing, negotiating, or making up? Why, quite simply, aren’t we happy?
Susan has explored this question while working with and observing countless couples struggling in their relationships. She discovered something revolutionary: even the most troubled couples could be enjoying each other if only they would adopt a few simple yet powerful and deeply spiritual principles. Another revelation: it only takes one member of the couple to make this work. Yet another: by adopting these principles and letting go of the popular myths and assumptions about relationships so many of us have been taught, you can not only vastly improve your relationship but develop your own inner sense of self. Your relationship can become your spiritual path.
Those who have followed Susan’s program report that their relationships have become loving again, and that their sense of self-esteem and spiritual development has been deepened. They no longer call what they have with their mate a marriage or relationship but rather a true spiritual partnership. The process outlined here is simple yet profound and is based on what Susan calls five sacred principles or acts that one member or both members of the couple follow, principles that emerge naturally out of the spiritual traditions of Christianity and Buddhism.
Customer Reviews:
Relations need work.......2007-01-11
This is the first step towards healing & improvement if you really love each other.
Spirituality and practicality in one volume.......2005-06-12
As a pastor, I have given away many copies of this book to people struggling in intimate relationship--and I've used it in my own marriage.
There are many classics of spiritual wisdom and many nuts-and-bolts self-help books on relationship. Susan Page brilliantly combines the two. Her gift is to translate spiritual ideals into practical, understandable, and eminently achievable goals for everyday living in spiritual partnership--the Buddha channeled by Ann Landers!
Read this book, apply its lessons, and transform yourself and your relationship.
Anyone in a Relationship should get this book.......2004-08-05
I found this book when browsing through the many relationship books and decided to give it a read on a whim. My boyfriend of 2 years and I have been struggling recently and I needed help.
This book is all the help I could want AND MORE. I feel so positive and recharged about our relationship ALREADY and I just finished reading it. I KNOW that what's in this book can help my relationship and I know it could help others. This is a MUST BUY, even if you aren't having PROBLEMS right now... The Sacred Acts will help keep you from having HORRIBLE problems in the future.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
This book is a precious gift disguised as a book.......2003-02-27
If you are seeking to feel love in your heart but feel blocked because your partner is clueless, uncooperative, self-centered and blames you -- or for any reason "because of him/her" and you suffer because it feels like no matter how hard you try, the patch doesn't hold -- this is the book that teaches, guides and encourages you how to get back to the love, how to create powerful and healing changes, how to feel safe and connected with yourself, how to look at your partner again with loving and how to work with yourself in your own healing and strengthening. And, your partner is not required to read the book, work the suggestions or be molded by you. You reclaim your power and your energy investing in what can truly make a deeply valuable, loving, rich and life-changing difference--you work with you. I've been working these techniques for over 20 years, in marriage, and have been learning about and thriving far beyond I ever thought possible. It didn't take long for small miracles to begin AND they continue to unfold and to grow for both of us. Susan Page has offered a truly generous gift with this book for all people--currently coupled or not.
Great book, Lousy title.......2002-09-07
I almost didn't read this book because I was so put off by the title. In my opinion a much better title would have been "Spiritual Partnership," since that's what this book is about.
My husband and I never went through a "madly-in-love" stage in our relationship; however, after 20+ years of marriage and four kids, we have forged a bond that somehow transcends the long list of unresolvable problems. We had certainly gotten to the point of realizing that more discussion just doesn't work: Most of our issues have been on the table for years. We've discussed them many times, we understand the other person's point of view, and can even empathize to a certain extent. And yet, when one of these issues would come up (once again), I would often feel hopeless and demoralized.
This book really helped me to change my focus; and to the extent I was able to follow through with the "experiments," I saw improvement--not in getting my husband to finally see things "my way," but in both of us being happier and more comfortable.
This is one of the best books on relationships that I have ever read; and although its focus is on couples, I found the approaches it recommends are helpful in my relationships with my children as well.
Book Description
Today virtually every type of organization is looking for ways to maximize and effectively manage their people resources. One of the keys to this streamlining is successful teamwork. Lee Ellis draws from his survival experience on a team of Vietnam POWs and his management consultant expertise in creating Leading Talents, Leading Teams. Perfect resource for anyone who desires to gain insights on how to unleash the natural talents of people and blend them into well-led, effective teams.
Customer Reviews:
Essential part of executive coaching.......2006-07-25
I work with executives and entreprenuers to experience maximum performance, career success and abundant life through continuous assessment, alignment and action steps that help them explore, educate and employ their gifts, passions and calling based on purpose-centered, whole-life planning. Leading Talents, Leading Teams not only provides insight into how people work best, but also develop effective leadership teams. Brian Ray, Founder, Primus Consulting
Hard hitting personal Leadership growth strategies.......2003-07-29
This book is fantastic!!! It has shone a new light on my struggles... with pinpoint accuracy. Detailed work is the most
challenging for me. As a result of this insightful book - I repeat the "engaging" persons mantra often - "Focus, focus, focus" "No, No, No" & "Prioritise, Prioritise, Prioritise".
It has also provided me the best framework / paradigm I have yet to come across on leadership (accomplish the mission and look
after the people).
Book Description
For Christian singles, spiritual union with Christ must be the foundation of all of their relationships—including dating relationships. Rather than looking to people to meet needs only God can fulfill, readers will learn how to let Christ’s sacrificial love ignite within them a passionate desire to share His love with a special person.
This practical guide includes plenty of suggestions for establishing successful dating relationships and
- dealing with the pressure to get married
- experiencing healing for past hurts
- finding and attracting mature singles to date
- choosing whom to marry
- resisting sexual temptation
Each chapter concludes with a personal Bible study as well as group discussion questions, making this a valuable resource for private devotions, small groups, or premarital counseling.
Customer Reviews:
Outstanding and Practical!!.......2007-09-11
Rob Eager has really hit on something strong here; that a dating relationship will fully prosper only when each individual is FULLY satisfied in Jesus Christ first and foremost, above all else. Eager says it is only by totally understanding Christ's love and acceptance for ourselves, that we are able to strive to correctly and unselfishly love someone else in a dating situation.
This book was referred to me during a very difficult time in my life when my 2 year dating relationship suddendely ended. It helped me understand and endure much of the heartache I lived through during that time. If you're going through a dating downfall and need clarity on what this dating thing is all about, read this book.
I know that some Christian dating books can seem over the top and impractical, but Rob Eager gives very solid and down to earth principles of what dating is really about. I was also very impressed with how Biblicaly based his book is as he constantly drops in scripture throughout the book to back up his thoughts.
Not only has this book re-tooled the way I view dating relationships, but it has encouraged my overall walk with Christ a great deal. I very highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an excellent, practical, Biblical and knowledgeable approach to dating in today's world.
It's a must buy.
Christ not Cupid in Creating A Primary Love Relationship.......2006-11-21
Atlanta-based author Rob Eager has been there and done that. As a committed Christian he went through the harrowing shock and trauma of being deserted and abandoned by his wife after only 7 months of marriage. After spending much time in recovery with the support of friends, family, and professional resources, Eager eventually healed his deep hurt and remarried a few years later. During his healing process he turned to his Christian faith to learn from his experience and apply it not only in his life but in his ministry to other Christian singles seeking marriage. The outcome is his book Dating with Pure Passion which proposes a Christ-oriented approach to the nuts and bolts of dating. This book is filled with compassion and wisdom and a must read for those who are seeking a life-long happy partnership based on faith. Eager is down to earth and this book will surprise you ... it is not what one would expect ... and is very modern and relevant to all on the singles market.
Thank God!.......2005-12-14
Wow, this book rebuked me to the core and i am a better woman because of it. I thought it was all about me and what i wanted, but its all about Jesus, And through Jesus loving the other person through me. I never knew that God cared so much about my love life. He is my love life. love starts with God. i always thought some how that i was alone and that He really didnt understand my plight, but He has always been on my side ever before i loved a man romantically.
This book will heal you, help you, edify you, wash you, purify you, amaze you, break you, soften you and love you and teach you how to really love the person in your life.
So full of truth and relevant to today as the bible is always relevant to our times.
After i read this book i read Boundaries in Dating. i am glad i read it in that order cause i would have misundertood the use of boundaries and attacked the man i love.
God through this book will let you see the one you love the way He sees them, and He will open your eyes to see where you have been wrong. it was hard on me to see the true state of my heart, i was so ashamed of my self. i have a new love and adoration for the man i loves welfare and most of all his personal walk with God and not just what i want him to do or feel for me.
The passion of Christ was and is for every area of our lives,including dating.
Awesome book for singles.......2005-12-12
I just got Dating with Pure Passion yesterday and almost finished it last night! I wish that I could have read this book 3 years ago. It's an excellent tool to learn the godly path to true love. Rob Eagar has a clear, forthright writing-style and offers relatable, real-life illustrations. I highly recommend this book!
Best Book I've Read on Dating.......2005-12-01
Dating with Pure Passion is probably the best book I've read concerning Christian singleness. Other books tend to be overly idealistic or lean toward spiritual formulas. Rob Eagar has taken the topic of dating, and used it to point singles to their biggest need, which is understanding the love that God has towards us. This is a lesson that must be learned by every human being who wants to experience a great relationship, whether they're single or married.
Average customer rating:
- Comic relief, but not much substance
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Rethinking Social Movements: Structure, Meaning, and Emotion (People, Passions, and Power)
Jeff Goodwin
Manufacturer: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Similar Items:
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Passionate Politics: Emotions and Social Movements
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Dynamics of Contention (Cambridge Studies in Contentious Politics)
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Comparative Perspectives on Social Movements: Political Opportunities, Mobilizing Structures, and Cultural Framings (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics)
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Social Movements, 1768-2004
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Methods of Social Movement Research (Social Movements, Protest, and Contention)
ASIN: 0742525961 |
Book Description
This landmark volume brings together some of the titans of social movement theory in a grand reassessment of its status. For some time, the field has been divided between a dominant structural approach and a cultural or constructivist tradition.. The gaps and misunderstandings between the two sides--as well as the efforts to bridge them--closely parallel those in the social sciences at large. This book aims to further the dialogue between these two distinct approaches to social movements and to show the broader implications for social science as a whole as it struggles with issues including culture, emotion, and agency. Visit our website for sample chapters!
Customer Reviews:
Comic relief, but not much substance.......2004-05-04
I should probably start by saying that there's absolutely no need to actually buy this book, since almost all of it is reprinted from articles in Social Forces and a couple of recent social movement texts.
That said, it's refreshing to see an effort to "rethink" social movement scholarship, since seeing the same three names over and over is really starting to get old (and annoying for new researchers - i actually had a professor say, "if McAdam, Tarrow, or Tilly didn't already say it, it's probably not worth saying"). On the other hand, though, Goodwin and Jasper (aka Jaswin) are probably not the best people for the task, since their basic criticism of the political process paradigm can be roughly summarized as, "We should study social movements from a more subjective, bleeding heart perspective, do away with methodological rigor, and try to convince more women and minorities that they should study social movements too."
Of course, Jaswin are free to say what they like, and even publish it if there's a market for it. However, comments like theirs are not very effective for creating meaningful dialogue about the state of the subfield, since it's very hard for people (i.e. most social movement theorists) who don't share their culturalist proclivities to listen to what they're saying without falling over in laughter, as I think is evidenced by Charles Tilly's "Wise Quacks" chapter, which oozes with sarcasm and an underlying sense of "Jaswin are so clueless, writing a serious response to their claims is not even worth my time."
In the final analysis, then, RTSM is a great collection if you enjoy watching supposedly distinguished scholars play the ad hominem "who can bash the other guy harder" game; as a serious effort to productively rethink the study of social movements, though, the book utterly fails.
Customer Reviews:
All about perspective.......2003-10-01
This is neither a "companion piece" nor a "tell-all" book. Equally, it is not a flimsy paperback stapled and glued together just in time for the band's next big tour. What Denise Sullivan does write (and write well, also) is much closer to an anecdote, a souveneir, a recalled event. She avoids the trite and passionless type of "rock'n'roll" review/expose we have to endure all the time and instead lets the reader get a glimpse not so much of the band REM, but of the people that REM exerted some influence on, or the people for whom REM mattered. Reading Sullivan's book, I am reminded of how one of my closest friends and I discuss REM -- from memory, from songs, from what has been happening in our lives. This book feels like a friend.
A Necessary Companion.......2001-11-11
Unlike most "rock-n-roll" books which often pander to the lowest common denominator -- which usually is the author's own personal bias barely hidden in the text and most often the lens through which we are forced to watch the history of the band/singer unfold -- Denise Sullivan gives us something better, and frankly, more fun. "TATP" offers an original and fresh perspective on a very enigmatic yet familiar college - rock - alternative - mainstream - wacky - superstar band. This book is a must-have for both the fan and fanatic. The writing is well-done, the subject matter well-handled. While almost everyone's favorite REM song and/or album may change over time, this remains my favorite book on the band.
An informative look at R.E.M........2000-04-02
This book was excellent. It was great to get a history of what went on by people who actually were there.Recommendwd if you are a fan of Mr. Stipe and Co. or just interested in a the history of great music that shaped a scene.
Great.......1997-10-03
You can't get much better than this -- personal accounts of people who actually were there. There is just as much information to be found here as in _It Crawled from the South_. It proceeds chronologically with great detail, and feeds the REM-fact hungry reader just what he/she wants.
Books:
- God: The Failed Hypothesis. How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist
- God without Religion: Questioning Centuries of Accepted Truths
- Having a Mary Spirit: Allowing God to Change Us from the Inside Out
- Healing the Whole Man Handbook: Effective Prayers for the Body, Soul, And Spirit
- Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
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