Dignified and Efficient: The British Monarchy in the Twentieth Century

Book Description

In a series of moving portraits of the monarchs and their advisors, Charles Douglas-Home and Saul Kelly examine the tasks with which recent crowned heads have been troubled, and the virtues that enabled them, by and large, to act for the common good. Incisive, evocative, and informed by a magisterial vision of the scope of political power, this work offers a persuasive answer to the critics of monarchy, and an account of a unique form of government that will give confidence and inspiration to the British people, as they enter a new century of shifting powers and uncertain prospects.

Customer Reviews:

An Athlete's Journey.......2003-12-10

Ms. Heywood has written a compelling story of a female athlete (runner) coming of age. She presents her memoir in a straight forward manner and does not hold back. She had a sexual relationship with her high school coach. She presents her story with all the emotional ambiguity I'm sure it carried. Ms. Heywood later struggled with an eating disorder. Again, this is presented in a very real manner. Ms. Heywood is also a very gifted writer. I found this book a compelling read and it should have a wide audience.

Average customer rating:
Smilin' Mr. Dile
Rosemary Barrett Byers
Manufacturer: Hal Leonard Corp
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0634016423

Book Description

This suave solo in a carefree, ragtime style is a bit humorous as well. A clever little limerick that refers to the title precedes the piece, and was written by Ms. Byers herself. With a wink and a nod, the crocodile slyly draws you in - but beware - he might make you into his next snack! Hal Leonard Student Piano Library Level 4 (Early Intermediate); 4/4; lively tempo; syncopation; double notes in melody line; dotted eighths and 16ths rhythmic patterns; 2 pages.

Book Description

PLAYING RULES FOR MORE THAN 250 GAMES AND SPORTS FOR CHILDREN OF EVERY AGE, INCLUDING INDOOR, OUTDOOR, PARTY, TRAVEL, WATER, MEMORY, AND CARD GAMES

Games galore! From Capture the Flag to Stickball and Volleyball, from Jacks and Old Maid to Word Lightning, here are easy-to-use instructions, recommendations, and scoring for more than 250 popular games and sports for children. Presented in quick-access format, this unique guide is ideal for parents, teachers, adult referees, grandparents, babysitters, and camp counselors. Featuring:

* Games to play on grass, on pavement, on steps and stoops, inside houses for rainy days and parties, and while traveling

* Step-by-step instructions and rules for each game, complete with clear diagrams and line drawings

* Games for children of all ages and playing abilities

* Multiple lists that make it easy for you to find the perfect game for a specific situation (by number of players, etc.)

* The origins of games through interesting anecdotes

* Tips on choosing sides, determining who goes first, selecting who is "It," and more

HAVE FUN!

Customer Reviews:

Hopscotch,Hangman, Hot Potato& Ha Ha Ha : A Rulebook of Children's Games.......2007-01-14

What a great book, I teach P.E. and do afterscool care, I use this book all the time. It has great games for indoor and outdoors. Get it you won't regret it.

Best Children's Game Book Ever.......2006-04-20

I LOVE this book and I'm not a teacher NOR do I have children (just lots of nieces and nephews)! I've always been a board game fan and this book brings back memories of all the fun we used to have as kids. This is a great book for parents to get kids away from video games and get outside and have fun while being active. It covers almost any children's game you can think of in a manner that touches on all the detail I've forgotten over time. It's divided into chapters such as: Indoor Games; Games to Play on Grass and Playgrounds; Games to play on Pavement, Steps and Stoops; Games in Water; Party Games and Travel Games.

There are games I played that I didn't remember the names or the rules...they're all here. Card games like Old Maid, Fish and Hearts; Paper games like Hangman, Boxes (where you make the dots and connect the lines to form boxes) and String games like Cat's Cradle. There was even the game that you folded the paper and wrote stuff on the inside and you sliped the paper box thing over your fingers to answer the other person's questions. Here it's called Cootie Catcher but I can guarantee we didn't call it that! LOL

Writing this review makes me want to go play some hopscotch! See ya' later.

Great!.......2002-10-01

The best one book for playing games with elementary students. New games, old games, cooperative games, competitive games, variations on games- it's all here. The best money I've spent on a game book- and I've bought four!

If you have children or work with kids, it's a MUST!!!.......2001-08-08

I couldn't put this book down -- it's like reading a best seller! It brought back wonderful memories of my childhood. Games I always wanted to share with my kids, but couldn't remember exactly how to play them are not a problem now. I'm also a new Girl Scout leader (starting my 2nd year) and I know, already, this book will provide hours of fun. **One of the best reference books for entertaining children (and adults) I've come across.

Comprehensive Game BOOK!.......1999-05-16

I love this book! I have used it so much I had to order a second copy. As a teacher, I have used many of these games to play with my class during recess, on school trips, and after a lesson is finished. The book is easy to use for any age or interest level. These are the games I remember playing as a kid. I highly recommend you buy it!

Book Description

Labor Relations: Striking a Balance, 1st Edition, by John Budd presents labor relations as a system for striking a balance between the employment relationship goals of efficiency, equity, and voice, and between the rights of labor and management. Budd's Labor Relations broadens the narrow process focus of existing labor relations texts by placing the discussion of contemporary U.S. processes into the context of underlying themes - what are the goals of labor relations, are those goals being fulfilled, and are reforms needed. This textbook replaces the tired paradigm of "labor relations equals detailed work rules" with the dynamic paradigm of "labor relations equals balancing workplace goals and rights." Labor law, union organizing, bargaining, dispute resolution, and contract administration are central topics, but these processes are not presented as self-evidently good. These topics are placed in the broader context of the goals of the employment relationship, conflicting rights, and the environment of the 21st Century. This broader context serves to make labor relations more engaging and relevant to students. It also allows instructors to raise important "big picture" ideas while covering the applied business functions and strategies of the existing processes.

Average customer rating:

Labor Relations : Striking a Balance
John W. Budd
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill/Irwin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OGX386

Book Description

In the tradition of Garrison Keillor, Open Secrets captures the friendships, rivalries, and rumors of small-town life by chronicling the lives of the citizens of a small Midwestern community through the eyes of a young minister.

Fresh out of divinity school and bursting with enthusiasm, Richard Lischer found himself assigned to a small conservative church in an economically depressed town in southern Illinois. It’s an awkward marriage at best--a young man with a Ph.D. in theology, full of ideas and ambitions, determined to improve his parish and bring it into the twenty-first century, and a community that is “as tightly sealed as a jar of home-canned pickles.” In Open Secrets, Lischer tells not only his own story but also the story of New Cana and its inhabitants. With charm, openness, and humor, Lischer brings to life the clash of cultures and personalities that marks his pastoral tenure, including his own doubts, as well as those of his parishioners, that a twenty-eight-year-old suburban-raised liberal can deal with the troubled marriages, alcoholism, teen sex, inadequate farm subsidies, and other concerns of the conservative, tightly knit community. But the inhabitants of New Cana--lovable, deeply flawed, imperfect people who stick together--open their arms to him in their own way, and the result is a colorful, poignant comedy of small-town life and all it has to offer.

Customer Reviews:

Touching to the soul.......2007-07-25

There was little doubt that this book would be enjoyable. The book accounts the ministry of Richard to a small community of New Cana. It was a small town on the Mississippi River. He recounts his experiences there in this small community. It was a cultural crossover for him. He finished his PH.D program and accepted the call to this congregation. During his time with the congregation, the people loved him, rebelled against him, and in their own way made him feel welcome. Personally, I loved his stories, because in his stories, I was the main character.

These are great lines "The Poet-Preacher John Donne said `I date my life from my ministry.' There is more to life than ministry, but I knew as soon as we pulled out of the driveway that I had needed Cana more than Cana ever needed me. I do make sense of my life from that ministry."

Fish out of water . . ........2006-10-16

This book may be one of a kind. It's a memoir of a young parish minister accepting his first call to a Lutheran church in rural Illinois, and although there's a reference to the classic "Diary of a Country Priest" at the outset, any comparison with Bernanos' dying, saint-like character ends there on page one. Lischer, schooled in what seems to have been the excessively conservative Missouri Synod of the Lutheran Church, finds his 1960s liberal sensibilities set on a collision course with the deeply rooted religious and cultural traditions of his farming congregants. If there's anything classic about this, it's his role as a fish out of water.

This may sound like grounds for some modestly Lutheran hilarity along the lines of Garrison Keillor, but Lischer has other things in mind. In chapter after chapter, he reveals how he discovers the bonds of community that have held his church families together for generations, and in his three years there, while he never really finds himself at home with them, they help him learn a great deal about what the parish ministry really means - a kind of mutual support that he had not been prepared for in his years at the seminary.

Lischer has a wonderful gift as a writer. He takes his time to find the right words, the right metaphor to bring his subject to life, and like a well-crafted sermon, they illuminate the everyday world, if only briefly, with an other-worldly light. When he and his family leave at the end of his tenure, there is a sadness of parting - and nostalgia for a time gone by - that accompanies the reader long after the last page has been turned.

An Honest Inside Look at Ministry and a Congregation.......2005-11-26

With one glance of the cover, a reader could easily misjudge OPEN SECRETS. The cover shows a painting of a quaint Midwestern town complete with churches and the homes of good folk. We can imagine that it will be a story of a minister and congregation and contain all kinds of heartwarming tales, and the author, Richard Lischer could easily have taken the reader on such a journey. Instead he does something different and in the end far more meaningful. He shares not only his experiences, but looks at the experiences in a critical manner that engages the reader.

OPEN SECRETS is the story of Richard Lischer's first three years of ministry. The time period is the late 60's/early 70's. Like many of his generation, he is filled with new ideas and is ready for a great assignment so he can change the world. Just as teachers quickly learn that if they are to be successful they have to be learners as well, people in ministry have to learn a similar lesson that the priest/minister may be the leader but training and education do not always mean expertise. Lischer learns this lesson when he is assigned to a small parish in New Cana, Illinois. The parish is neither ready nor reluctant to his ideas. The congregation simply "is" and in some ways this is infuriating for the young minister. He has to adapt to their ways while still being true to his calling. He does some bold things in the parish which are at times exactly what the congregation needs and at other times is more an example of his being headstrong. We see that the assignment was challenging for him, but we do not see it in a nostalgic way or in a way that belittles the congregation he served.

For me, the most important contribution OPEN SECRETS makes is the way that Lischer is able to see his experiences for what they were, and how he grew not only in his ministry but in an appreciation for the people he served. It is a story that will be appreciated by anyone who takes an active role in a faith community but it will probably speak to people who are in ministry in a powerful way and anyone who strives to serve God in a heartfelt and honest way.

the life of the average pastor.......2005-04-27

Rev. Richard Lischer gives us a delightful inside look into the life of an ordinary country pastor like so many in all the American Protestant denominations. The reader travels through the joys and pains, successes and failures of a young fresh-from-seminary man's first pastorate. This book is an entertaining, very humorous, and informative journey. I highly recommend it, especially to those who may be curious as to what your pastor's life is REALLY like.

No more secrets.......2003-10-18

Richard Lischer had a plan -- graduate from seminary, have a few significant pastorates, teach at a seminary, end up as president and 'big wheel' of the denomination. As the lyric says, life is what happens when you are making other plans. In the book 'Open Secrets', Lischer recounts many of the awakenings he experienced as pastor of a small-town, isolated community church, far from the seminary where he'd studied, and far from the city and 'powers' he'd dreamt of.

Lischer begins this autobiographical tale with a brief overview of his life prior to his arrival at New Cana -- only child, good but standard education, 'typical' rebellions in school and seminary -- a fairly conventional upbringing, with only a few points of deviation from the norm. He did have visions of something better, however, and was shocked at his appointment to the church in New Cana, a town so remote that it was difficult to find on a map, and even once he was there, it was still difficult to find.

There was a symbol of foreboding from the first day, in that the cross atop the church was broken. This was a broken community, and had been for generations, in many ways. It was stable, secure in its structure and in its dysfunction, and Lischer's arrival was greeted with what was probably the traditional lack of fanfare. There was one 'ruling family' of the congregation, and insiders were clearly differentiated from the outsiders. Lischer and family were definitely outsiders.

The conflicts in the town were fairly typical of the human condition -- there were family troubles ranging from abuse and neglect to simple emotional wear-and-tear. Overshadowing the town was the almost constant depression that accompanies an agricultural-based community; working the land is hard in the best of times, so people grew accustomed to a hard life.

Lischer ultimately finds value in the community, but one wonders upon reading this memoir if that value was realised largely (or only) in hindsight. The struggle through the conflicts, both internal and external, are very apparent at each turn. Nothing came easily in Lischer's ministry. Ultimately, however, the community was accepting, and Lischer was similarly accepting. One man, Leonard, who loudly proclaimed, 'I didn't vote for you' at the first meeting of congregation and pastor, was in fact the last one to give thanks and blessing as the Lischers departed for new ministries three years later.

The people recounted in Lischer's tale are genuine. We only get the interior reflections of Lischer, but one can sense, among this uncomplicated community, the motivations and simple ways of true living among the parishioners. When Lischer tried for an innovation in the liturgy by permitting guitar music, one member of congregation reacted badly. Worried, Lischer wondered how the trouble might be resolved, others in the congregation assured Lischer not to worry, saying that the trouble-maker had always been trouble anyway.

As a portrait of small-town life, this is a unique and interesting perspective. While the world of the 60s is no longer with us, in many ways the community of New Cana (as many small agricultural towns were) was largely passed over by many of the cultural developments of the 60s (and 70s, and 80s); thus there is a timeless character to this narrative.

Fascinating to read, practical and spiritual at the same time, the reader will be enriched by Lischer's experiences.

Average customer rating:
OPEN SECRETS A MEMOIR OF FAITH AND DISCOVERY

Manufacturer: Broadway Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HZTVF8

Book Description

Charles Young served as the highest-ranking African American officer in the U.S. Army until 1917. During his career, he served on the western frontier, in the Philippines, and in Mexico, and as military attache to both Haiti and Liberia. Young was also an accomplished linguist, a musician and composer, a published author, and an active member of the black intelligentsia. A history of Young's life transcends the fields of military, diplomatic, and African American history. For those interested in the history of the United States between Reconstruction and World War I, his life offers a guided tour through one of the most important epochs in the American experience. Charles Young's career was shaped by race. The army regarded him as an anomaly and sought to limit his visibility. He, on the other hand, used his profile to promote the cause of racial equality. As a soldier, he was diligent in his observance of duty. As a citizen, he was committed to the cause of black civil rights. For Charles Young, success was more than a personal dream, it was an obligation to his people. Young's ultimate goal was to attain the rank of general. Thus, his forced retirement on medical grounds in 1917 was a crushing blow, and, for him and his supporters, bore testament to the racism that permeated the armed forces and America.

For Race and Country: The Life and Career of Colonel Charles Young

Average customer rating:

For Race and Country: The Life and Career of Colonel Charles Young
David P. Kilroy
Manufacturer: Praeger Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORXI30

Book Description

City, county and school district elected officials annually deal with multi-million, sometime billion dollar budgets. But many have little, if any, knowledge about local government financial matters when first elected. Written in an easy to understand style, this book provides beginning and seasoned elected officials and public administrators with the fiscal awareness to confidently make good budget and financial decisions. Local government is more complex today and there are more opportunities for poor judgement, conflicts of interest, embezzlement and fraud. The best antidote is an informed constituency that insists on good government and accountability. Community members, homeowners groups, business people, unions, service organizations, public watchdogs and newspaper reporters who want to assess their local elected officials' performance will find this book invaluable. Each chapter begins with a real life story such as the city manager who used the city's credit card to go on an lavish shopping spree, the city that used debt to mask it's huge deficit or the school superintendent who sacrificed the district's solvency to create an award winning curriculum. Vignettes from over 77 different local governments across the country are used to buttress the suggested tips and techniques.

Customer Reviews:

An excellent budget, financial and treasury primer........1999-03-18

As an elected Treasurer and local government finance director for the past several years, I found this book to be an excellent primer for all elected and appointed officials. The practical advice offered by Mr. Wood is based on his experience and input from his peers and is extremely valuable. The book is written in a very informal and concise way and should be required reading for all elected officials. In fact, I gave this book to each City Council member and they have all indicated that this book provided excellent financial advice.

Excellent reading for the Government Watchdog.......1998-09-30

Len Wood presents Dollars and Sense in a practical manner enabling readers to absorb its content. A must read book for those that "watch" their local governments, school districts and elected officials. Written for fast reading,yet covers the subject matter extensively. If you want to be certain your local government is working at its fullest potential, Dollars & Sense can be a great help to you.

Great book for people interested in local government........1998-06-14

What a delightful book. The author has presented his subject in an understandable and capitivating manner. He does this by using lots of real life vignettes to make his points. People who want to know what their local officials should and should not be doing will want to read this book.

A Guide for Achieving Job Longevity in the Public Sector.......1998-05-06

Here is a "no holds barred" approach to describing "real life" shortcomings in handling public finances, and then providing tips to local government policy makers and managers on how to avoid a similiar circumstance.

Len Wood writes from first hand knowledge and experience. He describes the situation; outlines the facts; details the results; and provides the reader with suggestions to lessen financial risk and/or failure in the expenditure of public funds.

While the author's primary target is the newly elected official, the importance of this work to experienced elected and appointed public officals cannot be overstated. No one who has worked in the public sector can peruse this book without saying, "There, but for the grace of God, go I!"

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books