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"Informative and entertaining."--Publishers Weekly ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Civil War 1998 or 1988?
An interesting read as was "The Civil War: Strange & Fascinating Facts by Burke Davis" (Hardcover - Dec 12, 1988).However it seemed to be the same book, the same chapters, with only a slightly different chapter order.

Wright credits the start of the Civil War to Abe Lincoln but the dates in his own chronology show that the Civil was was ongoing before Lincoln became president.In Kansas and Missouri the Jayhawkers and the Bushwackers were at it years before hand.John Brown was involved in the Kansas Missouri Actions but not as one of the ones who began the killings.

After his famous trial and acquital, he then led the raid on Harper's Ferry.

Abe Lincoln did not start the Civil War.It began decades earlier with prime causes starting as early as the Revolution.Many people had the opportunity to stop the war from happening but none did.

Slavery was recognized in civilized Europe as an evil before the Civil War began, and the agreements in the Constitution did not allow seccesion.

The wicked states destroyed the Articles of Confederation making the Constitution necesary.The majority of southern states ratified that constitution.Lincoln and the Republicans may have exceeded some federal authorities, but the causitive sins in the federal government were perpetrated by Southerners as well as Northerners and Lincoln was on record being willing to negotiate before the war.

Southern Agitators refused to allow peace and union.

Mike Wright ignores all this in his book.There are better books, more complete books and more accurate books.

The best thing about Mike Wright is his writing style which flows smoothly and interestingly.For that He is a good read.

Entertaining- but terrible history
I'm not surprised that the author is described as a "television writer"- this book is a collectio of short, meaningless facts and falsehoods that do little for the understanding of one of the most important events in American history. His mistakes are mostly a matter of his lack of understanding of the wider history and context of the war; for example, he wries about Confederate "desertions", but the CSA didn't conscript of enlist soliders the way the North did. Instead, soldiers would come and go, leaving for a while to (say) bring in the harvest and then returning to the army. Typos, factual errors and just plain lack of understanding abound- just like television.

Very Good Book
As someone with family roots from both armies involved in this war, I found this book to be more fair, honest, and true than many books I have read about the Civil War.

Unfortunately, it is normally the victor who decides what gets written in the history books, and much false or inaccurate information has been written about Southerners who fought in the War of Northern Agression, or as most know of it, the Civil War.

This book is full of interesting anecdotes and does afford some insight into the lives of those who experienced the War's effects first-hand. If you are a history buff, especially American history, then this book is for you.

Factual Mistakes Combined with Unworthy Opinion
Civil War vignettes/anecdotes always make for an interesting read.But this book doesn't footnote its sources, makes unbelievable mistakes and the author's writing style is a condescending one, even as it becomes evident that the guy's opinion on some of the topics is totally outlandish.

Other reviews have already noted some of the ludicrous discrepancies.Some of the guy's commentary is no better.

For example, in arguing that the Confederate commanders were not superior as a whole (a fairly justifiable statement), Wright lists some of the Confederate commanders that were lacking.When he reaches Longstreet, this is what he writes."James Longstreet?Not first-rate, and many questioned his loyalty." The claim that Longstreet was not a "first-rate" corps commander (especially ironic since Longstreet commanded the ANV's First Corps) could certainly be argued and is by many historians.Longstreet was definitely the Confederacy's premiere corps commander after Jackson's death.

Wright's entitled to his opinions, despite the fact that he doesn't define any "first rate" commanders.But Wright oversteps boundaries when he insinuates that Longstreet's loyalty couldn't be trusted because he was Grant's best man at his wedding, or because Longstreet became a Republican after the war.What They Did Teach You About the Civil War is that Longstreet fought hard, fought well and suffered a permanent crippling injury for the Confederate cause.To question his loyalty is absolutely outrageous and not justifiable.Jubal Early would laugh in his grave at what Wright's "teaching" us.

Two stars for scholarship, but ten for appeal!
As a Canadian, you can imagine that what they didn't teach *me* about the American Civil War was everything -- but after an accidental visit to Gettysburg this summer I was hooked. I began to read, and when I discovered Mike Wright's fascinating book in Toronto I thought I'd done some fabulous one-stop shopping! But then a number of Wright's facts just didn't jibe with what I'd read before and in numerous other sources -- George Pickett's wife's name, for instance (not Mary, but LaSalle), or Stonewall Jackson's final words. And the work is peppered with typographical errors, the most jarring of which is the reference to Winfield Scott Hancock as being Lewis Armistead's "closet" friend. So, on the one hand, What They Didn't Teach You About the Civil War suffers for want of both a fact-checker and a proofreader, and can serve only as a reference up to a point -- a PHENOMENAL shame. But on the other hand, this is such an entertaining read that I'd have to say I loved it, and would recommend it to those who, like myself, are most intrigued by the human face of this particular war and this particular age. If you're prepared to take what Wright says with the proverbial grain of salt, it's tasty in the extreme! ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Printing stinks!
I was really looking forward to reading this book, but was very disappointed when I received it.It looks like it was printed in the guy's basement, and the printing is just terrible in places.In many places I could barely read it.It looks like a copy of a copy of a copy.Very poor.Hard to start reading a book like that. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Blount Breathes Life into Hidden Histories
Although a great deal of the "history" Blount uncovers and recounts in this significant volume has transpired in the last 30 years (the lifetimes and school times of many of us) the people and the issues that she chronicles have been absent in our lessons and conversations within and about schools and schooling. Blount's book is a welcome awakening to the hidden histories and erased identities of students and school workers who manifest unconventional gender or desire persons of the same sex.

As a student who struggled through classrooms where gender was so narrowly defined that I had no place, and as an educator who was often marginalized due to my unconventional identity and ideas, I applaud this important book and the issues it brings to light. This book is a must-read for all who are interested in schools, schooling, and the history and sociology of education.

Making the invisible visible
This is the most important book yet written about same-sex desire and the institution of education in the US. Blount describes in rich detail how schools have attempted to control the sexuality of their workers--and how school workers have resisted. The research for the book is impressive: Blount traveled widely throughout the US to access archives and other original sources. The book is sure to stimulate a wide range of emotions in readers: outrage at oppression, satisfaction at successful resistance, sadness that justice continues to be withheld in too many school districts. The book is highly readable, beautifully written, and compelling. Anyone interested in the history of sexuality, education, and/or gender will find this book to be absorbing. I recommend it highly. ... Read more

Product Description

Students revisit the American Revolution through guided practice activities, complete lesson plans, reproducible worksheets,poems, songs, and an educational play packaged into this unique teacher resource book. This title integrates creative arts, innovative activities, and original music. The content is selected to coordinate with National Standards for History, Standards for Grades K-4 and National Standards for United States History, Standards for Grades 5-12. Two other important components of the book are a musical play and a pantomime. While entertaining students, it develops varied educational concepts and expands critical thinking skills.Students may: Stage the musical for an audience; act it out in class; or read it silently. All lyrics can be used as songs or read as poetry. Everything is reproducible. Complete musical scores as well as the complete script of the play is included and ready for use in student productions.

Customer Reviews (1)

13 Colonies! 13 Years! - teacher review
I teach 5th grade U.S. History in Indiana, and I have repeatedly found 13 Colonies! 13 Years! to be a useful supplemental resource for my students studying the American Revolution.I particularly like that the classroom teacher can do as much or as little as time or classroom situations allow.For instance, teachers can use the many writing activites and puzzles, improve reading fluency with the many poems/songs, or present a small classroom play or an entire school play.It is very well-organized and user-friendly with accurate history research presented in a creative format.In addition, it is adaptable to other grade levels and aligns with state standards! ... Read more

Product Description
Sremac offers a penetrating look at how media-generated images and ideas reiterated throughout the Yugoslav civil war hindered Washington's ability to understand what was really happening in the region and made U.S.foreign policy a reflection of sound bites rather than sound reasoning. The process and ideology that guides Washington,in a post-cold war era has allowed special interest groups that understand how Washington works to put forth a message that appeals to tte media and receives endorsement by the U.S. foreign policymaking establishment. Foreign governments and thier supporters in the United States have increasingly tapped into this system. The Yugoslav conflict is one of the first and most important examples of how certain Yugoslav warring parties were able to play out a war of words in Washington to ultimately influence U.S. foreign policy toward the region. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

War of Delusion
This is the usual self justifying nationalist rubbish Serbed by a energetic and relentless defender of nationalist hate mongering and war crimes. Sremac traversed the country lobbying to prove that war criminals like Radovan Karadzic were really heros and the crazed blood soaked and self defeating nationalist lunacy they skippered was really a noble and heroic struggle for freedom.

This work dutifully conveys the stock lies of Serbian nationalist delusion: the evil Germans again out to destroy Yugoslavia; the treacherous US hell bent on imposing its evil world order on the peace and freedom loving Serbs; the deceitful western media out crucify the heroic Serbian people and their noble cause. It's a simple message: Serbs good - Others bad. Her psuedo objective language will only fool the converted along with clueless useful idiots willing to side with any one or anyhting seen as at odds with Washington.

For Sremac, the mistake the Serbs made, in their naive and innocent way and unlike those sneaky and nasty Croats and Bosnian Muslims, was not to hire PR experts to promote the "truth" about their "misunderstood" fight for freedom. Unfortunately there were many Sremac's from all sides - zombies blindly defending "their" sides role in the free for all slaughter, destruction and genocide that marked Yugoslavia's self destruction.

The following works should better clarify the record:

Balkan Holocausts?: Serbian and Croatian Victim Centered Propaganda and the War in Yugoslavia

Homeland Calling: Exile Patriotism and the Balkan Wars

Coherent internaly and with other sources
Sremac is perhaps biased by any residual Serb identity but that is irrelevant if the claims and sources used agree with those of authoritative writers on the subject.

That appears to be the case in comparing her book with the NSA's expert during the war (John R. Schindler) and the US Army Intelligence's John E. Sray. Sadly, while the NSA was did not go public with its criticism of the standard interpretation, Sremac could have referenced Col. Andrei Demurenko's report on the Markale Markeplace bombings. David Binder had access to it but used a secondary source instead.

In the broader perspective, the account is accurate in terms of events and motivations seem in line with what is described by other sources as well. The book is in conflict with the popular conception of the war in that it does not believe Serbs to be guilty of Genocide, commencing the war, and other atrocities. That does not mean that she believes they did not exist.

War crimes and atrocities existed on all sides but she singles out the Bosnian government under Alia Izetbegovitch and the Croatian Ustashe government for particular cruelty and for using such as tools of war. Her case in that regard could be stronger but that is due to a perhaps excessive focus on the actual war instead of the propaganda war. She stops only to mention the occurrence without providing the amount of detail of the situation and the comparison with Western media beliefs.

This is understandable in an effort to communicate without boring the audience (Westerners refuse to listen to detailed arguments) but as any lawyer knows, omission is is potential failure unless the weight brings the case down.

A good book that perhaps deserves 4.5 but is given the benefit of the doubt for a still excellent understanding of events on the Washington side.

Poorly written
Nothing in this book references back to the historic facts about the Bosnian right to independence, freedom, and democracy.Book has failed on numerous accountsto provide the overview of true causes of war and agression on Bosnia.

Sremac's Fantasy
War of Words is an amazing piece of racist propaganda matched only by the fantasy-laden accounts of the wars in Yugoslavia which came from Belgrade's state-run media, or the version of the war in Iraq as told by the Iraqi information minister.Sremac is not only a representative of the Serbian government, hardly making her account unbaised, but fails to account for aspects of the Bosnian war (such as the starvation and murder of Muslim prisoners in detention camps) which were confirmed by witnesses from dozens of relief organizations and media groups, as well as thousands of tesitmonials at the UN warcrimes tribunals.Sremac further claims that Washington's motivation for supprting the Muslims was based on some crazy desire to intervene in countires after the cold war (laughable is you know anything about Clinton's record of intervention, or if you examine how long it took Washington to intervene in Bosnia and under what conditions).She relies on the accounts of the war from such indicted criminal murderers as Radovan Karadzic, and subscribes to common Serbian attempts to blame the victim of genocide for Serbia's vile crimes.If you want to know what it is like to read some nice racist fiction, or experience Balkan duplicity firsthand, pick this work up, glance it over, burn it, and then scold yourself for having put money in the pockets of somebody like Sremac.Further, the people on this site who wrote rave reviews of this book are probably either ultranationalist members of the Serbian parliament or themselves indicted war criminals hiding in Pale.

Subjectivity vs. Objectivity
Danielle Sremac was a registered agent lobbying on behalf of a foreign government, namely, the Yugoslav (Serbian and Montenegrin governments) during the wars of the 1990s. This can be looked up in public records, as proscribed by law.
She is more than entitled to write a book about the wars, but one must exercise caution as to the content of her book. If this woman was lobbying on behalf of indicted and convicted war criminals, then much of her case would be higly suspect from the beginning. ... Read more

Product Description
This work describes and interprets the continuing battles over the purposes, content, methods, and theoretical foundations of the social studies curriculum. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Comments from Distinguished Educators
An engaging, timely, and important historical account.Evans's book is perceptive and compelling, and should be essential reading for anyone interested in the history of social education.

~Wilson J. Warren, Western Michigan University,


Evans' delineation of approaches is vastly more complex and richer than those proposed by other scholars ...

~Donald Schneider, University of Georgia


Largely because it is a space for articulating competing visions of the "good society," there is no area of the school curriculum that is more contested than social studies. In his detailed and well-researched examination of a century of curricular and pedagogical reform efforts, Evans argues that the history of the field is largely a story of civil war over the purposes, content, methods, and ideology of the social studies curriculum. Evans's thesis that what began as a struggle of various interest groups has evolved into a cultural war against progressive social studies is convincing, and he points to the current, narrow disciplinary focus on history and the social sciences in today's schools as evidence. Evans concludes that the turf struggles in the field have contributed to continuing failure of curricular reform ... .Until now, social studies education lacked a satisfying, comprehensive curricular history; that this history has been written by one of the strongest critics of history-centered social studies education adds to the irony. Summing up: Highly recommended.

~E. W. Ross, University of British Columbia


Evans' work gives an historical review of the current struggle over the content and process of social studies instruction in the curriculum. It offers insight into the evolution of the current disengagement in social studies education in public school by identifying key events and people from his insider's perspective. The power of money, influence, and privilege fragment efforts for a common social studies position, both philosophically and pragmatically. Evans tries to bridge some of these differences by a shift in focus. His thesis is that social studies itself is not the target but rather the pedagogy of critical inquiry that is central to learning about historical events, political systems, social institutions, and global interactions that frame the content. With that stance, he is creating space for groups to find common ground for dialogue around issues of pedagogy. He offers multiple examples and descriptions of materials created for social studies education to make this a valuable professional resource.

~Reese H. Todd, Texas Tech University


Ronald W. Evans is Professor in the School of Teacher Education at San Diego State University.He is the author of "This Happened in America: Harold Rugg and the Censure of Social Studies" (2007, Information Age) and editor of the "Handbook on Teaching Social Issues" (1996, NCSS). ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Community College Week, published by Cox, Matthews & Associates on November 24, 2003. The length of the article is 945 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Tribal profs. teach how the West was won--and lost.(faculty lounge)
Publication: Community College Week (Newspaper)
Date: November 24, 2003
Publisher: Cox, Matthews & Associates
Volume: 16Issue: 8Page: 16(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
A historical study of teacher education and its place in American culture, this work also looks at prospects for the future. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from GeneralBooksClub.com. You can also preview excerpts from the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Published by: Harper & Brothers in 1886 in 135 pages; Subjects: Social Science / Sociology of Religion; Religion / Education; Religion / Comparative Religion; Religion / Judaism / General; Religion / Comparative Religion; Religion / Education; Religion / Judaism / General; Social Science / Sociology of Religion; ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Situated within current feminist/poststructuralist theories regarding the "subject", this book focuses on the lives of three women teachers and their narrative strategies to author themselves as active agents within and against the essentializing discourses of teaching. The text argues that the complex and contradictory ways in which these women construct themselves as subjects, while simultaneously disrupting the notion of a unitary subject, point to new ways of thinking about subjectivity, resistance, power and agency. The implications of this, alleged, reconceptualization for feminist theorizing, curriculum theory and life history research are woven throughout the book. ... Read more

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black Puerto Rican's struggle out of homelessness ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

REVIEW QUOTES
"Homeless Man Turns Life into a Movement." --Chicago Reporter

"an eloquent voice for Americans too often ignored or scapegoated." --Booklist

"Casanova and Blackburn have created an eloquent statement from the trenches of a movement that is still only about a decade old. As more and more people understand the limitations of charity and the necessity of organizing, people like Casanova, who have paved the way for others, will no doubt be regarded as the Malcolms and Martins and Rosas of a new movement." --Real Change ... Read more

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Discover Catholicism and its role in our world

Teach Yourself Catholicism is a comprehensive guide to the Catholic faith. It begins by focusing on the essential beliefs of Catholicism before delving into the history of the Catholic Church and the roots of its traditions and practices. Considering the key influences in over 2000 years of fascinating history, you will soon have a good understanding of, amongst other things, the role of Jesus and Mary, the Papacy, the Great Schism and the Reformation. Peter Stanford also focuses on the church in the modern world, assessing the Second Vatican Council and the key debates and questions that surround the religion today: Why has the Catholic church been so riled by the Da Vinci Code? How does Catholicism relate to our world today? Is there such a thing as a Catholic morality? Never shying away from difficult questions, Teach Yourself Catholicism is an informative and engaging read.

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more