Teacher Man: A Memoir

Teacher Man: A Memoir
Average customer rating:

Teacher Man - Slightly Disappointing

school'd

"Listen. Are you listening? You're not listening"

Boring

teachers need to be heard

Teacher Man: A Memoir
Frank McCourt
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Authors | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0743243781

Amazon.com

For 30 years Frank McCourt taught high school English in New York City and for much of that time he considered himself a fraud. During these years he danced a delicate jig between engaging the students, satisfying often bewildered administrators and parents, and actually enjoying his job. He tried to present a consistent image of composure and self-confidence, yet he regularly felt insecure, inadequate, and unfocused. After much trial and error, he eventually discovered what was in front of him (or rather, behind him) all along--his own experience. "My life saved my life," he writes. "My students didn't know there was a man up there escaping a cocoon of Irish history and Catholicism, leaving bits of that cocoon everywhere." At the beginning of his career it had never occurred to him that his own dismal upbringing in the slums of Limerick could be turned into a valuable lesson plan. Indeed, his formal training emphasized the opposite. Principals and department heads lectured him to never share anything personal. He was instructed to arouse fear and awe, to be stern, to be impossible to please--but he couldn't do it. McCourt was too likable, too interested in the students' lives, and too willing to reveal himself for their benefit as well as his own. He was a kindred spirit with more questions than answers: "Look at me: wandering late bloomer, floundering old fart, discovering in my forties what my students knew in their teens."

As he did so adroitly in his previous memoirs, Angela's Ashes and 'Tis, McCourt manages to uncover humor in nearly everything. He writes about hilarious misfires, as when he suggested (during his teacher's exam) that the students write a suicide note, as well as unorthodox assignments that turned into epiphanies for both teacher and students. A dazzling writer with a unique and compelling voice, McCourt describes the dignity and difficulties of a largely thankless profession with incisive, self-deprecating wit and uncommon perception. It may have taken him three decades to figure out how to be an effective teacher, but he ultimately saved his most valuable lesson for himself: how to be his own man. --Shawn Carkonen

Book Description

Here at last in paperback is Frank McCourt's critically acclaimed and bestselling book about how his thirty-year teaching career shaped his second act as a writer. Teacher Man is also an urgent tribute to teachers everywhere. In bold and spirited prose featuring his irreverent wit and heartbreaking honesty, McCourt records the trials, triumphs and surprises of teaching in public high schools. Teacher Man shows McCourt developing his unparalleled ability to tell a great story as, five days a week, five periods per day, he works to gain the attention and respect of unruly, hormonally charged or indifferent adolescents.

For McCourt, storytelling itself is the source of salvation, and in Teacher Man the journey to redemption--and literary fame--is an exhilarating adventure.

Download Description

"Nearly a decade ago Frank McCourt became an unlikely star when, at the age of sixty-six, he burst onto the literary scene with Angela's Ashes, the Pulitzer Prize -- winning memoir of his childhood in Limerick, Ireland. Then came 'Tis, his glorious account of his early years in New York. Now, here at last, is McCourt's long-awaited book about how his thirty-year teaching career shaped his second act as a writer. Teacher Man is also an urgent tribute to teachers everywhere. In bold and spirited prose featuring his irreverent wit and heartbreaking honesty, McCourt records the trials, triumphs and surprises he faces in public high schools around New York City. His methods anything but conventional, McCourt creates a lasting impact on his students through imaginative assignments (he instructs one class to write ""An Excuse Note from Adam or Eve to God""), singalongs (featuring recipe ingredients as lyrics), and field trips (imagine taking twenty-nine rowdy girls to a movie in Times Square!). McCourt struggles to find his way in the classroom and spends his evenings drinking with writers and dreaming of one day putting his own story to paper. Teacher Man shows McCourt developing his unparalleled ability to tell a great story as, five days a week, five periods per day, he works to gain the attention and respect of unruly, hormonally charged or indifferent adolescents. McCourt's rocky marriage, his failed attempt to get a Ph.D. at Trinity College, Dublin, and his repeated firings due to his propensity to talk back to his superiors ironically lead him to New York's most prestigious school, Stuyvesant High School, where he finally finds a place and a voice. ""Doggedness,"" he says, is ""not as glamorous as ambition or talent or intellect or charm, but still the one thing that got me through the days and nights."" For McCourt, storytelling itself is the source of salvation, and in Teacher Man the journey to redemption -- and literary fame -- is an exhilarating adventure. "

Customer Reviews:

Teacher Man - Slightly Disappointing.......2007-09-18

Frank McCourt's poverty-stricken youth in Limerick, Ireland, so aptly described in the Pulitzer Prize winning Angela's Ashes actually comes to his rescue in his chronicles in Teacher Man in New York City's public high schools. His first day as a high school English teacher at a vocational school on Staten Island is a whirlwind of confusing strangeness, as if he just stepped off the boat all over again. His college education did not prepare him for these exuberant adolescents, the likes of which he never knew in Ireland because he left school at thirteen to help support his mother and brothers. His stories saved him: the rambunctious adolescents, who spoke a seemingly foreign language and behaved according to the rules their own secret, sub-cultural sect, actually sat down and listened when he told them his stories. Magic. The magic of good storytelling.
This magic spell of the storyteller saves Teacher Man from the ill effects of its lack of depth. Humorous anecdotes compensate for the absence of substance in the classroom. Indeed, McCourt accomplishes much in revealing the daily struggle of teachers, an "in the trenches" portrait of five classes a day with over 150 students. Clearly, the author describes the plight of the overworked, underpaid educator, a member of the "downstairs maid of professions", and readers will sympathize. But, the realities of sandwich throwing, wisecracks, and requests for "the pass" to use the bathroom overwhelm the lesson plans. And so, especially at the start of his career, Mr. McCourt regaled them with stories simply to keep them quiet. Although silence is valuable in the classroom, the curriculum must be addressed as well.
To his credit, McCourt does learn to become a good, perhaps even a great, teacher. Small snippets early on hint that he does possess the natural talent to translate confusing concepts into analogies his students can comprehend. For example, one epiphany relates his discovery that "grammar is the way language works" just like psychology is the way a person's mind works. Students get this, just like they understand the structure is like the structure of a ballpoint pen - both need something to make it work. A pen needs a spring like a sentence needs a verb. Another brilliant idea that sets his students to work is the "excuse note" writing exercise. After a hilarious study of their own excuse notes, many of which are forged, Teacher Man asks his students to write excuses from Adam and Eve to God, from Al Capone to the authorities, from Hitler to the Jews. These bursts of inspiration compensate for the drudgery, such as correcting mountains of compositions (170 students multiplied by 500 words each) that amount to reading the Encyclopedia Britannica.
McCourt's career contains segments of unemployment, the acquisition of his Masters degree, and a failure in attaining his Doctorate at Trinity College in Dublin. Interspersed throughout the memoir, the author includes both humorous and depressing incidents concerning his personal life, including an unsatisfying marriage and a bout of psychotherapy. McCourt reaches his stride as a teacher (not a "taskmaster") at the prestigious Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, where his principal encourages him to be innovative and his creative writing classes spawn ingenious techniques to motivate his students. Students sing recipes and learn to write stories others want to listen to. In 1976 Mr. McCourt earns an award as one of America's Teachers of the Year.
Although Teacher Man may lack pedagogical content, the memoir entertains and causes one to consider the problems of the American educational system and the difficulties teachers encounter on a day-to-day basis. The author maintains an open mind and always learns from his students. He learns that being honest is paramount as a teacher. His honesty prompts him to tell his life's story, and in doing so, his students are motivated to write honestly themselves. For that alone, Frank McCourt deserves the accolade of Teacher Man.

school'd.......2007-09-18

Teacher Man was I think the best of the three. You have so much sympathy for Frank as he tries to teach America's youth while being teased for his "Irish Brogue" the fenetic spelling of how the kid's talk easily let's you hear the dialogue in your head, as well as get a real feel for their cultural backround, the Mexicans, the Italians, the Blacks it's fantastic, I'd say that book taught me a thing or two about life in general.

"Listen. Are you listening? You're not listening".......2007-09-12

A smile. A reminiscence of the good old school days. How many times did our teachers address us with that remark? If you are a teacher, how often did/do you say it to your students? Countless times. Mr. McCourt recounts his 30+ years as a teacher in various high schools in New York. For those of you who were, are or will be teachers, and for those who were, or are students, or if you simply like real-life stories, this is the book for you.

Honing his teacher's skills as the years went by, Mr. McCourt delivers a true insight of life in the classroom, with its laughs, its tears, its frustrations, its joys. This book is constellated with memories of his past, which he would often talk about to his pupils who always listened avidly and eagerly and were encouraged, in turn, to open up and believe in themselves.

His passion for teaching is all there in those laughs, tears, frustrations and joys. Unquestionably, teaching was what Mr. McCourt was meant to do, no matter how undervalued a profession it often was/is, but if you love it, that passion is the fuel igniting everything.
His writing is, as usual, witty, harrowing, poignant and humorous at the same time. He explores his own weaknesses and strengths squarely, learning as he teaches, facing hundreds of challenging minds every day.

After "Angela's Ashes" and " 'Tis ", this is perceived by the author as the last book about himself. Should it be the case, please allow me to quote him once again by saying that I'm so glad that he "sang his song, danced his dance, told his tale". Auspiciously, he'll write some more.

Boring.......2007-09-05

One of the most boring books I've ever read. I had to force myself to keep on reading, then when I started just skipping large sections of it I knew it was time to quit. I didn't finish it and I'm not sorry!

teachers need to be heard.......2007-08-26

As a teacher of 30 years I enjoyed Frank's book. Having read his previous 2 books, I eagerly awaited this publication. I was slightly disappointed that Teacher Man dealt more with Frank than the kids. It also did not display much of a critical analysis of our educational system. A new publication, Tales of the Dolly Llama, by Guy Kuttner, gets more to the heart and the core of both the system and the travails that kids and their parents encounter in dealing with this monolith we call the Public School System. If you liked Frank's book, you'll adore Guy's.

The Kings of New York: A Year Among the Geeks, Oddballs, and Genuises Who Make Up America's Top HighSchool Chess Team

Average customer rating:

He Knows Them So Well
Great reviews, mediocre read
A King among writers
Interested in the New York chess scene?
"Their lives have already been made much better"

The Kings of New York: A Year Among the Geeks, Oddballs, and Genuises Who Make Up America's Top HighSchool Chess Team
Michael Weinreb
Manufacturer: Gotham
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1592402615
Release Date: 2007-03-01

Book Description

An award-winning sportswriter takes you inside a year with the nation's top high school chess team.

With strict admission standards and a progressive curriculum, Brooklyn's Edward R. Murrow High School has long been one of New York's public-education success stories, serving a diverse neighborhood of immigrants and minorities and ranking among the nation's best high schools. At Murrow, there are no sports teams, and the closest thing to jocks are found on the school's powerhouse chess team, which annually competes for the national championship.

In The Kings of New York sportswriter Michael Weinreb follows the members of the Murrow chess team through an entire season, from cash games in Washington Square Park to city and state tournaments to the SuperNationals in Nashville, where this eclectic bunch competes against private schoolers and suburbanites. Along the way, Weinreb brings to life a number of colorful characters: the Yale-educated calculus teacher (and former semipro hockey player) who guides the savants while struggling to find funding for his team; an aspiring rapper and tournament hustler who plays with cutthroat instinct; the team's lone girl, a shy Ukrainian immigrant; the Puerto Rican teen from the rough neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant who plays an ingenious opening gambit named the Orangutan; and the Lithuanian immigrant and team star whose chess rating is climbing toward grandmaster status.

In the bestselling tradition of such books as Word Freak and Friday Night Lights, The Kings of New York is a riveting look inside the world of competitive chess and an inspiring profile of young genius.

Customer Reviews:

He Knows Them So Well.......2007-09-14

Like many other guys I got into chess via the smash Broadsway musical written by Tim Rice and the two fellows from ABBA.

The musical, for those of us lucky enough to see it several times, glamorized the international world of high stakes chess championships, and posed chess as a way to resolve international Cold War tensions between grand masters of warring nations, spawning such monster hits as "One Night in Bangkok" and "I Know Him So Well." In Harold Prince's innovative direction, the stage became a living chessboard, the rooks, knights and pawns constantly alert and on the move at the drop of a baton. Now along comes Michael Weinreb, a top New York-based sportswriter, who focuses in on the Brooklyn high school that does for chess what FAME did for the performing arts.

The results? Not so glamorous, but compelling. Weinrib examines the ways in which few native-born Americans are drawn to chess, while the newly immigrant and the poor see in the sport a parallel to the nomadism of their existences, shuttled from state to state like bishops being moved two spaces one way, one space to the side. The main boys he profiles come from a wide variety of foreign countries, and once they're here, they do their best to go American, wearing baggy jeans, oversized T-shirts, FUBU underwear and the like. Their teacher, himself a chess expert, is not above employing Murrow's own strategies (Edward R. Murrow, after whom the school is named, was himself not a bad amateur chess player) to allow his boys (and one girl) a liberal amount of freedom regarding their academic commitments that would be unheard of at most schools.

As Weinrib reports, some of them fall apart, and some of them manage to keep their eye on the prize. Not since Frances Parkinson Keyes' 1960 novel THE CHESS PLAYERS, which examined the sorry, doomed life of American grand master Paul Morphy (possibly the greatest chess player who ever lived) (19th century, New Orleans), have we been shown in such detail the uncensored lives of the teens obsessed with the sport--the gateway to the kingdom.

In some way, his book will disappoint those of us who know how to play chess, for it is more about what our lives look like from the outside. But in others, it's a wake up call. I don't consider myself a geek, an oddball, or a genius, but now I know what the world thinks of men like me, men who, inspired by a dream (with music by ABBA), got into something I don't have any control of any more. Those who go to Hurrow in furture generations (like actress Marisa Tomei and director Darren Aronofsky--cited by Weinrib as two prominent graduates of Murrow's equally impressive theater program for kids) will be tempted to join the chess club just to travel the world! With their concentration on musical theater and chess, it's a wonder Murrow has not apparently put on a student production of the famous chess musical! They could star the the beloved chess graduates profiled in this book, Sal, Oscar Santana, Willy, Alex and Ilya. Hey, give it a chance! Weinrib quotes an approving chess source, who says, "The word dynasty does not completely describe Edward R. Murrow High School's pre-eminence in high school chess: complete hegemony is more accurate."

Great reviews, mediocre read.......2007-08-31

I read this on a long train ride, if I'd had anything else, I'd have read it.
I was just interested enough to keep reading and just bored enough to wish it would get more interesting.

A King among writers.......2007-08-23

embraces today's youth - now in chess!
so easy to read - thoughtful - hard to put down.
Thank you M. Weinreb

Interested in the New York chess scene?.......2007-08-11

If you are a chess player or someone new to chess, you may be interested in what is going on in the New York chess scene.New York is by far the biggest and most productive chess center in the USA.New York youth chess programs set the standard and produce many junior chess champions.In this book you will be following the journey of one such junior chess team on their road to the championships,this is a very well written book.The critism I have is this- I don't like the author calling chess players geeks and oddballs. Michael Weinreb the author is clearly a novice chess player at best,by his many annoying errors of chess terms and concepts.He sometimes writes about meaningless details which I found annoying, like giving small details about the environments and the details of what his characters are wearing ,hence why I took off one star.I appreciated the fact that this author took at least a year or more following a group of high school chess players around the country and giving us a glimpse into why chess is so popular in New York.I hope this trend spreads throughout the USA and to California, where I am from.Overall this book is helpful in spreading the popularity of chess, the game which I love, to more and more people throughout the USA.For that I am grateful.The book does a great job in expressing the emotions and trials of this group of young players.I will never forget the characters in this book. It was a fascinating read, and I took me only 3 days to finish it.I really enjoyed reading it ,and highly recommend this great book! This would be a great book for a high school teacher to read with thier students.

"Their lives have already been made much better".......2007-08-09

It is not often that I come across a book that has some great characteristics that make it excellent and others that seriously affect my enjoyment of the experience. This is one of those odd cases, because the portrayal of the kids and the gusto with which the author tells their personal stories is commendable. I can even risk going as far as saying that he comes close to the level of the best chess journalist I know, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam. But then when Weinreb starts talking about the games and chess concepts, everything comes tumbling down in a never ending spiral of mistakes and confusion. This gave me an odd feeling, because I started reading and thinking that it was a pretty good read and that it probably deserved between 4 and 5 stars. Then the chess parts started and I downgraded it to 2 to 3. Next I came across another good part, involving the description of coaches and masters, and I thought that it was on the right track again, only to be beaten down once more. Finally, I had to settle for 3.5 stars.

Lets start with the good part. The story focuses on the chess team of Edward R. Murrow High School, which is an institution in Brooklyn that implemented an experimental program giving the students considerably freedom to choose how to approach their education. In this setting, Eliot Weiss decided to start a chess team. This team attracted kids with different personalities, all of which have characteristics that give the author enough material to display his narrative skills. We are presented with the personal stories of the kids, which includes two master level players and a bunch of good club players, as well as some rookies. It is enlightening to see how chess affects their lives, and how their personalities differ from the stereotype most people have about how a chess player behaves and lives. We also get a tour through some of the most important factors that affected chess in the US and its introduction in schools. Finally, the book delivers great information on some of the most relevant coaches and masters in the game, such as Bruce Pandolfini and Bobby Fischer.

If the author, who clearly is not a chess player, had decided to stop there the result would have been excellent. He could have even asked a master for help in presenting the games and some of the chess concepts used in the book. Sadly, this was not the case, and starting with a convoluted explanation of what a pin is, the missteps accumulate and detract from the overall quality of the book. The problem is that the explanations do not help those that are already familiar with the concepts and are not clear enough for a newcomer to understand them. On top of that, we have the mistakes: positions that are wrong, illegal opening moves (on several occasions) and butchering the name of an opening, to name a few. And finally, to make it even worse, there is the narration of some of the games, which is so poor that it is impossible to follow. There are so many references to queen sacrifices that it is hard to believe these are accurate.

Those that are interested in the story of these oddballs and do not care about the chess portions will have a most pleasant experience with this book. However, if you are looking forward to following the development of the games through the narration, you will find yourself extremely disappointed.

Gossip Girl #1: A Novel (Gossip Girl Series)

Average customer rating:

Don't waste your time, read a better book
A delicious new series that will definitely give you something to talk about
loved it.
Seriously...
Dreadful in Unexpected Ways

Gossip Girl #1: A Novel (Gossip Girl Series)
Cecily Von Ziegesar
Manufacturer: Poppy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0316910333

Book Description

lder teens and adult readers can't get enough of Gossip Girl, the anonymous narrator who made her catty debut in the bestselling Gossip Girl and titillated readers in the juicy sequel, You Know You Love Me. Now in All I Want Is Everything, readers will love her even more as Gossip Girl dishes up dose after hefty dose of dirt on all her friends-New York's wealthiest private school teens. Sharp wit, intriguing characters, and high-stakes melodrama drive the action of this wildly popular new series.

Customer Reviews:

Don't waste your time, read a better book.......2007-10-01

I read this book in honor of ALA Banned Book Week, and while I don't believe any book should be banned, I don't think this book should ever have been published. It was filled with typos and out-and-out grammatical errors that made me cringe every time I came across a new one.

The characters were ALL flat, and while I felt a marginal amount of pity for the main character, I couldn't put myself in her shoes and feel any kind of sympathy for her. The book was just poorly written. It was like watching a bad teen movie but takes more of a time commitment.

Instead, pick up a book worth your time like The Princess Diaries Box Set, Volumes I-III (Princess Diaries) by Meg Cabot, or if you really need to read about a poor little rich girl, you can't beat Gingerbread, Shrimp and Cupcake by Rachel Cohn. I mean, even Blue Bloods and Masquerade by Melissa De La Cruz are better than this.

A delicious new series that will definitely give you something to talk about.......2007-09-29

The Upper East Side used to be overrun with plastic surgery happy society women, and spoiled tots torturing their high-priced nannies. But times have changed. While these people still occupy a small portion of the sidewalks, they have been pushed aside for a new generation of beautiful people. Teenagers brought up in the lap of luxury, who spend their days buying overpriced La Perla undergarments at Barney's, and indulging in frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity. But spending money isn't all that's on their mind. There's always...gossip.

Ever since the flawless Serena van der Woodsen departed from New York City to take up residence at a boarding school in Connecticut, sixteen-year-old Blair Waldorf has ruled Constance Billard School for Girls. As the daughter of a prominent lawyer turned gay, Blair has always gotten her way. And, with Serena out of the picture, was able to snag the gorgeous, green-eyed Nate Archibald for herself. Unfortunately, as much as Blair would like to deny it, Nate has always had a thing for Serena. A secret passion for the blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty. And now with Serena back in the picture, Blair doesn't know where their relationship will stand. So she has to take drastic measures...hand Nate her V card and he'll be hers forever. The only problem is that Nate is a stoner who has a very short attention span, and even sacrificing herself to Nate won't let him forget the passion he feels for Serena.

But he's not the only one. Dan Humphrey isn't your typical rich kid. For one, while he attends school with some of New York City's most privileged, he actually resides in an apartment on the Upper West Side with his chesty younger sister, Jenny, and his eccentric writer father, Rufus. Dan is a dark, brooding poet, whose penchant for cigarettes and Folgers coffee crystals leave much to be desired. But, like Nate, Dan is infatuated with Serena. The only difference is that he has never so much as spoken to her before, and she doesn't know he exists. Now that Serena's off the A-List, and treading outcast waters, however, the only thing he can hope is that she'll find her way to him and they can live happily ever after. In his dreams, of course.

Gossip is one of those things you can't help but be enamored with. Sure, you can pretend all you want that you have no interest in who's dating who, or who's wearing what, but you do. And you love it. Cecily von Ziegesar has managed to touch upon the hot commodity of gossip, and turned it into an amazing new series. Blair is so evil and mean at times, and while that may seem like something that would be a turn-off to the reader, she's actually an addicting character. Her ability to turn people against Serena in a snap is impressive; while the fact that she is able to juggle school, extracurricular's, a boyfriend, and ruining people's lives is humorous in a sinful way. Nate is a character who seems to have nothing between the ears. He's intelligent and gorgeous, however, the fact that he spends most of his time stoned makes him slightly bizarre, and a useless addition to the human race. But I still love him. Thus far, Serena is the most appealing character. She is kind, sweet, and selfless. She manages to ignore the nasty things people say about her, and keep a smile on her face no matter what situation she is thrust into. Basically, she's happy-go-lucky, and completely irresistible. Dan is an offbeat character, who reminds you of old, soulful beatnik poets who spent their days lounging around Greenwich Village in the 1960's. While he seems sweet, some of his poems are so serious and creepy that he can freak you out at times. But the kindness that he extends to his younger sister, Jenny, more than makes up for it; and actually leaves you rooting for the Humphrey family, in general. A delicious new series that will definitely give you something to talk about.

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

loved it........2007-09-26

Salacious, overdramatic, juicy, scandalous, hot hot hot!
It's just plain fun. And I appreciate that C von Z has brought teen lit into the 21st century.

Seriously..........2007-09-20

The worst book I have ever read. who really cares about rich brats and their "tragic lives." This probably only appeals to rich white kids. Which i am not.

Dreadful in Unexpected Ways.......2007-08-10

I read this book because I'm getting a Masters in writing YA fiction, and I know that this series is hot right now. I thought, Hey, it'll be a fun, guilty pleasure (which seems to be the publicist's catch phrase).

Wow, was I ever disappointed. It wasn't the drinking or the sex or the pot smoking, or even the utterly wretched ideals this book puts forth that shocked me: it was how incredibly dull the book was. I could hardly finish it. The characters aren't characters, they're just names. I found it difficult to tell them apart, since they had no personalities. The dialogue was pathetic, the plot was non-existent, and even the vices were boring and unoriginal. For a "story" about people who are supposed to be so interested in art and fashion, there was a shocking lack of actual style in this book, and the omnicient narrator was just irritating. Every time she signed off with, "You know you love me," I couldn't help rolling my eyes. I had quite a headache by the time I finished.

Luckily, the boredom put me right to sleep.

Average customer rating:

High Rise Low Down
High Rise Low Down
Well worth the cost!
high rise low down

High Rise Low Down
Denise LeFrak Calicchio , Eunice David , and Kathryn Livingston
Manufacturer: Barricade Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1569803161

Book Description

This is a gossipy account of the billionaires, movie stars, and corporate giants and the white-gloved, million dollar penthouse apartment buildings they inhabit. Included are the details of the resident selection process, with heartbreaking social, racial, and political stories of prejudice and privilege, where the majority of applicants are blackballed from certain buildings. This book can serve as a blueprint for how to handle the application process, supplying advice on who to ask for letters of recommendation, what to wear to the co-op interview, how much to reveal to the board, and much more.

Customer Reviews:

High Rise Low Down.......2007-07-16

This book was fantastic. I couldn't put it down. For someone like myself who is obsessed with all things New York, this gave an unprecedented look at what goes on behind the walls of NY's most coveted buildings. A definite must read.

High Rise Low Down.......2007-06-27

If you are a New Yorker like I am and enjoy history of New York buildings, this book is for you. It will be one I read over and over and even imspired me to go around to all the buildings and take my own pictures of them. I LOVE NEW YORK and especially the buildings. I thank the ladies who wrote this book as they did a very good job. I have always been in love with New York buildings. You will enjoy it too if you are so inclined.

Well worth the cost!.......2007-05-07

This book is a great and easy read. I enjoyed shuffling the chapters so that I could read about the most famous/notorious buildings first. The best thing is that each chapter "tackles" a different building. In addition, each chapter reads like a Movie of the Week - stranger than fiction. The stuff is so bizarre that it could not be made up. The wealth of information shows that the authoress really did her homework.

high rise low down.......2007-03-21

Great read if the outrageously rich, shallow and pompous icons (of thier own minds) facinate you. I couldn't put it down!

Average customer rating:

Disturbingly Good Book
A Chilling, Riveting, Brilliant Page Turner
Excellent, Disturbing Read
Brilliant and compelling
Mesmerizing, hauntingly so....

We Need to Talk About Kevin: A Novel
Lionel Shriver
Manufacturer: Counterpoint
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

The Post-Birthday World
Suite Francaise
Nineteen Minutes: A Novel
Water for Elephants: A Novel
The Glass Castle: A Memoir

ASIN: 1582432678
Release Date: 2003-04-15

Book Description

A stunning examination of how tragedy affects a town, a marriage, and a family, for readers of Rosellen Brown's Before and After and Jane Hamilton's A Map of the World.

That neither nature nor nurture bears exclusive responsibility for a child's character is self-evident. But such generalizations provide cold comfort when it's your own son who's just opened fire on his fellow students and whose class photograph--with its unseemly grin--is blown up on the national news.

The question of who's to blame for teenage atrocity tortures our narrator, Eva Khatchadourian. Two years ago, her son, Kevin, murdered seven of his fellow high-school students, a cafeteria worker, and a popular algebra teacher. Because he was only fifteen at the time of the killings, he received a lenient sentence and is now in a prison for young offenders in upstate New York.

Telling the story of Kevin's upbringing, Eva addresses herself to her estranged husband through a series of letters. Fearing that her own shortcomings may have shaped what her son has become, she confesses to a deep, long-standing ambivalence about both motherhood in general and Kevin in particular. How much is her fault?

We Need to Talk About Kevin offers no pat explanations for why so many white, well-to-do adolescents--whether in Pearl, Paducah, Springfield, or Littleton--have gone nihilistically off the rails while growing up in suburban comfort. Instead, Lionel Shriver tells a compelling, absorbing, and resonant story while framing these horrifying tableaux of teenage carnage as metaphors for the larger tragedy--the tragedy of a country where everything works, nobody starves, and anything can be bought but a sense of purpose.

Customer Reviews:

Disturbingly Good Book.......2007-09-18

Although I found this book to be written about very disturbing subject matter, I also found it to be very well written and compellingly readable. The mother of Kevin chronicles the ongoing crisis situation of an upwardly mobile New York couple and their decision to start a family. Dire consequences follow when their first child is nearly 16. The "narrator," in a series of letters to her huband reveals what happened with tantalizing glimpses of her life at present and the life of her family in the past.

Shriver also makes sly yet poignant commentary on American culture throughout the book, and it really works in this context, not ever coming across as condemning or preachy. She writes what is real, and gives life to her characters in the suburban, upper-class environment they live in.

I don't want to give too much of this book away, but Shriver does an excellent job with this storyline. This is sophisticated writing with incredible character development and a great story that actually has meaning, something that seems to be lacking in so much popular literature of the day.

A Chilling, Riveting, Brilliant Page Turner.......2007-09-16

This is one of the best books I've read in a while and I read everything! It is riveting, creepy, intelligent, and profound. I just devoured it. It's one of those stories that stays with you long after you finish the last page. This was my first book of Lionel Shriver's and I can't wait to read more of her stuff. Great book!

Excellent, Disturbing Read.......2007-09-14

A Novel, a story - that's what I had to keep telling myself. One that stays with you. The Negative to "My Sister's Keeper" - just as haunting.

Brilliant and compelling.......2007-09-04

This book held my interest all the way through even though parts of it could have been a bit more condensed. Kevin sent chills up my spine.
I found it very difficult to sympathize with his mother, but I also found it difficult not to examine my own style of parenting as compared to her style and her husband's.
I think the book was far superior to Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult.

Mesmerizing, hauntingly so...........2007-08-27

The novel is based upon a series of letters that the protagonist, Eva, writes to her husband, wanting to understand what went wrong with Kevin, what made Kevin do what he did. The letters are truly mesmerizing in a horrible/haunting sort of way. I was reminded of Lovely Bones, where the horror of the act that Kevin committed is not as terrible as you think it might be, that you can stomach it if only because you want to understand how it came about.

Eva is by her own admission, not the best of mothers. Still her letters are so well written, at times the word choice so exquisite, the stories she tells so commanding, that you pull back and think 'this is an intelligent woman' and you admire her and wish you could know her. Other times you despise her and want to shake her and say 'how could you pit yourself against him all the time, be reasonable' . In the end I felt only pity for her, she obviously didn't realize what she had when she had it and she failed to recognize the warning signs. So she confines herself to her own little hell, and in the end comes to understand more about her son and herself - perhaps more than she ever really planned too.

Shriver is a dark writer - by her own admission (at the end of the book we get a conversation with Shriver about Kevin, about books she recommends...). She is very convincing at portraying Eva as a successful woman who occasionally suffers from insistent whining...ah, but such is the dilemma of first person novels... and Eva is perhaps sometimes too much the villain, but then hind sight is always better than foresight...Still this is brilliantly written and well worth reading, a letter at a time. I could even forgive Shriver's use of "mobile" instead of cell phone (apparently, Shriver has been residing in London for a very long time). Shriver's character, Eva, most likely would have used the word 'mobile' rather than 'cell', if just to distance herself from the general rabble so I let it slide, figuring it to be more in keeping with Eva's character, although at first I felt it a grating mistake for one who is so bent on being right and supposedly American.

A haunting tale that captures your attention and holds it through 400 pages wanting to know how it ends...

You Know You Love Me: A Gossip Girl Novel

Average customer rating:

B, N S, D & J are back and up to no good!
Great 2nd novel!
GREAT
You know you love me.
The gossip keeps on entertaining

You Know You Love Me: A Gossip Girl Novel
Cecily von Ziegesar
Manufacturer: Poppy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Criminology | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Literature & Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books

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Gossip Girl | Series | Teens | Subjects | Books

Series | Teens | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

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Accessories:

Conair Pro Color Accents Temporary Hair Color Kit
Conair MDF2R Facial Sauna With Timer

ASIN: 0316911488

Book Description

Customer Reviews:

B, N S, D & J are back and up to no good!.......2007-07-17

In the second installment of the Gossip Girl series our favorite spoiled brats are back and at it again, and this time they are trying to get into college. As if the stress of college applications and interviews wasn't enough for Blair, she now also has to deal with the wedding of the year...her mother's (complete with cute but annoying step-brother and all) and the gnawing feeling something between her and Nate just isn't right. Poor Blair.
Serena on the other hand is just as happy go lucky as ever, however, her newfound relationship with Dan appears to be on the rocks already...ah well; there are more fish in the sea!
Lastly there seems to be a new girl catching Nate's eye and you will never guess who it is! You'll have to read to find out.

While I found the first Gossip Girl book to be mildly entertaining, `YOU KNOW YOU LOVE ME' hooked me! I will definitely spend my summer trying to play catch up before the Gossip Girl series airs on the CW this fall! Fun read for teen's and adult's (who like a little scandal) alike!

Great 2nd novel!.......2007-07-05

Cecily von Ziegesar impresses her audience again with the second installment in the Gossip Girl series. In this one, Blairs mother announces that she is going to get married to Cyrus Rose, a stubby, annoying rich man, and only after a 2-month relationship. Blair has to deal with a new family, which includes Cyrus' son, Aaron, who is a vegan, hippie, who smokes herbal cigarettes. She is still mad at Serena, who slept with Blairs boyfriend, Nate, who is "in love" with a freshman named Jenny "Jennifer" Humphrey. Blair and Serena both screw up their interviews for college. Dan Humphrey also gets on Serena's nerves and later falls in love with Vanessa Abrams. In the end Blair and Serena become friends again, when Serena comforts Blair after everything she's done to her. Cecily wrote another great book for this series, which is addicting. This book was really fun to read, and a great summer read!

GREAT.......2007-03-24

I love this book. It is written soo well and so funny. i couldnt stop reading it.

You know you love me........2006-12-15

I think that this book is really good i thought the way that the charaters interact with eachother are really descriptive. And the book is very well written also. I recommend this book to teenagers because it has alot of drama in it and it has to do with some of the situtaions that teens are put under today such as friends, prepressure and family. So there is this girl named Blair and her boyfriend is Nate and she caught Nate cheating on her with her best friend at that time her best friends name was Serena. Once she found out that her boyfriend cheated on her with her bestfriend she is not friends with Serena and she really doesnt like her and never wants to talk to her ever again. Blair goes up to have an interview for her college and her moms fiance takes her to Yale for her interview and on the way up there she realzes he is actually cute and developes a crush on him. So for months now Blair and Serena have not talked so on Blairs moms wedding day they both bump into eachother in the bathroom and they make peace. They planned a new years party and Nate showed up and he had a girlfriend her name was Jenny and at that party she walks in on her boyfriend Nate and Blair kissing.

The gossip keeps on entertaining.......2006-09-03

Book two in the gossip girl series finds Blair Waldorf getting ready to lose her virginity to her boyfriend Nate. This is the second time the couple has planned a romantic evening for such a momentous occasion, and soon becomes the second time that they are interrupted. To Blair's shock and horror, they are interrupted by her mother who informs them that she is getting remarried to a man Blair loathes and the wedding will be in 3 weeks - on Blair's birthday!! For Blair this is the icing on an already rotten cake as she is suspicious of Nate's loyalty and worried about college applications.

Serena is also back in this episode and still suffering socially because Blair has shut her out. Her friendship with Dan is growing, but it doesn't seem to be going where Dan would like it to go. Serena is also extremely concerned about getting into college and knows that she will have to win the school film festival to have a shot at her college applications being taken seriously by reputable schools.

Once again, these snotty, self-absorbed, rich kids are back with their trips to Barney's, Manolo Blahniks, and everything trendy. But that's what makes these books such a guilty pleasure. The reader is SUPPOSED to hate them. At the same time, it is a look into the world of the perfect and reminds us that no one is perfect, no matter where they get their milk pedicures and facials. Not great literature, but a quick and enjoyable read.

Average customer rating:

In the mood for something sentimental?
All You Need Is Love
Anthropomorphism of the highest order
highly recommended
Good Stuff

Timbuktu: A Novel
Paul Auster
Manufacturer: Picador
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Lucky in the Corner: A Novel
Foreign Affairs: A Novel
City
Travels with Charley in Search of America: (Centennial Edition)
The Dog Who Wouldn't Be

ASIN: 0312263996

Amazon.com

In Timbuktu Paul Auster tackles homelessness in America using a dog as his point-of-view character. Strange as the premise seems, it's been done before, in John Berger's King, and it actually works. Filtering the homeless experience through the relentlessly unsentimental eye of a dog, both writers avoid miring their tales in an excess of melodrama. Whereas Berger's book skips among several characters, Timbuktu remains tightly focused on just two: Mr. Bones, "a mutt of no particular worth or distinction," and his master, Willy G. Christmas, a middle-aged schizophrenic who has been on the streets since the death of his mother four years before. The novel begins with Willy and Mr. Bones in Baltimore searching for a former high school English teacher who had encouraged the teenage Willy's writerly aspirations. Now Willy is dying and anxious to find a home for both his dog and the multitude of manuscripts he has stashed in a Greyhound bus terminal. "Willy had written the last sentence he would ever write, and there were no more than a few ticks left in the clock. The words in the locker were all he had to show for himself. If the words vanished, it would be as if he had never lived."

Paul Auster is a cerebral writer, preferring to get to his reader's gut through the brain. When Willy dies, he goes out on a sea of words; as for Mr. Bones, this is a dog who can think about metaphysical issues such as the afterlife--referred to by Willy as "Timbuktu":

What if no pets were allowed? It didn't seem possible, and yet Mr. Bones had lived long enough to know that anything was possible, that impossible things happened all the time. Perhaps this was one of them, and in that perhaps hung a thousand dreads and agonies, an unthinkable horror that gripped him every time he thought about it.

Once Willy dies and Mr. Bones is on his own, things go from bad to worse as the now masterless dog faces a series of betrayals, rejections, and disappointments. By stepping inside a dog's skin, Auster is able to comment on human cruelties and infrequent kindnesses from a unique world view. But reader be warned: the world in Timbuktu is a bleak one, and even the occasional moments of grace are short lived. --Alix Wilber

Book Description

The New York Times Bestseller- "[Timbuktu] emerges as Auster's most touching, most emotionally accessible book."-Michiko Kakutani, The New York TimesMr. Bones, the canine hero of Paul Auster's astonishing new book, is the sidekick and confidant of Willy G. Christmas, a brilliant and troubled homeless man from Brooklyn, As Willy's body slowly expires, he sets off with Mr. Bones for Baltimore in search of his high school English teacher and a new home for his companion.Mr. Bones is our witness during their journey, and out of his thoughts Paul Auster has spun one of the richest, most compelling tales in recent American fiction."Lovely....[Paul Auster] is one of our most inventive and least predictable authors."-Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post Book World"A novel of haunted love whose themes loop around one another like glowing coils, connecting gracefully beneath Auster's clear prose, eliciting the fanciful and the tragic."-Oscar Villalon, The San Francisco Chronicle"After reading Timbuktu, we ramble through our world with reawakened senses and newly alert minds.This is the Auster magic......[His] books tease and challenge.There is an innocence in his work that is entirely compatible with the complexity of his artistry......Paul Auster is a genuine American original."-Paul Kafka, Boston GlobeAUTHORBIO: Paul Auster is the author of eight previous novels, including The New York Trilogy, The Music of Chance, and Mr. Vertigo.He has also published poems, essays, and two works of autobiography, The Invention of Solitude and Hand to Mouth.He wrote the screenplays to Smoke, Blue in the Face, and Lulu on the Bridge (which he also directed).His work has been translated into twenty-seven languages.He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Customer Reviews:

In the mood for something sentimental?.......2007-08-18

Are you in the mood for something sentimental? How about a book on the sadness of a dog's existence?
Paul Auster has taken a simple idea to a whole other level of reality and in the process has created a work that would transform human perception of the average canine awareness.

Yet, I have to say the story was a bit much for me to swallow. Don't get me wrong, I love dogs (heck, I wrote `The Basenji Revelation' after all) and sometimes I wonder what they feel, think and dream. I had a dog and know for certain that it understood me (I hope not to the degree of Timbuktu's main character). But then the dog died and now I change the radio channel when I hear a sentimental melody which brings forth the memories of us walking together down the street (I still can't get over the fact that my dog suffered the heart condition that eventually killed it). Yes, I change the channel and quickly drain the pan of overflowing nostalgia, which is what I should have done long before reaching the final pages of Timbuktu (Well, what can I say, I love Mr. Auster's writing style).

The story is written from the perspective of a dog by the name of Mr. Bones and follows up with its experiences as it looses one master, finds another, then a third, before it finally succumbs to the desire to escape the pain of its miserable, sickly existence in exchange for the chance to go Human Heaven called Timbuktu (Oh, the beauty of fiction).

If you love dogs and have recently lost one, this book will warm up your heart and then perhaps help you with your grief (although I'm still angry at Fate for the loss of my little pooch).

by Simon Cleveland

All You Need Is Love.......2006-11-25

This is a charming, lightweight fable narrated by a wise old dog named Mr. Bones. Mr. Bones is the sidekick of Willy G. Christmas, a schizophrenic homeless man who is prone to Tom-Waits-like rants and Joycean word-play.

Mr. Bones has spent his entire life with Willy. Now that Willy was close to death, "it was next to impossible for [Mr. Bones] to imagine a world that did not have his master in it." As Mr. Bones astutely observes, "it was more than just love or devotion that caused Mr. Bones to dread what was coming. It was pure ontological terror. Subtract Willy from the world, and the odds were that the world itself would cease to exist."

But Willy does die, and Mr. Bones goes on, sustained by his memories of Willy and the new adventures that fill his life. He eventually finds love in a suburban family, "in the America of two-car garages, home-improvement loans, and neo-Renaissance shopping malls." Willy had always railed against these things, but "the fact was that Mr. Bones had no objections" to these trappings of the good life. Eventually, though, his longing for Willy gets the best of him and he realizes what he needs to do to remain true to himself.

This book is sweetly sentimental, in the style of "The Velveteen Rabbit" or "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas." It's a book to read when it's raining outside and you're feeling low, with a cup of hot tea and some cinnamon toast -- preferably with a big old dog at your feet. Like an old Beatles song, it may seem simple at first but the emotions that are expressed are remarkably true.

Anthropomorphism of the highest order.......2006-11-16

I am such a lover of dogs that I have absolutely no idea how wonderful, or not, this book could be for a person who does not fully appreciate them. That said, I think TIMBUKTU is an absolute work of genius! How often do you get a book that makes you belly-laugh and almost cry at the same time? The material of this story could be so depressing, but it's not! And, if you're going to assign human thoughts and emotions to an animal, it might as well be man's best friend, and you might as well go whole-hog with it. Auster pulls this off perfectly. The tone of the story is so precise and perfect, and there's hardly a wasted word in it. This just might be the best dog story I've ever read.

highly recommended.......2006-11-10

Timbuktu is a wonderful novel. It's a quick read, funny, and unexpectedly heartwarming. I picked this book up after reading the Fountainhead by Ayn Rand and this was the perfect read after such a long novel. I recommend this book especially for people who love dogs. I also recommend Auster's New York Trilogy.

Good Stuff.......2006-10-02

One of my favorite writers, possibly my favorite living writer, in what seems like a creative exercise, Auster has put together a meaningful story. If you don't like this book, you are not a good person. Use this as a litmus test on intimate personal relationships... if they don't get the book, they can't be worthwhile.

Framing Dropouts: Notes on the Politics of an Urban Public High School (S U N Y Series, Teacher Empowerment and School Reform)

Average customer rating:

Framing Dropouts: Notes on the Politics of an Urban Public High School (S U N Y Series, Teacher Empowerment and School Reform)
Michelle Fine
Manufacturer: State University of New York Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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Learning to Labor

ASIN: 0791404048

SHSAT 2003-2004 : Your Complete Guide to the New York City Specialized High Schools Admissions Test

Average customer rating:

Good, but not enough practice...

SHSAT 2003-2004 : Your Complete Guide to the New York City Specialized High Schools Admissions Test
Kaplan
Manufacturer: Kaplan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Education | Reference | Subjects | Books

Testing | Education | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Test Prep Central | Reference | Subjects | Books

Study Guides | Reference | Subjects | Books

Cracking the New York City Specialized High Schools Admissions Test, Second Edition (State Test Prep Guides)
How to Prepare for the New York City SSHSAT: Specialized Science High Schools Admissions Test (Barron's How to Prepare for the New York City Sshsat)
New York City Specialized High Schools Admissions Test Advanced Prep
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Kaplan SHSAT Advanced Prep 2005 (Kaplan SHSAT Advanced Prep)

ASIN: 0743241592

Book Description

Higher Score Guaranteed!

Get the Score You Need. Get Into the School You Want.

Kaplan's SHSAT provides a comprehensive review of the material on the New York City Specialized High Schools Admissions Test, two practice tests to sharpen your skills, plus Kaplan's highly effective test-taking strategies to help maximize your score.

Steps to SHSAT Success

• Review
Follow the step-by-step review of all the content on the test.
• Strategize
Apply Kaplan's exclusive test-taking strategies.
• Practice
Practice with realistic questions and get detailed explanations for every answer.
• Succeed
Get the score that gets you in!

Test Prep, Admissions and Guidance. For life.

Kaplan has helped more than 3 million students achieve their educational and career goals. With 185 centers and more than 1,200 classroom locations throughout the United States and abroad, Kaplan provides a full range of services, including test preparation courses, admissions consulting, programs for international students, professional licensing preparation, and more.

Customer Reviews:

Good, but not enough practice..........2005-04-29

This book has the basic review for the SSHSAT test for the specialized high schools. However, unlike the Barrons book, it does not have enough practice examples. This book, to me, can only be used to resharpen your formulas and ideas, not to actually practice. The questions are way to easy, even a fifth grader can do it! You should buy this book in supplement to the Barrons book to review what you do not remember. I rate this book OK.
The good news is that I got into Brooklyn Tech with the two books. If you study over the summer, like I did, I think you would have a really good chance in getting in. Good Luck to all who wants to take the test. :)

Let's Review Biology-The Living Environment (Let's Review Series)

Average customer rating:

It was great! I dont know what the one star guy's talkin about
Pretty Good
Not that good
Resource material for the NYS Living Environment curriculum
This is a great book for reviewing for the Regents Test.

Let's Review Biology-The Living Environment (Let's Review Series)
G. Scott Hunter
Manufacturer: Barron's Educational Series
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Test Prep Central | Reference | Subjects | Books

Barron's Regents Exams and Answers: Biology
Let's Review: Math A
Math A (Barron's Regents Exams and Answers Books)
Global History and Geography (Barron's Regents Exams and Answers Books)
Let's Review Math B

Accessories:

Barron's Regents Exams and Answers: Biology
Biology Regents Power Pack (Regents Power Packs)

ASIN: 0764126849
Release Date: 2003-12-02

Book Description

This high school classroom supplement to the main biology text prepares students in New York State to succeed on the Regents Exam. It presents a subject review, practice ques-tions with answers, and two complete Regents Biology Exam with answer keys. When combined with Barron's Regents Exams and Answers, Biology, it provides students with the most comprehensive test preparation available anywhere. Topics reviewed include ecology, biological organization, formation and structure of the ecosystem, and the interaction between human beings and the biosphere.

Customer Reviews:

It was great! I dont know what the one star guy's talkin about.......2007-07-17

I am studying this regents biology book over the summer before I start school in a specialized HS and this is great! I came from one of those schools where they don't teach you anything, where the students teach each other. Most people at my school never knew their three times tables yet they graduated. I was on a normal school level, but they still thought i was very smart.

The point of saying all that is that if i had no teachers, i had to teach myself, and I learned absolutely nothing on science that year in [...]! So I got the [...] science test barrons book and passed.

Since I knew people from better schools are going to compete with me now, and that i wont be "smarty pants" anymore, i brought this biology book along with other barrons regents books and studied them.

Now I'm understanding everything, and I am absolutely glad I got this book.

Pretty Good.......2007-06-09

I basically taught myself Bio (and took the SAT II and got a 800) with this book even before school began. It is pretty helpful but once again I found the older ones more helpful because the tests were harder.

Not that good.......2003-01-01

Usually when you are looking for a review book, you want one that has a balance of review text and questions. This book is one of the better biology review books out there right now, but there are much better books. In various cases, this book simply states facts rather than elaborating on the actual idea in order for students to learn the material better. For example, read the chapter on biochemistry and you wil see that it doesn't bother to explain bonding in depth, or to the extent as you would in a class. For honors biology students, I would reccomend an SAT 2 book, such as Kaplan, or the "N and N Review Book," which is not for the Living environment curriculum. However, it follows the old regents syllabus, and has a source of amazing questions along with a concise review of facts, solidified with diagrams and key concepts. For Biology, I think that the only Barron's book you would want to buy is the Regents Exams and Answers booklet, which provides the real questions, as most ofyou probably know. Since the book has some review and a few questions, I had to give it 3 / 5 stars.

Resource material for the NYS Living Environment curriculum.......2001-02-22

Finally! A tool for New York's biology teachers and students! When the New York State Education Department published its most recent curriculum for high school biology, many components were changed, but little course content was specified. This left New York's biology teachers asking 'What do we teach?' and biology students asking 'What do we learn?' LET'S REVIEW BIOLOGY: THE LIVING ENVIRONMENT finally provides some professional guidance to help students and teachers answer these questions. Suggested material and practice questions are provided that help 'put flesh on the bones' of the core curriculum for New York State's biology program. Schools can use it to design local curricula; students can use it to 'nail' the Regents exam! A 'must have' for biology teachers and students!

This is a great book for reviewing for the Regents Test........1999-06-02

I recently purchased Barrons Lets Review Biology about a month ago. I was very pleased of the easy to read layout and the answers explained section. The book has given me a better understanding of Biology and has prepared me for the Regents examination in June. I would definitely recomend this book to anyone, no matter what their status is in Biology

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