Book Review of Columbine by Dave Cullen

!: Book Review of Columbine by Dave Cullen

There were a lot of things I do not know about Columbine before I have read this book by journalist Dave Cullen. For sometime, the term "Columbine" evoked from my mind images of carnage and blood and psycho killers and a Christian martyr and aside from these, I have no further knowledge. So upon seeing a hardcover copy of Columbine one random Booksale visit, I curiously browsed through the pages and decided to buy it. A cheaply priced hardbound book certainly doesn't hurt much, right?

In 1999, I was a 17 year-old struggling freshman in the university, battling homesickness and peer pressure and all other loads that strain a college freshman who was away from home for the first time. On April 20, 1999 I might have probably been at home spending my summer vacation sleeping or reading, I cannot already recall. While I was perhaps enjoying the short respite from the demands of college life, 12 students and 1 teacher were killed in a massacre and more than 20 were injured in a high school in Colorado. These were the thoughts that kept running inside my mind for most of the time that I was reading Columbine.

Columbine was published in 2009, ten years after that fateful day on April 20,1999 in Columbine High School, of Jefferson County, Colorado. Indeed, after that tragedy, Columbine ceased to become just a name of a high school but became synonymous with the tragedy. "Another Columbine" was how reporters and news would thereafter label similar incidents in the future. Through this book, Dave Cullen thoroughly explained every single detail that surrounded the gruesome catastrophe and deeply probed into the lives and backgrounds of each individual involved.

Columbine was a revelation. It straightened out the myths of the Trench Coat Mafia and the alleged martyrdom of Cassie Bernall. It was an honest report of the blunders and cover-ups of the police and the apparent contribution of the media to the wrongful perception of facts. It built a comprehensive profile of the two young killers and proceeded to explain depression and pschopathology and how they affected the lives of these two deeply troubled highschoolers.

Reading Columbine, I sometimes forget that I am reading a story about a real event, and not just a piece of fiction. Although there was no effort to make the story more dramatic than it already was, as Cullen writes in a way like he is reporting the facts (what do I expect, anyway, Dave Cullen is a journalist), Columbine contains just the right amount of suspense to hold my interest, in fact, I have lost several hours of sleep because I cannot put the book down, I just have to read that "one more chapter."

Dave Cullen did a great job of chronicling the events before and after the Columbine tragedy. Armed with firsthand information from police reports, personal interviews with the survivors, newspaper reports and other files from the media, and more importantly, information direct from the journals and videotapes of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, Columbine is probably the most complete and comprehensive report on the incident as of this date.

I thoroughly enjoyed Columbine, despite the fact that this is not included in my to-read list for this year. I am not unhappy that I violated my self-imposed reading challenge by buying and reading this wonderful book before the "right time".

Book Review of Columbine by Dave Cullen

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Pathways To Success - Getting From Where You Are, To Where You Want To Be Part 1

!: Pathways To Success - Getting From Where You Are, To Where You Want To Be Part 1

You may be broke, but you are not poor. Unless you give up. Because being poor is more than absence of money, riches or success. Being poor is a mentality. And being rich is also a mentality. As a matter of fact, rich people are, because they think they can. If they didn't, they would have killed their dreams a long time ago. As Henry Ford, that great car manufacturer once said, If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can't, you're also right. And as the Bible says, as a man thinks, so is he.

Self Motivation: Motivation gets you out of bed, so that you can work on your success. Without motivation, you just can't be bothered. While it is good to enlist your loved ones to motivate you. No one can motivate you like your self. Here are some self motivation tips:

Identify your dreams and break them into goals and write them down as to-do list. To-do list is a list tasks you're going to do towards achieving your dream. Write down how your life will change if you achieved your goals, and stick this list where you will see it everyday. Pray to God to empower you to achieve your goals.
Time Management: Time that is spent cannot be regained again. You cannot go back to being sweet sixteen, no matter how much you try. Maximise your time by:
Identify and eliminate all activities leaking your energy. You need to focus all your energy on your priorities, if you are going to be successful. Identify and eliminate all time wasters in your life. This can be people, bad habits or life issues. Scheduling: This is looking at the time available to you, and planning ahead how you will use it to achieve your goals. Planning ahead will also minimise stress procrastination and confusion. Action Plan: This is creating list of all the tasks that you need to carry out, in order to remind and motivate yourself. So that you achieve a goal. Action plan is different from a to-do list in that it focuses on the achieving a single goal.
Powerful focus: The one of the main reasons why people don't maximise their potential is lack of focus. Ability to focus on priority needs discipline. Life is full of distractions. There are enough people and issues that want to steal your peace, joy, freedom and your attention. You cannot afford to give these away, because you need all these to energies to become successful. You also need passion. Passion is not to be confused with obsession. Passion is healthy interest that you can take a rest from anytime you like. Obsession is an unhealthy compulsion that you have no control of, and you can't stop. To be a success you need to focus on your passion. Your passion is a clue to your life purpose. Your strengths compliment your life purpose. You also need focus to learn and excel in anything. If focus doesn't come easy to you or you don't have passion for anything. Think back to when you had passion in your life. What did you used to enjoy? Also pray that God help you find your passion again: James 1:5 - "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." (NIV)

Embrace Change: If you want something to change in your life, you need to change. Everything starts with you. Success and growth requires some sort of change. Without change there will not be any growth, and this includes financial growth. In other to thrive in life, you have to learn to embrace and manage expected and unexpected changes. Live is ever changing and we can't change that, but we can change the effect of change on our lives, so that it works for our benefit. Make conscious effort to control the flow of change in your life, by seeing it as a new beginning. So that change doesn't hold you captive.So remember, as Henry Ford once said, If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can't, you're also right. And as the Bible says, as a man thinks, so is he.

Pathways To Success - Getting From Where You Are, To Where You Want To Be Part 1

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Top 10 Parenting Books

!: Top 10 Parenting Books

Parenting books can be valuable resources to inform and increase awareness of the myriad of parenting and child-raising issues. Gaining valuable perspective from child experts, researchers, doctors, pediatricians, and other family professionals can help parents feel more confident and calm while interacting with their children. Being introduced to new information and skills can feel uncomfortable at first for some, and parenting books allow a parent to absorb information through self-discovery at their own speed and pace.

As a critical consumer of parenting information, it's important to put new awareness into practice. Changing behavior takes time, patience and commitment. Becoming aware is only the first step. Understanding the significance of the new information and connecting it to what will be effective for you, will help then move onto changing behavior and incorporating new parenting skills.

There are thousands and thousands of parenting books available. The following list is compiled using strict and specific criteria and each book has been reviewed by top family and parenting trainers and educators. The criteria includes choosing books that present new parenting information that is supported by solid research and/or science, rather than just un-tested theory. These books are more process-oriented, rather than just solution-oriented. That is, these books are about breaking down the parenting process into components that a parent can then use to build personal parenting philosophies surrounding healthy communication, values teaching, raising self esteem, effective discipline and more.

Here are the Top 10 books that all parents should read (in no particular order):

"Growing Up Again" - Jean Illsley Clarke and Connie Dawson provide the information every adult caring for children should know - about ages and stages of development, ways to nurture our children and ourselves, and tools for personal and family growth.

"Your Child's Self Esteem" - Dorothy Corkville offers step-by step guidelines for raising responsible, productive, happy children. Self-image is your child's most important characteristic. How to help create strong feelings of self-worth is the central challenge for every parent.

"How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk" - Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish give you the know-how you need to be more effective with your children--and more supportive of yourself. Enthusiastically praised by parents and professionals around the world, the down-to-earth, respectful approach makes relationships with children of all ages less stressful and more rewarding.

"What Kids Need to Succeed: Proven, Practical Ways to Raise Good Kids" - Dr. Peter L. Benson has done extensive research indicating kids who build assets and connections with home and community have more of a chance to succeed later in life than those whose parents indulge them and try to provide the assets themselves.

"Kids Are Worth It!: Giving Your Child The Gift Of Inner Discipline" - Barbara Coloroso rejects "quick-fix" solutions and focuses on helping kids develop their own self-discipline by owning up to their mistakes, thinking through solutions, and correcting their misdeeds while leaving their dignity intact.

"Kids, Parents, and Power Struggles: Winning for a Lifetime" - Mary Sheedy Kurcinka offers unique approaches to solving the daily, and often draining, power struggles between you and your child. She views these conflicts as rich opportunities to teach your child essential life skills, like how to deal with strong emotions and problem solve.

"Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ" - Daniel Goleman's brilliant report from the frontiers of psychology and neuroscience offers startling new insight into our "two minds" - the rational and the emotional - and how they together shape our destiny.

"The Anger Management Sourcebook" - Glenn Schiraldi and Melissa Kerr show you how to empower yourself and redirect your anger into constructive behavior.

"The Roller-coaster Years: Comprehensive Guide for Parents of 10 to 15 Year Olds" - By Charlene C. Giannetti and Margaret Sagarese. This comprehensive guide to mastering the ups and downs of early adolescence draws on the findings of leading psychologists and other experts, as well as the authors' surveys of many teachers, parents and young adolescents.

"Yes, Your Teen is Crazy!: Loving Your Kid Without Losing Your Mind" - Dr. Michael Bradley draws on current brain research and gives parents the training and skills they need to transform their teenage children into strong, confident, productive adults.

Top 10 Parenting Books

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Book Review - Strength in What Remains - A Journey of Remembrance and Forgiveness by Tracy Kidder

!: Book Review - Strength in What Remains - A Journey of Remembrance and Forgiveness by Tracy Kidder

Tracy Kidder's latest narrative is entitled, "Strength in What Remains-A Journey of Remembrance and Forgiveness," (Random House, 2009). In May 1994, 24 year-old Deogratias Niyizonkiza (aka Deo) boarded a plane from his native country of Burundi in East Central Africa; bound for JFK Airport in New York City. He had two hundred dollars to his name, spoke no English and had no American contacts. He fortunately escaped the Rwandan genocide accountable for an estimated 800,000 deaths that year. Tensions between the Hutus and Tutsis initiated the killings (Kidder provides historical notes to comprehend their conflict). Deo had been a third-year medical student in his homeland. He arrived stateside with the herculean dream of becoming a doctor.

Immigration authorities questioned Deo upon landing; alarmed by his French-only dialect, and paltry funds. Deo benefited from this pre-911 era. Muhammad, a French-speaking baggage handler interpreted Deo's story for the officials; and offered him a place to stay. Immigration agreed and Deo began his American life. Muhammad, originally from Senegal, planned to return home; and lived in a Harlem tenement to save money. Deo slept on the floor in a destitute, doorless room. Muhammad introduced Deo to the New York City Subway; showing him areas that included Manhattan's Upper East Side. There, he secured a job at a supermarket, working twelve-hour shifts, six days a week, for fifteen dollars daily pay. He had no lunch break. Soon, Muhammad returned to Senegal, leaving Deo alone. Deo disliked his Harlem residence and discovered people slept in Central Park. He joined the ranks.

Deo's grocery delivery route introduced him to prominent New Yorkers; some of whom became instrumental in helping him achieve his career aspirations. Their cash, connections, and shelter enabled him to enroll in an English as a Second Language class. Deo graduated with a General Studies degree in 1995. He worked in a hospice at a New York City hospital to keep his medical ties.

In 2001 Deo pursued public health education in Boston. He met Paul Farmer, founder of Partners in Health (Kidder profiled Farmer in his 2003 story, Mountains Beyond Mountains). Farmer befriended Deo and helped him advance his medical career. In summer 2005, Deo worked for Farmer's organization in Rwanda. He became inspired to build a clinic in Kayanza, a town in his native Burundi. In 2006, Deo withdrew from his medical education to address clinic-building full-time (He would return to his schooling elsewhere in 2009). Deo became a United States citizen in 2007, another defining moment in his illustrious life.

Deo's story is remarkable given the tribulations he experienced during his Rwandan exodus. Dogs roamed the streets feasting on human heads. An infant continued to breast feed from its dead mother propped up against banana trees. Families were found slaughtered in their huts. Deo avoided detection by Rwandan militiamen by hiding under his bed. A Hutu woman befriended Deo (a Tutsi), and secretly helped him cross the Rwandan Border; and US Immigration officials trusted his story upon arriving at JFK Airport.

Kidder is known for immersing himself in his subjects' lives to authenticate his story. In 2006, he and Deo revisited his nascent American days while living in New York City. They toured the Harlem tenement where he'd slept, rode familiar subway routes; and walked Central Park where he also slumbered. From there they traveled back to Burundi where Deo relived his six-month exodus during the genocide. Deo's native language colors Kidder's narrative. The book's Part Two is titled "Gusimbura." It means to avoid using a person's name when talking about their death to loved ones, to relieve heartache. During his return visit to Burundi, Deo practiced much Gusimbura.

Amidst myriad global concerns, Kidder writes a novel of hope; and reminds us of the power of one.

Book Review - Strength in What Remains - A Journey of Remembrance and Forgiveness by Tracy Kidder

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"The Nightmare That Is Public Education" by Dr Renato C Nicolai - Book Review

!: "The Nightmare That Is Public Education" by Dr Renato C Nicolai - Book Review

Anyone who is the least bit involved with their children's schooling will have some idea, and opinion, of how well the U.S. public education system is working. An educator with many years of experience in both the classroom and as an administrator, Dr. Renato Nicolai discusses why he feels public schools are failing to adequately educate American students, and what educators and parents must do to ensure that public education remains effective and relevant.

Dr. Nicolai does applaud the few dedicated teachers, politicians, and parents who are truly committed to, and are actively providing, an excellent education for students in the public system, but there is sure to be a lot of heated discussion because of his reasons as to why the majority are failing. One emphasized reason is the incompetence of teachers. Dr. Nicolai refers back to teacher education curricula and speaks to the absence, or low quality, of the basics in classrooms and schools today. From poor physical environments and classroom management, to inadequate discipline, relaxed attitudes towards dress requirements, and low expectations, he feels that it is America's swing alarmingly toward a liberal, permissive, almost-anything-goes bias (p.143), that is undermining the effectiveness of committed teachers, preventing students from learning, and is negatively affecting the entire country by encouraging disrespect and incompetence.

Dr. Nicolai uses a lot of alarming vocabulary to express his forceful opinions on the declining state of the American public education system, but also supplies quotes and a research bibliography to add support to his views. Agree with him or not, Dr. Renato Nicolai's "The Nightmare That Is Public Education" will most certainly get its readers thinking, talking, and most importantly from his standpoint, taking action.

iUniverse (2007)

ISBN 9780595436149

Reviewed by Deb Shunamon for Reader Views (1/08)

"The Nightmare That Is Public Education" by Dr Renato C Nicolai - Book Review

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