Review Last Night in Twisted River: A Novel

Last Night in Twisted River: A Novel Best Review

A John Irving novel that does it again. In wonderfully constructed pros Mr. Irving develops and expands his major characters, Dominic Cookie Baciagalupo, his son, Danny, and a subordinate cast of highly unique people over a period of fifty years. The story starts in Coos County New Hampshire in 1954 with a deadly logging accident, winds its way to the Italian North end of Boston, to an Italian restaurant in Iowa City, and a Toronto French cafe. Danny becomes a famous writer. "Cookie" shares his wonderful recipes and Danny lets us in on his writing technique, which not too strangely is also John Irving's.

As a writer I savored every line of "Last Night In Twisted River" as a tutorial. As someone that ran for the New Hampshire State Senate from Coos County (unsuccessfully, as a progressive Democrat in a highly conservative district) it brought me back to countless nights on dark roads going though logging areas and very small towns on high alert for moose and bears who own the roads after dark. There's a surprise ending that I won't ruin for you that left me waiting for Mr. Irving's next book. Facing Fascism: The Threat to American Democracy in the 21st Century

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Last Night in Twisted River: A Novel Feature

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Last Night in Twisted River: A Novel Overview

In 1954, in the cookhouse of a logging and sawmill settlement in northern New Hampshire, an anxious twelve-year-old boy mistakes the local constable’s girlfriend for a bear. Both the twelve-year-old and his father become fugitives, forced to run from Coos County—to Boston, to southern Vermont, to Toronto—pursued by the implacable constable. Their lone protector is a fiercely libertarian logger, once a river driver, who befriends them. In a story spanning five decades, Last Night in Twisted River depicts the recent half-century in the United States as “a living replica of Coos County, where lethal hatreds were generally permitted to run their course.” What further distinguishes Last Night in Twisted River is the author’s unmistakable voice—the inimitable voice of an accomplished storyteller.

Last Night in Twisted River: A Novel Specifications

Amazon Best of the Month, October 2009: A long, delicious trip to the land of Irving is hands-down the best way to begin the month of October. A trio of tragic events (though the prize for most hell-shocking goes to the third) exiles widower and camp cook Dominic Baciagalupo and his son Danny from a mid-century logging outpost called Twisted River. They leave behind the Bunyan-esque lumberjack Ketchum--a gruff, eccentric, dyed-in-the-wool Yankee--who remains their sole connection to the past. What's next neither father nor son knows: their rootless existence moves swiftly in and out of New England, tied ostensibly to jobs for Dominic and schools for Danny, but it seems one foot is always back in those New Hampshire woods. Theirs is a restless, richly observed journey, crowned by a reckoning no one could predict. Few writers can match John Irving's knack for denouement, and in Last Night in Twisted River, his extraordinary ending is made all the more powerful by a story that feasts on language, life, and love. --Anne Bartholomew

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Customer Reviews

Read the Whole Thing - Jeffrey Bradley - Rosepine, LA United States
If you are from NH you have to. Just read it and absorb what's real. John is real. Six Pack is real, Angelo is real...if you're from Nh then they are your neighbors.



John, go to therapy next time you want to vent for 600 pages - Rory - NYC
The THINLY veiled parallels to Irving's career and writing philosophy permeate this choppy and largely unfocused mess of a novel. I am a huge Irving fan, yet I only gave it even 2 stars because Twisted River's characters are just interesting enough to make it through, but they are about the only redeeming feature. Ironically, the main character, an author, states that "re-writing is writing," advice which Irving apparently did not heed himself. This reads like a first draft and a hastily constructed draft at that. This reads like a whiny memoir from an author who has lost touch with the humanism that once made his writing so captivating even in the midst of over the top and sensational plots. The authenticity of the human condition captured by Irving made the fantastic plots interesting versus distractions. Twisted manages to have neither. If I wasn't so far into the book I would have shut it when the main character starts lamenting the public's misinterpretation of his novels, particularly his abortion novel, which came off as so needy on Irving's part given his own history with the subject in Cider House Rules it was almost embarrassing. Big disappointment for one of my favorite contemporary writers.



Where is John Irving???? - MRB Tara - Eastchester,NY
Ugh! What has happened to the John Irving of yore? This product is just a little too full of bits and pieces (can we say "if it worked once it may work again") to remind you of the great characters, humor and wisdom of Cider House, A Prayer and The World but it just never makes it! Ugh.

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Review Eros, Philia, Agape: A Tor.Com Original

Eros, Philia, Agape: A Tor.Com Original Best Review

I am not usually a fan of short stories. I enjoy a lot of character and world development and don't normally find that this is possible in a short story. This one proved me wrong. It's an extremely introverted tale and the points brought up are very poignant and though provoking. I'm very glad I took a chance on this short story and because of it have read a few more since then. None of them have been as amazing as this one, but some have been veyr good. In short, this story renewed my interest in short stories as a whole.

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Eros, Philia, Agape: A Tor.Com Original Overview

Originally published on Tor.com, Rachel Swirsky's contemporary tale of love in all its forms — and of one robot's quest to know it, and himself, on his own terms — is a finalist for the 2010 Hugo Award and the 2010 Locus Award.

 

Rachel Swirsky's short fiction has appeared in Weird Tales, Fantasy Magazine, and Subterranean Magazine, among others, and has been collected in Year's Best anthologies edited by Rich Horton, Jonathan Strahan, and the VanderMeers. She is also the submissions editor of Podcastle, an audio fantasy magazine.

 

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Customer Reviews

Interesting loose ends - C. Ryan - Vermont, USA
I enjoyed it. There's so much more that could be fleshed out in a longer story but sometimes it is thought provoking to wonder about the loose ends.



decent read - randi bresach - MORENO VALLEY, CA, US
The story in this book wasn't to bad. The ending left a lot to be desired. It just kinda stops with no explanation about what comes next in the characters lives. Its rather a depressing story really about a woman so lonley she goes to extreme measures to find someone she can relate to only to be hurt worse then she was before. I like my stories to have a somewhat happy ending and this one fell far from that



One of the Best Science Fiction Short Stories I've Read - S. R. Bowen - Near San Francisco
Moving, thought-provoking and elegantly written. Recommended to all readers who have both a heart and a brain.



Interesting and thoughtful - Angela M. Lavezzo - Asheville, NC
I really enjoyed this short story. It was unexpected, and certainly thought provoking in that I had never spent time wondering about the role of robots in our future, and have spent time imagining since I finished the story.
A little oddly worded at times, but still good enough to be worth it.

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Review Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life

Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life Best Review

This book starts off as a slice-of-life story set in Toronto (yay, a Canadian author!) that is pretty normal until some cool elements are introduced. Such as Ramona skating through his dreams (literally) and at the end, Scott battling an ex-boyfriend some mix of anime slash video game style. I thought that was pretty clever and also interesting because this book has such a "normal" feel to it, until these weird things just happen. It makes you wonder what else the author has up his sleeve.

I found that the writing was good. The author captures a lot of moments I think many of us have with friends and relationships and shows it in a funny way. I thought it was quite funny and laughed out loud many times. A great example is when Scott meets Ramona. She's a good heroine in the story: even though she is using Scott's dreams she is very stand-offish towards him at first and this creates some comedic moments.

The art great; at a glance it seems very simple and sparse and in a cartoon style but I think it was really well done and enhanced the action and feelings of the characters. The only gripe I had with it was at first it was hard to distinguish the rather large cast of characters due to the minimal style. But it's worth it.

I recommend this to anyone who has any interest in geeky things or is just interested in a slice of life comedy with some fantasy. My only problem is I wished it lasted longer. It's a quick read (I read the volume in 30 minutes) but I look forward to the next installment.

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Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life Feature

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Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life Overview

Scott Pilgrim's life is so awesome. He's 23 years old, in a rock band, "between jobs," and dating a cute high school girl. Everything's fantastic until a seriously mind-blowing, dangerously fashionable, rollerblading delivery girl named Ramona Flowers starts cruising through his dreams and sailing by him at parties. But the path to Ms Flowers isn't covered in rose petals. Ramona's seven evil ex-boyfriends stand in the way between Scott and true happiness. Can Scott beat the bad guys and get the girl without turning his precious little life upside-down?

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Customer Reviews

For a very specific type of person (SPOILERS) - Alexander G. Hoffman - Toronto
I think that your take on Scott Pilgrim entirely (like, I guess, most things) on what stage of life you happen to be in. My guess is that anyone 15 to about 24 on the geeky side of the spectrum is the target audience and I'd guess that in ten years nobody will remember this series.

If you haven't read the book, read the following and guess the age of the title character. Scott is "dating" a high school girl for no apparent reason, he then moons over a woman (Ramona) based on simply seeing her and proceeds to act in a supremely creepy manner, orders something from Amazon just so she can deliver it and then they hang out only to become boyfriend/girlfriend in about two or three dates.

My guess is you'd say Scott was 16. He's actually supposed to be 23 (making him the most immature 23 year old in history).

Which is the core of what's wrong with this book. O'Malley has put characters into situations that don't make any sense given where the characters are in life. Aimless bands that can't actually play are not the purview of 23 year olds. Guys agreeing to fight ex-boyfriends within 2 seconds of meeting somebody is, if anywhere, high school stuff.

So...we are left with characters who are all caricatures of some weird vision of "hip" that O'Malley has come up with.

None of the characters have any depth or motivation. The first ex-boyfriend dated Ramona for a week in grade school and demands to fight Scott. But why?

In other words, it's light/frothy stuff that will appeal to a very specific range of person and be utter dreck to everybody else. Sadly, I am on the "everybody else" section.



A Reread Review - Jesse Haller - Minneapolis, MN USA
I started to read the series some years ago, when there was only three books and have been following ever since. With the final book being released I'm rereading and reviewing the earlier books.

This first book stands up pretty well. The artwork is a lot rougher and dirtier (in look, not subject matter) then later books. O'Malley was either using inferior tools, or hadn't learned to use them effectively. His use of black and white space, and a wonderful understanding of composition shines through.

The story is funny and page turning. The wit and characters are not as developed yet. This first book is more reality based then later volumes, which I feel gives the series a point of reference for readers. This book, and the series as a whole, is perfect for the 17 to 25 year old range, that are growing up in the same culture and going through the same experiences as Scott and his friends. Anyone up into their 30's can get a kick out of the series, being able to look back and laugh about that time in their lives.



Are you Team Knives or Team Ramona? - Johnny Heering - Bethel, CT United States
This is the first volume in a mangaesque series. The hero, Scott Pilgrim is a Canadian slacker and bassist in a terrible rock band. As we start his story, he is dating a high school girl named Knives Chau, but he soon falls for an American girl named Ramona Flowers. The series seems somewhat grounded in reality at first, but at the band's first concert, one of Ramona's ex-boyfriends shows up and has a video game like fight with Scott. This is a fun start to the series and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the books.

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Top 10 Tips For Buying Cheap Textbooks Online

Short of money? (Dumb question, I know). Trying to figure out how are you going to afford all the textbooks for your next term? Are you creating new economic theories to balance your scarce budget?

Then you are probably not taking advantage of the very best, more efficient way to get your textbooks cheap, and I mean really cheap.

Search and buy online. That's it. That's the secret. And to make sure you get the best value out of it, I'm giving you below the Top 10 Tips for buying textbooks online.

1. Buy early. Don't wait for the first day of classes to go and find the books you need. That's the moment when demand increases and, inevitably, prices increase with it. Textbooks sell fast and furiously over that short period of time and the effort required to get the best offers then is far greater than the effort necessary just a couple of weeks before.

If your college or university doesn't supply the textbook lists in advance, don't despair, contact former students from the course you want to take, or even the professors themselves, and ask them for the books you should buy. That little extra effort will certainly be worth your while.

2. Buy used. Secondhand textbooks are cheaper. That's an undeniable fact. It is not unusual to find savings in excess of $50 against list prices.

3. Consider older editions. Often times, books on classical physics, chemistry or biology remain virtually the same for years. If you are willing to use older editions you could find books for as little as $1. Not sure if the International Edition will cut it? Contact your course tutor and ask. Chances are he'll even recommend an older book.

4. International Editions. An International Edition is a textbook that has been published outside the US and Canada and is meant to be purchased and used outside the US and Canada. International Editions are generally drastically cheaper than their American/Canadian counterparts. Here's the catch, the publishers of International Editions generally do not authorize the sale and distribution of International Editions in the United States and Canada and such sale or distribution may violate copyrights and trademarks of the publishers of such works.

5. Use the ISBN number to boost the effectiveness of your searches. Every book published since 1970 has a unique ISBN, using it instead of the author and/or title will make your searches faster and 100% accurate.

6. Free shipping. Look for free shipping sellers when you are shopping around. Even though shipping within the US is generally under $4, or perhaps because of it, more and more sellers are keen to offer free shipping to potential customers in order to convert them into customers. This translates approximately as an addtional 10% discount off a $40 book or 5% discount off an $80 one.

7. Shop around. I know you know that already, anyway, let me say it again, just in case you just landed on Earth from another planet 10 minutes ago. Compare prices from, at least, three different sellers before you make up your mind. If you want to compare online booksellers, you can go to Bookfinder.com. In order to compare thousands of booksellers around the world you can go to Abebooks.com the world's largest marketplace for books.

8. Buy local. Check where the bookseller you are buying from is located before closing the deal. The nearer the better as shipping cost goes down, the planet is happier and greener and your community will certainly appreciate the extra business.

9. Sell back your old textbooks after you are finished with them. Chances are the same online bookseller that you bought your books from is willing to buy them back, just go to their site and look for their buyback program. Generally, shipping the books is free and payment is immediate upon reception. This one sells itself, doesn't it?

10. Treat your textbooks well. Don't use them as umbrellas or to kill that gigantic spider that appeared from nowhere inside the bathtub. Don't write the name of your love interest all over it alongside little hearts and don't use it as a canvas when you feel that artistic urge. Remember, you might want to sell them later and the better the condition of the book the more money you receive for it.

Follow these tips and I guarantee you will find more money in your pockets, more time in your hands and, of course, the satisfaction of having joined the 21st century, at last.

Buy online, you'll never go back.

Fernando Bessega is an ecommerce expert specialized in the book market. You can find more information about textbooks here

If you want more information on ISBNs, International Editions or other key textbooks terms, you can visit this Textbooks Glossary.

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Review The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn

The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn Best Review

Nathaniel Philbrick is one of America's best and most popular historians. An expert in naval matters he turns his attention to the Battle of the Little Bighorn fought on June 25, 1876. This battle has spilled more bottles of ink than any other single military engagement ever fought on American soil. Philbrick the author of such bestsellers as "Mayflower"and "The Sea of Glory" has done an excellent job of writing, researching and telling the familiar story of "Custer's Last Stand" with new insights on the battle. Among the fascinating lead players in this book:
1. George Armstrong Custer (1838-1876) was a flamboyant genuine hero of the Civil War. He won the crucial cavalry battle at Gettysburg and was given the surrender table at Appamattox by General Sheridan. His brother Tom Custer who died with him at the Little Bighorn won two Congressional Medals of Honor during the Civil War. Custer was a, well read man who graduated last in his West Point Class. His best friend was Shakespearean actor Lawerence Barrett. His gods were fame, glory and power. Custer wanted to win a big victory over the Indians in 1876 so he could star on the lecture circuit back East. He loved the smell of battle and was fun loving, unorthodox and clannish. Custer was criticized for his actions at the battle of the Washita in 1868 and his military service in the Black Hills in 1874 forcing Indians out of their sacred region. He was a womanizer but his wife Libby and he loved each other. The couple was childless. She became the Custer spin doctor following "Audie's" death at Little Big Horn. Custer was a native of Ohio; his brothers Boston and Tom died with him on June 25. His body was mutilated; he died with a smile on his face that is mysterious. He has become a mythic figure in American history.
2. Sitting Bull was the leader of the Sioux and Cheyenne warriors who defeated the 7th Cavalry on June 25. He, like Custer, died a violent death being murdered by Indian police from the reservation in 1890. He was a brave warrior who had killed a Crow Chief in his youth. He was also a spiritual chief dancing the Sun Dance and seeing visions of his people's future. He made one tour with the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show and was famous.
3. Custer had enemies in the 7th Cavalry most notably Marcus Reno and Fredrick Benteen. These two men despised Custer. They both failed to unite their forces with Custer on the day of the battle. Reno retreated and fought against the Indians despite his drunken condition. Benteen did not bring the needed ammunition and supplies to Custer in time to save lives. One reason for the defeat was the divided command. Alfred Terry was the overall commander of the expedition but did not participate in the battle. Nor did General George Crook force was was seeking to reach the 7th in time to save the day.
4. Grant Marsh was the riverboat pilot who transported the army up the Yellowstone River; he was the first man to report about the disaster.
5. Many Indian warriors are profiled in this long book. We see pictographs of the battle and learn about the warrior culture of the plains Indians. Their survival depended on the buffalo but that beast had been slaughtered by the white hunters who roamed the West.
Phibrick is to be commended for letting the reader hear the Indian side of the story. The book has over 100 pages of footnotes, an extensive bibliography and beautiful black and white and color photos of the Little Bighorn region. Helpful maps are also included.
If you are only going to read one book on the Little Bighorn battle this is the one! Excellent!

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The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn Overview

The bestselling author of Mayflower sheds new light on one of the iconic stories of the American West

Little Bighorn and Custer are names synonymous in the American imagination with unmatched bravery and spectacular defeat. Mythologized as Custer's Last Stand, the June 1876 battle has been equated with other famous last stands, from the Spartans' defeat at Thermopylae to Davy Crockett at the Alamo.

In his tightly structured narrative, Nathaniel Philbrick brilliantly sketches the two larger-than-life antagonists: Sitting Bull, whose charisma and political savvy earned him the position of leader of the Plains Indians, and George Armstrong Custer, one of the Union's greatest cavalry officers and a man with a reputation for fearless and often reckless courage. Philbrick reminds readers that the Battle of the Little Bighorn was also, even in victory, the last stand for the Sioux and Cheyenne Indian nations. Increasingly outraged by the government's Indian policies, the Plains tribes allied themselves and held their ground in southern Montana. Within a few years of Little Bighorn, however, all the major tribal leaders would be confined to Indian reservations.

Throughout, Philbrick beautifully evokes the history and geography of the Great Plains with his characteristic grace and sense of drama. The Last Stand is a mesmerizing account of the archetypal story of the American West, one that continues to haunt our collective imagination.

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Customer Reviews

Great Read! - Robert F. Moore - Bedford, TX USA
Excellent book with some remarkable insight as to what happened both before - during - and after the Battle at Litte Bighorn. The Native American narrative alone, is worth the read. Obviously meticulously researched and documented on all sides of the matter. Difficult to keep all the players straight - but interesting just the same. Highly recommended.



Disappointingly superficial - D. Epstein - Bahama, NC United States
I was very disappointed in this book. Although it was interesting to learn a few new historical facts, there was little character insight into George Custer or Sitting Bull. In particular Sitting Bull was only superficially sketched as one might obtain from an encyclopedia or school textbook. The whole entity is too superficial.






Excellent book - Neil Farlow - Mesa AZ USA
This is a superbly researched account of the famous battle, its build-up and consequences. I gained a greater knowledge of the many facets of the fight and cleared up some misconceptions I had about Reno's involvement. I have visited the Little Bighorn battle location several times, but this book clarifies the setting. The last 154 pages of the book, about 1/4 of the volume, is the Appendix consisting of the author's research notes and attributions. Unless you are a researcher on this subject, it is best skipped.

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Book of Spells, Book of Shadows and Grimoires

What is a book of spells? In most peoples mind it is a magician, sorcerer or witches spell book. This is somewhat true, but only in recent history, as it is a much newer concept than one would believe. This type of book only really began to become common in the twentieth century as newer types of Paganism began to emerge.

In ancient times and up until the Middle Ages practitioners of the magic arts were almost all illiterate as was the majority of the population. You cannot really make a book of spells if you are unable to write. When the world, and Europe in particular, began to learn to put pen to paper this still did not result in witches suddenly deciding to make books to hand down to their descendants.

Why? Because the magical arts were extremely secretive as they had largely been driven underground due to persecution. The Inquisition is most commonly associated with such behavior. It was not until the twentieth century that Pagan religions began to feel safe again and books of spells began to emerge. The introduction of Wicca witchcraft in the middle of the twentieth century is often attributed with beginning this practice.

Wicca does not call their book of spells by that name though. They use the term Book of Shadows and within it they write spells and other things learned throughout their lives. Traditional witches on the other hand do not all observe the same practice. Some do write down spells and other things important to them but they call their book of spells a Grimoire and its contents are secret.

Witchcraft has evolved considerably over the centuries, even the more traditional art or way of life, and it is likely to evolve even further during the centuries or decades to come. You are invited to discover more about Traditional Witchcraft Literature at Is Witchcraft Real.

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Review Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die Best Review

I selected this book to read and review for an education class, which is why the below review is education-focused:

*Introduction and summary*
Chip and Dan Heath are brothers who came together from different backgrounds to write an effective book about how to communicate ideas so that they "stick." Dan's field of work is education, having founded a text publishing company called Thinkwell and having researched the best ways to make effective instruction stick. Meanwhile, Chip's focus as a Stanford University professor is social marketing. This diversity in backgrounds and their common interest in researching communication resulted in a range of examples peppered throughout the text: "sticky" ideas from fields of education to urban legends and from the entertainment industry to business strategy.

In the introductory chapter, the authors introduce their acronym for successful ideas: a SUCCESs, which stands for a Simple Unexpected Concrete Credentialed Emotional Story. Throughout the rest of the book, they expound upon each of those items (i.e. the first chapter is titled "Simple" and so on), both telling what they mean and showing through a variety of examples. Additionally, a common thread - the book's villain, if you will - is what the writers call the Curse of Knowledge; simply put, this means that you can't unlearn what you know which makes it difficult to place yourself in an unknowing audiences' shoes.

A couple additional features worth mentioning are the easy reference guide and the post-epilogue addition of trade-specific sticky advice, including a section titled Teaching that Sticks. The easy reference guide is a five-page appendix with a brief list of key principles and illustrations for each chapter. It was useful in writing this report, but I also expect it to be useful as a resource in the future. And while the book has teaching examples throughout it, the aforementioned section contains 15 pages that specifically unpack the author's ideas for teachers.

*Examples of effective communication*
The author's excelled in presenting well-researched exemplars for each principle, which made it a challenge for me to select a few key examples. One that stands out is the story of Nora Ephron's journalism teacher (pp. 75-76) who used an assignment with a surprise element to teach students how to write a lead for an article. She presented facts about an all-faculty conference on the upcoming Thursday and asked the new students to take a stab at the lead. All students honed in on the details, but none wrote the real lead for the story which could be derived from the facts: that there would be no school for students on Thursday. This example, used to illustrate the communication principle "Unexpected," showed how a lesson by a journalism teacher stuck with a future screenwriter by utilizing an unforeseen twist.

In the chapter about emotion, the authors explain how credibility isn't enough when it comes to motivating youth not to smoke; they know the facts, but many still do it. Emotional campaigns, though, ones that put faces on victims or pile up body bags (like the Truth campaign does in their commercials), stuck with teenagers. Another key example provided, in the chapter titled Stories, is that of the Jared campaign for Subway, which not only conveys how a story makes a message stick but also points out that sticky ideas often need to be found rather than created. An advertiser heard about Jared's story from a store manager and produced the ads for free when Subway's corporate offices weren't initially interested. This reaped great benefit once Jared's story caught on and hit national news (causing Subway executives to swallow their pride), but the manager and creative director didn't have to hold a brainstorming session or any other creative endeavor to come up with the idea. They just had to recognize it and take some risks to get it out to the public.

*Ways that communication strategies could be applied in education*
The example of Jared applies to teachers as well: often we don't need to create new strategies or lessons or ideas but rather need to network and collaborate with others who are already using them. Jared's example isn't education-specific, but it applies well. However, I don't need to reach far to find other examples from the book that make sense in education, given that one of the authors is involved in education. As mentioned above, an entire section of the book's appendix speaks directly to ways that these principles could be used in the classroom. Not only does it add additional examples of each principle in practice in a classroom setting, it also refers the reader back to ranges of pages that are specifically applicable to teachers.

That appendix provides an example of a teacher using simple visual cues to help students remember the key points in his digital signal processing course (pp. 266-267). Another illustration (pp. 80-82) describes how an astronomer unexpectedly used mystery in an article about frozen dust on Saturn's rings to hook a non-scientific reader, a strategy that could be used to teach disinterested students. The authors mention ten pages later that a detective plot could be used by a chemistry teacher to engage students in a lesson about the periodic table by telling the story of Mendeleyev's work to organize the elements (p. 92). Later (pp. 104-106) they offer an analysis of strategies used by teachers in East Asia and the United States and found that teachers in Japan were more likely to use concrete examples to teach subtraction. Each chapter includes a clinic in which an example or non-example are contrasted; for the chapter called Emotional, three examples are provided - one poor, one mediocre, and one exemplar - to answer the question, "When are we going to use algebra in the real world?" One provides a trade organizations list of answers, which are meaningless to anyone outside of the field; another provides a list of relevant reasons for students but doesn't compel students beyond a survival reasoning of having to study it for school. The final one surprises students, declaring that they'll never, or at least rarely, use it in real life but that they will benefit from the mental weight training, using a football metaphor to drive that point home.

*Action steps*
Despite the extensive teaching-related examples, this isn't an education book. Neither of my friends who recommended it work in education. However, I would love to see this integrated in pre-service teacher training or in-service professional development. Thus my first action step for other teacher is simple, though not unexpected if you've been reading all this time: Read it! (And if my non-ECU friends are still reading, I would recommend this in other fields as well, including non-profits, business, and ministry. It's good stuff.)

Whether you read it or not (and you should!), you can use these concepts both to plan for your ideas to stick on the forefront of lesson planning and to evaluate whether lesson plans already written meet the criteria for "stickiness." (Is it simple? Unexpected? Credible? Concrete? Emotional? Story-based?) It doesn't have to meet all the criteria - few of the examples in the book met all six - but ideas stick best when they meet as many as possible. In other words, you don't have to force a lesson to meet all six, but your students will benefit if you hit more than you miss.

The one thing this book won't help teachers (and others) do, though, is determine what points are the must-stick ones in your content area, but once you figure that out, this can be a valuable resource.

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Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die Overview

Mark Twain once observed, “A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth can even get its boots on.” His observation rings true: Urban legends, conspiracy theories, and bogus public-health scares circulate effortlessly. Meanwhile, people with important ideas–business people, teachers, politicians, journalists, and others–struggle to make their ideas “stick.”

Why do some ideas thrive while others die? And how do we improve the chances of worthy ideas? In Made to Stick, accomplished educators and idea collectors Chip and Dan Heath tackle head-on these vexing questions. Inside, the brothers Heath reveal the anatomy of ideas that stick and explain ways to make ideas stickier, such as applying the “human scale principle,” using the “Velcro Theory of Memory,” and creating “curiosity gaps.”

In this indispensable guide, we discover that sticky messages of all kinds–from the infamous “kidney theft ring” hoax to a coach’s lessons on sportsmanship to a vision for a new product at Sony–draw their power from the same six traits.

Made to Stick is a book that will transform the way you communicate ideas. It’s a fast-paced tour of success stories (and failures)–the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who drank a glass of bacteria to prove a point about stomach ulcers; the charities who make use of “the Mother Teresa Effect”; the elementary-school teacher whose simulation actually prevented racial prejudice. Provocative, eye-opening, and often surprisingly funny, Made to Stick shows us the vital principles of winning ideas–and tells us how we can apply these rules to making our own messages stick.


From the Hardcover edition.

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Customer Reviews

Amazing book. Good anecdotes - Paras Jain - Reston, VA, USA
Just finished reading this book. One suggestion - Audio Books sticks better than hardcover books. Part of the reason why I choose audio-books is that I find very little time to read at home.

The book contains good anecdotes which simply sticks. It contains practical tips, advice and explanation regarding how to make your idea stick.

Must read/listen.



This Book Sticks - Gaetan Giannini - Allentown, PA United States
OK, I'm late to the Made to Stick party. I didn't find out about it until I noticed it was the book most frequently bought along with the textbook I wrote (Marketing Public Relations, Prentice Hall). I like this book for its simple, yet concrete formula for clarifying and communicating a message. In fact, this will be required reading for my PR and Writing for Management (aka Business Communications) classes.



Important Addition to our Body of Knowledge - A. Neumann-Loreck - San Francisco, CA United States

The insights offered in this book are fresh, funny, and terrifically engaging. I have gifted this book many times and always had rave responses. More importantly, I will add this to the family library as it is on a short list of business books I'd like my children to read regardless of what career paths they may choose. It's that good.

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Pinballs Book Review

Pinballs is the best book I have ever read. In this book there are 3 kids Harvy,Thomas J. and Carlie. All of theme ended up a a foster home. There they make friends with each other. Harvy has 2 broken legs. The only reason he went to foster care is that his father was drunk and ran over them.

His mom left him so he could not stay with her. Thomas J. got there because he was taken care of with Twins. They we're very old so he went to foster care. Carlie's parents abandoned her so then they took her there. After a little while Carlie and Harvy become friends.

They both have something that they want the most Carlie wants a floating opal and Harvy wants a Puppy and gets one toward the end of the book. Thomas J. really does not want anything and will not get anything in the book. The reason this book is called Pinballs because they are kind of like Pinballs.

Only because you can not control where the pinball goes and neither can they. In this book Carlie learns to be nice to people no matter what they say. Thomas J. learns that he does not have as bad of a life as he thought. And Harvy learns that his dad is addicted to K F C (Kentucky fried chicken).

The owner of the foster care is Mrs. Mason. Her husband Mr. Mason took Thomas J. fishing. And at the end They all had A very happy life.

Nicholas

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Review Home Team: Coaching the Saints and New Orleans Back to Life

Home Team: Coaching the Saints and New Orleans Back to Life Best Review

Full disclosure - I've been a fan of the NFL and a fan of the NO Saints for all 43 years of their existence. But even if I were not, I would have absolutely loved this book.

In an interview, Sean Payton said that this book was the literary equivalent of sitting with him in an airport bar and this would be the resulting 5 hour or so discussion while waiting for a delayed flight. He is right. The book is Sean Payton telling his story and the story of the Saints and their City.

It is at once wonderful and enlightening. Through his eyes you see the unique City of New Orleans, the people of the City and how the team and the City interact. Nowhere else does a city and a professional sports franchise have this kind of symbiotic relationship and that relationship is hard to fathom for those who haven't seen it first hand. Still Payton and his author, Ellis Henican manage to create a clear and lucid portrait of these 2 entities.

This is truly a wonderful book. You do not need to be a Saints fan or even a football fan to get a lot out of it. It speaks of people, of motivation, of desire, of love and of fortitude. This is not intended to be a motivational tome, but just observing Payton and the City through his eyes and words, you can't help but be moved and even motivated.

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Home Team: Coaching the Saints and New Orleans Back to Life Overview

The inspirational true story of how one man led a football team—and a city—to triumph in Super Bowl XLIV.

In the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Superdome became a national symbol of misery and hopelessness, where the truly desperate rode out the storm.
Four years later, in that very stadium, the New Orleans Saints won the NFC championship and earned their first-ever trip to the Super Bowl.
Two weeks later, the Saints soundly defeated the heavily favored Indianapolis Colts 31 - 17 in what would become the most-watched television event in history.
This is the inspirational story of a city recovering from disaster and a team with a history of heartbreak, seen through the eyes of the coach who taught them both how to win.

 

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Customer Reviews

Great Book - ebb - Texas
Rarely does a football book bring tears to my eyes but this one did. Payton's love for New Orleans, his team & the team's fans is remarkable & so is this book.



Great, "bring back the excitement "read! - readerrunnermom - Texas
For those of us who have followed the Saint's journey to the big game, this book creates and allows the reader to relive the excitement of their championship season. Coach Payton does a superb job of telling his story in a simple, but interesting and totally readable manner. I read it in two nights. i just couldn't put it down! He provides interesting background information regarding securing a coaching job and the social networking associated with it. His re-telling of the motivational events and activities for the team gives great insight into his brilliance and leaves no one to wonder how he brought this team to the Super Bowl. The only thing I felt was missing is that I wished he would have discussed the Shockey acquisition. I think Shockey and his contributions to the team are formidable, and i'm sorry that that was not highlighted. Otherwise, a perfect book for Saint's fans, football fans, and anyone who wants an inside look at a NFL's team success.



Loved it! - Em504 - New Orleans, LA
I am born and raised in NOLA and I loved this book! I don't read much but I finished this book in two days. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves the saints and the city of new orleans.

Great read for every saint fan. It is very easy to read and i could not put it down!

Awesome book!



Wonderful Read, truly a behind-the-scenes look at coaching - P. Worsham -
Before the book was released, Sean told an interviewer he wanted the book to read like someone got 5 hours with him at an airport bar when their planes are delayed. Mission accomplished. This is not your normal rah-rah coaching to win book. This is truly a behind-the-scenes, warts and all look at a team, and a city, in shambles that was taken to the pinnacle of success in 4 short years by a man who embraced the challenge of the circumstances and grew to love the city and their wildly loyal fan base- while that fan base grew to love and respect him and his team.

An easy, fun, humorous and touching read - I highly recommend it!

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