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FROM F TO PHI BETA KAPPA

Name: FROM F TO PHI BETA KAPPA
Author: Lance O. Ong
ISBN: 0-9744274-0-3

SUPERCHARGE YOUR STUDY SKILLS

by Lance O. Ong ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 19, 2004

Packed with great information and solid advice. A good graduation gift for high-school seniors.

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A self-made success shares the study techniques that took him to the top of the class.

Ong did not have a successful freshman year at college; years later, when he returned to the college classroom as an adult, he vowed to achieve success. Sure enough, employing his homegrown study techniques, Ong made Phi Beta Kappa. Here, he shares the down-and-dirty details of how other students can repeat his performance. He leaves no aspect of classroom work left untouched; from figuring out just what the course criteria are (classroom participation, penalties for late work), to staying focused on finals, Ong takes the student from the first day of the semester to the last–assuring focus throughout. He is nothing if not specific, offering examples of time-management calendars, highlighting options, and discussing the relative size of margins on notebook paper–even samples of notes he took during his own college classes, with captions that point out his arrow-drawing techniques. There are sections on core study principles (this consists entirely of sensible mandates) and on giving classroom presentations, including when and how to use visual aids. In general, his bullet points are clear and on-target. His 16 fundamentals for exam review are purely hard-nosed common sense–and his advice for working on group projects takes its tone straight from a military handbook; failure is simply not an option. Motivated students should find his detailed suggestions highly useful. In fact, following his advice to the letter would render almost any student fail-proof.

Packed with great information and solid advice. A good graduation gift for high-school seniors.

Pub Date: Aug. 19, 2004

ISBN: 0-9744274-0-3

Page Count: -

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.