Outdoor Education Commons^™

Book Reviews, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

This section reviewed several books. These books included:

The Nature Principle-- written by Richard Louv and Reviewed by Martin Ogle

Sharing Nature-- Nature Awareness Activities for All Ages, written by Joseph Cornell and Reviewed by Charles Yaple

Under Our Skin 2: Emergence-- by Open Eye Pictures and reviewed by Dorothy Kupcha Leland

Review Of Wilderness And The American Mind, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

This section reviewed the book "Wilderness and the American Mind, Fifth Edition", written by Roderick Nash and reviewed by Kendra Liddicoat.

Review Of Romancing The Wild, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

This section reviewed the book "Romancing the Wild: Cultural Dimensions of Eco tourism," written by Robert Fletcher and reviewed by Jeff Rose, PhD.

Review Of Principles Of Sustainable Living, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

This section reviewed the book "Principles of Sustainable Living: A New Vision for Health, Happiness, and Prosperity," written by Richard Jurin and reviewed by Martin Ogle.

Book Reviews, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

This section reviewed several books. These books included:

Outdoor Adventure and Social Theory-- edited by Elizabeth C. J. Pike and Simon Beames and reviewed by Jeff Rose

The Journey at Malloryville Bog-- written by Robert M. Beck and reviewed by Charles Yaple

Book Reviews, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

This section reviewed several books including:

HOT: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth, written by Mark Hertsgaard; reviewed by Kathryn Russell

The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability—Designing for Abundance, written by William McDonough and Michael Braungart; reviewed by Charles Yaple

Book Reviews, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

This section reviewed several books, including:

Navigating Environmental Attitudes, written by Thomas A. Heberlein

Environmental Education (Critical Concepts in the Environment), edited by Justin Dillon and Alan Reid

Letters to a Young Scientist, written by Edward O. Wilson

Book Reviews, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

This section reviewed the following books:

Teaching 2030: What We Must Do For Our Students and Our Public Schools-Now and in the Future, written by Barnett Berry and the Teacher Solutions 2030 Team and reviewed by Charles H. Yaple.

Up: A Mother and Daughter's Peakbagging Adventure, written by Patricia Herr-Ellis and reviewed by Julie M. Bako.

Book Reviews, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

In this section, the Coalition for Education in the Outdoors gives A Fifty Year Salute to Ron Reed and the Mohican Outdoor School and commends the book "Mohican School: An Experiment in Outdoor Learning, 1961-2005" by Ron Reed, as well as reviews "Among the Ancients: Adventures in the Eastern Old-Growth Forests" by Joan Maloof and reviewed by Charles Yaple.

First Along The River, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

I am not sure how this publication escaped my attention for so long. Now in its fourth edition, First Along the River... is an indispensable book that all environmental and outdoor education professionals and students should have available at their fingertips. Friend and former colleague Bob Buerger says it well on the book's back cover: "First Along the River provides a concise, introduction to U.S. environmental history. An excellent supplement for any student of the subject."

Review Of Theodore Rex, Wayne Smith

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Edmund Morris has crafted the second of his planned three volume biography of Theodore Roosevelt. This book, "Theodore Rex," lives up to the standard set by Morris in the wonderful "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt," which won a Pulitzer Prize.

Review Of Environment And The People In American Cities, James F. Bonilla

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

The Environment and the People in American Cities provides a remarkable historical account of some of America's most well known urban parks. Written by Dorceta Taylor, a professor at the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and the Environment and director of the Multicultural Environmentai Leadership Development Institute, this is the first of three extensive books connecting the history of the environment, diversity and social justice.

Review Of The Last Season, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

If you like true action wilderness adventure books The Last Season is almost sure to satisfy. Layered with a mystery, romantic love, natural history and one man's fascination with the Sierra Nevada mountains; Eric Blehm's National Outdoor Book Award winner will keep you "turning pages."

Review Of Crimes Against Nature, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Crimes Against Nature... is a must read for all students of American Conservation history. As the full title suggests there is an untold story about the beginnings of conservation in America especially in terms of how government policies and new laws impacted the traditional livelihoods of local people - natives and long-term residents alike.

Review Of Never Finished Just Begun, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

As the complete title indicates, this book is “A Narrative History of L.B. Sharp and Outdoor Education.” The review that follows is anything but unbiased. How could it be otherwise when the subject matter involves the originator of the very term, “outdoor education” and its fiercest proponent for nearly forty years? And, like many heroic tales, it is the story of one man’s passion, struggles, setbacks, personal sacrifices, and successes.

Review Of Champions Of The Wilderness, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Like its present companion in the Earth Heroes series, Champions of the Wilderness is well written and illustrated. Again, it too is aimed at young readers but will interest even seasoned outdoor educators hoping to learn a little more about one of their personal heroes. Heroes included in this edition are: Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, Theodore Roosevelt, Aldo Leopold, Richard St. Barbe Baker, Margaret Murie, David Suzuki, and Wangari Maathai.

Review Of Champions Of The Ocean, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Champions of the Oceans is the first, alphabetically, of two books published by Dawn Publications in their Earth Heroes series. Written for young readers, these books profile people who have devoted their lives to understand and protect the natural world.

Review Of Interpreting Our Heritage, Angelique Bovee

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

I arrived complete with my Smokey Bear hat in hand as a new seasonal Park Ranger for the Saratoga National Historical Park. I was worried that since I did not have a history background I would find myself constantly fumbling through the people, places and dates that surrounded the park’s historic events. In the weeks leading up to my official interpretive training, I consumed as much information as I could about the “turning point of the revolutionary war,” desperately wishing I paid more attention in Mrs. Roberts seventh grade American History class.

Review Of In Defense Of Childhood, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Those who have read, and taken seriously, Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder must quickly obtain a copy of Mercogliano' s In Defense of Childhood ... Mercogliano's focus is on modern parenting and public schools asserting that most of them stifle the innate sense of wonder, imagination, and creativity that all healthy children are born with. The main culprit, in his view, is an over-structured lifestyle imposed on children by parents and schools. By attempting to provide risk free situations and to prepare children for success in a consumer oriented society parents …

Review Of Jayber Crow, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

As in his other books, and poetry, Berry writes about ordinary people, community and the land. In Jayber Crow, readers follow the life journey of a "wouldbe" preacher who becomes the town barber in a small rural community of the south. Berry's genius is in the way that he draws the reader into the story. His development of characters is such that readers will quickly relate with them, and once hooked, will continue to read to see what happens. The book truly is one that you will not want to put down. It is a love story between and about …

Review Of Fermenting Revolution, Coalition For Education In The Outdoors

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Want to help save the planet? Want to do so while enjoying a healthy and pleasurable experience? OK, then read Fermenting Revolution: How to Drink Beer and Save the World. Seriously, O'Brien makes a sound argument, often humorous, that drinking locally brewed beers can significantly assist the goals of the growing "sustainability" movement. He is the Director of the Responsible Purchasing Network at the Center for a New American Dream. The Center and this book are dedicated to challenging the "onslaught of corporate globalization" by putting into practice the wisdom of "thinking globally and acting locally."

Review Of Merle's Door, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

If you love dogs, don't miss reading this true story. Be sure to keep a box of tissues nearby. The book will pluck at your heart-strings. And, for your intellectual side, it also has some very pertinent messages related to this Taproot's theme of "nature and character development."

Review Of A Greener Faith, Joshua Bochniak

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

It is now undeniable that leaders and followers of many religious traditions have taken up the work of increasing environmental stewardship. In the past decade, the number of religious organizations devoted to environmental themes has increased dramatically. In A Greener Faith, Roger S. Gottlieb examines this trend in general and then focuses on what a few major religious traditions are doing in response to our environmental crises. He pays particular attention to what various religions contribute to the struggle, articulating a new religious environmentalism.

Review Of Evening Thoughts, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

The title and subtitle of Berry's latest book suggest the human race might be at a tipping point. Are we, as the title might infer, an endangered species living in our final days? Is there a hopeful alternative contained in Berry's subtitle if we embrace the "earth as a sacred community?" Readers will find both in the book.

Review Of Nature And The Human Spirit, Dr. Curtis Schatz

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Nature and the Human Spirit is a compilation of forty '"chapters" - including the introduction and overview - by fifty scholars and professionals from a wide range of fields. The book examines the "spiritual meanings" nature holds, and the deep psychological and emotional needs met through human interaction with nature to establish a framework for a land management ethic.

Review Of Accidents In Nature, Carrie Griffin Basas

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Accidents of Nature is a novel for young adult readers that can be appreciated by outdoor educators and environmental scholars alike. Its playful title alludes to its main characters- young people who are exploring how their disabilities of all kinds fit with their identities. They are brought together at Camp Courage, a summer experience for kids with disabilities. Coming to camp is a return to a familiar, comfortable environment for many of the children. However, one newcomer, seventeen-year-old Jean, struggles to find her place at the camp and reconcile her cerebral palsy with her sense of wanting to be "normal." …

Review Of Black And Brown Faces In America's Wild Places, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Reading Black and Brown Faces... is a delightful, troublesome, and inspirational experience. Delightful, because it is a beautifully written and photographed (also expertly done by Edmondson) testimony from the lives of twenty Black people who overcame barriers that have historically inhibited their people from venturing into wild places. Because each chapter is their personal story, Edmondson wisely let each person share: why wild places are important to them in terms of childhood experiences, what they do in the outdoors, who were their heroes and mentors, their thoughts on minorities in wild places, beliefs about youth and wilderness, their best outdoor …

Review Of Making Outdoor Programs Accessible, Lynn Anderson And Kendra Liddicoat

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

Making Outdoor Programs Accessible is short and simple, but provides a good deal of useful information to the outdoor educator in making inclusion a part of the facility and curriculum. The book, or manual, is only 62 pages, but within those pages are some wonderful ideas that could be easily implemented in many settings, from nature centers to schoolyard environmental education sessions.

Review Of The Soul Unearthed, Charles Yaple

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

There are so many well-written essays in The Soul Unearthed it is difficult to select just a few to include in a one-page review. And, of course, other readers will take different pieces to heart. What follows here are descriptions of some articles that “spoke” to this reviewer.

The Kids’ Guide To Nature Adventures: 80 Great Activities For Exploring The Outdoors, Josh Bochniak

Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education

If a colorful, activity guide geared toward children is your target, then The Kids’ Guide to Nature Adventures might be what you are looking for. The book’s seven chapters and appendices are full of color photographs and illustrations of 80 ideas that apply to the outdoors. Full of original (and some borrowed) ideas, it is sure to be helpful as kids venture into the outdoors or prepare to do so.