Stairway to College Heaven


Book Description

The college planning and application process is not an impenetrable mystery. The sooner you understand how it works, the sooner you can empower your child to make informed college decisions. Stop procrastinating!This book tells the story of Michelle, a determined mom who will stop at nothing to ensure that her son, Jack, has plenty of choices for college. When Jack announces he needs to start thinking about college, Michelle panics -- but only for a moment. Stairway to College Heaven traces Michelle's journey from confusion to confidence. Led by three enthusiastic, nacho-loving guides, Michelle discovers the obstacles that lurk ahead and finds the strategies to overcome them.Victoria Tillson Evans, Jonathan Perkins, and Phil Sung, have teamed up to bring you a wealth of practical advice about your family's college journey. Victoria earned her BA from Johns Hopkins University and her AM and PhD from Harvard University; she runs Distinctive College Consulting in Bethesda, Maryland. Jon earned his BA from Stanford University and his JD from Harvard Law School; he offers college counseling services through Essaywise in Palos Verdes Estates, California. Phil earned his BA from Stanford; he provides college counseling and ACT/SAT test prep services through Essaywise in Palo Alto, California. The Stairway to College Heaven awaits. Are you ready to take the first step?




In Defense of a Liberal Education


Book Description

CNN host and best-selling author Fareed Zakaria argues for a renewed commitment to the world’s most valuable educational tradition. The liberal arts are under attack. The governors of Florida, Texas, and North Carolina have all pledged that they will not spend taxpayer money subsidizing the liberal arts, and they seem to have an unlikely ally in President Obama. While at a General Electric plant in early 2014, Obama remarked, "I promise you, folks can make a lot more, potentially, with skilled manufacturing or the trades than they might with an art history degree." These messages are hitting home: majors like English and history, once very popular and highly respected, are in steep decline. "I get it," writes Fareed Zakaria, recalling the atmosphere in India where he grew up, which was even more obsessed with getting a skills-based education. However, the CNN host and best-selling author explains why this widely held view is mistaken and shortsighted. Zakaria eloquently expounds on the virtues of a liberal arts education—how to write clearly, how to express yourself convincingly, and how to think analytically. He turns our leaders' vocational argument on its head. American routine manufacturing jobs continue to get automated or outsourced, and specific vocational knowledge is often outdated within a few years. Engineering is a great profession, but key value-added skills you will also need are creativity, lateral thinking, design, communication, storytelling, and, more than anything, the ability to continually learn and enjoy learning—precisely the gifts of a liberal education. Zakaria argues that technology is transforming education, opening up access to the best courses and classes in a vast variety of subjects for millions around the world. We are at the dawn of the greatest expansion of the idea of a liberal education in human history.




Stairway to Hell


Book Description

Did you hear about 17-year-old Kelsey Megliola? It happened early on a Sunday morning in July, 2013. One minute Kelsey was walking down a deserted country road in rural Michigan around 2 a.m., thinking her whole life was ahead of her. The next minute she lay dead in the highway, hit by a 19-year-old drunk driver. A neighbor said a party had taken place late Saturday night in the woods. Empty beer cans still littered the grass. Teenagers like Kelsey are being destroyed in record numbers. Street drugs Prescription drugs Alcoholism STDs Crime Deadly video games Cyber bullying Pornography Shootings Peer pressure AIDS The occult. They are all taking a heavy toll. And let's not forget teen killers like car crashes, accidents, and suicides. All of this destruction should not surprise us. Young people are being brainwashed by an evil world system and primed for ruin from a very young age. Sadly, by the time many parents discover there's a problem, it's often too late. THERE IS HOPE After working with troubled teens for over six years, Rick Jones learned the basic methods the devil's world system is using to wipe out teens by the millions. Because he saw so many teenage lives miraculously transformed, he felt compelled to record all the most important details of what brought about these transformations. In a compassionate, yet honest and straightforward way, this book "speaks their language," and grabs their attention and clearly show them the one and only way to escape the stairway to hell, and live a blessed and productive life. After they finish this short, easy-reading book, teens will look at life through different eyes, and have seriously changed attitudes. And best of all, they will know the real cause of their problems... and the solution too. With over 100,000 copies in print, many teens have been rescued after reading this timeless book. If you want to equip your teenagers for what they will face in this world, you must take action now. Give them a book that will equip them to sidestep all the land mines on the stairway to hell. You can be guaranteed they won't get this information in public school. And sadly, many who do go to church aren't getting it there either. Where else will they get this life-saving information, if not from you?




Excellent Sheep


Book Description

A groundbreaking manifesto about what our nation’s top schools should be—but aren’t—providing: “The ex-Yale professor effectively skewers elite colleges, their brainy but soulless students (those ‘sheep’), pushy parents, and admissions mayhem” (People). As a professor at Yale, William Deresiewicz saw something that troubled him deeply. His students, some of the nation’s brightest minds, were adrift when it came to the big questions: how to think critically and creatively and how to find a sense of purpose. Now he argues that elite colleges are turning out conformists without a compass. Excellent Sheep takes a sharp look at the high-pressure conveyor belt that begins with parents and counselors who demand perfect grades and culminates in the skewed applications Deresiewicz saw firsthand as a member of Yale’s admissions committee. As schools shift focus from the humanities to “practical” subjects like economics, students are losing the ability to think independently. It is essential, says Deresiewicz, that college be a time for self-discovery when students can establish their own values and measures of success in order to forge their own paths. He features quotes from real students and graduates he has corresponded with over the years, candidly exposing where the system is broken and offering clear solutions on how to fix it. “Excellent Sheep is likely to make…a lasting mark….He takes aim at just about the entirety of upper-middle-class life in America….Mr. Deresiewicz’s book is packed full of what he wants more of in American life: passionate weirdness” (The New York Times).




Stairway to Heaven


Book Description

A memoir about loss and hope. Drugs and alcohol, sexual abuse and neglect tainted Kate and made her crazy through her teenage years boozing, drugging and flipping from one relationship to the next. Adulthood was even worse. Her pain is evident through the telling of some hard stuff. But she does it with both a grace and a self-depravation that labels this dark memoir a true gem.




Stairway to Heaven


Book Description

Medieval stairs, galleries and upper chambers in cathedrals, abbeys, and parish churches have been an enduring source of fascination to historians and archaeologists since the eighteenth century, but their practical purposes have long been shrouded in mystery and speculation. From libraries to lights, clocks to dovecotes, from secret games of skittles played over the vaults to the daring exploits of the twelfth-century Flying Monk, Toby Huitson explores the lofty spaces, nooks and crannies of medieval upper spaces though the interrogation of a wide range of documentary, visual and archaeological materials. Evidence is revealed for over 30 different functions during the period from around AD 1000 to 1550. Generously illustrated and fully-referenced, the text is accompanied by a set of special features and a quick-reference section, making it indispensable to all those interested in medieval history and architecture. Dr Toby Huitson teaches at the University of Kent, Canterbury.




Transcending the Levels of Consciousness


Book Description

Discover how to transcend the limitations of the ego, relieve suffering, and advance your consciousness in this masterpiece from world-renowned author, psychiatrist, clinician, and spiritual teacher, David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D. The now widely known Map of calibrated levels of Consciousness was presented in Power vs. Force in 1995 and has been translated into all the world’s major languages. This was followed by The Eye of the I (2001), I: Reality and Subjectivity (2003), and Truth vs. Falsehood (2005), which explored the levels of Truth reflected throughout society. Transcending the Levels of Consciousness expands on this work and returns to the exploration of the ego’s expressions and limitations, giving detailed explanations and instructions on how to transcend them. “I consider myself a student of David Hawkins and return to his books and work time and time again. His wisdom deeply resonates with my lived experiences; he is often able to beautifully articulate what I cannot put into words.” – Vex King As with the reading of Dr. Hawkins’ previous books, your level of consciousness will advance from exposure to the information itself. This opens up avenues to the relief of suffering, which fulfills the purpose of the work and the intention to facilitate your own Enlightenment. This transformative personal growth book combines elements of psychology, spirituality, and philosophy, and invites you to explore the profound depths of your own consciousness, Hawkins' genius consciousness concept will inspire you to reach new heights of spiritual and personal development. Transcending The Levels of Consciousness is a monumental testament to the boundless potential of the human spirit. It is an empowering book that offers inspiration and motivation on your journey of self-discovery. Experience the profound wisdom of Dr. David Hawkins, as he elegantly blends spirituality, psychology, and philosophy to create a comprehensive roadmap to unlock the divine potential within you so that you can step into a higher consciousness.




Writing for College


Book Description

A lighthearted look at college writing--complete with illustrations by cartoonist John Locke! Seventy-seven short essays about various aspects of the writing process, specifically intended to help college students--with practical advice--do a better job with their writing assignments.




Firefly Lane


Book Description

From the New York Times bestselling author Kristin Hannah comes a powerful novel of love, loss, and the magic of friendship. . . . now a #1 Netflix series! In the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-grade social food chain. Then, to her amazement, the "coolest girl in the world" moves in across the street and wants to be her friend. Tully Hart seems to have it all—beauty, brains, ambition. On the surface they are as opposite as two people can be: Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family who mortifies her at every turn. Tully, steeped in glamour and mystery, but with a secret that is destroying her. They make a pact to be best friends forever; by summer's end they've become TullyandKate. Inseparable. So begins Kristin Hannah's magnificent new novel. Spanning more than three decades and playing out across the ever-changing face of the Pacific Northwest, Firefly Lane is the poignant, powerful story of two women and the friendship that becomes the bulkhead of their lives. From the beginning, Tully is desperate to prove her worth to the world. Abandoned by her mother at an early age, she longs to be loved unconditionally. In the glittering, big-hair era of the eighties, she looks to men to fill the void in her soul. But in the buttoned-down nineties, it is television news that captivates her. She will follow her own blind ambition to New York and around the globe, finding fame and success . . . and loneliness. Kate knows early on that her life will be nothing special. Throughout college, she pretends to be driven by a need for success, but all she really wants is to fall in love and have children and live an ordinary life. In her own quiet way, Kate is as driven as Tully. What she doesn't know is how being a wife and mother will change her . . . how she'll lose sight of who she once was, and what she once wanted. And how much she'll envy her famous best friend. . . . For thirty years, Tully and Kate buoy each other through life, weathering the storms of friendship—jealousy, anger, hurt, resentment. They think they've survived it all until a single act of betrayal tears them apart . . . and puts their courage and friendship to the ultimate test. Firefly Lane is for anyone who ever drank Boone's Farm apple wine while listening to Abba or Fleetwood Mac. More than a coming-of-age novel, it's the story of a generation of women who were both blessed and cursed by choices. It's about promises and secrets and betrayals. And ultimately, about the one person who really, truly knows you—and knows what has the power to hurt you . . . and heal you. Firefly Lane is a story you'll never forget . . . one you'll want to pass on to your best friend.




No Telephone to Heaven


Book Description

A brilliant Jamaican-American writer takes on the themes of colonialism, race, myth, and political awakening. Originally published in 1987, this critically acclaimed novel is the continuation of the story that began in Abeng following Clare Savage, a mixed-race woman who returns to her Jamaican homeland after years away. In this deeply poetic novel, Clare must make sense of her middle-class childhood memories in contrast with another side of Jamaica which she is only now beginning to see: one of extreme poverty. And Jamaica—almost a character in the book—comes to life with its extraordinary beauty, coexisting with deep human tragedy. Through the course of the book, Clare sees the violence that rises out of extreme oppression, the split loyalties of a colonized person, and what it means to be neither white nor Black in that environment. The result is a deeply moving, canonical work.