Book Description
An extensive update, this edition includes, for the first time, 96 color photographs of salamanders, frogs and toads, turtles, lizards, and snakes, as well as an impressive collection of black-and-white photographs. The addition of 1,000 new records since the first edition has enhanced the accuracy of the maps, which identify counties where each animal has been found. Also new in this edition is information on a snake recently discovered in Kansas, the Cottonmouth, and three more kinds of amphibians and reptiles.

For each amphibian and reptile, this guide lists the standardized common name and the most current scientific name and information about identification, size, range in Kansas, habits and habitats, breeding, food, and endangered or threatened status when relevant. A bibliography with more than 1,300 entries and a complete identification key are also included. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

I bought 5 copies
This is definitely the herpetological bible for anyone interested in reptiles and amphibs in kansas.I recommend it to anyone.I gave it as christmas gifts to people that are always telling tall tales of snakes and giant snappers they see.As far as the current common and scientific names go, hey its science, which is constantly changing and Joseph T. Collins is at the forefront of wildlife research in kansas.It truly is a shame he cant print a new book every year, but unless youre audobon, who really can.

What a book!
The bible for any budding herpetolgist in the sunflower state, and the model for all subsequent state field guides. Absolutely amazing professional color photography, detailed range maps, and text written eloquently, for both the layman and the expert alike. Common names follow Collin's list which are also used by the Eastern and Central Peterson Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles (the most widely read and used reference on herpetology in the world)as well as the Center for North American Herpetology. Can't wait for the next edition!

Good but could be better
Generally good pictures and up-to-date information, but writing is stilted and uninteresting.Book claims to use currently acceptable standardized names, but there is still much debate about such names. In fact, a new listof standardized names will soon be published that will make obsolete anumber of names used in this book. ... Read more

Book Description
This thoughtful and engaging memoir opens up a previously hidden side to what many consider the most important Supreme Court decision of the twentieth century. With quiet candor Paul Wilson reflects upon his role as the Kansas assistant attorney general assigned "to defend the indefensible"-the policy of "separate but equal" that was overturned on May 17, 1954, by Linda Brown's precedent-shattering suit.The Brown decision ended legally sanctioned racial segregation in our nation's public schools, expanded the constitutional concepts of equal protection and due process of law, and in many ways launched the modern civil rights movement. Since that time, it has been cited by appellate courts in thousands of federal and state cases, analyzed in thousands of books and articles, and remains a cornerstone of law school education.Wilson reminds us that Brown was not one case but four-including similar cases in South Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware-and that it was only a quirk of fate that brought this young lawyer to center stage at the Supreme Court. But the Kansas case and his own role, he argues, were different from the others in significant ways. His recollections reveal why.Recalling many events known only to Brown insiders, Wilson re-creates the world of 1950s Kansas, places the case in the context of those times and politics, provides important new information about the state's ambivalent defense, and then steps back to suggest some fundamental lessons about his experience, the evolution of race relations, and the lawyer's role in the judicial resolution of social conflict.Throughout these reflections Wilson's voice shines through with sincerity, warmth, and genuine humility. Far from a self-serving apology by one of history's losers, his memoir reminds us once again that there are good people on every side of the issues that divide us and that truth and meaning are not the special preserve of history's winners. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A Fine Human Interest Story
Paul Wilson wrote a great human interest account of a fascinating point in time and a major turning point in our nation's cultural evolution from his unique front-line view.I disagree with the reviewer from New York.We didn't need Mr. Wilson to write a profound historic text.He gave us exactly what only he, and he alone in all the world, could offer - the memories and experiences of a humble and good-hearted man, an earnest and thoughtful lawyer, who found himself to be a major player in a great event.Mr. Wilson writes very well, both in his chosen words in his work and in his description to us, his readers, of his 15 minutes of fame.His book is a treasure.

More honest than profound
Wilson was the junior Kansas Assistant Attorney General who, largely through happenstance, wound up arguing Brown v. Board of Education before the Supreme Court -- on what we would call the wrong side. Wilson admitsthat he was essentially along for the ride, but provides an honest accountof why he believed at the time that his position was correct: Kansas lawauthorized but did not require segregated schools, thus it allowed localschool boards to meet local needs.

This book adds little to the historyof this landmark case. Most of Wilson's history is covered in RichardKluger's Simple Justice, which is far more thorough. Much of Wilson's ownstory is of minor relevance -- filling out the paperwork to be admitted tothe Supreme Court bar, his train ride to Washington, how it felt to watchThurgood Marshall argue the case, etc. However, Wilson does provide somelocal details to round out the historical record, such as an account of howlocal Topeka politics almost caused Kansas to default before the SupremeCourt.

Wilson doesn't offer much reflection on the experience of being"wrong." Part of the reason is that Wilson's position was notbased on racial views, but on his support for local control over schools.He doesn't seem to appreciate how that support for localism, or federalism,could be used to advance malevolent ends (because, to be fair to Wilson, hethought Kansas schools offered equal facilities to blacks and whites).Because Wilson had little moral or personal investment in his position, hisloss does not have much of a sting to it. As a result, the book is more ofan ant's view of a battle between giants than an effort to confront theethical dilemma of being a lawyer who represents the "wrong"side. ... Read more

Book Description
Female American Eels spend years traversing the 3,000 miles from the site of their Atlantic Ocean inception to the freshwaters of Kansas. Upon reaching the coast, they leave their male counterparts behind and make the last leg of the journey alone. Eventually swimming back, they rendezvous with the males, head out to sea, spawn, and die.

Although most fishes found in Kansas aren't as well traveled as the Eel--some probably never venture more than a few thousand feet in their lives--they each have their own characteristics that make them a unique and important influence on their environment.

Featuring full-color drawings and photographs for the first time, this revised guide describes and illustrates the 135 common and not-so-common, native and introduced fishes found in Kansas. It provides a wealth of information on appearance, size, habitat, reproduction, food, and unusual or interesting traits and behaviors. Standardized common and scientific names, black-and-white drawings for each species, identification keys, and maps showing species location by county are included.

Fishes in Kansas spotlights the petite and the stout, the brightly colored and the transparent, the toothed and the toothless, the survivor and the vanquished. The Least Dart, we find, is only 1-3/4 inches at its maximum length while the largest known Kansas flathead catfish measured in at 5-foot-3 and 90 pounds. The channel catfish is found in all large Kansas streams and many lakes and ponds while only four Pugnose Minnow have been recorded in the state, back in 1931. The Rudd females produce as many as 232,000 eggs in their lifetimes. The Neosho Madtom is classified as federally threatened.

This guide also helps clear up common misconceptions--The Walleye is commonly called "Walleyed Pike" but is really a perch while the Sunfish, commonly called a perch, isn't--and notes the affect of human activities on the population and distribution of fishes. Providing the most complete and up-to-date information available, Fishes in Kansas is essential for anyone interested in the state's aquatic environment.

This book contains 133 color photographs and drawings, and 175 black-and-white illustrations. ... Read more

Book Description
This lively book, now available in paperback, focuses on the women responsible for educating prairie children. Most were natives of the region, often teenaged girls away from home for the first time. Teaching under difficult circumstances, schoolwomen not only struggled to meet their students' needs but also used all the means at their disposalsummer institutes, normal schools, and even reading programs by mailto upgrade their own educational credentials. ... Read more

Book Description
Most Americans believe that local school districts are the only means by which citizens may exercise control over public education. Kathryn McDermott argues to the contrary that existing local institutions are no longer sufficient for achieving either equity or democratic governance. Not only is local control inequitable, it also fails to live up to its reputation for guaranteeing public participation and citizen influence. Drawing upon democratic theory and the results of field research in New Haven, Connecticut, and three suburbs, McDermott contends that our educational system can be made more democratic by centralizing control over funding while decentralizing most authority over schools to the level of schools themselves while enacting public school choice controlled for racial balance.

To many people in Connecticut and elsewhere, the tension between equal opportunity for all students and local control of public education seems impossible to resolve. In 1996, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled in Sheff v. O'Neill that local control produces unconstitutional segregation of public schools. Nearly all of the state's 169 towns operate their own public schools, and, like the towns they serve, the schools are generally homogeneous with respect to race and socioeconomic class. In the Sheff ruling, the court declared that making school districts coterminous with town lines "is the single most important factor contributing to the present concentration of racial and ethnic minorities in the Hartford public school system." At the same time, the court also acknowledged that the town-based school system "presently furthers the legitimate nonracial interests of permitting considerable local control and accountability in educational matters."

In Connecticut and elsewhere, it has often seemed necessary to choose between local control and equity in public education, and local control has almost always won. McDermott argues that rather than seeing local control and equity as conflicting goals, policymakers should regard them as equally important components of democracy in public education. In her view, a truly democratic system of education should both encourage citizen participation in school governance and contribute to the formation and maintenance of a social order in which equality of opportunity prevails over hierarchies of privilege. Centralizing distribution of resources and using controlled choice to end racial isolation would provide greater equality of opportunity, while decentralizing management of schools would expand citizen participation.

McDermott's conclusions break new ground in our understanding of local school governance itself and call into queston the conventional wisdom about local participation. These findings should interest those who study school governance and reform--especially in an urban setting-as well as policy makers, administrators, teachers, students, and citizens eager to improve their schools. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Journal of School Health, published by Thomson Gale on November 1, 2007. The length of the article is 3882 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the author: Citation: Cornwell L, Hawley SR, St. Romain T. Implementation of a coordinated school health program in a rural, low-income community.

Citation Details
Title: Implementation of a coordinated school health program in a rural, low-income community.(General Article)(Report)
Author: Lisa Cornwell
Publication: Journal of School Health (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 77Issue: 9Page: 601(6)

Article Type: Report

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description
Compulsory education has always been in the best interest of the state, as it fosters good citizenship and self-sufficiency. But what if a segment of society considers state education detrimental to its own values? In the late 1960s, one Wisconsin Amish community held that view and removed its children from public schools. When the state claimed truancy and took Jonas Yoder and two other parents to court, a legal battle of landmark proportions followed.

Prize-winning historian Shawn Peters now offers a complete and compelling account of the Yoder case and of the tortured decision of simple Amish folk to break tradition and "go to law." He examines the breadth of First Amendment protections, the validity of compulsory school attendance, and the fundamental rights of parents and children. He also takes readers deep into the world of the Old Order Amish to show how their beliefs were often at variance with the very measures being undertaken to protect them.

While most accounts of Wisconsin v. Yoder have focused on its origins and implications, Peters lays out all the facts of the case to reveal their intrinsic importance. He draws on trial transcripts and in-depth interviews with participants to fully explore the backgrounds, motivations, and strategies of the people who shaped the case-particularly the National Committee for Amish Religious Freedom and its attorney William Ball. He then describes in riveting prose how the trial unfolded, explains the impact of First Amendment jurisprudence on ordinary citizens involved, and shows how a relatively obscure dispute became a conflict of national importance.

When the U.S. Supreme Court in 1972 ruled in favor of the Amish, its decision was hailed by many as a victory for religious freedom but was also criticized for conferring special protection on one faith. Yoder was subsequently cited in fundamentalist Christian efforts to excuse children from public schooling, but faith-based exemption to law was ultimately defeated in other tests. Peters traces the progress of such cases into the 1990s to show how Yoder in some ways marked the beginning of the end of an era for religious liberty jurisprudence.

In exploring the meaning and legacy of Yoder, Peters reveals not only the human element of a landmark case but also its continuing relevance for our times.

This book is part of the Landmark Law Cases and American Society series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Recommended for law school students
Prize-winning historian Shawn Peters presents The Yoder Case: Religious Freedom, Education, And Parental Rights, a scholarly study of the crucial 1972 Supreme Court ruling in a case when a Wisconsin Amish community claimed that compulsory education past a certain age was in conflict with its religious views and therefore removed its children from public schools. Also available in a hardcover edition, The Yoder Case is a detailed, impartial analysis of events, and a fascinating account recommended for law school students and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the separation of Church and State issues. ... Read more