Rating: 
Summary: Proof is in the pudding
Review: After a long week of bike riding practice without the training wheels which culminated in a solo trip down the street, my 6 year old daughter made a proud, smiling request on the way up to bed. "Can we read 'Try try again' in the big green book?" She asked. The big green book is of course the Book of Virtues, and "Try try again" is one of the many poems and short stories that we read from it before bed each night. This book is full of life stories that kids can remember and apply as they grow. On several other occasions those stories have come into conversation as a reference point with my kids when facing life's experiences. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Why are some people afraid of these stories?
Review: Anyone who has spent time observing children and their behavior, in or out of school, understands the importance of what Mr. Bennett has done in writing this book. As a jr. high teacher it is saddening to see so many young people emulating the values which our media has taught them. As a father of two small children I thought this book would be a good tool to help my wife and I teach values to our children, however it has served as a wonderful collection of important cultural reminders to use in our daily life.
Rating:
Summary: In the classroom
Review: As a special education teacher, I work with students who have issues with social skills (getting along with each other, etc.) as well as below-grade-level reading skills. I plan on purchasing copies of the book and using selected stories as part of my reading program.
I had to make a decision: I could have my kids read stories such as "The Lost and Found" where three kids fall inside the Lost and Found Box and explore a hidden world, learning nothing that can be applied to their personal lives. Or, I could have them read stories dealing with issues of character.
I chose the latter. To test my theory, I found a version of "Stone Soup" on the Web and created a weeklong unit around the story with vocabulary, writing, and comprehension lessons. They loved it!
This tells me that they will enjoy this book. Are some of the stories simplistic? Perhaps. Are they edited? Other people seem to think so. All I know is that my special-needs kids need the "Basics" and "black-and-white" moral issues are exactly what is required.
Rating:
Summary: A hearty recommendation!
Review: It is this very elixer of truth that all of us must drink. Would it only be possible for all of America to see the truth contained in this brilliant and optimistic book, we would truly shine only brighter. For too long has America's counterculture dragged us down to lower standards, our youth despoiled and undiciplined. Mr. Bennett has performed a national service by this book, and one we should all repay by immediately committing to heart its contents and message. Let us all be more virtuous, day by day, slowly, slowly.
Rating:
Summary: A hearty recommendation!
Review: It is this very elixer of truth that all of us must drink. Would it only be possible for all of America to see the truth contained in this brilliant and optimistic book, we would truly shine only brighter. For too long has America's counterculture dragged us down to lower standards, our youth despoiled and undiciplined. Mr. Bennett has performed a national service by this book, and one we should all repay by immediately committing to heart its contents and message. Let us all be more virtuous, day by day, slowly, slowly.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't do a disservice to your kids.
Review: This book should never have been put together. Many of the works are butchered. Sometimes not even the original title is included and it seems that authors are missing from several as well. He even butchers Aesops fables -- guess he doesn't want to overtax young minds with the full versions in all their splendor. Of course, many of the selections are classics, but what he's edited out leaves me not only cold but disgusted. If your kids internallize some of the slop used to demonstate these virtues, it will be hard to erase a number of pernitious misconceptions later.
Rating: 
Summary: OK Book
Review: This book was a bit boring. It seemed to skip around a little too much. Bennett is smart, but he is a bit arrogant, which shows through in this book. He could have made the book better by organizing it better. Some interesting information, but maybe not worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: Truth shines in the eyes of its readers.
Review: This book's title has become proverbial, and I am glad for that recognition. You just need to look at the world around you to see the necessity of books like this. We have become moral imbeciles. Some people can't tell the difference between their right had and left hand, speaking poetically. Many people criticize this book as being too simplistic. That is an odd criticism. Not that this book is wrong, or factually in error. Even the accusation of impracticality would be a substantive point. But being too simplistic? Shakespeare wisely observed that simple truth is oftentimes miscalled simplicity (Sonnet 66). The accusation of being simplistic doesn't even rise to the dignity of a non-issue. This book is a collection of moral stories and precepts that serve to supplement and buttress peoples moral sense, which is our conscience, or the spark within that tells us to do good. In the Apology, Socrates said that he had this spirit, which guided him. We all have something like this, and truthful books like this help refine this sense of right and wrong. Just look at the fallen towers to see the need for books like this. Another accusation is that we can't turn back the clock. Well, if the clock is broken, then you are morally obligated to turn back the clock. By the way, are you giving you consent to the current state of things? It seems that we have made complaining a virtue. But it is complaining without corresponding action, which results mere noise pollution. We have to do something to change things, and Bill Bennett has done his part in compiling this book, which is an easy read. This is a thick book, but each one of the chapters is small. It seems to have been geared towards first and second graders, but anyone can benefit from reading the truth. Truth shines in the eyes of the readers.
Rating:
Summary: The Book of Humanity
Review: This broad-minded and big-hearted collection of stories for children and everybody else offers a simple antidote to modern life. We are inundated with passive entertainment and leisure - television, computers, popular music. Listening to and reading good stories, on the other hand, engages the mind and helps the child look outside of themselves and start to think about the complexities of life. Rather than preaching to us about his personal moral beliefs, William Bennett presents a cultural norm of basic natural moral instincts (on topics such as courage, honesty and perserverance) based on classic writings from every age and civilization. The authors range from Aristotle to Frederick Douglass to Hans Christian Anderson to Winston Churchill. An excellent, timeless collection and a lot of bang for your buck.
Rating:
Summary: HYPOCRITICAL
Review: This is a book that every parent must buy and read to his children. William Bennett has done a masterful job in compiling and collating the best moral tales from history and literature to teach our children (and ourselves) how to live virtuous lives. The underlying supposition is that virtue must be taught and that it is not innate to human nature. This concept of teaching virtue is increasingly understand attack by the political left and ignored by just about everyone else. As our society drifts into a morass of moral relativism, The Book of Virtues is a bold stroke against the decay of virtuous living. It is interesting to note that the historian Will Durant repeated makes the observation that the decline of virtue, the innate sense of right and wrong, is the precursor to the decline of civilization. When the middle class ceases to purse virtue, the pursuit of hedonism and self-serving pleasure becomes paramount. The result is that instead of seeking the greater good and the common defense a society becomes weak. Religion, virtue and patriotism become objects of scorn by the so-called intellectuals and artist. Little do these intellectuals realize that the pursuit of art and philosophy is only possible because religion and of virtue made it possible. Until there is order in the land (economically, socially, and politically) people have little time or energy for the pursuit of art and philosophy. Only when a society obtains a level of order and economic prosperity does civilization turns it attention to the arts. Religion and the pursuit of virtue provide the stability and economic foundation upon which the arts and philosophy are founded. As civilization thrives, art and philosophy become increasing hostile to religion and virtue as they seek to find freedom from the restraints they impose. But what these intellectuals do not realize is that they have sown the seeds of their own destruction by doing do. Without virtue, men will not stand up for what is right, nor will they defend their society. The recent terrorist attacks in Spain are a case in point. The Spanish peoples response to terror was surrender. Nobody wants to fight, nobody wants to stand for virtue. As a result if current demographics continue within fifty years, most of Europe will be Moslem. European civilization as we know was mortally wounded after two world wars and will die unless the pursuit if virtue is rediscovered. All civilizations rise and fall. Their strength is the pursuit of virtue. Can American survive the current onslaught of relativism? Only time will tell. But as long as we have men like William Bennett who pass on the next generation the virtues that have made us great, I am hopeful we will survive.
|
