9 Of 1: A Window to the World

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Summary: The Tao of Yao
Review: Oliver Chen is a menace to the comic book and general world of literature, and a terrible example of "wanting to teach children" turned into bad work. Avoid this book. It will make you want to stop reading.

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Summary: Quick read covering a lot of ground
Review: Oliver Chin does what the Boondocks comic strip is now doing: Brings us a series of events from the past that relate to events in the world today. Using the comic form, he presents the stories of people from various backgrounds and how they got to be where they are now. Through this method, he's able to bring in some perhaps forgotten or overlooked history - of the US funding the Taliban, etc. Not a diatribe, the book can be read quickly and shared with others to be used as a starting point for further discussion.

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Summary: This Book is Awesome
Review: Oliver Chin's Nine of One clearly expresses the life of students and teachers after September 11th. The only way for people to respect another is to know another, which is what this one class is required to do. It opens up the minds of a few young students to the diverse cultures and ethnicities of the world to a point where the reader is at the center of it all and absorbs the tough realistic lives of fictional people who have ancestors all across Earth. Nine of One is a great piece of literature that can be read and felt by all.

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Summary: Moving Comic Book Easy to Read
Review: This book cleverly tackles difficult subjects (e.g. 9/11, racial diversity, immigrant's fears and hopes, notions of cultural identity, and much more) in a highly original documentary-style that makes reading and absorbing the stories easy. It is so well-written and elegantly drawn that a teenager and an adult will immediately appreciate its contents. Each story is informative, reveals a bit of the human condition, and is often moving. It actively provokes discussion with others about issues and current events, but also gently opens a private window in one's heart to "feel" the suffering and struggle of others who yearn to overcome the challenges of life. If we are to fight oppression, bullies, fear, and terrorism and promote empathy, understanding, wisdom, integrity, and strength of character, this book must become required reading in schools.

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Summary: A chastening lesson in true patriotism
Review: This book has to be among the bext full length comics I've ever read. It's not only an interesting attempt at activism via comic form, it has that earnest Oxford Group-type mania for completion that still gives one a chill of pleasure. I didn't know what to expect when I started Oliver Chin's book, but as I pursued the story of these wonderful kids, deeper and deeper, I wound up chastened, moved, and considerably enlightened. People here in California who live far away from the World Trade Center should wake up and realize, it could happen here, but perhaps reading more books like Oliver Chin's will prevent it. What he's saying makes sense, and perhaps young people will realize this sooner than their elders.

Rating:
Summary: 9 of 1
Review: This dreadful piece of pap is an embarrassment. In an attempt to be "politically correct", the author has combined childish drawing with feeble prose. Don't waste your money, I'm sorry I did. This sort of books lessens the horror of living with terrorism, and is a failure as a teaching aid for children. Yuk!

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Summary: Every teacher or parent should their kids read this book.
Review: This easy to read book/comic should be assigned reading by every teacher/parent today. Due to the complex cultural issues associated with the melting pot we live in today, this book should help many to navigate some pretty complex social issues by putting the reader in the shoes of those people who are living in the US and are from the far corners of this earth.