books

Two posts in two days. It's almost as though it's last summer.

Here is some info about some interesting books I've read since April Fool's Day:

The Yardbirds (by Alan Clayson) and Yardbirds: The Ultimate Rave-Up (by Greg Russo). Yes, I was due for a good helping of Yardbirds music and info. Let's step back a few months. In April I spoke at a conference in Buffalo. The speech I gave was a summary of a big paper I wrote on Special Education and the Somali-Canadian Experience. This was my second conference and it was a lot of fun. SJ and K came along, as did my mom and stepdad. Do you think we did any shopping in Buffalo? Of course we did. One thing I received as a gift was a Yardbirds collection, entitled The Yardbirds Ultimate! Listening to the CD then prompted me to seek out some books on the group. While I prefer the Russo book (superb research), I like both. Clayson offers the perspective of a fan during their heyday. Information on Russo's books can be found at the homepage of Crossfire Publication, http://www.crossfirepublications.com/.



Hung Up on a Dream (by Claes Johansen) chronicles the career of The Zombies, an utterly underrated British Invation band. Although they only lasted for 5 years (62-67), they managed to write and record a nice batch of very catchy songs, which sound as fresh today as I'm sure they sounded four decades ago. Another reason to like the Zombies is their looks ... they give people like me hope! To read more about the Zombies, check out http://zom.thefondfarewells.com/index.html.


The Kinks All Day and All of The Night (by Doug Hinman) offers a day-by-day account of the activities of everyone's favourite rock underdogs - The Kinks. With info on recording sessions, album reviews, concert dates, tour info, and concert reviews this book is a godsend to any Kinks fan! (note the exclamation mark) I haven't read the book from cover to cover, so including it in this book review section is a bit naughty of me. However, I'd say that it's one of those books you pick up, flip through for a while, put back on the shelf, and then pick up again. It's truly a reference book that rocks (I apologize for the pun, but I just couldn't help myself). Seek out: http://www.rocknrollresearchpress.com/new.html.

Inclusive Leadership (by Jim Ryan) will be released this fall. I read this for my first Ph.D. course in May and June. The writing is straight-forward, and to say that the subject matter is meaningful is an understatement.

Writing a paper entitled Expertise and Exclusivity prompted me to weave my way through a nice little pile of books and articles. Here's some info on three books that came in handy ... Madness and Civilization (by Michel Foucault) examines how Western Europe viewed and treated madness between the years 1500 and 1800. In Deschooling Society, Ivan Illich offers some biting criticism of organized schooling in North America. He begins cryptically by noting that many students "intuitively know what the schools do for them." What follows isn't a very pretty picture. Highly recommended. Morris Chafetz voices his reservations stemming from the role and notion of expertise in The Tyranny of Experts. While Chafetz focuses on areas relating to medicine, his ideas could apply to any field. Like Illich's book, this is highly recommended.

In Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (by J K Rowling) we learn that ... nice try, tricky, I will reveal nothing about this plot. This is a spoiler-free zone!