Product Description

First published in 1949, Jesse Stuart's now classic personal account of his twenty years of teaching in the mountain region of Kentucky has enchanted and inspired generations of students and teachers. With eloquence and wit, Stuart traces his twenty-year career in education, which began, when he was only seventeen years old, with teaching grades one through eight in a one-room schoolhouse. Before long Stuart was on a path that made him principal and finally superintendent of city and county schools. The road was not smooth, however, and Stuart faced many challenges, from students who were considerably older -- and bigger -- than he to well-meaning but distrustful parents, uncooperative administrators and, most daunting, his own fear of failure. Through it all, Stuart never lost his abiding faith in the power of education. A graceful ode to what he considered the greatest profession there is, Jesse Stuart's The Thread That Runs So True is timeless proof that "good teaching is forever and the teacher is immortal." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (36)

The Best Impulsive Purchase
I cannot remember where I picked this book up at ... probably at a library fund-raiser sale. I went to the Smokies for a week-long vacation and was scouring through the bookcases for something to read when I happened on this one. I picked it solely for the fact that it was about a teacher teaching in rural Kentucky and since I was going to be in the hills, I would read this for the week.

It was the best impulsive reading I have done in quite some time. This book is an eye-opener and I am constantly checking back to the copyright page to see what year it was published because unfortunately, some of the issues that Mr. Stuart faced in his day are still running true today.

Stuart writes passionately of why he became a teacher and he shared memorable tidbits that still resonates with me; such as the time when he had his class measure a farmer's plot of land to ensure that the farmer would stop getting ripped off because he didn't know his mathematics. There was the story of the bully who beat up his sister and he was prepared to take on the biggest bully of the valley only to gain a life-long friend and student. There was the story of kids traisping through the frost barefoot because their yearly allotment of shoes haven't come in yet and the kids wanted to come to school.

There are places in this memoir where I felt that he was bragging a little too hard but it was quickly forgiven once he admits to his short-comings. He writes of lugging books over the mountaintops for his students who were starving for books of any nature so they could educate themselves even more. He writes of being a principal and a superintendent, having to fight the trustees. He writes of ideas that he has on education and how it could be improved. He writes of his students and their successes.

I have toyed with the idea of going back to school and be a teacher ... and this book is definitely a good inspiration to consider it. Stuart was frank with the issues that teachers faced back in the 30s-40s and he was frank about what he believed that education should be even though administrators (who are so far removed from the realities of teaching that they have no clue on what students face nowadays) would ignore his suggestions. Teachers should be rewarded with a good salary and retirement plans and most importantly, respect from the students and parents alike. (Yes, I am aware that there are bad teachers out there but I do believe that a lot of teachers get a really bad rap because people didn't agree with their teaching methods.)

This book is incredibly insightful and so well-written that it has been several days since I've finished this book and I cannot wait to share it with others who love education as much as I do.

7/19/10

Book review
This book came to me in great shape even though it was used.I was replacing a copy that I had misplaced and found this one in much better shape.

Thanks

I read it as a child, I read it again as a middle-aged man.This book will stick with you through-out life.
I first became aware of Jessee Stuart in the 5th grade.My teacher, Ms. Gray, had gone to college with him and always assigned one of his books as required reading in her class.I always loved and very much respected Ms. Gray because she always found the good in something that I said or did in class.She was old when I knew her, had never married, but had her family - her classroom children.
She assigned this book.I read it, thought about it, and even felt at the time that it was a book that would be influentual in my life, I just didn't know how.I grew up and became a successful businessman, and in my 57th year re-read this book.I then remembered again why I had always loved it.My eyes are older and wiser now, yes some of their sparkle is gone, but I guess I can say this book brings some of the sparkle back.When we all live in the lap of luxury, our children have way to much and we all are way to spoiled, stop for a moment and read about a time in our very recent past when many children had to fight to get an education.When many educators had to fight to just get the opportunity to be an educator in order to do what they were called to do.The message here is very simple, so simple in fact that it is timeless and as relevant today as when this book was written.It only takes one person, just one, to change your life and set you on a course that may be for life-long.We have all had these people in our life even if we knew we did or not.We have.Here is a simple man who changed the course of many lives, I believe he changed the life of my 5th grade teacher Ms. Gray, I know he changed mine.Do you children a favor, require they read this.Go one step further, you read it with them or to them.

collectable book
Loved this book. People interest in eary american history and the Applichans willenjoy this book.

A Must Read
I can't understand how anyone wouldn't like this book. Great writer, great story. I have passed this book around more than a few times to teachers I know and they all love it. Most buy a copy for themselves. Any critic can pick at this or that, but this is a good and fun book to read that I recommend to all readers. ... Read more

Product Description
General Books publication date: 2009Original publication date: 1949Original Publisher: University of Kentucky PressSubjects: EducationEducation / GeneralEducation / Administration / GeneralEducation / Aims ... Read more

Product Description
Starvation? Sickness? Scalping? You bet! Kentucky's early settlers faced all this and more! Kentucky's Boone: The Pioneer Spirit takes a look at Kentucky's frontier people and the daily hardships they faced when they arrived in the land some American Indians called Kain-tuck-ee. Discover how a small group of settlers held off a Shawnee attack and why Jemima Boone learned to stay clear of the Kentucky River shoreline. You'll also discover what the pioneers and mummies of ancient Egypt had in common and why Kentucky's nickname was Dark and Bloody Ground! Come along on the trip back to a time when bear, buffalo, and danger were everywhere. You re sure to say... Now that's interesting! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Informative, but not visually appealing
I appreciate Ms. Burton's efforts in researching and collecting the information for this book.While interesting, many of the photographs are either too large - where the text should have taken "center stage", as in the section named "Conflict on the Frontier".Visually, there is far too much text on the left-hand page and the photo opposite (Clash of Cultures) should have been much smaller.This is an error throughout the book, making the presentation, especially for Kentucky's 4th grade students - the presumable audience - less than attractive.Color choices for the text on top of background images was also an issue. Minor editing flaws were found, but these did not effect the overall flow.Time will tell if this author makes her mark in the publishing field. ... Read more

Product Description
The book may have numerous typos or missing text. It is not illustrated or indexed. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher's website. You can also preview the book there.Purchasers are also entitled to a trial membership in the publisher's book club where they can select from more than a million books for free.Volume: 2 Original Publisher: Blair ... Read more

Product Description
This is a memoir of oneroom school life in 1929,detailing the first teaching experience of Cratis D. Willliams, onceAmerica's foremost scholar on the Appalachian experience. ... Read more

Product Description

"As president of Kentucky State from 1929 to 1962, Rufus Atwood walked a tightrope. Called upon by the black community to be an outspoken advocate of civil rights, he also had to balance the risk of offending the white politicians upon whom funding for higher education depended. Kentucky's Rufus B. Atwood is a fine story of a skilled interracial diplomat."

Product Description

"The reader gets to play detective in four mysteries from Kentucky's past -- the disappearances of James Harrod and "Honest Dick" Tate, the battlefield death of Indian chief Tecumseh, and the assassination of William Goebel. James Klotter offers clues but leaves the solution to the reader. James Klotter is Kentucky State Historian and professor of History at Georgetown University and is the author of A New History of Kentucky, History Mysteries, Our Kentucky, Kentucky: Land of Tomorrow, Kentucky: Portrait in Paradox, Kentucky: Decades of Discord, William Goebbel, and Faces of Kentucky.

Product Description

From the late 1960s to the late 1970s, the United States Army was a demoralized institution in a country in the midst of a social revolution. The war in Vietnam had gone badly and public attitudes about it shifted from indifference, to acceptance, to protest. Army Chief of Staff General Creighton Abrams directed a major reorganization of the Army and appointed William E. DePuy (1919--1992) commander of the newly established Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), in 1973. DePuy already had a distinguished record in positions of trust and high responsibility: successful infantry battalion command and division G-3 in World War II by the age of twenty-five; Assistant Military Attaché in Hungary; detail to CIA in the Korean War; alternating tours on the Army Staff and in command of troops. As a general officer he was General Westmoreland's operations officer in Saigon; commander of the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam; Special Assistant to the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Assistant Vice Chief of Staff, Army. But it was as TRADOC Commander that DePuy made his major contribution in integrating training, doctrine, combat developments, and management in the U.S. Army. He regenerated a deflated post-Vietnam Army, effectively cultivating a military force prepared to fight and win in modern war. General William E. DePuy: Preparing the Army for Modern War is the first full-length biography of this key figure in the history of the U.S. Army in the twentieth century. Author Henry G. Gole mined secondary and primary sources, including DePuy's personal papers and extensive archival material, and he interviewed peers, subordinates, family members, and close observers to describe and analyze DePuy's unique contributions to the Army and nation. Gole guides the reader from DePuy's boyhood and college days in South Dakota through the major events and achievements of his life. DePuy was commissioned from the ROTC six months before the attack on Pearl Harbor, witnessed poor training and leadership in a mobilizing Army, and served in the 357th Infantry Regiment in Europe -- from the bloody fighting in Normandy until victory in May 1945, when DePuy was stationed in Czechoslovakia. Gole covers both major events and interesting asides: DePuy was asked by George Patton to serve as his aide; he supervised clandestine operations in China; he served in the Office of the Army Chief of Staff during the debate over "massive retaliation" vs. "flexible response"; he was instrumental in establishing Special Forces in Vietnam; he briefed President Lyndon B. Johnson in the White House. DePuy fixed a broken Army. In the process his intensity and forcefulness made him a contentious figure, admired by some and feared by others. He lived long enough to see his efforts produce American victory in the Gulf War of 1991. In General William E. DePuy, Gole presents the accomplishments of this important military figure and explores how he helped shape the most potent military force in the history of the world.

Customer Reviews (6)

Well-Researched Work on a Great American
Gen. William E. DePuy is one of the seminal figures in the post-WW-II history of the US Army, and this excellent biography does him and his story justice.I particularly enjoyed Gole's strong research, including unpublished papers and oral histories not previously available outside of US Army archives.Gole overall does a great job covering DePuy's career, including his family.The parts on WW-II and the post-Vietnam resurrection of the US Army--in which DePuy along with Gen. Starry played key roles--are quite strong.I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in US military history and one of its under-appreciated leaders, who started his combat career at the June 6, 1944 D-Day landings at Normandy as a Captain, and ended the war less than a year later as a 25-year-old Lieutenant Colonel and battalion commander in the 90th Infantry Division, which lost 100 percent of its soldiers and 150 percent of its officers in the first six weeks of combat.

Great Information!
The book I purchased about General William E. DePuy was an excellent resource for me to use to discuss General DePuy's army career with my brother, a retired veteran.My brother had talked endlessly for the past 10 months, since coming to live with my family, about General DePuy and how he had influenced his life as a soldier.My brother was placed in the Alzheimer's Unit at our local Veterans Home one week ago.I am glad I had the opportunity to read this book and converse with him and let him relive some of his past with me.
I suggest this book be read by all veterans and their families if they have someone who served during the Vietnam War.

Gen William E Depuy
A fantastic read.How one individual, by his sense of urgency changed the training and education of the US Army after Vietnam.Although I never served directly under General Depuy, after reading this book, I feel that I have known him for my entire life.While reading the Chapter on the then existing training programs in the late 50s - early 60s, I began to laugh out loud.I remember vividly at Ft Sill, OK, after our group "qualified" with the compass, we were sent out on a night training mission in November on a very dark, cold and rainy night.My partner and I completed the course in a reasonably length of time;several of our compatriots walked off a cliff and suffered broken legs and miles from where they were supposed to be.Others straggled in over the next day or so.A well researched and very well written book with very appropriate comments added as appropriate by the author.This is a book for anyone advocating a change of direction in any organization - military or civilian.Highly recommended reading.

To Fix a Broken Army
Henry Gole's biography of General William Depuy follows the career of a professional soldier who played a key role in fixing a broken army after the strains of the Vietnam War.The story of General Depuy's career begins as a second lieutenant fighting seasoned German soldiers from Normandy to Frankfurt and beyond. The young 'Lt' learned valuable lessons of soldiering and leadership as well as gaining a life long admiration of the martial prowess of the Germans (Soldatentum).Years later, General Depuy, as Commander of the 1st Infantry Division (the Big Red One), would take those lessons in squad and platoon tactics and combat leadership learned under fire in WWII and apply them with striking results against the enemy in the jungles of Vietnam.And he would draw once again upon these lessons in rebuilding the army in the seventies.

His third book, Henry Gole, a retired Colonel (USA) who saw combat in Korea and Vietnam, has once again done his homework, producing a thoroughly researched and extremely well written biography of a commander whose mantra was "decide, order, check." William E. Depuy: Preparing the Army for Modern War is a great read, and I highly recommend it.

Why DePuy?
William DePuy is not a houshold name: certainly not in the genre of Westmoreland,nor Powell, neither Schwartzkopf,nor the recently annointed Petraeus. But, Henry Gole pumps blood into the veins of this seemingly lustreless Four Star and traces his path relentlessly..the good and the bad..the brilliance and the brooding..selfish desires given over to selflessness. What comes to life under the author's pen is a soldiers' soldier; a commander and patriot whose total focus is on and for the troops..each and every one..to school them and train them - and to inspire their leaders (sometimes ruthlessly) to enable them to engage in the chaos of combat and emerge with a good chance of survival.
A great biography replete with an accurate history of confusing times for our Army and our nation. A truly rewarding read. ... Read more

Product Description
Focuses on the key players, coaches, and events in the history of the Kentucky Wildcats, the college basketball team that has won seven NCAA titles in ninety-five years of play. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

True Sports Drama
This is plenty of story about a team that is larger than life. ... Read more

Product Description
An exhaustive account of the early history of sports at the University of Kentucky traces the predominance of football during the 1890s and 1900s and the arrival of basketball, which led to an intense rivalry between men's and women's teams. UP. ... Read more

Product Description
A history of Kentucky's famous horse race, which has run continuously since 1875. Includes stories about some of its most famous horses and jockeys. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

a great read on how life was for the people years ago
I enjoyed the book very much,MR Davis made it very enjoyable to read. ... Read more

Product Description
Cora Wilson Stewart (1875–1958) was an elementary school teacher and county school superintendent in eastern Kentucky who, in the fall of 1911, decided to open the classrooms in her district to adult pupils. Convinced that education could eliminate the poverty that plagued the region, she founded the Moonlight School movement, ultimately designed to combat illiteracy. The movement’s motto, "Each one teach one," characterized education as the responsibility of every literate citizen.

Stewart’s Moonlight Schools caught on quickly, and when the state legislature created the Kentucky Illiteracy Commission in 1914, they were operating throughout Kentucky as well as in other states. Cora Wilson Stewart and Kentucky’s Moonlight Schools examines these institutions and analyzes Stewart’s role in shaping education at both the state and national level. Yvonne Honeycutt Baldwin offers a discourse on the problem of illiteracy, which, despite the efforts of Stewart and many who followed in her footsteps, continues to afflict the nation. ... Read more

Product Description
Although the majority of libraries in the state of Kentucky did not offer services to African Americans between the years 1860 and 1960, public libraries did employ them. The Louisville Public Library, a leader in the development of library management and education from 1905 to 1925, began in 1912 offering classes to train African American women to be librarians in segregated public library branches that were opening in the South. In 1925, an academic library program was developed for African Americans at the Hampton Institute in Virginia to continue the work that began in Kentucky. This movement culminated with Helen F. Frye's becoming the first African-American to graduate with a Master of Science degree in library science from the University of Kentucky Library School in 1963.

This work moves from the provision by Berea College of the first library services to a fully integrated student body in 1866 through the integration of the state's only accredited library science program at the University of Kentucky in 1949 to the civil rights initiatives of the 1960s. Also addressed are the interconnectedness of libraries and societal events and how one affected the other. ... Read more

Product Description
It is the Great Depression, and twelve-year-old Artie Wilson is tired of being poor and wondering where her family's next decent meal will come from. She doesn't understand why her mother doesn't push her father to better provide for their family. Artie is determined to escape plowing and planting the fields and milking the cow on her family's farm, and longs to leave Buck Creek, Kentucky and her life of poverty. She is committed not to be poor when she grows up, and vows that for her, poor is just a starting place. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

First and Fabulous!
For her first novel, Wyatt successfully proves herself as an up-and-coming writer of children's novels.It is 1930 during the Great Depression in rural Kentucky, and Artie is tired of being poor, hungry and working in the fields on the family farm.She daydreams of hopping the train to Louisville for a better life than what she has now.She realizes that determination, despite the odds against her, is the ticket to a better life.The characters are well-rounded and the interactions between the family members are realistic.A suspenseful twist keeps the novel from being too predictable.

Main character's determination is sure to please readers
Twelve-year-old Artie Wilson attends a one-room schoolhouse in Buck County, Kentucky during the Great Depression.She longs to attend high school, but is hindered by her father's lack of responsibility, her mother's illness, and her family's poverty.When the teacher in her one-room schoolhouse announces an essay contest on the topic of heritage that offers a $25.00 prize, Artie determines to win the money and use it to pay for her living expenses so she can attend high school.

Rich girl Sarah Jane Bratcher is Artie's chief rival.Sarah Jane has everything Artie does not:a rich family, cars, horses, nice clothes, and a family heritage she claims stretches all the way back to England.

Artie's older brother Ballard announces to the school that one of the Wilson ancestors buried a treasure in the woods, so Artie goes on a treasure hunt.Always practical, Artie digs for roots while in the woods so she can sell them to buy food for the family and save for high school.To her shock, she discovers Sarah Jane digging for treasure in the woods as well.Artie is furious.Why does a rich girl need to steal the poor Wilson family's heritage?

Artie's struggle structures this novel.She cares for her ailing mother and fights for the life of her newborn baby brother.Using whatever spare time she can wrest from her chores, she works on her essay and tries to find meaning in the struggles and failures of her ancestors.And she uncovers the mystery of her arch rival, Sarah Jane.

This first novel is rich in the family history of author Leslie J. Wyatt's own family story.Historical details are woven into the story with a light touch.Readers get a real feel for life in this backwoods community but the details never slow or stop the story.

This is a very satisfying read.I'm looking forward to more books by the author.The ending seemed a bit forced so I'm giving it four stars, but it is well worth reading!

Artie is a warm character who will win your heart with her sheer pluck and determination.The publisher aims this book at readers 11 and older, but younger readers who are interested in history will enjoy reading it for themselves or having it read aloud.Teachers will find it useful for showing rural aspects of the Depression years - parts of chapter 3 (plowing) or chapter 5 (driving to the 'May meeting' could be read aloud as stand-alones to show aspects of rural life.) ... Read more

Product Description

" Inspiring short biographies of some of Kentucky's unsung heroines -- Jenny Wiley, Lucy Audubon, Malinda Gatewood Bibb, Laura Clay, Enid Yandell, Cora Wilson Stewart, Mary Breckinridge, Alice Allison Dunnigan, and Loretta Lynn. These women had a vision of a better life for themselves and for others and the courage to make their ideas become real.

Customer Reviews (1)

A good choice for an adult new reader
I was looking for something very specific and hard-to-find:a book suitable for a newly minted U.S. citizen that would tell her something interesting about her new country and its values, but written for an adult at a "New Reader" level.This book exactly fits the bill.The women protrayed span a number of historical periods, and they led interesting and diverse lives.The text is aimed at an adult reader, but it is written in simple words and sentences.A rare find! ... Read more