Sheila Bair Lecture

Sheila Bair, 19th Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), will be speaking November 20th as part of Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School “Leaders and Legends” speaker series, scheduled for the 3rd Thursday of every month beginning in October 2008.

Johns Hopkins University recently consolidated various educational programs in the business domain and created the Carey Business School (named after the Trustee who created the endowment to do this).  Critical to the School’s success will be its ability to understand the realities of the “marketplace” and to integrate its activities with the real world. To that effect, the new Dean, Yash Gupta, has started a “Leaders and Legends” speaker series that will showcase prominent leaders and allow them to share their experience and thoughts on current, relevant topics and issues facing the global economy.

With the financial crisis, Bair has frequently been in the news and I suspect that she is the star of the "Leaders and Legends" series. What you might not know about Bair is that she is the author of two books that teach children about financial management: Rock, Brock, And the Savings Shock and Isabel's Car Wash.

Before her appointment to the FDIC, Ms. Bair was the Dean's Professor of Financial Regulatory Policy for the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and she has had extensive experience in the financial industry.

Each 8am lecture (generally the 3rd Thursday of every month) is preceded by breakfast at 7:30am and takes place at the Renaissance Hotel at 202 E. Pratt Street, Baltimore. Tickets cost $35/person and may be purchased here.

Scheduled Dates
October 16, 2008 – General James Cartwright, Vice Chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff
November 20, 2008 - Sheila Bair, Chairman of the FDIC
December 18, 2008 - Mike Griffin, Administrator of NASA
January 15, 2009 - Ed Nusbaum, CEO of Grant Thornton
February 19, 2009 - Chris Inglis, Deputy Director, NSA
March 19, 2009 – Robert Stevens, Chairman, President and CEO of Lockheed Martin
April 16, 2009 - To be determined
May 14, 2009 (different week due to JHU Commencement) - To be determined
June 18, 2009 - To be determined

Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid by Jimmy Carter

I haven't been interested in reading any of former President Jimmy Carter's books.

And this Nobel Peace Prize winner has written a lot of books:

• A Remarkable Mother
• Always a Reckoning, and Other Poems
• America on My Mind
• An Hour Before Daylight: Memoirs of a Rural Boyhood
• An Outdoor Journal : Adventures and Reflections
• Atlanta: The Right Kind of Courage
• Beyond the White House: Waging Peace, Fighting Disease, Building Hope
• Blood of Abraham: Insights into the Middle East
• Bringing Peace to a Changing World: Sunday Mornings in Plains: Bible Study with Jimmy Carter
• Christmas in Plains: Memories
• Everything to Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life
• Faith and Freedom : The Christian Challenge for the World
• Government as Good as Its People
• Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President
• Leading a Worthy Life
• Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer
• Living Faith
• Measuring Our Success: Sunday Mornings in Plains: Bible Study with Jimmy Carter Vol. 2
• Negotiation: The Alternative to Hostility
  
• Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis
• Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid
• Sharing Good Times
• Sources of Strength: Meditations on Scripture for a Living Faith
• Talking Peace: A Vision for the Next Generation
• The Hornet's Nest: A Novel of the Revolutionary War
• The Nobel Peace Prize Lecture 2002
• The Personal Beliefs of Jimmy Carter
• The Virtues of Aging
• Turning Point: A Candidate, A State, and A Nation Come of Age
• Why Not the Best?: The First Fifty Years

I didn't know that he wrote not just non-fiction but also a book of poetry and a children's book. And that doesn't even include the books that he's written prefaces, forewords or introductions for!

But the one I'm considering reading now is Carter's Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. I remember reading a less than glowing New York Times review of this book in January 2007 not long after this book came out.

Obviously the publisher thinks much more highly of this book; here's what the publisher has to say about this book:

President Carter, who was able to negotiate peace between Israel and Egypt, has remained deeply involved in Middle East affairs since leaving the White House. He has stayed in touch with the major players from all sides in the conflict and has made numerous trips to the Holy Land, most recently as an observer in the Palestinian elections of 2005 and 2006.

In this book President Carter shares his intimate knowledge of the history of the Middle East and his personal experiences with the principal actors, and he addresses sensitive political issues many American officials avoid. Pulling no punches, Carter prescribes steps that must be taken for the two states to share the Holy Land without a system of apartheid or the constant fear of terrorism.

The general parameters of a long-term, two-state agreement are well known, the president writes. There will be no substantive and permanent peace for any peoples in this troubled region as long as Israel is violating key U.N. resolutions, official American policy, and the international "road map" for peace by occupying Arab lands and oppressing the Palestinians. Except for mutually agreeable negotiated modifications, Israel's official pre-1967 borders must be honored. As were all previous administrations since the founding of Israel, U.S. government leaders must be in the forefront of achieving this long-delayed goal of a just agreement that both sides can honor.

Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid is a challenging, provocative, and courageous book.

Having read Queen Noor's Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life, I'd like to learn more about Israeli-Palestinian history and politics and I'm interested in reading Carter's Palestine because I suspect that it tells a different side of the story than we normally hear in the United States.

That this book has sparked much uproar makes me think that this is an important book to read -- whether or not it is accurate.

Click here to view the table of contents or click here to read an excerpt.

Joy Wilt Berry's "Let's Talk About" Series

Have you heard of Joy Wilt Berry's "Let's Talk About" Series books for children?

Berry's books are illustrated educational children's books intended to teach kids to assume responsibility for themselves and their actions.

I haven't read any of the books myself but they sure sounds like good books for kids!

Let's Talk About Series

• Accepting "No"


• Being Away from Your Parents


• Being A Bad Sport


• Being Afraid


• Being Bossy


• Being Bullied


• Being Careless


• Being Destructive


• Being Fair


• Being Forgetful


• Being Greedy


• Being Lazy


• Being Mean


• Being Messy


• Being Rude


• Being Wasteful


• Breaking Promises


• Cheating


• Complaining


• Disobeying


• Fighting


• Gossiping


• Interrupting


• Lying


• Needing Attention


• New Situations


• Overdoing It


• Playing with Others


• Saying No


• Showing Off


• Snooping


• Stealing


• Tattling


• Teasing


• Throwing Tantrums


• Whining

Let's Talk About Series - Interpersonal Feelings

• Feeling Cheated


• Feeling Disappointed


• Feeling Embarrassed


• Feeling Frustrated


• Feeling Guilty


• Feeling Inferior


• Feeling Jealous


• Feeling Lonely


• Feeling Rejected


• Feeling Worried

There are also several other series by Joy Wilt Berry . . .

Alerting Kids to the Danger Zones Series

• Abuse and Neglect


• Children's Book on Sexual Abuse


• Danger of Kidnapping

Good Answers to Tough Questions Series

• About Change and Moving


• About Death


• About Dependence and Separation


• About Disasters


• About Divorce


• About Handling Traumatic Experiences


• About Physical Disabilities


• About Step Families


• About Substance Abuse


• About Weight Problems and Eating Disorders

Living Skills Series

• A Social Skills Book About Being Good


• A Good Manners Book About Being in Public


• A Safety Book About Being Prepared


• A Fun and Easy Book About Cleaning Your Room


• A Kid's Money Book About Earning an Allowance


• A Good Manners Book About Eating

Ready-Set-Grow

• A Children's Book About Emotions : Handling Your Ups and Downs


• A Children's Book About Manners:  May I? Please? Thank You!:


• A Kid's Guide to Making Friends: A Children's Book About Social Skills


• A Kid's Guide to Managing Money: A Children's Book About Money Management


• A Kid's Guide to Understanding Parents: A Children's Book About Parent-Child Relationships

Survival Series for Kids (Ages 7 - 10)

• Be Careful!


• Be Good!


• Be Good While You're There!


• Be Kind to Your Guests!


• Be Prepared!


• Clean Yourself Up!


• Do Something Besides Watching TV!


• Do Your Homework!


• Don't Hang Around the Wrong Crowd!


• Don't Overdo With Video Games!


• Don't Slurp Your Soup!


• Earn Your Allowance!


• Get Good Grades!


• Go To Bed!


• Help!


• Make Your Breakfast and Lunch!


• Stand Up Straight!


• Take Care of Your Clothes!


• Turn Off the Water and Lights!


• We Can't Afford It!


• What Should You Say, Dear?


• Write to Grandma!

Teach Me About Series (Ages 1 - 2)

• Bathtime: A Special Times Book


• Bedtime: A Special Times Book


• Boredom


• Brothers and Sisters


• Crying


• Getting Dressed


• Illness: A Safe and Sound Book


• Mealtime: A Special Times Book


• Mommies & Daddies


• Potty Training: A Growing Up Book


• Security Objects


• Separation: A Growing Up Book


• Smelling


• The Babysitter


• Travel

Winning Skills Series, Get over It! Series (Ages 11 - 12)

• Bad Habits


• Criticism and Rejection


• Fear


• Rude People


• Stress


• Tough Situations

Winning Skills Series, Go For It! Series (Ages 11 - 12)

• Be Beautiful

Winning Skills Series, Work It! Series (Ages 11 - 12)

• Achieve Goals


• Be Assertive


• Be Creative


• Be In Control


• Be Smart


• Be Organized

Library Book Sale

I just got back from my local library's Annual Book Sale and wow, I got 24 books in almost new condition for $1.00 each (except for two hardcovers for $2.00 each). What a deal!

So these are the latest additions to my large personal library:

• The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream by Barack Obama


• The Best American Spiritual Writing 2005 by Barry Lopez (Introduction) and Philip Zaleski (Series Editor)


• The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis


• Duel: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the Future of America by Thomas J. Fleming


• Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert


• Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship by Jon Meacham


• God In All Worlds: An Anthology of Contemporary Spiritual Writing by Lucinda Vardey


• The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy


• High Tide: The Truth About Our Climate Crisis by Mark Lynas


• Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer


• Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison


• The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker


• The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards


• Naked by David Sedaris


• Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces


• Personal History by Katharine Graham


• Prodigal Summer: A Novel by Barbara Kingsolver


• Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi


• The Road by Cormac McCarthy


• Running with Scissors: A Memoir by Augusten Burroughs


• The Moral Animal: Why We Are, the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology by Robert Wright


• The One Thing You Need to Know: ... About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success by Marcus Buckingham


• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (P.S.) by Betty Smith


• Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

That's about $440.00 worth of books for just $26.00! Can't beat that, even at the local used bookstore!