Books about Seniors from Amazon.com

Ron Suskind won the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing in 1995 for his stories on Cedric Jennings, a talented black teenager struggling to succeed in one of the worst public high schools in Washington, D.C. Suskind has expanded those features into a full-length nonfiction narrative, following Jennings beyond his high-school graduation to Brown University, and in the tradition of Leon Dash's Rosa Lee and Alex Kotlowitz's There Are No Children Here, delivers a compelling story on the struggles of inner-city life in modern America. While it appears to have a happy ending (with Jennings earning a B average in his sophomore year), A Hope in the Unseen is not without a few caveats (at times, Jennings feels profoundly alienated from his white peers). Trite as it may sound to say, this book teaches a lesson about the virtue of perseverance, and it's definitely worth reading. --John J. Miller.
Price: $7.94 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The Second Vatican Council's call for biblical renewal in every aspect of Catholic life revealed the need for a key to the Scriptures that would communicate their power by means of modern scholarship. The Catholic Study Bible addressed this crucial need. It has been widely accepted for use by advanced students, who have benefited from its wealth of background information on the historical, literary, and theological dimensions of the Bible.

The Second Edition of this landmark resource has been significantly upgraded. The study notes have been completely rewritten, and there are new and expanded essays and sidebars on special topics in the study materials and biblical text.

The heart of this edition's ancillary materials remains its extensive Reading Guide that leads the reader through the Scriptures, book by book. Clear marginal references in the biblical text point to specific pages in the Reading Guide, easing the retrieval of important background information.
A 15-page Glossary defines biblical terms with which students may not be familiar. Also included is a handy 72-page selective concordance (index) to the New American Bible translation. This resource is a valuable aid to in-depth Scripture study (not available in the College Edition). Also included: the complete Sunday and weekday lectionary readings for all three liturgical years of the Church, plus 32 pages of authoritative, full-color Oxford Bible Maps with place-name index..
Price: $18.39 [Notify me when price goes down.]

What's the right thing to do for mom and dad as they get older?

Thanks to advances in science and medicine, more of our parents are living longer than ever before. And though we are rewarded with more time with the people we love, we are also faced with new sets of complications—more diseases, more disability, more need for support and careful judgments. Yet while our health care system may help people live to an older age, it doesn't perform so well when decline eventually sets in. We want to do the best thing but are overwhelmed with the staggering choices we face.

Geriatrician Dennis McCullough has spent his life helping families to cope with their parents' aging and eventual final passage, experiences he faced with his own mother. In this comforting and much-needed book, he recommends a new approach, which he terms "Slow Medicine."

Shaped by common sense and kindness, grounded in traditional medicine yet receptive to alternative therapies, Slow Medicine advocates for careful anticipatory "attending" to an elder's changing needs rather than waiting for crises that force acute medical interventions—an approach that improves the quality of elders' extended late lives without bankrupting their families financially or emotionally. As Dr. McCullough argues, we need to learn that time and kindness are sometimes more important and humane at these late stages than state-of-the-art medical interventions.

My Mother, Your Mother will help you learn how to:

—form an early and strong partnership with your parents and siblings;
—strategize on connecting with doctors and other care providers;
—navigate medical crises;
—create a committed Advocacy Team;
—reach out with greater empathy and awareness; and
—face the end-of-life time with confidence and skill.

Although taking care of those who have always cared for us is not an easily navigated time of life, My Mother, Your Mother will help you and your family to prepare for this complex journey. This is not a plan for getting ready to die; it is a plan for understanding, for caring, and for helping those you love live well during their final years. And the time to start is now.

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Price: $12.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The Second Vatican Council's call for biblical renewal in every aspect of Catholic life revealed the need for a key to the Scriptures that would communicate their power by means of modern scholarship. The Catholic Study Bible addressed this crucial need. It has been widely accepted for use by advanced students, who have benefited from its wealth of background information on the historical, literary, and theological dimensions of the Bible.

The Second Edition of this landmark resource has been significantly upgraded. The study notes have been completely rewritten, and there are new and expanded essays and sidebars on special topics in the study materials and biblical text.

The heart of this edition's ancillary materials remains its extensive Reading Guide that leads the reader through the Scriptures, book by book. Clear marginal references in the biblical text point to specific pages in the Reading Guide, easing the retrieval of important background information.
A 15-page Glossary defines biblical terms with which students may not be familiar. Also included is a handy 72-page selective concordance (index) to the New American Bible translation. This resource is a valuable aid to in-depth Scripture study (not available in the College Edition). Also included: the complete Sunday and weekday lectionary readings for all three liturgical years of the Church, plus 32 pages of authoritative, full-color Oxford Bible Maps with place-name index..
Price: $28.92 [Notify me when price goes down.]

For 30 years Frank McCourt taught high school English in New York City and for much of that time he considered himself a fraud. During these years he danced a delicate jig between engaging the students, satisfying often bewildered administrators and parents, and actually enjoying his job. He tried to present a consistent image of composure and self-confidence, yet he regularly felt insecure, inadequate, and unfocused. After much trial and error, he eventually discovered what was in front of him (or rather, behind him) all along--his own experience. "My life saved my life," he writes. "My students didn't know there was a man up there escaping a cocoon of Irish history and Catholicism, leaving bits of that cocoon everywhere." At the beginning of his career it had never occurred to him that his own dismal upbringing in the slums of Limerick could be turned into a valuable lesson plan. Indeed, his formal training emphasized the opposite. Principals and department heads lectured him to never share anything personal. He was instructed to arouse fear and awe, to be stern, to be impossible to please--but he couldn't do it. McCourt was too likable, too interested in the students' lives, and too willing to reveal himself for their benefit as well as his own. He was a kindred spirit with more questions than answers: "Look at me: wandering late bloomer, floundering old fart, discovering in my forties what my students knew in their teens."

As he did so adroitly in his previous memoirs, Angela's Ashes and 'Tis, McCourt manages to uncover humor in nearly everything. He writes about hilarious misfires, as when he suggested (during his teacher's exam) that the students write a suicide note, as well as unorthodox assignments that turned into epiphanies for both teacher and students. A dazzling writer with a unique and compelling voice, McCourt describes the dignity and difficulties of a largely thankless profession with incisive, self-deprecating wit and uncommon perception. It may have taken him three decades to figure out how to be an effective teacher, but he ultimately saved his most valuable lesson for himself: how to be his own man. --Shawn Carkonen.
Price: $3.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

If getting and spending define our lives, then Juliet Schor now has us covered Six years ago, her book The Overworked American scrutinized the getting part. It focused public attention on the disappearance of leisure and the harmful effects thereof on families and society. It sparked a debate over whether Americans really work as much as we proudly claim. (If so, how to explain the audience for Monday Night Football?) Nevertheless, Schor can take credit for helping push Congress into passing the Family Leave Act in 1993.

Now she is back with a critique of our spending. Schor notes that, despite rising wealth and incomes, Americans do not feel any better off. In fact, we tell pollsters we do not have enough money to buy everything we need. And we are almost as likely to say so if we make $85,000 a year as we are if we make $35,000. Schor believes that "keeping up with the Joneses" is no longer enough for today's media-savvy office workers. We set our sights on the lifestyles of those higher up the organizational chart. We seek to emulate characters on TV. For teenagers, "enough" is the idle splendor that hardly exists outside of what MTV un-ironically calls The Real World. Schor offers an original and provocative analysis of why many Americans feel driven and unhappy despite our success. As an alternative, she profiles several "downshifters" who've taken up voluntary simplicity in search of a more satisfying way of life. No policy solutions suggest themselves this time, only a change of heart. --Barry Mitzman.
Price: $7.34 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The CLASSIC EDITION of Zill's respected book was designed for instructors who prefer not to emphasize technology, modeling, and applications, but instead want to focus on fundamental theory and techniques. Zill's CLASSIC EDITION, a reissue of the fifth edition, offers his excellent writing style, a flexible organization, an accessible level of presentation, and a wide variety of examples and exercises, all of which make it easy to teach from and easy for readers to understand and use..
Price: $99.25 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This task-oriented, step-by-step guide is specifically written for mature people like you, folks who are relatively new to using a computer and want to discover the basics of buying a computer, working with software, and getting on the Internet. It takes the guesswork, the confusion, and the jargon out of every aspect of getting started, from choosing the computer and software that' are right for you to learning the basics of working with applications and going online, to taking advantage of all that this powerful tool has to offer. You'll discover how to:

• Choose among desktops, laptops, PCs, and Macs
• Use the mouse and keyboard
• Find your way around the desktop
• Set up and use an email account
• Work with files and folders, numbers and finances
• Add a printer, scanner, or fax
• Take advantage of online and offline Help
• Have a ball with digital photos and music
• Browse the Web with Internet Explorer
• Connect with people online

The world is just a mouse-click away and with your shiny new computer and a little help from Computers for Seniors For Dummies, you'll get there safe and sound in no time..
Price: $10.75 [Notify me when price goes down.]

“Over an extraordinary thirty year history, Kripalu Center has been a pioneer in combining authentic yoga with a contemporary Western lifestyle ” —John Abbott, President, Yoga Journal

From the senior teachers of the world-renowned Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health–the largest yoga and retreat center in North America–comes this comprehensive guide to the unique and influential Kripalu method, which emphasizes individual growth over outward perfection of form, making it accessible to people of all ages, fitness levels, and body types.

KRIPALU YOGA
A Guide to Practice On and Off the Mat

Beginning with step-by-step “experiences” that teach essential body and breath awareness, Kripalu Yoga features fully illustrated routines for beginners and intermediate students , including Kripalu’s easy-to-follow “press point” instructions. For advanced students, there is a broad menu of additional poses to increase strength, flexibility, and challenge.

Far more than an exercise program, Kripalu Yoga also teaches the lifestyle practices and energy techniques that make yoga a powerful catalyst for physical healing, psychological growth, and spiritual awakening..
Price: $12.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]