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When asked why she studied civil engineering, Reece replied, "Well, I like mathematics and I didn't want to be a teacher." In 1954 she became the first female civil engineer to be fully licensed in the state of California. The State Division of Highways (later called Caltrans) put her to work, most notably designing the giant interchange of the San Diego and Santa Monica freeways, for which she received the Governor's Design Excellence Award in 1962. "It's amazing that all that was happening and she was pregnant with [me]," said her daughter, Anne Bartolotti. "With both my sister and me, when she came back from maternity leave, everyone was surprised because at that particular time as a woman in the work force, once you started having kids your career was over and you stayed home." Reece herself had no problems with the job. "If there's any prejudice toward women, I've not encountered it," she said in 1963. "Men have always been very helpful; and being a woman has never hampered me in my career." She retired in 1983 and -- yes -- turned to teaching: engineering. She died May 15 in Southern California at 77. From This is True for 16 May 2004 Suggestions for further reading:
 By: Kirk Johnson List Price: $29.95 Amazon Price: $19.47 Editorial Review: Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway follows the zany travels of a paleontologist and an artist as they drive across the American West in search of fossils. Throughout their journey, they encounter "paleonerds" like themselves, men and women dedicated to finding everything from suburban T. rexes to killer Eocene pigs to ancient fossilized forests. Much of their travels are spent in remote places few people visit, where they discover small-town museums packed with paleontological treasures, rock quarries that have yielded hundreds of fossilized bones, and the remains of ancient seashores tracked with the footprints of dinosaurs. What soon becomes evident is that fossils are everywhere; it only takes knowing what to look for to find them--even at 65 miles per hour.  By: Chris Hedges List Price: $24.00 Amazon Price: $16.32 Editorial Review: Why should all Americans -not just Christians and Jews -- care about the Ten Commandments? Chris Hedges, a former foreign correspondent for the New York Times and Harvard Divinity School graduate, believes that the commandments keep us from committing evil. They hold our communities together. "They lead us to love, the essence of life," he writes. Adapted from his series of articles for the New York Times comes these thoughtful essays on why we need these ancient laws -- and what happens when we abandon them. A Phish band groupie provides a springboard for a discussion of idolatry. A Long Island whiskey bar becomes a laboratory for understanding "You shall not bear false witness." Honoring the Sabbath, he shows through the observances of one busy family, may be the antidote to popular culture. The story of the havoc wreaked on one child's life vividly illustrates the reason for the commandment, "You shall not commit adultery." Throughout his essays, he deftly weaves his own experiences into the narrative, as well as references from Fyodor Dostoyevsky's classic book on good and evil, The Brothers Karamazov. Hedges believes that the commandments hold out to us the possibility of love -- and love means living for others. The commandments are guideposts that bring us back to the right path, he writes. They call us to sacrifice. Compellingly, he urges us to abandon the culture of self; to live "not by exalting our life but by being willing to lose it." --Cindy CrosbyThe 10 Commandments -- the laws given to Moses by God -- are beyond the scope of human law. They are rules meant to hold us together but, when dishonored, they lead to discord and violence. In this fierce, articulate narrative, Hedges, who graduated from seminary at Harvard Divinity School, looks through the lens of each commandment to examine the moral ruin of American society. With urgency and passion, he challenges readers to take a hard look at the disconnect between their supposed values and the shallow, self-absorbed lives many people actually lead. Taking examples from his personal life and twenty years of reporting, Hedges explores one commandment at a time, each through a particular social group. With each story, he reveals the universal nature of personal suffering, discovery, and redemption -- and explores the laws that we have tried to follow, often unsuccessfully, for the past 6,000 years. "The 10 Commandments -- the laws given to Moses by God -- are beyond the scope of human law. They are rules meant to hold us together but, when dishonored, they lead to discord and violence. In this fierce, articulate narrative, Hedges, who graduated from seminary at Harvard Divinity School, looks through the lens of each commandment to examine the moral ruin of American society. With urgency and passion, he challenges readers to take a hard look at the disconnect between their supposed values and the shallow, self-absorbed lives many people actually lead. Taking examples from his personal life and twenty years of reporting, Hedges explores one commandment at a time, each through a particular social group. With each story, he reveals the universal nature of personal suffering, discovery, and redemption -- and explores the laws that we have tried to follow, often unsuccessfully, for the past 6,000 years. "  By: Kirk Johnson List Price: $12.95 Amazon Price: $11.01 Editorial Review: A companion map for Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway , which follows the zany travels of a paleontologist and an artist as they drive across the American West in search of fossils. Size: 42" x 60"  By: Corinne Ware List Price: $15.00 Amazon Price: $11.25 Editorial Review: "How can we heal the rift between our daily lives and the sacred? How can we live a life capable of hearing "the still small voice" of God while experiencing the speed and sensory overload of modern life? This book is Ware's answer to these questions. She acknowledges that others have addressed the questions; on the one hand there are books which have significant depth but speak in academic or "in-group" language and provide little help adapting these insights to everyday life. On the other hand, there are practical "how-to" exercises which assist in very particular spiritual experiences but which do not offer integrated, sustainable, life-changing patterns. St. Benedict on the Freeway fills this gap. It "translates into twenty-first century life spiritually formative practices worked out in the past, creatively adapting those disciplines to contemporary daily life." This adaptation is the heart of Ware's book. She attempts first to draw attention to our own awareness of God. She discusses how a "Rule" functioned for Benedict's time, and how it can function for us as a liberating reminder of God instead of another repressive and burdensome taskmaster. Ware also asks how the hours of prayer--vigils, lauds, prime, terce, sext, none, vespers, compline--can increase our spiritual awareness even if our 'community' does not stop for prayer at designated times during the day. And, Ware explores prayer in dimensions beyond the spoken word.  By: Tim Kimmel List Price: $12.99 Amazon Price: $11.04 Editorial Review: More than 300,000 copies in print! Enjoy learning how to maintain true priorities and restore calmness to marriage, family life, your relationship with God, and the workplace. Includes individual/group study guide. |
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