Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 27, 2006, Winnipeg, Manitoba H Eather Mills has been offered a Deal to tattle on estranged husband and former beatle Paul Mccartney. The kiss and Tell Deal could net Mills seven figures the observer newspaper reports. Publisher John Blake approached Mills recently with what he claims is a Chance for her to Stem the tide of negative Media attention and earn some support in the Public relations War the report says. From her Point of View it would be the Best thing to do to explain All these disastrous stories Blake said in the observer. She is being unfairly treated. Its not All Black and White. The whole world could see what Sheds really like. The proposed Book would cover the end of the marriage and its treatment by the tabloids behind the scenes details and Mills portrayal As a villain in this unfolding celebrity drama. She does not need Money she needs profile Blake said. Its True that Mills hardly needs the Book Deal for Cash. Its been estimated that she could receive As much As � 150 million More than $ 314 million can in the divorce settlement. Nominees for the second annual quills Book awards have been announced in the United states. There Are 19 different categories with five nominees named in each category. Nominated authors include Diana Gabaldon for a breath of Snow and Ashe the latest in the outlander series. The bestselling author is up against another popular author who knows How to move books Stephen King for cell. Other big names include e. L. Doctorow nominated for the March general fiction and former u. S. Vice president Al Gore for an inconvenient truth history politics current events. The biography Memoir category includes successful bestsellers like dispatches from the Edge by can correspondent Anderson Cooper Joan did ions the year of magical thinking and John grogans Marley and me. The Book of the year award will be the chosen by the Public in online voting from a list of nominees in the 19 categories. The quills were introduced last year in an Effort to put a More populist glamorous focus on books challenging the More traditional and literary National Book awards and the pulitzer prize. Organizers have hoped the quills would Grant writers the same kind of recognition that the Booker prize gives its nominees and winners. The quills will be presented oct. 10 in new York City with the ceremony televised by Abc on oct. 28. Celebrity autobiographies Are the books most often abandoned by readers according to a new Survey by trave Lodge and reported by Bri taints sky news. The five books most often left behind in hotel rooms Are All penned by the Rich and famous. Paris Hiltons confessions of an heiress was the Book most often discarded. Hiltons Book was followed by four titles by British football modelling and reality to celebs. Its the first time Ever the top five books have All been celebrity autobiographies trave Lodge operations director Kyle Rowe is quoted As saying. It just shows we have become a nation fixated with celebrities and their lifestyles. All unwanted books Are donated to local hospitals and Charity shops for people to enjoy Reading. New in paperback Toronto born Iowa based writer Craig Davidson writes stories about boxers fighting dogs sex addicts and others dealing with bad Luck in his collection rust and Bone Penguin Canada. Treading water Mcarthur & company by Anne Degrace is set in a tiny Community in British Columbia and begins in 1905 and ends in the present. Marq de Villiers writes about a California winemakers search for the perfect pinot noir in the Heartbreak grape Mcarthur & company. B 6 editor Morley Walker / 697 7307 b books e mail Morley. Walker free press. My. Ca sunday August 27, 2006 Winnipeg repress. Com paper Chase Linda Rosborough Winnipeg repress. Com the meaning of the 21st Century by James Martin Riverhead books $ 35.50, 400 pages visions of future and questions society faces growing geniuses Brilliant Prodigy brings unique if coloured perspective to growing up gifted reviewed by Wendy Burke a Merican writer Alissa quart is bitter. She grew up As a Brilliant Prodigy and missed out on being a regular kid. That puts her in the unique position of having lived her subject matter in her study of prodigies Hothouse kids the dilemma of the gifted child. On the one hand As a former child Prodigy herself she brings a unique perspective to the drama of growing up gifted. On the other hand her negative experiences Colour that same perspective. And unfortunately it shows. Here she is on her father my father would have bristled at the notion that he was an overbearing puppet master. If i sat absolutely quietly and wrote lyrical verse about treetops i was peachy. My father was hell Bent on bettering my lot and by Extension our family is lot by bettering mine. My fathers plan succeeded on one level of course. I became a Hothouse kid. I wrote my first novel at seven and won a dozen creative writing competitions before i turned 17. Its Clear she recognizes the difficulties she encountered growing up As she did. And its important that she is upfront about that experience in her presentation. But sometimes her tone makes it Clear she is disgusted with the whole Prospect. Its not necessary because the material by itself is powerful enough to let the Reader draw their own conclusions. When she introduces the Reader to the child preachers who actually compete with one another a shudder inducing notion All by itself she describes the room As Lousy with boy preachers. In instance after instance the children Are All Odd the parents All seem to be screwed up in one Way or another. For some parents competitions like the scrabble circuit provide a social outlet for the parents. To quart that is somehow sinister. One starts to wonder Are there no Normal families with exceptional kids Why dont they show up quart is Sharp in her critique of the business of growing geniuses. That perspective is certainly reflective of her earlier Book branded the buying and Selling of teenagers. In the same Way that Cool and a sense of belonging Are marketed to teenagers the baby edutainment Complex Sells Security to parents trying to give their infants a leg up. From there she takes the Reader through the world of giftedness the endless rounds of evaluations and classes and Competition to get into the right schools in some cases the most lucrative employment and the competitions that show off the talents these kids have. And endless training and Competition has its Price. While some kids fare better the math whizzes who get picked up by Wall Street some kids like music prodigies Wake up one Day and realize that they Are no longer special because they Are now adults. In Many ways quart is right there is much to be deeply concerned about. The aggressive training of natural prodigies and the forced Early development of baby geniuses the Way a Gardener manages the Early Blooming of a bulb tend to Rob not Only prodigies of the full experience of childhood but regular kids As Well. Hothouse kids is Good Reading for parents even if its just to be forewarned of the Pitfalls of stealing childhood Early much the same As David Elkind warned about in his 1979 classic the hurried child. Advertisers know that parents especially achievement oriented types Are prone to worry about the future of their children and make profits by exploiting that worry. Furthermore the trend to interpret Scholastic achievement on the basis of test scores alone the basis of dub yams no child left behind encourages the schools to teach to the test meaning that All kids Are taught in the same Way in order to produce the same results regardless of where a child really is in terms of their development. That Means slow learners get left behind and kids who should be fast tracked get bored. What is quarts solution to the problem of educating gifted kids its the same predictable solution to every problem with kids today gifted or not. You just need to throw enough Money at the schools for new programming and it will All get better. But recent history has yet to prove to americans or canadians that More Money actually fixes anything. So quart will have to come up with a better idea. Maybe theress an As yet undiscovered Prodigy out there who will have the answer to that question. Wendy Burke is a Winnipeg freelance writer and the Mother of two very musical children. Hothouse kids the dilemma of the gifted child by Alissa quart the Penguin press 272 pages $ 32.50 reviewed by Rebecca Walberg v visions of the future whether science fiction or speculative non fiction have been entertaining and instructing readers for centuries. In the meaning of the 21st Century James Martin a respected British academic who Heads a group of researchers at Oxford University provides an intriguing and often convincing synopsis of the major issues humans will confront in the years to come. He addresses issues ranging from the growing Gulf Between the industrialized world to the role of Central planning in controlling pollution. Martin first attracted attention for his work in the 1970s discussing the technological and sociological consequences of mass and interconnected computing. The strongest segments of this work and the most credible Are those in which he looks at the rate and direction of growth in technology. He is especially interested in nonhuman like intelligence nil an abbreviation that May confuse Canadian hockey fan Sand How it will be developed and then develop itself. Nil will be in some ways More limited than human intelligence but in Many other ways Superior faster self improving and More reliable. There Are frightening implications in this Many of which Are the premise of dystopian books and movies and Martin takes a measured look at what technologies threaten and Promise. While some see the potential for disaster in the increasing Reliance on computers that regulate and modify themselves Martin Points out the sunnier alternatives they May offer in the future. Nil computing for instance could greatly improve Security while maintaining privacy. Such a system might finally resolve the Trade off Between Liberty and Security an Issue that promises Only to grow Hornier in the near future. Another fascinating Section deals with trans humanism. Martin foresees a world in which artificial organs function better than their natural counterparts lifespans Are measured in centuries and drugs Are used not just to treat mental or physical illness but to sculpt lifestyles. Less impressive is Martins take on social policy and demographics. This chapter illustrates two common errors in reasoning begging the question and assuming causation. His discussion of an oncoming population crisis in which births far outstrip the planets ability to sustain humanity takes for granted that this crisis looms. In fact recent work shows that we have already passed the inflection Point in population growth and increasingly economists Are drawing attention to the ways in which a dearth of Young adults will afflict societies and economies. Further Martins prescription for lowering Fertility is based on unsupported assumptions. Pointing out that countries with High female literacy have lower birthrates and that As the level of education increases so do births decrease he suggests an intensive program to teach girls around the world to read. It is far from Clear that doing so will reduce Fertility. A likelier explanation is that societies that provide Good education also provide better Access to medical care and contraception and that women in industrialized societies with professional ambitions find the Opportunity costs of childbearing much higher than do their counterparts in a subsistence Economy. The title of the Book and the impetus behind it come from Martins belief that tremendous change awaits us in the coming Century. With regard to All of his topics the environment medical science wealth inequality technology he sees two paths ahead one leading to catastrophe and the other to unimagined Prosperity and cultural depth. Martin provides a thoughtful concise and informative look at the choices before us and raises the questions both amusing and troubling we will need to answer. Rebecca Walberg is a writer at the Frontier Centre for Public policy in Winnipeg. My father would have bristled at the notion that he was an overbearing puppet master. If i sat absolutely quietly and wrote lyrical verse about treetops i was peachy. Heather Mills offered Deal to tattle. Linda. Rosborough free press. My. Ca associated press ;