As war threatens to rip apart a once peaceful land, a young kitchen boy turned magician's apprentice embarks on a journey that could save his world from the dark machinations of a king gone mad. The author of Tailchaser's Song draws on many mythologies for the background of his fantasy epic, creating a solid story spiced with political intrigue and strong, appealing heroes. YA-- Williams, author of Tailchaser's Song (NAL, 1986), scores with the first book in another fantasy trilogy. Simon is an ordinary kitchen helper who is taken under the tutelage of the magician Morgenes. When King John Presbyter dies and his son Elias ascends the throne, the way opens for a long-dormant evil to enter the realm. Elias, a pawn of the black magician Pyrates, moves to eliminate his brother Josua, and the brother-against-brother, good-versus-evil clash begins. Simon is thrown in with Josua and muddles through adventure and peril, maturing into a hero by book's end. Williams weaves all of the classic ingredients of fantasy into his tale--trolls, giants, elf-like sithi, and dragons.
Simon must travel from drought-stricken lands to ice-bound peaks as he follows his far-seeing dreams. The land of Osten Ard is well created, and readers quickly become immersed in the story. Unfortunately, despite the high adventure and excitement, The Dragonbone Chair leaves many loose ends, so readers, like Simon, are left waiting--for book two.-- Margaret Sloan, Willowridge High School, Sugar Land, Tex. Praise for Tad Williams: “Inspired me to write my own seven-book trilogy.... It’s one of my favorite fantasy series.”—George R. R. Martin, New York Times-bestselling author “Groundbreaking.... Changed how people thought of the genre, and paved the way for so much modern fantasy. Including mine.” —Patrick Rothfuss, New York Times-bestselling author of The Name of the Wind "Tad Williams is a master storyteller, and the Osten Ard books are his masterpiece. Williams’ return to Osten Ard is every bit as compelling, deep, and fully-rendered as the first trilogy, and he continues to write with the experience and polish of an author at the top of his game." —Brandon Sanderson, New York Times-bestselling author of Mistborn“Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn is one of the great fantasy epics of all time.” —Christopher Paolini, New York Times bestselling author of Eragon “Readers who delight in losing themselves in long complex tales of epic fantasy
will be in their element here, and there is the promise of much more to come in future volumes.” —Locus “Panoramic, vigorous, often moving.... Williams adroitly weaves together the tales...heralding a suitably epic and glorious conclusion.” —Publishers Weekly “Highly Recommended. [Williams] draws on many mythologies for the background of his fantasy epic...story spiced with political intrigue and strong appealing heroes.” —Library Journal “A grand fantasy on a scale approaching Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.” —Cincinnati PostUCLA Ed & IS hosted the West Coast Celebration of the 70th Anniversary of UNESCO with a reception and dinner at The Skirball Cultural Center on Feb. 8. The event included the inauguration of Professor Carlos Alberto Torres as the UCLA UNESCO Chair in Global Learning and Global Citizenship Education. UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, UCLA Ed & IS Wasserman Dean Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti welcomed UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and educational philanthropist Courtney Sale Ross, who received the first-ever UCLA Global Citizen Award.
UCLA alumni Gil Garcetti, former L.A. County district attorney and a UNESCO Cultural Ambassador, and Mo Ostin, chairman emeritus of Warner Bros. Music and philanthropist, were also in attendance. Following an opening reception, students from UCLA Lab School opened the program with “The Earth Song,” which was written and led by their music teacher Nick Kello. Chancellor Block applauded the students’ performance and commented on their early exposure to environmental responsibility. “The young people we just heard from UCLA Lab School are actively learning about the environment and how their future roles as advocates for the sustainable world are so critical,” Block said. “They’re starting early to appreciate how careful they will have to be with this planet.” Block honored the 70th anniversary of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and recognized its contributions to “the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development, and the intercultural dialogue on education, sciences, culture, communication, and information.”
“That broad mission – that extraordinary mission, actually – is more important than ever in today’s changing global environment,” he said. “It’s clear that we’re all going to work much more closely together as stewards of our planet.” Dean Suárez-Orozco extended his welcome to Ms. Bokova and Mrs. Ross, and thanked the event sponsors, HBO, Entravision, and Warner Bros. Entertainment, for their support. He introduced Professor Torres as the new UCLA UNESCO Chair in Global Learning and Global Citizenship Education, the first-ever UNESCO Chair in the University of California system, recognizing his colleague as “the leading and most recognized authority in the world on the interrelationships of economic, political, and cultural fears that make education a site of permanent conflict and struggle worldwide.” “Dr. Torres will lead UCLA’s partnership work with UNESCO as we focus together on the vital need to develop the new generation of global citizens who are strong and caring stewards of our ever-more connected, miniaturized, and fragile planet,” said Suárez-Orozco.
“We are honored, proud, and delighted to be the site of the first UNESCO Chair at the University of California system, and I congratulate Dr. Torres for this remarkable distinction.” Suárez-Orozco, who is a Distinguished Professor of Education and co-director of the Institute for Immigration, Globalization, and Education at UCLA Ed & IS, announced the graduate school’s partnership with the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability to form the UCLA Children’s Environmental Educational Initiative, and urged guests to lend their support. The project will develop best practice models for K-12 environmental education, to be created at UCLA Lab School, UCLA Community School, and the University’s other partner schools in Los Angeles. “In the 21st Century, the children of the world cannot flourish on a planet, in an environment that is withering,” said Suárez-Orozco. “Environmental education is not a privilege, but a right. Society, politics, economy, and culture are inseparable from the environment, and all species including humans, are part of the nature in a nonlinear web of interdependence and interconnection.
“Environmental education provides a compelling moral imperative that can mobilize children’s agency and the search for solutions. By posing questions and using the method of inquiry as a pedagogical tool, the environment capitalizes on our children’s curiosity to develop critical thinking skills.” Peter Kareiva, director of the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, expressed his enthusiasm for the project. “The youth don’t know limits,” he said. “They’re not burdened with the history of all the things that have gone wrong. They have unequivocal optimism. And [in] the combination of Los Angeles, UCLA, and the kids – I see the future of the planet for all of us.” Mayor Garcetti, an alumnus of UCLA Lab School – which was then called University Elementary School (UES), recalled his education there. “It introduced me to the world,” he said. “It was a school that was a reflection and an aspiration of the city called Los Angeles… where I learned about art and culture and science.
We learned about issues of justice and equity. And it was created with such a reflection of this city – not just the most diverse city on the face of the Earth today, but the most diverse city ever in human history.” Garcetti introduced Director-General Bokova, the first woman and first Eastern European to serve in the position. She spoke on “UNESCO’s History and Future,” highlighting the organization’s creation and mission, particularly in regard to literacy and education. Dean Suárez-Orozco presented Director-General Bokova with a thank you gift of a floral still life painting by students from UCLA Lab School. “It was the American diplomat and Librarian of Congress Archibald MacLeish, who penned the opening of our constitution: ‘’Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men’ – and nowadays, of course, we say women – ‘that the defenses of peace must be constructed,’” noted Bokova. “This is where this organization was born, and our constitution, which is one of the most inspiring documents that the United Nations had ever created, is the foundation of the Universal Declaration of Rights.
The commitment that UNESCO has as a mission – to promote human dignity and to stand against extremism, and also to respect intercultural dialogue, and to stand for common values – is some of the most important work that we are doing.” Bokova congratulated Professor Torres and highlighted the significance of the new UCLA UNESCO Chair in Global Learning and Global Citizenship Education in achieving not only peace, but in teaching future generations the value of a sustainable environment. “The agenda around climate change and the agenda around sustainable development should be one and the same agenda, if we want to achieve peace – if we want to teach our children to think differently,” said Bokova. “In this, I think education and learning are playing an extremely important role. This is where our new UCLA UNESCO Chair in Global Learning and Global Citizenship Education is so essential. It is the first-ever such chair that UNESCO has established, and reflects our shared conviction that education must be more than learning to read and write.
It is about learning to live together, learning to live in peace with the environment… it is about cultural literacy, respect, and dignity. And I would say broadly, it is about connecting the dots between the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. “UCLA is starting the global movement about citizenship education. We need to reach young minds and to achieve something that we have not seen before… because this is the way we will transform the world.” After Ms. Bokova’s presentation, Chancellor Block and Dean Suárez-Orozco presented Mrs. Ross with the inaugural UCLA Global Citizen Award, which recognizes individuals who are making transformational change for the world’s children through visionary leadership in education. The introduction of the UCLA Global Citizen Award complements UNESCO’s 70th anniversary and its commitment to utilizing global knowledge to innovate, defend peace, and develop sustainability. In 1991 with her late husband Steven J. Ross, Courtney Ross founded the Ross School, a private pre-nursery-12 school in East Hampton.
The Ross School’s curriculum is based on world cultural history and the evolution of consciousness. She has also done fundamental educational work in urgent domains, including the education of refugee children in Sweden. Recently the Ross Learning System was showcased at Pope Francis’ Pontifical Academy of Science’s Workshops on Children and Sustainable Development in the Holy See. Prior to her work in education and global philanthropy, Ross was an award-winning documentary filmmaker, and has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate from her alma mater, Skidmore College. Dean Suárez-Orozco co-edited the 2010 book, “Educating the Whole Child for the Whole World: The Ross School Model and Education for the Global Era” (With Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj). Ross expressed her appreciation for the musical performance by UCLA Lab School students and commended UCLA Ed & IS and UCLA Lab School for “the potential to enrich the lives of all the children in Los Angeles,” and echoed Bokova’s sentiments regarding collaboration among the arenas of education and policy.