Ever go for a stroll and get blown away by a hurricane? That's what happens to Neil Riley, the protagonist of the novel With the Children. It's 1969 and, to dodge the Vietnam era draft, he takes a job teaching 6th grade in South Harlem. He knows nothing about teaching, but presumes it'll be a snap. Only when he's confronted by thirty-three street-smart children who know exactly how little he knows does he realize the trouble he's in. He's begun a demanding profession with no idea how it's done. Desperately in need of tutoring, he submits himself to the direction of a mentor who demands a...