Building a Straw Bale House: The Red Feather Construction Handbook

Book Description

"This book is a timely and important tool for the empowerment of communities facing housing deficits. The Red Feather project is extremely important; it is truly making a difference."—Jane Goodall

For more than a decade the Red Feather Development Group, a volunteer-based organization, has built and repaired straw bale houses for Native Americans. Somewhere along the way—and this was certainly not the plan—they created an architectural phenomenon: This inexpensive, environmentally sound, easily constructed, and downright beautiful form of building has, for good reason, caught the public's imagination. Here, Red Feather provides a step-by-step, easy-to-follow manual for would-be strawbale builders—indeed, they supply everything you'll need but time, energy, and lots and lots of straw. Informative sections on safety, design, tools, and materials, and case studies picked from over thirty-five Red Feather projects give a comprehensive overview to straw-bale building.

But this book is much more than a construction manual. It is also the inspiring story of Red Feather itself, a tale of community action and cooperation that suggests a can-do solution to the growing housing crisis on America's Native American reservations.

Customer Reviews:

Good book.......2007-05-20

This was really a good book and I would recommend it very much.

A great handbook for those considering straw bale construction.......2006-08-20

This book gives an over view of the process to build a home using straw bale construction that is used by the Red Feather Development Group. Modeled after Habitat for Humanity they help tribal members living on Indian reservations achieve home ownership. The book takes you through the building process with many photos and diagrams. There is also pictures and discriptions of straw bale homes that are still lived in after 80 years, showing that sustainable housing is not a passing fad.

Inexpensive and Efficient Housing.......2006-04-07

I first became aware of straw base houses when I visited friends who had built one high in the Colorado rockies. In spite of the bad winters in that location, they reported that they very rarely used any heating beyond opening the drapes on the south facing windows. I don't know what the R-value of a bale of straw might be, but it is high.

They also reported that in the few years they had lived there they had had virtually no maintenance. I had imagined little cracks in the exterior covering and furry little critters living in the walls. But they reported that nothing like this had occurred.

This book is put out by the Red Feather Development Group. They are a non-profit group chartered to provide low cost but efficient housing on indian reservations. They have been developing straw bale contruction for houses over many years, many buildings.

This handbook is not exactly a complete primer on building a straw bale house, to me it is an idea book. There's not much here, for instance on plumbing, heating, wiring and so on. Fair enough, those things are much the same for any house, and well understood by architects and contractors. What this book does is talk about building the house itself, the wall structure, supporting the roof, the things that are unique to building with Straw Bales. There are lots of pictures, illustrating lots of points that you wouldn't think of unless you had been there and done that.

Highly recommended!

More Than Just a Handbook.......2006-02-27

When Red Feather Development Group founded in 1994, its mission was to build and develop affordable and ecological sound straw bail houses for the American Indian community. In recent years, the work of the Red Feather Development Group has drawn interest as many environmental and green building groups have developed.

Due to the increase of interest, the group has released "Building a Straw Bale House: The Red Feather Construction Handbook".

The handbook is a great guide for anybody wanting to better understand the principles of straw bale construction. With step-by-step construction directions and wonderful illustrations, "Building a Straw Bale House" makes the topic approachable and simple to create similar versions of the building technique.

For example, the author provides the reader/builder with numeral step-by-step instructions for constructing the foundation, the correct mix for the interior finish coat, and radiant floor heating diagrams. Everything that may need to be known for constructing a straw house is available in its book, which that in itself is notable.

"Building a Straw Bale House" succeeds in bringing an interesting construction type into the limelight, but the principle of its origin is even more admirable - providing affordable and sustainable housing to individuals.

Great tips, humble, amidst process........2006-01-05

This is an honest assessment of a particular point in a learning curve. And I'd bet that point on the curve is well beyond most of us who've been researching straw bale building. Our troop of friends have taken a workshop put on by the Iron Straw group (ironstraw.org), and although it was informative, this book is a wonderful step ahead of what could be taught in a weekend workshop. Very useful construction handbook, and a worthy cause to be promoting by purchase.

I was the first to borrow this book from our local public library, and even as the borrowed library version is sitting on my desk, I'm buying at Amazon today.

Great photos, tips, and full upfront acknowledgement that the book is a moment in time/written from a particular point in the Red Feather program's evolution in straw bale building.

We'll be building our first straw bale residence the Fall of 2006 in Pend Oreille County in Ea. Washington state. You can bet this sturdy handbook will be on site, somewhere in the straw, and splattered with earthen plaster just like the happy soiling that goes on in when a cookbook is left open for reference in a real cook's kitchen.

Enjoy!

Book Description

Masako Takahashi, coauthor of the best-selling Mexicolor, now turns her attention to the vibrant tiles that are such a key element in Mexican style and design. Bring a festive new look to any home or garden with the ideas in Mexican Tiles. Masako Takahashi leads a colorful architectural tour through Mexico, revealing the many ways tiles are used for function and decoration, adding color and interest to everyday surroundings. Over 175 beautiful color photographs present inspirational examples of classic and contemporary tile work, from colonial-era church facades ornately covered with talavera tiles to vividly detailed modern treatments of bathrooms and kitchens. Including a delightful introduction by Tony Cohen about the history of tile-making in Mexico, plus installation tips and a resource guide, Mexican Tiles is both a fascinating initiation and a practical guide to this key element of Mexican style and design.

Customer Reviews:

A Great Tile Summary.......2006-02-28

I'm in the process of building on the Maya Riviera so this isn't a book read for fun. This is real research looking for real ideas. Building in Spanish Colonial style can't be done without some incorporation of Mexican Tiles. This book is basically 90% pictures and 10% background and history of Mexican Tiles. The background write-up is excellent and gives good history of Talavera and Talavera-Style Tiles. Then it's on to different uses, floors, kitchens, bathrooms, walls and stairs, and patios and gardens.

I'm very simple in the colors I like in homes so these tiles can be "over the top". This book has a lot of these type pictures. It has more tile usage than I've ever seen on exteriors. The kitchen section has huge tile usage but I've seen more attractive usage in other books.

Overall, I did not get any ideas I will definitely use but I did get a different perspective on tile usage. There are definitely pictures I will take back to discuss with my architect and designer which may be incorporated. This book can be consumed in an hour. But it may take many hours of review going over the pictures again and again.

A bit of a let down........2006-01-18

I love Mexican tiles but I felt the book was a bit of a let down. The pictures were a bit small and there wasn't enough information about tilemaking in the book. I think the book would have been much more effective in a larger format where the tiles would have been more impressive. There are some wonderful talavera tile websites on the net for anyone who wants a better overview.

Great content.......2005-08-02

Book has great ideas. Wish it had been hardback. Book binding, does not want to hold together, considering the wear and tear it shall receive. This is also a great book.

AWESOME!!! Fulfilled ALL my expectations!.......2003-04-12

After I bought Masako Takahasi and her husband Tony Cohen's book "Mexicolor", I thought no other book I purchased would EVER compare to that experience. When I discovered "Mexican Tiles", I opened it with fear and trepidation, hoping against all hope, yet hardly daring to believe that it could be even half as good as their first.

But this book is AWESOME!! I think I finally figured out why, after reading Tony Cohen's book "On Mexican Time": these people simply ADORE Mexico, and it comes through in everything they do. All of the wonder and breathless anticipation and teary-eyed beauty that I feel and am so hopelessly unqualified to express when I am either in Mexico or adding to my collection of artesania, Tony vividly portrays in his prose and Masako captures with her camera.

As for subject matter, I LOVE Talavera tiles, Talavera pottery, Talavera ANYTHING, because they are so INCREDIBLY Mexican, and this book is simply PAGE after GORGEOUS PAGE of Talavera-lined kitchens, bathrooms, stairs, floors...you name it, it's tiled. If you at all appreciate ethnic interior design or Mexican handicrafts, this is an AWESOME book!!!

Product Description

This newly revised edition of a photography classic demonstrates what the Zone System is and how it works. It teaches you how to recognize the zones both on the print and in real life, how to previsualize your photograph and expose accordingly, how to assess your prints and negatives for contrast and how to test equipment and chemicals for reliable results. 192 pp., 150 b&w illustrations, 7 x 10 , Softbound.

Customer Reviews:

Good Text, Crappy Illustrations.......2006-10-31

This book is the current bible of the zone system. Everything you want and need to know about it for both film and digital.

But Focal Press once again comes through with crappy illustrations. The key to the zone system is being able to discriminate tones. The copy of the book I received has such muddy printing that it is impossible to see any difference between zones 0 to II and VIII and IX on the step diagrams provided. The black and white photos used for examples are equally muddy, making it difficult to follow the discussion in the text.

Text gets 5 stars, production gets 1, average = 3

Ansel Adam's zone system to-day.......2005-10-06

The zone system was developed by Ansel Adams, who had a consummate grasp of all the technicalities of photography and used his knowledge to depict the wilderness areas he loved and wanted to preserve. However, most serious photographers do not have that technical expertise and do not work with the equipment used by Adams. This book is an excellent account by a current teacher of photography who makes the system understandable and useable in the modern context. It gave me a clear understanding of the way in which to control exposure. Having said that, I have used a different set of recommendations in carrying out black and white film tests, as I found those in the book over-complicated; nevertheless, the book gave me the essential understanding that was crucial to carrying out the film tests correctly and understanding the results.

Best intro to Zone System I've seen.......2002-02-08

Absolutly easy to understand and read. Very well presented, and may well be the only book on Zone System you will ever need. For those wanting to delve into the chemistry of exposure, pass on this book. If you want to learn what the Zone system is and how it works, this book is great. "Everything you need, nothin' you don't"

Practical, useful, sound guidance on the zone system........2001-10-02

This is one of the easier books to understand on the zone system. It does not get too tied up in the details of the system but describes enough detail to allow the reader to understand the basics of the system. This book is really targeted to someone who is not familiar with the zone system or who has studied it in more complex books and did not really comprehend the system. For this intended audience the book is right on target. It takes the complex issues of the zone system and removes the calculations and just gives you what you need to know. Think of it like the difference between an art teacher who says "Color the grass green" versus one who says "The grass must be green because chlorophyll absorbs the green portion of the light spectrum and so reflected light appears that color". If you just want to know how to use the system without a lot of detail behind why the system works then this is a good book selection for you.

clear & really "practical".......2001-05-19

Of the several books I have on Zone, this is by far the best and most easily understood. It's to the point, and has great examples, especially explaining the effects of development time.

Amazon.com

Cartoonist Brian Bassett is in rare form in his newest book, Minivanity, trailing his hapless hero as he slinks into a minivan support group. It's only the latest adventure of the creatively challenged Adam Newman, who captures the delights and distresses of early parenthood. Readers of both genders -- whether they work outside or inside the home -- identify with the Newmans' routines and responsibilities, and appreciate Bassett's ability to make it all seem humorous.

Customer Reviews:

Full of laughs.......2000-11-06

Minivanity had me chuckling and laughing at loud as I followed Adam and his quest to write his book on being a stay-at-home dad and his attempt to successfully graduate from the Minivan Denial Support Class. Brain Basset's drawings are fresh and the expressions on the faces alone will bring a smile to your face.

Book Description

This volume is the biography of one of the best known and most loved presidents of the University of Oregon. Originally issues on the occasion of the semi-centennial of the university in 1927.

Book Description

Denis Law was hero and villain all rolled into one. His high-octane performances for United and City often put him on a crash course with the football establishment, while jealous onlookers from Merseyside and London would question his temperament and character. Yet for fans of both Manchester clubs Denis was a Boys' Own hero - a player capable of incredible feats of skill and power - all carried off with the knowing smile and villainous touch of a Piccadilly pickpocket. To Mancunians, this son of an Aberdonian trawlerman became part of the fabric of the city; first as a dynamic frontman for the Blues and later as an all-action hero at Matt Busby's United. In the latest of his biographies of former United greats, Brian Hughes traces the Scot's transformation from unlikely looking teenage footballer to the world's pre-eminent striker.Law's progress up the football ladder was prolific. The bespectacled youth who joined Huddersfield in 1955 didn't look much like a future world star but Bill Shankly's first reaction to his performances on the pitch were telling - 'he's a terror', said the then Huddersfield boss.But if Denis' subsequent transfers to Manchester City and later Torino confirmed his status as football's rising star, his arrival at Old Trafford in 1962 confirmed him as a phenomenon. The Reds £115,000 swoop secured a player of huge influence both on and off the pitch. For 11 years his personality dominated the thoughts of United fans as Lawmania gripped the city until his shock transfer to the Blues in 1973. Thus the stage was set for the ironic denouement in April 1974 - Denis' backheel consigning United to Second Division football and the Law legend to immortality.

Customer Reviews:

Sensational Biography.......2003-07-22

Denis Law may be unknown to Americans, but his status in 1960s Britain was as high as Joe Namath's was stateside in the same period. Law was the schoolboy's pin-up in this period, transforming soccer with an aggresive, attacking instinct that thrilled crowds for his club Manchester United. That he later went on to effectively relegate his old club while playing for United's crosstown rivals Manchester City has only added to the Law legend. Brian Hughes book documents a career and a character with few rivals, and explains why a portly middle-aged man is still revered in Manchester as 'The King'.

Book Description

Poet, playwright, novelist and essayist Deena Metzger has been an inspiration to thousands of women from the first publication of Tree, the 1978 journal in which she recorded her struggle with breast cancer. In this new volume, Tree is placed in the context of Metzger's major statements on healing. This is the material from which Metzger has pioneered her acclaimed "Healing Stories," a method of inquiring into the stories we customarily tell ourselves to find the real story that may contain the key to our psychological and physical healing, forging links between our personal, political and social personas.

Book Description

In Europe the Mamluks of Egypt are remembered as so-called 'Slave Kings' who drove out the Crusaders from the Holy Land; but they were far more than that. Though its frontiers barely changed, the Mamluk Sultanate remained a 'great power' for two and a half centuries. Its armies were the culmination of a military tradition stretching back to the 8th century, and provided a model for the early Ottoman Empire, whose own armies reached the gates of Vienna only twelve years after the Mamluks were overthrown. This absorbing text by David Nicolle explores the organisation and tactics of these fascinating people.

Customer Reviews:

Usual Nicolle/McBride.......2007-08-24

The experienced Osprey reader should already know the jist of this book just by the names of the author and the artist. For anyone else, this title combines dry, raw history from a very anti-Western perspective with eight spirited colored plates.
The Mamluks were a continuation of medieval Islamic civilization, holding together the conquests of their forebearers by several centuries of constant warfare, which finally ended with a defeat by the Ottomans at Cairo in 1517.

Good Information.......2005-08-03

This is one book which has good information on the Mamluks and thier resulting actions and training. For a Historian like me this is very valuable since my studies are in a field which is very small and does not have that much information. A 5/5 for me.

David nicolle.......2004-10-12

As for all david nicolle books, he is strongly influenced by the islams and is against the europeans. It's going to be the opposite of victor hanson's books.

The Mamluks.......2002-08-11

Perhaps because of the narrower scope of this title compared to others in the Osprey series, Dr. Nicolle went into greater depth in writing this title. A good overview of the Mamluk state.The Mamluks were slaves taken from pagan populations and trained to be soldiers for Muslim leaders. They ended up overthrowing their ruler in Egypt and establishing their own state there. Mamluks would square off against the Christian crusaders in Syria as well as the Mongols. Minuses: poor maps and the stereotyping mentioned by the other reviewer. Pluses: Artwork and bibliography. One day Osprey will learn to devote at least one or two pages to decent maps!

A Turning Point in Mamluk History: The Third Reign of Al-Nasir Muhammad Ibn Qalawun (1310-1341)

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A Turning Point in Mamluk History: The Third Reign of Al-Nasir Muhammad Ibn Qalawun (1310-1341)
Amalia Levanoni
Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 9004101829

Book Description

A Turning Point in Mamluk History deals with the process of decline of the Mamluk state (1250-1517). Its main thesis is that the origins of this process are to be found in the third reign of al-Nasir Muhammad Ibn Qalawun, more specifically in the changes he effected in the Mamluk system. The Mamluk army was the first to be confronted with these changes, whose impact on the social and political life of the Mamluk elite was already felt during al-Nasir's own lifetime. The author follows their course of development to the end of autonomous Mamluk rule and reveals the transformation they wrought in the Mamluk code of values and political concepts. A final chapter deals with the overall economic decline of the Mamluk state and establishes the link of its various causes--demographic decline, monetary crises, the collapse of agriculture and industry--with Mamluk government misrule. Here it is al-Nasir's expenditure policy and its repercussions on the economy which reveal his reign as a point of no return.

Mamluk Economics: A Study and Translation of Al-Maqrizi's Ighathah

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Mamluk Economics: A Study and Translation of Al-Maqrizi's Ighathah
Ahmad Ibn Ali Maqrizi , and Adel Allouche
Manufacturer: University of Utah Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Twilight of Majesty: The Reigns of the Mamluk Sultans Al-Ashraf Qaytbay and Qansuh Al-Ghawri in Egypt (Occasional Papers, No. 4)

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Twilight of Majesty: The Reigns of the Mamluk Sultans Al-Ashraf Qaytbay and Qansuh Al-Ghawri in Egypt (Occasional Papers, No. 4)
Carl F. Petry
Manufacturer: Univ of Washington Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0295973072

Egypt and Syria in the Fatimid, Ayyubid, and Mamluk eras: Proceedings of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd international colloquium organized at the Katholieke Universiteit ... and 1994 (Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta)

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Egypt and Syria in the Fatimid, Ayyubid, and Mamluk eras: Proceedings of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd international colloquium organized at the Katholieke Universiteit ... and 1994 (Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta)

Manufacturer: Uitgeverij Peeters
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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Mamluks And Ottomans: Studies In honour Of Michael Winter (Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern History) (Routledgecurzon Studies in Middle Eastern History)

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Mamluks And Ottomans: Studies In honour Of Michael Winter (Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern History) (Routledgecurzon Studies in Middle Eastern History)
D. Wasserstein
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 041537278X

Book Description

Mamluk and Ottoman Studies, dedicated to Michael Winter, aims to stress elements of variety and continuity in the history of the near east between the thirteenth and the eighteenth century.

The articles in this book look at the area from Istanbul down through Syria and Palestine to Arabia, the Yemen and the Sudan. The articles demonstrate the great wealth of the materials available, in a wide variety of languages, from archival documents to manuscripts and art works, as well as inscriptions and buildings, police records and divorce documentation. The topics covered are equally varied:

Sufism
The festival of Nabi Musa,
Religious institutions and their administration,
The politics of architecture
Royal biography
Social and military organization
Doctors and charity
A Great Fire (a century before London's)
Pilgrimage guides
Peripheral regions (Sudan and Yemen)
Land tenure
Medieval divorce
Confidence tricksters

The seventeen contributors from nearly a dozen institutions show how much can be done and how much remains to be done in this field, making this book is essential reading for those with research interests in Ottoman studies, Islam and Near Eastern history.

The Mamluks in Egyptian and Syrian Politics and Society (Medieval Mediterranean)

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The Mamluks in Egyptian and Syrian Politics and Society (Medieval Mediterranean)

Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 9004132864

Book Description

This volume consists of 19 studies by leading historians of the Mamluks. Drawing on primary Arabic sources, the studies discuss central political, military, urban, social, administrative, economic, financial and religious aspects of the Mamluk Empire that was established in 1250 by Mamluks (manumitted military slaves, mostly Turks and Circassians). It was a Sunni orthodox state that had a formidable military, a developed and sophisticated economy, a centralized Arab bureaucracy and prestigious religious and educational institutions.

There are special articles about Cairo, Damascus, Jerusalem, Safed and Acre. The last part of the volume describes the Mamluk military class that survived in Egypt (although in a transformed form) under the Ottoman suzerainty after the Empire annexed Egypt and Syria in 1517.

Book Description

For over half a millennium the Mamluks wielded power over Egypt. During this time they formed a remarkable political, military and economic elite, ruling as sovereigns from 1250 to 1517 and, after the Ottoman conquest, regaining much of their former influence under Turkish supremacy. In this collection of essays, some of the most distinguished scholars in the field provide an accessible introduction to the structure of political power under the Mamluks and its economic foundations. The essays also offer a unique insight into the Mamluk households and their relationship with the indigenous Egyptian population.

The Middle East in the Middle Ages: The Early Mamluk Sultanate 1250-1382

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The Middle East in the Middle Ages: The Early Mamluk Sultanate 1250-1382
Robert Irwin
Manufacturer: Southern Illinois University
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0809312867

Book Description

For over two hundred and fifty years the Mamluks ruled one of the great territorial Empires of the Middle Ages, centered on Egypt and Syria and controlling, at times, most of the Middle East.

Irwin now provides the first scholarly history of this period in any Western language. He makes clear the unique political system of the Mamluks, in which the governing class consisted of a white slave elite. At the zenith of their power, the Mamluks were the only regime to inflict a series of defeats on the Mongols and were able to eliminate the last vestiges of the Crusader states from the Middle East.

The Mamluk sultanate, during which both Islamic Architecture and technology flourished, was an important epoch in the development of Islam. It was also a period of great growth in trade between Europe and Asia and the flow of scholarship from the Arab world to Renaissance Europe.

Poverty and Charity in Medieval Islam: Mamluk Egypt, 12501517 (Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization)

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Poverty and Charity in Medieval Islam: Mamluk Egypt, 12501517 (Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization)
Adam Sabra
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521034744

Book Description

By focusing on Mamluk Cairo, Adam Sabra explores the attitude of medieval Muslims to poverty and the experience of being poor in an Islamic society. He also considers the role of pious endowments (waqfs) in sustaining the poor. In this way the book affords fascinating insights into a world far removed from elite society, hitherto the focus of Mamluk studies. This trend, in conjunction with comparisons offered between the Islamic world, Europe and China, will entice a broad range of scholars from within the field and beyond.

Book Description

Eminent scholars provide an overview of what we now know about slavery as an institution and way of life in cultures around the globe from ancient times to the present day. Drawing on the virtual explosion of empirical research and theoretical discussion on the subject over the past thirty years, many of the articles overturn conventional wisdom and illuminate little-known aspects of the subject, with essays on topics such as concubinage, eunuchs, and occupational mobility.

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Brilliant Book

A popular tour of cognitive psychology

The Psychology of Murphy's Laws

Why the Toast Always Lands Butter-Side Down
Richard Robinson
Manufacturer: Constable and Robinson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science | Subjects | Books
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The Wal-Mart Effect: How the World's Most Powerful Company Really Works--and How It's Transforming the American Economy

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life

Uncommon Carriers

ASIN: 1845291247

Customer Reviews:

Brilliant Book.......2007-09-27

The answer is actually found in page 208. The author doesn't tell you that it's all in your mind. Statistically, it only has a 50% chance of landing butter side down. But the problem is, you serve your toast butter side up on the plate. When it slips, it only has the distance to rotate half a turn before hitting the floor. How do you make the toast land butter side up. Robinson recommends that we wear stilts so that the toast can make a full rotation. I say we serve our toasts butter side down.

This is a funny book that explains to cynics and "naive scientists" why the checkout lines they are in are always the slowest, why the car breaks down when they're in a hurry ... What is the science behind Murphy's Law? Robinson explains it beautifully in this book. The first few chapters talk about perceptions and optical illusions and other ways by which the mind can play tricks with us. Our memories can also be selective. When something strikes us as coincidentally unpleasant, the naive scientist in us sees it as a phenomenon. Robinson argues that these phenomena are mostly psychological and only partly science. Which part?

In the final chapters, Robinson offers purely scientific explanations for Murphy's law in action. Nothing to do with perceptions and psychology. An interesting, entertaining, brain-teasing read.

A popular tour of cognitive psychology.......2007-05-11

Richard Robinson explains, how the Murphy's Laws naturally follow from the way our brain processes information. The focus of the book is not on Murphy's Laws as such; they merely provide a setting for a popular tour of cognitive psychology. The book is entertaining and reasonably educational. Its main drawback, in my view, is that it is a bit too popular. Robinson does a great job illustrating cognitive phenomena with simple and easy-to-understand examples, but he never spends much time on any single one. He also doesn't discuss, how exactly we know about the function of different parts of the brain - something that could have been done quite easily without complicating the book. Still, this was an interesting book to read, and I now understand why my computer always crashes just before I hit that "send" button :)

The Psychology of Murphy's Laws.......2006-02-04

Well-written and witty, this book makes it clear that all of Murphy's Laws exist mainly because of how the human brain works - psychology. With many entertaining and useful cartoons and prose that is both informative as well as peppered with the odd bit of well-placed humor, this book will entertain as much as inform. This is a quick read that all those who feel that they have been consistently plagued by Murphy's Laws cannot afford to miss.

Why the Toast Always Lands Butter Side Down

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Why the Toast Always Lands Butter Side Down
Richard Robinson
Manufacturer: Barnes & Noble
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000I6R0MC

Product Description

The hiden science behind Murphy's Law! Why is the tune you hate most the one you can't get out of your head? Why do you keep making the same wrong turn? Why, when you lose something, do you keep looking for it in the same place, over and over? Why is it suddenly there the twentieth time you look? You're not crazy. Science and psychology have reasonable explanations for all of these conundrums.

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