Ecological Architecture: A Critical History

Book Description

The great untold story of the architectural history of the past century: the movement toward an ecological approach to building.

In a world increasingly awake to environmental damage, the visionaries of the past who championed an environmentally sane architecture are vindicated. Yesterday's eccentricities are today's legal requirements, and every architect has an obligation to the environment as well as to his or her client.

This groundbreaking book charts the rise of this new consciousness, assessing the situation now, and identifying future directions. After an introduction to the terminology of ecological architecture—comparing the use of "green" and "sustainable" as variants—the book is organized into three parts.

• Part One identifies recurring themes in ecological architecture, including energy efficiency, harmonious relationship with the environment, and suitability of building types for specific conditions.
• Part Two features over twenty case studies focusing on a specific architect, movement, or area. The inclusion of Le Corbusier, Buckminster Fuller, Rudolf Schindler, and others is a reminder that the sweeping science-led progress that characterized much of the modern movement is not the full story.
• Part Three looks to the future and to where ecological architecture might go next as it struggles to deal with global urbanization.

A decisive step in the rewriting of the history of modern architecture, this book will be essential reading for practitioners and students of architecture. As an urgent wake-up call concerning the state of our built environment, it will be of interest to everyone who cares about the future of our planet. 250 illustrations in color and black and white.

Ecological Architecture: A Critical History

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Ecological Architecture: A Critical History
James Steele
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MUA0N0

Book Description

Fresco painting was reintroduced to public attention in this important work by a recognized authority. In addition to translating descriptions of painting methods used by such masters as Alberti, Cennini, Vasari, and Borghini, the author also discusses causes of fresco destruction and how to retouch, repair, and clean these works of art.

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When Karl Blossfeldt published Art Forms in Nature in 1928, he made photographic history and became an instant celebrity. The public loved the world of tiny shapes and organic monumentality revealed in his enlargements of flowers and seeds, stems and leaves. Yet Blossfeldt did not consider himself a photographer. He produced his beautiful studies of plant forms to illustrate the courses he taught on architecture at Berlin's School of Arts and Crafts. For 30 years he used the same painstaking method. He would make long journeys into the countryside to select his specimens, which tended to be hardy weeds rather than cultivated flowers. He then prepared them against a neutral cardboard background in various ways designed to avoid camera shake, then photographed in extreme close-up with a homemade plate camera equipped with a very long bellows. Plants gave Blossfeldt a constant supply of graceful designs in which organic growth modified the basic symmetry of natural forms. Unfurling ferns resemble Gothic tracery or a bishop's crosier, a seed pod suggests a medieval weapon, reed stems look like skyscrapers. This beautifully produced book contains 348 illustrations, including all of the plates in Blossfeldt's three books of 1928, 1932, and 1942 plus 30 large unpublished images made in his childhood home in the Harz Mountains of Germany. Blossfeldt's visual discoveries transport viewers into a fairyland of art deco patterns and shapes; every page of this book is a delightful surprise. If there is a gardener in your life, this is the perfect gift. --John Stevenson

Book Description

Featuring highlights culled from our photo series title, this new pocket book is a pure delight. Blossfeldt's stunning black-and-white photographs of flowers transcend the genre with their deep tones, architectural forms, and timeless beauty.

Customer Reviews:

for photo editors and students of Edward Tufte.......2001-08-05

If you're a student of Edward Tufte's work on small multiples, this is a great book. By comparing lots of fairly similar things within one visual field, one can learn a lot. That's a Tufte insight and this book shows that Blossfeldt was taking advantage of the idea 75 years ago. This book is also good for those who appreciate the beauty of contact sheets and the photo editing process. The book makes a great gift due to its unusual nature and extremely high printing quality.

WONDERFUL.......2000-10-10

This book give us a new look!

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Karl Blossfeldt - 1865-1932
Hans Adam
Manufacturer: Taschen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Spanish | Foreign Language Nonfiction | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Karl Blossfeldt, 1865-1932 (Icons Series)

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Karl Blossfeldt, 1865-1932 (Icons Series)
Karl] Adam, Hans Christian [Blossfeldt
Manufacturer: Taschen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OEMGNG

Book Description

Weighing in at 64 pages, this is an indispensable guide for any citizen (whether player or Games Master crated) who aims to cause the Justice Department as much trouble as possible. Sporting a front cover that shows Chopper giving Judge Dredd himself the run-around, it puts you right into the spirit for which this supplement is intended! The first chapter covers that most glamorous of crazes, Skysurfing. Here you will find a complete history of the sport, along with full details of each of the world , along with the rules for running your very own race as part of a scenario. The chapter winds up with the Brit-Cit craze of Zipp Boarding, about to become very popular in Mega-City One. Next up is the Pro-Eating chapter. Full rules are given for surgical procedures (detachable jaws and the like) and appetite enhancers/inducers to allow citizens to 'pork up'. Full rules for the game Shuggy are provided, both for 'real life' and the RPG, and citizens will find the Shuggy Hall Owner prestige class will fit in very well with the Rookie's Guide to Criminal Organisations. . .The Rookie's Guide to Crazes winds up with Getting Ugly, every citizen's guide to setting themselves apart from their neighbours. A full range of creams, perfumes and other products are all fully detailed, ready for players to get 'uglied-up.'

Book Description

Mencken Revisited provides a collection of essays that leads to a deeper understanding of H. L. Mencken, the prominent Baltimore newspaperman, author, and editor. Each of the ten essays sheds new, interesting light on the character of the much-studied Mencken. S. L. Harrison explores Mencken's attitudes toward money through Mencken's private papers, his discovery and encouragement of many writers and especially his finding of the cartoonist Edmund Duffy. The author clarifies Mencken's controversial reputation as a bigot, noting that he was tolerant and an advocate for minority rights. He also discusses Mencken's role in the famous Scopes "Monkey Trial," his fights to preserve First Amendment rights, and his ideas about writing. Harrison concludes with an overview of Mencken's lasting effects, his books, and the books about him.

Customer Reviews:

Mencken Revisted a Delight for Scholars and Fans.......1999-11-15

This collection of essays--with an elegy by Russell Baker for the Baltimore Evening Sun--highlighting H.L. Mencken's life and times should delight confirmed Menckenites and acquaint those to whom the "Sage of Baltimore" is unknown with the reasons why he was a major journalistic force for much of the twentieth century. The purpose of Mencken Revisited, the author tells us, is to "introduce Mencken and to guide the reader into hitherto unexplored paths." That purpose is laudably fulfilled, with prose lucidly clear, and subjects suitably interesting: HLM as editor, HLM as defender of the First Amendment, and some things of HLM himself. This book is not a biography, but provides an overview and a useful guide to Mencken's work and books about HLM. Harrison mounts a vigorous defense of Mencken as-bigot and explains why Mencken could never exist as a journalist today. Often as acerbic and opinionated as Mencken himself, Harrison demonstrates his exasperation with modern modes of "politically correct" writing and disdain for the continuing inept journalism education that Mencken castigated. Harrison, author of The Editorial Art of Edmund Duffy (1998), employs Duffy cartoons and a gem by Kevin Kallaugher (KAL) to illustrate this informative book, accompanied by relevant pages from the Evening Sun in 1938, when Mencken served briefly as editorial page editor.

Book Description

Winner ForeWord Magazine Gold Award for Best Mind/Body/Spirit Book of the Year.

Jessica Nagler, author and psychotherapist, left Los Angeles in 1999 to travel to Central America on a spiritual quest. There she met up with a Mayan Shaman who taught her the ways of the ancient Maya and assisted in her own inner journey. While in Guatemala, Jessica had a profound awakening and though she eventually returned home to Los Angeles, she remained in solitude for nearly three years, studying Buddhism and chronicling her journey. Her first book, Jun Q'anil: One Who Walks the Way, is a direct account of why she left and the adventures that took her deep into the jungles of Central America and ultimately herself.

Customer Reviews:

Armchair Spiritual Journey.......2006-04-13

Jessica Nagler takes the reader on her spiritual journey from Los Angeles, California to the dense rain forests of Costa Rica, onto the hustle and bustle of Guatemala City then deep into the remote Mayan ruins at K'umarcaaj in Guatemala before she somehow finds a path back to Los Angeles. An open-mind is all that's needed as you walk through the pages with Jessica -- her writing style welcomes readers to walk in her shoes as she finds her personal truth. This is a story that contains vivid imagery of travel, adventure, spirituality and determination of the human spirit. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to walk away from your life and set off on an unmapped journey then this book conveys the ups and downs, accomplishments and setbacks of one woman's walk. Review by JoAnna Carey, Rat Race Relaxer: Your Potential & The Maze of Life

This book should get 10 stars.......2006-03-08

I LOVED this book. I read it in one sitting, I just couldn't put it down. Jessica Nagler is great at story telling. Her writing style is excellent. The book is sprinkled with words of wisdom. If you like The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho you will LOVE this book. I am positive that this book is headed for the Best Seller's List. This book IS required reading for anyone who has a spiritual interest. IT IS SO ENLIGHTENING AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

A Captivating Journey to the Self.......2005-12-30

From the very first sentence, Nagler leads the reader on a journey that is refreshing and engaging. If read with care, the reader will gain insights that will facilitate his or her own quest. What is crucial here is that the true journey is an inner one. It is not necessary to travel to the jungle to reach past layers of indoctrination and conditioning, but Nagler's story helps.

Laura Ramirez, Author of "Keepers of the Children: Native American Wisdom and Parenting" www.walk-in-peace.com

Walking the Walk.......2005-09-14

From the moment I started the first chapter, I felt a sort of peacefulness that I never before experienced from reading a book. Jessica Nagler's courageous journey towards self-awakening is both inspiring and thought provoking. She does what many of us only dream of doing; leaving our familiar life behind in order to find our spiritual path. Her clear and creative writing style enables you to feel the awe, excitement, fears, and revelations she experienced while on her enchanting path towards self-growth. I would (and have) recommend this book to anyone who has expressed any interest in spiritual development.

Jessica Nagler Walks the Walk AND Talks the Talk.......2005-09-13

With all the interest in the Mayan Calendar and the coming changes, Jun Q'anil author Jessica Negler introduces us to a real Mayan Shaman. This is an amazing story and Jessica Nagler's honesty and vulnerability as she shares her sometimes perilous journey is a tribute to the human spirit. We are indeed the ones we have been waiting for, and this story brings this home in a personal - yet universal - manner.
Sunny Ariel, author, Shalom my Love

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The Complete Guide and Cookbook for Raising Your Child As a Vegetarian
Michael Shandler
Manufacturer: Schocken Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor

ASIN: 0805206701

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The Complete Guide and Cookbook for Raising Your Child As a Vegetarian

Manufacturer: Schocken Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0686697898

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The Complete Guide and Cookbook for Raising Your Child as a Vegetarian
Michael & Nina Shandler
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OV7RCE

Book Description

A Victor, Not a Butcher is a passionate and provocative military biography that will enlighten, entertain, and infuriate readers of Civil War History. It includes photos and maps.

Customer Reviews:

Don't bother..........2007-01-04

There are several solid biographies of US Grant available (not to mention his own memoirs), this is not one of them. And that is what this book is... Don't waste your time.

I agree, but there's nothing new here.......2007-01-04

Part of me hates to write a less-than-flattering review about a book like this. Author Edward Bonekemper sets out to paint a picture of Ulysses S. Grant that is contrary to the image of a reckless commander who ruthlessly squandered his men and defeated Robert E. Lee by sheer superiority of resources alone. Instead he claims that Grant was an able and visionary general who had what it took to win the Civil War. I agree with Bonekemper's view and, as such, agree with the book.

So why rate it so low? Well, unfortunately I found little original or compelling in Bonekemper's views. That Grant was not a butcher is an argument that has been set forth several times by many able historians, and the fact that Bonekemper frequently cites them, instead of digging up his own primary research, is evidence of the fact that this was not a book that needed to be written (again). Bonekemper makes particular use of the work of Jean Edward Smith and T. Harry Williams in his analysis of Grant, which begs the question: why not just read their stuff instead?

That's a question I can't answer. To me this book read like a high school book report-a summary of the work of other historians with little original insight. Even the accounts of battles and campaigns were so lacking in detail as to be completely unsatisfying (reading of the battle of Shiloh was particularly painful, as most of the important details of the battle are skimmed over or omitted completely). The unfortunate result, for me, was a book that left much to be desired and just seemed a waste of time.

There are many in-depth analyses of Grant that paint him as a victor rather than a butcher. I see relatively little purpose for this book and really no reason for anyone with an interest in Grant or Civil War history in general to read it.

Before There Was "Balance in Reporting...".......2006-02-28

(Is there still?) It's taken a long time to begin to right the ship and bring focus and perspective to how we view the two men that are (rightly or wrongly) seen as the primary architects of the war in the East in the last year plus of the American Civil War. (Jefferson Davis had his hand very deep in the Rebel strategy and fails to get enough responsibility for the Southern failure, but that's neither here nor there, here.)

Lee has always gotten way too much credit and Grant far too little. Lee’s reputation would never have been established if he had been up against anything better than a 3rd or 4th rate general (McClellan) as shown by his inability to dislodge a 2nd rate general (Meade) from his position at Gettysburg. If McClellan had only _stayed put_ in the Seven Days campaign, we would not be thinking of Lee today as a brilliant strategist, we might well have not heard much from him again. His success was born out of incompetent opponents like McClellan, Burnside and Hooker (who was perhaps the best of the lot, but by the time he put his army in the field Lee’s reputation had become the juggernaut that defeated him). (In fact, the Army of the Potomac’s problem in the main could be said to be one of commanders with inverted inertia, moving when they ought to have not and not moving when they ought to have done so with alacrity.)

Blessed with a few more subordinates with the mettle for command, like Sheriden, Reynolds, even Hooker, Grant’s progress in the East would have been made with far fewer casualties and his ill-deserved reputation as a ‘butcher’ would never have come to be. In fact, if we simply use this text’s ample figures, it is readily apparent that Grant, prior to joining the Army of the Potomac, had clearly established a record of offensive maneuver with few casualties and more brilliance than any other general of that war – including Lee and his completely over-laureled lieutenant Stonewall Jackson.

Furthermore, even Lee’s defenders will either acknowledge or at least not deny that Lee had no or very little sense of an overarching war strategy. He was provincial in his view and his actions. His grasp of his new nation’s predicament was sketchy, at best, and his ability to command in field was compromised by his inability to think beyond a subordinate’s role aggressively finishing a fight. Grant, on the other hand, had a National strategy embedded in his plans even as early as Fort Donelson, very early in the war, before Lee had even started to advise Jefferson Davis.

Four stars and not five because even I found the endless comparisons to Lee a bit tedious - although, probably necessary to completely dislodge the blinding adoration accorded him by far too many for far too long.

I found the narrative of this text clean, clear and easily followed - perhaps that's because of Bonekemper's incredible sense of focus. He starts with a vision, a purpose and a mission and he does not let go of these at any time. And, although a thick book, the narrative is only about 280 pages long and a 'fast' read, with lots of notes and sources. Excellent documentation and references, I enjoyed this book and I recommend it. For myself, I'll read other books by Bonekemper and that’s probably the best review a fellah that reads a lot can give.

One is left to speculate: if the Union West fought the Rebel East, who bests out. Clearly, I vote with Bonekemper and declare the National West to be the victor.

Different Assessment of Grant vs Lee.......2005-08-26

The author provides a different pespective regarding the relative generalship of Grant and Lee. One of the most interesting feature is a comparison of the casualties substained by each side during Grant's overland campaign. Most civil war books that I have read focused almost exclusively on the high casualty rate suffered by the Union army during that campaign while focusing very little on Confederate army casualties. Thus, Grant became known as a "Butcher". Given that for the most part during the Overland campaign the Confederates fought from defensive fotifications, while the Union was on the offense, the author's anaysis of the relative casualties for the Union and Confederate does not support the title "Butcher" for General Grant. A look at the relative position of both Armies, with the Confederates on the defense, the Union on the offense coupled with the ratio of casualties sustained by each Army,the author makes a compelling argument that Grant was indeed the better General.

Excellent Overview of Grant's Civil War Career.......2004-07-05

This is a well written book covering the campaigns and military career of U.S. Grant during the civil war.

Chapter 12 and the appendixes give a solid analysis of what made Grant a success and offers a great discussion of the attacks upon his record by his detractors.

Included within the book are statistical analysis demonstrating the losses suffered by Grant's armies were not out of proportion, especially when viewed in contrast to those suffered by Lee and his other opponents.

This book brings forth in a very readable style how and why Grant was a success as a general. It should be enjoyed by the novice and the expert on the subject of Grant's civil war career.

Book Description

Why study women and the industrial revolution? Deborah Valenze's groundbreaking reassessment of this classic problem in European history reminds us that questions of gender and work are at the center of our experience in the modern world. Too often, the study of industrialization charts an inevitable and largely technological course. Valenze sets aside this approach in order to examine the underlying assumptions about gender and work that informed the transformation of English society, and in turn, our ideas about economic progress. How did England change from an agriculturally based nation, in which female labor played an active and acknowledged part, to an industrial power resting on a notion of male productivity? Through selective treatments of agriculture, spinning, and cottage industries, Valenze shows how the rise of values of productivity and rationality subordinated women of the working class and strengthened an emerging ethos of individualism. She also analyzes the influential ideas of Thomas Malthus, Hannah More, and other authors, whose publications reinforced these same tendencies in the early nineteenth century. In an elegant and compelling account, Valenze charts the birth of a new economic order resting on social and sexual hierarchies which remain a part of our contemporary lives.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent overview of an important topic.......2007-07-14

Please ignore the review above. This Texas hillbilly posts the SAME REVIEW for every textbook he "reads." This person should stick to what he knows: he's a big fan of the Lethal Weapon series.

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The First Industrial Woman
Deborah Valenze
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKNAFS

Book Description

A remarkable tale of how a lone researcher in the Spanish countryside discovered how brain cells communicate.

Two doctors, the Spaniard Cajal and the Italian Golgi, were racing against each other to find out what brain cells looked like and how they managed to communicate with one another. Both did their most important research in labs set up on their kitchen tables, for lack of better facilities; and both made landmark findings that led to their jointly receiving the 1906 Nobel Prize. Yet one man would find that neurons communicated over a gap, later named the "synapse," while the other would die convinced that every brain cell connected to the next. From Parkinson's to neurosurgery, from the mechanics of memory to clinical depression, modern medicine is ever indebted to the one who interpreted the elusive—and rather extraordinary—anatomy of the nerve cell. This is the story not only of one of the nineteenth century's greatest discoveries but also of the frailty, perseverance, and creativity of human beings. 13 illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

Neuroscience history.......2007-05-13

One of the best ways to learn a science is to learn the history of that science. Like "In Search of Memory", "Nerve Endings" is a biographical work about the life and scientific contributions of a Nobel prizing winning neuroscientist. The author documents the 19th century debate about the existence and purpose of the synapse and the personal rivalry between Dr. Santiago Ramon y Cajal and Dr. Camillo Golgi. I would recommend this book to any neuroscience student.

On the shoulders of giants.......2007-01-07

In this engaging and well written book, part history of science, part biography, Rapport focuses on the intellectual war that eventually led to the discovery of the neuron theory. The neuron theory - the idea that the nervous system consists of discrete cellular units (neurons) - was one of the key, early discoveries of neuroscience. It has radically accelerated our understanding of how the brain works and it has since had wide-ranging implications, for neurosurgery, psychiatry and other fields.

At heart of the story lie two characters: a charismatic Spanish artist and scientist, Santiago Ramon y Cajal and an equally brilliant, but dogmatic, Italian scientist, Camillo Golgi. These two men (both of whom were awarded the Nobel prize in 1906) were the representatives of two opposing scientific camps who were engaged in an acrimonious intellectual battle during the second half of the 19th century. The point of contention was the structural anatomy of the nervous system. Cajal represented the `neuronist' camp, who claimed that the nervous system consisted of individual cellular units that communicated with one another across tiny gaps (these gaps are called synapses). In contrast, Golgi headed the `reticularists' who held that the entire nervous system was linked in one giant network, that there were no individual cells that were separated from each other.

Besides making many important discoveries in the field of biology (discovery of the Golgi apparatus, the Golgi tendon organ) Camillo Golgi also invented a method for preparing slides of nervous tissue - called silver (Golgi) staining. Silver staining allowed scientists to begin making detailed analyses of nervous tissue for the first time, using light microscopes. Golgi contributed much to the early study of neurohistology, but he confused certain branching neuronal processes (the axon collaterals) for widely ramifying protrusions that he thought connected the entire nervous system in one large network. He used this observation to support his erroneous reticularist theory; at the same time, Cajal was using and improving Golgi's silver staining method to develop the opposing (and as it turns out, correct) theory of neuronal structure. Cajal was a visionary genius, "fascinated by the bewitchment of the infinitely small." His contribution to neuroanatomy is immeasurable. He used his considerable artistic skills to complete extremely detailed drawings of the nervous system that were used in textbooks for years to come. Unlike Golgi, Cajal did not think that the nerve cells were all connected in one diffuse net. He deduced the existence of the synaptic gap from the way that the terminal axons of presynaptic neurons and the dendrites of postsynaptic neurons appeared to fit each other so well (the synapse was not actually seen until the arrival of electron microscopy in the first half of the twentieth century).
But more than helping to clarify the anatomy of the nervous system, Cajal was remarkably prescient in putting forth theories about the physiology of the nervous system as well. He formulated the law of dynamic polarization, which says that the current flow within neurons is unidirectional - electrical signals are received at the dendrites, sent to the cell body and then conducted along the length of the axon. (This law is actually not quite correct but it still remains a basic principle of neural function and is presented in all neuroscience textbooks). Cajal also speculated about the chemical nature of inter-neuronal communication and made predictions about the ways in which neurons grow from their neuroblast precursors.
The significance of Cajal's work was by no means immediate, among other reasons because of national chauvinism. Cajal was a Spaniard and in 19th century science it was mainly Germany, Italy and France who dictated the intellectual landscape. The amazing thing about Cajal is that he made many of his great discoveries working in solitude, his important publications being ignored for years.

This book is a great companion-piece to Elliot Valenstein's "The War of the Soups and Sparks" and should be read prior to that book as it covers chronologically earlier events. Both books will be of great interest to those involved in the neurosciences. Both books also do a great job of showing how science develops in particular sociohistorical and technological contexts and how it is shaped by the personalities and temperaments of its practitioners.

An Interesting and Easy Read.......2006-07-23

This book provides a highly readable review of the emergence of the so-called "Neuron Doctrine." Roughly speaking this doctrine claims that neurons are anatomically distinct and constitute independent functional units. In revised forms the Neuron Doctrine and related principles like "the Law of Dynamic Depolarization" still appear to form part of neuroscience's theoretical back-bone. (As witnessed by their explicit introduction in text books like Kandel et als "Principles of Neural Science."

The book focuses on the life and work of Cajal, to whom early evidence for the Doctrine is often attributed, and on Cajal's controversy with Golgi. The latter was a "reticularist" who thought that neurons form a continuous network or "reticulum."

While "Nerve Endings" is a fun and easy read, readers who are interested in the precise content of the Neuron Doctrine, how it has been interpreted in different ways, and how it is to a certain extent currently being revised may want to look elsewhere, as there is relatively little discussion of this. (See e.g. Bullock et al "The Neuron Doctrine, Redux", Science Vol 310, 4 Nov 2005. Jones "Golgi, Cajal and the Neuron Doctrine", Journal of the History of the Neurosciences Vol 8, no 2, 1999)

I would also have preferred to have references to litterature in the main text rather than have to look up the page numbers in the final "notes" section.

These are minor complaints, however, and the book is certainly a fine introduction to the life of a great scientist and an exciting period in the history of neuroscience!

History in the making, the discovery of the synapse.......2006-02-20

A very well written, and nicely illustrated history of the early years of research on the synapse, illuminating the differences in opinion between Ramon y Cajal and Golgi. Which controversy, in the end, has overshadowed the multitude of work Golgi did.

An intriguing survey of parallel lives and very different perspectives.......2005-10-05

Dr. Richard Rappaport's study of the discovery of the nerve synapse Nerve Endings also presents the story of two doctors who shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1906 yet were separated by geographical and psychological differences. The parallel lives and discoveries of Santiago Ramon y Cajal and Camillo Golgi provides an intriguing survey of two men whose similar discoveries and investigative processes led to the science of neurosurgery and better understanding of neurological diseases. An intriguing survey of parallel lives and very different perspectives.

Mechanisms Of Synaptic Transmission: Bridging the Gap (1890-1990)

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Mechanisms Of Synaptic Transmission: Bridging the Gap (1890-1990)
Joseph D. Robinson
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Neuropsychology | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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Book Description

Synaptic transmission plays a central role in the nervous system as the mechanism that allows for chemical and electrical communication between cells and thus connects discrete elements into the functioning whole. This is a broad account of anatomical, biochemical, embryological, medical, pathological, pharmacological, and physiological studies on synaptic transmission during the hundred years beginning in 1890. During this century, the process of synaptic transmission came to be recognized not only as the most fundamental neurophysiological process, but also as a seat of pathological changes, and as the predominant site of action for drugs used to treat a wide range of psychiatric and neurological disorders. At the same time, research from these various disciplines was transformed into a new and unifying field, neuroscience. The course of these investigations reveals ingenious experiments, powerful new techniques, and imaginative insights. The author describes broadly who did what, when, where, and how (and, in cases where it is apparent, why) and uses experimental results and interpretations to display the evolutionary course to our current understanding of how nerve cells communicate: the basic principle of neural functioning. The book will be of interest to basic and clinical neuroscientists, pharmacologists, and physiologists, to historians and philosophers of the life sciences and medicine, and to their respective students.

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The History Of The Synapse
M. Bennett
Manufacturer: CRC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Science | Subjects | Books

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Book Description

The History of the Synapse provides a history of those discoveries concerning the identification and function of synapses that provide the foundations for research during this new century with a personal view of the process by which new concepts have developed. Previously published as essays, the chapters in this book provide a history of various aspects of synaptic function, beginning with the evolution over two and a half thousand years and how progress was made in the establishment of a conceptual structure that would allow the synapse to be identified at the beginning of the 20th century. Numerous illustrations explain either the technical approach or the experimental finding.

What Manner of Men? A Reconsideration Across the Synapses of Art History of Three Paintings and Their Images of Men of African Descent

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What Manner of Men? A Reconsideration Across the Synapses of Art History of Three Paintings and Their Images of Men of African Descent
Thomas M. Shaw
Manufacturer: University Press of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

Includes "The Gulf Stream" by Winslow Homer, "Adoration of the Magi" by Albrecht DŸrer, and "The Banjo Lesson" by Henry Ossawa Tanner.

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