Answers: A Parents' Guidebook for Solving Problems

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Answers: A Parents' Guidebook for Solving Problems
Paul W. Robinson , and Leo D. Hall
Manufacturer: N a P Systems
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
Accessories:

Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers

ASIN: 0914107003

Book Description

This is the first book to collect stories of the most important Soviet aircraft, including experimental machines from the early 1900s through to the latest Russian prototypes of today. About 150 types are described, each with data and many with extensive drawings.

Customer Reviews:

Proof that there is a thing as too much of a good thing...........2005-06-04

I wanted to like this book. I was seduced by the S-37/47 Berkut on the cover, and imagined the book to be filled with exotic designs that marveled the mind and that each would have a fascinating story to tell about the hows and whys and why nots. There is that, once you seperate the fascinating from the not.

This book is full. I mean so full that it becomes repetitive and monotonous and I am an aviation enthusiast. The level of detail is impressive, with design ranging from the creative to the absurd. In compiling this level of detail, the authors are to be commended. But I feel that the book would have been so much better had the book focused on 30 of the most intriguing designs and told that story, rather than the 120-odd designs.

I would buy this used, because it does make for interesting reading, and the aviation enthusiast will enjoy parts, but probably not the whole. For me, I always enjoyed the Myasishschev designs for their unique grace.

Unique yet dissappointing untold history of Red Aviation.......2002-03-26

On the plus side, this is almost as comprehensive a book as you can find that goes between the cracks of Soviet aviation development, turning up all sorts of interesting machines. Unfortunately, this is also as comprehensive a book as you can find given that cold war security strictures have made it hard to get the crucial bits of information. We should be happy that we can even get such information about airplanes like the Sukhoi supersonic bomber obviously patterned on the American B-70, or the family of airplanes which bore and then descended from the MiG-21 (including one using a rectangular chin inlet and canards making it a dead-ringer for the Eurofighter Typhoon, but preceding that plane by about 25 years). Though the book offers much information that you would not have seen found, the gaps are conspicuous. The book is not without avoidable flaws notwithstanding the unavailability of information: the structure is all wrong, giving each plane its own little section and going by alphabet, rather than crafting all the information into a single historical narrative that could have offered clues into the missing history. (There are two reasons I can think of to explain why there are no pictures of a promising prototype in flight, or why the prototype itself can't be found: either the first flight went off badly, or the plane was never built at all.) By describing each plane as if in a vacuum, the author cuts away, most of its story. Military hardware historians know that the story of one warplane frequently includes the story of another - the B-70 including the story of the B-52 and the U-2; the F-111 interdependent with the F-14; The F-86 and the MiG-17 - so it makes no sense to devote single sections to one airplane or a family of planes. Also, the author gives no dimension to the Soviet acquisitions process that determined which planes would get huge production contracts and which would remain just one-shot test-beds. (The Soviet experimented with the tailless delta design in their Tu-144 airliner, even going to the point of modifying a MiG-21 with a tailless delta as a flying subscale analog, but never went that much farther - why not?) And none of the narrative describes what it was like to fly these beasts. Still in all, a book of some great and overlooked history and some great pictures to go with them.

Soviet X-planes by Yefim Gordon and Bill Sweetman.......2000-05-27

I found the book an extremely interesting study of Soviet experimental aircraft and prototypes. Though dozens of Soviet aircraft types were built, a policy of secrecy surrounded all new aircraft types. It is not a book with very much text but more of a collection of photographs from Soviet archives. Many of these were shown for the first time and the earliest machines go back to the early 1930's. Among the interesting types featured are "Mother Ships", the "Caspian Sea Monster" and high Altitude aircraft. It also reveals a lot of information on the extent to which Nazi technology was tranferred to the Soviet Union contributing to make that country a leader in aerospce. I found "X-Planes " a very interesting book and have no regret buying it, though more books on this subject have followed since it came out.

Book Description

This FOURTEENTH EDITION of ANNUAL EDITIONS: WESTERN CIVILIZATION, VOLUME 2 provides convenient, inexpensive access to current articles selected from the best of the public press. Organizational features include: an annotated listing of selected World Wide Web sites; an annotated table of contents; a topic guide; a general introduction; brief overviews for each section; a topical index; and an instructor’s resource guide with testing materials. USING ANNUAL EDITIONS IN THE CLASSROOM is offered as a practical guide for instructors. ANNUAL EDITIONS titles are supported by our student website, www.mhcls.com/online.

Annual Editions: Western Civilization, Volume 2, 11/e

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Annual Editions: Western Civilization, Volume 2, 11/e
Robert L. Lembright
Manufacturer: Dushkin/McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Early Civilization | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Civilization & Culture | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This informative anthology provides convenient, inexpensive access to current, carefully selected articles from some of the most respected newspapers, magazines, and journals published today. Within the pages of this volume are interesting, well-illustrated articles by historians, educators, researchers, and writers that examine Western civilization from the early modern years through the twentieth century.

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Annual Editions: Western Civilization, Volume 2, 11/e
Robert L. Lembright
Manufacturer: Dushkin/McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OFSR7O

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Journal of Arid Environments, published by Elsevier in 2005. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
During November 1997, an extreme rainfall event caused flooding in the Olary Creek and created a terminal lake within mallee vegetation on Nagaela Station, far western New South Wales. To assess the effect of this rare event on native flora, six 25x25m^2 grazing exclusion plots were established on flooded (4), and un-flooded control (2) areas. We investigated (i) the distribution of Nicotiana glauca in relation to the 1997 flooding event (ii) the variation in density of N. glauca soil-stored seed between soil in control and exclosure plots (iii) the allelopathic effects of N. glauca on germination of Lactuca sativa seeds. Analysis of N. glauca stem sections revealed a maximum of five growth rings, confirming an origin following the 1997 flood event. At a September 1998 assessment, no N. glauca were found across flooded and control plots. In October 2000 N. glauca occurred at densities of 24 and 12 N. glauca seedlings ha^-^1 in the flooded unfenced and fenced plots respectively. No N. glauca individuals were recorded either from control fenced or unfenced plots. The soil-stored seed study revealed that larger numbers of N. glauca seeds were recovered from the flooded open plot (1936+/-968) than in flooded fenced plots (856+/-428.12) but none was found in the control plots. Leachates obtained from dry leaves and twigs had a significantly greater negative impact (p>0.001) on germination of L. sativa seeds than leachates obtained from fresh leaves and bark. This study showed that the density of N. glauca is high in areas where grazing had eliminated competition from native shrubs and grasses. N. glauca is potentially a serious weed along the Olary Creek and ephemeral lake boundaries. Management strategies such as reducing grazing pressure from native and introduced animals and/or effective eradication programs should be adopted, to minimize further infestation.

Bibliography on vermin and noxious weeds in Victoria 1953-1974

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Bibliography on vermin and noxious weeds in Victoria 1953-1974
Australia Victoria
Manufacturer: Vermin and Noxious Weeds Destruction Board
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

The rabbit pest in Australia: With chapters on foxes, dingoes, wombats the fences act of Victoria and noxious weeds

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The rabbit pest in Australia: With chapters on foxes, dingoes, wombats the fences act of Victoria and noxious weeds
James Matthams
Manufacturer: Specialty Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0008BIG20

Book Description

“All ages of the world have not produced a greater statesman and philosopher combined.”
—John Adams

He squared off against Caesar and was friends with young Brutus. He advised the legendary Pompey on his somewhat botched transition from military hero to politician. He lambasted Mark Antony and was master of the smear campaign, as feared for his wit as he was for exposing his opponents’ sexual peccadilloes. Brilliant, voluble, cranky, a genius of political manipulation but also a true patriot and idealist, Cicero was Rome’s most feared politician, one of the greatest lawyers and statesmen of all times. Machiavelli, Queen Elizabeth, John Adams and Winston Churchill all studied his example. No man has loomed larger in the political history of mankind.

In this dynamic and engaging biography, Anthony Everitt plunges us into the fascinating, scandal-ridden world of ancient Rome in its most glorious heyday. Accessible to us through his legendary speeches but also through an unrivaled collection of unguarded letters to his close friend Atticus, Cicero comes to life in these pages as a witty and cunning political operator.

Cicero leapt onto the public stage at twenty-six, came of age during Spartacus’ famous revolt of the gladiators and presided over Roman law and politics for almost half a century. He foiled the legendary Catiline conspiracy, advised Pompey, the victorious general who brought the Middle East under Roman rule, and fought to mobilize the Senate against Caesar. He witnessed the conquest of Gaul, the civil war that followed and Caesar’s dictatorship and assassination. Cicero was a legendary defender of freedom and a model, later, to French and American revolutionaries who saw themselves as following in his footsteps in their resistance to tyranny.

Anthony Everitt’s biography paints a caustic picture of Roman politics—where Senators were endlessly filibustering legislation, walking out, rigging the calendar and exposing one another’s sexual escapades, real or imagined, to discredit their opponents. This was a time before slander and libel laws, and the stories—about dubious pardons, campaign finance scandals, widespread corruption, buying and rigging votes, wife-swapping, and so on—make the Lewinsky affair and the U.S. Congress seem chaste.

Cicero was a wily political operator. As a lawyer, he knew no equal. Boastful, often incapable of making up his mind, emotional enough to wander through the woods weeping when his beloved daughter died in childbirth, he emerges in these pages as intensely human, yet he was also the most eloquent and astute witness to the last days of Republican Rome.

On Cicero:

“He taught us how to think."
—Voltaire

“I tasted the beauties of language, I breathed the spirit of freedom, and I imbibed from his precepts and examples the public and private sense of a man.”
—Edward Gibbon

“Who was Cicero: a great speaker or a demagogue?”
—Fidel Castro

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

History at its best.......2007-09-11

Extremely well written and informative. Cicero is truly brought alive with all his faults warts and all in addition to his magnificence as a Roman force in the republic. Bravo

Christmas shopping list.......2007-08-08

This is a stunningly good book. It's very hard to even find a cogent review of Roman history, let alone one from such a personal point of view of one of the period's main protagonists.

Cicero's lifetime takes place smack dab in the middle of much of the "cool" parts of Roman history - Pompey, Caesar, Catalina... they're all here.

Sure, you miss the founding of Rome, but let's face it, back then Greece was way cooler.

And OK, admittedly you miss the Punic Wars, but you can pick those up later.

And fine, fine, there's some interesting stuff around the launch of the marketing program known as Christianity, but still...

Point is, Everitt absolutely nails what it means to write a good biography. Robin Lane Fox wrote a similarly good one of Alexander the Great.

Trick is, IMHO, to take a few liberties with interpolating what was PROBABLY going on in the mind of the subject, using whatever materials are at hand.

OK, so Everitt had a bit easier time of it, given that Cicero wrote pretty much everything in letters to his buddy Atticus, and we happen to have most of the material still.

With Alexander you get squat - a few scraps of hand-me-down literature that survived the burning of the Library of... uh, Alexandria, actually.

Anyway, the point is, "Cicero" is a great read, great history, and a great subject.

One point of contention? Everitt should probably just admit that Cicero, like pretty well all of his contemporaries, had gay sex at some point. You don't write love poetry to a young male slave if nothing erotic ever happened between you. Everitt's protestations to the contrary ring a bit hollow.

cicero.......2007-07-10

Very impressed with the speed at which the item managed to get delivered to me here in the antipodes. Nice book, seems to be well written [havent finished reading it yet!] and very succint.

History that reads like a novel.......2007-04-28

A fun way to gain an insight into Roman history. In this book you don't get to meet just Cicero but also the likes of Caesar. You will also be introduced to Cleopatra and Mark Antony but you will have to read the author's book about Augustus to find out what happens to them.
If you only have the time to read only one popular book about Roman history I recommend "Augustus", because this one leaves you with too many important loose ends at critical point in Roman history.

Great Read.......2007-03-01

A very enjoyable and commpelling examination of an interesting man who lived in extremely interesting times. I very much enjoy reading histories and biographies and I find the VERY BEST popular histories string together the facts and dates into an insightful and compelling story, so while many reviewers took exception to the author's scholarship, it seems to me Everitt found the essense of this man and injected it into a very good narrative about both Cicero's life and the times in which he lived.

So if you want a compelling and insightful read that takes you through a towering figure in the last days of the Roman Republic, GET THIS BOOK! And if you want a more complete examination of the Roman Republic and the god-like figures who moved through these times, I suggest you keep reading, because there are many books on the subject and no one volume could adequately capture all of the amazing facets of the late Roman Republic.

Cicero : The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician.

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Cicero : The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician.
Anthony. Everitt
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NI38D0

Book Description

In the spring of 1864, as the armies of Grant and Lee waged a highly scrutinized and celebrated battle for the state of Virginia, a no- less important, but historically obscured engagement was being conducted in the pine barrens of northern Louisiana. In

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Campaign History.......2005-02-03

This book proves that silly ideas, misunderstandings, stupidity and political expediency are not limited to our times. Mixing in a good deal of greed, a chance to capture large amounts of cotton, called white gold, can move along just about anything along. The Red River Campaign of 1864 qualifies for one of the best examples of this. The idea was to deal the CSA in the Trans-Mississippi a deathblow and drive them from northern Louisiana. 40,000 Union soldiers and 60 ships are to converge of the CSA forces at Shreveport. Lack of cooperation between the army and navy, poor communications and worse leadership resulted in a resounding defeat for the Union. The book shows that a resolute leader can succeed over odds, even if his superiors are not helpful.

This is a well-written book with maps in the right places. The author expects the reader to know nothing about the campaign and keeps us fully in the picture. This is an excellent campaign history and a good addition to your library.

Don't Mess With Texas!.......2004-08-22

This is an excellent companion to the classic study of the Red River Campaign- Red River Campaign, Politics and Cotton in the Civil war by Ludwell H. Johnson.
The book doesn't go into great details about the battles but keeps it informative and interesting. The author does an excellent job setting up the battles and defenses of the campaign. Readable maps are provided which aid understanding of the battles, routes and terrain. I especially appreciate locations and descriptions of the smaller actions. I plan to visit all sites connected to the campaign in Louisana and Arkansas.
Scholars will need to read Ludwell H. Johnson's Red River Campaign for a complete understanding of the campaign. One Damn Blunder will aid this understanding and entertain.
The Yankees found the road to Texas a hard one to travel.

Another great volume in the American Crisis Series.......2004-08-03

With so many Civil War books, anthologies, and videos out there, it's difficult for anyone who is not an expert on the subject to find a consistently reliable source of information about it. The American Crisis Series, for my taste, is that reliable source. And "One Damn Blunder from Beginning to End: The Red River Campaign of 1864" is just another shining example of this series' remarkable and unique dependability.

Gary Dillard Joiner has given us a spectacular and comprehensive account of the extraordinary events in the spring of 1864, when thousands of Union troops and a mass of Union ships attempted to split and conquer the confederacy's troops along the Louisiana and Texas border. The resulting Union calamity and its implications for the war are painstakingly researched. But like other books in the series, this research is presented in a very readable way. I recommend this highly to anyone interested in the Civil War era.

A work of superb scholarship.......2003-04-19

One Damn Blunder From Beginning To End: The Red River Campaign Of 1864 by Gary Dillard Joiner (Louisiana State University - Shreveport) is an intense and focused study of the largest Union armed forces collaborative operation in the Civil War which took place in the spring of 1864 west of the Mississippi river against entrenched Confederate forces and involved between the 40,000 Union Army troops and 60 Union Naval vessels. The purpose of the engagement was to capture the capital city of Shreveport as part of the campaign to wrest Louisiana and Texas from Confederate control. Relating all of the critical aspects of the campaign including the rather spectacular errors made within it by the Union, One Damn Blunder From Beginning To End showcases a single campaign of the war that tore America in two. One Damn Blunder From Beginning To End is a work of superb scholarship and an important contribution to personal and academic Civil War Studies with its informative and informative treatment of an often overlooked but significant campaign.

A lot of knowledge in a short history.......2003-02-07

Want to learn a lot in a short period of time about one of the most under-publicized campaigns of the Civil War? Read "One Damn Blunder From Beginning to End - The Red River Campaign of 1864", by Gary D. Joiner. In this volume, Joiner combines his knowledge of the Civil War and his home of Louisiana, his talents as a cartographer, and his experience as an educator to create a very readable history of this event. Whether you are a long term Civil War buff, or just beginning your odyssey into this period of American history, or somewhere in between, you
will gain an understanding of what happened, why it happened, and, in some ways most important, why the history books devote so little print to this Union disaster.

Book Description

Everyone knows that President George W. Bush is from Texas. But few of us know the role his home state plays in his presidency, and in our country. In this dual biography of man and state, Michael Lind confronts the chief crises of Bush's presidency-the economy, the Middle East, and religious fundamentalism-and traces their roots back to Texas, a state, Lind argues, that yields salient clues to the future course of our country. Lind, an iconoclastic and brilliant political observer, provides a scathing exposŽ of the political and cultural legacy of Texas, which tells us all we need to know-and fear-about George W. Bush.

Customer Reviews:

Prescience.......2006-05-28

I am half way through this book and am amazed at Lind's prescience. Everything he wrote about three years ago is happening today. Exactly. I am purchasing another copy to start my friends reading it. I wanted to know how such a stupid man like Bush became President. I am being shown.

This book is a perfect example of what can go bad when a journalist starts writing about history.......2006-01-16

Lind's understanding of Southern History is limited. He beats the Scotch-Irish thing to death, without really understanding the history of the group or the fact that the group's perceived influence has ballooned way out of proportion to their actual importance. His interpretation of American History in general is strongly influenced by David Hackett Fischer's Albion's Seed, a very problematic book. The latter was influenced by Grady McWhiney's Cracker culture, once again a very problematic book. If you want to see where Lind's ideas are coming from I would advise readers to look at those two titles.

He also ignores the role of British and Northern Evangelicalism in the formation of modern American Conservatism. He is right about the Anglo-Calvinist influence in American politics, but he forgets that it wasn't Southerners who brought this tradition into politics. Basically what Lind, and alot of other people don't get is that Bush represents a hybrid of Northern and Frontier Southern. A sort of ideological love child of Andrew Jackson and John "Potawotamie" Brown. The messianic concept of America and her role in the world is not a Southern invention, if Lind had done his homework he would have understood this.

Much of what Lind writes is pure stereotypical mean spirited rants directed at Southerners, but not at the Military-Industrial complex [i.e. the actual beneficiaries of the continued state of war]. If you want a real critic of the Republican party stick with Chalmers Johnson.

A gem with a flawed finish.......2005-10-26

Lind's ethno-tribal analysis of Texas and American politics is one of the most coherent analyses I have seen of the Bush phenomenon and the current Republican coalition. His thesis in a nutshell: Bush's inherited fusion of Southern pre-industrial aristocratic elites (cotton in the 19th century, oil in the 20th) and evangelical fervor and racism from downscale whites is the very essence of the Southern Republican coalition that now holds power in Congress and tips the balance in Presidential races. Juxtaposed to this Protestant evangelical-aristocratic alliance is the progressive, pro-state force of Midwestern German and continental social philosophy (favoring social uplift through education and industrial development)that has manifested itself even in Texas through the likes of Lyndon Johnson, John Connolly and Ross Perot. A very useful typology laid out in the first several chapters.

Unfortunately, Lind then lays his own ideological cards on the table, which read like a time-warped love song for corporate statism combined with a weird proposal for repopulating the Plains (Pol Pot, anyone?). Also laced through the book is a persistent, near-hysterical trashing of the State of Israel that ignores much of the relevant history and context. Although this latter riff made me question somewhat the reliability of his analysis of domestic US politics, I have now read enough corroborating work to suggest he is on the mark with his main thesis.

So I am left with decidedly mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, its analysis of the toxic Southern political stew is brilliant -- I have bought more than a dozen copies of this book and sent it to colleagues who, like me, are in the political business. On the other hand, his rural repopulation proposal and his one-sided and context-absent criticism of Israel are goofy and embarassing,respectively.

So, buy it for the first few chapters -- well worth the price -- but take the finishing chapters with a truckload of salt.

By the way, a companion book that may make you feel much better about the future is The Emerging Democratic Majority by Ruy Texeira and John Judis.

A must read book!.......2005-08-21

Firstly, the very predictable attacks of the messenger are seen here among the 1 and 2 star reviews. This is typical of those who either didn't actually read the whole book or were incapable or unwilling to understand it. The FACTS presented in the book have not been disputed. The generalized angst by partisan Bush supporters has forced them to neither acknowledge how wrong they are nor ceases them from demonstrating their ability to offer comforting denials and assaults against all who would dare to point out the facts and criticisms of one of the most polarizing and radical presidential administration in history. The depth of understanding of the author of his own state's history as well as the history of the United States is compelling. His insights are very timely and in my opinion quite accurate. I believe this should be required reading for ALL AMERICANS with at least a high school level education. It will fill in the blanks left out from what passes as a History curriculum in today's public AND private schools.

True to His Roots.......2004-12-10

A very reassuring book, this. But the relief took a while to sink in. Michael Lind meticulously traces George W. Bush's world view to his Texas upbringing and disappointing experiences outside the Lone Star State. And, Voilá, we find a president entirely, and predictably, consistent with his roots.

Now, if Texan ways grate with your sense of what America the Liberal is all about, this book may upset you more than reassure. But to the extent you see Texas as an example of what all America should become, you'll be encouraged.

Regardless, the insularity of our southern border state and its sense of great superiority toward its southern neighbor does seem to be reflected in Bush's sense of how the world ought to be.

As a book of anthropology, sociology, and politics, this is a most insightful book. It provides the most coherent explanation of where Bush is coming from, and where he's taking America. He may not succeed, but at least we know he has a goal. And that's reassuring. Scarily reassuring.

Made in Texas: George W. Bush and the Southern Takeover of American Politics

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Made in Texas: George W. Bush and the Southern Takeover of American Politics

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0641662491

Book Description

Over the past three hundred years New England's landscape has been transformed. The forests were cleared; the land was farmed intensively through the mid-nineteenth century and then was allowed to reforest naturally as agriculture shifted west. Today, in many ways the region is more natural than at any time since the American Revolution. This fascinating natural history is essential background for anyone interested in New England's ecology, wildlife, or landscape. In New England Forests through Time these historical and environmental lessons are told through the world-renowned dioramas in Harvard's Fisher Museum. These remarkable models have introduced New England's landscape to countless visitors and have appeared in many ecology, forestry, and natural history texts. This first book based on the dioramas conveys the phenomenal history of the land, the beauty of the models, and new insights into nature.

Customer Reviews:

Missing piece.......2005-11-10

Major overlook. The Indians did not cut down many trees, but changed the forest ecology dramatically by burning out the underbrush once or twice a year in massive fires, so that they could move and hunt more freely (and move silently). This omission spoils the understanding of forest life by injecting a modern political angle of environmentalism that would be better left out.

A Long-term View of Cultural and Natural History.......2002-12-04

This book is the result of a three-way collaboration between a scientist, a philanthropist and artist dedicated to producing a diorama depicting 300 years of New England's natural and cultural history.

The work, started in the late 1920, captures the essence of the Harvard Forest approach to environmental science, in which a solid understanding of the landscape history provides a basis for interpretation and conservation of nature.

Lifelike and detailed, the dioramas' historical and ecological approach remains relevant today as it becomes more apparent that changes in nature can only be assessed through long-term perspectives.

Liked Bullough's Pond? Are You Ready for Harvard's Forest?.......2001-02-06

Many people do not realize that Harvard University has its own forest in New England. The forest has been a source of study for silviculture since its founding in 1907 for almost 100 years.

In the late 1920s, Harvard professor Richard T. Fisher joined with a philanthropist, Dr. Ernest G. Stillman, and talented artisans in the studio of Guernsey and Pitman in Harvard Square to develop a remarkable series of dioramas to capture conservation issues for future generations of silviculture students to study. These dioramas are the basis for the text and illustrations in this book.

New England was mostly ancient forest when the European settlers arrived. The small Native American population cleared only a modest portion of the forests, and used the game from the forests rather more than the timber. With immigration, New England rapidly became one big farm. So much for the original forests. Next, the New England farms were put out of business by richer, midwestern farms shipping their goods to the east. Within a few decades, new forests arose to cover the temporarily cleared and abandoned fields. With rapid growth in pines, a second wave of clearing occurred about a hundred years ago, leaving the forests to start to regrow again. The current hardwood-dominated forests are a result of this man-driven process. These experiences provide many lessons for understanding the impact that people have on forests, and for suggesting better practices for the future.

In one sequence of seven dioramas depicting the same place over time, you can see the whole historical process take place. I found it fascinating. I recognized in each image places that I had visited in New England. Now I can connect each site to what it represents in terms of environmental circumstances. That is like learning to read nature in the way I can read a book to get a message.

Today, we think ahead further (but probably not yet far enough) to consider the implications of our actions on future generations and other species. These dioramas show the importance of capturing the natural history of an area to begin to draw those lessons.

Another set of dioramas were designed to exemplify the conservation issues in New England forests, including loss of old-growth forests, habitat needs for wildlife, natural losses due to hurricanes, erosion from cutting forests, imported pests that feed on forests, and the impact of natural fires and fighting forest fires.

To me the most fascinating part was in the suggested good principles of forestry management. Each stage of forest growth and regrowth is displayed, along with what needs to be done for each stage. This reminded me of being asked about what to do by a client with very large holdings of forests in Maine a few years ago. If I had known about these dioramas, I could have given much more appropriate and valuable advice. I do feel quite a pang of regret at the missed opportunity, as a result.

The final section of the book shows the detail of how the dioramas were created.

The book also tells you about the history of the Harvard Forest and how to reach the Fisher Museum where the dioramas are displayed. I recommend the visit!

The reference to Bullough's Pond in the title of this review is for the highly regarded book that slightly preceded this one, about the ecological history of a man-made pond in Newton, Massachusetts. If you have not yet read that fine work, you have a real treat ahead of you. Anyone who is interested in understanding the rhythms between humans and nature can learn much from these two books.

Having read these two books, a new question occurs to me. At one time, forest fires were aggressively avoided in New England. The current view is that these are a natural process and should not be so aggressively countered. Where else do our views need to be shifted to reflect the long-term best interests of all?

How should use of forests and water reserves be adjusted to reflect optimum benefits for the next ten generations? How would our use change if this question were stretched to cover twenty generations? Do we even know how to think about these questions? Do we have plans to be able to learn how?

Overcome the presumption that only the here and now is important. What we do here and now is very important, but our decisions need to be much more independent of momentary needs and perspectives.

fascinating microcosm.......2000-06-21

Perhaps microcosm is not quite the world, Forests Through Time offers a fascinating angle of insight into one aspect of the ecological development of New England. For a wider angle, one reads Bullough's Pond, and for the complete picture of the land in colonial times, Changes in the Land. This however is a fascinating view and well worth perusing.

Virtual Land-use History of New England.......2000-04-23

Imagine yourself transported back in time to an ancient forest in central New England prior to settlement. As in a time lapsed movie, the ecosystem is transformed before your eyes into a subsistence farm surrounded by forest, to one dominated by prosperous farms with only remnant patches of forest dotting the land, to the forest reclaiming the abandoned farm landscape. This was part of an ubiquitous land use history that was replicated througout much of New England. The history is superbly depicted in Foster's and O'Keefe's "New England Forest Through Time: Insights from The Harvard Forest Dioramas". The narrative and photographs of the breath-taking dioramas capture the economic and natural forces that shaped the New England Landscape. The description and pictorials cover the abuses the land suffered from deforestation, overgrazing, and widespread clearcutting, and exacerbated by unnaturally high incidence of fire. The book expounds upon the different wildlife habitat associated with the changes that have occured as well as forest management techniques and current forestry issue. This book is an excellent tool for natural resource managers and educators as well as the layman who wants to know why there are apple trees, stone walls, cellar holes in the middle of the woods.

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