Customer Reviews:
One of my favorite classics.......2006-03-21
I am so glad this book is still in print. It is one of my very favorites, and I read it at least once per year, like Huckleberry Finn. For those of us who love nature, and tales of growing up in the out-of-doors, this is a beautiful book of the natural world and agricultural lands. It contains wonderful sketches about farm life in the turn-of-the century English countryside, school life, and village characters. This book reminds me of Cider With Rosie (also called The Edge of Day) by Laurie Lee, another excellent book about growing up in England, set around the time of WWI. This is truly worthwhile reading. If you have read "Lark Rise to Candleford" and enjoyed it, another book by Flora Thompson, "Still Glides the Stream", deals with the same subject matter and is also very good.
A literary time machine.......2005-12-08
LRTC is one of those books that I read almost every year. Why you should ask? There is no other book that provides a view into a time long past as Flora Thompson does in this and her other major work, "Still Glides the Stream". These are works that allow you to see, smell, taste and touch the fabric of a society in full measure. There is nothing maudlin or sentimental in these works, they demonstrate the grinding poverty of the rural poor in the late 19th century when slowly but surely the winds of change were at work to topple once and for all the rigid hierarchy of the Victorian class system. Also lost are the rural traditions and folk life of a people bonded to the earth and its seasonal cycles. Yet at the same time fully demonstrating the quiet joys and happiness that take place within the family of Laura, the main character who is a thinly disguised Flora Thompson.
One of the great characters in literature you will meet here is Miss Dorcas Lane, the village postmistress Laura goes to work for. She has the grit, grace and humanity of a Dickens character. Miss Lane also is at the vanguard of a new era, when it's revealed she prefers reading Darwin than suffering the Victorian Bible babble around her.
Once encountered, this book will remain a trusted old friend to turn to again and again.
Nostalgia not what it used to be........2001-08-17
As the previous customer review notes, "Lark Rise to Candleford" fully details life in, alternately, an English hamlet (Lark Rise), a village and a town (Candleford) at the turn of the 20th C. And, as with the prior review, the book is invariably described as a fond recollection of a bygone, uncomplicated era. I value it, though, for the opposite reason, that by describing agricultural life of the last century so accurately and dispassionately, it unintentionally shows such life to be overwhelmingly impoverished, bare and humdrum. In several passages, the author Flora Thompson scolds herself for making the hamlet and village sound so unremittingly dull. Ironically, her protests only underscore the reality of daily existence. One of her most telling observations is about the rarity of drunkenness in Lark Rise, not, as one might infer, because of a higher moral standard, but because no one could afford more than a glass of beer at a sitting. At another point, she describes without editorial the death of noblesse oblige and the resulting hand-to-mouth poverty, unbroken by one-time manor-sponsored holidays and fetes, that accompanied the transition from tenant to wage farming in the latter half of the 19th century. The ultimate strength of this book for me, therefore, is its reminder that, for so many Western people, these really are the good, old days.
An excellent appreciation of the "old" ways.......1997-12-27
This trilogy was one I read many years ago and only returned to recently. On this reading it was an even better - recalling in detail a life which has totally gone now but has a wonder and joy in it which we can no longer experience. On having her fortune told - the main character was told she would be loved by people she had never met - for once astrology worked. An excellent piece of literature.
Average customer rating:
- simple account of a lost lifestyle
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The Illustrated Lark Rise to Candleford: A Trilogy
Flora Thompson
Manufacturer: Ebury Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0712601104 |
Customer Reviews:
simple account of a lost lifestyle.......1999-12-02
I borrowed this book from the library. I love the illustrations, which very much enhance the story. The author reminisces about the way things were in the English countryside in the 1880's. Her accounts and descriptions might be simple, of everyday tasks that we don't think much about, but i really enjoyed learning about these details.
The book i read, the "Illustrated" version, is an abrigment of the thre volumes. The editors say at the end that the abridgment was done mostly to avoid repetition, which exists in the three books so that they can be read independently of each other.
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Chemistry and Chemical Taxonomy of the Rutales: Annual Preceedings of the Phytochemical Society of Europe, Number 22 (Proceedings of the Phytochemical Society of Europe)
Manufacturer: Academic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0127376801 |
Book Description
The focal point of the Renaissance, Florence is also a bustling modern city, a heady mix of classic and contemporary. Written by locals, Time Out Florence guides visitors through both aspects of the city. Here are Florence and Tuscany’s best accommodations and dining options in every budget, with tips on buying wine and visiting local vineyards. Mini-guides, including street maps, direct visitors through nearby towns like Pisa, Siena, Arezzo, and Lucca. Museums and galleries, along with new building projects such as a high-speed train link and a new exit to the Uffizi, are detailed, along with the unusual satellite town, Firenze Nova, that Florence is building from scratch. This edition features new sidebars, photographs, and listings; updated maps; and a new culture chapter for context.
Customer Reviews:
Dissapointment.......2007-01-17
I went to Italy over the holiday after doing quite a bit of research with 4 or five different types of tour guides. these seemed great for their great history section and great "local" restaurant guides. But i couldn't find any of the streets found in the books. Im not sure if they are out of date or what, but we couldn't use any of the books suggestions. I also rain into another set of travelers from England who found the same problem. Stick to Rough Guides or Rick Steves. Those are at least correct and updated.
Customer Reviews:
Don't buy anything else.......2005-10-09
This book had it all. A great map, great eating suggestions, and a great b&b to stay at. Time out guides are the best tour book out there. They give you ideas that are sometimes off of the beaten path, but their suggestions are always right on! You don't need another book for your trip, or a map.
Average customer rating:
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Fundamental Bacterial Genetics
Nancy Jo Trun , and
J. E. Trempy
Manufacturer: Blackwell Publishing Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Molecular Genetics of Bacteria
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Molecular Genetics of Bacteria
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Bacterial Pathogenesis: A Molecular Approach
ASIN: 0632044489 |
Book Description
Fundamental Bacterial Genetics presents a concise introduction to microbial genetics. The text focuses on one bacterial species, Escherichia coli, but draws examples from other microbial systems at appropriate points to support the fundamental concepts of molecular genetics. A solid balance of concepts, techniques, and applications makes this book an accessible, essential introduction to the theory and practice of fundamental microbial genetics.Fundamental Bacterial Genetics features:FYI boxes - feature key experiments that lead to what we now know, comparisons with other species and more.Study questions - at the end of each chapter, review and test students' knowledge of key chapter concepts.Key references - included both at chapter end and in a full reference list at the end of the book.Full chapter on bioinformatics and proteomics - includes coverage of functional genomics and microarrays.Dedicated website - www.blackwellpublishing.com/trun - animations, study resources, web research questions, and illustrations downloadable for PowerPoint files provide students and instructors with an enhanced, interactive experience.
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The Effects of Radiation on High-Technology Polymers (Acs Symposium Series)
Manufacturer: An American Chemical Society Publication
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ASIN: 0841215588 |
Book Description
This timely volume provides a review of fundamental radiation chemical processes and their relationship to several high technology industries. It demonstrates the significance of polymer radiation chemistry in industries such as electronics, aerospace, and optical recording. Six review
chapters and nine reports provide an in-depth look into fundamental radiation chemistry, recent advances in spectroscopic methods, applications of radiation-modified polymers in electronics and microlithography, and resistance of polymers to radiation. Research studies include polymer reaction to
radiation at the molecular level, energy dissipation pathways, microscopic properties of polymers, structure-property correlations, development of polymers for imaging at submicrometer resolution, and more.
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Poisson Geometry, Deformation Quantisation and Group Representations (London Mathematical Society Lecture Note Series)
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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ASIN: 0521615054 |
Book Description
Poisson geometry lies at the cusp of noncommutative algebra and differential geometry, with natural and important links to classical physics and quantum mechanics. This book presents an introduction to the subject from a small group of leading researchers, and the result is a volume accessible to graduate students or experts from other fields. The contributions are: Poisson Geometry and Morita Equivalence by Bursztyn and Weinstein; Formality and Star Products by Cattaneo; Lie Groupoids, Sheaves and Cohomology by Moerdijk and Mrcun; Geometric Methods in Representation Theory by Schmid; Deformation Theory: A Powerful Tool in Physics Modelling by Sternheimer.
Book Description
"The Complete Short Stories of Thomas Wolfe" stands as the most comprehensive edition of Thomas Wolfe's short fiction to date. Collected by Francis E. Skipp, these fifty-eight stories span the breadth of Thomas Wolfe's career, from hte uninhibited young writer meticulously describing the enchanting birth of springtime in "The Train and the City" to his mature, sober account of a terrible lynching in "The Child by Tiger". Thirty-five of these stories have never before been collected, and "The Spanish Letter" is published here for the first time. Vital, compassionate, remarkably attuned to character, scene, and social context, "The Complete Short Stories of Thomas Wolfe" represents the last work we have from the author of "Look Homeward", "Angel", who was considered "the most promising writer of his generation" (The New York Times).
Customer Reviews:
Trancendent Reading Experience.......2002-04-05
I've treasured this work of Mr. Wolfe's since purchasing it in the first edition in 1988. I can think of few authors who can transport their readership into relms of utter beauty and transcedence. Experiencing them is a gift to behold.
A MUST start for those who have not read anything by Wolfe.
A treasure for all times.
Amazon.com
In 1957, the Russians launched Sputnik and the ensuing space race. Three years later, Gene Kranz left his aircraft testing job to join NASA and champion the American cause. What he found was an embryonic department run by whiz kids (such as himself), sharp engineers and technicians who had to create the Mercury mission rules and procedure from the ground up. As he says, "Since there were no books written on the actual methodology of space flight, we had to write them as we went along."
Kranz was part of the mission control team that, in January 1961, launched a chimpanzee into space and successfully retrieved him, and made Alan Shepard the first American in space in May 1961. Just two months later they launched Gus Grissom for a space orbit, John Glenn orbited Earth three times in February 1962, and in May of 1963 Gordon Cooper completed the final Project Mercury launch with 22 Earth orbits. And through them all, and the many Apollo missions that followed, Gene Kranz was one of the integral inside men--one of those who bore the responsibility for the Apollo 1 tragedy, and the leader of the "tiger team" that saved the Apollo 13 astronauts.
Moviegoers know Gene Kranz through Ed Harris's Oscar-nominated portrayal of him in Apollo 13, but Kranz provides a more detailed insider's perspective in his book Failure Is Not an Option. You see NASA through his eyes, from its primitive days when he first joined up, through the 1993 shuttle mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope, his last mission control project. His memoir, however, is not high literature. Kranz has many accomplishments and honors to his credit, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, but this is his first book, and he's not a polished author. There are, perhaps, more behind-the-scenes details and more paragraphs devoted to what Cape Canaveral looked like than the general public demands. If, however, you have a long-standing fascination with aeronautics, if you watched Apollo 13 and wanted more, Failure Is Not an Option will fill the bill. --Stephanie Gold
Book Description
Gene Kranz was present at the creation of America's manned space program and was a key player in it for three decades. As a flight director in NASA's Mission Control, Kranz witnessed firsthand the making of history. He participated in the space program from the early days of the Mercury program to the last Apollo mission, and beyond. He endured the disastrous first years when rockets blew up and the United States seemed to fall further behind the Soviet Union in the space race. He helped to launch Alan Shepard and John Glenn, then assumed the flight director's role in the Gemini program, which he guided to fruition. With his teammates, he accepted the challenge to carry out President John F. Kennedy's commitment to land a man on the Moon before the end of the 1960s.
Kranz was flight director for both Apollo 11, the mission in which Neil Armstrong fulfilled President Kennedy's pledge, and Apollo 13. He headed the Tiger Team that had to figure out how to bring the three Apollo 13 astronauts safely back to Earth. (In the film Apollo 13, Kranz was played by the actor Ed Harris, who earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance.)
In Failure Is Not an Option, Gene Kranz recounts these thrilling historic events and offers new information about the famous flights. What appeared as nearly flawless missions to the Moon were, in fact, a series of hair-raising near misses. When the space technology failed, as it sometimes did, the controllers' only recourse was to rely on their skills and those of their teammates. Kranz takes us inside Mission Control and introduces us to some of the whiz kids -- still in their twenties, only a few years out of college -- who had to figure it all out as they went along, creating a great and daring enterprise. He reveals behind-the-scenes details to demonstrate the leadership, discipline, trust, and teamwork that made the space program a success.
Finally, Kranz reflects on what has happened to the space program and offers his own bold suggestions about what we ought to be doing in space now.
This is a fascinating firsthand account written by a veteran mission controller of one of America's greatest achievements.
Download Description
Perhaps best known through Ed Harris's Oscar-nominated portrayal in the film Apollo 13, Gene Kranz was a NASA flight controller throughout the entire manned space program. Kranz witnessed everything from Alan Shepard's and John Glenn's early flights in the Mercury program through the triumph of Neil Armstrong's giant leap for mankind in Apollo 11 and the near-disaster of Apollo 13. Kranz headed the "tiger team" that saved the Apollo 13 astronauts, and he provides new details about the urgent and successful improvising that brought the crew safely back to Earth.
Failure Is Not an Option is a thrilling insider's account of Mission Control from the early years of trying to catch the Russians to the end of the manned space program. It is filled with behind-the-scenes stories, including the painful self-examination that took place following the Apollo 1 disaster and the daring decision to schedule an Apollo flight to the moon before NASA had ever launched a manned rocket beyond earth orbit. Kranz's stories about the dedication and resourcefulness of the astronaut corps and Mission Control teams show how an organization dominated by young people only in their twenties could succeed in one of the boldest missions in human history, placing a man on the moon in less than a decade.
Customer Reviews:
Inspiring reading for technical leaders of all kinds.......2007-08-15
While I confess to being a lifelong space buff, this book is the first of many memoirs I have had the pleasure of reading from the actual men and women who participated in one of the greatest adventures in human history. I read it nonstop from the moment I brought it home, and have reread many sections of it numerous times. I believe it is a useful historical record of the golden era of the space program, but also holds many lessons for those who find themselves in formal or de facto positions of technical leadership in all types of organizations - churches, consulting firms, technical contractors, manufacturers, and probably many others with which I am not personally familiar. Thank you Mr. Kranz for all you have shared!
a fist hand report of the early NASA years.......2007-06-30
I highly recommend this book to all the poor men who already believe today that APOLLO is a whole fake
KRANZ tell the truth it is obvious when you read him
The best way to learn about spaceflight is through this book.......2007-05-17
Failure is not an Option
The first time I heard this sentence is when I saw the movie Apollo 13 (Tom Hanks), when I was only 7 years old. I then read the book only when I was 11 years old. Gene Kranz is a great writer as well as a great Flight Director.
The book explains about everything from Mercury, through Gemini, to Apollo in great detail. The book taught me a lot of stuff that I did not know such as that Gemini 7 was before Gemini 6A. The book explains why did it happen and how. It will also explains what they were going to do about it.
The book has 21 pictures and 397 pages of knowledge. I recommend it for everybody
Failure Is Not An Option..........2007-03-15
The book arrived within the scheduled delivery time in excellent condition.
Thank you,
Mark & Francine Keehnel
Not a bad book - not a great one either........2007-01-16
"Failure is Not An Option" is not a bad book, but it is not a great one either. Kranz provides certain insight into the role of NASA Flight Directors and the book is interesting to the extent it serves that function. However, Kranz occasionally gives major events fairly short shrift, while writing at length on an array of banal topics which are of limited interest. The reader is often left wanting greater details about events that shaped the space program and less information on subjects such as Kranz's management style or his trademark vests.
Moreover, Kranz's writing style is a little too compact and terse to make this book a consistently engaging read. Kranz uses the word "crisp" in seemingly every other paragraph. His writing style might be described in the same way. Unfortunately, it can make sections of "Failure Is Not An Option" a bit tedious at times.
Lastly, although a small point, Kranz makes no attempt to hide his political bent. The book is replete with praise for Kennedy and obvious (though unarticulated) disdain for Nixon. Kranz speaks with almost boy-like ardor of Kennedy's far-sightedness and vision for the space program despite the fact that many regard Kennedy's interest in space to have arisen solely out of a political desire to beat the Soviets - not for scientific or human advancement as Kranz would have the reader believe. At times, the political commentary proves irritating and distracting and Kranz's idolatry of Kennedy excessive and simplistic.
That said, this book is worth the read for the information it does impart and to supplement other texts on the space program, but it is not as gripping or engaging as "Lost Moon" or a host of others.
Customer Reviews:
slave rebellon in Haiti.......2000-12-28
This book was informative for me in that it brought a much deeper insight and understanding of the country and its people. This little island was so ravaged by France, England and America that it is no wonder that even today it remains one of the poorest, most disadvantaged countries in the world. There is evidence of remarkable research and documentation. The characters are well developed in personalities, beliefs and motives. The most outstanding character in the book is Toussaint Loverture, the slave who rose up with intelligence, courage and military expertise to inspire the fight for freedom from slavery. The dynamics between him and other military leaders represent fascinating reading. The switching of sides for personal gain was complex and the unbelieveable treachery against Loverture was devastating. Yet, in the face of overwhelming opposition he remained strong in persevering freedom for his people until the very end. He died a noble death and his principles should live on in the hearts of not only Haitians, but all the racially disadvantaged people in the world. An excellent historical novel!
Well written, researched book on the start of the revolution.......1998-07-14
This book,originally wrtitten in Dutch,is an exciting history of the only modern slave revolution. It is not a polemic for or against the Haitian people and makes no apologies for the atrocities committed by the French, Haitians, English and others who participated in the revolution. Rather is explains the motivations and thinking that led to the horrible bloodshed that is associated with the revolution.
The book conveys the politics and values of the time in a way that makes it fasinating reading, without making Toussaint or Dessaline cult heroes, or the French devils. It does, however, succeed in bringing the main characters to life, which adds greatly to the enjoyment of the book.
Book Description
When news breaks that a convicted murderer, released from prison, has killed again, or that an innocent person has escaped the death chamber in light of new DNA evidence, arguments about capital punishment inevitably heat up. Few controversies continue to stir as much emotion as this one, and public confusion is often the result. This volume brings together seven experts--judges, lawyers, prosecutors, and philosophers--to debate the death penalty in a spirit of open inquiry and civil discussion. Here, as the contributors present their reasons for or against capital punishment, the multiple facets of the issue are revealed in clear and thought-provoking detail. Is the death penalty a viable deterrent to future crimes? Does the imposition of lesser penalties, such as life imprisonment, truly serve justice in cases of the worst offences? Does the legal system discriminate against poor or minority defendants? Is the possibility of executing innocent persons sufficient grounds for abolition? In confronting such questions and making their arguments, the contributors marshal an impressive array of evidence, both statistical and from their own experiences working on death penalty cases. The book also includes the text of Governor George Ryan's March 2002 speech in which he explained why he had commuted the sentences of all prisoners on Illinois's death row. By representing the viewpoints of experts who face the vexing questions about capital punishment on a daily basis, Debating the Death Penalty makes a vital contribution to a more nuanced understanding of the moral and legal problems underlying this controversy.
Customer Reviews:
Balanced.......2006-11-06
If you are looking for balanced arguments for and against the death penalty, this is probably one of the best sources currently available. The book alternates between retentionist and abolitionist papers (those for and those against capital punishment). I have personally found it very hard to find any academic arguments in favour of capital punishment and perhaps the most academic one I have found is in this book - Louis Pojman, who was also the editor of a book on moral philosophy that was used in my philosophy studies in university.
This book is mostly focussed on the death penalty as it is experienced in the United States and features some of the most well known figures in the US on this issue (including former Illinois Governor George Ryan).
Being most familiar with the abolitionist arguments, I would say that this volume is not completely comprehensive, but it is worthy and I get the feeling that this is not aimed at showing all arguments - just the primary arguments of those speaking - and it does that excellently. It is an excellent book too if you are having trouble understanding 'the other side' in this issue and well worth the read.
On a side note, if you are interested in understanding the legal and international perspective of the death penalty I recommend Professor Roger Hood's _The Death Penalty: A Worldwide Perspective_ - the best comprehensive study on the subject I have ever found.
i dont like death.......2006-03-23
the book is really good but the issue makes me cry sometimes.thats why i give it three stars.
i dont like death.......2006-03-23
the book is really good but the issue makes me cry sometimes.thats why i give it three stars.
This Book Is Very Enlightening -The Death Penalty Is Evil.......2005-05-14
I am on the side that is against the death penalty. I am against capital punishment as I am aware that it is an evil practice. I could only support the death penalty if it were a deterrent to stop one person from killing another person. I am 100% convinced that it is not a deterrent. Life in prison is so terrible that it is impossible to believe that a potential killer is going to think that "I will go ahead with the killing because the punishment is only life in prison and not the death penalty."
Death Penalty Opinions.......2004-11-19
I believe that the opinions in this book are very enlightening. The co. authors explain their opinions very well and present their views cogently. Paul Cassell's chapter in this book was very convincing and it is very clear to note that he is oneof the leading experts in this field. I highly recomond this book to anybody who is interested in learning about the Death Penalty.
Stephen Taylor Snyder
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, published by Northwestern University, School of Law on September 22, 2004. The length of the article is 814 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Debating the Death Penalty: Should America Have Capital Punishment? The Experts from Both Sides Make Their Case.(Book Review)
Author: Bard R. Ferrall
Publication:
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 2004
Publisher: Northwestern University, School of Law
Volume: 95
Issue: 1
Page: 365(2)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
- Powerful and Well Written
- A Really Good Book
- Coastal Policy Has Killed the Oceans!
- One of the most devastating books I've read
- A great book
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Ocean's End: Travels Through Endangered Seas
Colin Woodard
Manufacturer: Basic Books
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Binding: Paperback
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Against the Tide
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The Empty Ocean
ASIN: 0465015719
Release Date: 2001-02-19 |
Amazon.com
Take a pristine coral reef off the mangrove-forested coast of Belize, one that draws a handsome roster of fish and other sea creatures--and, therefore, a complement of scuba divers, sports fishermen, photographers, and other consumers of nature. Add an airstrip to serve these cash customers, then a hotel, then a seawall, then a golf course, then a desalination plant. In no time, thanks to the changes you've wrought on the coastal ecology, you'll have a dead reef in a dead patch of sea.
Such wanton destruction is the norm for today, writes science journalist Colin Woodard, who debarks from his travels on the world's seas with depressing and unremittingly bad news. One of the victims is the Black Sea of Eurasia, once a thriving extension of the Atlantic, now all but destroyed by "overfishing, oil spills, industrial discharges, nutrient pollution, wetlands destruction," and other ills. The ravaged Black Sea is mirrored in other places to which Woodard travels: the South Pacific, the Gulf of Mexico, the Antarctic. In such places significant ecological transformations are occurring, all in a very short period of time, all perhaps irreversible, all certainly dangerous to the health of the biosphere. "The oceans," Woodard urges his readers to consider, "are finite and destructible. Wastes dumped and drained into the ocean do not disappear; they are neither economic nor ecological externalities. Likewise, marine fish and animals are not commodities like iron, wheat, or broilers; they are wildlife." Adding to works such as Carl Safina's Song for the Blue Ocean, Woodard makes a clear and urgent call for the reversal of all this destruction and for the protection of the world's waters. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
"[Woodard] successfully brings to life the fascinating mysteries of marine science [and] outlines strategies that, he contends, must be taken to save our seas."-Publishers Weekly The Black Sea is already dead. Because of sea-level rise, an entire nation in the South Pacific, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is being washed away. Throughout the Caribbean Sea, vast stretches of coral reef-called the "rainforests of the ocean" because of their diversity of life-are dying at increasingly rapid rates. The reefs along the entire north coast of Jamaica are dead. Ocean's End is not about the damage our oceans could suffer (and inflict) in ten or a hundred years, if we're not careful. It's an eyewitness account, in compelling and vivid detail, of the massive worldwide destruction that's already happened.
Customer Reviews:
Powerful and Well Written.......2006-09-04
Wow, on the heals of reading Our Stolen Future, this was a bit of a shock...you know I had no idea the Black Sea was in such bad shape...I guess I really am out of touch with the world these days. Living in my own particular inner bubble, as it were, I seem to have missed out on some doings I used to pay a great deal of attention to.
I've long felt that we're slowly destroying our oceans and seas; I didn't realize we had actually accomplished it somewhere already. I strongly believe that nature is resilient and that it rights itself by restoring balance after we wreak havoc...but we also need to be taking some action and this book really brought that home for me. Ocean's End follows Woodward from the Black Sea forward on a global journey that touches on Newfoundland, the Mississippi Delta, Belize and the Great Barrier Reef, the Federated States of Micronesia, and finally to Antarctica.
In a compelling journey the documents the once pristine conditions, teeming with in all of these areas with their intensely interesting and varied ecosystems and the native peoples who lived (and still are trying to live) there, to the decline/destruction of these ecosystems and the empty bag they fisherman and villages in these places are left holding. He also takes care to point out that the decline of each ecosystem affects others and the world wide "chain" of them are all interconnected. Additionally, he points out that it's not a localized problem, many of the causes of an ecosystems decline happen far from the location where the ultimate damage is done (the Mississippi Delta for example).
Woodard really weaves it all together into a nice package that lays out the depth of the problem and he does give tentative solutions...if anything can successfully be done to "fix" this problem, it won't come easy or cheap and we definitely need to get away from the short-sighted profit driven solutions that have been developed in the past. I'd recommend this in a heart beat, if you don't think this is a serious problem, you should definitely read this book!
A Really Good Book.......2005-02-18
A really good "eye-opener". This is the third copy I've bought. How blissfully unaware most of us are about what is going on around us. This book might encourage the latent environmental leanings in all of us.
Coastal Policy Has Killed the Oceans!.......2001-11-04
Ocean's End is one of the most compelling examples of how bad Coastal Zone policy has destroyed vast areas of ocean and shore. It is not too strong a point that human beings in recent history have behaved themselves very, very badly as they looted the seas and dumped their waste and industrial toxins down river or directly into the sea. I am using this book in my International Integrated Coastal Zone Management class as the first assigned textbook. (...)
Why? Because I want my graduate students to first see how wonderful the world's oceans and coastal zones are and secondly, how incredibly stupid and short sighted we can be as we mismanage our responsibilities as stewards of these ecosystems. Colin Woodward has done a wonderful job of narrating a gripping, exciting, and enfuriating story from the killing of the Black Sea to the plundering of the Newfoundland Grand Banks and all of the other case studies in between.
This is a book worth reading and also one that is compellingly interesting and enjoyable. Take it on your next trip or read it and then take my web-based graduate class in International Coastal Management. You'll be ahead of yourself!
One of the most devastating books I've read.......2001-07-31
Each chapter in this book tells a story illustrating a different crisis, and each gives something new to be outraged over. The stories are well-written, and Ocean's End gives the best summary of global warming that I have read. It is easy to understand (making the reader feel almost intelligent). I would recommend this to everyone, and wish there was a way to get this into high school curricula.
My only complaint is the summary. Woodard draws the reader's passions out, but doesn't suggest explicit ways to get involved in the issues. I ended up writing letters to my congressional representatives.
Read this book, and start your own letter campaign.
A great book.......2001-01-09
This is a great book. Thoughtful, balanced, readable. Buy two copies and give one to a friend.
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Books Index
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To Have or to Be?
