Packin' in on Mules and Horses

Customer Reviews:

the best book for horse/mule packers!!.......2003-02-08

I bought this book a number of years ago and after just recently reviewing a book on the same topic and recommending this one instead, I decided to take a look at the reviews this book has received. I'm surprised it has not received any reviews, since it is simply the best book on the subject of packing with horses and mules. Joe Back's Horses, Hitches, and Rocky Trails is a good book, but isn't even a close second to Packin' in on Mules and Horses.

What makes this book so good is its comprehensiveness. EVERYTHING you need to know, and probably most if not all of what you should know, about packing is found within its pages. It doesn't just cover the relevant advantages or disadvantages of horses over mules or vice versa, but also the proper training of the animal, types of shoes, care/feed of the animal, what to look for when purchasing a horse or mule, etc.... It covers deckers and sawbucks, and how they should fit the animal, and the merits of each. It covers panyards and manties and how they are tied, loaded on the animal, secured on the animal.

I could go on, but the bottom line is that if the topic is related to horse packing, it is not only addressed in this book, but THOROUGHLY covered. As just one example, the authors use pigtails to link their packstock while on the trail, rather than tying up to the tail of the horse in front. They therefore discuss the use and tieing of pigtails. But they nonetheless show how to tie the most common knot used for tailing "because it can be useful for leading a string of lost animals back to camp. You can't pigtail unsaddled stock."

And one last example which simply reflects the knowledge that the authors, especially Smoke Elser, have gained over a lifetime of backcountry experience and share with the readers of their book. "While you're thinking about range for your stock, give some thought to wildlife. Livestock grazing can be detrimental to deer and elk if it removes feed they would otherwise use in winter. You should avoid open south-facing slopes of grass and shrubs at low elevations. In late summer, the grass on north and east slopes will be better, and yet worthless to wildlife in winter."

With its comprehensive coverage of all topics related to horse packing, presented in a very succinct and enjoyable style, and its unmistakable respect for, and experience with, nature--"Your first obligation is to your animals. The integrity of the wilderness runs a close second, and your personal comfort a distant third"--this is not only the best book on the subject, but a darn good book!!

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Packin' In On Mules and Horses
Smoke & Bill Brown Elser
Manufacturer: Mountain Press Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K6Y51E

Book Description

This colorful story of Manhattan's Lower East Side is told from the point of view of Dimitri, a young Russian Jew newly settled in the neighborhood. Readers learn about the city during the early twentieth century, about the Russian immigrants and how they adjusted to America, and about a boy's devotion to his brother.

Customer Reviews:

The forgotten legacy of the teleomechanists.......2005-04-15

This is a very important work in the history of biology, more or less ignored in the current paradigm trance, and it is good to see it in paperback. If you are baffled by the current design debate this book will show you how one resolution of the issues emerged at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The onset of Darwinism closes a veil on the generation prior to 1859, save for the direct line of those leading up to Darwin, in the standardized histories that are very selective. The rest is ignored or else dismissed as the wrong conceptions of (German Romantic) Nature Philosophy. But the real picture is more complex and this includes the truly significant and fascinating world of the teleomechanists, springing from the legacy of Kant and his great critiques, especially his third, where the intractable concepts of teleology in relation to causality and Newtonian physics are treated in a very profound way. Most students of modern science could not distinguish Hegel from Kant in any significant way, dismissed as idealists. This fails to see the place of Kant in the history of science, rather than philosphy. At a time when the design arguments of natural theology are being pressed on reductionist Darwinians this potentially far more sophisticated approach deserves a new hearing. The teleomechanists, due to Kant's influence did not allow themselves the pitfalls of the design propagandists. Lenoir's text properly balances the depth of Kant's thinking with the history of the research program this spawned and an appreciation for Darwin. The sudden reaction visible in figures such as Helmholtz, originally a member of this school, has set the tone, indeed the pseudo-antimetaphysical jargon, of the current world of science. One wonders at this battle of the schools of 1848, in the collapse of Hegelianism, Feuerbach, and the onset of Comtean positivism. The successes of this tide of reductionist research, among them those of the Darwinians, have blinded us to the limits correctly predicted by the teleomechanists, and now visible in the inexorable dialectic over natural selection. Lenoir covers the whole ground and concludes with the critique of Von Baer of Darwin's theory of natural selection in the 1870's. Nothing much changes here, and it is significant that Kant virtually prophesies the fate of Darwinism before it even came into existence.
See also the commentary on the teleomechanists in The Cosmological Anthropic Principle, by Barrow and Tipler

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Modern Molecular Orbital Theory for Organic Chemists
Weston T. Borden
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General & Reference | Chemistry | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
General | Organic | Chemistry | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0135959837

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MODERN MOLECULAR ORBITAL THEORY FOR ORGANIC CHEMISTS
Weston T. Borden
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OIY2J8

Book Description

In recent decades, it has become possible to turn the design process into computer algorithms. By applying different computer oriented methods the topology and shape of structures can be optimized and thus designs systematically improved. These possibilities have stimulated an interest in the mathematical foundations of structural optimization. The challenge of this book is to bridge a gap between a rigorous mathematical approach to variational problems and the practical use of algorithms of structural optimization in engineering applications. The foundations of structural optimization are presented in a sufficiently simple form to make them available for practical use and to allow their critical appraisal for improving and adapting these results to specific models. Special attention is to pay to the description of optimal structures of composites; to deal with this problem, novel mathematical methods of nonconvex calculus of variation are developed. The exposition is accompanied by examples.

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The First Modern Political Philosopher.......2006-08-09

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) wrote "Leviathan" in 1651, it was his most important philosophical work. I think you should know something of Hobbes to understand how his thinking was influenced by his experiences. He was born 2 months prematurely on the day the Spanish Armada approaches the English coast. His mother's fear of invasion caused the premature birth. Hobbes remarked late in life, "his mother brought forth twins-myself and fear." Fear seems to be Hobbes life long companion and the key passion in his political system, which uses human passions as its foundation. He was a child prodigy reading Latin and Greek at the age of six years old. At fifteen, he entered Oxford University and hated his educational experience there. He thought the curriculum was too immersed in the ancient Greek philosophers like Aristotle. He called them "erroneous doctrines," and throughout his life he railed against English universities for there stodgy curriculum.

At the age of 22, he graduates and takes a job to tutor the son of the Earl of Devonshire. It gives him the opportunity to travel throughout Europe where he meets with Galileo in Florence and Descartes in Paris. Descartes calls Hobbes the greatest political philosopher of his day. During the British civil war, Hobbes flees to Paris because he is a well-known monarchist sympathizer. In 1651, he publishes his monumental work "Leviathan." He returns to England, submits to Cromwell's government, and withdraws from politics. He is on friendly terms with Charles II when the Stuart's are restored to the throne.

Hobbes philosophy is "materialistic"; he is greatly influenced by Galileo's mechanistic approach to science, and Euclidian geometry. His ambition was to explain all phenomena, man, and government with mathematical precision. In "Leviathan," he explains human conduct is a product of human passions. The most dominant passions are fear of violent death and desire for power, both are manifestations of man's most basic impulse, "self preservation." Hobbes asserts that the basic impulse is the right of the individual; he calls it a "natural right." All men process this natural right equally. This theory leads Hobbes to believe man's natural state to be one of constant conflict with each other. This leads him to write the following quote he is most known for: "men's lives are solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." So as not to have to live in constant state of fear or conflict, men make a contract for protection with the state. Hobbes believes that the best state is one led by a single sovereign whose power must be unrestricted with all three branches of government devolving to him. A single sovereign who has absolute power and cannot be replaced by the people.

His political writing had immediate influence in the world and influences other philosophers like Spinoza, Hutcheson, Locke, and Hume. Hobbes is the first man to write about political philosophy in such methodical terms. He is an excellent writer and his theories are easy to understand by the laymen. As a graduate student of political philosophy, I recommend if you have an interest in politics, philosophy, or government then you must start with reading Hobbes "Leviathan."

Abridged, yet worthwhile........2005-09-25

What you first need to know is that the word "Authoritative" used in this edition refers to the fact that it utilizes several different manuscript versions to capture what Hobbes meant to convey. However, what is not mentioned is that this is an abridged version of the text. Much of parts III & IV are omitted. Which is a bit disappointing.

I gave this 5 stars because Hobbes himself deserves 5 stars for his provocative ideas. If you're familiar & comfortable with Shakespeare's language, you won't be put off by the cavalier spelling & grammar rules of Hobbes' era. This is not to say that Hobbes writes in blank verse (haha), but that the language is a bit arcane & takes some acclimatization.

Footnotes were, for the most part good - in the body of the text, foreign phrases were translated for those woefully ignorant (like me) of Latin & ancient Greek. However, in the post-ceding criticisms, this very positive practice was discontinued. As in, whole footnotes in Latin & German were not translated. So, get your browsers set to Babelfish, baby.

The accompanying criticisms are a mixed bag - some worth reading, some, not so much. They help elucidate some points - which is great for a casual reader like myself. Others just serve to annoy.

Eitherway, if you're looking for a definitive edition of the Leviathan, don't look here because you will miss about 1/3 of the actual text which Hobbes wrote down. If you want to skip the parts about theology & much of that which was tied into the Christian Commonwealth, then this is your edition.

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What is needed is a tell-all book on this woman!

Sister Aimee is the story of one of the world's greatest evangelist/preachers

Thank you, Daniel Mark Epstein

vaudeville

So good that I couldn't read another book for months

Sister Aimee: The Life of Aimee Semple McPherson
Daniel Mark Epstein
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Religious | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Other Denominations & Sects | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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Daughter of Destiny: Kathryn Kuhlman

Aimee Semple McPherson: Everybody's Sister (Library of Religious Biography Series)

Signs and Wonders

Azusa Street

Aimee Semple McPherson and the Resurrection of Christian America

ASIN: 0156000938

Book Description

Sister Aimee was a scamp in school, a young widow in China, and a neurotic housewife in Rhode Island, but when the Lord spoke to her, she accepted her ministry and began preaching. This book “fills a significant gap in the history of revivalism” (New York Times Book Review). Photographs.

Customer Reviews:

What is needed is a tell-all book on this woman!.......2007-05-12

This book glosses over her scandals. Someone with an investigative bent should really check into this woman's life. She had issues! Fascinating, though.

Sister Aimee is the story of one of the world's greatest evangelist/preachers.......2007-04-18

Aimee Semple McPherson was born to a young mother and an old father on an Ontario farm in 1890. Her mother eventually divorced the father becoming a Salvation Army sister.
Aimee was precocious and charismatic from birth. She loved living on the farm with animals a special joy in her life. Aimee read Darwin in school becoming an agnostic for a brief period in her adolescence. She then met the Irish Pentecostal preacher Robert McPherson whom she married.
The couple were missionaries in China prior to the death of Robert in a malarial epidemic. The couple had two children Robereta and Rolf. Young widow Amy returned to America. She married a dull man in Harry McPherson who wanted her to stay home. Instead Amie, her mother and at times her children barnstormed across America preaching the gospel message. Amie had an ability as a faith healer. Epstein relates several miraculous cures Amie made of the deaf, blind and crippled.
Epstein devotes several chapters to Aimee's crusades and healing services. She was financially deprived until she hit the big time in large weeklong services in places like Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC and New York.
Aimee divorced McPherson and in the 1920 established Angelus Temple in Los Angeles. She founded the Foursquare Gospel Church;was a pioneer of religious broadcasting and gave thousands of sermons. Aimee was a skilled performer with many of her sermons being acted out in dramatic/musical presentations. She even wrote a religious opera; an autobiograpy and was one of the most famous women in America,
In 1926 she disappeared while swimming and was presumed dead. Several weeks later she emerged from the desert claiming she had been kidnapped. A court trial ensued accusing her of fradulence. Though acquitted she was never as popular as she once was. A third marriage to a 300 pounder proved a disastere. Aimee was highstrung, controlling, mesmerizing and completely devoted to her ministry. She knew many of the great folk of her day including Charlie Chaplin who gave her advice on staging at the Temple; Anthony Quinn was a musician in her Temple Band.
In her later years she was plagued by poor health and bad business decisions. She became estranged from her dominating mother and her daughter Roberta. Her son Rolf is still involved in Foursquare International Ministry.
Aimee had no racial prejudice and condemned the beliefs of the KKK who had given the Temple financial support. She was a fundamentalist Christian who would go into bars and nightclubs to preach to the people there in a loving manner. Aimee's faith was joyous and she eschewed hell fire and damnation sermons. She had an unlettered though brilliant mind.
She was sensitive,impetuous, lonely and moody.
Epstein's biography is positive in its view of Aimee Semple McPherson who used her abilities for God. I found it commendable that she and her Temple fed, clothed and ministered to thousands of Los Angeles residents during the Great Depression. Her patriotic rallies during World War II and sale of War Bonds is to be commended. Aimee died young worn out in body but her soul shines in a life well lived.

Thank you, Daniel Mark Epstein.......2006-06-25

I have never had a book effect me so personally before. I felt as though I was Sister Aimee. I attended L.I.F.E., the school she founded, and knew many of the people referred to. I was too young to have met Sister Aimee, but the book helped me to know the lady I so long have admired and never knew the entire story about. Thank you, Mr. Epstein for this wonderful book.

vaudeville.......2006-01-07

She seems to have been heavily influenced by both azuza street crowd i.e. much of today's pentecostalism/charasmatics i.e. the toronto/brownsville blessing (a history which is fraught with charlatans and very biblically problemic) and hollywood.

In studying many of her sermons what is readily apparent is the lack of any solid biblical understanding or doctrine. It was just get saved and jesus loves you. A cozy accomodation to the masses who can pretty much define that jesus they want to believe in and then follow.

So good that I couldn't read another book for months.......2003-06-09

I read this book perhaps five or more years ago, and it remains one of the top two books that I have ever read, besides the Bible. As I passed it in the library, I deliberately avoided it, yet felt compelled to go back and check it out. I couldn't
put it down! I had stereotyped Aimee McPherson as simply a long-ago female evangelist, but Daniel Epstein compelled me to follow him as he
brought her out of the shadows of the past and into the light, as though she lived now. Her story became so compelling to me that by the time the book was finished, I felt that her story stayed with me for weeks and weeks. I even wondered what her point of view would have been as I encountered various things in life. I literally could not read another book for months, and I have never had that reaction to a book. I simply had no desire for another book. All I can compare it to would be akin to the aftermath of an excellent steak dinner!

Sister Aimee - The Life of Aimee Semple McPherson

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Sister Aimee - The Life of Aimee Semple McPherson
Daniel Mark Epstein
Manufacturer: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NWP3GQ

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SISTER AIMEE THE LIFE OF AIMEE SEMPLE MCPHERSON

Manufacturer: Harcourt Brace
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H2AR1S

The personal testimony and life of sister H.S. McPherson

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The personal testimony and life of sister H.S. McPherson
H. S McPherson
Manufacturer: Christian Workers Union
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B00088QZV2

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SISTER AIMEE, THE LIFE OF AIMEE SEMPLE MCPHERSON
Daniel Mark Epstein
Manufacturer: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000VG9ZHC

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Sister Aimee: The Life of Aimee Semple McPherson.

Manufacturer: 0
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000IBG78U

Book Description

This is a story of heroic young men answering a clarion call for what and where they knew not . . . untried in the crucible of combat, toddlers during World War II and too young for Korea, but full of zeal and ready to prove themselves worthy of their warrior calling. General John L. Piotrowski, USAF (Ret.)

In 1961, a few select officers, Non Coms, and young enlistees across America were asked to blindly commit, in a secret interview, to serving the U.S. government in far-flung corners of the world, in remote and hostile territory, knowing that their government might deny they were members of the U.S. military, or that they were acting on their government's behalf.

Air Commando Chronicles traces events surrounding the recruitment and training of a unique USAF tactical unit (code name JUNGLE JIM) and its deployment as the first U.S. tactical unit to enter Vietnam in 1961 (code name FARM GATE) an insight into the history of America's involvement in Vietnam. Author Bob Gleason states: "This book should illuminate a notch the history of America's involvement there during 1961-1962, which has been generally ignored."

This secret mission went well beyond the oath of duty normally administered to members of the U.S. military, and no other person could have written this story. Colonel Gleason's immersion in the Vietnam saga from the beginning to the end was almost total. Few, if any, individuals have viewed the Vietnam war from as many different perspectives, over as long a period, while serving in so many different capacities.

The "untold tales" of Air Commando Chronicles should prove interesting and informative to both military and non-military readers.

Book Description

In the aftermath of 9/11, Dolbeare and Cummings challenge students to examine their own political identities. They are asked to take their newfound concern about Islamic fundamentalism and focus it toward the issue of American fundamentalism, or the foundations of American political thought. Students are invited to examine such basic ideals as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as well as private and free enterprise, the rule of law, institutional checks and balances, and the people's right to revolt against oppression.

From European and Iroquois precursors, the American colonists' revolutionary experience, and two centuries of robust development sprang a body of political thought and practice that has both inspired and repulsed the rest of the world. The editors outline three organizing themes to help readers understand and analyze seminal and revisionist readings:

the social and historical foundations of American political thought,

the key transformations in American political thought and practice, and

the individual and collective political identity of Americans.

By stressing the value of examining and understanding their own political beliefs in historical context, students can decide what beliefs are most appropriate for them as Americans in facing the unique challenges of the 21st century.

The book's organization remains the same, except the post-World War II period has been split into two separate periods: 1945-1990 and 1990-2004. The entirely new Part VI taps the richly provocative diversity of American political thought since 1990, exploring a wide range of thinkers from liberal President Bill Clinton and conservative President George W. Bush to new political voices inspired by concerns of populism, nationalism, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, social class, and the well-being of the earth itself.

In addition to the new, modern readings, the fifth edition also adds a few key contributions from earlier times. Federalist Paper #54 shows just how conflicted the Founders were over slavery. A piece by Mark Twain reflects the novelist's signature political themes, including the abolition of slavery and opposition to imperialism. A selection of entries from Civil War soldier and postwar columnist Ambrose Bierce's Devil's Dictionary comprises a cohesive philosophy of political cynicism that rings all too true today, while the sad lament of Lakota holy man Black Elk offers both an indictment of the American past and an invitation to a profoundly different and better future.

Amazon.com

Do human beings have an innate, biologically-based attraction to nature? According to Stephen R. Kellert, author of Kinship to Mastery, "biophilia" is a distinct possibility. Certainly humankind's relationship with the physical world has long been evident in our dependence on nature for the tools of survival--everything from clothing to fossil fuel--but is there also a deeper, less obvious role that nature plays in our lives? Kellert posits that our abilities to emotionally bond, to create, imagine, or even simply recognize our existence as purposeful all stem from our relationships with the world around us.

And if our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being depends on the natural world, then the environment's degradation could have more disastrous effects than we realize. With Kinship to Mastery, Stephen Kellert presents yet another element in the ongoing debate over conservation, growth, and the environment; this is a book well worth reading.

Book Description

Kinship to Mastery is a fascinating and accessible exploration of the notion of biophilia -- the idea that humans, having evolved with the rest of creation, possess a biologically based attraction to nature and exhibit an innate affinity for life and lifelike processes. Stephen R. Kellert sets forth the idea that people exhibit different expressions of biophilia in different contexts, and demonstrates how our quality of life in the largest sense is dependent upon the richness of our connections with nature.

While the natural world provides us with material necessities -- food, clothing, medicine, clean air, pure water -- it just as importantly plays a key role in other aspects of our lives, including intellectual capacity, emotional bonding, aesthetic attraction, creativity, imagination, and even the recognition of a just and purposeful existence. As Kellert explains, each expression of biophilia shows how our physical, material, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual well-being is to a great extent dependent on our relationships with the natural world that surrounds us.

Kinship to Mastery is a thought-provoking examination of a concept that, while not widely known, has a significant and direct effect on the lives of people everywhere. Because the full expression of biophilia is integral to our overall health, our ongoing destruction of the environment could have far more serious consequences than many people think. In a readable and compelling style, Kellert describes and explains the concept of biophilia, and demonstrates to a general audience the wide-ranging implications of environmental degradation.

Kinship to Mastery continues the exploration of biophilia begun with Edward O. Wilson's landmark book Biophilia (Harvard University Press, 1984) and followed by The Biophilia Hypothesis (Island Press, 1993), co-edited by Wilson and Kellert, which brought together some of the most creative scientists of our time to explore Wilson's theory in depth.

Customer Reviews:

"Kinship" a good read but not complete.......1997-07-26

"Biophilia" is a term used to describe the innate human affinity to nature. This book provides a fairly exhaustive exploration into this concept. Notable observations include that of nature as a metaphor, an abstract, freeform world to apply meaning to and derive meaning from. He makes a good case for natural settings as critical to our mental and physical well being.

Unfortunately the core notion of biophilia is fuzzy at best, not scientifically studied at all-one could make a case that this is all just talk. Furthermore the book barely delves into biophobia at all, despite it being a certain characteristic of our ancestors. Still, I give this book an 8.

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Kinship to Mastery: Biophilia in Human Evolution and Development
Stephen R. Kellert
Manufacturer: Island Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000QY8EYE

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