The Beaver: Natural History of a Wetlands Engineer (Comstock Books)

Book Description

Beavers can and do dramatically change the landscape. The beaver is a keystone species—their skills as foresters and engineers create and maintain ponds and wetlands that increase biodiversity, purify water, and prevent large-scale flooding. Biologists have long studied their daily and seasonal routines, family structures, and dispersal patterns. As human development encroaches into formerly wild areas, property owners and government authorities need new, nonlethal strategies for dealing with so-called nuisance beavers. At the same time, the complex behavior of beavers intrigues visitors at parks and other wildlife viewing sites because it is relatively easy to observe.

In an up-to-date, exhaustively illustrated, and comprehensive book on beaver biology and management, Dietland Müller-Schwarze and Lixing Sun gather a wealth of scientific knowledge about both the North American and Eurasian beaver species. The Beaver is designed to satisfy the curiosity and answer the questions of anyone with an interest in these animals, from students who enjoy watching beaver ponds at nature centers to homeowners who hope to protect their landscaping. Photographs taken by the authors document every aspect of beaver behavior and biology, the variety of their constructions, and the habitats that depend on their presence.

Beaver facts:
Just as individual beavers shape their immediate surroundings, so did the distribution of beavers across North America influence the paths of English and French explorers and traders. As a result of the fur trade, beavers were wiped out across large areas of the United States. Reintroduction efforts led to the widespread establishment of these resilient animals, and now they are found throughout North America, Europe, and parts of the southern hemisphere.

Beaver meadows provided early settlers with level, fertile pastures and hayfields.

Based on the fossil record, the smallest extinct beaver species were the size of a muskrat, and the largest may have reached the size of a black bear (five to six times as large as today's North American beavers). Beaver-gnawed wood has been found alongside the skeleton of a mastodon.

Some beavers remain in the home lodge for an extra year to assist their parents in raising younger siblings. They feed, groom, and guard the newborn kits.

In 1600, beaver ponds covered eleven percent of the upper Mississippi and Missouri Rivers' watershed above Thebes, Illinois. Restoring only 3 percent of the original wetlands might suffice to prevent catastrophic floods such as those in the early 1990s.

Customer Reviews:

Intimate but Comprehensive.......2006-12-31

The following quotation conveys something of the flavor of this book:

"For obvious reasons, behavior inside the beaver lodge has remained the last bastion resisting observation and analysis. Four modern techniques have provided us with more than glimpses into this most elusive part of the beaver's life. These methods include continuous recording with microphones, direct observation and filming from a blind attached to a lodge, radiotelemetry, and videorecording via a spy camera inserted into the lodge, pioneered by Dr. Donald Griffen".

This book not only goes where no man has gone before in characterizing the intimate aspects of beaver behavior, but it also provides a wide ranging survey of the natural history of this remarkable species.

I've often wondered about beaver intelligence. On the one hand they are clearly capable of solving complex engineering problems - this would seem to be indicative of substantial intellect. On the other hand, if they can't do anything else, can we really infer thought process in their dam and lodge building activities?

After reading this book I now understand that many aspects of beaver activity are intricate and highly complex. There's no doubt about it; these rodents are just plain smart.

While The Beaver is dry and overly scientific in places, its subject is so interesting that the book makes for an enthralling read.

A perfect delight.......2004-12-15

Simply captivating and very thorough review of the most marvelous creature, Castor Canadensis. It reveals much that is just not commonly known, and explains quite well the behaviors we're all familiar with. You will shake your head in wonder at this most complex creature, who is indeed a wetlands engineer.

Much better than some sources of information. Do NOT be fooled by the very odd conspiracy theorists, whose influences seem to have shown up lately in the comic strips, and whose far-fetched perceptions are found at www.beaverconspiracy.com. This book beautifully counters their twisted and perverse slanders.

A perfect gift for anyone who's ever wistfully picked up a beaver stick and wondered how...and why.

Great comprehensive description of a remarkable mammal.......2003-06-07

Here is a wonderful puzzle for anyone interested in animal behavior: How do beavers "know" when and how to make their amazing constructions -- their dams, lodges, and canals? What model of a beaver's "head" can we conjure to account for its ability to align and compact logs with mud to stem a stream, or to repair a damaged dam, or to build a warm and dry den in the middle of a pond to house and protect its family? This book, based on a thorough review of the literature and the authors' own research, provides an up-to-date summary of knowledge currently available on beavers, their behavior, and their ecology. Well written and easily read, it is the best survey of beavers I have seen and provides excellent background for any future inquiry into the mystery of beaver engineering.

The beaver - natural history of a wetlands engineer [A book review from: Biological Conservation]

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The beaver - natural history of a wetlands engineer [A book review from: Biological Conservation]
F. Sanderson
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Elsevier | By Publisher | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B000RR05Q0

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Biological Conservation, published by Elsevier in 2004. 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:

Book Description

Given the explosive development of new molecular marker techniques over the last decade, newcomers and experts alike in the field of DNA fingerprinting will find an easy-to-follow guide to the multitude of techniques available in DNA Fingerprinting in Plants: Principles, Methods, and Applications, Second Edition. Along with step-by-step annotated protocols, the authors fully discuss the technical aspects and modifications of existing techniques, the influence of reaction components and conditions, and the analysis of the results. This second edition has been completely revised to address the exponential changes in the field since the first edition, focusing on PCR-based techniques but also including more sophisticated ones. The authors include numerous case studies to illustrate applications of the methods, more than 1600 references to the literature, and descriptions of reagent formulation, equipment, and computer programs used for evaluating molecular marker data. They compare the various methods, including the costs and benefits of each, helping readers determine which is best suited to a particular application. The well-rounded, cross-referenced, and unified nature of this book makes it intrinsically easier to follow than the edited, multi-authored books currently available. It is an absolute necessity on the lab bench of anyone involved in plant research, DNA profiling, and molecular markers.

Book Description

Volume 42 of the Solubility Data Series contains evaluated data for the solubility of hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen bromide and hydrogen iodide in non-aqueous solvents. Information on about four hundred systems is included. Hydrogen halides take part, either as reactants or products, in many reactions of organic compounds. Evaluated solubility data for these gases are required for the prediction of the course and mechanism of such reactions. The volume will therefore be of especial interest to organic chemists and to chemical engineers concerned with syntheses involving halogen compounds in non-aqueous media.

INORGANIC CHEMISTRY IN NON-AQUEOUS SOLVENTS

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INORGANIC CHEMISTRY IN NON-AQUEOUS SOLVENTS
Unknown
Manufacturer: PERGAMON
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000S3PQ94

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Feudal Tibet

Interesting Tibetian book..

An Amazing book!

Booker Prize Quality Novel

Propoganda for the Communist take-over

Red Poppies: A Novel of Tibet
Alai
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Chinese | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet

The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices

The Garlic Ballads: A Novel

Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet

The Dancing Girl of Izu and Other Stories

ASIN: 0618340696

Amazon.com

The sweeping epic novel Red Poppies, by Tibetan author Alai, is set in eastern Tibet in the middle of the last century. It chronicles the waning days of the once-powerful Tibetan chieftains and the rise of the Communist Chinese state. The tale is narrated by the son of one of the most powerful chieftains, a son considered an idiot by his family. But this supposed idiot consolidates his family's power and wealth with peasant good sense and cunning. And cunning is what is required to survive in this brutal world, where tribal revenge is exacted by ordering decapitations and the cutting off of tongues and ears. There's plenty of lusty sex in this picaresque novel, as well as bloody battles, devastating earthquakes, and the political maneuvering of Tibetan monks. The writing, translated from Chinese by Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Li-chun Lin, is beautiful. In one strange and wonderful scene, mice are drawn to an opium processing shed by the intoxicating aroma; they gather on the rafters, swoon into the vats, and then are cooked and eaten as delicacies.

Red Poppies became a bestseller when it was originally published in China in 1998 and went on to win China's highest literary award in 2000. It's the first book of a projected trilogy from the author, so readers have much to look forward to. --Susan Biskeborn

Book Description

A lively and cinematic twentieth-century epic, Red Poppies focuses on the extravagant and brutal reign of a clan of Tibetan warlords during the rise of Chinese Communism. The story is wryly narrated by the chieftain's son, a self-professed "idiot" who reveals the bloody feuds, seductions, secrets, and scheming behind his family's struggles for power. When the chieftain agrees to grow opium poppies with seeds supplied by the Chinese Nationalists in exchange for modern weapons, he draws Tibet into the opium trade -- and unwittingly plants the seeds for a downfall. A "swashbuckling novel" (New York Times Book Review), Red Poppies is at once a political parable and a moving elegy to the lost kingdom of Tibet in all its cruelty, beauty, and romance.

Customer Reviews:

Feudal Tibet.......2004-10-27

Anyone who thinks of Tibet as a land of peaceful Buddhists will be in for a surprise on opening this book. The story is of a powerful clan in eastern Tibet on the eve of the Chinese revolution. Theirs is a life unchanged in hundreds of years, a life of autocratic rule supported by slaves and soldiers, enforced by torture and summary executions. Women are commodities with no control over their futures. Constant fights over territory and intrigue among the clans occupies the oldest son and heir to the chieftan. The only one who senses that life is changing is the "idiot" second son, who builds the clan's fortunes not on constant wars for territory but trade. The Chinese introduce the poppy to Tibet, and lured by promises of fantastic wealth all the clans plant nothing but poppies; when famine hits the canny "idiot" second son dominates all the other families by having been the only one who planted grain.

The book is written by a Chinese and has a lyrical, surreal quality not often found in Western literature. Timelines are murky, and a sense of impending doom slowly builds with stray references to a war in far-off China. The references to Lhasa and Tibetan Buddhism are interesting--a monk from the west arrives to spread the "new teachings" but leaves when his efforts are met with indifference. We are reminded that although Tibet was not part of China in a formal sense their historical relationship was much stronger than with other surrounding countries, such as India.

We know the sad end of the story--such a primitive society was powerless to resist the invading Chinese. That such a society could have existed a mere 60 or 70 years ago is incredible and fascinating.

Interesting Tibetian book.........2004-06-04

Alai's "Red Poppies", first of a projected trilogy, tells the story of the second son of a chieftain, who is thought to be stupid, but really isn't. Revenge, brutality, and love figure into the story in the book, but it feels a 100 pages too long, and you don't feel too much sympathy for the "old ways" when everyone acts brutal and chauvanistic to the extreme. an Ok book.

An Amazing book!.......2004-01-30

I was completely carried away by this book. Wonderfully written and brilliantly translated. I didn't read it expecting to find a strong political theme, I was attracted to the magic and it really did transport me to another place and time. I loved all the characters and missed them when the book ended.

Booker Prize Quality Novel.......2003-12-08

This is a beautifully written and expertly translated novel. It certainly ranks creatively with "The Life of Pi," as well as meeting the high standards set by such surreal writers as Marquez and Allende. Not that this novel is as surreal as the South Americans' novels, but it portrays a reality so much closer to medieval times than to the 20th or 21st centuries that it seems surreal and even rather upside down. Initially, I was unsettled by the Chieftain State it portrays so vividly--executions, mutilations, and willful behavior extraordinaire by the Chieftain Families. But through shifts in power and the maturation of the characters, there is so much humour and wisdom and delight in this book that much that is universal is revealed in this way of life that we see rapidly moving towards extinction.

I think China has intervened in matters Tibetan--be they religious or/and political, for a very long time preceeding China's invasion of Tibet. This potential of the Chinese for intervention with Tibet is represented in this novel--but I in no way felt that "Red Poppies" is pro-Chinese or in any way denigrates the Tibetans. I have a passion for Tibetan religion, culture, and art [actually I'm most interested in the Tibetan Bon Shamanic tradition]--and have an absolute horror of China's persecution of the Tibetan people, so I expect I would have been sensitive to any subtext in the novel if it exists in this regard.

Finally, this is the kind of book that helps one step outside of the familiar and gain a fresh perspective--rather like going on vacation and then coming home and having everything look just a little bit different for a time. So take a break and enjoy this magical work.

Propoganda for the Communist take-over.......2003-09-30

Although it's nearly subliminal, there is enough pro-Chinese Communist propoganda in this book to sully its otherwise rousing and unusual story. There are several asides, obviously put in by the author so that the Communist government will allow it to be published, that talk of how Tibet was "always" under the control of the Chinese, that it was never completely autonomous. I'm reading it to the end, but I won't read another book by this author because of this viewpoint.

Book Description

Meet African american women of science and invention from the early years to modern Times

Patricia Bath, M.D.
Miriam E. Benjamin
Ursula Burns
Alexa Canady, M.D.
Jewel Plummer Cobb, Ph.D.
Ellen F. Eglin
Angela D. Ferguson, M.D.
Sara E. Goode
Evelyn Boyd Granville, Ph.D.
Dannellia Gladden Green, Ph.D.
Bessie Blount Griffin
Betty Wright Harris, Ph.D.
Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D.
Aprille Joy Ericsson Jackson, Ph.D.
Mae Jemison, M.D.
Marjorie Stewart Joyner, Ph.D.
Mary Kenner
Reatha Clark King, Ph.D.
Annie Turnbo Malone
Mildred Austin Smith
Valerie Thomas
Madame C. J. Walker
Jane Cooke Wright, M.D.
Roger Arliner Young, Ph.D.
Chavonda J. Jacobs Young, Ph.D.

Customer Reviews:

Great for school work!.......2006-03-18

My 8 year old daughter had a project on African American Women who have contributed in science; however, the Internet did not provided anything on Dr. Green who I truly admire. After we purchased this book which came righ on time (it took 3 days!!!!) we read it from end to end and found more information on Dr. Green then anywhere else. This book really helped us.

Jose

An intimate book.......2002-01-21

This is a wonderful book. Not only is it packed with interesting facts, but the interviews and writing style are so personal and intimate that one feels as if, for example, Mae Jemison is right in the room sharing her life story. The women are candid about the obstacles they met and overcame. I think a young adult of any race will find this book very inspiring...I know if it had been around when I was a kid, science and math would have been much more relevent to me!

A must for young readers.......2001-11-24

So little is known about African American women pioneers in the sciences. Otha Sullivan has written an illuminating book for young readers that will fill in the gaps. Every parent concerned with teaching their children more about pioneering women in American history should purchase this book. It is also a good resource for science, social studies, and history teachers.

A must for young readers.......2001-11-24

Black Stars:African American Women Scientist.......2001-11-12

This book is about African American women scientists and inventors, a rarity indeed.Reportedly African Americans in general comprise 4.5% of all science and engineering professionals today.So to read about the significant contributions of these pioneering women is both revealing and uplifting.Some of those profiled are somewhat well known;such as Madame C. J. Walker.She is known for her million dollar hair care business. Others are not so well known, such as Dr. Angela Furguson who joined with Dr. Ronald Scott in researching sickle cell anemia at Howard University.
Unfortunately the African American women scientists and inventors have been left out of mainstream history even as some African American men scientists have been included. Most of us are familiar with the contributions of George Washington Carver, who is credited with discovering 100 uses for the sweet potato and more than 300 uses for the common peanut in his lab at Tuskegee Institute. Also we are equally aware of Benjamin Banneker, who is widely hailed as inventing the first clock and assisting in the laying out of the design for the Nation's Capital, Washington, DC with Charles L'Enfant.
The author makes a laudable contribution for filling in existing historical omissions regarding African American women scientists. He brings to our attention warm inspiring stories along with factual historical information.
Teachers, other educators, parents and anyone else involved in the unending search to supplement traditional textbooks in order to ensure broader inclusion, will welcome this book. In doing so they too will expand their own knowledge and understanding of the subject. One does not need to be in the fields of science, engineering nor medicine to appreciate the message in African American Women Inventors. For the message transcends traditional borders or disciplines of study. The biographical descriptions of the featured women are of tremendous courage, high intellect and a lot of hard work. The stories in this book are exciting and geared to fostering a sense of empowerment to studenta and adults alike who read it. Students at all grade levels, genders and ethnic groups can readily relate to thses stories of personal triumph and achievement. However the author has written it to target ages 9 through 12 year olds.

Book Description

From 1943 the British began the design of a tank that bore distinct similarities to the German Panther tank. Designed as a Universal Tank, the design emerged in mid-1945 as the Centurion. It was last used in action by the British Army in 1991 during the Gulf War. It has also seen action with the Israeli Defence Forces, the Indian Army in the wars with Pakistan and the Australian Army in Vietnam. This book details all the variants of the Centurion used in these conflicts as well as covering the specialised variants last used by the British in the Gulf War.

Customer Reviews:

good book on the centurion.......2007-06-02

The Centurion is one of the most important and successful tanks ever, and this is a good book on it. It covers the development of this tank well. It makes a good companion to the author's earlier "The Centurion Tank in Battle", which covers better the combat career of the "Cent". The Osprey books pack a lot in a thin volume, and this one is no exception, though sometimes one wishes for a bit more. Another book on the Centurion which is probably worth checking out is "The Centurion Tank" by Bill Munro.

Good intro to the Centurion; more combat info needed .......2004-12-01

The British Centurion tank is one of the most important and remarkable AFVs in history. It was developed way back in 1943 but emerged too late to fight in WWII. However, since its combat debut in the Korean War, the Centurion tank has fought with great distinction in numerous conflicts (esp. the Arab-Israeli wars of 1967, 1973, and the Indo/Pakistani War of 1965). Simon Dunstan does a good job of describing the evolution and development of the Centurion from the Korean War and onwards. He describes the different marks (e.g. Mark 3, Mark 5, Mark 7, Mark 13, the Israeli Sh'ot, and the recent Oliphant upgrade by the South African army). Dunstan does provide some combat information, such as the 8th Hussars performance in the Korean War, a brief assessment of the 1967 war, and the amazing defensive stand by Israeli Centurions along the Golan Heights in the 1973 War. I wished the author would have described more of the combat performance of the Centurion, especially during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, where the Centurions dominated the battlefield against the T54/55, the T34/85, and the JS3s of the enemy Egyptian and Syrian forces. I have an older edition of Osprey, "The Centurion Tank in Battle" (written by Simon Dunstan) which does a great job of chronicling all this combat information. Also, Dunstan could have provided a table which describes a comparison of the armor penetration of guns such as the 17 pounder, 83 mm, and 105 mm, and the armor thickness of the various marks. It would be great if Osprey publishing could come out with a revised edition of "The Centurion in Battle" which would include all of this information. As usual, the colored plates and illustrations are great.

Customer Reviews:

A good introduction to a grave matter.......2003-06-08

Black's "Impeachment" is the ideal guide for the average citizen who hasn't studied constitutional law. Black gives a thumbnail sketch of the impeachment process' mechanics and explains what we know about the framers' intentions. He discusses the most often debated impeachment issues, and he offers his own interpretation of the process in general and comments on Nixon's impeachment.

The main points I took from this book are that impeachment gravely frays the fabric of American society, and that partisan politics has no place in the process; the linchpin of impeachment is the solemn statesmanship of our congressmen. If another impeachment comes about in my lifetime, I'll let my congressmen know early in the proceedings that I'm counting on them to act without partisan bias.

An excellent book written for the layman in layman's terms........1999-01-21

Black's book is remarkably relevent to the current impeachment situation, even after 25 years. Though his examples are comtemporary to the Nixon near-impeachment (and prior to his resignation), it is refreshing to read a treatise on impeachment that does not constantly refer to Starr, Lewinsky, Tripp, et al. It is not written for the lawyer, so it has a popular flavor that made it a quick read while still imparting a great deal of information.

An invaluable guide to the process of impeachment.......1999-01-14

'The process of presidential impeachment and trial thereon, culminates in a judgement of the Senate, either that the president is not guilty, or that he is guilty on one or more of the Articles of Impeachment voted by the House, and is to be removed from office. Is this judgement of conviction final, or is it in some manner appealable, to the United States Supreme Court or elsewhere'?

Good question, huh? And so begins Chapter 4 of Charles L. Black's marvelous essay on the subject of impeachment. Black wrote this book when President Richard M. Nixon occupied the White House, yet the clarity of his writing, the reasonableness of his arguments and the vigor of his analysis, still hold true today nearly a quarter of a century later. This edition, republished in 1998, includes an impressive new forward by Prof Akhil Reed Amar of Yale University. If you're looking somewhat bewildered by the goings on Capitol Hill, and by implication, the lead stories on the news, rest assured you're not alone. One moment you hear the House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee recommending four Articles of Impeachment and the next moment you see the House vote to send the President to be tried by the Senate. What gives? You ask.

Black's book takes the reader on a journey in search of the facts relating to impeachment: what it means, where it originated and how we apply tests to determine the case for or against an impeachable offence. Black also examines the role of lawyers and of the Courts.

The author's objective throughout is not so much as to provide the reader with solutions, rather it is to illuminate why certain answers are incorrect. He does this by laying the evidence before the reader, so that the reader has every chance to examine both the evidence and his conscience, prior to arriving at a determination. As in other aspects of life, the book highlights that not all issues are clearly defined, and there is indeed room for some interpretation Irrespective of whether you're keen to turn the first sod in the political grave of the President William Jefferson Clinton, or whether you'd prefer to stand at his side as the United States Senate charges him; Black's essay is lucid, elegant and entertaining. As a contribution to the debate it is invaluable.

Should be everyone's first book on the subject.......1998-12-04

Black's book is now a bit dated, and his treatment is certainly more broad-brush than that of, say, Michael Gerhardt's "The Federal Impeachment Process" but this is still a wonderful book. A classic and, like all Black's works, beautifully written. If you're interested in impeachment (and who isn't these days?) this ought to be the first book you read.

An excellent study! Perhaps to be back in print, soon...........1998-08-24

Black's book is now a bit dated, and his treatment is certainly more broad-brush than that of, say, Michael Gerhardt's "The Federal Impeachment Process" but this is still a wonderful book. It ought to be brought back into print and -- given political events at the moment -- maybe it will be. A classic and, like all Black's works, beautifully written.

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Impeachment: A Handbook
Charles L. Black
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OSJI74

Average customer rating:

Impeachment: A Handbook
Charles L., Jr. Black
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OSBGR4

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Impeachment: a Handbook
Charles L. Black
Manufacturer: Yale Univ Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OSD596

Amazon.com

Here's the bottom line according to Bill McKibben: the earth will not be able to sustain its ever increasing population indefinitely. But the population problem is not just a phenomenon of developing nations--the United States is a major environmental threat, gobbling up a huge piece of the resources pie as our numbers grow larger every year. To avoid worldwide catastrophe, McKibben believes that the United States must reduce its birthrate.

Maybe One is more about the concept of having only one child per family, than a sanctimonious sermon on the perils producing more than that lone baby will have on the world. Understandably the implications of overpopulation for the planet's resources isn't something the average American cries into his Cheerios about every morning, but Maybe One argues that we must start thinking about family size and stop thinking of population as an "abstract issue" that has no bearing on our lives. McKibben produces compelling if not controversial arguments for curbing the U.S. population explosion, a population which he believes could grow by at least 50 percent by the year 2050 to possibly 400 million people. That's a lot of mouths to feed, fuel to burn, and waste to dispose! McKibben's arguments are a mixture of the highly personal (he speaks in great detail of his decision to have a vasectomy) to the highly global (McKibben cites scary statistics about the greenhouse effect, species extinction, soil erosion, and food shortages). He is particularly passionate about "only children" and that it really is okay to have just one child, arguing that only children are often more intelligent and confident than their multiple-sibling friends.

Like in The End of Nature an earlier McKibben book concerned with man's catastrophic contribution to the greenhouse effect, McKibben urges us in Maybe One to really think about our relationship with the earth. He writes, "No decision any of us makes will have more effect on the world (and on our lives) than whether to bear another child." Prophetic words, but words many parents will find difficult by which to abide. --Naomi Gesinger

Book Description

In Maybe One, Bill McKibben argues that the earth is becoming dangerously overcrowded, and that if more of us chose to have only one child, it would make a crucial difference toward insuring a healthy future for ourselves and our planet.

But the environment alone may not persuade most people to consider having just one child, as eighty percent of Americans have siblings. Powerful stereotypes about only children--that they're spoiled, selfish, or maladjusted in some way--still persist. McKibben, the proud father of an only child himself, debunks these myths, citing research about the many emotional and intellectual strengths only children possess. Contrary to the old folk wisdom, only children are very much like everyone else; they are no more likely to be lonely, shy, or difficult to get along with than children with siblings. Only children also receive the benefits of more parental resources and time that are denied to kids with siblings: higher test scores and levels of achievement in school, and greater development of positive personality traits, like maturity and self-control.

At once a powerful personal argument and an accessible exploration of what overpopulation could mean to human life, Maybe One is a provocative yet well-reasoned opening to what will be an important and lasting debate.

"Eloquent...Wonderfully illuminating." --Publishers Weekly (starred)

"An absorbing, important environmental book, likely to stimulate long overdue discussion for its frank grappling with one of our most intimate taboos." --San Francisco Chronicle

Customer Reviews:

Only children turn out normal.......2005-11-05

I am grateful to Bill McKibben for making it clear that I don't have to worry about my son being harmed by being an only child. McKibben makes a good case for smaller families. I am frequently puzzled by the peculiar blindness to this issue in the media. When a family with five or ten children complains that they can't afford the necessities of American life, you don't have to look far for a reason, yet this gets constantly overlooked. I have known far too many people who want to leave the number of their children in God's hands. In my opinion, God helps those who help themselves.

McKibben supports maintaining immigration into the U.S. at a somewhat reduced level. I think he does not go far enough here. I think legal immigration should be limited to no more than a few thousand persons a year. Stopping illegal immigration should become a national priority. If that sounds selfish and intolerant to you, please consider that ALL our lives depend on healthy ecosystems. Those ecosystems simply can't withstand a continually increasing population.

Argument Based on Fallacy.......2003-02-09

Why did I have to even give it one star? The problem that someone should point out is that McKibben's book has as its core basis a fallacious argument. The United States, like every other developed nation is not growing because of the rate of reproduction of its population but because of immigration. If he had chosen to focus on a way to slow population growth and improve economies in the developing nations and thereby probably reduce the rate of immigration his argument would be stronger but since he didn't it doesn't matter what he says because once the core reason for his book is proven wrong, why should we believe any other argument he wishes to make?

Do the math...........2002-10-05

The idea presented in this book has to be the worst proposal ever to come out of the over-population myth. First of all if every family had only one child, the human race would eventually die out. (Example: 500 people make 250 couples, if each one had only 1 child, then the next generation would have only 250 children, making it possible to have only 125 couples.)

One point of contradiction is that the author professes his belief in Jesus Christ, but denies the first commandment given to man (multiply and replenish the earth).

The solution to all of the problems cited by over-population rumourists isn't population control, its better resource management.

Earth issues and broader thoughts on the only child.......2001-06-21

Bill McKibben has written a book that is not only much needed but a wake up call to those who care about the entire earth environment and what effect multi-child families have.

As the mother of one child, a son who is now raised and responsible and happy I am always looking for books that dispel the myths about only children being selfish, spoiled, maladjusted loners (the authors words). The author doesn't just talk theory. And he walks his talk, in sharing the personal choice and experience of having a vasectomy.

His work is thorough in showing how misplaced and out of context religious admonishments to go forth and multiply are. How we no longer need large families to work the farms much less the nine month school year. That we as a society need to rethink what children should be to society at large and get over the whole lug headed logic that as women we are not complete unless we reproduce and do so more than once. Or that real men are only the ones who create an heir, and usually a male one at that.

I also appreciated immensely his challenging people to stop seeing a child as a hobby and start looking at the child as an individual with rights and that an only child that is reared with a mindset of personal responsibility is the best future citizen. And the fact is as his work shows, is this. Todays family with more than one child is the very family who succumbs to guilt buying. Over consuming and children with poor health i.e.obesity and altruistic thought that is not embraced but if taught is done so out of guilt feelings.

the book is split into four sections. Part One: Family Part Two: Species Part Three: Nation Part Four: Self. And am so grateful the author has noted the works of Granville Stanley Hall who was born in 1844 and would go on to John Hopkins and do some earthshaking research as well as create the first research university in psychology.

Go forth and multiply???.......2001-06-04

This is a fine book that gives a measured, objective (as much as possible) analysis on the decision of whether to add another human being to the surface of the earth. I'm constantly amazed how often population is neglected entirely (or casually brushed off) when discussing policies from urban sprawl to species loss to global warming. Of course population isn't the only factor (wealth and lifestyle are obviously key as well), but who can seriously question that our environmental impact on the earth would be more manageable if we had fewer people? Think about your average day....waking up and showering, eating breakfast, driving to work, etc. Go out and surf the Internet and start calculating your individual environmental impact (there are a host of useful sites out there). The coal burned to light your house, your office and all of the places you visit during the day. The metals, woods and plastics harvested, processed, stored and shipped to build your home, the appliances within it, your automobile, your consumer electronics, books, dishes and your clothes. The water, herbicides and fuel used to produce the food you consume. And don't forget waste. Start adding up your sewer impact, the amount of garbage you generate week after week, month after month. And don't forget the garbage you contribute to at work, the park and the restaurant. And so on.... The final toll is staggering. Simply in terms of home electricity use, for example, the average American household will easily burn more than 300 pounds of coal and generate more than 600 pounds of atmospheric CO2 per month. Then start multiplying these numbers by 280 million (Americans), and (although using different and lower multipliers) 6 billion+ human beings.

The inescapable truth glaring through this sort of calculation is that unless you manage a SuperFund site, you are not likely to make a more environmentally important decision in your life than whether to add another human being to the earth (and if so, how many). Perhaps McKibben's book will help reduce the ridiculous spectacles I see where a bountiful family of multiple children scamper from a monstrous SUV (with Earth Day bumper sticker) at a recycle site, offering some newspapers and crushed cans and then hulking home (after gassing up, of course), beaming and self-congratulatory at what they are doing for the earth compared to their wasteful brethren in, say, India. You can reuse and recycle to your little heart's content and not come close to having a fraction of the environmental impact of not having had one of those children-particularly American children.

Now at this point someone will usually ask "but what if that child not born had grown up to be another Ed Begley, Jr or John Muir???" Of course it's just as likely (that is, unknowable) that the child will be another Rush Limbaugh Julian Simon, arguing that ultimately human ingenuity will always find a way out of our problems (since it always has in the past). The fact is I fear Simon may be right (at least on this point). Humans probably will find a way around most if not all of the limitations on human growth and continued happiness. Unfortunately many of those "limitations" will be much of the rest of the ecosystem. If you live comfortably in a human-centered worldview where humans properly exercise dominion over birds and the fishes, then stay tuned, you're going to love the next few hundred years. If, however, you value other components of the ecosystem other than humans (or acknowledge their right to exist whether we value them or not), Simon won't have much to tell you. You can't get something out of nothing. Each of the 240,000 new humans added to the earth each day aren't eating nothing or building their homes from nothing or fueling their fires and cars and machines from nothing. They will get these things from something, and that something is the rest of our ecosystem. The plain fact of the matter is that as human population expands, other components of our ecosystem contract. Humans are rapidly converting earth biomass to human biomass. If you like that state of affairs, keep on truckin'. Otherwise read McKibben's book and take some meaningful action to work to an alternative...

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BILL McKIBBEN: Three's Company--Four's Crowd.(Review) (book reviews): An article from: E
Tracey C. Rembert
Manufacturer: Earth Action Network, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B00098FCBA
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from E, published by Earth Action Network, Inc. on November 1, 1998. The length of the article is 2319 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: BILL McKIBBEN: Three's Company--Four's Crowd.(Review) (book reviews)
Author: Tracey C. Rembert
Publication: E (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 1, 1998
Publisher: Earth Action Network, Inc.
Volume: 9 Issue: 6 Page: 10(1)

Article Type: Book Review

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