To Honor the Earth: Reflections on Living in Harmony With Nature

Book Description

Ever since The Findhorn Garden appeared in 1975, Dorothy Maclean's pioneering work of cooperation with spirits of the natural world coupled with Kathleen Thormod Carr's brilliant photography has attracted international attention. Now, in this richly illustrated work with photographs from around the world, they illuminate a part of life which has been long unheard of in our culture. These communications awaken the awareness in us that nature has intelligence and a spiritual dimension that we all can share. The realization of our connectedness with all life becomes particularly crucial at this time when the entirety of the web of life on this planet is threatened.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent,inspirational--supports planetary stweardship.......1999-08-11

For the past several years, I have been looking for environmental literature to incorporate into a college course level class I'm designing tentatively called "Nature, Animals and Humans: the New Paradigm." When I picked up a copy of "To Honor the Earth: Reflections on Living in Harmony with Nature," by Dorothy Maclean and Kathleen T. Carr, I realized I had finally found a dramatically evocative and useful core textbook, not only for the college course, but for high school and middle school curriculum as well. Although this gorgeous book was published nine years ago, its words grow more timely and powerful as we perceive more clearly and respond more actively to the warnings Nature is currently giving us about the deterioration of our planet's health. The last chapter, "The Promise of Ccoperation," is extremely healing and can help readers of all ages deal effectively with the despair they feel while witnessing the destruction of natural systems. It shows them the avenues of spirit and action that can lead them to trust themselves to make a difference.

Book Description

A map and guide of Singapore by night including hawker safaris, night safaris, island hopping, dining, bars and pubs, clubs and culture, and more. 3 maps including MRT stops, ferry routes, Sentosa Island and greater Singapore.

Customer Reviews:

boring city not so dead.......2001-04-25

its hard to find stuff to do in singapore apart from eat and eat and eat again. its a dead city in terms of nightlife except for weekends when everyone packs into a few choice places. anyway, i was happy to see this map out as i have never heard 'groovy' and 'singapore' and 'night' used in the same sentence before! its a simple map and their guide is to the point picking out all the in places to go and where to find a bit of life here. well set out and easy to use - also amusing. i think it must have been hard to find stuff to fill the map but somehow they did it - not that i am dissing singapore. im just glad someone somewhere is trying to locate the all night party! thanks!

Book Description

In the past decade global change, mainly caused by climate change, and its effect on the society has been on the forefront of world news. Indeed, the issue has become a standard item on the agendas of political leaders, as it is feared that the economic costs caused by the predicted changes will be high, and mitigating measures consume scarce resources. Climate change is expected to impact heavily on human and animal health because of disturbance of ecological equilibriums and more favourable conditions for disease agents. Vector-borne diseases such as malaria, leishmaniasis and dengue will benefit particularly from the predicted changes by expansion of the geographic range of the vectors and accelerated development of the infectious parasites.

This book is the reflection of a workshop in which the potential impact of global change on malaria and other vector-borne diseases was discussed from different angles. The workshop brought together a series of leading scientists in the field of malaria and global change, to discuss the likelihood of changes in disease risk with respect to the scale of the predicted changes. Field research, laboratory studies and epidemiological modelling were presented and showed how combining theoretical modelling and field validations can be used to demonstrate the likely effects of global change on an infectious disease such as malaria. It was clear that environmental change, more than climate change, is the driving force behind the observed changes. The rapid spread of blue tongue, another highly infectious vector-borne disease, illustrates what might happen if the world looks on unguarded.

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Best 50 year-old Faustian retell

The original "Damn Yankees"

My Grandfather was Joe Hardy

a great book

The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant
Douglass Wallop
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Damn Yankees

Damn Senators: My Grandfather and the Story of Washington's Only World Series

Baseball: A Literary Anthology

Damn Yankees: 1994 Original Broadway Cast Recording

Shoeless Joe

ASIN: 0393326101

Book Description

"A bad bargain for the devil, a wonderful one for readers."—New York Post

Decades before Field of Dreams there was The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant, the classic baseball fable that became the hit movie and musical Damn Yankees. Now a new generation is ready to discover this delightful book, restored to its original title, with a new introduction by baseball writer Bill James.

Baseball lovers everywhere can identify with Joe Boyd, a die-hard Washington Senators fan who puts his soul in hock to help them wrest the pennant away from the hated, all-conquering Yankees. Transformed by the sulfurous Mr. Applegate's satanic magic into twenty-two-year-old phenom Joe Hardy, he leads the hapless Senators in a torrid late-season pursuit of the men in pinstripes. Joe has until September 21st before the deal becomes final—and eternal. With the luscious temptress Lola to distract him, he'll have a hell of a time wriggling out of the bargain...

Customer Reviews:

Best 50 year-old Faustian retell.......2005-04-11

I first read this as a kid, and loved it then. It's a happy thought that, 50 years ago, the greatest desire a man could aspire to was to have his underdog baseball team beat the undeafeated Yankees, and was willing to sell his sould to the Devil for it. Today he'd probably want at least one oil-producing country.

Well written, entertaining and with some great twists, it still remains one of my favourites for moralistic humour, right up there with the various Don Camillo books. Really gives the flavour of baseball in the 1950's when there were fewer teams, stronger loyalties and better sportsmen.

The original "Damn Yankees".......2004-11-04

The novel tells the story of Joe Boyd, a long-time fan of the Washington Senators who have the worst record in baseball. One night after an incredibly bad loss, Joe decides to take a walk around the neighborhood and runs into the mysterious Mr. Applegate. It turns out that Applegate has been keeping tabs on Joe and his Washington Senators and wants to offer Joe a proposition. How would he like to watch his beloved Senators to win the 1958 pennant? Not only watch, but even help the team by becoming their newest star player? Reluctantly, Joe agrees but has Applegate write an escape clause into the contract. Within a few days the old Joe Boyd is transfromed into the 21-year-old Joe Hardy and sets off on a whirlwind ride that moves the Senators up from 7th place to just within reach of the Yankees.

Along the way, Joe begins to realize just what he's given up and what the ramifications are of his joining the team. It's a heart-warming trip, both funny and sad, and delves into a passionate fan's view of the world of baseball. So many temptations to stick with the game, and even stronger feelings tying him to his old life. Until the gorgeous Lola steps into the picture to keep his mind off the old Joe. Author Douglass Wallop's story keeps you enrapt and rooting for Joe and the Senators until the very end, never quite sure just what the outcome is going to be. It's a unique, light-hearted twist on the tale of Faust with many great and wonderful characters.

My Grandfather was Joe Hardy.......2004-10-06

This is a wonderful story, and one that I enjoyed for personal reasons - the main character Joe Hardy was inspired by my grandfather Joe Judge, who played first base for the Washington Senators from 1915 to 1932. The story is told in my book Damn Senators.

a great book.......2004-02-15

man it would take the devil for the yankees to loose the series. This is a great book that isn't to long to read and it is a very good story

Damn Yankees : A New Musical ( Based on the Novel, The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant )

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Damn Yankees : A New Musical ( Based on the Novel, The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant )
George ; Wallop, Douglass ; Adler, Richard ; Ross, Jerry Abbott
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OEIIBU

Damn Yankees: A new musical (based on the novel The year the Yankees lost the pennant, by Douglass Wallop) (A Random House play)

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Damn Yankees: A new musical (based on the novel The year the Yankees lost the pennant, by Douglass Wallop) (A Random House play)
George Abbott
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

ASIN: B0007DLP54

Good-Bye, My Lady/The Dowry/The Day Lincoln Was Shot/The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant/Flamingo Feather (Reader's Digest Condensed Books, Volume 2: 1955)

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Good-Bye, My Lady/The Dowry/The Day Lincoln Was Shot/The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant/Flamingo Feather (Reader's Digest Condensed Books, Volume 2: 1955)
James Street , Margaret Culkin Banning , Jim Bishop , Douglass Wallop , and Laurens van der Post
Manufacturer: Reader's Digest Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GM1UWO

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Good-bye, My Lady; The Dowry; The Day Lincoln Was Shot; The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant and Flamingo Feather

Average customer rating:

Good-bye, My Lady; The Dowry; The Day Lincoln Was Shot; The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant and Flamingo Feather

Manufacturer: The Reader's Digest Association, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HULA52

Reader's Digest Condensed Books - Vol. 21 Spring 1995 Selections: The Day Lincoln Was Shot; Good-bye, My Lady; The Dowry; The Year The Yankees Lost The Pennant; Flamingo Feather

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Reader's Digest Condensed Books - Vol. 21 Spring 1995 Selections: The Day Lincoln Was Shot; Good-bye, My Lady; The Dowry; The Year The Yankees Lost The Pennant; Flamingo Feather
Margaret Culkin Banning, Jim Bishop, Douglass Wallop, Laurens van der Post James Street
Manufacturer: Readers Digest Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000KA7IMI

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The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant
Douglass Wallop
Manufacturer: Pocket Books Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000T6FIA2

Product Description

Mass Market Pocket Book Cardinal Edition

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The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant
Douglass Wallop
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NW7684

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The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant
Douglass Wallop
Manufacturer: W.W. Norton & Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UV1RTW

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A Wonderful, Mysterious Book

A Powerful, if Incomplete, "Memoir"

Not easy to read, but worth the trouble

I, Wabenzi: A Souvenir (Aporia)
Rafi Zabor
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Authors | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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The Bear Comes Home

Torture the Artist

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ASIN: 0865475830
Release Date: 2005-09-22

Book Description

Some time ago Rafi Zabor sat down to write a brief narrative of the year 1986. That was the year he set out across two continents in a used Mercedes--"Wabenzi" is the Swahili word for a member of the Mercedes-owning class--to buy a grave stone for his friend Mahmoud Rauf and to outrun the shadow of his own parents' recent death.

But like a boat against the current, the writer was drawn back into the past: his father's escape from the Nazis, Rafi's own Brooklyn boyhood surrounded by the fractious, Zabors and Zaborovskys, and the anguished--sometimes farcical--spiritual journey that led Zabor from Brooklyn to Turkey by way of Coltrane, the thirteenth-century mystic Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi, the McGovern campaign, Gurdjieff, a shoe salesman named Gogol, and the cataclysmic months Zabor spent studying (and whirling) amid a band of Sufis in rural England. The result--the first of a projected four volumes--is one of the most original, capacious, and vivid narratives of the last few decades, a real-life Bildungsroman dealing with an expanded range of human experience, from matters of life and death to a piece of what lies beyond them.

Straight from the unchartered territory between Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Tristram Shandy, I, Wabenzi lifts a corner of the known world as if it were the edge of a curtain, and begins to show a reality new to our literature gleaming on the other side.

Customer Reviews:

A Wonderful, Mysterious Book.......2005-10-26

I thoroughly enjoyed Rafi's new book. I've loved Rafi's writing since reading some of his stuff in Musician in the 1970's, and I found it fascinating to learn more about his life. This book takes many interesting twists and turns, and I eagerly await the remaining volumes.

A Powerful, if Incomplete, "Memoir".......2005-10-21

From the dust jacket, we learn that Rafi's autobiographical "Memoir" is planned to stretch to four volumes. Indeed, this volume gets him only as far as England in his planned trip to Turkey, and he never acquires the Mercedes Benz which inspires the book's title. But as with much travel, the enjoyment is in the sights and sounds while getting there.

Rafi's at times dizzying prose has matured since his Pen Faulkner Award-winning "The Bear Comes Home," and I frequently found myself startled at the power of an image limned in a few deft words. At the same time, his emotional honesty is shocking and at times painful.

The heart of the book is in two sustained flashbacks--one concerning his Jewish family, a tragicomic portrayal with depth and compassion, and the second concerning his participation in a Sufi spiritual community in rural England. Having some experience with this latter, I am startled by its accuracy, showing both flawed humans with good will and foibles and an environment that invites profound, life-changing experiences. Each part is a masterpiece, and I for one eagerly await the remaining volumes.

Not easy to read, but worth the trouble.......2005-09-26

Intelligent and well written, Wabenzi: A Souvenir reveals the life of the author, Rafi Zabor, to readers. Zabor's words tell of incidents in his life- happenings - that affected him. The death of his parents, the memory of his, " . . . ghostly grandmother - with her salty fingers, claw-like hands, sallow hollow cheeks, loose false teeth, . . .." The meeting of a girl friend's older brother who was named Jack Shema, but became to be known as Hakki Bey, the boy who was brilliant, artistic, self destructive and beat his sister from time-to-time. He tells of Sharon, the sister whom he took to Tokyo for an abortion.
Zabor tells his experiences and memories lyrically and honestly. Many passages are compelling. Some of the writing is long winded, however, and my interest waned. but something always pulled me back into the story. Zabor shows readers the world as he sees it competently and interestingly. He admits that he does not clearly understand everything that happens in his life and this confession allows readers to identify with him. How many of us understand our lives?
Through detailed and sensitive writing Wabenzi: A Souvenir allows readers to get inside his mind to see what he sees, feel what he feels and he lets readers contemplate his regrets along with him.
Zabor is a jazz drummer and that's how he writes - with improvisation and a forceful rhythm. I enjoyed Zabor's writing most when he talked about his passion - music. That's where the best writing comes from, passion.
Reading Wabenzi: A Souvenir will take some work. It is not and easy read, but it is worthwhile.

Customer Reviews:

Fascinating.......2007-05-15

Reading this book while visiting a friend in Azerbaijan, I could not put it down. The incredible history of this small country and the current issues both told in a very entertaining narrative that can't be found anywhere else.

A solid historic book.......2006-05-05

This is one of the rare historic books reflecting the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict from both sides. It is reach in historic and political facts, and also reflects the author's own eyewitness of the war.

Also in this book, Mr. Goltz makes it clear in the book his unfriendly relations with Azerbaijani government, and criticizes the structure of the gorevnment, and it's adiministration which lead to series of strategic mistakes.

A must read on Azerbaijan.......2006-02-15

Thomas Goltz's book on Azerbaijan is unique, for many reasons. First, he was among the few western journalists to be and actually live in the Caucasus when hell broke loose in the conflicts of the region. Secondly, He speaks the language, bringing him across cultural barriers that even Russian-speakers encounter though they seldom know they do in the non-Russian partso the former USSR. Third, Goltz has a smell for the events of the country and understands the backdoor politics.

In the final analysis, no serious book on Azerbaijan has been written since Goltz published Azerbaijan Diary. This is sad, since his book mainly covers the transition from communism over the brief popular front period into the Aliyev era - and a lot has happened since.

Historians may come around to write books on this period. But no book is likely to be published on this era that physically makes you feel you were there both, when the Popular Front took over power in parliament; or when rockets came crushing down on Azeri positions in Karabakh.

Great book on caucasus region .......2006-01-21

This a a great source of informaiton for those who are interested to learn more about Azzerbaijan and it's relations with the neighbouring countries.

Strongly recommended!.......2006-01-21

It's a great book about Azerbaijan and it's history. Very comprehencive review, great illustrations. Definitely recommended.

Azerbaijan Diary A Rogue Reporter's Adventures in an Oil-Rich, War-torn, Post-soviet Republic

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Azerbaijan Diary A Rogue Reporter's Adventures in an Oil-Rich, War-torn, Post-soviet Republic
Thomas Goltz
Manufacturer: M.E. Sharpe Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000VWHLOU

Azerbaijan Diary: A Rogue Reporter's Adventures in an Oil-Rich, War-Torn, Post-Soviet Republic.(Review) (book review): An article from: Journal of International Affairs

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Azerbaijan Diary: A Rogue Reporter's Adventures in an Oil-Rich, War-Torn, Post-Soviet Republic.(Review) (book review): An article from: Journal of International Affairs
Robert A. Schupp
Manufacturer: Columbia University School of International Public Affairs
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of International Affairs, published by Columbia University School of International Public Affairs on September 22, 1999. The length of the article is 1098 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: Azerbaijan Diary: A Rogue Reporter's Adventures in an Oil-Rich, War-Torn, Post-Soviet Republic.(Review) (book review)
Author: Robert A. Schupp
Publication: Journal of International Affairs (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 1999
Publisher: Columbia University School of International Public Affairs
Volume: 53 Issue: 1 Page: 359

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Sad Stories - but Unfortunately - True

Good book

Compelling stories

Tug At Your Heart

Interesting & thought provoking book

ORPHANS OF THE LIVING : Stories of America's Children in Foster Care
Jennifer Toth
Manufacturer: Amazon Remainders Account
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Social Science | Nonfiction | Bargain Books | Stores | Books
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Wasted: The Plight of America's Unwanted Children

ASIN: B000F7BPA2

Amazon.com

Reader, beware: Jennifer Toth's Orphans of the Living is not a happy book. In fact, it would be difficult to find a more depressing subject than the current state of foster care in the United States. Nevertheless, in an age plagued by drastic governmental cut-backs on social programs--a time in which women and children are by far the most numerous victims of poverty--the fate of foster children is an important, if painful, subject. Toth's report from the frontlines of what is known as "substitute care" is not encouraging; as she follows the lives of five young people as they move through the system--from Damien, a rape victim at age 8 who becomes a sexual predator by age 13, to Bryan, who struggles to benefit from one of the country's best foster programs--Toth's subjects are as heartbreaking as their success is improbable. Toth has wisely put a human face on the child welfare system's carnage.

Make no mistake, Jennifer Toth is angry. She has faith in every child's ability to be rehabilitated, no matter how damaged, but blames the current foster care system for inflicting still more hurt on its hapless charges. Her book is strongest in chronicling the outrageous breakdowns in a system meant to help, not hurt. So relentless is the misery outlined in Orphans of the Living that by the book's end one wishes Toth had given the reader some crumbs of hope by proposing concrete ways in which the system might be improved.

Customer Reviews:

Sad Stories - but Unfortunately - True.......2007-01-12

I recommend this book to all who are interested in becoming Foster Care Providers or working with Foster Children. THese are all sad stories of how the richest country in the World treats their children. These same stories can be repeated over and over and over again. I am involved with the Foster Care System and I have to say it is sadly managed, poorly funded, and ineptly cared for.

Hopefully this author could do a similar book on how Foster Homes are disrupted, run-out, get burnt out, etc - all do to the same reasons.

Good book.......2006-01-27

I enjoyed this book. I think it will give anyone who reads it an understanding of a different kind of success. Not necessarily a lowered standard of success, but a better definition of success. Success is rising above the what others had expected out of you.

I am thankful for the book, it gave me insight into some questions my husband and I had about older children adoption.

Compelling stories.......2005-06-04

The life stories of the children profiled in this book are fascinating, and their experiences in the system are eye-openers (to me, at least). I was frustrated with the writing, however. The author sometimes rapidly skips back and forth to examine events at different times, causing the sequence of the stories to be confusing and some facts to seem inconsistent. Also, the author depicts herself in some of the children's stories but not others, so that as a reader I found myself wondering where she had gotten all this information. Overall, it is a good book that probably could have been a great book had it been better edited.

Tug At Your Heart.......2004-01-09

This is a wonderful book. Heart wrenching but the truth as it is. she bring life to something people would rather ignore. Children who were swept under a rug are given a voice by Jennifer Thoth. I love this book.

Interesting & thought provoking book.......2003-11-12

This book depicts the lives of older children in the foster care system in America. It is a gritty, real, and very compelling book! The chararcters are really well developed and you get the story of not only the foster child himself but their parents, grandparents, sisters, and brothers life stories as well. It really gets you thinking about how these kids ended up this way.....the hopelessness, the helplessness, the isolation these kids feel who don't belong anywhere and it seems nobody wants them. It was depressing but VERY interesting. I'd love to read a follow up book to see how they're all doing 5 or 10 years from now.

Book Description

Is there anything you can do when development threatens your local forest, beach, prairie, or wetland? Yes, there is. Across America, citizen activists are fighting and winning battles against unwanted development in their own communities. To help you resist the urban sprawl and absentee landowners that can wreck small towns and cities alike, this book is a practical, hands-on guide for building a grassroots campaign to defeat undesirable development.

Written by a successful activist, Citizen's Primer for Conservation Activism takes you through all the steps necessary to stop unplanned development in your community:

Identifying the issues at stake
Getting involved and developing leadership
Devising a strategy
Hiring and working with legal counsel
Building coalitions and partnerships
Influencing local government
Conducting a media campaign
Raising money
Countering developer tactics
Managing the whole process

With the proven strategies in this easy-to-access book, you can quickly gear up to challenge unwanted development and preserve the character of your local community.

Customer Reviews:

Got More Than Expected.......2006-10-03

My small Indiana "hick town" has recently become the target of a proposed Vera Sun ethanol fuel refinery site. Had it not been for Ms. Perlman's book "Citizen's Primer for Conservation Activism: How to Fight Development in Your Community" I would have sat on my hands and been too timid to take on Big Brother. Having read it I am now involved and prepared to at least put up one helluva fight against it. I was attracted to Ms. Perlman's book because of the words "primer" and "community" in the title. I needed something elementary, something easy, to guide me and educate me in the basics of fighting development in my small community. Her book did just that and more. I now have a foundation of knowledge to build on. Did her example fit my situation perfectly? Am I ready to take on every big corporation in a big metropolis? No, but I feel informed enough to know where to start digging for information and places to go for answers if need be. I didn't get the impression that Ms. Perlman's intention was for this to be "THE" book on conservation activism and one should look no further. I may end up with an ethanol plant in my back yard, literally, but I won't hold Ms. Perlman or her book responsible if my community loses the fight. I feel more empowered as a citizen and come away with more determination to exercise my rights and make my vote count in the upcoming election. This book was the perfect "first step" for me and for others whom I have shared with.
Ms. Perlman has taken the "fire in her belly" and produced something of value. I hope she writes even bigger and better "guide books" on conservation activism. I'll be watching for them.

Wasted potential.......2005-09-01

I was excited about using this book in my own non-profit work---until I had a chance to actually read it. It is only applicable to certain types of activists who fight their fights in small and/or rural communities.

I'm happy that Ms. Perlman and her friends were able to stop counterproductive redevelopment in their own community. However, I am also concerned that she generalizes too readily about the immediate applicability of this book to all people's situations.

Like other reviewers have previously noted, she does not recognize that different environments need adjustments in organizing strategies. This is an embarrassing mantra for somebody who positions herself as an author and activist.

One of my long-standing pet peeves is activists who are ultimately in love with the idea of `being progressive' rather than actually following through on it. Because they will not concede the flaws in their own arguments, these people are often more shallow than the society which they seek to change.

Yes, it worked for her, but many of the tactics would be impractical in a metropolis where activists are expected to work through and with boards in order to impact social change. Increasing gentrification of `redeveloping' urban centers means smart development policies can be a hot seller there too---with the right sales pitch.

Her social justice prescriptions aren't going to provide anything to people who cannot use the remedies in their own organizing environments. Unlike John P. Kretzmann and John L. McKnight (authors of `Building communities from the inside out') she generalizes about communities. What was her point of writing a `practice' book if the tenets cannot actually be put into practice?

This book would be better off repackaged as a handbook for rural and small suburban communities. It has no applicability for the realities of organizers in larger communities. Selling it as a general organizing book does a tremendous disservice to the people who are seriously committed to helping all communities organize.

Citizen's Primer for Conservation Activism: How to Fight Dev.......2005-05-16

Pearlman has provided an inspiring and essential guide to preserving valued natural land, especially when under developmental pressure from characteristically greed driven developers who rarely have any vested interest in the post-development future of the land they desicrate.

A must read for caring citizens who will learn thatdevotion and extraordinary teamwork can truly work miracles!

-- JC

Fighting the Good Fight.......2005-05-16

The last two statements in Judith Perlman's book, "CONSERVATION ACTIVISM, - "Keep fighting the good fight. The universe will thank you.", should not be taken lightly. Keep fighting" is the most important as it is the theme throughout her book - never give up! Universe can be brought down to state, county, township, etc. - even your own backyard.

The first statement, on the cover - before the title is: "Citizen Primer for" (CONSERVATION ACTIVISM), also explains it all. This is a guide for the preservation of natural areas. Judith Perlman's book will be used by untold numbers of individuals and groups involved with (or planning to be involved with) small and big skirmishes regarding the preservation of unique areas. The subtitle explains that: "How to fight development in your community."

Whether the "good fight" pertains to small local governments (as her book has) or to large governments, this book is a valuable guide. The entire text from the cover to the closing statements is well organized and written in a manner that citizens can understand and follow.

All too often, we are told that "you can't fight City Hall." This thought is put to rest in Judith Perlman's book.

Bernie Brouchoud, Founder and Executive Director (retired), Woodland Dunes Nature Center, Two Rivers, Wisconsin

A Strong Primer - If You're in a Small Wisconsin Town.......2005-03-30

Judith Perlman has successfully battled development projects, working for the preservation of natural areas and the defeat of sprawling subdivisions. She was involved in three efforts around her small town in Wisconsin, and two were successful while the third was in progress at the time of writing. Perlman's experience makes for a book that can be useful for those who are up against similar battles in their own communities. Some of Perlman's advice is fairly obvious, such as exercising your constitutional rights at public meetings or building coalitions with sympathetic organizations, though Perlman fleshes out these suggestions with strong practical details. Perlman also has some not-so-obvious recommendations as well, such as filming council meetings, or hiring lawyers to simply concoct stalling tactics when a governmental body is trying to rush a vote on a development plan. Such simple tactics can really alter the power balance when local citizens are up against developers and their pocketed local politicians.

However, in the introduction to this book Perlman states that her goal is to extend her personal experiences and successes into general recommendations that can be used in many different types of situations. Unfortunately, this is only true if your battle is in a political environment that is not especially different from that faced by Perlman. Granted, some of her tactics will work anywhere, such as setting up 501(c)(3) tax status or making use of media resources and local experts. But the biggest forms of government ever faced by Perlman and her colleagues were small town planning boards and county commissions. The book offers no practical knowledge on battles that would take place in much different political environments, such as large cities, or public lands in which state or even federal government agencies would be involved. Additionally, the book's expertise is only based on resisting relatively small residential developments, and battles against large-scale commercial or industrial interests would also face much different political realities. So in the end, this book is certainly a practical and detailed primer for the conservation activist, but it is based on limited examples and the details apply mostly to very specific types of local efforts. [~doomsdayer520~]

Citizen's Primer for Conservation Activism: How to Fight Development in Your Community

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Citizen's Primer for Conservation Activism: How to Fight Development in Your Community
Judith Perlman
Manufacturer: University of Texas Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORER5S

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