The Wilderness Journeys: My Boyhood & Youth First Summer in the Sierra 1000 Mile Walk (Canongate Classics, 67)

Customer Reviews:

This is a great anthology.......2001-05-30

If I was only to buy one John Muir book (a tragedy), this would be the one. Excellent essays that demonstrate both his lucid writing style and the amazing country that he describes. He coherently describes his own life (and the times that surround it), in a way that makes me want to grab a cotton rucksack and a bag of food and head off for the High Sierra.

Product Description

Marie Harrison presents a variety of plants that can serve as groundcovers in the American South, from herbs and perennials to shrubs and native plants to what plants to avoid. Includes detailed information on ideal growing conditions for the plant, how to care for it, and different selections. Color photographs and line drawings make identification easy.

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Groundcover the Thames (Groundcover)
Geraint Tellem
Manufacturer: Jarrold Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This book zeroes in on charming getaway spots along California's Central Coast. By dedicating an entire book to these friendly little destinations, the guide is able to offer a variety of features and a depth of coverage unmatched by more general guides. It includes stylish photos that capture the allure of the locales. Entertaining sidebars on the destination's history, people, geography, nature, art, and culture liven the content as do special "Street Strolls" that describe locally popular areas for walking, shopping, and dining. The author recommends dozens of romantic inns, including a 1906 California Craftsman house decorated with period furniture and an 1871 two-story clapboard Victorian with sweeping verandas. The guide leads readers on a step-by-step walk through Santa Barbara's famed "Red Tile Tour," complete with historical background and accompanying photos. "Picture-Perfect" lists tell of the area's top wineries as well as the most romantic spots to drink a glass of wine while watching the sunset into the Pacific.

Book Description

Plant biomass resources are seen as a vast reservoir of potential to be unlocked as sustainable fiber, fuel, and chemical feedstock for the 21st century. Vital to the achievement of this promise are fundamental investigations on the nature and industrial application of lignocellulosic materials.This volume brings together a broad array of scientific expertise to focus on the characterization and utilization of cellulosic materials. Researchers from Austria, Germany, Sweden, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and the U.S. explore many facets of the plant cell wall, from its fundamental structure and its manipulation via molecular biology to its application in composite materials. Exciting applications of near infrared spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, confocal microscopy, and molecular coupling as a viscoelastic probe provide new insights into the ultrastructure and properties of cellulosic materials.In total this volume represents a unique contribution to both our understanding and our vision for the sustainable use of biobased materials.

Solvent extraction in flame spectroscopic analysis (Butterworths monographs in chemistry)
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Solvent extraction in flame spectroscopic analysis (Butterworths monographs in chemistry)
Malcolm S Cresser
Manufacturer: Butterworths
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Analytic | Chemistry | Science | Subjects | Books
General & Reference | Chemistry | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0408713070

Book Description

The four parts of the book - Nonlinear multibody dynamics, Virtual multibody systems, Control design and Mechatronics, and Challenging applications - describe current status of multibody dynamics, with special emphasis on nonlinear systems, virtual reality, and control designs required in mechanics and other applications. Other topics include: nonholonomic systems, flexible multibody systems, contact, impact and collision, numerical methods of differential-algebraic equations, simulation approaches, virtual modelling, mechatronic design, control, biomechanics, space structures and vehicle dynamics.

Readership: This comprehensive summary of current work is suitable for a wide range of interests, from advanced student to researcher.

The Last Best Place: A Montana Anthology
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still the last best place

A Rare Gift

The Last Best Place: A Montana Anthology
William Kittredge
Manufacturer: Two Dot
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Anthologies | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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This House of Sky: Landscapes of a Western Mind

ASIN: 1560441550

Book Description

A guided tour of Montana's literature, including Native American stories, autobiographies, journals, fiction, and poetry.

Customer Reviews:

still the last best place.......2006-11-04

kittredge's collection evades perfection only through inclusion of a number of less than outstanding tales and essays. these are pretty much identifiable by their first or second paragraphs though; it takes no great effort to just page forward to the next outstanding offering. the dream of montana is well woven here. the reality of montana, remarkably enough, is even better than the dream. my only real reservation about this book is that it is apt to draw a crowd: i would wish montana to remain as it is.

A Rare Gift.......2002-01-20

The Last Best Place is an anthology with incredible breadth and scope. It was put together over a three year period by a group of dedicated editors and researchers headed up by Annick Smith and William Kittredge. The goal was to identify and preserve Montanna's rich literary heritage ranging from the earliest Native American inhabitants and explorers to contemporary authors such as Rick Newby and Bill Hoagland.

The size of the anthology is proof that it was a daunting if rewarding task. Over 1,000 pages long, it cannot be considered "light" reading, and yet the writing shines. There are sections from Lewis and Clark, Osborne Russell and James Audubon, (all early visitors to Montana), side by side with Native American stories and myths by the like of Jerome Fourstar, James White Calf and Pete Beaverhead( don't miss "Chickadees" as told to Frank Linderman by Pretty-shield, Medicine Woman). Here too you will find cowboys, settlers and wild west characters such as Mary MacLane who declared from a very early age, "I want Fame...Let me but make a beginning, let me but strike the world in a vulnerable spot, and I can take it by storm." There are essays, legends, journals, tall tales and poetry; tales of stunning beauty, adventure, disaster, brutality and vision. This is a book that belongs on the shelf of anyone who understands the importance of place and is fascinated by the literature that has evolved out of it.

The Last Best Place: A Montana Anthology
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The Last Best Place: A Montana Anthology
William and Annick Smith, editors Kittredge
Manufacturer: Montana Historical Society Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000SZ9QUC

A Montana The Last Best Place: A Montana Anthology
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A Montana The Last Best Place: A Montana Anthology

Manufacturer: TwoDot
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | United States | Travel | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
West | United States | Travel | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | State & Local | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
West | State & Local | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
Anthologies | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Mountain | West | Regions | United States | Travel | Subjects | Books
Montana | States | United States | Travel | Subjects | Books
General | Travel | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1560441518

Book Description

Celebrate the beauty and spirit of the last best state. The best writings combined with the finest photography create an unforgettable portrait of Montana.

The Last Best Place - A Montana Anthology

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The Last Best Place - A Montana Anthology
William and Smith, Annick - Editors Kittredge
Manufacturer: Univ. Of Washington Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KIRB5O

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The Last Best Place A Montana Anthology
Kittredge & Smith
Manufacturer: Washington, 1991
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K7BL6A

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The Last Best Place: A Montana Anthology
William Kittredge
Manufacturer: University of Washington Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORNPTM

Book Description

a memoir including some poetry

Customer Reviews:

Sarah****P3-R4.......2007-04-25

Silent Dancing is an "partial-rememberance" of Judith Ortiz Cofer. This "rememberance" is basicly her whole childhood from elementary school to high school which was spent hurtling from Puerto Rico to America and vise versa. It is a very.... different book. I had never read a "partial rememberance" before so, it was a new experience for me. but I didnt like it very much because I coudnt understand what was going on that well. It would have been so much easier to understand if it was a "full rememberance", but it was still interesting. I would recommend this book to anybody that wants to read about different cultures or a little girl struggling through her childhood years. But I dont think it was for me, because I like reading fictional books more than half-biographies.

Maddie P3 R4.........Silent Dancing.......2007-04-17

Silent Dancing
A Partial Rememberance
of a Puerto Rican
Childhood

This book, Silent Dancing, is a memoir of a Puerto Rican, Judith Ortiz Cofer's, life as a young child.
Judith's grandmother is an important piece in Judith's life. Mama (Judith's name for her Grandmother) could be strict to Judith, but she loved her. Her grandmother was known through out the family by telling storues about a young woman named Maria Sabida. Maria was a poor woman who was called weird for funny, outlandish behavior. From Mama's stories, Maria had a thick and wrinkled old body, but she walked and acted like a little girl. For a living Maria delivered meat pies and other treats to houses. Judith had heard that if you got close to her you could see her swinging a basket with delicious pies, hear her humming a tune that sounded positiley awful, and if you got really close to her, she might smile at you revealing all her yellow teeth in a crooked, sad smile. To Judith, it seemed like a grotesque version of the Little Red Riding Hood.
Judith's grandfather, Papa, was a spiritist. He once saw visions of one of his sons, Hernan, being beaten and treated awfully. Mama did not believe him but it was unfortunatly true. Once Hernan was saved from being beaten and tortured, Mama let Papa have all the space and time he needed.
When Judith was young, she was made fun of when speaking Spanish and English. When she spoke Spanish people told her that she had an English accent; when she spoke English she had a Spanish accent.
Then, one day as Judith came home she was told that a Chilean girl was moving in an apartment above her family's. The Chilean girl's name was Vida. She was tall, thin, and beautiful. Judith admired Vida. Vida looked like a model and wanted to be a movie star someday in Hollywood. Vida did not like her family that much, so she hung out with Judith's family. Vida's past was sad and depressing so she only thought of the future. But then Vida changed Judith. Not on purpose though. It was just that Judith wanted to be everything like Vida. She was always there for Vida when she needed support and assurance. When Judith and Vida walked up the streets to Judith it was a dangerous but exciting game. But then Vida fell in love. Judith was still loyal to her and was used as a cover for Vida so Vida could meet her Neanderhal, muscley man. Vida had shared to Judith all what he had promised her. On day, once Judith had started school again, Vida came to Judith's apartment complaining that her parents had refused to accept her getting married to her Neanderthal, and wonderful man. Judith's father agreed for Vida to stay in their apartment for a while. After a while, Vida announced that they had broken up their engagement and started seeing other men. But that didn't worry Judith's mother. Mother was mad that Vida wore perfume that got all over my clothes, and stank of alcohol when she came back late at night. To mother, smelling unclean terribley rude. But Vida was changing. She no longer spoke of Hollywood, and wore perfume. Judith came home one afternoon to find Vida gone. The last time she ever saw Vida was on a beauty pagent poster. It read, "Vida wins!"
Judith Ortiz Cofer now is remembered for her inspirational book to young people. She has inspired others to write memoirs like her book.

VeraP3R4---- Silent Dancing???.......2007-04-15

Silent Dancing is about a young girl as she struggles through life, constantly being moved from the U.S. to Puerto Rico, and back again. The book explains everything about her experiences from kindergarten (in Puerto Rico)to being kissed in a high school hall way (in the U.S.). Family relationships, and family love are very important. I thought that this book could have been written better. I would a prefer a developed story line or plot, rather than a collection of randomly organized memories. I would also change the title. Silent Dancing is only mentioned once in the book, and its significance is unclear. What I did like about the book is the constantly shifting focus, because I have a very short attention span. I think that people who are not interested in Puerto Rico would find it difficult to finish this book. On the other hand, Silent Dancing is a good "summer book" for people who are curious about the culture of others.

She was the serious girl.......2004-08-07

She was the serious one, the one with the talent, the one whom God made a little stern, with big eyes that took in all the world around her, from the tropical heat of Puerto Rico, to the cold tenements of William Carlos Williams' Paterson, where half the year she lived as though paying penance for an entire family's ambition. Is it any wonder this young girl grew up to be a poet, a novelist, and a taker of incredible artistic risks? As her talents grew, she began to think of herself as belonging, oddly, to two nations, a Northern and Southern hemisphere that corresponded to her own fluidity, her ability to change genre in the middle of a sentence.

Ortiz Cofer has long been one of America's cultural heroes. Now she strips back the legends of her youth to help us see the seeds of creativity which, or so some day, we all have been born with, even when obscured by circumstance. After reading this collection, you will be moved to do some "silent dancing" of your own.

If you haven't read it yet, get it now!.......1999-08-04

In a seemling easy narrative of remembrance, Ortiz Cofer brillantly weaves in dense yet accessible political thought on the relationship between the colonizer and the colonized through her literary genius: her keen use of metaphor. Ortiz Cofer's outloud conversational tone is engaging and unintimidating even in the face of the deep issues she raises and the hard questions she subtly yet clearly asks. Through "Silent Dancing," Judith Ortiz Cofer takes the reader along for a very enlightening journey through her self-exploration and self-definition. Ortiz Cofer discusses the ways that race, class, gender, and culture interact in shaping her life experiences without sounding dogmatic or naive. "Silent Dancing" is a work of substance, a work worth revisiting again!

SILENT DANCING; A PARTIAL REMEMBRANCE OF A PUERTO RICAN CHILDHOOD

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SILENT DANCING; A PARTIAL REMEMBRANCE OF A PUERTO RICAN CHILDHOOD

Manufacturer: Ante Publico Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HT5YM8

Book Description

This book shows why Bomber Command, in one of the largest and bloodiest campaigns of World War II, with 55,000 aircrew lost and more officer fatalities than in World War I, has received so much attention and yet is still a "lost and black sheep" among British wartime glories. This book provides a new and revisionary narrative of the campaign and is both a military history and an investigation of how the modern image has come about.

Thunder on the Left: An Insider's Report on the Hijacking of the Democratic Party
Average customer rating:

Been there, done that...

Disappointed Republican

More truth

Unconvincing

Valuable insights

Thunder on the Left: An Insider's Report on the Hijacking of the Democratic Party
Gary Aldrich
Manufacturer: Allegiance Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Political Parties | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
U.S. | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Political Doctrines | Political Science | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Unlimited Access: An FBI Agent Inside the Clinton White House

Dereliction of Duty: The Eyewitness Account of How Bill Clinton Compromised America's National Security

Hell to Pay: The Unfolding Story of Hillary Rodham Clinton

The Final Days: The Last, Desperate Abuses of Power by the Clinton White House

The Truth About Hillary: What She Knew, When She Knew It, and How Far She'll Go to Become President

ASIN: 0974028401

Book Description

When all the problems facing us today are considered, including the immediate threat of terrorists, you must conclude--as Aldrich so cleverly sets forth in his book--that the Hard-Left is guilty as charged!

Customer Reviews:

Been there, done that..........2006-06-04

I can see why none of the larger conservative publishers wanted to put this out. And don't give me that "liberal media " bunk. While a poorly written book, it's better than most of the hack jobs that come out on Regnery (his former publisher) or Sentinal, Crown Forum and WND for example. But really, this is just a dull book. I'm a democrat, and would probably be considered liberal by Mr. Aldrich. But that doesn't mean I'm a blind sheep who doesn't see the corruption of politicians on all sides at the top. That's the problem with books like these. It almost reads like a superhero drama with the Republicans and conservatives as our valiant heros, and the Democrats and liberals as villians. When you start with a premise that small minded and immature, you come out with a poorly grounded book like this.

Disappointed Republican.......2005-07-19

As a conservative republican, I was highly disappointed by Gary Aldrich's book. I read it cover-to-cover, hoping he would eventually develop a coherent argument, backed up with well-documented facts. However, the entire book was a 170-page rant, including a list of topics Bill Clinton might consider for a radio show. To make matters worse, Aldrich often contradicts himself. For example, he writes, "I was talking to a friend who is highly in favor of outlawing the use of cell phones in cars. I pointed out that it was not the phone itself, but the dialing and conversations that were responsible for the wrecks" (57). What else are you going to use a cell phone for? Scratching your back? In another instance, he discusses an FBI agent that supported the Clintons by helping them dodge the law, and then goes on to claim - just 50 pages later - that he couldn't think of a single FBI agent that supported the Clintons! I can think of at least one - if what he said earlier was true... Most of his arguments are poorly organized, do not rely on logic or facts, and wander from topic to topic - all unrelated! Today's republicans need more writers like William F. Buckley, Jr., and George Will. These authors develop coherent, logical arguments, and back them up with well-documented facts. Oh, and one other thing: on page 42, Aldrich writes, "My book has never appeared on any remainder table, and never will." To be fair, he is referring to his first book, "Unlimited Access." However, I notice that copies of this book are available on this website for under $2. I guess Gary was wrong.

More truth.......2004-04-06

Author Aldrich obviously is passionate about his beliefs,
and they are showcased here as he paints a rather broad
picture of leftist hatred of our American history and culture,
and he urges us to help steer America on the correct course
as established by the Founding Fathers.
His views seem correct, but this not a simple hate-Democrats
book as might be thought, as he states and shows he is not
unhappy with mainstream Democrats, but at the fringe element
of that Party that has virtually taken over.
And we have to know he is not making any phony claims. Even
our Indiana Democrat Senator, Evan Bayh, has publicly questioned
the direction of the national Democrat party, and he has made
some effort to organize party members to help insure that the
Party doesn't go off in some very minority, unpopular direction.
And Aldrich doesn't hesitate to critize the current Republican
administration in some regards, where he feels they are veering
too far from our Republic's guiding principles.
So this is not a purely political diatribe at all, but is the
author's vision of where America should be heading, as he
outlines some of the failings of many who would try to lead us
in the wrong direction.
He has a lot of truth to present, based on history and an understanding of world politics, and he presents his views with
clarity and strength, so this book should be read by all interested voters and citizens.

Unconvincing.......2003-11-07

Mr. Aldrich's thesis is that everything evil in the U.S, is due to the "hard left" and can only be corrected by the "soft-hearted right." THUNDER ON THE LEFT describes his hatred of the Clintons, the Democratic party and anything he sees as liberal. Reading this book, one can almost imagine Mr. Aldrich's red face, the spittle dripping from his mouth and the veins standing out on his neck.
If you're not convinced by his show of emotion, you won't be convinced. The book references no evidence to back up its' charges, nor the reasoning behind any assertions. For example, "It's a fact that Clinton's like-minded political operatives monkey-wrenched national security safeguards in every important agency in the executive branch." The book gives no evidence or examples of this "monkey-wrenching".

Valuable insights.......2003-11-05

If you're able to set your political prejudices aside, and it appears that political prejudice is to the 21st century what racial prejudice was to the 19th century, you'll find this to be an interesting and informative book on the machinations of those with political, as opposed to societal, interests in the Democratic party. I'm a long time Democrat but facts are facts and sleaze is sleaze.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting read, hoped for more photos........2006-06-23

I'd give the text a 4, but my real motivation for the book was because of Galen Rowell's involvement. Unfortunately there's only several photos in the book and seemed like his name was tacked on the cover merely to sell the book. Obviously he had passed by the time the book was written and was a major character in the story but I think if it was illustrated in the manner like Barbara Rowell's Flying South book then the book would have been a 4-5 star book. The photos were a bit lackluster as well, I'm sure with better editing this book could have been something special. I know Rowell probably had better photos from the trip than was presented here.

The idea behind the book was great as the motivation was to create a reserve to protect the Tibetan Chiru from hunters. I'd recommend the book.

Great account..........2005-09-12

The book is a terrific account of a very challenging trek across Tibet's Chang Tang, in search of the elusive Chiru's calving grounds. Ridgeway's writing is outstanding in the manner in which he gets the reader to feel an integral part of the expedition, and to experience the risks and the challenges involved in such an impossible trek.

In terms of raising awareness about the chiru's unfortunate plight, this book, and the story on NG are hugely effective (I have not seen the TV documentary on the same, so I cannot comment on that.

Photography - one of the main reasons I bought the book is because the photography is by the legendary Galen Rowell, who was part of the trek. Galen's photography in the book is good, but well below his high standards in his own books. Surprisingly, I didn't see a single photograph that really made me go "WOW!" like a lot of Galen's photographs.

All in all, an excellent book that is difficult to put down.

The Big Open.......2004-09-29

Ridgeway does it again with a thoughtful, engaging story of a trek across the high tundra of Tibet looking for the calving grounds of the Chiru, an antelope which is in danger of extinction from killing it for it's wool. With Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, and the late Galen Rowell; one gets to know these characters as friends and I'm envious of the time they were able to spend crossing an amazing landscape seen by few westerners since 1903. The Chiru were the reason for the trek and hopefully this book will help in their protection.

Very interesting.......2004-07-05

This is another strong Ridgeway book. Although he doesn't have the wide range of material to draw from as in the Shadow of Kilimanjaro, this book is still fascinating. Anyone who reads this will be intrigued by the fate of the chiru, appalled that so many people could be convinced that their fur could be collected off bushes and rocks (including major magazine publications), and interested in the dynamics of four determined personalities working together to cross the Chang Tang. Highly recommended.

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