Bats: Biology, Behavior and Folklore

Book Description

This volume abounds in precise, accessible information that will fascinate even readers who have never taken an interest in bats. Its comprehensive scope covers both mythology and ecology, and anyone interested in natural history will wish to own it.

Customer Reviews:

An examination of the role of bats in folklore and substitutions .......2005-09-04

Glover Morrill Allen's Bats: Biology, Behavior And Folklore originally appeared in 1939 and tackles both mythology and ecology in providing an examination of the role of bats in folklore and substitutions related to them. From biology and natural history to human interactions with and perceptions of bats, Allen's introduction remains a winner.

An examination of the role of bats in folklore and substitutions .......2005-09-04

Amazon.com

A Victorian boarding school story, a Gothic mansion mystery, a gossipy romp about a clique of girlfriends, and a dark other-worldly fantasy--jumble them all together and you have this complicated and unusual first novel.

Gemma, 16, has had an unconventional upbringing in India, until the day she foresees her mother's death in a black, swirling vision that turns out to be true. Sent back to England, she is enrolled at Spence, a girls' academy with a mysterious burned-out East Wing. There Gemma is snubbed by powerful Felicity, beautiful Pippa, and even her own dumpy roommate Ann, until she blackmails herself and Ann into the treacherous clique. Gemma is distressed to find that she has been followed from India by Kartik, a beautiful young man who warns her to fight off the visions. Nevertheless, they continue, and one night she is led by a child-spirit to find a diary that reveals the secrets of a mystical Order. The clique soon finds a way to accompany Gemma to the other-world realms of her visions "for a bit of fun" and to taste the power they will never have as Victorian wives, but they discover that the delights of the realms are overwhelmed by a menace they cannot control. Gemma is left wi! th the knowledge that her role as the link between worlds leaves her with a mission to seek out the "others" and rebuild the Order. A Great and Terrible Beauty is an impressive first book in what should prove to be a fascinating trilogy. (Ages 12 up) -Patty Campbell

Book Description

It’s 1895, and after the suicide of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma’s reception there is a chilly one. To make things worse, she’s been followed by a mysterious young Indian man, a man sent to watch her. But why? What is her destiny? And what will her entanglement with Spence’s most powerful girls—and their foray into the spiritual world—lead to?

From the Hardcover edition.

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It's 1895, and after the suicide of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma's reception there is a chilly one.

To make things worse, she's been followed by a mysterious young Indian man, a man sent to watch her. But why? What is her destiny? And what will her entanglement with Spence's most powerful girls -- and their foray into the spiritual world -- lead to?

Customer Reviews:

Very intriguing.......2007-09-24

Ok...so I just finished the "Twilight" series by Stephanie Meyer not too long ago. And I have been going through withdrawls---(her books are amazing if you haven't read them yet) And this book was reccommended to me by my dear sister who reads everything! I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed reading A Great and Terrible Beauty. It has such wonderful characters that you really feel like you get to know, and a very interesting story line. I can't wait to start the sequel Rebel Angels now! Highly recommended--especially if you loved the Twilight books :)

a great & terrible beauty.......2007-09-03

It took me awhile to pick up this book, but, after I started, I couldn't put it down. The story is a real page turner & a quick read. Bray sets this tale at a Victorian boarding school, which was a big plus for me because I love anything to to with the time period. The plot centers on a ghost story or sorts, but I greatly enjoyed the social commentary about the place of women during Victorian times. There is also commentary on class & race, which takes the book to another level. Bray could have easily glossed over these important topics of women, class, & race, but her choice to bring them to center stage makes all the difference.

The weakest part of the story was the ghost story. It's not very original & actually quite silly when it comes down to it. I found the supernatural elements to function in the larger picture of the social commentary, so the novel ends up working as a whole. Another problem is that there are precious few surprises in the book, & surprises are usually what readers of ghost stories want. We have the typical mistaken identities, mysterious amulets, & the forbidden diary, all cliche elements, that never offer any surprises to the storyline. It was just way too easy to figure out where everything fit into place. However, there were frightening parts of the story, & that emotion is usually hard to evoke so effectively in my experience with these type novels.

All in all, I'd say this is a great book, & I've already started the second one, "Rebel Angels."

Great promise; but will it last?.......2007-08-13

When I bought "A Great and Terrible Beauty" I didn't know it was just the first book in a series. Gemma Doyle's story ended with so many loose ends in this book that I felt a little cheated. Taken in the context that there are at least three books in the series it all makes sense now; but I prefer to read an entire series at once rather than wait for the next installment each time a new book comes out - otherwise it's hard to judge the overall plot.

I found the book itself extremely gripping in the beginning. Gemma came across as a spoilt young miss in India who didn't want to cooperate with her mother on her 16th birthday. She argues with her mother, runs off, experiences a vision in which she sees her mother's death under bizarre circumstances, and then finds that it has come true.

From then on, her life is never the same. She gets shipped to Spence Academy in England, where she is a student by day, but spends her nights trying to make sense of more visions which lead her first to a diary written by one Mary Dowd, and then to a mysterious new world ("the realms") where she can communicate with her mother.

Intertwined with Gemma's story are those of her friends' - plain Ann, her room-mate; beautiful Pippa, and famous Felicity, as well as mysterious Mary's story, which chronicles her discovery of the realms and how her closest friend Sarah seems to have found a way to gain more power.

Influenced by Mary's diary, the girls form a club called the Order, after a group of women said to have intimate knowledge of the realms, find out that Gemma holds the key to bringing them all into that magical world, and become increasingly enamoured of it. All four have their wishes granted while they are in the realms: Gemma has her mother again, Pippa someone who loves her, Felicity is empowered, while Ann becomes beautiful.

Things come to a head when Pippa's parents broker an engagement to someone she finds repugnant. Gemma decides to go ahead to do what her mother has expressly forbidden her to do in the realms as a result, and also finds out what happened to Mary and Sarah after diary ends. The plot is deliciously twisty, but in some ways leaves questions that are likely answered in subsequent books.

What, for example, are the true motivations of Kartik, the young Indian man who keeps shadowing Gemma and warning her to stay away from dabbling in the realms? Why does Miss Moore know so much about the realms? Where is Circe hiding? And what really happened to the so-called Order, who had gone to the realms first?

The story is written in the first person, which somehow makes everything seem more raw. I felt that Gemma was both real and flawed, though not very likeable, being headstrong, naive, and stubborn. I also had the feeling that Gemma was being misled in the realms, with a lot of the 'goodies' eventually turning out to be 'baddies', but there wasn't any proof of this - at least in book one.

I'm not sure if I'll read the sequels, though I feel the plot has a great deal of promise and the writing is really good. My problem is that I can't really identify with Gemma, and I don't like the magic universe that Bray has created.

I would prefer to think that 16 year olds have more sense than Gemma, and that magic is meant to exist within a proper framework, rather than messed about for frivolous purposes or just to progress the plot. I found it rather far-fetched that Gemma's mother can exist in the realms and communicate with Gemma "after death" as it were, for example.

Teenage girls who like Harry Potter will probably fall in love with the story, and the parallels are there - it's set in a school, the heroine has magical powers, romance is in the air, and there is a huge mystery with danger and death involved. The mix is a potent one. I just hope the ending is as good as the beginning.

Quite good but does it diserve 5 stars?.......2007-06-30

Indeed it Does!
A friend of mine reccommended this to me years ago and I ended up buying it, but it took me a year(or was it years?) to start reading it. I was amazed at how fresh it was! I had expected it to be slightly dull like some other Victorian era books, but I think the fantasy bits and the age of the girls keeps it from being so.
The contents of this book are comfortably intresting with its mystery and Gemma's sarcasm as well as other humorous characters. However, in my opinon, it shouldn't be over analyzed with the gypsy bits as I see someone has already had a fit.
Great read!

Libba Bray is a genius!.......2007-06-25

A Great and Terrible Beauty is another one of my favorite books! It details the story of a young British girl who grew up in India and after her mother's death was sent off to a British boarding school in nothern England. However, despite her normal appearance, Gemma is anything but and can open realms to a different world. A touch of historical fiction (the book is set during the Age of Imperialism in the Victorian Era)and dash of fantasy, A Great and Terrible Beauty is the perfect combination of genres to compose a truly fantastic novel! I would recommend this book to anyone, but the story is probably more appealing to females.
This book is also part of a trilogy (the apparently new hip-thing in writing!) and I would strongly recommend the sequel, Rebel Angels, to anyone who was intrigued by A Great and Terrible Beauty and wants to follow Gemma on a continuation of her journey. The third book is not currently out, but I'm hoping it's just as great as the other two books!

A Terrible Beauty: The Easter Rebellion and Yeats's "Great Tapestry"

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A Terrible Beauty: The Easter Rebellion and Yeats's "Great Tapestry"
Carmel Jordan
Manufacturer: Bucknell University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Irish | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Irish | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Social History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0838751075

Book Description

Includes The Necklace, Butterball, The Tellier House, On the Water, Mademoiselle Fifi, The Mask, The Inn, A Day in the Country, The Hand, The Jewels, The Model, The Entity (The Horla)

These stories—poignant scrutinies of social pretension, wicked tales of lust and love, and harrowing examinations of terror and madness—display the full genius of Guy de Maupassant in an enthralling new translation by Joachim Neugroschel. They reveal Maupassant’s remarkable range, his technical perfection, his sexual realism, and his ability to create whole worlds and sum up intricate universes of feeling in a few pages

The Necklace and the Tongs and other Fairy Tales of India

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The Necklace and the Tongs and other Fairy Tales of India
Mary Esther Burgoyne
Manufacturer: J. Anne Burgoyne Holman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Product Description

"The turbaned storyteller weaves a web with words, and around them rise magnificent palaces, exotic fragance-filled gardens and great green parrots, giants bumblebees and huge snakes. Imprisoned Ruby Fairies and flying corpses. For the enthralled group of children, the wide plains, broad rivers and rugged mountains of India are the rich background of these Rajput fairy tales. Though the storytellers are gone, these tales of high adventure live on in these pages, with the hope that other eyes, ears and imaginations will thrill to the magic of these words. They survive because eager young listeners memorized each tale from the many tellings, and passed them on to new listeners. Now they are written down here to ensure their survival for generations to come." [Excerpt take from back cover's book review.]

The Necklace and the Tongs and Other Tales of India

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The Necklace and the Tongs and Other Tales of India

Manufacturer: J. Anne Burgoyne Holman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000BWRNFW

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The coral necklace, and other tales
Charlotte O'Brien
Manufacturer: Tallant and Allen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0008CPVRC

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The Necklace and Other Tales
Guy De Maupassant
Manufacturer: Modern Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OXM74A

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The Necklace and the Tongs and Other Tales of India
Mary Esther Burgoyne
Manufacturer: J. Anne Burgoyne Holman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O6LYYQ

The necklace of Princess Fiorimonde: And other stories

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The necklace of Princess Fiorimonde: And other stories
Mary De Morgan
Manufacturer: MacMillan & Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Issues | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B00087A1HM

On a pincushion, and other fairy tales ; The necklace of Princess Fiorimonde, and other stories (Classics of children's literature, 1621-1932)

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Haunting

On a pincushion, and other fairy tales ; The necklace of Princess Fiorimonde, and other stories (Classics of children's literature, 1621-1932)
Mary De Morgan
Manufacturer: Garland Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Customer Reviews:

Haunting.......2001-02-06

In a sense, I shouldn't review this book, because I am not sure which of Mary de Morgan's collections I read 25 years ago, from a library that no longer has the book. But her stories, including "The Heart of Princess Joan," "The Hair Tree," and other original fairy tales, left a deep impression on me. Like Oscar Wilde's "The Happy Prince," these often sorrowful stories felt a little dangerous to my 11-year-old emotions, but their evocative symbolism pulled at my imagination. Now that J.K. Rowling has re-popularized fantasy, I hope someone will reprint Mary de Morgan's stories for new generations to enjoy.

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Boring....

Very Fun book to read! I really liked it!

Not for the educated!

If you are real curious, this book is a bit more candid and frank on the life style.

A Nice Overnight read...

A Stripper's Tail: Confessions of a Las Vegas Stripper
Diamond
Manufacturer: iUniverse, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Entertainers | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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Dance to Despair: Memoirs of an Exotic Dancer

ASIN: 0595331769

Book Description

For more than eight years, I lived and worked in the dark underworld of Las Vegas as an exotic dancer. Some things are worth repeatingÂ—others you try to forget. Unfortunately, you never forget. I decided it was time that somebody told the truth about what really happens in Las Vegas strip clubs and their VIP rooms. Is there Â“sex in the champagne room?Â” With the right dancer and for right price, there is anything you want in the champagne room! This book gives a lot of insight into what really happens when men are turned loose on the Las Vegas scene. I think men and women alike will be interested in reading about what really happens in Vegas. See what the dark twenty-four-hour world of Vegas is really like. See what an insider has to say about the life of an exotic dancer.

Customer Reviews:

Boring...........2007-06-13

I wish i didnt waste my $$ on this one. I didnt like how she spoke to the reader, it was very 'dumbed down'. also, where was the editing? this book is loaded with grammatical and spelling errors. Also, we are all adults, there was no need to reference certain anatomical parts with the words 'cookie' and the like. i would have preferred slang to silly little words like that. i was glad it was so short, i certainly dont recommend this book to anyone. I read CANDY GIRL, and that book was great! check that out instead.

Very Fun book to read! I really liked it!.......2007-05-12

When I purchased this book I was not expecting to be purchasing the next great American novel. I purchased a book written by a stripper about her life as a stripper and enjoyed every minute of this book. I have been in the industry for over 20 years, but from behind the bar, bartending. I have watched on a nightly basis what the dancers go through and this book is so real and tells some great stories. It's more real about the industry than any other book I have read, recently. I found myself laughing out loud while reading. You can picture just about everything that the author is telling you and it is very insightful about the business. Everything from the little dive clubs where the dancers wear bra's and panties bought at Ross, to the million dollar clubs of Vegas that required you to wear $200 dollar gowns. It's a fun read and I highly suggest it to anyone who wants to know about the business or are just curious about exotic dancing. Great job Diamond, about time somebody told the truth about the strip club industry.

Not for the educated!.......2007-04-07

I have a big interest in women's studies and I dig how women can harness their sexual power to support themselves. I appreciate that Diamond opened up her life to share her tales which are interesting, but simply put, she is not a great story teller. Besides telling her 'tail', Diamond appears to give advice to the reader. This book is supposed to be her 'confessions', not tips for how to be a classy stripper or a better patron. Sorry Diamond, but I'm not looking to you to tell me how to behave! I really had to chuckle at how Diamond perceives herself as the morally superior stripper while she explains that all her co-strippers degrade themselves or wear cheap strip outfits. Sounds like rationalization to me. I've read many books in this genre and this was by far the worst. I felt like I was reading something written by a kid! I was horrified at the amount of grammatical and spelling errors in this book! Don't publishers have people to proof-read??? The reading level was so low that I gave the book to my Russian friend who doesn't have a good grasp of the english language. I'm glad she liked it because I feel stupid for having even made this purchase.

If you are real curious, this book is a bit more candid and frank on the life style........2006-08-06

This is truly a TELL and a CONFFESSION of a Las Vegas Stripper.
This book is 89 pages long, or short, depending on how you evaluate a book. It is insightful for the curious.
It is a frank and not-so-discreet account in the way that, the author, describes her experience as a Las Vegas stripper. She also gives the reader an insight in the business. Good afternoon read if you are interested in this life and are curious. I had fun reading it.

A Nice Overnight read..........2006-08-01

Perfect for one of those sleepless nights. This book was very entertaining and a great read the other night when I couldn't sleep. I love Vegas and this book tells all about it. This author tells about herself and all her experiences in the strip club industry over the years. I am sure every dancer has some of the same stories, but for the most part these are some of the most original I have ever read. I want more, when is the next book coming out??

Book Description

Military training was a prominent feature of higher education across the nineteenth-century South. Virginia Military Institute and the Citadel, as well as land-grant schools such as Texas A&M, Auburn, and Clemson, organized themselves on a military basis, requiring their male students to wear uniforms, join a corps of cadets, and subject themselves to constant military discipline. Several southern black colleges also adopted a military approach.

Challenging assumptions about a distinctive "southern military tradition," Rod Andrew demonstrates that southern military schools were less concerned with preparing young men for actual combat than with instilling in their students broader values of honor, patriotism, civic duty, and virtue. Southerners had a remarkable tendency to reconcile militarism with republicanism, Andrew says, and following the Civil War, the Lost Cause legend further strengthened the link in southerners' minds between military and civic virtue.

Though traditionally black colleges faced struggles that white schools did not, notes Andrew, they were motivated by the same conviction that powered white military schools--the belief that a good soldier was by definition a good citizen.

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Long Gray Lines: the Southern Military School Tradition, 1839-1915. : An article from: Journal of Southern History
Robert E. May
Manufacturer: Southern Historical Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0009FS9VI
Release Date: 2005-07-30

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Southern History, published by Southern Historical Association on August 1, 2002. The length of the article is 674 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: Long Gray Lines: the Southern Military School Tradition, 1839-1915.
Author: Robert E. May
Publication: Journal of Southern History (Refereed)
Date: August 1, 2002
Publisher: Southern Historical Association
Volume: 68 Issue: 3 Page: 695(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Long Gray Lines: The Southern Military School Tradition, 1839-1915.(Book Review) : An article from: The Historian

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Long Gray Lines: The Southern Military School Tradition, 1839-1915.(Book Review) : An article from: The Historian
William H. Barnes
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000B9DQTC
Release Date: 2005-09-03

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Historian, published by Thomson Gale on March 22, 2003. The length of the article is 795 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: Long Gray Lines: The Southern Military School Tradition, 1839-1915.(Book Review)
Author: William H. Barnes
Publication: The Historian (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 22, 2003
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 65 Issue: 3 Page: 706(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Reveals how good intentions have constricted journalism within a narrow multicultural orthodoxy.

Customer Reviews:

Clear view from the inside.......2007-04-06

Though this book condemns mainstream American journalism for its overwhelmingly superficial and one-sided reporting on crucial current social issues -- immigration, "diversity," gay rights and feminism, etc -- it won the 2002 National Press Club Award for press coverage. Black and Hispanic NPC members squawked loudly, of course, but for once good sense prevailed and they were overruled. Thus nobody can justifiably damn the book for being inaccurate; it's vetted by the author's most knowledgeable peers.

McGowan skewers the NY Times and other major papers with his analysis of case after case of failed reporting, heavily biased in favor of this or that minority special-interest group and ignoring the point of view of mainstream Americans. What's most interesting is his explanation of Why.

Like Bernard Goldberg's books "Bias" and "Arrogance," he points out that about 90 percent of our journalists are liberal to left-liberal in their outlook and thus naturally sympathetic to those presenting themselves as downtrodden victims. Another component preventing balanced journalism is the immediate backlash and pressure a reporter can surely expect from the minorities who will be mightily offended at any questioning of their propaganda. McGowan mentions more than one reporter who lost his job within days of writing an honest story about immigrants or the like. The special interest lobbies showed up in the editor's offices and got the writers fired. This is how democracy works today.

The most surprising revelation to the journalistic outsider is the pressures within the newsroom itself. The writer must deal with editor expectations -- and the editor may have a fiat to promote only minority reporters who write certain kinds of stories. An editor will often kill a story if it doesn't fit the party line on high. And the reporter can expect flak from minority colleagues -- black, Hispanic, feminist, gay, whatever -- if it violates their thin-skinned sensibilities, even if the reporter is a member of that group him/herself. Ostracism from one's own minority social group can quickly ensue after the wrong slant to a story. So even the honest reporter will often (usually?) chicken out and write something politically correct. Traditionally the journalist is supposed to be skeptical of his sources, since most may try to give their own self-serving spin. Not any more, it seems, if the source comes from the victim class.

Ultimately, McGowan finds, the rush to force diversity on the journalism profession, from within and without, has led to a corruption of the very goals of diversity to which he himself openly subscribes. Yet the press is one of the primary guardians of our society. If the press is corrupt, ... draw your own conclusions.

McGowan has another book coming soon ("Gray Lady Down"), focusing on the New York Times and the Jayson Blair scandal. I learned a great deal from "Coloring," and am anxious to see what new revelations this very honest and distinguished journalist has for us.

the best press criticism book.......2007-03-22

This book, winner of a prestigious journalism award, details how the American mainstream media have covered such issues as race, gay, feminist, immigration, terrorism, etc. The author places himself ideologically: "Neither a conservative nor a liberal, I consider myself a pragmatist." (p. 8).

The overall problem of the news media in America is stated: "Journalism, as I had known it, was distinguished by its gratuitous cynicism, brash iconoclasm and ready impertinence." Now, it has become the home of a few causes that are not to be questioned or criticized, "a crusade across the length and breadth of the American media." (p. 10).

News editors are required to go on special re-education retreats, complete with role-playing and other indoctrination techniques, designed not only to foster the right opinions but the right attitudes. Foundations such as [...], for instance, in the year 2000 alone, gave nearly half a million dollars to [...] two organizations promoting special group journalists.

The results have paid off, as this book shows in case after case. The bottom line is that what you are reading in the mainstream press and seeing on the TV news shows is only one side of a number of complex issues. All events that tend to cause doubt of the prevailing dogma simply are not reported.

To find what is actually going on in America today, read While America Sleeps: How Islam, Immigration and Indoctrination are Destroying America from Within. A large part of why America is "sleeping" is that people are not getting information from the ideologically committed American press.

Biased like all books are biased.......2005-10-25

I found this book to be more entertainting than informative. I can no more trust the author's "facts" than I can from any writer in any newspaper. To get "truth" one has to get news from several sources with diferent political bent. Upon reading the reviews on this book I could easily see that 90% of the readers liked the book and I would assume they got from the book what they already believed. Ron Trivane

not the whole story, Billy.......2004-08-21

Suggesting that the press is liberal by looking at journalists is a little like suggesting the automotive industry is left wing by observing the work force. There are, of course, the CEOs and board of directors who decide what to make and how much. In viewing the press Mcgowan ignores the editors and corporate owners who went for Bush 2:1 last election. They of course have the ultimate say in what is reported and those distortions can be, and have been, more pernicious. Moreover, their bias is a market bias that seeks not to offend not because of a liberal bias but because of a bias for the bottom line.

Well documented and argued.......2004-08-20

In all of my readings on bias in the media, none of been as well documented and argued as McGowan's Coloring the News. McGowan, a senior fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute, believes that the media's quest for 'diversity' shapes their perspective on how to present the news and what stories to cover. Part of the argument here is that, because news organizations want to 'correct' their historically white-male centered coverage, they are willing to shape stories about minority groups however the groups see fit. This includes not running pictures of accused criminals because it may cause racial backlash (more recently, in a protest at UC Berkeley), and using a quota system to make sure that at least a certain amount of "people around town" pictures that a newspaper runs are African-American.

McGowan's title may be a bit misleading, and potentially a bit controversial, if only for the "coloring" part of the title. McGowan does not single out media coverage of African-Americans, showing that the media also shape their coverage to not offend gays, lesbians and, more recently, Arab-Americans. Instances of these include coverage of gay adoption and racial profiling.

This book is not an easy read. The paperback version is only 250-odd pages, but the text is small and there are few breaks in chapters. I was having difficulty reading it until I got towards the last 100 pages, when the stuff that McGowan documents just becomes so jaw-dropping that one can't believe it is actually true. This includes a Vermont newspaper story that got a writer fired without the normal process of disputing the charges taking place because of a small backlash from an agitator in the community. The agitator was hired by the newspaper to help shape the paper's coverage of the black community and, when an independent source verified that the original article was factually accurate, ended up with the editor's resignation. The book reads a lot like a text book and less like a partisan attack (although at times McGowan is obviously arguing that one point of view is correct, but is still able to show why the coverage, nonetheless, is skewed).

Whereas books like Bias and Spin Sisters rely upon first hand experience of the inner workings of the media, Coloring the News is all about research. Unfortunately, McGowan does not provide footnotes (he does provide notes at the end with descriptions of what he is citing), which, unless you take the time to read the notes at the end, makes it difficult to know exactly what is coming from where.

If you are a member of the media, you must read this book. If you care about media bias, read this book. If you're a casual reader, I can't recommend it to you. The only problems with this book are the textbook-like nature and the lack of inline notes.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

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Truly great "how to" book on observation + great story

Having eyes, you can see

Brilliant and simple - will change the way you see the world

Seeing Nature- Finding Self

Opening our eyes to the patterns of nature

Seeing Nature: Deliberate Encounters With the Visible World
Paul Krafel
Manufacturer: Chelsea Green Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 189013242X

Book Description

Seeing Nature is a series of true, parable-like stories that offer tools for understanding relationships in the natural world. Many of the stories take the reader to wild landscapes, including canyons, tundra, and mountain ridges, while others contemplate the human-made world: water-diversion trenches and supermarket check-out lines. At one point, Krafel discovers a world in a one-inch-square patch of ordinary ground. Inspiring for parents and teachers seeking to encourage excitement about the positive role of people in nature, Krafel's work harkens to St. Exupery's The Little Prince, Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, and Jean Giono's The Man Who Planted Trees. Paul Krafel's years as a park ranger afforded him time to walk and think-his job was to observe the world around him. He is now a teacher, creating a curriculum for young people that is built on a startlingly simple truth: The world around us is an extended conversation between "upward spirals"--nature in regenerative, procreative modes--and downward spirals toward entropy and disintegration. As nature refreshes and rebuilds, the downward spirals are overcome. Nature's process becomes the process of replenishing hope.

Customer Reviews:

Truly great "how to" book on observation + great story.......2003-07-05

The author presents 35 ways to observe nature. This book is like an extension course to Mollison's and Permaculture's discourses on observation. To be a good naturalist you must be able to observe, but just how do you do that?

This book is one of the best books on how to observe nature. It is both practical and inspirational.

This book is also very personal. The author describes his experiences as he developed his ways of observation. The book was most enjoyable to read, and the short, but many, chapters helped a lot.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, and should be REQUIRED READING if you want to be a naturalist or are interested in Permaculture.

John Dunbar
Sugar Land, TX

Having eyes, you can see.......2002-10-19

This is an outstanding account of observation and the understanding of processes that an enlightend thinker can find in those observations. This book will help people of almost every level of experience to see more in the outdoors, or any where else in the real world, for that matter.

Brilliant and simple - will change the way you see the world.......2001-05-08

Reminicent of Guy Murchie's "The Seven wonders of Life" or anything by Loren Eisley, this book charms you with it's open and honest joy in looking at the world. Informs you on two levels: the behavior of creatures and forms in the natural world, and the parallels you can draw from observations into your own view of yourself, and your place in the world.

Highly recommended.

Seeing Nature- Finding Self.......2000-12-07

Paul Krafel's Seeing Nature is one of those rare little books that change people's lives. Like The Little Prince and Jonathan Livingston Seagull, it has the power to capture the heart and imagination of almost anyone.

Krafel's simple stories and deceptively plain language lead the reader into a fresh new world where noticing an anomalous absence of stones, or peeing on a rock, can lead to unforgettable new insights into human nature and the laws of the universe. No one with the capacity for wonder can fail to be captivated by this book.

Opening our eyes to the patterns of nature.......2000-10-13

A dozen years ago, Paul Krapfel wrote one of the most mind-and-eye-opening books I've ever read, a little self-published volume called SHIFTING: NATURE'S WAY OF CHANGE (recently revised and republished through Chelsea Green as SEEING NATURE: DELIBERATE ENCOUNTERS WITH THE VISIBLE WORLD). In it, I learned more about the patterns that nature creates and follows than I ever dreamed existed. Most importantly, I learned that life does a very creative dance with entropy. I've never thought about life the same since I read Paul's book.

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