Edible and Useful Plants of California (California Natural History Guides)

Edible and Useful Plants of California (California Natural History Guides)
Average customer rating:

dining in the wild

Truely a useful plant identifiction book

Edible and Useful Plants of California (California Natural History Guides)
Charlotte Bringle Clarke
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biology | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Botany | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
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Early Uses of California Plants (California Natural History Guides)

Survival Skills of Native California

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Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West

ASIN: 0520032675

Customer Reviews:

dining in the wild.......2006-07-14

Clearly written guide to edible plants with recipes and well told descriptions. I enjoyed every page.

Truely a useful plant identifiction book.......2000-07-13

I have quite a few "nature" books on my shelf, and at least 5 on plant identification. I was a tad bit leary when I ordered this book, thinking that it would just become another dust gatherer. Boy was I wrong. It is one of the easiest reads I have ever seen on this subject. You do not have to have a degree in botany to get into, and begin to use the info in this book. It has rekindled my desire to learn more about the plant-life around me. If you live, and play outdoors in California, then I would definately recomend this book, and some of the recipes listed in this book really are to die for ( and I am not talking about the chapter on poisonous plant identification ).

In the Footsteps of our Ancestors: Guide to Wild Foods

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In the Footsteps of our Ancestors: Guide to Wild Foods
Christopher Nyerges
Manufacturer: Survival News Service
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: 0960319026

Product Description

"..a guide to many species of edible and other useful wild plants commonly found in Southern California... also lists and describes poisonous plants which should be avoided."

Edilbe and Useful Plants of California (California Natural History Guides)

Average customer rating:

Edilbe and Useful Plants of California (California Natural History Guides)

Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000I9W57Y

Average customer rating:

Guide to wild foods
Christopher Nyerges
Manufacturer: distributed by Capra Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Description

This book provides a comprehensive survey of element requirements and cycling in algae, as well as in-depth information on element cycling in wetlands and the environment. Wetland classification, hydrology, soils, vegetation, and productivity are also presented. Additional topics covered include essentiality and toxicity of elements for plants; uptake, assimilation, and storage of micronutrients; uptake and accumulation of heavy metals; primary productivity, growth rates, and limitation in algae as well as eutrophication. Packed with figures, tables, and references, the book is valuable to students and researchers in wetlands science, phycology, and ecology, as well as to environmental managers and consultants.

Customer Reviews:

Review of Algae in Wetlands..........2000-05-12

This book provides a thorough coverage of nutrient and trophic linkage in wetlands systems, particularly temperate clines. The coverage of material is excellent, with heavily referenced literature sections. The goal of summarizing available literature strongly favors the freshwater communities rather than estuarine, but does not fail totally in this regard either. Overall, this is an excellent book!

Amazon.com

A complete trip planner for physically-impaired visitors to the best-loved parks, cities, and resort regions of the United States. Contains information on:

- tours, with information on vehicle lifts and lock-downs, curb cuts, lowered phones and phones with volume control;

- hotels, with details on roll-in showers, high sinks, TDD machines, visual alert devices, and Braille signage;

- restaurants and cafes with ramps, wide entrances, accessible restrooms and Braille menus;

- the great outdoors, including pools with hydraulic lifts, mono-ski and sit-ski programs, trails with guide ropes, and snorkeling outfitters with high-prescription masks, as well as accessible campgrounds;

- lively entertainment, with wheelchair seating, assistive listening systems, signed interpretation, Braille and large-print programs.

From coast to coast, there's no reason anyone can't have a great vacation with the help of this guidebook.

Book Description

· A great travel guide providing solid, detailed accessibility information and on-target travel know-how.
· An invaluable aid for travelers with mobility problems and hearing and vision impairments and for the people who travel with them.
· Each chapter a miniguide to the destination it covers, including:
· Where to stay---charming inns and B&Bs, affordable hotels and motels, scenic campgrounds.
· Where to eat---bistros and cafés, diners and delis, pizzerias and pasta places, and even the occasional fancy restaurant.
· What to see and do, from famous landmarks to explorable neighborhoods.
· Outdoor fun for the entire family.
· Where to shop for regional crafts and local souvenirs.
· Great entertainment, from Broadway shows to country jamborees.
· Every entry loaded with accessibility information---everything from curb cuts and entrance ramps to roll-in showers and high sinks to pools with hydraulic lifts, Braille menus and signage, lowered phones, and more.
· Covers the best of America's travel destinations, including Boston, Cape Cod, Charleston, Chicago, the Everglades, Gettysburg, the Grand Canyon, the Grand Tetons, Las Vegas, the Lincoln Trail, Los Angeles, the Maine coast, Memphis, Miami, Minneapolis and St. Paul, Nashville, the Natchez Trace, New Orleans, New York City, Niagara Falls, the Outer Banks, Pennsylvania Dutch Country, Philadelphia, Rocky Mountain National Park, San Antonio and Austin, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Fe and Taos, Savannah, Seattle, the Texas Gulf Coast, Walt Disney World, Waikiki and Honolulu, Washington, D.C., Williamsburg, Yellowstone, and Yosemite.

Customer Reviews:

For the Traveler.......2001-02-20

As the Disability Host on BellaOnline, I recommend this book. It gives you complete information regarding accessibility and travel. You won't want to travel without this book.

Vacations for Travelers With Disabilities.......2000-07-20

You give up many things that you take for granted when you become disabled, but, with the help of this book, traveling doesn't have to be one of them. The editors make it easy to plan an out of town trip by letting you know some of the obstacles you will find on your travels. By knowing them in advance, you are better prepared to handle them calmly rather then letting them frustrate you and ruin everyone's trip.This guide gives me confidence to go places that are new and not worry on what I will find when I arrive.

History Makers of the Industrial Revolution (History Makers)
Average customer rating:
History Makers of the Industrial Revolution (History Makers)
Nigel Smith
Manufacturer: Hodder Children's Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Career Ideas for Kids | Nonfiction | Series | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Case Studies | Reference | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0750215488

Makers of the mold: [men and their machines in the industrial revolution, Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts]
Average customer rating:
Makers of the mold: [men and their machines in the industrial revolution, Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts]
Kenneth W Newcomb
Manufacturer: s.n ] ;
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Massachusetts | State & Local | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B00071HWA8

Makers of the mold: A story of men and their machines in the Industrial Revolution at Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts ... and a history of its people
Average customer rating:
Makers of the mold: A story of men and their machines in the Industrial Revolution at Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts ... and a history of its people
Kenneth W Newcomb
Manufacturer: Kenneth W. Newcomb
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

History | Bibliographies & Indexes | Publishing & Books | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B00072XYWW

Book Description

Headlines around the world about severe droughts, hurricanes, and floods caused by El Niño and La Niña appear every few years. El Niño is the second most important climate process after the changing seasons; its effects are widely known, but the equally serious impact of La Niña is only now beginning to be appreciated. Fully revised, Currents of Change clearly explains what El Niño and La Niña are and how they can be forecast. Examining for the first time the major El Niño of 1997-1998, Michael Glantz explains what we can learn from past events, how we can better manage climate-sensitive activities, and how to anticipate what future storms and droughts may occur. A century ago, it was of interest only to Peruvian fishermen and farmers. Today, scientists armed with tremendous computer models and satellites realize that El Niño and La Niña affect climatic conditions in seemingly remote parts of the world and are better able to predict which regions will be affected. Including the latest information about El Niño and La Niña, this new edition of Currents of Change will be useful to scientists, policymakers, economists, and interested readers alike. Michael Glantz is a Senior Scientist with the US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in the Environmental and Societal Impacts Group, a program of NCAR. He is the coordinator of a 16-country El Niño impacts and response strategies study for the United Nations. Glantz is a member of numerous national and international committees and advisory bodies and is a recipient of the 1987 World Hunger Media Award, of UNEP's Global 500 Award, and the 1991 Mitchell Prize for Sustainable Development. He is the author of Climate Variability, Climate Change, and Fisheries (Cambridge, 1992) and Drought Follows the Plow (Cambridge, 1994). He lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Governing the Soul: The Shaping of the Private Self
Average customer rating:

governing the soul = neoliberal governance at a distance

Governing the Soul: The Shaping of the Private Self
Nikolas S. Rose , and Rose Nikolas
Manufacturer: Free Assn Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Personality | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Literature & Fiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Inventing our Selves: Psychology, Power, and Personhood (Cambridge Studies in the History of Psychology)

Powers of Freedom: Reframing Political Thought

Governmentality : Power and Rule in Modern Society

The Politics of Life Itself: Biomedicine, Power, and Subjectivity in the Twenty-First Century (In-formation)

The Foucault Effect: Studies in Governmentality

ASIN: 1853434442

Book Description

Governing the Soul is now widely recognised as one of the founding texts in a new approach to analysing the links between political power, expertise and the self. This 'governmentality' perspective has had important implications for a range of academic disciplines including criminology, political theory, sociology and psychology and has generated much theoretical innovation and empirical investigation. This second edition: l New introduction setting out the methodological and conceptual bases of this approach; l New final chapter that considers some of the implications of recent developments in the government of subjectivity.

Customer Reviews:

governing the soul = neoliberal governance at a distance.......2000-12-12

This book is Nikolas Rose's masterpiece about neoliberalism's attempts at "governance at a distance". Governing the soul is basically a euphemism for the attempt by neoliberal regimes to get citizens to govern themselves. Why get citizens to govern themselves? So the state can do, in the words of Osborne and Gaebler in Reinventing Government, "less of the rowing and more of the steering". There is a view that the welfare state had intervened too much into the day-to-day lives of citizens that civil society had become dependent on the government to meet their needs. Governing the soul means transforming those who had become dependent on the government into autonomous "selves" capable of carrying out self-governance. There is a notion that the self is not a given, as the humanist conception of self advocates, but is created through the choices we make. If you don't like who you are, make yourself up as someone different. Thus, governing the soul is directly related to governing through choice/freedom--a key aspect of "rule at a distance". This conception of self as "made up" can be seen today in the many talk shows, namely Oprah Winfrey, in which people are transformed from the lowly selves they were into the new selves they want to be through the process of choice. I would recommend this book to any who like Foucault's works because Rose's Foucauldian roots are clear in his arguments about nothing being given and everything being the product of history--"the history of the present" is a Foucauldian idea. Also, I would recommend Graham Burchell's works on "techniques of the self" because these techniques are actually analogous to Rose's "governing the soul".

The Genius of China: 3,000 Years of Science, Discovery, and Invention
Average customer rating:

Ancient Chinese Technology

On Chinese Genius

Nice information but little bit confusing

Overreaction

Chinese technology in a nutshell

The Genius of China: 3,000 Years of Science, Discovery, and Invention
Robert K. G Temple
Manufacturer: Simon and Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

History of Science | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books
History of Technology | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books
General | China | Asia | History | Subjects | Books
Scientists | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405-1433

1421: The Year China Discovered America

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The Island of Seven Cities: Where the Chinese Settled When They Discovered America

ASIN: 0671620282

Book Description

A brilliant distillation of 3,000 years of Chinese scholarship and invention, from agriculture and medicine to warfare, featuring 190 photos and illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

Ancient Chinese Technology.......2004-04-21

Wow. This is an incredible book! Like many readers of popular modern science, I constantly underestimate the inventiveness and technology of ancient man. This book really highlights that. Also, it's an amazing inventory of creativity and inventiveness that the current China seems to be regaining. Imagine very modern inventions like glow-in-the-dark paint and natural gas mining being invented before the First Century AD!
I read this as a way to get familiar with the technology of one of the most inventive people and times in history so that I could use it in conworld creation. I was NOT disappointed! The idea that they had movable type and spill-proof lanterns were revelations to me. Not to mention the quality of their ceramics and lacquer.
However, you've really got to want this information to read this book. I found the author's style to be quite dry and academic. In some cases, it even seemed rather biased in favor of the Chinese, but, as my wife pointed out, that's to be expected considering the subject matter.
All in all, though, the author's writing skills are not enough to keep me from heartily recommending this book to anyone interested in the technology of the ancient world.

On Chinese Genius.......2003-06-23

Personally, I am a bit disappointed in its coverage which seems not so in depth... But nevertheless sufficient for the layman to at least catch a glimpse of what the ancient Chinese has achieved. By profession, I am a trained Engineer and am currently seeking a Masters in Theoretical Physics. And of course I am a Singaporean Chinese. From young, I was taught alot of Chinese Maths and Chinese algorithmic methods .. which were dry and boring then..and which was more often than not confusing. Now it was confusing not because it is not good but rather we were taught Western methods that stresses different computational methodology.. But the difference is that the Chinese method can sometimes do it faster!!..For example: what is 1 + 3 + 5 +..+ 17? Chinese method would just point to the 9th finger and give the answer as 81. I have often wondered just what do the Ancient Chinese know that I do not... And so I set a course to find out as many things I could about my ancestors..(which many people may look down on)..First.. I needed to find out about Chinese Mathematics Achievments, the extent of their knowledge..I am not at all convinced about the allegation that it was imported from elsewhere.. simply because China was geograpically isolated and there are no countries around which it could borrow knowledge from ...At its height, it was the most advanced .... (until Qing Dynasty and the jesuit input: By then the Chinese had deteriorated...). that China had indeed some impressive achievements: that of discovering Zero...( shown in 2002) the knowledge of Phythagoras, that of being the first in solving n-Degree Equation..that of solving Similar Triangle..and more.... And all these could be gathered from the net.. Second, I wanted to find out just how advanced the Science were... THere were readers who alledged that it seemed magical and perhaps foolishness.. I beg to differ. Isn't modern Chemistry playing around with different chemicals or mixing anions with cations that reacts to give a different compound?? And more than that, I wanted to find out the extent of knowledge importing and exporting from China.. if.. I am wrong... But I was then led to a few books :
The year the Chinese discovered America :1421 by Menzies, and when China ruled the seas.. by Louise Levathes..
And I was led to more sites in the internet.. and more recent discoveries in Singapore itself that proved that China has had extensive trade with her neighbours.. And readers of the following books will find that China has had perfected the technique of latitude and longitude crossing...that implies that China was not isolated...A check with Temple's findings were done in 2000.. when I went to China on an "expedition trip"...I admit I was very impressed with the Great Wall.. even as an Engineer...So.. I guess I have to give my forefathers some credit here... And this book serves as a beginning.. No less!!
I recommend more reading on the subject though... for those interested..

Nice information but little bit confusing.......2003-04-30

I really don't know much about Chinese history and ancient technology of the world. But this book gave me lots of information about ancient technologies of Chinese and Greeks.
Although I believe many Great inventions Chinese made does not get credited to Chinese such as Crossbow and firearms. But this book seems give too much of credit to Chinese invention and how it affected western technologies because many inventions are done independently.

Overall it is a good book and Chinese people should be proud of what their ancestors acheived.

Overreaction.......2003-04-05

This is a nice compendium of Chinese achievements, but it is seriously hampered by the chip on Temple's shoulder. In order to prove the genius of China, he constantly denigrates European achievements. A good half of the entries end by calculating how many years in advance of Europe the Chinese were with the achievement in question. This could have been done once or twice for effect, but to repeat it so often is needless (and pointless) piling on. Every Chinese discovery is shown to be the root of a European discovery, however tenuous the link. Thus, the Chinese invented a toy helicopter and a kite, therefore modern aviation is totally derivative of them. But if the Europeans were the first to come up with an idea that they did not translate into practical use, then it is to Temple a mere trifle that only the Chinese developed to its full potential.

Another issue with the book is that it doesn't give any kind of chronological account of scientific developement in China. It's not what the book sets out to do, so this is more a remark than a criticism. It set me wondering about who Chinese scientists were, what was the relationship among science, engineering, and tinkering, when were the key periods of scientific innovation, whether they had a prolific early period comparable to the Greeks, and other issues. I'm especially curious because so much of Chinese science seems, like European alchemy, to be only half a step removed from magic and another quarter step from pure silliness. It's always astounding how people who believed in alchemical ideas could be great inventors, and the same held in China (where Taoism produced the leading scientists, from what I can gather from this book).

It is an interesting book, covering a wide range of scientific topics. (Of course, it's just culled from Needham, so it's not as though the author had to do a lot of research.) Subjects as diffuse as mining, medicine, number theory, and warfare are covered in different chapters. I'm not an expert on science, so I often learned a lot about the individual inventions -- as so often happens in the modern world, we take for granted the extraordinarily ingenious inventions of an earlier age, which seem simple only in comparison to the even more wonderful machines we have today.

Chinese technology in a nutshell.......2001-05-29

There are both good and bad aspects of this book. First, it is an overall look at China's ancient technology. Not a bad idea. However, it is terse, and not very in-depth. I would recommend reading Sterling Seagrave's Lords of the Rim, which has added information regarding Needham's research - like the wonderful look at China's naval expertise and their huge ships that plied the seas (with room for horses and gardens), which Genius of China does not mention. Genius, however, is a great resource for folks who know nothing about China's ancient scientific discoveries, and is, therefore, an incentive to study further.

I disagree with one reviewer. I do not find Temple distainful of Western thought and scientific expertise. One has to remember the difficulties Europe was going through prior to and during the Renaissance and Reformation in regard to fighting for the freedom to study science openly - without the fear of inquisition. England, having divorced itself from Rome, was freer to read, experiment with, and discover the truths behind the Chinese knowledge - much of which was coming out of the Orient through the returning missionaries. Even though the Protestants abhorred the Jesuits, they were very interested in learning and using what the Jesuits had discovered while in China. Understanding a little more about Western history during this period illustrates why the West was "behind" the Chinese in their scientific endeavors. In addition, many of these European scientists made their own experiments derived from that knowledge and did not give credit to the Chinese.

In addition, Needham and Temple have cleared up some anomolies that appear in David Tame's The Secret Power of Music, by giving us a better understanding of how the tuned chung bells were used to regulate China's measurements. The pitched pipes in a hermetically sealed room turn out to be a "superstitius absurity or a long-standing case of fraud". The authors do not make any reference to Tame's "Yellow note".

Book Description

Revised, full-color illustrated edition of the multi-award-winning, international bestseller that charts the unparalleled and astounding achievement of ancient China

• Brings to life one hundred Chinese “firsts” in the fields of agriculture, astronomy, engineering, mathematics, medicine, music, technology, and warfare

• Based on the definitive work of the world’s most famous Sinologist, Joseph Needham (1900-1995), author of Science and Civilisation in China

• Organized by field, invention, and discovery for ease of reference

Undisputed masters of invention and discovery for 3,000 years, the ancient Chinese were the first to discover the solar wind and the circulation of the blood and even to isolate sex hormones. From the suspension bridge and the seismograph to deep drilling for natural gas, the iron plough, and the parachute, ancient China’s contributions in the fields of engineering, medicine, technology, mathematics, science, transportation, warfare, and music helped inspire the European agricultural and industrial revolutions.

Since its original publication, The Genius of China has won five literary awards in America and been translated into 43 languages. Its Chinese edition, The Spirit of Chinese Invention, was approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education for use in connection with the national secondary curriculum in China. Based on the immense, authoritative scholarship of the late Joseph Needham, the world’s foremost scholar of Chinese science, and including a foreword by him, this revised full-color illustrated edition brings to life the spirit and excitement of the unparalleled achievements of ancient China.

Book Description

The Black military heritage in Canada is still generally unknown and wnwritten. Most Canadians have no idea that Blacks served, fought and died on European battlefileds, all in the name of freedom. The story of the overt racist treatment of Black volunteers is a shameful chapter in Canadian history. It does, however, represent an important part of the Black legacy and the Black experience. It is a story woth reporting and worth sharing.

An Honest President: The Life and Presidencies of Grover Cleveland
Average customer rating:

Interesting, but...

Painless Backgrounder

Too Reverential

A Great Overview of His Life

Weak

An Honest President: The Life and Presidencies of Grover Cleveland
H. P. Jeffers
Manufacturer: William Morrow & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Political | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Presidents & Heads of State | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | United States | Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
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Rutherford B. Hayes

ASIN: 038097746X
Release Date: 2000-05-30

Book Description

Grover Cleveland is known primarily as the only president to be elected to two nonconsecutive terms. But his record as a staunch reformer is equally impressive: from fighting powerful bosses in both political parties and vetoing bills he considered raids on the Treasury to resisting American imperialism and robber barons alike. And when he became embroiled in scandal -- from fathering a child out of wedlock to (legally) evading the Civil War -- he faced his past truthfully and confronted his demons directly.

In graceful and enduring prose, H. Paul Jeffers gives us the first full look at a president whose moral timber and courageous administrations have more to say to today's politicians than perhaps that of any other leader in American history.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting, but..........2005-04-01

Please keep in mind that I think three stars means "Okay" and that "okay" isn't a bad thing.

I didn't know anything about Grover Cleveland. After reading this book, I found that I liked him far more than most Presidents. However, I wish that the book went into greater depth or analyzed his life a bit deeper.

The author makes various comparisons between Cleveland's sexual behaviors to those of Clinton's, which is fine. But I would have liked to have had other comparisons as well.

This is an interesting book and it left me wanting to know more about its subject.

Painless Backgrounder.......2004-01-31

Jeffers provides a painless background on one of the least-remembered Presidents for those who need to fill in the blank spots of their US history timelines. The writing is fluent and the narrative moves quickly. But the book is not for scholars. Important issues of the times, including the Financial Panic of 1893, the free-silver movement, Hawaii and the imperialist impulse, and the growth of organized labor are covered in a few passages or pages. I especially found the discussion of Cleveland's racial attitudes and civil rights policies insufficient; for a President governing during the implementation of Jim Crow, more than a few paragraphs about the issue were warranted. For detailed discussions of those important historical issues, the reader will have to go to more specialized sources.

Too Reverential.......2003-11-03

Something is missing from this picture -- a two-time president, three-time presidential nominee and former New York governor who "never, ever" trimmed his sails for expediency, was "always" honest and consistently stuck to his convictions no matter the political cost? Not credible. To read this book one would think that Grover Cleveland was literally the second coming. The portrait is overly worshipful, completely one-sided, and ultimately unpersuasive. In particular, attempts at comparison to Bill Clinton and "Zippergate" (as the author calls it) fall totally flat and are completely gratuitous. There is little real analysis here, and too much regurgitation of what prior biographers have written.

I don't doubt that Cleveland was a unique politician, a man well-positioned in his time to take advantage of the public's increasing distaste for the spoils system and the fractional and petty squabbles that marked the Republican party from 1868-84 (Stalwarts vs. Half Breeds, Conkling vs. Blaine, Garfield vs. Conkling, etc). The early chapters on Cleveland's meteoric rise from an obscure sheriff to mayor of Buffalo to governor of New York to president in a few short years are fairly interesting. But Cleveland the man, particularly during his two presidential terms, comes across as a wooden, cardboard figure; no real flavor or insight into his personality and character emerges. Some biographies are too heavy on psycho-babble, maybe this book could have used some of that.

A Great Overview of His Life.......2003-02-04

In a quest to read a biography of every American president, I found this one of Cleveland a satisfying and easy read. Jeffers doesn't seek to make the bio an in-depth study of his personal knowledge of English vocabulaly; thus the easier read, a welcome break from the 600-pagers of some other presidents. Although over 300 pages, this biography goes fast and I didn't find myself wishing it would end. It gave the facts truthfully, thoroughly and precisely; and that's what I needed.

Weak.......2003-01-10

The author appears to have done no original research. He quotes so extensively from earlier biographies that I wish I could read one of them instead. Alas, they all seem to be out of print... If you just want an outline of Cleveland's life and presidency, then I suppose this books is okay, but if you want any insight or analysis, look elsewhere.

Mind the Gap: The Education of a Nature Writer (Environmental Arts and Humanities Series)
Average customer rating:
Mind the Gap: The Education of a Nature Writer (Environmental Arts and Humanities Series)
John Hay
Manufacturer: University of Nevada Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Authors | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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The Prophet of Dry Hill: Lessons From a Life in Nature

ASIN: 0874176921

Book Description

John Hay has been acclaimed as one of the most significant contemporary nature writers and environmentalists. In Mind the Gap, an autobiographic memoir and a passionate commentary on our place in the natural world, he retraces the paths that led to his career and explores the literary and environmental influences that shaped his interest in nature.

Born into a respected old New York family, Hay grew up in upper-class Manhattan and rural New Hampshire, between the rigid proprieties of society and the delicious freedoms he discovered during his outdoor adventures. Travel, education, and his own sensitivity and curiosity helped to open the world to him. Shortly after World War II, he moved to a desolate, sandy lot on Cape Cod. Much of the book deals with his life in a small rural community on the Cape, addressing such subjects as the annual herring spawn, resident and migratory birds, local wildlife, his human neighbors, and the complex rhythms of life in this region of plunging winds and vast seas. Hay's vivid, closely observed descriptions of his surroundings support his insightful comments on nature and our intricate relationship to it. He warns us that "in setting ourselves apart from the rest of living creatures, we fall victim to our own ice-bound conceit. It is only in sharing that we know anything at all." Hay shares his knowledge generously, and as readers we are thereby vastly enriched.

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