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Exploring Wild Central Florida: A Guide to Finding the Natural Areas and Wildlife of the Central Peninsula
Susan D. Jewell Manufacturer: Pineapple Press (FL) ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 1561640824 |
Book Description
Pineapple Press is proud to present four comprehensive guidebooks to the wildlife refuges, state and national parks and forests, city and county parks, and preserves that abound across Florida. For vacationers, naturalists, hikers, campers, canoeists, bicyclists, or anyone interested in Florida's wild places, these books are indispensable as field guides and trip planners.Each provides information on location, habitats, and wildlife, as well as recreational and nature study opportunities. Checklists of the common and scientific names for flora and fauna are included as well.
From New Smyrna and Crystal River in the north to Hobe Sound and Punta Gorda in the south including Lake Okeechobee.
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Taxonomy of the Indian Myxomycetes (Bibliotheca mycologica)
T. N. Lakhanpal Manufacturer: Lubrecht & Cramer Ltd ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 3768212874 |
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Footprint Northern Pakistan
Dave Winter Manufacturer: Footprint Handbooks ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: 1904777066 |
Book Description
Footprint travel guides provide a refreshingly different view and get travelers away from the crowds and closer to their destination with more detail, more local knowledge, and more understanding of the culture. Packed with practical information, they provide everything from critical restaurant reviews to lively descriptions of all the attractions from the "must-see's" to the hidden gems. Footprint Northern Pakistan offers detailed and informative coverage of one of Asia's most fascinating destinations. Features include a special section on the Karakoram Highway - the spectacular overland route from Pakistan to China; a wealth of historical and cultural information, including customs and etiquette; recommendations for restaurants and places to stay for any budget; and transportation info and nearly 80 maps to help travelers find their way. The guide highlights activities such as visiting the archeological ruins of Moenjedaro and Taxila, shopping at bazaars, trekking through goat paths in the mountains, andfollowing the Silk Road.
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The Age of Expansion, 1750-1914 (Options in History)
John D. Clare Manufacturer: Nelson Thornes Ltd ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: 0174351666 |
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Marine Ecosystems and Climate Variation: The North Atlantic: A Comparative Perspective
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items: ASIN: 0198507496 |
Book Description
This research level text focuses on the influence of climate variability on the marine ecosystems of the North Atlantic. The ecological impact of climate variability on population dynamics is addressed at the full range of trophic levels, from phytoplankton through zooplankton and fish to marine birds. Climate effects on biodiversity and community structure are also examined. 40 scientists from around the world synthesise what is currently known about how climate affects the ecological systems of the North Atlantic and then place these insights within a broader ecological perspective. Many of the general features of the North Atlantic region are also seen in other marine ecosystems as well as terrestrial and freshwater systems. The final section of the book makes these generalities more explicit, so as to stimulate communication and promote co-operation amongst researchers who may previously have worked in semi-isolation. The book comprises 5 main sections: background (general introduction, atmospheric and ocean climate of the North Atlantic, and modelling methodology), plankton populations (phytoplankton and zooplankton), fish and seabird populations, community ecology (phytoplankton, benthos and fish), and the final section consisting of six commentaries from scientists working in areas outside the North Atlantic marine sector. In order to enhance integration, a series of introductions link chapters and sections. Throughout the book, numerous examples highlight different aspects of ecology-climate interactions. They document recent progress and illustrate the challenges of trying to understand ecological processes and patterns in the light of climate variations.
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Marine Ecosystems And Climate Variation: The North Atlantic: A Comparative Perspective
Nils Ottersen, Geir Stenseth Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: B000OKXR74 |
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Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology, Volumes 10-18, Second Edition
Manufacturer: Academic Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 0122269292 |
Customer Reviews:
1992 = Pre Web, But Still Useful.......2004-01-04
This edition was published in 1992. Naturally, some sections need revising. The greatest omission to us, now, is no description of the World Wide Web, which is undoubtedly how you are perusing this review right now! The first browser, Mosaic, was released around 1992-3. So unintentionally, this Encyclopedia marks the end of the pre-Web era. Any update, or competing tome, has to acknowledge that in a basic way, something qualitatively different has jelled and is now probably the most common daily interaction of an educated person with technology.
Related to this is the relatively skimpy discussion of electronic communication in the Encyclopedia. At that time, the ubiquitous email notation of user@company was still struggling against competing mail protocols like DECNET and UUNET. Bulletin Boards were state of the art.
Plus if you read the descriptions of typical computers, mini and personal, it already has the feel, heck, it is, of a bygone era.
However, if you turn to the sciences, the descriptions of the basics of each science are still superb.
No doubt the author and his publisher have contemplated updating. But there is now another factor, caused by the rise of the Web. The prospect of compiling another huge hardcover that will be outdated as soon as it is published is daunting. And, as you might know, the traditional encyclopedia market has imploded, due to CDs, DVDs and the web.
Books like this Encylopedia may have been the last of their ilk.
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The Geometry of Efficient Fair Division
Julius B. Barbanel Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 0521842484 |
Book Description
What is the best way to divide a cake and allocate the pieces among some finite collection of players? In this book, the cake is a measure space, and each player uses a countably additive, non-atomic probability measure to evaluate the size of the pieces of cake, with different players generally using different measures. The author investigates efficiency properties (is there another partition that would make everyone at least as happy, and would make at least one player happier, than the present partition?) and fairness properties (do all players think that their piece is at least as large as every other player's piece?). He focuses exclusively on abstract existence results rather than algorithms, and on the geometric objects that arise naturally in this context. By examining the shape of these objects and the relationship between them, he demonstrates results concerning the existence of efficient and fair partitions.Download Description
What is the best way to divide a 'cake' and allocate the pieces among some finite collection of players? In this book, the cake is a measure space, and each player uses a countably additive, non-atomic probability measure to evaluate the size of the pieces of cake, with different players generally using different measures. The author investigates efficiency properties (is there another partition that would make everyone at least as happy, and would make at least one player happier, than the present partition?) and fairness properties (do all players think that their piece is at least as large as every other player's piece?). He focuses exclusively on abstract existence results rather than algorithms, and on the geometric objects that arise naturally in this context. By examining the shape of these objects and the relationship between them, he demonstrates results concerning the existence of efficient and fair partitions.
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GEOMETRY OF EFFICIENT FAIR DIVISION
JULIUS B. BARBANEL Manufacturer: CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: B000N5FTVW |
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The Village of Stepanchikovo: And its Inhabitants: From the Notes of an Unknown (Penguin Classics)
Fyodor Dostoyevsky Manufacturer: Penguin Classics ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 0140446583 |
Book Description
Set on a remote country estate, the story concerns a household completely under the sway of the despotic charlatan and humbug Foma Fomich Opiskin. The owner of the estate, the retired Colonel Rostanev, is a meek, kind-hearted giant of a man, cruelly dominated by Opiskin. With deftly controlled suspense and brilliant comic interludes, the novel builds up to a confrontation between these two characters.Customer Reviews:
Gogol-lite but good.......2004-09-08
Off beat.......2004-03-26
Young Sergey, the narrator, travels to his uncle's estate at Stepanchikovo and discovers there a strange collection of characters. Chaos reigns. Most of the characters are in thrall to Foma Fomich Opiskin, including Sergey's feckless uncle ("I like poets! They're a good crowd! The way they put everything into verse.") A minority of the characters hate Foma Fomich because of the influence he has over the others. Various strange incidents occur as the outraged and bemused Sergey watches the challenges to Foma Fomich's position.
I thought that the novel was an odd work - there are times when the humour more-or-less works, others when it descends into slapstick. It's really not a bad novel, yet not one which will stick in the memory for too long.
G Rodgers
Recommended only for die-hard Dostoevsky fans.......2002-09-30
Thomas Mann had claimed that the dominating personality in the book, Foma Fomich Obispin, is "a comic creation of the first rank, irresistible, rivalling Shakespeare and Moliere." Now I read this book, and that was not at all my evaluation. Mann's comment obliges me to delve a little deeper into the text and circumstances.
Synopsis: Sergey, a young stugent, goes to visit his uncle's estate. He thereby stumbles into a total Bedlam; he sees that his extremely meek and kind-hearted uncle, Colonel Rostanev, is held in thrall both by his fatuous and vain mother and most of all by Foma the charlatan. There he learns that Foma had acted the buffoon for a now deceased general but now he relishes tormenting his benefactor, the Colonel, by playing the part of a morally righteous man. Foma's theatrics erode the patience of both Sergey and his uncle until it explodes with a surprising denouement.
Foma can be best described as a Gogolian Tartuffe in a Dickensian setting. The Gogolian parentage in Foma is apparent in his name (Obispin means a "slip of the pen"). He is also a parody of Gogol himself and his works. Like Moliere's Tartuffe, he is a moral charlatan, expounding lofty principles that he himself flouts. Dostoevsky was definitely familiar with some Dickens, and the generally one-dimensional cartoon-like nature of most characters gives an unmistakeably Dickensian feel.
No one will doubt that these are excellent ingredients, but is this '3' better than '1'+'1'+'1'? I don't think so. I'm not familiar enough with Gogol or Moliere's oeuvre to comment in detail, but at least in comparison to Dickens, the sum total seems to me watered down. I think Rostanev can be thought of as a more gullible Russian Pickwick (a bit forced), but comparison with the "Pickwick Papers" comes out to Dostoevsky's disadvantage. More damning is the fact that both Avsey, the translator who wrote a good introduction here, and Frank, in "The Years of Ordeal", more or less rate this book highly because it points to possibilities in Dostoevsky's future masterpieces. In other words, the work by itself cut off from possibilities is not as interesting. This is telling.
So why is it inferior to "Pickwick"? My opinion is this: escapism. Stepanchikovo is a little too idyllic, the people are by and large too simple, and there is something of a poised unwillingness to confront the nastier side of life. Shouldn't Dostoevsky have expounded on Nastenka's poverty and plight (or would this weaken the novel)? What about the psychology of Mizhinchikov who will blossom into an evil flower called Svidrigailov in "Crime and Punishment"? It is very unkind to suggest this, but considering the very trying circumstances in which this book was written - most notably marital dissatisfaction - perhaps Dostoevsky's wish for a more fulfilling life got the better of his superb psychological skills.
Some defence is necessary. The psychology of Tatyana is well-explored. A woman whose mind is so benighted in self-aggrandizing romance that when she finally emerges from poverty to newfound riches is unable to shake them off - this is classic Dostoevsky.
But in summary I would recommend this book only to the die-hard Dostoevsky fans. I notice nothing flagrant in the translation (NOTE: I know no Russian), so it is not the fault of the translator. So if you really want to see the middle stage in the evolution of a great author, you should read this. Otherwise, just go tackle "Crime and Punishment". In fact, EVERYONE should tackle "Crime and Punishment"!
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed rules.......2001-02-15
Nevertheless, despite the radically different mood of this novel, compared to Dostoevsky's rest, a fact remains: the Russian people seem to behave abnormally in any circumstance, and to be full of deep emotional contradictions and complexities. Read it for a different taste of Dostoevsky's literature.
A bit disappointing.......2000-07-14
The novel primarily emphasizes the characters of Yegor and Foma. Yegor is one of Dostoevsky's stock "meek types" (in the same vein as Myshkin in The Idiot, Sonia in Crime and Punishment, and Alyosha in The Brothers Karamazov) and is quick to be self-effacing and lie down in awe before anyone even seeming to have more knowledge of the world than he. This opens the door for Foma, who despite Yegor's status as head of the household takes every opportunity to insult Yegor and impose his own will--in an amusing example of his excesses, one Thursday he demands that everyone in the household pretend that it is actually Wednesday. Foma, incidentally, is based partly on Nikolai Gogol, and as translator Ignat Avsey's annotations show, many of Foma's statements were inspired by the infamous Selected Passages from Correspondence with Friends, in which Gogol exposed himself as a peasant-hating reactionary.
Considering how short it is (just under 200 pages), the plot of the work is fairly engaging, and I certainly found it a pleasant read. However, I was disappointed that, despite its billing as Dostoevsky's longest comedic work, once I got past the first couple chapters I really didn't find the novel particularly funny. Apparently Dostoevsky initially envisioned it as a play but made it into a novel for financial reasons. I can see how it might be more entertaining as a play, as Foma and several other characters could be quite humorous. As it stands, since it's narrated by Sergey, who is understandably indignant about the state of affairs at Stepanchikovo, Foma's tyranny over the estate comes across as pathetic, not amusing. Dostoevsky was of course a genius and remains my favorite author, but it seems that in the genre of provincial comedy Gogol was his superior. If you're interested in something by Dostoevsky with a lighter tone than his most famous works, I'd recommend The Gambler or Uncle's Dream over this novel.
All in all, The Village of Stepanchikovo is certainly not boring, and Avsey does a very good job with the translation, introduction, and notes, but unless you're really a fan either of Dostoevsky or of 19th century Russian provincial novels, I frankly don't see much of a reason to choose this particular work.
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Against the Wind: A Rider's Account of the Incredible Iron Butt Rally (Incredible Journeys Books)
Ron Ayres Manufacturer: Whitehorse Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 1884313094 |
Book Description
Customer Reviews:
The real flavor of the Iron Butt Crew.......2006-11-06
Mind travel.......2006-03-17
Cool book.......2005-10-22
Great Adventure Riding Book.......2003-02-08
Impatient Insomniacs On Parade.......2002-09-03
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Curmudgeons, Drunkards, and Outright Fools: The Courts-Martial of Civil War Union Colonels
Thomas P. Lowry Manufacturer: Bison Books ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: 0803280246 |
Book Description
Customer Reviews:
Colorful anecdotes and a deeper examination.......2004-03-07
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CURMUDGEONS, DRUNKARDS, AND OUTRIGHT FOOLS: COURTS-MARTIAL OF CIVIL WAR UNION COLONELS. Foreword by William C. Davis
Thomas P. Lowry Manufacturer: Bison Books Corp., ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: B000N784GW |
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Nerve Center: Inside the White House Situation Room
Michael K. Bohn Manufacturer: Potomac Books Inc. ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 1574884387 |
Book Description
The White House Situation Room is arguably the most important facility in the most important building in the world. As the presidentâs intelligence and alert center, it provides vital communication and crisis management capabilities to the chief executive and his advisers. It can also be âan island of calm,â as a top adviser for Vice President Al Gore once described it. So little is known about the Situation Room that, until the publication of Nerve Center, the American publicâs knowledge of it is almost entirely based on its portrayal by the entertainment industry.Customer Reviews:
Totally Cool.......2006-07-26
A must for lovers of the West Wing!.......2006-02-07
Behind Closed Doors - A Fascinating Look.......2003-04-15
If you are a fan of political movies, and want to know the truth behind the Hollywood fiction, or are just a political junkie, then this truly is the one book you want on your shelf!
Life in the WHSR.......2003-02-14
Great view of the White House Situation Room.......2003-02-14
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Noah's Choice: The Future of Endangered Species
Charles C. Mann Manufacturer: Knopf ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items:
ASIN: 0679420029 Release Date: 1995-02-14 |
Customer Reviews:
Avoids controversy.......2004-01-24
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Noah's Choice: The Future of Endangered Species. (book reviews): An article from: Issues in Science and Technology
T.H. Watkins Manufacturer: National Academy of Sciences ProductGroup: Book Binding: Digital ASIN: B00093NKPK Release Date: 2005-07-28 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Issues in Science and Technology, published by National Academy of Sciences on June 22, 1995. The length of the article is 2630 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.Books:
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