Blue Ridge Range: The Gentle Mountains

Book Description

Welcome to the ancient, rumpled realm of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Writer Ron Fisher and photographer Rik Cooke guide you through the gentle mountains that rise in a sky-wash haze from Pensylvania to northern Georgia. The New River, America's oldest stream, flows across the entire range while a 470-mile continuous span of skyline road leads from Shenandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Seven national forests harbor 130 species of trees and an astonishing diversity of mosses, fungi, flowering plants, and wildlife. Meet Cherokee Indians who continue the artistic traditions of their ancestors as well as descendants of European settlers who developed their own lasting heritage of folk crafts.

Customer Reviews:

An easy look at Blue Ridge flora, fauna and folk life.......2000-08-17

Ron Fisher wrote this "bookazine" in a very plain, homespun style which causes one to learn tons of information about people and places of the Blue Ridge without realizing it. There was too-scant mention of the region's physiography and natural history; however, once I got far enough inside to notice that, I was already sufficiently captivated by the tales of human history and folklore that the book was well worth finishing. Like Fisher, I cruised the Blue Ridge Parkway on a cool, misty weekday; and he captured the peaceful mood perfectly in his description of that jaunt. Whether from watching a Salem Buccaneers minor league game, interviewing Foxfire writers, or recording the tales of an elderly wood whittler, the hundreds of micro-stories of Blue Ridge folk life come out well done. Of course, as is the Geographic's gold standard, the photography is splendid. Any high school or college student writing about the Appalachian way of life must have this work in his reference list. And I strongly recommend this book for anyone planning a driving trip (off the interstates!) through western Virginia, western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee or far northern Georgia.

Great with alot of awesome pictures.......2000-01-05

I am from the Blue Ridge Mountains and I think this magazine was great. It has alot of information about the people, parks and places of the Blue Ridge. There are tons of pictures and suggestions of places to visit. READ IT!

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BLUE RIDGE RANGE the Gentle Mountains
RON FISHER
Manufacturer: National Geographic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GQQ2YQ

Book Description

In Fodor's Road Guide USA you'll find everything you need for a great road trip -- whether you're going across the country or to a family reunion in the next state over. In this guide to Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota, you'll find thousands of listings of things to see and do as well as hotels and restaurants in all price ranges in major cities, suburbs, small towns, and the countryside. Other essential trip planning resources include lively state and town introductions, climate charts, historical timelines, festival and events, rules of the road, sidebars filled with great tips, driving and walking tours, exact prices, web sites, and full-color highway maps.

Plus -- don't miss the Compass American Guides The perfect companion to Fodor's Road Guide USA is our Compass American Guide series-fully illustrated cultural guides to destinations across the USA. To find out more about the guides listed below, type the title in the keyword box.
* Fodor's Compass American Guides: Minnesota: A full-color guide, providing in-depth coverage of the history, culture, and character of Minnesota.
* Fodor's Compass American Guides: South Dakota: A full-color guide, providing in-depth coverage of the history, culture, and character of South Dakota.

Customer Reviews:

Great reference.......2002-02-15

Very well laid out and easy to use. It has info on where to stay and what to do. Other books are more complete but this one does OK. I would recommend it

Book Description

Two unlikely friends–Elisa, a German outsider, and Jessie, the daughter of the local prison warden–meet during the Depression. In Elisa's far–off homeland, a new dictator is spreading the stain of hate, but the two girls are absorbed in matters closer at hand. Together they explore their small town, dream of the future, and talk about Slater Carr, the angel–faced prisoner whose nightly bugle rendition of Taps holds their small town in thrall and whose actions, one Halloween night, will change everything.

"You think about Slater," Jessie says. "I give him to you."

A time will come when she will remember saying that to Elisa and regret it with all her heart.

Margaret A. Edwards Award–winner M. E. Kerr creates a compelling portrait of America between the World Wars, of friendship, and of innocence lost.

Customer Reviews:

Compelling and readable!.......2006-06-04

Young Jessie and Elisa are firm yet unlikely friends living in upstate New York in 1934. Jessie, the daughter of the region's prison wardon, is chatty, tomboyish, the collector of wanted posters of infamous criminals and tall-tales is the extreme opposite of her German friend Elisa, who emits elegance and assurance with her foreign culture and many languages. They both swoon over Slater Carter, the prison's new inmate who can play the bugle and trumpet like no other and becomes Jessie's father's special undertaking and whose actions are the catalyst on which the story is woven in a very intriguing way.

What is especially compelling is the way Kerr uses her secondary characters, (Seth, Jessie's brother's testing relationship with his father, her mother's coolness, a friend's pacifism), and the way she fully observes and senses what Jessie and Elisa are thinking and misunderstanding as young adolescents including the common and uncommon events and occur in their lives, and in every respect merges thoughts and actions to a satisfactory end.

My only gripe was with the ending which was abrupt, it felt very much like Kerr was trying to wrap things up quickly, which went completely against the pace of the entire book and its explanations about the Holocaust were shallow and weak and could have delivered more.

A Wartime Novel Tests the Limits of Friendship.......2006-02-02

It is 1934, and fourteen-year-old Jessica Myrer lives next door to the prison. That might bother most people, but Jessie has been living next to prisons her entire life. Her father, as the warden, oftentimes assigns actual convicts to do supervised yard work just outside Jessie's window. Jessie feels comfortable around them and even admires them, collecting wanted posters of famous criminals like John Dillinger and Bonnie and Clyde, and begging her father for the inside story. She is especially interested in the newest arrival, Slater Carr, a young and talented musician incarcerated on a life sentence for involvement in murder.

Jessie doesn't have many friends and pretends not to care, maybe to ward off the hurt she feels at her classmates' rejections and her own mother's coolness and criticism toward her. But that begins to change when the new neighbor drops in to say hello. Elisa hails from Germany, and her family moved to town for her father's teaching job. Jessie first thinks of Elisa as exotic, refined and arrogant. But she soon learns that Elisa is just a bit shy, not used to making friends for having moved a lot. The two become fast and true friends.

Through her friendship with Elisa, Jessie begins to open herself up, expand her interests, and really care about others. But then one day, Slater Carr starts off a series of events that may force Jessie and Elisa apart.

This wonderful book by the talented and award-winning M. E. Kerr is a ticket to a past life when our country suffered a terrible depression, and the world moved towards war. YOUR EYES IN STARS is divided into two parts: the first tells the tale of their blossoming friendship, and the second consists of letters shared over the following years. Kerr's characters are full of life and very realistic. She offers a glimpse into different cultures, and her touch of humor helps ease the serious undertones of racism and war.

--- Reviewed by Chris Shanley Dillman

Excellent new book by M. E. Kerr.......2006-01-06

Your Eyes in Stars by M. E. Kerr is an intriguing glance into the life of the daughter of prison warden in Cayuta, New York, during the Depression. Jessica Myrer is a tomboy who finds it hard to express herself other than through tall tales and posters of gangsters plastered on her wall. At least that is the case until the German girl Elisa Stadler moves in across the street. The girls become fast friends and often talk about Slater Carr, the inmate at the prison who can play the bugle like an angel and looks like one too. But the actions of that man eventually change the entire town, and make the two girls realize that they are no longer children.

The characters in this novel were incredibly vivid and delightful. You could see Jessie grow up before you, gradually learning that life is not as clear as wanted posters pasted on her wall. I find that I really enjoy reading about this time period. It is interesting to look at the beginnings of the Holocaust from the eyes of an outsider, and to realize how little people outside of Germany actually knew about it.

Stars In Your Eyes...Feet on the Ground: A Practical Guide for Teenage Actors (and their Parents!)

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None

Stars In Your Eyes...Feet on the Ground: A Practical Guide for Teenage Actors (and their Parents!)
Annie Jay , and Luanne Feik
Manufacturer: Theatre Directories
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0933919425

Book Description

Teen actress Annie Jay offers her peers guidance about how to make a career in show business, and not just in New York or L.A., but in places like Peoria, Illinois, or West Chester, Pennsylvania. She provides information on handling auditions and rejection, getting the attention of an agent, joining the entertainment unions, and avoiding scams. This book will also help parents achieve a realistic understanding of what is entailed in their child's pursuit of stardom.

Customer Reviews:

None.......2001-02-19

My friend let me read this book in class,and it was great.It teaches you alot.I highly reccomend it!

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Stars in Your Eyes

Manufacturer: P.F. Collier and Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000FK7GQG

Mudd in Your Eye (Star Trek: The Original Series)

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Quite good.
A review of 'Mudd in your Eye'
ST: TOS - Mudd in Your Eye
Death, but not really
no, no, no ...

Mudd in Your Eye (Star Trek: The Original Series)
Jerry Oltion
Manufacturer: Star Trek
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0671002600

Book Description

Mudd claims to be a changed man, but Kirk has his doubts. He knows that Mudd has to be running some sort of scam, but what is he up to? Kirk must find out soon--before the peace gives way to unending war.

Download Description

After millennia of warfare, the planets Prastor and Distrel may have finally achieved a lasting peace. Investigating on behalf of the Federation, Captain Kirk is shocked to find out that the architect of the peace is none other than that notorious con artist, Harcourt Fenton Mudd! Mudd claims to be a changed man, but Kirk has his doubts. He knows that Mudd has to be running some sort of scam, but what is he up to? Kirk must find out soon--before the peace gives way to unending war.

Customer Reviews:

Quite good........2007-04-25

This book is a good time; it has excellent characterization, an intriguing plot, good pacing and action, and manages to be thought-provoking in spite of not taking itself overly seriously. The only thing keeping it from five stars is that it gets a bit silly at times, but not so much as to be a real distraction. Definitely recommended.

A review of 'Mudd in your Eye'.......2006-05-21

This had a TOS feel. The author really nailed down the character of Harry Mudd. The novel was a strange trip indeed. Ol' Harry has taken advantage of an alien race while making them feel he is working for them. Capt. Kirk & his crew are called in to monitor events of a 'Peace treaty' on a planet that wishes to join the Federation. They soon discover the whole thing was orchestrated by Harry Mudd.
Con: The story seems to borrow bits of ideas from familier TOS episodes, as the alien world they are on is run by a strange system of computers,they have a culture that is at war with another planet, abeit eccentric and bogged down in custom, and one of the Enterprise chars is newly married.

Pro: The book takes you on a few twists and turns, this story may have borrowed some ideas, but it is it's own mix. If you hang in there, all is fully explained. Author does a good job nailing down Mudd, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. The ending is in the perfect spirit of Harry Mudd, very fitting.

No starship battles,plaques,viruses, time travel or space monsters, this story is a 'swindle' typical of the man himself. If you are amused at those TOS episodes with Harry Mudd, then this book is for you.

ST: TOS - Mudd in Your Eye.......2002-06-17

ST: TOS - Mudd in Your EYE written by Jerry Oltion is a humorous story and it will keep you laughing through out the story.

A well written story that keeps your intrest, we get one of Capt. James T. Kirk's antagonists, Harcourt Fenton Mudd. The antipathical Mudd is thought to be the person that has brought peace to the planets of Pastor and Distrel who have been fighting an ongoing war for twelve hundred years.

Now, the Federation wants to find out if this war is over and sends the crew of the Enterprise to investigate. When Kirk begins to investigate he finds Mudd... now Kirk becomes suspicious and doubts that Mudd is telling the truth. Oh the humor... as Kirk et. al. get involved with Mudd and the inhabitants of these two planets.

You see, this interplanetary war is over who is going to eat the white half of a piece of fruit. Crazy, I know, but the author's imagination is running wild as people die, resurect, die, and resurect over and over just to be closer to their heaven. All along the antics of Mudd and the author has written Mudd's wife (Stella) into this story get more and more whimsical.

This is a well told light-hearted story with the clownish Mudd working his extravagace to the max by saying that he's a changed man. If you want a laugh... and like TREK... then read this story you will chuckle. I reread this story as I pulled it off the shelf of long ago read books and it was as funny now as it was then.

Death, but not really.......2001-07-05

Harry Mudd returns! And what a way to return. Stella, his wife, also shows up, which is a big plus. The beginning catches your interest immediately - a society warring over a fruit?? I love the story - he's dead, Jim, wait, no he's not, wait, yes he is...you'll have to read it to find out! I wonder how crazy you have to be to think up a plot this twisted *jk*! It's just hilarious!

no, no, no ..........1999-07-20

The novel starts out promisingly enough, with Kirk and crew discovering that two planets have ended 12,000 years of war (over which side gets to eat the white half of a fruit!), then discovering that the man responsible for ending the piece is no less (or no more, as it were) than Harcourt Fenton Mudd.

Then the war starts up again, and the book falls apart.

The kitchen sink apparently wasn't enough for this author -- he had to throw in the whole subdivision. The plot quickly becomes a humorless mess, with most of the Enterprise crew dying and being resurrected in bath houses (my best guess is that the two planets are monitored by a supercomputer that controls the resurrections through a systemwide transporter system -- and therefore perpetuates the war -- in order to teach people to cherish life) and character consistency thrown to the solar winds. We even have Spock using phrases like "That's the beauty of it" and "I am willing to bet" -- when's the last time the author even watched the show??

A good idea executed badly. Even Harry Mudd deserves better than this.

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Be a Popstar: Irish Pop: Vocal/guitar Chords (Stars in Your Eyes)

Manufacturer: International Music Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Sheet Music & Scores | Formats | Books | Composers | Forms & Genres | Historical Period | Instrumentation
ASIN: 1903692660

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Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes
Slim Willet
Manufacturer: FOUR STAR SALES CO
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Sheet music
ASIN: B000PED0NA

Product Description

PUBLICATION DATE IS COPYRIGHT DATE ON SHEET MUSIC -- HAS A BLUE AND WHITE PICTURE OF PERRY COMO ON THE FRONT --

Lift Up Your Eyes on High (Understanding the Stars)

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Lift Up Your Eyes on High (Understanding the Stars)
James Nickel , and Edward Shewan
Manufacturer: Christian Liberty Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Plastic Comb

Astronomy | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

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How to Write Clearly

ASIN: 1930367376

Lift Up Your Eyes on High Tm: Understanding the Stars

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Lift Up Your Eyes on High Tm: Understanding the Stars
Ed Shewan
Manufacturer: Christian Liberty Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Astronomy | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1930367384

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MUDD IN YOUR EYE (STAR TREK, NO 81)
JERRY OLTION
Manufacturer: Pocket Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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STARS IN YOUR EYES
EMILIE LORING
Manufacturer: BANTAM BOOKS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OV6JDC

Book Description

This book discusses the impact of recent advances in the theory of "scaling relationships" and identifies critical issues that must be considered if experimental results are used to understand the temporal and spatial scales of actual ecosystems.

The complexity of ecosystems complicates experimental design. How, for example, does a scientist draw boundaries when studying species effects and interactions? Once these boundaries are drawn, how does one treat factors external to that study? Will the failure to consider external factors affect one's ability to extrapolate information across temporal and spatial scales? This volume provides a compilation from a broad range of ecologists with extensive experimental research experience that addresses these and other questions of scaling relations.

Scaling Relations in Experimental Ecology

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Scaling Relations in Experimental Ecology
R. H. (Edt)/ Kemp, W. Michael ( Gardner
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQ6FKY

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Scaling Relations in Experimental Ecology
W. Michael Kemp; John E. Peterson; Editor-Robert H. Gardner; Editor-W. Michael. Kemp; Editor-Victor S. Kennedy; Editor-John E. Petersen
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQ7YP4

Book Description

This volume contains 19 contributions to various subjects in the theory of (commutative and non-commutative) stochastic processes. It also provides a 145-page graduate course on branching and interacting particle systems, with applications to non-linear filtering, by P. del Moral and L. Miclo.

Book Description

One of antiquity's greatest poets, Euripides (ca. 485-406 BCE) has been prized in every age for the pathos, terror, surprising plot twists, and intellectual probing of his dramatic creations. Here, in the third volume of a new edition that is receiving much praise, is the text and translation of three of his plays.

Trojan Women, a play about the causes and consequences of war, develops the theme of the tragic unpredictability of life. Iphigenia among the Taurians and Ion exhibit tragic themes and situations (the murder of close relatives). Each ends happily with a joyful reunion.

As in the first three volumes of this edition, David Kovacs gives us a freshly edited Greek text and an admired new translation that, in the words of Greece and Rome, is "close to the Greek and reads fluently and well;" his introduction to each play and explanatory notes offer readers judicious guidance.

Customer Reviews:

Read With A Grain of Salt.......2007-01-09

Solid, reliable parallel text versions of three plays by Euripides. The translator presents a highly questionable view of The Trojan Women in his Introduction to the play. He claims the drama has no connection with "current events" in the Peloponnesian War, while it's next to incredible that a Greek play has no political subtext. Readers should seek out alternative readings of The Trojan Women.

Three later plays by Euripides provided in English and Greek.......2003-04-24

This volume from the Loeb Classical Libary offers up parallel English translations and original Greek texts for three classic Greek tragedies by Euripides: "Trojan Women," "Iphigenia Among the Taurians," and "Ion."

As preparations were made for the ruinous expedition against Syracuse, Euripides wrote "The Trojan Women," as a plea for peace. In this play the Greeks do more than enslave women: they have already slain a young girl as a sacrifice to the ghost of Achilles and they take Astyanax, the son of Hector, out of the arms of his mother so that he can be thrown from the walls of Troy. Even the herald of the Greeks, Talthybius, cannot stomach the policies of his people, but is powerless to do anything other than offer hollow words of sympathy. The play also has a strong literary consideration in that the four Trojan Women--Hecuba, Queen of Troy; Cassandra, daughter of Hecuba and Priestess of Apollo; Andromache, widow of Hector; and Helen--all appear in the final chapter of Homer's epic poem the "Iliad," mourning over the corpse of Hector. Of all the Achean leaders we hear about in Homer, only Menelaus, husband of Helen, appears. He appears, ready to slay Helen for having abandoned him to run off to Troy with Paris, but we see his anger melt before her beauty and soothing tones. "The Trojan Women" also reminds us that while we think of Helen as "the face that launched a thousand ships," she was a despised figure amongst the ancient Greeks and there is no satisfaction in her saving her life. The idea that all of these men died just so that she could be returned to the side of her husband is an utter mockery of the dead.

Agamemnon had to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia to appease the goddess Artemis, but at the last minute the sacrifice was replaced with a stage. In "Iphigenia Among the Taurians" the dramatist explains the young girl was taken to a temple of Artemis in Tauris. The play takes place many years later as Iphigenia's brother Orestes, trying to appease the Furies for his crime of matricide, is ordered by the god Apollo to bring the statue of Artemis from Tauris to Athens, who have a tradition of sacrificing strangers. This play is really more of a tragicomedy than a traditional Greek tragedy consisting of a key scene of recognition ("anagnorisis") and a clever escape by the main characters. The recognition scene between Orestes and Iphigenia is well done, and atypical since there is joy in the "anagnorisis" rather than pain or death. "Iphigenia Among the Taurians" takes place after the Orestia trilogy by Aeschylus and one of the more interesting elements of this play is the idea that Orestes had been hallucinating when he was seeing the Furies pursuing him. This is a rather rational explanation for his behavior following the murder of Clytemnestra and Aegithus. The key thing here is that you simply have to understand the entire background of the characters, both in terms of "Iphigenia at Aulis" and "The Orestia," to really understand this play.

In "Ion" Apollo, the god of truth, brutally rapes a helpless young girl, Creusa, and then abandons her. Creusa has a son, whom she abandons in a cave; when she goes back to find the child, he is gone. Years later she marries Xuthus, a solider of fortune who becomes king of Athens. At the start of the play Xuthus and Creusa are childless and go to Delphi for aid. There they are told that Ion, a young temple servant who has been raised from infancy, is the son of Xuthus. Creusa, outraged that Apollo let their own son die but preserved the life of a child begotten by Xuthus on some Delphian woman, tries to have Ion killed. Of course, in reality, Ion is her own child, abandoned in that cave. Condemned to death by the Delphians, Creusa escapes Ion's vengeance by taking refuge at Apollo's altar. There the priestess presents the tokens that allow Creusa to recognize Ion as her own son. Telling him the truth about his father, Ion tries to enter the temple to demand of Apollo the truth.

The common denominator for these plays is that they represent the last period of the career of Euripides, when his lyrics became much more emotional, which become quite powerful in plays like "Trojan Women" and "The Bacchae." The other key theme is the cynicism of Euripides towards the gods in general, and Apollo in particular; in addition to apparently wanting Orestes to die in Taurus, the God of Truth lies about being the father of Ion.

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