God's Country or Devil's Playground: An Anthology of Nature Writing from the Big Bend of Texas (Corrie Herring Hooks Series)

Book Description

The dramatic desert landscapes of the Big Bend country along the Texas-Mexico border reminded historian Walter Prescott Webb of "an earth-wreck in which a great section of country was shaken down, turned over, blown up, and set on fire." By contrast, naturalist Aldo Leopold considered the region a mountainous paradise in which even the wild Mexican parrots had no greater concern than "whether this new day which creeps slowly over the canyons is bluer or golder than its predecessors, or less so." Whether it impresses people as God's country or as the devil's playground, the Big Bend typically evokes strong responses from almost everyone who lives or visits there.

In this anthology of nature writing, Barney Nelson gathers nearly sixty literary perspectives on the landscape and life of the Big Bend region, broadly defined as Trans-Pecos Texas and northern Chihuahua, Mexico. In addition to Leopold and Webb, the collection includes such well-known writers as Edward Abbey, Mary Austin, Roy Bedichek, and Frederick Olmsted, as well as a wide range of voices that includes explorers, trappers, cowboys, ranch wives, curanderos, college presidents, scientists, locals, tourists, historians, avisadores, and waitresses. Following a personal introduction by Barney Nelson, the pieces are grouped thematically to highlight the distinctive ways in which writers have responded to the Big Bend.

Customer Reviews:

Read about this magnificent place.......2006-03-07

The Edward Abbey entry is worth the price of the book alone. This is a great collection of writing about this very under appreciated National Park.

God's Country or Devil's Playground : An Anthology of Nature Writing from the Big Bend of Texas (Corrie Herring Hooks Series)

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God's Country or Devil's Playground : An Anthology of Nature Writing from the Big Bend of Texas (Corrie Herring Hooks Series)
University of Texas Press
Manufacturer: University of Texas Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORRJNA

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Applegate's milk-vetch (Astragalus applegatei) : draft recovery plan (SuDoc I 49.2:AP 5/DRAFT)
Steven D. Gisler
Manufacturer: The Region
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B00010ULTO

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Applegate's milk-vetch (Astragalus applegatei) recovery plan (SuDoc I 49.77/5:AP 5)
Steven D. Gisler
Manufacturer: The Region
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B00010XSK8

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Applegate's milk-vetch (Astragalus applegatei): Draft recovery plan
Steven D Gisler
Manufacturer: The Region
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Plants | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Botany | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006QRRJU

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Applegate's milk-vetch (Astragalus applegatei): Recovery plan
Steven D Gisler
Manufacturer: The Region
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Plants | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Botany | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006FCAWA

Amazon.com

Armageddon Summer provides a front-row seat for the type of event most of us only witness on a TV screen. Reverend Raymond Beelson is gathering 144 "Believers" atop Mount Weeupcut in Massachusetts to camp out, pray, and await Armageddon--July 27, 2000--when he predicts that his faithful flock will be saved as the rest of the world is set ablaze in fire and brimstone. We experience the month leading up to this climax through the eyes of two teenagers who have never met before, Jed and Marina, each of whom have come to the compound out of a sense of responsibility toward their families. Young Jed is only on the mountain to watch over his father who "went a little crazy" after his wife left the family: "When my father told me that the world was going to end I figured he was making some sort of weird joke." Jed's sarcasm, humor, and flippancy toward the Believers does not erase the love he feels for his newly devout father, nor his capacity for empathy toward members of the congregation. Marina is a Believer, or so she tries to be, in the hope that somehow her faith will restore harmony to her family. She has traveled to the mountain with her younger brothers at her mother's fervent insistence, but her fear that her father will remain below with the rest of the nonbelievers to burn alive unnerves her.

Coauthors Jane Yolen and Bruce Coville artfully sculpt the alternating voices and perspectives of Marina and Jed, and readers will be swept up in the thoughts and emotions of these complex young people. The skillful writing raises this novel above others--these characters are immensely believable as they struggle with matters of family and faith, while maintaining a smart, convincingly adolescent outlook. Excerpts from sermons, FBI files, camp schedules, and e-mails keep the story lively and suspenseful, as the Believers begin to stockpile weapons and the media adds fuel to the flames. But perhaps more resonant than the apocalyptic ending are the careful, distinct portraits of the two teens, thrust into a frightening situation that shuttles them suddenly into adulthood. (Ages 12 to 16) --Brangien Davis

Book Description

The world will end on Thursday, July 27, 2000. At least, that’s what Reverend Beelson has told his congregation. That’s why Marina and Jed and their parents have joined the rest of the Reverend’s flock at a mountain retreat to await the end of the world. But this world has only just begun for Jed and Marina, two teenagers with more attitude than faith. Why should the world end now, when they’ve just fallen in love for the first time?

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Young Adult Book.......2007-04-11

ARMAGEDDON SUMMER is an excellent book for young adults that can be enjoyed by more sophisticated adult readers as well. It reminded me a great deal of Paul Zindel's classic THE PIGMAN both in how the story alternates between a boy and a girl narrating the story and in how the teenagers are often the more sane members of their families. Aside from the voices of the teens radio talk show transcripts, sermon excerpts, and E mails are utilized to tell the story. Yolen and Coville do a great job of handling the characters in the book who hold very unusual religious beliefs respectfully and humanely. And yes the ending did take me by surprise.

Armageddon Summer- a must read........2007-04-10

Do you have that certain book you always check out from the library and re-read, just because it feels like an old friend, and you can't get enough of it?

That's Armageddon Summer for me.

This book follows the lives of two very different kids. Marina Marlow is a homeschooled girl who loves Emily Dickenson poems. Recently, her mom has decided to follow the beliefs of Reverend Beelson- and he says that the world will end on July twenty-seventh- and it will do so in fire. How convenient- right when Marina turns fourteen! Her mother drags Marina and her five brothers up to the mountain- the only place where God will spare people- and leave her dad to be "Fried". Marina is torn, and doesn't know what to believe.

Sixteen year old Jed is dragged up on the mountain too, but not by his mother. His mom ran off with a photographer to live in the mountains in Colorado, and he's stuck with his weepy dad, who turned to religion to cope with the devastating break up. He doesn't believe any of this crap, and has smuggled in a computer- which is against the rules.

This book details the experiences in each of their perspectives, and eventually they both notice each other. As the book progresses, they begin to know each other better.

Armageddon Summer is five stars for me- you should read it too!

Fantastico!.......2006-08-17

This book was an amazing read, I've been re-reading it for years. It has a compelling plot and the characters are realistic. This novel excels in the area of teen narrators and makes the story all the more believable. In the end, you really have to decide, who are the bad guys? It explores the world of grey in cults and their beliefs.
If you liked this, try John Marsden's Tomorrow, when the War Began.

A Unique Book.......2006-06-17

Novels written in the first person aren't very common; good novels written in the first person are even less so. This YA book is narrated by its main characters, Marina and Jed, who meet each other at a mountaintop encampment to await the end of the world. This style allows the authors to develop them into deep, likeable characters (and it takes a while to do so).

Realistic settings are vividly described and neatly merged with actual places. After Marina and Jed tell this story, you might be tempted to search for the (fictional) events in old newspapers!

Yes, this is a love story, but it's not junior chick-lit. It's an adventure, too. After about the middle of the book, the plot tightens. Although the climax occurs shy of the end, what comes after salvages hope from the ashes of the "armageddon."

The coauthors have done a fine job presenting the religious aspects of this story in a very non-judgmental and inoffensive way. It does not appear they are pushing a particular view--something to consider when choosing a young adult novel.

Most anyone with a young heart will enjoy ARMAGEDDON SUMMER.

-Mike Kelley,
Author of "Violent Night"

AS Review.......2006-05-30

The title of this book pretty much describes the plot. Two teenagers, Jed and Marina, narrate the story of armageddon.

This book was at first very uninteresting, but the boredom was lifted later on. However, I couldn't relate or appeal to the two narrating characters, although they were well thought out to give variety of viewpoint to the conflict of the plot. Also, I didn't enjoy the pre-climactic reading. The book didn't hold my interest well.

I didn't enjoy this book too much. I would recommend Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins's Left Behind series over this, for better plot development, characters, and pretty much every other novel component.

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Armageddon Summer
Jane & Bruce Coville Yolen
Manufacturer: Harcourt
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OJ5NDQ

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Armageddon Summer

Manufacturer: Scholastic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0439165563

Product Description

Mass Market Paperback

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Armageddon Summer
Jane Yolen , and Bruce Coville
Manufacturer: Recorded Books, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: 0788729721

Product Description

5 cassettes

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Armageddon Summer

Manufacturer: RECORDED BOOKS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: 1402522886

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Armageddon Summer
Jane (With Bruce Coville.) Yolen
Manufacturer: Harcourt Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OJB2HC

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The overthrow of the phlogiston theory;: The chemical revolution of 1775-1789 (Harvard case histories in experimental science)
James Bryant Conant
Manufacturer: Harvard University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General & Reference | Chemistry | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0007H600U

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The History of the Phlogiston Theory [ABC-4502]
John Henry White
Manufacturer: Ams Pr Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General & Reference | Chemistry | Science | Subjects | Books
General & Reference | Chemistry | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0404069304

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Osiris
Denis I Dueveen
Manufacturer: De Tempel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007KF4YK

Book Description

This abundantly illustrated book provides the first full account of houses built and inhabited by the English upper classes during the period of radical social change between 1480 and 1680. Architectural historian Nicholas Cooper explores hundreds of gentry houses, some well known and others less familiar, and considers their evolution in the light of economic, political, and social changes of the age.

Average customer rating:

Not to be Missed!
Delicate and smart this book is a treat to the romantics

Home of the Gentry (Penguin Classics)
Ivan Turgenev
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Eastern European | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Russian | Foreign Language Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

All Russian Books | Russian | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0140442243

Customer Reviews:

Not to be Missed!.......2000-03-02

All congenitally melancholy souls will love this novel, where intense romantic and spiritual conflicts unfold in the dreamlike setting of a nineteenth century Russian estate. This is a beautifully written, extremely lyrical work...it will especially appeal to devotees of Romantic piano music. The final few paragraphs are unforgettable and heartbreaking. I consider Home of the Gentry to be the most quintessentially "Turgenevian" of all the author's works. I have read the novel many times, and I never tire of it. If you are new to nineteenth century Russian literature, this is a good work with which to start. The novel is not long, and most chapters are quite short. Each one stands like a perfect little jewel, and many passages will remain in your memory for a long time. Like most Russian novels of the period, Home of the Gentry is a novel of ideas. Your reading will be enhanced if you have some background in the cultural dynamics of the period and understand the intellectual caste to which the protagonist belongs - he is a "superfluous man," and his conflicted ideological stance relates directly to issues that were intensely debated in the 1840s. Although knowing something about this situation is helpful, I imagine that even those readers who have no prior knowledge of the period will enjoy the work immensely. If nothing else, Turgenev's elegiac portrayal of the Russian countryside is unrivaled....even Tolstoy cannot match Turgenev's affecting depictions of the land itself. Freeborn's translation reads smoothly, and there is a helpful introductory essay in this edition.

Delicate and smart this book is a treat to the romantics.......1997-11-19

Unlike his famous contemporaries Turgenev's writing is not heroic and it's not full of pathos.Home Of The Gentry is a sensitive 'quiet' novel, the characters are portreyed delicately with an impossible combination of cynicism and true love for humen nature. The touching love story is a reward for those who like smart observations and have a real passion for the truely romantic.

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Spelling Connections: Level 1
Richard Gentry
Manufacturer: Zaner Bloser
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0736700374

Product Description

Find these connections in every unit Sounds and letters/ spelling and Thinking/ Spelling and Phonics/ Spelling and Reading/ Spelling and writing/

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Home Security

Average customer rating:

quite a nice introduction to the subject of home security
Annoying amount of common sense
No thanks
Book really is on risk assessment, NOT on alarm systems
BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY!

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Home Security
Tom Davidson , and Lorna Gentry
Manufacturer: Alpha
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Do-It-Yourself | How-to & Home Improvements | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Electrical | How-to & Home Improvements | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Security | How-to & Home Improvements | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0028639510

Book Description

In today's world of gated communities, security is more sought after than ever. Most new home owners think about installing a home security system shortly after moving in, but are confused by the maze of choices available. This guide tells you all you need to know about keeping your home and family safe. The author, a former FBI agent and security expert, gives you the skinny on everything from basic systems to inexpensive measures you can install yourself. He also tells parents what's legal and what's not in the area of nanny-cams and monitoring.

Customer Reviews:

quite a nice introduction to the subject of home security.......2006-09-17

I read the reviews this book has got and feel they are quite unfair. The book delivers what it is..an overview for lay people. If it got too complicated it would not be called an idiot's guide, would it? - more like the All comprehensive guide for the all knowing!

For people like me, who for the most reason live in fairly populated areas, and want to know something before calling in a monitoring agency (and getting sc***ed)...it served the purpose. In fact even people who think they know a lot can pick up a thing or two from the book. yes the blurbs in the margin do distract at times..so dont read them till you finish the chapter. And subject matter is repeated -maybe the author didnt want u to flip chapters to see what he's talking about... All in all, if you do the worksheets, however boring they seem (even for a fairly patient bookish person like me they did seem a tad tedious)...I did at the end of it have a good idea of the type of surveilence i wanted, no cost measures i could take to disuade burglars and the key areas of the hse and outside i need to pay attention to. Monitoring companies...bring it on!!

PS: thx to the reviewer who mentioned the pro-website. it helped.

Annoying amount of common sense.......2005-07-01

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Home security is a well written general overview of risk assessment (from fire/crime). It provides some interesting facts with common sense solutions to eliminating higher risk behavior/vulnerabilities.

The books greatest downfall is the fact that most of those readers interested enough in home security to purchase and then read manuals of this sort are paranoid enough that little presented in this text is something they won't have already considered and probably implemented. If your seriously interested in home security this book may not be enough for you.

No thanks.......2005-03-24

I bought this book because I was wanting to design my own home security system, and was completely disappointed. This book does not give information on how to install a video surveillance system, motion detectors, or alarm systems. It gives a lot of tips on how to avoid doing things that put you at more risk; but to me they're no-brainers. I live way out in the country and the advice he gives for security in the country is laughable. "Make sure your farm buildings are well-lit". What difference would that make? Nobody's around at night to see anyone out there trying to steal something, whether it's lit or not.

Book really is on risk assessment, NOT on alarm systems.......2003-10-24

I tried consulting this book to design and install a security system for small business. I was surprised to see so few books on the subject in Amazon and in the public library. More than half the book goes into the risk assessment and no cost loss prevention. Fine...but the cover claims that the reader can design a security system and install camera surveillance.

The first author may be a wise policeman and attorney, but a systems designer for a home / small business security system he is not. The co-author is just a writer, has very little experience in the security field and has obviously not designed, installed, and armed a security system herself. There is a lot of common-sense discussion and fluff on alarm components in the book.

But when the rubber hits the road, this book runs out of gas. The DIY section of the book is Chap 17 and covers 21 measly pages. There is no typical bill-of-materials, budgetary costs, or national or regional sources and part numbers for popular items. Where is the beef?

Honeywell is a national provider of security components and systems; the authors don't discuss the security industry suppliers, not even Radio Shack. I'd recommend going to an on-line catalog that the Pros use at ADILink dot com. It doesn't even go into the popular X-10 components for home automation; except in the last paragraph in Appendix B.

The overall organization of the book with tips and sidebars are very distracting. Overall this is a disappointing book that I read at the public library.

BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY!.......2001-05-02

Do you leave your garage door up a few inches for the family pet to enter your home? Do you leave your car unlocked after parking it in your garage? Do you leave your keys in your car while it is in the garage? If so, then you are giving an open invitation to burglars and car thiefs. According to the authors, most illegal home entries are through the garage. The book is based on Tom Davidson's and Lorna Gentry's law-enforcement experiences. Did you realize that unless you compress the boxes you discard outside your home for trash pickup, anyone can read that you just bought a valuable stereo or computer? This information is yet another open invitation to potential burglary. Compressing those boxes makes it hard to decipher that information. The book encompasses personal and home security measures. Checklists for home-risk assessments as well as home security systems suggestions are included. A word to the wise should be sufficient. Read the book and start improving your safety. Better safe, than sorry!

Mansions of the Virginia Gentry (Great American Homes)

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Mansions of the Virginia Gentry (Great American Homes)
Henry Wiencek
Manufacturer: Oxmoor House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Home Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0848707559

At Home With the Gentry: A Victorian English Ladys Acount of Russian Country Life (Russian Memoirs Series)

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At Home With the Gentry: A Victorian English Ladys Acount of Russian Country Life (Russian Memoirs Series)
George Lions , and Amelia Lyons
Manufacturer: Bramcote Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Eastern | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Eastern Europe | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Russia | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1900405059

A critical review of the Anti-position on church cooperation and orphan homes

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A critical review of the Anti-position on church cooperation and orphan homes
Ralph D Gentry
Manufacturer: Orange Street Church of Christ
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006QH05Q

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Down Home
Ann Gentry
Manufacturer: PublishAmerica
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Fiction | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1413728979

Book Description

Susanne Barnes-Jacobs struggles to bring life to her news reporting career, only to find her husband has other ideas for them. With that in mind, she leaves her family behind and pursues what she longs for with all her heart. Fame becomes the game and energy flows from her while her parents and siblings help pick up the pieces of her trail.

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Field Book of Country Houses
Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd
Manufacturer: Webb & Bower (Publishers) Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

French | Foreign Language Nonfiction | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Arts & Photography | French | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books

History | French | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books

Nonfiction | French | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books

Professional & Technical | French | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books

All French Books | French | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 0863502342

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A Functional Approach to Care Planning
Brenda Huntsinger , and Shirley Gentry
Manufacturer: Briggs Corp
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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