Nature's Extremes: Eight Seasons Shape a Southwestern Land

Book Description

Summer, fall, winter, spring. Four Seasons . . . right?

Not according to author Larry Cheek, who makes a strong case for there being eight -- in Arizona, anyway. Because of the numerous climatic zones found within its borders (ranging from lush Alpine forests to arid Sonoran deserts), the state is blessed, some might say cursed, with weather at its most extreme, and everything in between.

Cheek (and the photographers who contributed to this book) are clearly intrigued by extremes. They've gone out to observe when the weather promised its worst because that's when the landscape delivers its best. And they've caught the magic of Arizona's soft seasons, too.

With lyrical, heartfelt text, and vivid, gripping photography, they invite readers into a relationship with Nature -- no holds barred. We see Nature on the rampage: torn apart by flash floods, carved by rapid rain-and-freeze cycles, ignited by lightning-cracked monsoon skies, and ablaze in timber- and wildlife-destroying fires.

But the softer side is readily apparent, too: the spectacle of wildflowers in mind-boggling profusion filling mountain bowers and covering desert foothills, the music of waterfalls cascading over mossy rocks and trickling through ferns, and the heart-stopping sight of golden aspens and coppery-hued sycamores transformed by nippy nights into brilliant displays of color.

Illustrated with more than 130 full-color photographs by Arizona Highways photographers, this beautiful coffee-table book makes a perfect gift for nature lovers.

Book Description

Packed with stunning photographs, easy-to-use maps, and all the information you really need to get the most from your visit! In this compact guide, our writers help you plan itineraries for short and longer stays. Complete with must-see sights on and off the beaten track as well as current hotel and restaurant recommendations. And the convenient size of the guide allows you to take it along in your pocket or handbag. Take the world in your pocket next time and travel with this handy Berlitz guide.

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French West Indies Pocket Guide, 1998
Berlitz Publishing Company
Manufacturer: Berlitz Guides
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

French West Indies | Caribbean | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books

French | Foreign Language Nonfiction | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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

Travel | French | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books

All French Books | French | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 283156302X

Berlitz Travel Guide: French West Indies (English Edition)

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Berlitz Travel Guide: French West Indies (English Edition)
Anonymous
Manufacturer: Editions Berlitz
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

French West Indies | Caribbean | Travel | Subjects | Books

Book Description

In this novel in verse--unprecedented in Chicano literature�renowned poet Juan Felipe Herrera illuminates the soul of a generation. Drawn from his own life as well as a lifetime of dedication to young people, CrashBoomLove helps readers understand what it is to be a teen, a migrant worker, and a boy wanting to be a boy.

Sixteen-year-old C�sar Garc�a is careening. His father, Papi C�sar, has left the migrant circuit in California for his other wife and children in Denver. Sweet Mama Lucy tries to provide for her son with dichos and tales of her own misspent youth. But at Rambling West High School in Fowlerville, the sides are drawn: Hmongs vs. Chicanos vs. everybody vs. C�sar, the new kid on the block.

Precise and profound, CrashBoomLove will appeal to and resonate with high school readers across the country.

A California farmworker kid's season in hell, told through fast-verse lines that careen to the beat of a fiery heart.

Customer Reviews:

Realistic and well written.......2004-01-17

This is a good story about a depressed teenaged boy. It's written like a poem through the entire book and it's really easy to understand. If you think you've got it bad, you should take a look at this guy's life.

An interesting idea, with a mediocre story.......2000-03-25

This story tries to be touching, cool, alienated and uplifting, at all at once, but it just doesn't work. The poems are original in verse, but the story itself is depressing and stereotyped. Cesar's father has run off. Cesar is a delinquent in a ghetto school, ruining his life quickly. But then after the Bad Experiences that Turn His Life Around, he realizes The Truth of Things and decides to Walk the Straight and Narrow Path. Indeed the poems are fresh, and different, and quick to read. It's easy to have empathy for Ceasr's frustration. But the author makes the mistake of using tons of gang lingo and terms, which are explained -horrors!- by footnotes, as though this were a clinical study of a wild animal (the teenager). After a few chapters, the reader no longer feels as though he is taking a rare look inside of a rare mind, trapped in pitifully normal circumstances. Instead, it seems as though one is merely watching a documentary on a bad little boy who learns from his mistakes and Lives Happily Ever After. Don't read this book for insight into the delinquent lifestyle. The book almost furthers the idea that one can do many drugs, and yet still have a brilliant mind. The story never makes up its mind as to its position on the Bohemian lifestyle, and that is where it falls short. Instead of a parable, or a biography, this book remains merely a book of freshly written, yet ultimately unfulfilling poems. Read it for the verse, and not the story.

Book Description

Nuclear Import and Export in Plants and Animals provides insight into the remarkable mechanisms of nuclear import and export. This book covers a range of topics from the nuclear pore structure, to nuclear import and export of macromolecules in plant and animal cells. In addition, the book covers the special cases of nuclear import of Agrobacterium T-DNA during plant genetic transformation, nuclear import and export of animal viruses, and nuclear intake of foreign DNA. A chapter on research methods to study nuclear transport concludes the book.

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ASL Literature Series : Bird of a Different Feather & For a Decent Living, Student Workbook and Videotext
Sam Supalla , and Ben Bahan
Manufacturer: Dawnsign Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Literature & Fiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0915035227

Amazon.com

"Youthful political reporters are always told there are three ways to judge a politician," write Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose in Shrub. "The first is to look at the record. The second is to look at the record. And third, look at the record." The record under scrutiny in this brief, informative book belongs to one George W. Bush--dubbed "Shrub" by Ivins--governor of Texas and 2000 presidential hopeful. These two veteran journalists know how politics are played in Texas and they've done their homework, writing a comprehensive examination of Bush's professional and political life that's a lively read, to boot. And if the title alone doesn't convey their particular slant, perhaps the following caveat from the introduction will: "If, at the end of this short book, you find W. Bush's political résumé a little light, don't blame us. There's really not much there. We have been looking for six years."

Beginning with his admission to the Texas National Guard during the Vietnam War (where he bypassed a waiting list of about 100,000), the authors go on to deconstruct his losing congressional bid, his failed career as an oil executive, and his role as managing partner of the Texas Rangers baseball team, revealing how he was helped every step of the way by wealthy and influential friends of the family. Ever popular, Dubya has always been good at rounding up powerful players to bankroll a variety of ventures, including political campaigns. For this reason, explain the authors, along with his lineage and social status, Bush's primary allegiance is to the business community. While his speeches may deal with the "entertainment issues" of "God, guns, and gays," Bush is a "wholly owned subsidiary of corporate America," they write. They further point out that Texas ranks near the bottom of the nation in terms of a number of social categories, such as poverty, health insurance for children, and pollution, spearing the governor for his less-than-compassionate conservatism.

Shrub is not a complete Bush whacking, though. The authors laud the governor's record on education, in which he has managed to raise standards, push local control of schools, and launch a successful reading campaign. They also cite his wooing of the Hispanic vote and his ability to bridge the gap between the Christian right and the economic conservatives within the Republican party as evidence of true political acumen, though they maintain he lacks a penchant for actual governing: "From the record, it appears that he doesn't know much, doesn't do much and doesn't care much about governing." Bush has admitted that he dislikes reading, particularly about policy issues, and that he hates meetings and briefings, causing the authors to wonder, "The puzzle of Bush is why someone with so little interest in or attention for policy, for making government work, would want the job of president, or even governor."

Love him or leave him, Shrub leaves much to consider about the man who would be president. And it can be read in about a day. --Shawn Carkonen

Book Description

When it comes to reporting on politics, nobody does it smarter or funnier than bestselling author Molly Ivins. In Shrub, Ivins focuses her Texas-size smarts on the biggest politician in her home state: George Walker Bush, or "Shrub," as Ivins has nicknamed Bush the Younger.

A candidate of vague speeches and an ambiguous platform, Bush leads the pack of GOP 2000 presidential hopefuls; "Dubya" could very well be our next president. What voters need now is an original, smart, and accessible analysis of Bush--one that leaves the "youthful indiscretions" to the tabloids and gets to the heart of his policies and motivations. Ivins is the perfect woman for the job.

With her trademark wit and down-home wisdom, Molly Ivins shares three pieces of advice on judging a politician: "The first is to look at the record. The second is to look at the record. And third, look at the record." In this book, Ivins takes a good, hard look at the record of the man who could be the leader of the free world. Beginning with his post-college military career, Ivins tracks Dubya's winding, sometimes unlikely path from a failed congressional bid to a two-term governorship. Bush has made plenty of friends and supporters along the way, including Texas oil barons, evangelist Billy Graham, and co-investors in the Texas Rangers baseball team. "You would have to work at it to dislike the man," she writes. But for all of Bush's likeability, Ivins points to a disconcerting lack of political passion from this ascending presidential candidate. In her words, "If you think his daddy had trouble with 'the vision thing,' wait till you meet this one."

Witty, trenchant, and on target, Ivins gives a singularly perceptive and entertaining analysis of George W. Bush. To head to the voting booth without it would be downright un-American.

From Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush

"        The past is prologue in politics. If a politician is left, right, weak, strong, given to the waffle or the flip-flop, or, as sometimes happens, an able soul who performs well under pressure, all that will be in the record."

¸          Bush's welfare record: "Texas pols like to 'git tuff' on crime, welfare, commies, and other bad stuff. Bush proposed to git tuff on welfare recipients by ending the allowance for each additional child--which in Texas is $38 a month."

¸          Bush and the Christian right: "Bush has learned to dance with the Christian right. It has been interesting and amusing to watch the process. Interesting because it's sometimes hard to tell who's leading and who's following; amusing because when a scion of Old Yankee money gets together with a televangelist with too much Elvis, the result is swell entertainment."

¸          Bush's environmental record: Since Governor Bush's election, Texas air quality has been rated the worst in the nation, leading all fifty states in overall toxic releases, recognized carcinogens in the air, cancer risk, and ten other categories of pollutants.

¸          Bush's military career: "Bush was promoted as the Texas Air National Guard's anti-drug poster boy, one of life's little ironies given the difficulty he has had answering cocaine questions all these years later. 'George Walker Bush is one member of the younger generation who doesn't get his kicks from pot or hashish or speed,' reads a Guard press release of 1970. 'Oh, he gets high, all right, but not from narcotics.'"

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

Anyone can be President.......2007-09-15

No matter your political beliefs, it is interesting to read about the background of our elected leaders; even though it is freightening and sad at times.

Molly Ivins' Shrub'.......2007-05-30

If I was an American voter and I wished to for information about the Republican candidate prior to the 2000 election I would have bought the first edition of Ms Ivins' book. A read would have been enough to ensure that I would not have voted for Mr Bush even though Ms Ivins paints quite an attractive picture of him. She emphasises his campaigning abilities and the undoubted fact that unlike the present crop of Republican candidates he was able in his gubernatorial elections to unite the two quite separate parts of the American right, the fundamental Christians and the old time Republicans. However she also hands out low marks for ability and honesty. Bush does emerge as a Daddy's boy with Bush Senior's friends only too willing to hand out loans to shaky business enterprises and later to election expenses. I amazed that this book did not attract that much attention when the first edition was published.

An apolitical book with a political agenda.......2006-02-15

First and foremost, the book was enjoyable from cover to cover. 'Fun' and 'politics' are not two words that usually go together when you are speaking about casual reading. Surprise. This book hits the sweet spot.

That is not to say that Ms. Ivins and Mr. Duboise don't have a political agenda. It seems pretty clear that they don't like Mr. Bush or his policies very much, but they don't dwell on it. However, this is not a character assassination. They don't cast aspersions about Mr. Bush's social life, religious life, the clothes he wears, his 'youthful indiscretions' etc. They simply point to his political history and draw conclusions about where he stands politically. They also don't take pains to paint themselves as totally objective. What they do do is let the record speak for itself and let you draw your own conclusions.

The book is written in a very colloquial style and with a great degree of humor--both self-deprecating and acerbic at times. Despite a loathing for Mr. Bush's policies, they do paint a picture of him as the ultimate hands-off administrator who cleverly avoids conflicts by deliberately not defining himself, has a transparent agenda behind the opacity of his language, can defend his strengths with his weaknesses and always manages to raise his own capital. Political or monetary. Public or private sector. Whether the venture succeeds brilliantly or fails. Oddly, there is an aspect of the book that is almost a paean to the man...

However, the main attraction of this book isn't in its rhetoric or even its style. The bang for the buck is evident when you realize that this book was written in the year 2000, when Dubya was merely a presidential hopeful and had yet to be elected. Whether you like their treatment of Mr. Bush or not, the authors presciently and absolutely nail the policy issues and priorities of this Bush presidency. And that's why this volume is still a good read today.

minding bush's 'bidness'.......2006-02-11

In "Shrub", columnist Molly Ivins offers amusing anecdotes paired with grim statistics that make it necessary to reread them to make sure they're really true. She delves into Bush's laissez-faire attitude toward education, health, law and prison reform among others. Even those well versed in Bush's misdeeds will likely find something new and/or surprising here. The book is not a no-holds-barred attack on Dubya, however; credit is giving to him for his accomplishments, however minor. There is, however, a definite liberal bent.

Molly Ivans is smart in funny in this critical biography of George W. Bush.......2005-10-14

Molly Ivans is funny from start to finish she understands Bush and understands his thinking or lack of. From the Republican state convention to the Bush policies she tells all. She is a writer who actually has evidence to back up her stories. Republicans, Democrats, Greens, Libertarians, and Independents alike should read this book.

5 MOLLY IVINS Books - 1) Molly Ivins Can't Say That Can She? / 2) Nothin' but Good Times Ahead / 3) You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You: Politics in the Clinton Years / 4) SHRUB: The Short but Happy Political Life George W Bush / 5) BUSHWHACKED (Unboxed Set of Political Humor Books)

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5 MOLLY IVINS Books - 1) Molly Ivins Can't Say That Can She? / 2) Nothin' but Good Times Ahead / 3) You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You: Politics in the Clinton Years / 4) SHRUB: The Short but Happy Political Life George W Bush / 5) BUSHWHACKED (Unboxed Set of Political Humor Books)
Molly Ivins , and Lou Dubose
Manufacturer: various
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000VYFDQG

Product Description

5 MOLLY IVINS Books - 1) Molly Ivins Can't Say That Can She? / 2) Nothin' but Good Times Ahead / 3) You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You: Politics in the Clinton Years / 4) SHRUB: The Short but Happy Political Life George W Bush / 5) BUSHWHACKED, (Unboxed Set of Political Humor Books), in either Hard or Softcover, (See Seller Condition Comments), Shipped in one package to save on shipping costs.

Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush. (Back to the future, again: Reagan, Bush, and Nader: a review article). (book review): An ... Australian Journal of Politics and History

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Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush. (Back to the future, again: Reagan, Bush, and Nader: a review article). (book review): An ... Australian Journal of Politics and History
Brendon O'Connor
Manufacturer: University of Queensland Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Australia | Australia & Oceania | History | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Australian Journal of Politics and History, published by University of Queensland Press on December 1, 2001. The length of the article is 4212 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush. (Back to the future, again: Reagan, Bush, and Nader: a review article). (book review)
Author: Brendon O'Connor
Publication: The Australian Journal of Politics and History (Refereed)
Date: December 1, 2001
Publisher: University of Queensland Press
Volume: 47 Issue: 4 Page: 594(7)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Shrub : The Short But Happy Political Life of George W. Bush

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Shrub : The Short But Happy Political Life of George W. Bush
Random House Audio
Manufacturer: Random House Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OXBKPW

Book Description

Winner of the Scribes Award Given by The American Society Of Writers On Legal Subjects

Finalist, Silver Gavel Award, American Bar Association

Washington Post Book World Notable Book in Religion and Philosophy

While millions of Americans were defending liberty against the Nazis, liberty was under vicious attack at home. One of the worst outbreaks of religious persecution in U.S. history occurred during World War II when Jehovah's Witnesses were intimidated, beaten, and even imprisoned for refusing to salute the flag or serve in the armed forces.

Determined to claim their First Amendment rights, Jehovah's Witnesses waged a tenacious legal campaign that led to twenty-three Supreme Court rulings between 1938 and 1946. Now Shawn Peters has written the first complete account of the personalities, events, and institutions behind those cases, showing that they were more than vindication for unpopular beliefs--they were also a turning point in the nation's constitutional commitment to individual rights.

Peters begins with the story of Walter Gobitas, a Jehovah's Witness whose children refused to salute the flag at school. He follows this famous case to the Supreme Court where he captures the intellectual sparring between Justices Frankfurter and Stone over individual liberties; then he describes the aftermath of the Court's ruling against Gobitas when angry mobs savagely assaulted Jehovah's Witnesses in hundreds of communities across America.

Judging Jehovah's Witnesses tells how persecution--much of it directed by members of patriotic organizations like the American Legion--touched the lives of Witnesses of all ages; why the Justice Department and state officials ignored the Witnesses' pleas for relief; and how the ACLU and liberal clergymen finally stepped forward to help them. Drawing on interviews with Witnesses and extensive research in ACLU archives, Peters examines the strategies that beleaguered Witnesses used to combat discrimination and goes beyond the familiar Supreme Court rulings by analyzing more obscure lower court decisions as well.

By vigorously pursuing their cause, the Witnesses helped to inaugurate an era in which individual and minority rights emerged as matters of concern for the Supreme Court and foreshadowed events in the civil rights movement. Like the classics Gideon's Trumpet and Simple Justice, Judging Jehovah's Witnesses vividly narrates a moving human drama while reminding us of the true meaning of our Constitution and the rights it protects.

Customer Reviews:

Jehovah's Witnesses and the US Supreme Court.......2007-05-13

Very accurate chronology of the Supreme Court cases that not only spotlighted a religious group, that could have destroyed them; however, the court's visible determination to protect the Constitution turned the situation around to protect freedom of speech and religion for everyone.

Jehovah's Witnesses, Champions Of Freedom? .......2006-03-08

Religious Persecution In the United States Of America.......2006-02-07

Many people believe that religous persecution has rarely or not occured in twentieth century U.S. This book makes it clear that there has been alot of religous persecution in the United States during the twentieth century. I found it very interesting that the Ku Klux Clan not only persecuted certain ethnic groups, but Jehovah's Witnesses as well, regardless of thier racial background. However the Author does not have an accurate view of certain Jehovah's Witnesses pracitices such as disfellowshipping. He should have researched furthur.

Fascinating, Readable, and Worthwhile!.......2005-11-16

As a former Jehovah's Witness, I remain interested in the history and doings of the Watchtower sect. Well, here is a book that is pro-Witness and, as a refreshing change, shows the Witnesses in their more positive role as defenders of American religious freedom. Few Americans are cognizant of the debt they owe to Jehovah's Witnesses for helping define and secure our religious liberty by undergoing horrendous persecution and incarceration in mainstream America and Canada.

I am a firm believer in seeing both sides of everything, so I also highly recommend JEHOVAH UNMASKED as the other side of the coin. It's a five-star fascinating Gnostic look at the real identity of the god Jehovah. Is Jehovah the real Almighty God or just a pretender? Is God an insane murdering lunatic as the Old Testament says, or is that just a pretender god? Did the first Christians believe in God the Mother? What and where is the Kingdom of God? Who told the First Lie in the Garden of Eden, Jehovah or the Serpent? Are you SURE? Who or what was it that gave us the list of New Testament books as we have them now? The answers to these questions will shock you.

great history book.......2003-10-02

As a history major and a Jehovah Witness I ound this book to be absolutely amazing. The book discusses in detail the facts leading up to the presecution of JWs in America, and also the persecution itself. I was amazed to lean how lil "freedom" there was in America at that time, as will all readers. If it was not for the JWs who knows what the US would have been able to do to people if the people themselves did not rise up, as this book shows the JWs did.

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Church and State, published by J.M. Dawson Studies in Church and State on January 1, 2002. The length of the article is 655 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Judging Jehovah's Witnesses: Religious Persecution and the Dawn of the Rights Revolution.
Author: Chuck E. Smith
Publication: Journal of Church and State (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2002
Publisher: J.M. Dawson Studies in Church and State
Volume: 44 Issue: 1 Page: 166(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

In this timely book, author Rae André alerts us to one of the most insidious threats to the health and well-being of many Americans: the environmental impacts of aviation. Written from her experience as an activist and a flight-path dweller, Take Back the Sky dramatizes the extent of this growing problem in case studies around the country where communities have fought (and usually lost) battles against airport expansion. More alarmingly, it details how communities have lost virtually all control over their local skies, with that power having been usurped by special interests and an unresponsive federal government.
When André bought a charming bungalow in a Boston suburb, the small nearby airport handled only private and charter aircraft and a few military flights. Soon after, it began to accept commercial flights--and the quality of life for André and her neighbors plummeted. As she explains, aviation-related pollution from noise, emissions, and chemicals leaching into water tables is among the least-known--and least-regulated--hazards Americans face. André plunged into research, organizing, and protest, discovering not only the ugly facts about aviation-related pollution but the extent to which unbridled commercial interests have infiltrated our government and our lives.
André makes a powerful case that citizen action is crucial at this time, when plans are afoot to transform hundreds of small airports into busy commercial jetports. But how can we make the aviation industry more environmentally responsible? How can citizens and communities take back the power to determine their own fates? In Take Back the Sky, André provides the tools we need to answer these critical questions.

Take Back the Sky: Protecting Communities in the Path of Aviation Expansion

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Take Back the Sky: Protecting Communities in the Path of Aviation Expansion
Rae Andre
Manufacturer: Sierra Club Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N5ZUSO

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