The Natural History of the Oak Tree: An Intricate Visual Exploration of the Oak and Its Environment

Customer Reviews:

A feast in words & pictures for OAK lovers!.......2000-07-14

This is a fantastic reference for anyone interested in oaks, especially the deciduous oaks, as a deciduous oak is featured in the book. Although written in the U.K., the representative oak in this book looks almost identical to the U.S.'s eastern White Oak (quercus alba) or California White Oak/Valley Oak (quercus lobata).

The illustrations are full-color and painstakingly precise -- a pleasure to look at! You could learn a great deal this way even if you didn't know how to read. Of course, reading is a pleasure too, especially since the book is so well-organized.

The various chapters deal with how an acorn grows into an oak; an oak tree in the 4 seasons; common animals (insects, birds, invertibrates, mammals) found in and around oaks, various plants and fungi found in and around oaks, etc. I learn something new each time I browse through.

Yes, I am an oak-nut, as if you couldn't tell. :) If you are too, I wholeheartedly recommend this book! You will truly love it.

Book Description

Fodor's Puerto Rico 1ed "Fodor's guides cover culture authoritatively and rarely miss a sight or museum." - National Geographic Traveler

"The king of guidebooks." - Newsweek

No matter what your budget or whether it's your first trip or fifteenth, Fodor's Gold Guides get you where you want to go.

Insider info that's totally up to date. Every year our local experts give you the inside track, showing you all the things to see and do -- from must-see sights to off-the-beaten-path adventures, from shopping to outdoor fun.

Hundreds of hotel and restaurant choices in all price ranges -- from budget-friendly B&Bs to luxury hotels, from casual eateries to the hottest new restaurants, complete with thorough reviews showing what makes each place special.

Smart Travel Tips A to Z section helps you take care of the nitty gritty with essential local contacts and great advice -- from how to take your mountain bike with you to what to do in an emergency.

Full-size, foldout map keeps you on course.

Customer Reviews:

I goofed.......2004-03-02

My review was for "Frommer's Portable Puerto Rico", not Fodor's book. My sincerest apologies!!! Everything I said about Fodor's was meant for the abovementioned Frommer's. I had ordered Frommer's as a 'used' book, since Amazon was out of stock. Unfortunately, the supplier, 'topscholarbooks', who claimed to have it, didn't. After waiting several weeks we contacted them and managed to get a refund. We had no time to purchase another. Ok....if all this is confusing, we have NO idea if Fodor's book is good or not - but Frommer's 'Portable PR' is pretty useless.

Waste of money.......2004-03-01

The respected Fodor really falls to the bottom of the pile after this book. We took our first visit to Puerto Rico last month and we looking for what the title promised. Well, unless you want information about San Juan and Old San Juan, forget about it. There was NO info about our resort - The Copamarina - which, we've learned is in another of Fodor's books as a recommended spot. We were staying in the southern portion of the island and there's little info in the book for that area.

Amazon.com

A modern teen battles ancient evil aided by an invisible guide and an old diary in British author Christine Morton-Shaw's The Riddles of Epsilon. While exploring the property around her mother's ancestral home, fourteen-year-old Jessica finds a falling down cottage. Within resides Epsilon, a being that could be wraith, angel or demon. Through ghostly IM exchanges on her computer, Epsilon leads Jessica to an 1894 diary written by a boy named Sebastian Wren. Jessica is disturbed to discover that Sebastian's actions seem to mirror her own, right down to sharing the same dream. Even more upsetting is the fact that Jessica's mother seems to be slipping away mentally, just like Sebastian's mother did many years ago. Epsilon tells Jessica that the only way to free her mother's mind is to find a cursed relic that Sebastian failed to uncover. But can Jessica trust Epsilon? And if not, is she strong enough to break the age-old family curse on her own?

Morton-Shaw's use of light and dark symbolism is eerily effective, and teen readers will be reminded of The Watcher in the Woods by Florence Engle Randall, or more recently, the spooky Midnighters series by Scott Westerfeld. While the writing doesn't always hit the mark (Jessica's characterization is slap-dash and stereotypical; primordial Epsilon often slips into modern slang), the mood of the book is nevertheless deeply creepy, and readers under twelve may find themselves sleeping with the lights on. (Ages 12 and up) --Jennifer Hubert

Book Description

Jess has moved to a remote island called Lume off the coast of England. Her parents are restoring an old house, and Jess discovers an abandoned cottage on their property. Inside the cottage Jess encounters an eerie presence -- something like a ghost but suffused with a comforting energy. She also finds three locked boxes. Inside each she finds antique papers that send her mind spinning.

As Jess unravels the mysteries of Lume, she finds the writings of Sebastian, a boy who lived one hundred years ago and whose life contains unsettling reflections of her own. To her horror, the dangers he unearthed in 1894 now begin to threaten Jess and her family. Something dark has awoken, and Jess doesn't have much time to do something about it.

Jess has a talent for solving puzzles, riddles, and codes. She is confronted with a series of riddles that she must unlock in order to save her mother from a dark and ancient threat. Jess is guided by the creepy presence in the cottage. The mysterious guide is called Epsilon, but is he a guide from the bright side or the dark?

Christine Morton-Shaw has created a spectacular thriller about one girl's spine-chilling experience with the supernatural world.

Customer Reviews:

Riddles of Epsilon.......2007-02-07

The Riddles of Epsilon was amazing! It has an intriguing plot, and makes you think. You have to work out the riddles and who is on who's side to fully understand it. I'm not going to include the summary, because I'm not good at writing those, but I highly recommend the book.

bibliokleptomaniac says:.......2007-02-01

the Riddles of Epsilon is a great book, and i really enjoyed it. Suspenseful, inspiring, exciting...it is all these and more! it is about a girl, who finds herself caught up in an ancient legend that is taking effect today. if she fails, her mom is a goner. loved the book soooo much that i bought it. you'll love it too.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too.......2007-01-31

When she gets into some trouble at school, Jess's parents think they have the perfect solution: they'll move to Lume, an island in the middle of nowhere. She thinks there is absolutely nothing interesting about Lume--until she discovers a derelict old cottage. There's something creepy about the cottage--some sort of presence that Jess can't describe. It turns even weirder and scarier when that same presence shows up in her instant message conversations--with no record of it on her computer.

This ghostly being, whatever he is, is soon revealed to be the owner of the cottage. He calls himself Epsilon, and he is leading Jess on a dark sort of treasure hunt--where the treasure, if she solves his riddles properly, will be saving her mother.

The eerie quest mirrors that of Sebastian Wren, a boy who lived in the same house, and faced the same dangers, a hundred years ago. Can Jess succeed where Sebastian did not?

This supernatural mystery/fantasy is certainly a suspenseful page-turner, but, in the end, it is quite forgettable. It's a nice way to pass an afternoon. The best part of the story is the heart-pounding suspense! It's great for that, and it'll have you checking nervously over your shoulder at times. It's even good enough for me to want to look for more by Christine Morton-Shaw, but I might check it out of the library first rather than buying it.

Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce

Great Read.......2006-11-22

This is a really good book. Once I picked it up, I couldn't stop reading it. I finished it all in one night. I have read a lot of books, and they all fell into patterns except for some. This one just woke me up. If you are an avid reader and need something refreshing, read this. I recommend it.

Great Read.......2006-11-22

Average customer rating:

The Riddles of Epsilon

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Average customer rating:

Riddles of Epsilon
Christine Morton-Shaw
Manufacturer: HARPER COLL CHILDREN
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Average customer rating:

Riddles Of Epsilon
Christine Morton-Shaw
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N6MSKG

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The Riddles Of Epsilon
Christine Morton-Shaw
Manufacturer: Katherine Tegen Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OEVQPK

Average customer rating:

Riddles of Epsilon
Christine Morton-Shaw
Manufacturer: HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O8U1SE

Average customer rating:

The Riddles of Epsilon
Christine Morton-Shaw
Manufacturer: Katherine Tegen Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OEXT9G

Book Description

Customer Reviews:

Encyclopedias Are My Best Friends.......2002-05-21

People keep on badgering me about what do I do and how did I earn my living? Well, I am a management scientist. They respond with a blank stare.
Some time ago a curious person asked a management scientist, "What is Management Science?" The expert who was a wit answered, "Management Science is what management scientists do". But an even greater wit, C. West Churchman, overheard this and corrected the statement: "Management Science is what management scientists think they do. Today, there is an unequivocal answer: "Management Science is what is printed in the Encyclopedia of Operations Research and Management Science".
So now when a friend badgers me I show the Encyclopedia, "This is what I and my colleagues do". He weighs the tome, leaves through and typically says "You told me you help management. This is a book on math. How come?" I shrug my shoulders, "As you can see, we find that math is the most effective way to deal with some management issues.
We need to realize that publication of an encyclopedia is a defining moment in our intellectual history. When in 1745 the publisher André Le Breton approached Denis Diderot (1713-1784), French philosopher, who also wrote novels, essays, plays, and art and literary criticism with a view to bringing out a French translation of Ephraim Chambers' Cyclopedia after two other translators had withdrawn from the project. Diderot undertook the task with the distinguished mathematician Jean Le Rond d'Alembert as coeditor but soon profoundly changed the nature of the publication, broadening its scope and turning it into a vast, new 35-volume work, Encyclopédie ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des metiers which is usually known as the Encyclopédie . He gathered around him a team of dedicated litterateurs, scientists, and even priests, including Voltaire and Montesquieu. All were fired with a common purpose: to further knowledge by a "rational dictionary" and to bring out the essential principles and applications of every art and science.
Drs. Saul I. Gass and the late Carl M. Harris followed in the footsteps of Diderot and d'Alembert, gathered an international group of the best brains and produced the monumental 917-page tome of the Encyclopedia of OR/MS, with 228 major expository articles to provide decision makers and problem solvers "comprehensive overview of the wide range of ideas, methodologies, and synergistic forces that combine to form the pre-eminent decision-aiding fields of operations research and management science".

The Single Reference for Operations Research.......2002-05-02

This work provides an excellent reference for OR/MS. It would be difficult to identify a related topic not addressed. The entries are truly encyclopedic in nature, succinctly presenting material supported by key references. Besides broad coverage of major areas of OR useful for researchers venturing into new areas, separate entries provide information on key concepts. This greatly facilitates retrieving in-depth information. For example, decision analysis is covered as a general topic, while a separate entry provides information regarding certainty equivalents.

Of interest to military OR analysts, there are entries for battle modeling, combat model and combat simulation, military operations research, and military operations other than war. Interestingly there are also entries discussing US Air Force and Navy operations research while there does not seem to be one specific to Army OR. The military roots of OR is discussed in these entries, as well as that outlining the history of the Operations Research Office.

If the book has a weakness, it must be the index. While certainly a good effort, there seem to be a number of items in the entries that, had they been included in the index, would have made the book more useful. And while the encyclopedia can't be everything to everyone, I would have included more multivariate statistical topics notwithstanding my second sentence above. The cost of the book places it out of reach for most personal libraries.

Average customer rating:

Range and Depth

Magnificent!!!!

A break from traditional Yiddish literature

It is good story, rich in character and broad in reach.

amazing

The Brothers Ashkenazi (Twentieth-Century Classics)
I. J. Singer
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Howe, Irving | ( H ) | Authors, A-Z | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Road into the Open

Rosendorf Quartet

Tales of Mendele the Book Peddler: "Fishke the Lame" and "Benjamin the Third" (Yiddish Classics Series)

The Family Moskat: A Novel (Fsg Classics)

More Stories from My Father's Court

ASIN: 0140187774

Customer Reviews:

Range and Depth.......2005-12-17

I.J. Singer's Brothers is a compendium of the Jewish experience in 20th century Europe. The full compliment of elements are here that we have come to expect in a Yiddish novel that deals with the breakdown of traditional Jewish life. Very similar to Buddenbrooks and other novels of a family's decline, the Brothers seems to view history as essentially degenerating; in the end, we are left without a way out of the morass of modernity.

Magnificent!!!!.......2004-06-29

Excellent story about the rise and fall of the Ashkenazi family, which covers different historical stages like the Industrial Revolution, rise of Capitalism and Communism, World War I, etc. But above all the novel deals with the issue of the nature of the Jewish identity, and it is here where it really succeeds. Singer enforces the fact that for every hardship endured, the Jewish community always ends up being the scapegoat.

What also struck me is the angry and pessimistic tone that Singer employs throughout the story. Most characters are mean and selfish, inflicting continuous suffering to others. As the preface points out (at least in the Spanish edition), Singer seems to have a premonition concerning the fate of the Jewish community in the years following the novel.

This is a fantastic historical saga, very educational and thought-provoking.

A break from traditional Yiddish literature.......2000-04-17

I.J. Singer's work is a large-scale novel, with a multitude of characters and plots, the first attempt of a Yiddish writer to break away from the traditional short fiction depicting life in the shtelt. It is the result of exposure to European literature late in the 19th century, and reflects the dilemma of Jewish milieu torn apart from its traditional roots and having to face the rise of capitalism and communism. The main character, Max Ashkenazi is despicable by all means, obsessed by money and power, with a Machiavellian mind, and despite all his success has a sad end in life. Considering the conflicting time in which the novel takes place (first four decades of the 20th century), the main plot reflects the author's pessimistic and skeptic view of the place the Jew might have in modern society: be it amongst the capitalists or the communists, the Jew will always be misplaced and will never loose his stigma as scapegoat in times of trouble. The reader familiar with wthe work of Joshua's younger brother (Isaac Bashevis Singer) will certainly realize that the brothers share little in terms of literary production, each one with his own merits, albeit I.B. Singer surpasses in magnitude and depth.

It is good story, rich in character and broad in reach........1999-08-10

The story begins at the beginning, prior to the nearly simultaneous birth of two brothers. Not quite Cain and Abel, the brothers grow apart and together, mixing people,places,positions. With verve and breadth, it tells how each individual becomes his own choices, with the help and the hindrance of the Jewish community in Poland in the early 20th century. What a story!

amazing.......1998-09-13

This book is an amazing piece of work. You can really see the struggles that the Jewish population in Poland had to endure in the decades before WWII. Some of the characters are truly detestable at, other times they are to be pitied. All in all, a very tragic book.

The Brothers Ashkenazi a New Translation From the Yiddish

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The Brothers Ashkenazi a New Translation From the Yiddish
I J Singer
Manufacturer: Atheneum
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NVWXHE

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The Brothers Ashkenazi

Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Brothers Ashkenazi
I. J. Singer
Manufacturer: Grosset and Dunlap
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000AQS9NE

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The Brothers Ashkenazi
Isaac Bashevis Singer
Manufacturer: Forum Books/The World Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O8EVNU

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The brothers Ashkenazi,
I J Singer
Manufacturer: New York, Knopf, 1936.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000WUEKPY

Di Brider Ashkenazy (The Brothers Ashkenazi) YIDDISH, VOL 3 ONLY

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Di Brider Ashkenazy (The Brothers Ashkenazi) YIDDISH, VOL 3 ONLY
I. J. (Joseph Singer Singer
Manufacturer: Max Meisel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000TOQ1WI

Los Hermanos Ashkenazi / The Brothers Ashkenazi (Afluentes)

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Los Hermanos Ashkenazi / The Brothers Ashkenazi (Afluentes)
Israel Yehoshua Singer
Manufacturer: Ediciones B
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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

Average customer rating:

The Brothers Ashkenazi
I.J. Singer
Manufacturer: Forum
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000IEBUK2

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The Brothers Ashkenazi
I. J. Singer
Manufacturer: Alfred a Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000T4BGXM

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