Northwest Passages: From the Pen of John Muir in California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska

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Concise information for all spending levels.......1997-07-23

Out of the 5 or 6 books I've reviewed on NZ travel, this is the one that will be actually carried and used on my month-long trip. The information is never vague; for example excursion trips are described, the top providers are listed with all necessary details. Maps are extensive and frequent. I particularly liked the fact that while there are many ideas for budget travel, also included are the special hotels or restaurants or offroad trips that can cost more but are considered worth it. This guide is for everyone, versus Lonely Planet, (the backpacking crowd) or Fodors ( high end spenders) or Inside Guides (good pictures and background, no practical information).

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Named after Emmylou Harris because her mother used to "do it" to the Profile album, 14-year-old Emi-Lou Kaya feels like a nobody in her Hawaiian town: "I'm not smart enough to be a nerd. I'm not stink enough to be a turd. I fall somewhere right below the band geeks and right above the zeroes." Abandoned by her mother at age three, Emi-Lou hasn't a clue as to who her father might be, and on top of all this, she is overweight. (The popular Japanese girls at school call her Emi-lump, Emi-oink, or Emi-fat.) Her only salvation is the strength of the hard-as-nails but loving grandmother who raised her, and the feisty spirit of her best friend Yvonne. It is Yvonne who renames the dynamic duo Von and Louie, and who puts Emi-Lou on a strict weight-loss regimen. ("Von always says she's the tough outward and I'm the tough inward.") But Emi-Lou starts to worry about losing her touchstone when Von begins spending a little too much time with Babes, an older girl from the softball team. Rumors abound that her soul sister is a "butchie," and when Emi-Lou suspects it's true, she becomes desperate to get Von back to "normal" and back to her role as best friend.

With dialogue that sparks with the rhythms of pidgin (Hawaiian Creole English), this compelling novel explores sexuality, racism, and the troubled waters of establishing one's own identity. Lois-Ann Yamanaka, author of the equally funny and insightful Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers, creates in Emi-Lou a character as complex and lovely as the Hawaiian landscape itself. (Ages 13 and older) --Brangien Davis

Book Description

Customer Reviews:

A young adult book also for grown-ups.......2006-11-12

Lois-Anne Yamanaka is one of the most admired novelists today in the Hawaiian 'local color' tradition and probably the most popular. I find some of her 'adult' work a bit too self-consciously literary, but that is not a problem with this straight-ahead and simply told story.

She certainly dumps a lot of troubles on the head of her young protagonist: internal family trouble, overweight, lousy pseudo-boyfriend, wayward girlfriend. My kids were in a Hawaii high school a few years ago, and this book rings true, though fortunately I don't recall any one of their classmates having ALL of this girl's troubles.

Some of the other reviewers' comments were well-taken. The plots are numerous and rather complex for 'young adult' fiction. The pidgen can be intimidating. Hawaii is a real place, and different enough from the Mainland to be 'exotic' and somewhat mysterious. But, as the computer geeks say, these are not bugs -- they are features.

OK -- or ' 'kay den' as a pidgen speaker would say -- not every sentence will be crystal clear to the reader. Not every sentence has to be crystal clear to get the benefit of this lively novel.

Another Winner.......2005-12-15

Lois Ann hits it on head. Oh my God, brilliant! It is often hard for people to capture pidgin properly without making it sound gratuitous and unbelievable but she does it in a way that sounds so natural and authentic. Another winner.

Call This Book Something! (and I don't mean give it a name).......2004-06-29

At first, I was dreading that I would have a difficult time finsihing "Name Me Nobody" since the pidgin English greatly slowed my reading and I had to backtrack several times to clarify that I had read everything correctly. However, once I made it through a couple of chapters, I was able to adapt to the word flow and the book became much easier to read. Luckily, I didn't have any problem with the Japanese vocabulary since I'm studying Japanese, but a glossary in the back would definitely help those who are unfamiliar with the language. With all that said, I feel the pidgin English and Japanese are essential to "Name Me Nobody" because they help to give the characters an authentic voice. So what else can I say? I really enjoyed this book. While under the surface, "Name Me Nobody" is your standard coming of age story, Yamanaka puts a twist on it and creates a books with an addictive story and memorable characters. ALL of the characters have flaws which, for me, makes them much more beleivable. For example, when the reader is first introduced to Emmy-lou, she is an overweight, self-conscious mess. She blames every rejection she encounters on her weight problem. After her best friend, Yvonne or "Von", helps her to lose the weight, however, Emmy-lou is STILL a self-conscious mess and she still puts the blame on everything/everybody but herself. While this allows for the reader to not always be fond of Emmy-lou, this portrayal strikes me as being very realistic. Yamanaka allows for the reader to witness Emmy-lou as she learns to come to terms with and to accept herself. Aside from the great character development, the plot of "Name Me Nobody" is very engrossing. It kept me guessing as to what was in store next for Emmy-lou and I stayed up until 4 a.m. finishing this book. The lack of sleep was well worth it though, even if I was exhausted at work the follow day :) In conclusion, I highly recommend Lois-Ann Yamanaka's book "Name Me Nobody" and I will definitely be reading more of her books in the future.

Another wonderful novel by Lois-Ann Yamanaka.......2004-05-04

NAME ME NOBODY by Lois-Ann Yamanaka

A young adult book that will be enjoyed by adults as well, NAME ME NOBODY is the story of thirteen-year-old Emi-Lou Kaya, a very insecure overweight Japanese American living in Hawaii. Her mother lives on the mainland and she does not know who her father is. Her maternal grandmother, a very feisty strong-willed woman who is trying to correct the errors she made while raising Emi-Lou's mother and Aunt Vicky, is raising Emi-Lou. If it weren't for her Grandma and her best friend Yvonne, Emi-Lou feels she would have no one else in the world to love her.

The story details Emi-Lou's (Louie's) trials as she attends Junior High school, tries to fit in, and maintains her friendship with Yvonne (Von). When Emi-Lou notices that Von is starting to pay more attention to another girl in school, warning bells go off inside her head, and she finds herself wondering what is going on. Jealousy rears its ugly head as she lets this new friendship come between her and Von.

Emi-Lou also deals with boys, wishing to be noticed by the coolest in school, and Von helps Emi-Lou lose weight. She finds a new sense of self-esteem when they finally notice her, but maybe for the wrong reasons. It's tough growing up, especially if you don't have parents that want you, and when you are overweight and feel like an outcast.

NAME ME NOBODY by Lois-Ann Yamanaka was yet another wonderful book immersed with the Hawaiian Japanese culture, complete with pidgin and culture that is part of the Hawaiian Japanese world. This reader felt very much at home with this book, being Japanese American, but a Haole should be able to enjoy the story as well, as it is a universal theme that Yamanaka explores, that of fitting in. This reviewer gives NAME ME NOBODY four stars.

Complications marred what might have been a good book........2003-01-17

I liked the story in "Name Me Nobody". Everyone knows the tales about girls who lose their best friends when their friend finds a boyfriend. "Name Me Nobody" puts a twist on the old familiar theme: Emi-Lou lost her best friend Von to Von's GIRLFRIEND. This is original and I like originality. Five points for that.

However, the book was very hard to follow. The huge cast of characters, many of them going by several names, frustrated me and I didn't know what was going on half the time. For instance, there's Genevieve and Viva. They're the same person. I think. But I'm not sure. I think the author could have tried harder to make the book clear and easy to follow. Minus one point for that.

Another thing that annoyed me was the language. The pidgin English did add to the authenticity of the story, which is set in Hawaii. But many times the characters inserted Japanese words into their speech and I could only guess as to what the Japanese meant. This would not have been a problem had their been a glossary enclosed, like in John Marsden's books where everyone speaks Aussie. But "Name Me Nobody" had no glossary, so the language just kept me guessing. Minus one point for hard to understand.

It was a good book, but these flaws annoyed me and I'm not inclined to buy it, or even check it out from the library again.

Book Description

Nutrient Cycling in Terrestrial Ecosystems presents a comprehensive overview of nutrient cycling processes and their importance for plant growth and ecosystem sustainability. The first part of the book presents the fundamentals of nutrient cycling. Topics included are cycling of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur and micronutrients. Particular attention is paid to the role of root exudates and rhizosphere microorganisms in facilitating nutrient cycling. The second part discusses nutrient cycling at an ecosystem scale, covering cropping systems, pastures, natural grasslands, arid lands, tundras and forests. The final chapter reviews current models of nutrient cycling.

By comprehensively covering nutrient cycling at a range of scales and emphasising multidisciplinary approaches, this volume will support scientists and practitioners alike, providing links between those involved in improving sustainable economic output from managed ecosystems and those interested in conservation of natural ecosystems.

Climate Change: Human Effects On The Nitrogen Cycle (Extreme Environmental Threats)

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Climate Change: Human Effects On The Nitrogen Cycle (Extreme Environmental Threats)
Jeri Freedman
Manufacturer: Rosen Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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Nitrogen in the Marine Environment

Manufacturer: Academic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Environmental Science | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 012160280X

Agriculture and the Nitrogen Cycle: Assessing the Impacts of Fertilizer Use on Food Production and the Environment (Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) Series)

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Agriculture and the Nitrogen Cycle: Assessing the Impacts of Fertilizer Use on Food Production and the Environment (Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) Series)

Manufacturer: Island Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1559637102

Book Description

Nitrogen is an essential element for plant growth and development and a key agricultural input-but in excess it can lead to a host of problems for human and ecological health. Across the globe, distribution of fertilizer nitrogen is very uneven, with some areas subject to nitrogen pollution and others suffering from reduced soil fertility, diminished crop production, and other consequences of inadequate supply.

Agriculture and the Nitrogen Cycle provides a global assessment of the role of nitrogen fertilizer in the nitrogen cycle. The focus of the book is regional, emphasizing the need to maintain food and fiber production while minimizing environmental impacts where fertilizer is abundant, and the need to enhance fertilizer utilization in systems where nitrogen is limited. The book is derived from a workshop held by the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) in Kampala, Uganda, that brought together the world's leading scientists to examine and discuss the nitrogen cycle and related problems. It contains an overview chapter that summarizes the group's findings, four chapters on cross-cutting issues, and thirteen background chapters.

The book offers a unique synthesis and provides an up-to-date, broad perspective on the issues of nitrogen fertilizer in food production and the interaction of nitrogen and the environment.

Nitrate: Processes, Patterns and Management

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A basic, yet sound appraisal of nitrate processes and issues

Nitrate: Processes, Patterns and Management
T. P. Burt , and A. L. Heathwaite
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0471934763

Customer Reviews:

A basic, yet sound appraisal of nitrate processes and issues.......1998-07-01

Trudgill wished to employ his skill as editor in this volume to collate a wide range of works and studies to provide readers with a central text from which to approach nitrates in the environment and issues surrounding management. In my opinion he has not been entirely successful and the final volume should not be regarded as the best of inquiry published on nitrates. He fails to appreciate the latest climate of scientific inquiry where one needs to highlight chaotic approaches to all envirnomental concepts rather than to dwell on the outdated tenets of scientific totality still residing in the arena in question. 5/10.

Mineral Nitrogen in the Plant-Soil System (Physiological Ecology)

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Mineral Nitrogen in the Plant-Soil System (Physiological Ecology)
R. J. Haynes
Manufacturer: Academic Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling in European Forest Ecosystems (Ecological Studies)

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Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling in European Forest Ecosystems (Ecological Studies)

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 3540672397

Book Description

The storage of carbon in forest ecosystems has received special attention in the Kyoto protocol of the Climate Convention, which attempts to equilibrate fossil fuel emissions with biological sinks. This volume quantifies carbon storage in managed forest ecosystems not only in biomass, but also in all soil compartments. It investigates the interaction between the carbon and nitrogen cycles by working along a north-south transect through Europe which starts in northern Sweden, passes through a N-deposition maximum in central Europe and ends in Italy. Surprisingly, C storage in soils increases with N deposition; in addition, not young reforestations, but old growth forests have the highest rate of carbon sequestration. For the first time biogeochemical processes are linked to biodiversity on a large geographic scale and with special focus on soil organisms. The enclosed CD-ROM provides a complete database of all flux, storage and species observations for modellers.

Acid Soil and Acid Rain (Research Studies in Botany and Related Applied Fields, 10)

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Acid Soil and Acid Rain (Research Studies in Botany and Related Applied Fields, 10)
I. R. Kennedy
Manufacturer: Research Studies Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0863801242

The Biogeochemical Cycling of Sulfur and Nitrogen in the Remote Atmosphere (NATO Science Series C:)

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The Biogeochemical Cycling of Sulfur and Nitrogen in the Remote Atmosphere (NATO Science Series C:)

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 9027721300

Coastal Lagoon Eutrophication and Anaerobic Processes: Nitrogen and sulfur cycles and population dynamics in coastal lagoons (Developments in Hydrobiology)

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Coastal Lagoon Eutrophication and Anaerobic Processes: Nitrogen and sulfur cycles and population dynamics in coastal lagoons (Developments in Hydrobiology)

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0792341651
Release Date: 2007-01-24

Book Description

This multidisciplinary volume comprehensively reviews our current knowledge of the effects of urban, industrial and agricultural pollution on the biology of shallow coastal marine lagoons. All the authors are internationally recognized authorities and have had many years of experience in their respective fields. The major strength of this volume is that it integrates several fields of research including biogeochemistry, marine microbiology, marine algology and marine zoology. By adopting such a strategy the reader is provided with a clear insight of the key processes involved in lagoon eutrophication and dystrophy and their impact on the different biological communities which live in such environments. This book will therefore provide an essential reference work for environmental biologists, ecologists, microbiologists and those involved in the management and commercial exploitation of these economically important ecosystems.

Book Description

Separation of the elements of classical mechanics into kinematics and dynamics is an uncommon tutorial approach, but the author uses it to advantage in this two-volume set. Students gain a mastery of kinematics first – a solid foundation for the later study of the free-body formulation of the dynamics problem. A key objective of these volumes, which present a vector treatment of the principles of mechanics, is to help the student gain confidence in transforming problems into appropriate mathematical language that may be manipulated to give useful physical conclusions or specific numerical results. In the first volume, the elements of vector calculus and the matrix algebra are reviewed in appendices. Unusual mathematical topics, such as singularity functions and some elements of tensor analysis, are introduced within the text. A logical and systematic building of well-known kinematic concepts, theorems, and formulas, illustrated by examples and problems, is presented offering insights into both fundamentals and applications. Problems amplify the material and pave the way for advanced study of topics in mechanical design analysis, advanced kinematics of mechanisms and analytical dynamics, mechanical vibrations and controls, and continuum mechanics of solids and fluids. Volume I of Principles of Engineering Mechanics provides the basis for a stimulating and rewarding one-term course for advanced undergraduate and first-year graduate students specializing in mechanics, engineering science, engineering physics, applied mathematics, materials science, and mechanical, aerospace, and civil engineering. Professionals working in related fields of applied mathematics will find it a practical review and a quick reference for questions involving basic kinematics.

Customer Reviews:

excellent and well-written text.......2007-06-25

This is an excellent book on dynamics that in a perfect world would supercede books of the Beer and
Johnson mold. This book could easily be used in an undergraduate engineering dynamics class and would leave
students in excellent standing for further courses in mechanics. This is by far the best book on
elementary engineering mechanics in print. The first volume on kinematics is also a winner.

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tell me more, the fine art of listening

I gasp when I opened the package

Short essay for the price, but a real gem, and worth it.

Tell Me More: On the Fine Art of Listening
Brenda Ueland
Manufacturer: Kore Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1888553030

Book Description

The second in Kore Press' essay series was printed in an edition of 1000.

Excerpt from "Tell Me More:" We should all know this: this listening, not talking, is the gifted and great role, and the imaginative role. And the true listener is much more beloved, magnetic than the talker, and he is more effective, and learns more and does more good. And so try listening.

Customer Reviews:

tell me more, the fine art of listening.......2007-04-20

this book, arrived from amazone in a nice-sized package. i opened it and found only a few pages, a cardboard cover. a book i could have printed and "bound" myself. i would not have ordered it and paid $13.00 if only the site had been specific. it will be returned.

I gasp when I opened the package.......2007-03-07

I just paid $10.00 plus shipping for three and 1/2 pages--wrapped in some cheap cloth cover. I was appalled at myself that I didn't read somewhere on the ad that this was a couple of pages. And it's all stuff we've heard a 1000 times. It's really a first rate rip off.

Short essay for the price, but a real gem, and worth it........2007-01-04

Although one might hesitate to spend this amount for a short essay, it is a real jewel. Those who know Brenda Ueland's writing will recognise her unique voice. She gives us a shot of inspiration - a completely positive way to approach life. And so, though short, this essay gives one tremendous energy. I recommend reading it, and also passing it on, tactfully, to those who need to learn to listen!

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