Sonoran Desert Spring

Customer Reviews:

Evolutionary logic.......2004-02-11

The common view of deserts as "barren" places empty of life is firmly laid to rest by this excellent collection of essays. Alcock's relation demonstrates the wide variety and diversity of lifeforms found in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona. Plants, insects, birds and other animal life abound if you take the trouble to find them. The author is an expert at observing all this life. Better, he's adept at showing you how to follow in his footsteps to see what he sees.

"Footsteps" is the significant term in this book. Not ATVs, aircraft, nor other vehicular means, but walking quietly is the method to employ in behold ing the desert. Alcock provides examples of his techniques in researching various aspects of life. Surprising wasps in their rituals requires finesse and timing. Seemingly, he moves directly from office to landscape - one of his marking tools being a bottle of Liquid Paper. With this "paint" he can identify individual insects - male wasps and butterflies seeking mates. This technique lapses with rattlesnakes and coyotes, however.

More easily identified subjects are the palo verde trees and giant saguaro cactuses. His palo verde trees are numbered [in his memory], but the saguaros are often elusive. Not because these ancient, giant cacti are mobile, but because his urban neighbours see fit to use them for target practice. Many of his jaunts confront him with spent shells, pock-marked rocks and shattered giant cactus plants. Desert soil pockets, often the home of slumbering spade-foot toads are riven with vehicle tracks. Their passage disturbs the dormant toads who believe the noise presages water-delivering thunderstorms. Awakening, they emerge in the belief the water is signalling the time for courtship and reproduction. The disappointment is greater than simply mating deferred. It may mean the toad has expended its resources. It will dry out and expire.

In describing how the details of desert life is seen today, Alcock muses on the roots of life's processes. Why do the Tarantula Wasp and the Great Purple Hairstreak butterfly [which displays nothing visible that's purple] evolve parallel mating rituals? How can some species successfully deal with the spines of the cholla cactus when a human stuck with the spines must endure a full day's pain? Why do some bees fly in solitude while others are flock in swarms? Alcock examines these and similar questions with sound evolutionary logic. He stresses that simple or apparent solutions often require re-examination. Horned lizards only take a few ants from a nest entrance. Are they "prudent predators" saving prey for later exploitation? Alcock reflects on possibilities to arrive at a solution Darwin would have admired. As do we. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Conversational devil-may-care style involving, enlightening.......1999-09-10

John Alcock brings us with him on a tour of the Usery Ridge (north of Mesa, near Phoenix, Arizona) after the winter rains, but before the harsh heat of summer. The book mostly discusses evolutionary behavior of plants and animals found there. There are a few humorous passages which add an unexpected laugh. Dr. Alcock is concerned with the disappearance of the desert and its treasures.

Arizona Highways, January 1956 (Desert; Colossal Cave; U. S. 80) (Vol. 32, No. 1)

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Arizona Highways, January 1956 (Desert; Colossal Cave; U. S. 80) (Vol. 32, No. 1)
Joseph Wood Krutch
Manufacturer: Arizona Highway Dept
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KWT5IG

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Sonoran Desert Spring
John Alcock
Manufacturer: University of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OOWGB8

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Sonoran Desert spring.
Alcock John.
Manufacturer: University of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OOUGE2

Book Description

The walks included in this guidebook were adopted by the Countryside Agency for its 40th anniversary celebration of the Pennine Way. All the walks have brought together in this book for the first time, and are available for everyone to enjoy.

The Pennine Way: From Edale to Kirk Yetholm (British Long-distance Trails)

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The Pennine Way: From Edale to Kirk Yetholm (British Long-distance Trails)
Martin Collins
Manufacturer: Cicerone Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Walking | Hiking & Camping | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

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General | Sports | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1852843861

Pennine Way North (National Trail Guides)

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Pennine Way North (National Trail Guides)
Tony Hopkins
Manufacturer: Aurum Press Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Walking | Hiking & Camping | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1854109626

North to South Along the Pennine Way (Warne Walking Guides)

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North to South Along the Pennine Way (Warne Walking Guides)
Graeme Hardy , and Sketch Maps by the Author
Manufacturer: Frederick Warne Publishers Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0723228132

Pennine Way, 2nd: British Walking Guide: planning, places to stay, places to eat; includes 140 large-scale walking maps (Pennine Way: Edale to Kirk Yetholm)

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Pennine Way, 2nd: British Walking Guide: planning, places to stay, places to eat; includes 140 large-scale walking maps (Pennine Way: Edale to Kirk Yetholm)
Keith Carter
Manufacturer: Trailblazer Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Walking | Hiking & Camping | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1905864027

Book Description

Britain’s best-known National Trail winds for 256 miles through three National Parks – the Peak District, Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland. This superb footpath showcases Britain’s finest upland scenery, while touching the literary landscape of the Bronte family and Roman history along Hadrian’s Wall.
* 135 walking maps – 1:20,000 (3-1/8 inches to 1 mile) – the largest-scale maps available.
*Unique mapping features – walking times, directions, tricky junctions, places to stay, places to eat, points of interest.
* Includes day walks and short breaks.
* Practical information for all budgets – what to see, where to stay, where to eat: pubs, B&Bs, hotels, campsites, hostels.

Pennine Way South (National Trail Guides)

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Pennine Way South (National Trail Guides)
Tony Hopkins
Manufacturer: Aurum Press, Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Walking | Hiking & Camping | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1854108514

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The Pennine Way
Tony Hopkins
Manufacturer: Zymurgy Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1903506131

National Trail Guide 6: Pennine Way North (National Trail Guides)

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National Trail Guide 6: Pennine Way North (National Trail Guides)
Ordnance Survey , Aurum Press , and Countryside Commission
Manufacturer: Ordnance Survey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Walking | Hiking & Camping | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

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Pennine Way North
Tony Hopkins
Manufacturer: Aurum Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000K3KQ5G

Pennine Way North: Bowes to Kirk Yetholm (National Trail Guides)

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Pennine Way North: Bowes to Kirk Yetholm (National Trail Guides)
Tony Hopkins
Manufacturer: Aurum Press Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Walking | Hiking & Camping | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1854104608

Book Description

Cool is cool and geek is geek, and at Eldridge the two definitely do not mix.

Sari and Jess are best friends and total opposites. They've liked each other ever since they discovered that they are the only two normal people at Eldridge Alternative. As they prepare to face the trials of ninth grade, Sari is psyched. Jess is not. How can she face the Prada Mafia, the most evil clique in school? Or Mr. McGuiness's unnervingly long nose hair? What if something really interesting happens to Sari and nothing whatsoever happens to Jess?

But not even Jess can predict the mayhem that erupts when Sari falls madly in love with David Cole. David is a senior. He's been dating Thea Melendez for forever. So he couldn't possibly be interested in Sari. Or could he? And if he is, where does that leave Jess?

Customer Reviews:

candid and open high school novel.......2006-08-14

Upon entering high school, Sari and Jess expect to encounter popularity contests. Almost immediately, Sari sets her focus on the Big Man On Campus, David Cole, who is dating the popularity queen, Thea. Jess is worried that Sari will end their friendship for the "in" crowd. As Sari blantantly, recklessly persues David, she catches his attention but he doesn't leave Thea. She also earns herself a reputation that is whispered about in bathrooms and scrawled on stall doors. Then the "Prada Mafia" tricks Jess into revealing a secret, which thrusts both of them into an unwanted spotlight and clinging to their friendship for dear life. This book is incredibly real and has characters with whom you can easily identify, whether you're a Sari, a Jess, or a Thea.

The True Meaning of Cleavage .......2006-02-03

This book wasn't all that bad. It just bothers me how the title has nothing to do with the book, at least not much. I have always hated books like that, and I think the author could have come up with something more creative that actually matched the book.
Overall, not bad. Not the best, either, but good. Jess is an outcast, and when her best friend goes out with the popular senior David Cole she gets confused, angry, and feels abandoned.

a fun, cute easy read.......2005-12-12

The True Meaning of Cleavage shows how high school changes everything in a person's life.. friendships change.. relationships change.. everything changes, and sometimes people don't really like these changes so much.

When best friends Jess and Sari, enter high school, Sari falls in love with senior David Cole upon laying eyes on him. Jess, on the other hand, is stuck in the not-so-popular crowd, without much of a love intrest. Soon everything changes between Jess and Sari becuase of David; it seems to Jess Sari refuses to talk about anything but him.

The relationships between Sari and Jess and David change and devleop through the story, but don't be fooled by the cover.. there's no sexual description in the book, you just have to read between the lines and you will find a really cute funny book, and a good description of life in high school freshman year.

The True Meaning of Cleavage.......2005-02-21

I thought that this was a very good book that appeals to the teenager in everyone. It is a story about Jess and Sari, best friends since 7th grade. They're entering their freshman year of high school, and they're growing apart a little bit at a time. Jess doesn't fit in the greatest, and I think that all of us can relate to that at one time or another. Sari is beautiful and gets lots of attention, especially from guys. She falls "madly, psychotically in love" with a cool senior, David Cole, who has been going out with Thea Melendez forever. Many of us can relate to Jess's struggle as she loses Sari little by little. Eventually, though, Sari decided that David needed to choose who he wanted more: Sari or Thea. Sari and Jess go back to being as tight as they were in the beginning of the story because Sari also realized that friends, especially best friends, are more important than guys. Boyfriends come and go, but best friends are priceless and of utmost importance.

True Meaning of Cleavage.......2005-01-20

The True Meaning of Cleavage by Mariah Fredericks is a hilarious interpretation of life as a high school freshman. This realistic an undoubtedly familiar tale takes us all back to re-live our own adolescent hardships. We can painfully relate to main characters Jess and Sari's everlasting strive to make it out of high school alive and avoid the always dreaded "Prada Mafia". As we watch the girls grow, we experience all over again the same doubts and fears we've most likely all had before: "What is my friends encounter something way exciting and I don't?" "What if a boy likes Sari and not me?" "What if Sari grows into the Prada Mafia and geeks like me aren't allowed?" Though all of these fears eventually in some way come true, the friendship between these two girls is so unbreakable, that not even David Cole, "the hottest hunk of Elridge Alternative", can't separate them. I recommend this book to a more female audience and I rate it very high.

Book Description

Labfax volumes are purpose-designed data reference books for practicing scientists. Each book presents key information for a major subject in one place and therefore saves hours of searching. The authors and editors of each Labfax volume have searched the original literature for the accurate data which they know the specialist needs.

Key Features
* Clearly presented information
* Divided into two separate parts on recombinant DNA and gene analysis
* Provides key information on techniques, sources, and equipment for anyone using molecular biological techniques

Book Description

Smart structures have the ability to assess their present state, determine a set of actions that can be undertaken in order to improve their behaviour, and carry out the necessary actions to achieve this. The contributors to this book address all or some of these issues as well as the development of new materials. Computational methods which can be applied to model, control and manage the behaviour of smart structures and materials are also highlighted.

Originally presented at the Second International Conference on Computational Methods for Smart Structures and Materials, the papers included come from engineers and researchers working at the forefront of this exciting field. They are divided under the following headings: Sensor and Actuator Technologies; Properties of Smart Materials; Physical Systems Modelling and Applications; Intelligent Systems; Active and Passive Control Systems; Optimal Design; Damage Applications.

Average customer rating:

A to Z! About 24 letters too long.

X between Quincunx & Darconville's Cat

Brilliant

Like lasagna, even better the second time

Falls Short of Eco-ian Glory

Lemprière's Dictionary: A Novel
Lawrence Norfolk
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Psychological & Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
General | Reference | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Quincunx

A Case of Curiosities

The Pope's Rhinoceros

The Unburied

Ex-Libris

ASIN: 0345384237
Release Date: 1993-08-31

Book Description

"An important and inspiring novel."
VOICE LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
It is 18th-century London and John Lempriere, a young scholar, is writing a dictionary of classical mythology in an attempt to exorcise the demons raised by his father's violent and bizarre death. While tending to his father's business affairs, Lempriere discovers a 150-year old conspiracy that has kept his family from its share of the fabulously wealthy East India Company. But as John begins to untangle the years of mystery and deceit, people begin to die, in ways that mirror the very myths he is researching....

Customer Reviews:

A to Z! About 24 letters too long........2007-09-24

A secret Company of nine, a secret pact, after hundreds of years at last to be revealed. I wanted to like this book. I really did. I kept reading, then ended dragging my battered self to the end. After 400 plus pages does one even know exactly what happened? This book has an interesting plot and premise. Great time, place, characters. But Mr. Norfolk has found it necessary to spill much of Bullfinch and copious research on everything from weather and tides, trade and trade routes, and more, in great fantastical globs all through his book. Is this fiction, history, nightmare, ruse? One gets lost in the maze.

X between Quincunx & Darconville's Cat.......2006-07-11

This book rates in my top 5 so far. It has a bit of everything: mystery, conspiracy, horror, mythology, history, romance, sesquidepalia, and many more examples of Lawrence Norfolk's wide breadth of knowledge.

It is similar to Quincunx in its historical and conspirative nature, but like Darconville's Cat, in that you must look up many words and references in order to fully comprehend the book.

It's funny, because I picked this book up for $1 at a used book sale, not knowing anything about it. Talk about being lucky!

Brilliant.......2005-07-06

I read it, and I loved it. After reading it I checked out some of the reviews on this site and found that many thought it compared badly to Umberto Eco's Name of the Rose. My answer to that is: Of course! The two books are quite different in flavour, aim and story. If all you ever want to read is another Name of the Rose, this might not be your book. Nor if you are looking for something similar to the Da Vinci Code.

This book compared better with the likes of Matthew Kneals English Passangers, Luter Bliset's Q and perhaps Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle.

If you're not into wild historical fiction, avoid this. If you are into wild historical, then this is an absolute MUST READ.

Thanks for reading this.

Like lasagna, even better the second time.......2005-05-07

I really enjoyed this book the first time, but in reading it the second time, it was even better. Ok, so the suspense wasn't quite the same, but a lot of the narrative/plot made more sense. Reviewers on this site have called it "drivel" and "boring", but they must be easily distracted, for I was fascinated by the oddness of Lempriere's obsessions, though I occasionally wanted to smack him for being naive. Read it. You may just like it. (And as for the Publisher's Weekly review, if they can't even spell the main character's name correctly, it would implicate that they don't know what the heck they're talking about.)

Falls Short of Eco-ian Glory.......2004-03-16

Great reviews and an interesting, rarely touched premise (the East India Company) led me to pick this up, and I wish I hadn't. While at times the style is enjoyable, more often than not it is merely annoying. If you're interested in history-rich conspiracy fiction, pick up a copy of The Name of the Rose and re-read it!

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Lemprieres Classical Dictionary

Manufacturer: Hippocrene Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Bibliotheca Classica (Myth & Romanticism)

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Bibliotheca Classica (Myth & Romanticism)
John Lempriere , and Buton Feldman
Manufacturer: Taylor & Francis
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

Greece | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

Mythology & Folklore | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 082403564X

Bibliotheca Classica: or A Dictionary of All the Principle Names and Terms Relating to the Geography, Topography, History, Literature, and Mythology of Antiquity and of the Ancients: with a Chronological Table

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Bibliotheca Classica: or A Dictionary of All the Principle Names and Terms Relating to the Geography, Topography, History, Literature, and Mythology of Antiquity and of the Ancients: with a Chronological Table
J.; Da Ponte, Lorenzo L. (Editor); Ogilby, John D. (Editor) Lempriere
Manufacturer: J. B. Lippincott & Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Leather Bound

Geography | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books

Bibliotheca Classica: or, A Classical Dictionary; Containing a Copious Account of the Proper Names Mentioned in Ancient Authors; with the Value of Coins, Weights, and Measures

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Bibliotheca Classica: or, A Classical Dictionary; Containing a Copious Account of the Proper Names Mentioned in Ancient Authors; with the Value of Coins, Weights, and Measures
J Lempriere
Manufacturer: T & J Allman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Leather Bound
ASIN: B000UBY96U

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Classical Dictionary
J. Lempriere
Manufacturer: Evert Duyckinck
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000TXFMKG

Classical Dictionary Containing a Copiou

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Classical Dictionary Containing a Copiou
J Lempriere
Manufacturer: EVERT DUYCKINCK
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PKYW40

A CLASSICAL DICTIONARY CONTAINING A COPIOUS ACCOUNT OF ALL THE PROPER NAMES MENTIONED IN ANCIENT AUTHORS.

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A CLASSICAL DICTIONARY CONTAINING A COPIOUS ACCOUNT OF ALL THE PROPER NAMES MENTIONED IN ANCIENT AUTHORS.
J. Lempriere
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000T5OJ62

Classical Dictionary Containing a Copious Amount of All the Proper Names Mentioned in Anciet Authors; with the Value of Coins, Weights,and Measures Used Among the Greekd and Romans; and a Chronogical Table

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Classical Dictionary Containing a Copious Amount of All the Proper Names Mentioned in Anciet Authors; with the Value of Coins, Weights,and Measures Used Among the Greekd and Romans; and a Chronogical Table
D. D. Lempriere
Manufacturer: George Routledge & Sons Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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LEMPRIERE'S CLASSICAL DICTIONARY
F.A. WRIGHT
Manufacturer: ROUTLEDGE & KEGAN PAUL
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000S4QP7U

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