Easy Day Hikes in Yosemite: 20 Enjoyable Trails

Customer Reviews:

A Nice, but Brief, Selection.......2007-03-04

There are numerous guidebooks to Yosemite, one of the most popular national parks in the country. Deborah Durkee's volume is distinguished from the rest primarily by the fact that it is published by the Yosemite Association, a non-profit foundation associated with the park. If you want your planning dollar spent supporting this association then by all means get the book. You will also get treated to some decent hikes with readable maps.

The book does include some of the classics of the park. Mirror Lake, Taft Point, and Lembert Dome are all featured in this little book, as well as some less well known walks like the trail to Wawona Point. Nonetheless, in a park the size of Yosemite, a book advertising some 20 trails is bound to leave out a number of short but truly spectacular walks. I am absolutely amazed that the short trips to Bridalveil Falls and Lower Yosemite Falls were left out, and several other trips along Tioga Pass Road were also neglected.

The bottom line then is that this is a decent book at a reasonable price, but if you are planning to stay in Yosemite for any length of time there are better volumes. Suzanne Swedo's 'Best Easy Dayhikes Yosemite' comes to mind. If you are looking for longer adventures, Jeffrey Schaeffer's guides are still the best. But if you want to just stop and stretch your legs while driving through, or if you want to introduce your kids to some pleasant hiking, this book is just fine.

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Revision of the genera Montanoa, Perymenium and Zaluzania (Contributions from the Gray Herbarium / Harvard University)
Benjamin Lincoln Robinson
Manufacturer: Gray Herbarium of Harvard University
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Botany | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B00087Q3NS

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A revision of Perymenium (Asteraceae-Heliantheae) in Mexico and Central America
John J Fay
Manufacturer: s.n
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Botany | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0007CAC5Y

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Revision of Perymenium (Asteraceae-Heliantheae) in Mexico and Central America (Allertonia)
John J Fay
Manufacturer: Pacific Tropical Botanical Garden
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Plants | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Botany | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006CZE94

Book Description

A new and unique type of historical guide, this book features more than one hundred photographs and illustrations of thirty key sites in and around the Chickamauga battlefield.

The September 1863 Battle of Chickamauga, in which Confederate forces under Braxton Bragg defeated Union troops commanded by William Rosecrans, was the bloodiest engagement in the western theater of the Civil War. Chartered in 1890 and dedicated in 1895, the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park is the first and largest of our country's memorial Civil War battlefields. In 2002 alone more than eight hundred thousand people visited the park, which is located in northwest Georgia near the Tennessee border.

Chickamauga: A Battlefield History in Images is arranged for use during a driving tour of the park but also serves as an attractive and unique keepsake. Book in hand, visitors will appreciate as never before the experiences of the battle's actual participants. Civil War scholars and enthusiasts will find a valuable new source for pondering tactical moves and unraveling historic controversies.

Customer Reviews:

Best Battle Guide Ever.......2006-02-26

What a wonderful book! It is written in such a way that anyone from a novice history lover to a professional historian will walk away with a better understanding of the Battle and its implications in the rest of the Civil War. A true treasure, photographs and all!

THESE PICTURES ARE WORTH THOUSANDS OF WORDS.......2004-08-17

One picture being worth a thousand words may be a trite expression, but it is also often true. Such is the case with Roger Linton's unique photographic guide to the Chickamauga battlefield.

Brilliant full-color illustrations capture scenes that many have visited only through printed words in a history text or in their imaginations. Featured with over 100 photographs are 30 key sites in and around Chickamauga.

Students and history buffs will remember that the Battle of Chickamauga in the fall of 1863 was one of the most devastating battles in an incredibly bloody war. Confederate troops led by Braxton Bragg fell before Union forces under the command of William Rosecrans. Commemorating this confrontation is the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, the largest of our country's Civil War battlefields.

With this book in hand one can drive through the park experiencing again those landmark days. True enthusiasts may even want to think about tactics used by the opposing forces.
A succinct text and captions make plain changes to the landscape since 1863.

This is a valuable addition to the libraries of historians, students, and Civil War buffs.

- Gail Cooke

Customer Reviews:

Shianti Magic.......2000-04-01

The "World of Lone Wolf" series was, without doubt, the most enjoyable role-playing gamebook series I ever played.

The combat/survival system is similar to that employed by the Lone Wolf series, but with the added concept of "willpower" points, (which represent, essentially, Grey Star's magic resources). The player selects five of seven magical powers to use before starting the adventure.

The series is lavishly illustrated by Paul Bonner's artwork, and each volume contains a colour map of South Magnamund.

I was quite young when I played these adventures, and I would wait breathlessly and impatiently for each new volume to come out. The world which Ian Page and Joe Dever create is romantic and captivating. All the magic creatures in the story are unique to the world of Magnamund - no elves or dragons - which adds the special feeling of the books.

Grey Star always has companions in his adventures - giants, theives, ape-men (sorry, Kundi), but the most notable is the wytch girl, Tanith, who continues throughout the whole series.

Great intro of a four book seies.......1998-11-27

If you want to get this book (which is a good idea if you like fantasy), be sure to get the other 3 books! Very adventurous and fun.

A great introduction to the four-book series!.......1997-04-17

A wonderfully new exotic atmosphere greets the reader in the 1st book of the Grey Star series.

Set in the world of Southern Magnamund, a world away from the adventures of the hero Lone Wolf, whose series has won numerous awards and encompasses three mini-series as well as off-shoots, Grey Star the Wizard begins with Grey Star sailing from the Isle of Lorn, where his mentors, the Shianti wizards, have self-exiled themselves. Many years ago the Shianti created a magical artefact called the Moonstone, but this relic disrupted the balance of the world of Magnamund, and the Shianti were forced to seal it into a Trianon in the plane of Daziarn as well as remain forever on the Isle of Lorn.

Some time later, a great wizard called Shasarak rose to power. Aided by the Shadakine, great warriors from the Sadai Desert, Shasarak brutally destroyed all major nations of Southern Magnamund, creating a vast empire. The Shianti watched with fear as Shasarak grew in power, and someday the fates have promised that the evil tyrant will cross the Sea of Dreams to the Isle of Lorn and fight with the Shianti for total domination once and for all...

Aided by seven sisters, the Shadakine Wytches, who possess mastery of animal language, evil magic, and the Kazim Stones, magical hearts of creatures of stone, Shasarak also mastered vast legions of daemons and spirits, and has ruthlessly persecuted the pilgrims of the Shianti and other religions. Once, long ago, Shasarak had control of a wondrous but terrible artefact called the Sunstone, a gem that had the power of the sun, but its abuse led to the destruction of an entire civilization...with power like that the Wytch-King has all of the human nations in his iron grip.

The Shianti, unable to help, prayed for assistance. And on the stormy night when Shasarak was crowned King of the Shadakine Empire, a ship ran aground. Nobody remained alive, save a small child, which the Shianti named Grey Star, for the streak of grey in the child's hair. The Shianti cannot help mankind, but Grey Star, being human, can..

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The World of Lone Wolf: War of the Wizards & Grey Star the Wizard ( Set of 2 Books )
Ian & Joe Dever Page
Manufacturer: Berkley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000UFGYQE

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Grey Star the Wizard

Manufacturer: Berkley Pub Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Magic & Wizards | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 9994602659

Book Description

This definitive guide provides the scientific community with a critical evaluation of the
interactions of minerals, organic components and microorganisms in the soil and their importance in the ecosystem.
· Provides a unique insight into the effects of microbes on pollutants in the soil, which is necessary for all environmental scientists working in this area
· Allows further discussion and development to uncover the dynamics and mechanisms of the environmental processes of nature

Book Description

This digital document is an article from JCT Research, published by Federation of Societies for Coatings Technology on October 1, 2004. The length of the article is 5653 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: Use of laser scanning confocal microscopy for characterizing changes in film thickness and local surface morphology of UV-exposed polymer coatings.
Author: Li-Piin Sung
Publication: JCT Research (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2004
Publisher: Federation of Societies for Coatings Technology
Volume: 1 Issue: 4 Page: 267(10)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Not the most successful Weinberg book

Incomprehensible

Excellent account of aging science

Very Good Overview of a Difficult Subject

I like this book

Dreams of a Final Theory: The Scientist's Search for the Ultimate Laws of Nature
Steven Weinberg
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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General | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books
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The First Three Minutes: A Modern View of the Origin of the Universe

The Final Theory: Rethinking Our Scientific Legacy

Elementary Particles and the Laws of Physics: The 1986 Dirac Memorial Lectures

The Inflationary Universe: The Quest for a New Theory of Cosmic Origins

The Particle Garden: Our Universe As Understood by Particle Physicists (Helix Books)

ASIN: 0679744088
Release Date: 1994-02-01

Book Description

The Nobel Prize-winning physicist and bestselling author of The First Three Minutes describes the grand quest for a unifying theory of nature--one that can explain events as disparate as the cohesion inside the atom and the gravitational tug between the sun and Earth.

Customer Reviews:

Not the most successful Weinberg book.......2006-12-30

At least he has learned between 1977 ( The First Three Minutes)
and 1992 about the Planck scale of mass/ energy...?
No equations in this book, just a lot of verbiage about "stuff".
This is the Steven Weinberg who wrote the "Standard Theory"
that gave neutrinos no mass ( wrong) and gluons no mass ( most probably wrong).
It seems that even his ideas of symmetry breaking may be wrong as well
or at least wholly incomplete.
I would say that Heinz R. Pagels ( The Cosmic Code) is a better bet
if you actually want a chance at understanding modern physics.
In physics we call this kind of book "dumbing down" or "physics for dummies".
If you have zero respect for yourself, buy this book.
Otherwise get wise and get his Cosmology
and give into doing some intellectual work.
He wants us to cry over the Super Collider
and that Cern is now in control of the world's high energy physics research.
I say with books like he has written,
he is probably as responsible as anyone for people turning away.

Incomprehensible.......2005-11-24

Although I have little to no education in physics, chemistry or mathematics, I have an IQ of 140, a degree in law and I have read (and even written some) philosophy, so I don't usually have problems with conceptualizing. Having said that as background, as a layman, I found this book to be completely incomprehensible. Although not religious, it is as if Weinberg is speaking in tounges, droning on and on about every physics and chemistry concept and theory from antiquity to present, without ever pausing for a single moment to actually explain any of them. I dare anyone who does not have at least a basic grounding in physics to explain anything Weinberg has said about physics in this book. Weinberg makes much of the "whys" of science, but to me, the greatest unexplained "why" of this book is why was it published.

Excellent account of aging science.......2005-10-01

The view of the author that the current theories are the right path to the final theory is unrealistic. This approach implies that the final theory is some kind of complex mix of previous theories. The final theory requires new fundamental objects in which terms to obtain the modern knowledge as this is done in Eugene Savov’s book Theory of Interaction. The final theory has to be stunningly simple.

Very Good Overview of a Difficult Subject.......2005-04-08

Dreams of a final theory
I believe this book's main propose was the Author, a Nobel prize winning physicist attempting to weigh in for Congressional funding of the Superconducting Super- Collider (SSC). This book is like reading two books in one. The first part of the book had some very good writing about atomic particle research and excellent explanations of the experiments. It also contains the author's surprisingly optimistic view that the theories being currently developed are the beginning of the correct path that will lead science to the "final theory". The remainder of the book is a promotion of the field of particle physics to show that by reduction all the sciences can benefit and share in what is learned in particle physics. Chemistry, Biology, etc at their lowest levels operate at an atomic level. Also some philosophical musings. The author has a knack for explaining complicated ideas for the layman.

I like this book.......2003-11-16

Two chapters stand out to my mind: "Against Philosophy" and "What about God?" Weinberg makes a convincing case that philosophy has made little contribution to objective truth. He also says that he knows of no important scientist in the post-war period who has been substantially influenced by philosophy. One has to be careful here with the word "post-war" because it is well-known that people like Einstein and Heisenberg were very interested in philosophy. As to the chapter on religion, who is better qualified to talk about it than a great physicist like Weinberg who understands the origin of the universe better than almost anybody alive? He makes a forceful case for atheism (though he does not use this term). My only regret is that he doesn't encourage violence against religious fundamentalists and extremists, who are always prepared to use violence to advance their agenda.

Incidentally, Weinberg's belief that a final theory is near is too optimistic. Martin Rees has got it right: The advancement of science is like fractals - every little detail can be further enlarged to reveal far more, ad infinitum. Thus, the search for scientifc truth must be endless, and the dreams for a final theory are no more than that.

Book Description

In the long history of European prose fiction, few works have been more influential and more popular than the romance of chivalry Amadis of Gaul. Although its original author is unknown, it was probably written during the early fourteenth century.

The first great bestseller of the age of printing, Amadis of Gaul was translated into dozens of languages and spawned sequels and imitators over the centuries. A handsome, valiant, and undefeatable knight, Amadis is perhaps best known today as Don Quixote's favorite knight-errant and model. This exquisite English translation restores a masterpiece to print.

Customer Reviews:

You've read the descendants, now read the original!.......2005-06-17

Amadis of Gaul is, in one word, classic. It's the novel from which all modern adventure and fantasy novels come from. It's insipired imitators and parodies, including Cervantes' equally classic Don Quixote--a book which has great reverence for Amadis itself. Knights, damsels, giants, dragons--this book truly has it all.

The best part is, the editors wrote this book so that it's easy for everyone to read. No preservation of archaic dialects here--pick this book up and you'll be able to read it with no problems. Recommended for all lovers of literature.

El mejor libro sobre caballeria........1999-03-16

Ya muy bien lo dijo el ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha : "-Quiero, Sancho, que sepas que el famoso Amadis de Gaula fue uno de los mas perfectos caballeros andantes. No he dicho bien fue uno: fue el solo, el primero, el unico, el seqor de todos cuantos hubo en su tiempo en el mundo." Basta con escuchar estas palabras de boca del gran caballero de la Mancha (o de la pluma de Cervantes!?!) para despertar la curiosidad por leer esta obra tan magna y propia para cualquier caballero moderno o practicante del arte de Jugar al Rol. Una verdadera obra donde la fuerza de la espada y la pasion del amor se dan cita en un solo hombre Amadis de Gaula.

Book Description

This book (previously published as I Am Wind, You Are Fire ) celebrates the extraordinary career of Persia's great mystical poet, Rumi (1207-1273), through the story of his life, along with an enlightening examination of his ecstatic verse. Rumi lived the quiet life of a religious teacher in Anatolia until the age of thirty-seven, when he came under the influence of a whirling dervish, Shams Tabriz, and was moved to a state of mystical ecstasy. One of the results of this ecstasy was a prodigious output of poems about the search for the lost Divine Beloved, whom Rumi identified with Shams. To symbolize this search, Rumi also invented the famous whirling dance of the Melevi dervishes, which are performed accompanied by the chanting of Rumi's poems. Professor Schimmel illuminates the symbolism and significance of Rumi's vast output and offers her own translations of some of his most famous poems.

Customer Reviews:

Reductionist Rumi.......2007-09-20

I am not sure I should write this review, since I have been unable to finish the book so far. The author's pedigree is also intimidating. Yet this book is a cold emotionless dissection, mostly uninteresting except for an academic who has long lost the sense of who or what he's studying. The book takes Rumi apart like a corpse on a slab. To get through it so far, I've escaped periodically to Coleman Bark's Essential Rumi. His brief introduction and forward alone provides more insight into what Rumi is about than the three-quarters of the book I've managed to struggle through so far.
Prodded on by the other reviews to the suspicion that I may have missed something here, I plan to finish the book and reread it again. Yet I should warn others that reading this book as an introduction to Rumi may be like viewing a bearskin rug as an introduction to wildlife. After a reread, I will revisit this review, perhaps reedit it at that time.
Sept.07

One of the best introductions to the life and works of Rumi you can find.......2007-06-29

Origninaly called "I am wind, you are fire" This is perhaps one of the best introductions to the life and works of Rumi around by one of the greatest scholars of Rumi in our modern times (sadly professor Schimmel has now passed away)

The book is well documented and easy to read covering the basics of Rumis life and teachings both placing them in their correct historical and religious context; none of this modernist revisionist Rumi poetry that is being passed around as the great mans works this is an authentic biography of his life.

Exellent read, check out Iqbal, Arberry and Nicholson after this book.

Excellent.......2001-11-10

There are a number of writers on Islamic topics that are excellent from differing perspectives. There are only two Western authors, however, that I have any respect for when it comes to the subject of Islamic spirituality. One of them was Frithjof Schuon, and the other is Annemarie Schimmel.

With all of the fuss about Rumi and the whole New Age Sufi thing, it is all too easy to forget that Rumi was a Muslim (sometimes I suspect that too many people would like to forget it). Rumi was the sort of person that he was because he was a Muslim, and not in spite of that fact. Professor Schimmel places Rumi squarely in the Islamic perspective, which is where he belongs. This book provides the best short introduction to his life and thought within that context that I have run across, and I recommend it highly to anyone interested in his life and work.

Very enlightening.......2001-04-27

An excellent piece of writing on the life and poetry of Rumi. Gives a biographical sketch as well as outlines the technicalities of Rumi's prose, his beliefs and ideas as rendered in poetry. One of the most moving book's I've ever read.

Wonderful, poetic, biography of the great Mawlana Rumi........2000-07-26

This book is the best biography of Mawlana Jalal uddin Rumi (may his secret be sanctified!) that I have read in the English language to date. The prose itself is absolutely wonderful and is almost poetry in itself! Added to this is Prof. Schimmel's intimate knowledge of the works and life of Mawlana Rumi which she does a wonderful job of presenting. Also, unlike other Orientalist interpreters of Sufism, she firmly places Rumi within the orthodox Islamic framework and ideology/world-view where he belongs. Her translations of his poems are also delightful. This book is highly recommended for all those Muslim and non-Muslim who are interested in the life and works of one of the greatest Saints to ever walk this earth.

Book Description

This is a biographical dictionary of the two flag officers and captains of 27 battleships, four frigates and two minor combatant vessels that were present under Nelson's command at the historic battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805. Each officer's family background and naval career will be covered and his and his ship's role in the Battle analyzed. In addition there will be a general introduction.

Customer Reviews:

A very good source but no portraits.......2006-05-02

This is a fine collection of biographies of the captains who served under Nelson in the climactic battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and there are many details of their lives and careers, extending before, during and after that battle. Unfortunately, the author or the editors didn't consider important to include at least a portrait of every captain mentioned (there are only three), and I found this to be a major drawback to an otherwise very good book.

The answers to a great many questions........2006-03-07

Whether or not it was actually said, "Kiss me Hardy" is probably the second most famous sentence attributed to Nelson after "England Expects...". But what happened to Hardy after Nelson lost his life at the Battle of Trafalgar was not something of which I was previously aware.

Under Nelson's command at Trafalgar were the captains of 27 battleships, 4 frigates and 2 minor vessels in addition to 2 flag officers (of whom Hardy was one). In this excellent work, Dr Tony Heathcote provides the reader with the personal biographies of those 35 officers. In a rather refreshing work, which, in many ways, reads like a collection of short stories, the author has gone to great trouble to research the entire life of each of his 35 subjects - and, it should be said, collectively they would have made a significant contribution to any "Who's Who" had such a book been available at that time.

In an easy-to-read style of writing, each biography commences with a brief when and where born and educated followed by the date of joining the Royal Navy. From this point onwards, the reader is treated to a ship-by-ship and appointment-by-appointment account of that person's naval service. Not only is it fascinating to see what events brought these people together for that most famous of all battles, but it is equally fascinating to see how each officer fared during that battle and, for those who survived Trafalgar, what happened in the years that followed. Very soon after beginning the book we find the various careers of these officers overlapping as each pen-picture begins to form part of much larger portrait.

The text is well supported with a carefully chosen selection of portraits and maps which combine to make this work one which is hard to put down until finished.

NM

Book Description

A "beginning," especially as embodied in much modern thought, is its own method, Edward Said argues in this classic treatise on the role of the intellectual and the goal of criticism. Distinguishing between "origin," which is divine, mythical, and privileged, and "beginning," which is secular and humanly produced, Said traces the ramifications and diverse understandings of the concept of beginning through history. A beginning is a first step in the intentional production of meaning and the production of difference from preexisting traditions. It authorizes subsequent texts -- it both enables them and limits what is acceptable.

Drawing on the insights of Vico, Valery, Nietzsche, Saussure, Lévi-Strauss, Husserl, and Foucault, Said recognizes the novel as the major attempt in Western literary culture to give beginnings an authorizing function in experience, art, and knowledge. Scholarship should see itself as a beginning -- as a uniting of theory and practice. Said's insistence on a criticism that is humane and socially responsible is what makes Beginnings a book about much more than writing: it is about imagination and action as well as the constraints on freedom and invention that come from human intention and the method of its fulfillment.

Beginnings : intention and method / Edward W. Said

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Beginnings : intention and method / Edward W. Said
Edward W. Said
Manufacturer: New York : Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VT2YPE

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BEGINNINGS: INTENTION AND METHOD.
Edward W. Said
Manufacturer: Columbia Univ. Press,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N7E21S

Book Description

Wallace profiles 12 activists from around the world who prove that environmental victories are possible; that they begin within us and can happen in our own backyards. (Environmental Studies)

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