Into the Great Solitude (Laurel Expedition)

Customer Reviews:

Solitude or life reflection.......2006-06-17

As most adventure stories have some reflection back on ones life he went way overboard. Robert Perkins should change the title to growing up, losing girlfriend ,father concerns . As read more about that than canoe adventure . If looking for canoe story look elsewhere. Suggest "Canoeing with the Cree" by Eric Severied

Unique True Adventure Story.......2000-02-09

The nature of the voyage that Perkins set out on is extremely unique and interesting making for a captivating story. He ventured into an area of the great northern wilderness where few people have ever been, and he described what he found with wonderful detail and thought. At first, I was annoyed with the personal stories embedded as flashbacks into the adventure, but soon I was drawn in to the psyche of Perkins as he canoed the Back River. My imagination and wonder soared at the thought that there are still places where a person could find utter solitude for such an extended period of time. I suppose the fact that it didn't take any "special" skills, other than an adventurous soul, bravery and an ability with canoes, intrigued me. I ended up purchasing the video, an excellent companion to the book.

A Contemplative Journey Down an Artic River.......1999-12-01

Having undertaken a number of Northern canoe trips, I was very pleasantly surprised to read Robert Perkins account of his 1987 trip down the Back River. I found that Mr. Perkins' descriptions accurately capture to daily routine of paddling down a wilderness river. Many times, in reading his descriptions, I was transported back to my own recollections of life on a canoe trip. I was also struck my Mr. Perkins' sharp eye for detail and often lyrical description of everyday events. Moreover, I found Mr. Perkins' reflections on the events of his own life, which invariable arise in the mind of anyone undertaking such a long canoe trip, provided rewarding insights into the character of the author. All told, this is a very enjoyable book that I would recommend without reservation.

robert perkins is a misgiuded spoiled rich kid.......1999-06-15

confused... robert perkins has issues he chooses to play out in print. the only interesting part of the story was his nervous breakdown. he should keep his 'plastic' boat in new england waters (safer that way - for him and the people that might otherwise have to rescue him from himself).

by the way - your artwork is childlike. stay home robert perkins.

Book Description

From Minnesota's boundary waters to the badlands of the Dakotas, here is detailed travel information and beautiful color photography of some of the natural treasures of America's national parks and smaller reserves. From plant and animal life to sites of geological significance, this guide offers a breathtaking, up-close look at this region's natural wonders.

Customer Reviews:

If you've ever wondered why..........2001-04-28

I've been to South Dakota a number of times and have had many questions about the landscape, etc. This book has the answers and the pictures to go with it. I especially appreciated the glossary and the further-reading list.

excellent book for travel, armchair or otherwise.......1998-08-24

I bought this book for a weeklong driving tour through North and South Dakota, and found this book invaluable. If you are interesting in the natural resources and park systems in these places, it has lotsa info you won't get in maps (especially many beautiful color photos) altho the advice given wasn't always useful.

THE SMITHSONIAN GUIDE TO HISTORIC AMERICA : The Plains States (THE SMITHSONIAN GUIDES TO HISTORIC AMERICA, Volume 12)

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THE SMITHSONIAN GUIDE TO HISTORIC AMERICA : The Plains States (THE SMITHSONIAN GUIDES TO HISTORIC AMERICA, Volume 12)

Manufacturer: Easton Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Leather Bound
ASIN: B000CPLBI8

Product Description

"The 12 Volume set includes V 1 Virginia and the Capital Region (VA MD DE DC) + V 2 Southern New England (MA RI CT) + V 3 The Mid-Atlantic States (NY PA NJ) + V 4 Northern New England (ME NH VT) + V 5 The Deep South (GA FL AL MS LA) + V 6 The Great Lakes States (OH IN IL MI WI MN) + V 7 The Pacific States (CA OR WA + V 8 The Rocky Mountain States (MT ID WY CO) + V 9 The Carolinas and the Appalachian States (NC SC TN KY WV) + V 10 The Desert States (NM AZ UT NV) + V 11 Texas and the Arkansas River Valley (TX OK AK) + V 12 The Plains States (MO IA KS NE SD ND) with descriptive text and full color photographs of all significant historic sites"

The Smithsonian Guide to Historic America, the Plains States.

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The Smithsonian Guide to Historic America, the Plains States.
Suzanne. Winckler
Manufacturer: Stewart, Tabori & Chang
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NXM0FC

Book Description

A dramatic and moving YA novel by Ting-xing Ye, the internationally acclaimed author of A Leaf in the Bitter Wind, working with her husband, William Bell, author of the award-winning novels for young adults Forbidden City, Zack, and Stones.
.
Throwaway Daughter tells the dramatic and moving story of Grace Dong-mei Parker, a typical Canadian teenager until the day she witnesses the Tiananmen massacre on television. Horrified, she sets out to explore her Chinese ancestry, only to discover that she was one of the thousands of infant girls abandoned in China since the introduction of the one-child policy, strictly enforced by the Communist government. But Grace was one of the lucky ones, adopted as a baby by a loving Canadian couple.

With the encouragement of her adoptive parents, she studies Chinese and travels back to China in search of her birth mother. She manages to locate the village where she was born, but at first no one is willing to help her. However, Grace never gives up and, finally, she is reunited with her birth mother, discovering through this emotional bond the truth of what happened to her almost twenty years before.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Customer Reviews:

Over-rated .......2005-10-08

This book must be read as a fictional story. Unfortunately, many readers will come away thinking that they are now more informed on how international adoption in China results. An analogy would be thinking that "true love" was illustrated through a Harlequin romance novel.

As an adoptive mother of two girls from China, I read this book initially with anticipation that this might be a book that I would introduce to them. Unfortunately, it is the author's romanticized, sanitized version of how female infants come to be abandoned by their birth parents and subsequently adopted by foreigners. This book should be read after one reads "A Bitter Leaf in the Wind", the author's autobiography which details how she came to her decision to leave her own 9-year-old daughter to pursue a relationship with a married American man, William Bell (who also had children). Then perhaps one could appreciate that this novel (i.e. Throwaway Daughter) is possibly the author's way of assuaging her own guilt for abandoning her own daughter "for better opportunities." Unfortunately, the opportunity was for the author herself, not her own child. This is quite unlike the situation whereby these foundlings are left so that better opportunities could be had for these children.

This book is entertaining in following the path of one searching for oneself through looking for one's roots, but is definitely not meant to be educational about the complex issue of adoption. Read it with this in mind.

For more factual account of Chinese adoption, I would recommend "Wanting a Daughter, Needing a Son" by Kay Ann Johnson.

My review.......2005-06-10

Dong-Mei also known as Grace Parker, was left on the steps of an orphanage in China. Luckily, a kind family in Canada was looking for another child to add in their family and decided to look for one but it wasn't easy. Lots of orphanages didn't accept the Parkers offer as supposedly, a family couldn't adopt a child if they already have one. When the Parkers finally located the orphanage in China, after lots of paperwork and tons of time, a picture of the baby girl they were adopting was sent to Canada. As Grace adapted to her family in Canada, she always hated the thought of her birth mother. How she had abandoned her, but as she thought of it more and more, she wanted to meet her mother to figure out why.

Thus Grace begins her long journey in her teen years across the world to locate her mother. A quest that takes her to China but what she discovers will change her life forever.

Throwaway Daughter.......2004-10-18

Grace Dong-Mei Parker was adopted from a Chinese orphanage by Canadian parents, and despite their well-meaning efforts, she's adamantly opposed to having anything to do with her Chinese heritage. The sense of identity that language lessons and lunches in Chinatown never accomplish, happens dramatically when she witnesses a news broadcast of the Tiananmen Square massacre, and results in her return to China at the age of twenty to try to track down her birth parents. The circumstances of her birth and abandoment comes out gradually, from several points of view.

Despite being nominated for the American Library Association's Best Books for Young Adults, this reads like adult fiction to me, especially with the complexity of the narrative (multiple points of view and timeshifts--but it's not as confusing as it sounds). Adjectives include lyrical, bittersweet and Canadian.

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Throwaway Daughter

Manufacturer: FABER CHILDREN'S BOO
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GRVZLA

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Throwaway Daughter
Ting-Xing Ye
Manufacturer: Seal Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000PGOTO2

Book Description

Bioanalytical Separations is volume 4 of the multi-volume series, Handbook of Analytical Separations, providing reviews of analytical separation methods and techniques used for the determination of analytes across a whole range of applications. The theme for this volume is bioanalysis, in this case specifically meaning the analysis of drugs and their metabolites in biological fluids.

- Discusses new developments in instrumentation and methods of analyzing drugs and their metabolites in biological fluids
- Provides guidance to the different methods, their relative value to the user, and the advantages and pitfalls of their use
- Future trends are identified, in terms of the potential impact of new technologies

Book Description

Presents new developments in controlled/living radical polymerization in three areas: atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), nitroxide mediated polymerization (NMP), and reversible addition-fragmentation transfer (RAFT). Also includes synthesis and characterization of many new materials.

Controlled Radical Polymerization (Acs Symposium Series)

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Controlled Radical Polymerization (Acs Symposium Series)

Manufacturer: An American Chemical Society Publication
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

Recent work in polymer chemistry has allowed scientists to control the polymerization reaction and produce increasingly well-defined polymers. This volume examines current work in the field and describes the synthesis of new materials. It includes discussions of nitroxide-mediated and metal-mediated radical polymerizations. It also includes an overview of the fundamentals of radical chemistry, making it accessible to a wide range of chemists and materials scientists.

Controlled/Living Radical Polymerization: From Synthesis to Materials (Acs Symposium Series)

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Controlled/Living Radical Polymerization: From Synthesis to Materials (Acs Symposium Series)
Krzysztof Matyjaszewski
Manufacturer: An American Chemical Society Publication
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0841239916

Book Description

The preparation and characterization of new materials with precisely controlled macromolecular dimensions, functionalities, and decomposition, as well as with well-defined topologies, is perhaps the main focus of contemporary polymer synthesis. The best control of molecular functions can be
achieved in a controlled/living polymerization -- a chain growth process without chain breaking reactions. Recently, controlled/living polymerizations have extended to radical systems which are not only commercially important, but also have the largest potential due to the availability of radically
polymerizable monomers, facile copolymerization and undemanding experimental conditions. Controlled Radical Polymerization will examine recent advances in mechanistic and synthetic aspects of controlled/living radical (co)polymerization systems. Not only will this book be focused on recent progress
in the dynamically developing field of controlled/living radical polymerization, but it will be a sequel to the very popular ACS Symposium Series 685, 768, and 854. The book will consist of >30 chapters separated into seven subsections: Fundamentals, Mechanism of ATRP, Mechanisms of SFRP and
Degenerative Transfer Processes, Controlled Architecture by CRP, Organic-inorganic Hybrids by CRP, Biomaterials by CRP and Industrial Applications. This book targets chemists and polymer scientists in academia and in industry.

Controlled/Living Radical Polymerization: Progress in ATRP, NMP and RAFT (Acs Symposium Series)

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Controlled/Living Radical Polymerization: Progress in ATRP, NMP and RAFT (Acs Symposium Series)

Manufacturer: An American Chemical Society Publication
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0841237077

Book Description

This book examines recent progress in controlled/living radical polymerization. The volume focuses on three synthetic methods: atom transfer radical polymerization, nitroxide mediated polymerization and degenerative transfer via addition fragmentation. In addition, the volume covers the preparation and characterization of many never before seen materials using ATRP, NMP and RAFT.

Statistical, Gradient and Segmented Copolymers by Controlled/Living Radical Polymerizations (Advances in Polymer Science)

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Statistical, Gradient and Segmented Copolymers by Controlled/Living Radical Polymerizations (Advances in Polymer Science)
Kelly A. Davis , and Krzysztof Matyjaszewski
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 3540432442

Book Description

This review is focused on controlled/living radical polymerization methods for the preparation of various copolymers. A brief introduction to the subject of radical polymerization, and early attempts to control it, is followed by a detailed examination of the literautre on controlled/living radical copolymerizations from the mid-90's until 2001. The topics covered include statistical/gradient, block, graft, and star copolymers and the polymerization methods used to produce them. These copolymers were prepared using three major controlled radical methods (either nitroxide mediated polymerization, atom transfer radical polymerization or degenerative transfer) and a combination of polymerization techniques, including transformation chemistry or the simultaneous/dual living polymerizations, to achieve the desired chain architecture or topology. An evaluation of the current state of the field is also presented.

Book Description

Richard Feynman once quipped that "Time is what happens when nothing else does." But Julian Barbour disagrees: if nothing happened, if nothing changed, then time would stop. For time is nothing but change. It is change that we perceive occurring all around us, not time. Put simply, time does not exist. In this highly provocative volume, Barbour presents the basic evidence for a timeless universe, and shows why we still experience the world as intensely temporal. It is a book that strikes at the heart of modern physics. It casts doubt on Einstein's greatest contribution, the spacetime continuum, but also points to the solution of one of the great paradoxes of modern science, the chasm between classical and quantum physics. Indeed, Barbour argues that the holy grail of physicists--the unification of Einstein's general relativity with quantum mechanics--may well spell the end of time. Barbour writes with remarkable clarity as he ranges from the ancient philosophers Heraclitus and Parmenides, through the giants of science Galileo, Newton, and Einstein, to the work of the contemporary physicists John Wheeler, Roger Penrose, and Steven Hawking. Along the way he treats us to enticing glimpses of some of the mysteries of the universe, and presents intriguing ideas about multiple worlds, time travel, immortality, and, above all, the illusion of motion. The End of Time is a vibrantly written and revolutionary book. It turns our understanding of reality inside-out.

Customer Reviews:

We are all synchronous dead+alive Schrodingers.......2007-04-10

This book, which is flawed & a bit messy, is a fascinating mind-game about what happens if we nix Time or rather Time directionality. We get time-stop-photography wave-function "manifolds", eigenstates, machine-thought, reductio ad absurdum. Humans see at 70 frames/second, so, no chance of us handling light-speed + quantum, unless we get implants.
I like Barbour's Platonia analogy of "quantum stasis" (P.305). Also his Zen-like Gaussian "becoming-ness". Time is a self-referential human artifice (Leibnitz). To explain Barbour's dogmatic idea of illusion, he posits that the stasis-Platonia is 'fixed' like the 3D turntable of Manhattan in Lauryn Hill's 'Everything is everything". Except the turntable is quantum-flux static. There can be no real Alpha point or Omega point, so one assumes the Big Bang was an illusion. Quantum particles do not obey distance or time & are 5th dimensional. In reality, all 'snapshots' are synchronous. Hence, we and all things that ever were, are alive and dead at the same time in the ETERNAL NOW. Just with "Platonian" separations.
Heisenberg's dE * dt > h means time is subordinated to energy flow. How we "see" a movie (film strip) is because of the film strip's movement (energy) creating a forward sequence. Time-v-energy is determined by E = mc2 so that the 'now' of different objects is different. One needs a grasp of Mach's principles here.
If absolute time is DEAD, it means revising all previous metaphysics.
Also "time travel" becomes a whole different prospect, & curious questions then arise. I don't think Barbour has anything like the total picture, but he's dipping into a Pandora's Box of quantum weirdness. An open mind is categorically required for this stuff.

Just an illusion?.......2006-10-25

Barbour's thesis is that time is an illusion, and doesn't really exist. According to Barbour, the universe is a timeless thing existing in configuration space; it doesn't "move through time," but rather exists as an infinitely dimensioned manifold (my word, not his, and I may not have accurately captured his meaning) in configuration space, where each point on the manifold represents the universe in a unique configuration.

Many of the key concepts in this timeless universe were developed by earlier scientists, particularly Mach. Indeed, one of the benefits of reading this book is the many historical highlights and anecdotes provided by the author. Even if you don't subscribe to his timeless universe hypothesis, the books background material in Newtonian dynamics, special and general relativity, and quantum mechanics makes it worth reading.

The first part of the book lays out general concepts, including the notion of configuration space. I particularly liked Barbour's method of using three points (a "universe" with just three points) as a metaphor for the timeless universe he imagines. In this simplified three-point universe one can define a history as just a path through configuration space - thus eliminating the need for a time variable (at least as far as describing a history is concerned, anyway).

One of the traps in both reading and writing this book is that the concept of time is so permanently ingrained into our minds that it seems impossible to discuss the issue without recourse to phraseology pregnant with the very thing (time) that Barbour says doesn't exist. His wording is literally dripping with time-impregnated words as he describes a timeless world. He understands, even apologizes for the problem - but it persists and was a source of distraction and confusion for me throughout the book.

I think the author does a better job of showing how to eliminate time (or at least think in terms of a timeless universe) within the context of Newtonian dynamics, than in a relativistic and quantum universe. The explanations from an Newtonian point of view are pretty straight forward, but as he progresses through special and general relativity, and on to quantum dynamics, the picture - and figures - become more sparse and (it seems) more dependent on speculation.

At an intuitive and philosophical level I find myself largely in agreement with Barbour. There's something weird about time. It doesn't quite fit. I've often caught myself toying with the notion that it's an illusion. On the other hand, we can measure it, and all our measurements seem to be consistent. It's hard to see how we can measure a second so precisely if it's just an illusion.

On another level I'm almost inclined to think the whole thing is based on semantics. After all, if someone told me that pain is an illusion - that it's really just electrical impulses transmitted to my brain - I'd reply that that's an explanation of what pain is, not an argument that it doesn't exist. Similarly, the universe may exist in timeless configuration space, but my consciousness certainly doesn't. Maybe what we mistook for the universe (and us) moving through time is really just us - our consciousness - moving through configuration space. We mistake our travel through configuration space as movement through time the same way someone floating down a river might mistakenly think the trees are moving past them, and they are just standing still. In fact, I wonder if that might be a characteristic of consciousness - something that moves through configuration space - and perhaps the "laws" of the universe look the way they do because our consciousness is constrained, by virtue of its existence, to travel through configuration space along histories (paths in configuration space) that have certain characteristics (increasing entropy, for example).

That's just speculation, of course, but that's what a lot of Barbour's book is, too; a lot of speculation. Not that that's particularly bad, it's just that, in the end, there's nothing really testable here to evaluate.

Science Fiction Not Science.......2006-06-04

I found this book rambling, difficult to understand, and not particularly well written. The main thesis that all that exists is NOW (see the other reviews for more detail) was not proven in the book and, as far as I can see, cannot be proven empirically (mathematical proof without experimental proof is not adequate). In my opinion this book's theories belong to the realm of science fiction. If you want to let your imagination roam, anything is possible. Maybe everything is an illusion. Maybe I am the only thing that exists in the universe. Maybe there are all sorts of simultaneous universes that are constantly breaking in on each other. Etcetera. If I tried hard enough, I could probably support each of these ideas with concepts from quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity.

I don't think it's unusual for theoretical physics to cross the line from science to conjecture: This book is in that tradition.

Boring Indeed.......2005-12-04

I have read many cosmology books despite I am not a trained scientist or the like .. I found this book extreme boring and very frustrating to read and understand , It jumped from A to B and back to A with diagram which are hard to understand . The author is trying hard to convince the reader on his believe but lacks the tool to do so in a "friendly manner" . I laboured through this book and in the end I found myself learned nothing .In fact I am hesitated to even pass this book to my friend to read .

Not Very Good.......2005-10-04

If time didn't exist, or more specifically motion, then I wouldn't die after putting a bullet into my head after trying to get through this boring, boring book, right?

The End of Time The Next Revolution in Physics

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The End of Time The Next Revolution in Physics
Barbour Julian
Manufacturer: Oxford Univ Pres
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LDO1SS

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The End of Time The Next Revolution in Physics
Julian Barbour
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UV5P8G

Is Time an Illusion?(Review) (book review): An article from: The Futurist

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Is Time an Illusion?(Review) (book review): An article from: The Futurist

Manufacturer: World Future Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Futurist, published by World Future Society on July 1, 2000. The length of the article is 482 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: Is Time an Illusion?(Review) (book review)
Publication: The Futurist (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 1, 2000
Publisher: World Future Society
Volume: 34 Issue: 4 Page: 58

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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The End of Time. The Next Revolution in Physics.

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000I3408C

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The End of Time: The Next Revolution in Physics
Julian Barbour
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKRJJG

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End of Time: The Next Revolution in Physics.

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000ICKP3M

Amazon.com

The Slave, set in 17th-century Poland; Shosha, a depiction of Warsaw's Jewish community on the eve of the Holocaust; and Enemies, a Love Story, which takes place in Brooklyn during the wake of WWII, are the three novels that make up this deeply affecting collection.

From the rabble to the rabbis, Singer brilliantly evokes a tiny village and its citizenry in The Slave. He draws aside the curtain of space and time to reveal rich textures and unforgettable personalities. No sooner have you tasted the groats and potatoes than you witness the struggles that underlie each of his novels. Singer called his characters "victims of their own personalities and fates"; they are characterized by a strong sense of fatalism and alternating urges to fight or surrender to destiny, or God's will.

Singer's work reflects decades of deep yearning to comprehend and serve God, and the rational, selfish backlash that can arise in modern man when God remains mute. His stories are deeply personalized, revolving around one man's experiences and elevating what would otherwise be merely interesting philosophical prose to impassioned, wrenching, beautifully crafted masterpieces. The author definitely doesn't shy away from examining all of a person's thoughts and being, from the lofty to the crass, under the same harsh light. Desire clashes with duty, destiny wrestles against freewill, and logic spars with spirituality. For some readers, his constructs are too strong, too affecting: some Orthodox Jews consider his work so tainted that they won't touch it. Others call it a mockery of Jewish culture, or take umbrage at his depictions of women as hapless idiots, selfish sirens, or screeching nags. But are the conflicts within Singer's characters really so grotesque and profane, or are they simply what make them human? --Jhana Bach

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