Roughnecking

Book Description

During the 1950s, in the Four Corners area, it took a different kind of man to work out in the oil fields. They were known as "roughnecks," and led lives full of danger, excitement and hard work. These men loved to work as much as they loved to play, and camaraderie was a necessity; whether they were out on an oil rig hundreds of miles from civilization, or getting lost in the wilderness while on a fishing trip. Robert Blair wrote about his adventures working and playing with men who were not only some of the most skilled men in America, they also became life-long friends of his. He traveled all over the Four Corners area working on oil rigs, hunting in the Colorado mountains and digging up ancient remains in New Mexico. The beautiful mesas, clear rivers, and exquisite mountains and vegetation are all referenced with great admiration. It was a different world back then. Men were happy to be Americans and proud of working outdoors for a living. Robert's story is lots of fun and at times sad, but to get a glimpse of these mens' lives during that era, is quite fascinating.

Average customer rating:

Roughnecking It
Chilton williamson jr
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Average customer rating:

Roughnecking it
Chilton Williamson
Manufacturer: Simon and Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Customer Reviews:

Films of James Cagney by Homer Dickens.......2005-05-18

The rendition begins with a short biography of James Cagney
depicting the actor at one, as a teen, as a member of the Yorkville
Nut Club, as a clerk in Wanamaker's, in a classic vaudeville act
and as Mr. and Mrs. James Cagney. The work contains Cagney in
almost every classic pose including a scene near a fountain and
a fighter's portrait. There are numerous photos in "City for Conquest" , "The Bride Came COD" and "Captains of the Clouds".
This volume would be perfect for film students everywhere. It is
worth the cost for the extensive research presented.

A great little book tracing the career of a great little man.......2002-01-28

This marvelous book was originally published in 1972 but updated in 1989 to include Cagney's final years (he died in 1986). The first thirty pages are devotd to biographical information including pictures of Cag's life from ages 1 to 72. This is followed by a charming section entitled 'Rogues gallery' and features many of Cag's publicity stills. The rest of the book is devoted to the films and stagework featuring cast, credits, synopsis, critical analysis of the time and the author's own opinion. The book also encompases the shorter, promotional and behind the scenes films as well all the stage appearances. All of the greats are here as well as the lesser known films; from 'Sinner's Holiday' in 1930 to Cagney's final wheelchair bound appearance in the 1984 TV movie 'The Terrible Joe Moran'. This is one of many books in the Citadel film series tracing the careers of Hollywood's greats and this is a useful and concise accompaniment to the career of one such great. I look forward to reading others in the series.

Average customer rating:

The Complete Films of James Cagney

Manufacturer: Citadel Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0685237192

Book Description

American children spend a substantial part of their lives watching television and movies, playing video games, and listening to music containing explicit sex and violence. From Doom and Grand Theft Auto III to Eminem and Marilyn Manson, a strain of the popular culture has become increasingly toxic. One of the most pressing -- and controversial -- issues facing parents and educators in America today is understanding how exposure to these media affects the social and psychological development and behavior of children and teenagers.

In Kid Stuff, Diane Ravitch and Joseph P. Viteritti bring together experts in media studies, child psychology, and public health to assess the dangers posed by "tox pop" to American society. Drawing on thirty years of research, the contributors find convincing evidence that such "entertainment" can harm children and teenagers, despite the self-serving denials of the media industry. Balancing their concerns for the welfare of children with respect for the First Amendment, Kid Stuff furthers the ongoing dialogue about how a democratic society can protect its children from the pernicious extremes of popular media.

Contributors: Craig A. Anderson, Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, Peter G. Christenson, Edward Donnerstein, Jeanne B. Funk, Todd Gitlin, Kay S. Hymowitz, Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn, Nell Minow, Newton Minow, Thomas N. Robinson, Stacy L. Smith

Customer Reviews:

Even-handed, powerful essays on violence, obscenity in US.......2004-01-17

The editors, Diane Ravitch and Joseph Viteritti, have gathered together a number of scholars from the humanities and social sciences to consider the question, "Is our popular culture toxic?" Also, "Is it toxic merely to children or adolescents?" These scholars are even-handed in their answers to these questions; critics will not be able to dismiss them with the kind of labels heard on Fox News. Each has assembled existing data and impressions, and has answered questions such as, "What is it like to teach amid the torrent of popular culture?" and "How can one socialize children in a culture of obscenity?" "How much exposure to violence, sex, drugs, and alcohol constitutes a problem?" "What are the lasting effects of controversial music?"

I am a great fan of Diane Ravitch and Joseph Viteritti, based on their previous books, and their edited books. This one is my favorite.

The writers are fluent with their data, so the academic part is easy to read. More important, however, is that the writers describe "what it is like" (the "phenomenology" in academic language) to swim in this sea of obscene popular culture. This makes me think that they have touched the lives of children, and have examined their own experiences in our culture. Finally, even though their findings are largely that the culture has changed for the worse, they are not hysterical. Their recommendations reflect an appropriate course (or set of courses) to take, for lawmakers, educators, parents, guardians, and, yes, even the purveyors of this media blitz of violence and sex. Since nobody has their hands clean, it is good to read these writers.

One part I loved was the author who asked makers of pornography whether they would want their children exposed to it. Their answers reflect a moral compartmentalization, because they make their living from what is so popular and desensitizing, and yet are very ambivalent about having their children see pornography--it is the way the world "is," but not the way they might like their children "see" it.

Great book. This will help frame public dialogue about porn, violence, drugs, and the pond we all have to swim in--the degraded public discourse in our common lives.

Book Description

Eighty puzzles. The answers are easy! But getting there is the hard part. Uncover connections and identify hidden relationships until suddenly the answers are appearing as if by magic. Solve situations on the moon, around an insect-eating plant and gold-record racing through space in the Voyager spacecraft. 96 pages, 100 b/w illus., 5 3/8 x 8 1/4.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book towards Great Critical Thinking.......2006-07-20

This book is not only a Challenging, Entertaining and Instructive Collection of 83 perplexing puzzles, but also a tool to discover and develop your critical thinking skills.

Psychologist and educators refer to critical thinking as a variety of higher-level thinking strategies that can be used to analyze, solve and evaluate all sort of things, such as facts, theories, statements, and of course, puzzles. The array of brain-bending puzzles presented in this book will engage many of these skills.

A must for anyone who loves solving Critical Thinking Puzzles.

Fun but with some flaws.......2004-06-28

The book is a blend of somewhat easy and somewhat difficult puzzles. Most people will certainly find a challenge within. However, there are what appear to be some errors in some of the solutions, one of which has been pointed out by another reviewer.

For the most part, the provided solutions adequately explain the puzzle, which is not always the case among puzzle books of this type.

Flawed! One of the worst ever! Please save your money!.......2004-01-16

Critical thinking puzzles are not supposed to have any flaws. Some of these puzzles have multiple answers or are ambiguous. One example is early in the book. The puzzle 'Leftovers Again?' says that students are taught to turn a 1-ounce bag of clay into a statue. The quote in the book says, "For every five statues made, there is enough to make one more statue. Suppose a student is presented with 25 ounces of clay. What is the maximum number of statues he can sculpt?" According to the way it's written, most people, if not all, will answer 30. The book says 31. Incorrect! The puzzle says "for every five statues made, there is enough to make one more statue." It does NOT say for every five statues made, there is one ounce left over. If it were written this way, 31 would be the correct answer.
That is just one example. Trust me on this. The book is full of them. Save your money and buy another book. There's a reason why it's selling used for $1.75.

Fun and Instructional.......2003-01-01

Who says you can't have fun and sharpen your thinking at the same time?

Another Excellent Book By Mr. Dispezio.......1999-07-09

This is an excellent book for adults as well as children. It is becoming increasingly clear: if you want the best puzzle books for critical thinking skills or just plain fun, there are only 2 writers tha t can bring you the top puzzles: Michael Dispezio and Terry Stickels.

Average customer rating:

GREAT CRITICAL THINKING PUZZLES
Michael A. Di Spezzio
Manufacturer: Scholastic Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000IOBU0W

Pasatiempos Logicos / Great Critical Thinking Puzzles (Tests Y Juegos De Inteligencia / Intelligence Tests and Games)

Average customer rating:

Pasatiempos Logicos / Great Critical Thinking Puzzles (Tests Y Juegos De Inteligencia / Intelligence Tests and Games)
Michael A. Dispezio
Manufacturer: Susaeta
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Logic & Brain Teasers | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Puzzles | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Logic & Language | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Spanish | Foreign Language Nonfiction | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Testing & Measurement | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Average customer rating:

No Cognitive Friction Here..

an essential handbook for designing software

Great writing, very illustrative examples, definitely not a detailed how-to

this book changed my life

Blown out of proportion

The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity
Alan Cooper
Manufacturer: Sams - Pearson Education
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Culture | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
Website Architecture & Usability | Web Development | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
Human-Computer Interaction | Computer Science | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
Technology & Society | Communication | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Computers & Internet | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Nonfiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

About Face 2.0: The Essentials of Interaction Design

The Design of Everyday Things

About Face 3: The Essentials of Interaction Design

Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition

Observing the User Experience: A Practitioner's Guide to User Research (Morgan Kaufmann Series in Interactive Technologies) (Interactive Technologies)

ASIN: 0672326140

Amazon.com

The recurring metaphor in The Inmates are Running the Asylum is that of the dancing bear--the circus bear that shuffles clumsily for the amusement of the audience. Such bears, says author Alan Cooper, don't dance well, as everyone at the circus can see. What amazes the crowd is that the bear dances at all. Cooper argues that technology (videocassette recorders, car alarms, most software applications for personal computers) consists largely of dancing bears--pieces that work, but not at all well. He goes on to say that this is more often than not the fault of poorly designed user interfaces, and he makes a good argument that way too many devices (perhaps as a result of the designers' subconscious wish to bully the people who tormented them as children) ask too much of their users. Too many systems (like the famous unprogrammable VCR) make their users feel stupid when they can't get the job done.

Cooper, who designed Visual Basic (the programming environment Microsoft promotes for the purpose of creating good user interfaces), indulges in too much name-dropping and self-congratulation (Cooper attributes the quote, "How did you do that?" to Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, upon looking at one of Cooper's creations)--but this appears to be de rigueur in books about the software industry. But those asides are minor. More valuable is the discourse about software design and implementation ("[O]bject orientation divides the 1000-brick tower into 10 100-brick towers."). Read this book for an idea of what's wrong with UI design. --David Wall

Topics covered: User interfaces--good ones and bad ones--and where they come from. Also, how to improve the ones you create.

Book Description

Imagine, at a terrifyingly aggressive rate, everything you regularly use is being equipped with computer technology. Think about your phone, cameras, cars-everything-being automated and programmed by people who in their rush to accept the many benefits of the silicon chip, have abdicated their responsibility to make these products easy to use. The Inmates Are Running the Asylum argues that the business executives who make the decisions to develop these products are not the ones in control of the technology used to create them. Insightful and entertaining, The Inmates Are Running the Asylum uses the author's experiences in corporate America to illustrate how talented people continuously design bad software-based products and why we need technology to work the way average people think. Somewhere out there is a happy medium that makes these types of products both user and bottom-line friendly; this book discusses why we need to quickly find that medium.

Download Description

Imagine, at a terrifyingly aggressive rate, everything you regularly use is being equipped with computer technology. Think about your phone, cameras, cars - everything - being automated and programmed by people who in their rush to accept the many benefits of the silicon chip, have abdicated their responsibility to make these products easy to use. The Inmates are Running the Asylum argues that, despite appearances, business executives are simply not the ones in control of the high-tech industry. They have inadvertently put programmers and engineers in charge, leading to products and processes that waste money, squander customer loyalty, and erode competitive advantage. Business executives have let the inmates run the asylum! In his book The Inmates Are Running the Asylum Alan Cooper calls for revolution - we need technology to work in the same way average people think - we need to restore the sanity. He offers a provocative, insightful and entertaining explanation of how talented people continuously design bad software-based products. More importantly, he uses his own work with companies big and small to show how to harness those talents to create products that will both thrill their users and grow the bottom line.

Customer Reviews:

No Cognitive Friction Here.. .......2007-06-12

Alan Cooper gives the reader insight into why so many of today's technological products frustrate and confuse users. Yet he goes past this to discuss a methodology for keeping it simple and designing for the user i.e. avoiding cognitive friction. This book has changed the way I will develop products and should be a must read for product managers of application developers. Just learning Mr. Cooper's vocabulary is worth the read. The ideas such as personas, keywords, and designing for an individual push the book way above average. This is an easy read that should be done in your spare time if you want to avoid cognitive friction with your users. It has changed the way I view technology and brought a new awareness to thoughtless technology implementation which often cause failure or misuse. The only reason I gave this book a 4 out of 5 as I feel it could have been reduced a little bit more, certain points I felt like the author was rambling about personal fustrations.

an essential handbook for designing software.......2007-06-11

Cooper's argument in this book is simple: you have to know your users, and you have to understand what they're trying to accomplish with your software. The method that he puts forth for achieving this understanding is personas, richly-described archetypical users.

The book is easy to read and understand. He begins with a detailed description of the problem with software design as carried about by programmers who can only imagine themselves as the users of their software, resulting in software that makes really difficult things possible but doesn't bother to make easy or common things quick and easy.

After making the argument that programmers shouldn't design interfaces and making the case both for usability and interaction design, he lays out the personas concept. Cooper's guidelines for creating personas and using them are well-written and well-thought-out. However, his examples of applying them to some of his own customers are rather repetitive, and sometimes come across as somewhat whiny.

Now that it's time for my group at Microsoft to revisit our personas and determine what needs to be tweaked for our next version, I decided that I should revisit the book that first advanced the idea. It has stood up well to the test of time (something that not many computer books can do). I highly recommend it, both to usability and design professionals, as well as programmers.

Great writing, very illustrative examples, definitely not a detailed how-to.......2007-05-13

The strength of this book its clear and easy-to-read writing. Cooper's examples are instructive and the theory of why design-centric business approaches are the most powerful. It's supposed to be a business-case book but I'm quite sure all programmers and even designers would find the read very worthwhile.

My only wish for the book would be that Chapter 10 onwards seemed to be the really exciting stuff, detailing the how more than the why of design-centric approaches. This part feels like a rushed summary in comparison the the attention paid to the why aspect in the rest of the book. You may want to consider Cooper's newly revised "how" book although it is mainly a designer's handbook: About Face 3: The Essentials of Interaction Design

I'm not done with that About Face 3: The Essentials of Interaction Design but I'm starting to worry it's going to leave me wishing it had more specific methodologies as opposed to theories. Of course, it has much more methodological attention than The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity (2nd Edition) and there's no fault in what is written, only in what is omitted.

If you're really looking for the ultimate how-to, you might want to consider attending the four-day "Cooper U". Case in point: I had the chance to ask Alan Cooper where I could learn more about how to create the design documents he writes about in the last part of The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity (2nd Edition) and he really couldn't say what books would be able to instruct that (including his own) and that it would be covered in his course.

this book changed my life.......2007-02-22

I was a well-paid systems administrator/help desk guy until I read this book. This book really did inspire me to change careers!

The book basically outlines why engineers (and people who think like engineers) are INCAPABLE of designing effective interfaces. It delves into specifics and supplies some great examples.

I am amused by some of the reviewers here who display the same sort of arrogant contempt that the book outlines. OF COURSE programming a VCR is easy for YOU--you're a person with an "engineer mind". My mom can't program a VCR at all, and that's not because she didn't try hard enough or read the instructions. She can't use it because everything about it's interface is counter-intuitive to someone who does not understand machine/code logic.

Just because it's easy for you doesn't mean it doesn't stink. Just because it makes sense to you doesn't mean it can't be made better--to work intuitively for "regular" people. Buy this book. Read it. Demand more from your products. It's time to end the insanity.

Blown out of proportion.......2007-01-18

It's true that some products have poor interfaces, but in my experience this "problem" is blown way out of proportion with reality. The only people I know who couldn't figure out how to program their VCRs were people who did not try for more than 5 minutes. Read the instructions, both in the book and onscreen, and VCR programming is a snap, from the earliest models to today.

I think the real question should be: Why are so many users so lazy? This is more of a social problem than a technological one. Some think that if any effort is required to learn how to use a new device then it's poorly designed. Poppycock!

Book Description

On August 9,1945, on the tiny island of Tinian in the South Pacific, a twenty-five-year-old American Army Air Corps Major named Charles W. Sweeney climbed aboard a B-29 Superfortress in command of his first combat mission, one devised specifically to bring a long and terrible war to a necessary conclusion. In the belly of his bomber, the Bock's Car, was a newly developed, fully armed weapon that had never been tested in a combat situation--a weapon capable of a level of destruction never before dreamed of in the history of the human race...a bomb whose terrifying aftershock would ultimately determine the direction of the twentieth century and change the world forever.

The last military officer to command an atomic mission, Maj. Gen. Charles W. Sweeney has the unique distinction of having been an integral part of both the Hiroshima and the Nagasaki bombing runs. His book is an extraordinary chronicle of the months of careful planning and training; the set backs, secrecy and the snafus; the nerve-shattering final seconds and the astonishing aftermath of what is arguably the most significant single event in modern history: the employment of an atomic weapon during wartime.

Customer Reviews:

Pilot's perspective on the bomb and it's deployment........2007-09-13

Sweeney writes a compelling story about his role in the use of the atomic bomb. From an initial interest in flying, thru his early years as a pilot, to the secret preparations to train pilots and mission support to deliver an atomic bomb, and finally the actual missions over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, this book is a must read for anyone interested in understanding how and why we "dropped the bomb".

Love it or hate it.......2005-11-07

My my my. The hot and cold reviews that this book attracts are a reflection of why Sweeney claims to have written the book, I think. For those who "support" the manner by which the U.S. ended the war that Japan started, Sweeney wanted to provide the record from one of the key players as the pilot of "Bock's Car," the plane that dropped the bomb on Nagasaki. For those who oppose this bombing, he wanted to provide his perspective and argument. My review of the book is from the perspective of someone who wanted to just understand the facts of the bombing missions, and who is interested in reading the firsthand account of such a moment in modern history. I doubt that anyone's position on the bombings will be changed one bit by this book; it does, however, provide that eyewitness perspective of the missions, and it gives the reader some understanding of what it took for these controversial measures to have even been executed. I found the book fascinating from that angle. If you are interested in the big pro or con moral questions, I am not sure that this book is going to feed your desires.

Charles Sweeney...War Criminal!.......2005-09-03

Neither of the atomic bombs the US dropped on Japan (not to forget the earlier fire bombing of Tokyo) were necessary to conclude the war. Japan was a thoroughly defeated country and had been seeking peace terms for over half a year. The terms ultimately granted by the US were those which Japan had been seeking all along!

Irrespective of this, by the self proclaimed standards of the United States, Major (later Major General) Charles Sweeney was clearly a war criminal of the worst kind. It is one thing to attack enemy troops and fortifications; quite another to burn the eyeballs out of the heads of 100,000 *civilian* non-combatants -- most of whom were women, children and the elderly; and 10-12,000 of whom were Sweeney's fellow Catholics. Germans and Japanese swung for much less. Sweeney got promoted!

Another Pro-Nuclear Bomb Book by An American........2005-08-12

Paul Tibbet should have been tried as a war criminal. I don't see anything to celebrate about on this 60th anniversary of the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Perhaps the Japanese are rethinking about these events today and can write their own versions of what they think of these two genicides.
Whether it saved lives or not is speculation, just that speculation. We all know how speculation is viewed in a court of law.

A War Criminal's Memoir of Mass Murder.......2004-08-10

A sad reminder that history is written by the victors. I wonder how Americans would feel if Al Qaeda would write a similar book glorifying the 9-11 attacks. Disgusting.

War's End: An Eyewitness Account of America's Last Atomic Mission

Average customer rating:

War's End: An Eyewitness Account of America's Last Atomic Mission
Charles; Antonucci, James A.; Antonucci, Marion K.; Avon Books Sweeney
Manufacturer: Avon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O057RC

Average customer rating:

Terrific! Lots of great stuff here!

Weird History 101

Ubermonkey says thumb's tilted to the side...

Filled with inaccuracies

the very best

Weird History 101
John Richard Stephens
Manufacturer: Adams Media Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
General | World | History | Subjects | Books
Curiosities & Wonders | Fun Facts | Reference | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Greatest Stories Never Told: 100 Tales from History to Astonish, Bewilder, and Stupefy

It Seemed Like a Good Idea...: A Compendium Of Great Historical Fiascoes

The Pessimist's Guide to History: An Irresistible Compendium Of Catastrophes, Barbarities, Massacres And Mayhem From The Big Bang To The New Millennium

One-Night Stands with American History (Revised and Updated Edition): Odd, Amusing, and Little-Known Incidents

An Underground Education : The Unauthorized and Outrageous Supplement to Everything You Thought You Knew About Art, Sex, Business, Crime, Science, Medicine, and Other Fields of Human

ASIN: 1558507159

Customer Reviews:

Terrific! Lots of great stuff here!.......2007-02-19

I alternately was awed, brought to tears, and rolling with laughter while I read this terrific book. The author is himself a historian and he brings history alive with amazing tid-bits from first-person narratives about being on the Titantic, to the Indian war - from the NATIVE AMERICAN perspective (this was very sad). Even people who aren't terribly interested in history in general will find this book interesting and (often) amusing. Please, don't deny yourself a copy of this book!

Weird History 101.......2006-11-03

I was surprised to see how people reacted to this book. I think this book is great from an anthropological perspective. Sure it's bias and sure it's full skewed facts. For those who haven't read it, the book is based on 1st person or 'eye witness' accounts of events. When people wrote those excerpts they weren't trying to be politically correct, nor thinking that one day they were going to be judge. They wrote and described their events as they saw them, impulsive maybe, and to me, seeing it with an educative perpective, is not only brilliant but valid because history tends to be that way. It's always told with a point of view; either the 'winners' or the losers''. All the author did was put them together and presented them in this well organized and entertaining book. Of course this book wasn't meant to be a classroom text book but hey, if one is teaching an anthropology course this is a great suppliment for many topics of discussion.

Ubermonkey says thumb's tilted to the side..........2006-08-15

THE GOOD: First of all, anyone wanting to read this book and come away with some hardcore, little known historical facts is going to walk away disappointed. This is not a book that will turn you into a "I didn't know that" or "Trivial Pursuit" genius. The book is entertaining though, as previously noted, there are some skewed facts. I think that the book should be kept in perspective (read for entertainment) and not taken as gospel history.

THE BAD: The title was a little misleading. This wasn't "Weird" history as much as it was different perspectives on well known history. It covered subjects from dropping bombs on Japan to the indian/white man fall out to the death of the Red Baron. Each chapter retold of the accounts from eye witnesses. See, not weird, just from an angle most have not been exposed to.

THE UGLY: I agree with Bill's review (Skewed History 101). There were times I was reading this book and I started thinking, "Wow, I really hate white people, Republicans and America!" The WW2 bombing of Japan covered in a sub-chapter titled "U.S. Tried for War Crimes" basically slams the US for dropping two bombs and never lets up. Another sub-chapter called "Native Americans Versus Western Civilization" was basically an eight page beat down of the white man during the days of the wild west. It recounts those days through the eyes of Indian Chiefs so you know it will not be pleasant to read. I don't mind truth because we all know the Indians got screwed. But to read a chapter of account after account after account is a little unnecessary.

Also, in the sub-chapter which covers the death of the Red Baron, I thought it was interesting that when eye witnesses were discussing measurements, they sometimes said feet or yards and other times said meters. Kind of an odd inconsistency.

Ubermonkey says that if you want some light entertainment and don't mind the politics behind the story, this book is worth the read. However if US/white person/Repblican bashing bothers you, then you may want to read about "weird" history elsewhere.

Filled with inaccuracies.......2006-06-15

I'm a history Master's student, so I love delving into books that promise obscure primary sources and alternate views of history. The chapter seemed promising if a bit one-sided, but as I continued reading into the areas that I'm most familiar with, I noticed a number of inaccuracies and exaggerations. For instance, the author makes mention that in Egypt, there were so many mummies that they were burned as fuel for railroads as well as being used in the papermaking industry. Both of these assertions are ludicrous. The first claim is based completely on a satire written by Mark Twain, the second by a number of sources whose sources were themselves flawed.

The author also attempts to pass off as fact a letter written by Martin van Buren to Andrew Jackson about banning railroads. The letter has been proven time and time again to be a hoax. It's language, style and even the facts it presents are anachronistic and out of character for van Buren. It was most likely the creation of a lobbying group.

I have only read maybe a quarter of the book, but now anything that he says, I'm forced to view with a suspicious eye. While this book may indeed be weird, history it is not.

the very best.......2003-06-02

Awesome book. The best thing I like about the books is that, most of the details are quoted from the people, who lived the history, - and not what the writer thinks happened. In several places the author includes stories from each party involved in the event that made the history. For e.g. there is a detail account of what Fanny thought had happened at Fort Sully and also what the Native Americans had narrated. The book is a must buy, if you like to go into details.

Average customer rating:

Weird History 101
john richard stephens
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0760779945

Product Description

Talesof intrigue,mayhem and outrageous behavior. Flip side od official history,government documents revealed,bizarre medical remedies.319 pages.Black and white photos.

Weird History 101: Tales of Intrigue, Mayhem, and Outrageous Behavior

Average customer rating:

Weird History 101: Tales of Intrigue, Mayhem, and Outrageous Behavior
John Richard Stephens
Manufacturer: BARNES & NOBLE BOOKS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OLMR5Q

Book Description

Like the cracking of the genetic code and the creation of the atomic bomb, the discovery of how the brain's neurons work is one of the fundamental scientific developments of the twentieth century. The discovery of neurotransmitters revolutionized the way we think about the brain and what it means to be human yet few people know how they were discovered, the scientists involved, or the fierce controversy about whether they even existed. The War of the Soups and the Sparks tells the saga of the dispute between the pharmacologists, who had uncovered the first evidence that nerves communicate by releasing chemicals, and the neurophysiologists, experts on the nervous system, who dismissed the evidence and remained committed to electrical explanations.

The protagonists of this story are Otto Loewi and Henry Dale, who received Nobel Prizes for their work, and Walter Cannon, who would have shared the prize with them if he had not been persuaded to adopt a controversial theory (how that happened is an important part of this history). Valenstein sets his story of scientific discovery against the backdrop of two world wars and examines the fascinating lives of several scientists whose work was affected by the social and political events of their time. He recounts such stories as Loewi's arrest by Nazi storm troopers and Dale's efforts at helping key scientists escape Germany.

The War of the Soups and the Sparks reveals how science and scientists work. Valenstein describes the observations and experiments that led to the discovery of neurotransmitters and sheds light on what determines whether a novel concept will gain acceptance among the scientific community. His work also explains the immense importance of Loewi, Dale, and Cannon's achievements in our understanding of the human brain and the way mental illnesses are conceptualized and treated.

Customer Reviews:

A great and important story with incredible characters.......2006-12-22

In this immensely readable book, Elliot Valenstein provides a remarkable account of one of the great scientific discoveries of the 20th century. The discovery of how nerve cells communicate has revolutionized our understanding of the brain. The story behind this momentous discovery is a fascinating one and it includes the joint effort of many remarkable men.

The road to the discovery of neurotransmitters involved the work of many different scientists but three individuals in particular are of vital importance to this story: Henry Dale, Otto Loewi (both pharmacologists) and the great American physiologist, Walter Cannon. The initial insights that nerve communication could be chemically mediated stemmed from the research findings that specific chemical compounds (at that time, these compounds were derived mainly from plant extracts and laboratory synthesis) could mimic the effects of sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve innervation. Since it was not known at the time that the chemical compounds in question (such as acetylcholine, epinephrine and norepinephrine) were substances naturally found in the body, nobody had yet speculated that the nerves were actually secreting these mediators. One of the seminal experiments (the inspiration for which apparently originated from a dream) was that of Otto Loewi. Loewi performed a simple experiment on isolated frog hearts - he showed that stimulating the vagus nerve of the first heart led to a substantial decrease of the heart rhythm. Loewi then collected the chemical perfusion collected from this heart and applied it to the second heart (without stimulating the vagus nerve). Remarkably, the mere application of the chemical substance led to a substantial decrease in heart rate. However, far from proving the existence of neurotransmitters, controversy continued to rage at least for another decade. Later, Henry Dale, with the help of Wilhelm Feldberg, had shown that this chemical substance was acetylcholine and moreover that all parasympathetic nerves released this neurotransmitter. At the same time, Walter Cannon was doing work on the sympathetic nervous system and the role of epinephrine and norepinephrine. Dale and Loewi shared the Nobel prize in 1936 for proving that neurotransmitters are involved in the action of the autonomic nervous system on smooth muscles. Walter Cannon came extremely close to sharing the prize - the reason for his ultimate exclusion is just one of the book's interesting stories.

Even after the role of neurotransmitters was accepted for the autonomic nervous system, there was incredible resistance toward extending these findings to the central nervous system. This resistance was in part due to a professional turf war between the pharmacologists and neurophysiologists. The neurophysiologists refused to accept that nerve transmission in the central nervous system could be chemical, reasoning that this was too slow a process. Instead, they maintained that central nervous system synapses were exclusively electrical (thus, the war of the soups and the sparks, referred to in the title). However, the conclusive evidence that spinal motor nerves also secrete chemical substances was provided by John Eccles, one of the leading neurophysiologists who opposed the claims of the pharmacologists.

The last step to be taken was to prove that neurotransmitters played a role in the brain as well as in the spinal cord and the periphery. The resistance to this was immense. However, as evidence steadily accumulated throughout the 1950's, `60's and `70's, it became obvious that the chemical nature of signaling in the nervous system was ubiquitous. Ironically, today we know that electrical synapses do exist (solely in the central nervous system) but they account for only 1% of the synapses and are thought to be involved in actions that require large-scale coordinated outputs (e.g., the escape behaviors of some animals).

The stories in the book are immensely interesting. The scientists involved were remarkable people, with remarkable life stories. Valenstein also explores the ways in which the entire story (which spanned the two World Wars) was shaped by sociopolitical events and how scientific practice is affected by the personality and temperament of its practitioners. This book is highly recommended, especially for those interested in neuroscience, but also for the general reader who enjoys reading about the history of science and ideas.

A lot of nerve.("Nerve Endings: The Discovery of the Synapse")("The War of the Soups and the Sparks: The Discovery of Neurotransmitters and the Dispute ... : An article from: American Scientist

Average customer rating:

A lot of nerve.("Nerve Endings: The Discovery of the Synapse")("The War of the Soups and the Sparks: The Discovery of Neurotransmitters and the Dispute ... : An article from: American Scientist

Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Science & Technology | Subjects | e-Docs | Formats | Books

The War Of The Soups And The Sparks: The Discovery Of Neurotransmitters And The Dispute Over How Nerves Communicate

Average customer rating:

The War Of The Soups And The Sparks: The Discovery Of Neurotransmitters And The Dispute Over How Nerves Communicate
Elliot S. Valenstein
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OPN0XU

Customer Reviews:

Wild California: Vanishing Lands, Vanishing Wildlife.......2005-07-09

The title says it all. Poignant writings and images about the ecologically significant lands of California and a few answers to the never-ending questions about what we are to do to live our modern lives and protect the remnants of healthy lands. I think everyone should read it. International conservation scientists state that some of these lands are globally significant. In their writings, the Leopolds face the environmental realities we all must deal with. I love the writings and the photographs.

A beautiful, truly useful book.......1998-03-31

This is not just another coffee table book. It is beautiful and useful as a guide to wildlife and the land. Little known facts about the places and animals are well written and beautifully photographed. More like a guide than simply a "picture book"

Wild California: Vanishing Lands, Vanishing Wildlife.... Tupper Ansel Blake, Photographs. Contributions by Raymond F. Dasmann. A special edition for the California Nature Conservancy....

Average customer rating:

Wild California: Vanishing Lands, Vanishing Wildlife.... Tupper Ansel Blake, Photographs. Contributions by Raymond F. Dasmann. A special edition for the California Nature Conservancy....
A Starker. LEOPOLD
Manufacturer: University of California
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OFXJ8Q

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books