Reinventing Order in the Congo: How People Respond to State Failure in Kinshasa

Book Description

The populations of many Third World mega-cities have far outstripped any apparent economic basis for their size and survival. In this volume Congolese and Western social scientists cover most aspects of urban life in Kinshasa--how ordinary people hustle for a modest living; the famous "bargaining" system ordinary Kinois have developed; and how they access food, water supplies, health and education. The NGOization of service provision is analyzed, as is the quite rare incidence of urban riots. Equally interesting are the studies of popular discourses (including street rumor, witchcraft, and attitudes to big men, like musicians and preachers). The studies are full of the most startling facts and the wonderfully evocative phrases coined by ordinary Kinois as they confront the huge obstacle course that is urban life. Concrete, readable, intensely interesting, and always illuminating, this book is a model of how to do urban sociology in the developing world today.

Customer Reviews:

For the love of Congo.......2005-07-06

Theodore Trefon is an excellent editor for Reinventing Order in the Congo: How People Respond to State Failure in Kinshasa. I found myself mesmerized by the book, the sorrows of the people, their efforts to survive. Reading the book,I could hardly recognize the city that I loved in the 70's, so exuberant, dancing at the Cafe de la Paix! Trefon clearly has an understanding of the people who have suffered so many wars, so many Grosse Legumes, so many losses. Nevertheless, there is a strength to the people, hoping to find a bit of something to eat,to find a bit of humor, to make something out of their difficult days. How have they survived Leopold, Mobutu, and all the others, with strength. Hustling to stay alive, listening to their bits of hope, we realize that they are stronger than we. As Theodore Trefon and others tell their stories,you will be unable to lift your eyes from the text, and the power of these citizens who still manage some dignity and pride despite all wars, and degradation. Let Congo rise again.

Exciting new approach to the study of failed states.......2005-07-06

Since the term "failed state" was coined in 1992 by Helman and Ratner, many articles have been written about states that don't work. After September 11th, US, Canadian and European national security policies set out commitments to work in failed states on the grounds that lack of order and security in such states presented a threat to international security. The increased emphasis on peacebuilding which has resulted (and is most evident in Iraq and Afghanistan) has led to extensive discussion about how best to rebuild failed or collapsed states. But most books and articles have focused on the "big picture" - on lack of governance of the state, rather than on how the people of that state manage to live within the chaos that surrounds them.

This book, which looks at the capital city of what most observers regard as a "collapsed" state, brings a welcome new perspective. As Margaret Wheatley showed us some years ago, even within organizational chaos, there is order, if you know how to look for it. In this case, the order can be found at the local level, within Kinshasa, the capital of the huge and resource-rich Democratic Republic of Congo. This book shows how the Kinois, as Kinshasa's residents call themselves, manage to create order within their own lives. For example, in a setting where many people eat only once every two days, starvation is not at the levels that would otherwise be expected, because people have developed their own social systems and structures for obtaining and distributing food. And as in many such states, women play a key role in this alternative system.

Looking within failed states for order is an exciting new approach in this field, both in scholarly terms and in terms of offering new ideas for how peacebuilding can be designed to work effectively in failed states. The international community spends a great deal of money in trying to rebuild failing and failed states. This book offers a new perspective that will be valuable for both policy-makers and peacebuilders alike, in showing us peoples' great creativity and capacity to create order even when governance structures collapse around them.

Product Description

Written by a quartet of straight-talking author-lawyers, this is the most comprehensive and thorough reference guide on publishing lawin an easy to read format. From authors to editors, literary agents to journalists, anyone who works with words confronts an astonishing variety of legal puzzles and perils. This easy-to-use guide to writers rights and responsibilities will help users navigate this legal maze and work more profitably. Part legal dictionary, part publishing encyclopedia and chock-full of helpful how-to advice, "Author Law A to Z" addresses key concepts in the publishing field. Styled as a series of alphabetical entries, this reference book makes it easy for readers to locate answers to specific questions, get help with a particular problem, or simply browse an array of fascinating entries for greater professional knowledge. Topics include all the major legal issues related to the business of writing and publishing. Entries are extensively cross-referenced for maximum usefulness and most are supplemented with charts, checklists, sidebars, boxes, tips, profiles, case summaries, sample letters, contracts, forms, and other illustrative material.

Customer Reviews:

For Anyone in Publishing to Increase Your Knowledge about the Law.......2006-07-07

You've finally received a book contract. Yeah! Congratulations and what excitement. Yet when you study the contract it is 15 or 16 pages full of legalese that you can't understand. What do you do? Sign it?

Here's a great tool to increase your understanding of the issues related to the legalese of contracts. It's not black and white but often in between and the words on the page make a huge difference. It's the author's responsibility to understand these words.

I love what these authors wrote in the final paragraph of their section on how to use the book: "Remember that no book can be a substitute for the advice of a good lawyer. But this book and others like it can--and should--help you better recognize the need to get good legal advice and help you better understand the advice you get. It can help make you a better consumer of legal services and a savvier provider of writing services. But it can't--and shouldn't be expected to--replace solid professional advice."

Here's a carefully written and researched book which explains complex terms in plain, easy-to-understand language. Get this book--and read it. If you do, you will be much wiser about legal matters in the world of publishing.

This Book Is A Must Have For All Aspiring Authors.......2006-01-06

This book should've been called Entertainment & Media Law A to Z. It is both informative and extremely thorough in its description of the legal and business affairs of the publishing industry. It also provides basic information on recording industry practices as well as copyright & trademark law. This book does a terrific job of informing authors of many valuable resources that exist to assist them. As an attorney, I was impressed with the case law cited by the author. However, this book is written in plain English, and written in a way that people of all backgrounds could easily understand. I would say, to aspiring authors or literary agents alike, this book is a must have.

Entries, numerous tips, tricks, techniques, and warnings for the aspiring author in a legally complex world.......2005-10-07

The latest installment in the "A-Z Legal Series" from Capital Books, Author Law A-Z: A Desktop Guide To Writers' Rights And Responsibilities packs the collective wisdom of author-lawyers Sallie Randolph, Stacy Davis, Anthony Elia and Karen Dustman into plain terms for lay readers - and writers! Author Law A-Z is organized like an encyclopedia, with A-Z entries of common legal and writing industry terms or issues that every author should know, from "abridgement" and "acceptable manuscript" to "young adult books" and Zapruder film", which denotes a landmark legal case about film rights concerning the home video film that accidentally documented the assassination of JFK. In addition to the entries, numerous tips, tricks, techniques, and warnings for the aspiring author in a legally complex world, from a sample demand letter (as written to a vanity print-on-demand publisher masquerading as a traditional publisher) to a sample complaint for copyright infringement, advice for what to say when one's editor calls, and much more. Enthusiastically recommended for spot research or simple cover-to-cover reading in order to grasp valuable basic lessons of the writing and publishing business.

Book Description

Kerr and Dickie propose the development of a new ecological theory, one that can lead to a more effective remedy for the drastic effects of heavy fishing on natural communities of organisms in both marine and freshwater environments.

By plotting the densities of the biomass of all organisms in a given community by body-size classes, the authors provide empirical evidence of what they term "the biomass body-size spectrum" in the world's oceans. After examining this evidence, they propose an underlying theory of predator-prey energy transfer: larger species eat smaller species, providing energy exchange across all species within an ecosystem. Providing the first comprehensive synthesis of the energy flow within the biomass spectrum, this book demonstrates not only a new understanding of the self-organizing properties of ecological production systems but also the potential of the biomass spectrum methodology for offering practical remedies when these natural systems are exploited by humans.

Effects of chronic bottom trawling disturbance on benthic biomass, production and size spectra in different habitats [An article from: Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology]

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Effects of chronic bottom trawling disturbance on benthic biomass, production and size spectra in different habitats [An article from: Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology]
A.M. Queiros , J.G. Hiddink , M.J. Kaiser , and H. Hinz
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Elsevier | By Publisher | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B000PA9TZW

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, published by Elsevier in 2006. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Bottom trawling has widespread impacts on benthic communities and habitats. It is argued that the impact of chronic bottom trawling on benthic infauna depends on the natural disturbance levels to which benthic communities are adapted. We analysed biomass, production and size structure of two communities from a muddy and a sandy habitat, in relation to quantified gradients of trawling disturbance on real fishing grounds. We used an allometric relationship between body mass and individual production to biomass ratio to estimate community production. Chronic trawling had a negative impact on the biomass and production of benthic communities in the muddy habitat, while no impact was identified on benthic communities from the sandy habitat. These differences are the result of differences in size structure within the two communities that occur in response to increasing trawling disturbance. ance.

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The Biomass Spectrum
Lloyd M. Dickie
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OPUPLK

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The Biomass Spectrum
S. R. Kerr
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OPWN5G

Evaluation of spatial, radiometric and spectrum thematic mapper performance for coastal studies quarterly status and technical progress report, 1 July to 30 September 1984 (SuDoc NAS 1.26:177149)

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Evaluation of spatial, radiometric and spectrum thematic mapper performance for coastal studies quarterly status and technical progress report, 1 July to 30 September 1984 (SuDoc NAS 1.26:177149)
V. Klemas
Manufacturer: National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Technical Information Service, distributor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B00010PH0C

Book Description

The world faces serious difficulties in obtaining the energy that will be needed in coming decades for a growing population, especially given the problem of climate change caused by fossil fuel use. This book presents a view of nuclear energy as an important carbon-free energy option. It discusses the nuclear fuel cycle, the types of reactors used today and proposed for the future, nuclear waste disposal, reactor accidents and reactor safety, nuclear weapon proliferation, and the cost of electric power. To provide background for these discussions, the book begins with chapters on the history of the development and use of nuclear energy, the health effects of ionizing radiation, and the basic physics principles of reactor operation.

The text has been rewritten and substantially expanded for this edition, to reflect changes that have taken place in the eight years since the publication of the first edition and to provide greater coverage of key topics. These include the Yucca Mountain repository plans, designs for next-generation reactors, weapons proliferation and terrorism threats, the potential of alternatives to nuclear energy, and controversies about low-level radiation.

Acclaim for the first edition:

"…The book provides a superb background for scientists and those in technical fields. It provides probably all the information that many people, including government policy makers, will ever need...[a] well-written and balanced book. This book is recommended for anyone who wants a broad technical background on nuclear energy."
-American Journal of Physics

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful book.......2005-11-13

I am amazed that nobody wrote yet a review of this book.

I liked this book a lot. David Bodansky's style is logical, concise and fun to read. What I liked most is that the author succeeds to attack with equal clarity a wide range of diverse subjects about nuclear energy:
- Economic considerations on nuclear energy.
- The physics principles behind nuclear reactions, and their relevance in reactor design, etc.
- Engineering considerations around nuclear reactor design and operations
- Administrative considerations around waste disposal.

To conclude: if you have some background in physics, math and/or economy, and you need a no-nonsense introduction in the field of nuclear energy, then this book is for you. However, if you just like to read prose, (and you don't enjoy technical details being sprinkled during the exposition) then the book migth be too high-level.

Customer Reviews:

They Left Out 9 Years..........2002-04-24

This self-proclaimed 20th century encyclopedia of American Folk Art came out in 1991... how could it be a comprehensive look at the century's folk art in America when 9 years didn't even happen when they wrote this? There are artists left out and what is written is often slanted with regards to "collectability" since the authors' have invested in a large folk art collection. The emphasis is often that the early work is really the only inspired work. Once an artist is "discovered" by the public the art is no longer as good so you should only have the early pieces, like the ones in the encyclopedia. This bias also occurs in the author's book on Collecting American Folk Art. But really, the big flaw in this book is that it was written 9 years before the end of the century and has left out many worthwhile artists. A very disappointing book.

makes a good doorstop.......2000-02-20

no information is better than bad information. a new emerging field of art deserves a better book than this. it is very misleading to call it "the encyclopedia", for many artists are left out who were very well documented at the time of its publication. it doesn't seem that the people who wrote the bios and info were very well informed, or perhaps they were just showing their bias.the editor(s) should not have allowed that to happen. it does have some nice pictures of artists, but the quality of the art leaves alot to be desired. who decided which artists were included? i am surprised that a museum would put their name on such a publication.

Great information, photographys and interviews.......1997-12-27

I love the book and i wish i was in it. Being a folk artist I really enjoy all the photos and interviews. It is a great resource.

Beacham's Encyclopedia of Social Change: American in the Twentieth Century

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Beacham's Encyclopedia of Social Change: American in the Twentieth Century
Veryan, Ed. Khan
Manufacturer: Beacham Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Social History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

Children's | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

jp-unknown2 | Specialty Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0933833628

Catholicism in English-speaking lands (Twentieth century encyclopedia of Catholicism)

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Catholicism in English-speaking lands (Twentieth century encyclopedia of Catholicism)
M. P Carthy
Manufacturer: Hawthorn Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

History | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

Collectors Encyclopedia of American Furniture: Furniture of the Twentieth Century (Collector's Encyclopedia of American Furniture)

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Collectors Encyclopedia of American Furniture: Furniture of the Twentieth Century (Collector's Encyclopedia of American Furniture)
Robert Swedberg , and Harriett Swedberg
Manufacturer: Collector books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Furniture | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Reference | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Antiques & Collectibles | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0891454802

Book Description

This third and last volume of the Swedberg's series concentrates on the country furniture of the 18th and 19th centuries. 350 color photographs. 2000 values. REVIEW: This book has become a standard for aluminum collectors everywhere. Brief company histories are provided, as well as information on marks, which precedes the pictorial price guide. Readers will see candy dishes, casseroles, coasters, bowls, pitchers, tray, and much more.

Encyclopedia Of The American Indian In The Twentieth Century

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Encyclopedia Of The American Indian In The Twentieth Century
Alexander Ewen
Manufacturer: Facts on File
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Encyclopedias | Reference & Nonfiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 081603513X

Encyclopedia of the United States in the Twentieth Century. (FOUR VOLUME SET)

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Encyclopedia of the United States in the Twentieth Century. (FOUR VOLUME SET)
Stanley I. (editor) Kutler
Manufacturer: Charles Scribners
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0132105357

Book Description

Twentieth-century history is approached here from a social and cultural perspective, as well as from the more traditional political and economic views. Contributions of racial minorities, Native Americans, women, and non-traditional religions are given a close look in this 4-vol. set. Additionally, the way average American worked, lived, played, and worshiped is pictured against the backdrop of political change and the growth of the world's foremost industrial power.

Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Journalists (Garland Reference Library of the Humanities)

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Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Journalists (Garland Reference Library of the Humanities)
William H. Taft
Manufacturer: Taylor & Francis
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Journalism | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books

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Journalists | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0824089618

Iron and Steel in the Twentieth Century (Encyclopedia of American Business History and Biography)

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Iron and Steel in the Twentieth Century (Encyclopedia of American Business History and Biography)

Manufacturer: Facts on File
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Economic History | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Popular Songs of the 20th Century: Chart Detail & Encyclopedia, 1900-1949 (Popular Songs of the Twentieth Century)

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Excellent reference book

Popular Songs of the 20th Century: Chart Detail & Encyclopedia, 1900-1949 (Popular Songs of the Twentieth Century)

Manufacturer: Paragon House Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1557787891

Book Description

This volume is a charted history of music. Its principal feature is the presentation of 600 monthly popularity charts, running from January 1900 to December 1949. These were created during ten years of exhaustive research, and they appear in this book as they would have appeared if regular, accurate surveys had been conducted and charted prior to 1944. The next section of the book displays these charts in a spreadsheet format so the reader can see how each song rose and fell during its period of popularity and how it compared with the other competing songs of its day. The remaining section contains a massive and comprehensive encyclopedia of all charted songs giving every vital fact that pertains to each song, including chart highlights, writers, shows, movies, records, and principal artists.

An alphabetical index of song titles allows easy access to song information, and it eliminates the confusion that arises when two or more different songs have the same title but different writers. Likewise, it identifies any single song that charted on two or more occasions during the century by way of revivals and recording remakes.

Research into the early part of the century disclosed that music periodicals of the day contradicted some of the information commonly found in music history books. A song universally listed with a 1908 publication date was shown to actually have been published and widely popular in 1900. A song listed with a 1910 publication date did not actually become popular until 1915. Some of the most famous songs in history, such as "St. Louis Blues" and "Star Dust" did not make a huge splash upon introduction and never became big chart successes although they became standards. It was proven that many show tunes were overrated in their national popularity by historians and were actually minor chart items in their time. Then, there were some songs, enormously popular in their time which receive scant mention, if mentioned at all, in previously issued music history books and encyclopedias. Gardner noted that prior to 1920, many songs did not come out on records until they became established hits by way of sheet-music sales and vaudeville performances. After that early period, the recording industry gradually became a major factor in the popularizing of a song and by the mid-1950's became practically the exclusive factor.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent reference book.......2002-05-21

There were no real charts, in the contemporary sense, of popular music prior to 1940. This book does much to address that gap. A presentation of 600 Top 20 monthly popularity charts, running from January 1900 to December 1949, makes up the main portion of the book. Another section of the book displays these charts in a spreadsheet format so one can see each song's rise and fall in popularity. Of course, one researcher's opinion cannot be definitive, but his methods are described and justified in some detail and the results seem as accurate as we can hope to expect. Joel Whitburn's "Pop Memories", also highly recommended, covers similar ground with extraordinary detail, covering commercially-available phonograph records. Each of these books complements the other. Popular music historians and chart buffs should have both of these excellent books. Note : there are several references in "Popular Songs of the 20th Century" to a Volume II, covering the rest of the 20th century, which seems not have been published yet. I'm looking forward to it.

Book Description

LORD KELVIN. In 1840, a precocious 16-year-old by the name of William Thomson spent his summer vacation studying an extraordinarily sophisticated mathematical controversy. His brilliant analysis inspired lavish praise and made the boy an instant intellectual celebrity.

As a young scholar William dazzled a Victorian society enthralled with the seductive authority and powerful beauty of scientific discovery. At a time when no one really understood heat, light, electricity, or magnetism, Thomson found key connections between them, laying the groundwork for two of the cornerstones of 19th century science -- the theories of electromagnetism and thermodynamics.

Charismatic, confident, and boyishly handsome, Thomson was not a scientist who labored quietly in a lab, plying his trade in monkish isolation. When scores of able tinkerers were flummoxed by their inability to adapt overland telegraphic cables to underwater, intercontinental use, Thomson took to the high seas with new equipment that was to change the face of modern communications. And as the world's navies were transitioning from wooden to iron ships, they looked to Thomson to devise a compass that would hold true even when surrounded by steel.

Gaining fame and wealth through his inventive genius, Thomson was elevated to the peerage by Queen Victoria for his many achievements. He was the first scientist ever to be so honored. Indeed, his name survives in the designation of degrees Kelvin, the temperature scale that begins with absolute zero, the point at which atomic motion ceases and there is a complete absence of heat. Sir William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, was Great Britain's unrivaled scientific hero.

But as the century drew to a close and Queen Victoria's reign ended, this legendary scientific mind began to weaken. He grudgingly gave way to others with a keener, more modern vision. But the great physicist did not go quietly. With a ready pulpit at his disposal, he publicly proclaimed his doubts over the existence of atoms. He refused to believe that radioactivity involved the transmutation of elements. And believing that the origin of life was a matter beyond the expertise of science and better left to theologians, he vehemently opposed the doctrines of evolution, repeatedly railing against Charles Darwin. Sadly, this pioneer of modern science spent his waning years arguing that the Earth and the Sun could not be more than 100 million years old. And although his early mathematical prowess had transformed our understanding of the forces of nature, he would never truly accept the revolutionary changes he had helped bring about, and it was others who took his ideas to their logical conclusion.

In the end Thomson came to stand for all that was old and complacent in the world of 19th century science. Once a scientific force to be reckoned with, a leader to whom others eagerly looked for answers, his peers in the end left him behind -- and then meted out the ultimate punishment for not being able to keep step with them. For while they were content to bury him in Westminster Abbey alongside Isaac Newton, they used his death as an opportunity to write him out of the scientific record, effectively denying him his place in history. Kelvin's name soon faded from the headlines, his seminal ideas forgotten, his crucial contributions overshadowed.

Destined to become the definitive biography of one of the most important figures in modern science, Degrees Kelvin unravels the mystery of a life composed of equal parts triumph and tragedy, hubris and humility, yielding a surprising and compelling portrait of a complex and enigmatic man.

Customer Reviews:

Degrees Kelvin - a biography that does justice to it's subject.......2007-09-30

David Lindley's biography of Lord Kelvin is one of the most enjoyable books that I have ever read. The author provides a fair assessment of the man within his historical and scientific milieu and one is left with a sense of having obtained a deeper understanding of 19th century scientific thinking. The complexities of the foundation of thermodynamics are dealt with capably as is the scientific outlook of Kelvin as an advocate of a purely mechanical universe, in particular against the changing views towards the end of the 19th century. Overall a balanced approach between science and personal detail for a book of this type.

An obstinate genius!.......2007-07-12

Another remarkable British physicist of the 19th century. The genius of William Thomson was formidable, capable of tackling every challenge in science quite fast, though not always totally right, but helping to narrow possible solutions and enriching scientific debate of the time. The book took you to a great epoch of scientific knowledge and progress, from the theory of heat and the beginnings of Thermodynamics, the marvellous story of the trasatlantic cable and even the perfection of ships compasses to compensate the magnetic effect of the new Iron ships that were built by the British Navy. Although I think John Clerk Maxwell is definitely the 19th century physics genius, Thomson place his name near to Faraday and several others that contributed to the dynamic and flourish scientific knowledge of the second half of the 1800.

William Thomson was a genius, but seems that to accept new ideas was not an easy process for him. After reading the book my opinion is the same as Maxwell -- he was so busy on diverse interest that he was incapable of focusing on only one subject.

Science Enthusiast.......2007-01-16

This was a good book. The author does a nice job documenting the life and times of Lord Kelvin. It may not have been a goal of the author, but I think this book clearly illustrates that advances in science are not the work of one person, but collaboration between many different thinkers. Enjoy the read!

Applied physicist.......2006-09-12

I was surprised to learn of his many commercial inventions where he applied the physics he had discovered. His early work in product testing of the cable for the transatlantic telegraph cable was years ahead of its time. I found this book an easy read, Kelvin (Thomson) was a real down to earth scientist and the author has captured his essence.

Powerful Forgotten Scientist.......2006-04-18

Degrees Kelvin, written by David Lindley, is a book about a very influential figure in the world of physics who is sometimes forgotten.

The book chronicles the life of William Thomson (eventually Lord Kelvin) from the time that he was an inquisitive student in his father's mathematics lectures at Glasgow University in England, through the great and eventually turbulent events in Thomson's scientific career. Very early on in his life Thomson became the Professor of Natural Philosophy at Glasgow University, a position that he was to hold for much of his lifetime. Most notable, in his career that spanned many different fields, was his work with electricity for the telegraph industry. His work in this field allowed for the construction of the first transatlantic telegraph and improved upon the design of wires to transmit electricity over long distances. One of Thomson's lesser known, but still important accomplishments was the creation of the first modern physics textbook. There are many other interesting things that were important in Thomson's life and Lindley goes into great detail.

One of the most endearing aspects of this book is the way that it can embrace science yet still read like a novel. One of the book's flaws is that at times it gives to much background information about other 19th century scientists that eventually slow down the reading and detracts from the author's main message. In writing this biography Lindley was trying to create something to represent a very important scientist whose name is lost in history. This biography is extremely interesting to read because Thomson has helped to shape many scientific principles of the modern age. This book would be recommendable to anyone who enjoys science, in particular physics, and who would like to read about a man who helped physics come to be. Overall, it is decently presented and anyone who likes science would probably enjoy most of the book.

Degrees Kelvin. A Tale of Genius, Invention and Tragedy.

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Degrees Kelvin. A Tale of Genius, Invention and Tragedy.
William] LINDLEY, David. [THOMSON
Manufacturer: Aurum Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000M4LDJG

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Degrees Kelvin: A Tale of Genius, Invention, and Tragedy
David Lindley
Manufacturer: Joseph Henry Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OT2P00

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