Failure Is Not an Option: 10 Surefire Steps to Success

Customer Reviews:

I have spoken .......2005-01-09

Peace. Love. And Ponchos. Piercing saved my life.....and so did this book.

Customer Reviews:

Fear of Finance.......2000-08-06

This is an easy to read, clearly written discussion of many financial topics women need to deal with. The book is presented as a meeting of five women, with Ann Diamond as the presenter of a workshop. Each woman represents a type we can identify with: a stay at home mother with a working husband and two young children; a student just finishing college; a single career-woman earning top dollar; a newly divorced woman with two teenagers and a huge credit card debt; and a recently widowed woman nearing retirement. Each financial term or topic is introduced clearly, with the group asking clarifying questions. There are worksheets to fill out, and each form is then discussed in detail. A must-read for women unsure of their ability to deal with personal finance.

No more fear of finance: The money workbook for achieving financial self-confidence

Average customer rating:

No more fear of finance: The money workbook for achieving financial self-confidence
Ann B Diamond
Manufacturer: The Author
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Money Management for Women | Personal Finance | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Financial Planning Workbooks | Personal Finance | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0967078202

Amazon.com

Here it is--the result of four years of investigative research, at an approximate cost of $40 million. Back in 1994, Kenneth Starr was appointed to investigate a series of investments made by Bill and Hillary Clinton; the Whitewater allegations never bore fruit, but then somebody whispered stories about the president and an intern named Monica Lewinsky into Starr's ear. He and his team of prosecutors sniffed around, and this is what they've come up with: "According to Ms. Lewinsky, she and the President had ten sexual encounters, eight while she worked at the White House and two thereafter." The details are bathetic in their precision: "during many of their sexual encounters," Starr notes, "the President stood leaning against the doorway of the bathroom across from the study, which, he told Ms. Lewinsky, eased his sore back." And yes, as far as we know, that was the president's semen on Monica's navy dress.

Whether or not it's the government's job to produce hackneyed narratives about young women who find themselves falling in love with powerful men is for voters to decide, but this story would be rejected outright by readers of Harold Robbins or Jackie Susann were it not for the newsworthy elements. Of course, there's also the second half of the report, in which Starr explains how Clinton's attempts to prevent his relationship with Lewinsky from becoming public knowledge constitute grounds for his impeachment. That's the part of the document that matters most from a political perspective ... but it's doubtful that it'll be the part that lingers in historical memory. (Note: You can also read the Starr report in electronic form for free at a number of locations on the Web, including the Library of Congress site and the commercial sites AOL.com, Netscape Netcenter, and Yahoo!)

Book Description

This is the complete, official, unabridged edition of The Starr Report, the culmination of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's investigation of President Clinton. Containing allegations of perjury, obstruction of justice, and abuse of power, the report will have a profound effect on the Clinton presidency as well as on the country and the world as a whole.

Here, for the first time, you will have the opportunity to review, for yourself, all of the evidence against the president and make your own determination about the moral and legal ramifications of his actions.

Customer Reviews:

Consider what this says about Starr as a prosecutor..........2005-10-28

...any half-way competent prosecutor, given the license and budget and political backing that Ken Starr had should have been able to get indictments against Mahatma Ghandi, Mother Teresa and the Pope, let alone a good ol' boy politician from Arkansas.

Starr got NOTHING of any importance that stood up.

Why wasn't this effort spent investigating the TALIBAN?.......2004-07-23

40 million dollars. 200 FBI agents. Had the FBI at this point in our history, been able to do their jobs tracking down terrorist cells and putting their ears to the ground, instead of being pushed by enemies of Clinton obsessed with ruining him at all costs (funded by us tax payers) , to waste thousands of person-hours trying to destroy a man and reverse his election, due to a private failing that should have been between Clinton, his God, and his family, perhaps 9-11 would have never happened.

Really, really sad. I'd like to see these people held accountable, the people like Starr who had nothing better to do than to contemplate the sex life of a president.

Paranoid garbage.......2000-10-03

In the greatest of ironies, the same conservatives who were for fiscal accountability and against state surveilence, attempted to engineer one of the most undemocratic actions in reccent history. Sexual McCarthyism would not be an overexaggerated way to describe all of the hypocricy and danger the GOP placed the constution and American people in during this period. McCarthy would be very proud his likeness still has a home among conservatives.

Without excusing the president's conduct, one can plainly see that Starr reacted in overkill to the incident. Having elected him twice, the American people knew about Clinton's womanizing and did not really care. We believed the best person to penalize him would be Hillary, and the state should stay out of personal matters. If the state could intrude into the private lives of the first family, what hope would there really be for the average citizens?

Convinently, the right only embraces big government when it can be used to investigate and prosecute political dissidents. How else to explain wht the president's penis is dicussed in graphic detail?

For all of the bellyaching about Clinton's connections and alleged political wrongdoings. the biggest source of political corruption in this era was Kenneth W. Starr and colleagues. My sympathies to anybody related to this modern facist, we know you have suffered the most.

Hindsight is 20-20.......1999-04-17

In light of the strong support by the Slavs for their "not so presidential" president (Milosovic) in Yugoslavia, I can see now a great number of people in our country who consider "truth" (The Starr Report) as not so valuable. The truth I speak of isn't about the solacious material here in this book but the lawbreaking of our leader, Bill Clinton. The parallel here is amazing and disheartening. Mr. Starr, your book does have value to those who embrace truth.

Do you see the irony here for Clinton and the people of the United States who embraced lying and dishonor??? What goes around comes around but the innocents always suffer for their leaders' judgements. Just wait.

¡¡¡PIECE OF GARBAGE!!!.......1999-03-03

WHAT A SHAME, STARR!!!!!!!!!!

The Starr Report The Official Report of the Independent Counsel's Investigation of the President

Average customer rating:

The Starr Report The Official Report of the Independent Counsel's Investigation of the President
Starr Kenneth
Manufacturer: Forum Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LCIV26

Average customer rating:

The Starr Report: The Official Report of the Independent Counsel's Investigation of the President
Independent Counsel
Manufacturer: Forum
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000TOUA98

Book Description

Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) is an international program aiming to disseminate summarized knowledge about useful plants for those in education, research and industry. This interactive CD-ROM on vegetables warrants easy access to a multitude of information. Over 1000 species in South-East Asia are known to yield vegetable products, but only 50 have been developed into highly commercialized crops. This CD-ROM includes extensive information on about 100 important vegetables, and brief descriptions of 125 species of minor importance. These species are all fully illustrated with photographs. Another 800 species yielding vegetables only as a by-product, are also listed. An extensive database of South-East Asian references is also included.

Vegetables (Plant Resources in South-East Asia, No 8)

Average customer rating:

Vegetables (Plant Resources in South-East Asia, No 8)
J. Siemonsma , and Kasem Piluek
Manufacturer: Pudoc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Vegetables | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Crop Science | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This book presents the conceptual and methodological view of the plant modelling as it is currently developing by some of the world's leading authorities. Contributions have come from some of the world's leading computer-modelling laboratories, CSIRO Supercomputing, CIRAD, INRA and the Universities of Amsterdam, Calgary and Manitoba.

The methods presented in the book are tools for the modelling, visualising and studying the growth, dynamics, and ageing of plants and marine sessile organisms. Much of the work is based on formal L-systems which use replication rules rather than continuous or discrete mathematical descriptions of a biological form. Prunsinkiewicz and the other contributors show how L-systems can simulate the development of multicellular organisms and thus address the central problem of morphogenesis - understanding how living organisms acquire their form. The methodology takes into account external factors such as soil water flow, soil porosity, plant hormones, fertilisers and even the damage caused by insects to the plant. Prospective applications include: computer-assisted landscape architecture, design of new varieties of plants, crop yield prediction, optimal fertilisation planning, watering and pest control, bush-fire modelling, plant-landscape interactions such as predicting the geographic distribution of species, simulating community dynamics, analysing species viability, matching crops to suitable farming districts, locating rare species, relocating endangered species and predicting possible effects of climate change.

Computer modelling narrows the range of time consuming real-world experiments otherwise required. It is important for use in research, education and decision making - images, animation and interactive systems are now central to developmental biology, remote sensing, biodiversity, ecology and conservation.

Book Description

The Near-Surface Layer of the Ocean provides a comprehensive account of the structure and dynamics of this important component of the ocean. The book develops the relevant physics and thermodynamics in depth. Detailed treatment is given to the surface microlayer, upper-ocean turbulence, fine thermohaline structure, coherent structures, high wind-speed regime, and to practical applications. Results of major air-sea interaction experiments (including those obtained with the participation of the authors) are used in the analysis.

Book Description

Memorable and thoroughly understandable science lessons, liberally sprinkled with humor, will fascinate beginning physics students as well as other readers in such chapters as "On a Clear Day You Can't See Forever," "Physics on a Manure Heap," "A Murder in Ceylon," and "Multiple Scattering at the Breakfast Table."

Customer Reviews:

Fascinating read for every science enthusiast.......2007-10-04

Craig F. Bohren writes science books with a delight that is infectious. There are few books like this where science and education are turned into an entertaining commentary. Bohren shows us that the things we see normally, in our day to day life, contain the science truths which can be used to teach concepts, useful for understanding and solving more complex problems.

The book is an amazing survey of simple experiments that can be done to understand the concepts relevant to the cloud physics and atmospheric phenomena. A fascinating introduction to formation of clouds, including role of salt particles in nucleation, relies on carefully observing the bubbles formed in a glass of beer. Surface tension is introduced by example of dew formed on bath mirror. Concepts related to evaporative cooling or mixing clouds or relative humidity, come with a baggage of simple experiments that debunk scientific myths and illustrate essential physics. A textbook on Atmospheric Thermodynamics, published by the same author, is an entertaining and more course friendly account of the same ideas. The science of clouds by Tricker is an equally delightful text on classroom demonstrations and cloud physics inherent in simple observations.

Bohren tackles many concepts of light scattering which are quite difficult to grasp initially or say teach to young students, in a brilliant series of examples about what we observe in our daily life. Be it a discussion about "blue moon" or colors of sea or rainbows, Bohren takes the essential ideas and expresses them with his characteristic wit and brilliance. He supplies you with a tangible set of experiments to illustrate the concepts further. Bohren's treatise on Absorption and Scattering of Light by Small Particles (coauthored with Huffman) is most definitely the resource for looking at detailed physics and mathematics associated with scattering. The classic text by van de Hulst "Light Scattering by Small Particles" is a useful supplement for those interested in theory of small particle scattering.

Bohren has written another book titled: "What Light through Yonder Window Breaks" with some more hand-on experiments about Atmospheric Physics. "Clouds in the Glass of Beer" and its sequel are two books that every atmospheric physics student must read and own. The books are throughly enjoyable for anyone even remotely interested in everyday science. No equations involved! No education beyond high school required! Only for fun loving scientists, who believe that true understanding comes when a difficult concept can be explained by simple analogies and in simple language. Highly recommended.

What I Learned About Atmosperic Physics.......2006-01-04

The book, Clouds in a Glass of Beer, Simple Experiments in Atmospheric Physics by Craig Bohren is a very in depth read for a very avid reader or scientist. This book is split up into twenty-two chapters about atmospheric science. A few examples about some of the chapters included in this book are; the explanation of the mystery of the elusive blue moon, why black clouds form, and the fantastic phenomenon that is the rainbow and many other different details. One of the chapters I really enjoyed reading about was chapter three, which talked about the mechanics and utilization of the sippy duck. Before reading this book, I had no understanding of these ducks and how they work. But now I know pretty much everything there is to know about them. In another chapter later on, Bohren conducts yet another experiment about the misinterpretation of the laws of pressure. What he does is place a can in a shallow pan of water, and then adds hot water inside the can. For this experiment to be successful, the can should cave inward and contract. The main reason why I enjoyed this chapter is because the experiment took no skill or much time at all, and it was an interesting way to explain atmospheric pressure. Other than the well planned put chapters in this book, there was one that went into way too much detail about explaining the greenhouse effect. I do agree that it was highly detailed fact wise but he just went a little much into detail. One segment of the book I really enjoyed was when he talked about the rare occurrences of either a blue moon, or the green flash. It really excited me to get up and actually try to see one of these one day. If you like rare occurrences, than you'll love this book. Overall, Bohren is a very in depth writer and people who enjoy physics will benefit from reading this book.

A very interesting book.......2005-12-29

Clouds in a Glass of Beer is not a book for everyone. If you do not have a vast understanding of atmospheric science and physics, you will not enjoy reading this book. In essence, this book is 22 different experiments with an explanation on how each experiment works. If you do find enjoyment in reading about the atmosphere, however, you will enjoy this book.
The first experiment is, as you probably guessed, why clouds form in a glass of beer when salt is added. The passage goes on to explain why and how the clouds form, why a cloud comes out of a freshly opened bottle of beer, and the behavior of the bubbles. It is interesting to see all of the scientific forces behind this action, even though it may become hard to understand at times.
The next experiment is how to make a cloud form in a bottle. This is done by filling the bottom with water and a tube, sucking a little bit of the air out through the tube, letting some smoke in, blowing air into the jar, putting your finger on the end and releasing it quickly. If the bottle is painted black, the cloud should be easier to see.
One experiment I found very entertaining was how to keep fog from forming on a mirror. It consisted of smearing an extremely small amount of dish washing detergent on the glass and trying to fog the mirror to proved that it worked. The soap forces all the fog droplets to create a thin layer of water.
Many of the experiments in this book are quite interesting. This book answers why a rainbow could form in the winter, the requirements for a blue moon, and why you can't see forever on a clear day. If you have a great understanding of science, this book will, without a doubt, amuse you.

Something for (almost) everyone.......2004-10-03

Craig Bohren is a first-rate atmospheric scientist with an unusual knack for being able to explain difficult concepts to general audiences. Sure, some of the explanations can get complicated so most readers will have to pause and think or reread sections occasionally to understand. However, Dr. Bohren uses figures and analogies rather than equations to explain physical processes. The book does not assume any particular scientific background and should be accessible to almost anyone willing to put in a little bit of mental effort. The book is less than 200 pages so the effort feels like a pleasant jog rather than a marathon. What's more, the author's fascination with the world around him and mostly interesting anecdotes inspire and entice the reader all the way. The author manages to do all this without dumbing down the science in any way. The subtitle suggests that the main purpose of the book is to provide educators with handy demonstrations of atmospheric physics. While the book certainly does this, it is not a recipe book in any sense. What one sees during the demonstrations is described well enough that the reader does not actually need to do them to follow what is going on. Moreover, the underlying science is well described and related to things most people see regularly in the sky around them. I have no plans to assemble these demonstrations but enjoyed the book immensely nonetheless. I am sure many others with an interest in the atmosphere will as well.

[The following autobiographical information is to help you evaluate this review. I hold a Ph.D. in chemical engineering, having done my thesis work on some issues regarding airborne particulate matter. I am an assistant professor in environmental engineering at a major US research university, where I teach and regularly publish peer-reviewed research papers on air pollution. While I do not claim to be as expert as Dr. Bohren on the topic of atmospheric optics (few people can), I feel qualified to evaluate this book both technically and otherwise.]

Quite fun, and clever.......2003-02-13

This is not a chummy kitchen science experiment book. The science is serious and some principles obtuse. I studied this sort of thing in college and found some of it tough going, though I do think I came away with a lucid understanding for the effort.

The author rambles a bit, mixing exposition and reminisces. This is not a terrible thing, but may not be what you expect. Some of the experiments are elegant and clever, and impressed my 6 year-old considerably. The author's bent is towards optical phenomena, such as why the sky is blue, more than the meteorological, though there's plenty in there.

A fun and interesting book in a conversational and sometimes amusing format. And yes, I finally can explain why the sky is blue.

Book Description

Out of print for decades, the enchanting classics in this new edition of Walter Pater's Imaginary Portraits will be welcomed by teachers and students of literature, art history, and aesthetics. First published in 1887, these "imaginary portraits" are not biographies, but fictionalized accounts of historic figures, written by this esteemed nineteenth-century scholar of Renaissance art and literature. Each shares a common search for a new aesthetic, a pursuit of beauty that anticipated the modern movement in prose and poetry and helped to define aesthetics in the twentieth century. Pater's earnest philosophy of beauty inspired many of the earliest voices of modernism, from his student Oscar Wilde to James Joyce, Marcel Proust, T. S. Eliot, and Wallace Stevens. This treasured edition includes such celebrated works as The Child in the House, out of print since 1904, and the unfinished novel, Gaston de Latour.

Co-published with the School of Visual Arts as part of the Aesthetics Today series.

Average customer rating:

An excellent starting point.

Wolfpack - U-boat War And The Allied Counter-attack 1939-1945
David Jordan
Manufacturer: Barnes & Noble
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 076073092X

Customer Reviews:

An excellent starting point........2007-05-14

This book contains 176 pages and 70 thousand words and it says much about the author's attention to detail that I was unable to find any errors.

"Wolfpack - The U-Boat War and the Allied Counter-Attack 1939-1945" is a large format, hard-backed book measuring 12½" x 9¼" and containing 176 pages of text and illustrations of one form or another. The book has been carefully laid out so as to portray those events of WW2 featuring the U-Boat in chronological order. With at least one image on every page, we commence with an introductory chapter on the story of U-Boats in WW1. From here, the author brings us forward - chapter by chapter and event by event to the final reckoning at the end of WW2.

As each new development in this aspect of warfare unfolds within the narrative, we are treated to a boxed "snapshot" of either a type of submarine, aircraft, ship or weapons system relevant to the text. Each of these comprises an example of the excellent artwork of Tony Gibbons/Aerospace Publishing to which is added the salient technical information. In addition, the impressive collection of historic photographs cover every conceivable aspect of the subject in question.

For those with an interest in U-Boat Warfare of WW2, I would suggest this book is an excellent starting point.

NM

Average customer rating:

U-boats Past and Present
Wonderful illustrations, but not much substance
Large cover text and photojournal featuring over 240 photos.

Wolfpack: U-Boats at War, 1939-1945
Philip Kaplan , and Jack Currie
Manufacturer: Naval Inst Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Reference | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Naval | Military | History | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1557509549

Book Description

Designed for visual impact, this volume provides a brutally realistic portrait of U-boat life during a critical phase of World War II in the Atlantic. It combines photographs, paintings, and drawings to brilliantly convey the U-boat experience and explain the mystique of the German submariner.

Customer Reviews:

U-boats Past and Present.......2003-09-27

I enjoyed reading this book because it presented both the history and culture behind this submarine service. Another interesting aspect was the use of the present to show the remnants of war. Items such as remaining U-boat survivors and their harbour installations create a link to this era that many of us, that were born after this period, do not have. I would have liked to see more cutaways and technical aspects covered but that is probably best left to another book.

Wonderful illustrations, but not much substance.......2000-05-05

This book is really book of pictures which cover U-boats on patrol, ship sinkings and rescues, and lots of interior pictures showing U-boat crews going about their duties. There are also some nice pictures of submarine pens in French ports and the captured U-505 here in Chicago at the Museuem of Science and Industry. Each illustration has text which describes what's going on in the picture and includes diary excerpts and letters from actual U-boat crewmen.

Although the letters and diary entries do give an idea of what life was like on a U-boat, I was hoping for a deeper discussion of U-boat operations. However, if you're looking for a good source of illustrations and photos of life on a U-boat, this would be a good choice.

Large cover text and photojournal featuring over 240 photos........2000-03-30

Very nicely compiled 25x25cm glossy pages with rare B&W and color photos of life inside various subs in port and at sea, including diesel engine room, torpedo room of U-505 just as it was abandoned at the moment of capture off West Africa in June 1944. Color photos of U-995 on display at Laboe, photos of U-505 at the Museum at Chicago, and many color photos of the many U-boat pens built on the French coast. Dramatic photos of U-175 sailors rescued at sea and taken prisoner aboard US Coast Guard Cutter Spencer. We see photos of the damaged Blohm and Voss shipyard at Hamburg and of the Germaniawerft at Kiel at the end of the war with hundreds of U-boats still in various construction stages. Color closeups of the Enigma machines with 4 rotors used exclusively by the Navy. A worthwhile addition for your U-boat library. Only the serious history buff will note a few factual discrepancies, such as the photo caption of Kapitanleutnant Hoffmann of U-447. That boat never had a commander by that name. Additional factual information can be verified on the website: ....

Wolfpack: The U-Boat War and the Allied Counter-Attack, 1939-1945

Average customer rating:

An excellent starting point.

Wolfpack: The U-Boat War and the Allied Counter-Attack, 1939-1945
David Jordan
Manufacturer: Spellmount Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Naval | Military | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1862271585

Customer Reviews:

An excellent starting point........2003-03-07

Average customer rating:

WOLFPACK: U-BOAT AT WAR 1939-1945.
Phillip. and Jack Currie. Kaplan
Manufacturer: Publisher Unknown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000WAW0GK

Average customer rating:

WOLFPACK: U-BOAT AT WAR 1939-1945.
Phillip. and Jack Currie. Kaplan
Manufacturer: Annapolis, Naval Institute Press, 1999. 236, [4] pp., illus., frontis. A very good copy, in dust jacket.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UDV86C

Book Description

What brought the ape out of the trees, and so the man out of the ape, was a taste for blood. This is how the story went, when a few fossils found in Africa in the 1920s seemed to point to hunting as the first human activity among our simian forebears-the force behind our upright posture, skill with tools, domestic arrangements, and warlike ways. Why, on such slim evidence, did the theory take hold? In this engrossing book Matt Cartmill searches out the origins, and the strange allure, of the myth of Man the Hunter. An exhilarating foray into cultural history, A View to a Death in the Morning shows us how hunting has figured in the western imagination from the myth of Artemis to the tale of Bambi-and how its evolving image has reflected our own view of ourselves.

A leading biological anthropologist, Cartmill brings remarkable wit and wisdom to his story. Beginning with the killer--ape theory in its postWorld War II version, he takes us back through literature and history to other versions of the hunting hypothesis. Earlier accounts of Man the Hunter, drafted in the Renaissance, reveal a growing uneasiness with humanity's supposed dominion over nature. By delving further into the history of hunting, from its promotion as a maker of men and builder of character to its image as an aristocratic pastime, charged with ritual and eroticism, Cartmill shows us how the hunter has always stood between the human domain and the wild, his status changing with cultural conceptions of that boundary.

Cartmill's inquiry leads us through classical antiquity and Christian tradition, medieval history, Renaissance thought, and the Romantic movement to the most recent controversies over wilderness management and animal rights. Modern ideas about human dominion find their expression in everything from scientific theories and philosophical assertions to Disney movies and sporting magazines. Cartmill's survey of these sources offers fascinating insight into the significance of hunting as a mythic metaphor in recent times, particularly after the savagery of the world wars reawakened grievous doubts about man's place in nature.

A masterpiece of humanistic science, A View to a Death in the Morning is also a thoughtful meditation on what it means to be human, to stand uncertainly between the wilderness of beast and prey and the peaceable kingdom. This richly illustrated book will captivate readers on every side of the dilemma, from the most avid hunters to their most vehement opponents to those who simply wonder about the import of hunting in human nature.

Customer Reviews:

Hunting as an Institution: Fascinating.......2006-03-26

True to its subtitle, biological anthropologist Matt Cartmill's book A View to a Death in the Morning is as much about human opinions of nature as it is about attitudes towards hunting. In an effort to better understand why the hunting hypothesis of human origins has frequently been accepted despite relatively scant evidence to support it, Cartmill traces changes in the way Western societies have conceptualized hunting and explores how hunting informs the human-animal boundary. He reveals that this relationship between humans and hunting often mirrors our relationships with nature and with other humans.

To understand hunting in the modern world, argues Cartmill, one must understand it on a symbolic level. Even the word "hunting" has specific cultural meanings, and because it by definition involves "wildness," it often "marks the edge of the human world" (36). The book opens and closes with discussions of the modern ideas about hunting, including the early failure and later success of the hunting hypothesis and a detailed analysis of the anti-hunting message in Bambi. Through this and the history of hunting that comprises the middle, Cartmill argues that the way we see hunting is influenced by class and political tensions, our relationship with nature, and beliefs about the nature and potential of humans. He maintains that in today's world, although we persist in policing the animal-human boundary, it is becoming more difficult to view animals as "a series of means to human ends" (223).

Cartmill argues that there was a transition from an earlier conception of nature as demonic and disobedient to a more modern understanding of nature as holy and idyllic. Ancient Greece associated hunting with warfare (an idea which persists even today). But as hunting increasingly became a privilege of the elite in the Middle Ages, two different class-based attitudes towards hunting emerged, with lower peasant masses associating hunting with rebellion and freedom and the aristocracy seeing it as a display of manners and status. With the Enlightenment, the natural world became seen as a machine under the increasing control of humans. This was given more support with the advent of Darwin's evolutionary theory, which justified the dominion of (wealthy white) men, masters of both savages and big game. This view of hunting, he argues, is closely linked with imperialism and white supremacy.

The book also traces many of the modern anti-hunting movements. Humanist doubts about the power of humans over nature interacted with class tensions to create early anti-hunting rhetoric in late medieval Europe. Seventeenth-century philosophical and religious thinkers saw animal suffering as an immoral consequence of hunting; two hundred years later, European humane societies sought political action against this suffering, though sometimes not without a class bias. But perhaps the most enduring tradition, argues Cartmill, has been Romanticism, who saw nature as a sacred place unsullied by human contact and hunters as enemies of the animal kingdom, and in which lay the roots of a broad cultural critique of progress and European supremacy as well as late twentieth-century political movements.

Cartmill's book is comprehensive and well-organized. He addresses equally well broad changes and detailed case studies, showing the many ways in which hunting has served as a symbol. He echoes many themes that Coates introduced, such as the nature-is-evil/nature-is-holy ideological change. One aspect I felt was lacking was an analysis of the importance of gender, particularly how hunting has been a critical component of defining and proving masculinity; although he occasionally brings up gender, it is usually regards to nature as feminine (i.e., hunting equals rape), rather than an analysis of hunting and hunters. But this is a minor critique. Overall, the book is a comprehensive and compelling exploration of the complexities of the institution of hunting.

Brilliant but Uneven.......2004-06-21

The first several chapters of this book are an intellectual tour de force of absolutely wonderful writing about science, literature, and culture. For anyone interested in hunting, pro or con, this is a must-read. The last chapter, however, takes an amazingly demagogic and unreasoned turn. Cartmill reinscribes most of the same paradigms that he so brilliantly critiques in the chapters leading up to the final one. Seeing two poachers dressing a fawn by the side of a road, he treats them as representative examples of hunters; without so much as a nod at the distinction between poaching and hunting, he goes on to say that this incident is what motivates his personal anti-hunting sentiments. But most hunters would be similarly disgusted with the acts of the two men--there are law enforcement programs making it easy to turn in poachers and hunters themselves are the ones who usually do so. Also, Cartmill quotes a "Buck Peterson" book on deer hunting as though it were a serious discussion of hunting ethics, when it is in fact a joke book (one that most real hunters would, again, find in very bad taste). The pure emotion that drives both sides of this argument is apparently capable of blinding even a first-class intellect such as Cartmill's.

A balanced and scholarly account.......2000-10-06

While I agree with what the other reviewers have said, I want to add three points: 1) Carmtmill does not come across as heavy-handed or doctrinaire in his criticisms of hunting. Since the debate on this issue can be quite shrill, his measured tone is a relief. 2) His scholarship is of a very high quality. All of his claims are thoroughly documented. Since one of his chapters concerns the topic of my dissertation, I can say that he presents complicated matters clearly and without any distortions. 3) His writing style is simply excellent. I have seldom read a serious, academic book that had such an engaging style - I read it in one sitting! I would give this 4 1/2 stars if I could.

"Killer ape"?.......2000-06-23

Cartmill's "A View to a Death in the Morning" is a scholarly mix of anthropology, history, sociology, and biology -- all focused on the hydra-headed question of "Must man prey on and kill animals?" This is one of those subjects that each reader will address from his own biases and experiences, a fact acknowledged by the author when he tells us that "the motives of hunting are vague and visceral; nonhunters find them hard to understand." Clearly, this author's perspective puts him in the SPCA/PETA corner. As his thesis unfolds, this increasingly becomes the inescapable place to be when rationally critiquing the bloodlust that drives modern man to this activity ("sport" doesn't honestly apply, given the odds-on outcomes of the hunt.)

Hunters will hurl this title into the fire fairly quickly unless they have a capacity to maintain composure in the face of a reasoned, well-defended argument; likewise, those anti-hunters will find cogent proofs and a compendium of socio-cultural allusions, anecdotes, and references to bolster their perspective. From the Bible to Bambi, it's all here -- except for the curious omissions of the bison's decimation, Melville's philosophical focus in "Moby Dick," commentary on Faulkner's "The Bear," and Hemingway's fiction and nonfiction generally. In this last regard, Cartmill is cagily self-serving since he states that "hunters have trouble articulating and defending their motives."

Bottom line: Are we natural-born "killer apes" who've only recently become afflicted by the "Bambi Syndrome"?

Good history of the anti-hunting movement.......2000-01-27

The book explores many of the questions of hunting and anti-hunting. It spends a surprising amount of time considering the question of whether human evolution was driven by hunting (perhaps because that has been one of the justifications for the continuation of hunting traditions), as well as a review of the emergence of anti-hunting themes and the animal rights movement. It makes an obvious error in the interpretation of Leupold's statement in the assignment of rights in the discussion of Leupold's land ethic. The point of the book is to develop arguments against many of the current justifications for hunting, and for the emergence of the notion of animal rights. It does not do a very good job of describing the current hunting ethic in the US, nor does it describe the rather complex gradiations in that population.

View To A Death In The Morning, hunting & Nature Through History, Man the hunter from Pre-History Onwaqrd in Western Culture

Average customer rating:

View To A Death In The Morning, hunting & Nature Through History, Man the hunter from Pre-History Onwaqrd in Western Culture
Matt Cartmill
Manufacturer: Harvard University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000QWBYPC

Book Description

Glencoe Science provides students with accurate and comprehensive content coverage of a balance of the three fundamental science disciplines in each course. The concepts covered are explained in a clear, concise manner that can be easily understood by students. This strong content coverage is integrated with a wide range of hands-on experiences, critical-thinking opportunities, real-world applications, and connections to other sciences and non-science areas of the curriculum.

Glencoe Science: Level Green, Reinforcement and Study Guide, Student Edition (Glencoe Science: Level Green)

Average customer rating:

Glencoe Science: Level Green, Reinforcement and Study Guide, Student Edition (Glencoe Science: Level Green)
McGraw-Hill
Manufacturer: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0078671884

Book Description

Study Guide and Reinforcement Worksheets allow for differentiated instruction through a wide range of question formats. There are worksheets and study tools for each section of the text that help teachers track students' progress toward understanding concepts. Guided Reading Activities help students identify and comprehend the important information in each chapter.

Glencoe Science: Level Green, Student Edition (Glencoe Science: Level Green)

Average customer rating:

Glencoe Science: Level Green, Student Edition (Glencoe Science: Level Green)
McGraw-Hill
Manufacturer: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Science, Nature & How It Works | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science & Technology | Teens | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0078600472

Book Description

A balanced approach to science in each level

Glencoe Science: Level Green is the second book in Glencoe's three-book integrated science series. Level Green provides students with accurate and comprehensive coverage of life, earth, and physical science. The strong content coverage integrates a wide range of hands-on experiences, critical-thinking opportunities, and real-world applications.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books