Smart Moves: Why Learning Is Not All in Your Head

Book Description

Neurophysiologist and educator Dr. Carla Hannaford brings the latest insights from scientific research to questions that affect learners of all ages. Examining the body's role in learning, from infancy through adulthood she presents the mounting scientific evidence that movement is crucial to learning. Dr. Hannaford offers clear alternatives and remedies that people can put into practice right away to make a real difference in their ability to learn. She advocates more enlightened educational practices for homes and schools including: a more holistic view of each learner; less emphasis on rote learning; more experiential, active instruction; less labeling of learning disabilities; more physical movement; more personal expression through arts, sports and music; less prescribing of Ritalin and other drugs whose long term effects are not even known.

* This is the revised and enlarged second edition of a very popular book that has sold over 100,000 copies. * Includes recent research on the brain and a new emphasis on the importance of the emotional environment for learning. * It begins with a new foreword by well known scientist Candace Pert whose work on neuropeptides has revolutionized our view of the mind/body connection.

Customer Reviews:

New age pseudoscientific nonsense..........2007-08-27

...the "thinking cap" exercise is my favorite -- there's a photo showing some young girl pulling her ear lobes down almost to her collar bone!...the accompanying text claims that such yanking on the ear lobes stimulates "energy sites" in a manner analogous to acupuncture and facilitates thinking...ouch!...I think I'll pass on that one!...and the "energy yawn"??...or the "calf pump"??...no doubt there are reams of scientific research supporting such "techniques" for stimulating thought -- they're just not on this planet...personally, I think you should save your money and attend some of Ms. Hannaford's presentations at the "New Thought Center of Hawaii" where, over the years, she has presented such enlightening seminars as "The Cosmic Order of Sound" and "The Heartful Experience Sufi Dancing at night"...or maybe go out and buy some nice crystals and incense...but whatever you chose, don't waste money on this book.

Perfect remedy for a sedentary generation!.......2007-05-18

As many of the other reviews suggest, this book should be required reading for parents and educators. First of all, the explanations of the mechanics of the brain are very well presented for a lay audience--very easy to understand. The neuroscientific explanation then lays the groundwork for the thesis that Hannaford presents--that we need to consider the impact of the body and movement on the development of the brain. This book is a great step forward for holistic modes of education. Power Brain Kids

REQUIRED READING FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS.......2007-01-09

Hannaford is the wise teacher who shows how the body and mind are connected and how certain moves and exercises can improve school performance and even attitude. This is an extremely valuable book for anybody who works with kids, and will open your eyes to the whole child, not just the child-as-student. VERY highly recommended. Should be required in every teacher preparation program in the country!

Never thought of it before........2006-07-08

I'm a former teacher, current family lawyer, mother of a nine year old, and homeschooled last year. My daughter's current tutor recommended this book, and a lot of pieces are beginning to fall into place. Coordination, reluctance to ride a bike. I wish I'd had this book 10 years ago.

Great Resource.......2006-06-30

This book is easy to follow and is a great resource for those interested in improving functioning, particularly in children. The brain research included in the book is outstanding, maybe a little overwhelming for a lay person not used to reading this type of information, but made to be as user friendly as possible. One school I'm in has used some of the basic principles presented in the book with noticeable positive results in a very short time. This book is worth the money and time spent reading.

Book Description

From the 1980s through the 1990s, children in many areas of the world benefited from new opportunities to attend school, but they also faced new demands to support their families because of continuing and, for many, worsening poverty. Children's Work, Schooling, And Welfare In Latin America is a comparative study of children, ages 12-17, in three different Latin American societies. Using nationally-representative household surveys from Chile, Peru, and Mexico, and repeatedly over different survey years, David Post documents tendencies for children to become economically active, to remain in school, or to do both. The survey data analyzed illustrates the roles of family and regional poverty, and parental resources, in determining what children did with their time in each country. However, rather than to treat children's activities merely as demographic phenomena, or in isolation of the policy environment, Post also scrutinizes the international differences in education policies, labor law, welfare spending, and mobilization for children's rights. Children's Work shows that child labor will not vanish of its own accord, nor follow a uniform path even within a common geographic region. Accordingly, there is a role for welfare policy and for popular mobilization. Post indicates that, even when children attend school, as in Peru or Mexico, many students will continue to work to support the family. If the consequence of their work is to impede their educational success, then schools will need to attend to a new dimension of inequality: that between part-time and full-time students.

Book Description

Examine the reasons for the rapid growth of China's tourism industry

Tourism and Hotel Development in China: From Political to Economic Success is a comprehensive guide to the development of the tourism industry in Mainland China following the end of the Cultural Revolution. Conceived as a textbook but equally valuable as a professional resource for consultants, researchers, and tourist organizations, this insightful book tracks the unique circumstances that sparked the growth of China's tourism and hotel industry from a political, diplomatic activity to a burgeoning economic industry. The book includes background information on geography, culture, history, politics, and economics, and examines the evolution of tourism policies, inbound vs. outbound travel, hotel operations and trends, and the Chinese government's role in developing tourism.

China may be a latecomer to international tourism development, but visitors have made it one of the world's top 10 travel destinations every year since 1994. Since historic policy shifts in 1978 opened China's doors to the outside world, inbound tourism has played a significant role in building a national economy. And the increase in disposable income among China's citizens has helped create a sizable market for domestic and outbound tourism as well. Tourism and Hotel Development in China looks at the major factors and characteristics of each type of tourism, international hotel development trends and their influence on China's hotel industry, related human resources issues, travel services, the development of hotel chains in China, compensation and incentive management, and the future of China's tourism and hotel industry.

Topics examined in Tourism and Hotel Development in China include:

travel and tourism, pre-and post-1949

the Asia market

the intercontinental market

international tourism in different regions of China

popular urban tourist destinations in China

approved outbound destinations

outbound travel to Hong Kong

challenges facing travel services

local protectionism

travel agencies

hotel franchising

foreign vs. local hotel chains

outsourcing

and much more! Tourism and Hotel Development in China: From Political to Economic Success follows the journey of China's tourism industry from a public relations vehicle, restricted by the economy and controlled by the government, to an important source of commerce for a country whose national economy was nearly on the verge of collapse.

Customer Reviews:

Published in 2005? .......2005-07-25

I have been working in the Chinese hospitality industry as a senior manager since 2000. I find the book to be a total waste of time and money to tourism professionals with a little knowledge of China. The statistics and general data available in the book are far too old to be useful. One example: page 150, the Table 10.3 about Hotel Management Companies in China, is from 1998!
For the tourism professionals that want to enter this market, I recommend any "how to" book about business in China and the reading of free articles available on the internet. Don't waste your time.

Tourism and hotel development in China, From political to economic success [A book review from: Tourism Management]

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Tourism and hotel development in China, From political to economic success [A book review from: Tourism Management]
G.W. Pan
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000P6OH8U

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Tourism Management, 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:

Amazon.com

Michael Getz and John Dwork are serious deadheads. The two "passionately and relentlessly record and trade the Dead's music on tape." Who better then to compile a "database" of recorded Grateful Dead music? In this, the first volume, Getz and Dwork cover the years 1959 (the date of the first pre-Grateful Dead recordings) to 1974 (the year the band took an 18-month hiatus from touring). The listings are chronological and include the location of each show, the set list, source and length information, a quality rating, and a review of the recording.

Just in case this mass of detailed information about every known Grateful Dead recording made over an almost-20-year period does not satisfy your yen for the Dead, the book includes a centerfold of color photos of the band in concert. Additionally, the authors introduce the compendium with a philosophical assessment of the taping phenomenon, and interviews with the likes of soundman Owsley "Bear" Stanley and official Dead tape archivist Dick Latvala. A smattering of black-and-white photos and reproductions of original ticket stubs are sprinkled throughout. This book is almost sure to extend the long, strange trip of the Grateful Dead fan who opens it.

Book Description

The ultimate, must-own book to building a collection of tapes of the Grateful Dead in concert The Deadhead's Taping Compendium, Volume 1, offers Deadheads the most complete guide ever to the more than five hundred shows the Dead played between 1966 and 1974 that are available on tape (a few shows as far back as 1959 feature band members pre-Grateful Dead). Every entry includes: * the date and location of the show * a complete list of all the songs played and the tape length * the source of the tape and a rating of its quality * a comprehensive review of the show, often song-by-song, that captures the special moments of each concert Also featured are rare and exclusive interviews with legendary early Dead soundman Oswley ("Bear") Stanley and Dick Latvala, the official archivist of the Grateful Dead. More than seventy-five never-before-published photos of the Dead make this among the most lavish and indispensable books on the Dead yet--a bible for Deadheads for years to come.

Customer Reviews:

Awesome compendium guide.......2005-09-11

I love the book, It came so quick, I was very happy with amazon.

a deadhead's book of tales should be the title.......2004-01-23

This book has mis-directed focus. It proclaims to be a 'compendium' of recordings, set lists and reviews, but it is certainly unrealistic and virtually impossible to create a printed volume that doesn't become wildly inaccurate in a very short period of time. The advent of electronic media over the internet makes the print medium obsolete for this. And there are at least half a dozen different consistently updated online resources out there already for set lists and recordings.

So, if you leave out the set lists and notations of a relatively small group's collections, you are left with reviews. This part is an anecdotal amusement park. Absolute fun but in no uncertain terms should it be used as a reference for whether the 'tire-kickin' collector should check it out.

Very rarely would a serious or knowledgeable deadhead concur with even their closest and dearest friend on each other's unique and personal experience with the music. I'm paraphrasing, but even Jerry Garcia once said that he pushed Phil Lesh down a flight of stairs following a performance he thought was aweful, only to discover later while listening to the tapes that the show was "crackling with energy".

So, the title should be "an in-depth guide to the fiction known as 'deadheads opinion's of grateful dead on tape'"

The most important Dead biography!.......2003-01-12

Will the Dead's music continue to be sought and traded a hundred years from now? Perhaps, but regardless of that possibility, this book and its two proceeding volumes will continue to stand as unique testaments to the art of the band. Currently marketed as resources for tape traders, these volumes will evolve into something much more vital as the members of the band and their fans fade into time.

Never has music been more thoroughly documented and described in the context of it composers. Unprecidented! Imagine a biography about John Coltrane that included descriptions of each performance of his career!

If future generations are curious about The Grateful Dead, they will be interested in the band's art, not the personal flaws or outside experiences of its individual members. I believe these volumes will outlive all the many conventional biographies about the band. They cover the things we should be allowed to know about The Grateful Dead. The rest is "better left unsung."

reply to "bible".......2001-01-17

in reference to : "This book should be used as a guideline for enhancing the experience of Grateful Dead taping and tape trading - not as a Bible. No Bible will ever exist for all the shows the band played because some were unfortunately either never taped or the tapes were lost to time."

Well...I believe that the grateful dead themselves should be the judge of that. They are the ones who possess almost all recorded versions of shows in existence. Only then should a comprehensive "bible" of tapes be published/.

A necessity for any tape trader.......2000-06-19

I bought this book when I was just beginning to trade Grateful Dead tapes, and now I use it every time I set out to make a trade. This book gives me at least some idea about the show before I trade for it, allowing me to pick only shows I'm really interested in. In short, I highly recommend it to anyone who is at all interested in collecting Grateful Dead tapes.

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The Context of Medicines in Developing Countries: Studies in Pharmaceutical Anthropology (Culture, Illness and Healing)

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Similar Items:

Social Lives of Medicines (Cambridge Studies in Medical Anthropology)

ASIN: 155608059X

Customer Reviews:

Well Researched, informative and timely!.......1998-04-09

An amazing insight into the development of the Iranian-American community. This book shows the power of media and politics in the development of identity. The true strenght of this work is that it is applicable to all people. As the role of the media comes under greater scrutiny and people begin to question what they see, read and hear, we understand why this book is so powerful. As Naficy takes us on the ride into Los Angeles, the center of the Iranian-American community, we begin to understand that the construction and creation of the Iranian community is very much imagined and developed by the media and press. This production of identity and image is essential study for all Iranians living in the US and important to all people who want to see how powerful mass media can be in shaping our thoughts, ideas and images of others and ourselves. The only knock on this work is the dense anthropological language that is used to discuss the various psychological and technical subject matters. However that is unavoidable in such a work.

Book Description

Microsoft Train Simulator brings the excitement of some of the world's most famous trains to your home. Harness the engines' power as an engineer, using the fully functional gauges and working controls. Sit back and enjoy the ride as a passenger, taking in the scenery as you rumble through the realistic settings. Or take on the responsibility of a railroad designer, using Train Simulator's open architecture and tools to customize and extend the game.

Written with the full support of the game's developer, Microsoft Train Simulator: Sybex Official Strategies & Secrets gives you everything you'll need to stay on track.

Inside you'll find:
* Expert advice on operating everything from the Orient Express to The Flying Scotsman
* Essential strategies for handling the game's challenging operating strategies
* Hands-on tutorials covering Train Simulator's extensive track and activity building tools

Customer Reviews:

train simulator.......2007-05-21

this is the best for simulators that i have tested and tried. the only way that microsoft could improve this is the graphics. to make the graphics look more real. other than the graphics it is a joy to play

Beginner's Manual.......2004-07-10

This book is really a basic tutorial and not much else. A lot
of space is dedicated to geographical description of the train routes and less to the technical issues, especially the Tools and Editors. The coverage for this topic is very elemetary. This is the kind of manual that used to come with the software. There are, however, some useful pieces of information which are not included in the MSTS documentation. It's a good place to start...but not to finish

A must get if you are new to MSTS........2003-08-18

If you just purchased MSTS and want to learn how to use "Route Editor", "Cab Editor", "Consist Editor", and activities....good luck trying to figure it out without this book.(I bought the book and I am still trying to figure it out!!) Unless of course you have a PHD. in computer science!Well rounded book outlining all the routes and features the simulator has to offer. Just wish it had an index.

Great companion for Train Simulator.......2003-03-04

This book is full of helpful hints and strategies for the game. It could be more detailed but it covers all the activities and routes that come with the game.

The book is extremely useful when you're about to start an activity for the first time or you don't know quite where to begin. It's written in simple language, not technical jargon, so it's easy to understand and easy to use. Each of the acitvities for each of the routes is covered, with tips and helpful hints to point out "gotchas" and things to watch. There's a little bit of historical information as well.

What makes an activity "hard" on the difficulty scale? Can I complete it in the time allotted? What hazards or conditions make the activity easy or difficult? Is there a stategy I can employ to make the activity more successful? Where on the route will I have to slow down or stop my train, and why?

These are the sort of questions addressed by the book. While it's probably not a necessity, I would highly recommend it for the Train Simulator owner who wants to get the most from the game.

Train Sim.......2001-12-07

This book for this program is great.

Book Description

Train Simulator 2 is the highly anticipated sequel to the world's most popular train simulation program from Microsoft. This official, exclusive strategy guide from Sybex, produced with the full support of the game's developer, gives you: --Comprehensive walkthroughs and strategies for the game's five new routes, --Detailed stats and strategies for every route and train, --In-depth coverage of the game's extensive train and track modeling features, --PLUS: A full-color poster.

Customer Reviews:

a strategy guide for how to bungle game development.......2005-05-13

this strategy guide for a game never produced. If MS hadn't handed off the development of this game to another company, which couldn't handle it, then handed it back, perhaps this game would actually exist. MS does not plan at this time to take it off the shelf and resume development. unfortunately, that leaves us with MS Train Simulator 1, and Auran's Train Simulator 2004. Luckily both are fine products. But something new might be nice.

Book Description

"Goody" Guth is an original member of the famous "Easy" Company of the 506thPIR, the "Band of Brothers".

In Normandy, Guth chose to disregard the order against taking cameras into Normandy and snapped photographs throughout the Normandy campaign leaving him with many outstanding images.

With the help of these photographs and Guth's recollections it has been possible to retrace the route he took from the place he was misdropped near Utah Beach, until he reached "Easy" on the outskirts of Carentan. Guth's story is retold through many photographs, pieces of his original uniform and equipment and his personal recollections.

Customer Reviews:

God Bless our Service Men & Women!.......2007-06-18

I found this book interesting & informative. It includes some great pictures & first hand information from a hero that was actually there defending our country.

God Bless the U.S.A.!

Forrest Guth Book Review.......2003-03-11

Mr. DeTrez does a fabulous job in telling Corporal Guth's story of his time in the Airborne. Tons of pictures, many with long, information-filled captions. The pictures are from Mr. Guth's private collection, and give a great perspective on his time in the 101st Airborne. It's almost like you're sitting in his house, looking at his personal photo albums.

I met Mr. Guth on one occasion, and correspond with him occasionally. He's a very nice man, polite, modest, and takes very little credit for the incredible job he performed in the military.
If you like the Band of Brothers Mini-series, you need to buy this book; it's a must!

Good Picture Book of WWII Paratrooper.......2002-11-15

Cpl. Forrest Guth, of Wilmington, Delaware, was one of the real "Band of Brothers" featured in Stephen Ambrose's book and the HBO movie series of the same name.

This book is written in English and French and chronicles the training, D-Day experiences and European service of Cpl. Guth (including the Battle of the Bulge) as he and other members of his 101st Airborne company liberated Europe from German control.

This is a coffee table type book with great pictures and long captions that tell the story of one man's duty in that great war. The pictures are terrific and are a good impression of the look, equipment and wear of a combat parachutist. A good companion book for fans of "Band of Brothers."

I have had the honor of meeting Cpl. Guth. He is a matter-of-fact man who did is duty honorably and is humble regarding the attention Mr. Ambrose's book has placed upon him. This book is a nice brief picture of a regular young man called to do big and dangerous things during wartime.

A must have for all WWII enthusiasts........2002-08-21

Amazing collection of photo's from a 101st member on D-Day. If you are a fan of the Band of Brothers series on HBO or enjoyed Ambrose's book you'll love these photos.
You will see up close photos of uniforms and equipment of the 101st Airborne Division as well as some German gear. This makes a perfect reference for WWII Re-enactors.
Also included are some great stories behind the photos. As a huge WWII buff and re-enactor I highly recommend this book for your collection.

Cpl. Forrest Guth.......2002-06-07

If you liked "Band of Brothers," you'll enjoy this book. It follows one member of Easy company from when he joined the Airborne until the end of the war. The book is filled with photos taken by Cpl. Guth during training, the Normandy Invasion and the Battle of the Bulge. There are also photos of the uniforms and equipment he carried. It's really a fascinating account of what this one man experienced during the war. Be sure to check out De Trez's other Airborne books. You won't be disappointed.

Book Description

Egypt's rich and celebrated ancient past has served many causes throughout history--in both Egypt and the West. Concentrating on the era from Napoleon's conquest and the discovery of the Rosetta Stone to the outbreak of World War I, this book examines the evolution of Egyptian archaeology in the context of Western imperialism and nascent Egyptian nationalism. Traditionally, histories of Egyptian archaeology have celebrated Western discoverers such as Champollion, Mariette, Maspero, and Petrie, while slighting Rifaa al-Tahtawi, Ahmad Kamal, and other Egyptians. This exceptionally well-illustrated and well-researched book writes Egyptians into the history of archaeology and museums in their own country and shows how changing perceptions of the past helped shape ideas of modern national identity.
Drawing from rich archival sources in Egypt, the United Kingdom, and France, and from little-known Arabic publications, Reid discusses previously neglected topics in both scholarly Egyptology and the popular "Egyptomania" displayed in world's fairs and Orientalist painting and photography. He also examines the link between archaeology and the rise of the modern tourist industry. This richly detailed narrative discusses not only Western and Egyptian perceptions of pharaonic history and archaeology but also perceptions of Egypt's Greco-Roman, Coptic, and Islamic eras.
Throughout this book, Reid demonstrates how the emergence of archaeology affected the interests and self-perceptions of modern Egyptians. In addition to uncovering a wealth of significant new material on the history of archaeology and museums in Egypt, Reid provides a fascinating window on questions of cultural heritage--how it is perceived, constructed, claimed, and contested.

Customer Reviews:

An Actual Book Review.......2003-04-28

The wholesale looting of the Baghdad Museum on Apr. 11-12, which U.S. troops did nothing to prevent, has lent a fresh plangency and interest to this remarkable new book about history, culture, museums, caretakers, theft, corruption and the dogfights between the West and Islam over antiquities vastly older than either culture.
In two days in Baghdad, thousands of priceless treasures up to 5,000 years old have disappeared into the pockets and pickup trucks of larcenous mobs. However the Bush administration's Iraqi adventure is seen a century from now, the loss to human history and culture it occasioned is probably irreparable. Artifacts older than Abraham the patriarch have been stolen, ruinously dispersed, probably destined to be melted down for modern bangles. They will exist only in photographs, if at all, for the mobs destroyed the museum's archives as well, according to the New York Times.
Donald Malcolm Reid, a professor of history at Georgia State University, has assembled a very clear, comprehensive account of another, longer, more complex process of ruin, preservation and expropriation. In this sharply written, poignantly illustrated and lucidly organized book, Reid describes how Egyptian civilization was rediscovered by Europe after Napoleon invaded the place in the early 19th century, and how its treasures were first plundered, then exported, then preserved by Europeans who generally regarded the country as their own private piggy-bank. The living Egyptians they encountered were, in their eyes, little more than ignorant Muslim fanatics.
But they weren't. As Reid makes clear, a handful of enlightened Egyptian scholars were fascinated by the Pharaohs and were proud of their land's past. One, named Rifaa al-Tahtawi, wrote a history of ancient Egypt in Arabic in 1868 after studying the land and its monuments for nearly 35 years. Even earlier Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti, another scholar, had warned of the dangers of a European invasion of Egypt when Napoleon arrived with his armies in 1798. His words could come from an Iraqi citizen interviewed on CNN today:
"This is the beginning of a period marked by great battles; serious results were suddenly produced in a frightening manner; miseries multiplied without end, the course of things was troubled, the common meaning of life was corrupted and destruction overtook it and the devastation was general."
Worse was to come. Napoleon brought with him a remarkable entourage of scholars headed by the brilliant libertine, Vivant Denon, and the result was the monumental "Description de L'Egypte," one of the most beautiful multi-volume works of art and science ever published, a work so gorgeous that collectors commissioned special bookcases decorated with gilt sphinxes to hold it, and nothing but it.
But the result of the Napoleonic expedition, and its "Description," was ruinous, as Reid makes clear. A kind of Egyptian gold-rush opened up within the conquered country, and British and German scholars and diplomats descended on Egypt like locusts, determined to rescue it from itself ý and take home as many antiquities as possible in the process. The Rosetta Stone was one of the earliest spoils of war, found by the French, captured by the British in 1801 and today in the British Museum in London. (Americans arrived too late: Not until 1924 did the University of Chicago set up a permanent bureau in Cairo.)
After the first rampage of looting ý perhaps because the antiquities were so infernally heavy to transport, perhaps because the Europeans thought they'd be occupying Egypt in perpetuity ý another, subtler form of sequestration followed. The French Egyptologist, Auguste Mariette, decided it might be a good idea to set up a museum of antiquities in Egypt itself. It is the ancestor of the modern Cairo Museum, but Mariette was opposed to letting native Egyptians inside:
"Egypt is still too young in the new life which she has just received to have a public easily impressed in matters of archeology and art," he explained.
This is one of many ironies that enliven Reid's text, and this book can be read on several levels, as a history of archeology, of politics and warfare, of culture, of prejudices and superstitions, both Egyptian and European, Western and Islamic.
Reid tells it all very clearly, and unflinchingly. Egyptians were finally allowed into their museum in 1915 and could get in free on Tuesdays. Some rubbed up against the antiquities "as a cure for various ills," and the Baedeker guide counseled European visitors to avoid the museum on Tuesdays when "Arab visitors of the lower classes" flocked in.
Some very famous Egyptologists, among them E. A. Wallis Budge and Gaston Maspero, emerge from Reid's pages in all their roguish glory, as brilliant thieves and snobs. Maspero's 13-volume "History of Egypt" now fetches fancy prices on abebooks.com and Budge's treatises ancient Egyptian religion are available in Dover paperback reprints. Reid exposes their thefts and prejudices very artfully.
This is above all a magnanimous book, an attempt at making restitution in ink for what has been stolen in stone. It is hard not to sympathize as Reid quotes the Egyptian scholar Ali Mubarak, who issued a huge 20-volume topographical encyclopedia of Egypt in 1887, with this humble, honest preface, expressing Arab humanism at its best:
"We look upon these works but do not know the circumstances of their creation, we wander through them but do not know who made them... But it is our duty to know these things, for it is not fitting for us to remain in ignorance of our country or neglect the monuments of our ancestors. They are a moral lesson to the reflective mind, a memorial to the thoughtful soul...
"For what our ancestors have left behind stirs in us the desire to follow in their footsteps, and to produce for our times what they produced for theirs; to strive to be useful even as they strove."

Whose Pharaohs? Archaeology, Museums, and Egyptian National Identity from Napoleon to World War I.(Book Review): An article from: The Journal of the American Oriental Society

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Whose Pharaohs? Archaeology, Museums, and Egyptian National Identity from Napoleon to World War I.(Book Review): An article from: The Journal of the American Oriental Society
William H. Peck
Manufacturer: American Oriental Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Journal of the American Oriental Society, published by American Oriental Society on October 1, 2002. The length of the article is 882 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Whose Pharaohs? Archaeology, Museums, and Egyptian National Identity from Napoleon to World War I.(Book Review)
Author: William H. Peck
Publication: The Journal of the American Oriental Society (Refereed)
Date: October 1, 2002
Publisher: American Oriental Society
Volume: 122 Issue: 4 Page: 886(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Whose Pharaohs?

Manufacturer: University of California
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GSS0R6

Amazon.com

Celebrated paleontologist and science writer Stephen Jay Gould has honed and matured his voice over almost 30 years of writing for Natural History. His tenure at that magazine closes with the end of the century, so The Lying Stones of Marrakech is his next-to-last collection of essays from this era. As ever, his works are clever, thoughtful, and inspiring; however, the longtime reader will detect a deeper reflection and a longer view taken by Gould in latter days, perhaps inevitable outcomes of experience and growth. The title essay refers to false fossils carved by Moroccans intent on making a few bucks off of hapless tourists, discusses the case of Beringer's 18th-century fossil hoax, and ends with a plea for a stricter separation between commercial and scientific interests--showing the breadth and scope of his paleontological interests and thinking.

Of course, he also has much to say beyond the confines of his profession: Joe DiMaggio and Dolly the sheep each get respectful treatment from the Gould pen, and he discusses the competing Christian groups sharing the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Though his attitudes may have mellowed over time--he's far from the crotchety oldster some feared he'd become--his passion for knowledge and scientific freedom is still radiant. Whether you're an old-school fan of Gould's writings or a newcomer to his delightfully brainy essays, you'll find The Lying Stones of Marrakech a joy to behold. --Rob Lightner

Book Description

In his latest collection of essays, bestselling scientist Stephen Jay Gould once again offers his unmistakable perspective on natural history and the people who have tried to make sense of it. Gould is planning to bring down the curtain on his nearly thirty-year stint as a monthly essayist for Natural History magazine, the longest-running series of scientific essays in history. This, then, is the next-to-last essay collection from one of the most acclaimed and widely read scientists of our time. In this work of twenty-three essays, selected by Booklist as one of the top ten science and technology books of 2000, Gould covers topics as diverse as episodes in the birth of paleontology to lessons from Britain’s four greatest Victorian naturalists. The Lying Stones of Marrakech presents the richness and fascination of the various lives that have fueled the enterprise of science and opened our eyes to a world of unexpected wonders.

Customer Reviews:

The Ultimate Natural Historian.......2007-02-01

I am just getting around to several works that have rested on my shelves, unreviewed since first read. I just completed "I Have Landed", Gould's last compilation of essays and it is indeed one of the best. But that's always been the "problem" with attempting to classify Gould's writing. First of all, the essay must be two levels - the first (the "catch") is the particular story, moral, fact or tale that serves as the germ of the essay. The second level is how it relates to natural history. The elusive nature of his writing (at least the essays) and their wide breadth of human knowledge make it difficult to choose "favorites" much less "the best".

Gould was an iconoclast who reveled in his deviltry. His fights with the deterministic brand of Evolutionists is legendary and yet he emerged in a stronger position politically if not scientifically. Therefore I loved the section on the French scientists, particularly his take on Lamarckism. Throughout he stresses excellence, the non-progressivity of Evolution, the idea that morality was NOT simply a biological outcome and that choices are what drives human society. For sheer bravura, nothing could beat "Of Embryos and Ancestors" where he ranges from early life on Earth to the nature of fossils to the unbroken lineage of life on Earth while keeping us entertained with tales of Scientific infighting and pure chance resulting in spectacular discoveries.

My Grade = A

Further Natural History Essays of a Master.......2004-06-01

Stephan Jay Gould was certainly one of the most prolific and interesting of modern essayists on evolutionary theory. He often goes on delightful side trips (a mark of a skillful writer, as such devices can be dangerous to an essay) and rarely (but occasionally) follows the wrong path. Whether you agree with him or not, he is always thought provoking.

"The Lying Stones of Marrakech" is no exception. Another one of his series of books of essays from his column "This View of Life" in NATURAL HISTORY magazine, the essays deal with a number of fascinating biological subjects from fake fossils (the lying stones mentioned in the title) to measuring evolution in the real world. While some editing might have made this book even better, it is still a very good read and certainly thought inspiring.

Gould is often especially forceful in dealing with biological determinism, as in the (I think) false idea that we are totally what our genes make us. Now to be fair there are few proponents of evolutionary psychology or other biological determinist groups that would make such a statement (just as there are few total blank slate idealists, despite Stephan Pinker's views), but the ideas often expressed by such researchers make one wonder exactly where they are leading. From the "killer ape" mentality to the "naturalness of rape" they often tread close to a position that man is not improvable and so why bother?

There are almost no modern scientists (as Gould points out) who would deny genetic influence on behavior. Certain mental diseases, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, have obvious genetic components. Nor would they deny that we are an evolutionary product of our ancestors Pliocene and Pleistocene environments (and even earlier ones). However, humans exhibit a remarkably plastic behavioral ability, which is also evolutionarily derived. What makes us human is exactly that plasticity. Given the current state of the planet we had better hope that we can rise above the pre-civilized part of our brains and alter our collective behavior- otherwise we are dead as a species!

These and other fascinating (and often obscure) biological issues are grist for Gould's mill. To follow his interest in the national sport he even throws in a few short pieces on baseball. Essays on the difficulties of predicting the future of technology, the contributions of Lamark, the career of the great French naturalist Buffon, and how vulva stones became brachiopods (they always were of course!), are also among those in this collection.

This book is well worth the reading, despite the digressions!

Gould is gone, but should not be forgotten.......2002-10-10

Collections of previously published essays are often disappointing. Not so with Gould's "penultimate reflections in Natural History," published in 2000, just two years before his death. I found them entrancing (despite Gould's trademark parenthetical comments).

Two factors make Gould's essays stand out from most science writing--the depth of his ideas and his unmatched ability to peel back layers of approximate understanding and convenient storytelling to get to what actually happened. Whether he's detailing the founding moments of palentology and geology or excavating Alfred Russel Wallace's forays into predicting the future, you know that you're going to get the real story, impeccably told, straight from the primary sources. As a science writer, I'm awed as much by Gould's impeccable scholarship as by the quality and originality of his thinking. Gould is absolutely clear-eyed about the progress of science. The tales he tells reflect it as a richly human enterprise, groping its way forward despite misconceptions, hoaxes, and the personal quirks of its protagonists.

This book is not a light or easy read, but it is a richly rewarding one.

Robert E. Adler
Science Journalist
Author of Science Firsts: From the Creation of Science to the Science of Creation

Essays with a split personality.......2002-07-17

The first three sections of this book have essays from the magazine Natural History about the history of "natural history." They are drier and of less general interest, covering people and issues in the development of the science. This certainly would not be the perfect introduction to the late Stephen Jay Gould's writing and research styles. . .

Nonetheless, they are well-researched and written in Gould's loving detail for the accurate story, in contrast to the historical myth. You might find yourself skimming the details of animal classifications to find the gems that remind us of major shifts in scientific thinking.

The second three sections are written to a broader audience and start with obituaries of Carl Sagan, Mel Allen and Joe DiMaggio. These essays are more readable (though Gould continues his love for parenthetical additions at least twice on every page). In this latter half of the book, Gould covers subjects such as social Darwinism; Dolly (the cloned sheep) and the nurture vs. nature argument; ways in which evolution is visible among living species; and competitive equilibrium in nature. Here Gould ensures that his essays are relevant to current social issues.

The Lying Stones of Marrakech.......2002-03-11

The Lying Stones of Marrakech by Stephen Jay Gould is an excellent read; written by one of the foremost original thinkers of our time. His humanistic sensibility and passionate arguments are painstakingly historical... you are nerver left in doubt when reading Gould's prose. When reading this book you see in his writings a musing underlining his brilliant intelligence and scholarship with his signature wit becoming evident.

In these twenty-three essays an erudite discussion comes to light from on of the most fertile minds of science today. We are educated... better enlightened to a point of view which only Gould can provide. As with all good things, they must come to an end since this is the penultimate work of essays... which leaves one more to astonish us.

But I'm sure that we will not see the end of writing from him. I highly recommend reading this brilliant collection of essays from a the most revered and eloquent author and educator of our times.

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The Lying Stones of Marrakech. Penultimate Reflections in Natural History.

Manufacturer: Harmony Books
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The Lying Stones of Marrakech: Penultimate Reflections in Natural History
Stephen Jay Gould
Manufacturer: Harmony
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0224050443

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Lying Stones of Marrakech: Penultimate Reflections In Natural History
Stephen Jay Gould
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