Modern Auditing: Assurance Services and the Integrity of Financial Reporting

Book Description

Auditing counts!

With recent incidents at WorldCom, Enron, Xerox, Tyco, and other companies, auditing has never been so important. Auditing is perhaps our single best defense in ensuring the integrity of our financial reporting system.

That's why this new Eighth Edition of Boynton and Johnson's Modern Auditing focuses on decision making and the critical role auditors play in providing assurance about the integrity of the financial reporting system. Known for its clear writing and accessibility, this text provides comprehensive and integrated coverage of current developments in the environment, standards, and methodology of auditing.

Features
* Real-world examples relate issues discussed in the chapter to ethics, audit decision making, and the integrity of the financial reporting system.
* Focus on Audit Decisions sections highlight key factors that influence an auditor's decisions.
* Includes discussion of the role of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Auditing Standards, and a chapter feature highlights PCAOB standards that differ from Generally Accepted Auditing Standards for private companies.
* Expanded case material related to the integrated audit case (Mt. Hood Furniture) provides a variety of databases that allow students to utilize generalized audit software (IDEA) to accomplish various audit tasks. Multiple databases allow the case to be reused with different data from term to term.
* A flowchart style chapter preview begins each chapter.
* Chapter summaries reinforce important audit decisions included in the chapter.
* End-of-chapter material organized by audit decisions provides a clear link between audit decisions discussed in each chapter and the problem material.

Customer Reviews:

Extensive .......2006-05-07

This book is extensive but confusing. I had to flip back to different chapters to make sure I didn't miss anything.

Vague, wordy, confusing, and in need of examples.......2005-11-10

I found that if you want to learn the language of auditing, have another reference handy. Often, the discourse goes on and on and on and could really be distilled down into a sentence or two that had a firm and grounded presentation. There were very few examples so it was difficult at best to try to understand the often high-level conceptual frameworks that were constantly being presented. I also noted quite a few editing errors that probably arose from cut-and-pastes that were not carefully reviewed. Also, figures and diagrams were reused and were not carefully reviewed either as information was present that didn't apply to the new scenario.

Very Confusing.......2005-07-13

I believe you can find a better auditing textbook in the market. I took an auditing class with one of the authur in Portland and, as a result, was required to buy the textbook. But, I ended up using another auditing textbook in order to get an "A" from this class. The format and writing style are very difficult to follow and understand.

It's OK........1999-05-13

I'm a college student. I am studying auditing to take an AICPA exam. well, auditing is hard for me to study. I think, in order to understand a structure of auditing, reading a book is important. 'Modern Auditing' is helpful to me. A consistent arrangement of context, detailed indexes, lots of figures.... I'd like to recommend 'Modern Auditing'.

Modern Auditing. Eighth Edition. Assurance Services and The Integrity of Financial Reporting

Average customer rating:

Modern Auditing. Eighth Edition. Assurance Services and The Integrity of Financial Reporting
William C. and Johnson, Boynton
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NUW960

Modern Auditing: Assurance Services and the Integrity of Financial Reporting 8th Edition with Online Study Guide Package

Average customer rating:

Modern Auditing: Assurance Services and the Integrity of Financial Reporting 8th Edition with Online Study Guide Package
William C. Boynton , Raymond N. Johnson , and Walter G. Kell
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Wie Modern Auditing and Assurance Services: Assura Nce the Integrity of Financial Reporting by Willi Am Boynton and Ray Johnson, Internationa

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Wie Modern Auditing and Assurance Services: Assura Nce the Integrity of Financial Reporting by Willi Am Boynton and Ray Johnson, Internationa
Boynton
Manufacturer: John Wiley and Sons (WIE)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0471659096

Amazon.com

Mutual funds are good for those who want to take part in the current stock-market boom but have neither the time nor inclination to pick individual stocks on their own. But with nearly 9,000 mutual funds on the market, which ones should you pick or avoid? If you're faced with this dilemma, turn to Susan Karp's Smart Guide to Profiting from Mutual Funds. Karp, a finance journalist, writes a broad introduction to the world of mutual funds, and covers everything from the different types of stock funds available (e.g., aggressive, growth, index, sector, bond, and money funds) to assessing your own goals and objectives as well as tolerance for risk. While Karp does not recommend individual funds, she goes into detail on how to evaluate and buy them and what performance indicators are most important. In addition, the book is sprinkled with phone numbers and URLs of various fund companies and other resources that can help you evaluate different funds. --Harry C. Edwards

Book Description

An all-you-need-to-know introduction to mutual funds—ideal for tentative beginners as well as veterans looking for a brush-up on the fundamentals of "wealth building"

Smart Definitions of blended funds, balanced funds, and closed-end funds

Smart Strategies for college savings, tax-free funds, and retirement plans

Smart Tips on how to find reliable fund families and managers, and how to ride a volatile market

Smart Advice on diversifying your investments, capitalizing on "bull" and "bear" market cycles, committing to aggressive growth funds, knowing when to "sell short," and much more

Smart Tips on calculating interest-rate risk, choosing between taxable and tax-exempt funds, analyzing a fund's performance history, and matching your fund family's goals and style with your own

Smart Insights into how mutual funds perform against CDs, individual stocks and bonds, and treasury securities

Quick reading and easy referencing with a comprehensive index and loads of sidebars and tables

Smart Guides take readers seriously. They satisfy even the most curious person's desire to know the essentials about any of a wide range of topics—from vitamins to mutual funds to stress relief.

It's all about good reading and expert information. The choice is yours.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting.......1999-10-06

This was an interesting book. If you like this book try another one I found called Maximize Your Inheritance by Jarratt Bennett. Worth it.

Easy to understand guide to mutual funds.......1998-11-19

As a novice to mutual funds I found this book very well organized and easy for a "newbie" to follow. The writing was clear and to the point. I especially appreciated the comments by "experts" in the field and the examples given.

I think this book is a basic primer for the first time investor in mutual funds.

Average customer rating:
Farrell et al. V. Strong Line, Inc. et al.
Thomas F. Geraghty
Manufacturer: Nita Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Law | Subjects | Books
General | Law | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1556814194

Average customer rating:
Farrell, et al. v. Strong Line, Inc., NITA Memorial Hospital, and Dr. Madden
Thomas F Geraghty
Manufacturer: National Institute for Trial Advocacy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Trial Practice | Procedures & Litigation | Law | Subjects | Books
Product Liability | Business | Law | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1556811136

Average customer rating:
Anne Farrell et al. v. Strong Line, Inc., Nita Memorial Hospital, and Dr. William Pierce: Advanced case file
Thomas F Geraghty
Manufacturer: National Institute for Trial Advocacy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Trial Practice | Procedures & Litigation | Law | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B00071YS9Q

Customer Reviews:

NMR history.......2000-11-14

This book chronicles the development of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging techniques with reprints of several key papers in the field. The papers themselves probably are not of great technical importance now, but provide an interesting look at the development of the tools and techniques currently in use. Those seeking a deeper understanding of NMR would probably find this useful in a historical context.

Average customer rating:

Nmr in Biomedicine The Physical Basis
Eiichi Fukushima
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N7KK5U

Book Description

This unique monograph establishes a zonal subdivision for Syrian Jurassic deposits within the Lias-Tithonian stratigraphy interval based on the detailed study of the evolution and development of foraminiferal assemblages. The book describes the most complete and representataive Jurassic sections in Anti-Lebanon, the coastal mountains, Kurd-Dag and Palmyrides. Careful analysis of foraminiferal asssemblages reveals their composition, structure, temporal evolution, and spatial distribution in various structural facies zones of Syria, and also identifies eight stages and two megaphases of Jurassic foraminifera evolution. The study of generic regions of foraminifera in the Eastern Mediterranean, South-Western Europe and North Africa suggests that the territory of Syria in the Jurassic period was the centre of the creation and distribution of foraminiferal benthic asssemblages. Thus the Arabian subprovince can be distinguished as an independent paleobiochore in the African-Mediterranean Tethys Province.

Average customer rating:

Inane, stupid bunch of hillbillies trying to act affluent

S**t Fire Good

S**t Fire Good

S**t Fire Good

Another great novel from AR and America's finest writer

Thirteen Albatrosses: (or, Falling off the Mountain) (Stay More)
Donald Harington
Manufacturer: Toby Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Comic | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Political | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

When Angels Rest (Stay More Cycle)

Butterfly Weed

The Choiring of the Trees: A Novel

The Cockroaches of Stay More

The Architecture of the Arkansas Ozarks

ASIN: 1592641687

Book Description

Welcome to the strange, quixotic quest of Vernon Ingledew: to win the governorship of Arkansas. Ingledew, a self-taught genius, is soon hampered by what his opponents refer to as his 'Thirteen Albatrosses.' Among them: he is an atheist; lives in sin with his first cousin; and believes in 'extirpating'-that is, getting rid of-hospitals, prisons, tobacco, and handguns. Nevertheless, Ingledew attracts to his campaign some of America's heaviest political hitters. Together they form Ingledew's Seven Samurai, aides whose devotion will be tested by kidnappings, adulterous love affairs, and defection to the rival campaign of the vulgar, hated Arkansas Governor Shoat Bradfield.

Customer Reviews:

Inane, stupid bunch of hillbillies trying to act affluent.......2002-09-28

The subject of this review pretty much sums up my feelings on it. I thought the book was loose babble and previous Harington novels would have needed to be read and studies to get this book at all.

This book was a dud. (You have to live in the south central u.s. and love regional authors to like this book. I unfortunately don't fit in either category.

Maybe I need a little nonfiction to re-calibrate my senses.

Oh well, on to more books.

S**t Fire Good.......2002-04-02

This is a another great book in the Stay More saga. An author who has accomplished wonders in the the narrative form.I read TAOTAO in the Ozarks about 30 years ago and my reaction was the same when I read Confederacy of the Dunces while living in New Orleans. Mr. Harington is one of my favorite contemporary authors and the other one is John Berger.

S**t Fire Good.......2002-04-02

Another great novel from AR and America's finest writer.......2002-04-01

A new novel from Donald Harington is always a cause for celebration. But 13 Albatrosses is even better than we deserve. Full of vivid characterizations and his trademark rollicking, ribald humor, this new novel should be necessary reading for anyone who can read.

The best novel to come out of Arkansas in many years, 13 Albatrosses should win Donald Harington a legion of new fans.

And be sure to check out his earlier work. You won't be disappointed.

Book Description

The battles in Russia played the decisive part in Hitler's defeat. Gigantic, prolonged, and bloody, they contrasted with the general nature of the fighting on other fronts. The Russians fought on their own in "their" theater of war and with an independent strategy. Stalinist Russia was a country radically different from its liberal democratic allies. Hitler and the German high command, for their part, conceived and carried out the Russian campaign as a singular "war of annihilation." This riveting new book is a penetrating, broad-ranging, yet concise overview of this vast conflict. It investigates the Wehrmacht and the Red Army and the command and production systems that organized and sustained them. It considers a range of further themes concerning this most political of wars. Benefiting from a post-Communist, post-Cold War perspective, the book takes advantage of a wealth of new studies and source material that have become available over the last decade. Readers from history buffs to scholars will find something new in this exciting new book.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent general history of the Nazi-Soviet War.......2007-10-11

I read this book after reading a review of a number of books on the subject that was publiched in Atlantic Monthly. I am not an expert on this subject but I have read several dozen books on the Eastern War, and I found this to be an excellent overall review. Very readable and very thorough within the confines of a single book covering such a vast sequence of events across such a vast front.

Lacking.......2007-02-03

This book could and possibly should have been titled "Zhukov, Stalin, and the Stavka" because that is the overwhelming focus. Evan Mawdsley is a Russian historian, and it definitely shows here. It gives an in depth analysis of RUSSIAN strategy and wartime evolution, but very little of the German side. Look elsewhere if this is what you desire.

This is a CONCISE history. Concise histories are usually rather dry and skeletal. I slogged through the whole thing, but I fell asleep reading it many a night. Compelling reading it is not.

Be forewarned that this is a history of the war from a GRAND STRATEGIC LEVEL. Mawdsley covers army GROUP movements. An army group is just that--a whole number of various tank and infantry armies grouped together. DO NOT EXPECT TO BE DOWN AND DIRTY IN THE TRENCHES HERE. The cold and desperation at Stalingrad, the T-34 versus the Panther tank at Kursk, the Sturmgewehr versus the PPsh-1, Messerschmidt versus Yak, the morale of individual Soviet versus German soldiers as the war dragged on etc. etc. is NOT here. It's all senior generals, marshals, and supreme leaders stuff. You know, the guys with clean buttoned-up uniforms that move little flags around on a table map.

So much is omitted. Incredibly Mawdsley devotes exactly 3 sentences to the appalling behavior of the Red Army once it entered eastern Europe. The systematic wholesale atrocities committed by the Red Army in East Prussia, Pomerania, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary are not mentioned. The three sentences refer to Russian bad behavior only during the final battle around Berlin. Similarly, Nazi Einzattsgruppen activity is also barely mentioned. Why? This savagery made the Eastern front UNIQUE from the Western and Italian fronts and characterized the war between these two reprehensible regimes.

Most unforgivable of all are the woefully inadeqate maps. There are exactly 11 of them. Not nearly enough, and they are poor sparse black-and-white affairs with nothing more than front lines drawn on them. You will constantly need an atlas at your side to comprehend the army movements.

There are a very few photos--none memorable.

Only recommended if you are looking for a short history of Zhukov and Stalin's growth as war leaders, and grand strategic army group movements from the Russian point of view.

Now THIS is military history!.......2006-09-19

Beautifully written, extremely informative, and well-packaged by the publisher, this is another must have for the WWII buff's library. Using the info from the Russian archives which has come out in the past 10-15 years, Professor Mawdsley does a magnificent job of presenting an overview of the War on the Eastern Front. It touches on about every matter you can think of, and has quality footnotes taking you to leading secondary works on almost each subject. A good bibliography, but an annotated one would have been even better. It focuses far more on Russian matters than German, but also has some interesting information on the Nazi side of the hill. Not the only book you should read on the Eastern Front, but a great place to start.

WWII Eastern Front History at Its Very Best!.......2006-08-04

This is a brilliant book; incredibly well researched, organized and written. Having exploited the latest Soviet and German archival material, "Thunder in the East" provides new and important insights into the German-Soviet war on the Eastern Front. And unlike previous Eastern Front histories, which tend to focus on one side or the other, Mawdsley, a professor of Soviet and Russian history, tells the story from both sides. The result is a powerful and balanced narrative, which touches on every aspect of the titanic struggle between Hitler's Third Reich and Stalin's Soviet Russia.

World War II historians have attempted to provide different explanations for the survival of the Red Army in 1941 and 1942, despite horrendous losses, and then its reemergence and resurrgence in 1943, leading to the defeat of the German armed forces in 1945. Mawdsley shows that rather than a single explanation, a number of factors were at work, depending on the period of the war, including the quantity of troops and equipment, the quality of technology, and the industrial capabilities of Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia.

The author doesn't shy away from addressing the Holocaust in the Soviet Union and the deliberate elimination of Jews and Red Army prisoners by the German army working willingly alongside the SS. Accordingly to Mawdsley, some 500,000 Jews were murdered outright by mobile SS killing units and other Nazi police units, assisted by the German Army, in the first sweep of killing in the USSR.

In his conclusion the author discusses the cost of the war to the Soviet Union, noting that some 27 million Soviet citizens were killed, including 10 million Red Army soldiers. The war damaged the USSR more than it damaged Germany and cost the country ten years development. "It is probably also true," writes Mawdsley, "that the Soviet economy never recovered from the war." And he makes it clear that a Wehrmacht victory in Russia would have been far worse for both the Russians and the rest of Europe and the world.

"Thunder in the East" is World War II history at its very best!

A good start.......2006-05-12

If you are new to the Eastern Front this is an excellent new short history of the war. It concentrates a little on the military aspect, on the politics, economics, and of course the social intricacies of the war. The author uses a lot of newly released Soviet secondary sources, many of which I have at home and can vouch for, to present the war in a somewhat new light. There are a few mistakes and some omissions throughout the book but nothing too major. I like the authors conclusions about the purges in 1937-1938, while they were costly for the Red Army there is no reason to think that it crippled the officer corps, although it did create an atmosphere of fear and compliance with Stalin which in the end simply added to the disaster that was 1941. All the battles, offensive and defensive operations, are listed and gone through. Losses are given for the Red Army from Krivosheev's book for every operation, this book has become the standard use for Red Army losses in WWII although there are still some controversies about it. But in the end it's very interesting to see how Soviet losses (KIA, MIA, and POW) went down throughout the war. The author gives a good account of the Warsaw uprising and shows how impossible it was for the Red Army to do anything when it occurred, but something might have been done in late August or mid September. Then again the Poles wanted to take the city and use it as a bargaining chip against the Soviets, so it would have served no purpose in putting the Red Army in that kind of situation with no benefit to Stalin. Overall with the use of these new Russian sources from a variety of authors I have to say this is today the best short history of the war and I would gladly recommend it to anyone who wants an introduction to the Eastern Front.

Customer Reviews:

Entertaining Stories of American History.......2004-04-01

The 18 chapters tell of historical events in America. Some are well-known, others are not. They are different form the legends created by dramas and fiction. These stories of violence recall the Iliad, the Odyssey, Beowulf, or the Song of Roland; they were the equivalent of broadcast or filmed dramas of today. America was founded by a violent revolution, unlike Europe or Asia where violence occurs without creating new nations. Most of the heroes in this book are anti-establishment, which reflects American character. Most American myths do not have a military origin (p.viii). America's growth came from struggles against other peoples [like Europe in the Dark Ages]; this still occurs throughout today's world. The relatively higher murder rate of America reflects its colonial past; it is lower than in countries south of the Rio Grande (p.x). In fact, the murder rate in Europe is much higher when you include wars, purges, and ethnic cleansing (pp.x-xi). Myths, stories of historical events that reflect popular views, are relatively recent and better documented than the Trojan War. You can compare this book to an uncensored and unexpurgated version of "Grimm's Fairy Tales".

The British plan for winning the war was to have three armies meet: Burgoyne down the Hudson valley, St. Leger down the Mohawk River, Howe up from New York. [This tactic of converging columns was used by General Custer in Montana.] Chapter 2 will teach you a lot about early American history, like Hamilton's scheme to split the Federalist that nearly elected Jefferson (p.22). Burr's exposure of Hamilton's treachery destroyed Hamilton's political career. Page 33 gives more about the treachery among these men. Custer's forces unknowingly attacked "the largest concentration of Indian fighting men ever seen north of the Rio Grande" (p.75). Custer's Last Stand was the heaviest defeat suffered against the Indians, but it was also the last victory of the Indians. Sitting Bull lived to ride with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, only to die when "resisting arrest". Chapter 7 explains the Lincoln County Land War, and Billy the Kid's part in this commercial rivalry. Chapter 8 explains how the Earp gang profited from gambling and drinking in Dodge City before moving to Tombstone Arizona. Most miners and townsmen were northern Republicans, most cattlemen were southern Democrats; each had their criminals. The business of Tombstone was entertainment: saloons, gambling casinos, brothels (their businessmen were called the "Law and Order Party"). Did Wyatt and Morgan tip off the stage robbers (p.117)? Was the Gunfight at the OK Corral meant to eliminate competitors? "Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshall" may be history by the survivors (p.125).

You've heard of the Hatfield-McCoy feud? But what about the conflicts over land rich in timber and coal, or the railroad (Chapter 9)? The 1921 Matewan coal strike occurred nearby. The War on Powder River, Wyoming, won't be found in school textbooks. The millionaire ranch owners conspired with the governor and legislature of Wyoming to take over the state (p.145). The war between the cattle association and the homesteaders is explained (pp.147-8). The cattle owners eliminated competition by putting political enemies on a death list, and hiring an army of gunmen to invade Johnson County. The people of Buffalo were warned, and armed themselves to repel this invasion. The US Cavalry rode in to arrest the invading gunmen. A book published on this crime had every library copy stolen and destroyed (p.155)! In the next election the Republican Party was swept from power in Wyoming. This marked the end of the Old West of cattle barons, and the New West of settled homesteaders. The rest of the book covers twentieth century events.

Selected Stories from American History.......2001-04-30

Do not let the sensational title turn you off! The subjects covered ("Interview in Weehawken") will tell you more than what you learned in school about these events. Depth of coverage, not breadth. And you will NEVER read "The War on Powder River" in a schoolbook!

The "Foreward" contrasts American myths with those from classic times as a reflection of popular culture. The Ancients had Thermopylae, we have the Alamo.

The murder rate in America is higher than in Europe, Canada, or Australia. But the latter countries did not have 300 years of Indian Wars, or anything like them, since the Dark Ages. They did not have waves of immigration, or slavery of another race. You have to look at South American countries for similar historical backgrounds. The author cites Medellin Columbia and Rio de Janeiro for high murder rates; these countries had similar development, if different cultural backgrounds, from America. Those who point to Europe as a peaceful place avoid their wars, revolutions, purges, and civil wars. Is this ignorance or dishonesty?

In Europe violence tends to be collective; in America it is individual. Americans don't want the government to do what can be done by private individuals!

Average customer rating:
Written With Lead: Legendary American Gunfights and Gunfighters
William Weir
Manufacturer: Archon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OOSVPI

Customer Reviews:

Check edition carefully if buying used copies!! .......2007-10-16

This Amazon listing is for the Student Edition. The link to the used copies goes to a listing that includes the Teacher Annotated Edition, which has an different ISBN number. If you want the Teacher Annoted Edition, be aware that the pages are NOT blank but has the answers pre-printed on the pages in red ink - you need to order ISBN 0078258006. If you want the Student Edition that can be worked in, you need to order ISBN 0078257999.

Very nice book, although like most other textbooks the grade level isn't provided anywhere.

Building Geography Skills for Life Teacher Annotated Edition,pb,2003

Average customer rating:

Building Geography Skills for Life Teacher Annotated Edition,pb,2003
Boehm
Manufacturer: AI 0078258006
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000V9JQWS

Amazon.com

Cape Cod, Massachusetts, like every other place, is but a small corner of the planet. Yet it contains multitudes, as the nature writer and editor Robert Finch demonstrates in this lively set of essays. In the title piece, which opens the book, he muses on a fellow occupant of his study, a spider that, one day, does in a yellow hornet that has incautiously wandered into her web. There is no cruelty in the spider's act, Finch notes, only a quiet affirmation of the unsentimental ways of nature, in which death follows and even presupposes life. Other essays consider the unhappy fortunes of a beached whale, one that evidently had not found enough to eat at a crucial stage in its growth; the comings and goings of migratory birds and bats; the movement of sand dunes; the falling of autumn leaves; and the eternal power of the ocean. In limning the landscapes of Cape Cod, shaped by humans as much as by the sea, Finch shows that one need not wander into the wilderness to find nature in abundance; his gentle reflections on the small details of daily life are models of compression and careful observation.

Although some of the essays are tinged with melancholy--as befits any consideration of matters of life and death, and of the passage of the years--they collectively celebrate a place that has captured the hearts of many, and will long do so. Or, as Finch writes, "How lucky are we who live in proximity to such a landscape, that has such easy powers to lift us out of our narrow lives and self-made blinders, and so seduce us into seeing who we really are!" --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

Spanning more than 20 years, these essays record changes not only in the natural environment of Cape Cod but in the writer's own life.

Death of a Hornet is one man's elegant rendering of Cape Cod, a sandy, scrub-oaked, tough, and vulnerable spit of land reaching out into the Atlantic Ocean. These stories are "natural adventures" that Finch's previous readers have come to expect, as well as longer meditations on the future of the Cape's fragile environment, on living in one place for a long time, and on the limitations of human sympathy.

Customer Reviews:

The best nature writing since _Sand County Almanac_.......2003-06-13

Yes, Robert Finch writes with an intensity that comes with his passion for his life on the Cape Cod peninsula. But many of these essays describe creatures and natural phenomena that take place in other locales as well -- it's just that we're too busy or too apathetic to observe them. He sees. And then he tells us about his encounters, just as easily as if we're sitting across the table from him at a casual eatery.

My favorite passage is beach-oriented and describes a old cottage being overcome by natural forces: "Sand sifts slowly, like age, over everything, softening, obscuring, and finally obliterating each distinct thing into a semblance of itself and the next thing. In this sense, sand is the ultimate progressive poet, whispering, 'This chair is like this table, is like this bed, is like this sink -- and each thing is, more and more, like all the others, until finally they are all -- like me'." (p. 153) Of course! Why didn't any of the rest of us think to say or write that?

Save this volume for a time in your life when you need the peace of Nature to drape itself over you and slow down your blood pressure. These stories are worth savoring. Then go out and "see" for yourself.

Direct, touching essays.......2000-07-04

Robert Finch's words not only portray the flora and fauna and geography of Cape Cod, he shows the reader what the Cape really is. Those of us who've only visited during the season and thought we "knew" the place should be ashamed. Mr. Finch is a part of the Cape, and the Cape is a part of him, and this reader can only stare in wonder at the majesty and beauty of the world he describes.

banner year.......2000-06-21

What a remarkable year this has been for writing about nature in New England. First the dazzling debut Bullough's Pond, now this thoughtful collection of essays. Can't wait to see what the fall lists have in store.

Beautiful essays of everyday nature.......2000-05-07

This is Robert Finch's finest work yet. His rich, visual observations of everyday nature enlighten and entertain us--- from the tiniest observation of a spider's web to the adventure of saving beached whales off the seashore. Each piece shows the how nature can connect to our often busy, technical lives and how we can not and should not ever try to break that connection.

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