Book Description
This easy to read, accessible, macro-first principles book engages readers with familiar real-world examples and applications that bring economics to life. Its 29 chapters focus on those topics that are at the heart of economics, making the volume concise, yet complete. The authors follow an Explore & Apply theme to demonstrate how economics are a part of everyday life and how it can be a useful tool in making personal decisions and evaluating policy decisions. Notable coverage includes the Aggregate Demand/Aggregate Supply model, a single, self-contained chapter on the Keynesian Cross, and early emphasis of Short Run. For a working knowledge of macroeconomics.
Book Description
This easy to read, accessible, macro-first principles book engages readers with familiar real-world examples and applications that bring economics to life. Its 18 chapters focus on those topics that are at the heart of economics, making the volume concise, yet complete. The authors follow an Explore & Apply theme to demonstrate how economics are a part of everyday life and how it can be a useful tool in making personal decisions and evaluating policy decisions. Notable coverage includes consumer and producer surplus, utility and consumer decision, as well as government and market failure. For a working knowledge of microeconomics.
Customer Reviews:
satisfaction guaranteed.......2005-10-13
ordered two books from this seller, both books were used but in good condtion
Book Description
This easy-to-read, accessible, macro-first principles book engages readers with familiar real-world examples and applications that bring economics to life. The authors follow an Explore and Apply theme that shows learners how economics is a part of their everyday lives, and how it can be a useful tool in making personal decisions and evaluating policy decisions. The Enhanced Edition contains more detail and more in-depth coverage of key economic concepts, expanded multiplier coverage, new coverage of crowding out, greater detail on exchange rates, more extensive treatment of antitrust, and much more. For individuals interested in the principles of economics—and how those principles effect the details of daily living.
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Assessment: Problems, Developments and Statistical Issues
Manufacturer: Wiley
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Recent books in the Wiley Series in Probability and Statistics Editors Vic Barnett J. Stuart Hunter David W. Scott Geoffrey S. Watson Ralph A. Bradley Joseph B. Kadane Adrian F.M. Smith Nicholas I. Fisher David G. Kendall Jozef L. Teugels Stochastic Geometry and Its Applications Second Edition Dietrich Stoyan, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany Wilfrid S. Kendall, University of Warwick, UK Joseph Mecke, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Germany This standard text makes the results and methods of stochastic geometry and spatial statistics accessible to practitioners and non-theoreticians. The book is also ideal as an introduction to the subject for mathematicians. The exposition is mathematically precise and takes into account the latest results, but in many cases proofs are omitted. Topics covered include the basic theories of point processes, random sets, fibre and surface processes, random tessellations, stereology and the statistical theory of shape. The theory is illustrated by many examples drawn from different branches of science; actual data in the form of images are presented, and their statistical analysis is discussed. As well as being of great interest to statisticians, this treatment of the subject has proved useful to applied scientists working in fields such as geology, biology, microscopy and materials science, and to pure mathematicians working in geometry. 1995 Bayesian Analysis in Statistics and Econometrics. Essays in Honor of Arnold Zellner Donald A. Berry, Duke University Kathryn M. Chaloner, University of Minnesota John K. Geweke, University of Minnesota This volume affords students and professionals in statistics, econometrics, and other fields of statistical applications a unique opportunity to acquaint themselves with important current and future trends in Bayesian analytical theory and practice. Over the course of forty-eight chapters, more than one hundred authors from around the world explore a vast array of practical and theoretical issues. Topics covered include inference, estimation, prediction, regression, linear model, multivariate analysis, model selection and computation. This is a valuable working resource for statisticians, economists, and all those with a professional interest in the Bayesian approach. 1996
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Cooperation in the European Mountains: Vol. 2: The Caucasus (Environmental Research Series 13)
Manufacturer: World Conservation Union
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ASIN: 2831705347 |
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The Caucasus are a major center of biological, landscape, and cultural diversity, and appropriate mechanisms to maintain and foster these various types of diversity are urgently needed. As a first step, this report gives an overview of the region and details exisiting structure for cooperation at all levels.
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The Forest Industrial Sector of Russia: Opportunity Awaiting
C.A. Backman
Manufacturer: Taylor & Francis
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ASIN: 1850706611 |
Book Description
This is one of the first public documents to present accurate, reliable data describing the forest sector of Russia, including data revealing behavior within the forest sector at a regional level, and possibly the only one to include analyses that look far beyond the present to provide a glimpse of what the future might hold. Following an introduction, it reviews the forest sector in Russia, including the deciduous resource and prices and costs and covers regional diversity in forest resources and utilization in European Russia, West Siberia, East Siberia, and the Far East. It then deals with the trade patterns of Russia and former Soviet Union republics. The final chapters explore analytical methods and scenarios focusing on accessibility, capital requirements, and product demand and examine policy implications and future avenues of research. The book includes bibliographic references, a glossary, and an appendix with extensive statistical data.
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The Forest Resources of the Former USSR
S. Nilsson
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ASIN: 1850704252 |
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Forests, Peasants and Revolutionaries: Forest Conservation and Organization in Soviet Russia, 1917-1929 (East European Monograph)
Brian Bonhomme
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ASIN: 088033553X |
Book Description
Forests, more than most natural resources, exist throughout Russia and constitute a clearly vital resource for both the State and public alike. The study of forests thus deeply intersects with a wide range of critical social and political issues central to early Soviet history. This book examines how natural resources were protected and exploited by the Soviet system across the vast majority of Russian lands not set aside as nature reserves. What was the situation when conservation and exploitation imperatives regarding vital economic resources -- coal, timber, furs, and so on -- clashed on a national scale? How did conservation fit into the broader structure of early Soviet socialist construction, especially given the Bolsheviks'overarching drive toward electrification and industrialization?
To answer these questions, Bonhomme focuses on two Soviet forest-law packages. The first, "The Basic Law on Forests", passed in May 1918, represented a highly ambitious effort to inventory, allocate, manage and reproduce forest resources in the most efficient, scientific, and organized manner possible. Situated politically and conceptually within the domain of War Communism, it fell hopelessly short of its goals, victim to a variety of circumstantial stumbling blocks and internal shortcomings. It was succeeded in 1923 by a new law, "The Forest Code", which sought to apply previous lessons learned while also reflecting the wider transition of the Soviet state from an era of revolution into the calmer period of the New Economic Policy, when heavy government intervention in the economy was mitigated by the enactment of modest free-market reforms.
This study also pays considerable attention to the often overlooked late nineteenth and pre-revolutionary twentieth centuries. It closes with the Stalinist Revolution in 1929, which effectively took forest matters in a new direction, bringing an end to a somewhat coherent "chapter" in forest conservation.
Product Description
Behavior analysis, a rapidly growing profession, began with the use and application of conditioning and learning techniques to modify the behavior of children or adults presenting severe management problems, often because of developmental disabilities. Now behavior analysts work in a variety of settings, from clinics and schools to workplaces. Especially since their practice often involves aversive stimuli or punishment, they confront many special ethical challenges. Recently, the Behavior Analysis Certification Board codified a set of ten fundamental ethical guidelines to be followed by all behavior analysts and understood by all students and trainees seeking certification. This book shows readers how to follow the BACB guidelines in action. The authors first describe core ethical principles and then explain each guideline in detail, in easily comprehensible, everyday language. The text is richly illuminated by more than a hundred vivid case scenarios about which the authors pose, and later answer questions for readers. Useful appendices include the BACB Guidelines, an index to them, practice scenarios, and suggested further reading. Practitioners, instructors, supervisors, students and trainees alike will welcome this invaluable new aid to professional development.
Customer Reviews:
much needed text on ethics.......2006-02-02
The field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) has experienced explosive growth over the last decade and a half. The over-riding goal of any ABA effort must be to increase the autonomy of the individual, his/her ability to make choices for his or her own life and to live independently within society. Unfortunately, many individuals who are supposedly providing ABA services have not received the training needed to engage in this effort responsibly, effectively, and ethically. Such individuals cannot therefore carry out the mission of ABA stated above. This book addresses the all-important ethical responsibilities of a behavior analyst, discussing the responsibilities of behavior analysts as regards their clients, colleagues, and the greater field. It should be required reading for anyone who wants to be involved in ABA. Perhaps most importantly for consumers, a familiarity with this book will allow a determination of the qualifications and ethical stances of prospective behavior analysts. The numerous case studies make all the information highly concrete. This book should become a standard in graduate level ethics courses, as well as for anyone trying to prepare for the BCBA or BCABA exam.
Product Description
Behavior analysis, a rapidly growing profession, began with the use and application of conditioning and learning techniques to modify the behavior of children or adults presenting severe management problems, often because of developmental disabilities. Now behavior analysts work in a variety of settings, from clinics and schools to workplaces. Especially since their practice often involves aversive stimuli or punishment, they confront many special ethical challenges. Recently, the Behavior Analysis Certification Board codified a set of ten fundamental ethical guidelines to be followed by all behavior analysts and understood by all students and trainees seeking certification. This book shows readers how to follow the BACB guidelines in action. The authors first describe core ethical principles and then explain each guideline in detail, in easily comprehensible, everyday language. The text is richly illuminated by more than a hundred vivid case scenarios about which the authors pose, and later answer questions for readers. Useful appendices include the BACB Guidelines, an index to them, practice scenarios, and suggested further reading. Practitioners, instructors, supervisors, students and trainees alike will welcome this invaluable new aid to professional development.
Customer Reviews:
Ehtics for Behavior Analysis.......2005-09-11
A thorough and clearly written book on a topic of great importance.
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Biodiversity Evaluation Tools for European Forests (Ecological Bulletins)
Tor-Bjorn Larsson
Manufacturer: Blackwell Publishing Limited
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ASIN: 8716164342 |
Book Description
The Biodiversity Evaluation Tools BETs for European forest presented in this report are the outcome of a pan-European project BEAR, bringing together expertise from 27 European research organisations. The main achievements are a common scheme of key factors of biodiversity applicable to European forests, European-level Forest Types for Biodiversity Assessment and a list of potential biodiversity indicators to assess forest biodiversity. Furthermore the report gives general advice for European and national level assessment and monitoriing of forest biodiversity.The BETs for European forest will, hopefully, help to develop both the policy framework for conserving European forests as well as the operational level management.
Book Description
Showcasing their favorite and most effective finishing moves, world-renowned jiu-jitsu experts Helio Gracie and son Royler Gracie share the submission techniques that have helped them win fights for more than three decades. Sections of the book break down each submission procedure, presenting important details on how to put devastating combinations together in order to make practitioners more polished competitors. Personal advice on physical and mental training, combined with a deeper understanding of a match's end game, enables readers to elevate their performance and emerge victorious.
Customer Reviews:
No replacement for time on the mat, but a solid read - .......2007-09-06
A solid addition to the series - good fundamentals from the Grand Master Helio Gracie. Simple, yet effective techniques that are the foundation for any Brazilian Jiu Jitsu student. Royler takes it further with some great chokes. Good ideas to take to the mat.
Comprehensive and easy to follow submission encyclopedia.......2007-06-14
Gracie Submission Essentials is 240+ pages of full color photos that explain how to do Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu submissions from almost any position. The photographs for each submission are large, clear, and plentiful - usually four or more for each technique. While those reading it will not be able to master the techniques without a partner, this book is an incredible starting point for those new to the sport and also a great reference for more advanced students. Kimuras, chokes, gogoplatas, omoplatas, locks, triangles, etc... they're all inside.
While there is an introduction section with brief biographies, interviews, and training tips, the primary sections of the book break down as follows:
- Grandmaster's Favorites. Helio Gracie dons a gi and demonstrates the basic (but devastating) submissions of BJJ. These include the standing kimura, choke from the mount, americana, various arm-locks, and the legendary rear-naked choke. 13 techniqus, 29 pages.
- Stand Up Submissions. Royler grapples with Megaton (I though that was MegaTRON the first time I read it) for the rest of the chapters. The standing techniques include standing chokes, wrist/arm locks, knee locks, the guillotine, and pretty much everything you'd ever want to know from the standing position. Since a lot of new BJJ practitioners don't learn these techniques in class (a lot of schools start rolling from the knees), this is an important section for any new student heading to a tournament to read. 26 techniques, 51 pages.
- Guard Pass Submissions. These are some pretty intense techniques that will take a lot of practice and timing to do properly and safely (most of them involve flipping your opponent over). 3 techniques, 7 pages.
- Side Control Submissions. A lot of newer students see side control as just a transition stage, and it is not. Leg-locks, knee-on-the-stomach attacks, chokes, americanas, spine-locks, arm-locks, and arm-crushers are covered. 19 techniques, 46 pages.
- Mount Submissions. Submissions from the mount are some of the most common, but can always be practiced. Chokes, triangles, nutcracker chokes, arm-locks, and the knee-split are shown. 9 techniques. 20 pages.
- Back Control Submissions. The submissions in this section are interesting because "the back" is a broad definition; these techniques tend to be defined according to situation and include "opponent bridges" and "opponent stands up." 5 techniques, 14 pages.
- Turtle and Half Guard submissions. This is a sort of a short "miscellaneous" chapter. The bananna split, chokes, calf-lock, and kimura are covered. 5 techniques, 12 pages.
- Guard Submissions. Are you comfortable fighting from your back? If not, this chapter is a MUST. Chokes, arm-bars, triangles, wrist-lock, omoplata, shoulder locks, crucifix chokes, reverse americanas, gogoplatas, and more. 25 techniques, 63 pages.
While this is one of the best books on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu submissions on the market, it is not the ONLY book you will ever need. It is VERY specific to gi (uniform) submissions, so not every technique will work in a no-gi environment (UFC, etc...). As well, this book does not cover movement - something that is critical to getting into proper position for submissions. Other books (including Royce Gracie's excellent Ultimate Fighting Techniques Volumes I & II - Volume I being a great reference for movement) are necessary to truly understand Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Take Your Submissions to the Next Level.......2007-04-12
Learn essential submission techniques from the masters of Jiu-Jitsu. There are also great tips on how to become a great finisher.
Must have addition to any Jiu-Jitsu practitioner's library.......2007-04-06
This is book is simply one of the best books of its kind out on the market right now. The theory presented in this book regarding how to be a good finisher is invaluable to anyone looking to improve their game. In addition the book presents techniques that are personal favorites of two of the most technical Jiu-Jitsu players ever to walk the earth (Helio and Royler Gracie). The techniques section also includes a variety of combination techniques for those looking to take their submissions to the next level. If you want to learn how to become a good finisher and you want to add techniques to your game buy this book and you won't be dissapointed.
Must have for any Gracie Jiu-Jitsu practiioner!.......2007-02-06
Finally a book dedicated to the ultimate goal of grappling...submissions. This book does not really cover the details of maintaining a superior position, escpaes, or sweeps (Royler and his family members have other books covering those). This books, as the title states, focuses on submissions only.
It starts with a nice intro into the thoughts of Helio and his son Royler. They discuss their similarities and differences in how they approach fights, the mentality needed to win, and some training thoughts. Also discussed is a brief history of the two legendary fighters.
The first set of submissions covers Helio's classic moves. They are pretty basic bread and butter BJJ finishes, but I feel they are important because too many people today move away from the basics, and as the saying goes, less is more. There is a good level of detail into how to make these moves work.
After these sets of moves, it's Royler's turn to shine for the rest of the book. He goes over all types of submissions, grouped by positions such as side mount, full mount, half guard, turtle, and guard. Everything from basic submissions which can be performed quickly, to those requiring more complicated setups are covered. There are a lot of interesting finishes that are not typically shown in most BJJ classes too. Again, the level of detail is outstanding. Small little nuances, which can mean the difference between a successful or failed submission attempt, is explained for each move. The moves definitely do work too. I know this because the week I got my copy, I had already used two of the moves I learned from reading the book to submit people in class.
The photography for all the moves is done very well and clearly illustrates all the moves, as can be expected from any Kid Peligro book. Close up shots are included when necessary. And having Royler's two accomplished assistants (David Adiv, who happens to be my instructor, and Megaton Dias) wear blue gis is a nice touch so it's easy to distinguish whose limbs are whose, while Royler is wearing his white gi.
Definitely order this book soon before the rest of the grappling world does and learns all the little tricks Royler and Helio show!
Book Description
For urbanites surrounded by towering skyscrapers, traffic jams, and swarms of people, nature can be difficult to find. City life can make people feel disconnected from nature, making it all the more important to find ways to connect with nature every day. In the spirit of Ben Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac, Cosmo Doogood's Urban Almanac 2006 provides valuable, accurate information to help readers everywhere get a daily dose of nature. Tailor-fit to cities across North America, the book explores urban flora and fauna, showing what's out and what's blooming each month and explaining the science behind such urban favorites as raccoons and crows. There's also a year's worth of weather predictions, a guide to the sun, moon, and planets, weekly meditations, and much more. A playful and portable guide, Cosmo Doogood's Urban Almanac, 2006 is just the thing for anyone looking to integrate the natural world into each and every day.
Customer Reviews:
Great information & Refreshing Perspective.......2006-03-09
There is a wealth of information about the cycles of our natural world in the Almanac. It is very useful and also refreshing to have someone help us focus on the rythmns of the earth and moon while living in he city!
Book Description
Since its inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. For each volume, a series editor reads pieces from hundreds of periodicals, then selects between fifty and a hundred outstanding works. That selection is pared down to twenty or so very best pieces by a guest editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field. This unique system has helped make the Best American series the most respected -- and most popular -- of its kind. The Best American Travel Writing 2004 transports readers from Patagonia to Ivory Coast to small-town Vermont. Readers are treated to car and truck trips across America, can fall "in lust" in the South Pacific, and go into the heart of the Congo to rescue gorillas. This year's volume is edited by Pico Iyer, who writes in his fascinating introduction, "Restlessness is part of the American way. It's part of what brought many of the rest of us to America." The Best American Travel Writing 2004 displays American restlessness at its most tantalizing and entertaining.
Customer Reviews:
Didn't Care for the Style, But Very Fun Reading.......2006-08-18
The editor, Pico Iyer, approaches the 2004 edition with a clear purpose: to focus not on the travel destination but the travel experience. With the world becoming smaller and smaller, this edition shows how travel is becoming less and less about the destinations and more and more about how travel can transform the individual. This is a different and interesting way to look at travel. However, travel stories (in my opinion) should bring the reader into new geographical places with a solid dose of history and maybe a hint of personal, inward reflection. But these writings emphasize too heavily the feelings and experience of the traveler and thus ignores the wonder of geography, history and foreign culture. Despite my dislike for the philosophy employed in selection of this edition, I appreciated the introduction written by Iyer. It was well written, humorous and made a fitting introduction for the collection of 26 writings.
1. Romance. (4) An interesting look into American road travel of yesteryear (1930's). The whole romance angle of the story didn't really work though.
2. Test Day. (8) Very funny tale of a Western teacher attempting to teach English in Tanzania. I enjoyed the recollections of frustration in teaching English. On a side note- teaching English has become a huge business in the last decade with many nations gouging themselves on the promise of wealth through knowledge of English. This has transformed the world, often causing cultures to devalue their own culture in order to embrace English and the hope of Western wealth. In many cases teaching English does more damage than good.
3. Monuments to Our Better Nature. (7) This is a short, concise essay describing some of the monuments found in Washington DC.
4. The Accidental Explorer's Guide to Patagonia. (9) This was the best essay in the collection. The author tells of his trip to Patagonia, located in the geographically strange southern tip of South America. This is a truly strange place and this short account is a humorous tale of one travel group's experience in the Patagonia.
5. The Screenwriters Vacation. (7) In a few short pages a normal family vacation is retold through the eyes of a screenwriter. Very funny.
6. Canadian Gothic. (3) "I have made a career out of not enjoying Canada." This was a promising opening line, but this quickly lost my interest. I couldn't figure out what the point was, and the information covered in the essay was very random.
7. History Lesson. (3) Boring, but fortunately very short. This is a story of a French family who faced tragedy through WW2.
8. Under the Sheltering Sky. (2) This is mainly a look at the life of Paul Bowles and one travelers hope that through a "pilgrimage" to Tanzier, Morocco, the home of Bowles, an experience or inspiration would come through tracing the footsteps of the famous author. The traveler comes to the conclusion that such pilgrimages are not profitable.
9. Sandbags in the Archipelago. (1) This is the raunchy retelling of one woman's fling while traveling. Tacky and boring.
10. Kashmiri Extremism. (8) The most extreme skiing in the world is in Kashmir. Not because of the slopes but because it is a war zone. This was well written with just the right sprinkle of history to make a fun read about a faraway land.
11. Segways in Paris. (3) A group of Americans drive little scooters (Segways) around Paris in order to promote them in the French market. The only redeeming factor in this writing is the humor throughout.
12. The People on the Bus. (4) This had potential. Writing about the public buses in New York City, the author tries to wax philosophical. I have no problem with bus philosophy, but it didn't work for me.
13. Innocents Abroad? (1) This tried to show the strange relationship between America and Europe. I didn't care for it.
14. Facing Famine. (8) "Thirst is thirst, hunger is hunger." Famine is not a fun topic to write or read about, but it is a harsh truth. The author does well in conveying the bitter reality of drought and famine.
15. Chasing the Wall. (5) An adventure through China. I found it interesting that the Great Wall was given that name not by Chinese, but by foreigners. I enjoyed the copious amount of history, but it was hard to sort through and understand.
16. Ghost Road- (9) A man hunts for the Stilwell Road, a road made by Americans soldiers during World War II, a road from India to China going through Burma (currently named Myanmar). His journey is daring, illegal and involves lies and forgeries, now this makes for enjoyable reading. The road through Myanmar reveals what many activists claim: the Myanmarian government is suppressing native people groups in the northern region of the country. The author, Mark Jenkins, has an excellent website and this article prompted me to do some more study on Myanmar. Very interesting stuff.
17. The Wrong Side of the Cape- (5) "Cape Town had become, for me, a place where fools sat on sea-view terraces, sipping white wine and congratulating one another for finding a corner of Africa that was somehow immune to the chaos engulfing the rest of the continent." The writer is a native South African who tells of his home country, South Africa.
18. Small World- (6) The author describes some of the small businesses in Vermont that cater to the local society and the local economy. In contrast to the huge corporations taking over America, these small companies provide charm and personal service. More of an economic piece than a travel piece, the author does have some great points about the way the world is "getting smaller."
19. A Fleet of One- (9) "The sun never sets on the languages spoken by American truck drivers." Well-written and full of humor, a writer tells of his travels across America with a trucker.
20. Gangsta War- (8) "Africa- it's a continent of hell." This is a look into the country of Ivory Coast and the unrest that has recently terrorized the nation.
21. The Road to Herat- (2) It was hard for me to find the point here, and though it should have been exciting (Afghanistan during the war), it wasn't. Not written very well.
22. Places of Darkness- (5) About the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this journalist braves danger to learn about the dwindling population of gorillas. The mission is dangerous because of the war-torn jungles.
23. Shattered Sudan- (8) This gave an excellent history of Sudan, and shows how money and politics can cause human suffering. The author had a very original way of traveling Sudan and writing about it- he traced a pipeline through the country.
24. Faces in a Crowd- (7) An experience in San Paulo, Brazil. The author did an excellent job of showing how multi-cultural Brazil has become and this made for some interesting reading.
25. Don't Fence Me In- (6) About Patagonia, South America, I found this piece fun to read. The author writes about Butch and Sundance, the notorious criminals of the early 20th century and how they settled down in this region of the world, which is a fascinating geographical region.
26. The Kabul Express- (7) Great account of Afghanistan in 2003 and the way the country rebounds from the US led war on the Taliban.
Ick........2006-07-10
I love travel writing in all its incarnations. However, this anthology, while well written, is about as exciting as a roll of damp paper towels. I say pass unless you like being lectured to by limp old men (a strange dearth of female writers is noted) on their own sense of self accomplishment.
Traveling the Un-American World.......2005-07-15
As with any compilation of anything, whether or not this volume truly represents the "best" of its chosen subject is a matter of fruitless dispute. Pico Iyer's introduction, describing a supposed theme in this year's offerings of a certain melancholy or weariness to American travel writing as a genre, rings hollow; while the field of publications from which the submissions were gleaned is pretty limited. But once you get past those minor difficulties, this book presents an enjoyable variety of missives from American writers who have traveled to both welcoming tourist attractions and unwelcoming trouble spots where the increasingly bad reputation of America is highly obvious. There are a few self-indulgent clunkers about breathless "discovery" here (those by Heather Eliot and Joan Didion come to mind). But the collection does offer many surprises, such as Adam Kopnik's character sketches of New York City bus riders, or Richie Chevat's droll narrative of his completely typical and predictable family vacation. The great John McPhee travels cross-country with an independent trucker, while Mark Jenkins, Kira Salak, Paul Salopak, and Patrick Symmes report enthrallingly from the darker hellholes of third world war zones and disaster areas. If you're bored with typical travelogues of quaint tourist traps and scenery, you'll get a little of that here, but the best essays in this collection show that Americans traveling around the world these days are much more likely to find trouble and darkness. [~doomsdayer520~]
The Best? Hmm..........2005-06-28
Whether or not you like this collection of essays will depend on your definition of travel writing. D.Cooper's "Canadian Gothic", J.McPhee's "A Fleet of One" and B.Donahue's "Under the Sheltering Sky" are all excellent. However many of the pieces chosen are little more than self-indulgent fluff. Was 2004 such a mediocre year for travel writing? M.Byers "Monuments to Our Better Nature" and R.Chevat's incoherent "Screenwriters Vacation" and M.Gorra's "Innocents Abroad?" are hardly memorable.
As another review has pointed out the selections seem to come from a rather limited field: The New Yorker, National Geographic, Travel&Leisure. There are thousands of publication venues, yet Pico Iyer decided to treat us to an anthology that is top heavy with selections from the main stream "Big Media" press. The publisher of this series, Houghton-Mifflin hasn't strayed far from the ground that it feels most comfortable with-established main stream authors. Even the piece by Tim Cahill does not represent his best writing. Most of the selections in this book seem like warmed-up left-overs.
As another reviewer has mentioned, only 4 of the 24 selected authors are women writers. This just boggles the mind... were there no women writers of merit in 2004?
My main concern is that few of these selections are really "travel stories". Some are set in foreign locales, but deal with subjects like teaching English in Tanzania, riding the bus in NYC, famine in Ethiopia ,and political repression in Burma. There is also an irritating post-9/11 angst in several of the essays. While this maybe a reflection of the mood of American writers in 2004 coming to grips with their new found feeling of insecurity in their comfortable middle-class lives, it does not reflect the daily pre-occupations of the other 5 billion souls on the planet. There is a self-centered navel gazing in this collection of essays that reflects some of the worst, not the best of recent travel writing.
Nowhere in this collection will you find the brilliant writing of W. Thesinger, Freya Stark, Norman Lewis, Eric Hansen, or Jan Morris. You will find a lot of boring and recondite references to Henry James however.
This collection of essays is to travel writing what Starbucks is to a bistro . If you can't tell the difference from the real thing, you might enjoy it. Maybe.
I would give this book a big miss, and send a message to Houghton-Mifflin . Donald Rumsfeld famously referred to the "old Europe". This collection of essays isn't even "old-style travel writing". It is a mis-directed bore, brought to you from the same corporate folks that convinced you that chicken McNuggets is really food. This isn't travel literature. It isn't even literature. Most of the collection is dross.
Experiencing other lands and other cultures.......2005-05-01
What is the gold standard for a travel article? If it is to put you in the writer's shoes to experience what the writer experiences, then you can say that this book has picked articles that meet that criterion. The book contains articles from magazines, websites, newspapers, and online to present to the reader. The experiences will vary from riding a New York bus to being in mortal danger in SE Asia. You will feel what the writers feel. And your horizons will expand---geographically, culturally, and politically.
My only reservation is that the universe of publications, from which the articles were selected, seems to be limited. You will see a similarity between the 2003 and 2004 publications.
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