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RETURN OF THRIFT: How the Collapse of the Middle Class Welfare State Will Reawaken Values in Americs
Phillip Longman
Manufacturer: Free Press
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Binding: Hardcover
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THE EMPTY CRADLE: How Falling Birthrates Threaten World Prosperity And What to Do About It
ASIN: 0684823004 |
Amazon.com
Often lost in the hue and cry about problems with welfare in the United States is the abysmal state of the country's entitlements for the middle class. Yet, as Phillip Longman points out in this timely and important book, Americans must prepare for an "imminent collapse of the middle-class welfare state" resulting in the loss of "no less than a way of life." Given the current structure, the Social Security system will go broke in the year 2025, meanwhile, the Medicare fund, the veterans' benefit program and the systems for civil service and military retirees all are financially unsound. Longman explains how dependent middle-class Americans has become on these welfare programs, shows the cost of these programs compared with those for the poor, and provides solutions to avoid a collapse of the system.
Book Description
The multiple perspectives through which culture is explored in this volume show that culture in organizational settings is more complex, pluralistic, diverse, and contradictory than previously acknowledged. Addressing culture at various levels including national, industrial, organizational, and suborganizational, Cultural Complexity in Organizations provides an extremely broad, yet concise, analysis representing the latest research. Some of the areas of focus are implicit managerial understandings and overt practices, the growth and decline of organizations with a focus on culture, managerial control strategies and the dynamics of subcultural formation, change, and temporary reconciliation, among others. Written by a multinational and multidisciplinary group of scholars, the contributions are based on case studies describing situations in an array of settings such as Samsung, a car plant in Slovenia, Hewlett-Packard, a Dutch amusement park, a U.S. software developer, and an airline (SAS), as well as examples from the not-for-profit sector. Using empirical data based on innovative and multi-method research approaches, Cultural Complexity in Organizations is an important reader that goes beyond description to make recommendations on how to better deal with cultural complexity in organizations. Recommended for students and professionals in organization studies, management, gender studies, sociology, and psychology.
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Nitrogen Fertilization in the Environment (Books in Soils, Plants, and the Environment)
Manufacturer: CRC
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0824789946 |
Book Description
This study examines the interactions between nitrogen and the ecosystem and discusses nitrogen fertilization practices around the world. Simulation models that play an important role in determining the dynamics of source-sink relationships are presented, helping to pinpoint inefficiencies and develop strategies to synchronize nitrogen supply and demand.
Book Description
This digital document is a journal article from Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, published by Elsevier in 2007. 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:
Water contamination by nitrates has increased international awareness. It is widely accepted that massive fertilizer application is the principal factor responsible for water nitrate contamination. During the last years, Argentina has extraordinarily increased the use of fertilizers, particularly on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). However, few studies have quantified nitrate losses. Here we report N dynamics in soil fractions and N balance in wheat crops in Marcos Juarez, province of Cordoba (Argentina) with the aim of determining nitrate loss and its possible influence on water contamination. Four treatments were studied to evaluate the combined effect of tillage systems and N fertilizer doses on N losses in soil 0-20cm in depth. The treatments analyzed were: (a) conventional tillage, non-fertilized (CT 0N), (b) no-till and 25kgNha^-^1 (NT 25N), (c) no-till and 50kgNha^-^1 (NT 50N), and (d) no-till and 140kgNha^-^1 (NT 140N). Determinations were: soil total N, NO"3^--N, NH"4^+-N, microbial biomass N, crop residue biomass, crop residue N, and grain N. N balance was calculated as the difference in N fractions between harvest and sowing samples. N balance was negative in all treatments evaluated; the highest N loss (-1075kgNha^-^1) occurred with the highest fertilization rate (140kgNha^-^1). Losses of microbial and soluble N fractions were significant at the end of the crop cycle in all the treatments analyzed (15 and 40%, respectively), probably due to leaching by high precipitations (250mm). Much of the N lost was soil organic matter N, a fact seldom considered in other N balances. Furthermore, it was observed that neither yield efficiency nor the remaining N increased significantly with the highest fertilization dose (140N). Our data show that high doses of nitrogen fertilizer result in low N utilization efficiency and a high risk of water contamination by nitrates.
Book Description
This digital document is a journal article from Atmospheric Environment, published by Elsevier in 2007. 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:
Field management strongly affected the emission of N"2O and plant growth from freshwater marshes. Nitrous oxide (N"2O) fluxes, leaf area, plant height and above ground biomass were investigated under four N treatments (0, 6, 12 and 24g NH"4NO"3-Nm^-^2) in the freshwater marshes of Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China. The average growing season N"2O flux was 0.065+/-0.037, 0.086+/-0.111, 0.141+/-0.186, 0.445+/-0.491mgm^-^2h^-^1, respectively, the above-ground biomass was 201+/-49, 252+/-40, 290+/-47, 954+/-115gm^-^2, respectively, the plant height was 66.25+/-20.99, 71.91+/-16.18, 73.55+/-16.59, 84.14+/-27.07cm, respectively. Exogenous nitrogen had a significant impact on N"2O fluxes and plant growth. Compared to the non-fertilization treatment, the average growing season N"2O flux in fertilization increased by 32%, 113%, 581%, respectively, the above-ground biomass increased by 26%, 44%, 375%, respectively, while the plant height increased by 8.5%, 11% and 27%, respectively. A quadratic relationship between the nitrogen applied rate and N"2O fluxes, and a non-linear positive correlation between the nitrogen and above-ground biomass were found, while the relationship between the N"2O flux and the above-ground biomass was significantly linear positive correlated after nitrogen application, so was the plant height. It was proposed that the exogenous nitrogen gives rise to considerable N"2O emissions from freshwater marshes and a large fraction of N"2O was emitted to the atmosphere via the transpiration stream within the Deyeuxia angustifolia plants, which provides some quantificational data on the relationship between the nitrogen, N"2O fluxes and marsh plant growth.
Book Description
This digital document is a journal article from Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, published by Elsevier in . 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:
We assessed the effects of elevated atmospheric CO"2 on ruminant forage quality and nutrient yields during 4 years in semiarid shortgrass steppe where grazing by domestic livestock is the primary land-use. A defoliation and a nitrogen fertilization treatment were superimposed on CO"2 treatments in large open-top chambers. CO"2 effects on forage soluble and fiber (celluloses, lignin) constituents were small, even though mid-growing season yield and end of season production increased. However, large negative effects of elevated CO"2 were evident in crude protein concentrations and digestibility of forages. While the effects were more negative mid-growing season than autumn, a reduction in already poor quality autumn forage may be more critical to animals. Crude protein concentrations of autumn forage on the elevated CO"2 treatment fell below critical maintenance requirements 3 out of 4 years, compared to 1 of 4 for ambient and control treatments. Forage digestibility declined 14% mid-season and 10% in autumn with elevated CO"2. Negative effects of elevated CO"2 on animal performance mediated through forage quality are likely to be greater than the positive effects of increased quantity, because quality drops to critically low levels that can inhibit utilization. Further, elevated CO"2 shifted the proportional availability of protein and energy to a species of lower overall quality and the species most negatively affected by drought. Current-year defoliation increased both quality and production of protein and energy compared to non-defoliated plots, but no CO"2 by defoliation treatment interactions were observed. Nitrogen fertilization increased crude protein concentrations and digestibilities, but not in the least nutritious species that increased with elevated CO"2 or in autumn when quality was lowest.
Book Description
This digital document is a journal article from Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, published by Elsevier in 2007. 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:
Denitrification is an important pathway for nitrogen (N) loss from agricultural soils, but measured field data on denitrification in clay soils are scarce. The objective of the present research was to obtain and compare three different approaches to estimate the annual N loss via denitrification from a heavy clay soil. Using the acetylene inhibition technique we measured denitrification monthly at 20^oC in intact soil cores of a clay soil under intensively managed grass over a period of 2 years. This approach resulted in estimates of N loss via denitrification of 127kgNha^-^1year^-^1 in 2003 and 143kgNha^-^1year^-^1 in 2004. We also measured potential denitrification. These data were used in combination with independently calibrated 'reduction functions' to correct for suboptimal soil nitrate contents, water filled pore space or soil temperature. This approach resulted in estimates of 143 and 325kgNha^-^1year^-^1 for 2003 and 2004, respectively. These measurements furthermore indicated that 75% of the denitrification occurred in the upper 20cm of the soil. Estimates of denitrification based on field balances, including measurements of leaching losses to ground and surface waters, were 152kgNha^-^1year^-^1 for 2003 and 5kgNha^-^1year^-^1 for 2004, when storage of nitrogen was assumed negligible. While all three different estimation methods have considerable uncertainty, they invariably lead to the conclusion that N losses via denitrification in this intensively managed clay soil are high (more than 79kgNha^-^1year^-^1). Measurement of the actual denitrification gave the most consistent and least uncertain estimates and accordingly we concluded that direct measurement of the actual denitrification should be preferred despite it's theoretical shortcomings. This implies that about 25% of the N applied to the field as fertilizer and manure is lost to the environment. In this heavy clay soil 90% of this loss proceeds via denitrification, and 10% proceeds via leaching and drainage.
Book Description
This digital document is a journal article from Science of the Total Environment, The, 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:
Soil carbon (C) long term storage is influenced by the balance among ecosystem net primary productivity (NPP), the rate of delivery of new organic matter to soil pools and the decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM). The increase of NPP under elevated CO"2 can result in a greater production and higher turnover of fine roots or root exudation and, in turn, in an increase of labile C belowground. The aim of this work was to detect if changes in labile C substrates influenced the organic C storage in soils, verifying (i) whether treatments with elevated CO"2 and N fertilization induced changes in the amount and quality of labile C pools and in microbial C immobilization and (ii) whether these changes provoked modifications in the microbial C mineralization activity, and therefore changes in soil C losses. The effect of elevated CO"2 was a significant increase in both seasons (June and October 2004), of all labile C fractions: microbial biomass C (MBC), K"2SO"4 extractable C (ExC), and water soluble C (WSC). The C/N ratio of the microbial biomass and of the K"2SO"4 extractable SOM presented a seasonal fluctuation showing higher values in June, whereas the elevated CO"2 increased significantly the C/N ratio of these fractions independent of the season and the N addition, indicating a lower quality of labile SOM. Microbial respiration was more than doubled in October compared to June, confirming that changes in substrate quality and nutrient availability, occurring in the plantation at the beginning and at the end of the vegetative period, influenced the microbial activity in the bulk soil. Furthermore, the microbial respiration response to N fertilization was dependent on the season, with an opposite effect between June and October. The kinetic parameters calculated according to the first-order equation C"m=C"0(1-e^-^k^t) were unaffected by elevated CO"2 treatment, except C"0k and MR"b"a"s"a"l, that showed a significant reduction, ascribable to (i) a lower quality of labile pools, and (ii) a more efficient microbial biomass in the use of available substrates. The C surplus found in elevated CO"2 soils was indeed immobilized and used for microbial growth, thus excluding a priming effect mechanism of elevated CO"2 on SOM decomposition.
Book Description
This digital document is a journal article from Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, published by Elsevier in 2007. 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:
The projected increase of atmospheric CO"2 concentration [CO"2] is expected to increase yield of agricultural C"3 crops, but little is known about effects of [CO"2] on lodging that can reduce yield. This study examined the interaction between [CO"2] and nitrogen (N) fertilization on the lodging of rice (Oryza sativa L.) using free-air CO"2 enrichment (FACE) systems installed in paddy fields at Shizukuishi, Iwate, Japan (39^o38'N, 140^o57'E). Rice plants were grown under two levels of [CO"2] (ambient=365@mmolmol^-^1; elevated [CO"2]=548@mmolmol^-^1) and three N fertilization regimes: a single initial basal application of controlled-release urea (8gNm^-^2, CRN), split fertilization with a standard amount of ammonium sulfate (9gNm^-^2, MN), and ample N (15gNm^-^2, HN). Lodging score (six ranks at 18^o intervals, with larger scores indicating greater bending), yield, and yield components were measured at maturity. The lodging score was significantly higher under HN than under CRN and MN, but lodging was alleviated by elevated [CO"2] under HN. This alleviation was associated with the shortened and thickened lower internodes, but was not associated with a change in the plant's mass moment around the culm base. A positively significant correlation between lodging score and ripening percentage indicated that ripening percentage decreased by 4.5% per one-unit increase in lodging score. These findings will be useful to develop functional algorithm that can be incorporated into mechanistic crop models to predict rice production more accurately in a changing climate and with different cultural practices.
Book Description
This digital document is a journal article from Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, published by Elsevier in 2005. 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:
Nitrogen (N) fertilization has become a basic component of short-rotation woody biomass plantation management. This study was conducted to examine N leaching losses from 7-year-old cottonwood (Populus deltoids Marsh.) and loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations treated with repeated N fertilization for seven years. We also wanted to establish an optimal N fertilization rate, which would yield acceptable tree growth with minimal groundwater contamination. The plantations were located in northwest Florida on a well-drained, Redbay sandy loam (a fine-loamy, siliceous, thermic Rhodic Paleudlt). N fertilizer was applied through a drip irrigation system with rates of 0, 56, 112 and 224kgNha^-^1 per year. We collected soil water samples monthly from June 2001 through May 2002 using tension lysimeters installed at 30 and 120cm soil depths for analyzing NO"3-N, and NH"4-N. The concentration data were incorporated with drainage data from LEACHN model simulation for estimating the amount of N leaching losses. Annual mean nitrate-N concentrations at 120cm depth under cottonwood were 0.5, 7.4, 14.1, and 37.7mg NO"3-NL^-^1 and under loblolly pine were 1.0, 10.2, 30.3, and 50.7mg NO"3-NL^-^1 for 0, 56, 112, and 224kgNha^-^1 per year treatments, respectively. Estimated N leaching losses were not different between species, however, increasing N fertilization rate above 56kgNha^-^1 per year increased N leaching without benefits to tree growth in both species.
Book Description
This digital document is a journal article from Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, published by Elsevier in 2004. 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:
The groundwater loading effects of agricultural management systems (GLEAMS) model coupled to a GIS was used to evaluate the effect of different fertilization treatments on the total N leaching in a selected area of eastern Spain with intensive agriculture. Four nitrogen fertilization rates (traditional or base, base rate reduced by 20%, reduced by 50%, and the rate calculated by the N"m"i"n recommendation system for vegetables, and reduced by 70% for citrus) were evaluated at a regional scale to find the rate that minimized N leaching without reducing crop N uptake. Nitrate leaching maps were obtained for the different nitrogen rates studied. A great reduction of N leaching (up to 68% for vegetables, and 75% for citrus) was observed under the most reduced fertilization rates and this reduction was greater in areas irrigated with surface water in comparison to those irrigated with groundwater. The GIS-GLEAMS system was a useful tool to assess the N leaching at a regional scale for the different N management considered. For example, it was shown that the N"m"i"n recommendation system was the most efficient for vegetables, and for citrus the most efficient fertilization rate was the reduced 50%, that is similar to that recommended by the Code of Good Agricultural Practices. The areas irrigated with groundwater with high nitrate content had a high leaching rate, and the nitrate applied in irrigation water should be considered when planning the crop fertilization. A temporal analysis of the NO"3-N in soil, N leaching, crop evapotranspiration and rainfall allowed to identify the influence of the soil NO"3-N and the rainfall on nitrate leaching.
Book Description
This book offers the most lucid overview available of Sigmund Freud, his legacy, and his place in our world. As the person responsible for the birth of psychoanalysis and one of the sharpest clinical minds of the 20th century, Freud continues to be one of the most influential thinkers of our time and one of the most controversial. For those interested in understanding the life and work of this seminal figure as well as the current debates that surround him, this book will prove an invaluable guide.
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- eh.
- Great Insider Information
- Good guide, poor index
- made our camping vacation
- Best Campground Guide
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The Best in Tent Camping: Northern California, 3rd: A Guide for Campers Who Hate RVs, Concrete Slabs, and Loud Portable Stereos (Best in Tent Camping - Menasha Ridge)
Bill Mai
Manufacturer: Menasha Ridge Press
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Binding: Paperback
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The Best in Tent Camping: Southern California, 3rd: A Guide for Campers Who Hate RVs, Concrete Slabs, and Loud Portable Stereos (Best in Tent Camping - Menasha Ridge)
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Foghorn Outdoors California Camping: The Complete Guide to More Than 1,500 Tent and RV Campgrounds (Foghorn Outdoors)
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The Best in Tent Camping: Oregon: A Guide for Car Campers Who Hate RVs, Concrete Slabs, and Loud Portable Stereos (Best in Tent Camping - Menasha Ridge)
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Moon California Camping: The Complete Guide to More than 1,400 Tent and RV Campgrounds (Moon Outdoors)
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Moon Northern California Cabins and Cottages: Great Lodgings with Easy Access to Outdoor Recreation (Moon Outdoors)
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Rayovac SPHLTLED 3-in-1 LED Head-Lite
ASIN: 089732580X |
Book Description
From the seaside vistas of Big Basin Redwoods State Park overlooking the Pacific Ocean, to the granite cliffs and glacial lakes of the northern Sierra Nevada, The Best in Tent Camping: Northern California is a guidebook for tent campers who like quiet, scenic, and serene campsites. It's the perfect resource if you blanch at the thought of pitching a tent on a concrete slab, trying to sleep through the blare of another camper's boombox, or waking to find your tent surrounded by a convoy of RVs. Whether you are a northern California native in search of new territory or a vacationer on the lookout for that dream campground, this book will help you unlock the secrets to the best tent camping that northern California has to offer.
Customer Reviews:
eh........2007-05-15
This book was just "okay." Only 50 sites were reviewed, and really, for Northern California, that's not even a drop in the bucket. Still, the layout is easy to read.
Great Insider Information.......2007-02-26
Overall, this book is definitly worth buying. I wish it had better maps. Perhaps an area map next to each campsite listing. That would help with planning.
Good guide, poor index.......2006-12-22
Overall I really appreciate this guide book but it's continually frustrating to try to match up the map page to the actual index and chapters- there's no logical connection, very annoying. But the overall content is great, recommend this one!
made our camping vacation.......2006-09-30
We just got back from a car camping vacation transversing the Northern Sierras from North to South. We used this book exclusively and it was spot on. We stayed at Warner Valley in Lassen National park by hot springs of Drakesbad,Salmon Creek by the unbelievably dramatic Sardine lake in the Gold lakes region, Woods lake by Carson pass: a true Gem in the high country with wildflowers, and Wahakaluuhepyou on the Stanislaus river where it was hot and the swimming holes were refreshing. It was a perfect vacation with especially nice campgrounds in remarkably scenic areas.
I liked the fact that only the authors favorites were included in this guide. I have another camping book which lists all the California campgrounds which is just too confusing. This book has a focus."Proof is in the pudding" applies to this invaluable guide to the "Best in tent camping": we used it and discovered places that exceeded our best dreams.
Highly recommended!
Best Campground Guide.......2005-08-15
We love to camp, but like so many families, both parents work and we don't have a lot of time to go driving around on the weekends to find good campgrounds. That's why this book is so great. It tells you all about the best campgrounds in Northern California - the roads in, the sites themselves, the amenities, the phone numbers of the office/ranger stations, EVERYTHING! We have found it to be a valuable addition to our comping gear!
Book Description
Sometimes setting pen to paper requires bravery, and writing well means breaking free of the rules learned in school. Liberating and emboldening the beginning writer are the goals of Ted Kooser and Steve Cox in this spirited book of practical wisdom that brings to bear decades of invaluable experience in writing, teaching, editing, and publishing.
Unlike “how to write” books that dwell on the angst and the agony of the trade, Writing Brave and Free is upbeat and accessible. The focus here is the work itself: how to get started and how to keep going, and never is heard a discouraging word such as “no,” “not,” or “never.” Because of the wealth of their experience, the authors can offer the sort of practical publishing advice that novices need and yet rarely find. Organized in brief, user-friendly chapters—on everything from sensory details to a work environment, from creating suspense to revising and taking criticism—the book allows aspiring (and practicing) writers to dip in anywhere and find something of value.
Customer Reviews:
A small book with much in it .......2007-09-17
I have been writing for over forty years, and it seems to me I might have done better with it all had I paid more attention to one central piece of advice given in this book, the advice about listening to the reader, caring to communicate with the reader, learning from the reader's reaction.
This book is a very friendly guide to the writer and would - be- writer. It is written with a clearness and common sense and real concern for helping out 'others'. Its spirit, its unpretentiousness, clarity are all in its favor.
The authors teach the value of writing every day, of concentrating on communicating with the reader. They also have a section on the business of getting oneself published. They advise against trying to go over the head of the reader with dazzling displays of knowledge or virtuosity, and instead communicating to the reader. They suggest that much good writing comes from everyday life, and is about telling stories of everyday life in a winning way. They go into details of the writing process to show how to make it more effective.
This is a small book with much in it.
Motivating.......2007-07-11
This book is excellent for someone who may have inhibitions when it comes to expressing themselves in their writing...someone who just needs a slight push to feel less apprehensive. I felt it was more for someone who just started writing or who wants to write, but has been too afraid vs. someone whose seriously looking to improve their craft.
Who says you can't write?.......2007-03-26
This is not your every day how-to book about writing. Nor is it a writing text book. It's a solid, easy to follow guide to get you writing after all the years of saying you wish you could. It won't guarantee you'll be published. But it will give you realistic suggestions that if followed will help you improve your writing.
Co-author Ted Kooser follows his own advice: he communicates. To Kooser, all writing is communication and if it's poorly written communication fails. Kooser is a former Poet Laureate and winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry. He is a professor of English at the University of Nebraska--Lincoln. Joining Kooser is Steve Cox who is an editor, publisher, freelance writer and director emeritus of the University of Arizona Press.
The 177 pages of the book are full of useable information for any writer--published or unpublished. Nine sections cover every aspect of writing from "What Do You Know?" to "Copyright, Libel and Invasion of Privacy."
Composition teachers will shudder at the section entitled: "Rules? We Don' Need No Stinkin' Rules!" Kooser and Cox quote author Elmore Leonard: "If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it. Or, if proper usage gets in the way, it may have to go. I can't allow what we learned in English to disrupt the sound and rhythm of the narrative."
Aaagh! Miss Spencer who taught Comp 101 would have a coronary!
"Many writers have been tempted to tell you everything they have learned about writing...Writing is a capacious activity that allows for a lot of individuality. Nobody's wrong, and nobody's necessarily right," the authors write.
Most new writers don't grasp the importance of revising. Kooser and Cox write: "It's a rare first draft that can be published or even read in public. Almost every piece of writing needs some rewriting, rethinking, and polishing before it is ready to take center stage." Their suggestion on the importance of revising is to "let it [draft] cool" a while before revising.
Stephen King, the authors point out, sets the first draft of his books aside for six weeks before writing the second draft.
The personality of your writing can determine your own personality, they write: "Expressing yourself positively will have a remarkable effect on your life...It turns out that writing positively leads you into the habit of thinking positively, and thinking positively leads you to behaving positively in other areas of your life."
The focus of the book is how to get started writing, how to keep going and how to get publicity. It does a good job of meeting that goal.
Write past the fear.......2006-07-01
Good book to get beyond those vague fears about expressing oneself with the written word. Encouraging and helpful, I would recommend this book to any new writer who just needs a little boost.
Friends Share their Secrets.......2006-06-14
Imagine sitting down for coffee (or tea) with the U.S. Poet Laureate (who just won a Pulitzer) and a well respected author, editor and publisher and having them tell you how you can write better. This book does it. Conversational, fun, and full of wisdom and encouragement. Will you snag your Pulitzer? Probably not. But, if you take these guys' advice and start writing, there's a good chance that you'll have some words on paper that other people might just treasure long into the future.
Jay Rochlin
Book Description
Displaying faith, courage, and perseverance, snowboard racer Chris Klug battled for years to have his “extreme” sport accepted in the mainstream. He rose through the World Cup ranks and won a bronze medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics less than two years after undergoing a lifesaving liver transplant. Not since Lance Armstrong’s It’s Not About the Bike has a stricken athlete’s story been as poised to transcend the sport. In 1996, during snowboarding’s World Cup season, Chris was diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis—the same disease that would cause the death of his childhood hero, football great Walter Payton. His four-year wait for a donor came to an end when his rapidly failing liver prompted doctors to move him up on the transplant list. With the shooting death of a thirteen-year-old boy, Chris was given the organ that gave him a second chance at life. From his youth as a high school football hero, to his campaign for snowboarding’s acceptance, and through surgery, recovery, and Olympic glory, every setback and victory in Chris Klug’s ride is riveting. To the Edge and Back will be cherished as a story of an athlete who represents the best of the human spirit.
Customer Reviews:
A modern sports autobiography.......2005-01-31
Chris Klug and Steve Jackson's account of the Olympian's triumphant life is an excellent example of the modern sports autobiography: Truly spoken, well-written, and a glimpse inside a sport not too many readers probably know too much about. But it's Klug's life -- so far -- that intrigues. Like Lance Armstrong, Klug has faced adversity outside of sports and conquered it, making his athletic achievement so much more important and interesting. Top-notch work.
Excellant Book Amazing.......2005-01-12
This is simply an amazing story. From beginning to end, it instills a sense of wanting to go out and live life to the fullest. It has everything a great book should. This book will make you laugh, cry, and appreciate life. A great inspirational story, everyone should have this in his or her collection. This book appeals not only to skiers and snowboarders but also across generations.
What a story!.......2004-11-29
This is one of the most motivational books I have read. If you finish reading this book and aren't totally stoked about attacking life, you need serious help.
Imagine having a dream to be on an Olympic Snowboarding team BEFORE snowboarding was even accepted at most ski resorts, BEFORE snowboarding was even considered a sport. If I learned one thing while reading this book, it was to never tell a kid something is impossible.
I'd highly recommend this book as a present for parents to give their snowboarding teens. It shows how dedication, hard work and never giving up on yourself can be your ticket to anywhere.
Epic Tale.......2004-11-17
From the moment I picked up this book I had a tough time putting it down. This book will have you both laughing hysterically and crying. "To The Edge and Back" is not only a truly inspirational story of Chris Klug and his epic story of going from Organ Transplant survivor to Olympic Athlete; it also speaks to the history and character of the sport of snowboarding. From it's beginnings as an "outcast" sport that "will never last" to becoming an Olympic sport, "To the Edge and Back" gives us a peak into what snowboarding (and its athletes) are all about and the obstacles that the sport has had to overcome.
The book tells a story of a dream, and an athlete who refused to ever let go of that dream even while facing head-on the reality of his own impending mortality. Seeing & feeling the impact of organ donation from both sides, both the donor family and the recipient, truly makes this an epic read and a story that needs to be heard/read by all.
Moving and Inspirational!!!.......2004-11-09
Before picking up the book, everyone should be ready for an incredibly inspiring story. Having survived a liver transplant to return to a professional athletic career, and then win an olympic medal should leave anyone in complete awe. Comparisons to Lance Armstrong and his book campaign will abound. However, in "To the Edge and Back," Klug does much more than just inspire. The story is an incredible one of course, but this piece is also very well written and impeccably put together. Each of the chapters brings the reader to (and sometimes past) the verge of tears, and then moments later has one holding his/her sides in laughter. What will seem to many as a story primarily about overcoming unimaginable odds offers much more as Klug pays homage to his sport, his friends and his family. The book is clearly an influential work for Chris's primary cause of organ donation, and shows readers the importance of the medical miracle and the necessity for more organ donors right here in America. This is a must read for all athletes, but is a moving and entertaining work that should find its way onto bookshelves and bedside tables world wide.
Books:
- Russian and Soviet Economic Performance and Structure (Addison-Wesley Series in Economics)
- Semantics, Culture, and Cognition: Universal Human Concepts in Culture-Specific Configurations
- Service Operations Management: Improving Service Delivery (2nd Edition)
- Social Foundations of Postindustrial Economies
- Social Inclusion and Economic Development in Latin America (Inter-American Development Bank)
- Stabilizing The Economy: Why And How
- States and the Reemergence of Global Finance: From Bretton Woods to the 1990s
- Stealth KM: Winning Knowledge Management Strategies for the Public Sector
- Stochastic Limit Theory: An Introduction for Econometricicans (Advanced Texts in Econometrics)
- Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations: A Practical Guide and Workbook
Books Index
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