Average customer rating: |
Twisted Dream: Capitalist Development in the U. S. Since 1776
Douglas F. Dowd Manufacturer: Little Brown & Company ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: 0316191612 |
Average customer rating: |
The twisted dream: Capitalist development in the United States since 1776
Douglas Fitzgerald Dowd Manufacturer: Winthrop Publishers ProductGroup: Book Binding: Unknown Binding ASIN: 0876268831 |
Average customer rating: |
The Mauritian Economy: A Reader
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 0333699653 |
Book Description
Average customer rating: |
Farming in Britain today
John George Stuart Donaldson Manufacturer: Allen Lane ProductGroup: Book Binding: Unknown Binding ASIN: 071390061X |
Average customer rating: |
Farming (Britain Today)
Roy Woodcock Manufacturer: Hodder Children's Books ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 0750215348 |
Average customer rating:
|
Signs of Meaning in the Universe (Advances in Semiotics)
Jesper Hoffmeyer Manufacturer: Indiana University Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items:
ASIN: 0253332338 |
Amazon.com
Jesper Hoffmeyer is on to something significant. Whereas semiotics is often a dull analysis of formal symbols, Hoffmeyer's biosemiotics is a lively natural history of signs that interprets evolution as a continuous advance in semiotic freedom. All living things, according to Hoffmeyer, are constantly reacting to their environment by interpreting the signs in their own unwelt,, or interior representation of the surrounding world. Freedom and chaotic self-organization thus become the hallmarks of all life. Based on sound research and written in a delightfully accessible style, Signs of Meaning in the Universe should be interpreted as an advance in both philosophy and science.Customer Reviews:
J. Hoffmeyer's "Signs of Meaning in the Universe".......2003-12-20
inventive, interesting signs
<-->meaning
<-->observer.......2003-08-05
The first question ought to be, what is it about? what is the genre? It's science, it's philosophy. The word pathfinder, speculative, thoughtful, leading-edge come to mind. The flipside of the book is lack of detail, lack of explicit substance and explanation. He defines new words, gives a hint about what he is thinking, then moves on in a few paragraphs, which leaves the reader gasping for breath and more. Yet you understand that here is a deep thinker, a considerable intellect that has something important to say, something i am interested in, yet it is hard to follow and even harder to grasp. Mostly due to lack of detail, lack of specificity, lack of metaphors and things that would lead the reader in a ever-tightening spiral around the ideas, to eventually get to the point that the writer has reached. Don't get my feeling of missing something put you off, the book is worth the reading.
But again what is it about?
He introduces several specific, but odd terms. The biggie is semiotics and a series of derivatives. All built on a triad of: primary sign, the object, the interpretant (pg20ff) to which he credits the philosopher Charles S. Pierce. The example he uses is that the fertilized egg takes DNA and uses it to create the "ontogenetic trajectory"; as he puts it, the machinery of the egg takes DNA and decipers or interprets it to form the being, the embryo. From here he builds a concept of a semiosphere which is the sum total of all the signs and the significance they represent for living things and their environment. One extended example from biochemistry is very good, and illustrates the value of his ideas, chapter 6 and the discussion of receptors on cell surfaces. He could easily write a whole book with this chapter as a guide, and signal theory and signal transduction and the main theme, as handled by his semiotic triads. But unfortunately he doesn't and leaves the reader, at least me, asking for more detail and specificity.
The second term he introduces is umwelt which he credits to Jakob von Uexhull, which he defends as ecological niche as the organism itself apprehends it. pg54 The two terms kindof dance through the book, covering especially the topic of the evolution of human beings with attention to human self-awareness and/or consciousness until he reaches the topic of ecology. This is his planned destination for the book, it becomes apparent that his major concern is to allow the reader to review his travels in the field and understand that the semiosphere is a way to introduce morality and responsibility into human affairs and our relationship with the biosphere and the creatures that inhabit it. This is neat, for it is historically his intellectual journey, from the first glimmer in Pierce's triad to the things that push the evolution of human beings, to the full blown human responsibility to living things. That is why the book seems so sketchy, so bare of detail and examples. He desires us to follow his adventure but not distracted by the particulars but in a position to see the big picture that the semiotic viewpoint can yield.
But all the while there are literally dozens of places where he starts topics that would make for another book in themselves. For example, he shows that DNA is digital, organisms are analogy, he calls this code duality and it is the topic of chapter 4. Another place i screamed for more detail was near the end of chapter 6 where he is talking about neuropeptides and the way the immunological system interacts with the nervous system, amazing and thought-provoking stuff, the basis for another really good book, i think.
Its a good book, buy it and get out your yellow highlighter, because you will need to review this book several more times before it really sinks in.
biochemistry and information theory by dynamite philosopher.......2003-08-02
The first question ought to be, what is it about? what is the genre? It's science, it's philosophy. The word pathfinder, speculative, thoughtful, leading-edge come to mind. The flipside of the book is lack of detail, lack of explicit substance and explanation. He defines new words, gives a hint about what he is thinking, then moves on in a few paragraphs, which leaves the reader gasping for breath and more. Yet you understand that here is a deep thinker, a considerable intellect that has something important to say, something i am interested in, yet it is hard to follow and even harder to grasp. Mostly due to lack of detail, lack of specificity, lack of metaphors and things that would lead the reader in a ever-tightening spiral around the ideas, to eventually get to the point that the writer has reached. Don't get my feeling of missing something put you off, the book is worth the reading.
But again what is it about?
He introduces several specific, but odd terms. The biggie is semiotics and a series of derivatives. All built on a triad of: primary sign, the object, the interpretant (pg20ff) to which he credits the philosopher Charles S. Pierce. The example he uses is that the fertilized egg takes DNA and uses it to create the "ontogenetic trajectory"; as he puts it, the machinery of the egg takes DNA and decipers or interprets it to form the being, the embryo. From here he builds a concept of a semiosphere which is the sum total of all the signs and the significance they represent for living things and their environment. One extended example from biochemistry is very good, and illustrates the value of his ideas, chapter 6 and the discussion of receptors on cell surfaces. He could easily write a whole book with this chapter as a guide, and signal theory and signal transduction and the main theme, as handled by his semiotic triads. But unfortunately he doesn't and leaves the reader, at least me, asking for more detail and specificity.
The second term he introduces is umwelt which he credits to Jakob von Uexhull, which he defends as ecological niche as the organism itself apprehends it. pg54 The two terms kindof dance through the book, covering especially the topic of the evolution of human beings with attention to human self-awareness and/or consciousness until he reaches the topic of ecology. This is his planned destination for the book, it becomes apparent that his major concern is to allow the reader to review his travels in the field and understand that the semiosphere is a way to introduce morality and responsibility into human affairs and our relationship with the biosphere and the creatures that inhabit it. This is neat, for it is historically his intellectual journey, from the first glimmer in Pierce's triad to the things that push the evolution of human beings, to the full blown human responsibility to living things. That is why the book seems so sketchy, so bare of detail and examples. He desires us to follow his adventure but not distracted by the particulars but in a position to see the big picture that the semiotic viewpoint can yield.
But all the while there are literally dozens of places where he starts topics that would make for another book in themselves. For example, he shows that DNA is digital, organisms are analogy, he calls this code duality and it is the topic of chapter 4. Another place i screamed for more detail was near the end of chapter 6 where he is talking about neuropeptides and the way the immunological system interacts with the nervous system, amazing and thought-provoking stuff, the basis for another really good book, i think.
Its a good book, buy it and get out your yellow highlighter, because you will need to review this book several more times before it really sinks in.
A must read on biosemiotics.......1997-04-04
Average customer rating:
|
If Only They Could Speak: Stories about Pets and Their People
Nicholas H. Dodman Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 0393324680 |
Book Description
A San Francisco Chronicle bestseller: a veterinary behaviorist evokes James Herriot with these remarkable stories of distressed pets and their equally troubled owners.With humor and compassion, renowned animal behaviorist Dr. Nicholas Dodman explores the complex emotional problems of troubled animals and their (often) equally distressed owners, creating a classic of animal literature, with stories as wise, and almost as human, as the lives of the animals they portray. Did you hear about the dog who always arranged exactly six pieces of kibble in buttonhole depressions in the couch before he could lie down? Or the cat who compulsively hoarded shiny objects? Fifteen years ago Dodman began studying the psychological maladies that afflict our pets, helping to launch a field of animal psychotherapy and psychopharmacology that suggests that animals' emotional problems are often as complex, heartrending, and treatable as those of their human counterparts. If Only They Could Speak, with thirteen true stories culled from Dr. Dodman's own practice, echoes the wisdom of writers like Elizabeth Marshall Thomas and Jane Goodall. The stories here are as wise, and almost as human, as the lives of the disturbed animals they portray. Animal Personality Assessment Guide included. 15 b/w photographs.
Customer Reviews:
The pit bull from hell?.......2007-05-05
I agree- Poor Writing and Ego Ruin It.......2006-07-13
Excellent resource for dog behavior.......2005-08-07
Poor Writing Gets in the Way.......2004-09-17
James Herriott Returns.......2003-08-02
Average customer rating: |
If Only They Could Speak: Stories About Pets and Their People
Dr. Nicholas H. Dodman Manufacturer: W W Norton & Co Inc ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: 0965444473 |
Average customer rating: |
If Only They Could Speak: Stories about Pets and Their People
ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 0641566417 |
Product Description
From the Publisher Did you hear about the dog who always arranged exactly six pieces of kibble in buttonhole depressions in the couch before he could lie down? Or the cat who compulsively hoarded shiny objects? In If Only They Could Speak, Dr. Nicholas H. Dodman, a renowned animal behaviorist, presents fourteen true stories about troubled pets and their distressed owners, revealing that the emotional problems of animals are often as complex, heartrending, and treatable as those of their human counterparts. Sadly, just fifteen years ago, euthanasia, which still today remains a so-called solution for millions of pets, was the only way to deal with a pet who was untrainable or unresponsive to human commands. A dog with a propensity to bite or a cat who constantly urinated indoors would have been sent to the proverbial pound, and almost always to a premature death. Dodman, believing that animal psychopharmacology could yield results as promising as those experienced by humans, began studying a wide array of psychological maladies that afflict pets, believing that careful drug use, be it Prozac, Valium, or newer psychiatric medications, could help save the lives of even the most profoundly troubled dogs and cats.
Average customer rating: |
If Only They Could Speak: Stories about Pets and Their People
ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 0641583192 |
Product Description
From the Publisher Did you hear about the dog who always arranged exactly six pieces of kibble in buttonhole depressions in the couch before he could lie down? Or the cat who compulsively hoarded shiny objects? In If Only They Could Speak, Dr. Nicholas H. Dodman, a renowned animal behaviorist, presents fourteen true stories about troubled pets and their distressed owners, revealing that the emotional problems of animals are often as complex, heartrending, and treatable as those of their human counterparts. Sadly, just fifteen years ago, euthanasia, which still today remains a so-called solution for millions of pets, was the only way to deal with a pet who was untrainable or unresponsive to human commands. A dog with a propensity to bite or a cat who constantly urinated indoors would have been sent to the proverbial pound, and almost always to a premature death. Dodman, believing that animal psychopharmacology could yield results as promising as those experienced by humans, began studying a wide array of psychological maladies that afflict pets, believing that careful drug use, be it Prozac, Valium, or newer psychiatric medications, could help save the lives of even the most profoundly troubled dogs and cats. These poignant, emotional stories reveal the fruits of Dodman's research, which he has carried out as the founder of the Animal Behavior Clinic at Tufts Veterinary School in Grafton, Massachusetts. With characteristic humor, compassion, and a profound understanding of the way animals think and feel, Dodman explores how separation anxiety, jealousy, fear, and death all affect the lives of the animals he has treated.
Average customer rating:
|
Inside the Cage: A Season at West 4th Street's Legendary Tournament
Wight Martindale Jr. Manufacturer: Simon Spotlight Entertainment ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items:
ASIN: 1416905391 |
Book Description
It is no wonder basketball purists love the kind of game that the Cage produces. Because of the court's small size, the action of the game is compact and intense. The short trip up and down the court produces a game with more shooting and more offense with less legwork. Big people moving quickly in a small area are bound to bump into one another, so the West 4th Street games remain the city's roughest. Over the years, basketball at West 4th Street has created a legion of enthusiasts who understand basketball and want to see it played well.
The most compelling aspect of a sport is that it never dies; it is always being reborn. The seasonal nature of West 4th Street brings fans and players back every year. One summer may end in disappointment or in victory, but the victors must prove themselves the following summer, and those who were defeated can try again.
The tip-off game on Saturday, June 1, officially begins the twenty-fifth season.The most popular outdoor basketball court in New York City is half the regulation size, offers no seating, and has sidelines bounded by a chain-link fence. The summer league on West 4th Street, in the heart of Greenwich Village, has developed its share of stars. But it has become known throughout the world for another reason: In the age of commercialized sports, West 4th Street stands out as a last bastion of true sportsmanship, a rare place where the only thing that matters is the game.
Inside the Cage follows a single season from start to climactic finish, chronicling its unlikely twenty-five-year history along the way. Founded and led by a limousine driver from Brooklyn, Ken Graham's West 4th Street Pro-Classic tournament receives virtually no support from the government. Still, the Cage is home to the city's longest continually running tourney, attracts thirty thousand spectators annually, is featured in one of PlayStation 2's hottest games, and was recently named the number-one playground court in America.
Martindale captures the extremes of the playground game with the scrupulous intensity of our best sports writers. But perhaps more remarkably, he introduces readers to the men on and around the court with the insight of a prize-winning novelist. From 1970s playground legend Fly Williams to NBA veteran Anthony Mason and rookie Smush Parker, three generations of players mastered their game at West 4th Street.
Inside the Cage asks how it is that a seemingly unorganized league, populated by men from Harlem, Brooklyn, and the Bronx, has flourished in a neighborhood where less than 10 percent of the residents are African American or Hispanic. The answer: Play, for its own sake, matters. In an age when even the NBA is plagued by violence, how else could a tournament loaded with ambition, intensity, and aggression thrive for more than a quarter century?
The Cage is a rare place where men stand on equal ground. It is a place where movie stars rub elbows with high school dropouts, evangelical Christians mix it up with convicted drug dealers, and hungry players receive support and encouragement from NBA greats.
It is no surprise that Nike's new Battle-Grounds clothing line adopted the Cage as a logo. West 4th Street is a battleground, a hallowed place where men can be perfect for all the right reasons.
Customer Reviews:
Indside the Cage rates a triple E.......2005-06-27
A New York Book.......2005-06-08
A Superb Story.......2005-06-07
Average customer rating:
|
Index To Brown Driver and Briggs Hebrew Lexicon
Manufacturer: Moody Publishers ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 0802440827 |
Book Description
Customer Reviews:
A much needed tool........2007-07-11
A big help.......2006-01-06
Excellent.......2004-10-15
soooo helpful for using BDB.......1999-12-28
Average customer rating: |
Indexes to All Editions of Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon and Thayer's Greek Lexicon
Maurice A. Robinson Manufacturer: Sovereign Grace Publishers ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items:
ASIN: 1589600738 |
Average customer rating: |
Index to Brown, Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon
Bruce Einspahr Manufacturer: Moody Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: B000J1KXIE |
Average customer rating: |
Index to Brown, Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon
Bruce (compiled by) Einspahr Manufacturer: Moody Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: B000O2ND0S |
Average customer rating: |
Index to Brown, Driver, and Briggs Hebrew Lexicon
Bruce (compiled by) Einspahr Manufacturer: Moody Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: B000O1SIW2 |
Average customer rating: |
[Review of] Einspahr, Bruce. Index to Brown, Driver & Briggs Hebrew lexicon
Werner Weinberg Manufacturer: National Association of Professors of Hebrew in American Institutions of Higher Learning ProductGroup: Book Binding: Unknown Binding ASIN: B0006XPMOK |
Average customer rating: |
Cutting Edge: 50 years of British fashion 1947-1997
Amy De La Haye Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: B000OMSXVM |
Average customer rating: |
The Cutting Edge: 50 Years of British Fashion, 1947-1997
Amy de la Haye Manufacturer: Overlook Hardcover ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 0879517638 |
Books:
Recommended Books