Caribbean Region: Current Economic Situation, Regional Issues and Capital Flows, 1992 (World Bank Country Study)

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It takes a brave writer to tackle the truly Herculean task of describing The Variety of Life with the astronomical numbers of organisms living today, let alone all those that have fallen by the wayside over the billions of years of life on Earth. No one is quite sure how many living species there are, but it is estimated to be somewhere between 10 million and 100 million. Fortunately, since the days of the great Swedish naturalist Linnaeus, around 250 years ago, life has been grouped and classified into hierarchical schemes. As a result, it is possible to encompass this enormous variety of life by describing the relatively few groups into which it can be clustered. And, since the mid-19th century and the Darwin-Wallace theory of evolution by natural selection, classification has taken on an extra, evolutionary dimension.

Colin Tudge, a well-known British science writer, has training in whole animal biology and a self-proclaimed love for the natural-historical foray among our fellow creatures. The first part of this big book (all of 90 pages) deals with the thorny problems of what Tudge rightly calls the craft and science of classification. Since the 1950s, the word cladistics has terrorized many traditional naturalists and biologists. But it is here to stay, and Tudge provides a very welcome guide that will be invaluable to both lay people and students.

The bulk of the text, nearly 500 pages, forms part II and includes the descriptions of the main groups, from the most primitive (alpha proteobacteria) prokaryotes to Eupatorium, a large genus of 1,800 or so species of plant. In between these two groups, at either end of the biological spectrum, lie all the more familiar bugs and beasts, including ourselves. Inevitably, given so many millions of organisms, difficult choices have to be made. Some groups are only dealt with at phylum level (for example, brachiopods), while others are detailed down to family level (for example, primates). Some extinct groups (not surprisingly, the dinosaurs) get a look, but not many overall. The short epilogue concerns conservation and is followed by a useful reference list of sources and an index. Altogether, the 600-odd pages are enlivened with a large number of excellent black-and-white drawings of individual organisms and diagrams illustrating evolutionary relationships. For all natural historians and anyone interested in biology, the The Variety of Life is a must. --Douglas Palmer, Amazon.co.uk

Book Description

The Variety of Life can be read at many levels. Not least it is an extraordinary inventory - an illustrated summary of all the Earthly creatures that have ever lived. Whatever living thing you come across, from E coli to an oak tree or an elephant, The Variety of Life will show you what kind of creature it is, and how it relates to all the others. Yet there are far too many creatures to present merely as a catalogue. The list of species already described is vast enough - nearly two million - but there could in reality be as many as 30 million different animals, plants, fungi and protists - and perhaps another 400 million different bacteria and archaes. In the 4000 million years or so since life first began on Earth, there could have been several thousand billion different species. The only way to keep track of so many is to classify - placing similar creatures into categories, which nest within larger categories, and so on. As the centuries have passed, so it has become clear that the different groups are far more diverse than had ever been appreciated. Thus Linneus in the 18th century placed all living things in just two kingdoms, Animals and Plants. By the 1950s this had become five kingdoms - with fungi, protists, and bacteria hived off into their own, separate groups. But leading biologists today acknowledge three vastly different domains, each divided into many kingdoms - so that animals and plants, spectacular though they are, are just a fragment of the whole. The Variety of Life explains the means by which systematists have attempted such a mammoth classification of so many various creatures - which in turn leads us into some of the most intriguing and knottiest areas of modern biology: evolutionary theory, molecular genetics, and the history of biological thought. Finally, however, The Variety of Life can simply be seen as a celebration. We should all share Miranda's pleasure in Shakespeare's Tempest - ' How many goodly creatures are there here!' - and feel, as she did, what a privilege it is to share this planet with such wonders. Their fate is in our hands; and first, we must begin to appreciate them.

Customer Reviews:

My best biology book.......2006-06-22

It is hard to imagine why anyone could give Tudge's book less than 5 stars. With what must you compare the work, to justify less than 5? Tudge has a friendly, graceful style, the book is full of most fascinating information and I have not seen any even remotely comparable biology text. And any reader of Tudge tempted to give credence to one of the numerous primitive myhths about origins, such as those in the Bible, must be moved to wonder how even the most diligent Divine Design Department could have produced such a vast number of different species in 6 days - e g 300,000 sorts of beetles, 120,000 species of butterflies and moths, literally millions of sorts of bacteria and so forth. As scientists so often argue, and Tudge amply demonstrates, the facts we now know are more interesting and marvellous than the ancient myths.

You will never look at life on earth the same way again.......2004-03-02

Professor Tudge has done all of us a great service with this terrific book. He lays out a clear way for generalists to get a basic understanding on the way life on this planet is related at present and into the past to our best understanding of life's origins.

He explains a variety of classification systems (and some specialists might disagree with his characterizations - but that is a smallish point to those of us who aren't specialists) and provides wonderful illustrations that give us a broad sweep of how the branches flow together in the past. He explains the current limits of our understanding. And he has a wonderful treatment of the Domains as currently understood - Bacteria, Archae, and Eucarya. Obviously, most of the book is on Eucarya because that is most interesting to us humans, but the bulk of life on earth is bacteria and that is kind of interesting to understand.

This book really updates my understanding of what I was taught in 7th grade biology too many years ago. I think every bright high school student ought to read it as well as anyone who wants to understand the amazing range of life now living and that has lived on this earth. You won't look at your life here the same way ever again.

The Fantastic Panorama of Life.......2003-07-21

Colin Tudge has produced a remarkable book that captures the complexities of the Earth's biota. Probably already somewhat out of date (phylogenic studies are producing new results at a fantastic rate) this book is still a necessary reference for biologists everywhere. The old two-kingdom concept, which gave way to a five-kingdom concept, is now a multi-kingdom concept. At the very least we should have six kingdoms- Animalia, Fungi, Plantae, Protoctista, Archaebacteria and Eubacteria. The exact final number is yet to be decided. However, it can be easily argued that the Protoctista and the Bacteria could be broken into even more kingdoms and indeed several authors now talk of at least three domains, containing procaryote (bacterial) and eucaryote kingdoms.

All of this is primarily a result of studies on DNA and other chemicals of life. This research has especially shown the bacterial and "single-celled" organism world to be much more complex than anyone ever thought. From slime molds to cyanobacteria and oak trees to humans, the variation on life on this planet is what fascinates biologists. Tudge's book is a very good review of this extreme diversity and gives us a very good reason to avoid destroying it! Read this book if you are interested in the diversity of life on Earth.

A magnificent reference text for biologists.......2003-05-20

This book pulls together an enormous amount of information and makes it digestible to the average undergraduate - no small feat. It's scope is magnificent, as is its treatment of fundamental concepts of evolution. Although I think there are some problems with the sections on extinct birds and cetaceans (based on new discoveries), Tudge does as well as anybody could in defining outgroups and sister taxa, always erring on the conservative side. I think the most novel and thought-provoking portion of the text concerns the number of kingdoms we might now wish to recognize - I discuss Tudge's reasoning for this with my biology undergraduates and it never fails to make an impression. A splendid accomplishment, and I'm waiting eagerly for a second edition, and a third, and so on. Well done Dr. Tudge, and sincere thanks.

In fiction this would be an epic!.......2003-02-19

An imposing book by a major science writer, Tudge rightly subtitles this work "a celebration." Although at first glance the book seems overwhelming, Tudge has broken down his feast of life into easily consumed portions. After an excellent overview of the history of classifying life, he allows the reader to choose among the many types of animals and plants. One can jump to insects, birds, fish or reptiles for more detailed evolutionary accounts and modern examples. Unable to resist, i skimmed over a few more esoteric examples to settle down to Primates and Hominids. This section provides a superb overview of current knowledge, distinguishing clearly what is known and what is supposed. This was familiar territory but delving in the other sections proved equally rewarding. However, this also suggests a warning that the book is not a "cover-to-cover" exercise.

Tudge opens with the problem facing many new students of biological sciences - how to deal with the immensity of information confronting them. There are, he notes, over two million species described already. No-one disputes the number is far below the actual total life contains - but what is the realistic total? Estimates range as high as 100 million - an almost inconceivable figure. He accepts the more likely total as around thirty million, recognizing that such numbers remain out of human ken. From this, he builds his case that classification systems are necessary. What's required is a classification method that anyone can grasp. He finds the solution in the idea proposed by German entomologist Willi Hennig - cladistics. This system arranges life by characteristics, avoiding confusing generalities and the arcane mysteries of genetics. As Tudge argues, cladistics has become fourth phase of classification systems, and the one likely to endure.

The "technical" sections of the book, covering the multitude of life forms each open with a descriptive essay followed by a "tree" of relationship among various species. This structure makes the book an excellent reference work and will keep it valuable for many years. The illustrations are designed to impart general information, not scientific detail. Neither are they simplistic as the supporting comment provides pointers to consider when viewing them. Tudge groups the text and graphics nicely, allowing visual and text comparison without constant page flipping.

As with any author confronting the immense cargo of information available in biology, Tudge was forced into a selective process in creating a bibliography. It's not an enviable task. The list appears sparse, a heavily pruned tree arranged by chapters. He indicates his preferred references, but only by using his sources will you discover whether more bountiful reading is listed in them. This lack in no way impairs the worth of this effort, however. There are countless book lists available. Anyone with an interest in life will treasure this volume.

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The Variety of Life: A Survey and a Celebration of All the Creatures That Have Ever Lived

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000H4E3AW

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The Variety of Life: A Survey and Celebration of All the Creatures That Have Ever Lived
Colin Tudge
Manufacturer: Oxford Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000PEEBNS

Book Description

This is a study of the cheetah, now extinct in India, through the ages of Indian history. The product of a decade of extensive research, this is the only work which traces the history and ecology of an animal species from the pre-historic period to recent times. Using a range of sources, from prehistoric cave paintings to oral testimony, it provides a comprehensive account of the animal's interaction with man through the ages, charting its path to extinction and exploring the possibility of its reintroduction in India.

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End of a Trail: The Cheetah in India
Divyabhanusinh
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0195686977

Book Description

This book presents a pictorial history of the cheetah in India from the pre-historic period to the present. It provides a comprehensive account of the cheetah in captivity and its use by Indian royalty as an aid to hunting. Divyabhanusinh examines anew the process of the Indian cheetah's decline in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, charting its path to extinction and analysing the causes of its disappearance. The epilogue provides a complete update, including detailed findings on the evolution of cheetahs from Africa and Asia. It also gives fresh evidence about the sadly declining numbers of cheetahs in Iran, and their existence in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The author mines a wide range of sources--from prehistoric cave paintings, Sanskrit, classical Greek and Roman literature to Mughal miniature paintings, rare photographs, and interviews. This third edition contains an updated preface on the current scenario for cheetahs in Asia.

The End of a Trail (the cheetah in India)

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The End of a Trail (the cheetah in India)
Divyabhanusinh
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O8PW56

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End of a Trail: The Cheetah in India
Divyabhanusinh
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKTOP8

Average customer rating:

great

Girls high school basketball coach jlori81@gte.net

Girls' High School Basketball Coach

This is an outstanding book for every parent.

It all makes sense!

Raising Our Athletic Daughters: How Sports Can Build Self-Esteem And Save Girls' Lives
Jean Zimmerman
Manufacturer: Main Street Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0385489609
Release Date: 1999-10-19

Amazon.com

Here's the bad news: American society continues to treat its sons somewhat better than its daughters, and it's no different on the playing fields; boys' athletic programs receive more attention, and thus, girls' programs must work harder just to keep pace. Here's the good news: despite the obstacles, sports function as the leveler. "There is growing awareness that girls enjoy sports and that sports are good for girls," stress the husband-and-wife team of Zimmerman and Reavill. "New evidence is developing which indicates that girls who play sports tend to avoid the physical, psychological, and social pitfalls of adolescence."

To prove their point, the authors traveled the country and collected stories from young women and their parents on the way sports are influencing female lives today. Theirs is a heartening report, rendered textured and real by the many individual voices gathered here. Sports clearly have a measurable, positive impact on young women who participate: substance abuse and pregnancy rates are lower than those of nonathletes, and female athletes are more likely to pursue a college education. Less tangibly, but no less significantly, sports help build self-esteem, fostering independence, teaching leadership and teamwork, and providing powerful role models. "If Ophelia had been on the swim team," the authors surmise, "she might not have needed reviving."

Inspiring as it is, Raising Our Athletic Daughters isn't satisfied with just inspiring; it also serves as a clearinghouse for lots of practical information. It explores the physical and emotional benefits--and pitfalls--specific to young women and changing bodies. It weighs the values of coed vs. single-sex team sports. It looks at how extreme sports have become viable alternatives to the more traditional basketball, softball, soccer, gymnastics, etc. It examines the role of parents, and ends with a comprehensive bibliography and resource list of useful organizations and contacts throughout the United States. Daughters deserve nothing less. --Jeff Silverman

Book Description

Now in paperback, the first book to document how participating in sports changes young girls' lives during the difficult years of adolescence.

From high-profile women's professional leagues to high-school-level champions, girl athletes are acheiving record breakthroughs. Witness, for example, the first spectacular season of the WNBA, or the celebrated victories of women's teams at the 1996 Olympics. The female athlete is a new media darling especially beloved of today's teenage girls, who are almost as likely to have pictures of Rebecca Lobo, Mia Hamm, or Gabrielle Reece on their walls as posters of Leonardo DiCaprio.

So it seems paradoxical that many books and studies attest to a truly sobering picture of girls' lives. With her book Reviving Ophelia, Mary Pipher was only the latest in a string of theorists to describe the dramatic ways in which girls loose self-esteem during the critical years of adolescence, contributing to eating disorders, drug problems, and chronic depression in many young women. In Raising Our Athletic Daughters, journalists Zimmerman and Reavill set out to talk with girls and their parents about how sports can transform girls' lives. Here are firsthand stories from the inner cities and rural playing fields across the nation, offering compelling evidence that participation in athletics makes an extraordinary difference in the lives of young girls, from reducing pregnancy rates and substance abuse to increasing college attendance. Raising Our Athletic Daughters is a clarion call for all those eager to help their children succeed and level the playing field, at last.

Customer Reviews:

great.......2003-01-17

This is a great book, i read it for a class, Gender and Sport, in college. Very helpful to anyone or to parents in particular.

Girls high school basketball coach jlori81@gte.net.......2000-05-22

In 1972, the Equal Rights Amendment was passed. It was called Title IX. Originally inspired to insure equal pay for female university professors, the real impact of Title IX was an explosion in girls' and womens' sports because the law required equal funding for all federally funded educational institutions. While only 20% of all institutions are in full compliance, we have seen an explosion in girls'/womens' sports plus one positive consequence for girls that no set of constitutional statutes can provide: " empowerment. " This book documents the overwhelmingly positive effects that playing sports has on self-esteem, schoolwork, career success and interpersonal/love relationships. Thoroughly written with entertaining true stories, the authors show how and why sports are so important to girls' lives. But they do not shy away from the hazards, pitfalls and confusion that girls face from the clash of mixed societal messages let alone the boys/men who can only see girls as sexual objects. Suggestions are made for sustaining the positive and preventing the negative. I am a girls' high school basketball coach. I also teach and coach young girls in basketball. Teaching and encouraging successful participation in girls' sports has become an important part of my life's work. Many of the issues that are brought up in the book are things I have had to deal with or are concerns that parents bring up with me. Any parent who sincerely wants their daughter to have a successful and rewarding experience with sports will benefit from this book because it lends support and offers advice based on experience. Like me, it is obvious that the authors love to work with girls and are very dedicated to promoting participation while erasing discrimination and inequality. It inspired me to continue my work and taught me a few things also. It was also a fun read. I didn't want the book to end. If, like me, you love working with girls, this is a must read.

Girls' High School Basketball Coach.......2000-05-21

The Equal Rights Amendment was passed in 1972. It was called Title IX. Title IX was originally intended to deal with equal pay for female university professors. It was really about a historic change involving the way we view girls and sports. It lead to an explosion in girls' and womens' sports. And in so doing, it did something for girls and women that no set of constitutional statutes could ever provide: " empowerment. " This is a thoroughly written and exciting book that examines and documents the tremendous impact that sports has had on girls' lives. The various aspects of this impact are explained with true and entertaining stories of girls and the sports they play....the effect on their self-esteem, schoolwork, family lives, careers and sex/love lives. While the overall effect of sports is highly positive for girls who participate, there are hazards, traps and pitfalls that parents, educators and coaches need to be aware of. And as far as girls' sports has come, they still endure resistance and ridicule from men who can only relate to girls as sexual objects. All of this is discussed. This book will be highly useful for parents who want to introduce or encourage their daughters to participate. Many of the issues that are discussed are problems I have to deal with in my coaching or are issues that are constantly being brought up by parents of the girls I work with. I am convinced that the best way to keep a girl away from dangerous people and questionable activities is to get her involved in sports. Her grades will go up and you are likely to see an increasingly happy daughter. This great book will give support to parents who wish to encourage their daughters and also instruct the concerned parent or educator about how to go about making sports a positive experience that will change her life for the better.

This is an outstanding book for every parent........1999-05-18

As a 50 year old grandmother who did not have the benefit of Title IX, this book lays out all the reasons why we should raise our daughters differently than society currently dictates. An athletic girl learns early about how to deal with prejudice and competition; it is a skill that does not come always easily to the non athlete. This book shows clearly and concisely how important it is to prepare our daughters for the world; there is a staggering set of statistics to show why girls everywhere should be encouraged to participate in sports. In this day and age when we are trying earnestly to figure out why so many teenage girls get pregnant or involve themselves in self destructive behaviors, this book gives a pretty clear roadmap of how to protect your own daughter.

It all makes sense!.......1999-01-22

There doesn't seem to be very much information about girls in sports - especially parenting information. This book is wonderful. It provides hope, saddness and grit of what is really happening!

Being the parent of a very athletic 14 year old girl - who is sometimes thought of as "different" because of her drive, goals and commitment - this book helps me understand her - and provides me with ways to help her achieve her goals!!

Average customer rating:

Not Very Informative for a Book on Information Literacy!

Information Literacy: Essential Skills for the Information Age Second Edition
Michael B. Eisenberg , Carrie A. Lowe , and Kathleen L. Spitzer
Manufacturer: Libraries Unlimited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1591581435

Book Description

This is the definitive work on information literacy. Dr. Michael Eisenberg, known worldwide as one of the originators of the innovative Big6 Information Problem Solving Process, and frequent presenters on the subject Carrie A. Lowe and Kathleen L. Spitzer have extensively revised and updated this long-awaited second edition. Tracing the history of information literacy, the authors discuss its economic importance; examine past, present, and current research in the field; and explain how information literacy relates to the national standards transforming K-12 education and higher education today. The authors also look at examples of information literacy in several different contexts, underscoring both its importance and pervasiveness in our society. Learning to be critical and savvy consumers of information is necessary in today's world. This book provides both the theoretical background and practical guidelines to confidently impart these essential skills to your students.

Customer Reviews:

Not Very Informative for a Book on Information Literacy!.......2005-01-26

I have read several chapters of this now and I am finding that most of what I am reading so far is extremely repetitive. I was very excited to get this book at first and to have the promise of a potentially comprehensive source to explain and explore the theoretical and practical aspects of up-to-date Information Literacy issues and impacts as well as future predictions, especially as it pertains to LIS and K-12.

However, so far this book is not saying anything that couldn't be summed up better in much shorter informational segments and paragraphs. It seems the authors go on and on and provide too many definitions of the same thing in different ways again and again. I think I am going to have to call this one a potentially intellectually fraudulent scam all the more ironic since it is supposed to be about perveying literate and good, not redundant information!

It is redundant and completely fails to hit its points home. I had the most hope for Chapter 9 on Information Technologies and I find this to be sadly lacking in any kind of even surface level touch on the impacts and uses of current technologies in information literacy today. I guess I was expecting a more robust indoctrination of the kinds of technologies and markup, semantic and more that educators and information professionals should know now to move into the realm of truly "informed" information integration, portability, and accessibility across a variety of media, ie the languages they should speak...

This book does state that being information literate relies on being in the know about good sources and correct uses/impacts of informational technologies...but as far as being a good source itself, referencing explicitly the kind of technologies and the means to access them this book doesn't seem so far to amount too much I can take away and get my hands dirty with, and this is a failure to me because how can I use it on the job? Conceptually I do not feel that 10 chapters are needed to express and define the concept of information literacy.

So in short I guess I have to say this book is great in theory, but in practice leaves little or nothing for the practioner to take away. I will go back over several chapters again as I was certainly hoping to get more out of it, and I spent $50 on this thing! But I think I want my money back - this just doesn't give me as much as it took away...and that is a sad statement on any book from my bibliophiliac perspective!!! Just my 2 bits!

[...]

Book Description

This book is the first major retrospective publication illustrating the work of Gudrun Zapf von Hesse-an important German lettering artist, type designer and bookbinder. This book features 150 color plates and is a visual essay of her accomplishments in bindings, handwritten books, typefaces, lettering and typography, drawings, and other art works. An introduction written by the noted Professor Hans A. Halbey reviews her lifework.

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