Book Description
A doctor's life is chaotic, nerve-shattering, sometimes sorrowful, and fulfilling--even when the patients are of the four-legged kind. In this sequel to Pet ER, Dr. George A. "Tad" Porter recounts more compassionate and often humorous stories of treating animals in emergency situations. This book includes stories from the years 1970-1974, the period after Dr. Porter opened his own veterinary hospital while continuing to service eleven other veterinary hospitals as an emergency on-call veterinarian. During that time, he treated more than 125 emergencies each month. Armed with a gas anesthetic machine in the trunk of his mustang, Dr. Porter would set out to meet his patients all over the South Bay, California area--cats like Star who had covered herself with some green paint, and Pooch, who had a bad habit of chasing lawn mowers. Porter also found himself involved with public servants--police who called asking for help for two animal victims of heatstroke and firefighters who were having trouble hoisting an injured seventy-pound dog up the side of a cliff. Though a few of Porter's stories may cause a tear or two, most have happy endings. All will help the reader better understand veterinary medicine and will educate readers about how to better protect their pets from circumstances that can escalate into emergencies.
Book Description
With humor and compassion, Dr. Porter tells stories of treating injured and sick animals from cats injured by dogs to rabbits injured by cats, as well as more unusual emergencies: Toby, the cat burned during a spin in the dryer; Oscar, the monkey who created havoc after panicking at the sight of the syringe; and Plop, the cat who was so big he had to walk on his tiptoes so his belly would not drag on the floor. Sometimes there is apathy, sometimes anger over the cost of the emergency care. Sometimes, sadly, there is grief. More often there is worry, then relief, then gratitude. Shining through all these fascinating stories is Dr. Porter's love of his profession and concern for his patients.
Customer Reviews:
Boring.......2002-03-05
Reads like a medical chart. Stacatic and abrupt. I've read many vet books and the only redeeming factor in this book is that it is about animals. James Herriot he is not!
Heartwarming vignettes.......2001-04-08
The short stories in Pet ER give you greater compassion and care for your pets. Dr. Porter shares story after story of animals in need of medical attention and how animal, owner and veterinarian worked together to bring healing. A good book for casual reading.
A heart warming story of a small animal veterinarian.......2000-07-13
Dr. Porter does a great job with his 'down home' style in bringing to life what happens to people who love their pets and want them taken care of. He shares the struggles of the pets, their families, and how he and his own family tie into the complete story.
Amazon.com
Nothing is quite as it should be in this first novel by Kate Walbert, author of the celebrated story collection Where She Went. Set in wartime Philadelphia, the story is told by Ellen, a character inhabiting a rather complex narrative device. Namely, she's looking back on the war years, from some future vantage point, recounting her experiences to her child. This framing device allows Walbert to create a novel in which the past is neither as innocent nor as simple as the reader assumes.
Ellen, the youngest of three sisters, lives for her annual visit to see her cousin Randall. Something in his odd-duck imaginings speaks to her, and their bond is cemented by the fact that they both have red hair. (Relationships have been built on less.) Yet this portrait of Randall is shadowed by loss; we know from the first that he will be killed in the war. Small wonder that nostalgia sweetens Ellen's account of their friendship: "Sometimes, when I think about it, I see the two of us there, Randall and me, from a different perspective, as if I were Mother walking through the door to call us for supper.... One will never grow old, never age. One will never plant tomatoes, drive automobiles, go to dances. One will never drink too much and sit alone, wishing, in the dark."
Ellen tells of meeting the father of her child, of her sister's disappearance, of a friend's abortion. These are in fact the story's recurrent motifs: vanishing women, endangered children, and men permanently damaged by war. As for the titular gardens, they make but a brief appearance, in a book Randall bequests to the narrator. Yet Walbert's description of them lends an extra resonance to her themes of distance and loss, even as we discover that Ellen has been deceiving herself--and us--all along. --Claire Dederer
Book Description
I had a cousin, Randall, killed on Iwo Jima. Have I told you?
So begins Kate Walbert's beautiful and heartbreaking novel about a young woman, Ellen, coming of age in the long shadow of World War II. Forty years later she relates the events of this period, beginning with the death of her favorite cousin, Randall, with whom she shared Easter Sundays, childhood secrets, and, perhaps, the first taste of love. When he dies on Iwo Jima, she turns to the legacy he left her: his diary and a book called The Gardens of Kyoto. Each one subtly influences her perception of her place in the world, the nature of her memories.
Moving back and forth through time and place, Kate Walbert recreates a world touched by the shadows of war and a society in which women fit their desires into prescribed roles. Unfolding in lyrical, seductive prose, The Gardens of Kyoto becomes a mesmerizing exploration of the interplay of love and loss.
Download Description
In a mesmerizing debut novel of romance and grief, a woman looks back on her coming of age in the long shadow of World War II and tells about the death of her favorite cousin, Randall, at Iwo Jima. When Ellen receives a package containing Randall's diary and a book called "The Gardens of Kyoto", her bond to him is cemented and the mysteries of his short life starts to unravel.
Customer Reviews:
Good to read if you can't sleep........2007-06-22
"The Gardens of Kyoto" started out semi-promising, but went nowhere. The story, the characters, the writing were all dull.
The only reason I got this book was because I was being rushed in the bookstore. I wish I had been given more time to look around since I'm sure I would have picked up something more interesting.
Rambling, cluttered and yet interesting.......2005-09-06
I struggle to write this review because I'm not sure if this book was good or terrible. I can only say, it is some of both.
I loved the story of Ellen and her cousin Randall - the commonalities they shared, the introspection and retrospection he inspired in her. The twists and turns of the story kept me turning pages. The author takes this tale and weaves into the story of Randall's father, his lost love Ruby, her brief encounter with Professor X who (and here the story gets very dull) is associated with the war department and the decision not to drop an atomic bomb on Kyoto Japan, and this wraps back to a book Randall loved and left to Ellen upon his death (no secret, he dies in line one). Beyond this, the author incorporates domestic abuse, slavery, abortion, adoption, the Korean War, mental illness, suicide, murder and millions of descriptions of social propriety as Ellen becomes an adult in post WWII Philadelphia. It's a jumble of flashbacks and somehow all of this is pulled together in an interesting story -although quite anti-climactic. This book was recommended to me and yet I hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for an entertaining read. It is definately thought provoking and even disturbing in a way - I find the author a bit squashing of the human spirit. Her characters lie, cheat, and keep awful secrets locked inside of themselves and do little to help their fellow man. The one character I liked dies in line one.
The tyranny of social conventions.......2004-05-18
This is a book to give to those people who lament the decadence of modern society and look longingly to a more innocent time: a time when every husband was right, every wife happy, every soldier heroic, and every girl a virgin until marriage.
Apparently, that's what social mores of the 40's and 50's insisted on. So what could you do, if your life wasn't as picture-perfect as it was supposed to be? The characters in Walberg's book face this dilemma. Some of them sacrifice their desires in order to fit in, while others die themsleves as sacrificial lambs on the altar of conformity, and the rest simply spend their lives lying about who they are.
Five characters in this book are soldiers; none fits the "hero" mold that society prescribes for them. Even the one who died on Iwo Jima was not killed in combat, but died accidentally after the fighting was over. Yet this isn't really a book about war - more about a society that worked so hard to keep up appearances, that no one was allowed to be different, or even human.
Consider the plight of the narrator's oldest sister. In one of the most poignant moments in the book, she breaks decorum by crying at the dinner table in front of the whole family, then confesses a desperate and shocking problem. Members of the family silently look to the father, waiting for his response. But Rita's problem is so far outside the bounds of what "nice people" talk about, that all he can do is mumble weak, useless platitudes at her. The pitiful thing is that he adores his daughter -- but social conventions won't let him help her, or even admit that her problem is real. When the problem leads to her death, the whole family continues to lie to eachother as if they never saw it coming. And in the ultimate victory of good etiquette, the narrator politely thanks her sister's killer just hours after Rita's death, knowing full well what he has done.
Those were the good old days? Thank God I missed them.
Confused?ý.I am.......2003-12-30
Confused?....I am
In writing this review, I'm not sure I enjoyed this book as thoroughly as I have others. But I am sure that I don't hate it.
The story centers on the protagonist Ellen. Early on as a child, she meets her cousin Randal. A fair boy with nice hands and red hair. It seems an attraction between these two set and there are a few moments that are a bit awkward because they were cousins. But I won't ruin the story. He goes off to fight the war (the 2nd one) and he dies, but not before giving a few letters and what not. He never said out loud how he feels, but does say that she is his main audience. It is about the middle of the book when we hit this part. She then meets Lt. Henry while at a football game. At this point she is a college student. He is not attracted to her, but rather a friend, Daphne, she brings along. He goes to Korea and asks her friend to continue a correspondence with him. She doesn't say no, but since it is hinted that she is a communist, she gives it to Ellen instead. She reads all his mail and falls in love with him. He returns and still thinks that her friend is writing to him. I won't divulge anymore of the plot, but I will tell you that at this time her minds start confusing and mixing up between Randal and this captain.
I won't deny that it isn't original. But I couldn't find anything to grasp myself into. The characters were okay, but they don't stick with you. The writing was a bit shaky and a bit confusing when you read it. But if you give it time, I suppose the story will sink in. It is the writing that makes it confusing. The transition between Henry and Randall could have been a bit smoother. The story was a bit slow. There is no external antagonist to deal with, but rather the conflict lay on the shoulder of internal conflicts of Ellen. But I feel the one reason why I could not enjoy this book was that I just didn't like the characters. I didn't like Ellen because she was so different from myself. And often I find a book more enjoyable when you relate to the characters. I did not find one character that I related too.
Overall, it is an okay book. It is rather short; around I say 200+ pages. It's a fine book to past the time with.
Where's the payoff?.......2003-12-03
The Gardens of Kyoto is the story of several dull characters who only shine when compared to the dishrag-like personality of the passive main character, Ellen. It's like listening to the dementia-fogged ramblings of that great-aunt no one can stand.
The narration is overclogged with bizarre and inapt descriptions. Point of view jumps back and forth with no rhyme or reason, and she leaves things unexplained for far too long. For example, I didn't figure out what the character's first name was until book three. She describes scenes which entice the reader to find out more; such as the hidden room in her uncle's house which was a hiding place of runaway slaves, and then she drops them, or explains them with an easily missed sentence or two. I wanted to find out more about something, anything, that involved a plot, but alas, a plot was not forthcoming.
If it weren't for my husbands insistence that this book was interesting, I would have put it down in the first chapter. After a while, and with repeated promises from him that it would get better, the loose ends and the irrational passivity of the main character kept me enrapt. As he warned me, it's like a train wreck. I have to say that the loose ends were wrapped up at the end, and yet it was extremely unsatisfying. A character driven novel should have intriguing characters, and yet The Gardens of Kyoto is filled with bland passive automotons who merely stagger through life allowing things to happen to them. The only time the main character actually takes action of her own accord, is when she is doing something pointlessly destructive. From page one to the end, this book kept me asking, "(...) When's something going to happen?"
Average customer rating:
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A Thousand Years of Love
Avia Belle Moon
Manufacturer: Trafford Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Perfect Paperback
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ASIN: 1412013356
Release Date: 2006-07-06 |
Product Description
Find out where love exists within a setting of elegance and mystery in ancient Japan and China, transcending gender and blood, eternal as the silver waves glittering on a kimono.
Customer Reviews:
Wow.......2007-02-21
Very lyrical and sensual the story flows like a murmuring stream. I'm not even finished yet and I'm quite hooked by it already! ^.^V Quite wonderful.
Average customer rating:
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Kyoto Romance
Teruhide Kato
Manufacturer: Unsodo
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 4753801454 |
Book Description
What better way to see Kyoto than at dawn, when the back streets and alleys of this 1,200-year-old city are still under the spell of the past? Old folks fuss about with their bonsai and laundry poles, pausing to chat on their way to the neighborhood shrine with flowers and morning prayers.
Knock-kneed white egrets stalk the stream beds for breakfast, and the giant bronze temple bells awaken the former capital of Japan every morning as they have done for centuries.
Through wars, fires, famines, tyrants, and now rapid modernization, the old neighborhoods of Kyoto are the places where the customs and traditions of this fascinating city, with its confusing blend of old and new, have managed to survive.
American writer and former Kyoto resident Diane Durston introduces seven must-see precincts of this ancient capital city, including four Historic Preservation Districts. Among them are the world-famous geisha quarter, the kimono textile neighborhoods, the sake-brewing area of Fushimi, and the
tea-growing region of Uji. Durston weaves together local lore and historical sites to create a panoply of provocative walking tours that take the reader back in time to the elegance of earlier days.
Accompanying each section is a full-color map and the fine photography of Katsuhiko Mizuno, a Kyoto native and one of the city's most famous photographers. Sections highlighting Kyoto crafts, cuisine, festivals, and tourist essentials round out this attractive volume, making it the perfect
introduction -and guide- to one of the world's most evocative cities.
FEATURES
* Photographs by one of Kyoto's most renowned photographers
* Locations of the most important Historic Preservations Districts
* Detailed maps and suggested routes
* Scenic and little-known walking paths
* Completely revised and updated information
Customer Reviews:
A wonderful book for a beautiful city.......2007-09-20
I was privileged to have spent 4 months in Japan, but of all the places I visited, I fell in love with Kyoto. This is a marvelous book for doing all the walking that one needs to do here. Take a city tour first, but then leave several days to revisit all the places that enthralled you, and believe me, there will be many! Get this book and study it well; you won't be disappointed.
Average customer rating:
- I love this couple!
- Awful!
- Suburban fantasy
- Fast paced story filled with romance, love, sex - and more
- Exciting New Author
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Kyoto Connection
Deborah Kemp
Manufacturer: Authorhouse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0759664196 |
Book Description
An American woman living in Japan meets a wealthy Japanese man, and becomes involved in a kidnapping and attempted murder. She faces an even bigger challenge in being accepted as a ?gaijin? in his privileged world
Customer Reviews:
I love this couple!.......2004-08-27
This is a wonderful story about Page and Kenji and how they had to overcome the many obstacles thrown their way challenging their love for each other. They had to learn how to work out cultural differences, avert a dangerous kidnapping and at the same time try to gain approval from Kenji's parents of their relationship. You can see how their love grows as they succeed in meeting each of these challenges.
It's very evident that Ms. Kemp has a great love of Japan and is extremely knowledgable of the Japanese custom and culture. She has a wonderful way of describing Kyoto, the different holidays and its traditions and it certainly made this reader feel like "I was right there". I do look forward to more of Page and Kenji's future adventures.
Awful!.......2004-06-13
This book is absolutely terrible -- so bad it must be self-published. I don't like to be unkind but I wasted the money on this book, hoping for a nice Japanese/American romance, and found it totally unreadable. Basic grammar and structure are ignored, and the whole thing is embarrassing. If Ms. Kemp wants to be a published author she really needs to learn how to write.
Sorry, but it's so bad it's a rip-off.
Suburban fantasy.......2003-04-16
This is the kind of writing that is viewed as exciting and profound only by women who live in the suburbs and view the world through that isolated lens. That said, I haven't read the book, but the excerpt was not good. It seems a typical pulpy romance novel so I suppose if you like that kind of stuff...
Fast paced story filled with romance, love, sex - and more.......2002-04-04
Page Queenan was an American woman living and working in Kyoto, Japan. Page had fallen in love with not only the country and its customs but also with one of its citizens - in the form of the handsome and sexy Kenji Tanaka whom she had met in the sento (the communal co-ed bathing house). She had been relaxing in the hot steamy water when she heard a male voice asking could he join her. She looked up to see the naked vision of the most handsome man she had ever seen. How could she deny him access to the sento? After all it was communal and it was co-ed.
Deborah Kemp writes a fast paced story filled with not only romance, love and sex but also with intrigue, kidnapping and attempted murder. I was fascinated with Ms. Kemp's knowledge of Japan, its language and its customs. I recommend this book not only for the romance reader but also for the mystery lover and for people who love to read about foreign countries. After having lived in Japan myself, I can verify that it is a very authentic account of Japan and its people.
Kristie Leigh Maguire, author of Emails from the Edge: The Life of an Expatriate Wife, The Marcie Trilogy (Desert Triangle, Cabin Fever, Ring of Fire), contributor to Calliope's Mousepad: Women Writers Online ...
Exciting New Author.......2001-11-03
I loved Kyoto Connection. I couldn't wait to get home from work to see what would happen next to Page and Kenji. Kemp has just the right blend of romance and intrigue in her writing. The author has done her homework.She has wonderful explanations of Japanese customs and vocabulary in her book.I can't wait to read her next book, Kiss of the Geisha.
Book Description
Few groups of plants capture the imagination like these carnivores, which act as predators rather than prey. Among the best known are the Venus fly trap and the various pitcher plants; these and many others are covered.Published at $34.95 Our last copies available at $17.49
Average customer rating:
- The book is easy to understand with many pictures
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A Guide to Carnivorous Plants of the World
Gordon Cheers
Manufacturer: Angus & Robertson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0207161860 |
Customer Reviews:
The book is easy to understand with many pictures.......1999-02-21
This is a gorgeous book with great photos and easy to understand beginners tips as well as more advanced instructions for the novice. It includes the description of many genus with beautiful, full color illustrations. It includes a background history, a growing guide, reference section, and other interesting facts.
Average customer rating:
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Tough Terminators: Twelve of the Earth's Most Fascinating Predators (World of Discovery)
Sneed B. Collard
Manufacturer: Northword Pr
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1559712236 |
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Traps and Lures in the Living World
Joan Elma Rahn
Manufacturer: Atheneum
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0689307667 |
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Plants of Prey (Densey Clyne's Small Worlds)
Densey Clyne
Manufacturer: Allen & Unwin
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1863731326 |
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The Encyclopaedia of Islam: Mahk-Mid (Encyclopaedia of Islam New Edition)
Clifford Edmund Bosworth
Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
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Binding: Library Binding
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ASIN: 9004081127 |
Books:
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- Final Farewell: Preparing for & Mourning the Loss of Your Pet
- Finding Fish: A Memoir
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- Genetics: An Introduction for Dog Breeders
- Great Bear Almanac
- Guide to Owning a Ball Python (Guide to Owning A...)
- Guide to Owning a Zebra Finch (Guide to Owning)
- Horned Frog Family and the African Bullfrogs, The (Reptile and Amphibian Keeper's Guide)
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