Customer Reviews:
Before and After Zachariah: A Family Story About a different Kind of Courage.......2005-07-09
Fern Kupfer captures the essence of raising a child with special needs. She expresses all the mixed emotions, including anger and rage, that most families in this situation wish to express, but fear what others will think of them, if they do. Our society has told parents that raising a child with special needs can be done, and done well. Parents are often told that they have been specially chosen by a higher power to carry out this noble task. Fern Kupfer questions all those platitudes. She and her husband are doggedly committed to doing all they can for their child, and she realistically examines the effects this has on them as a couple, and a family as a whole.
This book should be required reading for all individuals working with children and families with special needs. This book would help many families in this situation understand that ALL of their feelings are normal,and that only they can make the best decision for their child and family, and not a society that shows little regard for individuals in this situation.
I applaud Fern and her husband for their courage to do what they believe is best for Zachy and the family.
A Good, Realistic Picture of a Child w/Multiple Challenges.......2000-09-01
The world was first introduced to Zachariah in a 1980 article of "Redbook" magazine. Fern Kupfer writes with a clear, clean, crisp and very direct style that is sure to reach all readers.
In more recent years, her severely developmentally delayed son's progress has been updated in this book. It made the reader feel somewhat bonded to the Kupfers (Fern Kupfer has written some delightful fictional stories that have appeared in "Redbook" and other magazines) and all the more interested in the approaches used to teach and raise this perpetual infant.
Zachariah's older sister, Gabi, provides comic relief. Bright and verbal, Gabi possesses a savvy that shows up at a very early age. Wonderfully original, Gabi is never at a loss to express herself and her mixed feelings about her brother. One does sense that Gabi feels a real loss. Her brother is on the developmental plane of an infant and most likely will remain an infant for the rest of his life. She is funny, lovable and unflinchingly honest in her assessments. It is through Gabi that one gets an even clearer picture of life with a loved one who is severely developmentally delayed.
Some years have passed since the latest update on Zachariah's progress. The residential program in Iowa where we last checked in with Zachariah sounded like a wonderfully humane place and one where persons living as perpetual infants got good, loving care and full protection.
An important and rarely-heard perspective.......2000-02-23
As the sister of a profoundly retarded young man, I recommend this book to anyone related to or otherwise close to a person whose mental functioning is severely impaired. While there is much material available on the mildly and moderately retarded, few books are written about the lives of the severely and profoundly retarded and their families. Fern Kupfer tells her family's story well, and by including quotations from many other parents of severely retarded children, she also puts that story into perspective. Her family's decision to place Zachariah in residential care was not made lightly or easily, and those who are struggling with their choices in caring for their relatives will find this book compassionate and helpful, as well as refreshingly honest. This book is also an important reminder to all that while the vast majority of retarded people can be "mainstreamed" with success, a significant minority do need a level of lifetime care that is extraordinarily difficult for a family to provide.
If I ruled the world, every parent would have to read this!!.......1999-07-23
This book is especially helpful and insightful for those of us who have handicapped children, but I really believe every mom or dad could learn from it. Although the "I'm so glad it's you and not me" phrase is thrown at us "special" parents way too often, there's some truth to the fact that most parents never have to deal with anything that remotely comes close to the things that happen daily when a family includes a disabled child. I especially appreciated the stories in the book from other parents of disabled children. Ms. Kupfer hit it right on the mark when she brought up the issue about "accepting" her child's disability. I wish the therapists and care providers and docs could get hold of that concept and really understand it. Awesome, wonderful book. It's old, but still good -- and very applicable in our society today that is pushing to do away with institutions for the disabled. What has always made our country great is our freedoms and our wonderful ability to choose out of all the opportunities available to us. Some would take this choice (to make use of institutions) away and call it a step in the right direction. They are sadly mistaken. Read this book and you will not be disappointed.
Book Description
This is the latest in the well-respected Battleground series of books, and covers a number of aspects of the battle of Arnhem. It concentrates on the landings and the desperate and legendary battle fought by the remnants of 1st Airborne Division in the town of Oosterbeek. The book relies on both historical knowledge and anecdotes from veterans to bring to life the events of those fateful days of late September 1944.
Having set the strategic scene in the opening chapter, the guide suggests four separate tours around the area, one on foot and the others requiring a car. They can all be completed in a full day, but are structured in such a way that visitors can make their own choice of how and where to visit. For a clear, concise and accurate account of the Arnhem-Oosterbeek battlefield this excellent addition to our Battleground series is unlikely to be beaten.
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Black Baptist Secondary Schools in Virginia, 1887-1957: A Study in Black History
Lester F. Russell
Manufacturer: Scarecrow Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0810813734 |
Book Description
Birds of Southern Africa is the best and most authoritative guide to the birds of one of the world's most fertile birding regions. Two hundred color plates comprising over 4,000 expert illustrations help birders to distinguish all of southern Africa's approximately 950 bird species. The illustrations have labels highlighting diagnostic features, and many birds are depicted in flight as well as still. Special attention is given to plumage variation by age, sex, and season.
The informative text, written by eminent ornithologists, is fully integrated with the color plates to facilitate use in the field. Detailed species accounts emphasize the essential characteristics of each bird, including information on behavior, calls, and habitat preferences.
All species names and divisions are in line with the latest recommendations of the International Ornithological Committee, while well-known and local common names are also included. Both beginners and advanced birders will appreciate the regional checklist, quick reference guides, and excellent family summaries. Up-to-date distribution maps feature dual shading to indicate areas of low and high abundance, while cross-referencing is made easy with color coding and a simple numbering system.
Absolutely up-to-date and both beautifully and comprehensively illustrated, this field guide is a terrific reference as well as a superb visual record of the rich variety of a region that is home to one-tenth of all bird species.
Customer Reviews:
Exactly what I wanted.......2007-06-08
This book is superbly illustrated, with clear descriptions of each type of bird and makes identification fairly straight forward.
While I have not used it in the bush yet, I expect it will be invaluable in identifying each bird I may encounter.
Excellent Comprehensive Field Guide.......2007-03-30
I'm so glad I bought this guide before visiting South Africa recently. I took it with me everywhere and it shows! It is easy to find the bird group you are looking for from the table of contents as well as quick references (both names and diagrams) that direct you to the appropriate page. The drawings are very well done. I especially like how distinguishing features and subtle differences between similar species are pointed out both in the written descriptions and diagrams, making for easier identification. Also, in species where juveniles or breeding birds differ considerably in plumage, additional diagrams are added to depict this.
With this many species, space is limited, and I have read complaints that there is not enough information about the species, so I suppose that is something to consider if you are looking for in-depth descriptions, but I don't think that was the intention of the authors for this guide. As a field guide it is excellent and reasonably sized to carry around with you in a backpack (not a pocket guide!). If I want to know more about a particular species, I look it up on the internet later. I looked at some other books at a local bookstore in South Africa and I was glad I had bought this one. Definitely recommended.
Birds of Southern Africa.......2007-03-09
Book was purchased for our forthcoming trip to Botswana. It seems to give excellent coverage of the birds
we're likely to encounter there and with little repetition of birds we've seen before in Kenya and Tanzania.
The maps are well done and illustrations are excellent.
Birds of South Africa.......2007-02-24
Sinclair's book is a big improvement on the earlier fieldguides for the area that I had (Newman and Prozesky). The art is better and the info is compactly displayed. I can't claim to be knowledgeable about this avifauna, nor have I used the book in the field. However, the book is just the sort of new work that I was looking for in preparation for a visit to South Africa.
Birds of Southern Africa.......2006-08-30
I own all the field guides for this area and the Sinclair book is the best. The illustrations are excellent and the text and range maps are opposite the illustrations making it easy to use in the field. I do question the inclusion of some species where there are only two or three records for the area covered as this makes someone visiting the area go through a lot of alternatives to make an identification. Also better explanation of the summer ranges of certain species would help.
Book Description
The eighth edition has been updated to incorporate the information obtained since the previous edition relating to the birds of the region. The user-friendly design makes it ideal for use in the field, with aids such as colour-coding of major bird groups, running heads at the top of each page to indicate which family of birds is being described, large page numbers for easy reference and large accurate paintings which reflect the bird as it is seen in the field.
Customer Reviews:
REVIEW OF NEWMAN'S BIRDS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA.......2007-06-13
this is the best bird guide for birds of the region. I have carefully looked over others on the market.
A treat for bird lovers due to the top-quality artistry alone.......2006-05-26
Now in a fully revised eighth edition, Newman's Birds Of Southern Africa is a field guide to 125 species of Southern African birds illustrated throughout with realistic full-color artwork. Each species has an entry with a map indicating their distribution, their common and scientific name, a brief paragraph with a basic physical description and notes on distinguishing characteristics, and a gorgeous, realistic color illustration. A revised introduction teaches the reader step-by-step how to use the guide to quickly identify avian species, and a glossary, index and birdwatching checklist round out this first-class resource. A treat for bird lovers due to the top-quality artistry alone, as well as being a quintessential identification guide, Newman's Birds Of Southern Africa is enthusiastically recommended for amateur birdwatchers and professional biologists alike.
The most comprehensive birding guide available........1998-11-16
This book not only enables the amateur to identify birds from common to "lesser spotted" but shares interesting info too. More habitual birders will agree that this is truly the "birding bible". No one can argue with Ken Newman.
Book Description
Birds of Southern Africa fills the blanks most others leave in their coverage of this region by describing all 1,250 bird species one might see not only in South Africa but in Zambia and Malawi (both long neglected elsewhere), Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. And this is the only guide to illustrate the birds of Angola (including Cabinda), home of the striking White-headed Robin Chat of river basins and the Angolan Cave Chat, a dweller of rocky hillsides.
The 84 color plates depict vagrants, ocean wanderers, and many other birds that occur across a huge region characterized by widely varying habitats from woodlands and forests of various types to deserts to swamps. The text opposite the plates concisely describes similar species and subspecies by physical traits, habitat, and voice. All the larks are shown in flight as well as perched, and every swallow is pictured in flight from below. The most distinctive immature and non-breeding plumages are included. This book will be an invaluable resource to any birder contemplating a trip to southern Africa.
Customer Reviews:
Birds of South Africa.......2007-03-02
This book was not at all what I expected. It was impossible, I now know, to determine the quality of this book from the information available on the web site. The pictures are much smaller than I imagined. There are so many on one page that the quality is substandard. I am very disappointed in this book. I will review books in bookstores so I can see what I am buying before ordering another book such as this one online.
BRIEF AND CONCISE GUIDE.......2000-10-18
Considering how many tourists are attracted to the southern African region by its bird-rich Okavango Delta, Namibian endemics or larks of Karoo, this new aid in bird identification is a most welcome sight. Unlike its South African namesakes (namely Newman's and SASOL), this new edition has one major advantage: it's a pocket-sized book that successfully avoids the bulkiness of its predecessors. Not only the text, illustrations and maps of distribution are of decent quality, but the size of volume is also of importance in the eyes of an average tourist - most likely, his or her bags are already overfilled.
The text is brief, covering Southern Africa in the wider sense. This volume includes not only South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia - but also Angola, Zambia and Malawi. That means there was little space left to explain the preferred habitat of each of the 1,200 or so species covered, but text sharply focuses on major identification marks of our birds: the feather colours, the body shape, the bill length or whatever else is important for a particular bird.
The most important part of every bird identification guide, however, is its illustrations. The bird plates show in full colour every single species, plus a difference between the sexes, the adults and the young, the breeding and non-breeding birds, etc. Some plates with more than ten, even closer to twenty species tend to be overcrowded. The colours tend to be somewhat too bright, too strong - probably a printing error - but it's not that much of a problem as the opposite (faded colours) would be. Generally, despite minor complaints the illustrations are fine enough for accurate identification.
The distribution maps are the least precise part of every guide, usually showing where birders were - that is, showing the current level of knowledge and not the real distribution. Despite this, the maps in van Perlo's are pretty accurate (except, perhaps, the bird distributions in Angola) which is not a surprise since the southern African region is the most researched part of the continent. With the number of species per plate, it was not possible to place the distribution maps on the opposite page, as usual in a majority of similar volumes, so the maps are at the end of a book. It is not practical to waste your observation time turning too many pages to check if the suspected bird lives in particular area, but there is no alternative. This is, perhaps, van Perlo's book's greatest weakness.
If you either briefly visit the southern African region, or live there and want to have a second, brief and concise field guide, look no further: Ber van Perlo fulfilled your need.
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The Black Eagle: A Study : Verreaux's Eagle in Southern Africa
Valerie Gargett
Manufacturer: Academic Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0122759702 |
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Sasol Birds of Southern Africa
Ian Sinclair ,
Phil Hockey , and
W.R. Tarboton
Manufacturer: Struik Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Similar Items:
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Newman's Birds of Southern Africa
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The Safari Companion: A Guide to Watching African Mammals Including Hoofed Mammals, Carnivores, and Primates
ASIN: 1868727211 |
Book Description
Now its second edition, Sasol Birds has been hailed as the most comprehensive guide to bird identification in southern Africa. In its new edition it incorporates all the latest research and features three quick reference guides.
Product Description
The authors outline and describe 39 key bird routes and more than 330 birding sites (and their associated birds) across South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Madagascar and the little-documented but increasingly popular areas of Angola, Mozambique, Zambia and Malawi. All sites are ranked into one of three categories of priority: essential (the region s best), excellent (top sites but expendable to a time-limited visitor) and local interest (ideal for those looking for new areas to explore). Sites include practical details of access, best times to visit, habitat diversity and the birds that occur there and general natural history; the more important sites feature a detailed map. A guide to finding the region's top 150 birds and an annotated checklist conclude the book.
Customer Reviews:
Great stuff.......2007-01-09
I just got back from a two month self-guided birding trip to South Africa. I used this book for all my planning and selection of the places to visit. The book proved invaluable. It is well laid out, includes very good maps - including one of the whole of Southern Africa with all the birding spots clearly marked on it, it has many excellent bird and scenery photographs and a complete list of all the birds that can be seen with a cross-reference to their location in the book. A few minor points that caused me some irritations during the trip: only odd pages are numbered in the middle of the right hand side (very confusing); some of the maps are a little misleading e.g. the Sir Lowry's pass map is incorrect - the trail starts directly opposite the car park and not downhill as shown; some of the instructions are also incorrect e.g. the instructions to the Damara Tern Colony (I could not find the location.) These are minor points that an able birder can easily overcome. The book also covers other Southern African countries however having lived in Zambia and Zimbabwe I found their coverage of these two countries to be very sparse only covering the top birding spots. I strongly recommend this book if you are planning a trip to this beautiful area of our planet so rich in birds.
Average customer rating:
- Photos makes it easier to identify birds!
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Ian Sinclair's Field Guide to the Birds of Southern Africa (Photographic Field Guides)
Ian Sinclair , and
Robert T. Teske
Manufacturer: New Holland Publishers, Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Similar Items:
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Birds of Southern Africa (Princeton Field Guides)
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National Audubon Society Field Guide to African Wildlife
ASIN: 1868255107 |
Customer Reviews:
Photos makes it easier to identify birds!.......2007-10-07
I love the birds in Southern Africa, but I am also very bad at identifying them, so this book makes birding fun for me. I can quickly find the bird I just saw by flipping through the book. The downside is there is not always pictures of the bird at different angles or of the immatures. However, if you're a novice like me, it shouldn't matter much at all. Get Ian Sinclair's illustration version if you're more serious about birding.
Average customer rating:
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Who Comes to the Water Hole?
Colleen Stanley Bare
Manufacturer: Dutton Juvenile
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0525650733 |
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Sasol Birding Map of Southern Africa
Ian Sinclair , and
Trevor Hardaker
Manufacturer: Struik Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Map
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ASIN: 1868724239 |
Books:
- Bless Your Children Every Day
- Bonnie's Household Budget Book, Revised Edition: The Essential Guide for Getting Control of Your Money
- Building Skills in High-Risk Families: Strategies for the Home-Based Practitioner
- Bumblebees Can't Fly: Seven Simple Strategies for Making the Impossible Possible
- Bye-Bye, Pacifier (Golden Naptime Tale)
- Cómo cambiar creencias con la PNL
- Car Living Your Way : Stories and Practical Tips From Those Who Have Been Down the Road
- Child Rearing for Fun: Trust Your Instincts and Enjoy Your Children
- Children With Mental Retardation: A Parents' Guide (The Special Needs Collection)
- Como Ganar Amigos E Influir Sobre Las Personas, Edicion Revisada/How to Win Friends and Influence People
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