Book Description
The traditional image of the family as a life-long unit is fading fast. There are fewer marriages, more divorces, and ever more children born to unmarried or single parents. The forms of our private life are changing rapidly, and people are embarking on new lifestyles based on cohabitation, separation and same-sex partnerships. In this lively and accessible new book, Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim looks at the future of our lives after the family. Examining the breakdown of the conventional family unit, she explores the new choices that are open to individuals, and analyses our anxiety over the ensuing loss of stability. In After the Family, Beck-Gernsheim describes how men and women are being confronted with competing and often incompatible demands. Our areas of personal choice have been redrawn, but in a space that involves new social regulations and controls. The talk of lsquo;family values' sits uneasily with the reality of long working-hours, business trips, weekend seminars and career moves. At work, we are encouraged to pursue competition, speed and change; at home we are expected to find community and conciliation. Beck-Gernsheim examines the impact of these conflicting expectations on the relationships between men, women and children, and searches for possible solutions. After the Family is an important and timely contribution to the growing debate about the family and its future. It will be ideal reading for students of sociology and gender studies, but will also appeal to a wide general readership.
Book Description
How did the Romans build and maintain one of the most powerful and stable empires in the history of the world? This illuminating book draws on the literature, especially the historiography, composed by the members of the elite who conducted Roman foreign affairs. From this evidence, Susan P. Mattern reevaluates the roots, motivations, and goals of Roman imperial foreign policy especially as that policy related to warfare. In a major reinterpretation of the sources, Rome and the Enemy shows that concepts of national honor, fierce competition for status, and revenge drove Roman foreign policy, and though different from the highly rationalizing strategies often attributed to the Romans, dictated patterns of response that remained consistent over centuries.
Mattern reconstructs the world view of the Roman decision-makers, the emperors, and the elite from which they drew their advisers. She discusses Roman conceptions of geography, strategy, economics, and the influence of traditional Roman values on the conduct of military campaigns. She shows that these leaders were more strongly influenced by a traditional, stereotyped perception of the enemy and a drive to avenge insults to their national honor than by concepts of defensible borders. In fact, the desire to enforce an image of Roman power was a major policy goal behind many of their most brutal and aggressive campaigns.
Rome and the Enemy provides a fascinating look into the Roman mind in addition to a compelling reexamination of Roman conceptions of warfare and national honor. The resulting picture creates a new understanding of Rome's long mastery of the Mediterranean world.
Customer Reviews:
How did the Romans think of war and peace and strategy?.......2007-10-09
This book is not a tale or narrative. Instead, it is an examination of the evidence about how Rome thought of war, peace, and strategy. Through literature, histories, and historical evidence, the author captures a sense of Roman thought.
Romans worried about the image of Rome, the way others thought of Rome. They gaurded with ferocity the reputation of Rome as a terrible enemy.
Romans did not have a sense of mapping, geography, strategic boundaries, or key crops and resources, in a way that modern military and foreign policy specialists take for granted. Instead, Rome had a strong sense of the enemy, those who would try and push at Rome, and who needed to be kept down, subdued, killed, in order to ensure a strong Rome.
This book is a bit dry, but it is fascinating in how it weaves its sources to reveal a way of life and of thought, regarding empire. There have been those who feel that America needs to understand this Roman view of power and fear, in order to understand why some in the world go to war with Americans. I think that this is over-stated. It is not as though we lack this Roman perspective in the West... rather I would say that we have layered over it many strategic lessons, and some forgetfulness.
This sort of writing augments more narrative histories by capturing the historic sensibility of the times. There should be more histories of this quality written.
Insightful Look at Roman Foriegn Policy.......2001-08-11
Looking at what modern observers would essentially call foriegn policy of the Roman principate, Matterson gives a fascinating account of the conduct of the Roman empire on an international level if you will that is both insightful and enjoyable. Perhaps what was most beneficial about the book was the author's various discussions of essentially how the Roman ruling parties viewed the world around them. The reason for the immense importance of this is that the Roman view of the outside world physically, psychologically, and geographically was inherently different than how the modern viewer would see it. What we see three-dimensionally the Romans essentially saw in 2-D, a rough analogy that does allude to the main idea of Matterson's book, an idea it would be well worth the time of anyone with an interest in history or international studies to understand. How Roman power both grew and saw sustainment cannot be fully understood without this basic comprehension of the world by Roman eyes, and there are few sources available that illustrate this fact in better and more entertaining fashion than Matterson does. Beware though, this book is relatively in depth and utilizes a lot of scholastic and antiquated sources and styles that would be a little much for a reader new to Roman studies to comprehend, and for that reason I would suggest at least a rudimentary understanding of the Principate period be obtained before investing in this title, as the true impact and importance of Matterson's ideas could be easily missed by one who knows not what to look for. Beyond that though, this book is certainly well worth your time and purchase.
Another side of Rome.......2000-09-24
Susan P. Mattern wrote a book that is well made, easy to read and has well supported ideas. She breaks down Imperial Strategy, not into where, who and how, but into why and what for. While other books focus on what the Romans are doing, she examines why they do it. She breaks it down into parts, dealing with how the army, the empire's income and the Roman values shape and mold how they respond to threats and outsiders. The hardcover might scare you, but it only took me two days to read and for a person who has a basic knowledge of Roman History, the book should not be a problem.
Peace Through Terror.......2000-07-04
Susan Mattern, a professor at the University of Georgia, has written a well-researched analysis of how the Roman Empire's leaders made strategic decisions from 31 BC to 235 AD. Chapters cover topics from the nature of the decision-making elite, the Roman image of the world around them, strategic limitations, economic resources, and strategic values. Although a bit dry and academic in tone, this work provides a valuable synthesis of the elements that enabled Roman leaders to formulate a strategic policy for the Empire.
Roman policy, as Mattern hammers home repeatedly, was not based upon either deterrence or a search for defensible borders. Rather, Roman policy rested upon overawing both external and internal enemies with the ability of the Empire to inflict massive military punishment upon all transgressors. Rome made war to avenge injuries upon the empire in order to maintain the honor of that entity. Failure to avenge a Barbarian attack or to settle disputes with diplomacy was viewed by Roman leaders as not only a sign of weakness, but also an invitation to further enemy aggression. In order to maintain peace, Barbarian arrogance (i.e. disrespect for the power of Rome) had to be kept in line by smashing military defeats, followed by humiliating surrenders. The greater the arrogance of the enemy, the more severe the Roman revenge, ranging from mere defeat to total annihilation; as Mattern wrote, "if a tribe caused too much trouble, the Romans saw no moral or ethical argument against wiping it off the face of the earth". Nor was there a time limit - Roman retribution might not come for years or even decades, but their enemies had to be assured that it would come some day.
Roman security rested far more on repeated demonstrations of military prowess and a willingness to pay any price to avenge insults to the Empire, than the size of the army or border defenses. Mattern has very useful chapters detailing the limitations of the Roman Army based on available manpower and the ability of the Empire to extract taxes. Interestingly, the Roman Army during this period amounted to only about 1% of the total population and the military budget is estimated to have been approximately 2.5% of the "Imperial GNP". These statistical points help Mattern to hammer home her points that Roman strategy, as such there was, aimed at achieving a psychological effect upon the enemy rather than achieving security through either quantitative or qualitative superiority. These chapters on the economic underpinnings of the Empire and strategic limitations make this book a valuable addition to any collection of Roman military history.
Mattern also makes interesting points on the differences between how Romans made strategic decisions compared with current methods. Amazingly, maps and geographical information were not used in planning military operations. Nor were financial considerations of cost and gained measured; major military resources were devoted to hold onto Britain despite the poor economic resources of the island. Instead, Mattern convincingly claims that it all came down to maintaining the image of the Empire as able and willing to inflict assured retribution on aggressors. Peace for Roman was thus achieved by psychologically terrorizing all challengers into subject inactivity.
How the Gladiator defied an empire?.......2000-05-17
After I saw Gladiator-the movie, I needed to know how the Romans used to think. How they made this empire last and expand. I was amazed to know that they picked their leaders with certain characteristics. This book talks about it and much more.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Canadian Journal of History, published by University of Saskatchewan on August 1, 2001. The length of the article is 1109 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Rome and the Enemy: Imperial Strategy in the Principate.(Review)
Author: John K. Evans
Publication:
Canadian Journal of History (Refereed)
Date: August 1, 2001
Publisher: University of Saskatchewan
Volume: 36
Issue: 2
Page: 320
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This addition to The Victoria History of the Counties of England series presents an authoritative history from early times to the 1980s of the 27 ancient parishes that formed the borough of Wenlock and the adjoining parts of Munslow hundred: the south Shropshire region including Wenlock, upper
Corve Dale, and the Stretton Hills. Three towns are dealt with: the ancient ecclesiastical and administrative center of Wenlock; the 18th Century industrial town of Broseley with its satellite mining and eathernware manufacturing settlements; and the resort of Church Stretton.
Book Description
This is the essential new field guide to the birds of Chile. Representing a great diversity of habitats, from the Andes in the north down to the tundra and sub-Antarctic rainforest of Tierra del Fuego in the far south, Chile is the breeding ground or temporary abode of 473 known species including 9 found nowhere else in the world. Birds of Chile covers them all, embracing not only the mainland but points offshore such as Easter Island as well as the Antarctic Peninsula and adjacent islands, plus the Falklands and South Georgia. In addition to being a friendly and fruitful birding destination in its own right, Chile is the starting point for many Antarctic cruises.
Succinct, identification-focused text and distribution maps share a page opposite each of the 97 color plates to allow quick and easy reference. Between the boldfaced English name and the scientific name comes the Spanish name as used in Chile; this is important, for birders will find their quest far more enjoyable and effectual if they can explain to Chileans exactly what they are looking at, think they are looking at, or hope to be looking at.
Since Chile's list of resident species is yet far from conclusive, vagrants and rarities are also included. Indeed, some birds once thought to be accidentals in Chile have since proved to be regulars, including the Westland Petrel, Least Sandpiper, Cliff Swallow, and Golden-billed Saltator. Compact, comprehensive, and easy to use, Birds of Chile is the essential field guide to the birds of this spectacular and tourist-friendly country.
- The essential new field guide to the birds of Chile
- 97 color plates with succinct text and maps on facing pages for quick reference and easy identification
- All 473 known species breeding in or visiting Chile, from the Andes in the north down to the tundra and sub-Antarctic rainforest of Tierra del Fuego in the south
- Also covers points offshore such as Easter Island as well as the Antarctic Peninsula and adjacent islands, plus the Falklands and South Georgia
- Compact, portable, and user-friendly
Customer Reviews:
Traveler's Birding Guide.......2007-09-16
I actually purchased this guide for a dear friend who was moving to Chile, but, I did have a chance to peruse it before presenting it & found it to be comprehensive & well written.
Muy Bueno.......2007-03-08
Compré el libro y me lo mandaron a mi casa en Santiago, Chile, dentro del tiempo estimado sin ningún problema.
La guía es muy buena porque además de ser muy completa es muy práctica en tamaño para llevarla a terreno.
Great and compact.......2004-08-17
The great void of high-quality field guides for South America is gradually shrinking. This book is undoubtedly most useful way beyond the boundaries of Chile. I wish I had had this book for my trip to southern Peru in 2000. The attempt to identify yellow-finches with the only field guide I had for that area (de la Peña and Rumboll) was an exercise in sheer frustration. The new book shows clear differences between the species. I can't judge the accuracy for most species, but this is a book that gives you confidence that the author and the illustrators got the vast majority right. As had been mentioned in earlier reviews, the quality of the plates is a bit variable, but they all seem at least usable, and the majority is downright excellent. The many flight pictures are particularly welcome. Sexual differences and even some geographical variations are clearly depicted as well. What a fine and compact guide book! And it is so affordable (at least here at Amazon!)that any traveller could really take a second copy along for local birders, as had been suggested.
A Mandatory Field Guide for Chile.......2004-06-03
This is a fantastic field guide. The plates are excellent and the descriptions detailed. I'm no expert birder, but with this guide I've been able to clearly ID far more birds than what was possible using Sharon Chester's guide (which is a great quick-start for spotting, but otherwise not detailed enough), or the Collins book "Birds of Southern South America" (which is good, but too expansive for focus solely on Chile). It is obvious that a lot of work has gone into "Birds of Chile", yet it is an infinitely user-friendly guide. Thanks to this book, I find I try to get out more to see what's around.
My only gripe with the book concerns its durability under wet conditions. Chile is a rainy country, and my copy suffered on a typical hike in the rain. That's a minor gripe, however, and I probably could have taken extra measures to protect it.
One side note: If you are planning a birding trip in Chile, it would be nice to bring an extra copy to leave behind for someone you meet here. Field guides are usually imported, very expensive, and hard to find. I haven't seen this one in the stores here yet, and I'm sure that many folks would be glad to receive a copy.
Birds of Chile: a long time needed book.......2004-04-27
Backcover statement for Jaramillo's "Birds of Chile" as the first bird fieldguide for the country is false: back to 1986 Araya and colleagues published "Guía de Campo de las Aves de Chile". But it was a quite simple work, all black & white drawings, succint descriptions, and almost nil encroachment with ID problems. So for practical purposes Jaramillo's guide is really the first reliable one for Chilean birders... and visiting foreigners as well.
Introductory chapters are excellent. Plate-facing descriptions are very good and don't fear tackle with the toughest ID puzzles. Distributional maps are the first critical for a lot of species (Thinocoridae, Oreopholus, Chilia, Phleocryopes,etc.). Plates include some masterpieces, e.g. Sheldgeese (plate #24), Treerunner (68), Hummingbirds II (62). A few (#11,#54) rank below average, and would deserve reassesment. Also some inevitable mishaps affect the book: the missing initial text for Juan Fernández Firecrown (page 150), wrong-written words ("Azúl", p.152) .... minor defects easy to amend in future editions.
No doubt Jaramillo's book inaugurates a new era in Chilean ornithology. That's why I give it five stars level.
Book Description
South America, though home to about one-third of the world's bird species and twice as many endemic families of birds as any other continent, has the world's sparsest population of birdwatchers. Birds of Southern South America and Antarctica illustrates and describes all the known species--more than 1,000 of them--in a vast swath of this underexplored birder's paradise, from Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, southern Brazil, and Uruguay to parts of Antarctica. Just some of the birds it covers are teals, tinamous, chachalacas, conebills, cuckoos, macaws, parakeets, parrots, penguins, nightjars, hummingbirds, ovenbirds, tyrants, and tanagers. The habitats range from torrid rainforests and cloudforests to grasslands, the world's driest desert, second highest mountain range, and ice caps.
The 97 color plates depict each species' male in breeding plumage, with the female and young often shown as well. On the facing page are concise textual descriptions of each species, highlighting not only salient physical features and behavioral patterns but the calls or songs of each. Casual birders and ornithologists contemplating a journey to the region, or simply interested in a one-volume overview of its bird life, will not want to miss this book.
Customer Reviews:
Weak.......2007-08-09
I don't believe there is a good choice at this time. We are headed to Brazil on a birding trip soon. Of about 720 birds that we might reasonably see in the areas we are to visit according to various compiled trip reports, this book only covered 60%. In addition, the pictures on the facing page from the text, were in almost random order. I used the Clements book on Peru to fill in 3/4 of the missing birds.
Consider an alternative guide!!.......2007-02-25
This guide book covers a wide range of habitats: from the jungle tropics to the southern tip of the continent and even Antactica. If you are going to be traveling widely, this guide might well be your best bet. The illustrations are good and the descriptions on the facing page are quite useful. The major drawback is that the distribution maps are at the back and that's annoying. (Once you've found an illustration that seems to identify the bird you're seeing, you need to note both the plate and illustration number before heading back to the range maps to see if it's likely to be found in your present location. All too often I found that wasn't the case!)
If you're going to do your birdwatching in or near the mountains or along the southern coast, I'd suggest that you carefully consider, instead, Birds of Chile by Jaramillo et al, a Princeton Guide. It's a superb field guide with many illustrations of the birds in flight, as well as sitting still; its descriptions are excellent and the range maps are on the facing page. I bought a copy of it on my return from Patagonia and it's definitely the guide I'll take next time -- not only to Chile, but to southern Argentina, as well!
Very Portable and Useful Little Guide.......2007-01-18
I am going birding in Bolivia -- which does not yet have it's own field guide -- later this year. So instead of carrying one guide I need to figure out which combination of books will strike a balance between usefulness and space/weight. I have a feeling this is going to be one of my main resources. It is very portable and so far about 85 percent of the birds I may potentially see are in here. In no way is this book intended to replace a full scale field guide such as "Birds of Columbia" by Hilty or "Birds of the High Andes" but then again it is less than one quarter the size and weight. Also, FYI -- it is quite a bit more than merely an illustrated checklist: you do get a small one paragraph description for each bird, a range map at the back which is a little inconvenient but many full size guides use this format also. The book is probably a little out of date as far as some of the finer points of taxonomy -- but many of the recent arguments are at least explained. All in all -- I feel this will be a very useful book to have along, though it will definitely not be the only book I'll have along.
Southern South America Field Guide.......2007-01-11
This appears to be a compact but comprehensive field guide to the birds of southern South America. The art work is adequate, but the plates are crowded and disorganized, and it is sometimes difficult to find the specific number you are looking for to coordinate with the printed information. The other drawback is that the range maps are at the back of the book, a failing common to many older guides. In the absence of anything better, this should serve the purpose well.
A better guide for Argentina..........2006-07-06
I found this guide to be occasionally inaccurate and lacking much needed info for any serious birding, though it is useful as a backup/reference for other area guides. Instead of this book, I recommend you consider "Birds of Argentina & Uruguay" by Tito Narosky and Dario Yzurieta. If not easy to find on Amazon, try Birdlife International, or just pick up a copy in Buenos Aires.
Average customer rating:
|
Travels Archaeology South Chile
Junius B. Bird
Manufacturer: University Of Iowa Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Chile
| South America
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| South America
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Archaeology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Native American
| Archaeology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Chile
| South America
| Latin America
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0877452024 |
Book Description
The Birds of Chile: A Field Guide is a classic, comprehensive field guide to the 448 bird species recorded on mainland Chile, Easter Island, San Ambrosio and San Flix, the Juan Fernndez Archipelago and the Antarctic Peninsula. An introduction to Chilean birds by Thomas Howell precedes a section on Chile's geography and life zones. Black-and-white line drawings by the Chilean artist Mariano Bernal illustrate the text. A detailed description of species and subspecies, preferred habitat, range and distribution accompanies each illustration. English, Spanish, French, German and scientific names are given for all birds. Included is a pull-out map of Chile that shows the major cities and rivers of the twelve political Regions, offshore islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. 400 pages.
Average customer rating:
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Birds of Chile/Aves de Chile: Illustrated in Color
Manufacturer: Wandering Albatross
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound
Reference
| Outdoors & Nature
| Subjects
| Books
jp-unknown2
| Specialty Stores
| Books
ASIN: 096385111X |
Book Description
Birds of Chile: Illustrated in Color supplements the 1993 field guide by Araya and Chester. It was designed to fit into a binocular case or pocket, and is printed on heavy stock with a plastic cover to withstand field use. Twenty-nine color plates drawn by the author illustrate over three hundred common bird species of mainland Chile. There is a caption next to each species indicating its English, Chilean and scientific name, its domestic range, and average length in centimeters and inches. An outline map of continental Chile gives the political names and numerals of the mainland Regions. The guide also contains a checklist of all Chilean bird species.
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